Hihi, well here is the companion piece to "A Mechanic's Wrath" hope you enjoy! ;)
ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:
Lily: haha Thank you Lily! :D Ah no, no that's not the Rebecca (Riza's close friend) nah, I don't think she would be interested in Ed…though she is searching for a man ;) haha Thanks Lily you have a wonderful day too! ^^
Bob: haha Thanks Bob :3 Well, I can be stupid at times (most because of lack of sleep lol).
AnimeOtaku9000: haha thank you so much! Well, if that's a request, I could write a little one shot where awkward Winry tries to tell Ed she's pregnant haha if you want.
Penguin19: haha yeah I know, on the 15th right? If you like, I could write you a little birthday one shot, you get to decide though what you want me to write, anything at all. Long or short? Any pairings you want.
A Mechanic's Wrath Part 2
"I mean, you're the best mechanic I know and you can do a lot of things around the house by yourself, without me. That's why I had been confused why you suddenly needed my help too," Ed gazed at her intently, trying to figure out what he had missed.
Winry bit her lip, her gaze downcast, "Ed, I...look, I can't do all these things by myself alright? Do you know how many women keep looking at me strangely because I'm the only woman in the village that can repair her own roof and other things without having a man do it?" Winry held her head in her hands, heaving a long, drawn out sigh.
Ed frowned, "What? But why? I think it's great if you don't have to rely on someone constantly, it's your way of style and I think more women shouldn't rely on their husband or a man to do things for them. You saved lives Winry, you enabled people without limbs to walk again and continue living like they used to, by yourself." Ed smiled at her as Winry peeked at him from behind her fingers.
"Really?" Ed nodded in encouragement.
He grinned, "Besides, if some of those women look down on you they have no idea how awesome you are! While they need help with repairing things, you do them with a snap of your fingers! That way me and Al also didn't have to worry so much about leaving you and Granny alone, because we knew you were fine on your own and independent."
Winry smiled but her eyes were still sad, "But Ed...sometimes I don't want to be independent..." her eyes widened when Ed placed his warm hand on her shoulder.
When she looked at him, his expression was soft and understanding, "That's why I'm here. I'll help you with things you can't always do by yourself. But you know what will never change?" Winry looked at him, "That you are and will always be different from all these other women, you're independent and you are a life saver, Winry, don't ever let them tell you something else," Ed grabbed her hand, squeezing gently.
Winry smiled warmly at him, "Thank you Ed," she blushed when she felt Ed was affectionately stroking her knuckles.
"Uh, r-right, well why don't we go to sleep huh? It's pretty late isn't it?" Winry quickly slipped her hand out of Ed's, putting the now empty dishes away and into the sink, straightening her hair and pushing the chair back inside the table.
Ed cleared his throat, feeling his face burn slightly as he swallowed the rest of his sandwich down and threw the foil in the bin.
He grabbed the pillow and the blanket, preparing to make himself a bed out of the couch in the living room, until Winry suddenly spoke.
"You coming?" Ed froze at Winry's question and turned around to look up at her at the stairs.
"W-what?" he blinked rapidly.
"Are you coming? The night's pretty cold so far and I don't want you to catch a cold by sleeping down here," Winry gestured to the living room and the small couch.
Ever since coming here again, Al had slept in Winry's old room while Winry slept in the old room of her deceased parents, since there was no more room for Ed to sleep in he had resided himself to his fate on sleeping on the small, unforgiving couch.
The couch was small and Edward was a big, tall man...he couldn't believe how proud he was at saying those words...damn.
Long story short, Ed tended to roll around in his sleep, the couch didn't do him any favors at all, he would often fall off it and be woken up by the hard, merciless floor or he would hit himself against the small coffee table right next to the couch. He didn't know what had been worse, the feather springs inside the couch which kept digging into his back and side, or the wake-up call in the middle of the night by what he had personally dubbed as "demon's creation".
"C-c-coming w-w-where?" there were only two options, Winry's room or the bathroom and Ed somehow had a hunch it wasn't the bathroom.
"T-to my r-room of course! Geez Ed, stop asking s-such stupid questions!" Winry was suddenly embarrassed, avoiding his gaze shyly.
Ed stood there in the middle of the living room, pillow and blanket tucked under his arms, shell shocked by Winry's offer.
Winry thought he had rejected her judging by his sudden stillness but she was pleasantly surprised when she heard light thuds, probably the blanket and pillow hitting the floor, and spotting Ed a step or two behind her with a warm expression on his face.
"Thanks Winry," his voice was soft as he spoke, quiet so he didn't wake up the others.
"D-don't get used to it alright," Winry, burning blush in place, led the way as Ed followed behind her with a smile.
