Chapter 1

"For the love of Bacon"

The snow had been coming down for days. Winry snuggled closer under her black comfortor, the down feathers encasing her in her own body heat, legs curled tight to her chest, arms crossed under her chin, toes wiggling in the pleasant morning ritual of waking. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked, once, twice; nuzzled her face against her blanket to rid her eyes of sleepys before giving a long yawn. Her eyes lighted on the single window in her bedroom and she nearly moaned out loud. Snow nearly covered the entire pane of glass, the greyness that was the sky still angrily spewing trillions of fat white flakes to further burrow her inside a prison.

She dreaded the thought of having to lift the blanket to get up, her bladder aching warningly and she tightened her knees to her chest ignoring it. If she fell back asleep, maybe it would go away. Still no power; the blank digital clock perched carelessly on her white washed dresser confirmed it, and she followed the black chord to the outlet to make sure that it was indeed plugged in. She exhaled, her breath fogging out before her in a single white cloud. She mumbled, groaned, then brought the covers up and over her head.

The squeaky hinges of her door protested as it was forced open, but Winry kept her head under her blankets. Maybe whoever it was would go away if she feigned sleep.

"Winry, breakfast is ready."

A groan.

"Ed made toast and eggs?" A question, trying to pique her interest perhaps. It would take a lot more than that to get her out of the warm cocoon she had made for herself.

Another groan.

"And Bacon?" A bit of a smirk there, she could tell in his voice. Bastard.

Her stomach growled, her bladder shuddered and she squeezed her knees together. Oh, this was a pickle. But there was bacon. Was it worth it? Food or warmth? What foul and terrible forces were at work to make a girl choose! "Why don't you bring it to me, Al? You'd be my favorite!"

Al cleared his throat and gentle footsteps approached. Winry smiled from benieth her blankets. Al was such a good kid, and that was his downfall. It allowed Winry to wrap him around her finger whenever it benifited her. With Al, Winry could have her bacon, and eat it too.

"Thanks Al, you're the best."

"Oh, how gracious, your Laziness. You flatter me, surely!"

Boy, was Al sounding a lot like Ed! Winry smirked and snorted. "Yeah yeah, just get me my food, will ya? Your brother is such a scrooge, he's not as nice as you, Al."

"Oh, I've got your food alright."

Winry's eyebrows rose, and she smiled. "Really? Did you have it all along?"

Peeking her head out from the confines of her blankets Winry was greeted by a pair of glittering amber eyes. Winry's stomach sank into her toes, her cheeks scorchingly hot as Edward glowered down at her, plate of steaming hot breakfast resting on his good hand. His lips curled slightly at the edges, automail limb on his hip in a proper scolding manner, one booted foot tapping inpaitently.

"Oh, Edward," She offered with a smile still hidden benieth her blankets, "Good morning."

Ed balanced the plate on a single finger and lowered its deliciously smelling contents closer to her, she could just make out the soft yellow yokes wiggling in his grip, could nearly smell the grease bubbling on the crip strips of bacon. Her mouth was watering, her stomach urging her to leap from the warmth of her comforter to scarf down her breakfast and ease its aching need… but her limbs shivered at the mere thought. Damn her feminine ways, sleeping in tanktops and shorts in the dead of winter with no electricity. She could barely make sense of it herself.

"Oh, Alphonze. What do you say to an extra helping of breakfast? There's no use letting this go to waste." Ed offered with a nonchalant smirk, laden hand extended towards him.

"B-Brother?" Al stuttered, obviously flustered at being dragged into the line of fire.

Winry perked up at this and extracted her entire face from her blankets. Her eyes glittered malice, a warning to Ed not to dare mess with her breakfast. But Ed was already rushing towards the door, Al gone completely. By some force unknown to even her, Winry was overcome with the sudden desire to inflict pain and grabbed her pillow from under her head and sat up, blankets falling away as she launched it at the space where Ed had been. She frowned at it, calculating how much damage a pillow would have done. Not the desired effect, and she cursed as her arms were instantly riddled with gooseflesh. She wrapped her hands around her upperarms and rubbed quickly.

