I know, sorry doesn't even cover it. But what can I say I just moved out of my Mum's house to a whole new town to start University. I feel bad for making you guys wait so long, forgive me.

I will try my hardest to get the next chapter out soon!

Anyway thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter nine!

Chapter 10

Winry shot up in her bed, panting slightly from her bad dream, she shook her head to dislodge the sense of foreboding and the dream faded away until she couldn't recall what had scared her so much. She wrapped a kimono style dressing gown around her and lightly skipped downstairs, delighted by the sight of both her parents in the kitchen.

She practically bounced across the room to brush a kiss against her father's cheek and throw her arms around her mother's neck.

"Someone's happy this morning." Her Dad stated with a hint of a question.

"Yes, you're not normally this affectionate." Her Mother added.

"Well I hardly ever see you two anymore." Winry grinned as she her Mum got up and placed some still warm food on to a plate and passed it to her. "Thanks." She said sitting down at the table with her parents.

"How was that dance?" Her Father asked, rightly guessing the reason behind his daughter's happiness.

"It was amazing..." Winry proceeded to tell her parents about the night before.

Ed rolled out of his bed at close to midday, grinning at the memories of the night before. He tugged on some trousers and a shirt and scraped his hair back into a ponytail, before stepping out of his room. He knocked gently on Al's bedroom door and pushed his way inside without waiting for an answer. Al wasn't there. Frowning Ed made his way downstairs. He looked round the wide hallway hoping to see some evidence of where Al was. He caught sight of the beaten up brown briefcase and his frown turned into a scowl.

He headed for the kitchen, detouring enough to kick the briefcase over.

"That was petty, Ed." Al said appearing out of the kitchen.

"Whatever. Food." Ed pushed past him into the kitchen, hungrily grabbing at food. "So where is the bastard?" Ed asked Al, knowing he followed him into the kitchen.

"Don't know, haven't seen him yet."

"Typical."

"You should give him a chance Ed; he is our Father after all."

"Drop it Al." Ed glared at his him daring him to continue, Al merely shrugged having had no expectations of getting anywhere. They fell silent for a while. Ed hoisted himself up onto the table top with a cup of coffee and a bread roll, while Al returned to his seat in front of his bowl of cereal.

"So how was last night?" Al asked, hoping this wouldn't also turn into a no go area of conversation. He was relieved by the grin that spread over Ed's face as he began to recount the details of the previous evening.

Roy was woken up by a movement at his side. He tightened his arm over the body next to his, making a sleepy sound of discontent as Riza tried to get up.

"Get off me." She mumbled grumpily, "Just because you want to laze about in bed all day doesn't mean I do." She tried again to get up, dragging Roy into complete wakefulness. He shifted then, manoeuvring himself on top of her.

"Who said anything about lazing?" he grinned ruthlessly before kissing her, Riza responding by punching his shoulder causing him to swear and roll off her. She made her escape and got out of the bed dragging the covers with her leaving Roy exposed to the cold. He moaned consistently as he climbed off the mattress.

Winry was stretched out on a lawn chair letting the afternoon sun tan her skin. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she didn't hear the doorbell ring, or her Mother answer the door and greet the young man, she didn't even notice his presence in the garden until he let out a soft whistle. She sat up and opened her eyes, shielding them from the sun as she looked up at Edward, who had such a mischievous grin on his face she was suddenly very suspicious.

"Busy?" He asked gesturing the lawn chair.

"Yes, actually." She said with a mock scowl.

"Fine I'll come back later." Ed turned to leave.

"No, wait." Winry grabbed his arm and pulled him back, wrapping her arms round him to trap him. Ed gave her a smile of pure happiness, not marred by any negative emotion; it was rare enough for Winry to feel honoured that it was directed at her.

"Come on." Ed brushed his lips across hers briefly before taking her hand and pulling back towards the house.

"Where are we going?" Winry asked, not really caring what the answer was.

"Nowhere, just out."

Winry marvelled at how comfortable she felt with Ed, it was so simple to cross the line between friends and something more. They'd walked together so many times but never so close together or with their fingers entwined, yet to Winry this new development felt right, like it was meant to be, from the moment she first laid eyes on him. She giggled when she remembered her first impressions of him.

"What?" Ed asked, one eyebrow raised in question.

"I was just remembering when we first met."

"Why's that funny."

