Archive of Our Own

Alphonse loved Resembool. The wind coming across the fields, the smell of wet soil, flowers in the air. He had missed all of it. 

The last year in Xing had been good to him. He'd missed traveling with his brother, but he'd also liked being on his own for the first time, and he had learned more about alkahestry from Mei and the other alkahestrists than he'd managed in years of reading. When he called Winry to say he was coming back, Ed had already been in Rush Valley with her, arrived a day earlier. They all agreed they needed a break, and Resembool was the obvious place for it.

He had really wanted to relax and he had been content the last five days. But it didn’t last long. Ed and Winry avoided eye contact yet again, both picking at their food. He remembered the days when they used to be flustered around each other. There was a similar tension between them, making him want to pull out his hair in frustration. But this was different, something loaded.

“Tell your brother to keep his feet to himself,” Winry said, irritated.

“Tell her she is the one who needs to keep them to herself,” Ed snapped, pointing his fork at her looking at Al.

“Al! Your brother really needs to learn about personal space,” she countered.

“Al! She has to learn to listen to me for once,” he said glaring at her. Al looked up at Winry at that.

“He needs to say something sensible for that,” she growled, making Al sigh.

Al sat back and let the rest of it wash over him. They were being ridiculous, arguing without even looking at each other. They had a knack for it. But this had been going on since morning now. They almost never kept up a fight this long. He had rarely needed to intervene. He had heard them yelling in the morning but had shrugged it off. It was normal for them. But now he was starting to get concerned as he could see hurt in both of their eyes.

He only had a general idea of what had happened, and most of it he could put down to Ed being overprotective. Ed could be too much sometimes, as Al knew from experience, and he'd always been protective of Winry. Now that they were dating, he was even more so. Ed made a point of being in the workshop whenever a male customer came by. He'd started doing it during their two years back in Resembool. Al actually found it sweet, and he knew Winry did too. She would just roll her eyes in exasperation. Al knew Winry could take care of herself, but not everyone could be trusted, so he looked out for her too. But today she seemed angry. Actually hurt. He really needed to know what his idiot brother had done, and he was sure Ed had done something. He could feel guilt radiating from Ed in waves.

After dinner, he entered Ed’s room where he found him sitting against the bed, legs folded up, book across them.

Al could tell he wasn't reading. He was somewhere else entirely. He didn’t even notice Al coming inside.

Al cleared his throat, surprising him into dropping his book. Ed looked up and sighed, like he'd been expecting him.

“Go on. You also blame me,” he said grumpily, to the wall.

“I want to know what happened, Ed.” Al jumped straight to the point.

“Why don’t you ask her?”

It would probably be easier to get it out of her, even with the shouting and cursing that would come with it. But he wanted it from Ed first. He suspected Ed was at fault, and Winry looked the more hurt of the two. He would talk to her after, once he had the full context. Although, he knew in the end, Ed would be the one who would need to make it up to her.

“I will. But I want to hear it from you first.”

Ed sighed, slumping down. He started recounting what happened.

Ed had been reading a book Al had brought from Xing, he was reading all about Xing’s alkahestry while his brother studied Cretan alchemy. He was sitting in Winry’s workroom as she worked on a blueprint, sometimes engaging him in a conversation. When they heard a knock, they both jolted a bit. Winry started to stand up but Ed held up his hand. He smiled and stood up to get the door. He opened the main door to be met by a boy maybe a year or two older than Ed.

“Um…Hi, I was looking for a mechanic named Winry, I have heard a lot about her.” Ed nodded at the automail arm and beckoned him inside.

They made their way to the workshop.

“Winry, someone is here to meet you.”

Winry turned at that and stood up to greet the newcomer, professional tone intact as Ed sat back in the chair picking up his book again.

“Hi, How can I help you?” she said smiling like she did for all her clients.

“Oh! I am Jack, I have heard a lot about your automail skills, but no one told me you were this beautiful,” he said excitedly holding his hand out for a handshake. Ed bristled at that, eying Jack sideways. He didn't like the way Jack was staring at her.

She placed her hand in his to shake. He kept it there a moment longer and she had to snatch it back, a detail not missed by Ed.

Winry waited for Jack to say something. He just kept staring. She shifted, keeping the client-smile intact.

“I wanted you to check my automail, if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, sure. Take a seat.” She pointed towards a chair in the center, reserved for her clients.

