A/N: Written for a contest at '503-TheEdWin-FC' on deviantART.
Ed walked against the wind, his hair, tied back in a loose pony tail, blowing behind him. He walked up the hill with relative ease, just as he had several other times since his return from the West three months ago. He carried nothing and dressed plainly, all he had were his thoughts, and the thoughts he would have when he saw the house again.
Today wasn't like all the other times he came to visit and it didn't have the same feeling to it either. Ever since he'd successfully gotten Al's body back, a massive weight seemed to have lifted from his stomach. He was able to go to his mother and father's graves with Al and Winry; begrudgingly forgive his father; remember his mother with smiles instead of tears. He could even go back to the ruins he created and remember only the good times.
Except for today.
It was a bad day from the start as far as Ed was concerned. He slept fitfully, waking up at random points from nightmares he couldn't recall ten seconds later. When the sun finally rose, Ed felt like punching it, then throwing it back into the far reaches of space where it belonged. He'd forced himself awake and into the kitchen, only to find an empty house and no breakfast on the table.
A hastily scrawled note had been left for him by Winry, explaining that she and Granny had gotten a call from a customer in town who needed immediate assistance. Something about an accident that busted up some wires and could be potentially lethal if not fixed right away, Ed couldn't really make that part out too well.
All it really meant was that Ed would be going solo today, and he wasn't particularly bothered by that. While Winry and occasionally Pinako had been going with him and he appreciated the company, today Ed really just wanted to do it alone. He wasn't even sure why anymore, hadn't he put all this behind him? Al was safe and happy, and he himself was going to be starting a life with Winry soon. He was happy, he really, really was.
But the memories would never truly fade, and on October 3rd, they were always stronger than ever.
Ed could see the very top of the wreckage just above the hill now. His pace quickened, a purely subconscious reaction. Before he knew it, the charred remains of what had once been his home loomed over him. Ed dug his feet into the ground, hard eyes gazing into the mess. Mentally, he went over the layout of the house, it had stayed fresh in his mind no matter how many years went by.
To the right was the kitchen. Mom used to make cookies and cake in there for his and Al's birthdays. The dining room was connected to it, they had all their meals in that room, no matter how small. His mother never liked finding crumbs in the bedrooms.
The living room was all the way to the left. His mother used to entertain guests, usually the Rockbells, in that room. The bedrooms were all upstairs; his was at the very end of the hall across from Al. Mom's was two doors away, a bathroom and small closet separating them.
Ed's eyes followed this outline, going from room to room, first floor to second, until his eyes found the back yard. The familiar blackened tree trunk was still standing just as it had been his last visit. Frayed rope hung limp on the large, dead branch.
And then he saw something very unfamiliar.
Ed opened his mouth, a soft exclamation passing through his lips. It rested several feet away from the tree: a shock of purple and green, deeply contrasting the soulless black surrounding it. Ed stood there for a mere moment longer, before his legs carried him with growing speed to the mysterious shape.
As he got closer, Ed was able to make out just what he was looking at, and it created more questions, but gave no answers.
A small bush of flowers; small, purple ones growing off tall stalks. They bent in various directions like a bouquet, the ones in the middle stood out the most. Ed could only stare at them, confusion and awe his most prevalent emotions. He took a step forward, as if looking at them more closely would answer all his questions. He heard a funny sound beneath his foot and lifted it back up to see what he'd stepped on.
To his growing surprise, a folded white piece of paper, held in place by a rock, sat before him. His name was clearly written on it, even with the dirty footprint his shoe had left. Ed tentatively bent over, removing the rock and picking up the paper. He read his name one more time before opening it. The first thing he noticed was how messy the handwriting was. Dear Ed, I'm sorry I had to run out so fast, you how work can get sometimes. It's too bad, I wanted to come with you to the house today and show you the flowers I planted. Now all I can do is leave this note for you since I'm sure you found them on your own anyway. I got these seeds from Mrs. Jacobson a few weeks ago while giving her husband his weekly check-up. I'm not much of a gardener, but I figured I should do I hope you like them! Love, Winry
All of a sudden, the whole place felt a little bit brighter.
When Ed got back an hour later, Winry was there waiting for him. She was covered in grease and looked ready to fall down dead. He approached her from behind, coughing to make his presence known. The mechanic turned around and smiled, heavily lidded eyes still managing to shine.
"Hey Ed," she greeted him. "How are you?"
Ed didn't answer with more than a smile. Winry couldn't see it, but he'd been holding back tears ever since he began the walk home. Without warning, Ed grabbed her hand and pulled the startled Winry into a hug. He held her tight, never wanting to let go as he finally allowed a few tears to leak out his eyes.
He leaned over just a tiny bit, enough to reach her ear and speak for only her to hear.
"Thank you, Winry."
Somehow, she must have known what he meant, because she began to hug him back twice as hard.
The next day, they went back and watered the flowers together.
A/N: I'm not entirely happy with this one and I'll probably go through tomorrow and do some small revisions. Overall though, I think it turned out pretty good.
Hope you enjoyed! :)