Alrighty. Hello again, everyone! Sorry for taking so long to update...I had major writer's block and was feeling extremely lazy. BUT it was well worth the wait, ne?...No? Ok, fine. Be that way...Anyway, for you all EdwardxWinry fans out there this is the infamous chapter with the fluff! Whee! Enjoy!
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Edward laughed quietly. "Ok, Elycia."
"I didn't know you did so well with kids," said a voice coming from behind Edward.
The young alchemist jumped slightly, startled before turning around. He found Winry looking at him. She was leaning up against the doorframe, her lips curled into a small smile.
Edward blushed as he stuttered. "How long have you been standing there?" he asked quickly.
Winry laughed. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, silly."
Behind Edward, Elycia stirred slightly in her bed. The two looked at her for a few moments before Edward walked towards the door. He flipped off the light as Winry stepped to the side allowing him through.
When the two began walking towards the stairs Edward finally shrugged. "I wasn't embarrassed," he said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Winry chuckled a bit. "Right," she said rather sarcastically.
"I don't do all too well with children," said Edward slowly.
"That isn't true."
"Edward!" called Elycia's voice from her room. She had probably woken up and noticed he was gone.
Edward began turning but Alphonse stopped him. "Wait," he said, "I'll go. I feel like I haven't helped a lot today with Elycia."
Edward smiled a bit. "Thanks, Al," he said before Alphonse made his way up the stairs.
"See?" he heard Winry say.
Edward looked at her as he allowed himself to collapse on the couch lazily. "See what?" he asked.
"Elycia called for you." she said as she sat down beside him placing her hands on her lap. "She really likes you, Ed."
Edward looked away from her. She was partly right. But maybe Elycia had only called for him because he was the last person she had seen before closing her eyes.
"You're going to be a great father one day..." said Winry softly.
Edward blinked before looking at her to find her smiling softly at him. "I don't know..." he said with a small shrug.
He wasn't sure if he would ever marry someone to have a family with. But he couldn't tell Winry. It wasn't out of embarrassment...he was afraid of what her answer would be to that. Afraid to know how she really felt about him.
Afraid to have his own feelings returned.
"So, you don't want any kids?"
"Well, yeah, I do. I just..." he paused for a moment. He was trying to figure out how to word it. Did he really want to tell her? "I don't know...I'm just not sure if it'll ever happen..." he said a bit vaguely.
Winry studied him for a few moments as if trying to figure out what he was saying. After a little while, she frowned a bit and looked away from him blushing a bit.
Oh, crap he thought I said something wrong...
"Winry?" Edward began to lift his hand to touch her shoulder but drew back. "Uh, are you all right?"
Winry stayed silent, her gaze lowered.
After what seemed like forever, Winry finally spoke up. "You mean you don't want to get married..." she clarified slowly.
"No," Edward said a bit to hurriedly for his own liking. He paused. "I just..." he looked away from her, "the only girl I've considered thinks I'm a jerk." he said quietly. Wait. What did he just say!
He could not believe what he was saying at the moment. He was actually telling her how he felt about her. Howhe felt about his childhood friend and mechanic.
Edward felt Winry looking at him. "And who's that?" she asked softly.
Edward swallowed nervously. He carefully cleared his throat. He didn't want his voice to catch at his throat when he spoke. "You," he whispered. He then raised his head to look at Winry. She was blushing a deep crimson color.
As soon as Edward looked at her, Winry looked away. Edward chewed on his bottom lip. Was that blush a good or bad sign? He wasn't sure...
Edward looked away from Winry. The silence between them was killing him.
Edward was about to stand up but then he felt Winry's soft hand on his flesh hand. He had taken his gloves off a while ago, this had given him the chance to feel her skin against his. Even though she was a mechanic and worked a lot, her skin was very smooth...
Edward turned his head to looked at Winry. She was smiling at him. A warm smile.
Edward found himself looking into her ocean blue eyes. He had lost track of time as he was doing this. He had no idea how long he had been looking at her. Edward couldn't believe what he was doing next. He was slowly leaning closer to Winry's face. Time around him seemed to slow as he did this.
Edward paused for a moment. Winry then turned her head slightly, lowering it a bit, a soft smile on her face. Edward didn't miss the soft blush on her cheeks. The blonde alchemist felt a smile touch his lips as he slowly lowered his head, tilting it slightly. He couldn't help himself. She was so close to him. It was like gravitation. As if he was being pulled towards this beautiful blonde girl sitting beside him by some force he couldn't control.
When their lips were barely touching a sudden sound interrupted them. A small voice that belonged to a certain little girl. In hearing this, Edward quickly tore away from Winry to look towards the stairs. He saw Elycia, looking at them curiously, eyes wide. Edward blushed deeply. "Elycia," he stuttered. "What happened? Are you all right?"
Before the little girl was able to answer, Alphonse's voice joined them, calling out Elycia's name as he made his way down the stairs.
Everyone stayed completely silent until Elycia spoke up. "I'm not sleepy," she said softly. "Can we play hide and seek?" she asked, blinking.
Edward gave Elycia a slight smile. "Do you promise to go to sleep after we play?" he asked as he slowly stood.
The small girl nodded eagerly. "Ok!" she then turned to Alphonse, pointing up at him, "You're it uncle Al!" she called, giggling as she ran off. The three friends all smiled with a small laugh.
