#i love ed and winry together but never felt the need to look up content for them like I do with Luffy and Nami

[darthluffy]

After being part of dozens of fandoms and seeing probably millions of posts, art, stories, and content for hundreds of differnt pairings I have settled on one core truth:

People love the idea of a ship far more than seeing it as a healthy, loving canon pairing

[the-lonely-tree-original]

5 Times Ed Carried Al and 1 the Other Way Around

I.)

Alphonse was 10 and he already felt like his world was destroyed. His mother was dead, killed a second time by her children. He had lost his body to the transmutation and been forced into a metal encasing. And, most prominently, his free spirited brother was broken. Broken beyond repair, it seems.

His normally shining eyes were ringed with shadows caused by sleepless nights and the guilt at what they had done.

His loud voice, filled with excitement and wonderful personality was dulled down into meek murmurings.

His confident smile had all but disappeared.

When Edward lost his limbs it felt like they took his soul with them.

The thought on Alphonse’s mind lately was that he was to blame. 

It had started when he’d heard his brother talking animatedly for what felt like the first time in forever. Alphonse felt like his heart swelled, even if he didn’t have the body to prove so. He’d rushed into the dining room to see what made his brother so happy.

Abruptly, the cheerful noises quieted down, and Edward turned his head warily to him, looking at him with a pained expression. “Hey Al,” he tried, giving him a wobbly smile, but it was obviously forced.

The sudden disquiet within the room was evidently caused by him. Alphonse spoke softly, trying to comfort his brother, but the mood of the room was permanently changed. Al watched as his brother fell asleep in tears that night. 

The second time it happened was when Edward fell sick with a fever, calling out for his brother. Alphonse jumped to comfort, making it to his beside in seconds. The sick boy had reached out his hand, grasping for another to meet it. The suit of armor was quick to comply, grasping the smaller hand in his gauntlets.

Edward had pulled away, cries becoming louder, calling for his brother but shrugging off all contact made by him. It wasn’t until Winry and Pinako came into the room, placing their warm, soft, flesh hands in his own, that he calmed down.

Alphonse knew that his brother was adverse to his metal body, so he became scarce in his second home, hoping to soothe his own guilt by exploring the expansive fields of Resembool.

He’d discovered hiding places and giant pits and even a family of rabbits, but nothing compared to having his brother by his side. He wondered, had he not been trapped in this suit of armor, would he and Ed be exploring these together?

As he entered the Rockbell house, trying to tone down the clanking of his metal appendages, he took note of his brother by the window… stuck in that awful wheelchair… trapped. His gaze was pointed towards the grassy fields and blue skies. Alphonse remembered how much he loved to play - even more than he loved alchemy.

Making his decision in a split second he marched over to his brother, startling the elder out of his thoughts. “Come on brother, we’re going outside.”

Without waiting for his response, the younger grabbed ahold of the chair, steering his brother towards the door.

It only took a few minutes for them to make a game of it, racing the chair as fast as they could across the field. Alphonse looked down at his older brother, noticing the wide smile on his face and listening happily as the elder screamed in excitement.

Alphonse felt fuzzy at the thought of his idea being the cause.

It wasn’t long though, until misfortune struck. They hit a pothole and the chair bounced. It took Al less than a second to choose between the chair and his brother, reaching out and grabbing the other’s torso. The chair flew into the air and came crashing down.

There was a wheezing sound, and Al thought that he’d accidentally hurt his brother, still not being used to the strength of his new body, but the wheezing turned to chuckles, which turned to full out laughter.

He couldn’t help but laugh as well.

Glumly though, he noted that the chair was broken, a wheel was missing and the arm was snapped off. “I don’t think we’ll be able to bring you back on this, brother,” he said. “I’ll have to carry you.”

Adjusting his hold on Ed, from the strange stomach hold to a bridal carry, he leaned down and picked up the broken pieces of the wheelchair. He fumbled a bit with the wheel, not having any particular dexterity with grabbing multiple things at once.

“Here, Al, let me help,” Ed offered, holding out his remaining arm. Alphonse let out a grateful breath, trying to convey his thankfulness through the only expressive feature he had, his eyes. His brother grasped the wheel, and then tucked himself into the metal arm more securely.

“You know, Al,” he said, “Playing with you earlier was fun, but I think I like this even more.”

II.)

Edward’s loud snores filled the passenger booth of the train, steering Al in the direction of heavy thoughts. It did give Alphonse some peace of mind to see his brother relaxing for once, taking a break from the constant physical therapy and studying that had been distracting him for the past couple of weeks (months).

And he did find happiness in the thought that Edward was moving forward from their trauma, he really did, but it was still a depressing thought that, if Ed did pass the State Alchemy Exam, there would be less times like this. Instead, he’d have to watch as his brother burdened more than his fair share of worries, stressing over both Alphonse and his job. Would brother still be able to sleep on the train so contently if he knew that the lives of others were dependent on him?

And that was it, wasn’t it? Edward was already crippled with guilt when it came to Alphonse - a situation that they both put themselves into despite the others’ denials - so what would become of him if he wasn’t successful and somebody got hurt?

He knew his brother. He knew his brother better than probably himself. So he could say, without a doubt, that if Edward ever got into a situation where others were in danger, and one of them got hurt, he’d blame himself. And what would happen if someone he’d gotten close to died? Alphonse shuddered at the thought. For all of Ed’s tough love act, it was only an act. He cared so deeply about those he surrounded himself with. It just wouldn’t be fair to take another person away from their lives. Not with mom, not with the Rockbells, and even Dad now missing.

He looked down at his brother’s sleeping face, for once not pinched with stress. Deep down, Alphonse knew that if brother could reject the idea of becoming a state alchemist, he would. Edward could never put himself in a situation where he’d have to kill others. He’d fight, tooth and nail, kicking and screaming.

But orders were orders. And Alphonse knew that Ed would do anything to help him. It made his non-existant heart ache to think of the sacrifices that Edward would be making while he sat on the sidelines, watching his brother tear himself apart.

Brother won’t have to worry about that if he’s longer alive to witness it, a twisted voice sing-songed inside his head. This brought a whole new load of worry. Everyday, Edward would be putting himself in danger, making himself a target to criminals and enemies of the state. Though Al had the utmost confidence in his brother’s abilities, had even been there to witness them himself, he knew that his brother was still human, his metal flesh only making it that much more apparent. Bullet holes weren’t something that you could just walk away from. 

But Alphonse also knew that this was the only way. How else were they supposed to get money  for research? How else were they to get access to the books they needed? How else were they supposed to research such a coveted secret without drawing attention?

How else were they supposed to return themselves to normal?

As Alphonse looked over the sleeping face of his brother, he wondered all these things.

A jarring voice cut into his darkening thoughts, saving him from even more sadness and worry. It was the conductor, his tone crackly over the booth speaker. “We are now arriving at Central Station,” it said.

This was their stop. It was the last escape they had until their lives changed forever. A selfish part of Alphonse wanted to grab his brother and leave, at least delaying until it was too late to take the exam. The thought was almost immediately dismissed, guilt ramming into the metal armor like a freight train.

He couldn’t do that to brother. He couldn’t prolong Ed’s suffering. If becoming a state alchemist was what it truly took to get their bodies back, then he couldn’t stand in their way. Not when it was Edward who made himself sick with guilt over that night. He already couldn’t stand that he was the source of his brother’s misery. How could he think to take an active part in it?

The hulking armor bent down to softly shake his brother awake, rousing words already on the tip of his tongue, but stopped just before he could make contact.

He thought of Edward’s small form, finally lax of tension. His lips parted slightly, emitting soft snores instead of pained moans. The bags under his eyes, lightened as he got some well deserved rest.

Making his choice, Alphonse turned around and hefted his brother onto his back, miraculously not waking him up. He then reached up to grab Ed’s luggage, pausing in trepidation when he heard the smaller move on his plating. Much to his glee, however, Edward had only been searching for a more comfortable spot, snuggling into his shoulder. How this was comfortable, he didn’t know, but he felt warm like only his real body did whenever Ed relaxed in his hold.

As he made his way onto the station, he adjusted his hold on his still sleeping brother, knowing that he would need the rest for the days to come. There was no doubt in his mind that Edward would pass the test. The invigilators would have to be blind to miss talent like his. But there was still the lingering doubt about what was to come.

To be honest, he didn’t think he’d ever be free of it.

