If this is to end in fire
Then we should all burn together
Watch the flames climb high into the night
Calling out, father oh
Stand by and we will
Watch the flames burn auburn on
The mountain side high
"Winry! How much harder are you going to twist it?! My arm is about to pop off!"
Winry gritted her teeth, dragging the back of her hand across her sweat mottled brow, willing herself not to box Edward Elric's ears.
"If I don't tighten it, it most definitely will pop off! Maybe not if you were a normal human being who didn't start fights with shadows in the street, but there you go," she replied, her words coming out in a low hiss and she gave the stubborn bolt one last twist.
"Damn it!"
Edward's body lurched from the bed as he bit back curses, slamming his good fist into the mattress, his golden hair pooling upon the pillow as he sunk his forehead deeper into it. Winry sat back, rubbing a cloth across her face, and breathing a deep sigh of relief.
It was becoming harder to detach herself from her feelings when she worked on his automail. To see Edward lying there upon on the bed, uncaring as ever in nothing but his undershorts, the tight muscles of his torso, stomach, legs constricting beneath the tautness of his browned skin –
No! She rubbed at her face again, slipping the cloth down her neck and across her chest.
Why had she fallen for this idiot?
"You're going to need those ports replaced soon Edward," she said, surprising herself with the steady tone of voice which echoed from her lips. He raised his head from the pillow, twisting his automail, testing it, adjusting to the new alloy plates she had screwed in place. His nose wrinkled in distaste.
"Winry-eeeeee," he dragged her name out, his face petulant like that of a child's. "Replacing my ports involves actual surgery, and pain and rehabilitation…"
"And? You want your automail to work don't you?"
Edward's brows furrowed in annoyance, and his golden eyes pierced her – she gulped slowly, feeling those eyes bore into her, the intensity of his gaze a little staggering. She felt her heart flutter, girlishly, so unlike her regular old self, and she clamped her teeth together.
His eyes were her favourite.
"Don't ask stupid, obvious questions, you know I hate that! Of course I want it to work – I need it to work. But my ports are fine; just keep upgrading the arm and leg. It hurts too bad and besides –"
"Edward." She put her hand up in front of those golden eyes, partially to capture his attention and partially to catch a grip of herself before she next spoke. She sighed and put her hand out. "Give me your hand."
"I thought you were finished with those bolts, what's the matter? If you're going to start blaming my alchemy –"
"Ed! Just take my damn hand and quit talking!" she lost her patience at that moment, his childlike annoyance grating against her nerves.
Edward shut his mouth and furrowed his brow again, pouting slightly in confusion and frustration at not knowing what she was doing. He plonked his metal hand in her own soft flesh one, her carefully crafted nerve endings allowing him to at least feel the plump shape of her palm. She grinned, allowing herself a soft giggle at his bewilderment.
"Geez Ed, relax – I swear I won't rip it out of its socket," she said, yanking him up, firstly round so he sat on the edge of the bed before taking his rough hand of skin and burns and using it to slowly raise him up. "You need new ports," she began, before finally letting go of his hands and gazing up at Edward Elric for the first time in her life, "because you've grown so much."
His mouth was already open, a sharp retort at the ready when he caught himself, those golden eyes widening in shock as he looked down upon the sandy head of Winry.
She smiled softly flicking his nose.
"Next time you start freaking out at me for wanting to replace ports that are too small for your body and are ultimately going to cause you a lot of pain within a couple of months, consider my reasoning. I swear, as much as it may seem like it, I don't enjoy hurting you Ed." She gazed in rapt awe of his tall, striking form, the dim light of the single candle in the room illuminating the gold strands of hair that lay lazily around his shoulders as his mouth pursed and then eventually broke into a brilliant smile.
"Boy Winry, you sure do know how to make a guy happy," he laughed, settling his good arm on top of her head, rubbing her hair slightly. Her smile faltered slightly at the familiar childhood feeling of friendship and nothing more emanating from Edward Elric. He stopped rubbing, but did not remove his hand from her head. Instead, his smile faded and his eyes darkened to sombre ochre, as he stared intently into her own blue hues. She licked her lips, her mouth dry as bone.
"Winry."
His voice broke the silence, soft and rich, the velvet it had become after all these years. She gulped again, willing her voice to remain steady.
"Yes?"
He bit his lip, a flush rising in his face, and she half expected him to brush off this single moment of intensity in their story of fleeting glances and timely encounters. Instead he lifted his other hand, the one so lovingly crafted out of metal, hesitating for only a moment before resting it on her cheek. The cool, smoothness of the steel felt good against her skin and it was only then she realised the sharp heat that had risen in her cheeks.
The room was still when his voice shattered the gentle silence.
"Just because I'm not saying it, doesn't mean I don't feel it."
Her heart seemed to speed up and slow down all at once with those words, and she balled her hands into fists at her sides, willing herself to keep her nerve and be able to answer him back. Her lips felt chapped and raw, and she wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them and to never let go. If she let go, he would leave and he might never come back. Before she could find the courage to move her lips, it was Edward who was murmuring again.
"I can't say it. Not until I come back and me and Al have our original bodies back. If I don't say it – " he broke off, his eyes flickering from her own gaze to which it had been locked as he searched for the words. "Then you know I'll come back to tell you."
The candle flickered softly, and the smooth steel tips of his fingers grazed her cheek before dropping back to his side. She bit her lip and didn't tear her eyes from his, seeing all that she needed simply in that look.
A smile found its way onto her face, and she hurriedly pushed herself forward, burrowing her head in the crook of Edward's neck to hide it. She allowed herself this, this one moment when she was truly close to him, close enough to smell the sun and motor oil and fire.
"Okay, Ed." The words were barely audible, her voice lost in his skin as she wished this moment would swallow them up forever. "Okay, it's a promise."
Even as she decided some readjustment to his arm was in order, and their wasted passion sizzled into an outright roaring match, the promise lay intact in her memory, a sharp moment in what seemed like years of foggy grey, real and true and a promise.
She had known him 16 years.
And whilst he had only recently become the Fullmetal Alchemist; Edward Elric never broke a promise.
haven't written fanfiction in years... and ed and winry managed to drag me back into the realm. i love you fanfiction and i always will. don't read too much of my old stuff, i've grown up since then! thank you for reading, i love reviews still :)