-1OMG A FANFIC!! YAYYYY!!

As usual, I do not own the characters whom I place in awkward situations for my amusement and yours. XP

Enjoi!! ;P

The whistle of the 11:35 train sounded as it slowed its way into Central Station. The platform was scattered with eager friends and family, awaiting the arrival of their guest hidden somewhere in the cars of the train. Among the crowd stood a hollow suit of armor next to a rather short angry blonde teen in a red cape. The legendary Elric Brothers.

The whistle sounded again, blowing out a stream of steam as passengers started to exit from the train. Among the flock was a blonde haired Winry Rockbell, tools in tote. She was wearing her black skirt as well as a white tank top. She wore a pair of sandals and her hair was in its usual fashion, minus the bandana.

Her eager blue eyes scanned the crowd. She knew she wouldn't see Edward's blonde head poking above the taller people around him, but a seven-foot-tall suit of gleaming silver armor isn't too hard to spot. Winry then caught a glimpse of a shiny helmet, and locked her sights on him.

She started to run, setting down her heavy tool case just a few yards from her destination. She full-on hugged them, grabbing Edward around the shoulders on her left and Alphonse around his cold, metal waist with her right. She almost knocked down the partially metal-laden teen and his rather huge metal brother as well. For lack of a better word, she glomped them full-power.

"H-hey Winry!" Edward stuttered, blushing at her sudden embrace. "Long time, no see."

Just then, Winry stepped back, wrapping her hands around the elder Elric's throat, in jest. He let out a small inaudible gasp in surprise, and placed his gloved hands on hers, which were still at his throat. "WELL!! You could at least call! I have no clue if I was coming to see you in the hospital or if that auto-mail arm of yours dragging on the ground!!" Apparently something he said pissed her off a bit, but it didn't last long.

"…Whatever. Lets get out of here. I can't wait to go and get some shopping done! They just don't have markets like these in Risembool!!" She skipped off ahead of them, after retrieving and swinging her tool case over her back. Alphonse turned to his brother, only to see him tilt his head back and groan. "Aww… come on Al. Its time for her to suck my wallet dry again." Edward ruffled his hair a bit and they both chased after their bubbly blonde mechanic.

--

After three exhausting hours of shopping, the three of them headed back to the hotel. Winry had bought all kinds of mechanical goodies that left poor Edward penniless.

The brothers waited outside of her room, adjacent to theirs. They had not eaten anything since breakfast, and were terribly hungry. Well, everyone but Al. The wait at the train station and the shopping rampage gave them no spare time to catch a bite. And now, since Ed couldn't afford a decent meal at a nice restaurant, they had to settle for military cafeteria food.

"Hey Winry, what's takin ya?" Edward raised his voice so the girl on the other side could hear as he rapped his gloved knuckles against the of the mahogany door. She opened the door up, exiting. "I just had to put all of my shiny new tools away."

Edward groaned. "Uggh… well then of course it would have taken forever! Seeing as you had left me penniless and bought damn near everything at every hardware store!" He really didn't mind buying all that stuff for her. They didn't buy anything but food and hotel rooms, since they couldn't really carry around anything with their current lifestyle. He was just glad that buying her things pleased her, and made her smile.

"Well, Ed." She stated. "All this 'crap' you bought me is what will make you a lighter, stronger, better arm and leg. Think of it as an investment." She smiled as she said it, knowing that Ed was feigning his anger.

"So Winry," Alphonse's young voice metallically echoed from the center of his armor. "Are you okay with just military cafeteria food for lunch?"

She smiled sweetly and nodded in agreeance as they made their way out of the hotel and down to the Military HQ.

--

After filling their trays with all sorts of cafeteria food, they had settled down at the end of one of he long tables. Ed sat across from Winry, Al at his side. They spent this valuable time catching up on who's doing what down in Risembol, and how close they have gotten to the Philosopher's Stone and of all sorts of new alchemical tricks they have learned.

"… so I transmuted the mining cart into a solid piece of metal, saving the young girl from being crushed." Ed and Al were entertaining her with all their heroic stories. Well, almost. They left out anything too bloody or involving the homunculi. The last thing they wanted to do was to cause her unnecessary worry or those ever-flowing tears.

The cafeteria was filling up pretty quick. Most military personnel there were men. While Al was talking to Winry, Edward noticed a lot of curious eyes on Winry. He scowled and glared at as many as he could, as if to say, 'Back off. She isn't for your hungry eyes… bastard.' But there were to many for one boy to handle.

Winry was, in fact, very beautiful, making the men's glances justified. She didn't even notice, though. She just sat and smiled, listening to Al's stories and making pleasant conversation with him and Ed.

