Seriously, I knew what was going to happen in this chapter as soon as I saw the theme...

Disclaimer – I don't own FMA....


8 – Innocence

The windows were wide open and so was every door in Southern Headquarters. Edward reclined on his chair in his stuffy office and put his feet up on the desk, his hands behind his head. He casually closed his eyes for it was too hot for him to do any paper work and pretended to rest, even though his mind relayed images back and forth in his head. He glanced at a photograph that sat neatly in a dark frame on his messy desk. The photograph hosted an old picture of him and Alphonse when they were much younger, sitting outside their old white house. His gaze moved to the image next to it which was in a slightly larger frame. Winry was standing outside the front of the new house in Dublith, an incredibly large smile on her face. Edward had taken it the day after she had arrived as she had insisted on the photograph being taken for keepsake purposes. What Winry didn't know however, was that Edward had gone to get the photograph developed for himself and had ended up keeping it and putting it on his desk.

He frowned and closed his eyes, grimacing at his own cowardice over the last week. At first Winry had found it amusing, but he could tell that her patience was wearing thin and the tension began to grow so much in the house; Edward felt relieved to go back to work a few days later. He began to think about his work and opened his eyes, moving towards his desk, and getting a pen in his left hand. He started to scribble away on one report a State Alchemist had made and scratched out several logical errors they had made at an equation. His thoughts turned to Mustang and how he must be laughing at him from his posh Furher's office as Edward continued with some of the work Mustang had done previously before his promotion. Riza Hawkeye came into his mind then and he privately wondered if Mustang had finally seen through her calm resolve to see that the woman cared for him more than any subordinate ever could. Unwillingly, his thoughts traced down another aisle of his memory: "you love Winry, don't you?" Edward remembered Riza asking him that and cringed slightly as his reply came to the surface of his mind. He was younger back then, he couldn't see it: he just knew he had to protect her yet the reason had yet to be entirely justified at that circumstance. The self confession was reluctantly coming out...maybe if she asked him now; would he still be prepared to admit it?

A knock at his office door made him jump slightly and then, calming his features and controlling his thoughts, he cleared his throat, "come in," he called, pretending to be engrossed in paperwork.

A young major stepped in. "Sir, you have a guest waiting at reception," he said before closing the door behind him. Edward frowned and got up from his desk, heading towards reception.

He was pleasantly surprised when he saw that particular young woman, who had been playing on his mind, sat on a rigid waiting sofa in the cold reception hall. "Winry?" he said uncertainly, ignoring the muttering woman behind the desk.

She turned and looked at him, a small bag over her right shoulder. Winry stood up and went to meet him. "Hey Ed...I guess you have forgotten then..." she said as she approached him.

He made a confused face and then suddenly slapped his head, instantly remembering. "Oh right! You wanted to see the military's automail workshop here!"

Winry smiled and nodded. Edward went to the reception desk and picked up a base pass from the middle aged receptionist who looked at Winry with jealous eyes. They walked down a corridor together and Edward apologised repeatedly for forgetting that she was coming to visit him at work today. "...just with all of the work I've had, not to mention more work sent from Central-"

A cool hand touched his arm as they walked. "Ed: its fine. I know you've been busy. You don't talk very much and you're appetite isn't what it used to be – you think I wouldn't notice?" she smiled slightly, their footsteps echoing down the hall.

He smiled in response and continued to lead the way, up a flight of stairs and down another corridor. As they walked, Edward felt slightly uneasy of the glances Winry was receiving as other officers passed them. Thankfully she seemed completely oblivious to it, but even so Edward found himself walking closer to her, their shoulders occasionally brushing lightly. He reluctantly left her in the small automail wing of the headquarters, giving a death glare to the young male engineer there. He glanced at Edward as he showed Winry around the workshop, her eyes lighting up at the technology, and backed off a little as Edward crossed his arms.

"Just come to my office when you are done and I can take the afternoon off and we can start work on the shop if you like," he said loudly, interrupting the engineer's light conversation with her. She turned and smiled, giving him a small wave. He backed out of the room, suddenly in a grumpy mood and was about to walk down the stairs when a shout made him pause.

"Thanks Ed!" she called down the corridor. He smiled to himself and headed back to his office.

