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The afternoon sun burned her skin and washed over the shops on both sides of the street, glinting off a metal pole ahead of them. She pushed her cap lower and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. At this time of year in Resembool, it would have been impossible to go out without thick jackets and scarves, but here in the South, a person could walk around naked and still be sweating.
They had gotten off the train ten minutes ago, preferring to walk instead of taking a ride because Ed seemed to be delaying the visit under the guise of the place being close. Beside her, Ed kept glancing at the shops as if someone might jump out of one and attack him any second.
She narrowed her eyes and watched him closely, trying to make sense of the mess of emotions coming off him. He was nervous, terrified, overwhelmed and even excited, all at the same time. Only Ed could manage something like that. His constant fidgeting was getting to her; seeing him this frazzled was starting to make her nervous too.
She didn’t know Izumi well, except for what Ed and Al had told her. Most of it was stories about her formidable fighting skills, her temper, and bits and pieces about her alchemy. That woman must be something if she could have this kind of hold on Ed, and she was the teacher who had made him such a talented alchemist and fighter. Both Ed and Al were downright scared of her, which said a lot considering Winry had known them since they were little and there wasn’t much that frightened either of them.
She shivered. If Izumi could throw Ed around the way he described it, then what about her? She couldn’t even fight! Maybe she could use her wrench to protect herself. But she probably shouldn’t fight the woman who had taken Ed and Al in as kids and even helped during the Promised Day.
“Calm down, Ed!” she snapped, losing her patience.
“S-she’ll kill me!” he said for the hundredth time.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” He shoved his bangs back, his eyes on the sky. Of course he knew. It had something to do with Winry meeting Izumi for the first time and something more that she couldn’t guess right now. Did he do something to piss Izumi off?
Is Izumi really going to attack me? Maybe as a test? Ed won’t let her, right?
“Is she going to kick me out?” she asked, tentatively.
Ed blinked at her, confused.
“No. Of course not.” Okay, so she was somewhat safe… maybe.
Ed stopped his little panic routine for a moment to cross his arms and scowl at her. “Why are you like this?”
“Like what?”
“Like some romance novel girlfriend meeting the guy’s family for the first time.”
She blushed, contemplating whether to pull out her wrench and hit him for being the reason she was acting like some flustered girlfriend.
“So, you read romance novels!” she countered, hoping he wouldn’t notice her blush, if that was even possible.
“N-no, I don’t! It was an action novel,” he replied quickly. Action novel with romance, then. He sure had some taste.
He stopped walking entirely and stared at her as if analyzing her. What was she, some transmutation circle?
“Why do you look like you have done something very wrong and are going to get punished?” It was kinda… right but she hadn’t done anything wrong!
“Maybe dating you was what I did wrong,” she retorted.
“Can’t do anything about it now. You’re stuck with me!”
She shook her head, smiling despite herself.
This Alchemy Freak is worth getting beaten up for.
“You sure are being weird.”
And then after a moment of scrutinization, he set off again, dragging his feet.
Ed cared a lot about Izumi even if he’d never say that explicitly, so Izumi had to be a good person, no doubt about that. Taking two kids and training them, brutal training but training all the same, wasn’t something a bad person would do.
She shuddered. Knowing all that didn’t make this situation less frightening. “Did you just shiver? Are you cold? Are you getting sick or something?” Ed took off his jacket in an instant and held it out for her.
“No, no. I’m not cold. I’m fine,” she protested, pushing back his jacket. Going there wearing his jacket would make things worse if Izumi turned out to be against the whole “girlfriend” thing.
“Then what is it?” he asked impatiently, putting on his jacket.
“N-nothing!” How was she supposed to explain that she was afraid of his teacher, who was important to him but also dangerous and apparently a good person at the same time?
He glared at her but decided to drop it, having remembered that he was supposed to continue his scaredy cat act. She sighed.
***
A sign reading ‘Meat’ in bold letters hung over the door, with a smaller chalkboard out front for the specials. The shop took up the ground floor, so they probably lived upstairs.
