Disclaimer

*I own not this story, for it belongs to the almighty Hiromu Arkawa. Oh yes, oh yes it does. (I am seriously tired. XD)

Three blonde children ran through the fields laughing as their bare feet kept hitting the soil, not knowing where they were headed, but they didn't mind because they had each other. The youngest of the three was eight, his small legs trying to keep up with the older two. When the two older children reached the edge of a lake, the girl pushed her bangs out of her ocean blue eyes and smiled at the youngest golden ones, and then she called his name to try to get him to hurry up. The boy smiled at the girl and then looked up to his brother who was nearing. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called for his brother to hurry up. Then he turned and looked at the water and saw his reflection. He moved his hand across his face, pushing golden locks away from the golden eyes. A smile graced his lips and he grabbed the girl's hand. She looked up at him a bit surprised but then her lips lifted a bit when she saw his smile.

She didn't know what to expect from that smile, but she didn't expect to be thrown into the water. When she resurfaced she coughed the bit of water out of her lungs and she glared at the two sets of golden eyes that were now laughing at her. She got out of the water and crossed her arms across herself and glared at the grass, starting to walk away but she was stopped when a hand grabbed her arm. She looked up at the older brother and saw the apology in his eyes. She sighed and smiled at him, and his goofy smile spread across his lips. The three children laughed and then jumped into the water. By the end of the day, the eldest child had declared this spot their sanctuary, and the three would return to this spot every day for the next two years.

She kicked a rock and it landed in the water with a soft 'plop'. A huff left her lips as she sat down at the water's edge, her chin resting on top of her knees as she watched the water's smooth surface. Her blue eyes scanned the area hoping the two would materialize out of the path with their goofy grins, but no matter where she looked, they weren't there. 'Why would they be?'

She blamed alchemy. Ever since they started to learn alchemy they'd been coming here less and less until they no longer showed up. The only time she saw them was when they came over for dinner. She understood that their mother had died, but that was over three months ago. The two months after they'd still show up to see her, but then alchemy started to push the three apart. She had constantly asked the boys when they were going to come over to see her and every time she'd get a sad look from the youngest brother and would get a sarcastic remark from the oldest. The younger brother had still talked to her at times while the oldest no longer spoke. Her Grandmother had told her to give the boys space, that they'd come around eventually. She listened to her and that's when the boys became more distant from her, neither of them talking to her anymore.

She felt something sliding down her cheek and she sighed, her hand moving to wipe it away. She looked at her reflection; blue eyes stared back at her. A scowl crossed her face and she swiped her hand across the water. She rose and looked up at the sky. She could feel it; she knew the boys were going to do something stupid. She didn't know what but she knew it had something to do with alchemy.

"3….2….1"

A click was heard and then a whole string of curses. A hand ran over the metal leg to see if everything was correctly placed, then that same hand moved to the metal arm. When she was done she wiped her greasy hands across her overalls and started to put her tools into the red toolbox. When she finished, she looked at the person sitting on the couch. His eyes were shut as he tried not to concentrate on the pain; his blonde hair hung loose on his shoulders. She stood up and went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass and filled it with water. She walked back out and handed it to him. His fingers wrapped around the glass and his golden eyes opened and looked at her. He nodded his appreciation and took a sip of the cool water. She sat down on the table in front of him, watching him for a second.

He looked at her, he knew what she was going to say, they'd had this fight every time he came back, sometimes multiple times. "Winry, how many times do I have to tell you? No." He sighed.

She looked away from him, embarrassed that he could read her so easily. "You need it though. All you've been doing these past three years is running around, you need a break."

"I've already told you. No." He sighed and stood up pulling on his jeans. He was expecting her to start yelling at him like she normally did with this argument but she surprised him.

She stayed quite for a bit but then she stood up and grabbed her toolbox. "Ed, this time you came back nearly unconscious with too many wounds that I want to admit. Just take some time to heal...Even if it's only for two weeks."

He sighed and looked at her. "What if in those two weeks I could have returned Al back to his body. I'm not taking that chance Winry. I just want to get him back as quickly as I can." He heard her sniffle. "You know he's my first priority."

She turned quickly, her tool box hitting the floor; the objects inside scattering across the floor. "And these past three years will be a waste if you get yourself killed." Hear blue eyes seemed darker due to the tears that started to overflow onto her cheeks. She looked at him for a few moments longer and then kneeled down to start picking up the mess she had made. "Every time you leave, I don't know the next time I'll see you. I don't know if I'll see you walking down the road or a bunch of military officers carrying your dead corpse." She closed the lid to the box when she had everything picked up. "You don't know what I feel-"

"Don't know what you feel!" He snorted and rolled his golden eyes. "You didn't watch every day as your mother got weaker and weaker until she died. You didn't have your younger brother pulled out of your grasp and watch as his body was taken from him. Why don't you talk more about feeling?"

