Disclaimer - Fullmetal Alchemist is property of Hiromu Arakawa and Square Enix. This story is not written for profit.

Pairings- EdWin, some Winry/OC in later chapters.

Rating - MA (NC-17)

Summary - Twelve months after Ed's surprise proposal Winry is looking forward to seeing him, but their reunion is not what she had first imagined. And when she gets a job at the same military base that he has been stationed at she finds him to be cold and distant. Just why is Edward so cold towards her and what secrets is Fortress 53 holding? Winry is destined to find out but it's very likely that it will all end in tears.

Warnings - Major angst. Set post Brotherhood, but Ed still has his automail. Language, graphic violence and scenes of a sexual nature throughout.

CHAPTER 1

She entered the mess hall of fortress 53 and glanced around. Soldiers sat chatting at metallic benches, trays of food in front of them. There was a warm and friendly atmosphere in here, despite the tense stand off taking place outside. Fortress 53 was the last standpoint between the forces of the Drachma rebels and the pass to Amestris. The battle had been waging for nearly three months and it had produced huge causalities on both sides.

She saw him before he saw her and she stifled a gasp. His signature braid, once blonde was a now the darkest shade of black. He had grown, much to his delight, she was sure, and the leanly muscled figure before her was that of a man, no longer a boy.

It had been over a year since she had last seen him; she'd heard no word from him in that time, not a letter or a phone call. If she hadn't been keeping tabs on his whereabouts through her contacts in Central then she might have been worried. She was pissed, sure. Even Al had taken the time to write from whatever quest he was on halfway across the world in Xing. But Ed? Considering the proposal he had offered last time she had seen him, she was hurt that he hadn't even made the effort to get in touch.

She watched him, chatting calmly to the soldier next to him. He was wearing a black tank top, stretched thin over his steely muscles. He had always been leanly muscled, even as a kid, but his body showed signs of someone who took the time to work out. His face had aged as well. Ed had always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders but it was now etched into his face. Eyes that once sparkled with mischief were cold and hard and Winry frowned wondering just what horrors he had faced over the last twelve months.

Picking up her suitcase from where she had put it down next to her in the mess hall Winry made to walk towards his table. She saw his eyes flick from the man next to him and slide to her. She quirked a smile at him, but it faltered when she saw a thousand emotions flit across his face. Confusion, happiness, joy worry, sadness and then anger. His eyes flashed and it wasn't the anger she was used to seeing on his face when they argued about him breaking his automail, it was a cold burning rage that flashed through his eyes and Winry stepped back at the force of it.

He pushed away from the table roughly and stormed towards her, seemingly oblivious to the stares he was generating from the other soldiers. Winry was unsure what kind of reception she had been expecting but she certainly had not been expecting him to get right into her face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He snarled at her and Winry couldn't help the hurt that flashed across her face.

"I-I wanted to see you-" she started and Ed huffed in frustration leaning back and running a hand through his dark bangs.

"You should have called?!" He yelled at her, gritting his teeth together.

Hurt was replaced by anger and Winry dropped the suitcase, putting her hands on her hips.

"Don't you dare give me that Edward!" She snarled back at him. He didn't flinch. "I've called countless times, I 've written you every week for a year and where has it gotten me?!" She threw her hands up in despair.

He ignored her comment, instead grabbing her suitcase and he gripped her wrist in his metallic hand. She felt the steel fingers cut into the flesh of her wrist as he began to drag her out of the mess hall.

"Ouch, Ed, what are you doing?" She whined at him, trying to pull her wrist out of his grip but he just held onto her tighter.

"You're leaving!" He ground out, not looking at her as the exited the hall into the corridor beyond.

"No Ed, I'm not!" She dug her heels into the ground, forcing him to stop and face her.

"Yes you-" He started.

"No!" She yelled at him. A few passing soldiers, stared at them and she resisted the urge to yell at them too. "Ed, even if you want me to leave, which you obviously do," she couldn't help the hurt that crept into her voice but she stoically stared at a point past his right ear. "I can't leave because I have a job here." Without even looking at him she saw that he paled and he took a step back from her.

