Disclaimer: Don't own Full Metal Alchemist. Don't bother to sue.

A/N: Sorry it took so long. I keep getting ideas, but the moment I try to write them down I forget them… So that's not really a good excuse. Sorry! And I am also sorry it's so short. Please review. I really don't care if you flame it. just say something about it!

Winry smiled at him and he forced a smile back in her direction. His plan, the one he had been using for a week, was falling down around him. If they weren't in the same town, if they weren't in the same state, if they were on different sides of the country, how was he supposed to set them up? Quickly, he began to rethink everything, desperately trying to come up with a new plan. But, try as he might, he couldn't come up with anything now. How? How could this be happening? How could this be happening to him? It wasn't meant to go this way! They should both be traveling with him, not going in different directions. He always got what he wanted. Why did his luck have to fail him now? Damn! Damn! Damn! He thought.

"Hey," Ed spoke. "Are you sure you're okay with his?"

Alphonse smiled back at his brother, telling him he didn't mind at all, even though it was extremely untrue. His plan to set Edward up with Winry was disintegrating in his hands. He had just been informed of the plan they had come up with. The one that had been created a few days ago but no one had bothered to tell him about, until now. His brother was staying in Central while he was heading back to Resembool, in the east, with Winry…tomorrow. He was furious, but he was determined to keep that bit a secret. If they realised something was up, he would never get away with anything ever again.

Plan A is dead, Alphonse thought. Time to create a Plan B, he decided.

Alphonse sat up and listen to the radio, ignoring his brothers muttered apologises about not mentioning things sooner, until he heard a clanking sound. Ed paled and Al smiled. Revenge was so sweet…

Edward Elric held his breath as Winry disconnected the nerves to his automail leg. He grunted as she fully disconnected it from the port. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Al smile but he convinced himself he must have been imagining it. Al wouldn't smile at his pain. It wasn't like him.

Winry began working on his arm, checking the nerves and other bits. As she worked, Ed and Al chatted about alchemy and different types they would like to study, leaving her to her work. She smiled, glad to see them getting along. Before long, it got the point where she barely understood what they were saying. Even when they were younger, they would forget she was there and start talking about things she didn't understand. It used to annoy her to no end, but now they were older, it was one of the quirks she loved about them.

Throughout the rest of the day, she watched the brothers, particularly Edward, talk, laugh and enjoy the others company. She watched as they forgot the rest of the world and how they both got annoyed when reality caught up with them. Every time it did, she would laugh, they would glare and she would poke her tongue out.

Too soon, it was time for Edward and Winry to leave. As they walked back to the hotel, Ed thought about Al. He would be dismissed tomorrow. Then he would go back to Resembool with Winry and he would stay in Central and continue to work for the military. He hated to do this to Al, but he couldn't leave yet. There were a few things he had to finish before he could return home.

The walk back was slow to Winry. She wanted to talk to Ed but she knew he was thinking. She still had his arm, tucked up safe in her tool box. She would give it back to him later and they would talk. She needed to talk to him, to understand why he was staying, why he wasn't coming home.

They walked in silence, crossing the lobby of the hotel and straight to the stairs. They always took the stairs because there were always too many people in the elevator. When they came to their floor, Winry grabbed Ed's arm and dragged him over to her room. At his questioning look, she shook her head, a signal that she would explain once they were in the room. She unlocked her door, pulled Ed in, then closed and locked it.

"Why?" Ed asked.

"I need to refit your arm," she told him, tapping her tool box.

He paled slightly, sighed and started to remove his coat and jacket. Winry watched as him. Somewhere, in his journey to save his brother, he had grown up and gone from the annoying little brother-like boy she knew to a man she wanted to know. Tearing her eyes from him, she placed her tool box on the floor with a hollow clunk. Flipping open the catches, she opened the box and pulled out Ed's arm. She looked up at Ed, him sat there in his skin tight black tank top, his abs and chest clearly defined through the fabric.

Winry walked over to the bed and sat down next to him, examining the port and surrounding scar tissue. He was out growing his port. He would need complete surgery to replace the port, but it would have to wait until he came back to Resembool.

"You ready?" Winry asked.

Edward nodded, gritting his teeth. Winry lined up the nerves endings. When he nodded, she pushed the nerves in and connected them. He grunted but she ignored him and set about securing the arm. Silence settled around them as she secured the nerves and other parts.

"Are you alright?" Ed asked, finally breaking the awkward silence and turning towards Winry.

Winry sighed and chose her words carefully before looking at Ed and replying. "I'm confused."

"About what?"

"About you choosing to stay in the army."

"I don't want to talk about it." Ed said, turning away from Winry and her work. Slowly, she put down her tools, grabbed his chin and turned him to face her.

"Please tell me Ed. I'm sick of you hiding everything from me. Tell me." Winry said, looking into his eyes.

Ed looked into her eyes. He closed his and took a deep breath in, centring himself. Winry waited in silence as he got control of himself. She let go of his chin, watching his face become neutral. He turned away from her, to face the door. He opened his eyes slowly and stared at the door, his face blank of all emotion.

"okay. I'll tell you. . . "