Before she could blink, Ed opened the door to the shop, not giving her any time to gather her nerves for… whatever.
She glared at the back of his head as he released a breath and marched forward.
Big knives and cuts of meat hung on the walls, and through a doorway at the back, she could see a giant man working at the counter. Ed had mentioned a butcher shop, but he’d somehow left out the knives big enough to kill someone with.
The man wiped his hands on a cloth quickly after seeing Ed standing there. Did Ed call before coming here? No, he wouldn’t have because he never did! Winry wanted to bang her head on a nearby wall.
“It’s been a while, Ed,” the giant man said softly with a small smile that didn’t suit his stature. His teacher was supposed to be a woman, not a man, so who was this person?
Ed smiled and yelled, “Hi, Sig.” He didn’t need to yell and why the hell had he never mentioned Sig, or had she missed it somewhere between his rambling about Izumi and punches?
On second thought, he probably had. Sig was Izumi’s husband.
“This is Winry,” Ed added hurriedly, when Sig looked at Winry. Nice, “Winry” explained everything. Winry tried not to roll her eyes at him.
She nodded, smiling nervously. “Hello.” Where was Paninya? She was good at this.
“I am Sig Curtis. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand.
She peered at Ed to find him standing there, hands in his pockets, his eyes set on a door behind the counter, feigning nonchalance.
She slowly put her hand in his big one, thankfully his hold was gentle and her hand survived the handshake.
A tall, slim woman with black braided hair came out from the door Ed had been staring at.
Before Winry could lower her guard, she heard a crack beside her. The woman was standing there glaring viciously at Ed who rubbed his head, smiling. Now she knew the reason behind Ed’s thick skull. Winry swallowed.
“Ed! We were this close to going to Resembool to see you.” But then she suddenly pulled him into a hug?
Ed grumbled, “Hey!” And then he hugged her back after a moment?
Izumi, because who else could it be, pulled back and her eyes landed on Winry before going back to Ed. “Who is she?”
“She’s Winry,” he replied quickly.
“Winry? The girl you and Al used to talk about? Your mechanic?” Ed nodded stiffly. At least she knew that much about her.
“Hi! I am Izumi Curtis.” She beamed at Winry.
“Hello, Mrs. Curtis,” she squeaked out, getting an odd look from Ed as if she was the one who messed up and not him. It was his fault, all of it.
“Just call me Izumi,” she threatened before beckoning them in. “Come on in.”
The room was small with the kitchen visible off to one side. They sat around a dining table that seemed to double as the sitting room. Ed was talking about his research in Creta, and Izumi listened keenly, asking questions in between and giving some of her own suggestions.
“Mustang has been a pain in the ass-“ he started answering when Izumi asked why he wasn’t going to Creta now.
“Mustang?” Her voice came out low, her eyes dark. Ed flinched and Winry glanced between them nervously.
“Oh, right. I-I joined the military,” he said meekly, his lips turning down and shoulders braced for something. She got her answer soon enough when Izumi kicked Ed in the stomach, sending his chair back with him.
“Ed!” Winry dropped to the floor to check on him but he and the chair were both back up in an instant, no sign of any damage. She got up, and watched them warily.
“You joined the military again, Ed?” Izumi’s eyes flashed red.
Ed peeked up at her nervously before ducking his head down. “You know what the military is like, right? You became a dog of the military again after everything?”
Ed opened his mouth to reply but clamped it shut. “Why did you do that, Ed? Following Mustang? Money?”
Ed tried to speak again but got cut off. “You really are a dog of –“
“He’s not,” Winry said coldly before she could stop herself, if Ed wouldn’t say anything then she would have to. Her hands clenched the hem of her skirt and she glared at Izumi.
She was Ed’s teacher, alright but she couldn’t just talk to him like that. Izumi could beat her up, all she wanted, she wasn’t her teacher anyway.
Izumi blinked at her. Ed was on his feet at once, hands on Winry’s shoulders, trying to steer her back into the chair.
