a/n: originally posted on ao3 on february 14, 2016.
Winry's light is blocked, and when she looks up there's a painful crick in her neck she hadn't noticed. Paninya's head is framed by the sun, and based on its position in the west Winry realizes she's been hunched over her work for hours.
"Hey," Paninya says. "Thought we were going out?"
Paninya's baby hair glows like a halo on her head in the sunshine. Winry's still in her working clothes but Paninya looks nice in a loose white top and black pants that cut off at the knees. For a second Winry forgets about mechanics.
"We're not going out," Winry says emphatically, but she takes her bandana off her head anyway, stuffing it into her back pocket. She wishes she had paid more attention to the clock so she could've had time to prepare. She imagines she looks a red-flushed fright.
Winry reminds herself to relax. It's not like this is a date.
"Whatever you say," Paninya says, and she doesn't look hurt. She offers a hand to Winry, who takes it and realizes how sweaty she is.
"Sorry," Winry says, standing and letting go to wipe her hand on her shirt. A fine layer of grease mingles with the sweat. She really should've watched the time.
It's not a date, but when Paninya rubs a comforting hand over Winry's stiff shoulders she suddenly wishes it was.
Winry returned to Rush Valley a few months ago to complete her apprenticeship and to escape. The Promised Day left them all tired. She's nineteen and feels scarred, but Paninya distracts her. Paninya, who's kind and beautiful and turned her own life around at her lowest. Paninya, who makes Winry laugh.
Winry tells herself it's just Paninya's legs she's drawn to. It's something to work on, as if she can scrub away the war if she scrubs the automail hard enough. There's always work to be found for a mechanic in Rush Valley, and Paninya pays her in conversation and snacks between breaks.
Winry isn't as good at lying to herself as she once was, and she knows there's something more. It's why she asked Paninya to go out with her in the first place, though Winry would quit her work before letting anyone hear her call it going out. She simply asked Paninya to show her around Rush Valley, help her get reacquainted with the area after a few years away.
It's not a date.
"So where are we going?" Winry asks.
"First thing's first. You've been working too hard and we need to fill you up."
Paninya pats Winry twice on the stomach, where Winry feels butterflies bursting into life.
They leave the shop and head onto the main road, where there's a fight in the middle of the street. Paninya looks away. She doesn't like the sight of blood and it's spraying in the air from fists landing their mark. Winry puts a hand on Paninya's back, air-light and tentative. It's enough to get Paninya to bend into her touch, to let herself be led away.
They've learned a lot about each other over the months, in all their confessions that sneak out when the hour grows late and their minds grow too tired to conceal anything from each other. Blood reminds Paninya of the accident that took her parents, her legs. Winry opens up to her in return, tells her how hospitals make her think of her own parents.
Most of the time she's glad she wasn't there to see their deaths. Sometimes she does wish she could know the details, if only to know it wasn't as bad as she pictures at night.
So they understand each other, and Paninya ducks her head against Winry's shoulder.
"Thanks," she mutters.
Her head's only there for a moment before Paninya straightens up again, just long enough to make Winry wonder if she imagined the brief press of lips against her shoulder.
They stop by a cafe and Winry buys. It makes sense, with Winry's salary keeping her pockets lined and Paninya scraping for every penny to pay back her debt to Dominic. It's a debt Dominic insists she doesn't owe, but Winry admires her dedication. She admires a lot of things about Paninya, and has to remind herself not to stare at this miracle of a girl.
"You have sauce on your face," Paninya says, smirking, and Winry realizes she may have been staring a little. Paninya reaches out to swipe the drop away, and Winry's heart makes its presence known against her ribs.
After they eat Paninya decides to take Winry out to the cliffs overlooking the valley. Winry remarks it's a good spot for a murder. Paninya waggles her eyebrows.
"How's Ed?" Paninya asks as they make their ascent. She's avoiding Winry's eyes.
"He's…Ed." Winry sighs. "He's supposed to be helping Granny this summer but he's too busy antagonizing the Emperor of Xing over the phone every day. Thank God for Alphonse."
Paninya laughs, scratches the back of her neck. "Watch him start another war. So, you're not…"
Winry turns to look fully at her. "What?"
"Y'know…you and him…"
"No!" Winry says, a little shouty. Heat floods her face and she raises a hand to hide it. "No, no, no, no. No way. No, he's like…no."