It was around midday that he heard commotion outside of his office. Sighing, he got up and walked to the door, listening to the excited conversations on the other side.

"You mean that's the girl he's been living with?"

"You're kidding me right? She's gorgeous!"

"He's seventeen, so surely he must have jumped her-"

"I'm going to get her number-"

"You idiot - it's the Colonel's number too-"

"If he hasn't banged her up by now then I know I would-"

Edward, his face fuming and turning a deep shade of red, pulled his office door open and glared at the young officers who were loitering outside.

They fell into a thick silence until one of them spoke up. "Sir, is it true that you are living with that young woman in the automail department?"

Edward gritted his teeth. "Yes it is and we are just friends, get it? And she isn't some object you can just win-"

"So you two aren't together?" another asked.

A vein on Edward's neck pulsed. "No, but-"

"You mean you've been living with that hot thing up there and you haven't done her yet-"

Edward clapped his hands and pressed them to the floor, causing the floor to become uneven in the corridor, making the men lose their balance and fall over each other. He retreated back into his office and slammed the door behind him, his fists clenched.

He grimaced when the phone rang at his desk. He flumped down in his chair and roughly picked up the phone. "Elric" he said gruffly, his eyes like daggers as they stared at the closed door.

"Hey Fullmetal," a deep voice replied with some amusement in his voice. Edward's jaw tensed as he recognised Mustang's sarcastic tone. . "A little bird told me you've been having girl troubles. I just want you to know that I am always here for and-"

"Oh give it a rest!" Edward yelled, throwing the phone down into the receiver.

About half an hour later of furious scribbling, he was disturbed yet again by a knock on the door. He had just calmed down and stormed to the door.

"What now-" he began, pulling the door open.

"Ed, what did you do to the floor?" Winry asked as she stood awkwardly on the uneven concrete.

Edward sighed and clapped his hands and pressed them to the floor, making it even again. Winry eyed him closely, realising that something had happened that she would ask about later. She walked into his office and looked around thoughtfully. "So this is where you work?" she smiled.

Closing the door behind him, he nodded dully but then he then saw her move towards his desk. Suddenly remembering the photo was there he leapt forward and knocked it down with his hand, cleverly distracting her attention towards the window. "Look: you can see most of South City here," he said, his voice slightly higher than usually. As she looked, he carefully slid the photograph frame into the top draw of his desk.

Winry had said that she had seen everything and as they walked to the train station, she had concluded out-loud that Southern mechanics wasn't nearly as good as Northern mechanics. Edward walked with a frown on his face as he listened to the varying tones in her voice as she spoke. They climbed onto the train and sat opposite each other and began discussing plans for the afternoon, which cheered him up a little. Edward was glad that he felt relaxed in her company and she appeared to be doing the same, considering he had been tense for the last few days. After a smooth hour train ride, they arrived back in Dublith; the station only a few minutes walk away from the house.

Arriving back at the house, they made lunch together and Winry keep looking at him with her piercing sapphire eyes. She chopped some salad and then sighed. Edward tried to ignore her but had to admit that she had made him smile a fair bit and his mood had lightened a bit. After lunch Edward dressed in an old white shirt with some trousers on and headed down to the dark shop floor, a paint brush in his mouth. He went into the back room and grabbed the paint cans that Winry had bought and carefully opened them up, revealing warm pastel colours. He dipped a brush into one of the cans and began one of the side walls, and glanced at Winry when she entered. She beamed around the room, her hair tied loosely back into a high pony tail, a few strands hanging around her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, biting her bottom lip has she appeared to be in thought. Edward looked at her again and realised that she hadn't seen him yet, so he let himself look at her just a little longer. She was wearing her jumpsuit with that tiny black top on, smeared in oil. She then turned on her heel and took in his appearance too, but then suddenly shook her head, smiled and then grabbed another paintbrush and they began to paint the shop floor.

After they had finished the side wall, they began on the back wall, which was to be a slightly lighter shade, to make the room seem brighter, cooler and bigger. That's when Winry's curiosity got the better of her.

"So are you going to tell me why you were in a bad mood at work earlier?" she ventured, concentrating on her painting.