Behind Edward, Winry stood, still laughing silently.
Edward shook his head. "This seems awkward," he mumbled smiling a bit.
"Don't be silly," he heard Winry say. "It'll be fun."
"All right, Elycia," Alphonse called, "I'm going to start counting now!" Alphonse slowly walked over to the wall, placing an arm on it and resting his helmet against it. "One," he began slowly, loud enough for Elycia could hear him.
As Alphonse continued counting, Winry and Edward quietly made their way up the stairs. Edward knew there was a closet up there he could hide in. This still felt a bit strange for him, but like Winry said, it might be fun...
As Edward reached out to open the closet door, he saw another hand reaching also. He glanced up to see Winry. "Hey," he said with a small smirk. "I thought of this hiding spot first."
Winry pulled the door open. "I doubt it," she said, returning the slight smirk.
Edward rolled his eyes as he stepped into the closet. "Find your own spot."
"Nine!" called Alphonse from downstairs. "And..." he continued slowly.
Winry glanced behind her before shoving Edward aside.
"Ten!"
She jumped into the closet, closing the door.
"Ready or not, here I come!"
Edward blinked. "Cheater," he mumbled quietly. "You took my spot," he whispered.
"Shut up," replied Winry. Edward could tell she was smiling.
The two stayed silent for a couple of moments. Edward bit down on his bottom lip as he glanced down at the ground. This felt even more awkward than playing hide and seek. He swallowed and slowly took in a breath. He heard Winry shift beside him and her hand briefly brush against his. Edward blinked once again, blushing slightly.
As the two stood there in the dark, Edward remembered what had gone on between them about two minutes ago downstairs in the living room...
Just what the hell was he thinking? What was he doing? Was he trying to--Edward closed his eyes--kiss Winry? He swallowed at the thought. He couldn't help himself. Was he really starting to admit himself that he liked Winry in...more than a sibling or friend-like manner? His eyes slowly opened. Well, why not? She was pretty. She was smart. She was nice...when she wasn't yelling at him or hitting him with her wrench. And it was possible for him to trust her. He had known her practically his whole life.
Edward sighed quietly. Deep down, he wished they hadn't been interuppted. He wanted to know what Winry's lips against his own felt like. He wanted to know what a kiss felt like. Edward frowned softly. He couldn't believe these thoughts that were going through his mind. He wanted them to go away but at the same time, he wished they wouldn't.
Suddenly, Edward was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Alphonse calling from downstairs. "Brother!"
Edward quickly moved forward, opening the door. His eyes squinted slightly at the sudden bright light from the hallway. Edward grinned a bit as he stepped out of the closet. "Hah. Giving up already, Al?" he called down to his brother.
He heard heavy footsteps clacking up the stairs. "No!" called the younger Elric, "I can't find Elycia!"
Edward smirked. That sure was pathetic. How hard was it to find a five-year-old girl who was hiding? She couldn't have been that good at the game. "Ahh," said Edward with a cocky grin, "you're an amature at this game. You always were."
"I'm serious, brother! I looked everywhere!"
Edward rolled his eyes. "You didn't look hard enough," he said as he brushed past Alphonse. "I bet I can find her."
Edward then stopped when he heard the front door shut loudly. He blinked before looking at his brother then at Winry who was shutting the closet door behind her. He then looked towards the stairs and trudged down them, making his way towards the front door and opening it. He glanced around but found nothing. Maybe it was Elycia who had ran outside to hide? He peeked into the bush beside the door. Nothing.
As Edward continued looking around, he heard Al and Winry come up behind him. "It was probably Elycia coming outside," said Edward as he glanced back at them. "Help me look for her."
After saying that, the phone inside the house rang. Winry turned her head a bit. "I'll go answer it," she said as she walked into the house.
With that, Edward and Alphonse stepped outside, searching around the yard of the house for any signs of Elycia. Behind bushes, trees, a small fountain. But they found nothing.
By the time Winry stepped outside, the two brothers had searched around the entire yard and found no signs of Elycia.
"That was Mrs. Hughes," said Winry slowly, "she said she doesn't know when she'll be getting home...she's having car trouble."
"Did you tell her about Elycia?" asked Edward.
Winry shook her head.
Edward sighed quietly as he lowered his head. No. Elycia couldn't be missing...If something happened to her...
No! She was going to be fine.
Before Edward could continue in his thoughts, he was interrupted when he heard Elycia's small voice. "Big brothers!" she cried out. Edward's head snapped up as he quickly looked around. Where was her voice coming from?
"Help me! Plea..."
Her voice was cut off.
The three friend's exchanged glances before breaking into a run towards the street.
This was not good...
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Whee! Another slight cliffe. BUAHAHAHA. I love torturing my readers. Yes, Elycia has been kidnapped by some evil...THING! LeGasp O.o For those of youwho have readvol. 2 of the Fullmetal Alchemist novel, I might be bringing in one of the characters from that book into my chapter.Who it is: well, that isyet tobe revealed.IN-KNEE-WAY! Please, please, PLEASE review. It let's me know I have some people reading and encourages me to continue writing. Like Makoto Inoue would say"I'd like to thank you, the reader, for taking your timeto read my story. It's all for you!Thanks!"
