Chapter 9

Farewell


The day was beautiful. The sun was warm, but the soft breeze made sure that the weather would not get too hot. The young State Alchemist walked with his hands stuffed into his pockets, and his eyes in the sky as he followed the trail. Beside him was his best friend, in a pretty beige dress with her long blonde hair tied in a braid that trailed down her back. It looked like as though both Edward and Winry had switched their hairstyles for the day as Ed wore his in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck. Both of them had their feet stuffed in wellingtons to avoid pools of mud on the ground that were a reminder of the previous night's rain.

"So where are we going?" Winry asked, turning her head to look at her friend.

"Huh?" Ed looked at her through the corner of his eye. "I thought you were leading!"

"Me? You're the one taking me on the date!"

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who asked me for a second date!" Ed grinned.

"Hmph! It was a mutual thing." Winry said, when she realized that he was right, and she flushed a light pink.

"How about we just enjoy this walk for now?" Ed said, taking his hands out of his pockets and knotting his fingers together at the back of his head.

Silence followed the pair, but it was not an uncomfortable silence that they shared between them. They walked until they were close to the outskirts of town before Ed spoke again.

"Did you tell him about our date?"

Winry didn't need to ask him who he was talking about to know. "Yes, of course I did. And no, he didn't mind." She said, answering the unasked question that hung between them. "I think he feels thankful towards you for saving us."

The couple walked straight into the town before Edward grabbed Winry by the hand and led her in to a small restaurant. He guided her to a table by the window before calling for a waiter to bring them menus.

"What would you like for drinks, sir?" the waiter inquired after he set the two menus down in front of the guests.

"Just water for me," Ed replied. "What about you, Winry?"

"The same, please," she said and the waiter nodded and went on his way.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Winry inquired looking around at the quaint little eatery.

"Well I'm hungry," Ed answered truthfully, his eyes sweeping over the open menu in his hands. "And what's a date without any food!" he peeped at her over the top of his menu to shoot her a quick grin and a wink before returning to his choosing. "Hurry up and pick something, Win!"

After a few moments the waiter returned with their drinks, and the couple gave in their orders. After he left, Ed leaned back in his chair and took to observing the passersby through the window. Winry on the other hand, focused her attention on Ed.

She noticed that he really had grown into a very handsome man. His long blonde hair shone in the light that picked out every individual strand of golden hair on his head. He also had beautiful golden eyes to match, that were filled with knowledge and wisdom beyond his years, framed by long dark lashes that would kiss his cheekbones every time he blinked. Edward had also been blessed with a gorgeous honey complexion.

At that moment, Winry realized something about Ed.

"You're so beautiful,"

"What?" Ed asked, taken by surprise.

"I just realized that you are really beautiful. Did you ever notice that about yourself?" she said, still in a daze as she observed him. "I'm so jealous!"

Ed felt his cheeks burn under her intense stare and her compliments and hurried to find something to say. "H-hey! Don't go around calling men 'beautiful'! It's insulting!" he stammered before turning away from her as their food arrived.

-x-o-x-o-x-o-

"Hello! Is anybody home?" Lily called into the yellow house through the open window.

"Lily!" Al exclaimed in surprise, coming out of the kitchen garbed in a pink frilly apron. "Come on in, the door is open."

The brunette entered the house and walked up to her new boyfriend to give him a quick kiss. "Cute apron," she said, causing the young Elric to blush. "What are you doing?"

"Um, baking cupcakes." He said. "I just put the second batch into the oven, so do you want to help me decorate the first?"

"Sure," she smiled, following him into the kitchen and accepting the flower-print apron he offered her. "I didn't know you could cook!"

"Well, after living alone with Brother, I kind of had to learn. I mean, we couldn't live on store-bought food forever!" he explained.

The couple enjoyed decorating the cakes together using icing with the silliest designs they could come up with. Lily made most of them with flowers and animals, while Al drew on the simplest transmutation circles he could remember just to make them creative. While Lily was in the middle of decorating one cupcake, Al nudged her and pushed the cupcake he had just decorated towards her. The girl blushed when she saw the simple heart drawn on top of it with pink icing. She took the cupcake and added a decoration of her own to it. When she allowed him to see it, he turned an even deeper shade of pink than she had. Lily had inscribed 'A+L' inside the heart that Al had drawn, and she held out the little muffin for him to eat, which he did and then he fed her. Just as she took a bite, Al leaned forward and kissed her cheek, leaving a little smudge of pink frosting on it.

