A small companion one-shot to Theme 41 from 'Events in Life'. A leetle spoiler for the Briggs arc...

And now, I present for your pleasure,

Romance

There had been a blizzard during the night, the first of the winter season and the house was almost unbearably cold. Snow was still falling in small drifts past the window, sending small fuzzy shadows throughout the bedroom and slowly piling up on the windowsill.

From under the covers, a hand reached out to the empty space on the bed, fingers searching for the warmth of another body. When they failed to find it, the covers were thrown off a golden head, and dazed eyes, half lidded with a dull sense of pain searched the room.

Ed groaned when his eyes met the dull grey sunlight, watering as he moved his gaze to the bedside clock.

9.15.

Winry had probably already been up for several hours, which was probably why the curtains were open. She was probably going to be back soon to get him up as well.

Another groan, and he pulled the covers back up and over his head.

From that brief watery glance outside, he saw there were more storm clouds building over the mountain range. Risembool was probably going to be battered by a few more storms before the weather calmed down and people could get outside and enjoy the pristine snow. However, Ed didn't really need to see outside to know that, he could feel it in his bones. Literally.

It was nearly always like this. For the first few days of the snow filled winter season, what was left of his leg ached. Jolts of pain echoed up into his hip and stomach, forcing him to spend a lonely day in bed. Winry would sometimes stay with him, but she usually had orders to fill and to make matters worse, the boiler had broken down the day before and Winry was probably dead-set on fixing it.

It didn't help that the scar on his stomach, where the skin and organs hadn't quite been able to heal properly from having a huge metal beam tear through them, played merry havoc with his already aching side, nausea plaguing him for hours.

He really wished Winry hadn't left the bed. She was always warm and soft, and knew just where to touch or hold to make the pain and sickness go away. Oh well, she wasn't here now, so he pulled the corners of the duvet closer around him, curling into a tight ball and hiding his face under the covers.

Sometime later, whether an hour or a few minutes he wasn't sure, the bedroom door creaked open. Winry peeked her head around the corner, unsure if the covered lump on the bed was awake or not. She quietly called out to him, not wanting to wake him but when she got a garbled noise in reply, Winry gave a small smile and quickly walked to the bed, settling herself down on the edge. "Still feeling bad?" She asked, her hand lying on what she figured to be his head. He nodded and shivered, fighting back the urge to vomit all over the clean sheets.

Winry's hand gently pulled at the edge of the cover over his head, easing it out of his grip and folding it down at his shoulders. "You shouldn't do that," She admonished, voice still soft, "you'll make yourself worse."

"Don' care," he mumbled back thickly, "you coming back to bed?" His voice was hopeful and he pulled the covers back over his head, not wanting to release any warmth. He regretted the move immediately, his stomach roiling as his side twitched.

He heard Winry growl in annoyance, but he didn't mind. He just wanted her to say 'yes' so she would stay. Then suddenly, his face was exposed again, and Winry was glaring sternly at him.

"Come on, get up," She ordered, and for a terrified second, he thought she didn't realise his automail was hurting, "I'll help you to the bathroom."

He stared at her blankly. He really didn't want to get up. His hip felt like it had been frozen in place by small screws of sharp pain, and walking would only make it worse.

"Don't want to." He drawled, trying to pull the covers up again, but Winry's grip was firm.

"You're practically green, Ed." She sighed, "Come on, up."

He didn't really reply, just groaned at her and tried to dig his face further into his pillow.

He heard her laugh, and then her hand was on his shoulder, pushing him onto his back. Winry really was trying to help, and he really did feel like being sick. At least with her there, the walk to the bathroom wouldn't be quite so bad. He tried to sit up, but a buzz of pain echoed up through his thigh as he moved, and the automail jerked slightly, kicking at the cover and making his entire midsection convulse. Winry quickly pushed the duvet off him, grabbing hold of his hand and pulling him to a sitting position.

His vision swayed a little with vertigo, and Winry waited for it to pass by tidying the covers and folding them neatly at the foot of the bed while his body balanced out. He cupped his hands to his face and breathed, warmth spreading up his throat.

He hoped he could make it to the bathroom before his stomach rebelled for real.

"You ready now?" She asked, finished with the duvet. Ed let his hands drop and nodded, his eyes hard.

"Yeah, let's do this."

The walk to the bathroom was slow and cold. With the boiler broken, frost was slowly creeping up on the inside of windows and he thanked whatever higher power was listening that Winry was supporting him. Like he thought, exposure to the cold made his left hip seize up in fire and his metal knee refuse to straighten out, the nerves connected to it going haywire. Thankfully the bathroom wasn't that far away, and Winry soon had him back in bed, stomach eased enough that he could at least settle more comfortably and his mouth rid of the taste of bile and replaced with fresh mint.

"Will you be okay for a second?" She asked, stroking his slightly damp hair. He nodded, uncovering a hand long enough to touch hers before she disappeared.

She returned as fast as she could, and his entire being lightened when he saw what she had in her hands.

"Is that a hot water bottle?" He smiled. Winry giggled a little and skipped into the room, holding the water bottle like a prize.

"Yep! And it's all yours if you want."

"Gimmie." He stretched out his hands for it, trying not to move his hips too much. He let out a content moan when the warm rubber came into contact with his aching side, and he finally relaxed.

"Silly," She said with an affectionate smile, "...are you going to be alright now?"

"Yeah, thanks, Win." He said, love for her shining through his smile.

She grinned, stroking her hand through his hair one more time before she turned to leave. "Wait!" Ed shouted.

Winry turned and cocked her head. The boiler still needed fixing, or else he'd be cold and suffering and stuck in bed. He knew that and knew there wasn't really any reason to keep Winry here...but...

"Come back to bed," He said, patting the space beside him, "I know you're cold, but it's warm in here." Winry scrunched her brow. The boiler needed fixing, and she had orders to fill...

"Please?"

That one little word defeated her. He hardly ever said it, so she knew he really didn't want her to go. She sighed, wondering if her Gran would get mad at her for spending the day in bed with him, then decided she didn't really care.

"Fine," She snapped, slipping under the covers and into the blessed heat of the bed, "but you better share that water bottle."

Ed beamed at her, sinking back into a haze of warm aches as Winry cuddled into him.

Other men may have needed more than what they had, but Ed was happy with this.

So...

When I first wrote this, I was so upset with how bad it came out, I felt that I shouldn't put it up. Then I took an editing chainsaw to it, and it got better. I'm still not sure about the ending, though...

Hope you enjoyed this little companion piece, and if you want to see any other themes expanded, put a suggestion in a review or PM me :)

Reviews are always appreciated!

Inuchron

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