Edween Vol. 5

home, again

Wood can be burnt, shingles set aflame, wallpaper turned to ash. But concrete withstands. It survives.

I am nothing now but foundation, deep into the ground. I used to hold things up. A family, rowdy boys who ran around instead of nap, boys who screamed to the stars like they owned the sky. There was a mother, and a father too, but they were burned out of me. Only the boys remain. I’m not sure what’s happened to them. Once I recognized that parts of me survived the fire, the boys were long gone.

There were palms set into my concrete walkway, right outside the basement that still stands, empty and damp. Ed and Al, forever encased here in this home. Are they alive? I watch over their handprints, little ghosts that keep me going. I’m not haunted. I’m here to tell a story. Children trek on the Resembool road to the tippy-top to see the house of nothing– that’s what they expect, not a thing. But I’m here, and the trees were spared, and the grass is growing. Not all spectres are bad.

Beside the boy’s prints is a thumbprint. Winry couldn’t be forgotten, the boys had pleaded. The home remembers when the girl pressed her thumb in and marveled at the shape left behind.

I’m here too, she said. Forever.

(read the rest under the cut or here on ao3)

lay hands on me (love the wolfman)

They were all safe when the dark moon was around . When the night sky was devoid of moonshine, the yard lit only by stars.

Edward had been sick, sicker than usual. Something had bit him while he was transformed, and the bite was infected. He was feverish, and slept all day. Winry could hear him, begging for Al to come home, to be human again. He even asked for his mother once, when the fever was at its worst and her and granny had to strip him and cover him in cool washcloths.

Each night she watched over him with tears in her eyes.

“I think the worst is over,” Granny said, coming out to meet Winry on the porch. “He should be fine on his own tonight.”

“No. I want to watch him just in case. He’s still not fully cognizant.”

Granny didn’t argue.. She handed her granddaughter a mug of tea and wished her goodnight. Winry stayed outside for a few more minutes, listening for a wolf’s howl. It had been weeks since they’d seen a sign of Al, but she hoped every night he’d show up.

The night was as quiet as it could be. Nothing like a wolf was around.

She braced herself and headed for Ed’s room.

lay hands on me (love the wolfman)

They were all safe when the dark moon was around . When the night sky was devoid of moonshine, the yard lit only by stars.

Edward had been sick, sicker than usual. Something had bit him while he was transformed, and the bite was infected. He was feverish, and slept all day. Winry could hear him, begging for Al to come home, to be human again. He even asked for his mother once, when the fever was at its worst and her and granny had to strip him and cover him in cool washcloths.

Each night she watched over him with tears in her eyes.

“I think the worst is over,” Granny said, coming out to meet Winry on the porch. “He should be fine on his own tonight.”

“No. I want to watch him just in case. He’s still not fully cognizant.”

Granny didn’t argue.. She handed her granddaughter a mug of tea and wished her goodnight. Winry stayed outside for a few more minutes, listening for a wolf’s howl. It had been weeks since they’d seen a sign of Al, but she hoped every night he’d show up.

The night was as quiet as it could be. Nothing like a wolf was around.

She braced herself and headed for Ed’s room.

Fluff

Costumes: Halloween Costume Party. Pre-Lab 5.

Words: ~1190

Note: Beta? Nope, no beta.

Kindle

“Brother, are you sure about wearing that? You could have just worn your usual costume. You know the mane and all?” the suit of armor called after his older brother.

“Al, I always wear that old thing to every Halloween party. It's getting old, plus this is the first party she will be attending, so let's just say it's revenge for her tossing that wrench at me last time we visited Resembool.” The state alchemist chuckled. “Winry has disrespected me and my height for way too long, this is payback.”

“Oh brother, it's almost as if you really like Winry.” Al whispered under his breath as he shifted the pumpkin on his head. Ed decides to ignore his comment.

They are attending the yearly Amestrian Halloween party that was only for military personnel and their guests. The number of people this year is sizable, but the hall is even larger. The familiar faces and the grand hall were lost on Ed, for only one guest was on his mind as he tried to find the automail-loving geek from within the crowd. Since everyone knew of Ed's infamous temper, they all decided to let him be, except for one.

“Ed..what are you wearing?” called a familiar voice behind the brothers. Ed turns around to find himself in front of Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.

“A costume. I'm using this to make fun of someone, specifically my automail engineer for being rude to me. This is one way I can get back at her.” Ed gives him a thumbs up.