"You were so rude and arrogant. You really didn't want to work with me. I thought you were a bit of a jerk really."

"Oh thanks." Ed muttered in reply.

"I don't think that now, silly." Winry squeezed his hand in reassurance, "though you do act like a jerk sometimes."

Ed shrugged in reply. "It doesn't seem to bother you."

"But I know what you're really like." Winry looked up and him and smiled. He grinned back, dropping her hand and putting his arm round her shoulder. They walked in comfortable silence for a bit before Winry looked around her and frowned.

"Where are we going?" she asked Ed.

"I don't know, you live round here, I was following you." Ed stopped walking.

"What? I was following you. Did you actually plan to go anywhere?"

"Erm...sure...er...the beach."

"You thought of that just now didn't you?"

"Yes. Come on." Ed grabbed Winry's hand again and started walking. Winry pulled on his arm so he'd stop.

"Ed, the beach is that way." She indicated the opposite direction to the one he was going in.

Al lay on his bed reading. He looked up when someone knocked on his bedroom door.

"Back already Brother?"

"No, it's me," a deep voice said.

"Dad? Come in." Al pulled himself into a sitting position, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. He was patting the covers looking for his bookmark as his Dad walked in. He found it and slid it in to the book, marking his page. Looking up he smiled at his Father, who hovered in the doorway.

"How are you feeling today, Son?" Hohenheim asked.

"I'm fine thanks." Al was far too used to the awkward, formal conversations with his Father by now.

"Good, how are things at school?"

"Fine, sort of, well kind of not." Hohenheim raised an eyebrow at his son's vague statement. "Well, it's not me, I'm fine. It's Ed." Al stood up and walked to his desk, picking up the letter from the school and passing it to his Father.

"What's this? A letter from the school, why do you have it?"

"Because Ed always gets rid of letters from the school." Al replied guilty. Ed was going to kill him for this.

"Yes, I'd guessed, I thought it was odd I never got a letter from them." Hohenheim said as he opened the letter and read it. He sighed. Bad grades, truancy and punctuality issues, last time he'd looked his eldest son had been a little genius. Now it seemed like he was going to the realms of hopeless teenage screw up. Hohenheim angrily thought how upset by Ed's behaviour his wife, Trisha, would have been. The thought of his wife caused him pain and without even looking at his younger son, he left the room.

"Edward is that you?" Ed froze at the sound of his Father's voice. He considered his options he could duck back out of the front door he'd just walked through. He could make a break for his bedroom and lock the door or he could just carry on as if his father didn't exist. But before he made a choice his Dad appeared in front of him. "My office, now!"

"Sorry I'm kind of busy I need to study."

"Edward." Hohenheim's voice held a thinly veiled warning. Edward gave up hope of avoiding this. He dodged past his Father and headed for the study. He knew this would end in an all out fight like it usually did and he didn't want to because he knew Al didn't like it. He also didn't want to ruin what had actually been a good day.

The office was fairly large but it was cluttered with papers that ranged from being years old to only a few days. There didn't seem to be any system to the mess at all. On the large oak desk stood a picture frame, Ed didn't need to look to know what the picture was. It was one of the few family shots they had. He could even vaguely remember the picture being taken. Ed had been a little kid at the time, Al was still young enough to have a dummy. Hohenhiem had held Ed while and Trisha had held Al, they'd been a happy family. Now Ed could barely stand to be in the same room as the man who'd once held him safe in his arms.

Ed dropped himself into armchair that was stuffed in the corner, dislodging piles of papers which had been stacked up on the arms.

"I got a letter from the school." Hohenheim said as he shut the door behind him. "What happened to your grades, Ed? You were always such a bright boy. Why are you struggling now?"

Ed practically ground his teeth in anger at this man's sudden display of parental concern.

"I'm not struggling. I could get top grades if I wanted."

"Then why don't you?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I'm your Father."

"Really? I've seen fathers; I know what they're meant to be like and you are such a crap excuse for one." Just as Ed had predicted the meeting had turned into a shouting match.

Hohenhiem turned away from him and slid a book off the shelf. He flicked through until he pulled out a photograph. He walked over to Ed's chair and stood right in front of him.

"Look." He indicated the photo. Ed just kept staring up at him, not dropping his gaze to the picture. "Look at it!" Hohenhiem said again, this time raising it so it was in Ed's line of sight.

