Reason No.5: She Makes Sure He Learns From His Mistakes.
Most people will think that the noise of machinery was a sound to be avoided, blocked out; but not Winry. She loved it.
To her, it was comforting. The heavy grinding of metal as she crafted it made her worries ebb away in the steady sound, only quiet hums at the back of her mind. It was also a reminder of the automail that she loved so much... and also of the boy who wore the masterpieces of metal she had constructed herself.
Blue eyes paused on the drill in front of her as she lifted her foot from the pedal, sighing softly before muttering;
"Ed..."
But no. She mustn't be distracted.
Her foot went to press down again, to continue with her work, but she was stopped by a sudden familiar voice yelling;
"Our regulars are here! WINRY!"
Her heart leapt and her eyes widened, gloved hands moving up from the small pieces of metal in front of her as she moved slowly up from the table; head tilted to one side as she listened, hoping...
Her heart rose as her hopes were confirmed.
But then it sank as her eyes flashed, pushing herself up from the table and then flinging her gloves from her hands, the top half of her boiler-suit following after.
"I told them time and time again to call before they show up..."
She could hear voices - his voice - as she approached the balcony that gave an overlook of the rural view outside her bedroom... and then figures came into view. One in particular with a crimson coat that stood out from the earthy gravel outside.
Then she saw the sleeve flapping emptily in the wind.
"HEY!! ED!" Winry saw the blonde teenager below freeze as he heard the angry voice shouting his name from above, and he turned- just in time for the cold piece of metal that had just left her hand to come into contact with his head.
"How many times do I have to tell you to call before you come in for maintenance!!" She slammed her fingers down on the wood of the railing to glare at him as he rubbed the throbbing lump on his head.
"Winry, you jerk! You coulda killed me!" He gave her an equally as angry look back, watching as her angry look turned to one of - laughter?
"Welcome back!" Her face melted into a smile as her lips parted to give a string of laughter, blonde strands of hair blowing softly in the wind.
Golden eyes stared and then he quickly transformed his look of amazement into one of grumpiness. Since when had her laughter been so... refreshing? He rubbed the lump again and his thoughts disappeared into ones focusing on the sudden headache that was growing quickly underneath his scalp of blonde hair.
"Yeah, right..."
It was later. She'd yelled at him several times, added a twin lump to the other side of his head and caused him to spill coffee down himself, insulted him about his height, lectured him about all the work she'd have to do, and then finished with smacking him and causing him to fall over.
He didn't get it. What was the big deal? It wasn't like he'd meant to break it or anything... Even if he completely destroyed it, she was always going on about how she loved making her 'precious masterpieces', shouldn't she be happy that she had another go at it?
"...Girls..." He muttered to himself idly as the same soft breeze that was blowing Winry's hair earlier drifted around him in the field he was lying in, ruffling the top of his hair and bringing the smell of the large, white flowers down his nostrils. Despite his thoughts, he smiled to himself; this place was one of his favourite in Resembool. It was only a small patch of land that was a small distance from Winry's house - and the remains of his - but every spring it blossomed beautifully with pure-white flowers that had silky petals and an alluring smell. He closed his eyes as he inhaled a deep breath from around him, allowing the fragrance to wash over his body and mind, purifying his thoughts and making him forget his worries. His mind absent-mindedly flashed back to the hazy memory of a young Winry sitting amongst the flowers, holding a picked one in her hand by the stem and picking the petals off, one by one...
"He loves me! ... He loves me not.... He loves me! ...He loves me not..."
Golden eyes had watched her curiously from amongst leaves of the bushes, desperately trying to figure out what she was trying to achieve by doing that with the flower. Was she angry? But she didn't seem angry, the way she was muttering softly... Every so often he caught the words 'he... loves...' and it piped his curiosity, so he continued to play audience.
Then his legs started hurting and he got bored.
"Hey, Winry! What you doing?" Her alarmed reaction surprised him as she hastily threw the flower to the ground, looking up at him with wide blue eyes.
"Ed! Don't sneak up like that..." Her expression flew from surprise to anger, and then to a embarrassed sulkiness as he plopped onto the ground next to her, eyeing the pile of white petals curiously.
He snorted as she folded her arms, bottom lip sticking out in one of the infamous Rockbell pouts. "Geez, don't act like I did a big mistake or anything! Didn't mean to..." Ed mirrored her body language, folding his arms over and giving her an angry look back.
There was a silence between the two youngsters, in which only a faint noise of crickets echoed around them.
"You're supposed to learn from your mistakes, but you never do!" The accusation was harsh and it made Ed blink, before scowling at her.
"W-What's that supposed to mean! I do too learn from my mistakes..." He muttered.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"... Do not!!"
"Do too!"
"Do n-"
"Do too, but it's okay, because I'll always help you learn from them!" Winry cut him off so suddenly that he was caught off guard by the smile she giving him and he simply stared.
Then she was gone in a flutter of petals, leaving the young Ed rather confused and alone - but never truly alone - in that field...
Older, more worn eyes blinked as he sat up, the memory fading from his mind. He carefully eyed the flower next to him and then reached out with his arm to grab and twist, clutching it carefully in his hand.
It had taken him all this time to figure out what she was doing that day...
Fingers picked at one of the petals... and then he pulled it off, before softly beginning to chant.
"She loves me... she loves me not..."