Ed was watching Winry with great interest. He had never thought that she wouldn't recognise him. He kept waiting for the look of shocked amazement and it never came. The first expression on her face was one he labelled as 'horrified disbelief' and then it went straight into 'incoherent rage'. Ed flinched automatically before he realised that her eyes had fixed on his brother's face. He couldn't help it, he made a gurgling noise as he tried not to laugh and then he shrugged.
Pinako watched as Al stared at Winry totally confused then at Ed when he made that strange sound. Winry looked too and caught sight of the shrug. That did it. That blonde creature was making fun of her and it was all Al's fault. She whirled and smacked Al across his cheek and then ran from the room before the tears she could feel at the back of her eyes broke free.
"What was that for?" Al wailed plaintively as he massaged the red mark. Winry's footsteps faded and the front door slammed so hard it shook the house.
"I have no idea. But it was so worth it." Ed's voice echoed his total surprise and amusement while Pinako leant back in her chair and grinned. Winry had been so blindsided with jealousy she hadn't recognised Ed in his new form and had reacted just as her grandmother had hoped. For once Winry was not in control of either herself or the situation around her.
Pinako loved her granddaughter dearly but she had seen a tendency in her lately to treat things as her due, to forget that other people were just as important as she was. Smug complacency was not really that attractive to see and Pinako had been seeing it a bit too often on Winry's face. To see her so angry and out of control…well, it was very gratifying to the old woman.
"You have some fences to mend, boyo." She said with a smile. Al blinked at her as his mind went from shock to whirling at high speed. When it clicked his mouth dropped open and he nearly fainted.
"You can't be serious, Granny?! She thought that… that Ed was... that me and…" Al stuttered to a stop as Pinako nodded her head, her face still beaming with amusement.
Ed caught on quickly and he tried his best to conceal the grin for his brother's sake. They'd fought over Winry as kids and now Ed's sense of the ridiculous caught him up in a vision of himself and Winry fighting over Al. With wrenches. He had a hard time swallowing down the urge to break out in hysterical laughter.
"Go after her, Al and explain it all. The longer you wait, the harder she's going to hit us." Ed waved his hand in a shoo-ing motion and did smile as Al reluctantly stood up. "I'll be fine, go on. Go fix it with her."
Al gave them both a grateful smile and they put their thumbs up in a mutual show of support and encouragement. As soon as he had left the room and they had heard the front door close behind him, they leant back in their chairs and roared with laughter.
Winry stood by the small stream. Her fists were clenched at her sides, her back straight and tense, daring herself to cry.
How could he? How could he have brought another woman here? This was her house, it was going to be their home one day. He had no right to bring strange women here. Alphonse Elric was a dead man as soon as she regained her self-control. She was going to personally see to it. How dare he do this to her? Al had known her all his life. How could he be so stupid? He was supposed to be a freakin' genius. Just because she hadn't told him how she felt didn't mean he shouldn't know it already. She knew how he felt and he hadn't said anything.
All these years she had supported Al in his belief that Ed was alive somewhere, she had been the one he had come to for comfort and encouragement. She had been the one he had relied on most as he was relearning his senses and the world around him. They had spent months together. She had learnt as much from him as he had from her. She had berated him for joining the military even as she understood why he was doing so. In response to her unspoken fears he had always sent her letters or given her a quick call to let her know how he was and when to expect him.
Seeing Al with any other woman was something Winry had never ever imagined happening. It had to be a mistake, there had to be a sensible logical explanation as to why her Al had come waltzing into her house with another woman. And then there was that woman's resemblance to Ed. Golden eyes, golden hair. Was Al attracted to her because she had Ed's colouring? Winry didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that thought.
Her head ached. She hated losing control like this. Other people lost control, other people could break down and scream and cry but not her. It wasn't the 'done thing'. All her life she had seen people in terrible pain and agony through surgery and rehabilitation and she had learnt very early that she could never break down with them. She had to be strong for them. She knew what they needed so she would demand and push and use her strength to give them strength.
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