Title: Champion

Mangaverse, up to chapter 84 or so.

Pairing: EdWin

Summary: He's taking a bit of her with him, wherever he goes.

FMA belongs to the lady with the million aces up her sleeves- Hiromu Arakawa.

I wrote this wondering why Winry does not get her earrings back in chapter 84. Note: I realize this is very similar to evil_little_dog 's  'Tokens of Her Esteem' (Good story, check it out!) I actually posted this on my ff.net account a while ago. In any case, this was inspired by the EdWin forums on ff.net. So, kudos to them. :) Enjoy, and please comment.

He had expected her to say something, and had been prepared with an answer-

-They got lost, they fell out of my pocket- honestly, woman, can you expect me to keep track of something so small when I’m always running around like this?!-

But she didn’t ask. At first, he thinks that perhaps she forgot- that she has now simply become used to the fact that she is not wearing them. But then another thought occurs to him: what if she is letting him keep them, for the same reason that he wasn’t going to give them back?

Ed looks around himself, making sure that the people around him aren’t paying attention. He reaches into his pocket and fishes them out- small, silver earrings, gifts that he had given her. And now, she had given them to him for a while.

He knew that, the longer they were kept, he stood the risk of losing them, but somehow he couldn’t let himself give them back to her, couldn’t mention it. Perhaps it’s because, growing up, his mom told them both the same stories.

Old tales of knights and kings and castles- some widely known and perhaps even historical, like the famous female general, Noa of Ark, who led her people to a great victory in battle, later becoming a martyr.

But others blend together- stories filled with dragons and action and swords and love. When he was young enough to find all aspects of the stories fascinating –not just all the exciting things- he remembers an occasion where his mom told him, Al, and Winry a story. In the story, a great knight must travel to many far away lands, and perform dangerous acts of heroism, for the betterment of the people.

And always, left behind, was a waiting woman- sometimes a princess, sometimes an archer that had injured herself and could not accompany him. Always, there was a love waiting for the knight to return. But before he would leave, she would give him a gift. It was never anything special- perhaps a piece of cloth or a ring, a locket of hair. But she would give him this, her own special confidence, her own special guidance from far away. Something to remind him of those left behind.

Something to remind him just how much he wanted to return home.

Something to keep him going, when all he wanted to do was fall down and never rise.

Something to keep her face in his thoughts, and warm him on cold nights.

Ed closed his fist around the earrings. He was no knight, and Winry was no princess (though he bet that she would’ve been able to use a wrench as an arrow) but in this sense he is her champion. He’s carrying a bit of her with him, everywhere he goes.

And as long as he has that, he knows he’ll make it home.