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The brothers had always been close; she knew this. When she was younger, she rarely got to spend time with either of them one-on-one; they were always together.
And who could blame them? They'd been through so much together that it seems fair that they would be attached at the hip.
Yet, there was something else there. Something that she couldn't quite identify but seemed…different about the Elrics.
They were both very overprotective of each other; one could argue they were almost possessive.
They both only lived only for the other. It was why they burnt down their house; they needed nothing besides each other in their life's journey. Winry didn't understand why Ed didn't cry. Ed never cried, not before this.
She was currently wrapped in Mrs. Riza's jacket, being held close by the lieutenant as she tried to calm down. She had not been badly hurt, luckily, but her wrists still burned.
Al had barely paid attention to her, only stopping to check if she was being taken care of before rushing back to Ed. And that's where he had stayed for the past half-hour.
Winry couldn't see them very well; Al's armor made a wall behind Ed, keeping all military personnel from seeing him. But she had been able to sneak peeks at their position. Ed was still crying, though he was less of a sobbing mess than he was fifteen minutes ago. Al had wrapped a blanket around him as well, holding him close like a mother would a child.
But the way Al's hands gently caressed his cheeks wasn't motherly, no. It was like a lover. Ed would nuzzle into the glove when Al would cup his cheek, a thing she had only seen couples do.
She found it odd, to say the least. But they had been through so much, and it wasn't uncommon for them to act differently than other people.
Her focus was drawn away from the brothers and back to Riza as she instructed her to get in the car so that they could drive her to her hotel. Momentarily forgetting about the boys, she slid into the backseat, completely wiped out. Her adrenaline had finally worn off and she felt incredibly tired.
She leaned her head against the window as the car started to dive away. In the corner of her eye, she swore she could see Ed planting a kiss on the 'lips' of Al's armor.
Odd.
~~
They showed up at her house earlier in the morning. Al's left side was completely destroyed and Ed's arm had been blown to pieces. He wouldn't tell her what happened, but she could tell by what remained that he had gotten into a fight.
She was mad. Not at Ed for breaking his automail (which is what she disguised her emotions as), but at them for getting hurt again. They wouldn't tell her anything. Even while she was working on a new arm for Ed, the boys seemed to tiptoe around everyone.
They would often have Armstrong bring Al upstairs or outside, where they would be alone for a while. Ed was constantly touching some part of Al. Whether he was just sitting next to him or running his hand over his armor, making sure that the damage wasn't getting worse. She had tried to bring it up to Ed, asking why he was so clingy to his brother, but it was only met with yelling.
It wasn't until the middle of the night that she would realize what was happening. She had been working on Ed's arm nonstop for nearly ten hours and was very dizzy. She decided to take a break.
Quietly she snuck out of her room, careful not to make a sound. But as she carefully crept past the room Ed was staying in, she heard gasps. It sounded like he was crying. Waiting around for a bit longer, she swore she heard a whimper too.
Concerned for him, she carefully opened the door to find-
Oh.
There was Ed, sitting on his brother's lap on the floor. That alone was not concerning, but Al had two fingers buried inside of his ass. Winry froze in place. She couldn't move. Edward let out a moan and tipped his head back.
They made eye contact. Time stood still.
"I-I'm sorry!" She quickly shut the door and ran back to her room, no longer worried about going downstairs. Did that really just happen? She knew that Ed and Al were very close for their age, but this close? They were committing incest!
The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. They only had each other, of course, this would grow much bigger than brotherhood! The boys had already committed alchemy's greatest taboo, it's only natural that they would go against the world again for each other. They had no parents and were completely reliant on each other.
Nobody should fall in love with their blood relatives. Winry knew this, she knew that it was bad, yet for some only God-known reason, she kind of understood why they did it.
~~
The next morning was awkward, to say the least. They exchanged pleasantries and ate in silence. Al kept his head down and fiddled with his fingers. Winry was the first to break the silence.
"Your arm is finished. I just need to attach it and you'll be set to go. Granny will be home soon."
Ed only responded with a nod, finishing his breakfast at record speed before asking Armstrong to move Al back upstairs with him. And then she was alone with her thoughts again. Would they talk about it? Was it really her place to know? She pondered it for a moment before deciding it was, they were like her brothers after all. She's known them since birth, they've always been close. She needs to know…whatever was going on with them. She at least has to ask.
~~
The attachment went about as well as it could have. Ed was passed out on the couch, Al resting at the end. He was still missing half of his body and was rendered immobile, something Winry thought was kind of scary. The three of them were alone in the room, and Ed was asleep. Winry decided it was now or never.
"Al, what is your relationship with Ed?" She started, trying her best not to seem awkward. It must have caught Al off guard, because he gasped and seemed to blush, despite not having a body.
"W-what do you mean? He's my b-brother! You know this! I-" Al gave up on his stuttering and dropped his eyes to the floor. "I'm…not sure, to be honest."
"Could it be that you are boyfriends?"
Alphonse's eyes grew wide, but he shook his head.
"No, I don't think so. I think right now we are just…more than brothers." Winry hummed in response.
"Sorry that you saw that last night,"
Alphonse added, his eyes staring pointedly at the floor, "We should've told you earlier. It was just…we were worried what you would think." She let out a sigh and moved to sit next to Al.
"Are you content? Are you happy with your relationship?" Al slowly nodded his head.
"Y-yeah, I am. I know it's wrong, but it feels so right somehow. And I think Ed feels the same way."
"Then I'll support you. As long as you two are happy, that's all that matters." Al's face seemed to light up. "Really? I'm glad, I'm so glad!" She hugged his side, calming him from all the emotions he had just gone through.
~~
It's early when they leave. She had barely gotten up in time to say goodbye. Ed had fixed Al once he woke up and they sparred for a good while. Now that she knew what was going on, she could tell how much they really cared for each other. Thinking back on the memories they had together, she wonders how she didn't see it before.
Major Armstrong has already headed for the station, leaving the boys behind to say their goodbyes. Both Ed and Al seem a lot more comfortable than they did yesterday, actually talking and laughing.
As they give their goodbye hugs, Ed leans in and whispers "thank you" before squeezing her. She only hums in response. And then they are gone.
Winry doesn't know when she will see them next, but at least she knows that the boys will take care of each other. And that's all she could ever ask for.