Apologies for the delay in uploading this chapter. I have many deadlines at the moment and my Creative Writing lecturer has told me not to write fanficiton anymore. Alas, I will keep writing it, but please don't expect it to be updated as quickly as it used to be.
Enjoy this chapter, and please leave me a review. Your feedback is very much appreciated! :)
21. Vacation
His palms were sweaty and he hastily wiped them on his white shirt. He was in a dimly lit gent's restroom in the posh restaurant Winry had cleverly booked, and leant over the basin and looked into the mirror, breathing deeply. Edward splashed some cold water over his face and looked up, watching it trickle down his flushed face and dripping off his chin. He shook his head and took another deep breath and tried to calm his thoughts.
A young couple, not much older than both he and Winry had been sat swooning over each other on an adjacent table to theirs, was making them both feel incredibly uncomfortable. Neither Edward nor Winry had been fans of showing sickly affection towards each other in public, and the only thing Edward would do in public was usually a casual arm around Winry's waist or shoulders, and Winry was perfectly fine with that. Now this couple that sat near them were falling into each other over the table, mumbling mushy words and playing with each other's foot under the table and caressing each other's hand on the table. Winry clicked her tongue in annoyance when the woman had looked at Winry and raised her eyebrows, giving her an almost sympathetic look, before turning away and flicking her long brunette hair.
It had got worse when the young man had called a waiter over to give them champagne and the young woman squealed loudly when she saw an engagement ring in the bottom of the champagne glass. The restaurant had gone silent as the man had gone to one knee in front of her and spoke an abundance of clichéd lines, and Edward smirked when he saw Winry gag and hold a snicker behind her wine glass. His smiled faded and he clapped as the brunette cried an emotional 'yes', and the room burst with clapping and cheering. Winry was smiling faintly and Edward felt his stomach tense – did she expect him to do something the same as that man next to him had? Was she expecting him to propose?
Edward leant back from the sink in the bathroom and covered with his face with his hands, letting out a small agonising groan. Of course – this was the perfect situation. He had booked a beautiful hotel in South City, got the penthouse suite and had now taken her out to dinner where she was wearing a stunning green dress that kept him enchanted. He went to the door of the bathroom and peered through it, grimacing when he realised that every guest in the room was with a partner, thus a couple. His eyes fell to Winry who was glancing around the room, and he was sure she was thinking the same as him. He puffed his cheeks and walked back into the restaurant, exhaling slowly as he sat back down at the table, just as the newly engaged couple began to rise.
He took a glance at Winry who smiled at him and nodded to the couple as they left. Had she got her hopes up that Edward was going to do the same? They were now nineteen and were most certainly old enough to get married, but something about 'marriage' scared Edward a little – it seemed too...'grown-up'. He shook his head because he would happily marry Winry tomorrow if that was what it took for her to be happy and receive benefits from his job and the community. The only thing was that he couldn't see himself getting down on one knee just yet...but if Winry wanted it, then he would most certainly do it for her.
Winry leant across the table her head lowered, her eyes raised and meeting his. "Thank goodness they are gone. I swear, I was on the verge of vomiting," she said quietly, a wicked glint in her eye.
Edward shifted a little. "Oh? Why is that?" he asked casually. Was he ready to mention it to her now if she brought it up? Could he face going to a jewellery shop in the morning and buying her a ring?
"They were a typical cliché!" she scoffed, leaning back in her chair and smiling broadly. Her eyes then softened and they looked distant. "I think I would be awfully embarrassed if that happened to me," she said, with a small smile on her face.
His heart raced and Edward could feel his eyes widening. Did she not want to...? Hesitantly, he cleared his throat. "What do you mean? Be embarrassed to be engaged or married?" he asked, feeling his face heat up.
She shook her head. "No Ed...I mean..." she looked away blushing a little herself. "I do want that to happen someday, but I feel like I am too young! There are so many things I want to do before I become a...a wife. Even that word sounds old to me! I'm not an old middle-aged woman yet, am I?" she laughed.
Scratching his head, Edward leant back in his chair and casually asked for the bill from a passing waiter. He felt relief wash through him – it appeared to be that she was thinking along the same lines as him. They left the restaurant and Edward hailed a taxi and as they sat in the back of the taxi, Winry watching the bright lights of South City, Edward casually wrapped his left arm around her bare shoulders. She turned and looked at him and smiled, resting her hand gently on his knee, a knee which had once been made of metal.