She bent over his automail, that focused look settling on her face. Jack kept talking, flirting, and she just nodded along. Ed placed his book down and started glaring at him which Jack didn’t seem to notice.

“Your hair looks so soft,” Jack said taking a strand in his flesh hand. Ed stood up at that and took a step, but Winry yanked it out of his hand first and said coldly, “Please stop.” Ed sighed as Jack pulled his hand back.

Winry moved back to his automail. Jack frowned. Ed saw him stare at Winry more. Ed gritted his teeth. Jack’s hand made its way to her chest. His eyes widened. Then he saw red. He was across the room before he'd thought about it, hauling Jack out of the chair, startling Winry, punching him square in the face. Jack scrambled out, holding his bleeding nose. Ed tried to follow him yelling, “You son of a bitch, come back here” but Winry held him back.

“What’s going on with you Ed? Why did you punch him?” she said angrily.

“He was going to touch you there,” he growled, pointing towards her chest.

Her eyes widened at that. But then they narrowed.

“You could have alerted me, you didn’t need to punch him,” she exclaimed.

“Did you not hear what I just said?” he yelled at her not thinking clearly, still furious at what had almost happened.

“I did! But nothing had happened to make you punch him,” she took a step towards him, jabbing her finger at his chest.

“What? Did you want me to wait for it to happen?” he yelled

“No! but you can’t just punch people like a lunatic,” she yelled back, putting her hand on her forehead, exasperated.

“I'm not some bully, Winry! That bastard was asking for it!” he yelled, furrowing his brows, jaw tightening and fists still clenched.

“Could have fooled me, you just can’t keep your fists to yourself,” she yelled jabbing her finger again.

“If you'd kept your head out of the automail junk for once, you'd have noticed him yourself — I wouldn't have had to do that,” he countered.

“You know what, I should never have come back.” The logical part of his brain knew it was not the right thing to say but he had just blurted it out.

She fell silent at that, looking like he had just slapped her, tears coming to her eyes.

“Fine. Then piss off and leave me alone,” she said hoarsely, still keeping her voice loud, looking to the side.

Ed froze, his anger draining out of him. He moved his hands to her shoulder trying to look at her as she turned her face away. He'd already seen the tears.

“Winry! Hey, I didn’t mean that, you know that,” he tried but she didn’t even look at him and pushed his hands away.

She ran out of the room as Ed kept calling her. He followed her to her room. She slammed the door in his face and locked it. He sighed and hoped giving her space would make things better and they would bounce back like they always did.

They both fell silent after Ed finished explaining what had happened. For once, Al could say Ed wasn’t totally at fault, it was partially the situation. But he knew what Ed had said was a nasty blow to Winry. Ed hadn't skipped anything, the way Al had expected him to. He really was distressed. But he could also see that Ed hadn’t admitted his mistake, his guilt was mostly from seeing Winry sad.

“You should apologize to her, brother.”

“Why? Can’t you see it is not my fault?” Ed exclaimed, sitting up.

“Maybe, but you said some very bad things to her,” he pointed out.

“I didn't mean any of it!” Ed snapped then muttered after a moment, “And we always say stuff like that when we fight, you know that.”

“Yeah! But Winry really is hurt this time,” Al retorted.

Ed flinched. He looked down and murmured,

“She can come and apologize first, its not like it is totally my fault.”

Al sighed, and went out of the room as Ed picked up his book, pretending to read again. He knew Ed would come around in a while, he was just being stubborn. Al took a deep breath and walked to Winry’s room, not actually expecting her to be there. He knocked on the door, then opened it to find it empty. Sighing, he walked to her workroom, knocking again, then stepping inside after a moment. He found her on her workbench, papers strewn over the table, many of them crumpled into balls at her feet.

***

Winry had been working on a blueprint for a new automail leg design she was going to make. Or trying to. She'd crossed out at least ten drafts, unable to concentrate. She lifted her head at the knock. After a beat, Al appeared in her doorway and pulled a chair up beside hers. This is going to be long, she thought as she turned around and forced a smile.

“Ed told me what happened.” He jumped straight to the point. Her smile dropped.

She retorted, “Are you here to defend him?”

Al quickly waved his hands in the air saying, “No, no. I wanted to know your side too.”