"Al…" Lily blushed, turning to look back at him.

Al turned her; so that her back was against the table, and taking her chin in his hand, he leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips. The girl whispered his name again as she reached up to coil her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. His lean body bent over hers and she pressed back against him. Al's lips left hers, but he didn't break the contact of skin as he moved to kiss her cheek, his tongue darting out to lick the icing he had left with his last kiss. She led his lips back to hers, and this time his tongue entered her mouth. Lily didn't put up much of a fight and he easily gained dominance, smiling as he tasted the cake in her mouth.

They were so engrossed in their moment that they didn't notice the small woman who had entered the kitchen.

"Ahem!"

Al had to practically force his lips away from Lily's, not wanting to stop, to see who had interrupted them. The couple immediately turned an impressive shade of red and let go of each other when they saw Pinako grinning playfully at them.

"Cakes done, Al?" she asked teasingly. Al just blushed, and the old lady frowned when a strong smell touched her nose. "What's that burning smell?"

Simultaneously, all the three heads in the kitchen turned to look at the oven, out of which smoke was rising.

"Oh NO! My cupcakes!"

-x-o-x-o-x-o-

"We had a great meal, so what do we do next?" Ed asked. "That was something that I wanted to do, what about you? Is there anything you'd like?"

"Well, remember the fun we had when we were kids?" Winry said, looking thoughtful.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"I wish we could go back to those times."

Edward's gaze turned wistful. "Yeah... me to."

"Though it doesn't mean we can't still do the same things!" she said, a cheeky glint coming to her eye, and before Ed could figure out what she meant, she slapped him hard on his arm. "Tag you're it!" she laughed, running ahead of him. Ed simply stared at her in surprise, while rubbing the arm she had hit. "C'mon slow-poke! I'm going to get way ahead of you!" she called out at him, turning back to look at him, and slowing into a jog.

A wide grin spread across the alchemist's face and he laughed. "Alright! Here I come!"

The two friends played together like children for more than half an hour after, each swapping turns to chase or run, until finally, while Winry was chasing Ed, she collapsed on the grass under a large oak out of exhaustion.

"Alright Ed! I give up!" she gasped as the boy walked cautiously towards her, expecting her to spring up and grab him. When he realized she was serious, he sat down on the grass next to her.

"Really? You're giving up so fast? But I still have so much energy left!" Ed teased.

The girl hit him weakly on his leg, but started chuckling afterwards. "Thanks, Ed."

"For what?" Ed stretched out on the grass next to her.

"I can't have this kind of fun with anyone." She explained. "You're the only person I can ask to act like a kid with me." She turned her head to the side to look at him and found his golden orbs staring back at her. She felt her heart skip a beat when she felt Ed's hand touching hers before their fingers knotted together. It wasn't his automail hand, and he wasn't wearing a glove on his normal hand either so she could feel the callused texture of his work-worn hand, but his grip was very gentle over hers.

"I'll always be here for you, Winry," he said in a low husky voice that made her at a loss for words. She had never felt this butterfly-wings feeling when she was with Ed before. Winry didn't say anything, so Ed hoisted himself up slightly, without letting go of her hand, and leaned down to kiss her. However, Winry turned her head before Ed could kiss her lips, causing his lips to meet her cheek instead.

Ed immediately straightened up to a sitting position turning his head away from Winry, but keeping a hold of her hand. The girl remained unmoving.

"Sorry."

Winry was silent for a moment before she spoke. "No, I'm sorry Ed," she started. "But I have a boyfriend. I don't want to be the kind of person to cheat on the people they care about." The fact that she hadn't rebuked against his actions didn't go unnoticed by Ed, but that didn't stop the sinking feeling he felt in his stomach. "Please understand. I do care about you, but I don't want to do it like this."

"I'm sorry… I ruined our date." Ed muttered.

