Like Family Does
↑nobody can see me past these walls that i've been building up.↑
-issues.
•••
Winry couldn't find her.
She'd looked everywhere, from each hospital corridor to the darkest alleys of Central City, but it was fruitless. Her worry grew as the sun went farther down the horizon. She didn't know what to do.
She returned to the hospital, having to tell Ed and Al the news. The concern was aching and heavy on their hearts, but no one mentioned it.
"Well," Ed finally spoke, "you guys should head back to the hotel. We can look again tomorrow. I should be out of this damn hospital soon enough."
"Okay brother. We'll be back in the morning." Al confirmed.
After saying their goodbyes, the two left. They headed back to the military dorms. Even though neither were a part of it, Alphonse had managed to convince the front desk man that he was the Fullmetal Alchemist.
"Works every time," he muttered as he and Winry walked towards their room for the night, keys in hand.
They turned a corner, and Alphonse swore he saw a swoosh of black hair slip into the hallway.
"Did you see that?!" he exclaimed, turning to Winry.
"What was it?" she questioned, tipping her head.
He ignored her query and handed her the room keys. "Here," he said. "Find our room and wait for me to get back, okay?"
"Okay...?"
He was already running halfway down the hall when he looked back to see her skeptical expression. He stopped momentarily to say, "I'll explain later, I promise!"
Alphonse could only hope that was actually her.
He kept running, his metal legs clanking loudly on the carpet. It didn't take long to get in the same hallway as the girl, but since he was being so reckless she heard his clunky footsteps and turned around almost immediately.
It was her. Sonia.
She made a quiet gasp and took off running.
"Wait, Sonia!"
Sonia didn't have to go far. Her room was nearby, and all she had to do was open it with her key. Al didn't catch her in time to make it into her room before she locked it.
He sighed, taking a step back from the door. Tapping his knuckles on the wood lightly, he said, "Sonia, can you open the door?"
Silence.
"Please?" he added, putting a gloved hand on the doorknob.
Still nothing.
"Can we talk?"
"...No," was the feeble answer he received. Well, it was a start.
"Why not?" he questioned, hoping to get more out of her.
"I don't want to. Just leave me alone!"
Alphonse could tell she was right next to the door. Her sniffling meant she was crying, and he couldn't leave her alone like that - not with a good conscience anyway.
"Please," he pleaded.
She didn't say anything back. Al didn't know what to say. Sonia was stubborn, and if she didn't want to do it, she wouldn't. He's learned that much. So when he heard the door unlock, to say he was surprised was a bit of an understatement.
At first, she didn't come out, so he thought it was permission to come in. He was about to when she opened the door slightly, barely revealing her face.
"I want to talk. With Winry."
Alphonse faltered for a second, taking in her words.
"O-oh," he stuttered, "o-of course! I'll go get her!"
•••
"Why would she want to talk to me?" Winry asked, feeling a little shocked. After Al had told her about finding Sonia, she felt relieved, but now she didn't know if she was really the best choice to help her.
'But,' she thought. 'That doesn't matter. I'll do anything to help a friend.'
During her internal monologue, she realized she was already at her friend's door. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Sonia?" she called, holding the handle on the door. "Did you need to talk to me?"
No response.
When Winry finally felt the knob move, she took her hand away to let her open it.
Sonia opened the door halfway, showing her tear-stained face.
"Oh, Sonia, you look awful."
The alchemist managed a weak smile. "Hey, Winry."
Wordlessly, she moved to the side so she could come in. She closed the door behind Winry, who observed her small room. There was a lit lamp on the desk next to a bed with piles of alchemy text and thick journals.
"Sorry," Sonia apologized sheepishly, quickly moving them to the carpet floor. Winry smiled. All her friends were total nerds.
Once she had the bed cleared, they both sat face to face. It was dead silent for a minute as they stared at each other in the eyes. They were so different from one another. Winry's eyes compared to the blue sea while Sonia's were almost as black as the night.
Winry put a hand on the girl's knee caringly.
"Are you okay?"
She didn't say anything, but after a moment, those dark eyes filled with tears.
"Sonia," she almost exclaimed, surprised. "It's okay," she promised, pulling her into a hug. She didn't pull away, but instead accepted it and held tight.
After a few minutes, Winry grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the face.
"Now, tell me everything."
•••
"...And that's pretty much it..." Sonia finished, sniffing. She had explained how for so long she thought her sister was dead, just to meet her and have no clear thoughts of it. She had asked Edward about it, but he didn't admit to it and they argued in the hospital room.
'Who said we were friends?!' still rang clearly in her mind.
"Ed didn't mean any of that, trust me," Winry assured.
"How would you know that?"
"He just wanted to win the argument." She explained. "Listen, you told me yourself, people show love in different ways."
Sonia almost laughed. "Edward doesn't love me, not even close. You're crazy."
