Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Impossible! ❯ To Deal ( Chapter 8 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Rizenbool, July 20th 1910

The Elric brothers were probably the closest siblings in Amestris; both of them so ready to sacrifice oneself for the other. It was always a wonder how two brothers with such different personalities could have gotten so close. Though inevitably, even the closest siblings had their fights; and they said the closest always had the nastiest.

Their fights had always been fierce. Before the two Elrics knew alchemy, they would engage themselves on a fist fight. After returning from Dublith, they would use alchemy and fists in their fights. Ed seemed to have a natural talent of saying something that would hurt Al's feelings and vice versa.

Winry could always tell if the two brothers were about to fight, it could have been something she developed from her survival instinct. She would know if both of their tempers had been on the edge and about to burst -especially Ed, who was always open to his anger.

But even though she had a vague guess of what was the reason of their fight, she still could not stop their fight from happening. She didn't know what to do... she was always like that.

This time was no different.

Ed and Al were in the surgery room, in which Ed was currently staying for his nerves treatment. And she was washing the dishes from their afternoon meal. Their shouting suddenly started and made her almost break the porcelain plate she had been washing.

“Why do I always have to do what you say!” yelled Al.

“Oh, shut it, Al!” yelled Ed back. “It's not something big! Why can't you just-”

Winry put her plate down carefully, reached for the metal faucet, and turned the water off. She then made her way to the surgery room.

“See! You see, that!” came Al's angry retort, “Why does it always have to be your way!”

“What did you say!” Ed demanded as heatedly.

“You're selfish! You don't even let me say anything!”

“Selfish -Fine! I don't care anymore! Just LEAVE!”

By the time Winry arrived at the scene, Al had already slammed the door shut and yelled back, “Fine! I'm LEAVING!” He almost knocked her to the floor as he trudged his way to the back yard -leaving with a furious clanging sound of metal footsteps.

Though she should have not been surprised, Winry was frozen for a moment. She had always been confused every time she witnessed their nasty fight… for no actual reason but feeling torn between the two.

She was confused on whose side she should stand up for without hurting the other, and whose place she should go first without making the other feel left out. She hated feeling confused and torn; those feelings frustrated her. Still, she didn't know what to do to both so she ended up smacking both of their heads with her wrench, tears streaming down her cheeks, demanding peace.

Grandma Pinako arrived at the scene. “What is going on here?” she demanded.

Winry turned to the older Rockbell, “They were fighting, Granny…. Maybe Ed finally told Al to stay outside for the rest of the nerves therapy.”

Her Grandma raised her eyebrows, “Ed told you this?”

Winry didn't know why she suddenly felt flushed, remembering a particular conversation she had had with Ed one night not so long ago, “No, I'm just guessing….”

Grandma Pinako nodded, then she began to leave.

Winry was surprised at that, “Granny? Wh-What are we going to do?”

Grandma Pinako turned again, studied her granddaughter's perplexed expression. After a while, she answered, “Nothing, Winry. I trust each of them already know that the things they said to each other are not true.”

“But…,” Winry still had her doubts; both the brothers could be so stubborn and dense sometimes… well, at least Ed could.

Pinako smiled, “But I think it would help if you talk with Mr. Sulking just behind that door. I just know that he is beating himself over what he said.”

Winry looked over her shoulder to the closed guest room, which hid a sulking eleven-year-old. She looked back to her grandma, “But, Al…?”

“I believe he will return once he has calmed down,” said Pinako.

“But…,” Winry hesitated again, “but Ed can't walk right now… he always goes after Al after their fights….”

Pinako sighed resignedly, “Which one does your heart tell you to go?”

Winry was taken aback, she didn't expect her grandma to ask such thing. “I…,” she trailed, her eyes journeyed back to the door behind her.

She turned back, she found her grandma already gone from sight, possibly back into the workshop.

Her feelings were out of order. She couldn't decide, and her grandma did not want to help her.

Al was probably by the riverbanks, sorting his feelings out … alone. Like he always did every time he fought with Ed. Being the cool headed one of the brothers, he had picked up the best way for dealing with an angry Edward -which is leaving the older boy alone.

