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Edward Elric couldn’t sleep. He had been finding this to be the case lately. Trouble was it wasn’t his typical problems that were keeping him up. His port didn’t ache, he hadn’t had a nightmare in months, and now that Al had gotten his body back he wasn’t constantly worrying about his little brother. Looking over at aforementioned brother with a hint of jealousy, Ed noted that he was sound asleep. He still couldn’t get used to that sight; Alphonse
sleeping.
The poor guy had been stuck awake for literally
years
on end. Ed couldn’t imagine how it felt. But that was in the past. Live and learn, right? They didn’t have to worry about it anymore. They were moving forward with their lives, rebuilding their house and just living. Heck, he’d even let Al get a
cat.
Sighing, and returning to the present, Ed looked at the clock on his nightstand.
Three in the effing morning. Damn, is it too much to ask for just a little sleep,
he mentally whined. He covered his face with his flesh arm with a soft groan, wishing his mind would just
flippin’ shut up.
Of course, this wasn’t the first night he’d spent like this. For the past week, his mind had been filled with annoying, buzzing thoughts that just wouldn’t go away. They weren’t his usual alchemy-related thoughts, either. No, these thoughts were of his blonde mechanic. He was almost positive that it was because of what happened a week ago…
“Cali! Come on girl, where are you?” Al was calling for his cat, a rather petite little calico cat who liked to play her own version of Hide and go Seek. A version that usually ended with Ed getting on the roof to rescue said cat. Al had already combed the whole ground floor of the Rockbell household, and hadn’t found Cali.
But Ed already knew where that stupid cat had headed, and he was going to outsmart it. He ran upstairs, eyes peeled for the little monster of a cat. Trouble was he wasn’t really paying attention to anything else. Without hearing the bathroom door open, he barreled down the hallway towards his and Al’s room; sure that was where the little brat was sneaking out onto the roof.
He never made it to the bedroom.
Winry had stepped out of the bathroom, moments earlier, clad in nothing but a large towel. Thinking nothing of it, she headed towards her own bedroom to put on some clothes. It wasn’t far, so she figured no one would see her. Unfortunately, she didn’t see Ed come skidding around the corner from the stairwell.
The two met in a head-on collision in the middle of the hallway, both landing on their rear ends
Swearing loudly, Ed looked around to see what he had hit. He blushed deeply when he found the culprit. Winry was glaring at him darkly, still clutching the towel near the top to make sure it stayed closed.
“What the hell Ed?” she snapped.
It took a moment for Ed to get his brain to work properly. Had her legs always been that long? Snapping back to reality, he glared back at her. “What? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You were running in the house,” she replied angrily as they got up.
“Who are you, my babysitter? I’m not five, Winry, I can run in the house if I damn well want to,” he snapped back. It took all his will power to NOT imagine if that damn towel had fallen off. Squashing his curiosity (which was so very wrong because they were practically family), he continued, “And what are you doing, wandering around in nothing but a t-towel? There are men in this house.”
“Really? I don’t see any. You’ll have to introduce me sometime,” said Winry smoothly, not missing a beat.
Ed bristled, but before he could retort, Winry kept going. “This is my house, Edward, I can wear what I want.”
Trying hard to keep his mind out of the proverbial gutter, he replied “Yeah, but you could at least wear something better than a t-towel.”
Like nothing,
he thought unconsciously, his mind betraying him. He mentally smacked himself.
“Oh grow up, Ed,” Winry snapped as she rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you haven’t seen me in less.”
“We were FOUR. And our parents were feeling lazy, so they threw us in the bathtub together,” he stated. “I don’t think we’re the same as b-back then.” Yeah, certain things are… bigger, he thought, his mind once again going where he didn’t want it to.
“Well you sure haven’t changed much,” she said. Tiring of the argument, she pushed past Ed and went towards her room. “You could have at least apologized,” she snapped before slamming her door.
Ed just stood there, kicking himself. He HAD been a jerk. But it wasn’t his fault! She was the one wandering around in a towel.
…A towel. It was a nice towel. And her smell. He could never figure out what it was, but he liked it. Shaking his head, he went back downstairs, cat forgotten. He needed air. Yes, air would clear his head. Man, he wished Al was in fighting condition. He could use a good spar. They were working on it of course, making progress every day, but there would be no fighting with Al today. Grumbling, he moved towards the front door.
“What’s wrong, brother? I heard yelling,” said Al worriedly.
“I got in a f-fight with Winry,” Ed muttered. “I need some air; I’m going outside.”
Al sighed. “Alright.” All they seemed to do anymore was fight, but he could see beneath all that. Al wasn’t stupid; he knew exactly what those two were thinking. Smiling to himself, he resumed his search for his cat.
I can’t wait to see the look on Ed’s face when he figures it out. It’ll be priceless,
he thought pleasantly.
Edward wandered aimlessly around the Rockbell property for a while before finally flopping down in the grass of the back yard under a tree. Den wasn’t far behind, wagging his tail happily at the sight of him. Scratching the dog behind the ears, Ed reflected on what had happened.
Winry did have a point; it was her house and she had the right to wear what she wanted. She was justified in walking from the bathroom to her bedroom. It wasn’t far, only about fifteen paces. Looking grimly at Den, Ed sighed. “She may have been right, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to apologize,” he said quietly. The black dog yipped a small acknowledgement. “What’s that supposed to mean? Whose side are you on, anyways,” replied Ed. Den licked his face before heading back to the face. “Idiot dog…”
Ed stood up and stretched, seemingly satisfied with his conclusion. Heading back to the house, he figured that Al would still be looking for that stupid cat and decided to help look. Again.