"You're right. I didn't have my younger brother pulled out of my grasp and watch as his body disappeared. No, I was woken up by an empty suit of armor carrying my almost dead friend. I sat up that entire night trying to save that bastard's life, and then I sat another couple hours with his brother as he talked to me about his new body, about his regrets. I watched as he couldn't cry, eat or sleep." She stood up and glared at the man with golden eyes. "The last image of my parents I have is of their backs as they left. I didn't watch them die, but I watched as they left me with promises of returning, but they never will. And now I have to watch as the two boys I grew up with walk away for months at a time, the last thing I see of them is their backs. I wonder if they'll ever return like they promised or if like my parents, the last memory I'll have of them is their backs." Tears ran like rivers down her cheeks as she stared at him.

He stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape. She shook her head and bolted out of the room for the front door. Granny and Alphonse, who sat in the kitchen, watched as the young woman ran out into the cold December air. The old woman shook her head and sighed. The suit of armor looked in the direction of the living room, his brother shortly appearing in the doorway. Ed's golden eyes looked at the two and he sighed. He pulled on his boots, grabbed his coat and headed towards the cemetery. As he walked he transmuted a couple branches into beautiful flowers. He walked up to slight incline towards his mother's grave; he kneeled and set some of the flowers onto of the grave. His hand swept across the grave, removing the layer of snow to reveal his mother's name, birth date and death date.

"I'm so sorry mom…" He sighed and looked down at the ground; his bangs moving to cover his eyes. "Why do I keep screwing up? First with you, then Al and now Winry." He sat for a few moments in silence. "Maybe she's right, maybe I do need to take a break, but I need to fix my mistake as soon as I can. I don't want Alphonse to suffer anymore."

Ed sat there, he didn't know how long, but it was long enough that another thin layer of snow now rest upon the grave. He stood up when he heard the hollow footsteps that belonged to his brother. The footsteps stopped behind him and he heard a sigh come from the armor. Ed turned around and looked at the red orbs. "Hi Al."

"Brother, Granny sent me out to find you and Winry for dinner. She's starting to get worried."

'So she wasn't back home yet.' He looked around and sighed. It was too cold for her to be outside in the clothes she had run out in. "Why don't you head home Al. I'll get her."

The suit of armor looked at his brother for a moment and then nodded, understanding. He turned around and started to head back toward the Rockbell house. Ed sighed and started to walk towards an old path. He saw her foot prints and started to follow them. As he walked, he remembered the fun he had as a child as him, Winry and Al raced toward the lake. It'd been six years since he'd walked this path, but he could tell someone had worn a path and he knew who it had been. He sighed and started thinking of her walking down this path day by day and then sitting alone at the lakes edge waiting for two people who would never show up.

When he got to the edge of the path, he heard her sobs. He looked around and say her curled up against the old tree at the water's edge. Goosebumps covered her skin that was open to the frigid air; which was most of her top because all she wore was the black tube top. Her nose and cheeks where red because of the cold wind. He walked over to her and pulled off his red coat, laying it on her shoulders as an attempt to try to warm her up. He sat down next to her and laid his left arm across her shoulders. Her blue eyes looked up into his golden ones a bit confused but she curled into the warmness his body had to offer.

"If you stay out here much longer you'll get sick."

She buried her face in his chest to warm up her nose and cheeks.

He wrapped his arm tightly around her. When she didn't answer he decided to continue talking. "I'm sorry I'm such a jerk. I don't ever mean to hurt you but it always seems to happen that way." He lay his cheek on top of her head. "I-I….." He sighed. He thought for a few minutes on how to try to explain his mistakes but he couldn't think of anyway that would sound reasonable besides that he was being a jerk. Then he heard a little giggle come from the young woman in his arms. "You know I suck at explanations."

She lifted her head to look at him. "I know you're going through a lot but I want you to know you don't have to carry the burden all on your own. I want you to understand that I'm there for you."

"If it helps, I know now." He slightly smiled. She smacked his chest but smiled at him, causing his goofy grin to cross his lips. "Come on. Al told me Granny is starting to get worried about you." He stood up, bringing Winry up with him. He slipped her arms through the coat and curled in it to stay warm. "Oh and I think I'll take up your offer of a short break, but only a short one. Al's been begging me to stay with you guys for Christmas anyway."

Winry's blue eyes widened in shock, "You guys are going to stay for Christmas?"

Ed nodded, "Yeah. Well we should start to head back."

She smiled at him. "I'll race you home."

His golden eyes lightened a bit with her acting a little bit more like the Winry he remembered. "Well we all know I'll beat you. I always do."

"Oh I wouldn't be sure about that." She gave him a sly smile and got in position to start running.

Ed smiled at her and got into position. "3… 2… 1…" Before he could say go, Winry had moved and lightly pressed her lips to his. Before he could comprehend what was happening, her lips were whispering something and then she was running down the path. Ed shook his head realizing she had whispered go. His lips pulled into a giant smile and he started to run.

I would like to apologize for my Hiatus. I still won't be posting much because I don't have internet anymore and school has been a big pain in the... well yeah. I don't really like how I ended this but it's still something that came out of nowhere. And at two AM! I hate my brain. I apologize for and grammer mistakes now, I am tired and I'm surprised I can even type coherently.

Brain:"I won't let you sleep unless you type it."

Me: "Challenge Accepted"

*an hour later.*

Me:"OK I GIVE. I'LL TYPE IT! :(''

Well review what you think or if you find any of thy mistakes.