Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, the same holds true about Ed and no shirt.

Michi: OMG I'm such an idiot! Since I can't be bothered to read chapters once they're posted, I didn't notice until just now that the little squiggly line thingy I use for line breaks doesn't work. So don't worry people – I am not, in fact, a dunce who can't divide scenes. I do, it just doesn't show up. But this chappie, I'll make it work.

Again, THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed! I feel really, really bad for not replying personally, but a) the time constraints and b) the time constraints. And I dunno if it's allowed. But yeah, you people who review REALLY mean a lot to me. Last week, I was having a really awful day, and so when I got home from school I got on the compy, and, lo and behold, there were new reviews! So I read them, and they just totally made my day.

And for any of you who may worry about me being stricken by writers' block, never fear – the entire story has already been written out longhand, and I just need to type it up. So it's complete, as well as a oneshot that happens later and I'm starting on the sequel (RoyxRiza!). Jumping the gun a bit but eh, why not?

Ed: Oh my GOD, just SHUT UP!

Michi: Hmmph. Here's Chapter Four!

CHAPTER FOUR: ROSES AND JEALOUSY

Winry's first thought upon waking was Why does my pillow feel… not like a pillow? She opened her eyes to immediately find the answer to her question; she wasn't actually lying on her pillow. She lifted her head and realized that she was lying on Ed.

She was lying on her side, with her head resting on his shoulder, and her left hand resting on his chest. Her left arm was wrapped around her waist, and their legs were just generally intertwined. Winry blushed quite a bit, and tugged the hem of her oversized t-shirt down, to ensure that she was completely covered; not that Ed would be able to see anything from where he was, anyhow. Other than that, she didn't move, not wanting to wake him. Her breathing, she realized was slightly faster than normal, and she could feel the heat radiating from his body in all the places that they were touching. She forced herself to breathe more slowly, and ignore the heat, enticing though it was.

How did this happen? She wondered, thinking back to the previous night. Oh yeah. I couldn't sleep, so I asked if I could sleep in here…but we fell asleep on opposite sides of the bed! They had, obviously, intended for it to stay that way, but apparently Winry's subconscious had a mind of its own. Oh well. I guess I'd better go before he wakes up and wonders what on earth I'm doing lying on him like this…She started to untangle herself, but, to her immense surprise, he muttered "no" and pulled her closer with the arm encircling her waist. Startled, she looked at him; he was still fast asleep.

Winry smiled and lay down again, snuggling closer to him. Apparently Ed's subconscious had a mind of its own as well. She vaguely wondered what this could mean before drifting off to sleep once more.

Ed woke up to find a mass of pale blonde hair on his chest. Winry? He thought vaguely. What the- then he remembered that he had let her sleep with him last night. He blushed profusely. Sleep in the same bed as him, he meant. The other wording … no.

I told her not to thrash…he thought, feeling a bit agitated. He couldn't stay upset for long however; soon he found himself just lying there watching her sleep. She really was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and she looked so at peace when she was sleeping.

As if she sensed him watching her, Winry stirred slightly, rubbed her eyes, and looked up at him.

" 'Morning." She said, somewhat incoherently. She seemed to wake up a little more, and looked at the position they were lying in, and immediately untangled her legs from his. "Sorry about that," She said. Ed hid a smile – she was about six different shades of red. "I … I normally don't move around that much."

"It's ok," Ed told her. "I mean, it's not as though you did it on purpose." She laughed.

"We're friends, Ed, but not that friendly, if you know what I mean." She sat up, and began gathering her belongings, and Ed felt suddenly alone, without her warm weight resting next to him. "Thanks for letting me sleep here." She said.

"Anytime," he said, and she left. Once she was gone, he realized the implications of what he'd just said.

Anytime? Idiot! Now she'll bother me every time she can't sleep! Great.

Would that really be such a bad thing? A tiny corner of his mind whispered. He frowned at it, and it scampered off into the darkness.

Of course it would be.

When Winry walked downstairs, Ed was already there, and appeared to be thoroughly ignoring Al, who kept waggling his eyebrows at his older brother. He spotted Winry, and turned his attention to her.

"Good morning, Winry." Waggle waggle. "How was yesterday?" Waggle.

