This is a short little EdxWin oneshot. It takes place after Ed and Al's mother died, but before they went off for training.

I'm estimating Ed and Winry are 8, and Al is 7. Enjoy!

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It was late afternoon when Winry came running in the door, crying her eyes out. Edward and Alphonse had become accustomed to coming over to the Rockbell household at around noon everyday; they would eat a quick lunch (prepared by Pinako), play down by the river, or by the train tracks with Winry, then eat dinner and return to their empty house to study.

The two boys rushed out of the kitchen, hearing her distressed sobs. Alphonse came to her side, eyeing her scraped knees and muddy face.

"Winry! What happened?" the younger boy asked, before kneeling beside her as she dropped to her knees.

Burying her face in her hands, she didn't try to answer him, her breath hitching occasionally.

Edward stood in the doorway, looking confused.

"I'll, uh, I'll go get Granny," he announced, before running out of the room, and returning a few moments later, Pinako by his side.

The old lady looked over her grandchild, and helped the now-silent girl over to the table, where she sat down. There were a few cuts on her chin, a rather nasty bruise under her right eye, and her knees had been scraped raw, and were rather bloody.

Pinako sighed, and went into the other room to retrieve the first aid kit they kept.

Meanwhile, Ed and Al stepped closer, Al kneeling beside her chair.

"You okay?" Al asked tentatively. She only sniffled and nodded a bit.

Ed was scrutinizing the bruise on her face with a frown. He came to a realization and put his hands on his hips.

"Did someone punch you?" he demanded, frown deepening. "'Coz if they did, I'm going to have to do something about it."

Al looked shocked. Winry certainly had a temper, but never enough to get in a fight with anyone.

Winry whimpered. "It wasn't my fault, okay?" she said meekly. "That kid who's always picking on us from school took my locket!"

With that, she broke into a little sob. Al awkwardly patted her on the shoulder, exchanging glances with Ed. Winry had always carried around a locket with her parents' picture inside after their death.

"So I got mad and told him to give it back," she continued, lower lip trembling. "Then he said that only real girls wore necklaces, not ones that do boy stuff like mechanics. After that I yelled at him that I was a girl and why was he always such a jerk." She sniffled a bit. "So he hit me."

With that Ed straightened up and stomped out of the room, towards the door. Alphonse hollered at him to wait and hurried after. Winry let out a cry and jumped up to follow them.

As soon as Al and Winry had caught up, Ed was already out by the swing, where all the school children came to play. He was glaring at the aforementioned boy, who was smirking back and dangling Winry's locket from his hand.

Winry glared and was ready to rush at him, but Al held her back, careful of her scrapes.

Ed was furious. "You know you're not supposed to hit girls!" he yelled at the boy, pointing an accusing finger. "Or didn't your mom ever teach you anything?"

The boy laughed. "Why are you defending her? She's just a girl trying to be a boy," he replied casually, fingering the locket chain.

With that, Ed charged at him and slammed a fist into his face, knocking him over and causing the locket to fall from his grip. Ed bent to pick it up, and gave him another hard glare.

"Touch her again," he warned. "And you'll have to deal with me." He pointed haughtily at himself, jabbing his thumb into his chest.

Ed turned and walked back to Al and a stunned Winry, who had gone slack in Al's hold. He came over and clasped the locket back around her neck, before stepping back and giving her a cocky grin.

"No one hits my friends and gets away with it," he declared.

Winry gave him a small smile, and the three went back to the house to a waiting Pinako.

The old lady patched up Winry's injuries, and Al went off to retrieve some ice for her bruise.

Ed came over, and sat next to her on the couch.

"Thanks for getting my locket back," she murmured, fingering the necklace.

He shrugged. "It was nothing."

They were silent for a few moments, before Ed suddenly leaned over and brushed his lips over her cheek, where it had swelled and turned purplish blue. He pulled back quickly, a blush tinting his cheeks. She colored too, running a finger over the spot.

"What was that for?" she asked, rather tentatively.

He looked away. "My mom used to do it when I got hurt. It made it feel better," he mumbled, face growing redder.

She grinned widely and leaned over to hug him tightly. His face now reached the shade of a tomato, and he made a gagging noise, prying her arms away from his neck. She giggled as he brushed himself off, for fear of getting cooties.

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The end.

I know it wasn't my best, but I imagined it while I was eating lunch today and thought it would be cute.

-Steph