Disclaimers: Don't own FMA.

A/N: Winry's POV for this chapter. (Any typos, please excuse.)

Warning: This is from MY mind, so…don't expect anything very tame.

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Explanation Number One

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If no one noticed us, then I think they must have been high.

All of the girls at school told me that they think he's just trying to get into my pants. Or, rather, up my skirt. The other day, Sen talked to me during break about boys. I was really ticked off. She believes that she knows everything, just because she's the only girl in our grade who's ever had a boyfriend besides me. And honestly, I think she's just a petty little prostitute. I admit, though, that it makes me really proud that she's constantly competing with me on how many boys turn to look. She's always bringing up her hems and lowering her collars and fluffing her hair; she's so nasty. I won't lower to her level, though.

I told her during break when she tried to be superior, that I really did not care. I looked her right in her ugly green eyes and said levelly, "I'm eleven and he's eleven. Summer break has not made us any different, except for the fact that we've realized we're more than just best friends. If you're really that jealous, Sen, go find yourself an eighth grade blockhead and then we'll talk."

Then I walked away and found him and his brother waiting for me on the sidewalk outside.

He's really an idiot, but I think I love him. School is back in session and the very first day he chose a desk next to me, and, luckily, even while he's such a dork that he does fifty percent of messing around in school and fifty percent of doing work diligently and efficiently, the teacher hasn't switched seats yet. I love his smile so much, and I get it so much more now. He wants to hold my hand all the time, or hug me around the waist from the side or from behind. Sometimes he'll be very shy, and sometimes really arrogant and show-offy, but when we're alone, he acts so natural that I'm sure that we're not too young to be together.

Two weeks before school started, in early August, he and Alphonse were leaving my house after dinner. It was dark, but the fireflies were creating stars below the clouds. Alphonse was jumping down the stairs and Ed turned and waved at me, and said rapidly, "Okay, I love you, bye!"

I don't think he realized what he'd said, or maybe he did and didn't want to show it, but he immediately froze and so did I. The only light was the fireflies and the lamp from the living room shining out from behind me. I stood in the front door threshold and stared at him, and he stared back at me, looking ashamed and afraid and utterly embarrassed.

"Yeah, I love you too, good night," I squeaked. I could feel my face turning blood red as I slammed the door. When I peeked out the window, I could see him jumping around and running and playing with Al a while down the road. I smiled and shut the curtains.

For two weeks, we'd be together in secret. He would hold me and I would hold him. We started to kiss on the third day. After a week of hard thought, I whispered into his ear, "I always knew there was something more, Ed. I just thought it was a brother-sister thing, but I guess not, right?"

He laughed and kissed me. The feel of his lips anywhere on me, the warmth and security of his breath and his arms and his chest, the sound of his laughter and the sight of his cat-eyed grin; it all makes me feel so happy, so comforted. It's like our love is just something that was always there, but never realized nor spoken. It's just known. It's just there.

My grandmother thinks that we're cute, but she never says anything about us being too little for anything. I'm kind of afraid of that, but I'm also thankful, I guess. After all, my grandma is the only one I have left and I really listen to her. I really do. She's so much more than the old bat Edward accuses her of being with his taunts.

The other night, we were upstairs sitting on my bed. Al was playing with Den in the hallway, and my bedroom door was open. Edward had his arms around me, and his nose in my neck. I was resting my head on his, savoring the feel of his breath on my skin, making my stomach twist up and my skin prickle with shivers. He turned his head and whispered into my ear, "I think I know why we dove into this."

"Why?" I whispered back, still smiling at Al as he laughed at Den's antics.

"Because," he murmured, his mouth moving slowly on the curvatures of my ear. I bit my lip as my heart began to race. "We must be so advanced, mentally. We're ready for it. It was meant to be."

I turned and looked at him, a little confused at the complexity of his simple statement. He peered back at me sheepishly, his lips parted and his brows furrowed. Then I quickly pressed my lips to his, and he looked startled again, coy. I grinned and nuzzled my nose on his and he slouched against me, always embarrassed when we did things in front of his brother. Oh sure, he'll completely make out with me anywhere else, even in school, even in town, but no, not in front of little Alphonse.

"You're right," I murmured, and then rested my head on his again, looking back to Al. He was watching us, shyly and chastely. I started to giggle, and then I broke into squirming laughter. Ed hid his face in the back of my neck, grumbling into my skin with hot breath. I just laughed hard and Alphonse broke into a broad, cherubic smile at the sight of us.

I really love that idiot.

Something that kind of scares me is what exactly is going on with me other than my overflowing love. I know what puberty is; I'm not completely stupid. My breasts have grown already and I'm a little embarrassed because only Sen has boobs bigger than me, but she is just a whore. I started my period and now I'm freaking hairy, a week before the Summer Evening "I love you"s, and I really hate it already. What if Ed found out? Do you know how embarrassing that'd be!

I get really emotional, a lot more. I cry a lot. I giggle and shriek and its hard to get me mad, but so easy to make me cry. I cried in front of him one day. I said, "Why do you care more about your stupid alchemy than me?" It made him really mad and I broke down. It took him a few minutes before he pulled me to him and tried to make me stop. I felt so horrible. I hate crying, because I know that it hurts him.

I can see it in his eyes.

He tells me that he loves it, even if it is annoying or if it pains him. He told me, "It shows you care. You're just that willing to help people. You're just that loving. I love that. I love you." And then he kissed me and I couldn't cry anymore.

He's gotten really touchy lately. His eyes always fall places, and his hands go lower and lower than they used to. He just wants to kiss me, touch me in anyway, whether it's the brush of his fingers or his lips on my neck. It makes me feel so weird. My body gets hot and my chest tightens and I get excited; and I feel…odd. Between my legs.

I might sound slutty, but I'm not. I really love him, and I love what he does to me. When he excites me like that, I want him to keep doing it but he always stops and then I lay in bed after he and Alphonse have gone home, all night staring at my walls and ceiling with wide eyes, wondering if he's as nervous as I am about what's happening between us.

The thing is, I want to make him feel like that too. And I don't know what to do, because he's so quiet when it comes to what he wants and feels and needs, that he wouldn't tell me to be as touchy as him. Should I? Shouldn't I? I don't know. It makes me mad. It makes me want to fucking cry.

For some reason I feel like no one can catch up with us, but I feel like we – me and Ed – are going too slow for each other.

"Equivalent exchange," he always tells me, randomly, throughout the day.

Equivalent exchange?