"It was fun." She said, "I got Ed to dance with me, and we went on the ferris wheel." She wished he would stop wiggling his eyebrows at her; it was getting kind of weird.

"How about after you got back?"

"After-," Winry began, puzzled, but then put two and two together. Oh no… "Al, you didn't happen to look into Ed's room this morning, did you?" He looked slightly guilty, and wouldn't meet her gaze, "Al?"

"You should learn to lock doors if you're going to do stuff like that." Ed made a sort of choked noise, went a shade of red that put the apple he was munching on to shame, and left. Winry sighed.

"Al, I couldn't sleep when we got home because of – because of what happened the first night of the carnival, so I asked Ed if I could sleep in his room." Al cocked an eyebrow.

"That doesn't explain why you two were all cozy like that. If you're going to sleep in a room with someone else, you might want to put shorts on so the world doesn't see your pink polka-dot panties." Now it was Winry's turn to blush.

"Al! The color of my panties is completely irrelevant."

"They were pink polka-dots, though!"

"I know. Anyway, when we went to sleep, we were on opposite sides of the bed." She explained, "We must've just moved while we were sleeping." Al didn't look entirely convinced. "If there was anything going on between Ed and I, don't you think we'd tell you?" Al thought a moment.

"Yes, I suppose." His face lit up suddenly. "Does that mean that you two might…"

"No!" Winry said adamantly. Al didn't get a chance to say anything more, however, because at that moment, Pinako walked into the room.

"I see Ed isn't here." She commented, "You two finally got untangled then, didn't you?" Winry blushed again.

It wasn't easy for George to walk all the way to the house on the hill, due to the injuries he had sustained two days earlier. He finally got to the top, and walked towards the house.

He was here because his cat had been hit by a car and needed an automail leg. George really didn't care for the animal terribly much, but getting an automail leg for it would be a good opportunity to show off how much money he had.

He was nearing the front door when a large sign caught his eye; it was the name of the automail shop.

Rockbell … he thought, and the name wandered through his mind in search of something to connect with. It found something. Pain, and lots of it. Of course! Winry Rockbell was the cute blonde that George had almost hooked up with at the carnival. He paled. What if that other guy was hanging around?

He was just about to turn and leave when the front door opened, and Winry Rockbell herself walked out.

Winry just stared for a moment, unable to believe her eyes – she just stood there, in shock. Part of her wanted to collapse into a sobbing heap and let Ed deal with him, but another part….another part wanted to take her wrench to the bastard and beat the living daylights out of him.

As usual, the violence won.

She shrieked and flung her wrench at him. It hit him squarely in the face, and he fell over, clutching at his (probably broken) nose. Winry ran over, grabbed her wrench, and proceeded to pound him senseless with it.

"YOU!" Crunch. If it wasn't broken before, it most definitely was now. "HOW DARE YOU COME HERE AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME! YOU STOLE MY FIRST KISS! I CAN'T SLEEP ALONE ANYMORE!" She was crying now, and as a result, the blows were getting weaker. Suddenly, George reached up and grabbed her wrist. She dropped the wrench in surprise – it hadn't occurred to her that he might do anything. He stood, still holding her wrist, and gave her a look that made her stumble backwards a few steps. She screamed again, but instead of a scream of rage, it was a shriek of terror.

Suddenly, a hand descended on George's shoulder, and Winry and George both turned to find Ed staring at George with a look so murderous it made even Winry shudder. George, on the other hand, looked as though he was about to soil his trousers.

"Let her go. Now." Ed commanded. George thrust Winry's hand away from him, and Ed stepped smoothly between the two of them. He was so close that Winry couldn't see anything past him. She suspected that he did this on purpose. Without any warning, he punched George hard in the face – or so Winry guessed. George recovered quickly, turned, and sprinted down the hill.

It was at this point that Winry's knees gave out, and she sank to the ground, tears streaking her face.

Ed felt rather than saw Winry slide to her knees behind him, and turned around. Sure enough, there she was; legs folded beneath her, staring off into the distance as tears fell from her eyes unchecked. He sat in front of her, and she seemed to snap back to reality, and her eyed focused on him. She gave a hollow laugh.

