Chapter Text
He had done it. Edward Elric, sought redemption for the mistake he made at the tender age of 11. At the cost of wanting to have a mother again, he lost an arm and a leg, but more tragically, he almost lost his only other family, his younger brother Alphonse, and vowed to atone and get him back. Five years later, he had done it. Through government conspiracies, mad bombers, murderous homunculi, and other tragic incidents, Ed had faced impossible odds and got Alphonse back from beyond the gate. To say his victory was exhilarating was an understatement. In fact, the last five years almost didn't seem real. In Ed's quest to return to his ordinary countryside life in Risembool, he had to do extraordinary things, such as join the army and punch a literal god in the face. The Fullmetal Alchemist. The Hero of Amestris. And much to his chagrin, Pipsqueak. Ed was known by many names during his time as a state alchemist. Now, whoever, having been honorably discharged and having sacrificed his alchemy to save Al's life, none of those names mattered to him anymore. Now, he was simply Edward Elric, a country boy with long, golden hair, who was free to focus on other things, such as love. Wait, what?
Yes, love. Hesitant as he was to admit it, there was a certain girl who made his heartbeat quicken when his thoughts drifted to her. Without her, the reality he was living in, with his brother restored and alchemy gone, would have never happened. She gave him a leg to stand on and a home to return to, and was really sweet and cute, even if she was handy with a wrench. Her name, of course, was Winry Rockbell, and Ed was finally free to sort out his feelings for her, with some encourage and teasing from Al, of course. It was their first day back, and during Granny Pinako's celebratory dinner of stew and apple pie, Al was giving Ed and Winry suggestive glances through all the lively conversation, which Ed couldn't help but notice out of the corner of his eye. Now, the Elrics were getting ready to retire for the night, and Ed could finally confront his brother about his...behavior.
"Man, I'm stuffed," said Ed, patting his stomach and helping Al into his night clothes, which he still needed help with due to his atrophy. "I want to have a meal like this every night."
"Me too," agreed Al, smiling softly. "The apple pie was as delicious I expected it to be. You should go thank Winry, brother. I'm sure she'll appreciate it."
"Yeah, yeah." The older brother pondered for a minute, before taking a deep breath. "Speaking of Winry, you've been teasing me nonstop about her ever since the train ride from Central. Care to explain why you're so obsessed with us...her?" He chuckled, trying to hide the blush rising to his cheeks.
"Obsessed? What makes you say that?" Al teased.
"Don't think I didn't catch on to all those funny looks you were giving me during dinner," the older brother said. "It's not like that, I swear."
"Everyone can see it but you two," Al mused. "Do you really think Colonel Mustang teased you so much for no reason?"
Ed remembered all the offhand comments that Colonel Bastard had made over the years about how pretty Winry's blond hair was, and right before he was discharged, he told him to "be careful not to knock her up on your first night back." Ed had blushed furiously, but managed to make a clever retort: "Oh really?! Are you speaking from experience?" That was a good enough sendoff for him, as far as he was concerned. However, he still had Al's teasing to deal with.
"That Colonel has always been a prick to me! Of course he did it for no reason!" He fumed as he finished helping Al get dressed.
"Well, I don't think I'm being a 'prick' by wanting you guys to get together," said Al, hesitating to reuse Ed's rather colorful vocabulary. "I may have won when we fought over her as kids, but I know she feels differently about you than me."
"That much is obvious. Her wrench always seems aimed for me," scoffed Ed.
"That's true, but I'm talking about something...beyond friendship," clarified Al.
"I'm telling you, it's not like that!" Ed yelled in frustration, but kept his voice slightly lower than usual to avoid waking up the women in the house. "Besides, even..." he started blushing again "...even if there was, it's only our first day back. It's too early for either of us to make a move."
"Aha! You admit it!" Al exclaimed triumphantly.
"I didn't admit crap! Y-you don't know what you're talking about! You can really be naive, you know that, Al?"
"I could say the same for you, brother," Al replied calmly. Ed chuckled as he began changing into his night clothes.
"Yeah, I guess you got me," he admitted. "I might...l-like her as more than a friend. I just..." He sighed.
"Brother? Is something wrong?"
"No, not at all," he reassured his younger brother. "It's just that...I've...felt like this for a long time now. But I had to focus on restoring our bodies first. And now that we've done it, I don't...think I'm ready for it."
"Take as long as you want, Ed," said Al consolingly, "but I just know she feels the same way." Ed blushed, but smiled.
"Thanks, Al," he said. "I feel a little less anxious about this whole romance deal now." He chuckled. As he took off his pants for the night, however, he heard something clink on the wooden floor. He looked down and saw two familiar, silver-colored earrings.
"Shit," he cursed under his breath. "I never returned these to her!" Ed remembered the time Winry entrusted him with her earrings when they separated at Briggs, making him promise to hold on to them for her until he returned safely. It was a miracle that they hadn't fallen out of his pocket in the midst of all his fights.
"She might still be awake," said Al. "Why don't you go return them to her now? Before you forget."