Ed finally couldn't take it. He stood up, slamming his palms against the table. He scowled and blushed a bit as he walked over to Winry's side. He removed his red jacket and handed it stiffly to her, turning his face away to hide the pink crawling across his cheeks. "Here. Put this on. You look cold."

She turned to face up to him. "No, that's okay Edward. But thanks." She was slightly puzzled at his unusually gentleman-like gesture.

He made a low growl, and draped the jacket over her shoulders anyway. He was trying to fight the red invading his usual complexion, but it was to no avail.

She cocked her head to him in question. Edward sat back down, almost in a huff. When he finally calmed his raging blush down, he turned to face her still confused expression. He sighed, then whispered to her, "A lot of they guys here are staring…"

"Oh.." she said, tugging the jacket onto her shoulders a bit more. "Thank you, Edward." she smiled to him, as they enjoyed the rest of their meal.

--

Winry was in her hotel room, looking over all the new shiny tools she, ermm, Ed bought. 'Well, he should be happy that I am not like other girls. I don't ask for diamond rings or fancy clothes.' She smiled at the thought. If she were like that, Ed and Al would be penniless in hopeless debt.

Her room was small, but she didn't mind. It had a single window with the curtains drawn away to let the starlight shine in. It had a single bed with a plain blue comforter and two plush pillows. The head of the bed was pressed against the wall a few feet from the doorway. Her shopping bags lined the other wall, along with a dresser and bookcase that was there to furnish and fill the room.

Ed and Al shared a room next door. It was basically the same, but twice the size and double the windows she had. Al didn't sleep there, though, since he had lost the luxury of sleep when he lost his body. When Ed went to bed, Al would walk up the stairs and onto the roof. He found it much more entertaining to watch the cars and people that to sit aimlessly in a dark room. He had made a habit of going outside or on a rooftop to pass the time. Tonight was no exception.

The hours passed as everyone in the hotel tried to catch a decent night's sleep before heading off to wherever in the morning. The sky was a deep navy, with small, glittering stars poking through the blackness in beautiful swirling clusters. The moon was just a sliver away from full, and it lit up the night sky with a glowing halo. Not a cloud could be seen, and the skies were void of any drizzle or gust of wind.

Alas, the peaceful night did not offer peace of mind. Though Edward was fast asleep just next door, Winry tossed and turned in her sheets. Unprovoked memories and figments of her imagination plagued her. Nightmares of her parents. The war. She was there, but was helpless. She couldn't offer assistance. And then. Just then…

She bolted upright, clutching the sheets around her in a death hold. Her hair was down and draped messily around her shoulders and down her back, a few stands plastered to her face with sweat. She shuddered and panted, trying to grasp a thread of sense. She knew it wasn't real. But it just was so… convincing.

She raised both shaky hands to rub her face. She noticed her eyes were dripping with tears. She must have been crying in her sleep. She was surprised she wasn't screaming within the grasp of her nightmares.

She couldn't consol herself enough to lay back down again. She sat there, just sitting there, in her twisted sheets and pajamas. Winry was wearing a oversized T-shirt, one of Ed's old ones, no doubt, and a pair of long, off-grey bottoms as well. She wrapped her arms around herself and stood up. Winry walked to the door, rattling the knob a little, and exited. She only needed to walk a few feet to the door leading to Ed and Al's bedroom.

She pushed the door open. They always left it unlocked, and she always scolded them for doing so. But now she was thankful for it.

She opened the door just a crack as a curious, tear-soaked eye peered inside. The moon was illuminating the room, casting peaceful shadows across the carpeted floor. She pushed the door open wider, letting herself in. She was careful to keep the door from creaking, and stepped lightly.

Alphonse's glinting armor was no where to be seen, so he was surely on the roof. She looked down to the bed at her left. A shirtless Edward slept soundly. He had his hair undone, with the hair tie just at the floor, in arm's reach. His hair was strewn around his shoulders, and tucked around between him and the pillow. It was considerably longer when unbraided. An auto mail arm stuck out of the covers and across his toned stomach. It shined with reflected starlight. If she wasn't so shaken, she'd be proud and admiring her craftsmanship.

She extended a hand out, only to warily draw it back. He looked so peaceful. She really didn't want to disturb him. His eyelids were covering his fiercer golden orbs, and his face was calm and relaxed. It was a pity he wasn't like this more.

"Ed…" she managed to whisper. She sounded quiet and timid, a polar opposite of her usual self. She barley was able to choke out a louder volume. "Edward…"

"Hmm." he turned to face her, opening his tired eyes slowly. "Hey, Win." He spoke slightly gruffly, since he just woke. "Don't you know what time it--" His golden eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he was able to see her tear-stained cheeks against the moonlight. "Oh.." he sighed out.

