A/N: I have no idea, as you guys may have guessed, about married life or uh...well relationships in general really, since I haven't been in one so far. :3 Basically, I'm writing what I think/imagine I would do for my partner if the brutal situation occurs where he gets sick and I would take care of him ^^ And of course what I imagine Ed and Winry would do for each-other.
ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:
Panic: Aw, thank you! To be honest, I've been focusing on so many other projects, that I've been worried I would write the characters too OOC (which I probably did now with Ed :P) but uh well yeah ^^ Thanks for the compliments buddy! :) It's one of the reasons why I'm still here (the lovely reviews haha)
Jadasimone16: Trust me, me neither haha :)
Daughterofapollo12345: Thanks so much! /^_^/ I've tried imagining how they would react, post FMA:B ending, I hope I did a good job tho! I gotta confess, I've been feeling slightly discouraged, mainly about the negative reviews/PMs I've been receiving lately :P
Summary: Where Winry has a harsh cold and Ed takes care of her.
The Cold
"Achoo!"
"Achoo!"
"AH-Oh, thank you granny," Winry smiled appreciatively at the elder woman, who held a tissue in front of her granddaughter's nose, her face contorting into a concerned expression.
Winry took the offered tissue, blowing her nose into it and grimacing at the slimy, thick substance that escaped her nose and persistently seemed to cling onto her nose before hastily wiping it away.
"You don't seem so good dear," Pinako commented, sighing, "Why don't you take a break for today? We don't have so many customers and I can handle the rest," the old woman noticed her granddaughter acting strangely since this morning, sneezing at every opportunity and wearing thick socks and complaining about being cold.
"Oh, no, no, I can't granny. I've got too much to do, I still need to do a quick maintenance check for Ed's leg and-" Pinako hushed the young woman by helping her up from her stool and dragging her away from her workbench.
"Nonsense, I can do that later, I'm sure Ed won't mind. He's repairing the shed now anyway so I won't be able to drag him off anytime soon," the old woman persisted as she gently pushed Winry in the direction of the stairs, "Go and change and lay down in bed while I make you some tea,"
Winry smiled tiredly, wiping her nose as she slowly ascended the stairs, feeling like she had been repeatedly hit by a truck.
"HEY YOU MIDGET!" Winry's eyes widened when she heard her grandmother's voice shout from downstairs.
"WHAT IS IT YOU LITTLE BEANSPROUT GRANNY?!" came Edward's affirmative call back.
"COME HERE WOULD YOU!" she heard Pinako shout before she winced at the booming voice that shouted back defiantly.
"WHY SHOULD I?!" she rolled her eyes at his attitude, he was such a kid sometimes.
"BECAUSE YOU WILL DIE OF STARVATION WHEN THERE'S NOBODY TO MAKE YOU STEW!" at that the shouting match ceased and Winry smiled, shaking her head.
All and any arguments would end after that empty threat, no matter how many times granny used that old line, it never failed to keep Ed in line...mostly.
She heard a loud sigh, most probably from Edward, before several minutes later the door shut closed.
There were brief murmurings coming from downstairs, too muffled and incomprehensible to understand and then the house grew suspiciously quiet again.
She sighed, shaking her head, slowly removing her overalls, before sighing in frustration when her arm got caught on the sleeve.
"Let me help you with that," she jumped when she felt a warm, large hand settle on her shoulder, before the other went to untangle her arm from within the confines of her sleeve, she blushed faintly when she realized Edward was behind her.
"E-Ed w-what-" the man gently helped her out of her overall and sweaty, thick wool socks, tossing them onto the floor.
"Granny said you were sick, so I came to check on you," he smiled, carefully untangling her high pony tail and the pulsing headache that had settled in her head seemed to have eased from the action as her husband tenderly combed his fingers through her long tresses, undoing the knots her hair had formed into during the stressful day.
She hummed, muttering a soft thanks before squeaking when he suddenly lifted her into his arms, "E-Ed! I can w-walk!" she buried her face against his sweaty neck, feeling hot and cold at the same time.
A deep chuckle reverberated from within his chest and she couldn't help but smile at the pleasant sound, "I know, I just like to spoil you every once and awhile," he whispered softly as he pulled back the covers of their bed and gently laid her onto the mattress, quickly covering her with the comforter.
