(no subject)
Title: Visitation Rights (ii of ii)
based on mikkeneko's 'In Living Memory'
a prison!fic
Warnings: bad language, angst angst angst.
Summary: Winly comes back for a second visit.
Dear Winly,
You can visit every three months, as long as I'm not under any penalties or anything. Since you're in Central I'm hoping I can see you more often, but I'm sure you're busy with business a lot.
When you take my automail, check the forearm. I think a wire came loose or something, so maybe you can figure out what's wrong so you don't have that happen to anyone else. Or in my new arm or whatever.
Everyone thinks you're my girlfriend now.
Sincerely,
Edward Elric
"Ooh, look, Elric's gonna go see his girlfriend!"
"She like it kinky? Bet she doesn't even let you out of the cuffs!"
"Shut your fuckhole, jackass," Ed snarled back as the guard cuffed his legs together there on the field. He had no idea how word had gotten out that his visitor three months earlier had been a girl, but despite the ribbing, it had been nothing but good news for Ed. Most everyone was convinced he was straight now (it helped that when the gay motherfucker in his cell bloc had groped him, he'd left the man senseless on the floor in front of the whole shower-room).
"Kinsley, shut your mouth!" the guard shouted, straightening. He cuffed Ed on the back of the head, but not hard. "And Elric, don't encourage him." He motioned for Ed to move. "Don't keep her waiting."
Ed obediently started forward. "Is there a reason for all this? I mean, if I haven't killed all of you yet then I sure as hell won't kill my best friend."
"Protocol, Elric." The guard pressed his hand into Ed's back between his shoulderblades, somewhere between gentle and commanding.
"... Foley broke protocol," Ed said slowly, after an inner debate. Was it safe to say? Well, the other guard had seen, so he supposed there was no hiding it.
"That's why he's not here escorting you," the guard answered. He led Edward into the prison and to a visitation room.
Ed winced at the look Winly gave him when he walked into the visiting cell trussed up in cuffgear, her hands flying halfway to her mouth before she caught herself. "Why is he ...?"
The guard didn't deign to answer her. "Elric."
Ed gave her an apologetic look and turned towards the second guard who had been at the door, who started removing the gear. "Since this is a visitation to repair your automail, you're allowed this. Don't get any ideas."
"When have I ever had ideas!?" Ed snapped, but the guard ignored him, and soon the gear was removed. He turned back towards Winly, and was again trapped in a hug. "Umph! Winly ..."
"Ed ..." Winly sighed, clutching his shirt behind his back and resting her chin on his shoulder. "... This is all so unfair. It's just so unfair."
Ed slowly wrapped his arms around her back, squeezing gently. "Hey, it's okay. You've moved into Central, right? You can visit, and ... really, it's not like I'm being tortured or anything." He pursed his lips for a moment with the lie thick on his tongue. "Just a lot of hard work."
Winly pulled back, letting her arms drop to her sides as she looked at him searchingly. "You can't ..." she started before hesitating. "Come on, Ed." She patted the chair, a sad, slow smile coming to her face. "Sit down. We've got automail to apply."
Ed felt a little bewildered by how sad she was - she'd seen him three months before, and it wasn't as if much had changed (except his hair was a little longer), so why was this worse? The cuffs were disturbing, sure, but this was prison. Surely she-- he cut the thoughts off, taking the seat and pushing up his sleeve. "Take it easy on me, okay?"
"You said you were having some connection problems in your forearm," Winly said, not looking up. She lifted a case onto the table and snapped it open. "Which fingers were having trouble?"
"Uh, my pinky finger," Ed said, thinking fast. He'd forgotten about the lie. "Look, it's not a big deal--"
Winly pierced him with a look of fury. "Ed! Of course it's a big deal! I put my heart and soul into your automail, you can't just dismiss flaws like--"
"Just - just take a look at it when you get to your shop, okay!?" Ed half-rose out of his chair in desperation. "You made me new automail, right? The faster you get it on me the more time I can have to recover before I have to - uh ..." he trailed off, laughing nervously. "I-I'm sorry, okay? I d-didn't ..."
Winly pressed a hand to her eyes. "Ed ... when you ignore problems, things like ... like when you went to the hospital happen!" She slammed the hand down on the table. "Would you stop thinking so selfishly!?"
Ed stared at her, unsure of what to say. Luckily, Winly relieved him of the responsibility. "All right. They told me they pulled you out of labor for this, so I'll try to give you the maximum time for recovery. Take off your shirt."
Ed balked. "Er ..."
Winly gave an exasperated sigh. "Ed, don't tell me you've suddenly become a prude."
This wasn't going at all like Ed had imagined it. "All right, all right," he grumbled, pulling his shirt over his head. He'd been nude in every situation he could imagine, but ...
