Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Oh cruel destiny!

A/N: So, here is another oneshot that serves little purpose other than fueling my creativity and, hopefully, entertaining all of you readers. This oneshot isn't as funny as the pervious one…more like a pull-on-your-heartstrings sort of story.

And Ed is just too cute when he's a moody but thoughtful little guy.

Enjoy!

Guidance

Ed growled as he crinkled up the yellow paper and tossed it over his shoulder to join the mounting pile of ruined stationery. Gritting his teeth, the ten year old stabbed the fresh sheet of paper furiously, causing an impertinent ink spot to blotch the surface. His face went purple as he tried to suppress his rage, but he only succeeded in making himself even madder, throwing his pen across the bedroom and tearing up the paper before him into little pieces of dull confetti. Huffing as if he had just finished a training session with his master, Ed reached for another pen, filled it with ink from the inkwell at his right, and tried to write his letter for the thirty-eighth time.

***

Dear Winry

Happy birthday. How does it feel to be another year older? You're nearly old enough to be a hag like Granny…

***

Ed threw the paper away in the blink of an eye. That was a lame jibe even for him. And what was he thinking calling Winry a hag? She was the same age as him! She wasn't even anywhere near becoming the relic that her grandmother was.

Straightening his shoulders, he took a new sheet of paper from the top of the pile at his left and tried again.

***

Dear Winry

Happy 10th birthday! So, how's the weather back home? Has it snowed yet? They don't get much snow in Dublith…

***

"Dammit!" Ed cursed, crushing the paper between his palms and adding it to the pile of failed letters. It was Winry's tenth birthday and he was asking her about the weather? What kind of a moron was he?!

Looking up at the coo-coo clock that hung on the wall over the secretary desk, Ed felt a twinge of panic. It was already past three. He was running out of time! If he didn't finish the letter soon the last mail coach of the week would leave and then his note would never reach Winry before her birthday passed. Glancing over his shoulder to be sure that his master or her husband weren't walking down the hallway, Ed hunched over another fresh piece of yellow stationery and began to scribble his birthday wishes to his friend. He wasn't just in a rush to get the letter off to the mail coach, he was also in a hurry to complete the letter before his teacher caught him ditching afternoon drills.

"EDWARD ELRIC!"

Too late.

Even though he wanted to, there was no way that Ed could have dodged the cook book that was thrown at his head with such accurate force that it ricocheted off the back of his skull, forcing his face to bang forward and smash onto the hard walnut surface of the old secretary. Ed's nose made a rather squishy thud sound and it began to bleed, the little stream of red running onto the paper under his face.

The boy only had a moment to determine that his nose was not broken before Izumi Curtis, his frightening alchemy master, was yanking him up by his collar and flipping him over her head. He landed on the mountain of crumpled paper balls, spreading them about the bedroom in a landslide of yellow, and before he could gain his footing, Izumi flipped him onto his belly, planted one knee into his back and yanked his right arm flat against his spine.

He was well and truly pinned.

He struggled a little, but had learned that his chances of actually escaping her grasp were futile. He had lost, something he hated, but in the last four months with the so-called housewife, Ed had learned that losing wasn't the end of the world.

After all, he always lost to Izumi Curtis.

"Would you mind tell me, Edward, why you're in here when you're supposed to be in the back yard running drills with Alphonse? You're going to be punished for this. Alphonse, too, for lying for you. And why the hell is there a sea of paper balls in the middle of the room? This is my good stationery, Ed. It doesn't come cheap!"

"I know, I know, sorry!" Ed hollered, suddenly panicked that his teacher had noticed the letters. He began to squirm and struggle when she skillfully picked one up and unfolded it with one hand so that she could read its contents. "Don't read that!" Ed barked. "It's private!"

He continued to put up a useless fight, unable to stop his teacher from reading seven letters in total before her brow crinkled and her lips pressed together into a grim line as she discovered what her student had been up to.

"Ed, none of these letters are finished. They only have two or three sentences and they're all addressed to the same girl."

"Yeah." Ed grumbled, laying his face flat against the carpet and letting his body go limp. Startled by her most stubborn student's show of defeat, Izumi lifted her knee off of Ed and allowed him to sit up and face her. He did, his movements sluggish. He sat upright in front of her, his legs bent and arched wide before him so that the bottoms of his feet clapped together. He kept his hands at his sides, his large gold eyes downcast and his head turned away from her penetrating brown gaze.

Izumi stared at her student, rough and obstinate as always, and was reminded of how serious Edward Elric was for a ten year old little boy. Perhaps that came from loosing his parents at such a young age and having a little brother to protect, or maybe it came from his keen mind and fundamental understanding of the world. Wherever it hailed from, it bothered Izumi to see a child, a baby really, pass through his youth without ever taking the time to actually be a kid. If Ed didn't slow down, his childhood would be over and he would never be able to go back. He needed to take the time to enjoy the world through innocent eyes.

Maybe that's what the letters were for.

"Is Winry the girl who you and Al said goodbye to in Resembool?"