He sat up on his elbows, drawing his legs near him. "Here," he said, verbally motioning her to sit. She plopped her tired form on the edge of the bed. Edward sat up, and wrapped most of the blanket around her as she wiped her eyes. She noticed that he was only in his boxers, and they showed off his impressive, shining auto mail leg.

"Hey.. Are you alright? Do you... wanna talk about it?" He whispered to her, trying to consol her. She only shook her head.

She then turned and wrapped her arms around Ed's neck, burring her face into his flesh shoulder. His skin was so warm, while the auto mail stung her with a chill. Luckily, the darkness offered mask to shield his reddening complexion from her cerulean eyes. He could feel her small sobs and sniffles, and her tears dampened his tanned skin and rolled down his chest in small beads.

He placed his auto mail arm around her shoulders. When she tightened her hold on him, he did the same. And they just sat there. But it calmed her down, as he whispered light, kind words into her ear. He never thought of himself as one to do so, but it came almost like an instinct, and he just ran with it. It felt, well, for lack of a better term, nice. It was just nice.

Twenty minutes had passed, and the tears stopped falling. Edward moved a bit, but Winry's head still remained resting against his shoulder. He blushed a bit, once he realized she was asleep. Apparently, whatever he said to her worked. She had calmed down, no doubt. So calm that she was able to get some rest.

She stirred in his grip a bit, moving her shoulders against his, and mumbling a "mmm." He chuckled as his face reddened further. Apparently, even in her tranquil slumber, she still needed him.

He moved from the edge of the bed to the center, with her arms still wrapped around his neck. He kept a auto mail hand on her lower back to keep her in place. He then laid down; his blonde hair strewn once again against the pillow. He pulled her up to him a bit, so her head rested lowly against his chest. He pulled the covers up over her back, just above her shoulder blades. His movement resulted in her moving her hands from his shoulders to around his waist. She kept him warm, since her body was on top of him from legs to chest. His old shirt she was wearing had worn soft with age, feeling smooth and soft against his toned, slightly scarred abdominals.

He smiled, enjoying her touch. But he was so tired, too tired to carry her off to bed. And she was tired, too tired to walk off to her own room, and too tired to be left alone in fear of whatever scared her. So he let her sleep there, cuddled against his chest. He kept a hand on her back, keeping the covers up about her shoulders. The other was on her head, stroking flesh fingers through her loose, blonde tresses.

--

"Damned sun…" Winry mumbled in her mind, unconsciously. She sun blazed through the drawn windows, directly on her back and into her closed eyes. She clenched her eyelids tighter. She was too tired to wake up just yet. She was enjoying the warmth of whatever she was lying on. The surface was warm and firm, yet felt soft to the touch, like a silk covering. She snuggled her face into it more, evoking a tired moan out of it.

Her eyes shot open. When her vision adjusted itself to the daylight, the fist thing she saw was her face buried into what appeared to be Ed's abdominals. She looked to Ed's face, and saw him sleeping soundly, the bright light not bothering him a bit. She shot up. She jumped enough to now be sitting against the wall, legs folded under her. Her hands went to her rapidly blushing face. No doubt that the words "What the HELL?!" were pacing through her mind at breakneck speed.

When she jumped up, it jostled his arms that were previously wrapped warmly around her. "Hmmmmm… Oh, hey. Good morning, Win." He sat up on his elbows, rubbing an eye, careful not to do so with his auto mail hand. "Ya feelin' better?"

With her hands still covering her face, she then remembered why she was there in the first place. She almost giggled at the thought of how he comforted her to the extent of her forgetting what happened the night before.

"Umm.. Yeah." She removed her hands from her cheeks, since the raging shades of red have since left. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd fall asleep here."

Ed tilted his head to the side, smiling. His eyes were still half closed from just waking up and his loose, blonde hair fell to one side of his back. "Don't worry bout it. It was kinda… nice."

Winry didn't react to those words. At first. 'Wait…. What do you mean it was NICE?!'

"You PERV!!" She raised her hand to smack him, but he cut her off with his careful words.

"That's not what I meant!! I mean, it was nice that you could confide in me, ya know? I know you want me to do the same to you, but… well yeah."

Despite his words, or lack there of, she got what he meant. And she thought it was sweet.

"Oh, Ed…" She started, a smile gracing her lips. She threw her arms around his neck, giggling. A light blush shaded Edward's cheeks as she was resting on top of him again. He returned her embrace, wrapping himself around her, tighter.

Not too long after, they fell asleep once more, resting up for a "fun" filled day of shopping, only this time, hand in hand. 3