Understatement of the Century

I

The cool autumn breeze blew, making a small tornado out of the fallen leaves. The short green grass with hints of brown swayed only slightly, but the almost bare trees were getting pushed and pulled by the wind. The few flowers that were still standing shivered, knowing their end was right around the corner with winter.

There was a sense of serenity in the air. The atmosphere smelled fresh, also carrying the aroma of delicious food. Birds chirped their songs, that being the only sound thrown into the wind.

Well, that and the slightly loud clanging of tools.

Of course, Ed didn't mind hearing Winry search through all her "collectibles". He was used it. And he couldn't help but smile gently as he watched her.

With her low mumbles of "I know I have it in here somewhere" and her half-frustrated groans when her long, blonde hair was blown into her face, Winry was definitely a sight to behold.

"I swear, Ed, you would think after this long you would know how to fix the automail," she said just loudly enough for him to hear. He did nothing but grin as he lay back with his hands behind his head.

"I do know how," he finally responded, "I just don't want to do it right now."

"And why would that be?" she fired back at him, though her eyes brightened when she finally found what she was looking for. She walked over to him, holding her tool up like she wanted to stab him with it. "'Cause you're lazy! That's why." Winry answered for him.

Instead of responding, he plopped his metal arm out beside him. Ed didn't even try to hold back his laughter when she sighed, but plopped down beside him nonetheless.

-

Ed thought about arguing nonstop with her that day, but decided against it. At that time, he knew he and Al would be leaving the next day. There had been rumors going about involving the Philosopher's Stone and Ed wanted to get there as soon as possible. The distance was great, however, permitting him to believe that they would be gone for a lot longer than usual this time around.

He didn't know why, but he didn't tell Winry about it. She knew they were leaving again, but they never specified where.

That was almost five years ago and to that day, Ed still wondered if anything would have changed if he did tell her.

Al tried his best to convince his brother that it would be best to tell Winry where they were heading, but Ed kept insisting that he would tell her in a letter. After all, he knew how emotional that girl could get at times.

Right before they were about to leave, Ed and Al were just beginning to walk away from Winry's house when Ed turned around quickly.

"I like you a lot, Winry," he said. It was so abrupt, he even surprised himself that he said it. His mind didn't even have enough time to fight against it. Besides, since when did those kinds of words just spill out of his mouth?

From there on after, he would always shake his head in shame and embarrassment. 'I like you a lot? What a stupid understatement that was…'

There was a certain look in her eyes that made him unable to tear his gaze from her. On the surface, she was nothing more than confused and shocked. Underneath it all, she had a desire to return his words and hear more.

Before she could get the words out, Ed flashed her a smile and continued walking, Al following suit. Winry watched them go, smiling also when she saw Ed turn to Al and begin yelling, and Al hold up his hands in defense. She pictured Al chuckling softly at his brother's outburst.

"I like you, too, Ed," she said into the wind, wondering if it carried her voice to Ed.

Even if it could've reached him, he was too busy yelling to hear.

He liked to blame his outburst on his age. Sure, Ed knew when and how to be mature, but that usually only came about when alchemy was involved. Romance was something he tried not to think about; to not have interfere with his travels.

But now that he was older, twenty-one to be exact, he thought maybe it was about time he and Winry actually sat down and talked an actual talk. About them. Not about alchemy or automail.

Ed smiled as he looked out the window of the train, nothing but trees zooming past his vision. A lot had happened to him and Al over the past five years with only sending a couple letters to Winry. Many scars and terrors were born along the way, but there was always that certain something that could forever push them forward.

Looking down at his mechanical arm, Ed had no regrets. They did end up finding the Philosopher's Stone, alas, it got destroyed during a big battle over it. He found that if he didn't use it how he did first, things wouldn't have turned out as great as they did. Ed still didn't have his arm or leg, but…

Taking a look at the sleeping Al next to him, Ed knew he wouldn't have it any other way. Finally being able to see his younger brother in the flesh was the greatest reward of all.