She sighed. She knew he wanted to help them, Al was sweet like that. She wasn’t actually mad about Ed punching that guy. But still she complained,

“Ed is just an idiot, punching a client like it’s nothing. He’s been pissing me off lately, he behaves as if I can’t take care of myself. Like I hadn’t been all alone –“ she fell silent.

Like she hadn't been left alone with just her granny all those years ago. Like he hadn't left, and come back only when his automail broke. Like she didn’t matter.

“We never wanted to leave you, you know that right,” Al started softly, “And Ed just cares about you.”

“Does he? It seems like he doesn’t even trust me,” she snapped,

“I know I didn’t notice him moving his hand towards me but Ed didn’t need to be so mean.” she added quietly.

So it went deeper than it had looked. She was beating herself up for not noticing Jack herself, Al thought to himself.

She remained silent for a moment.

“Does he actually l-love me?” her voice cracked. She didn’t remember him ever saying that.

“Of course, he loves you!” he exclaimed before he could stop himself.

Her head came up.

Al realized she must be badly hurt, to be asking him about Ed's feelings at all and it was surprising that she was doubting Ed. Ed loved Winry, Al had never even seen him look up at any other girl. Ed had really messed up.

“T-then why did he say he wished he'd never come back?” she said hysterically keeping her head down.

“He didn’t mean that, Winry. He was just angry.” Al tried speaking softly. He knew that Winry didn’t believe that actually. She wasn't being logical, and no argument was going to talk her out of what she was feeling. It hurt him seeing her like this. Al loved Winry, and really wanted her to officially be his sister-in-law in future and she would, he would beat Ed up into proposing if it came to that.

He silently tried consoling her, catching her as she threw herself at him, putting his arms around her.

***

Ed woke up next morning feeling even more tired. He hadn’t slept well. He saw Winry sitting at the dining table sipping her coffee. She also looked tired. One more all-nighter then. Nothing new. He started to make coffee for himself, watching her sideways. He had been thinking about their fight while trying to sleep. He'd worked out that something else was bothering her, something besides the fight, and she was channeling all of it into being angry at him. But he knew in the end he had hurt her with his words. He sighed.

He sat across from Winry. He needed to find a way to get her to talk to him.

He tried to annoy her first, tapping his automail foot on the floor repeatedly. Normally, she’d have snapped at him to stop, but now she didn’t say anything. He stood up, jolting the table hard enough to pass for accidental, and waited. No response. She glared at the table.

He frowned. He’d need to try harder.

But then she slammed the cup down and stood up. She went to her room while Ed’s eyes followed her.

An idea hit him, he made his way to her workroom. He started moving her tools all over the place. This should get her shouting at him, he nodded.

He settled on the sofa, pretending to read, and grinned when she disappeared into her workroom. He waited for her to come out but she didn’t. He got up and leaned into the doorway. She was organizing them, grumbling under her breath. Now he felt bad for giving her even more work.

He slumped back into the couch. He needed to change his strategy, this wasn’t working!

Food. Yeah, it should work. He quickly started making her favorite pasta. At least even if it didn’t work, she’d feel better. Maybe.

Alphonse entered the kitchen. He came up beside him smiling.

“Do you need any help, brother?”

Ed knew he was asking both for pasta and Winry.

“No, Al. I can do it.”

Really, he could. He didn’t need his little brother’s help in his relationship crisis. As they sat together on the table for lunch, Ed made sure to sit beside Winry. And started serving her food before she could do it herself. Al and Pinako watched, amused. Any other day they would have teased him. Today they just watched. He held his breath as Winry took a bite expecting her to exclaim happily and say thanks to him. He could even do with a smile at this point.

But none of that happened, she remained quiet, her lips twisted. She started taking some half-hearted bites. Why does she look this heartbroken?

Then, she stood up as all three of them looked up at her, she said, “Not hungry” and rushed away to her workroom.

He looked down at his plate. His own hunger went with her. He kept eating anyway.

He sat back on the couch again, book in hand, thinking. He'd tried everything he could think of after that. Fixed a few things for her, cleaned her workroom, whatever he could find to do. It was evening now. After a while, he stood up, and ran towards Al, whining,

“Alllll”

Al turned and sighed.

“Sh-she is not talking to me at all! What should I do?” he cried then cringed. He sounded helpless!

Al could see his brother had tried almost everything he could.

“Why don’t you try talking to her directly? Instead of making her talk?” Al said calmly, the way you'd talk to a child, while Ed watched him with far too much hope.