To satiate his own worries, Alphonse made a promise. A promise to always stay by his brother’s side, no matter what. They’d always bear their burdens together. If Ed didn’t want him to become a state alchemist, that’s fine, but he’d have to make do with his brother tagging along with him.

III.)

“NO! I DON’T CARE WHAT THAT JERK SAYS, I’M NOT GONNA!”

Alphonse sighed, “You can and you will, brother.”

The blonde alchemist crossed his arms and let out a huff. “I refuse.”

The suit of armor looked his brother up and down, sizing him up. Discretely inching towards him, Al started, “Look, brother, I know that this is more… ostentatious then necessary, but we can’t just run away every time Colonel Mustang gives you an order you don’t agree with.”

“I’m not running away.” Liar. He didn’t make eye contact.

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, the younger alchemist continued to prod at his brother (“oh sure you weren’t”) while he slowly closed the distance.

“I wasn’t!” Ed responded - suspiciously quick, might Alphonse add. “I was only waiting for him to finish his goddamn paper work so that I could punch the bastard without Hawkeye blowing a hole in me.”

During that particular explosion of indignation, the suit of armor had been able to move a whole foot closer. He was just out of reach of the other Alchemist. “So you were running away from the First Lieutenant then.”

“What? No! It was a tactical decis- what are you planning?”

Dang it. He hadn’t gotten a chance to move. Trying his luck, he spoke once more, his voice the perfect example of innocence, or so he’d been told. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just think that if you keep refusing direct orders from the Colonial, then he might begin to believe that we aren’t worth keeping around. Not with all the property damage and all.”

“That was one time!” Ed raised his hand in what would have been an extravagant gesture, only to stop about halfway through. “Hey, wait a sec. You can’t change the topic like that and expect to get away with it. Now tell me what you’re gonna do.”

“Honestly brother, you’re so accusative. Am I not allowed to express my opinion every once in a while?”

Ed narrowed his eyes. “See, this is what I mean. Why are you so fixated on this? I would think that’d you’d be even more against it than I am, considering it’s just a waste of time. If anything, you seem to enjoy this more than the bas-”

The blonde cut off abruptly, and Al could tell the exact moment he realized. Golden eyes widened, and the smaller body jerked to turn around, only to be stopped before he could by a pair of very strong, very big metal arms.

“No no no no!” He cried, kicking and thrashing with the only free limbs he had. A hollow clanging was heard as the metal armor made his way back to Eastern Command. “You wouldn’t do this to me Al. Come on. I’m your older brother. You wouldn’t betray me like this, right?”

His struggles increased tenfold as they entered the building, forgoing words altogether in favor of wild screeching. A few of the staff turned their heads, questioning glances trailing the brothers’ backs.”Quiet down, brother. People are beginning to stare.” Ed head-butted him for that. Though, it did more damage to the blonde than it ever did to him.

At one point, Ed had wiggled enough to break free, on the run the instant his feet touched the floor. The smaller alchemist was faster and would have undoubtedly gotten away if not for the subject of Edward’s ire.

“Why hello, Fullmetal. I didn’t think you’d be this enthusiastic to show up here.” Alphonse released an inward sigh of relief at the sight of the familiar man, supporting a rather smug grin on the face. The pause it took for Edward to process his anger was all Al needed to snag the back of his collar.

“It’s nice to see you, Colonel. Brother and I were just heading over to the western corridor.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for chaperoning him.” Both ignored the blonde’s outraged cries. “I saw the group earlier myself, and I must say that they’re pretty excitable. I’m feeling a little guilty for assigning them to Fullmetal here, but it should be nothing for the famous ‘Hero of the People’” The man pulled out his watch. “Ahh, well I better go. Lunch break is almost over. They sure do keep us on a short leash here, don’t they Fullmetal?”

“What’s that supposed to mean!” Did Alphonse ever say that he felt relieved at the Colonel's presence? He wanted to take that back. Edward was even more riled up than before. Scooping up the other into his arms, he set off again, closing his ears off to the string of curses that would surely accompany him.

Alphonse saw the tour group before Ed did, and thus was able to catch the elder’s grumbles about turning him into a wastebasket(?) before the blonde would surely panic again.

Ed, however, did not scream or kick or run or anything of the sort. Instead, he froze for a bit before calmly tapping on the younger’s chestplate, signaling to be let down. Distrustfully, Al did so. 

The younger Elric was so preoccupied with watching the other’s body language for signs of fleeing, that he did not see the shit eating grin plastered on the other’s face. Alphonse watched as his brother stepped to the side and held out his arms in a presenting manner. Alphonse watched (confusedly) as his brother looked up at him and winked.

There was a rough coughing as Edward cleared his throat. “Sorry if we kept you waiting guys. It’s just that Eastern Command was short on staff and decided to bring you something a little special today. May I present to you the Fullmetal Alchemist.”

A hoard of screaming fans descended on the unfortunate suit of armor.

IV.)

A warm light drifted across the pavement, casted by row upon row of street lamps. No figures got in the way, projecting shadows with their terrifying shapes.

In Central, there was always this ominous feeling. A warning just screaming to be heeded. To be cautious. A warning that there was something lurking around the corner.

Tonight there wasn’t.

The lack of people should have been disturbing, but the distant sound of pots clanging and children laughing within households blocked out that foreboding aura. This also left them away from prying eyes - innocent in their intentions, but deadly in their effect. Alphonse should be content.

But he’s not.

How could he be when his four foot eleven, spitfire of an older brother looked like he’d been forced to drink an entire gallon of milk?

It seemed that his brother’s mood was destined to grow darker by the minute. First, he wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning, ending up over an hour late to his meeting with Colonel Mustang. Then, he wouldn’t touch his food, saying it looked too nauseating to eat (Alphonse spent many minutes apologizing to the deli worker for Edward’s behavior). It all escalated to him snapping at an old lady and her granddaughter on the train. The little girl started crying!

So no. Alphonse was not happy.

“It’s a beautiful night, brother. We are going to spend it outside,” Alphonse said. Then, as an afterthought (but no less important), “and your attitude is going to change.”

Edward looked up at him, indignation shining bright in his eyes. He opened his mouth to refute, and Al prepared himself for the tirade, but he closed his lips before a sound got out. The elder of the two grimaced, and lowered his head in defeat. “Yeah, you're probably right. I haven’t been the best of company today… sorry, Al.”

The armor in question perked up, pleasantly surprised at the admission. “It’s okay brother!” He leaned low, pointing a finger out. “But you better make it up to me on our walk.”

Ed’s eyes moved, peeking out at him from under his bangs, before his head turned away entirely. In a low, reluctant voice, the Fullmetal Alchemist said, “It’s just that… it’s gonna rain soon.”

Alphonse was confused for a second, kind of mad at his brother for making an obvious lie - there were no clouds in the sky - before he realized what that sentence entailed. 

“Have you been hurting all day?” he asked, much more understanding than before. Alphonse couldn’t see Edward’s face. He couldn’t read the obvious signs: the tight mouth, the wandering eyes, the creeping blush. The hunching of his shoulders, however, indicated that Edward obviously had, all the same.

“Brother!” he chided, in the same tone that mom would use when they did something stupid, “why didn’t you tell me!”

“It’s fine, Al,” came the embarrassed reply. “All we were gonna do was rent an apartment for the night anyways. It wasn’t like we were getting into anything dangerous.”

“That doesn’t count as an excuse!”

The older boy turned around. “What do you mean it doesn’t? It’s not like it’s important right now.”

Alphonse repressed a sigh. “I should have known. You’re always cranky, but it’s never really bad unless you’re in pain.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!”

“Here.” He lowered himself to the ground until he was in a crouch. “Get on.”

Al heard the embarrassed choke behind him. “I’m fine, Alphonse. Let’s just go on that walk.”

He shook his helmet. “If it really is about to rain, then your ports have to be aching awfully. It just wouldn’t be fair to you to make you stay out any later. Right now, we should get you home and get you taken care of. I’m not having your leg give out and you getting a concussion.”

Edward sighed and hesitated a few seconds longer before giving up and getting on his younger brother’s back. “I’m fine walking, you know.”

“Mhm,” Alphonse agreed.

“I’m serious. I just couldn’t pass up on a free ride. Didn’t wanna spend the energy.”

“Of course.”

Alphonse hefted him up, earning a rather undignified squeak. He saw more than felt the arms wrapping around his neck.

Sometimes he felt like his brother was the one made of metal, not him. It was like he wrapped himself and armor and never let anyone else in. Alphonse liked to think that he was the exception, but could he really believe that when Ed couldn’t even share his sufferings?