Winry smiled, "Thank you Ed,"
Ed nodded, smiling, "No problem. Still feeling hot?" Winry ignored the way his smile made her feel, even after the short years of being married and smiled.
"No, not so much anymore," Ed smiled, gently ruffling her hair before placing a kiss on her sweaty forehead.
"I'll go fetch your tea," she nodded when he said that and made his way out of their room.
She sighed heavily, nuzzling into the pillow, the same pillow he usually slept on and inhaling his scent, already feeling a bit better.
Life with Edward had been anything but boring, much less normal. While not being able to use alchemy anymore, he still provided valuable research for the State Military and retained his State Alchemist license that way. Mustang also sent him on small errands here and there, just for old times' sake as well as on a few difficult missions he knew Edward wouldn't have a problem dealing with.
Ed's services usually came in tandem with Al, but the younger Elric had grown accustomed travelling more toward the East, to Xing.
Letters were exchanged in monthly intervals and Ed and her often thought up of ways of teasing the younger Elric about his obvious infatuation with the Xingese princess.
As far as Mei was concerned, her feelings had been clear from the beginning. She was basically waiting for the first date pronouncement before she would propose on the next day, as enthusiastic as the young woman was, both knew that once Alphonse gathered the courage to confess, it would be amusing to watch a equally exciting and protective Ling dealing with two lovebirds in his circle of friends.
As for Ling, he and Lan Fan had come to terms with their feelings for each-other, but they enjoyed it in secret until the concubine system was successfully annulled, with Ling fending off hundreds of proposals and eager women – young and old – who were more than eager to share his fortune as Emperor of Xing.
Winry smiled when Ed came back, carrying a tray of steaming tea, cookies and a thermometer. She adjusted herself to a sitting position so Ed could place the tray on her lap carefully, she couldn't help but give him a look at the small daisy flower next to her cup.
"You're so sweet sometimes," she smiled, pinching his cheek affectionately before she wrinkled her nose and rubbed it with a clean tissue.
Ed smirked, raising an eyebrow, "Only sometimes?" he chuckled when Winry attempted to swat at him.
"Now, come on, open up," Ed wiggled the thermometer around and Winry pouted, reluctantly freeing her arm from the warm confines of their bed and lifting one part of her shirt so she could wedge it between her armpit.
Ed placed a cool hand on her forehead and grimaced, "You're pretty warm," Winry frowned, feeling slightly dizzy, "Hey, hey, you with me?" he smiled soothingly, steadying her by her shoulders and she felt her head stopped spinning.
"Mhmm...sorry...just dizzy," Ed nodded, carefully adjusting her pillow and letting her head rest lower on the bed, her dizziness steadied and the room stopped spinning.
"Better?" Ed scanned her from head to toe for any signs of discomfort.
"Mhmm...thank you, Ed," she smiled drowsily and he shook his head.
"I'll get you some new socks, you've sweated through the others ones." He teased with a soft grin, "Can't believe a human is capable of producing so much liquid in such a short amount of time, then again I shouldn't be surprised, considering how much you produce when we are in the bedro-argh!" he yelped, swiftly dodging the next object she weakly threw at him: her second wrench.
"Ow! That was a fact woman! Calm down! Sick people aren't supposed to throw things!" Ed frowned, rubbing the side of his head.
Winry's face resembled Ed's former trademark coat, partly from her fever, partly from mortification at her husband's blunt suggestive remarks.
"S-shut up! Idiot! Pervert!" she drawled, sounding half drunk, half angry, due to her cogged nosestrils and sore throat.
"Alright, alright already," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he exited their bedroom to pluck the fresh socks which were left to hang outside in the fresh air.
He shared a look with Pinako just before he ascended the stairs and he smiled and winked, the old woman smiled and shook her head, tending to the next customer that was waiting for her back in the room.
"Feet please," Ed commanded playfully and swiftly lifted the cover only slightly to expose Winry's wriggling feet, finding them to be warm to the touch as her toes wiggled in his grasp, "How are you cold? Your feet are warm,"
Winry rapidly shook her head, "No...'m feeling cold," she shivered, wrapping the comforter around her shoulders tighter.