"Okay... maybe not just yet-" Winry smiled smugly as Sonia growled at that "-but he does care about you. Maybe he didn't want to tell you... because he wanted to protect you." Winry realized for herself.
'Oh.' She thought.
Sonia smiled and embraced her.
"Thank you, Winry."
"It was no problem. I'm glad to help."
When they let go, Winry grinned.
"And hey, now you have a sister again."
Sonia's face dropped, and she looked away.
"What's wrong?" Her expression threw her for a loop.
"Well..." she tried to explain with careful wording, "my sister isn't exactly a 'good person' anymore."
Sonia hated to leave her out, but it wasn't Winry's place to know about homunculi. She didn't want her to get hurt. Some secrets are worth keeping. And the fewer people know, the better.
"Oh," she tried to understand. She frowned, but then replaced it with a hopeful smile for the sake of her friend.
"It'll be okay. You have us now. We'll be your family."
"...Yeah."
•••
The next morning, Winry and Alphonse planned in returning to the hospital to see Edward. Sonia had other plans.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Winry offered one last time.
"I have to keep studying my alchemy," she excused, not looking up from what she was reading.
"Can't you take a break?" she whined, pulling on her arm.
"No," was her blunt reply.
"Yes, you can! C'mon, please?" Her voice turned soft. "I don't like seeing my friends fight. Please come. We can work it out."
Sonia sighed, knowing she was giving in. How could she put up a fight against that?
"Fine," she said, throwing on a vest over her tank top.
"Thank you."
She smiled.
•••
Hospitals never really change, at least not to Sonia. The same white walls, the hushed voices behind closed doors, the nurses' fake smiles as they walk by; it always bothered her, and the atmosphere never felt comfortable. After all, people didn't come here to have fun.
It was silent as the three friends walked down the hallway to get to Edward's room. To Al and Winry, it was normal, but Sonia felt so tense. She still had no clue what would happen when she walked through those doors. What would she say to Ed? Would he even listen? Or even worse, what if he just flat out ignored her entirely? She just hoped everything worked out for the sake of everyone.
Before she realized it, they were standing in front of the room. Winry went in first, giving Sonia a reassuring look before breaking eye contact with her. Al went in next, and Sonia followed right behind him, hoping he would hide her. Those hopes were crushed as the suit of armor moved to the side and revealed her.
Edward's golden eyes landed on her in a split second. He was taken aback and didn't know exactly what to do. In turn, she didn't know either. All thoughts just happened to fly out of her head as he stared at her in what she assumed was disbelief.
"We found her," Winry said awkwardly, trying to fill the blank space.
"Well, I can see that!" Ed shouted, throwing his hands in the air.
"Sonia! Where have you been?! We were all worried about you, you idiot! I could sick you right here and now, with my automail fist, too!" He shook his curled hand for emphasis.
Sonia was still practically frozen in place. "Worried?" she questioned quietly, confused.
"W-well, yeah..! Winry and Al the most, though!" he defended, looking away. The was a tint to his cheeks.
"I, I'm sorry. Edward." Her voice was not as articulate as she meant it to be, due to the fact her brain processed things so slow in awkward situations such as these.
"You're... sorry?" he asked back.
'Oh no.' Sonia thought. 'He's going to blow up on me.' She winced internally.
"Yes..?" she squeaked.
He sighed and shook his head. "We're you always so apologetic?" He didn't expect an answer to his rhetorical question so he kept going. "It's not your fault. I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't tell you something so important, and you had a right to be mad.
"And, I just kept being stupid and told you we weren't friends, which was wrong on my part. We are friends... unless, if you decide we're not after all this crap I put you through."
Sonia bit her lip. She knew that in the end she would forgive him, but she still felt hurt. Why? She didn't clearly know.
"Why didn't you just tell me, Ed?"
"I just... I didn't want you to know, at least not from me. I didn't think about how you'd feel about it, and I'm sorry."
Sonia understood more as he explained.
'...because he wanted to protect you...' Winry's voice inside her head reminded her.
"Look," she finally said, "I'm not going to say it was okay, because it wasn't. It's never a good call to keep such important things from me. But, I do forgive you. Next time, just tell me, alright?"
Ed nodded. "Yeah. So... friends?"
A genuine smile pulled on Sonia's lips. "Friends."
An awkward silence fell upon the room and Winry rolled her eyes in exasperation. She pulled both into a hug, grinning.
"You both are hopeless. Al, get in here!" she invited, holding her arms out for him as well.
"Oh, okay...!"
Needless to say, Alphonse squished them all.
Sonia looked to Edward, who was glancing at her. She gave him a small smile. He returned it with one of his own.
'You have us now. We'll be your
family.'
She hoped these good times would last.
•••
a/n: hello everyone! this one was a lot of fun to write. high school is coming up for me soon though, & i'm not sure when i'll have time to update this story. but i know i can do it, just for you all. make sure you vote & comment!
-melosdechordas
p.s. i ate like 7 peaches finishing this thing up. i fricken love peaches.