And I still need a name for this durn series. >.>))
Coping
Written By - Stripe
Written By - Stripe
It had been two months since Pinako had passed away. Winry had done her best to cope, tried to focus on what was ahead of her instead of looking back on everyone that had left her. However, she had lacked a shoulder to cry on when she had need to cry. No one left was close enough to her to offer comfort. She had done her best to keep up with everything that had been thrown at her - just because her grandmother was dead didn't mean her automail jobs were all finished. A month later, as she had slowly began slipping behind in her work, she had gotten an unexpected visitor. Or, more an unexpected guest.
Edward had come back.
Even though it meant she'd have one extra job to do, it was nice to have somebody else in the house. Also, somehow, he gave her the shoukder she had needed to cry on. He didn't do much as far as comforting words went, but he would sit there patiently if she broke down into tears - let her lean against him for support. Just being there was enough. However, she knew that he was dealing with his own form of grief as well.
Alphonse hadn't returned with his brother. Winry hadn't asked about it yet - she was almost afraid to do so. She knew it would be a touchy subject, but the thought kept nagging at the back of her mind. Was he dead? Was he still stuck back at the place Ed had been? Should she be expecting him back? Would there ever be a chance she'd she him again?
Now, as Winry was making some adjustments and repairs to Ed's automail, she was considering bringing the question up. Winry, surprisingly, hadn't been angry with Edward for not taking care of his mechanical arm. She couldn't easily blame him if there wasn't any automail in the world he had come back from. As she worked on tightening a loosened screw, she decided to speak.
"Ed? Can I ask you a question?" her voice came out somewhat strained, probably from having her head bent at such an odd angle to see what she was doing. Or maybe because she knew what she was about to ask him.
"Yeah, sure." Winry paused in her work, reconsidering if she really wanted to ask now. What if Edward got mad? What if he left her alone?
'No, he wouldn't do that... Couldn't do that. He's got nowhere else to go,' Winry assured herself, slowly gathering up the courage to push the question out of her mouth.
"What happened to Al?" The words came out fast and somewhat slurred, but she could tell he understood it perfectly. With her left hand on his shoulder to keep the arm in position she could easily feel his muscles tighten as the words poured out of her mouth. Before she even looked to his face, she knew his expression. Strained, with just a hint of sadness.
"Its not your business, alright?" he said, looking away. For a moment, Winry thought she would be content to continue working on the automail and wait until later.
But then the thought came to her: what did he mean "none of her business"? She tried not to yell as she replied. No, it wouldn't do any good to yell at him. But she did deserve to know.
"Alphonse was one of my best friends. I grew up with him just like you did. I think I have a right to know what happened to him!" Edward remained facing away from her, so she couldn't judge his expression well. However, she could still hear him clearly - hear the overwhelming grief in his voice as he began to speak.
"Al and I found this powerful wepon in the other world... it ended up opening the way back here. But to go through we still needed to sacrifice something... Al- He... decided to give himself up." Edward took a deep, shuddering breath. Winry felt her heart ache. She could already anticipate the next words coming... "He's gone, Winry."
The mechanic moved from her previous position to sit straight up, no longer acting as if she were repairing his automail. She put her hand over his automail hand in a comforting motion, even if he wouldn't be able to feel it. Winry could already feel tears coming to her own eyes. She had already suspecting Al was dead, but to hear it said, to have it be confirmed... Edward turned to face her, eyes also glimmering with unshed tears. He blamed himself. There wasn't a question about it - this was Ed. He blamed himself for his brother's death, even if it wasn't his fault.
"By the way... Al says "Hi," Edward said, somehow managing a small smile. Winry smiled too. Typical Al. Always think of others before himself...
And a few moments later, Winry wasn't sure whether she was laughing or crying.