That night, Edward gently tugged off her entrancing silk dress and made love to her on the large hotel canopy bed as gentle and loving as he could, as if to subtly prove to her that she was his everything and all, and that a ring on her finger wouldn't make him love her any more or less.
Edward had watched as sleep captivated her in the middle of the night and the way her long eyelashes rested lightly on her cheeks as she slept calmly. He could feel himself smiling as she rolled over, facing him in her sleep and mumbling his name. He pulled the duvet up over her a little to cover her bare shoulders and rolled onto his back, where he gazed up at the canopy above him; his automail arm running lightly through the strands of her now knotted hair.
Sleep wasn't going to come easily for him this evening, even though he was exhausted from the long day and pleasuring Winry. He quietly climbed out of the bed and put some casual clothes on and pulled open the balcony door, taking a thick book with him. He shut the door slowly behind him and sat down on one of the chairs on the balcony. Even in the early hours of the morning, it was still fairly warm in South City, and winter had yet begun to make its mark. Eventually, with a book on his lap, Edward fell asleep, but it didn't feel that long until he felt himself being shaken gently awake.
Blinking his eyes open in the bright morning sun, Winry stood in front of him and cast her shadow over him so he wasn't blinded. As his eyes became accustomed to the light he found himself blushing as he found himself staring straight at Winry's chest in a tight green bikini top.
Winry was leaning over him. She made her head level to his and smiled, gently closing the book that rested on his lap. "Did you not sleep well?" she asked.
"It was...too hot...so I...err...Winry, what are you wearing?" he stammered and Winry leant away from him.
"What does it look like?" she laughed, turning away and looking at the view from the balcony.
He scratched his head and stood up, coming over to her, trying not to look at the way the small bikini bottoms made her legs look long and luxurious. "Are you going out like that?"
Amused blue eyes flicked to his. "Well yes, but I am going to put a few clothes on top when we actually go to our destination." She turned around to face him, tilting her head. "You said we were going to the lake, remember? I haven't been to a lake for such a long time."
Suddenly he remembered the conversation he and Winry had shared the previous night about going to one of the big lakes near South City. Even though swimming wasn't his favourite thing to do because of his automail, the thought of relaxing on a beach by the side of the lake did seem rather appealing.
Edward had managed to call the headquarters where he worked in South City and ask for a car to be brought around. Neither of them had got around to getting a car, even though it was becoming ever more popular to posses one. The car journey was made in silence as Edward pretended to fall asleep in the front seat next to the driver who couldn't stop asking him questions. In the end, Winry answered for him and he was aware that she knew he was faking sleep.
"You know that driver was just being polite, Ed" Winry said to Edward as she lay down the towels on the beach by the lake. Considering it wasn't the holiday season, there were still a fair few people and families enjoying the last part of summer.
"Everybody is 'just being polite'," Edward grumbled as he lay down on a towel and opened his book and began reading.
He felt Winry shift beside him as she sat on her towel. They sat in silence for a moment and Edward could already feel sleep pulling him in again. He forced himself to stay awake – this was a vacation for both him and Winry to enjoy.
"Well I'm going for a swim. Are you coming?" She asked.
He mumbled a polite 'no', and casually watched as Winry stepped into the water. He laughed a little as he watched her take a few steps back and then suddenly run into the water, making the children nearby paddling scream with laughter. Winry popped her head up from the water and began playing with the young children by splashing them and pretending to catch them. Laughter lit up her face as she was captivated by the children and Edward felt himself beaming at her as he watched.
Eventually, watching was not enough. He licked him thumb, folded down the corner of a page in his book and closed it, carefully laying it down on the sand that had been shipped from the Easter Desert. He pulled off his shirt and walked towards the water's edge, and smiled when Winry noticed he was there. Cautiously, he let the water lightly lick around his toes, the cool water giving him shivers.
Winry waded over to him and raised her eyebrows. "Come to play, have you?" she smiled, stopping a few feet in front of him where the water reached her knees.
"Possibly," he replied.
She placed her hands in the water and suddenly splashed him. Edward gasped as goose bumps erupted all over him as the cool water covered him. He set his jaw straight and waded into the water quickly, in determination to catch Winry. The children nearby were laughing as they watched and splashed Edward and Winry as she cleverly managed to escape his grasps and his pathetic splashes with his left hand.
