Chapter 1 - Cloudy
The verdant feilds of Resembool blew with the sweet scent of summer; the lush grass and the sparse trees sung with hapiness as the fresh air wistled though them, rusteling and blowing freely. It was a beautiful summer, much like the ones that always came across the quaint little village. Winry laid down on the back porch on a woden sun chair; the family business was booming, so she took advantage of all her time off by soaking up a little sun and just doing some good old relaxing. Seeing as there was nothing else better to do, she watched Ed chase the dog around the yard for a while.
Ever since he returned Al to his original state, Edward's mood improved and his general state of being was lightned. It also seemed that his attitude towards her was changing as well; it was only a slight warming, but it was still there, witch made he mind jump for joy. He wasn't as cold, and he talked to her more; Winry was without a doubt giddy as a schoold girl, though not outwardly so.
Along with all this, Al also seemed different. Being a suit of armor meant he didn't have to eat, sleep or feel pain, but he also really didn't feel anything at all, like true happiness. His attitude had changed, not a whole lot, he was still Al, but he bacame more outspoken and active. Not to mention, his seemingly depressed demeanor did a complete turn around; he was one of the cheeriest people she knew; coupled with his older brother, nothing in the world seemed wrong at the time.
Winry smiled, she was so happy things were back to the way they should have been all along. "Winry..." A small voice from the kitchen called out to her. Looking back she could see her grandmother waving a wooden spoon.
"Huh? Oh!" She smiled and turned towards the backyard where Edward was in a tug of war with the family dog, Den. "Hey Ed! Food's done!" She yelled out to him. Ed looked up from the dog and smiled; Winry was so happy to see him smiling, it wasn't forced, it wasn't coupled with an overberring burden, it was just a happy smile.
"Thanks!" He replied as he calmed the dog down and headed up to the porch. He smiled at Winry on his way to the door. Holding it open for her, they both entered the kitchen. Al was helping set the table and put out the food. Al had always helped his mother in the kitchen while Ed fooled around outside. Things were truly back to the way they were in the beginning.
"Hey brother." Al said as he handed Edward a letter; it was addresed from central. "I think Roy's trying to spoil our time off." Al didn't belong to the military, at least not yet; the alchemy exam wasn't being held till winter, so he had half a year to prepare. Still, along side his brother, he activly participated in military business.
"Wonder what that old dog wants..." Tapping the letter on the set table he knocked the paper on the inside to one side. Ripping open the opposite end he took the letter out and began to read. There was a moment of slience, Winry stood there, worried her two of he childhood friends would once again be torn away form her and hurled into danger. This however didn't seem to be the case, the smile on Ed's face said otherwise.
Al peeked over the top of the letter slightly. "What is it?" He was not able to read upside down, so he was left in suspence.
"Well..." Ed began as he passed him the paper. "We're being comissioned to do a little escorting. The holy leader of Lior is being summoned to Central to recieve some documents scantioning her to be a lisensed and recognized leader." Ed gave him a smile.
Al was in shock. "You mean Rose...?" He exclaimed with a smile on his face, he continued to skim the letter.
"Yup." Ed said as he sat down at the table. "We have most of the day tomorrow, so there's no rush." Folding his arms he lounged back in his seat. "I wonder if she'll be bring her baby with her." Ed wondered.
Al shrugged. "I hope so, I've only gotten to hold him once since I got my body back. He was so wam and cute." He smiled, feeling the softness of Ravi, Rose's baby, was one of the first things he actually felt after recieving his body back; right after his brother's suffocating hug to be exact.
Winry smiled. "So, how long is this going to take?" She asked.
Al looked up from the letter. "Probably a week or so. A few days to get there, stay a couple of days then, provided nothing comes up, we'll head back." He folded the letter and placed it back into it's evlelop then handed it back to Ed.
"Yeah, you don't need to worry about us. It's nothing dangerous." Ed comforted her as he eyed the food on the oposite side of the kitchen with anticipation. "Mmm...We'll start packing tonight, our train leaves tomorrow at 4 pm." All was settled, they all sat down and enjoyed their meal. Supper was just a simple stew, though it was very filling and quite deliscious, it was their favorite. It reminded the boys of the way their mother use to cook; nostalgia was a fine thing.
Later that evening everyone retired to bed early, except for Ed, he just couldn't seem to fall asleep; maybe he was excited to see Rose again, or maybe his body knew it would be on a long train ride the following day and wanted to sleep then. Either way, instead of keeping Al up with his constant tossing, he headed outside to the back step.
Sitting down he heard some soft footsteps and then a small clunk, a few soft footsteps then a small clunk; looking behind him he saw that Den had followed behind him. The dog laid down next to him and rested his head on Ed's lap, in turn he pet his soft head. The moments of slience passed slowly, Ed gazed up into the dark night, the overcast sky made the stars hidden from view. Edward sighed, looking up at the stars was one of his favorite things about coming home; the bright lights of the city prevented any good star viewing.
"Heloooo?" He heard Winry's voice from inside the house. "Who's there?" She was a little weary, thinking someone was breaking into the house.
"It's just me, I'm out back." He yelled back to her, he heard a sigh, then the clunk of a wrench being laid down. He figure she was armed. Winry's weapon of choice if a burgler decided to break in, the wrench. She walked out the back door and stood next to the frame.
"What are you doing out here this late?" She asked, a sleepy tone in her voice.
Ed looked over his shoulder. "I can't sleep. You?"
Winry smiled. "I thought someone was breaking in, this back door is loud, I'll oil it tomorrow." She smiled and sat down next to Ed, the opposite side the dog was on. "So...do you think it would be ok if I came with you?"
Ed raised an eyebrow. "You know this is military business, I can't ask if you can accompany us."
She nodded. "I know that, but I'd like to go visit Elicia, it's been a couple months since I seen her. She probably misses me; I miss her." She said with a twinge of sadness in her voice.
Ed smiled and nodded. "You just want to keep an eye on us." Winry looked a little hurt, it was true in both senses, she did miss Elicia, but she secretly wanted to make sure Ed and Al were both in reach. "I guess." He said with a smile.
Winry's eyes lit up. "What!" She was so surpirsed, usually she had to fight with him to get him to take her along.
"Yeah," He began. "Rose is bringing her son with her, you could babysit while she's at HQ. Not to mention, she may know us, but she might be more comfortable traveling for three days with another girl tagging along." Winry gave a yelp of glee and glomed onto Edward, hugging him tightly. He blushed a little. "Calm down." He laughed.
Winry smiled wide. "Oh thank you so much Edward!" She nuzzeled him roughly with her forehead. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Releasing her grip she gave him some air; she squeed with joy. "You should probably try to sleep. I'll go throw a few things in my suitcase now." She gave him an unexpected peck on the cheek and rose to her feet. "I'll see you in the morning." She skipped off merrily to her room. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." He said back. A blush crept across his face. Wirny never did that before, what made her kiss him all of a sudden? He shrugged it off and chawked it up to lack of sleep. Just then he felt a soft warm tongue press against his cheek and travel upward to his eye. "Gaah! DEN!" He ruffeled the dog's ears and lightly pushed him off his lap. "At least Winry didn't slobber on me." He whiped his cheek off. "Well...I guess I should try and sleep." He headed off to his room for the night.