Kissing Games:

First Kiss


"Winry, the boys are here to see you," Pinako called up the stairs. Winry jumped up in excitement. It had been months since they visited!

"Ed! Al!" she called happily, stomping down the stairs, but she froze upon reaching the bottom floor. Ed looked at her guiltily and Al tried his best to shrink into a corner of the room—not an easy feat for a suit of armor. Pinako chuckled and left before things got violent.

"H-hey Winry," Ed stuttered after a moment, but she was ignoring him, focused instead on his nonexistent right arm.

"Ed," she growled, slipping her hand in her pocket where she knew her wrench was housed. Her hands grasped the cold, solid metal as her anger rose, threatening to boil over.

"Now Winry," he reasoned, "don't do anything rash! You should be glad we came back to visit after all this time, right?"

Winry made no response, judging instead which part of Ed's body she could target to cause him the most pain.

"W-Winry?" he stuttered, taking a cautious, slow step back. "Come on, you're scaring Al…"

She found it.

Violently chucking the wrench right between Ed's legs she finally exploded. "What did you do to your automail?" Ed went down in a crumpled heap, leaving Al the sole focus of Winry's rage.

"Br-brother?" he asked worriedly, reaching a hand out towards his fallen big brother.

"Explain Al!" Winry snapped, catching his attention once more.

"We-we were fighting," he stuttered. "And Brother jumped in to save one of our friends from the military. He got hurt really bad and broke his automail. We would've come sooner, but he was stuck in the hospital for a while." Looking for all the world like a scared rabbit, Al returned to cowering in his corner, leaving Ed to his fate.

Mechanically, Winry turned her head back towards Ed, who was slowly recovering.

"Is that true Edward?" she asked in a deadly tone. Covering his crotch, Ed nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Ma'am!" he yelped.

Winry continued to stare him down for a long moment, eyes unforgiving. Al was nearly in tears in the corner, slowly trying to inch away and creating a skritch, skritch noise along the way—the only sound in the otherwise deafeningly quiet room. Ed, hands still over his crotch, closed his eyes, not wanting to see the end as it came.

"Well, let's get you fixed up," she sighed at last. Al burst into tears of joy and tore out of the room to find Panako, and Ed gave a sigh of relief.

"Thanks Winry," he said, grinning good-naturedly once more. Winry felt her heart skip a beat at the honest smile. It was rare to see him carry it these days.

"It'll still cost you!" she snapped. "And don't think I've forgotten the fact that you broke it because you were irresponsible!"

"But Winry—!" Ed started to argue, but she cut him off quickly.

"But you did do it to save your friends, so I won't stay mad at you," she conceded. "This time."

"Oh thanks—wait, 'this time'?" Ed stuttered, following behind as she turned and made her way upstairs.

"You heard me, Ed," she answered, her sly smirk hidden from his view. As if she could ever actually stay mad at him. Sure she hated it when he broke his automail—all her hard work!—but it always gave them an excuse to come home, and for now that was enough.

Winry led Ed into her workroom where she had all sorts of accessories laying about in an organized mess. The sight of all the automail in such a small rural home never failed to impress Ed. This place—this last piece of his past that he clung to—was rare, if nothing else. He plopped down in his usual seat and stretched, hearing both metal and bone pop in response.

Meanwhile, Winry had started to look through her various cabinets and drawers. She seemed to be missing that one wrench she always used on Ed's arm and leg. For whatever reason it was, almost literally, the only wrench that agreed with his automail. Odd how tools work like that at times.

"So Winry, what have you been up to?" Ed asked casually, leaning back against the workbench. She didn't bother to turn and face him, too preoccupied looking for the wrench.

"This and that," she answered. "You should know as well as me that it can be slow around here at times."

"True," Ed agreed. "Although, I have to admit I miss it sometimes."

"The peace and quiet?"

"The slow pace."

She turned to look at him curiously, but he wasn't looking in her direction, instead looking down at the floor, a familiar sad look in his eyes. She hated to see him like this. It reminded her, every time, no matter how normal things seemed, they were only normal for a moment. The flash of that grin or the same good-humor he had before everything happened. Then it was back to this guy. This guy she felt she hardly knew, compared to the boy she grew up with.

"Hey, Winry, are you looking for this?" Ed asked, holding up the wrench she had been looking for.

"Oh! Yes!" she hurried over to him when a thought occurred to her. "Hey, wait. When did you get this?"

"H-hey calm down!" he stuttered defensively. "You threw it at me earlier!"

"Oh," was all she said, merrily snatching the wrench away from him, causing him to flinch in the process.