“I’d tried, Al! She didn’t say anything.” Which was a lie, Ed just stared at her to make her say something and called her name once.

“Maybe apologize to her?”

Ed didn’t reply.

Al sighed.

“Why don't we go to the market and get her something?”

Ed perked up as they both turned toward the market.

***

They walked in silence.

He narrowed his eyes, “Do you know why Winry is being like this?” He suspected Al might know something by the way he was being quiet.

Al quickly shook his head. Ed sighed. This meant Winry had talked to Al, and he wasn’t supposed to tell Ed. At least she is still talking to Al, he thought, half jealous, half relieved.

“Hm…ok”

“Um… brother?” He called after a while. He sounded nervous.

“Yeah?”

“Do you love Winry?” Al asked hesitantly, half turned away.

The question took Ed off guard. Al wasn’t teasing him. He was seriously asking?

Ed spluttered, nearly tripping over his own feet. “What kind of question is that? Of course I—" he stopped. “Why are you asking?”

“Um… did you ever say that to Winry?” Al said quietly, still uncomfortable, and slightly afraid. Of a wrench, maybe.

Ed frowned. Is that somehow related to Winry’s silent treatment?

“Yeah! I ha-“ He exclaimed but stopped when he realized maybe he hadn’t. He had never needed to. Now that he thought about it, Winry had said that to him twice but he wasn’t able to say it back. But he knew he had made it apparent that he did lo- care about her. Ed stood there for a moment.

“Do you really think I d-don’t l-lo-love her?” Ed asked in a small voice.

“It doesn’t matter what I believe, what matters is what Winry thinks, Ed,” Al said sagely.

Ed stood there with furrowed brows, clenching his fists. So, he hadn't made it as obvious as he'd thought.

“For what it's worth, I don't think you even see anyone else. You're crazy for her.”

Ed nodded, a bit relieved. A bit. Any other time he’d have blushed and tried to deny the claim furiously. He started walking, Al in tow.

He knew that she got annoyed by his “behavior” sometimes, but didn’t she know it was because he cared? That she could believe he didn't love her sat like a stone in his chest. He should have tried more. But Winry always seemed content with his actions showing his feelings. Maybe she was. She never asked for anything else. Ed stopped at that.

Winry never asked for anything. Hell, she would be dying and shrug it off as nothing. A trait both of them had in common.

They passed a row of shops. “What should we get her, then?”

Ed startled, coming out of his thoughts, he had forgotten about the plan. He thought for a moment. Something to make her happy.

“Earrings?” he finally said. He knew it was nothing special but he couldn’t think straight right now.

They'd given her plenty over the years but earrings always made her happy. Al nodded.

They made their way to a store around the corner. They started looking at different pairs. Winry would like something simple. Ed couldn’t find anything good enough for her, and was about to give up, then his eye caught a pair of gold earrings with a small blue stone set in each. They’d always gotten her silver or normal metal earrings.

She didn’t have any gold ones. He picked the box up and turned it to the light. The blue stones matched the color of her eyes. Gold might get lost against her hair, he thought. But as the gold gleamed in the light, he found himself longing for the same brightness back in her eyes.

He pulled out his wallet, counting out notes without looking up, while Al leaned in to read the tag.
"Ed, are you sure?" Al's eyes went wide.

“Yeah,” he replied distractedly.

He paid, put the box in his pocket, and walked out.

They continued walking back to their house in silence. Then, so quietly Al almost missed it, Ed said, "I do love her."

Al didn't say anything. He just smiled.

By the time, they had reached home, it was night. He checked her workroom. Empty. He found her asleep in her room. It was too early for her to sleep.

He set the earrings on her nightstand. He stood back watching her sleep, then took a step towards her bed, pushing her hair back from her face. He pecked her forehead, quick and light.

The next morning, Ed woke up with renewed determination. He was going to get Winry to talk to him today! There was no one in the hall when he came downstairs. He started making coffee for both himself and Winry. Winry came down a few minutes later and took her seat on the couch. He held out the coffee mug in front of her face for her. She raised her eyes from the cup to him, surprised, then took it in her hands.

He tried, “Good Morning, Win.” No reply came as she continued sipping her coffee. He frowned, moving to sit beside her drinking his own coffee and asked casually,

“What're you doing today?” No answer.

“Wanna come with me to the new restaurant across the market?” Still no answer.

He sighed.

