The story takes place around recent events in the manga. Winry went back to Rush Valley and Ed is forced to stay in the military by the Fuhrer. Hope you like it!

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"I…might have fallen for him a long time ago."

This thought kept crossing Winry's mind all throughout the trip to Rush Valley. It seemed so ridiculous and yet, every time she pictured Ed's face, she could not help but smile painfully to herself. She felt so silly and childish because Ed was definitely not the right person to fall in love with. At least, not yet. If she could, Winry would squash her growing feelings because it was hard enough not seeing him for long periods of time, waiting like a friend, but with feelings of love, it would be such a heavy burden indeed.

If I could help it, I'd stop thinking about him…Of course, that's impossible.

Winry started reminiscing about her childhood. Could she even remember when she first met Ed? No matter how hard she tried, she simply could not find that memory. It was as though they were always together since birth. Whenever Auntie Trisha came over, she usually brought Ed along with her, and even before Al was born, Ed and Winry would be running around the house so much that they would completely lose their energy and sit on their mothers' laps, grinning from ear to ear.

Winry leaned her forehead against the cold window of the train and closed her eyes. The time Ed and Al were fighting over who'd get to marry her came to her mind. She had rejected the both of them just because of height differences, but when she thought deeper, she remembered that at that moment the young Winry secretly wished that Ed would get taller than her because that's what her ideal husband would be. Now looking back, it was as though Winry subconsciously decided that Ed would marry her and she was wishing to perfect him to her liking. The though amused Winry to no end.

Now, the realized feelings were no joke and Winry suddenly felt scared. Before, it was so easy to throw off troubled thoughts and just have fun with her two closest friends, but now everything changed so much. Losing her parents was a big enough shock for her young mind, losing those boys, one of which she simply could not live without, would break her down completely.

Don't die…

Winry continuously repeated this in her mind until she felt the train pull to a stop and she opened her eyes. If only he'd call once in a while to ease her suffering, just a little bit.

"Winry!"

Mr. Garfield jumped up and down on the platform, waving his handkerchief.

"Everybody's missed you so much!"

He pulled Winry into a tight embrace and a small tear escaped from her eye. She would not see Ed for a while now… Almost wanting to kill herself out of guilt, she still continued to hope that he would break his automail soon.

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Day after day, Winry continued to equip her customers with automail, imagining that every right arm and left leg belonged to him, taking extra care with the polishing and tweaking. The rest of the time she was busy with more training from Mr. Garfield so she was glad she wasn't left to her own thoughts. But come nighttime, Winry was afraid to go to sleep because she was quite aware of the fact that her thoughts would keep taunting her, even if she tried to fight the urge to think at all. Ed's smiling face, Ed's angry face, Ed's sad face, Al's cold armor… Most of the nights she cried herself to sleep, hoping that as long as Ed didn't actually see her cry, then his promise wouldn't be broken.

One particularly peaceful day, the phone rang. Winry was taking a break from her training so she walked over to the phone and picked it up.

On the other line she could hear Al… and Ed.

Her heart skipped a beat but she quickly went into denial mode, asking Ed whether he broke the automail again. She was completely shocked and taken aback that Ed called just to find out how she was doing. No way was this the same Ed that she left at the train station. As she was trying to put some sense into this nonsense, her mind was going around in circles. She never expected him to call, except the usual repair business. Then suddenly, her mind screamed that not all hope was lost. Ed was still full of surprises.

Winry gently thanked them for calling out of concern. Perhaps Ed was finally maturing…

All too soon the call was over and it was quiet in the shop once again.

Suppressing tears, Winry turned to go back into the workshop and noticed Mr. Garfield closely watching her.

"You love him."

Winry just stood there, with a blank expression on her face. Then suddenly she felt her face grow extremely hot and it seemed like the whole room was spinning.

"W-what? I don't -- I mean, well… but! No! Wrong! I don't…"

She decided to stop before she got ahead of herself. Her face was burning and all she could do was just bury her face in her hands.

