Title: With Thanks
Author: Fullmetal Ai ( aiyia )
Rating: G / K
Dedication: Dedicated to SherlockNomes, for making BOTH of my AMV requests, and doing a damn good job on both of them:D Thank you, so, so, much!
Summary: Why would she be thanking him? If anything, it should be the other way around.

Edward Elric lay on the sofa eithin the room that he shared with his brother, an open hardback book covering his face and making it seem as though he were asleep. His breathing was steady, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took. From all visible angles, it would seem that Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, Child Prodigy and Dog of the Military, was indeed napping; However, looks can be deceiving ... and that was most certainly the case with Edward, for though his outward appearance made it seem that he was unconcious, he was, in fact, the opposite.

There were too many thoughts running through the mind of the young man at the moment, that it was impossible to cram another thought, such as the thought of getting to sleep, inside of his crowded mind. The thoughts swam around, some making sense, while others seemed to be complete nonsense. All of them, though, the sensible and the rubbish, all seemed to come back to one thought: A certain blonde automail mechanic that he had known since his childhood. Winry Rockbell.

He let out a sigh, feeling his lips tighten into a frown as memories of what had happened the night before suddenly came back to him in a flash. He remembered the tears she had shed after finding out about the death of someone dear to the both of them, Brigaider General Maes Hughes .. he remember the worry he felt when he came back to the room and found that she was nowhere to be found .. he remembered waiting for her to arrive back to the room, hoping that he was safe .. jumping up and running to the door everytime someone knocked, hoping with every fiber of his being that it was the young lady that he had grown up with, safely returning to him.

He remembered the call that was received, and the trip that he and Alphonse had taken to retrieve Winry from the residence of Ms. Gracia Hughes .. and the following explanation of what could have caused the Brigaider General's death. And afterward ..

Another sigh was let out as Edward's mind swam more with memories of the conversation that had taken place after Winry was brought back to the inn, when she had pulled him into the room and told him about the pies she had been making recently, and how she had borrowed Mrs. Hughes's kitchen to bake another one. That pie was delicious, Edward thought to himself sadly. The Brigaider General would have been proud.

The sound of a door creaking reached Edward's ears, and he sat up quickly, a glare fixed on his face to greet whatever intruder was entering. Alphonse can't be back already .. Edward thought as he stared at the slowly opening door, wondering if it were possible that Al could be back from the market so soon. His expression suddenly softened, however, when he saw the head of the girl he was just thinking so much about poking in through the crack in the door.

"Ed ..?" She asked quietly, looking around for him and offering a tiny smile as her blue eyes met his gold ones. "Is it all right to come inside?" Edward opened his mouth to actually tell her to come on in, but upon finding himself unable to do such a thing, he resorted to closing his mouth and nodding, which Winry knew was enough of an answer. Apparently she knew what he had meant by merely nodding, because the next thing she did was step the rest of the way inside of the room. Edward noticed at the moment that she stepped into the room that she wasn't alone; in her hands, she carried a medium-sized box, which she set atop the coffee table as she arrived at the sofa, sitting down in one of the recliners that bordered the small, square table. She leaned back, crossing one leg over the other and gazing worriedly over at Edward. An awkward silence followed after she sat down, and was only broken when Edward decided it had to be.

"So .." He started, pausing to think of what to say before continuing; an action that was so unlike him, yet completely exact at the same time. "So .. are you feeling better?" He finally managed to ask, offering a small smile that mirrored the one he had received from her when she first appeared at the door. Winry looked to him for a moment, before recreating the tiny smile that she had given him only moments ago.

"Better," She answered, and all was silent for another moment, before Winry spoke once more.

"Ed, I .. I want to thank you." Edward looked to her curiously.

"Thank me? For what? If anything, I-"

"I want to thank you for listening to me last night." Edward's eyes widened. She wanted to thank me for something as tiny as .. as that?

"It's not a problem, Winry, I'm sure anyone would have done it .." He answered, a hint of pink covering his cheeks.

