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"Since when did you make rings?" Ed asked as he watched Winry work. He plopped down on a bench and ran his eyes around the room. Although it was evidently a workshop for auto mail technology, it also displayed the innate femininity of the owner. He decided that he found it actually soothing.
"I learned it from a workshop. I got bored," she answered.
"You got bored with your most favorite hobby?" he said skeptically.
"Yes," she insisted and turned to look at him. "Can't I try my hand at other metal works?"
"I was just surprised that you let go of auto mail to try out something new," said Ed as he reached for her sketchpad. Without asking for permission, he opened it and started leafing through her designs. "These are pretty good."
Winry smiled. That was what was nice about Ed. He wasn't stingy with praise when it was only the two of them inside the room. She knew that he will support her in whatever endeavor she'll get into.
"I didn't know that you have artistic talent in you," he commented.
"I'm not always about science," she glared.
"You're not," Ed said with a soothing grin. He got up from the bench and went to her long table where she was working. He sat down on the chair beside her. "You're really very good at this."
"Thank you," she murmured as she bowed he head to hide her flaming cheeks. She really hated it when he looked at her like that. His golden eyes had an intensity that sometimes scared her because she was afraid that she would get carried away...
Although Winry's mind wandered away, her hands continued on her work. She kept half a foot in their conversation and the other in whatever she was busy with. She supposed that she could've been a scientist because she had an innate understanding of auto mail and other mechanical works.
"I'm glad you decided to work on something that connected with you." Ed said thoughtfully.
"I'm connected with everything I hold dear," she murmured. A sigh escaped her lips. Yes, he should know about that.
Ed leaned over her shoulder to look more closely. She repressed the urge to tremble when his blonde hair brushed against her neck and cheek. She felt his warm breath pass her ear. The scent of male sweat, mild cologne and Ed made her slightly light-headed.
"Your hands are very gifted," he said quietly.
"So are yours," she answered in an attempt to disguise the tremendous rush of feelings inside of her. She was caught between wishing she could pull him close and push him away.
"The beads, stones and silver you've got scattered around here are better to look at than all the other screws, bolts and jacks before." He said smiling. "I think it adds a feminine touch to your workshop."
Winry smiled weakly. She reminded herself not to lose control or the pretty piece of jewelry she was working on would be ruined.
He sat down. She wanted to sigh in relief. She turned her attention to her work. As much as she liked Ed for taking an interest in her work, she also hated the fact that he could distract her.
Ed decided to shut up when he noticed that she was concentrating more. He didn't want to talk more anyway. He'd rather watch Winry.
She'd grown up more since the last time they were here. Her hair used to be shoulder-length but now it was starting to reach down to her back. (He wanted to see it down so he could play with it but she always wore it in a ponytail.) He wasn't sure whether he liked it or not when he saw that her body had filled out and she started to look more like a young woman. It was strange to return to the land he'd grown up in because he half-expected her to be the same when he came home.
Winry was remarkable because she was the only other woman he knew who took such an active interest in auto mail. He wasn't naive to believe that other girls did. He knew that other girls were more interested in ribbons, lace, dolls and dressing up while his childhood friend was enamored with everything connected with mechanics.
It didn't make her less of a woman though. Actually, it made Ed admire her more. She showed strength, courage, intellect and a thousand other things that he liked in a woman. He didn't want just any woman because in his mind, he preferred his life partner to be his equal in every way. (And he was sure of only one person in the world who could complete him.)
He looked at the designs in the sketchpad again. Drawings of necklaces, bracelets and rings were beside auto mail designs. Winry wrote pretty much everywhere she wanted and he had to smile at the other things besides her work that she'd noted. Although her private shorthand left much to be understood, he knew that she thought like him in a cool, scientific and detailed way.
Ed thought that he'd kept quiet for too long. "Are you making jewelry for yourself?"
"Oh heavens, no," she giggled. Ed smiled in spite of himself. "I'm going to sell these to the jewelry store in town. They said they liked my work and I'm glad I'm getting known for something else besides auto mail. I also get paid handsomely for every batch."
"Why don't you wear what you make?" he asked.
"I will when I remember to put them on," Winry giggled again. "I'm done! It's cool and ready!"
"That was quick," he said as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"I've been working on these for days," she said tartly.
