A/N Hello again! I'm sorry I took so long to update but I have to admit that I kind of took my time with this chapter (general boredom and a little authors block) but now it's done! :D School exams have finally started to come to an end but I still have a few more to go! x) So yeah, enjoy this chappy and the cute EdWin moment that made, even me, squeal like the fangirl I am!

MESSED UP

"I need your help."

Edward blinked. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. He had not been expecting that kind of reply. Had he even heard correctly? As the seconds passed his doubt intensified and he found himself staring at Winry completely stupefied, "W-what?"

Winry stared right back at him and at his confusion she sighed exasperatedly, "I need your help," she repeated irritably and earned another confused stare from Ed. She heaved another sigh and rolled her eyes, barely able to contain the teasing smile,"What part of 'I need your help' don't you get?"

She hoped she sounded irritated at his cluelessness because she knew she should be, but for a reason she couldn't understand, she just wanted to throw her head back and laugh at his perplexed expression. She wisely chose to contain herself though; especially if she wanted him to help her.

Ed straightened and took in a deep breath as he thought about it. He kept his eyes focused on the blonde in front of him, hoping she would suddenly just admit that all this had been a joke. Unfortunately, no such thing happened. Ed frowned as he stared into her bright blue eyes that were waiting almost impatiently for an answer.

He sighed,"With what?"

Winry beamed,"So that means you'll help me!?" she exclaimed happily and barely caught herself from jumping.

Ed face palmed and barely held back another heavy sigh,"Depends on what you want me to help you with."

Winry put her hands in her pockets and frowned at the ground,"I want to try winning the competition again," she murmured so low Ed barely caught it.

"And what do you need my help for?"

Winry snapped her head up to look at him, "I need you to help me practice of course! What else?"

Ed arched an eyebrow and placed his hands in his coat's pockets firmly, "I'm not sure if you know...but I'm a terrible skater," he admitted and couldn't help but grin at her pout.

"That doesn't matter!"

"How am I supposed to help you with skating if I'm so terrible at it? Geez are you that desperate?" he teased with a smirk and Winry fumed. She stomped her foot on the ground childishly, her eyes burning with anger.

"I am not desperate Edward!" she shouted with a glare. They stared at each other for a moment; Winry glaring and Ed smirking, both trying to win the staring match. Winry was the one to give in and huffed. She crossed her arms indignantly and looked away from him,"It's not like you have to be on the ice anyway...I just wanted some company..." she murmured and Ed could make out the faintest hint of a blush.

He smiled, "When's the competition?" he asked and Winry turned to look at him again, trying her best not to get her hopes up, even though her eyes betrayed her.

"I-in a month," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. She anxiously waited for his reply as she worried her bottom lip nervously, her eyes shining with anticipation and hope. Ed frowned as he considered it. One month shouldn't be that bad...Besides, he'd get to see her almost every day, that's a good thing right?

He sighed and noticed that Winry's eyes widened ever so slightly, fearing rejection. One month, he kept telling himself, one month.

"Ok, I'll help you."

Winry's expression was priceless. A mix of relief, surprise and bliss was evident on her pretty features and her eyes beamed with joyful tears that threatened to spill. Her grin was huge, dangerously close to splitting her face in two. Her hands were no longer in her pockets; instead they were positioned in front of her in two tight fists of happiness.

"Really!? YOU MEAN IT!?"

Ed blinked and took a step back from the glowing girl in front of him fearfully while he hesitantly nodded his reply. He was amazed by how similar Mei and Winry could act sometimes. So similar it actually scared him.

Winry squealed out of pure joy and jumped, causing Ed to be taken aback when she threw herself to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He yelped in surprise as he lost his balance and they both fell on the hard, cold concrete. It took him a moment to realize what had happened and that he had closed his eyes subconsciously during the fall. He reluctantly opened them when he felt movement on top of him and blushed a furious red when he figured the movement had come from Winry.

The blonde had fallen on top of him and from what it seemed, wasn't embarrassed by the accident in the slightest. Her hands were on his chest and she just looked a little surprised by the fall. She got over it soon enough though, and rather than getting off of him like he expected, she moved even closer to his face which terrified him. She slowly placed her hands on either side of his head and leaned in. He was ready to protest and express his discomfort by pushing her away to retrieve some very precious personal space, when he felt her warm lips brush against his cheek tenderly and all his urgent thoughts to get her off him vanished in a fracture of a second. His breath got caught in his throat for a moment and he froze. As she pulled back just enough for him to see her face, he stared right into her shining, sky blue orbs with his wide, surprised gold ones neither of them moving an inch away from each other. Their faces were extremely close, each inhaling the warm air the other exhaled.

