With one wrench behind her ear, Winry worked with the other on Ed's automail leg. He was perched on the side of his bed while she twisted and turned those knots she knew so well into perfection. She was so used to this job after years of doing it that she could do all the maintenance with her eyes closed. It was different back then though. Before she found out about her feelings towards him. Now, his steady breaths and the way his chest fell and rose with it were all very real and turned on to the highest volume. She was ten times more aware of him which made her job a bit difficult. She thanked the stars that her fingers didn't have to rely on her brain.

Especially that now he is in shorts only. Not like that it is his first time. Ed was always in his shorts during his maintenance. Again, feelings aren't letting her think straight. But Winry was a professional after all. Sure, thoughts of how those biceps would feel under her fingertips or what would it be like if she lay her head on his chest and listened to the strong beat of his heart, or how much she wanted to unthread his braided hair and let it run through her fingers invaded her mind. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

For his part, Ed was having a worse time. He definitely knew he was in love with the automail freak, but of course, he couldn't say anything. He didn't even know how to! And now she was kneeling between his legs, working. If Winry were to look up, she would see Ed fighting tooth and nail with himself to keep his body temperature normal and the blushing to a minimum. Truthfully, he was losing. Especially when her hand would accidently brush up against his human thigh skin, his blood pressure would spike up a few degrees and his heart would practically hammer against his ribcage. His own hands were leaning on the bed trying to hold his whole self together. Calm down, Ed he thought. Calm down. Remember the periodic table. Hydrogen. Helium. Natrium. Uranium. Beri—Fuck. She had touched his thigh again. The periodic table was not helping. Alchemy was failing him for the first time ever.

Winry's eyes travelled up of their own accord from his hips to his chest, noting the many scars that were carelessly strewn all over. It was her first time paying attention to them. She swallowed hard, trying to quiet down the stab of pain in her heart. They were silvery crosses that twinkled under the sun's rays. The one on his left hip looked especially nasty and she shuddered to think how he got it. All those scars, all that pain and he had always tried to keep her out of it, so she wouldn't cry.

Don't cry now, Winry, you dolt, she scolded herself. But she couldn't stop her hand from trembling.

"Winry?" Ed's uncertain voice came out.

She looked up at him with bright eyes that were holding back tears.

"It's fine," she said hurriedly.

"No, it's not. Why do you look like you're about to cry?" he asked, worry written all over his features.

Winry sighed.

"Your scars. There's so many of them. I guess, I had never paid them that much attention before. But now…" she stopped, words getting lost in her tongue.

Ed smiled gently at her, wondering how an angel like that could possibly exist.

"They don't hurt, if that's what you're worried about. You don't have to be sad."

She brushed a few stray tears and managed a bright genuine smile back.

"I just can't believe it's over," she said, turning back to her work. Only a couple more left, and then Ed could get dressed. She tried not to feel disappointed.

"Yeah," he said, glancing towards the ceiling. "Sometimes, I wake up in the morning still thinking I'm in the middle of the whole war thing and it takes me a few minutes to come back to reality."

She hesitated for a fraction of a second before tightening the screw. She didn't know about that.

"I'm just thankful you and Al are back and safe," she said instead. "I tell you, my sleep has become so much easier since then."

She could feel his eyes on the top of her head, but her bashfulness was stopping her from looking up. If she did, she wouldn't know what she'd do. Probably run out of the room and hide under her bed.

"Sorry for worrying you."

She shook her head, still drilling holes with her eyes on his automail. "All's well that ends well, right?"

He chuckled.

One last screw to go. With a heavy heart, she set on it. They fell back to their silence, and Winry dared to peek at him. His golden eyes had a faraway look to them, gazing at something she couldn't see. Her heartstrings tugged and pulled at her, trying to find the courage to speak.

"Ed—" her lips began to form words. Was she really doing this?

He looked at her, raising his eyebrows in question. A few moments pass, and she still hadn't said anything.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Don't forget to take care of your leg, okay?" she said instead. Fierceness sparkled through her eyes. "I swear, if you come to me with it broken again or malfunctioned or whatever, you're getting a wrench in your forehead! I spent a lot of time on it! Get into a fight with someone, and I'll show you what a broken automail is!"