"You always seem to get there just in time, don't you?" She hung her head. "I'm sorry." Ed was taken aback.

"For what?" She looked up.

"For causing you so much trouble." She told him. "I should have just let him go, but I was so angry – so I hit him with my wrench. A lot. But then he grabbed my wrist, and I dropped it, and—" She realized she was rambling and stopped. Ed was amazed – how could she think she was causing him trouble? It was him that had let her down by not getting there fast enough. He placed his hand over hers, and squeezed it gently. She looked up at him in surprise, but said nothing. Ed let a few moments pass before her got to his feet, and helped her up as well. She seemed all right – she had stopped crying—but he put an arm around her just to be sure.

"What's going on out – OOH!" Al stepped out of the front door and, upon noticing the cat that George had left, ran over and scooped it up. "Awww, she needs a leg, poor thing…" Ed eyed the cat.

"That must be why that bastard was here." Al looked puzzled for a moment, but noticed that Ed had his arm around Winry, made some excuse regarding the cat, and dashed inside. Ed sighed - Al was so horribly misguided; he still entertained notions that Ed and Winry would become a couple. That was certainly never going to happen.

Winry had recovered quickly from her run-in with George, and by nightfall was thinking of nothing but the carnival.

Both Ed and Al would be going this time, so there would be no awkwardness regarding the 'love' theme – though she somehow had the distinct feeling that Al would do his best to push her and Ed together. Perhaps Winry needed to have another talk with him – the one had, apparently, not done an ounce of good.

Tonight, in the spirit of romance – though she certainly wouldn't be involved in any – Winry had spent quite a while trying to decide what to wear. She finally decided on a red dress with very thin straps and a slightly ruffled hem. The dress - like many of the ones Winry owned – was rather short, reaching only to midthigh. She left her hair down and curled it slightly. She didn't place a flower behind her ear, as was traditional on the 'love' night, the reason being that, supposedly, anything could happen.

When she finally walked downstairs, Ed and Al were already waiting for her. Ed, surprisingly, hadn't shouted at her to hurry up – evidently he had learned that it took a while for her to make herself look nice. Both Ed and Al looked exceptionally handsome – and uncommonly dressed-up. Ed had even put his hair in a ponytail, rather than the usual braid.

"You look gorgeous, Winry!" Al said, as he offered her his arm. She took it, and smiled. Ed didn't say anything, and Winry couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. She wondered why his face was so red? Perhaps the shirt he was wearing was hot. Al frowned, reached out, and poked Ed in the ribs. Ed started, and then smiled at Winry.

"Uh, yeah, you look great!" He grinned, a little nervously, and opened the door. "Let's go."

The carnival looked as though a gardener had thrown a fit. There were pink and red flowers everywhere –mostly roses – and bunches of red roses hung from trees and the flower-laden gazebo in the middle of the park. Those bunches of roses were, though Ed and Al probably didn't know it, like a springtime equivalent of mistletoe.

Winry was just about to ask Ed and Al what they wanted to first when a girl around their age sauntered up to Ed. She was amazingly beautiful and had long, shiny black hair. She batted her long eyelashes seductively and placed a hand on Ed's arm.

"Hey cutie," She purred, "Are you here alone?" Winry stepped forward before she could stop herself, dragging a very surprised Al along with her.

"No, he's here with us." She said firmly. The girl's eyes widened in mock innocence.

"Well, I was only going to ask him to dance. Surely the three of you weren't going to dance together, were you?" She batted her eyelashes at Ed again, "What do you say?" Ed grinned, and Winry wanted to choke both of them.

"Sure." He said, and allowed himself to be led off by the raven-haired girl.

"Winry?" Al said, sounding concerned, "What's wrong? You look like you're about to kill something."

"Nngh."

"Surely you're not jealous?" Winry growled, and Al stepped back.

"Cone on, Al, let's go dance." And without waiting for an answer, she dragged him off to the gazebo by his ear.

Ed was having a great time dancing with Scarlett – the girl who had asked him to dance. She was nice, and intelligent – not to mention breathtakingly gorgeous.

"You mean you haven't been in Resembool at all for the past seven years?" She asked, when he told her about his stint in the military.

"I have, but only to see my mechanic for a few days at a time. That was her that I came here with." Scarlett laughed.