Hughes shakes his head, “I don’t follow...but since you're just standing around, check out my little Elicia!" He moves to the side, revealing his four-year-old daughter wearing a superhero outfit, “look at how cute she is! Doesn't she look adorable?”

“Hi, Elicia. Nice outfit, what are you supposed to be?” Al asks as he lowers himself to meet the child's gaze.

Elicia grins, “I’m dressed up like daddy. I want to be just like him when I grow up, so I dressed up as a superhero!”

“Aww, that's so adorable, right Ed?… Ed?” Al looks sideways to find Ed walking away.

“Yeah, yeah, cute and all, but Al and I have to find my mechanic, so we’ll catch up with you guys later.”

Al hurries to Ed's side, “brother, can't you just forget about Winry for five minutes and have fun? Look, people are dancing over there, you should join.”

“No, Al. I need to find Winry, she’s got to be around here somewhe-“ Ed’s eyes land on a too-familiar red coat. Why was someone who was wearing his coat just nonchalantly standing next to Paninya? Ed dashes toward the girl wearing HIS red coat. “Winry!? Why are you wearing my coat!?”

The young girl's eyes widen at the sound of her name coming from no other than her childhood friend from Resembool. She turns around, ready to scold the young alchemist for raising his voice in this lavish environment.

“Well hello, Ed...Edward?! Why are you wearing my trousers...and my... tube top?”

Edward straightens his shoulders and sticks his tongue out at Winry. “I think this look fits me well, after all, I am a nerdy gearhead.”

“A gearhead?! Well...this outfit suits me too since I am an alchemy freak!”

“Alchemy freak!? I’ll remind you that I am considered an alchemy prodigy and am the youngest state alchemist in Amestris.”

Winry rolls her blue eyes, "Well, you are the smallest state alchemist here, I'll give you that.”

At the sound of the one word he hated most in the world, Ed sprung up, only to be held back by Al, “Who you calling a pipsqueak midget who can't even go to the beach because he's so small, he'd sink into the sand and when the tide comes in he doesn't even sink or have to worry about drowning because he's so microscopic he can breathe all the oxygen atoms in the water? I’ll let you know that I am at least 5’4.”

“5’4 if you stand on Al,” Winry raises one eyebrow.

Ed manages to break free only to trip on the carpet and tumble directly onto Winry. They both stumble back and knock off a table with decor. Nothing breaks, but Al and Paninya decide they had enough of this useless banter.

"Go outside and talk it out," they both shout in unison.

Ed slowly rises, glaring at Al. Seeing that there was no way out of this, Ed sighs and looks down at Winry. She's still sitting on the floor, finding an interest in everything in the hall except Ed. "Come on Win, let's go outside for a bit." Winry looks up at him only to find golden eyes staring back and his left arm extending towards her, offering to help her to get up. She takes it, and Ed leads her to the main exit.

.

.

They're both seated outside on the front stairs of the building. Neither has said a word these past ten minutes, only a couple of glances stolen, neither brave enough to speak up. The autumn air lifts leaves above the ground and sets them a couple meters away.

Ed shivers, internally scolding himself for not opting for one of Winry's warmer clothing, when he feels something soft on his shoulder. He blushes as he finds Winry has placed her red coat on him.

"You seem cold. I'm wearing comfortable clothes... and it's your coat anyways," she whispers.

Ed mumbles a thanks.

"I'm sorry I took one of your coats. I just wanted to surprise you. It's been a while since I saw you last, so I just wanted to make sure I caught your attention, even for just a bit." She hugs her knees. "You and Al, are always busy... and sometimes I feel like you forget about me and Granny."

"Winry," Ed pauses. "Al and I may always be busy, but we never forget about you guys. I'm glad I got to see you today, I... really enjoy your company." Ed gives her a shy smile.

Winry smiles back and quickly looks away before Ed can see her blushing. She’s surprised when she realizes Ed scooted closer and is patting her head.

They stay like that for a couple more minutes, before Ed speaks up. "Here," Ed hands his coat to Winry. "It looks good on you, so you can keep it if you want."

Winry grabs it and puts it on.

"Thanks. Well, I'm going to head back inside before Paninya starts thinking I forgot about her. Oh, and Ed," She gives him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll see you around.”

Ed watches her disappear into the hall, dumbfounded.

Maybe Al was right, he did care about Winry. Maybe he’ll one day tell her how he truly feels about her, but for now, he’s got other things to deal with, so he heads into the building to find Al.

plaited

Garfiel draped her in an old white sheet. He wound it around her torso, covering her shorts and tube top, and fit it so it sloped over one shoulder, leaving the other bare.