"What did you say?" He murmured, and she looked at him. His face was pale and drawn, his eyes wide.

"I- I was offered a position in the hospital wing," she rubbed the back of her neck. "I've been working as a doctor in Central for the last three months and when I passed my exams I was offered a position here."

He stared at her silently, a muscle working in his jaw.

"You'd know that if you ever picked up the phone," She sighed. "Ed, what is going on?" She stepped towards him, reaching out.

The spell, holding him still was broken and his eyes clouded with anger.

"You'll be out of here on the first train tomorrow if I have anything to do with it," he growled at her, stepping backwards and dropping her suitcase. "Just stay the hell away from me Winry, you got that?!" He turned on his heel and disappeared around a corner.

Winry bit her lip, hard. She refused to let the tears that were threatening to spill over, escape, instead reaching down and picking up her small suitcase.

"Are you ok, Miss?" A voice at her elbow asked and she looked up through swimming eyes to see a young man looking at her concernedly.

He had a kind face and was wearing a long white doctor's coat. His hair was a mousey brown colour and fell into his eyes slightly.

"Y-yes," she stammered. "I'm fine, thank you."

"May I escort you somewhere?" The man asked with a genuine smile. "You'll excuse me for saying so, but you look a little lost."

Winry blinked and smiled at the man, rubbing the back of her neck in consternation.

"It's that obvious, huh?" she mumbled with a pathetic attempt to grin.

The man laughed a deep and rumbling chuckle and she couldn't help but let her small smile grow. He held out a hand to her.

"Doctor Lukas Jackson," he smiled at her warmly.

She took his warm hand in her own and shook it gently.

"Doctor Winry Rockbell," she said and his eyes grew round.

"Oh! Doctor Rockbell! I have been expecting you!" She smiled, she had suspected as much.

"Please, call me Winry," she said.

"Ok, Winry it is," he gave a small bow and gestured her to follow him down the corridor.

"So, how was your trip?" he asked her, taking the suitcase from her as they set off in tandem.

"Oh, it was fine," she said absentmindedly, glancing around as they made their way through a series of never-ending corridors towards the hospital wing. She was confused about Ed's reaction to her being here. In the last twelve months he had not bothered to call or write, which in itself wasn't suspicious. Ed had never been very good at staying in touch. But he had never, ever spoken to her in the way that he just had. Usually he was happy to see her, if not for anything else, but at least as his mechanic. So why now, was he so upset by her presence? Perhaps in the last year, he had come to realize that actually he didn't need her, he didn't love her. Winry felt pain in the pit of her stomach at the thought. Perhaps he had met someone else…

The thought left Winry feeling sick and dizzy and she barely heard Doctor Jackson as he showed her into the hospital wing, pointing out where they kept the equipment and talking through the various procedures that they used. She just nodded and tried to look interested.

"And these will be your quarters," he said, interrupting her train of thought.

"Here in the hospital wing?" She asked confused.

"It was considered the best place for you to be, should there be an emergency," Doctor Jackson said kindly. "My quarters are at the other end of the wing should you need me." He picked up a large box of medical folders and handed it to her. It was heavy and Winry stumbled under its weight "These are your open case files, take some time to familiarize yourself with your patients. I'll need you on good form tomorrow."

"Thank you, Doctor Jackson," she smiled at him, wanly.

"Please, Winry, call me Lukas," he smiled and turned away. "Your shift starts at 0400, try to get some rest."

She turned away from his retreating form and entered her dorm. It was a small military cabin, with a cot in the corner. There were boxes adorning the wall, full of what appeared to be medical supplies and Winry repressed a sigh. She placed the large box and her suitcase on her bed and sank down onto the thin mattress and leaned her head back against the wall.

This job that she had been so excited for, her first real job as a doctor, was suddenly not as appealing, given her less than welcome reception from Ed. She dropped her head onto her knees and sighed. Oh Ed…

She busied herself with putting away her clothes in the small dresser next to the bed. She hung her white doctor's coat on the back of the door, along with her stethoscope and returned to her suitcase. She was about to put it under the bed when she noticed one final item that she had forgotten to unpack. It was a small photo frame. A picture from long ago, of her, Ed and Al. Taken by Granny, she thought. She smiled at the memory of that happy day. They'd had a picnic down by the river and Ed and Al had fought over who would get to marry Winry when they grew up. She grimaced at the memory and shoved the frame back in the suitcase, kicking it under her bed with a huff.

