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"Can I kiss you?"
She looks to the boy beside her, his stare hard and mouth a thin line. With a tilt of her head, she wonders if he even knows what a 'kiss' is — she's never seen him give one before.
"Why?" she asks, and his tiny brow furrows.
"Don't you want to know what it's like?" he replies, and she thinks on it, realizing that she does, just a little.
"Okay," she whispers, and closes her eyes.
His lips touch the skin of her forehead, and her shoulders drop.
"That's not where you—" she starts, but his dry, cracked mouth meets her with an unintended force, and suddenly she is voiceless.
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He's leaving, again, and it breaks her heart in a way she never expects.
From the hall, she can hear his mismatched footsteps trail to her doorway, but she does nothing to address them. Even when they stop at the threshold of her room, she remains fixed to her bed with her arms crossed tight.
"Win," he calls, but she pretends not to hear.
"Win, please."
It is the 'please' that breaks her, leaving her wiping her tear-stained cheeks as she unlocks her door. With a sigh, she stares at the boy she's known all her life, but now, no longer recognizes. He looks dressed for his own funeral in that black attire, save for the ugly read coat. His hair was as long as hers, tried haphazardly into a knot-filled braid. She wonders if he'll be able to managed that wild mane on his own, or if he'll grow tired of it catching in his metal hand every time he tries to brush it.
"Be mad at me all you want," he says, voice cracking,"but, promise me you'll take care of Al while I'm gone."
Her arms fold against her middle, and she huffs. "Of course I will. He's not the idiot joining the military."
Her words sting him, but he brushes them off with a scowl. "You know why I need to do this."
"I know," she whispers, and her eyes blur with tears once more. "I'm sorry. I just—"
He is suddenly in front of her, his brow furrowed as he rests his flesh hand on her shoulder.
"Stop crying," he says. "I'll come back."
She sniffs again, and wipes her eyes with the ball of her palm. His stare softens as she does so, and it reminds her a moment between them from years past.
"Winry," he starts, his cheeks burning.
Their staring lingers just a little too long. She feels her own face grow hot as he stares, his hand still clinging to her bare skin. But his eyes drop, and he pulls his hand away from her like her skin is fire, choosing to leave her hanging.
Suddenly, she finds herself wishing he had been brave enough to let his mouth burn.
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She stares hard at the metal of his arm, her fingers moving through wires with the same ease as moving through hair. She pinches one, curiously, and he jumps.
"I can feel that," he mutters.
"I know," she responds, a smile growing, and continues working.
A sigh escapes him, and he rolls his head slowly, his eyes shyly meeting hers.
"Are you okay?" she asks, but he doesn't respond, choosing instead to look at her like the key to his salvation rests in her eyes.
"Can I kiss you?" he mouths, and she wonders if he meant to say it out loud.
"What?" she says, and his face reddens.
"Nothing," he stammers, and the names of elements begin to fall from his lips, like a mantra.
She wishes he'd have said it louder, so there was no room to question, and mouths to herself, "Yes, you can."
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"Can I kiss you?"
Winry smiles at his cautious expression, her fingers lacing around his right hand for what felt like the first time. "You don't have to ask me. You know the answer."
"Do I?" he replies. "I'm not risking a wrench to the head."
She chuckles, and moves to her tiptoes, her breath mingles with his, and she loves that he is no longer afraid to be so close.
"Yes," she says. "You can. You always could have, you know."
He smiles as he dips to her, his mouth no longer cracked and dry, but smooth and hungry and promising her all the heartfelt kisses she could ever desire. She presses herself into him, letting her lips tell him without words how much she craves him.
They part, his forehead resting gently against hers, and he laughs. "A shame I didn't know that years ago."
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