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Edward Elric could still remember that smug bastard’s face so clearly. The tone of his voice, the way that he dangled exactly what he knew he would want in his face… The fact that Ed had fucking decided to do what he needed to do in order to even chance that damned path-- It was all so fresh in the eleven, almost twelve-year-old’s mind.
As soon as he was confident with his abilities to not only move freely with his automail, but also continue to perform Alchemy, he would be at that bastard’s office faster than Winry could fill Den’s dog bowl-- After all, becoming a State Alchemist would be the easiest way to look into what he and Al would need to get their bodies back, right? It would grant them the money and freedom to travel and research everything that they would need to be able to do that…
It was exactly the kind of miracle that Edward Elric had no idea that he would need after that day. … Maybe it wasn’t the best way to spend his time, just thinking about what he was going to do. After all, it would mean nothing if he couldn’t do any of it, right…? Though, perhaps, it was a bit difficult to actually do much of anything while still recovering from the surgery to replace his missing limbs with the automail that had been specially constructed for him.
The iv drip was, really, the only thing that the boy could hear from within the house. It was the middle of the night, after all. The only reason that Al isn’t here is because he doesn’t want to keep me up, he mused to himself, earning a bit of a chuckle from himself. However, that was another thing that Ed couldn’t get out of his head. … What if his brother secretly hated him for what had happened? … What if he despised him, and was angry? What if they would drift apart just because Ed had been slightly luckier, only losing an arm and a leg instead of his entire body…? The very thought was more than enough to send a shiver through the young boy’s spine--
… No. Now wasn’t the time to think about that either, was it? If Al hated him, he’d tell him. Right…? That was just the kind of p-- … Oh, who am I kidding? Of course he fucking hates me. That had to be the truth, right? He hated him. But he wouldn’t admit it just because he was too nice admit to it. That had to be the situation, right…?
However, Ed was quickly snapped out of his thought process when he heard the door to the bedroom that he was stuck in creek open. The sound was almost enough to send the poor boy out of his skin. Almost jumping out of his bed… Until he let out a pained cry and realized that everything was still incredibly sore from the operation that had happened days ago. He really was wasting time by staying here, wasn’t he?
“ Ed, calm down! ” That bossy voice was so damned easy to recognize. He’d heard it his entire life, and at times like this Winry’s bossiness was even more prominent. “If you move too much you might hurt yourself, or make your automail malfunction while everything’s still healing, you idiot!”
“ What are you even doing up this late at night?! ”
“I came to check on you, idiot! ”
That was enough to make Ed shut up. With a satisfied smirk, the blonde haired girl gently sat herself in the chair next to his bed, her eyes scanning over the mechanical arm that would eventually serve as his brand new right arm. It was attached to him right now- And, technically, it was usable. However, if he even tried to move it right now, he knew that he’d only make Winry start yelling at him all over again. … He wasn’t in the mood to deal with that right now.
“... So how does everything feel?” Her question was so sudden, so.. Unexpected, even if he should have. Of course she would be interested in how he was feeling with all this new shit that he was still having to adjust to--
“... Fine.” A quick glance her face was more than enough to see just how much she disapproved of his short ass answer. Seeing her disappointment was more than enough to bring a smirk to his face. That was one way that he could still tease and torment her while he was bedridden like this, at least.
“ Edward. ”
“Fine, fine! Everything feels fine, even if shit still hurts like hell!” He hadn’t meant to raise his voice, but it was too late to change that now.
“... Are you starting to get any feeling in them? … At all?”
Ah. Of course that was what she was interested in. That would be… a hard one for him to explain. In a way, he could feel his foot and lower leg, as well as the entirety of the arm and the hand… But, at the same time, it had this sort of… numb feeling to it. As if he could feel it, but at the same time… He really couldn’t.
It was an odd sensation, if he were to be completely honest with himself. To be able to feel that something is there, To know that, hey! That’s my leg and foot. Or that that’s my arm and hand! However, save for the slight pressure that one could cause on the connecting joint by touching and pushing on the automail… He couldn’t really feel anything. If someone were to gently run their fingers over the metal, he wouldn’t be able to feel the gentle caress. The only way that he would be able to tell that someone was fucking with it would be the additional weight on his shoulder, or the additional pull on his knee. At least, that’s what he had come to discover.
Everything could be moved like normal, save for his toes being rather stiff and difficult to move. Not that that was something that mattered too much to him. It was just as though his arm and leg were constantly asleep, unable to feel anything that they touched or anything that touched them--
However, it would be so worth it to be able to walk again. To be able to use alchemy again… All of it would be so fucking worth it. Especially with how it meant that this would be the first step to being able to help Al get his body back..--
“... Of course.” Was his only response to Winry at first, before; “... It’s weird, though. I can feel them. And, if you were to let me try without yelling at me, I’d probably be able to move them.” A short pause, before he finally added- “... But at the same time, my arm and leg feel vaguely like they’re asleep. I can still ‘feel’ them and tell that they’re there. … But I can’t feel anything with my hand. I can’t feel the blanket rubbing against my leg and foot, as an example.”
Winry simply nodded, taking Ed’s explanation of how everything felt to heart. “... In that case, you’re doing really well!” she exclaimed, smiling at him. “... But don’t go thinking you can just get up and out of bed because of that, Ed! You still need a couple more days of bed rest!”
“ I know, Winry. You don’t have to be such a fucking mom! ”
“Well you don’t have to be such a short, stubborn brat!”
“ I’m not that short!-- ”
Winry simply giggled, standing up from her chair. “Whatever you say, Ed~ … You should try to get some sleep, though. Sitting up all night isn’t going to help you get better faster. …. Or help you get any tall--”
“ Shut your hellhole of a mouth! ”
“ Fine! But you should still get some sleep. Idiot.” And, with that, Winry left the room. Leaving a fuming, irritated Edward Elric to his own thoughts for the rest of the night, until he finally fell asleep.