Ed frowned, quickly cladding her feet in a fresh pair of thicker socks and wrapping them up in the extra blanket that covered her body, securely making sure no cold air could touch them.
He heard the telltale beeping noise of the thermometer and he held his hand out as Winry wrestled with the comforter and her pajama, before successfully pulling out the beeping thermometer.
Ed's eyes narrowed when they zeroed in on the small numbers.
105,8 Fahrenheit (41 Celsius)
"Damn..." Ed cursed mentally, before looking at his poor sick wife.
He quickly took the now warm, damp cloth from her forehead and bathed it in ice cold water, wringing the excess water from it and gently, soothingly rubbing her neck, collarbone and face with it, a small drowsy smile stretched over her lips.
"Thanks Ed...feels better," she mumbled, half asleep, half tired. His face contorted in worry and Winry couldn't help but giggle hoarsely.
"You're adorable when you worry," she smiled impishly.
Ed sighed, a small smile on his face as he rubbed the cloth over her heated skin, "And you're worrisome when you're sick,"
The fact that Winry Rockbell even was sick was a rarity in itself, but once she was, it was something to worry over. When she would become ill, the illness would hit her hard. Whether a mere cold, the flu or anything else. She would always be bound to the bed, too ill to tend to her customers and too tired to do house chores or work on her automail.
Usually, Ed would physically need to drag her away from her workbench, but this time it seemed she was more exhausted than he initially thought.
"Here, drink this," Ed held a cool glass of water in one hand and a single white pill in the other and held it out to her.
Winry wobbly sat up using her elbow to support her weight but grimaced at the medication, "I don't need it..." she coughed, using her arm to prevent coughing directly on her husband.
The Fullmetal Alchemist rolled his eyes at his stubborn wife, "Come on Win, you have to if you want to get better and work on your automail like the gearhead you are," he teased with a grin, watching her ponder it for a while before reluctantly take the offered pill.
"...I'm only...doing this for my people..." she wheezed out, throat parched after downing her cup of tea only minutes before.
Ed deadpanned, "...Your people?" he tilted his head to the side, "You mean those automail fanatics that fawn over you and your works whenever they enter the house?"
Winry managed a small half smirk, "Jealousy is an ugly thing, Edward," she stuck her tongue out playfully, before moving the cup to her lips, "...Besides...they're my customers, they rely on me to help them whenever their limbs don't work,"
Ed snorted, "Uh-huh," he rolled his eyes, "Granny is still down there so they don't need to worry about that." His expression softened when she grimaced in disgust at the taste of the pill as she roughly swallowed it.
"Get some rest," he patted her head gently, wrapping her sweaty hair in a loose bun so it didn't plaster to her heated, sweaty skin as the moisture he had applied to it earlier with the cloth began to cool, granting her some relief against the searing heat that seemed to envelop her entire body, save for her freezing feet.
Nausea seemed a permanent resident in her abdomen now and she weakly rubbed her hand against it in a attempt to soothe it, but it only got worse. Ed's eyes slanted in sympathy and he leaned in to remove the cool cloth on her forehead briefly to kiss the sweaty skin, before putting it on her forehead again and helping her settle against the covers.
"I'll bring you some food once you get some rest, if you need anything just call I'll be downstairs with granny, ok?" he looked over his shoulder at his wife, who already fell asleep.
With a worried feeling in his heart, Ed slowly closed the door with a soft click behind him and let Winry sleep.
She clung to him like a toddler would to his parent as Ed effortlessly carried her from their bedroom into the bathroom, arms and legs gripping at his torso as his hands supported her back and rear, a towel thrown over one shoulder and her fresh nightwear on his other one.
Sighing heavily as she inhaled his scent and was only able to smell exactly nothing due to her clogged nose, Winry slowly slid down her husband with his help as she came to wobbly stand on her own two feet, the steaming bathtub already filled with comforting, warm water.
"Arms up," Winry couldn't help but smile, despite her cold, how attentive and sweet her stubborn husband could be when he wanted, one of these instances was when she was ill. To everyone's surprise, in their early years of marriage when she had gotten sick, he had been very supportive and helpful, doing anything he could to help her recover, that hadn't changed until today as he gently lifted her sweaty shirt over her head and above her arms, throwing it in the laundry basket beside them.
