Coffee Breaks

Three months after Ed left for the west, Winry is in dire needs of a coffee break… Manga canon, one-shot.

This was my first ever fic, probably around four years old… I stumbled upon it while cleaning out my computer. Thanks so much to mikasrockbells on tumblr, for letting me use her art as the cover image; she has a bunch of amazing Edwin art, and other fandoms as well.

Reviews are welcome!

"Dammit!" cursed Winry, as she stubbed her thumb for the second time that morning. She couldn't concentrate. Though there were stretches of time when she wasn't acting like a complete idiot and could work just fine, this morning she had been flipping through her files, and the specs for the new leg she had been working on two months ago had fallen out…

Disgusted with herself for letting it get to her so much as to make her slip and hit herself with her hammer AGAIN, she gave up. She pushed the dinted plating of the metal arm she had been attempting to repair away from her, and got up to get some coffee.

It had been three months. Three months since that somewhat unexpected outburst from Ed at the train station, three months since Winry had considered herself engaged. Yet though that conviction still held, though she didn't doubt the fact that Ed loved her, that Ed would come home, she had to admit she had expected at least ONE phone call. One measly phone call, to tell her where he was, what he was doing, and maybe, just maybe, to let her know he missed her. All right, maybe more than one phone call. Perhaps she had half-hoped, half-expected a regular correspondence. Letters. Anything.

She wasn't sure, but she suspected she had never been as infuriated at him as she was now. It was hard to tell; when had she not been infuriated with him for a longer stretch of time than a day? But overlaid this time was a greater feeling of hurt, almost betrayal, than ever before. She tried to push the feeling down, but though she didn't doubt his love, perhaps she had hoped it would have a greater effect on him. So much had changed about him, about her as well, she had hoped to change his seemingly unbreakable habit of not corresponding with those he left behind.

They had spent two lovely summers in Resembool together after he and Al had returned, bodies mostly restored, one before she had gone back to Rush Valley for a year, and another after. And during her year in Rush Valley, they had visited each other frequently, him coming almost every month for "tune-ups." There had been words, looks, and many caresses exchanged that had caused her to swell with the happiness known only to those in love. He was still Ed: stubborn as a mule, short tempered, confident… but there was a difference. He had grown a sense of patience that seemed to be linked inextricably to the loss of his ability to perform alchemy. Sometimes, when watching Al perform an alchemy experiment, she had seen regret in his eyes, but it would always pass. And when she had asked him about it, he had discussed his feelings with her, a complete turn around from his silence and stiffness about all subjects dealing with his life that he had maintained before. He had matured in so many ways, ways that made Winry beam to think of… so why could he not figure this out?!

The coffee pot was already on. Her grandmother had probably heard her outburst and foreseen the need. Pinako was at the table, finicking with the wiring of the arm whose plating Winry had just been working on. She glanced up as Winry came downstairs, gave her a knowing look, and returned without a word to working on the wiring. Winry winced a little. She didn't know what Pinako suspected (who could hide things from her?), but Winry still couldn't bring herself to tell her grandmother everything. Winry wasn't delusional enough to imagine that her grandmother hadn't noticed a change in Winry's behavior in the last few months; both the contentment and barely contained giddiness of the first month, and the growing dissatisfaction and moodiness of the past two. Pinako was sure not to have missed the look on Winry's face returning from the train station, as sure as she would not have missed the fact that Ed had yet to call.

Sometimes, Winry would admit she hadn't ASKED Ed specifically to call her every now and again. All she had asked was for him to call for an appointment... something that had caught his attention in a most exciting way. But though she knew it was a bit unfair to expect him to do something without being asked, another part of her asked 'why not'? Why couldn't she expect him to know this, something so obvious: your fiancé wants to hear from you. A deeper, most unwanted part of herself asked: were they even engaged? His proposal was hardly conventional… and the words 'marriage' or 'engagement' were never mentioned. He hadn't even kissed her! Not that he hadn't kissed her before that… She could ignore this doubt most of the time. But the question kept her from telling her grandmother, and made her even more impatient for a phone call or letter. It angered her too, that since she didn't know where exactly he was, she couldn't even start the process by writing or calling him.

Well… that was partly a lie. There was one thing she could do. Unlike his uncommunicative brother, Al had written her several letters. And though he had mentioned Ed, it hadn't been with any news of him, only reminiscences of the past, and plans for the future they had made (as well as news of himself and that little Xingese girl, Mei). She'd responded, but couldn't bring herself to ask if he had heard from Ed. She couldn't bear the thought that Ed had written to Al, but not her. She had accepted the fact that there was a bond between the brothers that she couldn't fully share, a bond she had always been jealous of, especially as a child. But she thought she was past it; yet if she was Ed's fiancé, didn't she now have a just as important a bond with him? If Al could write, Al, who was even further away both in actual distance and this special significance, why wouldn't Ed?