“A toga? Like they used to wear in Xerxes?”

His eyes lit up. “Exactly. You almost have the perfect hair for it. And it’s the easiest thing to do since you have no costume. Have you really never dressed up for Halloween before?”

“Nope. Resembool has a harvest festival instead, since there are so many farmers in town. That gets pretty rowdy though! I’ve had to help granny get home several times.”

Winry grinned, thinking of her stumbling Granny and the cool air of autumn. It wasn’t like that in Rush Valley. The sky was hazy and fall was a concept instead of an actual season. People in the valley loved dressing up anyway– Winry had heard Garfiel mention the Halloween block party several times, and Paninya had joined her in the workroom for the past few nights hand sewing the perfect pair of pants. All of her clients also mentioned costumes and the party, she just never thought it was a huge deal. She could go as a…mechanic!

Garfiel said no though, and now she was wrapped into the toga.

“I don’t have anything gold,” he apologized. Instead of the traditional golden belt, he cinched one of  brown leather around her waist. It kept the folds he made perfectly tight, and helped show her shape just a bit. Garfiel twisted her around and made her look in the shop mirror. Through the smudges she could see most of her upper body.

“I feel pretty!” she beamed.

Angst

Haunted House: Ed and Al visit a haunted house (a simulated haunted attraction) in Germany, Post CoS

Words: ~1100

Note: No beta.

—————————————————————————

Saudade

(Noun) “A nostalgic longing to be near again to something or someone that is distant, or that has been loved and then lost; ‘the love that remains’.”

“Will you hurry it up, brother? We won’t make it in time!” the younger of the two piped up impatiently. The older brother sighed, but continued his steady pace. He was in no way excited to visit this famous haunted house that so many people in town talked about. With a stagnant air in Germany caused by rumors of strife in the outskirts, Ed deemed this the worst possible time to be out and about in the streets of Munich. But with Al’s ever growing homesickness, Ed figured that he might as well take some time to clear out his mind and try to have fun. Living in Germany was no easy task, even with an extra set of hands to help out.

With a twirl of the chain from his pocket watch, one that he carried around to serve him as a reminder of all that he’s been through, Ed looked up to meet Al’s eyes and grinned. “No need to rush Al, I’m sure it’ll be open all night. The later we get there the scarier it’ll be, right?”

The younger brother stopped in his tracks and rolled his eyes, “The later we get there, the more packed the place will be with people too.”

Ed shrugged as he passed Al and decided to, ever so lightly, quicken his pace. It’s not like we know anyone in this part of town. We rarely visit this area, Ed thought. The late October breeze gave him a chill. I should have brought a jacket, Ed thought as he pouted.

.

.

The full moon was high up in the dark sky when they finally arrived at the haunted house. A lone beech tree lay dormant next to the three-floored house. Like Al had assumed, the place was busing with curious commoners in search of a scary night, one that offers them a fright in exchange for a few Rentenmarks. Ed knew the house would not have much of an effect on him. I’ve seen terrible things, I’ve done terrible things, not much scares me anymore.

After paying for two tickets, the brothers entered the house. As soon as Ed walked in, he noticed cobwebs covering the corners of the house, the smell of wet wood, and lights flickering from above. He crossed his arms. If I had wanted to visit a worn down house, I should have just stayed home.

From his peripherals, he saw a man with a hook for a hand come running towards him. “ARGH, another beast has taken my hand, so I’ll take yours,” the pirate howled. Without even flinching, Ed turned to the man, “buddy, you’re too late, I already lost it, but I have to hand it to you, these costumes look real, though they could use a wash.” The pirate walked away, head lowered, mumbling about being late for work.

Al shook his head and stuck his tongue at Ed, “brother you’re no fun. I’m going to go ahead into the left room, you check out another room and tell me if there's anything good in there.”

Ed watched as Al darted to an adjoining room. Oh Al, ever the excited kitten looking for new adventures. This old cat just wants to rest. Ed would have stayed longer in the room if there wasn’t a group of people behind him slowly pushing him towards the right door. Annoyingly, Ed walked through the doorway, having to move vines to be able to walk through.

Finally having cleared the way, Ed stepped into the room. A skeleton fell from the ceiling, a couple of strangers on his sides jumped back. Ed sneered. I can’t wait to find Al to tell him that this room was full of skeletons, Ed thought with the most possible sarcasm known to exist. The lights grew dim, a red hue surrounded the room, smoke began to cover the floor. A loud boom erupted from the side as bats flew above everyone in the room. Ed chuckled as everyone screamed.