Next came her bra and when Winry caught a very faint whiff of its smell, she grimaced, "Ed...please throw it in the sink so I can..wash it later, even I smell how bad it smells,"
Much to her embarrassment and mild horror, Ed smelled the dangling straps of her bra experimentally, trying to deduce whether it smelled bad or not and he shook his head, "Women, you and your paranoia about smelling bad," nevertheless, he tossed the garment into the sink to be washed for later.
Winry rolled her eyes and modestly covered her breasts, Ed's face flushed briefly when he stopped his task of undressing his sick wife and took her in all her half naked glory.
Quickly shaking his head, he let Winry step out of her loose cotton pants and panties, disposing them in the laundry basket as well.
"Um..." Ed seemed dumbfounded, before shaking his head again, clearing his throat, "Right, sorry," one hand came to support her back as the other snaked under her knees and lifted her into his arms.
Winry giggled slightly, face flushed from the warm temperature of the bathroom and the fact she could make her husband blush and shy even after the few years they've been married.
She sighed in relief when the warm steaming water met her skin, momentarily creating goose bumps all over her flesh until her body got used to the temperature change and melted into a puddle of goo against the bathtub, letting her head rest back against the edge of the tub.
Her eyes opened slightly when she felt Ed nudging her head and when she lifted it slightly, she found he placed a soft, small towel under it so she was comfortable.
She smiled. He was such a sweet dork.
"Hey, scoot over," her eyes shot open when she heard him say that but contrary to what she believed, namely that he stripped and wanted to join her in her bath, he was still fully clothed and was holding a sponge in one hand and shampoo in the other.
Trying to hide her disappointment, Winry lifted herself off the bathtub, sitting in the stomach high water and presenting her back to her husband.
"What are you frowning for?" Ed tilted his head to the side, confused at his wife's sudden sour mood as he applied some shampoo to the sponge in his hand and gently ran it in soothing circles on his wife's shoulder blades.
"...Nothing..." she mumbled under her breath, heaving a heavy sigh. Well...she was sick...not everything could go her way after all.
Unbeknownst to her, her husband was having the time of his life snickering and grinning like a fool behind her, fully aware of the source of her disappointment.
"Eddd...Edddd...Edwaaard..." the half dead, haphazardly sprawled woman was mumbling incoherently into her pillow, half of it covered in drool and sweat, the blanket messily tangled in her legs and the cool cloth that rested previously on her forehead had for some inexplicable reason moved to her butt as she had rolled onto her stomach.
The door slammed open and Edward's panting, wet, half naked state was revealed in all his masculine glory, a towel wrapped around his head to prevent the excess water from his hair to drip onto the floor and a towel was firmly wrapped around his waist held by his hand, eyes wide and scanning the room for any possible danger, "What?! What is it?! I heard you screaming!"
...Her hoarse, zombie-like voice could be hardly called screaming, but to his...husband...ish instincts it must have sounded like screaming, sending off alarm bells ringing in his head when he had heard his wife's helpless plea.
"...I want...teaa..." she drawled, not at all sorry for dragging the man out of his morning shower...not at all.
Ed resisted the urge to combust from the sudden surge of annoyance and instead, sighed with a small smile, "...Sure thing," he turned around, smirking, "Just next time, don't forget to cover your face with a pillow, I can see where you're looking at you know," his laughter could be heard all the way from the bathroom, surpassed only by Winry's short yell of mortification at being caught red handed ogling her husband.
She smiled gratefully when she swallowed down another mouthful of soup, this time just a bit easier. It was already the second week of her illness and their bedroom had been turned into a quarantine-like place, Pinako had steered clear of their bedroom so she wouldn't catch the stubborn cold herself, which appeared more and more like the flu instead of a cold.
Edward couldn't help but smile tenderly at his tired wife, wiping away the small amount of liquid that escaped her lips when he spoon fed her the soup, the thick comforter reached till her chin, a thinner second blanket additionally wrapped around her body. The complaints of sudden coldness and hotness had decreased slightly, but Ed made sure her fever wouldn't come back, changing her cool cloth every five minutes and changing her clothes at least three times a day to rid the smell of her sweat and discomfort to her.