"Thanks," Winry breathed softly, her hot breath caressing Ed's cold face gently.

His heart rate picked up and that's when his thoughts went wild. They were in the middle of the street for crying out loud! What if a car suddenly ran over them when the driver failed to notice them in time? Or…even worse; what if the driver did see them and as he drove past made a dirty comment like "Get a room!" or something of the sorts? Ed was sure he would die on the spot from embarrassment if that ever happened.

Despite his terrifying thoughts, he had no idea how long they actually stayed like that and had made no move to get up, but suddenly Winry seemed to become aware of their weird position and behaviour, for her cheeks started burning and she abruptly threw herself off Ed and into a sitting position on the ground by his feet. Ed blinked confusedly when her intriguing blue eyes were no longer in his field of vision and flushed a bright red colour when he finally decided to lift himself to a sitting position. He stared intensely at the hard concrete below and spared a glance at Winry only to see that she was doing the exact same thing. Her cheeks were still flushed and she played with the end of her skirt feebly with one hand, her other being tucked firmly in between her legs.

Ed studied her a moment longer than necessary until he figured he had been staring and with a light curse, he stood up and offered a hand to the blonde who seemed to be avoiding eye contact at all costs as she grabbed his hand and rose to her feet. She brushed herself off and then looked at her feet awkwardly. Silence was wrapped around the two teenagers until Winry shattered it with a small mumble.

"Sorry."

For a reason unknown to him, he blushed deeper in response but replied nonetheless,"I-it's ok..."

Desperate to make some kind of conversation, Winry decided to voice whatever came to her mind. "So, um...Can you pass by my school tomorrow so we can...you know, leave together to go to the ice skating rink?" She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, hoping they didn't make any eye contact. When she noticed Ed looking at her, she quickly turned her gaze to the floor once more with a blush. She wiggled her toes shyly while waiting for an answer.

"Oh, sure..." Ed replied, his face still unhealthily hot as he rubbed the back of his head nervously, "What's the name of your school by the way?"

"It's 'Ouroboros Amestian High School'" she replied a little too fast. She knew how he would react; just like everyone else. He'd give her the 'weird stare' everyone gave her. She sighed internally.

Ed paused halfway through his reply when he recognized the name of the school,"Ouroboros did you say?" he asked, his surprise that a girl like Winry went to that kind of school obvious in his tone.

Winry finally gathered the courage to make eye contact and lifted her head up to give him a confused look,"Yeah, what about it?" Of course she knew what was wrong with it, for that particular school had a very bad reputation. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Ed must be thinking of her right now...

He stared at her for a moment, silent, but then frowned and spoke, "Well...I've not really heard anything good about the place..." He seemed hesitant, as if he was afraid she'd be offended. She internally scoffed. She'd give anything to get out of there.

She sighed and couldn't help but notice Ed's uneasy expression,"Yeah, it's a terrible school."

Ed's frown deepened, visibly confused by her agreement,"If you don't like it, why don't you change schools or something?"

Winry didn't feel like discussing such things right now and waved a hand indifferently to brush aside the matter,"I might." She knew that by this she just made Ed even more confused but really, she had talked about this so many times already, she just didn't have the patience to start all over again. She might tell him some other time if he insisted on her telling him though.

Ed was silent as he tried to figure out what exactly the girl was trying to say. Winry held back a chuckle; she could easily picture the gears turning in his head. She only realized he had given up when he shrugged and turned away from her, "Let's keep walking," he said flatly. Winry had momentarily forgotten that they had stopped moving but with a smile and a shake of the head she started pacing forward.

They kept sauntering slowly wrapped up in a peaceful silence, the only noise being the occasional strong winds that cut through the cold night. Ed had no idea where his feet were taking him, but realized halfway that he was actually walking Winry home. He didn't stop however, figuring it must be really late and her grandmother must be worried. He had to return as well. He internally groaned as he remembered the chaos that would ensue when he stepped in the house. Surely by now the others must have noticed that the two 'main stars' of the party had left and he was in no mood for teasing and complaining. He also made a mental note not to forget to give Al and Mei a piece of his mind; he wouldn't let them get away.

He started thinking of ways to avoid the others as much as possible until they left. Maybe he could slip in his room by the window and go in unnoticed? That would probably be the best idea, for the last thing he wanted right now was to converse with exuberant teenagers. He felt tired already and he was certain that when he had finally returned home he'd be ten times worse. He knew though that he had to confront Al and Mei as soon as he got home or else he was sure they'd find some way to escape from his wrath.