"Right. Wish me luck, Al." His younger brother nodded as he opened their creaky bedroom door. He felt his heartbeat pick up and sweat drip down his brow as he walked down the corridor to Winry's room. Less anxious, my ass! I'm a nervous wreck! Get it together, Elric! He managed to calm himself by steadying his breathing as he knocked lightly on her door.
"It's unlocked," Winry called from inside. Just the sound of her voice was enough to make Ed's heart skip a beat at this point. Hesitantly, he opened the door, and seeing Winry looking positively angelic in her night gown, coupled with how the candlelight reflected on her pale face, only made things worse.
"Ed? What are you still doing up?" He was not at all prepared for that question.
"W-well, I just finished helping Al into his pajamas," he began nervously, "a-and I just w-wanted to say...t-thanks for the meal." He gulped.
"Oh! Well...you're welcome, Ed," she smiled sweetly. "But surely you didn't come in here just for that. Why are you so red?" Winry eyed him quizzically,
"N-n-no reason!" The ex-alchemist felt as if his heart would jump out of his chest. "I just wanted to...ch-chat a bit." He grinned at her, anxiously awaiting her answer.
"Well, maybe for a few minutes." She sighed, offering him a seat on her bed. "What did you want to talk about?" Slowly, Ed relaxed his breathing and began.
"I-I just feel like...this is all so surreal, you know? I somehow managed to get Al back...somehow...and I can finally resume my life as it should be." Winry laughed.
"And I'm happy for both of you," she said. "It means the world to me that you and Al are home safe. And I can breathe a sigh of relief now that I have one less limb to fix."
"Heh, really? I thought you'd be all depressed about it." Ed laughed. "After all, you are a workaholic."
"Am not!" Winry argued. "You just call me that because you only bother to come home for repairs!"
"That's not true!" Ed scoffed. "I came home to sample your delicious apple pie, didn't I?!" Ed froze, hoping he hadn't said something out of line.
"That too! You always have some motive whenever you come to visit!" Winry countered. "In fact, I bet you really came in here because one of the cogs in your leg was loose!"
"Yeah, well, you're wrong!" Ed sweated even more profusely as Winry's expression changed to anger. Now or never, Ed! DO IT! MAKE YOUR MOVE! "The REAL reason I came in here was to return THESE!" He pulled the earrings out of his pockets, feeling somewhat more relieved now that he'd mustered the "courage" to do it. Winry gasped.
"My earrings!" She exclaimed joyfully. "You held onto them all this time?"
"Tch, of course I did," snorted Ed. "I made a promise, didn't I? I always keep my promises!"
"Thank you so much, Ed. Really." Ed's face turned red as a tomato as Winry pulled him into an embrace. She giggled. "You wanna...s-see me put them on?" She began to blush as well, though not as profusely as Ed.
"Y-yeah, sure." The golden-haired boy watched intently as Winry turned towards the mirror on the wall and gently placed the earrings in her piercings. It was a wonder that she didn't even flinch. It looked like it hurt. After a few minutes, she turned away from the mirror to face him.
"Ta-da~" She looked positively radiant. Ed was now undeniably love-struck. When he didn't respond, Winry spoke again. "Ed? Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah!" He began. "I just...never noticed how...p-pretty you look with those earrings."
"Aw, Ed! You're so sweet!" She gave him another hug, but held on for a bit longer this time. "You know, ever since you started getting taller...you look pretty handsome yourself." Ed wasn't sure how to respond, especially when her voice dropped to lower, raspier register.
"Taller, huh?" His voice dropped to a low whisper as well, almost flirtatious. They simply gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, before they closed their eyes started moving towards each other almost instinctively. To both his excitement and horror, the ex-alchemist realized what was about to happen, but before he could properly process his thoughts, his lips touched Winry's. It was a nervous, chaste type of kiss that probably lasted longer than it should have. Ed enjoyed the faint taste of apple pie on her lips. He associated it with the comforts of home, and it made him feel warm inside. They stayed like this for no longer than 30 seconds before they were interrupted by a light knock on the door. To both Ed and Winry's horror, Al and Pinako were standing in the doorway.
"Honestly, you kids, there's no need to yell!" Pinako scolded in her usual cranky tone, but there was a hint of a smile on her face. "Get to your room, lover boy!"
"Yeah, lover boy. I was wondering why it was taking so long just to hand over the earrings," Al giggled, clearly enjoying the situation. Ed grumbled and left the room, but not before nervously muttering a quick goodnight to Winry. She smiled back at him, a light blush rising to her cheeks.
"You're never gonna stop teasing me now, are you?" Ed groaned as he followed his brother back to their bedroom.
"Not a chance!" Al said proudly. "In fact, I've already got plans to set you guys up on a date!"
"A date?!" Ed's voice rose in pitch slightly, which made Al laugh even harder. He was lucky just to get a kiss. Yeah, lucky was definitely the right word for it. After all, he had a family to come home to, and a girl he loved with all his heart.