"No, you didn't," Winry said, standing up and pulling Ed up along with her. "C'mon, let's take a walk around. The weather is amazing."

They remained hand in hand as they walked. The almost-kiss hadn't spoiled the atmosphere between them, and Ed was glad that they were able to enjoy the rest of their date.

-x-o-x-o-x-o-

"Brother! Brother, wake up!" Al called his brother, shaking him softly while he lay in bed.

"W-what?" Ed asked groggily, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes with the heel of his palm. He looked at the clock on the wall and groaned. "Al, it's six in the morning! Why'd you wake me up?"

"Winry's calling you," Al said, letting go of his brother and settling down on his own bed. "She's in her workshop."

"Yeah, tell her I'll be there in a sec," Ed dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom before splashing cold water over his face. He looked up at his reflection in the mirror and sighed, remembering Winry's and his date last night. He supposed it was because the girl had called him beautiful, he was able to dare himself to kiss her. Even though she had said he hadn't spoiled the date, he couldn't help feeling a little awkward about it.

"You're an idiot," Edward muttered to his reflection, scowling. The young man in the mirror said nothing but scowled back at him. He just sighed, wiped his face with a towel and left the bathroom to stomp down the stairs to Winry's workshop.

"What's up, Win?" he asked as soon as he stepped into the room. Winry was hunched over her work table polishing a new work of automail. Ed walked up next to her and leaned on the table. "That's a nice piece of work," he admired. "Who is it for?"

The blonde girl didn't speak until she finished what she was doing, and then she looked up at him. "It's for you." She said. "I've finished rebuilding your automail! What do you think?" she beamed at her work and held it out for him to look at.

"Looks great!" Ed grinned. "Oh yeah, I wanted to let you know that I'll be heading back to Central tomorrow."

The moment the words left his mouth, Winry's eyes turned to the table and Ed's smile diminished as well. He had been having so much fun in Resembool, he hadn't realized how the time passed and had actually forgotten the work-load waiting for him back at the military.

"So you had planned to leave tomorrow?" Winry asked.

"I guess," Ed muttered. "We were already here for a long time. I have to get back before too much work piles up – Fuhrer Shit-Mustang is such a slave driver, you know!" The boy forced a smile on his face before speaking again. "Hey, do you want to go out with me for a bit?"

"Huh? Where?"

"Shopping," Ed smiled. "Al's making me buy parting gifts for everyone. I should ask Al to come along to help as well, since it is his big idea."

Winry returned the smile. "Sure, let's go out together!"

-x-o-x-o-x-o-

"Well that was fun!" Winry giggled as they walked back home from their shopping trip, their hands laden with bags from various bags.

"Was it really?" Ed asked, adjusting his hold on the bags in his hands. He couldn't bring himself to agree with her. He had no idea what to buy for everyone, there were so many options in the shops, but he could never be sure if his friends would like his gifts. If it wasn't for Winry, he would have given up after the first fifteen minutes of looking.

He had bought a pipe for Pinako, shirts for the boys; all of which were picked by Winry and a pair of nice earrings and dresses for Lilly; also selected by Winry. Winry also chose some outfits for herself that Ed paid for. Edward looked at the pretty blue ribbons in Winry's hair and smiled. He took pride in the fact that those where something he had picked by himself.

"What are you smiling at?" Winry asked self-consciously.

"The ribbons," Ed said. "They look good on you."

"Oh!" Winry blushed.

"I hope it doesn't rain again," Ed said, to change the topic of conversation, while looking up into the sky where dark clouds were forming. It had been raining on and off all day, and neither of them had brought an umbrella nor raincoats. Winry nodded in agreement, not wanting to get caught in another shower, especially while carrying their shopping.

Edward didn't say anything more, but looked up the road ahead of them when he heard a melodious voice singing a cheery, meaningless song. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing forwards at a figure squatting at the side of the road. Winry looked up, but shook her head when she too was unable to identify the person. Looking closer at the person's head that was covered by the hood of a clear raincoat, he saw a hint of magenta in the person's dark hair, erasing all doubt of who it was.

"Hiya Jomy!" Ed greeted him when Winry and he reached the boy.

"Good morning Ed, Winry!" Jomy said, looking up and beaming at the two of them.

