Winry carefully parted open the door to Edward's room. He slept peacefully on his old mattress, unaware of her presence. She tiptoed across the rough and cold wood floor. Her feet padded and echoed slightly as she made her way to the edge of his bed. He stirred slightly. She leaned over him, watching his beautiful hair roll off of his head in folds. Outside the slightly creaked window, a cricket sang it's lonely and romantic tune. Winry watched Ed's still body, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest. Every night since the dance several weeks back, Winry had came into Ed's room and they talked like they did back before their lives were complicated. Sometimes it was about Ed's plans for the future, sometimes it was reminiscing about the past, and other times it was over romance. Occasionally, Winry would spend the night in Ed's room. She never made any advances, and neither did he. They were both happy to keep it this way, Winry presumed. She looked over Ed's face. His features were deep set, almost cold-looking. She certaintly didn't remember them being that way before that horrid incident so many years ago…. His lips quivered ever-so-slightly, almost as if he was in a deep dream. Winry knew he was never hard to wake, and he didn't really startle unless you physically touched him. So, instead, she sat down on the edge of the bed and slowly spoke his name. "Edward… hey, Ed… wake up…."
Ed's eyes jerked open. He slowly rolled over onto his back. Winry spotted a nasty bruise on his shoulder. "Well, good evening, Winry." he said with an almost exasperated tone.
"What did you do to your shoulder, sweetie…?" Winry asked, genuinely worried that he had gotten himself into trouble.
"Oh, this? It's nothing, Win. Really. Me and Al were sparring, and I feel down wrong on it." Ed explained.
"Grandma can get you some ointment for it, you know." she responded.
"Ah, it's fine. I've been hurt worse." Ed said, trying to calm Winry's worries.
"If you're sure…." Winry muttered skeptically.
"Winry. Seriously. Don't worry about me." he responded.
"It's my job to worry about you, Ed. Somebody's gotta' do it, you know." she said sarcastically.
Ed just rolled his eyes. "So… you were up in the shop all day yesterday. You get a rush order or something?" he asked.
"No, not really…. I have a week to build a foot. But… I want to get it done and out of the way quickly." she responded.
"How come?"
"Because I want to spend as much time with you as possible before you leave…." Winry said lowly.
"Ah, right…. We're probably leaving within the next couple of days…." Ed muttered.
"So, I want to be with you as much as possible. I was thinking we could go down to the farmer's market tomorrow. Just me and you. We could… make a date out of it. Go to dinner." Winry responded.
"That sounds great to me, Winry. But you gotta' promise me that you'll let me cover the expenses. I don't want you to pay on my behalf." Ed said forcefully.
"But, Ed! You're constantly on the road. Money is bound to get tight out there…." Winry protested.
"No, Winry. It's fine. Me and Al have plenty. I do get paid for my position as a State Alchemist, you know." Ed said bluntly.
"Alright, hotshot alchemist. Show me some skill." Winry said jokingly.
Ed clapped his hands, then transmuted his blade. He reach up to the headboard of the bed and carved "Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell forever!" into it. "That good enough for you, Win?" he said with a slightly smirk-ish smile.
Winry read what he had carved, then squealed a little. She flew over into his arms. He carefully transmuted the blade back into his automail. She looked up at him and said, "I love you, Ed." Ed didn't respond but instead leaned in for a kiss. Their lips touched, and they hovered there for a few seconds like they almost always did. Then, Winry shocked Ed by doing something completely out of the ordinary: she shoved her tounge into his mouth. He grunted as he squeezed her back. She squeezed his thighs in return. He carefully returned the favor with his own tounge, still unsure what to do. They both breathed heavily as they continued their kissing. The occasional tounge or squeeze would show their enthusiasim, and after nearly a minute of kissing, Winry finally pulled away. They stared at each other adoringly for a few seconds. Then, Winry asked the question that she had been wanting to ask. "So… Ed… would… would you and Al mind if I joined you two on the road…?"
Ed was completely caught off guard by her question. "Winry… you know you can't… you have to stay here and watch the shop and Granny…." he stuttered. "Plus, Granny can't run the shop all by herself… she's not all what she used to be, you know…."
Winry dropped her slightly. "I just thought you'd like to have me on the road with you…." she said, greatly disappointed.
"Winry… honey… I don't want you to come along because I want you safe…. Al and I get into all sorts of trouble on the road…. You don't need to see what we see on a daily basis…." Ed said softly, trying to comfort her.
Winry looked up at him. "It can't be any different than me setting around here all day, worried sick about you!" she exclaimed.
"Winry… I hate to do this, but… if you love me, you'll stay here and watch after Granny." Ed said. Winry breathed out oddly, but otherwise just looked at him. "Promise me." he stated forcefully.
"Okay…." Winry agreed halfheartedly.
"Thank you, Winry. Tell you what. Every time Al and I stay at a hotel, I'll call you. I promise." Ed reasoned. It seemed to work.
"Alright. But you better hold true on that promise!" she said.
"Only if you hold true on yours." Ed responded.
"Oh, I will!" she said happily. Ed laid back down onto the bed. Winry curled up on the bed as well, facing him. "You know… I'm gonna' miss our little talks…."
"So am I, Winry. So am I…." Winry gave him a small kiss. She wrapped her arm around him, and they closed their eyes. They fell into a deep sleep, their dreams intermingling like flowers in the breeze….
There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back,
Well, tell her that I miss our little talks,
Soon it will be over and buried with our past,
We used to play outside when we were young,
And full of life and full of love….