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Edward had adjusted himself to sit on his shoulders, seemingly at ease for the time being. “We should probably get going. As empty as it is, standing on the streets is still gonna draw some weird glances.”

“Oh… right… sorry.” He began to walk, grabbing his brother’s leg with his gauntlet (a habit he still hadn’t gotten rid of from his human body).

When they arrived at the apartment, Alphonse set Edward down, noticing the small wince upon doing so. He couldn’t miss the slight hobble in his brother’s steps as he made his way to the waiting bed.

“Do you need help with anything?”

Ed looked up, the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks. “Uh, I wouldn’t mind a cup of water.”

Alphonse left and returned with the requested drink. After a small clap, the cup was abandoned on the floor, steam drifting up from it. “Ahhh, that feels so much better.”

Alphonse wanted to smile, glad that he could do something to help. Instead, he had to settle for looking at his brother fondly.

“So, today on the train…” he began, internally smiling as Edward took the bait.

It’s okay to admit to pain, brother.

Because, I’ll stay right by your side.

No matter what.

V.)

“Al, let me down.”

“Not now, brother.”

“Aaaaaaallllllllllllll.”

“Not now.”

“Ugh. People are staring.”

Alphonse looked up at the sentence in question. He’d never known his brother to get embarrassed over stuff like that. He said as much.

“Shut up! I’m not embarrassed. It’s just that I’m the Alchemist of the people. I have to make sure they don’t see me as a little kid who can’t even walk out in the rain.”

Alphonse laughed a little. “They won’t, Ed. They’d just respect your intelligence in choosing to avoid the wrath of a certain automail mechanic, lest she finds out that you got her automail rusty.”

Al heard his brother blow a large breath onto his helmet. “She doesn’t have to find out.”

“She will find out. And when she does find out, you’ll meet an untimely death via wrench.”

The armor listened fondly as his brother ranted about Winry’s gear-head quirks.

Ok, so maybe protecting his brother wasn’t the only reason he wasn’t letting him go. Maybe it had to do with their last mission, and how he had almost lost his brother when he let him wander out of his sight. Maybe he was too scared to let that happen again.

But…

...Ed didn’t have to know.

“Trust me brother, I’m doing this for your own good. We can’t have the famous hero of the people walking around with a hole the size of a wrench in his head.”

“It’s never a hole. It’s always a bump.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want to have that either.” Images of his brother, bloody, bruised, and beaten flashed before his head. It was probably not a good idea to continue on with this particular topic. “Hey, your report isn’t going to be soaked by the rain, isn’t it?”

“What? Oh. No, it’s fine. I slaved for hours over that thing. I wasn’t going to let that go to waste. Even if my automail was still hurting, I’d remember to laminate it.” Was he talking about the pressure buildup or was it from an injury he hadn’t caught?

“That’s good. The Colonel would probably make you redo it.”

“Probably? Of course he would. The bastard wouldn’t miss a chance to ruin my day.” Sometimes, Al felt the same way. Why did he have to send brother off on such dangerous missions? He may be a state alchemist, but he was still a kid.

When they finally arrived at HQ, Mustang greeted them with a quirked eyebrow and a not-so-discreet once over. “Alphonse. Fullmetal. What exactly brings you here today?”

“Mission report,” Ed answered stiffly, trying to hide his embarrassment at his position.

“Well, let’s see it,” the man responded tiredly. “To be honest, I thought something was wrong with the both of you. You never make sure to be on time while handing in these things. I actually have a running bet with the rest of the team on whether or not you’ll show up two days late or three.”

“Har har, very funny. So do you want to take this or not? I’ve got better things to do.” Ed handed over the paperwork to his superior, returning his hands to Alphonse’s head once more.

“Like what?” Mustang asked, “Playing a game of piggyback with your brother? I could use some help sorting files, you know.”

Alphonse cut in before Edward could yell the other man’s ear off. “The rain puts brother’s automail at the risk of rusting. I’m carrying him to at least keep him away from the puddles.”

His brother rounded on him with a betrayed face. “Alphonse, how could you?”

Ed, luckily, found a new target of his ire.

“Well, we wouldn’t want you to drown in them, now would we.”

“Okay, that’s it, you overgrown, slimy, two-faced-”

“Brother!” He had to physically tether the blonde to his shoulders to prevent a homicide. “Have a good night Colonel.” Alphonse was sure his embarrassment showed through his voice. “Edward and I will be off now.”

As soon as they were out of sight of the building, Alphonse sifted his brother’s position from his shoulders to his chestplate, hugging him close.

“Al, what’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, brother. It’s just… that you really scared me.” Ed, having noticed this desperation in affection, stopped all remaining struggles, choosing instead to melt into the metal embrace as best as he could.

And if that didn’t send a pang through Al’s heart chest. He might not ever get to hug his brother again with his human arms. To ever feel his brother’s warmth and love.

“You’re getting older, Ed. And that means that you’ll be going on more missions with more dangers. And one day, what if it’s too much? What if you don’t make it back?”

Edward frowned and, for once, the disappointment was pointed towards him. “I’m not going to die, Al.”

“You almost did, Ed! And what if I wasn’t there to protect you!”

His brother looked up, golden eyes meeting his own soulfire gaze. “Nothing would have happened.”

“You can’t say that.”

“I can, because I know that, if I did, I’d be leaving you all alone.” Alphonse had looked away, but something about his brother’s tone brought him back. “And I couldn’t do that. Not without making sure that you’re safe and happy and comforted.”

His voice trailed off.

“Right now, you aren’t. Not while you’re still stuck in that body I put you in. So i won’t just roll over anytime soon.”

Alphonse felt a fluttering of happiness at Edward’s words, but it was twisted with the bittersweet realization that they were a false security.

“That’s not your choice to make.”

Edward sighed, “Maybe not but... more than anything, I want to get your body back. I want to live to see it. I don’t want to have to look down from whatever place counts as the afterlife and watch you experience that without me.”

“If you want my happiness and my wellbeing a fraction as much as I do you, then you’d know that your own happiness is what would make me more content than anything. I can’t trust that you’ll ever fully be happy until you get your body back. Therefore, the only option is to keep trying. Trust in me and my tenacity to get back what was stolen from you.”

The ever accompanying, ‘and your body too,’ was forgotten at Edward’s words. Because this is what he had been telling himself the whole time, repeated back to his face. His brother would never be truly happy unless he was happy himself.

He squeezed his brother tightly. “Okay,” he said.

“Okay.” The reassuring clang of metal against metal rang in the streets. Edward had pounded his automail against Al’s chestplate. “We should probably stop worrying about this stuff, all it’s going to do is make us sick.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah? Okay, well could you let me back up there?”

Al started, the moment ruined. “Up… where?”

“Onto your shoulders, you idiot. If I’m going to stay alive a bit longer than I gotta prevent my automail from rusting. The rain’s already pushing it. Winry will probably have my head if we don’t get them dried soon.”

“Oh… right! We should probably get home soon!”

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

VI.)

Al spent the majority of the first few days sitting in his hospital bed with the company of his brother, teacher, and all of the wonderful people he’d come to know. Even his father was there to visit once, although he left shortly after. 

He occupied himself with relaxing in the warm, fuzzy blankets, and taking in the smell of flowers and sweets his visitors left for him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t eat any real food for now as his body was not ready for it, but he was salivating at the thought.

Those first few days were just about that happiest in his life. Even the walks to the restroom weren’t that bad. With his muscles so atrophed, he wasn’t supposed to do anything that strenuous for months, but he was determined to do it. The exhaustion tugged at his limbs, making them feel like they were transmuted into giant lumps of metal, and he couldn’t be happier for it.

The best part wasn’t even the senses he’d worked so hard to experience. No. The best part was that his brother would be right alongside him. He’d smile at Al so genuinely, guiding him gently by the arm, a lingering touch of heat still burning hot even after his fingertips left the skin. The blinding smile set loose dopamine into his brain, his physical brain, allowing him to experience the bliss even more so. Whenever Edward made eye contact he felt drugged on euphoria, because everything - EVERYTHING - was finally going to be alright. So yes, those short walks were the highlights of his days.

I took two whole weeks before he could even stomach soups, and when the warm liquid touched his tongue, he almost fell off of his hospital bed in surprise. What happened after was that he dissolved into a fit of laughter, he never knew food could be this amazing. Ed was there to steady him the whole time.

Physical training was hard, Al couldn’t deny that. Sometimes it sucked all the life out of him after just bending over. There were times where he walked two feet and it felt like a marathon and his good mood was almost ruined. 

