Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of the characters. (I FINALLY REMEMBERED FOR THE SECOND TIME! WOOHOO!)

Chapter 21

Winry forgot about being mad at Ed for him paying the bill after they left the cafe and were walking around town.

She dragged him from store to store and looking at all the merchandise in the window while talking about different topics such as automail, alchemy, Xing, Den, just whatever came to mind.

"Ed! Come look at this!"

"This is so cool!"

"It's beautiful! Come over here!" Winry would call from time to time.

Ed was having fun, except for the times when Winry would literally drag him to a new store. That part wasn't that fun. But other than that, Ed enjoyed seeing Winry so happy, and he also enjoyed just browsing the shops for once. When he was a dog of the military, he wouldn't have time to just browse the shops like he and Winry were doing then. He had a bit more time to do it while he was in the West, but not a whole lot.

Finally, Winry took a breath and faced Ed.

"Having fun?" Ed smirked at her.

"Yeah!" Winry smiled at him. "Hey," Winry put her hands behind her back. "Where do you want to go?"

"Huh?" Ed blinked.

"We've been going to stores that I enjoy all this time, so now where do you wanna go?"

"Hmmm... I dunno." Ed tapped his chin in thought.

"Come on! There has to be somewhere you want to go."

"I don't know! I haven't been in town for ages so I don't exactly what there is here!" Ed rolled his eyes.

"Oh..." Winry put her hands on her hips. "Well... what are you interested in right now?"

"Interested?"

"Yeah. Like what are you in the mood to see right now?"

"Nothing much. I just really like seeing you happy like you are now." Ed said truthfully.

Winry tried not to blush, but her cheeks were tinted a pale pink that Ed didn't notice, thankfully. "R-really?"

Ed blushed as well. "Well... y-yeah." He quickly stretched his hands behind his head. Then he interlocked his fingers behind his neck. "So, what is there in this place, anyways?"

"I guess... not much. But it's still home." Winry smiled as she gazed around her hometown.

"Heh." Ed chuckled.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing." Ed looked at Winry. "Wait... isn't there some kind of park here, or something?"

"What? No... not really..." Winry answered.

Ed started smiling.

Winry eyed Ed suspiciously. "What is it now?"

"I think I know where I want to go now."

"Wow! I never realized how beautiful it is out here!" Winry exclaimed as she surveyed the area Ed had led her to.

They were sitting on top of the hill overlooking the river Ed, Al, and Winry used to go to. They had stopped and grabbed a quick bite to eat for dinner before going there, and by the time they got there the sun had begun to set, making the river water below them turn orange.

"Heh. I guess it is beautiful." Ed looked over at Winry who was sitting next to him. Her light blue eyes were shining, both with joy and from the light of the setting sun. Her hair was blowing gently in the warm, summer breeze. Ed couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked, not just then, but always.

Winry eyed Ed out of the corner of her eye, making him quickly turn his attention back to the river. I have to do it. Now. If not now, then I may never get another chance like this. Ed thought as his hands gripped the grass beneath him. Come on... Ed tried to gain the courage to speak, but he couldn't do it.

Winry sneaked another glance at Ed. What is he doing? He looks like he's about to explode. And he's gripping the ground so hard his knuckles are turning white. Winry thought. It kind of looks like he wants to say something... Winry stifled a yawn. She and Ed had been out for most of the day, and it was evening then, so, naturally, she was tired.

Ed leaned back on his arms. "Tired?" He smiled at Winry.

Winry covered her mouth with her hand when she let out a real yawn. "Yeah. It's been a long day." Winry blinked, her eyes lingering closed before they opened again. Before she knew what she was doing, she scooted over closer to Ed and leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder.

Ed's heart skipped a beat and his face flushed. "Winry..." He mumbled under his breath.

"Hm?" The blonde resting against him stirred slightly.

Ed released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He never knew how good the feel of someone else's body heat pressed against him could feel so good.

"You know," Winry muttered, just loud enough for Ed to hear, "this would have been so much more uncomfortable if you still had your automail arm."

Ed chuckled. "I guess it would be. Metal isn't exactly the most comfortable element there is."

Winry sighed. "Shut up about alchemy already, alchemy freak."

"After you shut up about automail, gear head."

"Not going to happen."

"Then I guess you're stuck with me talking about alchemy."

"Unless I kill you with my wrench..." Winry mused.

Ed smiled. "I'd like to see you try."

"Sure thing. Just wait until tomorrow when I have my wrench with me." Winry smiled as well.

"Then I wish tomorrow would never come." Ed found himself actually meaning that, and not just because of Winry's threat to kill him. It was so peaceful right then that Ed wished that day would never end, that the sun wouldn't set, forcing them to go home. Although maybe they wouldn't have to go home as soon as the sun set...

"Me too." Winry sighed in contentment.

Ed looked down at Winry. Her eyes, while not quite half-lidded, weren't quite all the way open. She wore a small smile on her face, her lips barely parted to breath in the fresh air.

It was then Ed realized how annoyed he was getting with himself.

Ed slowly moved his free arm from the ground beneath him and moved it over to Winry. His fingers landed, gently, on Winry's right cheek, the cheek farthest away from him. He tilted her head up towards him, leaned down, and kissed her.

Their first kiss really hadn't been anything more than Ed's lips placed on Winry's. But now, they were quickly melting into one. For the first second, Ed was scared when Winry wasn't kissing him back or doing anything, but then she quickly recovered from her surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with everything she had. Ed sat up straighter and moved his right hand to the back of Winry's head with his left hand pulling her closer by her waist, which wasn't really necessary. Winry pressed herself as close to Ed as she could get, her arms gently pulling on his neck.

It was several minutes later when Ed pulled away, but only because he was out of breath. Winry's eyes opened slowly, as she was still quite surprised, after Ed had pulled away.

Ed cleared his throat. "Winry?"

Winry blinked several times to clear her head. "Yeah?" Her voice was hoarse so she cleared her throat as well. "Yes?"

"I was... um..." Ed was glad that it was getting darker so that Winry couldn't see his blush. "When I left... at the train station..." He eyed Winry to see if she knew where he was heading with this. Unfortunately, the darkness also made it hard for him to be able to tell. He thought that she looked... maybe hopeful? Or it could have been worried.

Ed swallowed. I just have to ask her! "What I... and what you said..." A drop of sweat rolled down his cheek.

"Yes?" Winry prodded gently.

Ed swallowed again. "Will you still give me eighty-five percent of your life?!" He tried his best not to shout, but like that day six months ago, it came out louder than he had meant.

Silence. It was only for a moment, but that moment was the longest one in Ed's life.

Winry sighed. "No, Ed. I won't."

...feel the pain.

So... just for the fun of it all... I think I'm going to wait a while before I post the next chapter. Just to let this sink in for you all and to give those of you who are reading this as I update it a good cliffhanger.

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm just so positive that all of you loved the end! ^-^

R&R! And look! I REMEMBERED THE DISCLAIMER AT THE TOP! WOOHOO! MESSA SO HAPPY! I WANNA GO CELEBRATE WITH SOME ORANGE JUICE!

...sadly... I am banned from it... so for all of you lucky enough to not be banned from it: I hope you all enjoy it. *sob*

MERRY SUMMER!