She returned upstairs, glad at least that their customer hadn't been in the house to hear her cursing and see her general air of moodiness. She had been hiding it rather well whenever a customer was around; her grandmother believed above all in professionalism, as odd as that might seem whenever they worked on Ed. Winry had worked with her grandmother ever since returning from Rush Valley. It had been a tough decision, leaving a place that she still had things to teach her. She would be lying if she said that Ed didn't have a part in the decision, but there was more to it than that. Her grandmother, no matter how much she might seem to be the same as ever, was getting older. She had a fair number of clients, many whom she had worked on for decades. She wasn't up for keeping up with all of them. Moreover, Winry knew, her grandmother was lonely, all alone in a house that had always been filled with noise and bustle.

But it wasn't just about others; Winry missed her home, too. She knew she was a person who could live in a city, or in the country, and be happy in both. She truly enjoyed Rush Valley. But there were many times she missed the woods down by the stream, the large meadow leading to Ed and Al's old house, the cool nights sitting on her porch looking out at the stars… and then waking up to find her grandmother at the table, coffee ready, knowing she had all day to work on their next order. Rush Valley was hectic, intense, exhilarating… but that left one tired and worn out, more than Winry knew until she returned home. Spending an almost lazy summer with Ed and Al, both teeming with health and happiness like she hadn't seen in almost ten years, had been the best time of her life. And to her surprise, a considerable number of her clients from Rush Valley had come out to Resembool, saying they wanted no other mechanic. They even sometimes referred new clients to her. Having the contentment of work, the comfort of friends, and the happiness of being in the home she truly loved, had been all Winry could wish for.

Even when Ed and Al had left, Winry had other friends, other work, that didn't change her contentment with being home. She was truly proud of them, and sincerely wanted them to work towards their goals. She had spent years wishing for them to come home, but now she knew that they would be restless without a constant search for knowledge. She accepted this about them, and was a little surprised to find that she herself was different. True, she still yearned to be the best, know all she could about automail… but she wasn't in the place best suited to do that. There were other things she wanted, too: consistency, peace, family. She was reconciled with waiting for her golden-haired boy to return, to start that family… if only he would give her a goddamn call!

She was awoken from her all-to-frequent reverie by the sound of the phone ringing. There had been too many phone calls, too much false hope, for her to pay it any attention now. Determined not to care, she picked up her hammer and turned back to the plating.

Just as she was about to strike, Pinako yelled out "WINRY!"

"Aaagh!" cried Winry, as she slipped with her hammer once again. "GOD DAMMIT!"

"Well, if you're going to talk like that, maybe you're not in the mood to talk to our best customer!" yelled up Pinako.

Winry's heart caught. That could only mean one person… no, maybe not. She couldn't get her hopes up… she'd crack all the way otherwise.

"Who is it?" she asked, hardly daring to hope for the answer, hardly knowing what she'd do if it wasn't him.

"Who do you think? It's Ed!"

Winry was at her door before she could stop to think… but then, all the aggravation and anger of the past three months returned. Make her wait this long, and expect her to come running, did he? Well, he had better have a wonderful excuse for not writing or calling her. Keeping her chin up, she slowly walked down the hall and stairs before taking the phone from Pinako, who seemed terribly amused for some reason.

"I'll leave you alone for a minute," said her grandmother, before exiting the room with a terrible grin on her face.

Ignoring her, Winry took a deep breath.

"Hello?"

"Hey Winry." It was him. She didn't know why, but he sounded nervous. Well, he should be… shouldn't he?

There was a silence. It seemed to her he was waiting for her to respond, and she certainly wasn't going to. Not until he begged for forgiveness. Or something like that. Finally, he spoke, in an uncertain tone.

"How's everyone? Granny? Den?"

"Oh, is that all you care about, you knucklehead?!" Winry hissed, all her poorly contained anger spilling out. So much for waiting.

"What? Uh… no, I mean, yes… wait, what?"

"You don't call me for THREE MONTHS and you expect me to chit chat with you like everything is fine? While I had no idea where you were, or what was going on? While I was worried about you…" her voice cracked, and she could feel tears welling up. Dear god, she had not let herself think about that. Worry… it had always been there, but this time, she had hoped, since they weren't in danger anymore, since he had left the military, she wouldn't have to worry that he might not return. Of course he would, there was no reason he wouldn't be safe… except for train crashes, border fights, his general magnetism for trouble…

"I… I'm sorry, Winry."

She put her arm up to her face, waiting to hear what else he would say.

"It seems I always end up hurting you." His voice sounded distressed.

She felt like her heart might stop. Hurting her… "Are you going to tell me why?"

"Why…?"

"Why haven't you called?"

He didn't answer for a moment.

"Could I tell you in person?"

She wanted to yell at him more, she wanted to demand for him to tell her the truth, but at the same time, she was afraid of what he'd say. If him not calling was because the time apart had made him regret what he had said at the train station… Hurting her….

"Sure. I'll talk to you then, I suppose. Whenever that may be."

"Winry-" She cut him off by hanging up the phone.