But his brother was always there to steady him.

On particularly bad days he would hardly get two inches before toppling over. Before he could reach the ground, however, a firm body would be underneath him, arms already tucked around his legs to carry him piggyback style. Alphonse would tease good naturedly (to get Edward back for all the times he’d fought him), talk about how he didn’t need to be babied, but it was really nice for the situation to be reversed for once.

Now he could relax in his brother’s hold. Now he could finally feel his brother’s heartbeat when his head pressed to his chest. It almost felt like Ed hadn’t been injured at all, with how gently he cradled him.

“Brother,” he said one day, after they had gotten ice cream from the hospital cafeteria, “how long until I can carry you?”

Ed got a funny face at that, telling him that he hadn't recovered yet and how even if he was, it was still the older brother’s job to take care of the younger.

Alphonse took that as a challenge, sneakily putting his ice cream down and going for the tackle. “Al!” His brother went down with a screech, landing painfully on his butt. Taking advantage of Ed’s surprise, Alphonse was able to partially get his brother on his shoulder before his muscles gave out, panting.

“You idiot!” Edward was in front of his face now, checking him over for any sort of injuries. “You could have messed up all your hard work.”

Al felt his face heat up (and the fact that he could blush now was something his brother mercilessly teased now), and ashamedly turned his head. “It seemed fun at the time.”

“That’s not a good excuse and you know it.”

“Okay, okay. Can you just help me up now?”

Ed looked at him exasperatedly, with his hands on his hips and everything. “No,” he said.

Al looked up. “What? Why?”

“Because-” Alphonse felt his shoulder being tugged and he thought his brother was giving in, but- “We need to take you back to your room and get your arms looked at. I’ll carry you so that you don’t harm anything else.”

“Brother, I’m fine-”

He was interrupted by the sight of a pink tongue poking out of his brother’s lips.

“Real mature.” There was no heat behind it. In fact, Al didn’t even struggle as his center of gravity lifted, signaling him leaving the ground. Instead, he snuggled into his brother’s back, letting strands of golden-blonde hair tickle his nose. The steady warmth that came off of his brother’s back was relaxing, and he found his eyes closing, drifting off into a half asleep, half awake state.

“You comfortable up there?”

“Mmm.”

Edward laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

There was a slight bouncing as Ed took his steps, but Alphonse didn’t care. It only relaxed him further. He found it cozy with his face half-buried in his brother’s cotton shirt.

It feels real nice to be carried like this. By you.

There was a slight squeaking and then Al was rotated, placed on the plushy mattress bed. He turned his head a little, nestling into the cool material of his pillow.

Ed must have thought he was asleep, because a weight settled at his side and fingers began playing in his hair, smoothing it out in the way his mother always did.

When he finally spoke, Alphonse could feel the fond smile on his face, radiating off of him. “I’m so happy that you have your body back. Love you, Alphonse.”

And I you.

[steve0discusses]

The Live Action Fullmetal Alchemist Movie Part 6: Let’s Kill Hughes

Hey guys, I’ve been having some issues with the blog not...updating my drafts. So in case you’re wondering, that’s where I disappeared to. Give a round of applause to the support team for finding a solution until it gets fixed but as of right now I’m on like a private window with my extensions turned off and writing this from both tumblr and a LibreOffice document. Hello ads, nice to see you back.

Last we left off, we were a hop and skip away to lab 5. In the anime, this was a sequence where there was a bunch of fighting with suits of armor, and they kept that in this movie, but...not the people you think would be fighting are going to be fighting.

Listen I’m not like super knowledgeable about the world of Matte painting, but I like that they’ve unintentionally made this world building where whoever is in charge of making these red bricks basically owns everyone’s nuts. Everything is made out of the same red bricks. Like I know this is a show about homunculi ruling the world but I feel like the red brick guy is hellllllla more egregious. Freakin Monsanto over here.

I assume they had a 3d model and was like “we can just keep using it” and damn, they sure did. And inside of this brick building is, unsurprisingly a lot more red brick (although I think this is partially, if not entirely, an actual real life set.)

This next part is...such a lesson in pacing. Not necessarily a lesson to follow, but definitely a lesson to learn from maybe their non-example.

(watch Hughes die under the cut)

And what’s interesting is that there were a lot of good lines in this upcoming segment. There were a lot of good moments—bu there’s just so many. Maybe too many. You gotta prune your script occasionally, it’s like a tomato plant.

Like I’ve been doing a stress garden to cope with quarantine and Covid and 3+ months of life endangering wildfires, and I learned that you gotta prune the sucker vines off your tomatoes, although sucker vines can also make tomatoes. It sucks to do because I love tomatoes, and I want as many tomatoes as possible, but when you prune the plant, you get bigger better tomatoes that are more worthwhile than the suckers that can infect your plant and make it really sick.

Sorry that made me sound like 5000 years old with that gardening analogy. If you need me to solve your small town murder mysteries, I’m ready.

So it’s like...kind of tragic that it came together as kind of nonsensical when you can tell that it’s so close to being something better.

Like we have some reason up to this point to believe that Ed would have a freak out here...but like...a sobbing on the floor screaming at the walls type of freak out? Was there enough time devoted to this blow up, or did he walk into this room and immediately start screaming? Because he sure did walk immediately into this room and start screeching like a broken bird.

Like last recap, which was about 2 minutes ago in screentime, was this fun and quirky montage with Hughes. Now we’re sobbing into this rusty factory.

And I know what’s going on because I’ve seen the anime, but if you haven’t seen it—would this emotional break down make any sense? We were told by Dr Marcoh, “check out lab 5,” but we were only going to this factory on kind of a wish and a prayer. I really wonder if people who don’t know this show could follow past this point.

And then while we’re still adjusting to “yo, Ed just took it from a 2 to a 10 like immediately” Al is like “Hey I noticed no one is paying attention to me, and I have to lay a wicked fart:”

and then both brother’s just have a freak out. Gotta all be freaking out in this random ass Unity asset that was probably also used for some college grad’s first battle royale.

Pacing is just everything. And what’s SO HARD about Full Metal Alchemist is that there really is a lot of content to cover, there’s a lot of emotions to go through, and when you only have about 7 minutes to cover what was about 3-4 episodes, if I remember correctly, it’s kind of a zany mess.

And if you were going into this movie hoping they wouldn’t illustrate Al as a large idiot baby, then you share the sentiments of most people who saw this movie. Al is like...kind of reduced to a whiny big baby and is...not cute. Like Al is low key kind of menacing throughout this movie, not just because he has this CGI armor thing going on, but also because Al is...so impressionable and unhinged.

Something that I didn’t appreciate enough when I watched the anime was just how important Barry the Chopper was for Al’s logical character development.

Yo...These bangs…

...I’ve realized that every show I recap here just has the worst hair styles. I honestly never thought much about hair at all until I watched like 200 hours of Yugioh and all of this movie and also 6 seasons of Once Upon a Time which featured some LOOKS (but only recapped like 3 episodes, sorry if I got some of y’all excited. That was when we had no reason to cap everything because the capping community for Once was very alive and very exciting.)

By hitting him with a wrench (Al does not feel pain, ps, so he doesn’t need to be hunched over like this) Winry reminds Al that Ed would not risk his life for a fake brother (which may be a line from the anime or the manga but I don’t remember) and crying just...a lot.

Like it felt as if she had to shoot all of this out of order. Same with Ed’s freak out here. Movie’s aren’t really shot in succession and it’s up to the director to make it feel coherent and logical...this felt scattered, like the actors really didn’t know what was happening in the scenes leading up to it so they just cranked it to 11.

And then I guess Ed was either so insulted that Al punched him or was so upset that Al made Winry cry (again, this movie really tries to sell the EdxWinry ship and from me that’s a really big compliment), that Ed just started laying punches to extend a fight scene that was kind over before it started.

But symbolically there is a lot nice things going on here, Ed only uses his fleshy hand so he bleeds all over Al, hurting himself as much he’s hurting his brother. Implying more than just this fight, but suggesting that their whole journey of trying to find this sorcerer’s stone is just going to hurt both of them in their quest to save the other.

And then Al says something along the line of “it hurts!” to infer that he’s got this broken heart which is when they both finally just freakin stop.

Such a shame the pacing, which was a mix of too quick, and too many tomatoes, kind of made it hella blindsiding.

Again this was so many episodes of FMA and they stuffed it into so few minutes, it’s wild.