Winry snapped him out of his thoughts when she stopped in front of the front door to her house,"Well then. I guess here we say goodbye?"

She smiled sweetly and he returned it, though his was a tired one. He stifled a yawn and waved feebly at her. She chuckled softly and gave a wave of her own, "So...see you tomorrow?" she inquired hopefully. Ed simply nodded and she grinned widely, making Ed wonder where in the world did she find such energy. Once she closed the door, he sighed and pulled at his coat before burying his hands in his pockets and walked off. His way back was slow and peaceful and he wished he could stay like that forever, instead of going and lecturing his younger brother and his girlfriend about 'staying out of his business'.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely heard the loud music that was booming from inside his house. The noise seemed to be so far away yet, low and relaxing even. But the volume was amplifying with every step he took. It would be a matter of minutes before he stood in front of the front door ready to get his ears to bleed as soon as he opened it. He moved his keys around in his pocket, his mind trying to come up with another place he could stay at; anywhere but his house with obnoxious teasing and deafening music.

The music was much louder now, so much that he could barely hear his own thoughts. He started ascending the steps in front of his house, finally pulling the keys out of his pocket and staring at them in his hand with a thoughtful frown. He then looked at the window and started to seriously consider jumping straight to his room, even though it was relatively high up. He shook his head at his own desperate needs for isolation and placed the right key in the keyhole firmly. He turned the key until he heard a low 'click' and pushed the door open slowly. He hesitantly poked his head in the room and tried to make out any figures in the nearby rooms so as to roughly figure out the others' location. When he made sure he would not be seen, he entered the house fully and started taking his coat off when he felt a slap on the back followed by a whine.

"Ed! Where've you been! We missed you and your girlfriend!" Ling whined childishly with a pout. Ed internally cursed for not noticing the young man sooner and decided to ignore him. That plan seemed to be a mistake, for that only made Ling's questions increase and Ed found himself barely keeping himself in check and not punching him in the face.

"Ling just go away," Ed grumbled irritably while trying desperately to make his way upstairs to the safety of his bedroom, much to his friend's dismay. Ling grabbed his arm and pulled him, rather violently, to where the others were laughing about something he didn't particularly care about. They stopped however when they spotted Ed and Ling and Ed couldn't help but notice that Mei and Al were nowhere to be seen. Just thinking about those two getting away from destroying his night made his blood boil and the urge to go look for them became almost unbearable. A part deep inside of him wanted to forgive Al; he was he little brother after all and he knew that whatever he did, he did it while having good intentions, but he reminded himself that he couldn't just let him get away with everything or he'll end up becoming a spoiled little brat, even though Ed was certain Al would never become such a thing.

Everyone started coming towards him now and he knew that his freedom and peace and quiet were no more. Roy was the first one to reach him and offered him a drink, which he refused. Ling let him go to get some food while he and Roy went to sit on the couch. Ed plopped down ungracefully and tiredly while Roy sat down calmly, his usual smirk threatening to make itself known as he spoke, "Where have you been Edward?" he inquired, trying to sound genuinely curious and even worried but failing miserably at that and instead sounded teasing.

That didn't help Ed's nerves at all and he glared at him, "None of your business bastard."

Roy raised his eyebrows, pretending to feel offended,"Aw come on. I know you sneaked out with the girl." He leaned closer to him as if anyone would be able to somehow hear them over the blasting music, "I won't tell," he continued and couldn't hold the smirk back anymore, letting it make its appearance on his face.

Ed rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the small blush from appearing when he remembered exactly what had happened between them,"Stop being a jerk, nothing happened. AND...she's not my girlfriend,"

It was Roy's turn to roll his eyes, his smirk growing, "Yeah right," he scoffed, earning an ominous glare from Ed, "Even if she isn't your girlfriend you still like her." He chuckled,"It's painfully obvious kid."

Ed's eyes widened and he blushed furiously,"I-I d-don't like her!" he spluttered and leaned closer so Roy only could hear him, "And what do you mean it's painfully obvious?" he hissed anxiously and Roy grinned and disposed of his now empty plastic cup by throwing it on the floor, much to Ed's dismay. He neatly folded his hands on his lap as if getting ready to lecture a child about correct behaviour.

"Well Edward, everyone can clearly see that you like her because of your actions when regarding her and your reactions to her," Roy said calmly and glanced at Ed who was staring intensely at Roy, the blush only becoming more prominent as the seconds passed. Roy noticed that Ed had started sweating and bit his lip in order to stop the laugh from escaping. He had him now and he knew it; he wasn't going to lose such a chance.