Pinako stuck her head out of the kitchen after she heard Winry's door slam. She thought she heard muffled sobs from behind the door. Crazy kids, she thought, shaking her head. Youth is wasted on them, I swear…

Winry woke up with a headache and red eyes. She sighed, as she rolled off her pillow, and stared up at the ceiling. She had convinced herself that waiting no longer hurt. Maybe it didn't, but these doubts certainly did. She didn't want to feel like this, she wished she could just trust in Ed's love and his promise to share his life with hers. And she had, for three months… mostly. But when he had mentioned how all he could do was hurt her… it was too much. Who knew when he'd be back, but once he was, she feared that he would say he'd rethought what he had said to her, that he wasn't sure he wanted to be engaged. She had no idea what she would do if he had changed his mind.

She got up, and looking out the window, realized it was late. She'd been asleep all afternoon. From the sounds downstairs, her grandmother must be making dinner. And from the muffled sounds of conversation, it seemed like their customer was back, too, from his walk to town. Winry wandered over to her mirror, and took a deep breath. It would take some work to look normal enough to be seen downstairs.

Five minutes later, she made her way to the kitchen. Plastering a smile on her face, she looked at the table, about to say something pleasant when…

Sitting at the table with his back to her was NOT the brown-haired heavyset farmer they had been repairing an arm for, but a young man with a long golden ponytail and two good arms. Ed was sitting at her kitchen table, chatting awkwardly with Pinako, holding a mug of coffee in one hand, and patting Den on the head with the other.

She had never regretted not having a wrench in her hand more.

"Ah, Winry, there you are. Seems we have another guest," Pinako said, noticing Winry just outside the kitchen.

Ed spun around in his chair at the sound of her name, managing to spill some of his coffee onto his shirt.

"Aaaeeeeeeghhh!"

The coffee was obviously freshly brewed, and must have caused quite a burn. Den started barking wildly, and jumped up on Ed's lap, attempting to lick the huge coffee stain from his chest, causing Ed to spill the rest of his coffee on the floor. He jumped up, to avoid Den's paws… only to slip on the coffee and fall, backwards, his whole body slamming right into the pool of hot liquid spreading across the linoleum.

Part of her wanted to laugh, seeing him react so ridiculously. But as his head hit the floor, both her anger and her mirth disappeared, and Winry rushed to his side.

"Oh Ed, are you all right?" she breathed, nervous.

"Ow." He lay on his back, staring up at her with wide eyes. After a moment, his eyes started to focus. He looked at her, peering straight into her face, fixing on her eyes. "You've been crying."

She drew a quick intake of breath, as her face started to grow red again.

"I hate it when you cry," he said softly.

She drew back, facing away from him as she felt tears come back to her eyes, tears that had been close to the surface all along.

"Oh god, it's my fault, too, isn't it?"

She saw him sit up out of the corner of her eye, wincing as his head came off the floor, and felt him come close and put his arms around her. She wanted to push him away, and knew she should, but at the same time, it felt too good to let him hold her, to release even a little of those doubts that had been haunting her all day, all month, all her life, really. His shoulders were up against hers, and his arms went around her waist as he hugged her even closer to him.

"I missed you too much. I couldn't call… every time I tried, I could only think of coming home. Even when I tried to write… It's so much harder than I thought. Without Al, without alchemy itself… all I can think is how I'll never be able to test another theory again. I'm no good on my own. I lasted three months, Winry. Three months of knowing if I heard your voice, or just heard from you, I would bolt back home. And here I am. I called earlier to say I was a few hours away."

He said all this very quietly, in as serious a voice as she had ever hear him use. She turned in his arms, to look him in the eye.

"You're the most important thing to me now. I'm sorry I was selfish. I won't do it again. You deserve better than that."

Winry smiled, letting out an almost hysterical half laugh, her tears beginning to fall. Her head, which had felt stuffed and cramped a moment ago, had never felt lighter. She'd beat him over the head later. For now, she let herself cry tears of joy and relief.

"Oh, also, I don't think I did a very good job of it before… so I got this for you."

He let go of her to dig around in his pockets, and a few seconds later pulled out a little box.

"So, Winry, will you marry me? I don't know what I'll do if you've changed your mind."

She looked down and took the box from his hand. Inside, as she certainly wasn't thick enough not to know, was a ring. It was simple, a small but classic gem set into a gold band. She put it on her finger, slightly shocked and terribly pleased he had picked out something so perfect for her. He must have asked for help, which was praiseworthy enough. She smiled up at him, tears still in her eyes.

"You hit your head pretty bad, didn't you?"

"Hardly did anything compared to what you do to me."

"That's pretty corny," she giggled.

"Oh, hush," he said, as he pulled her face to his.

Neither of them noticed that they were still sitting in a pool of coffee, that Den was licking that coffee off the floor around them, or that Pinako had exited the room ages ago.

In fact, they weren't really capable of noticing much of anything.

Just what I was thinking, wondering if Ed would change his habits and start calling Winry during his time in the west… in all seriousness, I imagine Ed would call her, and even if he didn't, I don't think she'd react like this. They know each other too well, and are too much of an "item" to have this kind of meltdown… but what's a fic without some drama? I know this idea is pretty clichéd, and sort of played out at this point, but I hope you liked it regardless :)