Especially since Ed is like...he’s cast as an adult! He’s an adult! At no point in the movie so far have they called him a kid, and they’re not pretending that he is one. But like...he acts like such a child because in the original, he was one. And, while this movie steps so far away from the source material, if should have committed and either stepped completely away or committed completely. Of course “should” is one of those things where we’ll just never know. A wish into the ether of hindsight being 20/20.

But lets get to the thing that you all came here for. This is where this movie gets BONKERS:

So Hughes actually draws out a pentagram between the different places in Armestrias, including Ishvaal, leading us to think that he’s figured out the whole dealio of turning the country into an alchemy circle. But, for some reason only helps him find the real lab 5.

It didn’t...that’s a different thing.

And it has been a long time since I’ve seen the ending of this movie—and maybe it was so offhand that I forgot if they actually do bring up turning the country into an alchemy circle--watch me eat my words, it could happen—but yo, we are finally killing Hughes—but we’re over halfway through this movie. And you may wonder...so uh...what...then what could possibly happen? There’s too much anime left!

Now I’m glad they kept this scene really close to the anime, although I haven’t watched the anime in a hot minute. It’s kind of an iconic scene so you don’t forget.

Like I do genuinely enjoy the campy parts where they were bringing up some of my favorite nostalgia of the original.

and then when you are like “ah, this is exactly the same as the anime. I can relax and watch as all my expectations are fully realized.” This twist happens.

YAH.

It’s a change!

So in the anime we had a really fun arc where we were trying to save Lieutenant Ross for being framed for killing Hughes. It’s probably my favorite part of Full Metal Alchemist, actually, it was so clever and a really thrilling chase. It was also like...half of season one.

Anyway, they cut it. They reduced half a season into 7 minutes. I know that, because each of these recaps is about 15 minutes of the movie.

You may look at this recap and be like “wait...this all happened in 15 minutes??” because yeah, this all happened in 15 minutes.

The same squad of people we see in every single scene of soldiers comes up to arrest Ed, which is weird, because I thought this band of soldiers was the military under Cl. Mustang’s command so like…shouldn’t they be arresting themselves? Mustang was over the command of more than 2 people. If we are suspicious of Mustang’s buddies then everyone in this movie would be in trouble.

And that’s when I realized that these guys were just unnamed soldiers and not a part of Mustang’s band. They only had like this many extras and just hoped we wouldn’t keep track of who is who, but I KNOW I’ve seen these guys this whole time. There are only like 6 people in this army. I see you movie magic—I see what you’re trying to do.

Anyway, Ed gets thrown into an old timey opera house that occasionally gets to be used for Middle School graduations. Or maybe also a mortuary where they charge you for funerals.

Like I know it’s supposed to be the capital building but like...this looks so weird when it’s live action. I remember the anime had this kinda feel to it but in live action it’s like…

...this is a weird ass capital building…Why do they have curtains like a Granny Holiday Inn in Reno, Nevada?

Thankfully, Hawkeye is here to explain to Ed what just happened because we, the movie viewers, were kind of surprised by that plot twist.

Like there were many ways you can condense half a season into 15 minutes, and I dunno if I would have just changed the murderer. It is a solution you can do. You can just point blame on Mustang and skip that whole Ross segment but like….

…then why write the movie?

Obviously, they had to make the movie, it had already been funded, people were really excited about the idea, and I do not envy the people that had to hack and slash with the Full Metal Alchemist script, but it is interesting what they decided was important to the original content, and what was unimportant. All that stuff that showed how Mustang was brilliant and two steps ahead of everyone else? Unimportant. All that stuff we had that showed how Mustang cares a lot about protecting other people and also cares about Ed and Al? Unimportant.

It really changes the dynamic, and it’s kind of fascinating to go into this cold because it’s been like...a year for me since I’ve watched it...and just see how different everything is without all those supporting characters that when I watched the anime I just assumed were mostly useless (Though fun). Turns out they all had a pretty significant part of making me care about Ed, about Mustang, about Al, about all my main characters.

FMA is very character driven, and this movie is mostly just...plot driven.  There’s kind of a great debate in literature about plot driven vs character driven. Movies and TV tend to be very plot driven, because they are very expensive to make, so they follow pre-formatted plot beats like “Save the Cat” or “The Heroes Journey” and other ones (there’s several to choose from).

They’ve made a fine science out of at what point a TV show should introduce the main, at what point they should suffer doubt, at what point they should shun their hero’s journey, etc etc. They know it down to the page number of the scripts they are writing. I know this, because it’s readily available on the internet and people fight about it all the time. This is why a show may suffer developing a character—because they just don’t have time and they just don’t have the resources to do something out of the box. Movies doubly so, because every minute of film can cost thousands of dollars.

What’s interesting about this is that FMA, the original FMA, does follow these beats. It was a manga sold by a huge publisher so it had to follow those beats. But, it has managed to do it while still being character driven. Yo, that’s so hard to do. This story was already written to be hyper condensed and structured when it was made into a Manga, and then it was condensed again for an anime, and then it was condensed yet again for this movie. It’s like a game of telephone, and at one end you have a very character driven story, and then at the other, it’s just totally plot.

Like it’s just a really huge risk to take. This was really, really risky.

PS did you miss Shou? Did you think we’d be done with Shou Tucker? No. Because this movie is gonna end at some point and rather than introduce other people...we’re just gonna stick with Shou and only have one miniboss.

(It has a freakin radiator in it?)

So then this next part happens and it’s low key hilarious.

The whole time.

Mustang and Hawkeye knew what lab 5 was this entire time but Ed just never asked for some reason despite working with those two for what is inferred to be YEARS since his childhood.

Hey PS, did you miss that brick building? Because it’s back.

Anyway, Mustang decides to take this underground where we can recycle the tech crew posing as extras that we used in the shot above us. Would not be surprised if a few of these are someone’s husband or wife on set.

Usually when I watch a movie I don’t get this feeling so much. But this movie...the latter half is like...EMPTY.

...this is going to be all movies made during Covid, I just realized…

Mustang is stopped by an angry Lieutenant Ross, and then we get this series of events.

And when you’re like “...Sorry?” Mustang’s like “I can make it weirder.”

And he just, without any warning or anything, lights Lieutenant Ross on fire. Multiple times, and it’s pretty intense and everyone who’s holding a gun just watches it happen is like…

...well I guess it’s too late to just shoot the guy...

…and like do you seriously not carry around a fire extinguisher when you are trying to manhunt Mustang? This is the one guy you want to wear fireproof clothes around. You have the technology. You at least have the technology for buckets of water. Like no one want to throw a blanket on her?

Just want to...watch? I guess?

Mustang just looks like a nut from this series of events instead of a genius--which is what I think they were originally going for. The pacing does that, youknow? Pacing.

And, out of the corpse pile stands Envy.

Envy has a pretty good look, I appreciated his whole look and that unlike the anime where you only find out Envy is a guy because someone told you on a forum somewhere and you were like “wait WHAT?” the movie is live action so you won’t make that mistake and embarrass yourself online.

Ed has only ever seen Lust once, and she walked in from off screen, stabbed a guy, and walked off. He’s just like...having a time because he’s done zero research into homunculi, and really, at no point in this movie are we going to give him time to figure it out.

Also, there’s this shot where Lust and Gluttony just walk in from behind them in the tunnel and it’s like…

….so no one noticed these two just hanging out back there?

It’s so freakin funny. This movie is gold. I love it.

Now If you just got here, this is a link to read all these recaps in chrono order:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/fma/chrono

Have a good one, and stay safe! 2021 has been...weird nuts...and it’s still January somehow??? Weird times. Overall, please stay safe, it’s weird out there.

Also, if you’re like “I don’t remember this scene actually” here’s the original Hughes dies scene that inspired the movie (since the movie definitely was like “we’re only going inspired for this one nerds, get mad”)--some shots were inspired cut for cut.

And obvi this is on Youtube so it’ll probably get taken down eventually, but that’s why it’s flipped.