It had been one hell of two weeks for him, running around tending to his sick wife, getting chores done in the house and making pit stops at the town for groceries and Winry's medication. Al had been a great help, mainly helping Pinako and easing off her workload as the woman tried teaching the younger man some basic knowledge of medical treatment in case something were to happen on his travels.
"I'm feeling a lot better than a few days ago..thanks Edward," she smiled and despite the redness surrounding her nose, the swollen skin around her eyes and the hoarse tone to her normally smooth voice, Ed smiled and leaned down, kissing her cheek gently, feeling warm around the area of his heart suddenly.
"No problem, Winry," he smiled, turning the cloth on her forehead and switching sides, letting the now warm side face the ceiling.
"...I must have been a real bother, huh? I'm sorry Ed," she blew into her tissue and Ed grabbed the nearby trash can and threw the overly used tissue in it, the trash can, which he had emptied just this morning, was already beginning to pile up on tissues.
But her husband chuckled and shook his head, rubbing his nose with her red one tenderly, "Stupid," he grinned at her, "If I can't take care of some cold, then I can hardly be called a husband now can I?" he winked and Winry couldn't help but smile and squeeze his larger hand with her smaller one, which emerged from under the two layered fortress of blankets it crawled from.
Ed suddenly stood up, much to Winry's confusion.
Taking off his shoes, socks and shirt, now only left in his pants and undershirt, Ed lifted the covers of one side, making Winry shiver violently at the sudden cool rush of ice cold air hitting her overheated body before he slipped inside and wrapped one arm around her body, pulling her back so her back met his solid chest.
Slowly turning her head, feeling foggy and disorientated, Winry was about to say something when Ed suddenly pecked her sweaty forehead and turned her around, muttering softly into her hair, "Sleep you automail freak, no more work for you for another week,"
And for once in her life, Winry couldn't agree more.
Yeah...no more work for her for another week. As she inhaled the scent of her husband laying beside her, curled within his embrace so protectively, she felt content to just lay in bed all day and sleep away her cold.
"Achoo! A-Ah-Acho!" rubbing at the snot running down his nose, Ed gratefully accepted the tissue Winry handed him, blowing into it strongly and falling back heavily into his messy bed, feeling a pounding headache coming on, "I'm dying Win...I can feel it...I...I don't have much longer..." he let out a mighty cough, feeling his throat burn.
Winry rolled her eyes, resting her hands on her hips, "Stupid Ed...you're not dying, you just caught a cold," adjusting his pillow and pulling the covers over him properly, she made sure he was fully covered with the fresh blankets.
"I told you not to kiss and cuddle me while I was ill..." her tone was close to patronizing but her face showed off a beautiful, appreciative smile.
Ed coughed, resting his forearm over his eyes as he heaved and his chest was wracked with deep breaths and coughing fits, "Tch...if a...uh.. some dwarf in a flask suffering from some...god complex can't...preven' me from cuddling ya...then a stupi' cold can' either..." his speech started slurring, muffled by his arm and the sticky substance coating his throat.
The bed dipped under Winry's weight suddenly and when Ed removed his forearm to investigate, he was suddenly assaulted by a flurry of butterfly kisses and happy giggles breathed against his heated skin.
"You stupid dork! Why did I have to fall in love with an idiot like you?" despite her words, there was a smile on her face as she peppered his face with soft kisses and Ed sighed in relief, already feeling better.
Ed felt himself blushing, being overwhelmed with open affection like this from his wife, nevertheless, even in his half disorientated, half exhausted state, he still reveled in his wife's soft embrace and lovely kisses.
"Heh...I told you I'd give at least...halfa my life to you..." nuzzling tiredly into the softness of his wife's bossom, he started becoming drowsy and sleepy, feeling her run her hands soothingly through his sweaty hair.
Winry smiled, shaking her head, "And I told you I'd give at least eighty five percent of it to you, alchemy freak," placing a soft kiss on top of his head, Winry smiled when she heard the soft murmur of her husband before he fell asleep.
"...automail...freak," he smiled stupidly, nuzzling into her.
If catching a cold and going through hell for a few weeks meant being tended to like this, he would happily get sick every week if it meant being cuddled by his wife like this...
Oh yeah...he would definitely get sick every week for this.
He would even endure a stupid cold for this.
The end! Please bear with my odd moods ^^