Merry Christmas! This story is for my best friend, Kingdom of Zetalnarury-88! Merry Christmas to you! ...or happy very late birthday, I don't even remember for wich it was supposed to be in the beggining!

Anyway, the story takes place some time before the Promised Day. It is my first fanfiction and it has been a while since I last read FMA, so sorry if there are some plot holes!

English is not my first language, sorry if there is any mistakes. And finally, enjoy!

The last time

Edward was at her door, again. Even with all the times she told him to stay safe and to take care of his automails, he always managed to screw them up. He feared her reaction more than ever. His leg was actually fine, but his arm wouldn't move. No matter how many times he tried, all he could do was slightly shift his shoulder. And this time, Al wasn't there to calm Winry, or to hide Ed behind him.

Winry was alone in her room, working on some automail piece. Her grandmother was at a client's home and wouldn't come back before the end of the day. She actually didn't mind much. She liked to be alone sometimes; it gave her time to think. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear the soft knock on the kitchen door. Startled, she quietly made her way downstairs. Who could it be? Maybe it was finally him. Maybe Al was back too, not in his cold armor body, but in his real, warm body. Maybe everything was finished and they could finally come back home.

She arrived at the door and slowly opened it. Edward was there, but there was no Alphonse. No armor, but still two automail limbs. She instantly felt her eyes water.

"What happened? Where's Al?"

Edward was certainly not prepared for that reaction. Rage, yes, but cries, never.

"Whoa! No, no, no! Calm down, he just stayed in Central! Don't cry!" He said, putting his left hand in front of him.

"Then why are you here?" She almost yelled, feeling her fear become anger by the second.

"My arm. It won't move."

That was the final point. She snapped.

"You idiot! What have you done to my masterpiece!"

"Hey, it wasn't even me! It isn't my fault if it can't resist at a simple attack by…"

"What? So now you're saying that it is my fault?"

The fight went on for about five minutes. Winry felt herself mentally sighed. There she was, finally seeing him after almost four months and all she could do was yelled at him. If she could she would have slapped herself.

As suddenly as she had started screaming at him, she stopped. Edward stood there, waiting for an answer that wouldn't come. She sighted, and told him to enter. Even thought he was surprised, he followed her lead. It was better than continuing to argue with her.

They went directly to the workshop, without saying a word. Ed sat on the stool while Winry went for her tools. She then began working on his arm, only asking questions from times to times.

Ed was obviously uncomfortable. He didn't want it to be like this. He promised to never make her cry again, and even thought she hadn't cried yet, it certainly looks like they were aiming for it today. No matter what he did, he always seemed to screw everything up when it came to her.

Shifting uncomfortably on the chair, he suddenly blurted:

"I'm sorry."

Winry stopped working. Where was that coming from? Sure, he did break his automail again and he came unannounced, but since when does Ed apologies for it?

"It's okay." Without anything else to say, she just decided to keep it simple.

"I mean it. I'm sorry I can't always tell you everything, including when I come here. I know you worry a lot about Al and me and I'm sorry if there is not more I can do to reassure you."

"Ed, it's okay, really. If anything, I'm sorry too."

And she was. She already knew everything Edward just told her. She knew that with everything that was happening, the military, Scar, the homunculi, they didn't have time for her. Or for them, even. So she felt like she had to worry, because they would not do it.

She felt selfish sometimes, because she wanted them to be back. She wanted her world to be normal for once in her life. She couldn't have her parents back; she only hoped she wouldn't have to lose her best friends now. She felt selfish to want them all for herself, while they were trying to save the world.

"I shouldn't be asking that of you. You will think I am selfish, but all I want is for you to be safe. And I want you to feel safe also. You don't have a home anymore, but here you will always be welcome. I want you to come whenever there is danger." She managed to smile while saying that, but her eyes were full of tears. "I would not be able to lose you now, or Al. You are my family, we went through everything together. I was always there for both of you. This is the last time I am asking you this, Ed. Please, also be there for me. Put my name at the top of your list once in a while. Leaving me here without any clue of what's happening with you and Al in Central… Please stop doing that…"

She was now crying. Her hands were crossed on her knees, wrench held tight. Ed didn't know what to do. He, of course, had seen Winry cry before. That wasn't new. But it was the first time she made such a confession. He honestly didn't know what to do. He wanted to take her in his arms, hold her tight and tell her that it was all over, that he was going to stay here with her. But he couldn't. He had duty in Central and promises to keep. He could not leave Al. But she was crying and that meant he had broken another promise. He couldn't leave it that way.

"Winry"

She didn't look up.

"Winry, look at me" he said, this time touching her arm gently with his functioning hand.

"You know I want to do that. I wish I could be here more often, Al does too. If I could stop everything and be in Resembool, I would. But that would mean give up. And I know you don't want that. I know you want Al back as much as I do, and that means we can't be here, we have to keep on moving. I know we are close, I can feel it. Soon, it will all be over. Then, we will be back. Things will be like they were. I promise."

Still crying, but at least smiling a little, Winry nodded and went back to work. In no time, Ed's arm was back in shape and he was preparing to leave.

They were standing at the door and the situation seemed all too familiar once again. Some sort of awkward tension was in the air. Winry tried to break it, still embarrassed because of her earlier confession.

"So… Be safe. And take care of your arm this time. Next time, I want to see a perfect automail, not a peace of unmoving metal."

Ed kept fixing right in front of him, thinking. Winry looked to the floor, feeling awkward and intimidated like a little girl. Suddenly, Ed grabbed her by the arms and looked at her in the eyes.

"Winry, I can't promise you about when I will be back. But this is the last time I make a promise to you. This is the last time you see me like this. Next time, I won't be alone. Al will be with me. The real one. This is the last time you have to worry before we come back. I promise."

Shocked for a couple of second, Winry finally smiled and nodded. Closing her eyes, she put her arms around his torso, hugging him like it was the last time she would see him. She knew he would try to keep that promise. She trusted him. But sometimes, life reserved other things for people. She didn't want to make the same mistake she did with her parents, so she tried to show him all her love in the hug, without telling him.

Edward hugged her back. He would try to keep his promise as hard as he could. In less time than they realised it, he was already gone. He didn't know what was waiting for him, but the faster it was over, the faster he could see Winry's smile again.

What he didn't know was that he just had his automail fixed for the last time.