A/N: Written for Evil_Little_Dog prompt, Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward/Winry, first vacation as a couple on Comment_Fic on LJ

Decided to wonder away from my otp for a little bit... hope it came out fine!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

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Edward was nervous.

He had never been on a vacation before; his father left when he was too young to understand they were on a vacation, or to remember if there was any at all and Alphonse obviously was too and couldn't remind him if there was any, and after Hohenheim left his mother couldn't take her two young children on a vacation. After she died, they obviously didn't go anywhere on a vacation, at first too busy with Alchemy studies and then too busy with the military to have any leisure time.

And so, he ended up being twenty, about to go on his first vacation… with Winry, as a couple. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, what was right and what was wrong, or what she would expect… and there was no one to help him. Alphonse was just as lost as he was, and he didn't dare asking Mustang for help again. Not after that time when he called him for advice on what to do on his first date with her and the only 'help' the older man gave him was to describe him, and painfully vivid details, what he should and shouldn't do to get her to sleep with him, and while he was with her in bed. No, it wasn't a good idea to ask him at all.

So instead he decided to just let it be; he booked them a room in a nice hotel in Western, where they knew no body and could walk around undisturbed. He thought he'd figure things out as they go, but when he boarded the train to Western with her he wasn't so sure anymore. She was dressed in a light summer dress and a broad hat on her head, a beaming smile on her face and kept babbling on how excited she was. He gulped and tried to match her excitement, but was way too worried he wasn't going to match her expectations. Not with the small room he booked, or the close-to-not-existing plans he had; because what Ed had in mind was nothing fancy, just a calm, romantic get-away for the two of them, including mostly a little bit of private time. They didn't have much of it, what with them still living in the old house in Resenbool with Pinako and Al… Not that he minded them; but it was difficult getting intimate when he knew his little brother was in the next room, sitting quietly and studying and therefore might be able to hear every little sound. Not that all he cared about was getting intimate with Winry, he thought, panicked from his own train of thought. He wasn't Mustang.

No… he just wanted to make her happy. He just wanted them to have some quality time away from the others; time for them to talk freely, without being worried someone might be listening at the door. Besides, they could both use some time off: Winry from the constant work with customers and him from… well, from being the eldest man in the house, therefore the one responsible for pretty much anything.

"Ed? ED! Stop dozing off! We've arrived at the station," Winry's high-pitched voice tore the man from his frantic thinking, and he shook his head to return to reality.

"What? Oh! Right!" A single glance at the window told him she was right; they did just arrive at Western, and should hurry to get off the train. He grabbed his little suitcase – it was going to be only a week, how many things did he need for that? – and Winry's hand, hurrying towards the train's door and rushing outside.

Once they were on the platform, Ed put the suitcase on the floor and let go of Winry's hand. "Sorry about that… let's get a taxi, okay?"

He heard Winry letting out an agreeing sound and nodding her head, and so he grabbed his luggage again and walked toward the exit, where he knew the main road should lay and therefore a taxi should be easy to catch. Together, they walked towards the main street, and he caught a taxi for them, stating the name of the hotel in a worried tone. He wasn't sure if Winry was familiar with resorts in Western, and he wasn't sure that if she was, she'd be too pleased with the place he chose. They'd been together for a few months by now, and have known each other pretty much their entire lives, but he knew nothing about her preferences. Besides, since he gave up his Alchemy and Alphonse only very recently regained enough strength in his human body Ed didn't really have any job since he left the military, and so was a little short on cash, and couldn't afford anything too fancy. He glanced at Winry as they boarded the car, the driving taking away their belongings and putting them away in the trunk. She was still smiling; she looked a little tired, but there were no signs of disappointment in her features, and Edward allowed himself to show a weak smile.

He still wasn't out of danger zone, but at least her reaction showed him that one out of the two best options were correct: either she didn't know any vacation options in Western, and therefore she couldn't be as disappointed, or she knew the places and thought he made a good choice. Most likely it would be the first one, but it was good either way. The ride was horrible for him. Winry kept talking, excited, saying how wonderful the place he was taking her to probably was, and stating how nice it would be to go to a spa, or to bathe in a pool, or going to a sauna. She pointed out how fun it would be to lay in bed and get the room service to serve them breakfast… and all Ed could do was to listen dreadfully and feel his heart sinking little by little with every word she said. The place he booked had none of those; he couldn't afford it, and he didn't think it was important. Who wanted room service to bring breakfast to their room while they were in bed anyway? And he didn't think they needed a pool; there was a very nice lake not too far from their house in Resenbool – that was way better than an artificial water source.

But these things seemed to be important to Winry, and he didn't have the heart – or the courage – to break her dream and tell her none of it would be a part of their vacation. He started to be ashamed of himself, for not being able to give more, to not even considering more than a nice, private room for the two of them. She'd think he didn't appreciate her, that he took her for granted… she'd leave him there, saying that not only did she have to wait their entire life for him to get tall enough so she could date him, but now he was being a cheap date, and, no, the fact they grew up together wasn't an excuse to not giving her the best. She deserved the best; he knew that, but he was scared that this vacation, the first gift he'd ever given her, didn't show it.