And Ed…

Her grandma might be right, Ed was probably blaming himself, Winry knew how his mind worked these days. He was so busy blaming himself that he could not see which fault was his and which wasn't anymore.

Winry suddenly realized where her thought was leading her to admit. Her eyes widened in surprise.

She… wanted to see Ed.

No matter how much of bad mood he was having at that moment, she just wanted to see him.

She felt like being poured with cold water.

Since when… Since when did she start thinking about him more? Since when did she feel so afraid to loose him? She had known him almost as long as she had known Al… how could she feel different about the two of them now?

Damn that Edward… sneaking into her mind like that. She had to be more cautious or she would end up liking him better than Al. She did not want that; they were both her best friends. She needed to give them equal attention, or one of them would feel left out. She knew how being left out felt like, and she did not want that for her friends.

She should play neutral. The both needed her right now. She should not take sides in this fight.

Her mind set, she spun on her heel and made her way to the door. She knocked three times.

“Leave me alone!” was Ed's foul answer.

Winry wince at his fierce tone but did not back away. Without even giving him any further note, she opened the door. Ed's bare back was facing her as he sat on his wheelchair.

Silently she note the various colored wires flowing from his shoulder and hanging by a hook attached to the steel wheelchair. Today was the third day of his nerves therapy, and he still had a long way to go before he could stand up on both of his feet again.

He looked over his shoulder, shooting her an angry glare before looking away again. He muttered something under his breath that she couldn't hear but was quite sure of what he had said.

She closed the door with a frown, “Well, if it bothers you so much Ed, you should figure out a better way to say it. Maybe then, they'll listen to you.”

He gave a snort before replying bitterly, “Is that why you came in? You're going to tell me that I'm a selfish arrogant good-for-nothing person, too?”

Winry felt her nerves twitch. “No one is saying that you're selfish,” her voice flat and even, “and we already knew that you're arrogant. So please try something new, Ed, like stupidity.” She emphasized the last part just to make a point.

He turned to her, his eyes clearly showed that he had not expected her last comments. “What-?” his began throatily, but quickly cleared his throat, “You think I'm stupid!” His eyes hardened and his tone became defensive.

She gave a skeptical laugh. “Yeah, well… sitting here blaming yourself for what happened isn't the smartest thing to do, don't cha think?” She made sure the last of her sentence sounded cheery, just because she knew it would annoy him.

And as expected, it provoked him. “Who said I'm blaming myself! It's not my fault Al overreacted when I asked him a simple request!”

“You're sure you aren't blaming yourself?”

Ed narrowed his eyes, clearly bothered by her answer. He turned away. “Just what I need,” he grumbled, “my brother and my best friend loosing faith in me.”

Winry wanted to take the nearest chair and smack the back of his head, but she forced her temper down. One of them had to be an adult in this argument; she could not take his bait for changing the topic every time. Someone had to snap some sense into that thick and stubborn head of his.

“I only know that you did what you did because you think it's for the best,” her tone soften before turned sharp again, “but you never think about the people around you before making that decision.”

He snapped back to her, “So you think I'm selfish.” He did not really state it like a question, but she took it as one.

“You got that right,” she replied squarely, holding his gaze.

His eyes hardened, she thought she saw a glint of pain in them. Ed quickly looked away. “You don't understand,” he gritted out, harsh and angry.

Winry moved towards him until she was standing right behind his wheelchair. She was not exactly happy with his answer. “No, Ed, actually I do. It's you who doesn't understand.”

Ed gave her a snort, clearly not believing her.

That broke her temper. She did not care about settling things down anymore. “I don't think it's us who are losing faith in you…” she replied dangerously. Something in her heart gave a rough pinch and she clenched her fists. “I think it's you who are loosing faith in us; your best friend and your brother.”

“How can you say that!” he snapped, turning back. He pinned her with a blazing gaze. She glared back relentlessly. If looks could kill then both of them would have been dead.

Winry did not back away; she hated him at that moment. He asked for it. He made her feel all sorts of things that made her confused, she felt ready to explode. “Don't you think so, Ed?” she cried back mercilessly. “Did you tell Al why you want him outside for the rest of the therapy?”

