(A/N) Sigh…I am so sorry, Min'na-san…Summer break is so distracting…I'd forgotten all about my fanfics...Gomen ne…I'll try my hardest to keep up on here, but other things sometimes get in the way. I'm just glad I don't have Summer homework (to those who do, another gomen ne…). I recently got some kawaii Cardcaptor Sakura songs on my computer, so I am very in the mood for fluff. XD This story is a way of saying: "LONG LIVE THE FLUFF!" Nyaha, anyway, this is just a one-shot kind of story. It's from when Ed and Winry were still small. I might be making more of them on the future. Please enjoy, and remember: fluff is your friend. XD
Just a Little Crush
"Winry! Come on! You can be faster than that, can't you?"
It was a clear, sunny day, only a few clouds drifting above, and a calm breeze ruffling the two small children's hair. The one leading the way, a boy with short blond hair, motioned for his friend, a girl with shoulder length, straw-colored hair and dazzling blue eyes, to catch up, waiting not-so-patiently at the top of the hill.
"Ed…Wait…up!" the girl gasped, trying her hardest to keep up with the excited little boy and failing. "I…can't…run…as fast…as you…you know!" She let out a surprised cry as her feet slipped out from underneath her, certain she would fall and have to take the whole tedious trip once more, when Ed caught her wind-milling arm and pulled her up to stand in front of him. He pulled a tab bit too much, almost purposely so, and Winry and him ended up in a confused heap, one on top of the other. After a few minutes, Winry started to giggle, and then Ed broke out laughing. They lay there for a moment, laughing and looking up at the azure sky, until Ed gently pushed Winry off him and started walking once more.
"I know you're having trouble keeping up, Winry, but it's just a little further away." He turned on his heel to give her a smile and a thumbs up. "Just trust me, okay?" Winry smiled back hesitantly. Usually when Edward had something to show her, it had to do with alchemy. The only thing that scared her the most, up until her parents death, was alchemy—the science, the methods, the very "art" of alchemy—it all frightened her. Ed had never shown her any alchemy since the day they celebrated the sixth day of her birth because he knew how much it scared her…but what if he just had to show her a new technique today? What if he thought she had gotten over her fears? The fact was she hadn't—and she was suddenly very frightened.
"Winry! Come on! It's just over this hill!" Winry let out a sigh of relief—whatever he wanted to show her, if it was an alchemic product, it had already been made, and she would not have to watch Ed do the whole procedure. She ran up the rest of the path to stand beside Ed, wondering what it was he wanted her to see. He grinned broadly and took her hand in his, pointing with his other hand at the sky.
"Look up, Winry." She did what she was told—and gasped.
Thousands of birds flew over her head, scattering the cloudless blue sky with flecks of white, their beautiful song permeating the air as they flew across the field. Some flew closer to the ground, flying around the two laughing children and causing rushes of air to dance around them. Winry grabbed Ed's hands, much to his surprise, and danced in a circle with him, making them both laugh in pleasure. Finally, when the last of the birds had disappeared from the sky, Ed let go of Winry's hands, causing them both to fall into the soft grass, laughing so hard they barely had time to stop to take breath. Finally their laughter subsided, and Ed propped himself onto his elbows to look at Winry with a bright smile on his face, his cheeks flushed and his eyes lively.
"Did you like it, Winry? Was it neat?" Winry nodded vigorously, making Ed's smile widen. "I knew you would! I come her every evening to watch the birds fly by and the sun set, usually with Al. I asked him to come along, but he decided to stay home and prepare dinner with Momma instead." He lay back in the grass once more, staring up at the sky, a small smile still lingering on his lips. "Now that I think about it, I'm kind of glad he decided not to tag along tonight."
Winry crawled over to Ed and lay down next to him, staring up at the sky as he did, smiling gently.
"I think I am too, Ed," she said softly, making Ed look at her in surprise. She pretended to not notice, her smile almost teasing him.
"I was sure this would be some alchemy demonstration—I'm really glad it wasn't." She finally met his eyes, hers sparkling mischiviously. "Ed, do you love me?"
Ed just lay there for a moment, staring at her dumbly, until the full force of her question hit him and his face turned ten shades of red all at once.
"Wh-why you ask that?" he stuttered, making Winry smile wider.
"I've always had this little crush on you, Ed," she said, "and I've always wondered if maybe you felt the same. Like one of those birds, soaring through the air—you have no idea what causes it, or where you're going. All you know it that it's instinct—it's natural. You wanna feel this way always, as long as your heart beats. Is that how you feel? Or am I the only one?"
There was a long moment of silence in which they both just lay there, staring into each others eyes, blue boring into gold. Ed broke eye contact with Winry to stare out at the setting sun instead. He sat for a moment longer, then looked back at Winry.
"I guess…I kind of do feel that way," he said. He quickly looked away, his face turning red once more. "But…we're friends. Friends aren't aloud to be in l-l-lo--"
"Love?" Winry finished for him, grinning as Ed's face turned the color of the red sky.
"Y-yeah, that," he said quickly. "And anyway, it's just a little crush…right? It's not really…l-love." He managed to spit the word out this time, even if it did cause him to look away in embarrassment. Winry chuckled and placed her hand on Ed's, leaning against his shoulder.
"Yeah," she said, "just an innocent little crush. Nothing big." Ed blushed, but did not pull away. He leaned against her, as if she would fall without his support, and smiled as they watched the sun set over the mountain.
"A little crush, huh?" he whispered to himself. "Good thing we're only friends, or this little crush might have had a chance to deepen…"
"You say something?" Winry asked, falling into a gentle sleep on Ed's shoulder. Ed smiled down at her, not minding her weight on him.
"Nothing," he whispered, "just mumbling to myself. Sleep well…my secret crush."
FIN