“He’s working hard to change it from inside! You have no right to call him a dog of the military!” she snapped, not moving her gaze from Izumi over Ed’s shoulder.
“Winry, it’s fine!” Ed cupped her cheek, tilting her head toward him.
“You can’t just kick him over it!” she yelled, knocking his hand away. It was absurd to kick someone like that just because they joined the military.
Izumi stood up. Ed shifted in front of Winry, who was still glaring at her past his arm.
“Um… She didn’t mean it! I mean she did! She’s right! No, I mean she is not…” Ed spluttered.
Izumi’s hand swept up. Winry closed her eyes, bracing for the slap. Ed pulled her in, covering her completely, her cheek pressed to his chest while she tried to shove him off. She could handle it!
Izumi shoved Ed aside, throwing him an almost amused glance before her hand came down on Winry’s head, and instead of a slap, she ruffled her hair. “Thank you, Winry.” She smiled. Winry’s eyes flew open, her hand brushed her cheek, assessing for damage she might somehow have missed.
Ed released a long breath in relief, and then yelled. “I really thought you were going to punch her or something!”
Izumi scowled. “That’s only for you!”
“That’s not fair!”
Ed and Izumi settled back into conversation like nobody had been kicked across the room, while Winry sat on edge in her chair, trying her best to settle her nerves.
“How’s Al doing? He visited a few months ago, but I haven’t heard from him since.”
“He’s planning to come back soon, we can visit you when he does,” Ed replied, sipping the tea Izumi had poured earlier.
“You made his arm and leg, right?” Winry had gotten distracted during one more of their alchemy discussion sessions and was startled when she saw Izumi looking at her.
Winry straightened up. “Yes, but the leg was first made by my grandmother.”
Izumi nodded in understanding, a bit solemn and then scanned Winry from head to toe before asking, “What age were you when you made his arm?” She shot a glance at Ed before turning back to her.
Winry fell silent, remembering that night. Ed squeezed her hand, pulling it back instantly when he realized Izumi was watching. “I was eleven. Granny had helped with it.”
“You’re the same age as Ed? I always thought you were older than him before I saw you today. But eleven is too young.” Winry stared at her hands in her lap. Eleven was young to lose your arm, leg and your brother’s body, no age was good enough for that.
“She’s younger than me!” Ed smirked rather proudly as if that proved something.
“Months younger,” she tacked on, glowering at Ed from the corner of her eye.
“You must be something to be able to do it at eleven.” Izumi smiled at Winry, her eyes full of warmth that made Winry feel unexpectedly warm inside.
“She is awesome!” Ed shouted as if he wanted the whole neighbourhood to hear it while Winry blushed even more, wondering whether to stop him but she couldn’t, when he was this excited. “She may actually be the best. We just came to Rush Valley two weeks ago and she’s been swamped with orders.” Winry twirled a strand of hair in her fingers almost shyly, why was it so embarrassing?
“You’ve been staying in Rush Valley?” Izumi asked in mild surprise.
“Yeah, we got an apartment.”
“Ar –“ Then Izumi’s expression hardened, her mouth twisting into a frown and she picked Ed up by his jacket and threw him across the floor as if he weighed nothing.
“Why didn’t you invite me?” she yelled. Winry rushed to Ed’s side, scanning him for bruises, and was about to pull his shirt and jacket up but he simply sat up, propped an elbow on his bent knee, and glared up at Izumi. “Invite where?” He sure was used to getting hit, maybe her wrench had helped with that too, but what surprised her more was that he didn’t even try to fight back. If it had been anyone other than Izumi, Ed would have flattened them by now.
“Wedding,” she growled. Ed and Winry stared at her in bewilderment before glancing at each other and then back at Izumi, who stood over them with her hands on her hips.
Winry released her hold on Ed’s torso and they both shrieked at once, “We aren’t married!”
Izumi deflated as if she’d been hoping they were and furrowed her brows.
“You’re not? You were acting like a married couple and you two are living together too, aren’t you?” she said as if she were stating something obvious.