She stood to take her cup to the kitchen. He snatched it from her, putting it in the sink. She went back to her room. Not workshop?

He tried to decide his next course of action.

A realization hit him then. She hadn’t eaten anything yesterday. They both usually had coffee in the mornings. During lunch, she had just picked at the pasta and left. And by dinner, she was asleep. He wanted to punch himself. He should have noticed! Maybe he was too busy trying to get her to talk to him.

He quickly started making pasta. He knew it had failed yesterday. But today he would even force her to eat if it came to that.

Al came to stand beside him when he’d started making the sauce, and asked, “Pasta, again? And isn’t it early for lunch?” as he ate his toast.

Ed just shrugged. It was her favorite.

When it was done, he put it in a plate, made his way to her room. He opened it to find Winry lying on her stomach, pillow in her hands. His heart sank, it was the position she took when she wanted to cry. He gulped.

“Winry?” he asked hoarsely, trying to get her attention. She jerked her head up but didn’t answer.

“Winry, I’m sorry, really. Please eat something,” he said sincerely as he sat at the corner of the bed.

He turned to the nightstand. She hadn’t noticed the earring box?

Still, she ignored him. Her beating him up with a wrench seemed like a far better option than this.

“I made pasta,” he tried again rather desperately.

He sat back and waited for her.

“Go away, Edward. I hate you!” She groaned into the pillow. He flinched, his eyes widening. Edward? Did she really –

She was just angry at him. They had been saying things like that to each other since they were kids.

“Eat! Then I’ll be out.”

Finally, she moved, looking up at him as her stomach rumbled. There was an album in her hand. He tried to see it but she placed it face first on the bed. He let it go, at least she was sitting up now.

He smiled softly at her.

She took the plate from him and started half-heartedly picking at it. He watched her eat. She didn't seem to notice him staring.

He took her plate from her as she finished her food. She glared at him and pointed to the door. He nodded and went out.

***

By the time Winry finally came out of her room, it was evening, Ed had used up all his plans.

So he started following her around the house, to her workshop then back to the hall, whining,

“Winry!”

“Win, say something!” She kept walking.

“Please talk to me,” he continued, past any dignity by now, following her like a lost puppy. “At least smile!”

He'd tried to catch her lips a couple of times, but she always moved away. “Win!”

“Please?” he kept trying, pecking her cheek instead.

Al and Pinako had come out to find this, and were now on the couch taking it in. They both were concerned for Winry. But couldn’t hide their amusement. They had never seen Ed act like this. He hadn't even stopped when he saw them sit down. He avoided even holding her hand in front of others and he'd pressed at least five kisses to her cheek by now. He really was in a funk. He was one step short of dropping to her feet and begging.

As he continued, he noticed Winry was getting more annoyed. Finally. Maybe now she would throw her wrench at him, and yell at him. He never thought he’d end up looking forward to it. But suddenly, she walked out of the house, into the dark. He stood there, confused.

He sighed making his way to Al and Pinako.

“Granny, What’s going on with her?” he asked, frowning, slightly annoyed now, maybe she knew something.

“Did you check today’s date?” she said curtly, smoking. She seemed off too, now that he was paying attention.

He frowned. What had this got to do with date? But still thought about it. Then it struck him. His eyes widened. He looked at Al, and Al had the same face on.

Today was the day her parents died.

How could he forget the date? Now, he really wanted to kick himself.

He ran towards the door frantically. But then stopped himself. He needed to give her some time alone. He’d been all over her almost the whole day.

He sighed and slumped into a stray chair, propping his chin on his hand. Now, some of her behavior was making sense. In the past, when they had this kind of fight, and it was rare, they both cooled down in a day and one of them apologized. But going back over the past few days, she'd been furious at first, and then the anger had gone quiet and turned into something sadder. His words had landed hard, and the anniversary made it impossible for her to shake them off.

You know what, I should never have come back.

He flinched as he recalled his words. Yeah, he messed up. He closed his eyes, leaning his head over the back rest and thought some more. He was afraid she wouldn't forgive him. He should have been paying attention.

He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. He cracked open one eye up at Al.

“Winry would be alright brother,” Al said softly.

“I messed up, Al. I said the worst thing possible to her,” he said dejected, closing his eyes again. Yeah, what could be worse than making her believe he'd wanted to leave her — like her parents, who actually hadn't wanted to. He knew one of her deepest fears was being left alone, everyone leaving her eventually.

