Chapter Text
Ed lived for moments like this. Roy was trying not to fall asleep, but he was failing epically. Ed was certainly not helping, but since she put the elastomer on her arm she could play with his hair using both of her hands and she was absolutely taking advantage of that. Since meeting him she was starting to worry about it more and more, but with her hand like this she didn’t have to have to consider the sharp edges cutting him or the joints catching in his hair. It was nice. Roy had noticed how careful she was with it. He’d asked she just wasn’t ready to have that conversation yet. She just wasn’t sure how to start it. Winry had checked on the fit of the arm during her hospital stay and Ed would need to go get it resized which sucked, but it was what was.
Roy’s hand on her leg jolted her out of her head and his voice rasped with sleep when he spoke, “Where’d you go?”
“Nowhere important.”
He most definitely didn’t believe her, but he wasn’t going to push. He hadn’t before. She liked that he waited. It made her feel safe. The next time he asked though she’d try to explain it.
“M’kay.”
Roy fell asleep and Ed wasn’t far behind him. They didn’t wake up until well into the afternoon.
Ed woke up first; Roy was wrapped around her chest and she could feel him breathing on her neck. She closed her eyes again and was just falling asleep again when he started to wake up. The grip he had on her tightened slightly. Ed wouldn’t be surprised if his arm was asleep. She felt him shift softly trying not to wake her up and to her surprise he took her automail hand in his. She let him investigate the elastomer for a little while before she ‘woke up’.
She blinked up at him, “Hi.”
He smiled at her but didn’t let go of her hand, “Hey.”
“What are you doing?”
Roy was the planning type. She could tell that from the beginning. So when he asked her about it she knew that he’d figured her out.
“Does your automail bother you?”
Ed sat up a little, “In a way. I’ve never really been the self-conscious type when it comes to my prosthetic. I like the metal. I think it looks neat.”
“Why change it?”
That was kind of a loaded question right now but Ed tried to answer it the best she could, “At first it was because this was the only arm she had for me that was even close to the right size. I kinda turned the other two to weapons and when I talked to Win about it she mentioned that I needed an adjustment for the arm anyway. I was supposed to get it before the whole thing happened but it got a little complicated.”
Understatement of the century.
“And now that you need the new one are you going to keep the plastic?”
“I’m not sure yet. It doesn't take long to add it and I know the process so I could even just add it myself with alchemy. I guess I worry about it more now.”
“Why?”
“Well because of you,” Roy’s confusion wasn’t unexpected so Ed continued, “It's not because I think you don’t like the way it looks. Even if you did I’d tell you to fuck off. I...automail is dangerous. Not just because it’s stronger than regular limbs and I can crush bones and stuff. While that’s an issue I’ve had it long enough to know my limits. It's the everyday stuff. Never had to care about how sharp it is or how the joints catch because when it happens it happens to me and I can deal with it but now that it could happen to you...it just makes me more aware.”
Ed used to have more issues with those things. Getting her hair stuck in the joints of the fingers and accidentally cutting her other arm when brushing chalk dust off was just something she’d gotten used to. The biggest issue was the oil. It leaked oil sometimes and she’d have to transmute the stains out. She doubted Roy had really noticed how bad that was because she always took care of it pretty quickly.
“If you’re worried about hurting me you don’t need to. I’m stronger than you think.”
Ed sighed. She rolled up the left sleeve of the dress shirt she’d stolen from Roy and turned her arm over so he could see it. There were hundreds of tiny scars and a few bigger ones, “You’ve probably noticed these before but I get them from the automail. The wrist joint has to be a little big for me so I can perform Alchemy. I need the connection to match on both sides. Like how the circle of an array can’t be lopsided or it could rebound. It catches on my arm a lot because of that.”
Roy ran his hand along the scars on her arm and she fought the shiver that trickled down her spine. She’d been so careful with him and thus far she hadn’t hurt him but the worry was there regardless.
“Does the plastic help?”
“Yeah, it covers the joints so I don’t have to worry about anything getting caught in them.”
“Not what I meant. Does it make you feel better?”
Ed wasn’t sure how to answer that. It was utilitarian to have the cover. The only thing she had to worry about now was how to account for the change in her alchemy. Roy wasn’t necessarily around when she did alchemy either so he wouldn’t really know what she needed to do. The biggest, “I can’t protect you from a lot of things and if I can protect you from myself then yeah. Having it means I am safer for you.”
