Winter Elric

Broken Promises

My eyes narrowed as I flipped through the file, unsettled by my orders. Ed was beside me, and he too was uneasy. The fact that we had received separate sets of orders was unusual; we  almost always worked as a team. In fact, I could remember only a handful of times we had been separated. But more concerning than that was the fact that our orders had been sent straight from the top. Fuhrer Bradley himself had given these orders, and Ed and I were among the few who knew the secrets of our leader. Ed wasted no time in ranting to Mustang about the injustice and inconveniences of the orders he'd received, despite his knowledge that the man couldn't do a thing about it. I sighed as he yelled, but didn't bother to stop him. I was frustrated too, to be honest, although I wasn't going to take it out on our superior officer. Roy let Ed rant for a few minutes before interrupting him to calmly inform him that there was nothing he could do to fix it, so if Ed had a problem he could take his rant to the Fuhrer himself. Ed winced at the suggestion as his eyes flicked nervously to me. I cringed at the reminder that, because of what I was, Ed and I couldn't risk drawing anymore attention to ourselves than necessary. We'd already almost blown my cover when I'd returned to the military with auto-mail after disappearing for so long. The metal limbs would've drawn attention on their own, but combined with the length of time we were missing, there were tons of new rumors flying around. Despite my suspicion that the Fuhrer already knew I was a chimera, his policy on my kind was strict and well known. Even if he were for some reason sparing me, if the truth about what I was got out, he'd be backed into a corner. He'd have no choice but to end me, and I had no doubt it would be in a public, humiliating, and excruciating manner. So Ed and I had to lay low lest we test our leader's patience. 

Ed scowled at Mustang before stomping out, leaving me with little choice but to follow. I threw a hasty apology over my shoulder as I rushed after my boyfriend, but Mustang knew better than to be offended by his explosive temper, and waved it away with a smile. Ed was halfway to the stairs already, but he paused to let me catch up. We fell in step then, though neither of us talked. We were lost in our own thoughts; absorbed by the orders weighing heavy on our minds. It felt too much like a trap. Ed and my missions were at the same time, in locations that were on opposite sides of Central. It's like Bradley wanted us separated. I knew Ed was one of the Homonculi's "human sacrifices," but who knew what that meant? Sure they were keeping him alive for now, but the title sounded anything but good. What if these orders were set up to separate us and lead Ed into a trap so the Homunculi could capture him with minimum difficulty? But if it was indeed a trap, it was a perfect one; as state alchemists, Ed and I had no option but to follow our orders to the letter or be arrested and shot for insubordination. It wasn't until we'd made it back to our hotel room that Ed finally broke the silence. "Look," He murmured, as if he'd given it some thought, "Why don't you take Al with you? He won't mind, and I'll be fine on my own." I smiled, but shook my head. "You two have been fighting together for six years now. Your styles fit together a lot better than his fits with mine. Since you taught me to fight, my style fits best with yours. Besides, I'd feel better if you have someone you can trust watching your back, and you'll feel better if you don't have to worry about your little brother getting hurt." Al was out getting groceries at the moment, but I was certain he would have agreed with me if he were here. Ed frowned, something tense and unsettled in his eyes. "I'll still worry about you." He mumbled. I smiled, and my tail twitched with amusement at his embarrassment of admitting he cared. We'd been dating for months now and he still blushed scarlet when people asked if we were a couple. Even after our shared kiss, he remained easily flustered. Winry and I had talked about it when I was in Resembool, and she had laughed at his awkwardness just as much as I had, though she'd admitted she found it annoying. I, on the other hand, thought it was downright adorable how easily flustered he was when it came to us. He was getting better about it, and I knew eventually our relationship would be smoother and far less awkward, which would be nice, but I was patient, and I enjoyed this funny, awkward stage as much as I knew I'd enjoy the effortless ease we'd have one day. It was something I'd glimpsed in the moments we were closest; the moments we couldn't trip over our words and mess up what we were trying to say. They were the moments our hearts and minds were one, like when we'd kissed, and he'd wiped away my tears. I pulled away from my thoughts as I realized I'd been staring into his eyes for heaven knows how long without offering a single word in response to his statement. Now it was my turn to blush, though I brushed away the awkwardness that rose in me. It took me a moment to recall what he'd said and come up with a reasonable response. "Well," I finally replied, "I'll fight much better if I know you're safe." He looked like he wanted to argue, but for once he didn't. In fact, he even went so far as to agree with me. "You're right." He consented, his gaze breaking away from mine, only to return with a desperate intensity. "Just... please, Winter," He begged earnestly, trying to spill his desperation into his voice so I could understand how important this was to him, "Please be careful. Don't get hurt. Come back." The raw anguish in his tone was emphasized by the look in his eyes, and the knowledge that he had every right to be afraid. He had, after all, nearly lost me not so long ago. My throat closed up with the threat of tears, and I couldn't find the words to promise. So instead I leaned against him and let him hold me, his arms crushing me to his chest. I flattened my ears as he buried his face in my hair, the promise I couldn't speak passing between us. We'll both promise. We'll be careful and safe. We'll come home tomorrow night with finished reports and successful missions. And no one, nothing, will break the oath between us.