"Ughh! ED!" She scowled as she swung her legs out from under her and placed them to the iceblock that was her floor. She squealed and rushed to her closet throwing the doors wide. She grabbed the first sweatshirt her hands happened to light on and grabbed a thick pair of sweatpants. She pulled them on over her tank top and shorts, toes painfully cold. She slipped her feet into green frog shaped slippers and wiggled her toes inside. Ahh. That was much better. She could almost consider herself comfortable. Now, if only she could remember to wear sweats to bed…

Winry grumbled as she exited her room and smoothed her long blonde hair around her face to keep the tangles from flying around her head like her own personal electromagnetic field. The last thing she wanted was to give the Elric's another reason to tease her. Although, them teasing her would give her the outlet she needed to extract her vengence upon the two of them without the nagging feeling of guilt that usualy followed.

Ed and Al were sitting in the living room, both fiddling with a stack of books on the sofa. It seemed the two of them were bickering, Ed grumbling under his breath throwing one book after the other into a pile to his left, Al trying desperately to catch them before they hit the ground, oddball books falling from his grasp in the process.

"What are you two idoits doing?" She asked as she poked around in the dining room for the whereabouts of her breakfast.

"Deciding on kindling." Ed muttered as he threw another book.

Al yelped and caught it expertly and Winry smiled at him. Since he had gotten his body back, it had been like he had never been without it. Watching his movements made her cherish the Elric's even more than she had before. They had so nearly been lost to her--- … kindling?

" What do you mean 'kindling', Edward?" She growled as she stomped towards the couch, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"I told him not to, Winry! I swear!" Al whimpered over the stack of books in his arms.

Winry looked to the hearth where the fire roared content, large licking flames that ensured her survival, which she was thankful for, but what had been feeding it since they had run out of firewood two days ago? She hadnt really thought about it up until this point.

"Ah, calm down. Sacrificing little things for survival I think isnt asking for much. Issue no. 236, Automail of the tundra? Puh-leeze. Throw this one in there too, Al."

"Issue 236? THAT'S MY FAVORITE ISSUE, ED! You've been burning my Automail Monthly magazines?!" Her voice was a hysterical screech at this point, but Ed merely shoved his pinky in his ear and gave it a good twist.

Winry could feel her blood pressure shoot through the roof. This was unacceptable. She could deal with the teasing, she could even deal with the whole food thing… but her magazines? Oh, it was on.

Winry dove over the couch, arms outstretched for Edward's neck, mouth pulled back in a snarl. Al squeaked and flopped over backwards, hands flailing and magazines fluttering around him. Winry smashed into the side of Ed's head with her shoulder and he squealed as the two of them rolled off the couch and onto the floor. Winry frowned as she shook his shoulders, the fact that his head was smashing against the floor boards only a minor worry flitting behind the more imporant raging inferno of anger.

"What ELSE did you burn, Edward?!"

Smack.

"All my Automail notes?!"

Smack. Smack.

"Every tool magazine I've ever owned?"

Smack. Smack. Smack.

"My DIARY?!"

"Well… about your diary…" He gurgled.

Winry nearly fell over. "Please tell me you're kidding, because I may just throw you into the fire."

"We didn't burn it, Winry!" Al whimpered as he pushed magazines and other odd books around on the floor in a panic. "At least I don't think so…"

Winry frowned down at Ed, his body prone benieth her, legs straddled on either side of his torso, hands gripping his shoulders and keeping him pinned to the floor. She suddenly became self conscious, her face half obscured by frazzled, frizzled, tangled blonde hair. Her cheeks were on fire and she couldn't control it. Ed peered up at her through her hair, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Oi, you feeling alright? You're face is all red."

