Six

"How on EARTH did you manage to do this?!" Winry shouted once she saw the condition Edward's arm was in. "Were you fighting or goofing around?!"

     "Heh heh..." Edward mumbled nervously, still trying to come up with an excuse to tell her. "It, um, well--"

     "I'm just dying to hear how this happened," Winry said. "Out with it!"

     "Um, well..." Edward then remembered the bolts that Lucy gave him. He dug them out of his pocket and said, "On an assignment, these got screwed out. I don't really remember how it happened--"

     "Give me those!" Winry snatched them from him, examined them, and said, "Oh, if I just screw these on, your arm'll be fine, I just have to connect the nerves. Lucky you found these, Ed."

     Edward was about to say that he didn't find them, Lucy did, but he caught his tongue, remembering he couldn't say anything about her. He sat there silently as Winry began work on his AutoMail.

     "You're going to need a new model, soon enough," she said. "You're growing again. How's walking?"

     "Fine," he replied. His mind was still a little stuck on curiosity about Lucy's past, and about her current whereabouts. She had a knack for showing up completely out of the blue, so he hoped that she wouldn't pop in at any given second.

     I wonder if she really thinks that the lieutenant is her mom? Edward thought to himself. Does she really think that Mustang could ever be her FATHER?! The thought of it still utterly revolted him, and he had a hard time keeping a non-disgusted face about it, considering Winry was there.

     Did she have brothers? Sisters? A family at all? Grandparents? Family friends? A loving home? Parents that will never see their baby girl again? Are her parents still alive? Do they care if she's missing? Do they think she's dead? Does Lucy wonder if she has a different family?

     "AAUGH!" Edward shrieked suddenly as he felt his nerves connecting. "Winry, you're supposed to warn me when you connect the nerves!"

     "I did!" she shouted back as soon as it was over. She sighed and put her wrench away.

     Edward moved his shoulder around, now that his arm was attatched to him again, and said, "Feels good. Thanks for coming to Central, Winry."

     "I swear, I warned you that I was going to connect the nerves," Winry said, completely ignoring what he said. "You've been a little quiet and out of it, which is completely unnatural for you. Is there something on your mind, Ed?"

     "Ah--No," Edward said, not wanting to slip and accidentally tell Winry about Lucy.

     "It's a girl, isn't it?" A suspiscious smile spread across her face.

     "No!" Edward was getting annoyed by now.

     "Is she a pretty girl?"

     "Will you stop?!"
     "What's her name?!"

     "Winry, SHUT UP!"

     "You don't have to get all defensive, Ed!" Winry was starting to get annoyed. "And I know that Alphonse'll tell me, so I'll just go find him if you won't tell!"

     "There's no girl, will you cut it out?!" Edward was about ready to test out his AutoMail by using Winry's big head as a punching bag. She just laughed and said, "You two live in the city now, so it wouldn't surprise me if there was a certain girl on your mind. Now, c'mon, tell me, is she cuuute?"

     "Uh, well, yeah," came from Edward's lips. He didn't mean to say it, but he was thinking about Lucy the whole time Winry spoke.

     "Is she nice?" Winry asked.

     "She can be."

     "Is she taller than you?" Winry asked, stifling a laugh. Edward hesitated, thought about Lucy's hight, and grimaced. "Yes."

     "What color are her eyes?" Winry asked, sparkles in her eyes.

     "A soft shade of green," Edward found himself saying. Then it hit him: What AM I saying?! He shook his head, dismissed all thoughts of Lucy from his head, and said, "Winry, how long are you planning to stay in Central?"

     "Just for tonight, then I head off tomorrow morning," she replied. "And I can't wait to meet this girl!"

     "Drop it, you're not meeting her," Edward said, irritated, as they walked out of the room to go and find Alphonse.

     "Aww, why not?" Winry asked. "And, what did you mean before, that she could be nice?"

     "I said drop it," Edward said with finality. Winry sighed, but didn't say anything.

 

"All patched up?" the colonel asked. Edward rolled his shoulder around again and said, "Yep, my mechanic does good work."

     "Thank you for coming out here to fix his AutoMail, Ms. Rockbell."

     "Not a problem," she said. "Oh, Colonel, I have a question for you..." Edward glared at her, and she said, "Edward has a girl on his mind! Do you know who she is? Edward said she's nice, and pretty, and eyes that are a soft shade of green, and--"

     "Winry!" Edward whined. "Enough, already!" Colonel Mustang looked amused.

     "Gee," he said, almost sarcastically. "I wonder who it could be? Not--say--Lucy, is it?"

     "C-Colonel...!" Edward felt his whole face get red. "I don't like her--like that, I mean! I just met her!"

     "So her name's Lucy," Winry said, thinking about it. "An innocent enough name, I guess."

     "Ms. Rockbell," the colonel said. "Lieutenant Hawkeye is already waiting out front for you, and she will drive you to your hotel. The military is gladly paying for your stay."

     "Thank you, sir," she said. Winry picked up her toolbox, said, "Can't wait to meet Lucy!" and ran out the door before Edward could say anything.

     "Colonel, you're the one who said she couldn't know about Lucy. Why'd you tell her?"

     "I just said Lucy's name, I never said if she was an experiment or not here at the military. As far as she knows, Lucy is a girl you met and have a crush on."

     "I don't have a crush on her!" Edward shouted again. The colonel snickered and said, "Good, I'd never let you go out with her, anyway!"

     "She's not your daughter, so I don't see how that matters," Edward grumbled.

     "Watch your mouth, Fullmetal," Colonel Mustang said harshly, all amusement gone from the conversation. "Stay out of things that aren't your business." Edward instantly knew that he pulled up a touchy subject, but he asked the question he'd been thinking about for a little while: "Colonel, did Lucy have any family or anything before the military?"

     Colonel Mustang sighed, and said, "Take a seat, this is going to be one hell of a story."

 

Author's Note

Poor Edo...lol :P

Winry connected his nerves without telling him! DX

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[C.S. Posthumus]

Edward seems to have all of the same questions as I do... And it seems as if they’ll be answered in the next chapter... At least I hope they’ll be. I’m excited to see how this Winry girl will react to Lucy... And I wonder if Lucy will ever lose control around her. It seems as if she can’t really control herself...