Ed remembered a time when he could sprawl across his bed and not worry about someone else's elbow making friendly contact with his face.

Those were the days, huh?

Ed opened his eyes with a scowl. He'd almost been asleep, too. He had been up late reading—again—and by the time he'd looked up, Winry had already turned in for the night. He probably shouldn't have been surprised by that; it was almost 3 in the morning, after all. He just assumed the way she would spontaneously pull all-nighters right beside him that she'd have a little more stamina when it came to sleep deprivation.

The elbow was a surprise, though.

Carefully, he pulled his face out from underneath her arm. "Are you asleep?" he asked, his voice way too loud in the still night.

Winry only responded with a soft snore.

"Then keep your elbows to yourself," he grumbled, gently tucking her arm against her side before easing himself down behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist. Not only was it a nice way to sleep, it was safer for his face.

He breathed in the citrusy scent of her shampoo and closed his eyes.

She twitched, then moaned softly, curling around Ed's arm. He frowned, pulling her closer almost subconsciously, as if he could protect her from whatever was disturbing her rest.

Then, she started whimpering, and Ed recognized a nightmare when he saw one.

Back after The Promised Day, Al had nightmares every time he closed his eyes. Ed wondered if it had something to do with his brain trying to sort through the horror show that had been their lives for the previous four and a half years, after he'd been stuck in the suit of armor without sleep. Ed made it a point to stay with him as much as possible, waking him every time it seemed too cruel not to, and reassuring him that he was alright and he was safe.

Ed was also very well acquainted with nightmares himself. He couldn't remember a night where he didn't see Nina's face, or Al's body disintegrating in front of him, or the suit of armor, slumped and lifeless in the corner and his little brother nowhere to be found. Sometimes he dreamed all his limbs were replaced with automail, or that he was still impaled down in that mineshaft, or Father won, and his friends and family were all dead.

His subconscious had a lot of material to work with.

He appreciated that he didn't usually wake up screaming the way he did when he was younger, and sometimes the nightmares actually morphed into something more friendly before he woke up. But there were times his wife shook him awake, blue eyes concerned and afraid, and she'd ask if he was okay.

Winry fidgeted again, and Ed resituated his hold, tucking her head under his chin. "Shh, Win, it's just a dream," he promised, rubbing circles on her shoulder. She seemed to relax, and Ed thought they were past the worst of it.

Then she jerked awake, sitting straight up with a gasp.

Ed sat up, too. "Winry?"

Slowly, she turned to face him, blue eyes wild and a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Ed?" she asked, her voice small in the dark.

He frowned. "Winry, are you okay?"

She looked like she'd seen a ghost, the pale light of the moon in the window accentuating a haunted quality in her eyes.

At least, he hoped the light was mostly to blame.

She held still for a moment, just staring at him, like she couldn't quite believe he was in front of her.

Then she threw herself on his chest and sobbed.

Not sure what to do, Ed just leaned back, wrapping both arms around his wife as she cried onto his bare chest. A small rivulet traced its way down the side of his stomach.

He let her cry for a moment before asking, "You want to talk about it?"

She took a shuddering breath, her hands clinging to him like he might disappear. Why was she crying? What had she seen?

"I . . . I dreamed you were dead."

Ed tensed.

He hated making her cry.

"You . . . and Al," she sniffed as he resumed rubbing her back. "You never came back . . . I kept waiting, but you never came—" her voice broke.

"Shh," he hushed, carding his fingers through her long blonde hair in a way he hoped was soothing. "I came back. I'm here."

How often had these sorts of dreams come for her while he was out galivanting across Amestris? How many nights had she woken up in a start, all alone, only to cry herself back to sleep without anyone to tell her it was just a dream?

Ed had always had Al nearby, and more recently Winry. He rarely had to wake up alone and convince himself that the monsters in his head weren't real.

But Winry had been alone.

Well, she wasn't going to be alone anymore. Ed promised himself that much.

Slowly, she relaxed into his arms, her sobs dying into quite sniffs, the cold night air raising gooseflesh where her tears had pooled and run over as he whispered in her ear that she was safe, and so was he.

They were safe.

And soon, her breathing evened and she fell asleep, using his chest as a pillow.

He couldn't really say he minded.

Who predicted this would get angsty? Anyone? xD

I know this is 3:00 am on a Wednesday morning, but I'm going to pretend I posted this Tuesday. Just so I can pretend I kept my schedule.

Okay, I am all kinds of nervous about this because my editing is super limited due to me doing this daily challenge thing and I always feel a lot better after I've tweaked something to death, so I apologize if things are not up-to-snuff on this fic :') For similar reasons, I will be replying to reviews from the last chapter tomorrow, because everything is so rushed, and it's 3:00 am xD

If you have the time, drop a review, and I'll see you next chapter c:

God Bless,

-RainFlame