Winly reached into her case and pulled out an arm so brilliantly shined that Ed blinked as it glinted in the light. "Look at this," she said, and for the first time there was a sort of proud joy in her voice. "This titanium alloy is incredibly strong for how light it is. The wiring is copper, the best conductor, and--Ed!" She gasped, looking up. "Your shoulder ..."
Ed looked down at the arc of shiny, whitish scar tissue passing over his shoulder - a reminder of the first lashing Mason had given him. "Knife," he said quickly. "There are fights, sometimes--"
"You're a liar," Winly said thickly. "You think I don't know a knife scar?" She leaned forward, putting down the automail arm reverently before touching his shoulder. "Ed, why did they do this to you ...?"
Ed glanced at the guards surreptitiously, and Winly caught it as she was meant to. She gave him a bewildered look, and he shrugged slightly. "It's from when I first got here," he said in a low voice. "And the story's not very interest-- what are you doing!?"
But Winly had already circled around him. Ed stiffened when her fingers touched his back. "Winly ..." He twisted around to look at her.
"This is why you didn't want to take off your shirt," Winly said softly. Her eyes hardened. "They can't do this. This is--"
"Winly!" Ed shot to his feet, looking her in the eye. ".... shit happens sometimes. What are you going to do!?" He grit his teeth. "File a complaint? Winly, I killed ten thousand people!" He slammed his hand on the table; Winly jumped. "No one cares, okay? I can promise it's over. I can promise that. Leave it alone."
Winly's lips parted, then pressed shut again, and Ed slumped back into his seat. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice.
"No, you're not." Winly's voice trembled a little, and he heared her footsteps coming back around in front of him. "You're so different, and you don't even know." She didn't lift her head as she removed his new leg from the case and bent down to kneel at his feet. "Roll up your pants, would you?"
Ed obeyed. "I'm not di--"
"Stop lying!" Winly said furiously, glancing up at him only long enough for Ed to see tears in her eyes. "You've changed and it's not your fault. Not everything is your fault." She sniffled. "I wish you'd see that. I wish you weren't so selfish--!" She hit his automail leg with a fist, and there was a dull ring. "You don't deserve to be in here."
"..." Maybe not, but ... it was a good trade anyway. Ed swallowed back any protest. Please let her understand.
They didn't talk about anything except the automail for the rest of the visit.
The note Winly found in Ed's automail when she took it apart to analyze the 'problem':
Al alive&safe. no one can know. keep it a secret. E.
fin
based on mikkeneko's 'In Living Memory'
a prison!fic
Warnings: bad language, angst angst angst.
Summary: Winly comes back for a second visit.
Dear Winly,
You can visit every three months, as long as I'm not under any penalties or anything. Since you're in Central I'm hoping I can see you more often, but I'm sure you're busy with business a lot.
When you take my automail, check the forearm. I think a wire came loose or something, so maybe you can figure out what's wrong so you don't have that happen to anyone else. Or in my new arm or whatever.
Everyone thinks you're my girlfriend now.
Sincerely,
Edward Elric
"Ooh, look, Elric's gonna go see his girlfriend!"
"She like it kinky? Bet she doesn't even let you out of the cuffs!"
"Shut your fuckhole, jackass," Ed snarled back as the guard cuffed his legs together there on the field. He had no idea how word had gotten out that his visitor three months earlier had been a girl, but despite the ribbing, it had been nothing but good news for Ed. Most everyone was convinced he was straight now (it helped that when the gay motherfucker in his cell bloc had groped him, he'd left the man senseless on the floor in front of the whole shower-room).
"Kinsley, shut your mouth!" the guard shouted, straightening. He cuffed Ed on the back of the head, but not hard. "And Elric, don't encourage him." He motioned for Ed to move. "Don't keep her waiting."
Ed obediently started forward. "Is there a reason for all this? I mean, if I haven't killed all of you yet then I sure as hell won't kill my best friend."
"Protocol, Elric." The guard pressed his hand into Ed's back between his shoulderblades, somewhere between gentle and commanding.
"... Foley broke protocol," Ed said slowly, after an inner debate. Was it safe to say? Well, the other guard had seen, so he supposed there was no hiding it.
"That's why he's not here escorting you," the guard answered. He led Edward into the prison and to a visitation room.
Ed winced at the look Winly gave him when he walked into the visiting cell trussed up in cuffgear, her hands flying halfway to her mouth before she caught herself. "Why is he ...?"
The guard didn't deign to answer her. "Elric."
Ed gave her an apologetic look and turned towards the second guard who had been at the door, who started removing the gear. "Since this is a visitation to repair your automail, you're allowed this. Don't get any ideas."
"When have I ever had ideas!?" Ed snapped, but the guard ignored him, and soon the gear was removed. He turned back towards Winly, and was again trapped in a hug. "Umph! Winly ..."