“But she needs you.” Al crouched down slightly, so he was level with him.

“She does?” Ed opened his eyes slowly. It didn’t matter if she did or not. He’d be there for her no matter what. His heart was clenching painfully at the thought of her alone in the dark sitting beside her parents’ gravestones.

Al nodded, a small smile breaking through.

Then, he just sat there lost in thought as Al started making dinner. He didn’t know how long he sat there, half listening to the crackle of fire in the fireplace, Al cutting vegetables, thunder outside the house. Thunder?

He opened his eyes to hear rain pouring down heavily outside.

He rushed outside, hastily pulling on his shoes on the way out.

He ran in the rain, hair plastering to his neck, and forehead. He was panting and thoroughly soaked, clothes sticking to him like a second skin. When he reached the graveyard, he went to the Rockbells’ graves. He stopped when he spotted a figure sitting on the ground, knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them, face buried against her knees, shoulders shaking in the rain. He dropped down beside her and got his arms around her. She was drenched, and he could feel her shivering against him. She looked up at him finally, her bangs plastered to her forehead, her eyes bloodshot. But she wasn’t crying. He didn't know whether that was better or worse. She always cried for him but wouldn’t cry for herself.

He quickly removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. He held her against him again. He was angry. He wasn't sure at what.

He pulled back just enough to look at her, hands still gripping her shoulders. She stared up at him blankly. "Are you insane?" He yelled but then his voice cracked halfway through. "Sitting out here—alone—in the rain? Do you have any idea—" He stopped, breathing hard, unable to finish.

“Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? You idiot,” he said softly, looking at her.

“You were worried about me?” she asked in a tiny voice. She sounded unsure, almost afraid he would deny this.

Finally, she said something to him. He felt relieved. Then it caught up with him. She really thought he wasn't worried? He remembered his conversation with Al at the market.

“Are you blind or something, gearhead? I've been chasing you around the house like an idiot, all day,” he said trying to keep his voice soft, ducking to catch her eyes as she averted them again.

“B-but t-then why did-“ She tried but then her voice broke as tears started spilling from her eyes.

Ed panicked for a moment. He was about to yell but then he tilted her chin and told her fondly, “I’d never leave you, Win.”

“A-are you sure, you don’t w-want to? you always l-leave,” she hiccupped, her crying only getting louder.

That one went straight through him. Yeah! He left but he always came back. He knew she didn’t want him to stay at home all the time, she’d always been supportive. He fell silent for a moment, thinking what to say. He couldn't think straight with her crying like this. He tried anyway.

“I-I always come back, Winry, and I always will.” He tried to keep his desperation out of his voice, pulling her to him again, but she pulled away from him, shaking all over.

"My parents said that too, Ed! And they left me!" she yelled, voice cracking on the last word. He just stared, stunned.

Then she deflated, falling into his chest. He put his arms around her, pulling her even closer, moving her to his lap. He stroked her hair, placing his chin over her head as she kept sobbing into his chest.

“Your parents never wanted to leave you. They loved you. What happened to them— that's not them choosing to go.” He tried reassuring her.

“Y-you said you wished you'd never come back. And what if you- you also d-” She stopped and flung her arms around his neck, holding him tightly, like he might run off, sobbing even more loudly.

“Hey! You know how boneheaded I can be, right Winry? I was just really pissed then. I am not going anywhere.” He rubbed her back gently. His chest tightened almost painfully as her sobs vibrated through him.

“I’m really sorry, Win. You can beat me up all you want with your wrench if you want. J-just cheer up, ok?” he was not sure what to do to make her feel better. She just kept crying as rain continued falling on them.

She started speaking quickly then,

“Maybe I’m just supposed to be alone. Everyone keeps leaving, you can’t even trust me with my clients, maybe I’m just not worth loving. You will get bored with me soon.” Ed tried to speak at this but she kept talking breath hitching, “That’s why- that’s why you c-can’t even-“ She stopped to take a breath. She pulled back, looking at him,

“Why’d someone love me? maybe y-you’d realize it soon and l-leave me”

Ed had no idea where any of this was coming from. Winry was always the confident one. He needed to do something, fast.

He couldn't think. He pulled her close and kissed her, hard, clumsy, a little rough. She stopped talking, her eyes widened. Finally, he pulled back, keeping his hands over her cheeks, wiping away her tears that just kept flowing from her eyes. Looking at her as she stared at him, stunned.