[vannahfanfics]

Waiting

Category: Romantic Fluff

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Characters: Winry Rockbell and Edward Elric

Winry groaned loudly as she transitioned from the bliss of sleep into the harshness of the waking world. As she lifted her head, her neck and shoulder muscles aching in protest, a piece of paper that had been stuck to her forehead detached itself and fluttered down onto her work desk. Smacking her lips, she flipped it over to inspect the scribbles and diagrams marked in lead. Oh, right. This is the schematic for that prosthetic. Since Edward and Alphonse had left on their journey of self-enlightenment or whatever it was, the auto-mail shop had been conducting business as usual. If anything, its popularity had increased, because everyone wanted auto-mail from the legendary mechanic that had designed the Full-Metal Alchemist’s arm and leg. Winry loved her work, but there was no doubt her increased workload was taking a toll on her. There was no time to sleep. Besides, when there was, she didn’t sleep anyway, because…

“All right, Winry. Up and at ‘em,” she encouraged herself quietly and forced herself to stand up. For a good minute, she felt like Granny, her bones creaking and her muscles straining as they adjusted to her actually moving. “Ugh,” she grunted as there came a sharp cracking and flare of pain in her lower back, and she grimaced as she tenderly rubbed the sore area. “I gotta stop falling asleep at my desk.” She half-limped, half-dragged herself across the room to pull the curtains from the window, spilling warm daylight across her work room. As sleep-deprived as she was, her internal body clock had still awoken her at a decent hour, probably no later than nine in the morning. Her blue eyes drank in the scenic countryside with a small smile, tracing the green fields and emerald forests and blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. When her eyes fell upon the dusty dirt road, her mouth twitched; she did this nearly every morning. It made her so sad, not seeing Edward traipsing up the path, his golden hair swirling in the soft breeze. She had seen it so often in her dreams, she expected it to be reality now. She hurriedly closed the curtains and headed toward the door.

He’s doing what he thinks is important. I can’t be selfish. Before he had left, they had confessed their feelings to each other, in their own strange way. It had been hard for her after that, to watch him get on that train and leave. She had wanted to scream, scream with everything she had and beg him to stay. She had wanted to do that every time she had been forced to say good-bye, but strangely, even though he no longer faced any danger, that time had been the worst. Winry would never admit that to him, though. She didn’t want to get in the way of the things he wanted to do, or what he thought was important. She knew he would come back. He always came back to her.

“Winry? Is that you?” her grandmother called from further in the house as Winry tromped lazily down the stairs. Her body was still stiff and sore, but was beginning to loosen up from all her activity.

“Yes, Granny, it’s me. I just woke up.” The old woman was standing over a bubbling pot on the stove when Winry walked into the kitchen. Winry patted the dog’s head as it ran over to her, demanding attention, and smiled sleepily at her grandmother. “I may have stayed up a little too late trying to design that new order,” she admitted as she sat down at the kitchen table while her grandmother spooned a helping of what she had determined to be porridge into a bowl and sat it down in front of her. She didn’t want to admit to her the other reason why she wasn’t sleeping.

“Tsk,” he grandmother tutted as she lit her pipe and looked at her critically. “Winry, I know you can handle yourself, but you’ve been getting less and less sleep lately. It’s not good for your health. It’ll start taking a toll on you sooner or later,” she warned with narrowed eyebrows. Winry giggled, flattered that her grandmother was worried but wanting to be more or less unconcerned, as she blew on the steaming-hot breakfast soup.

“I’ll be fine, Granny!” she reassured her and began hurriedly eating her breakfast. She had things to do, after all. She had to get her mind off of him. Granny only exhaled deeply in defeat as Winry scarfed down her breakfast, dropped the empty bowl in the sink, and darted up the stairs to get herself dressed. “I have to go into town to buy a few parts! I’ll be back in a few hours,” she called cheerfully down while wiggling herself into a sundress. As she came stomping back down the stairs, slinging a purse over her arm, she gave her one final wink. “I’ll be fine, Granny!”

“I know you will,” she sighed while Winry, not even waiting for an answer, bounded out of the doorway and down the path. The shop that supplied most of the small parts Winry didn’t need to order specially was about a twenty-minute walk, in the heart of Resembool that also housed the train station and local market. Winry inhaled deeply as she walked down the road, savoring the scent of honey and flowers mingling with freshly cut grass and loamy soil in the air. There really was nothing like the country. Though the cities that she had been to were impressive, Winry would never be able to live there; no, she needed peace and quiet and nature. The city much better suited the boys, who were always itching for something to do or something to happen. She cast her blue eyes down to her feet, saddened at that thought.

What if they decide the city is better, and want to stay there forever? She vigorously shook her head as soon as the thought entered her mind. That wouldn’t happen. Even if they got bored, this was Ed and Al’s home. They would never abandon it. Edward would never abandon her…

You say that, but what if you’re overthinking what happened at the train station? It’s not like he said he loved you. Winry grimaced uncomfortably. Sure, he had said something about spending the rest of their lives together, but that could mean a lot of things. Friends wanted to spend the rest of their lives together too, right?

“Oh, stop it, stupid brain!” she cried and knocked herself on the head, but in her agitated state, hit herself a little too hard. She hunched down in the road as she tenderly cradled her pounding head, tears nearly forming in the corners from her eyes from the frustration and pain. What was wrong with her? She never thought too deeply about these things; she had always contented herself with the fact that Edward and Alphonse would come back, and more recently, that Edward had feelings for her. Why was she thinking about it so much? “Ugh, maybe I do need more sleep,” she muttered as she straightened back up and continued walking. Now that she thought about it, her limbs were dragging along, and her eyes were kind of droopy. Her mind was a little unfocused, too, shifting from one thought to the next in a haze. She slapped herself on the cheeks a few times, leaving them stinging and pink. “I am not sleepy! I can handle this!” Besides, if she slept, then…

He always comes back.

Despite her best efforts, as she drew closer to the central part of Resembool, her condition rapidly deteriorated. By the time she arrived at the parts shop she was slouched over and barely able to keep her eyes open. Whatever burst of energy she had received that morning was all but spent. As the shopkeeper greeted her cheerfully, all she could managed was a sleepy grunt, and she shuffled into the aisles while wracking her brain for what she had come for in the first place. “Lemme see… Three of these… Two of these doohickeys… One of this thing…” she muttered as she plucked items off the shelves.

“Oof, Winry, you don’t look so good. Have you been getting enough sleep?” the storekeeper frowned at her when she approached the counter and slung the little nuts and bolts down.

“Of course I have! What is it with everyone and sleep?” she screeched and slammed her fist on the counter, making the parts jump and skitter about. The shopkeeper raised his eyebrows at her, but thought better of continuing the conversation with the irritated girl and focused instead on calculating the total price of the items. Winry ground her teeth as her eyes began to droop again. I am not tired. I can handle this, she repeated silently. When the man told her the price, she fished out the bills and handed them over, and her mood soured even more when he told her she had miscounted. It’s not because I’m sleepy! Everyone miscounts sometimes! She reassured herself as she paid the remaining balance and grabbed her bag of parts to stomp out of the door. She moved a little too quickly, however, and her head began to swim. She collapsed against the frame of the door, her chest heaving as she suddenly became light-headed and short of breath. “I’m… not tired…”

I have to keep working hard. Ed and Al are always working so hard; I have to keep up. She had never thought that before. What was happening to her head? What did her auto-mail business have to do with those two? Stubbornly, she pushed forward and stumbled out into the street. She was fine. She was always fine. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Was it racing? Why? Everything was blurry. The shops and people and streets melted into a confusing abstract painting. Dumbly, she stood out in the middle of the street trying to collect herself, and was unaware of the honking of a car horn and the screeching of tires until the car was practically on top of her.

“Winry!” Huh? She knew that voice.

“Ed?” she whispered, then let out an oof when the wind was knocked out of her. Her head smacked backwards against the dirt ground as she was forcefully tackled, and she wearily lifted her head just in time to see the car roll on by, the driver cursing at her out the window. What a jerk, she thought, her mind still in a daze and unable to compute that she had been at fault for standing in the middle of the street. She tried to sit up, but found she could not from a heavy weight. Her blurry vision focused for a moment to reveal golden hair and eyes. “Edward?” she mumbled in confusion, then screamed as he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her vigorously.

“You idiot! What the hell were you doing, standing out in the middle of the street like that? Jeez, Winry!” he scolded her angrily before letting her go. As her eyes rolled around in her head, he sat up, crossing his arms as he straddled her on the edge of the street. “If I hadn’t been here, you’d have been a goner for sure! Jeez, I can’t leave you alone, can I?”

In her exhausted delirium, Winry didn’t care that he had yelled at her and called her an idiot. She just cared that he was home.

“Ed!” she gasped and threw herself at him to wrap him in a tight hug, the tears flooding her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. He made a confused sputtering noise, both embarrassed and probably shocked she hadn’t returned fire, then pursed his lips and awkwardly hugged her back. Winry had told herself that she didn’t want to admit it, but in her emotional and sleep-deprived state, she righteously didn’t care. “I missed you,” she whispered and buried her face into his golden hair. Was it always that soft? It smelled nice, too.