Ed nodded slowly, still frowning and still not looking directly at his teacher.

"Al's told me a little bit about her. She's your age, has been your neighbor for years…he said she's your best friend."

Ed blushed, but he didn't deny Izumi's comments.

"She's also studying a specific field, isn't she? Some sort of medicine…it has to do with prosthetics…automail, right?" There was still no confirmation or denial from the ten year old and he still wouldn't look his teacher in the eye. Growing slightly impatient with the boy's attitude, Izumi quickly scanned her memory for something that she thought might get a reaction out of Ed. Al hadn't ever said much about the little girl that lived in Resembool, but there had been one story…something about a contest between the brothers…oh! "Al also told me that you two fought over who would get to marry Winry someday."

"He's lying!" Ed cried, finally riled up enough to face his teacher with cross looking eyes. Izumi simply smiled knowingly which made Ed grimace, his face pink and burning with embarrassment.

"What's this all about, Edward?"

"Nothing!"

"I am your teacher and you will answer me!" Izumi commanded.

"It's got nothing to do with alchemy so why do you care?!" Ed hollered back.

"Because as long as you are my student I am responsible for you in all things?! I do care about your well being, you brat!" Izumi declared with passionate fury, making Ed quiver under her penetrating gaze.

Knowing she was being too brash, Izumi forced herself to relax her posture and raised a hand so she could run her fingers though Ed's golden colored hair. The gesture was gentle and surprising and Ed froze for a moment under her sifting fingers. He wasn't shocked to discover that Izumi Curtis could be tender when she wanted to, but other than carefully patching up his wounds from a particularly sever sparring match, Izumi's gentle touches were usually given to Al. Ed didn't do very much to earn those kind caresses, but now that he was finally on the receiving end of such soft temperance, Ed noticed a certain warmth, a maternity, that radiated from the gruff woman.

It almost felt like having a mother again.

Ed leaned heavily into Izumi's touch, accepting her comfort and indulging in the fantasy of having his mother returned to him, her fingers running through his hair, her voice reading a favorite story, her smile making his world bright and beautiful.

"I care much more about you than your alchemy skills." Izumi whispered.

And that very nearly did Ed in.

He could feel the hated stinging of tears collecting in the corners of his eyes and fought them fiercely, but for just a moment, Ed considered breaking down and confessing everything. In the blink of an eye he could have wrapped his arms around his teacher's neck and told her how much he still missed his mother, how hard it was to always be the strong older brother, how angry he still was with his bastard father, how frustrated he was with his alchemy studies, how much he missed home…how much he missed that yellow house, and walking with Winry to school, and throwing paper airplanes at her head, and ignoring her as she droned on about automail, and making floral crowns for her, and just how much he missed…how much he missed her.

The wave of emotion was heavy and sudden, but like the tide, it receded, and because he was so strong and pig-headed Ed didn't break down and reveal his most guarded secrets to the woman before him.

Instead, he decided to explain the letters.

"It's Winry's birthday in two weeks." he muttered.

"I gathered that much."

"She'll be ten."

"Well, then she's very nearly a lady." Izumi commented with a smile.

Ed snorted.

"Winry Rockbell is the most un-cute, gangly machine-freak dork in the whole country." Ed replied. "Her being a lady is a joke."

Izumi smacked Ed across the head, adding another bump to his terribly abused skull.

"If you talk about your friend like that then you deserve to get beaten over the head." Izumi remarked casually.

"Stupid, crazy wench." Ed muttered as he cradled his fresh bump.

"What was that?!" Izumi roared, the power behind her voice transforming Ed into a shivering mass of flesh and sweat.

"Nothing!" Ed promised, raising his hands placating. He would much rather bow to Izumi's rage than try to be a tough smart-ass, which was his trademark.

"I thought so." Izumi drawled, also deciding that a fight would not be constructive at the moment. She took a therapeutic breath, relaxed her nerves, and continued. "So, these letters are for your friend, then. Why so many half-started ones?"

"I can't get the worlds out right!" Ed confessed, pulling at his hair. "And if I don't finish it before five o'clock the mail coach will leave and there won't be another one for a week and she'll never get it on time!"

"Would that be so bad?"

"Yes!" Ed roared. "Al already sent his letter and he got her a gift, too and…" Ed trailed off, his astute mind catching up to the words that had tumbled out of his mouth without preamble or censorship. He never, never, said a word about the root of his anxiousness, no matter the situation, and now here he was, standing amidst a pile of crinkled yellow paper balls with his teacher knelling before him, and he had just told her why he was in such a state.

He was too stressed out. That had to be it.

"How come you don't have a gift for Winry?" Izumi asked calmly.

" 'Cuz I…I guess I forgot about it." Ed mumbled, his voice tinged with shame. "I spent my allowance on alchemy books and Al…well, he remembered her birthday so he saved his money and bought her a photo album. He's such a jerk!" Ed spat angrily. "He should of reminded me!"

"Ed, he's your little brother. You can't expect him to take care of you forever."