Roy’s qi flickered when she spoke and when he didn’t say anything she looked up from her automail, “What?”
“If that’s why you’re worried about it I don’t understand the reason for the metal. It seems like your minds made up.”
“Well, I guess that’s true. The only problem with the arm I have now is that Alchemy is harder with it on.”
Roy hadn't asked about the intricacies of her alchemy yet but knew he was curious. Who wouldn’t be?
“How does it do that?”
“To perform alchemy like I do, I need to create a ring with my body while picturing the array I want to use. Essentially I am the circle and my mind is the array. That means that the force of the reaction is channeled through me. It’s the reason I have my wrist joint wider. The reaction of the array follows qi paths in my arms to complete the circle,” Ed traced the path along Roy’s arm down to his elbow as she spoke. This was a pretty difficult concept because nobody can actually do it except her and Teacher.
“It doesn’t hurt but the nerves in the wrist joint are weird because my hand was practically severed at the wrist. They’re entirely artificial and they react strangely to the rest of the arm. I’ve been wearing the same automail for a while. Every time Win changes something she tells me the exact changes. She has to. It would be like trying to activate the same array with two different circles at the same time.”
Roy wasn’t stupid by any means, “So, you have to learn and account for the material in the cover as well. ”
“I made this stuff so I know the make up, but I worry. I was trained as a Combat Alchemist and I specialized in transmutations that work on the fly. Making weapons from buildings, sidewalks, streets. I learned how to do a controlled rebound. If I forget that the arm has the elastomer on it then the rebound could in the best case scenario melt the cover. The gunk would seep into the joints and clog them.”
“And worst?”
“It’s also the most likely. The rebound could destroy the arm completely. If that happens I would probably go into shock after the adrenaline wore off.”
Roy’s qi sparked again. This time with worry, “If that’s a possibility you should stick to the metal.”
“But the metal will hurt you at some point.”
Roy paused for a moment to think before he spoke, “Have you tried talking to Winry about it?
“I don’t want to ask for too much. She doesn’t charge me for the automail and my arm is custom. It just feels wrong to ask her about it.”
“Maybe you should. She might have some ideas about it. Does she know that it cuts up your arm like that?”
“Not exactly. It's not like I hide my arm but the both of them, Al and Winry, they probably assumed it’s from traveling or learning from Teacher.”
Controlled rebounds are extremely dangerous especially with metals and if Ed was going to guess on the composition of the street she better damn well know how to alter the circle on the spot too. Teacher's teaching philosophy was prone to giving her students scars.
“I’ll ask about it. I have to go in to have it adjusted anyway.”
“Do you mind if I come with you?”
“Sure Winry said two weeks.”
-----
Ed was a little apprehensive about Roy coming. He’d never seen a fitting before and they definitely sucked. She had taken Roy’s advice and asked Winry about it. Winry had no idea that the edges on Ed’s design were so dangerous and had promised to adjust the outer shielding so that most of the edges in the wrists were covered better. They’d also worked together to create a joint cover made of a mix of the elastomer and pulleys. The fingers were a mix of tension pulleys and artificial nerves now.
Theoretically, this should stop the tingling numbness that reverberated through it when she used alchemy in general. However, if she tried to turn it into a blade it could damage the fingers completely. So, no more knife fingers but Ed would take that trade.
Ed stopped just outside the storefront and stared at the building. Ed always had this idea of settling down somewhere and finding her own slice of heaven. Marry someone nice. Become a Mom. That’s what she wanted from life. Now that she had someone she loved, she could see that dream. The bell on the top of the door chimed when she walked through it.
“Edi!”
Paninya was as wonderful as always. Ed loved her but she was spreading that nickname all over central and it wasn't that Ed hated it but she’d never had a problem being called Ed. Al did it all the time. Even Roy had used it once in a while, though he seemed to prefer her entire name which was okay, Edi was literally the same as Edith syllabically. Weren’t nicknames supposed to be shorter?
“Hey, P. Roy, here yet?” Now that was a nickname. Short and easy to understand. Ed knew the answer to the question too, but Paninya thought alkahestry was freaky so she’d humor her.