“You’re acting weird,” he mumbled, and despite her attempts to keep latched onto him, he pulled back to peer into her face. “Winry, have you been pulling all-nighters again?” he asked accusingly. She nodded miserably. There was no point in lying to him. “Winry…”

“I have dreams, too,” she sniffed. She never wanted to admit her weakness, so why was it so easy to be weak in front of him? “Nightmares, where you never come back.” A complicated expression formed on his face, halfway between happy and concerned, and she just miserably slouched there with tears running down her face. There. I said it. Now say something, you bastard. His gaze flickered from her eyes to the side of her head, and he gently lifted a hand to press it into her hair.

“You’re bleeding,” he sighed. “Winry, what am I going to do with you?” Winry’s eyes widened slightly, and sure enough, she could feel thick blood caking her hair and dribbling down the side of her head. Edward smiled softly and grabbed his suitcase, flinging it open to rummage through the contents. “You’re lucky I was here,” he repeated as he procured a roll of bandages. Winry just sat there mutely as he wound them around her head, her cheeks turning pinker and pinker every time he had to lean close to her to reach. Was he going to say something? How could he act so natural about it? With a small sigh, he dropped the bandages back into his suitcase and closed it, then turned around and held his arms out as an indication for her to climb onto his back. “Come on.”

“Why?” she asked him, but climbed onto his back anyway. He stood up easily, even carrying the suitcase while holding her with one arm. She wound her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. It amazed her how broad his back and shoulders were now. He used to be so small and scrawny. He’s a man now…

“You always take such good care of me. It’s time I returned the favor,” he answered simply as he began walking past the street. Winry’s vision had stopped swimming, at least for that moment, and she could see all the concerned passersby staring at her. The fog was beginning to fade from her mind, too. I… Was in a really dangerous situation. “You said you have nightmares?” he asked her suddenly. She flushed, hiding her face into his golden locks as she uttered a shy, “Mm-hmm.” They terrified her. She would stand there in the dark, at the end of the road, screaming into the void and crying and begging for him to come back, night after night. He never did, even though she told herself he always came back… She tightened her grip around him.

“Is this a dream, Edward?” Had she fallen asleep after all, and this was just the new addition to her tortuous subconscious? He laughed dryly. Her head bobbed up and down as his shoulders shook lightly.

“No, Winry, I’m really home. Just for a visit, though. My leg needs maintenance.” Of course. He wouldn’t stay forever. He never did, but he always came back. He always came back…

“What if I told you that I don’t want you to leave again?” She expected him to tense up, but he kept on walking smoothly down the road, staring straight ahead. He was always like that; charging ahead without faltering, leaving her to only watch his retreating back. She was tired of looking at his back. She lifted her arm to grab his face and turn it towards her. “Ed.”

“You’re really demanding when you’re tired,” he smirked at her, and then his face was close, really close. He pressed her forehead against hers, his golden eyes staring into her blue ones, both swimming with emotion. “What if I told you I don’t want to leave either?” he murmured softly. Her heart skipped a beat and her reddened face darkened. He had never looked at her like that before, and frankly, she didn’t know what to do about it.

“Then don’t go.”

“I have to, Winry.”

“Why?” she snapped, puffing out her cheeks defiantly. He laughed again, but there was a hint of sadness in those chuckles. He smiled sadly at her.

“I just have things to take care of. There’s a lot more I have to do and see.” She wanted to be selfish, to tell him “no” and that be the end of it, but even in her tired state she knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. He had turned away from her again, staring straight at the path ahead like he always did. “Winry… I don’t want to leave, but it makes it easier knowing that you’re here waiting for me,” he sighed gently. She bit down on her lip. Why did he have to go and say something like that, the smooth bastard? When did he even get so smooth?

“I know,” she grumbled and once again wrapped her arms tighter around him. She knew it wouldn’t do anything. She knew that sooner or later, she would have to let go; still, in that moment, she wanted to hold him as tightly as she could. “I’ll always wait for you, Ed, even if it hurts…” She would always wait, because he always came back. He didn’t look at her, but gently bonked her in the side of her head with his.

“Take a nap.”

“Will you be there when I wake up?” She knew he had to leave, but that selfish part of her wanted him to stay as long as possible. This time, he glanced out of the corners of his eyes at her and smiled.

“Of course I will. I wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye.” No, no he wouldn’t… Because he always wanted her to know that he would come back. Winry nestled her face into his neck, breathing in his scent. It was quite nice, now that she thought about it.

“You’d better not,” she whispered as she allowed the sleep to finally claim her, because she knew she wouldn’t have nightmares anymore.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[winryofresembool]

Edwin one-shot: Period Pains

Summary: Winry suffers from period pains, and Ed tries his best to help her feel better (post-Promised day, Ed&Winry are not together yet).

A/N: This fic was inspired by some first hand experiences TM (minus a caring boyfriend :(). I just love to think that Ed is that person who’d be willing to do a whole lot to help Winry feel better. Well, I guess that’s all, enjoy and plsssssss review because I am in need of some extra writing motivation.

Words: 1300+

Genre: hurt/comfort/fluff

”Owwww…”

It was already well past midnight. Edward couldn’t get any sleep, so he decided to go downstairs to get water to relieve the dryness in his mouth. When he passed Winry’s room, he heard moaning from there and saw through the small gap under the door that the light was still on, so she must have still been awake. At first he was just going to continue his path to the kitchen, but then he heard another moan and hesitantly turned towards the door, knocking on it lightly.

“Win? Can I come in?”

“S-sure,” a tiny, pained voice said from the other side of the door.

“What’s the matter?” Ed asked when he opened the door and saw Winry squirming in her bed, squeezing a pillow in her arms, her face twisted in pain. That looked pretty serious in his opinion.

“Nothing!” Winry yelled angrily, loud enough that Ed got nervous she might have woken Pinako or Al up. “Nothing at all. So if that’s all you…”

“No,” Ed said, genuinely worried. “Clearly you are hurting.” He gestured towards the pillow. “… So, I need to know what’s wrong. Are you sick? Or did you accidentally drill your finger or something?”

“Can you just please. Go. Away! This is already embarrassing enough as it is,” Winry growled, continuing to squeeze the pillow so hard Ed suspected if it had been a person in her arms, they would probably be dead already.

“I don’t understand you at all!” Ed started getting frustrated and also slightly hurt that she didn’t want his help. “At first you said I can come in, and then you just… tell me to go away. I just wanted to help, you know.”

Winry looked at him through her tearful eyes and said: “No. Ed. Sorry. It’s just the freaking mood swings. I don’t think I know what I want myself…” Another cramp hit her lower abdomen and once it calmed down a bit, she breathed: “… Except for this goddamn pain to go away!”

“Are you having a stomach flu? Food poisoning?” Ed asked as he saw Winry trying to rub her stomach through the pajama shirt to ease the feeling. Whatever it was, it must be pretty bad since Winry never cursed in front of him. Except when she got really angry.

“No! Neither!” She yelped. For some reason she also looked slightly embarrassed, but Ed couldn’t understand why.

“Then what is it? C’mon, you can tell me,” Ed urged her.

“I’m. on. my. period. Ed.” Winry snarled through her teeth, and finally Ed understood her reaction. He blushed and started rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

To himself, Ed admitted that he didn’t know much about periods, just some random information he remembered reading when studying the human anatomy before he and Al had… Having been just 10 back then, he remembered being slightly shocked and grossed out. Maybe it still sounded a bit gross, but from an alchemist’s point of view, it felt quite a natural phenomenon. After all, pretty much everyone with women’s reproductive organs had to go through it that’s what the chemicals inside people did, and because of the said organs they were also able to carry a baby. He just wished the period wouldn’t have to cause Winry this much pain. If he could help her, he would, he decided.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” He finally said.

“It’s not your fault,” Winry said, already much calmer than a little while ago. She must have sensed the worry in his voice, and she couldn’t be angry at someone who just wanted to take care of her. “Actually, there is something you can do… I need something to ease this pain. Do you think granny’s whiskey would help?”

“I’m not sure that’s the smartest idea.” Ed shrugged. “You’d feel even worse tomorrow. Besides, the old hag notices everything. She’d know you took it.”

“Could you not call her that? Ugh, I guess you could bring me some painkillers then. And tea. And maybe a hot water bottle. And choooocolate if you can find any.” She let a small whiny noise as she finished her list.