"But he only had to do this one thing. I'm the one that's always taking care of h…"

"And you shouldn't expect yourself to take care of him forever, either." Izumi interrupted, her voice even and wise. "You're still just a little boy, Ed."

"Who're you calling a vertically challenged prepubescent speck?!" Ed demanded, hopping to his feet and taking a defensive stance against his teacher. He did note with a frown that even standing upright he wasn't taller than his master, and she was kneeling down. Still, Ed fought his flush of embarrassment and stared with narrowed intensity at the woman in front of him. Rather than begin to spar with the ten year old and remind him that he was to respect his elders, Izumi just gave Ed a few hard pats on the crown of his head and stood up.

"Like it or not, Ed, you are just a boy. Stop trying to act so grown up all of the time. Enjoy being young while you can. Study hard and have dreams but most of all, play with Al, have fun with your friend, and just do your best to live a happy life." Izumi advised. "Now," she sighed, picking up her cook book, "you've got a little less than an hour to write that letter and get it to the mail coach on time. Since you don't have a gift for her you'd better make this letter very special, and the only way to do that is to be honest. If you're honest, she'll like your letter, no matter what."

"What sort of advice is that?!" Ed yelled as Izumi turned to leave.

"By the way," she said, pausing at the door, "you'll be making up for missing your drills after supper." she dictated, leaving a very disgruntled ten year old behind her.

Ed stared furiously at the empty space where Izumi had been standing, frustrated so greatly that he thought his body might erupt, unable to contain his uproarious feelings. But then he thought of Winry and how she would be expecting something from him, especially since she'd be getting a parcel from Al. She'd be so mad at him if he didn't send something to her…

Sighing, Ed returned to the desk, collapsing into the chair and lightly ran his fingertips over the yellow paper, breaking it down in his mind.

'Barium sulfate, sodium hydroxide, hydrated silicate, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide…'

Life was so much simpler when you broke it down into its most basic elements. Everything had a chemical composition and when certain elements mixed with other certain elements a reaction occurred. That reaction was what we called air, or water, fire, or even a human being.

That was truth.

Feelings, however, well, they couldn't be calculated. They couldn't be dissected or logically explained. Their reasons for being were unknown and illogical and substantial and pointless.

There was no truth in feelings, only infinite possibilities and wasted time, and even though they were incalculable, they were honest.

Honesty was different from truth.

Truth was facts and figures and logic.

Honesty was raw and frightening and vulnerable.

When it came to truth, Ed was in his shining glory. However, he doubted Winry would appreciate a perfect copy of the periodic table of elements, so he supposed that he would have to venture into the land of unknown variables and be honest. Teacher seemed to think that was best, and no matter that she was a bit of bully and seemed to have a rod up her ass, Izumi Curtis had never guided her students down the wrong path.

With only half an hour left to write, Ed put pen to paper and made a final attempt at scrawling Winry a birthday letter. He wasn't perfectly happy with the final product, but it was too late to change his mind. He signed the letter, quickly wrote the Rockbell address on an envelope, sealed it and pasted a stamp perfectly in the left hand corner before running like a rampaging bull down the streets of Dublith, just catching the mail coach as it was departing the town.

He had followed his teacher's guidance and had been as honest as possible in his letter, but he wasn't sure if his words would really matter to Winry or make her notice his efforts above the shiny leather-bound album Al had bought her. But he had been honest, and maybe, that was enough.

***

Dear Winry,

Happy Birthday. I'm sorry that I missed it this year. This is the first birthday that we haven't been together and it feels really strange. But I haven't forgotten you. I promise, I'll make this all up to you next year.

I don't have a gift for you. Sorry. I'll bring you back something really great when Al and I return.

Eat a piece of cake for me, and give Den a good belly rub, too. Training is going really well, so I think Al and I will be back before you know it!

It'll be great to finally go back to Resembool. Dublith is a nice town, really warm and green, but you're not here, so it doesn't feel the same.

It's not home.

I miss you.

Hope all of your birthday wishes come true.

Ed

***

If Ed had known that Winry's one and only birthday wish that year was granted the moment she received his letter, the young boy might not have cursed his teacher so much when she made him run laps around the block with slabs of frozen beef on his back as punishment for skipping out on his afternoon drills.

Awwwww! Ed's insecure! So cute!

Anyway, I know that the EdxWin thing isn't the most prominent relationship in this little ficlet, but I just adore the maternal relationship between Ed, Al and Izumi and the image of her giving Ed advice, even if it is subtle, about girls was just adorable. Ed is surrounded by many great women throuhougt his whole life, the three most prominent being his mother, Winry and Izumi. This was a chance to explore all three of those relationships in some detail, which also gave me a chance to try and explore why Ed is the way he is, why he makes certain choices, and why he acts in certain ways.

Izumi is a great teacher, especially if she has the patience to put up with Ed as a student. I don't think any of my teachers could have handled an intense kid like him.

So, did you like it?

Please, take a little time to leave a review and let me know what you think.

No flames, please and thank you!

Giant Nickel