Edward frowned and then quickly cleared his expression. "You know…just the work I do isn't exactly fun…"

There was a silence, and all that could be heard was the thick brush strokes as the paint was applied. Winry rolled her eyes and stared down at him as he kneeled on the floor to paint the lower part of the wall. "Don't lie to me Ed – you were in a foul mood and I know you wouldn't just make the floor in the corridor like that unless something had really pissed you off," she said reasonably which made Edward flinch as he realised that she was most certainly right, as usual.

He sighed as he dipped his brush into the paint tin, the brush eagerly soaking up the thick colour, before being slapped against the wall. "Just the military guys at Southern HQ can be right assholes…" he muttered bitterly, avoiding his gaze. Winry remained silent and before she could ask why, he answered her silent question. "They look at women as if they are trophies to be won, and not like real people…"

Winry sucked a breath, "what are you saying, Ed?"

"I'm saying that when you came to HQ today, all of the young officers couldn't take their eyes off you as if you were a piece of meat-"

"And is that a problem to you?" Winry blurted out, glaring down to look at him. Edward looked up at her, all seriousness gone as he saw a huge smudge of paint on her cheek and the ridge of her nose. He burst into laughter, making Winry's temper rise slightly. "What is it?" she asked suddenly self conscious as Edward peered at her though his laughter.

Standing up and still chuckling, he went forwards and pressed his thumb to her face, trying to wipe away the paint. Winry blushed and slapped his hand away, and then grabbed her paintbrush and smeared a line of paint on Edward's face making his laughter stop abruptly. Winry then began to laugh and then lunged forward as Edward ducked and grabbed his paintbrush.

"Bring it on, woman," Edward called as he swiped her leg with paint.

She laughed then managed to get paint on his arm, letting out a successful cry. They continued to battle: Winry got Edward on the shoulder, Edward got Winry on her neck, and Winry responded by getting a good lunge at his chest, where a large and thick brush stroke went straight across his middle. Winry put her hands to her mouth and laughed; her laughter echoing throughout the house.

Edward stared down at his chest and clenched his jaw, his face deadly serious. "That was my best shirt," he said, glaring at her.

Winry's laughter immediately subsided and she looked at him with questioning eyes. Seeing his opportunity, he smiled and wiped some paint on her exposed stomach, making her issue a surprised squeal. "Hesitation!" he cried and then laughed at her shocked face.

"You jerk," Winry joked and pushed him to the ground, her paintbrush in her hand, aiming for Edward's face.

He grabbed her wrists to stop him from getting paint all over his face then suddenly realised that she was on top of him, her mind set. Edward shifted uncomfortably a little and let his guard down and loosened his grip, making Winry wipe paint down his cheek. She laughed, but it faded quickly, when she appeared to realise the same thing as Edward. She had indeed pinned him down, her legs on either side of him and her hands now by his head. Edward's breath caught in her throat and rather than let his thoughts take control again, he followed his senses and leant up a little to find Winry leaning down on him. He was mildly surprised when he found her kissing him back.

Edward let go of her wrists, paintbrushes falling to the floor, as his hands traced up her arms, one hand finding her glossy hair and gently tugged on the hair tie, the other skimming down the side of her body to her waist. Her blonde locks cascaded down and framed her face, fuelling a burning sensation in Edward's stomach. As their kissing intensified, Winry tugged at the collar of Edward's vest shirt, pulling them both into a sitting position. The clothes were obstacles as Winry roughly pulled it over his head and Edward fumbled in trying to find the ties to her top on her back and was quietly grateful that the shop floor windows were tinted, so nobody could see them.

He couldn't keep his eyes off has and when he finally unlatched her top, he rolled over and pressed her gently to the floor as she looked up at him with big eyes. He lightly kissed her shoulder and all the way up her neck to the corner of her lips, a small moan escaping her lips. Edward suddenly hesitated like before but looked down at her, feeling himself becoming almost high as he saw her cheeks flushed and her eyes a deep blue, her golden yellow hair tangled around her face. Her innocence clashed against his own as their bodies exchanged heat. He leaned in close and whispered, "are you sure you want this?" he asked as Winry's hands skimmed over his bare back.