"Your mechanic? Funny, because I always think of mechanics as big, burly men. Who was the other boy? Her boyfriend? Your gardener?" Ed shook his head.

"My little brother. The three of us have been friends for all of our lives." Scarlett nodded.

"I see. And that was why she's so possessive of you?"

"Possessive?" Scarlett nodded.

"Very. She nearly clawed my eyed out when I asked you to dance." Instead of giving Ed a chance to deny it, as he obviously would, she changed the subject quickly. "These carnivals are a nice tradition, don't you think? Is this your first time attending one?" Ed nodded, and she continued. "Oh, then you probably don't know many of the customs within a carnival."

"Like what?" Scarlett's eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Well, like how women wear flowers behind their ears – left for single, right for taken – except for tonight, of course. And if someone gives someone else a white flower, it's like a request to save a dance for him or her. And—" she paused dramatically, "—do you know what those bunches of roses on the ceiling are for?" Ed's brow wrinkled slightly; he could tell she was up to something.

"No."

"Here," She said, taking the lead in the dance and guiding him under a bunch, "Let me show you."

Winry was dancing with Al, and watching Ed and That Girl like a hawk the entire time.

"I wonder what they're talking about?" She said for the fourth or fifth time. Al sighed, also for the fourth or fifth time – Winry could really be a little obsessive compulsive at times.

"If you want, we can dance closer to them." He offered patiently. Winry shook her head.

"No; then they'll wonder why we're so interested."

"Winry, why are we so interested?" Winry didn't reply – in fact, she had stopped dancing altogether. "Winry? What's wrong?" But Winry was too busy watching the girl lead Ed underneath a bunch of red roses. Al looked and – having been mobbed by a bunch of talkative girls two nights ago – knew exactly what the bunch of roses stood for.

"What does that – that hussy think she's doing!" Winry exclaimed, though it came out as more of a squeak. The black-haired girl pointed up to the roses, as though explaining the purpose. She looked across the dance floor and caught Winry's eye for a split second, before placing a hand gently on the back of Ed's neck and bringing her face close to his as though she were about to kiss him. Ed leaned in as well, and slid an arm around the girl's waist. Winry felt, for some reason, as though someone had just punched her hard in the stomach.

Winry grabbed the first thing that came to hand – Al's pocket watch – and lobbed it at the girl. It hit her in the ankle, and, with a slight cry of pain, she backed away from Ed. By that time, Winry had crossed the dance floor, Al in tow, and stood glaring at the both of them. The girl, oddly enough, didn't seem to mind – Winry even spotted something that might have been relief in her eyes before she walked away – limping slightly—but Ed looked furious. After taking one look at his brother's enraged expression, Al went after the girl, muttering something about apologizing.

"What the HELL was that all about!" Ed demanded.

"You should be thanking me for saving you from that – that snake-woman!" Ed looked at her incredulously.

"From Scarlett?"

"Yes!"

"Why did I need saving, exactly?" He asked, still glaring.

"She was trying to seduce you!"

"How?"

"With those!" Winry said, pointing at the bunch of roses that was hanging directly overhead. Ed looked at the flowers, and gulped. "What?" Winry said loudly.

"Winry, we're…. Uhh…"

"We're what? Fighting? Being stared at? Blonde?"

"We're standing right underneath those roses." He said softly, all traces of anger gone from his voice.

"Oh." Winry suddenly felt as though she had swallowed several very large, very angry butterflies. "And… what are we…um….going to do about that, exactly?" Was it just her, or were they very close all of a sudden?

"I don't know." Ed admitted. Winry noticed that he had shifted closer while he was talking. She seemed to have no control over her body, because the next thing she knew, she had taken a step forward as well, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Their noses were now only inches apart, and it was hard to look at him without going cross-eyed.

"We should probably move," She murmured, "So we're not standing under them anymore."

"Good idea," He said, just as softly, placing a hand on her lower back. He seemed to be drifting closer by the second, as was she. Winry could feel his breath on her face. It tickled slightly. If she moved forward just an inch or two—

But a new thought occurred to her when she moved her foot and felt an object on the floor.

"Ed?" She said. Shut up! A voice in her head was screaming. Just a few more inches! His face was so close she could feel the heat radiating from it.