"Ed ..." Winly sighed, clutching his shirt behind his back and resting her chin on his shoulder. "... This is all so unfair. It's just so unfair."
Ed slowly wrapped his arms around her back, squeezing gently. "Hey, it's okay. You've moved into Central, right? You can visit, and ... really, it's not like I'm being tortured or anything." He pursed his lips for a moment with the lie thick on his tongue. "Just a lot of hard work."
Winly pulled back, letting her arms drop to her sides as she looked at him searchingly. "You can't ..." she started before hesitating. "Come on, Ed." She patted the chair, a sad, slow smile coming to her face. "Sit down. We've got automail to apply."
Ed felt a little bewildered by how sad she was - she'd seen him three months before, and it wasn't as if much had changed (except his hair was a little longer), so why was this worse? The cuffs were disturbing, sure, but this was prison. Surely she-- he cut the thoughts off, taking the seat and pushing up his sleeve. "Take it easy on me, okay?"
"You said you were having some connection problems in your forearm," Winly said, not looking up. She lifted a case onto the table and snapped it open. "Which fingers were having trouble?"
"Uh, my pinky finger," Ed said, thinking fast. He'd forgotten about the lie. "Look, it's not a big deal--"
Winly pierced him with a look of fury. "Ed! Of course it's a big deal! I put my heart and soul into your automail, you can't just dismiss flaws like--"
"Just - just take a look at it when you get to your shop, okay!?" Ed half-rose out of his chair in desperation. "You made me new automail, right? The faster you get it on me the more time I can have to recover before I have to - uh ..." he trailed off, laughing nervously. "I-I'm sorry, okay? I d-didn't ..."
Winly pressed a hand to her eyes. "Ed ... when you ignore problems, things like ... like when you went to the hospital happen!" She slammed the hand down on the table. "Would you stop thinking so selfishly!?"
Ed stared at her, unsure of what to say. Luckily, Winly relieved him of the responsibility. "All right. They told me they pulled you out of labor for this, so I'll try to give you the maximum time for recovery. Take off your shirt."
Ed balked. "Er ..."
Winly gave an exasperated sigh. "Ed, don't tell me you've suddenly become a prude."
This wasn't going at all like Ed had imagined it. "All right, all right," he grumbled, pulling his shirt over his head. He'd been nude in every situation he could imagine, but ...
Winly reached into her case and pulled out an arm so brilliantly shined that Ed blinked as it glinted in the light. "Look at this," she said, and for the first time there was a sort of proud joy in her voice. "This titanium alloy is incredibly strong for how light it is. The wiring is copper, the best conductor, and--Ed!" She gasped, looking up. "Your shoulder ..."
Ed looked down at the arc of shiny, whitish scar tissue passing over his shoulder - a reminder of the first lashing Mason had given him. "Knife," he said quickly. "There are fights, sometimes--"
"You're a liar," Winly said thickly. "You think I don't know a knife scar?" She leaned forward, putting down the automail arm reverently before touching his shoulder. "Ed, why did they do this to you ...?"
Ed glanced at the guards surreptitiously, and Winly caught it as she was meant to. She gave him a bewildered look, and he shrugged slightly. "It's from when I first got here," he said in a low voice. "And the story's not very interest-- what are you doing!?"
But Winly had already circled around him. Ed stiffened when her fingers touched his back. "Winly ..." He twisted around to look at her.
"This is why you didn't want to take off your shirt," Winly said softly. Her eyes hardened. "They can't do this. This is--"
"Winly!" Ed shot to his feet, looking her in the eye. ".... shit happens sometimes. What are you going to do!?" He grit his teeth. "File a complaint? Winly, I killed ten thousand people!" He slammed his hand on the table; Winly jumped. "No one cares, okay? I can promise it's over. I can promise that. Leave it alone."
Winly's lips parted, then pressed shut again, and Ed slumped back into his seat. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice.
"No, you're not." Winly's voice trembled a little, and he heared her footsteps coming back around in front of him. "You're so different, and you don't even know." She didn't lift her head as she removed his new leg from the case and bent down to kneel at his feet. "Roll up your pants, would you?"
Ed obeyed. "I'm not di--"
"Stop lying!" Winly said furiously, glancing up at him only long enough for Ed to see tears in her eyes. "You've changed and it's not your fault. Not everything is your fault." She sniffled. "I wish you'd see that. I wish you weren't so selfish--!" She hit his automail leg with a fist, and there was a dull ring. "You don't deserve to be in here."
"..." Maybe not, but ... it was a good trade anyway. Ed swallowed back any protest. Please let her understand.
They didn't talk about anything except the automail for the rest of the visit.
The note Winly found in Ed's automail when she took it apart to analyze the 'problem':
Al alive&safe. no one can know. keep it a secret. E.
fin