Ed closed his small, leather-bound alchemy book and lay his head back on the back of the couch. He closed his eyes for a second, resting them for a while. It was dark outside; not even the stars showed that night. Ed cracked his neck and stood up, yawning. He looked at his pocket-watch. It was 12:00 midnight.

"Jeez, I must've lost track of time. Winry should be at least done with my automail by now; she can't still be working on it." Ed thought, closing his pocket-watch and sticking it back into his pocket. He walked down the hallway and turned left, pausing outside the Rockbell's workroom.

He didn't even bother to knock before he entered, he simply opened the door and started, "Winry, are you still working on the damn-" His eyes widened softly at what he saw. Winry was slumped over a finished and partially gleaming automail arm, snoring softly, her soft blonde hair slightly undone out of a messy ponytail, her one hand clasped over a wrench which had small dents in it from the many times it had connected with Ed's skull. Every now and then she'd whimper, muttering something in her sleep.

Ed walked over to her and debated with himself whether or not to wake her up. He decided against it, saying to himself, "Feh, if I do she'll be all grumpy and will probably hit me over the head with that shitty wrench of hers."

He looked at her, and sighed, finally making up his mind. Though he was missing one arm, he somehow managed to get Winry to subconsciously wrap her arms around his neck (still holding the wrench) while he held her up around her legs bridle style. She was surprisingly light, making it a little easier for Ed to carry her up the stairs to her room.

He kicked the door open, and stopped. It had been a while since he'd been to Winry's room; in fact, he had never really been to Winry's room. Maybe once or twice as a child, but other to that it was a foreign place to him.

He took a step in, and saw a bed covered with a light blue, simple yet soft, comforter set on her bed. Next to her bed where magazines and books on nothing but automail, "Not much of a surprise," thought Ed. He felt a small pang in his heart as he saw a small framed photo of Al, him and her as children taking a nap in the living room of the Rockbell's home. He sighed, remembering the old days of his innocent childhood.

He moved over to place her on her bed, taking care not to wake her up.

He carefully set her down, but as he began to rise up to stand straight, he felt her arms that were around her neck tighten. "Please don't leave me now, Please dad, don't!" She cried, still half-asleep. A single tear formed from her still-closed eyes and rolled down her soft cheeks,

Ed's eyes widened again, and for a second he understood what she was dreaming about. His eyes softened as he said quietly, wiping the tear of her face and then loosening her arms from around his neck, "Don't worry Winry, I'm not going anywhere, I'll be right here." The wrench fell with a clatter as Ed gave Winry a one-arm hug, and she hugged him back tightly, still whispering, "Please don't go…please don't leave me like everyone else has…"

Ed shut his eyes, feeling furious with himself. Is that how she felt, left alone by everyone? By him? He felt a sadness gnawing away at him, threatening to spill out any second. He never wanted Winry to feel like that, he never meant to make her feel left alone.

He hugged her tightly, and whispered, "I'm not going to leave you again, I promise."

"Ed?"

Ed let go of her quickly, feeling a blush work it's way furiously up to his cheeks. Winry had obviously woken up by now.

"I…you had fallen asleep in the workroom and…um…" He had a hard time getting the words out, his cheeks feeling fiery hot.

He stood up, avoiding Winry's gaze. "Argh…nevermind. Just…Good night." He muttered, heading towards the door. If Al ever found out, he'd never hear the end of it.

Suddenly Winry's voice stopped him.

"Ed…please don't go."

Ed turned around, slightly puzzled. "What?"

"I…I was having a bad dream…and I'd feel a bit better…if you stayed in here with me. I mean, if it's ok-"

She stopped as Ed paused for a second outside her door, pulled out a chair and placed it next to her bed backwards, and sat on it, resting his hand and chin on the back of the chair. Winry stared at him for a second before starting, "Ed, are you sure you'll be comf-"

"I'll be fine, just go to sleep, ok? You need your strength to finish of my automail, I'll need it for next week."

"Huh? I thought you said you were leaving tomorrow, that's why I spent so much time working on it…"

"I decided to take another week of vacation, it's been a while since I've been here, and I think Al would enjoy to spend another week helping Granny Pinako. He really likes it here, it would be good for him. Besides, if Colonel Dipshit decides to have a fit about it, I'll just tell him that my automail needed a few more days repairing."

Winry laughed at Ed's original name for Roy Mustang, and pulled herself under the covers. "Ok…as long as you're alright sitting there…"

"I've been in worse places," said Ed simply.

Winry settled herself comfortably under her comforter, turning her body to face the blonde-haired alchemist sitting beside her. His golden eyes fixed on her, a protective look in them.

"Hey Ed," started Winry.

"What?"

"…thanks. For everything."

Ed turned his gaze away from her, muttering something like, 'whatever', yet even in the dim moonlight Winry could make out a small pink hue appear on his cheeks again.

She closed her eyes, and thought, "I won't forget your promise Ed. I know you won't leave me forever. I'll just wait here until you come back."

--

A/N: Some EdWin fluff for y'all! Because I love that couple (I think it's the best couple, next to RoyRiza.) I hope that Ed and Winry get together in the manga, though Arakawa-sensei has been hinting towards it…hehe. We'll just have to see.