Was she the only one who realised the compromising position the two of them were in? She swallowed hard the lump in her throat and crossed her arms over her chest. "I-Idoit!"

She swung her legs over to one side of him and got to her feet, back turned to him as she stalked off towards the kitchen. "I'm going to go eat! If you don't find my diary by the time I come back, you're both dead!"

Winry's knees wobbled as she plopped down in the kitchen, her steaming plate of breakfast suddenly making her nervous stomach churn. What was her deal? Rough-housing with Ed had never been embarrassing for her before! It was a normal everyday occourance, he would make her mad, she would pummel him into oblivion, they would make up and the rest of the day would be fine.

She hung her head, hands steepled before her face, nose resting on her tumbs, fingers resting against her warm forehead. Maybe it was the mention of her diary that had made her feel all strange? Sure, she had had… ideas about her and Ed. Ed was a good looking man, he had always looked out for her, which could allow her to look over his stupidity… but the thought of him actually reading such thoughts? It made her want to melt into the floor. She groaned and picked up her fork.

Ed hadnt seemed weird, he had acted just as normally as any other morning. Maybe she was just looking into it too much. Being a girl sure was inconvient sometimes. Without another thought, Winry poked the yoke of her egg and began to eat her breakfast.

Chapter 2

"To read or not to read? That is the question…"

Ed watched Winry stalk off into the kitchen and laid on the floor for a few moments more while Al shuffled around magazines beside him. He looked to his brother, Al was really frazzled about Winry's diary, and Ed didn't blame him. Winry was one scary woman, and being snowed in with her for nearly four days was scary enough without her on a rampage about her diary.

"Don't worry about it, Al. It'll turn up."

"I hope…" He muttered helplessly and he slumped over face first into the magazines. "With our luck, you most likely burned it days ago…"

Ed got to his feet and brushed ash from his backside as he smiled down at his brother. "No worries, Al. She'll forgive us."

Al groaned and flopped over, legs kicking like a child. "This is all you're fauuuulllttt!"

Ed grinned as he shuffled to the room him and Al had been sharing since the storm had hit. His breast pocket sat heavily against his chest and he closed the bedroom door behind him softly. He placed the flesh of his good hand against his breast pocket and wiggled his fingers inside and extracted the small offending item. The small pink leather bound book dangled from a flowered chain between his fingers and he sat down heavily on his bed and sighed. It was much girlier than Ed had ever given the girl credit for owning, that was for damn sure. But he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know Winry's deep dark secrets. His main fear, what if she was thinking the complete opposite of what he often thought about?

"Edward?"

Ed squealed and quickly sat on the pink diary as the bedroom door opened. A blonde head peeked around the door and Ed's heart sank. Winry watched him with those big doe eyes and the guilt he was sitting on felt like molten fire benieth his ass. Joy.

Winry sauntered into the room and Ed could feel the sweat running down his back. He watched her carefully, a plastic smile plastered to his face. "Oh," he muttered shakily. "Winry, fancy seeing you here. In my room. Right now… When I'm not doing anything at all suspicious… In my room… By myself… Right now."

Winry raised her brows and Ed inwardly kicked himself in the teeth. Ugh, he was a babbling fool. He tried again, clearing his throat with a low cough. He opened his mouth to speak but hesitated when he saw her face. She looked really upset, most likely about the whole diary thing. Her face lacked the usual luster it always had when the two of them were picking on eachother, it really looked like she was bothered. Ed's face dropped, a cold sweat prickling up his spine. If he didn't say anything about it and just placed it somewhere seceretly without reading it, no big deal, right?

"Hey Edward--"

A bubble of hysteria wriggled its way up the back of his throat and he let it out in a sort of half crazed giggle before placing his hands under his bottom to further hide the offending diary. To think, he had put himself in this position, and for what? A tiny book of pink death, that's what.

Winry narrowed her eyes and paused a few steps into the room. "What is up with you? Why are you sitting on your hands?"

"…It… burns…" He offered nervously.