"No need to deny your feelings. Honey, just face them."

Winry removed her hands from her face and looked at Mr. Garfield with eyes filled with tears.

"Life will be a whole lot easier if you face your fears. Your case is quite delicate but I've come to see you as the type of girl that can endure anything."

Winry let her tears fall down and giggled a little. She ran over to Mr. Garfield and hugged him.

"Since when did you get so good at this?" she asked. He simply gave her a wink and a pat on the head.

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About a week later, a phone call from Liesenburgh crashed down some heavy news on Winry that simply could not be handled alone. She summed up the courage to actually call the Military and ask for Roy Mustang. She believed that since he was quite a resourceful member of the Military, he could track down Ed and forward a very important message to him.

"Uh, yes, hi. Could I please speak to Colonel Roy Mustang? It's quite urgent."

Winry's voice was shaking for reasons unknown even to her. Perhaps contacting a Colonel of the Military for a favor wasn't exactly one of her brightest ideas. But no matter what it took, she had to tell Ed, let him know…

"Who's calling, please?" replied a very bored and monotone woman's voice on the other end of the phone line.

"Winry Rockbell."

"Reason for calling?" continued the dry voice.

"I…It's personal matters. Please," answered Winry, hoping that she didn't sound like a fool. "Just mention my name and say that it's very important. He'll understand."

"Alright, but please understand, miss, that Colonel Mustang is very busy at the moment. I shall forward the call but you'll have to wait patiently."

"I will," replied Winry in a determined voice. She was prepared to wait as long as they needed her to wait.

The line clicked and she heard distant music, something classical, she guessed.

What felt like forever was soon over when Winry finally heard another click on the line and the music stopped.

"Winry! What's happened? Did someone follow you? Are you in danger?"

Winry held the receiver a foot from her ear and after she was sure the shouting was over, she gingerly returned the phone to her ear.

"Mr. Mustang, sir? Colonel?"

"What's happened? They said that you had an important matter with me?"

Now Winry felt a bit embarrassed. Here the Colonel got so worried about a completely different matter just because she pressed the issue to be extremely important. What else would he think?

"I'm so sorry for worrying you. I think you misunderstood. I don't know why you might think I'm in danger but that's not the point. I called up because of an urgent favor I need from you."

"I'm listening."

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Winry was standing on the station's platform, saying good-bye to Mr. Garfield once more.

"I promise to get back as soon as possible. I know that many customers are relying on me but I simply must return to Resembool, if only for a little while."

Mr. Garfield suddenly looked stern.

"Winry! You are not to return until you have resolved everything back home! I can handle the customers, so don't worry about anything."

Winry smiled painfully and reassured him that she'll call as soon as she gets there. They hugged and Winry went into the train, taking an empty compartment, all the time praying that Ed had got the message.

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"Fullmetal!"

Ed and Al were walking down the street, trying to figure out what to do next, when they heard someone calling Ed. They turned around and saw a car pulling up to them, with Colonel Mustang and First-Lieutenant Hawkeye in it.

"Colonel?" asked Ed, not too happy that his thoughts were so rudely interrupted.

"I have a message to deliver for you, Fullmetal," replied Colonel Mustang. And then when Ed didn't show much emotion, he added. "From Winry Rockbell."

Immediately, Ed's eyes went wide and he stepped closer to the Colonel.

"Winry!" he exclaimed. "What is it? What's the message?"

First Lieutenant Hawkeye smiled at Ed's reaction and he was forcefully reminded of their little talk the night before. Back then the First Lieutenant said that he loves Winry and now her statement was being confirmed even more. Ed tried not to blush and turned to the Colonel with a serious expression.

"The message?"

"Granny is sick. It may be serious. I'm going to Liesenburgh."

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Reviews are more than welcome. I'll try to update as soon as I can so please bear with me while I write the next chapter. wave