“Yeah. He’s back with Win. You better save him. He asked her about how it works.”
Ed winced. Big mistake. Ed walked into the back to see Winry holding a half-finished arm and pointing out some wire inside, “This is the major nerve that sits in the arm itself. It’s the most important part of the arm. If it gets damaged it can have pretty serious consequences. For most of my custom pieces, I use Xingese bolts because people can’t remove the arm without special tools. That actually save Edith’s life once-”
Roy looked more interested than she thought and when he looked up at her he smiled. Winry turned to look over at Ed, “Hi Ed. You ready?”
“Yeah,” Ed’s displeasure was very apparent and Winry gave her a sympathetic look. Ed was leaning onto the table next to Roy. His hand was brushing against her hip and she appreciated it.
“It’ll be over in a few minutes.”
The fact that Winry was organizing her implements of torture undercut the platitude she’d offered.
“I know.”
Winry turned to Roy, “Have you ever seen one before?”
“No. I only know a few soldiers who have automail and I don’t work with any of them regularly.”
Winry nodded, “Well it’s probably good for you to know how to attach it anyway. Shirt, Ed.”
Edith pushed off from the table and pulled her sweater off. Winry dropped her into the chair in the corner. The wall had straps to hang the arm until it could be connected. It saved Winry the trouble of trying to heave it up and connect it.
“Hey, can I get your help for a second,” Winry gestured to Roy who dutifully wandered over, “I’m going to disconnect it and usually Paninya helps with this but you’re already here. Taking it off is really just a controlled fall. If you can support it while I disconnect it, that would take the stress off the shoulder port.”
Winry helped Roy put his hands under the arm correctly to support the weight, one hand at the elbow and one at the bicep, and she picked up a flat head screwdriver from the table. It was relatively quick work making it through the outer plating on the top of the shoulder port. When she switched to the wrench Ed’s nervousness made her fidget a little.
“Okay, I’m gonna disconnect, are you ready?”
Winry was talking to Roy. Ed didn’t dislike the disconnection because it was just weird. Reconnection is way worse anyway. In less than four seconds, the arm was disconnected and Ed almost laughed when surprise pulled a huff out of Roy.
Winry laughed a little, “Heavier than you thought?”
“Yeah.” Roy put the arm on the ground and Ed couldn’t help herself.
“You’ve picked me up before. I thought you’d be ready for it.”
“It’s just more than I thought. Is the weight the reason you’re short?”
Ed smacked him with the back of her hand, “Hey, I’m not short.”
Winry laughed, “You’re not exactly tall Ed.”
“No fair. You’re ganging up on me.”
Ed knew Winry would take advantage of her distraction the minute she stopped fiddling with the arm but fucking hell. She hissed and tried to move her arm towards her chest but the bands held it in place. White spots danced in her vision and she thought she’d pass out for a second but they cleared up eventually. Roy’s qi was steeped in worry and Ed appreciated the gesture.
“Is it always like that?”
“Sometimes it's worse.”
The look on Roy’s face made it seem like he didn’t believe her and Winry backed her up on that while she put the outer plating back on.
“If there’s particularly bad weather it makes the connection really bad. It also helps to keep the port stable when you disconnect it because if you don’t it puts strain on the muscles. If the mechanic doesn’t know what they're doing they can even strain the anchor point in the bone. At least you didn’t pass out this time.”
“You pass out?”
Ed definitely didn’t pout, “Only like twice and that was because we were crossing the desert and the heat was making the arm literally burn through my shirt.”
Winry let the arm drop down from the bands and Ed pulled it towards her chest and rolled the wrist a couple times.
“I don’t suppose I can stop you from your tradition of busting up my hard work.”
“You can certainly try but Al’s shift is ending in like thirty minutes. We can go to the gym down the street.”
Winry nodded, “That’s an improvement. You won’t get the police called on you if you do it at the gym. Are you taking Roy with you?”
Ed turned to look at him, “You wanna come watch Me and Al break my new arm in?”
Winry ruined Ed’s surprise, “They’re going to spar. I don’t find it very exciting but you might.”
He nodded, "I took the rest of the day off just in case.”
That was sweet but if he was planning on coming anyway...
As Ed pulled her shirt back on she gave Roy a wicked smile, “Maybe I can give you that refresher course.”