"You never change," he muttered. She turned to lock gazes with him, a fiery look in her eyes.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"N-nothing," he gulped. Satisfied, Winry pulled up a stool and started to work on his automail. His leg would probably need tune-ups, but his arm had been totally smashed in whatever battle they were in. Thank goodness she always thought ahead. Pulling out a spare arm from her specially labeled drawer, she let out a sigh of relief. He was always rushing her to get the stupid thing done as fast as possible that she never achieved the level of craftsmanship she wanted. This way she had plenty of time and could get him in and out faster than ever!

She felt her face fall a bit, lips twisting down in a small frown.

Sure, she didn't have to rush to make him a new piece from scratch, because she didn't want to waste his time, but that meant she spent less and less time with him every time he came to visit.

It was bad enough he almost never came home.

A stain on a piece of what remained of his automail caught her attention, pulling her away from her thoughts. It looked like…

"Ed, is this blood?" she asked, tapping the spot with her finger. Ed brushed her hand away, looking embarrassed.

"Don't touch it if you don't know what it is," he muttered, turning his head away.

"Is it?" she asked again, trying to get him to make eye contact again.

"Yes," he sighed, facing her again. "It's not mine though, so you don't have to worry." Winry frowned again at this. Not his so she wouldn't have to worry, but did that mean he did worry over it? Just whose blood was it anyways?

Ed probably didn't realize it, but even when he came to get his automail fixed and hardly talked at all, Winry knew almost the full story of what had happened and where he'd been. His automail told the story. A scratch here or there could just be wear and tear, but the deeper cuts indicated a fight. The stuff stuck in-between the tight spots created by all the bolts and wiring, like the sand that had nearly poured out that one time, told her he had been somewhere sandy, probably a desert. Heat did certain things to automail that cold didn't.

Then again, cold had its own effect. Particularly shrunken bolts that hadn't totally thawed out even after he left. Metal permanently shrunken or expanded from his travels. Sometimes the pieces were jammed, but that was likely just another fight. He fought a lot. Even if he didn't totally obliterate his automail every time, it was still obvious he had been in plenty of fights. Everything about the automail told his story, even when he wasn't willing to. Even the smell of the metal could hold valuable information.

Not that she made a habit of sniffing metal, of course.

"Ow, easy there, Winry," Ed complained, bringing her back to the present.

"Sorry, Ed," she whispered, wondering again where the blood had come from. No, not where, but who. Who had bled on her automail? One of Ed's friends that she knew nearly nothing about or one of his seemingly endless enemies?

"Hey, Winry?" he asked softly, his tone catching her attention.

"What is it?" she asked curiously, looking over into his golden eyes.

"Look I'm really sorry I broke your automail," he explained. "I really tried not to, but it just kind of happened."

"What brought on the sudden attempt at an apology?" she asked, chuckling nervously. This happened almost every single time. Some look or some words or some touch suddenly made fixing his automail way more awkward than it had ever been before. It seemed like it got worse and happened more frequently with every occasion.

"Your eyes," he answered, the honesty in his own eyes too much to take. Blushing, she turned her eyes away, focusing on the automail again.

"What about them?" she asked quietly.

"You just looked so sad," he clarified, sounding a bit embarrassed himself. "Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it. It was stupid."

"No, it's okay," she responded, trying her best to totally focus solely on the automail.

They lapsed into silence once more, both feeling the weight of the room on their shoulders, both thinking along the same lines:

When did this get so awkward?

For Ed, he assumed he had just missed something, being away from home so much and all. Maybe something had happened here while he was away.

For Winry, she assumed that something on his journey had changed his very presence. Something made him more obvious when he stepped into a room, or at least, she always noticed when he did these days.

"Winry, do you get lonely?" Ed asked quietly, thoughtfully, and surprising her again. She didn't even dare glance in his direction this time, instead focusing on an oddly threaded bolt.

"Well, I have Grandma and Din," she answered with a soft smile. "So, not really. It can be slow, but I wouldn't say it's lonely."

"That's an old lady and a dog," Ed mumbled in annoyance. "It's not the same as people your own age."

"Well you're not much better off I'd imagine," she retorted, taking a peek at him from the corner of her eye. He looked as thoughtful as he sounded, and for a moment, Winry wondered if there was something else on his mind.

"I have Al at least," he came back. "But what about you? I mean, have you found any decent guys or anything?" Winry nearly fell over at the sudden question. That was way out of character for him.

"W-what are you, my father?" she snapped, blushing furiously.

"Well, n-no, but I was just wondering okay!" he yelled, blushing just as much, partially at her reaction and partially in embarrassment for his own words.

"That's a weird thing to wonder about," she said, still blushing, but turning to face him full on now. "What brought that up?"

"Nothing, okay?" he snapped. "Look, just let it go!"