Winry's hands paused as she looked at him, her breathing slightly ragged. "Ed, sometimes I wonder how you become a prodigy," she muttered, her hands falling to his crotch, tugging on his belt and then her fingers playing with the edge of his boxers, making him even harder. "I've wanted this for a long time," she breathed and reached up slightly to kiss his slightly open mouth.

Deciding that Winry had given him permission and halting his questions of 'how long', Edward began to roam his hands all over her body, with Winry doing exactly the same. He was finding it very hard to control himself, especially when Winry opened her legs a little and began moving under him. He trailed kisses from her face down her neck and around her breasts where his tongue played with her nipples making her moan loudly. Her hands dropped from touching Edward and she began wiggling again and Edward realised that she was trying to get out of her underwear. Edward moved his kisses lower and she stopped trying to pull them down. Instead, Edward's lips touched the softness of her stomach and even further. His hands played with the top of her white panties, until he knew she couldn't take the teasing anymore, so he slid them down her legs, kissing as he went and then threw them away. Winry reached forward, her warm and soft hands taking off his boxers. Edward pulled them off himself and then looked down at her, taking in how wonderful she looked without any clothes on. How could he have known that this beautiful woman was waiting for him the whole time? How did he know that clothes could conceal so much? He tore his gaze away from the dark blonde hairs in between her legs and looked up into her face, their noses now touching. Their bodies were millimetres apart and Edward could feel the heat radiating from the body beneath him. He pressed his chest against her own and buried his head in her shoulder. He was suddenly nervous – the temptation of her wetness which he could smell was driving him insane and he just wanted to dive into her but he knew that would hurt her she he paused.

Her hand gracefully moved its way down between their bodies and he gasped in her ear when she touched his hard member and guided it towards the wetness in between her legs. She let go and Edward slowly moved inside her. Winry gasped loudly and he paused, finding it hard to breathe. He looked up at her face, because he didn't want to hurt her. Without looking at him but giving him confidence, Winry place one of her hands on the small of his back and added pressure, making Edward comply. He moved deeper into her holding his breath and then exhaled as he started rocking inside her. Soon they were moving rhythmically together, their limbs entwined as Winry wrapped her legs around him and Edward's arms wrapped around her. They were both drenched in sweat as their passion took control, and Edward knew that it was no longer hurting Winry as they began moving faster. He kissed her neck as he made love to the only woman he had ever loved and treasured each moment he thrust deeper and deeper into her and the pleasurable cries he got in response.

It was desperate love-making and after many minutes of exploring each other, Edward felt like he couldn't control himself much longer. He buried his head in her hair beside her face and bit her shoulder, making her cry out as she breathed "faster". He complied, his breathing fast and lust-filled when suddenly he felt a tightening around his member and noticed Winry yelling, almost screaming with pleasure and calling his name, but she was clamped onto him and all blood went from his head as he fell into climax too; his moan echoing around the room, panting her name in return. Sweat covered them both and Edward kissed Winry long and hard on her mouth as he slid out of her and rolled off her, trying to catch his breath. It was now dark outside and the room was pitch black except for the dull street light that peered though the tinted windows.

Winry rested her head on his chest, his flesh arm wrapping around her whilst the automail one wiped his brow. Exhaustion took over him and he felt his eyelids drooping as Winry's breathing slowed next to him. He had taken her innocence and he had taken hers, Edward smiled to himself. But the smile faded when he realised that a big part of their innocence had been lost many years ago: Winry's parents being killed and living with her grandmother had taught her to grow up suddenly, as well as his own mistake with his brother by performing the taboo and journeying on never-ending quests. However, he had shown Winry that he wasn't an expert in every field in life and was new to a more personal side which they had both missed out on as growing teenagers already leading adult lives.

"About bloody time, Ed," Winry mumbled to his chest, sleep consuming her. Edward smiled and stroked her long messy hair.


Yep – right there and then on the shop floor. Spontaneous sex; hurrah! Hope you enjoyed! Be nice – that's the first time EVER I have written a sex scene.

Not much was edited here...made it a bit more dirty and detailed ha-ha.

Reviews are loved, and I am sorry the beginning of this chapter was a little slow – don't you just think Ed is great when he is jealous? Because we all know he is. ^^

Next chapter – 'Drive'