"Don't get your automail wet!" she cried over the laughter, attempting to run into the deeper water.
His fingers brushed her hair, he was so close to getting her until she dived into the water and he had to try and keep his balance to stop himself falling in after her. The water was up to his torso, so he knew he couldn't go any deeper. Frowning, he watched her as she surfaced, her long hair plastered to her face and back.
"That's cheating – you know I can't go any deeper!" he shouted as the children nearer the shore laughed at him with his arm in the air.
She smiled and swam towards him and then stood up, where the water encircled her waist. She walked right up to him and kissed him lightly to tease, and then took his automail arm and walked back to the shore to the children. The children wanted to play with Winry again, so she began to chase them in the shallow water. Edward shook his head with a smile on his face and stood by the shore and watched as Winry lay down in the water pretending to be a shark.
"She's very good with children," a woman said, standing near Edward.
He turned to look at the woman who was in her late twenties and he smiled. "Yeah, she is," he sighed.
"Are any of these children yours?" the woman pleasantly asked.
Edward felt his face heat up. "Err no, none of them are. She just went for a swim and these kids flocked by her," he said, scratching his head.
The woman chuckled. "How strange. The children seem to love her." They stood in silence for a while watching as Winry set up a game of tag with the children, the other children scattering as she declared that she was 'it'.
"I don't want to seem rude, but are you two together?" the woman asked politely.
"Yes, we are," Edward replied and then smiled. How long he had wanted to say that!
"You're a lucky one then, aren't you?" The woman laughed as Winry emerged from the water and went over to Edward and wiped her wet hands on his face, making him cringe. "You certainly have your way with children, don't you miss?"
Winry turned and smiled at the woman, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Thank you ma'am," she replied curtly.
"Are you here long? I hate to ask it's just that I could do with a baby sitter..." the woman continued.
There was a pause as Winry glanced at Edward. He knew the woman had wanted something other than spontaneous chatter.
"We are here on holiday. It's our first holiday in...I don't know how long. We both have very busy working lives, so it's nice to get away. I am sorry, but we are leaving in two days, and we just want to relax, you know?" Winry replied, smiling. Edward put his arm around Winry's damp shoulders.
"Yes, well, enjoy your time here. It was nice to meet you," the woman said, and moved closer towards the water where she called after one of the children.
Edward and Winry turned away and headed back towards their towels in the sand. Winry wrapped herself up in hers and began to dry her arms before laying the towel back down on the sand so she could sunbathe. Edward did the same but pulled out his book, except that he couldn't absorb the information.
Yet again another person had unwillingly embarrassed him. He felt the pressure on him and turned to look at Winry who was lying on her front with her head turned away from him. Was she broody? They had already lost a child neither of them had planned for, but was she ready to plan for one now? Could he see himself as a father? How he hated the term 'father'! His own had left him and Al at a young age, and that was something Edward couldn't forgive him for...yet now he wondered if his own father had been as dubious about this as he was. He didn't like to relate himself to that man, but so many people had told him that they were alike and there was nothing he could do about it. But he knew that Hohenheim had craved a family and Edward could certainly see himself with a family of his own...well he could see Winry as a perfect mother.
"Ed, you're thinking too hard," Winry said quietly, pulling Edward out of his trance. He looked at her to see her smiling gently at him. "Is there something wrong?"
For a moment he thought about telling her his thoughts, and he really knew that he should do. However he didn't because he remembered the reason for the vacation in the first place. To relax and forget about their busy lives – this holiday was just for the two of them – because he wasn't sure when he would be able to get time off for another one.
He shook his head and pecked her cheek. "Nope, nothing at all. I think I should have brought a better book to read – this one is a little heavy going," he said, which was true. Sitting up, he watched the children return to the water and then stop as they searched appeared to be looking for somebody. "I think you're missed, Winry," he said quietly, a little amused.
Winry sat up and then the children spotted her and pointed at her. They shouted her name and with a smile on her face, she got up, placed a hand on Edward's shoulder and then ran lightly across the sand towards the children who began to escape her. Edward looked away and scratched his head and realised he may be getting cold feet.
Reviews are loved! Next chapter - 'Mother Nature'.