Suddenly she made up her mind, there was something going on here and she was determined to find out what it was. Shrugging her coat off she stormed out of her cabin and stalked through the nearly empty ward, she exited the hospital wing into a deserted corridor and paused. How in the hell was she going to find him in this fortress?

She made off down a corridor, looking for an information point where she might be able to ask someone for help and came across a young woman.

"Hey, you," she snapped at the woman. "Where can I find Elric?"

The woman frowned. "Major Elric?" Winry mentally catalogued this information. So he'd been promoted then and apparently, given the woman's response had earned a small amount of respect in the process. "His quarters will be up on third with the other officers," the woman frowned at Winry and continued on her way. "Although I wouldn't disturb him at this hour," the woman called over her shoulder. "He's got a nasty temper."

"You have no idea," Winry muttered to herself, stalking off towards the elevator. She rode it up to the third floor, the anger in her veins driving her forwards.

She found the officers quarters in no time and slipped inside the corridor, checking the nameplates on the doors. She found Ed's door and raised her fist to bang on the door, before thinking better of it. She instead dug a screwdriver from inside her back pocket and fiddled with the door's access panel for a moment before the door hissed open. She stepped inside and shut the door, ready to take Ed's head off for being such an ass.

Ed looked up at her from his position on the floor; sweat covered his naked torso and Winry felt the anger die on her tongue as she looked at him. He stood up from where he had been working out and glared at her.

"You make a habit of breaking into officer's rooms?" he ground out, breathing heavily.

Winry felt her anger come back with a vengeance.

"Ed, what the hell is going on?" she yelled at him, her hands clenched at her sides.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you talking about?" He murmured.

"You're being such a- such a…" She trailed off, lost for words. "Aren't you even a little happy to see me?" She finished lamely and something crossed his face, too quickly for her to identify it. Whatever it was is replaced by anger just as quickly.

"No, surprisingly," he seethed. "I'm NOT happy to see you!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Winry yelled at him, tears burning in her eyes. "The Ed I know would never behave like this-"

"Well maybe that's because you don't know me anymore!" He roared at her and stepped towards her, she couldn't help the involuntary step she took back. They were so close she could smell the sweat on his body.

"What do you mean?" She gasped. "Ed, I've known you my whole life! You're keeping something from me and I'm going to find out what it is, whether you like it or not-"

She made to turn from him and run from the room, but he caught her wrist in his vice like grip and forced her backwards until her back hit the wall with a thud.

"Ed-" she made to protest, but his mouth was suddenly on hers.

There was nothing delicate in the kiss, it was angry and aggressive and he forced her mouth open, claiming it with his tongue, his teeth clashing with hers. She moaned loudly into his mouth as she sagged against the wall, but he held her pinned by her wrists, his body holding her up as his chest pressed against hers. She gasped as his mouth left hers, trailing and biting along her jaw, nipping her earlobe and travelling down her neck. She felt wetness pool between her legs and she arched her back against him, needing more contact. His mouth moved to the curve of her neck and she felt him sucking and biting the skin there. She gasped loudly, her head tipping back and hitting the wall with a thud.

"Ed…"

And just as suddenly as it had begun it was over. He was off her in a flash. She opened her eyes from where she was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily and looked at him. His eyes were wild, his lips swollen and the sweat from his workout still glistened on his chiseled abdomen.

"T-that…" he panted. "That was a mistake," he turned away from her, squaring his shoulders.

"What?" She said faintly, wounded by his words.

"It will not happen again." He said calmly.

"But, Ed-"

"I'd appreciate it if you leave," he said curtly, his back still to her and Winry felt the tears begin to fall.

She turned on her heel and left the room as quickly as she could, her tears burning the back of her throat as she made her way silently back to her dorm.