“I love you, Winry.” He admitted softly. The words didn't come close.

“Y-You really think all that, Winry? I love you so much that Al thinks I’m crazy. Never doubt that I love you and I would never leave you willingly. Hell, I think you’re the one who is too good for me. You’re awesome.”

“Really?” she looked up at him hopefully, “You love me?”

He nodded, kissing her forehead pulling her to him again, settling her head in the crook of his neck. Rubbing her bare arms to warm her up.

“You really are gearheaded” he jabbed a finger at her head. But she kept silent.

"Please don't ever shut me out like that again," he whispered into her hair. "You scared me, Win. Just talk to me next time — before it gets this bad."

She smiled and nodded closing her eyes leaning into him, “Yeah, that was stupid of me.” They stayed like that for a moment. Ed realized she was still shivering. Her lips had gone bluish. Her skin was icy-cold.

“We need to get up, Winry”

He pulled her up with him. She slipped her arms properly into the jacket which had slipped halfway from her shoulders. He kept one arm firmly around her as they ran for the house, her steps unsteady as he kept pace.

As they made their way towards the house, they saw Al appear on the porch, holding umbrellas. He looked worried.

He yelled, “Are you two mad or something? Why did you stay in the rain?”

But then he looked at Ed’s arm around her, and Winry’s sheepish expression and smiled lightly.

“Come on in now, idiots.”

They just shared a smile.

“You two go and dry up. I will set up the table for dinner.” Al said, herding them past him.

They both quickly ran upstairs to their rooms at the mention of dinner. Al just shook his head. These idiots, they must be hungry.

They all sat at the table together, eating dinner. Al had made stew which he knew both of them loved. Dinner was quiet at first, just the clink of cutlery and comfortable silence. Ed and Winry kept catching each other's eye and looking away, smiling like idiots.

Al couldn't take it any more. Now that Winry was fine, he was itching to start.

“So, finally done being a sad pup, brother?” He looked at Ed slyly. “Never thought I’d see this day”

Ed nearly choked on his food. "Al—"

Winry looked at Ed apologetically.

"I'm just saying, for a guy who won't hold her hand in front of Granny, you sure—"

"I will end you," Ed narrowed his eyes, ears going red.

"It really was a pathetic display. Lost all your manly pride in a day." She tapped her pipe. "Good to know how to handle you now."

“Hey! You old hag!” Ed started but couldn’t form words, going red.

"I'm just saying, you sure changed your tune today." Al grinned. “Everyone finally got to see you really are whipped”

"Should have just left you at the gate,” Ed muttered, still red. But still he went ahead and squeezed Winry’s hand on the table.

Al was laughing now. "It was kind of sweet, in a completely undignified way."

Pinako said nothing more, just watched the two of them. He really was the best she could have found for her granddaughter. She caught herself smiling at him and decided she was going soft.

***

“I’m really sorry, Ed,” she said quietly, walking into his room. She sat down beside him. He closed his book.

“Hm?”

“I should have noticed him and I was really mean to you these past two days.” She looked down at her hands.

“Don’t worry about it, it wasn’t your fault at all, it was just that disgusting bastard,” he said seriously.

Then, he moved his hand to her cheek making her look at him

“When has you being mean ever bothered me? Huh?” he tried to joke. “Just talk to me, yell at me or you can even beat me up rather than being all gloomy like that.”

“I wasn’t gloomy!” She retorted smiling.

“You were!”

Maybe she was. “Sorry?”

He shook his head, “Idiotic gearhead.”

Huh?

He leaned back on the bed, “I thought you really hated me for a moment there.”

She snapped her head back to him, “I can never hate you!”

She ended up hurting him. She wanted to punch herself.

“Glad to know that.” He grinned sitting back up. She sat down close to him leaning against his shoulder.

Winry wasn't sure what had made her shut him out like that. She'd never been able to before. Thinking he was going to leave too had made her want to get there first, so it would hurt less when he did. She'd convinced herself he didn't love her, which seemed ridiculous now. He'd never actually needed to say it. But she had to admit it was nice hearing him say it. She loved him so much she couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving.

“I love you, Ed.”

Ed smiled at her. She felt her heart skip a beat as he said,

“Love you, Win.”

He suddenly stood up and rushed out the door. She blinked. What?