"Jomy, what are you doing?" Winry asked looking down at him in bewilderment. The pale boy was clad in a clear poncho, through which they could see his plain black attire that made his magenta highlighted hair stand out even more, and knee-high green wellingtons, that were now dirtied with mud. However this wasn't what was made Winry stare. The part-albino boy was squatting right in the middle of a sticky puddle of mud, while kneading a handful of mud between his fingers.

Jomy looked down at his hands, where Winry was staring, before looking back up at her. "What's the matter?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Well, you are playing with mud." She said as a-matter-of-fact. "Like a child."

The boy looked from his hands to Winry and back again with a thoughtful expression on his face. "It's fun!" was his answer, as he broke out into a wide smile. "Want to try?" He swept his hands in the direction of small cakes of mud, set in piles next to him and said "I've been doing this ever since the rain came down today. Do you want to play?"

"No thanks, I'll pass." Winry said, scrunching up her nose in disapproval. She looked up to see Al and Lily walking towards them, hand in hand while Al carried another bag on his right. She waved at them as they approached.

"Hi, you two! Out on a date?" she asked as they approached. "After ditching us?" she added.

"Not really," Al replied, laughing lightly. "Lily wanted my help to deliver something to her grandma." His eyes turned to the boy squatting on the ground. "I was just about to go to your place Jo…mee… uh… what are you doing?"

"Making mud-pies," Jomy answered without looking up.

Edward chuckled and, after placing the bags he was carrying on a dry rock on the side of the road, he squatted near the black haired boy, careful to avoid the muddy areas. "It looks interesting though!"

His brother chuckled and joined him on the floor after giving his bags to his girlfriend. "What else can you do besides making mud-pies?"

"Well…" Jomy said, molding a handful of mud between his fingers. "You can do...this!" As he spoke, the ball of mud was sent flying out of his hand before falling splat on Edward's face.

Everyone was quiet for two second in surprise, before Ed jumped to his feet in outrage. "Jomy, you moron!" he seethed as his hand scooped up a handful of mud before flinging it at his target. It didn't take too long before flying mud-balls covered the area. The mud that missed their targets hit others, and soon Al and Winry got involved in the fun. Lily had tried to avoid it, but in her attempt to protect the bags, she wound up covered in mud as well.

It wasn't just them who were playing. Some of the other passersby who had been hit with the flying bombs also joined in, while others chose to run away. When their friends also got involved, it soon turned into a fun game for all of them. Even those who tried to stop it, like Jomy's twin Joanie, wound up joining in.

When everyone was completely layered with mud, that there was more on them than the ground, did they finally stop and many took off to clean up.

"Well that was fun!" Jomy laughed while clapping Ed on his back with a dirty hand.

"Humph! How did I get involved?" Joanie groaned, trying to pull out the gunk that had caked onto her hair. "Mom's going to kill the both of us for coming home like this!"

"Don't kid yourself! You were having fun!" Winry giggled, grabbing the girl in a muddy bear-hug from behind. Joanie smiled in agreement.

"Oh no! Where are my bags?" Al cried suddenly, turning to look at Lily who also had been playing with them.

"I put them away, on a tree, when the game started to get more messy!" she smiled and pointed at a large tree.

While Al went to check on the bags, Ed cried out as well. "Shit! What happened to my shopping?" he looked around but when he was unable to find them, he feared that they might have been buried under all the mud.

"Don't worry brother," Al said comfortingly. "They're all here; Lily put them away as well." He held out some of the bags in his hands to his brother, which he accepted.

Ed thanked Lily before pulling her into a hug with a wide grin on his face. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Al! Your girlfriend is the sweetest!" The couple blushed at his compliments, while the rest of them laughed in agreement.

-x-o-x-o-x-o-

That evening, Ed went down to the workshop in the house to look for Winry. However the room was empty when he entered, and even when he called out there was no answer. After looking around the room for a bit, he found an automail arm on the work table, next to it was some polish and a brush. Looking at it closely, and judging by its size and design, he realized it must have been made for him.

Wow, Winry has got some talent! He thought, picking up the automail and checking its weight. It was very light, and he knew it would feel comfortable when it was on him.