"Yes?" he pulled back slightly so that he could look at her without going cross-eyed.

"Al left his pocket watch. It's lying next to my foot." Ed removed his hand from her back, and stepped backwards. Reluctantly, Winry let her hand drop from his shoulder.

"We should probably go give it to him then, shouldn't we?" he said. Winry nodded, and he picked it up. The moment had passed, and they were back to playing their roles as friends. Keeping their distance from each other, they walked off in search of Al.

"I'm really, really sorry about that." Al said. He was sitting on a park bench next to Scarlett, who was holding a glass of ice against her ankle. "I had no idea that she would throw something at you."

"I did. I'm just lucky that the pocket watch was all she threw at me. Oh well – at least I didn't have to actually kiss him – you were right about that part." Al nodded; he had known that Winry would throw a fit – he just hadn't known how much of a fit.

"Thanks for your help." He told her. "I owe you one."

"If by 'one' you mean a new ankle, then yes, you do." Al smiled.

"Well, Winry's an automail mechanic, but—"

"But I'm not likely to get any automail out of her in this lifetime, am I?" She moved her ankle around a bit, and winced delicately. "Besides, it's not that bad." Al couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Well, I would offer to dance with you to make it up to you, but seeing as you hurt your ankle that badly…" Scarlett placed the glass on the bench and leapt to her feet.

"I could never be hurt too badly to dance with you, Alphonse," She purred, steering him towards the dance floor. Al sighed, and wondered what exactly he had gotten himself into.

The rest of the carnival passed relatively uneventfully, after that, and Winry, Ed, and Al left yearly, and went back. The house was dark, so they had to find their way upstairs blindly again.

"'night, guys." Winry told them as she walked into her room. They muttered 'good night' as well, and walked into their respective rooms. Winry quickly undressed and got into bed, resolving to actually sleep by herself tonight.

An hour later, she was still awake, and severely creeped out.

This is getting ridiculous. She thought, gathering her blankets and pillows. She considered going into Ed's room but decided against it – considering what had happened earlier, she doubted she would be very welcome. She didn't want to disturb Al, either, so she walked down the stairs and sat down on the couch in the living room. This wasn't all that much better than being in her own room, actually. Perhaps she would go bother Al…

"Winry? Is that you?" There was no need to bother Al after all --- he was walking downstairs.

"Al? What are you doing here?" Winry asked, sitting up.

"I thought I heard someone on the stairs, and I was right. What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep." She couldn't see him very well, but she thought he was grinning.

"Why didn't you sleep in nii-san's room again?" Winry sighed, and Al sat next to her on the couch.

"Because something… something happened. Or didn't happen. It did but it didn't. Well, almost." Al looked very confused. "After you and that hussy – Scarlett – left, Ed and I sort of had an argument. Then we realized that we were standing under the roses."

"And?" Al asked eagerly.

"Well, then I realized that you had forgotten your pocket watch and we went to go find you. But before that, I – we – we nearly—"

"Did you?"

"No, thankfully. I don't know what I was thinking, or what Ed was thinking for that matter. I don't think we even were thinking." She shook her head. "It must have just been the candlelight and the fumes from the flowers, and—"

"Ed's gorgeous golden eyes?"

"Yes – No! Al!"

"I'm sorry. You can sleep with me tonight, if you want."

"Ok," Winry said, "I won't get any sleep otherwise. Thanks." She began to gather her belongings, and Al helped her carry them upstairs, along with the cat George had left. Pinako had bandaged its leg, and Winry made a mental note to take measurements for an automail one.

Even with Al sleeping peacefully next to her, Winry lay awake for a while, thinking.

I wonder what would have happened if Al hadn't left his pocketwatch?

Ed: Errrrrrr…

Michi: Hahahahaha.

Ed: Nothing would have happened.

Michi: You poor deluded fool. Now your brother is sleeping with your girl (quite literally).

Ed: … the next chapter had better not suck.

By the way: Scarlett is NOT a self-insert (she's a SKANK) and no, she's not going to end up with Al. I haven't sold out THAT much, at least. Please, PLEASE don't flame me for using an original character – she's only ever mentioned again once at the end. So don't hate me!