He'd done it for the first time on a cold December night. A fire roared in the hearth, keeping the room comfortably warm despite the snow blanketing the world outside. They were sitting together on the couch, curled comfortably around one another.
Ed was flipping through an alkahestry text, scribbling notes in the margins as he went. Winry sat against him tinkering with an automail hand that needed to be rewired. A small pile of screws, bolts, and washer sat on her stomach. It was quiet, comfortable. It was the peace that they had worked for.
Winry hadn't noticed when Ed set his book and pen aside. There was a particularly rusted screw that she was having trouble removing and it was the last one she needed to take off so that she could start soldering and rework with the wiring. She grimaced at the appendage, all of her concentration focused on the irritating screw.
She jumped when he fingers ran carefully along her scalp, his hands pulling gently through her hair. Gently, he pulled at the knots and tangles that she got from redoing her ponytail during the day. She'd had a particularly busy day- two automail fittings, a last minute rush order Garfiel had called in, and a trip into town to deliver an order and shop for parts. As a result, her hair was a bird's nest of knots and tangles from running her hands through it and throwing it into countless ponytails and messy buns.
Before she realized it, she'd set the hand and pile of hardware aside of settle heavily against her husband. His ministrations continued, sliding and tugging ever so carefully. He never pulled too hard against her scalp or ripped at the knots. She silently thanked that he had long hair as well and knew how it could hurt when someone pulled a brush too hard through your hair. She swears for a moment that she remembers him complaining that Al had no idea how to brush hair because he kept his hair short.
Soon, her hair was smooth and knot free. It draped across Ed's lap. The boy continued to massage and scratch gently against her scalp, soothing some of the ache of keeping her hair up all the time. Winry sighed blissfully, peeking her eyes open to stare fondly at her love. He grinned back at her, pausing in his actions to stretch with a loud yawn.
"It's been a long day, we should get to bed."
Winry mumbled an agreement to the suggestion and pulled herself to an upright position. Edward stood now that his lap was empty. He grabbed his book and pen, disappearing into his study while Winry gathered her own work. She puttered around cleaning up her work station and prepping the work she wanted to get done tomorrow. For a moment she considered staying up to get more work done tonight, but the image of Ed's face grinning down at her, free of the tension and worry he'd carried for so long, she found that she didn't want to work right now.
Clicking off the lights as she went, she wandered back to their shared bedroom. Ed was already laying in bed in a short sleeved shirt and sleeping pants; curled on his side on top of the blankets. Winry smiled at his form and set to getting ready for bed. She changed into a heavier set of sleepwear to stave off the chill in the air. Once her teeth were brushed and she'd peed, she crawled into bed next to her husband and curled around his body. Ed's body was used to producing heat for two people, so now that it only had to provide for Ed, he was a constant source of heat. It came in handy on nights like tonight.
Ed hummed happily at her presence, curling his arm around his body to hold the hand that was resting on his shoulder. They were asleep moments later, content settled deep in their bones.
It was a sweltering day in a small town a few miles from Resembol. Her neck was sticky with sweat and itchy from the heat. With an irritated growl, she tugged the rubber band out of her hair for the umpteenth time that day. She roughly pulled her hands along her hair and haphazardly pulled it into a ponytail.
She just had one more order to deliver and she'd been home in an hour if she rode fast. She'd borrowed a horse from the neighbor's farm so that she could make the delivery herself. Usually she'd just ship it, but this patient was particularly worried about the prosthetic so she'd agreed to come personally to do the fitting and connection of the nerves. She'd ended up staying in the town for a few days doing some other work with customers that needed maintenance while she helped her original patient with the beginnings of the rehabilitation.
Tonight, though, she got to go home and see her husband after three days. Excitement coursed through her, fueling her to finish her work quickly so that she could get home.
An hour and forty-three minutes later, she trudged up the stairs of her home. She'd made it to the neighbor's farm in an hour and sixteen minutes. She decided to return the horse right away and walk home. Not only did she had nowhere to house the animal, but she knew that she wasn't going to want to do it tomorrow. Might as well get it done.
Now, as the sun set on Resembol, she opened the door to her home and sighed happily. The living room and kitchen were empty, meaning Ed was either outside working out or holed up in his study. Given how hot it was, and knowing that Ed was still uncomfortable when his body overheated, she'd be willing to bet he was reading in his study. He'd finally made a breakthrough with a cell regeneration transmutation that could help with victims of some of the chemical warfare used during the Ishvalan conflict. He'd probably been reading and working non-stop while she'd been away. That was just how Ed was.
Slowly, she went about putting all of her gear and tools away. She walked to their room next, unpacking her clothes and throwing the dirty ones into a basket. She'd have a lazy day tomorrow, clean up a little bit and do some laundry. Finally, she took off her sweaty work clothes. Pulling on crisp, clean clothes and sighing happily, she decided she should go and see her husband.
Pattering out of their room, she poked her head into the study down the hall and frowned. Ed wasn't in here. Deciding that she'd guessed wrong, she headed for the front door to look for him in the yard. Not seeing him in the front, she walked along the deck to look in the back. Under the tall tree on the side of their house, Ed sat with his back to her. He was sitting cross legged hunched over looking at something. His hair was pulled over his shoulder and Winry could tell from the movement of his arms that he was brushing his hair. The large wet spot on the back of his tank top told her that he'd taken a shower.