"W-what do you mean 'my reactions to her'?" Ed hissed angrily, clearly not liking that Roy could read him like an open book at the most inconvenient times.

Roy smiled; he had meant it to seem like a friendly smile but instead came out more on the evil side,"One cannot possibly miss the blush that covers your whole face when you're talking to her or about her," he glanced at him again and smirked,"Much like now," he finished and Ed's face became even redder, if that was even possible. Roy allowed himself a small chuckle and leaned back on the couch. It was advice time.

"If you like her so much, you should tell her."

Upon seeing Ed's horrified expression he raised his eyebrows amusingly,"Or, you could just practice at hiding your feelings for her so you're not so horribly obvious," he added as an afterthought and Ed visibly relaxed. He was till mildly embarrassed that he had been figured out and couldn't help but wonder if Al and the others, or even she, had noticed anything too. He hoped not.

There was no doubt now, he had fallen for the blonde ice skater. Pretty badly as well, considering his crazy 'reactions' ,as Roy had called them, to her. He hated to admit it, but he needed help. He didn't know anything about girls and Winry was a tough one; she was unpredictable. He couldn't even begin to comprehend the language she was written in, only that it was difficult. He needed someone to help him 'translate' her. And unfortunately, right now, he was stuck with Roy.

Ed might not always have the nicest thoughts about the guy (always calling him 'bastard with a god complex'), but he had, somehow, managed to get Riza to be with him – and Riza was a very tough one to get – so maybe, just maybe, the guy had something useful he could offer.

Finally coming to terms with his thoughts, Ed decided to trust Roy for once in his life – and if that bastard told anyone anything of what they had discussed, he'd die.

"So...how do I, you know," he leaned closer and looked around nervously,"make it less obvious?"

Roy smiled,"That, my friend, is rather difficult to accomplish." His smile turned evil,"That's why I'm not going to tell you," he finished happily and Ed's jaw dropped to the floor. Roy would never help him cover up his feelings; he'd only help him in making them even more obvious. But he'd do that only if the blond asked for it, which Roy was sure he'd rather die than do that.

Roy stood up from the couch, and with a lazy wave over his shoulder, walked towards Riza and Lan Fan who were conversing in the corner of the room near the food. Ed glared at his back and huffed, crossing his arms furiously and slumping further into the couch, wishing he could just disappear. He had made a fool of himself enough for today, and had proven once again that Roy was a jerk. Now, he just wanted to strangle Al and Mei and go to bed. He curiously glanced at the nearby clock on the wall, and his eyes widened. When had it gotten 1a.m!? He groaned; he'd never be able to get up tomorrow. And now that his ports weren't hurting as much, he figured he'd be dragging himself to school in about eight hours. He started to seriously consider kicking everyone out of his house right then and there and heading to find his brother just so he could get things done and finally be able to rest.

Just then, Jean came up to him and sat down on the couch, where Roy had been sitting moments ago, a cigarette in between his lips.

"Where's Winry?" he asked but Ed didn't even spare him a glance; he just continued sulking and being angry at Roy for not helping him. Jean though, interpreted such behaviour as something else entirely and gasped.

"Don't tell me! SHE DUMPED YOU!?" he shouted, his cigarette once again falling on the floor out of surprise. The stupid blond had shouted so loud he was heard over the music and everyone turned and started coming towards them. Roy of course kept calm; he knew that wasn't the case.

Ed scowled angrily, "No she didn't!" he snapped and realized a little too late that what he just said came out a little wrong. He decided to continue being silent and resumed sulking with his arms crossed, hoping his torture would end soon.

Jean gave him a sympathetic look and patted his arm,"Don't worry buddy...I know how it feels!" he cried and everyone but Ed laughed. Ed's eye twitched precariously and he had to think about something that would make them understand that Winry didn't 'break up with him' but also that he and her weren't even together in the first place. He groaned internally; fixing this misunderstanding was becoming such a pain.

"She didn't dumb him." Fortunately, Roy came to his rescue and for once Ed thought he wasn't being an ass like he always thought he was.

"Edward's sulking because he had to take her home." Roy winked at Ed when he glared at him. No, his was an ass after all.

"Awwwwwww."

Ed had had enough. He got up from his place on the couch,"Where's Al?" he asked Jean, now desperately wanting to get away.

Jean shrugged and pulled a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket,"Dunno, he ran away with his girl as well. Does it run in the family or something?" he chuckled while pulling a cigarette out of the pack and placing it in his mouth before proceeding to light it. Ed would have glared had he not decided to ignore every comment that was made.