Ed opened his mouth to retort but she beat him into it;

“Shut up! If you didn't explain, how do you think he could understand?” Her eyes burned.

“Dammit, Winry!”

“Shut up! I know you don't want him to see you in pain!”

Ed closed his mouth and stayed silent.

'There he goes again, staying silent and not bothering to explain,' the thought was bitter in her mind. She clenched her fists so hard they hurt and trembled.“If you didn't say anything, how could you expect us to understand?” her voice shook.

“Winry…,” he began in caution, like he was afraid she would blow.

She did not blame him. She felt she would.

Winry drew breath, “You promised…,” she whispered tiredly, not really meant it to be heard.

Ed met her eyes, knowing perfectly which promise she was talking about. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. Then he looked away, hiding his eyes behind his bangs.

Her hands flew to her eyes but found only little moisture, she was rather pleased to know that she had not been crying… at least visibly.

They stay silent; the tension so tight it could be cut with a knife. Winry didn't really expect an apology from Ed; he was more stubborn than that. He would not go against what he thought was right just for her sake. He was never like that -even before the whole incident happened.

She sighed. If he was not going to apologize then neither was she. She put her hands to both handles of his wheelchair. “So, shall we go?” her voice calmed once again, not a hint of their prior argument.

“Wha- Wait!” he was surprised when she suddenly moved his wheelchair. “Where are we going?”

She stopped, “Don't you want to find Al?”

Ed looked at her like she had grown a third head. Time ticked away and she thought he would not say a thing. But he finally shook his head; a yielding sigh escaped his lips. “Dammit… you have never changed, Winry.”

She felt a bitter smile tugged her lips, “Neither have you, Ed.”

The irony hung between them and he gave her his own twisted smile.

She knew that both of their sentences were not exactly true. She had lost count on how often she mused about the changes in him. And she also knew that she had changed, so he probably felt the same way.

She had never outspokenly accused him for being wrong, she never had the courage. She was too afraid that he would hate her. And she had never gotten angry enough to hate him. She did today, and even though the feeling was only short-lived, it shocked her.

And maybe, because of those changes… their relationship had also changed. One thing for sure; they were not exactly partners-in-crime anymore…. They certainly were not doing any pranks, pretend-exploration, or anything of the sorts.

Winry pushed the wheelchair again, away from the surgery room. They were both silent, but different from the one they were having not so long ago. Through the silence, she could feel that he did not hold any grudge against her from their previous argument; he did not hate her, and was more than okay to forget about it.

Their arguments had always been like that. They almost never apologized to each other, their after fight silence had already spoken their apology… almost as if they knew that the fight was only a moments outburst of their pent up frustration. They would get along well again after those fights and the topic was not to be picked up again until the next fight.

After a while of searching, they found the younger Elric not by the riverbanks like she had originally thought, but surprisingly in the living room -possibly on his way back into the house.

The two brothers stared at each other for a moment, and Winry felt the familiar silence settled between them.

“Nii-san…,” Al began.

“Listen, Al…,” Ed stopped his brother's sentence before it got any further.

Their conversation ended there. They looked at each other's eyes, as if they were trying to communicate through their mind ….and Winry would not be surprised if they did.

“Nii-san,” Al began again, this time his brother did not stop him. “I'll stay outside through your nerves treatments.”

Ed did not answer immediately, but studied the huge form of his brother before he finally replied, “…thanks.” He gave the twisted grin Winry often saw these days.

And they left it at that, no apology as usual; both were probably too stubborn and proud. But Winry knew from experience that everything would be okay again between the two. After all, they were brothers, and what were they for if they could not forgive each other?

Ooo TBC ooO

A/N: I’m sorry the update was very late. I still have a feeling that something was wrong with this chapter, but no matter how much I tried to rewrite and edited it couldn’t get any better. To be short, I don’t really like the way this chapter turned out. Maybe I should have put a flash back? Or another events from their childhood? Did I rush the ending? Ugh…..


Ooo DICTIONARY ooO

baka: stupid

(o)nii-san: older brother (polite)