Something touched his leg which caused him to jolt to the side, his shoulder lightly brushing against someone else's arm. He looked up to apologize, but his thoughts stopped as his breath hitched, when he met the person’s eyes: blue irises. The young girl stared back at him, giving him a too-familiar smile and a quick ‘sorry’, before she continued her way to the other side of the room.

Memories he had suppressed for many months resurfaced as his eyes followed the familiar stranger. The blond hair sitting on shoulders, the captivating blue eyes glancing back at him, the smile that haunted him every single night since he bid farewell to Amestris.

Ed’s mind began to spin as he inhaled sharply. Winry is here. She came to us. She’s here. He looked up to find the blonde on the far side of the room poking at a pumpkin on a table. Ed had never felt this gleeful. Ecstatic. Elated. He was going to apologize profusely for leaving without a proper farewell. He would spend countless nights with her on his balcony talking about his adventures in Germany and Winry’s automail research. He would make sure they would catch up, for all the years they’ve been on separate journeys, for all the letters he’s written for her that made a home in his drawer. He would confess his love for her when the time comes. He would grow old with her, making sure that every possible minute he could spend with her.

He took a few steps towards her at the other side, ready to call out her name, his hand ready to grasp hers.

He stopped.

Ed’s eyebrows furrowed as he pursed his lips. No. That-that’s not Winry. Be logical. That can’t be Winry. That must be Winry from this world.

“Wendy, let's go to the next room. Everyone has already moved on,” some girl called out. With sorrowful eyes, Ed watched the person he missed the most in this world walk away. Is this how Winry felt when she saw me walking away for the last time... knowing that I was leaving... forever? He closed his eyes. Ed’s head lowered, a lone tear falling and catching on the corner of his mouth.

.

.

Al found Ed half an hour later outside sitting on a tree stump. “Hey brother. How’d it go? Did you get scared at all?”

Ed looked up at his younger brother. He gave a weak smile as he slowly stood up. “Most of it was pretty lame...but there was at least something that spooked me.”

Al smiled back. “That’s great, maybe we should come back next year.”

“Yeah, we...could try that,” Ed replied.

Al began walking back.

The older brother stood still for a second as he looked up at the moon. He quietly whispered under his breath:

half-life

The first time she saw his ghost she wanted to beat him with her wrench, wanted to dig her fingernails into his chest like claws, wanted to see him bloody, wanted him to cry, because how fucking dare he come back. The man did not believe in ghosts. The man believed there could be something that came after , but he didn’t believe in god, just the Truth and himself (and when he’d say that, oh how he would laugh and laugh). He dealt with ghosts in his head, pieces of people he wished he could’ve saved, but he never said a thing about believing in real ones.

His form was almost see through, and he was dressed like the day he and Al came home, white fluffy jacket that was pristine, black shirt and pants, hair in a ponytail, and his smart ass grin.

She was wearing that jacket, and while it was still white, there was a hole in the armpit and the tips of the sleeves were gray from oil and it smelled because Winry hadn’t let it dry long enough before putting it on.

“Winry,” the ghost said, like he did before they were together, when they were still stuck in between lovers and friends.

She runs straight towards the form, and it disappears.

its edween 2020, babey!

prompt: full moon

summary:  It’s your usual boy-meets-girl, girl and boy fall in love, happily-ever-after kind of story. Except the girl is an ancient vampire and the boy doesn’t know what the hell he is, and maybe they’re not in love yet…but they’re sure as hell in something.

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell

Characters: Edward Elric, Winry Rockbell

a loose continuation of the previous one

Winry’s almost done packing her supplies back into their emergency bag (and jeez, only Ed would manage to make it necessary to keep a kit on hand for actual minor-to-major catastrophes during a semi-honeymoon trip) when she feels a tug on the bottom of her coat.

She tucks the last roll of bandages away and looks down to find a small girl staring up at her with wide eyes. 

Mixed ancestry, Winry tentatively guesses, though she doesn’t become certain of it until the girl starts talking – in Amestrian, thankfully, because Winry hasn’t learned Ed’s knack for absorbing new languages like an aggressive sponge.

“Miss? Can ask you something?” The words are uncertain and halting, but more clearly enunciated than most of the Amestrian speakers they’ve met in Drachma so far; Winry chalks it up to possibly having one mostly-Amestrian parent.