"Do you like it?"

The voice came from behind him, and Ed turned around to look at Winry. "Is it mine?" he asked. At the back of his mind he knew that he would feel a little disappointed if it had been made for somebody else. He didn't know much about automail, but he could tell that this was a good piece. Winry nodded and took the automail from him.

"I just finished polishing it," She said. "Shall I put it on you? I finished your leg too."

"Sure," Ed said, seating himself on top of the worktable.

First deciding to fix his leg, Winry folded Ed's left trouser leg, stopping above his knee, and gently pulled off his old automail. She positioned the new one in front of the port, before asking Ed his other plans for the evening. Attaching automail hurt, but talking to him would divert his attention away from the pain. Edward winced as she plugged in his left leg, but kept his mouth shut to the pain.

"Take off your shirt," Winry instructed, as she picked up his automail arm and wiped the joint with a clean cloth to make sure that there were no dirt or germs on it.

Ed did as he was told, and Winry used the cloth to wipe his port as well after removing the attached automail. "You're sweating," she observed. "Are you feeling hot? You don't have a fever do you?" she reached up to feel his forehead.

"Nah," he said. "I'm fine. It just hurts a bit, that's all."

Winry nodded and held the arm in front of his port before asking, "What do you plan to do once you go back to Central?"

"Once I go back?" Ed looked thoughtful before answering. "Mustang will probably load all his work on me!" he laughed. "I'll miss yo-argh!" Ed cried softly, as she connected the ports. He rubbed the shoulder joint gently before slouching on the table.

"I'll miss you too, Ed" Winry said, rubbing his shoulder for him. The scars that were there made the skin in that area much rougher than in other areas, besides his left knee where he had similar scars. She then stepped back to look at him. "Is it comfortable?"

The Elric hopped down from the table and tried moving his automail. "It feels good. Very comfortable." He said, flexing his right arm. "Thank you." He leaned back on the table.

The girl looked at the young man in front of him, and again she was stunned by his breathtaking appearance. He really had beautifully tanned skin with a strong muscled left arm and an automail right, which was just as strong, a tight chest and abs. Without her realizing it, a feeling came over her and she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to touch his well toned body. It was only with her finger tips, and she gently dragged her fingers along his chest to his stomach. Ed started and gasped when he felt her hand trail down his body, trying really hard not to moan at the contact.

Winry's POV:

Edward's body couldn't be called flawless, because of the various scars he carried from his different battles. All marks of either his victory or defeat. But nevertheless, he was still really beautiful.

I dragged my hand across all the visible parts of his body. I could tell that Ed was beginning to get uncomfortable, but for some unexplainable reason, I couldn't pull my hand away. I traced my way back up along his firm stomach and chest, circling my thumb over his left nipple before touching his cheek.

He had a very handsome face, with a strong jaw and the most beautiful eyes that I had ever seen. I kept one hand pressed over his chest. I could feel the beat of his heart hammering against his ribcage. And with the other I drew over his lips, tracing them with my finger tips. Then, without thinking, I leaned forward and kissed them.

He tasted wonderful. My tongue darted out to lick his lips, and I felt him pucker them. I was just about to curl my arms around his neck, to secure myself closer to him, but I stopped when I felt his lips harden. His hands grabbed my shoulders and pushed me away.

"Stop!" His eyes were hard and unwavering. "Stop it."

Realization of what I was doing came to me, and my hand flew over my lips in a reflex action. "I'm sorry." That was all I could say. What was I doing? Had I been so infatuated with Ed that I couldn't keep away? "Please forget what just happened." I whispered with my eyes turned down. Unable to stay in the room with him any longer, I fled to the sanctuary of my own.

Edward's POV:

I stood alone in the room.

I could not explain what had happened between Winry and me. I clutched my hand over my racing heart as I tried to steady my breathing. The room felt hot and my whole body felt like it was on fire. Winry's lips against mine felt so… good. It had been easy to disguise my heated appearance, but when she had kissed me, it had turned everything around.

I couldn't resist kissing her back, but once the excitement got too much, I couldn't bear it. My trousers felt so tight at the fork, and I couldn't have felt more uncomfortable. I longed to continue kissing her, to touch her, to feel her against me, but I was afraid that if I held it in any longer I would explode or that she would notice the growing bulge of my trousers.