He appeared at the door and threw a box at her.

“Got it for you yesterday!” He grinned.

She looked at it confused. “You didn’t need to!”

More earrings? She tried not to smile. Why did they think earrings could solve everything for her?

He scratched his neck and looked away, “Um… I wanted to cheer you up.”

“It was on your nightstand. You were asleep,” he added quietly.

It was on her nightstand?

“Sorry.” She looked down and frowned. He went and got her a gift and she didn’t even notice!

“It’s fine!” Ed yelled.

She opened the box. She blinked.

Gold color?

She pulled one earring out and turned it over. Ed was watching her nervously now. She took it between her teeth.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

She pulled it out. “It’s real gold!”

“Yeah?” Ed tilted his head.

She stared at him.

“You don’t have any gold earrings right?”

She nodded stiffly.

He looked at her unsurely then added, “So I got them?”

Winry stared at the earring. Her mind had gone blank. They were expensive! The blue gem also looked real.

Had there been a discount? He didn't seem to think it was a big deal.

She turned the box and saw the price. The box fell from her hands.

“It’s too much, Ed!” She yelled.

“Too much?” Ed asked sitting down and looking at the earrings.

He picked one up and stared at it. “Well, I thought they were simple and would suit you.” He rolled it over in his hand. He'd gone somewhere else.

That wasn’t the point!

He turned to her hastily, “I-It’s okay if you don’t like them! You can throw them out!”

Throw them out? They were very pretty! She had never seen such beautiful earrings.

“I didn’t say I don’t like them!”

“What is it then?” He narrowed his eyes.

She groaned. “They are expensive! You shouldn’t spend that much,” she snapped.

“They are?” Ed looked up at the ceiling and thought back. “Oh, I didn’t notice.”

What? How could he be so irresponsible!

“You didn’t see the cost and paid?”

Ed nodded turning to her.

“You need to check the cost too, Ed! You can’t just buy things!” she chastised, like he was a kid. She would need to keep a record of his expenditures at this point! She’d thought he didn’t spend much! He would be out of money soon like this.

“Does it matter? I’d have paid anyway.” He turned the box and looked at the cost, “It’s not too much.”

She slapped her forehead. “It is! You really need to manage your money properly!”

“Hey! I am good at managing it! I have been paying on my own since twelve!”

That was true. He was responsible. Generally.

“Then why did you buy these?” She picked up the box and shoved it in front of his eyes.

“It’s plain exchange, Winry! It’s not even equivalent!” He yelled back.

Exchange?

“What?”

Ed looked at her confused, “What?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you mean more, well what I mean is this much money is nothing. No, it's not nothing. Well, it is, when it's for you. Just— get it! Okay? I can't explain it!” He plopped down on the bed giving up.

That stopped her. He sat up again.

“Don’t worry about it. Just take them.” He pushed the box in her hands.

She meant more? He'd spent that much and still thought it didn't come close.

“Y-you are an idiot, Ed!” She felt her cheeks heat up.

He smirked. “You need to be one to know one.”

She tried to glare at him as his smirk changed into a smile. “Don’t spend this much on me again!”

He shrugged.

She took the earrings back out, “They are really beautiful, Ed.”

He didn’t say anything.

They were gold like Ed’s eyes. She smiled and removed her earrings to put his gift on.

She put them on and turned to Ed. He was staring at her. Why did he have to look at her like this? Her heart was racing now!

“How does it look?”

He blinked coming out of whatever he was doing.

“Um… Nice?”

Nice?

She shook her head.

“Thanks, Ed.”

He didn’t say anything and pulled her in a hug. “They do suit you!” He exclaimed like he had won something.

She chuckled hugging him back. Such an idiot.

He pulled back and smiled at her. “I should get you more gold stuff!”

“No, Ed!” She pushed at his chest lightly. He laughed.

She kissed him on his cheek. “You don’t need to give gifts to me, Ed.”

“You like them!” He turned his other cheek towards her. What?

“I do.” She kissed the other one.

He turned his forehead, towards her.

“What’s going on with you?” she asked, finally.

“Equivalent exchange?” He grinned.

“Moron.” She pecked his forehead.

“Gearhead.”

He sat back and pulled her into his side again. “Now, can you start your rants? I was kinda missing them.”

She pouted, then started in on the leg design she'd been trying to draw for two days. He closed his eyes and listened.