He almost told the driver to turn back; his brain was scanning fast for another place, somewhere better that did have all the things she was talking about, but no name came up his mind. Even if he could find one, he couldn't really afford it… but Winry was worth it. If not for all the things she'd done for him during the years then for simply being herself.

The driver pulled to a stop before he could find another place, and before he could do anything about it the car was parked next to a decent looking building: it didn't look too bad – no matter how broke he'd ever be, he'd never take Winry somewhere he didn't think would be at least decent – it didn't look like the fancy place the girl was describing with excited words. Before he could murmur an apology, Winry jumped out of the car and looked around. He got out right after her, cursing himself for not even being a gentleman and helping her out of the car but she was just so fast. He helped the driver with their luggage and paid for the ride before walking to stand next to Winry. Ed was about to tell her she was wrong, and the place didn't have any of the features she wanted it to have and say that they could go somewhere else, if she wanted. But before he could even open his mouth she held on his hand and started walking, looking up and reading the sign on that building that bore the name of the place.

He remained silent about his failure as he checked them in and paid, and didn't say a word as they did their way up the stairs to the forth floor – the highest, because he wanted her to at least have a nice view from their balcony-less room. He swallowed nervously as he placed their luggage on the floor next to the room numbered four-zero-five, and unlocked the door with the key he got from the reception desk, and watched dreadfully as Winry entered the room while he was still struggling to take the key out of the lock and take their bags inside.

She was awfully quiet, and Edward walked into the room and closed the door behind them, the clicking sound of the automatic lock painfully loud in the silence between them. He let out a sigh and turned on the light. Now he could see better the room he booked, and realized it was worse than he imagined it, too. It was decorated so badly even he could notice the lack of taste, and was dark due to the heavy curtain that covered their single window. At least the bed was as big as he hoped it to be, and it looked comfortable… and there was a little kitchen; there wasn't much there, just a small stove and a kettle for them to boil water with. Nothing as fancy as a drinks cupboard, and the only place for them to sit at – besides the bed – was a tiny table with two fragile-looking chairs next to it. The shame ate at Ed's stomach, and he wished he picked a different place, even if it was more expensive.

"I'm sorry," he said, finally breaking the silence between them.

Immediately, Winry turned to look at him. Her blue eyes were light, and he was surprised to see no disappointment there. She smiled at him. "What for?"

"For… this," he gestured with his hand at the room, and felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. "You don't have to pretend you're not disappointed… this is nothing like you imagined. There's no spa here, and I doubt if I can get them to get us room service. I… didn't think these things mattered to you." Winry opened her mouth to speak, but he hurried to continue before she could tell him how much he sucks and how badly she wants to go home. "I know it's not much – but I can get you breakfast to bed every morning, and there's supposed to be a large bath so you can get in it whenever you want and I'll give you as many massages as you want and – "

Before he could say anything more, Winry's lips closing on his shushed him, preventing him from talking. The kiss took him by surprise and it took him a second to realize what was happening, and then he allowed his tensed shoulders to relax and his eyes to close. When she didn't leave him for a moment longer, Ed's hands left the sides of his body in sake of resting on her waist. He lightly pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss. He was puzzled; how come she didn't yell at him, or hit him? Why instead of telling him what a bad boyfriend he was, she was kissing him like he'd just given her the best thing in the world? He didn't deserve this, he disappointed her…

He could feel Winry lightly pulling away from him, her lips leaving his and he opened his eyes to see her looking fiercely at him. "What – " he started, but her finger on his lips made him close his mouth and let her talk.

"This place is perfect," Winry said, and then took another step away and looked around the room. "I love it."

"But – it doesn't have a spa or sauna or – "

"I don't need those. Sure, it could be fun… but I appreciate that you thought of me. I really don't mind if we can't have room service, and I'd be more than happy if the only one who massages me is you…" Edward could see the slight blush on her cheeks, bold against her fair skin and emphasizing her beautiful smile. "The only thing that really matters is that it's just the two of us. We can forget about everything for a little while… and just be with each other."

"But – "

"Oh shut up already!" she frowned, her expression reminding him of all the times she demanded he'd drink his milk and all he did was stubbornly saying he hated the taste. He still did, but she gave up trying. Oh, he missed that expression… "I said I love this place! So this is it!"

Ed grinned, only barely controlling the need to laugh out loud; instead he just reached for her, wrapping his arms around her assertive posture and pulled her into a hug. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

He felt her tense in his arms; that was the first time he said how he feels out loud. It was strange, but felt just right, and he wondered why he kept that inside of him for so long. He knew he loved her for long time now – he wasn't sure when was the point in time when he realized he didn't want her to be just his friend anymore, but he knew it was long ago. Maybe years ago. Winry remained silent; she didn't do or say anything for a long moment, and Ed started worrying that maybe, somehow, he managed to fuck up again and say the wrong thing, and he was just about to apologize again when he felt her finally calm in his arms, and she returned the hug.

"I love you too, stupid," she said, and rested her head against his chest.

Ed smiled; maybe it wasn't the perfect place. Maybe he wasn't the perfect boyfriend. But Winry was kind enough to see past that, and he realized that maybe he didn't need to be able to afford a fancy resort with fancy, useless things for her to know just how much he cared about her, and how much he appreciated her.