This picture was just of Ed and his Mother. Ed was sitting on her lap, a large book open on his knees. He was reading to her from a book that should have been too advanced for his age. 'That's my little genius. I'm so proud of you.' His mother's voice rang loud and clear in his head for the first time in a long while. Her words of praise from so long ago made him feel guilty now.

"She was proud of you. She always called you her little genius, remember. What would she think now? How would she feel watching you throw your life away for some childish rebellion? Edward, think what you are doing to yourself, please." Hohenhiem spoke softly but his words reinforced the guilt that was building up in Ed.

"Shut it. Shut the hell up." Ed yelled at the top of his voice. He stood up quickly, forcing Hohenheim to take a step back. "It's my life I'll do what I want with it." He stormed out of the office.

Al scrambled back as he came face to face with a very angry Ed. He'd been eavesdropping at the door.

"Brother, sorry I would have warned you if I knew he wanted to talk to you." Al said.

"Like hell you would have. A letter from the school, you picked up the post the other day right? I went through it looking for letters from the school and there weren't any. So how did he suddenly get one huh?" Ed glared daggers at his brother. But Al had no answer, he just hung his head in shame.

"Sorry..." he tried but Ed had already stormed off up the stairs. He reappeared a minute later with a bag, then left the house without a word. Al heard his truck pull away.

The pounding on his door was driving Jean insane.

"Alright! I'm coming." He yelled, adding much quieter. "You impatient jerk." Opening the door he saw Ed, who still looked furious from his encounter with Hohenheim. "What are you doing here?" Jean asked.

"Getting away from my so called Father and my traitorous little brother." Ed answered. Jean raised an eyebrow but didn't question what had happened. Instead he opened the door wider and gestured for Ed to come in.

"Shall we put a sign on the spare room door saying 'Ed's room' or what."

"Shut up."

Winry was already out the front of her house waiting for Ed when he got there. She pulled herself into the cab of his truck and leant across to gently brush a kiss on his cheek.

"Good morning. Where's Al?"

"I don't know. I'm sure he'll find his own way to school." Ed said grumpily as he pulled away from the curb.

Ed was the last one to reach the car park. He parked up with his usual lack of care, causing his friends to step back a bit.

Ed slammed the car door a little too hard causing Fuery to jump in surprise and Roy to scowl at him. Winry came round the front of the truck and stood next to Ed.

"Morning." She said quietly.

"What's got you in such a bad mood Ed, after Saturday I'd thought you'd have been happy for once?" Roy grumbled.

"Shut up, like you don't already know." He cast a scowl at Havoc and received a guilty look in return that confirmed Jean had told everyone that the brother's were fighting.

Deciding to keep the peace, Rose changed the subject.

"So are you two, like, a couple now?" she asked Ed and Winry. The question caught them both off guard and resulted in some indistinct mumbles. Eventually Ed turned to Winry and said. "I guess so, I mean if you want us to be." His cheeks were tinged slightly pink.

Winry stared at him for a second and answering blush on her face.

"Of course I want to be, you idiot." She practically flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head in the crook of his neck.

Ed's cheek flamed even more at the open display of affection and he patted her shoulder awkwardly. Winry sighed and pulled back, still smiling. She didn't mind all that much if he wasn't comfortable with public displays, she'd work on it.

Roy started to laugh at Ed but was cut off by a quick jab in the gut by Riza's elbow.

Al came running up then, looking out of breath.

"Nice timing kid, we were just about to head to class." Roy said slapping Al on the back as he walked past.

"Hey Al, are you ok?" Winry asked.

"Yeah, thought I was going to be late. I had to get Dad to drop me off."

"Your Dad's home?"

"Yes. Didn't Ed say?"

"No. What's going on with you two anyway?"

"I'll explain later. Oh right could you give this to Ed." Al handed her Ed's wallet. Ed, himself, had already crossed half the car park already. The others not too far behind, except Fuery who waited patiently for Al.

"Sure." She said slipping it in her satchel as she heard Ed call her name. She smiled at Al and gave him a quick wave before running to join Ed.

When she reached Ed's side she caught his hand and entwined her fingers with his. Ed looked at her for a second and then smiled. He knew what people expected of him and it was wasn't to walk into school hand in hand with a pretty blonde. Still he liked stirring things up sometimes.

Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Please review.