Now inside Winry's bedroom, both were looking awkwardly at the large king sized bed, standing there like awkward teenagers.
"Uhm...I-I'm gonna go and change," Winry said, disappearing inside the small, built in bathroom.
"A-alright," Ed replied quickly, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as his mind did a roller coaster ride inside his jumbled head.
What the hell to do?! He didn't have any blankets or pillows to make a makeshift bed on the floor! Did she actually want to share the bed with him?!
Ed felt his face burn brightly at the thought and he pinched himself hard to snap out of it, then, he looked down at himself, "God damn it! What the hell will I wear?! I can't sleep in the same bed with Winry in my boxers! What will she think?!"
But his PJ's were in Al's room in the closet! He couldn't go there and risk waking up his little brother!
...Wait...maybe he should just throw Al out of the bed and tell him to sleep on the couch? Ed gripped his blond hair, wanting to rip it out in his frustration. He didn't want to make Winry uncomfortable! Hell, he himself feels awkward just standing there!
He heard the door of the bathroom suddenly open and Ed had half a mind to dive into a corner or hide under the bed.
"Ed? I thought you changed?" Winry asked from behind him, Ed made the mistake of turning around. She wore her nightgown.
It wasn't the first time Ed ever saw Winry in a nightgown or rather in her PJ's but for some reason it felt very different now, alone, in her room, the moonlight from outside giving her figure a soft almost ethereal glow.
Ed swallowed hard.
"I...w-well...I uhh...my...my clothes...they...they are in Al's room and I uh...don't want to wake him..." Ed wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole, he was sure he would be called a pervert and kicked out of the room Winry-style; with a wrench.
"O-oh...hold on, maybe I have some of your PJ's here," Winry briskly walked to her closet and searched the shelves, finally fishing out a black shirt and boxers for Ed to wear.
Wordlessly, she handed it to him, "T-thanks," Ed quickly was next to disappear in the bathroom to change.
A few minutes passed and he came out, Winry was already in bed, covered by the blanket, Ed awkwardly, slowly, walked toward the bed. Winry saw how hesitant he was, as if waiting for permission, she nodded and Ed climbed on the other side of the bed, covering himself with the blanket.
Both adults stared at the ceiling, Winry clutching the blanket protectively to her chest while Ed had one arm under his head and the other resting on his stomach, feeling more awkward than they ever did around each-other.
Ed hesitantly looked at Winry but quickly turned his head away and swallowed hard, feeling his throat constrict tighter and tighter.
Winry looked this time at Ed before panic gripped her heart and she quickly looked away, feeling the blush that persistently kept residence over her face.
"H-hey Winry?" Ed felt himself sweating, just why did he have to open his mouth?!
"Y-yeah?" Winry kept her eyes stubbornly fixed on the wall, intent on not looking at the defined muscles lining Ed's arms when he moved them around, or his pronounced collarbone, or the little bit of his trained chest being exposed by his slightly too small shirt-
"A-are you sure this is f-fine? I can go downstairs and sleep on the couch, no problem!" Ed chuckled awkwardly.
"N-no, no, it's ok Edward ,really. I...I trust you," Winry blushed, hesitantly touching Ed's forearm as she offered him a small, shy smile.
When Ed turned around to look at her he was surprised when he could just see how she smiled at him, she trusted him.
Ed blushed and nodded, hesitantly placing his own hand on top of Winry's and squeezing slightly to reassure her.
Winry shivered at the touch but didn't pull away, slowly, she inched slightly closer to him, so close that their arms were touching and Ed had to restrain himself from jumping at the new, unfamiliar contact of her soft, warm skin.
"Hey...can I ask you something?" Ed's voice was shy and quiet when he spoke, so unlike him and that disturbed Winry.
"What is it Ed?" Winry looked at him in the darkness, thankfully the moonlight provided enough light to still see him.
"W-why do you...trust me?" Ed couldn't bring himself to look at her.
"W-what?" blue eyes widened at Ed's odd question.
"W-well...I mean...w-would you trust I don't know...that Robert Windmill guy? Or that red diva...what's his name...Stanley?" Ed suddenly looked displeased, crossing his arms.
He suddenly felt a very painful yet familiar feeling on his head.
It was the wrench.
"WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE THAT THING IN YOUR BEDROOM?!" Ed shouted, gripping his head.
"TO PROTECT MYSELF FROM IDIOTS LIKE YOU!" Winry shouted back, holding her wrench in her hand.
"I JUST ASKED YOU A SIMPLE QUESTION! NO NEED TO KILL ME!"
"THAT WASN'T A SIMPLE QUESTION ED!" Winry's voice shook suddenly with emotions and Ed froze as both adults were sitting up now on the bed.