Confusion got replaced with defensiveness.

"Oh god, Winry, I get it!" he said loudly. "You're such an automail freak!"

She twisted the last screw tightly in its place and got her revenge when Ed yelled with pain.

"I TOLD YOU TO TELL ME WHEN YOU CONNECT THE NERVES!" He screamed, clutching his thigh.

She leaned back on the balls of her feet and sticks her tongue out at him.

"Guess I forgot. You're done."

She gathered her tools and stood up, while Ed muttered curses as he stretched his leg. She watched him for a few moments, still trying to find the courage to say the words. She had always been a strong girl. Always outspoken and straight forward. Holding back had never been something she was okay with it.

She walked over to the table on the other side of the room and placed her tools on it. She clutched her hands against her chest. It's now or never. They were alone in the house. She could always beat him up, and Al had been hinting heavily the past few weeks about how Ed feels towards her. I mean if Al had been pulling her leg, he'd also get a beating. Why dance around it any longer?

"Ed," she said, turning towards him. He had put on his pants but was still shirtless. At least he wasn't in his shorts.

"Yeah?" he asked, and she could feel time stretching between them.

"I… I…" she stuttered, burning holes into the floor, and then takes a deep breath. "I love you."

There. The words were finally out, and she could finally move on with her life.

When he doesn't say anything for a long time, she glanced up and saw that Ed had turned into a full-fledged tomato. He looked so ridiculous that it eases her anxiety, and she could feel a laugh building up in her chest.

She took a couple of steps towards him.

"Ed?" she smiled.

He raised a hand to his face, trying to hide himself. He couldn't believe she actually said it. He had not expected that at all. To make matters worse, his voice wasn't working. He knew a confession wasn't far away, but he didn't think it would be sprung on him like that! And now he couldn't stop blushing!

"I…" he began, and then clears his throat. "I can't believe you confessed. I wanted to be the one who said it first."

Winry looked stunned and then giggled.

"You could be the one who kisses me first," she offered.

Ed could feel his nerves screaming when she said those words. He stumbled back and hits the wall before he covers his face with his hands again, blushing even more furiously.

"Unless it's going to kill you?" Winry said with concern.

"No, no, no. I'm fine," he said, ordering his body to calm down. "I can do this!"

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. Ed squared his shoulders and took two mechanical steps towards Winry.

"You're blushing loudly," Winry said, laughing.

"What the hell does that mean?" he nearly yelled. Her joking put his nerves at ease.

She slid her hands into his, marvelling at how the right one is no longer at automail, but a real one of flesh and bone that could feel warmth and love.

"Don't think too much about it," she said quietly, closing the distance between them.

Ed looked down at her and nodded. I can do this. I've defeated Homunculi. This is easy.

Her lips look perfect, like two cherry blossoms have fitted themselves onto her. He really wanted to taste them. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against hers in a shy kiss, and Winry could feel her heart melting at her bashful boy. He moved back, trying to determine from her features if he did it wrong. Instead, a playful smile appeared on Winry's kissable lips. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, nudging him with her tongue. He opened his mouth and experiences what a kiss from Winry felt like. After a few moments, she broke it apart and looked at him.

"Did you keep your eyes open the whole time?" she scolded him.

"I… I don't know what to do!" he stuttered, still red.

She leaned back with a hand on her forehead.

"Oh my!" she says. "Here."

She lead him back to the bed and pushed him to sit on it. He swallowed hard when she hoists a leg and straddled him, his back against the cool metal of the bed post.

"Win—" he began, swinging his arms about, unsure what to do with them. She grabbed a hold of them and places them on her waist, ultimately shutting him up. Her own hands clutched the sides of his cheeks, warmly.

"Ed. Like I said, don't think too much about it," she whispered. Winry had no idea where all this courage was coming from. Somehow the shy part of her brain was switched off. Maybe it's because of how flustered Ed was, she is able to take control. Besides, she couldn't deny it was an extreme turn on seeing Ed like that.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen, she muses.

He swallowed again and followed her instructions of taking in deep breaths. Slowly, he was able to regain his composure. And with that out of the way, he began to enjoy how soft Winry's skin felt under his hands. Her smell was also extremely intoxicating. It's probably daisies or something. He liked the weight of her on his lap. Something about it was very comforting and strong.