"Well .. It just meant so much more to me that it was you who listened." For the second time that day, Edward's eyes widened. He never expected these words to come from anybody's mouth, much less the mouth of his childhood best friend. Edward looked back to Winry, feeling his face become hot as he saw her staring at her lap, her face tinted with a tiny amount of pink as well. He sucked in a quick breath, trying to focus on anything other than how unusually pretty she looked with her hair strewn about her shoulders while she sat.

"Winry, I .. there's no need to thank me. In fact, I should be thanking you." Winry suddenly looked up, eyes widening as she gazed at the boy she grew up with, a look of shock evident on her face.

"You've done so much for me, and I never really have thanked you for .. for everything that you've done .. for both Al and myself." Winry let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, relaxing as her mind registered the words that were just spoken. She smiled, standing and walking over to the sofa, sitting next to Edward and wrapping her arms around him, enveloping him in a gentle embrace. She didn't expect to receive a return to her gesture, and she was all right with that .. so she was more than surprised when she felt his right arm snake around her waist, pulling her slightly closer to him for a few moments before letting her go. He looked to her, the boyish grin returning to his face for a moment as he did so. She smiled happily in return, turning to the box on the table and lifting the top of the box, revealing the still-warm pie that rested inside. Edward's grin returned, and he had to refrain from laughing as he saw her expression; the small blush on her face, the awkward grin .. it was enough to make him melt, yet at the same time it was amusing enough to poke fun at.

"I thought .. since you liked the pie so much yesterday, I could give you a pie as thanks," She suddenly said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen, unnoticed, between the two. Edward looked to the pie, then to her, and took a hold of the knife, cutting a piece and setting it on the small plate that she had put inside intentionally for him. He tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to look toward him, and smiled as he handed her the slice of pie he had just freshly cut.

"I wonder .. have you ever tasted your own food, Winry?" He said, lips curling up into an even wider smile. Winry crossed her arms and scowled.

"Of course! Who do you think was the taste tester for all the failures?" This comment made Edward laugh, and Winry soon joined in. As the two calmed down, a still grinning Edward gently pushed the plate with the pie at her.

"Go on. You deserve it." Winry hesitated at first, but looked to Edward again and silently gave in, taking the fork and taking a small bite of the pie. Edward couldn't help but feel his heart take flight as a gigantic smile lit up the girl's face.

"I didn't think I had improved that much!" Winry exclaimed, scooping up another portion of the pie and bringing the fork to Ed's lips. Ed's face screwed up playfully.

"Winry, I'm capable of feeding myself .." Winry laughed.

"I know .. but this is your pie. I can't take it all for myself." Edward smirked, opening his mouth slightly to accept the tiny piece of pie on the fork. When it came close enough to him, however, the fork tilted up, some of the pie filling leaving its mark on his nose. Edward scowled and Winry laughed, and before she could do anything about it, the plate was taken from her, and the pie was shoved in her face. Edward howled with laugher, while Winry reached for another slice of pie. Before her hand could make it to the box, however, she felt the warm feeling of Edward's flesh hand grasping her arm, his automail finger waving in the air.

"Ah, Ah, Ah, Winry .." Edward grinned. "Equivilent Exchange. I just got my exchange." Winry choked as she started laughing.

"Exchange, Ed? More like overkill."

"Ahh .. Brother, am I interrupting something?" a hollow voice sounded from the doorway. Edward and Winry looked over to see the other Elric brother, Alphonse, in his armored glory. In his arms, he had a few paper bags, undoubtedly filled with the week's groceries. Edward and Winry looked to each other, then started laughing, Winry standing and saying a quick goodbye to her two best friends as she left toward her room. Edward stood, headed toward the bathroom to wash the pie off of his face.

"Brother, what was that about?" Alphonse asked in a sly tone. Edward chuckled a little to himself.

"Nothing, Al," He responded quietly, continuing onward to the bathroom. That answer seemed to be good enough for now.

End