Heaven.

Winry stared at the face in the coffee mug she held with both hands. It was the same tired face she had seen in the mirror all week long, only now distorted slightly by the dark liquid. The usually bright blue eyes were dull and tired, dark bruise-like circles underneath. The lineless face was wrinkled with worrisome creases. The blonde hair, usually shiny and up in a neat ponytail, was lose and flat. This was the face of Winry Rockbell; or rather, what it had become in the week of wait and worry.

Winry took a sip of her 7th (or was it her 8th?) cup of coffee in three hours. Alphonse had promised it wouldn't take more than three days to bring him back, but it had been twice as many, and still no word. On the third night, Winry waited up at the kitchen table until dawn to welcome them home. When they didn't show, the worry began. What was taking them? Was it hard to get across the World Gate? Were they hurt, or worse?

After that, Winry had taken to waiting for them at the table every night. But, as she continued her automail work throughout the daylight hours, it became increasingly harder to stay up. She would fall asleep at the table earlier and earlier ever night. Tonight was no exception.

Winry yawned and glanced at her watch. 1 am. Seven days. A whole week, and not a word about the two. She sighed, and that sigh morphed into another yawn. Would it really hurt if she set her head down just for a moment? She was so exhausted, and if they did come back, what was the point of the reunion when she was so tired she could barely stand? She let this logic lead her head to rest on her arms. "Only for a moment…" she murmured, sliding into the cold embrace of sleep.

……..

"Winry. Win, we're back!" a soft, familiar voice said in the blonde mechanic's ear. Winry lifted her heavy head. "Alphonse, is that you?" she asked blearily. Her eyes fell upon the youngest of the Elric brothers, and she leapt up clumsily and gathered him into a hug. "Al, I'm so glad you're back!" she exclaimed. She loved Al having his body back. She was so used to the cold suit of armor; it had been a long time since she had actually got to hug him.

But something behind him distracted her. Actually, it was more like someone; the very someone that she had been waiting for. "Edward?" she whispered, letting go of Al and stepping around him. She stared into those familiar golden eyes, and even though they were very tired and weary, they smiled back at her. "Hey there, Winry." His voice was by far the most beautiful sound in the universe. It triggered something inside her, making her launch herself at him, nearly knocking him to the ground in her fierce hug. She buried her face in his shoulder as he staggered backward and whispered "This is real… you're really here…" She felt strong arms wrap around her waist. "Yeah, I'm here." He whispered in her ear. He chuckled, and the sound sent chills down Winry's spine. "And so is Al," he reminded her softly.

Winry's eyes snapped open and she broke away from Ed. Al had this satisfied smirk on his face, for which Ed shot murderous looks at from behind Winry's back. Her blush had not gone away as she asked, slightly accusingly, "What took you so long?!"

Al smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Well… we, uh… we kind of ran into some trouble." It was after that Winry noticed. She felt like a complete idiot; who wouldn't have noticed sooner?

"Oh, jeeze," she murmured, eyes roving Al's body. He had many small cuts on his body, mostly his face, and you could just see the shadow of a bruise forming below his left eye. His clothes were tattered and dirty. He looked like he had just went running across a battlefield. She turned to look at Ed, who looked very similar. Only he didn't have the bruise, and a huge gash went up along his arm.

Before Winry could open her mouth to start a rant, Ed plopped down on the couch. "Take care of Al first." He said. Winry and Al both started to protest, but he waved them silent. "Al, you're exhausted. Just let Winry take care of you." Al knew it was no use arguing with his stubborn older brother, so he rolled his eyes and started up the stairs. Winry hesitated at the bottom. Ed smiled. "I'm fine. Go on."

……

When Winry got to Al's room, he had already stripped down to his boxers and an undershirt. She wasn't really bothered by it. Al was like a little brother to her, and besides. She was an automail mechanic. She had seen grown men in just their underwear countless times. It came with the job.

As she patched Al up, he told her of their adventures; about how they had found one another, how they got back, and about their unplanned trouble. "And then he called Brother short- well, actually, he stood really close to Ed and said 'Dang, I feel tall!', but you know how Brother is… he took it totally out of proportion and said something along the lines of 'WHO YOU CALLIN' A RUNT?!' so we had to fight all those people." Winry rolled her eyes. It was one thing for Ed to lose his temper over something so (no pun intended) small, but to bring Al into danger? That was brainless and irresponsible.

Winry stood up. "Go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." She kissed his forehead, switched off the lamp, and headed for the doorway.

"Hey… Winry?" Winry paused, one hand on the doorframe, and looked back. Al was sitting up in bed, looking at her intently.

"What, kiddo?"

"Don't be too hard on him, okay? He tried like hell to get back... to you." He added the last part softly.

Winry's bad mood evaporated. She smiled gently. "Okay. Good night, little brother."

……..

When she got downstairs, she couldn't help laugh that escaped her lips. There was Ed, sprawled out on the couch, mouth open and dead asleep. Winry kneeled beside him and poked his firm side. Ed jumped up like he had been cattle prodded and looked around.