The automail technician smiled softly at the sight. She made her way down the steps and across the lawn. She knew that he was aware of her presence, especially now that he could sense the chi that she emitted. She settled in next to him, peaking at what he was reading. It was handwritten notes, Al's from what she could recognize.
"Al back in Xing?" she commented.
"Yeah, he did some research for me from May's library and wrote the notes. I just got them today." He'd tied his hair up now, enjoying the cool drops making a trail down his back. Winry leaned against his shoulder and hummed under her breath.
"When are they coming to visit next?"
Ed shrugged gently, trying not to jostle his wife too much. Winry grinned at the little ways he showed his love.
"I'm not sure, he's pretty deep in some research and May is visiting Ling at the palace to do some diplomatic work. It'll probably be a few months."
Winry grunted unhappily at that and pouted. "Lame."
Ed chuckled at her attitude and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I know, but it's the way it is."
Winry only grunted in response. They stayed under the tree until the sun had set. Even in the night, it was muggy and hot. Winry wiggled uncomfortably as sweat gathered under her arms. Ed chuckled at her and shook his head.
"Let's go inside."
Together, they walked hand in hand into the house. Ed told her to go ahead to bed and that he wanted to grab some water. Winry agreed softly. She brushed her teeth quickly and collapsed into bed with a sigh. Ed entered a moment later, she heard him set the water down on his bedside table. She didn't open her eyes as she listened to his footsteps wander away. She heard the tap flow in the bathroom and guessed that he was brushing his teeth.
Ed joined her on the bed a new minutes later, smelling of soap and toothpaste. Winry immediately moved to curl around him and whined in the back of her throat when he didn't lay down.
"Calm down, Win. Your hair is a damn disaster and it's going to be even harder to undo these knots after you sleep on them. Just let me brush them out and then you can strangle me in your sleep all you want."
Winry punched his knee weakly, causing him to laugh, before she curled her head in his lap. He immediately set to the ends of her hair, pulling out the tangles and split ends at the ends of the strands. Slowly, the boy worked his way up her hair until he was gently brushing against her scalp. He pulled the brush root to tip countless times, leaving the hair soft and smooth. Winry was nearly asleep when she felt Edward move to set the brush on the table. He buried his fingers in her hair, massaging against her scalp and gently scratching at the place where she tied her ponytail.
Winry relaxed into a puddle of bliss against her husband, loving him with every bit of her being. She gently traced nonsense patterns on his knee. After a few more minutes, he slowly stopped playing with her hair and rested his hands against the sides of her face. Winry covered one of his hands with hers and smiled up at him.
"How did you get so good at that?" she mumbled sleepily. Ed blinked at her slowly, his eyes far away. Slowly, he smiled a soft smile and ran his fingertips over her cheeks.
"Mom use to brush our hair when we were little. It was always exciting after a bath to sit in her lap and let her brush through my hair. One day, after mom got sick, I told her that I wanted to brush her hair to make her feel better. It always made me feel better, so I thought it could help her too." Ed paused, caught up in the memory of her warmth, the whisper of her voice in the back of his head. After a moment, he continued.
"She smiled so bright and told me to go and get the brush. She set a few pillows behind me and then sat one in my lap so she could lay her head in my lap. She talked me through brushing from the tips to the roots so that it wouldn't hurt, to hold the hair tight so that you don't pull against the scalp. I wanted to do it perfectly because I didn't want to hurt her. She never hurt me, so why would I hurt her?" Ed smiled a small, sad smile. Winry would swear that tears were gathering in the corners of his eyes. She reached up to hold her hand against his cheek. He turned his head to kiss her palm.
"I brushed her hair a lot in the last few days. I really thought that it was working. Now, every time I brush my hair, I can hear her reminding me not to rip at the knots, no matter how frustrated I am because it was only going to hurt." He laughed at the memories of times he'd pull at the knots and gripe about how much it hurt. Al would remind him patiently that he needed to do it gently or it would hurt, to which Ed would point out that Al sucked at brushing hair so he had no place to talk. Ed shook his head at the memories.
"We should visit their graves tomorrow," Winry whispered. Ed nodded absentmindedly, running his thumb over her bottom lip. She kissed the finger and returned the smile he flashed at her.
"Move over so I can lay down. I'm beat, I hardly slept while you were gone." Winry rolled her eyes, not even a little bit surprised that she'd been correct.
"I can't leave you alone for five minutes before you're being a dumbass," she quipped, moving over to let her husband lay out beside her. She curled around his form instantly, sighing happily and relaxing completely. Ed curled his arm around her shoulders, half hugging her and pressing kisses to the crown of her head. She giggled at the sensation and pressed a return kiss to his shoulder.
"I'm glad you're home," he mumble sleepily, "It's lonely when you're gone." He yawned loudly. Winry blinked away the little tears in the corners of her eyes and kisses his shoulder again.
"I love you too," she whispered.