"Y-you implied I would do this with just any guy! You're such an idiot Edward!" Winry blinked back tears, throwing the wrench away into a corner.
With the danger now gone, Ed moved closer to Winry, "W-wait, w-what? I-I didn't meant it like that! I just...w-well I..."
"What Ed?!" Winry glared at him with furious eyes.
"I just don't want any other man seeing you like this but me!" Ed half shouted, his gold eyes widening at his blurted out confession.
Winry froze, gasping.
Ed scratched the back of his head, mumbling under his breath, "I'm going to sleep on the couch," when he was about to stand up and leave the bed, Winry quickly grabbed his forearm.
"W-wait Ed..." Winry suddenly smiled, slowly, "Um...I..I had no idea..."
Ed didn't see her smile so he thought the worst: he had gotten rejected.
"Yeah, well, just forget it-" he was cut off mid sentence by Winry when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him, hiding her flaming face against his collarbone.
"I-I feel the same E-Ed!" Winry confessed hastily, trying to hide herself from his view.
"W-what?!" Ed couldn't believe this, maybe he heard wrong?
"I feel the same..." Winry repeated herself slower this time, "That's why I d-didn't like all these women looking for you...I...well, I just wanted Edward Elric for myself...I didn't want to share him with all the women from the village...or from Central..." Winry pouted.
Ed couldn't help but smile and chuckle happily, wrapping his arms around Winry tightly and falling backward on the bed, laughing.
Winry froze briefly before she blushed darkly and laughed along with Ed, not caring that they were in their PJ's. She felt comfortable again, happy, unbelievably happy.
"Aww my little mechanic's getting soft huh?" he teased her playfully but added in a softer, more serious tone, "You know you were the only girl that had my heart right? And I thought I was dense…why did you think I almost kicked that lame Windmill's ass when he kept making pretty eyes at you? I would have to share Greed's philosophy, I don't like to share what's mine," Ed tightened his hold around her, kissing her head affectionately.
Winry blushed but giggled in delight, feeling spoiled, "Oh really? So I'm yours huh?"
"Uh…w-well I uh…" Ed stuttered, not sure if he said something wrong or not.
Winry laughed happily and kissed him on the lips, much to his surprise and delight.
She broke apart and nuzzled his cheek, "Hm…I have nothing against that, but that means that you're mine and you know how selfish I am Ed," she wrapped her arms around him again, kissing his chest.
Ed chuckled deeply, hugging her close to him and smelling her hair, "Yeah, be as selfish as you want to be,"
Bonus Scene:
Al rolled around on his bed, trying to silence the giggles that kept coming from somewhere close, somewhere around the house. Maybe he was just dreaming after all, who knew.
But they were persistent, his gold eyes opened and he removed the pillow from his face, blinking sleepily and trying to gather his bearings.
"I wonder if brother came back..." Al yawned and slowly crawled out of bed, putting on a robe as he slowly wobbled his way out. The first place he went to check was of course Ed's usual sleeping spot, the couch.
"What...?" Al blinked again, rubbing his eyes tiredly when he thought he was hallucinating because he didn't see his older brother on the couch sleeping. Next he spotted the pillows on the floor and his eyes widened open fully.
"W-wait...Ed isn't at home...there are strange noises coming from Winry's room...Winry!" his eyes widened in horror and he quickly grabbed the pillow and sprinted back upstairs, nearly tripping on the last step too.
He had to save Winry! Maybe there was a robber here and she was in trouble?!
Al shouted what seemed to be a battle cry when he slammed open the door to Winry's room and holding the pillow above his head like a weapon as he froze at the sight before him.
What he saw wasn't a robber...and Ed was home...just not in his usual sleeping spot...
Instead, what he saw would surely scar him for life.
His brother, wide eyed, red faced...
On top of Winry, also wide eyed and red faced...
Both appeared to be either naked or very inappropriately dressed...
On Winry's bed...
"A-Al, uhh...h-hey..." Ed said lamely, appearing to cover Winry with his body so Al didn't see anything he wasn't supposed to see...well at least anymore of it.
"B-brother...y-you're here and W-Winry's ok..."
"Y-yeah, I'm uh...f-fine Al," Winry covered herself with the blanket, grinning nervously.
Al, shell shocked, lowered the pillow, turned around rigidly and exited the room, nearly falling down the flight of stairs before he made it to his room.
Robotically, he slipped back inside his own safe bed and covered himself with the blanket.
"What I saw cannot be unseen, what I saw cannot be unseen, what I saw cannot be unseen..." he repeated that over and over, his eyes wide and shocked.
What he just saw can never be unseen.
Then he heard a pained yelp come from his brother and a furious shout from Winry.
It was the wrench.
So..what did you think? Too romantic?