Before I knew what hit me, I was on the ground with a wrench stuck in my forehead and a silhouette with blonde hair was in the way of the sun. "Winry, why can't you just tell people when you're upset like a normal person?"

I stood and looked her in the eye. I was taller than her now. Everyone knows it takes longer for guys to grow than it does for girls. She's been done growing and I'm just getting taller. A smug smile tugged at my cheek until Winry slapped it away. "Edward, you did it again!" Her voice held a bit of annoyance and frustration. Her head fell and I caught a tear on her cheek before it could fall.

I instinctively grabbed one of her hands, and kept my other hand on her cheek. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? What'd I do?"

She looked down at our interlocking hands. She seemed a little shocked by the contact. I blushed sheepishly and was about to back away when she wrenched her hand out of mine. "EXACTLY, EDWARD! YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

She had her back to me so I risked a confused expression as I tried to decipher what the problem was. I was just taking a nap out in the sun and got woken by a metal alarm clock. I rubbed my head and glanced down at my arm. Everything was metal around me. An image of my brother flashed through my mind, but I wouldn't let myself process the thought. "Winry…" I took a step forward as Winry took a step back. I felt her against me and we both froze. I shook it off and grabbed her shoulders to turn her around. I kept my hold on her and looked down at her. She quickly straightened her back so I had to higher my gaze. "What did I not do?"

"It's Al's birthday in a few days and I can't make him a cake…" She fell forward and I slowly wrapped my arms around her. I felt her cool, wet tears as they took over the front of my shirt. I knew what she was feeling and I was feeling it too. The pent up aggravation was more than I could stand. Fighting would've been my preferred anger management, but with Winry, all I could do was hug her tighter and surprisingly, that worked just as well.

I tilted my head down a bit so my mouth was next to her ear. "Winry, Al's just going to be more upset if he finds you crying. Come on, I'll take you to the market. We'll go get him something."

She shook her head as it rested against my chest. "I already got him something."

I rolled my eyes. "Winry, if you got him something maintenance related, he's gonna hate it."

Her head snapped up to look at me. "He liked it last year!"

Our faces were close and our lips were closer. "He's a good liar when it comes to other's feelings…" My voice was a whisper. Her blue eyes glittered in the sunlight…it wouldn't take much to close the gap between our lips. "SO!" I backed away and scratched the back of my head with one arm. My smile was obviously forced. "I'll talk to you later, Winry!" I ran toward the house. "HEY, AL! COME OUTSIDE! WE HAVEN'T FOUGHT IN TOO LONG!" I waited to hear thudding steps of echoing metal, but I was thrown on my back in utter silence.

"Brother, I'm used to my footsteps now. I know how to soften them."

~*~ Winry

I watched the boys fight from the porch. Both in odd bodies: Al's a hollow metal shell and Ed's too short for the amount of muscle he had. Even with their oddities, they fought with grace that was too easy to admire. Every motion was like a dance and I couldn't help smiling at the fire in Ed's eyes. His golden eyes were most beautiful when he was full of adrenaline…

I shook my head, surprised at the thought. I threw a wrench at Edward. "STOP BEING ANNOYING! GO HELP SET THE TABLE!"

Ed clapped his hands and threw them against the floor. The porch railing morphed into a table as Ed continued the fight. He screamed while dodging blows. "HOW'S THAT FOR A TABLE?"

"EDWA-"

"BOYS!" A strong, female voice boomed from nowhere I could see. Ed and Al were frozen. "GO HELP INSIDE!"

The brothers quickly bowed and ran inside. "Yes, Teacher!"

Smoke cleared for me to see Izumi and her husband. She had an evil grin on. "Fear or love? Fear gets more results!" She started laughing and her husband smiled and shook his head. Then her eyes grew wide and she spit up some blood.

"Miss Izumi!" I rushed over to help her inside.

She smiled at me while she wiped her mouth. "Hello, Winry. Sorry to come without warning. We don't travel much so we thought it'd be more fun to surprise the boys. When I saw the scene from the road, I couldn't resist the perfect entrance."

I shook my head. "Don't worry, it's a pleasure to have you. I'll get a room ready for you. If I have to, I'll make Ed sleep on the floor…" Miss Izumi's husband was inside already and we were still heading in. I knew what I'd wanted to talk to her, Ed and Al about, but I wasn't expecting the chance so soon. I wasn't even sure if I was serious about the suggestion. I figured it'd be best to ask Miss Izumi without Ed and Al around. "Um…Miss Izumi?"

She looked up at me curiously. "Yes, Winry?"

I looked away and blushed. "Um…you see…I was wondering. Um… Do you think…uh…maybe, you could kinda…well. Could you help me understand Ed and Al? I mean, their alchemy. Could you teach me some alchemy?"

She paused before we could enter the door. She looked at me seriously. "Winry, I'm sure you know what consequences alchemy can bring well enough so I won't warn you. I understand that you would like to know something to be able to follow Ed and Al's conversations. Especially since Ed is the way he is about studying. But I believe it'd be best for Ed himself to teach you. Not that Al isn't a gifted alchemist…I just think Ed is more of the teacher type. Al would take it too easy, and Ed would start off hard just to mess with you, but I believe over time he would make the better teacher."

I frowned. "Miss Izumi, are you telling me to become the student of someone who is shorter than me?"

The door burst open to a fuming Ed. "YOU SAID SHORT! I HEARD YOU! YOU BETTER BE TALKING ABOUT PINAKO!"

"BEANSPROUT!" An elderly, yet strong voice was heard from inside the house.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BEANSPROUT, MIDGET?"

The arguing continued, but I was wishing dinner wouldn't end. I couldn't imagine how embarrassing it's going to be to ask Ed to be my teacher…