When he saw Winry kneeling beside him, he smiled at her groggily. "Hi."

Winry rolled her eyes and smiled. "Hi. Now get undressed. I need to see the damage." Winry got up and sat next to him on the couch, and noticed with surprise and delight that Ed was now slightly taller than she.

As he was tugging off his shirt, she asked nonchalantly "Edward… did you grow?"

He froze mid-pull, arms and shirt over his face. "Don't go there." was his muffled reply. Winry giggled and Ed pulled his shirt all the way over his head. She was slightly distracted by his ruffled hair and toned chest, but there were more pressing matters to attend to. She began to clean and wrap his cuts, completely silent.

After a while, Ed said "Hey, Winry?"

"Mmhm?"

Ed sighed, but Winry didn't look up at him to see his expression. She was busy sewing the big gash on his arm closed. "I… I really missed you."

Winry froze for a millisecond, but then continued, hands shaking slightly. "Is that so?" she asked coolly.

"Honestly."

Winry smiled at the cut. "I missed you too, shrimp." Ed was so pleased, he didn't mind the jab.

A few more quiet seconds passed by. "Your hair is down." Ed noted.

For the first time since they had been back, Winry realized how she must have looked. Hair lose and in wild disarray and wearing one of her father's old oil stained button down shirts and short shorts, she must have looked a mess. She continued the last two stitches before she replied. "Yeah, it is."

"That's a shame." Ed said, sounding slightly disappointed. Winry's heart plummeted. She didn't answer; just tied the stitch closed and began to wrap a bandage around his forearm. As she was tying the knot in the bandage, Ed continued. "It's a shame because I kind of have a thing for girls with ponytails."

Ed's automail hand tilted Winry's face up, and he smiled softly at her. Then, abruptly, his lips were on hers. Winry was startled at first, so when Ed's lips began to move against hers, she was unresponsive. Mistaking it for disinterest, Ed pulled away. But Winry had regained her wits and went with him so that their lips stayed glued together. The kiss gained intensity, and a tear slid down Winry's cheek. Her hands roamed over the planes of his smooth and built chest, and Ed's automail arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Winry didn't mind this at all, and she unthinkingly reached up to pull him even closer. Her hand touched the part of his arm where his stitches were. Ed jerked back instinctively and cried "Ow!"

Winry jerked away as well, exclaiming breathlessly "I'msorryimsorryimsorry!" She had started to cry, but her hands had flown up to cover her face when they had pulled apart so abruptly.

Ed didn't notice, and he smiled, breathing a little hard. "It's alright." Then he paused. "Winry…" he started incredulously. "Are you… crying?" At Winry's muffled "no" and sniff, he laughed. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her to his chest. Winry burrowed her head into the hollow of his throat and tucked her arms into her body, still sniffing. Ed laughed and kissed her head. "Winry, you're such a crybaby." He said into her hair.

They sat like that for several minutes, just holding one another. Then Ed pulled back and looked down at her.

"What made you so sad? Aren't you…" he tried unsuccessfully to hide the hurt in his voice. "Aren't you happy I'm back?"

Winry's eyes snapped up to meet his slightly panic stricken. "Oh no! Ed, I'm happy. I'm so, so happy. You're finally free; no more central, no more philosopher's stone. No more long hours of research. You go Al's body back. You're finished."

Ed smiled slightly and looked up at the ceiling, contemplating. "Yeah, I am free. But that doesn't seem like a legitimate reason to cry like that." He looked back down at her. "So, what's the real reason?"

Winry averted her eyes. She played with the end of his golden ponytail absently and bit her lip. "It's just that… well… I thought I had lost you." She whispered. "When Al came back that day without you…" she took a shuddering breath, unable to finish. "I'm afraid you won't, well, stay."

Ed took her chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting her head up and forcing her to look at him. "Winry." He said seriously. "I am not leaving. I promise." His face turned soft. "I love you. It took me getting thrown into an alternate dimension to realize it, but I do. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay here, with you. No matter what."

Another tear slid down Winry's cheek, and Ed wiped it away with his thumb. He leaned down to where his forehead touched hers as she said "I love you too, Ed. I always have."

…….

Al wasn't all that surprised when he came downstairs and saw them. He had slept way later than he had planned (it was nearly two in the afternoon), so he hadn't really been sure what he would see. But what he did made him smile.

Ed and Winry were snuggled together on the couch. Winry was lying on top of Ed, underneath a blanket. Her head was rested on his shoulder, and her face was so peaceful it was slightly ridiculous. Ed, who was already awake, had that same exact look of bliss on his face, but with a touch of smugness. He was stroking Winry's hair softly, and had somehow managed to get a hold of a book, which he held aloft in the other hand.

Without looking away from his reading, he said in a quiet, self-satisfied voice "Not a word, Alphonse."

Al obliged. There would be plenty of time to taunt him later. Right now, he'd let Ed enjoy his momentary piece of heaven.

THE

FREAKING

END.