"It's one thing to worry about me, Ed, but seriously what's up with you lately?" she demanded, her patience with his constant leaving finally wearing out and now this odd question on top of it.

"What's up with me?" he echoed, anger scrunching up his face as he glared at the girl next to him. "What's up with you acting so weird around me all the time?"

"I'm not the one asking weird questions!" she rebuked, hands on her hips, returning his glare, blow for blow.

"Yeah and I'm not the one avoiding answering the question!" Ed came back, grinning triumphantly.

"Maybe because it was a stupid question," she growled, but slowly her anger started to recede, hands lowering to her sides. "No, I don't really hang out with anyone our age anymore."

"Winry…?" Ed was about to reach his hand out towards her, but she just lowered her head and started to work on his automail again.

"It's not that big of a deal," she muttered. "I just miss you guys sometimes, and when I try to go out and just enjoy myself I always end up thinking of you." She heard Ed sigh in frustration.

"You shouldn't be like that," he growled. "And it's all our fault, too…" Winry frowned and shook her head.

"It's just me, Ed," she reassured. "I just worry about you guys too much."

"It wouldn't hurt to find some other guy to hang out with, though," Ed restated, blushing again and looking away in case she looked up at him.

"Some other guy?" she asked as nonchalantly as possible. "Or guys?"

"Guy," Ed answered quietly, blushing ever more. Winry dared to look up at him, her own face heating up again. She dropped her hands from his automail, causing him to glance over, catching her eye in the process.

"Why would I find some other guy?" she whispered, eyes locked with his, refusing to look away.

"I just don't understand why you haven't found a guy yet," Ed explained, not willing to be the first to look away, but feeling the tips of his ears go red didn't help matters.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, honestly curious.

"You're really pretty and smart and…" he trailed off, eyes finally dropping. "I just wonder why a girl like you has to be left all alone like this." Winry felt her heart skip a beat, her chest tightening in response to his words. She never used to react so much to Ed. She used to be the one that didn't react to him.

"I'm not alone," she answered finally, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I just have to wait for a long time to see my guy, and I don't get to see him very often. That doesn't mean I'm lonely though. Waiting gives me something to do, and I like to think it gives him something to come home to."

"Hmph," Ed grunted. "What a lousy guy, hardly ever showing up and making you wait all the time. Hope he comes around when I'm around; I'll teach him to make you wait around like that."

"You're so stupid Ed," Winry sighed, looking back up at him. He turned to glare at her, his unique look of annoyance all over his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he barked.

"He's you, idiot," she answered, glaring at him, but this time her gaze held less sway.

"Winry…?" he asked, confused. She felt her blush return in full force and fled to her automail work.

"Forget I mentioned it!" she answered quickly, hardly taking a breath. "I mean you don't have to forget because it's true, but you know, not like that, and of course you're like my best friend, and then there's Al to consider and—!"

"Winry!" Ed interrupted, causing her to halt on reflex and look back at him. He had a determined look in his eyes, a familiar look, but she only had a moment to recognize it before he leaned closer to her, closing the small distance between them, and pressed his lips against hers.

Her surprise lasted for a brief moment before she relaxed and leaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, wrench still in hand. She felt his one functioning arm reach up and caress her cheek, wiping away tears she didn't know she was shedding.

"It's going to be okay," he mumbled against her lips, pulling back slightly and leaning his head forward so that their foreheads touched. "I'm going to make everything better, and I'm coming back for you as soon as I do."

"Ed, I—," she started to say she loved him, but felt the words die on her lips. They did nothing to convey her emotion, so she leaned forward again, Ed responding easily and gently.

"Winry, what are you doing up there?" Pinako called up the stairs, wondering what in the world could be taking her so long to fix Ed's automail. She knew for a fact that Winry always kept a spare around. It should've just been a simple matter of popping in the new piece.

The sudden noise caused the couple upstairs to jump a mile high, breaking apart and looking anywhere but at each other.

"I'm, uh, fixing Ed's arm," she called back, sweating bullets.

"Hurry up with it!" came the answer. "Otherwise we're eating dinner without you." Winry was about to respond, but Ed beat her to it.

"Go ahead and eat without us; we're going to be a while," he hollered. Winry looked back at him in surprise.

"Ed…?"

"Look, fix my arm so I can actually feel useful," he grouched, refusing to look at her. She rolled her eyes and started to work again, but not before she heard his quiet whisper. "Besides, it's hard to hold you with one arm…"


A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Ling Yao and Lan Fan are up next, with Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye after that. If you have a pairing you want me to write a scene for beyond that, leave a review telling me who and I'll make it happen! Heck, I'll even do yaoi in honor of this being my last project before I take a break. Have at it!