The hallway was empty when I left the room, and I staggered into the bathroom, quickly locking the door behind me before relieving myself. I was still in shock from the fact that it was Winry who had advanced on me.

I bit my lip to muffle a groan that escaped my lips as I eased my discomfort.

What had driven her to do that? What about her relationship with Andrew, that she had been so serious about? Did something happen between them?

My head buzzed with questions, making me feel light-headed. When I finally left the bathroom, I tried to confront Winry but I found that she had left the house, so I settled down in my room for the evening. I was leaving the next morning on the early train, so I worried that I wouldn't be able to talk to her that night.

My mind was so messed up that I skipped dinner, and Winry continued to stay with people around her that night, so I couldn't get her alone to talk. In the end I wound up sleeping with my unsolved questions, hoping that when morning came, my head would be clearer.

-x-o-x-o-x-o-

A whistle sounded as the train started its engines, and smoke filled the air as it took off out of the station. Ed watched the train windows fly in front of his eyes as he sat on a bench at the station, waiting for his train to pull in. He looked at the blonde girl sitting next to him out of the corner of his eye and let out a short sigh. He and Winry had acted like as though nothing had happened between them the night before in front of others, and even Al, who was sitting on Winry's other side remained oblivious.

"They're here!" Al said getting up from his seat. Ed followed his gaze to the troop of people who had just entered the station and waved. Al immediately went up and embraced his girlfriend.

The rest of the time was spent with everyone exchanging best wishes and farewells to each other. Ed shook the guys' hands while the girls, and Jomy, gave him parting hugs.

"Take care, Ed!" Jomy sniffed. "Come back soon!"

"Oh c'mon," Ed grinned. "Are you seriously crying?"

"N-no!" he hiccupped. "I've just got something in my eye!" he said wiping away tears.

Edward smiled when he saw his brother in a tight, loving embrace with Lily, little way off from everyone else. They did not cry, knowing that they would see each other again. He turned away and found himself face-to-face with Winry. There was a hesitation between them before Ed opened his arms and Winry moved into them.

"See you Winry," he spoke into her hair. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Winry whispered back, holding him tighter. "Have a safe trip."

Right on time, their train to Central pulled into the station just as Ed let go of Winry. There was another round of hugs before Ed and Al boarded it and went in to find a cabin, and soon the train was off again, with both the brothers watching their friends out of their cabin window until they were out of sight.

Ed sighed as he slumped in his seat. He was glad. In the end, he was able to have a good farewell with Winry and there were no more awkward feelings in him.

"Brother?" Al looked at him questioningly.

"I wonder when we'll return…" Ed brooded, looking out of the window.

"Soon I hope," Al smiled and his brother grinned at him.

"Because you'll have a girlfriend waiting, right?" Ed teased. Al blushed and they both laughed.

When the laughter died down Al spoke again. "What about you and Winry? I know you like her."

Ed looked at his brother with a sober expression. "Who knows, Al. Who knows…" he said before they both started laughing again at his expression.

THE END


TSUKI: Hello everyone! Niki's little sister Tsuki here!

How did you all enjoy the story? Don't forget to send in your reviews about the chapter, story and your feelings of it!

Since my sister had been really busy these days she had asked me to finish the story for her! Don't worry all you fans! All of the content in this story has been approved by her and she has edited it herself.

Well this is Sayonara everyone! Please keep reading ~HoPeLeSsRoMaNtIc~'s fanfictions!

As a side note, if you enjoyed her stories, you will enjoy mine too! Please check out my profile where my name is moon-in-flames!

It is currently going under mass editing but please do visit, and…

WHAM!

NIKI: Stop advertising on my last chapter!

TSUKI: *Rubbing an apple sized bruise on her head* Teehee~!

NIKI: Tch! Pain-in-the-ass sisters. Just because she wrote up most of this last chapter, she thinks she can use it as an ad space… -.-"

xP

Thank you so much guys... this chapter was for all those who remained with me throughout the course of this story, for especially enduring my tardiness. Love you all!

I hope to see you guys again soon... :)

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