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Winry laid awake, Paninya snoring softly at her side. She’d run through her schedule for the week at least thrice now: appointments, chores, which groceries might need restocking – any task she could think to assign a time and date to, really. It wasn’t like she needed to but there was an aching at the back of her skull keeping her mind awake despite the exhaustion seeping into her bones. In all honesty, it sorta pissed her off!
She really didn’t get to see Paninya as much as she’d like to (schedules…). They’d been together for nearly a year and she still found herself positively giddy at the thought of them sleeping together because of how much time they had to spend apart. It was terribly difficult to find time where they could be in the same place in between work and school. Winry had been practically tied to Rockbell Automail lately, her workload and household duties working together and barely allowing her any breaks.
Paninya rolled over, taking the blankets with her and exposing Winry to the cool autumn air. Ack, there was no way that she was getting those back. On any other night, she would’ve just wrapped herself around her and found her warmth that way, elements be damned, but she couldn’t stand laying there much longer. She pulled her head off of the pillow and hoisted herself up and off the bed. Before stepping through the doorway, she looked back at the girl who had her so enthralled and murmured, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”
After shuffling her way down the stairs, Winry found herself rummaging through the kitchen for something to ease that disquieted, buzzing feeling that she couldn’t quite place. Tea? Yeah, a cup of tea. Even in her sleep-addled state, she recognized that it was an irresponsible choice. Hey, at least it wasn’t coffee! Regardless, she grabbed a kettle and a tea bag and went at it.
She stood waiting for the water to boil, her feelings simmering alongside the tiny bubbles that were taking form inside the transparent kettle. The house had been terribly quiet lately, far more than it already was before Granny was gone. Even so, when Paninya was around she was able to make herself at home in the space with a magical sort of ease. She came to visit and the house was suddenly filled with a kind of joy that it hadn’t seen in years. Winry helped clients and worked on new automail designs; all the while Paninya kept her company, working alongside her where she could and goofing off when she felt like it.
Countless newly formed bubbles begin to rise up and into the open air, taking form only to quickly lose shape. Taking their cue, Winry poured the appropriate amount of hot water into her cup and plopped in a teabag. The mug warmed her hands as she cradled it and she made her way over to the couch, joints aching under the weight of her exhaustion.
Winry sunk into the familiar cushions, warm, soft, and worn in by years of use. A lump formed in her throat when she thought about all of the other people that had lived here for so long that were now absent. The empty spaces that remained had made their own permanent residences here, in everything from well-loved books she had never once touched to the scuffs on the walls and floors. They didn’t tell stories, not really. They couldn’t speak for themselves, only able to act as vague hints of the people who had left them there for those who might’ve known them. Might’ve known (and might’ve forgotten about) their tiniest habits and tics and quirks. The tea was probably cool enough to drink now.
The very first sip tea fought off the chill ever so slightly, a tiny embrace, and Winry was reminded of the lovely girl upstairs, out like a rock. She ought to get back up there soon but she found herself bound to the mug of tea. Not nearly as warm as the current light of her life but a suitable substitute in the meantime. Most wouldn’t take kindly to their relationship if it was anything more than a secret, something to be whispered about and never truly spoken of. It irritated Winry to no end but she’d come to understand that – as awful as it was – it was the safest option. They could exist as loudly as they’d like so long as their relationship went unaccounted for, unnamed. There was little room for other people in this nearly empty house past working hours. Just each other and the silence to act as a shield and a threat. It was so much better than the nothing that settled in during the times when Paninya went off to do an odd job or take vocational classes. And even then, this was still undoubtedly their home.
The last drops had been drained from the mug. Winry’s mind was set on going back upstairs and laying down with Paninya again but her body had decided that it was perfectly content not moving at all. She put her mug down on the side table and leaned into the back of the couch, her eyes drifting closed and her vision fading out.
Soft light filtered in through the window, acting as a prism and painting rainbows across the floor. Paninya ruffled Winry’s hair, “Hey, sleepyhead. What’re you doing down here?”
“Ah… ‘don worry about it...” Groggily, Winry flailed her hand at Paninya, attempting to wave her concerns off. “What time is it?
“About 8. I let you sleep in a bit because you looked cute but I know you have work to do,” Paninya cocked her head at her, smiling. Winry bolted awake, eyes suddenly wide. She sure did have work to do! Paninya waved her hands frantically, “Hold your horses! I made breakfast, you don’t have to worry about that.”
Winry’s gaze softened and she let out a sigh. She really wasn’t used to having someone else around! “Thanks, honey,” she murmured.