“Was that all?” Ed snorted. “Painkillers, tea, hot water bottle, chocolate,” he repeated mainly to himself. “Okay. Sounds doable.”

“Then just go,” Winry sobbed as another wave of pain took over her body.

Surprisingly fast, Ed managed to find all the things Winry wanted, even a piece of chocolate Pinako kept hidden for the smallest patients who had a tough time handling the automail tune-ups. Maybe he should have let it be, but desperate times call for desperate measures, Ed thought.

The effort was worth it, because about 10 minutes after Ed returned upstairs with a tray in his hands, Winry was snuggling against his side contently, feeling notably better. She gulped down the last of her tea and bit a piece of chocolate, casting Ed a weary look.

“There’s more one thing you could do…”

“What is it?” Ed looked at her, getting pretty tired himself.

“Could you maybe massage my lower back a bit? It’s feeling so stiff…”

“Oh. Okay. But just for a bit. I want to sleep too, you know.”

“Yada yada. Be grateful you don’t have to go through this pain,” Winry turned to glance at him angrily, then settled on her stomach on her bed, putting the hot water bottle under her and leaning her head against her pillow. Ed started rubbing her lower back (trying his best to ignore the curves below it) through her thin pajamas, but Winry wasn’t happy with that.

“Ed! Under the shirt. You can touch my skin, you know.”

Hs face now completely red, he lifted the shirt enough that he could see her lower back, and put his hand against her warm skin.

“Ow! Your hands are so cold,” Winry complained when the cool sensation struck her.

“You were the one who asked me to massage you,” Ed retorted back, but started rubbing his hands against each other to warm them up before continuing. Soon enough Winry was purring happily like a cat under his hands, and Ed secretly wished he could deal with some of his unresolved feelings to maybe they could do this (and maybe a bit more than just a massage) more often. A comfortable silence fell between them, and eventually Ed thought Winry had fallen asleep. When he stood up from the bed, though, Winry grabbed his wrist and stopped him from going any farther. Ed spun back towards her and gave her an annoyed look.

“Look, I’m sorry you’re hurting and I wish I could kick that pain’s ass, but I’m really getting tired and…”

“No, I’m sorry,” Winry mumbled wearily. “I acted like a bitch towards you. You were super nice and helpful and I was just complaining like a little kid…”

“It’s OK, Winry,” Ed’s face softened. “I would probably be a hundred times worse if I had to suffer through that.”

“Believe it or not, you’re really sweet.” Winry smiled at him. “Thank you for helping me. I feel a lot better now.”

“I’m glad.”

Suddenly Ed was painfully aware that they were still holding hands. He had been drawing small circles with his thumb on the back of her hand, but he stopped when he noticed Winry was looking at it with a weird expression.

“What?”

“All this… why did you do it?” Winry asked.

“I don’t know? Maybe I wanted to make you feel better?”

“But… why?”

“Shouldn’t it be obvious?” Ed sighed and in a moment of softness leaned down to give her a quick kiss on her forehead. “Just… get some sleep. Let’s talk about it when you’re feeling better.”

“Okay,” Winry agreed. Ed was already by the door when she said with a tiny smile on her face: “Hey, Ed…”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks again.”

“Any time,” Ed answered and closed the door behind him, wondering if that small smile was going to be the end of him.

[luffywhatelse]

Simplify - chapter two

Words: 1079 Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance Pairing: Ed x Winry Rating: T Summary: this takes place during the time spent by the Elric brothers at Winry’s house after the Promise Day, then before the proposal. Ed and Winry are not dating or anything. — An old classmate calls home asking for Winry but it’s Edward answering the phone…And he could never stand that guy. 

Previous: Chapter 1 CHAPTER 2

Then came the night. Alphonse was sprawled out on his bed with the lamp on, reading a book. It was his habit because it helped him sleep and, among other things, he was pleased to savor every pleasure he’d given up on in previous years. Falling asleep while he got his nose buried in a good book was one of them.

However, in that moment of bliss, he distinctly heard his brother toss and turn and, occasionally, grunt.

"Nii-san."

"Mh."

"How long are you going to be like this?"

Ed layed on his back and stretched out his legs.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Al asked.

Edward didn’t answer.

"As you wish," said Alphonse. "Then stop struggling and sleep."

"I don’t know what we should talk about" began the older brother.

"For starters, you spent all day without saying a word, you didn’t even have dinner together... Do you realize that you’re the one who should apologize?" Al asked.

Edward didn’t answer.

"And do you realize that if you don’t, it’s you who are paying the price because Winry will really end up going out with that guy?"

"She would do it anyway... Did you hear her? He's nice, kind, he hugs her, gives her flowers, has a tender heart and a kitten to take care of..." he said with a mocking tone but then his voice was weak "She really likes him," he was having a hard time trying to say that.

"All things that you could give her... including the automail to take care of," the younger brother pointed out. "Anyway, I don’t really think she likes him. She wanted to phone to say no, but you’ve been a jerk, she got angry and now she'll go out with an idiot pervert with whom she doesn’t want to go out, just for spite. Just to spite who? You, of course. But yeah, you’re right, she doesn’t care much about you at all, nii-san!” he finally exclaimed sarcastically.

"I didn’t say that she doesn’t care about me, but that's not the way I..." he didn’t finish the sentence. Al had already understood.

That wasn’t the way he wanted her to think about him.

That thought kept going through Ed’s head over and over and he was convinced that she saw him as nothing more than a friend or, perhaps worse, a brother. Now he had been downgraded to "client" who wasn’t even her favorite. What chance could someone like him have with Winry if this was the case?

For days, he had tried to find the strength to confess his feelings for her... and, thank goodness, he hadn’t the courage, since the answer would undoubtedly have been a resounding NO, or even a big laugh that would have torn his pride to pieces forever.

On the one hand it was probably a blessing.

He hadn’t risked exposing himself and hadn’t ruined their friendship by making it embarassing. Now there was just suffering.

Because it hurt like hell, fuck. He was still pissed off but soon the anger would be gone and he would have been very sad. But he could do it though. Little by little he would make it.

Alphonse knew how much his brother was demoralized. There was nothing he could hide from him, he could read him like a book. And he knew that, if Ed hadn’t solved the problem yet, it could only mean one thing: he had thought too much about it and he had drawn rash conclusions. Simply put, that matter was taking a sorry course.

"Nii-san, wait!" he raised his voice a little as if he could hear Ed's thoughts. "Tomorrow, you go apologize to Winry and everything will be alright, you'll see, I know what you're thinking and I know you've come close to the point of no return. You never were one to give up. Do you want to give up just when it comes to her? I don’t want to believe it."

"Al. This isn’t about giving up or not," he answered determinedly. "We’re not talking about me at all, but about Winry's happiness... I... I want her to be happy but... I don’t know if she could ever be with me."

Alphonse, moved by the fact that his brother finally spoke to him from his heart, sighed.

"Why shouldn’t she be?" he put his elbow on the bed and rested his chin on his hand to turn toward him.

Ed turned to look at him; he looked sad. As if to say: you already know the answer.

There were a million reasons for Edward, actually. Not least his temper. But, to begin with, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and he still thought about how much his mother had suffered. For years, Ed had blamed Hohenheim, only to find out that things were quite different. Still, nevertheless, Trisha Elric had felt so much pain without having a man by her side to lean on. Moreover, there was the fact that, even if Winry was enthusiastic about the whole world of automail, staying with him meant she would have to seriously choose to live with the fact that Ed was missing a limb. That was no small feat and he wouldn’t have had her share that burden for anything in the world. She didn’t need something to remind her of her mistakes. And that’s what Ed said to Al that night.

"Have you ever tried to tell her the exact words you have told me now? Just the fact that you have thought of something like that makes you the most perfect person to make her happy, do you realize that?" he asked trying not to raise his voice, "And what do you do instead? You risk that she’ll never find out and that she’ll be content with a complete idiot who would never love her as much as you love her!"

Edward swallowed noisily.

"If you don’t want to do it for yourself," Al kept talking, "and you'd rather pity yourself probably forever, at least do it for her and do everything so that she get the happiness she deserves!"

Edward sat on his bed resting his feet on the ground. He kept his eyes on Alphonse. He huffed and puffed, firmly, then he stood up like a spring, heading for the door.

As usual, with his big brother there is no middle ground, thought Alphonse. Ed was going to talk to Winry right away taking advantage of his impetus, without waiting for the next day.

Next: Chapter 3 - Chapter 4