Chapter 9: I'll Tell You: Part Two

He waited, his heart thumping a million miles a minute in his chest. He'd done it. He'd told her his true feelings. He was even hugging her! His cheeks were red and his face was hot, but not entirely from running. With his arms around her, her skin against his, he wondered how he could have gone so long without hugging her sooner.

Her voice squeaked as she tried to form words. "Ed, I…"

He slid his arms from around her waist and brought his hands up to her shoulders. He pushed her away, but only to hold her at arms length. Her face was beet red, and a look of sheer disbelief was in her eyes. She didn't say anything, her voice still lost in her throat.

"Say something, will you!" He blurted out, feeling uncomfortable with her silence. She jumped and looked away, a tear sliding down her cheek. Ed's eyes grew wide. Why was she crying?

"Winry, don't cry…" he reached up to wipe the tear away.

"All these years, and you never said anything. I always thought you only needed me for your auto mail. I only got calls when either you or Al was broken. I didn't mind it. I was glad to help you...But I always wondered if you thought of me as more than just your mechanic, or your friend."

Ed listened, realizing that all those times he'd called her; it was never to talk or to catch up. It was always, "Winry, Al needs a new arm", or "My leg joint is loose."

"Winry…I'm sorry." He truly meant it. She smiled sadly, her eyes cast down.

"I know you are, Ed. And so am I." She looked up slowly, her bright blue eyes glistening with tears. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner…" She stepped forward and looked deeply into his eyes. His heart raced, eager to hear her next words.

"You mean everything to me, Edward. I've loved you all my life!" Suddenly, her lips were on his, and all the passion, all the emotion that had been bottled up between them both was pushed into that kiss. His hands were in her hair, pulling her closer. Her arms were around his waist, holding tightly as if he would suddenly disappear.

They stood that way for a long time after the kiss, simply holding one another. At one time, Ed's arms tensed around Winry's form, and she could sense he had just thought of something.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"I just remembered a dream I had a while back. It was at my old house, from when I was younger."

His sadness was barely contained in his voice. Winry pulled him closer, hoping to comfort him. She knew how hard it was for Ed to talk about his old home. Too many sad memories went with that house.

Ed went on. "I was walking toward it, and I can remember thinking that it was a dream, because I knew we'd burnt the house down years ago. But still I went to it, and when I got to the front door, I opened it." He paused and pulled away to look at her. "You were on the other side."

"Me?" she questioned, stunned and secretly pleased that he had a dream about her.

"Yeah, it was. You were smiling and happy, and for some reason, I started to back away from you…like I was afraid of something. When I did, you began to disappear…" he shuddered, vividly remembering the fear that seized him at the thought of loosing her. "You were gone before I could reach you."

"Ed, it was only a dream." Winry consoled, reaching out to take his hand.

"I just…I don't want to loose you." He finished, his head bent down. His long, golden bangs hid his eyes from her.

"I'm not going anywhere, Edward. I always want to be with you. You've been through so much…and I don't want you to feel sad or lonely anymore!" Winry declared, causing Ed to look up with surprise. She had a bright smile on her face, and for a moment, it looked just like the one from his dream.

This time though, he didn't back away.

"Thanks, Winry." He said. He smiled warmly, making Winry falter and blush madly.

"You're…you're welcome, Ed." She replied lamely.

He took her hand in his, giving it a fond squeeze. "Welcome, eh?" he asked, a glint in his eye. "To anything?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, a cocky grin sliding onto his lips. "I guess you'll have to find out…"

"What? Ed!" She reached over to grab him, but too late. He took off running into the school yard, laughing as Winry gave chase and ran after him. Soon, she forgot all her insecurities, all her doubts about Ed and his feelings. He loved her, and it was the best feeling in the world.

She giggled as she watched Ed swing around the flag pole and jump up on the picnic tables. Finally, she caught up to him. Tugging his sleeve, she pulled him toward her, causing them to fall down on the grass, each one of them laughing.

"Caught ya!" She exclaimed, giving him a light shove. She laughed when he pretended to be hurt by her punch.

"How do you know I didn't let you catch me?" He asked, sitting up and looking over at her. She leaned up on her elbows, watching Ed's hair shine in the evening light, his eyes the brightest she'd ever seen them. He looked happy, really and honestly happy. She was glad.

"Oh I caught you fair and square, Edward!" she replied, a defiant look in her eyes.

He laughed softly. "Yeah, I'm too slow for you." The sarcasm was thick in his voice as he rolled his eyes.

She was about to fire back an angry retort, when she stopped short and realized he was trying to get her riled up. Edward smirked as the realization showed on her face. She could be so gullible sometimes!

"You're just joking…" she finally stated. She smiled sheepishly.

Just then, the double doors to the school opened up. The crowd of people streamed out into the yard. Winry and Ed stood up quickly, so as not to get trampled. In the crowd, Winry spotted Al with the kids from earlier. She put her hand to her mouth and called out to him.

"Al! Over here!"

He looked around, and upon seeing her, smiled and waved. He said something to the boy next to him, and the boy nodded. Al left the group and made his way over to them both.

"Hey, Winry!" he greeted. He smiled wider when he saw Ed beside her.

"Brother! You came!"

Ed nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. "So how'd it go?"

Al looked ecstatic. He smiled brightly and spoke quickly. "Brother, it was so great! The school is nice, and the teachers are really cool. Oh! And those kids I was with are really awesome. There's Thom, Lawrence, Ellie...and Anne too." Al seemed to falter on the last person, and his cheeks grew pink with embarrassment.

Winry exchanged a look with Ed, each of them clearly thinking the same thing. Does Al have a crush on this "Anne" girl?

Ed raised his eyebrow, but didn't say anything about it. "Sounds good, Al. I'm glad for you."

"Yeah," Winry chimed in. "You'll have a lot of fun."

Al smiled, and then he looked from Winry, then to Ed. He took in there happy expressions and their good moods. Slowly, it clicked. They'd finally told each other how they felt! Al gave a short laugh, startling them both.

"What's so funny?" Ed demanded, a frown set on his face.

"You two!" he smiled gleefully, pointing to them both. "All this time…and now it happens! And I didn't even get to see it!" He laughed again.

"See what, Al?" Winry asked, getting annoyed by Al's sudden mood swing.

Al went on laughing, shaking his head as he did. Ed was getting angry and cried out. "You better not be laughing at me, Al! What's so funny, huh? Do I have something on my face? Come on, let's hear it…" He kept asking, and Al kept on laughing.

Winry watched the two of them with a content smile. She knew now what Al was laughing about. He'd been the one to give her the courage to tell Ed her feelings, and the matchmaker hadn't been there to see the match made. She felt a laugh rising up in her throat, laughing at Ed and his childish taunting, at Al for his mischievous ways, and at herself, for not telling Ed sooner that she loved him, and for not realizing that though her family had been taken from her years before, she'd had one all along.

AN: Let's see…should I end it there? (Looks both waysand smiles) Naw, I think I'll keep it going. The next part will be focusing more on Al's experiences at his new school, and possibly his relationship with this "Anne" girl. Oh, I can't wait! &Niiroke&