Ed smiled as she got up and stretched her arms. She picked up her finished product and stared at it carefully as if checking for signs of possible mistakes and/or imperfections. Satisfied that she hadn't botched the job, she fitted it on her finger. It was a perfect fit.
"You'll be a master jewelry-maker in no time," Ed said with a huge smile. "Can I see it?"
She slid it off and handed it to him. He stared at it and wondered why it looked so different from her other designs. It was silver and platinum but the design wasn't flashy or plain but very lovely in a subtle way. It hit him. The ring was for a man's.
"Who're you going to give this to?" he asked, trying to keep his voice normal. He gave it back to her.
"Secret," Winry giggled again. He tried to hold on to his resolve. He was only going to try and protect her from the swain who tried to catch her heart. She was making it hard though by laughing like an angel.
She turned away from him and headed to the file drawers in the corner of the room. Ed must be fuming behind me, she thought impishly.
"You better make sure I know him," Ed threatened "so I could beat him up to pieces if he hurts you."
He still couldn't reconcile with the fact that maybe his best friend was in love with someone else.
Winry smiled to herself as she found what she was looking for. She made sure that she had her back to him the whole time as she drew out the wooden jewelry box she'd inherited from her mother. With careful hands she opened it and searched in the little treasures she kept.
"Ah, here it is," she said quietly. She picked up the delicate silver chain of the necklace her mother had given to her a child. There used to be a pendant but she was very young then and had lost it. Now it was going to serve another purpose.
She unlocked the chain and slid it through the ring. Now the ring served as it's pendant.
Ed was still muttering curses and swears words to himself. He was trying really hard not to feel angry and/or jealous that Winry was winning other hearts. It was his fault that he'd never tried anything. It was also his fault that he was away most of the time and did not bother with a commitment between the two of them. Commitment, wait, did he really say that?
"You know him very well," Winry said cheerfully "I'm pretty sure you'd have a hard time beating him up."
"I can beat up anyone," Ed said at once.
She approached him- when did he get so tall?- and put her arms around his neck. He blushed at the momentary contact of their bodies as she stood on tiptoe to be able to reach behind his neck. His senses were assaulted with her delicious scent of vanilla and woman and the softness of her womanly curves. She drew back and he almost wished that he had crushed her to him instead.
"You can't be kidding when you said you'd hurt yourself, can you?" she giggled.
He felt the delicate silver chain and the beautiful ring she had made for him. So that was it. It was for him.
She looked up at him expectantly. "So?"
Ed couldn't help himself. He hugged her very tightly. She squealed in delight as he swung her around in the air before setting her down to her feet. He was smiling. "Thank you, I didn't quite expect that."
Her eyes softened. "Do come back for me, please?"
He remembered all of his dangerous missions and other odd-jobs. He remembered how he had come home with Al after more than six months. He realized that she had been busying herself just so she won't long for him and worry too much about him. She was always there, waiting for him to come back.
"You made this so I can remember that?" Ed said his voice hoarse.
"I made it because I want you to remember me," she whispered as she closed the small distance between them to lay her head on his broad chest. His arms automatically wrapped around her smaller form. He wished that this moment would never end. "Come back every once in a while, Ed."
"I will," he promised and she realized that things would never really be the same. She'd given up trying to keep up the childhood friend facade to tell him about her true feelings. Change was the only permanent thing, she thought and everything is going to change for the better.
They looked at each other and smiled. She stared at the beautiful ring hanging from the delicate silver chain on his neck and noted how it suited him and his auto mail. He literally carried parts of her everywhere. She had to smile in spite of the film of tears because she was happy that he can never really forget about her.
"Thank you, Winry." Ed said and he did something he'd never really done. He kissed her forehead and her cheeks. "Thank you for all the pretty silver things."
"You've got to pay me back somehow," she teased.
Ed leaned to her ear and whispered, "Next time I come home, you'll get a ring with a diamond on it."
He decided to work on getting more vacations from Roy Mustang. Sometimes, there were other more important things besides his work. Winry would definitely have a say about that the next time he came back home.
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A/N: I've never tried writing for Fullmetal Alchemist before. This is actually my first EdxWinry fic. I hope I can make more of these in the future. It's so much fun. :D