Even when he saw that Al was taller than him. Ed grew to be between five foot six and five foot seven. For awhile, he thought it was great that he was now only a couple inches shorter than everyone else. But when he saw Al to be about five foot ten, it basically ruined all his dreams of possibly being looked upon as the older brother. To everyone they met, Ed came off as the younger one and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He thought back to Winry and wondered how tall she had gotten. She was always just a little taller than him and wondered how it would be if she was still that way.

'That would be more than a little awkward…' He thought to himself.

Dismissing the thought, his amber eyes focused on Al again when he moaned quietly. He fluttered his eyes before rubbing the sleep out of them with his palms.

"Are we there yet?" Al asked, looking out the window to see if he recognized anything.

Ed rested his elbow on the window seal to hold his chin in his hand, "We still have about another hour to go."

"Oh…" Al commented dryly, stretching his legs and arms, "I bet you're excited, huh Brother?"

Ed nodded, "It's gonna be great to be back home."

"I can't wait for Winry to see me. She's going to be so surprised!" Al's eyes turned excitedly to Ed, "What do you think?"

Smiling gently with a proud look, Ed agreed, "She's going to be overjoyed, Al. It's been awhile since she's seen either one of us with a full human body."

The way he said it made Al do a double take. It didn't take him long to figure out what made him downhearted. As soon as they left on this mission, all Ed could talk about was how he couldn't wait to show Winry two human arms. The thought sometimes made Al look at his arms in disgust, wanting to rip out one of his to give to his brother. No matter what went down or what Ed said, Al would always find it unfair that only one of them was completely normal again.

"Hey, don't look like that, Al," Ed said, giving a big smile to cheer him up, "we gotta be happy when we show up. It won't be much of a coming home surprise if we look disappointed."

"I know, but…"

"No buts," Ed told him, narrowing his eyebrows, "we achieved something, Al. You got your body back and it's great to see you again. So let's make a deal, okay?" Ed proposed, leaning forward, "No more talk about what could've happened. Deal?"

Holding out his metal hand, Al looked down at it before looking into his older brother's determined eyes. Like always, seeing the strength in him built up his courage also. His flesh grasped the cool metal to seal the pact.

-

"Well, we're here," Ed said when they stepped onto the Rockbell's property. They each had a single bag they held limply at their sides. Ed dropped it to the ground and cupped his hands around his mouth. Taking in a deep breath, he screamed as loud as he could, "Winry! We're home!"

Al laughed at Ed's enthusiasm, but kept his eye on the door that Winry was to come out of. When a few moments went by and all was as still as could be, he began to get worried.

"Umm…what if no one's home right now? Our surprise will be ruined," Al said, feeling slightly disappointed.

"No, it won't," Ed shot back, picking up his bag again and walking toward the house, "they'll be even more surprised when they come home and see us lounging in the living room, acting as though we were sitting there for weeks."

"That's true," Al nodded, walking quickly to keep up with Ed. They both stopped, however, when they saw the front door begin to open. Their smiles widened in anticipation. Blonde hair was seen from the side, causing Ed to take a few more steps forward, "Winry…"

Then she stepped out the door. Ed's smile quickly dropped, followed by Al's. Winry looked as beautiful as ever. Her hair was still down to her rear, the blonde taking on a new shine from the high noon sun. Her big blue eyes were full of joy and excitement. Her body was even more toned, showing it off nicely with a small tank top and tight jeans. Her feet were bare which somehow added to the look of purity, but there was one little detail that threw both the Elric brother's off.

Ed was having a hard time tearing his gaze from this surprise. His mouth was hanging open, but he closed it quickly when he swallowed roughly. Slowly and with a shaky hand, he pointed, "Al…umm…do you see what I see."

"I sure do," Al responded simply.

There were no other words needed. They both automatically assumed the worst, knowing it was hard to think otherwise.

For right in Winry's arms was a baby no more than a year old, looking as though it was about to cry from the intrusion.

What, oh what, did Winry do?