She latches the bag closed before crouching down to the girl’s eye level, which also lets her do a quick once-over for injuries. “Are you hurt?” she asks, repeating it in Drachman for good measure. (It’d been one of the two dozen phrases she’d made Ed and Al teach her in every language and dialect they picked up while travelling, especially now that Rush Valley was seeing more and more visitors from abroad.)

The girl shakes her head, and Winry smiles in relief. She hadn’t looked injured, either, but fur coats could hide many things, never mind that it wasn’t even properly winter yet. 

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell, Edward Elric & Winry Rockbell

Characters: Edward Elric, Winry Rockbell

To a tin soldier, time doesn’t exist. The only time that they truly know is that of the child that plays with them. Much like any other toy, their world revolves around a child. They know when the child is asleep, when the child is at school, and when the child is doing chores that they don’t want to do but their parents will ground them if they don’t. Toys also know that time is completely suspended when the child is playing with them, using their imagination to create worlds and stories without number.

So to Edward, this was normal. All he needed was for a child to pick him up again. Not that he was ever played with before, but he was still a toy. So he waited. On the bottom of the ocean floor he waited, slowly sinking into the sand with the shifting currents.

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell

Characters: Edward Elric, Winry Rockbell

Ed closed his eyes, letting her expertise take over. His brain was still trying to process everything she had said, however. “Wait. Spell as in witchcraft? You’re a witch?” Winry sighed. “You say ‘witch’ like it’s a bad thing.”

@edweenweek Prompt Magic (Treat)

With their first child well on its way and a heavily pregnant Winry confined to bedrest for the third trimester, it was up to Edward to get the house ready for a newborn. Of course, he wasn’t alone and had a lot of help from his brother Al who was just as excited about becoming an uncle. Fresh paint, baby furniture and toys. Gifts were sent from all over Amestris because of the Elrics notoriety in saving their country.

Edward wanted to make sure there were reminders of not just the new life being brought into this world, but of the lives it took to get to this point. So he searches the home for just the right touches to put in the nursery. They found family photos of the both their parents, an old stuffed animal of Winry’s, and then as he searched her basement workshop, a wooden box.

It took Edward a few moments to remember its origin, and as he did a smile winds its way upon his face. ‘Oh, this is perfect!’ It was worn and aged, 15... maybe 20 years old if his memory served him right. It appeared as if his wife hasn’t used it in years, but kept it all this time in her most sacred of areas; her workshop. He takes the box upstairs and works diligently to restore it. Inside and out it’s cleaned up with a fresh coat of varnish added to bring out the dark-cherry finish.

“What you got there, brother?” Al walks over with a big box of his own in his arms. He puts it down to get a closer look.

“You don’t remember?” Edward responds. “It’s one of the first things I made when I could control my alchemy.”

“Oh, wow! Yeah, the jewelry box you made for Win! I didn’t know she still had it.”

“Neither did I. I found it in her workshop.”

“You gonna put it in the nursery?”

“That’s the plan.”

A few days later, the two brothers finish setting up the nursery and help Winry out of bed to take a look.

“This is amazing you guys!” She was in awe over the job they’d done. “I love the colors too!”

Winry walks around the room, touching and inspecting, checking out all the furniture that had been set up. A beautifully made bassinet sent by Roy and Riza was definitely a highlight of the room. But as she continued, one particular item catches her attention on the dresser. She runs her hand along the smooth new surface, a smile, soft in remembrance as if transported back to another time.

Edward wraps his arms around her waist and rests his hands over her stomach. “You like?”

“You restored it, thank you.” She kisses his cheek. “But why put it in here?”

“My magic created this,” he touches the box, “and your magic is creating this,” he puts his hand back on her belly. Edward smiles. “They deserve each other.”

“You’re so silly!” Winry giggles, “but I love it. We can put his or hers first things in it like a keepsake box.”

“When you said to come visit you in Rush Valley this is not what I was expecting!” Ed has to yell to be heard over the din. It’s worse than that bazaar in Xing which he’s still mostly convinced Ling had only brought him to as a prank.

Winry apparently sees no problem with this, because she just yells back. “Well how was I supposed to know that you’d be arriving at Halloween? Weren’t you supposed to be back from Creta one month ago!”

“Hello-who? And I can’t help that there were like two separate international incidents – which I mostly helped to solve, not cause, before you say anything.”

Winry graces him with brief skepticism before her expression melts into a grin, and she slows down so Ed can actually walk beside her instead of being dragged along. “At least Major Hawkeye didn’t have to pay your ransom this time, so that’s improvement.”