Winry and Ed both flushed and scrambled to their feet, Winry busying herself by dusting off her skirt while Ed stared at the ceiling. She had given up on getting over their blushing phase a while back.
“You two are at least together, right?” she barked. They nodded, not looking at her. She wouldn’t hit Ed again, right?
Soon, they found themselves at the dining table again, Winry swirling the tea in her cup, trying to mentally prepare herself for whatever would come next.
“I never thought Ed would manage this on his own! I thought he was hopeless. I even planned on finding a girl for him myself.” Winry wanted to laugh but she didn’t know how Izumi would react even though by now, she was sure that Izumi meant no harm and was kind. Kind to her, at least.
“Hey! I’m not that bad.”
“You are!” She shut him up with a glare before speaking gently to Winry. “Has he been treating you right? Let me know if he ever upsets you, I can set him straight.”
“Don’t worry. I can set him straight with my wrench myself.” Winry eyed Ed from the corner of her eye, expecting a retort.
Ed glared at her but his face softened after a second.
“Sure, you can.” Who was this person and what happened to her Ed?
Izumi and Ed shared a brief look and something passed between them before she announced, “You found the right girl!”
Ed smiled and shook his head rather fondly as Winry crossed her arms and watched them, perplexed.
“Make sure to visit me now that you’re living closer,” she ordered. Ed shuddered under her intense gaze and Winry couldn’t help it and let out a laugh.
Winry held the knife parallel to the onion and sliced it thinly, the way she had been doing for years, and then tossed it into a bowl before reaching for the other vegetables. Izumi was searing the meat Ed was cutting with that huge cleaver. “You’re fast, Winry,” Izumi said, glancing at the neat slices before tossing them into the pot.
“She’s just a gearhead!” Ed protested as if she wasn’t allowed a single compliment in the kitchen. She was fast with a knife mostly because of years of automail work, not that wiring and onions had much in common.
“Hey!” she cried. Why did he have to be such a moron?
“You are!” he retorted.
Izumi laughed. “Ed loves teasing you, huh?”
He did; he liked getting on her nerves every hour of the day like it was necessary for his health.
She leaned back against the counter watching Ed. So this was where he’d learned the beef stew he made at home.
“You’re doing it wrong, Ed!” Izumi swatted his hand away, hit it with the spatula, took the cleaver, and showed him a better way to do it. Ed grumbled his way back to work.
“Winry, can you add spices to the pot?” Izumi asked. She pointed to the shelves with the spice boxes. Winry took down the container labeled salt and opened it.
“Don’t let her go near the stove!” Ed yelled from behind her.
“I’m not that bad, Ed!”
“You are!”
“Am not!” She took a spoonful of salt and sprinkled some in the broth, bickering all the while. Izumi took over when she saw her stirring the vegetables.
The stew turned out to be delicious, making Winry feel ridiculously proud even if she did nothing but cut the vegetables and provide moral support in that kitchen. That was fine, though, because Ed liked cooking while having her there anyway and she’d learned more about Izumi over one pot of stew than in years of Ed’s stories.
She closed her eyes and savored the flavors; it might even be better than Ed’s, but she definitely wasn’t going to tell him that.
He was chatting with Sig and Izumi, laughing in between, smiling all the time, looking so relaxed that Winry had to wonder if she should be jealous that he had another family here, family she hadn’t really known about or be happy that he had one, Al and him both.
Her lips curled into a smile, her head resting in her palm as a quiet warmth settled in her chest at the sight of Ed like this, free of the weight he’d carried through his State Alchemist years and carried again now as a Colonel with the investigations on his shoulders.
“We’ll get going now.”
“Visit more often from now on or I’ll come there myself.” Izumi glowered at Ed as he straightened up and nodded.
Izumi then turned to Winry and to her surprise pulled her into a hug, startling Ed into a full fighting stance. She hugged her back and Ed lowered his fists.
“Take care of him,” Izumi whispered in her ear. She didn’t have to ask.