Too bad he kept thinking about that goddamned towel…
Ah, the towel. Ed’s thoughts once again betrayed him as he lay in bed, heading straight for that stupid gutter. But lately it hadn’t just been the towel on his mind. He had started noticing things; Little things about her that he hadn’t really noticed before – or maybe he hadnoticed. They had just never meant anything to him before now… Or had they? Ed rolled over and shoved his face into his pillow and groaned. This was so confusing. His mind had been so one-track before, he had never let it wander to things like her. Maybe he had noticed things before – the way she held her mouth when she worked on his automail; the look of utter focus when she worked out a new design; how freaking cute she looked when she was making pies and was covered in flour – he had just never let himself care before. There were other things to worry about than how well his best friend had grown up.
But things were different now. He was free to think about her without interruption or having to worry about her being taken or hurt because of him. So what was she to him exactly? A childhood friend, not to mention his best friend besides his own brother, and his mechanic.
No, that didn’t feel quite right. There was something missing, a vital piece of the plot. But as hard as he tried, Ed couldn’t figure it out.
“You love her, don’t you Edward?”
The Lieutenant’s words rang loud and long in his mind. She couldn’t have been… right, could she? No. That’s impossible! Him love Winry? The very thought was absurd! She was practically his sister! Then explain the perverted thoughts, Ed, he thought flatly. Anytime his mind had time to wander, it would wander straight to her. Her hair, her eyes, the way she moved… her lips. He had lost count of how many times he had imagined those lips on his own… only to convince himself that it was wrong and force his mind to go elsewhere. But maybe he was justified in thinking like that. He was only a teenager after all. Even after everything he had been through, in the end he was still just a seventeen year old kid, hormones and all. Even so, the feeling went deeper than that. He cared about her. He wasn’t just physically attracted to her – oh yes, there was no denying that she was attractive – but he was attracted to her on a deeper level than that. She wasn’t just some toy that he wanted to have fun with and then throw away when he was finished. No, he could see them together for a very long time –
His heart thudded in his chest. Gods, he’d figured it out, hadn’t he? He loved her. He fucking
loved her
. Not only had the lieutenant been right, but he had been too stupid to see it in the first place! Kicking himself, he looked at the clock beside him.
Six thirty.
Suddenly his sleep was unimportant. He’d never be able to get to sleep at this hour anyways. Listening intently, he heard noises in the kitchen downstairs that he assumed was Winry. Heart racing, he shot out of bed, stopping only to throw on a pair of pants over his shorts. He didn’t even bother tying his hair back. There was something he needed to do
right now
while he was feeling a touch reckless, lest he chicken out later and miss this golden opportunity.
~*~
Al smiled quietly to himself as he heard his brother shoot out of bed, throw on a pair of pants, and dash downstairs.
I’ll bet he figured it out. Looks like I was right; Granny owes me fifty Cens
, he thought gleefully. Sitting up, he picked up Cali from her puddle of sheets next to him, and wandered to the door to watch the chaos unfold.
~*~
Winry had woken up at exactly six out of sheer habit. There were things that she wanted to do today, and she wanted to get a head-start on them. But first, breakfast was calling. She threw on a tank top and jeans and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Feeling ambitious, she decided to try her hand at pancakes.
Maybe those two will smell them and actually get up before noon…
she thought while pouring batter out into a frying pan. A small plate was already starting to fill up when a noise upstairs caught her attention.
Must be Ed. Guess it worked,
she thought happily, turning the pancake in the pan. His footsteps thundered down the steps, one louder than the other, breaking the quiet of the house.
~*~
Ed ran down the stairs at full tilt, and headed for the kitchen. The smell of pancakes assaulted his nose, making his currently very empty stomach growl pointedly. That would have to be dealt with later, of course, as there was something else on his mind other than food. For once.
Winry was standing at the stove, flipping pancakes, an utter mess surrounding her. She had streaks of flour on her arm, and some on her face, he noted as she turned towards him and smiled.
Why does she have to be so unbearably cute like that?!
“Morning Ed,” she greeted pleasantly.
He didn’t allow himself time for conscious thought. Thoughts were dangerous and knowing him, he’d over-think the whole thing, decide against it, and make an idiot out of himself. No, he just
did it.
Not even bothering with words, because they’d never come out right anyways, he walked right up to her, took her face gently between his mismatched hands, tilted it up towards his own, and kissed her.
Feeling her tense under his touch, he worried momentarily that he had done something wrong and prepared to have his head assailed by a wrench. Or the pancake flipper. His fears were erased, however, when she relaxed, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
They stayed like that for what seemed like forever. Finally breaking the kiss due to the need of oxygen, Winry looked up at him.
“Ed, wh…”
He touched a finger to her lips. “I love you. It’s that simple.”
Winry’s eyes were wide at Edward’s sudden proclamation. After a moment, her eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around him once more, and buried her face in his chest.
“Took you long enough,” she said, a hint of a laugh hanging off her words.
Ed frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He looked down at her, wanting an answer.
With a small laugh, she looked up at Ed. “I love you too. I have for a long time.”
He sighed with relief and kissed her lightly again, stroking her hair with his flesh hand. This felt right, natural even, like this was how things were supposed to be.
However I the peace was short-lived, as Granny Pinako and Alphonse could be heard, making their way down the steps.
~*~
Al smiled happily as he made his way down the stairs, Granny Pinako in tow and now fifty cens richer. Both had broad smiles across their faces as they watched the two blondes working together in the kitchen.
“It's about time,” whispered Pinako.
Nodding, Al agreed. “It is, isn't it?”