He then directed the same question at Roy. "I think he's in the back," Roy replied while pointing at the back door of the house. Ed nodded absentmindedly as he made his way towards it. Thankfully, no one made a move to distract him; everyone settling back to doing their own thing. As he quietly walked closer to the back door, he faintly heard calm, muffled voices. He reached out and pushed the door open and the soft talking stopped when the noise was heard. Surprisingly, the music wasn't as loud here and Ed felt some sort of relaxation at the quiet and peaceful environment. He instantly spotted Al and Mei who were looking at him with slight confusion and fear. He couldn't help but grin slightly at the sight of them, despite the anger he had been holding towards them.

"Hey," he greeted bluntly.

They nodded in response, relaxing somewhat and Ed walked closer to them. The small back garden they were in had always been one of Edward's favourite places to be in, especially at nights like this when the air was so soothing.

"Where have you been brother?" Al dared to ask. Under normal circumstances, Ed would have snapped at him for teasing him, but since the tone Al used wasn't teasing at all, he merely shrugged, figuring he was just curious.

"I couldn't stand the commotion, so I left." Al had opened his mouth to voice his next question, but Ed beat him to it, "I took Winry with me." Al snapped his mouth shut when his query was answered and he nodded in understanding, not daring to make a teasing comment about it, even though many came to mind. He knew he was in trouble already, and right now, Ed didn't seem angry so he wouldn't take any chances if staying quiet meant getting away with it.

Mei had stayed unusually silent, her eyes studying the ground intensely. Ed figured she was still feeling guilty. He sighed; what should he even tell them? He had been planning everything on the way back here but now that they were right in front of him, he just couldn't get the words out; every single word he had previously thought of saying now seeming too cruel to be told. They were clearly regretting it, so why make them feel even worse?

"I'm sorry," Al whispered softly after a moment, earning the attention of both Ed and Mei. "I was being stupid and I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry."

Ed had awaited this apology, but now that it actually came, he couldn't help the inclination to dismiss it and it even made him feel guilty for upsetting his younger sibling for no real reason; it wasn't his fault, even though it suddenly felt like it.

Ed waved a hand dismissively and sighed, figuring he couldn't stay angry at his baby brother for long. Oh what a weakness he had, what a softie he could be. "It's ok, don't worry about it," Al looked up at him, his golden eyes shining with relief and hope for forgiveness, "Just don't do it again," Ed added as an afterthought. Al nodded repetitively, his eyes widening ever so slightly with a small hint of panic at the notion of today's events being repeated.

Mei decided to look at Ed and despite her nervousness, apologized sincerely. Al smiled sympathetically at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders comfortingly while Ed sighed and allowed a small smile to play on his lips.

That had gone far better than he had expected. He had initially imagined screaming from him and a lot of arguing between him and Al, with Mei probably deathly silent or even crying tears of remorse. But instead, the two apologized to him without him giving them even the tiniest of glares and threatening looks. Ed smiled, he liked that.

It seemed his night was turning out to be better than he previously thought it was, and the only thing that was missing to make it complete was his warm bed. Maybe it was time to show the others the door. His thought was confirmed when Al yawned sleepily.

"Maybe it's time for the others to leave?" he asked tiredly and Mei nodded in agreement.

Ed grinned,"That is exactly what I was thinking, I don't think I could last without my bed any longer," he chuckled and the others smiled at him.

They shuffled into the house calmly and with great satisfaction, Ed pulled the plug of the radio out, successfully making the bothersome music finally come to a stop. Confused mumbles were heard from the others when their main source of entertainment vanished but caught on pretty quickly when they noticed Ed holding the plug with a self-satisfied smirk that could rival Roy's.

"Alright! Time to go home everyone, party's over."

Groans were heard but the teenagers complied and sluggishly made their way to the door and Ed had to resist the urge to start pushing them to go faster and leave his house so he could finally get some much needed sleep before school started.

When everyone was successfully out of the door (Mei included), Ed and Al could take in the mess that had been caused. Ed groaned and Al sighed; cigarettes and cups littered the floor and from what it seemed some sort of liquid had fallen on the couch; that would be a bitch to clean, Ed noted. Empty bags and crumbs were all over the table and floor, chairs and other furniture having been moved around carelessly.

Deciding that at this hour nothing could possibly be done, mostly due to fatigue, the brothers both agreed to leave everything for tomorrow, even though they were both acutely aware that it would turn out to be even harder to clean up later than what it would be now. With a yawn and a goodnight, the boys retreaded into their respective bedrooms and subsequently to their respective beds, relishing the content feeling the comfortable mattress offered.

I apologize for any mistakes you might find. x)

I hope you enjoyed it and a review would be highly appreciated! *rolls away*