"Ed?" she said softly, and he glanced up back at her. She gave him an encouraging smile and licked her lips. His eyes darted from them to her eyes and back again. Leaning forward and closing the few inches between them, he enveloped her into a kiss, which began a tiny bit clumsy but transformed into a passionate that he could feel it starting from the tip of his antenna to his toes.

Winry had noticed the change of those golden eyes before he kissed her. Her heart had sped up a few extra beats when the gleam in them shone, and she could have sworn it was gold dipped into his irises. They were too unearthly to be real.

He broke the kiss, so they could both breath the same oxygen. But his lips had tasted her and now he wanted more. Ed nipped at the side of her lips and trailed kisses all over her jawline to her earlobe. Winry let out a squeal, not expecting him to take initiative like that. He immediately jumped back, colour flooding his cheeks once again.

"I'm sorry!" he said quickly. "Did I do something wrong?

She shook her head.

"Just surprised me, that's all."

"So… it felt good?"

She glanced down and was astonished to see her hands clutching on to his chest. When did that happen? She could have sworn they were on his cheeks.

"Yeah," she said softly. "It felt really good."

Ed allowed himself to grin at his own success for two seconds before Winry looked back up at him.

"I see. So, if I do this?" he said, placing his lips back on her neck. "You'll squeal more?"

He kissed her lightly.

"I… I think so," she fluttered, trying to keep her eyes open. She could feel him smiling on her skin and was secretly glad playful Ed had come out to play.

He continued his gentle assault before going back to her lips and capturing them as his own. Winry's own hands leave their own version of kisses, feeling the muscles ripple under his skin until they reached his braid. She smirked against his lips and pulled on the tie, throwing it out of the way. She let her fingers have their fun, memorising the weight of his hair, and how soft it felt.

"Do you do something to make your hair so soft?" she asked, breaking away. He looked at her dumbfounded, his blonde hair cascading from both sides.

"Yes, Winry. I, Edward Elric, spend countless hours in the bathtub, using many concoctions to keep my hair healthy and glowing," he said in a monotone voice that was supposed to be sarcasm.

She raised one eyebrow at him.

"I don't!" he exclaimed loudly. "Like I have time!"

So, its naturally like that, she thought, Moron doesn't even know the blessing he has.

"Can I go back to kissing you again?" he whined, and she laughed. She answered him with a kiss of her own and relishes in the way his hands were pressing against her back as if he could somehow eliminate all barriers between them.

She mimicked his earlier assault on her jawline and was pleased when she hears his sharp intake of breath. She continued kissing and biting at the spot above his pulse until it was all red.

There, she thought, Proof for me when I wake up the next morning that this wasn't a dream.

His breath was coming out all erratic and unsteady, and Ed couldn't help but think if they were going to take this to the next level. Even if Winry was onboard with it, he wasn't. Not yet. It had taken him all the strength in the world not to moan out loudly when she was on his neck. He had no idea what she was doing, but whatever it was, it felt amazing.

To calm himself down, he clutched her shoulders and surprised her by crushing her to his chest in a tight hug. His hair tickled her face, but she doesn't brush it away.

"Ed?" she asked uncertainly.

"Can we… can we stay like this for a while?" he said in a muffled voice.

She nodded against his collarbone, and his arms relaxed a bit. She snuggled in closer in a more comfortable position, twirling his hair between her fingers.

"Are you okay?" she asked concerned when he doesn't say anything for a while.

"Yeah," he breathed. "I've never been more okay."

"Good, 'cus my leg is falling asleep. Can we lie down?" she said, and he laughed.

He leaned back against the pillows, and she rested her head on his arm, sliding her own under his shoulders, pulling him closer.

"This is better," she mumbles.

"Mmm," he says against the top of her head.

"You're getting better at kissing."

"Practice a bit more, and I'll become excellent."

"Even so, I like the way you kiss," she said, and somehow that made her blush a bit. She buried her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

He chuckled.

"Oh, by the way," he said, and she looked up at him. "I love you."

A fuzzy feeling grew in her heart, the same she got when she discovered a new automail model.

"Took you long enough."