"Wow," Paninya says, and finally looks up. "I'd be a little offended if I was him."
There's a small smile on her face now, and Winry wants badly to take her hand.
Their path through town is aimless but Winry likes not having to think, not having to plan. The sun dips into the valley as they head toward the cliffs. Sometimes Paninya's arm brushes against Winry's and it sends goosebumps over Winry's skin, despite the warmth of the evening.
The farther they walk up the deeper the shadows cut into the cliffs, and Winry already finds herself breathless at the sight. She can spy the place where she first met Paninya, years ago, but she suddenly feels too shy to point it out.
They talk, much like they do in the shop and in town, but somehow it's different now that they're completely alone together. Usually when Paninya leaves her feeling flustered there's something else to distract her, a customer, anything. Now Winry worries Paninya will see how she affects her. She worries Paninya won't want to see it.
"The spot's just up here," Paninya says, pointing and increasing her pace. "I'll have to give you a little boost."
Winry follows at a jog, trying to see what Paninya is gesturing to. "Wh–"
Paninya places her hands on Winry's hips and hoists her up. Winry's sure her heart stopped for a moment, but then she comes back to herself enough to grab hold of the cliff edge and climb up. Below her Paninya takes a running start and uses her legs to quickly scale the wall, joining Winry at the top.
"You're heavier than you look," Paninya says. She's breathing hard but Winry sees the light dancing in her eyes and knows it's all for show.
"Sure," Winry says dryly, grinning as she pulls Paninya to her feet.
"So?" Paninya says, brushing the dust off her knees. "What do you think?"
Winry turns toward the view and can't help the way her mouth falls open. She can see the bustle of the town below in its entirety, shaded in glowing sunset. So many have lost a part of themselves only to find it again in Rush Valley. Winry has never needed automail, but suddenly she can relate. After all the fighting and the constant reminders of her parents' loss, being back in this town has made her feel close to whole again.
She'll miss Resembool, and she'll return. But for now this is what she needs.
"Thank you," Winry says, an awed whisper.
A second passes, then she feels Paninya squeezing her fingers, just once before she pulls away. Winry counts to ten in her head, then makes herself swallow her nerves and speak.
"Paninya," she says. "Have you shown this to anyone else?"
"No," Paninya says. She's watching the sun go down, and now Winry's watching her. "Just you."
"Why?" Winry asks, desperately curious and reluctantly hopeful.
Paninya shrugs, then looks at her like it's the easiest thing in the world. "I like you, Winry. I like the way you look at me."
"How's that?" Winry asks, trying to sound challenging and ending up just sounding young.
"You don't just look at my legs," Paninya says, smiling. "You look at all of me."
"Well, the rest of you is as nice as your legs!" Winry says, more than a little defensively. She feels color rise in her cheeks and is thankful it's growing dark.
Paninya laughs, and Winry's sure she's going redder.
"Coming from you of all people that means a lot."
Winry wants to grumble something back but every retort in her arsenal has left her. Paninya steps closer. One hand ghosts over Winry's elbow and it's hardly a touch, but it draws Winry in.
"I don't think I'm imagining this," Paninya says, her eyes steady on Winry's face. "But if I am it's okay, you–"
"You're not," Winry says quickly.
Paninya's eyes widen. "I'm not?"
She looks as wishful as Winry feels. Winry needs to do something about the excited flutter in her stomach that won't stop, so she surges forward, grabbing Paninya's face with both hands and kissing her.
Kissing her too hard, Winry realizes a second later when Paninya makes an mm sound that's somewhere between surprise and pain.
"Sorry!" Winry gasps, pulling away. "That was probably–"
"That was fine," Paninya says, her eyes wide.
Winry takes immense satisfaction in making Paninya look like the flustered one for once. She leans in again, slower this time, trying to make it happen again. This time, when Paninya repeats the sound, Winry knows it's not from pain.
It feels amazing to Winry even though she doesn't have a lot of experience to go on, mostly an ill-advised moment with Edward when they were young that they both regretted immediately. It may not be perfect, and it may take practice. But Paninya's warm, and her arms are encouraging her to scoot closer, and Winry loves Rush Valley.
"So," Paninya says when she breaks away for air. "This is a date?"
Winry smiles, finds the courage to plant a quick kiss to the corner of Paninya's mouth.
"Maybe a little."