"That's just gross."

"That's life. I've got gas, you might want to back out…"

Winry blushed. "WHAT? Ed, that's nasty!"

"I've been silently farting since you walked in the room… I would leave if I were you."

"Edward, seriously, that is the grossest--"

"Ughh--" Ed sniffed the air dramatically. "I know people say they like their own brand and all that, but… that's bad!"

"I'm out of here," Winry muttered as she turned on her heel and bolted for the door, slamming it shut behind her with a shout, "You're such a pig!"

Ed let out the breath he hadnt realised he had been holding and lifted his cheeks long enough to pull the diary out. He held it before his eyes with a groan. Guilt was a bitch.

The diar twisted one way and then the next from its flimsy chain, from cover to cover and Ed relaxed slighty. Leave it to Winry to be a closet girly-girl. The thought made his stomach tighten. Should he look? What would really come from him looking in her diary, it was probably all the same things that she complained about to him and Al, just in written form. Would he be in it?

"Like I care…" He muttered and tossed the diary onto his comfortor.

It sat there like a stalker, unseen eyes boring holes into the side of his head letting him know that it was within his reach. Why did it have such an alluring power? She wouldn't bother to mention him anyway, he wasn't around for a while while he was still trying to get Al's body back. And it wasn't like there was anything more than friendship between them!

The thought brought on a bit of gloom, a feeling he wasn't sure he should be feeling about something so trivial. He swallowed hard and grabbed the diary once more, eyes searching its dulling cover for some kind of hint of what he should or should not do.

"Great… now I'm looking to inanimate objects for answers. I must be going nuts."

"Only when they start talking back."

Ed jumped, diary flying from his hands as he threw them up in alarm. Al stepped into the room and closed the door behind him softly before he bent over to pick up Winry's diary. He held it in his hand with a blank expression, eyes doing what Ed's must have only moments before. But there were no answers there, only a maddening urge to read it that left the conscious extremely peeved.

"Aren't you going to rip me a new one?" Ed asked hanging his head in misery.

Al remained silent, his eyes meeting Eds.

"How about tell me how horrible it was to take it?"

More silence.

"Its not mine?"

…

"You should be ashamed of yourself?"

…

"And to think that I call you brother?"

Al tossed the diary at Eds feet. "Well, I'm so glad we had that conversation. Hide it somewhere before Winry finds out. I really don't want to deal with a weepy girl all night because someone didn't have the decency to mind his own business."

Ed grumbled as he scooped up the pink book and hid it under his pillow. He would slip it into her room after she had fallen asleep, somewhere where she would find it on her own, weeks later, maybe. She couldn't be mad at him if she never knew, right?

"I know, I know. I'll put it back tonight."

"Good. Listen… most of the stuff in the fridge has gone bad, we're dwindling down and someone needs to try and go out for something."

Ed nearly fell over and he got to his feet. "Are you stupid?! You'll freeze to death out there!"

Al pouted. "Who said anything about me? You're the oldest."

"It was your idea!"

"You're stronger, and so full of hot air you could go out there with a speedo on and be perfectly comfortable."

Ed grumbled and stalked over to his brother, looking down at him with his own cheeks flaming. How long ago had it been since he was the one looking up into someones eyes? Ed knew he wasn't the tallest kid on the block, but he had gown a bit in the time that he had managed to get Al back to normal. He smiled at the thought and ruffled his younger brothers hair.

"Alright, how about this. We wait for tomorrow, maybe the snow will let up long enough for us to make a break for the neighboors house. If they have enough, maybe they can stock us up a bit. Going out now would just be crazy."

"You mean… for you to make a break for the neighboors house."

Ed growled and grabbed a fistfull of Al's hair and gave it a good yank. "Quite bold, arent we little brother!"

"Ow Ed! Come on!"

"Don't dish it out if you cant take it!"

"I didn't pull your hair!"

"Stop being such a wuss!"

"Shut up!"