5 Second Countdown
by. Poisoned Scarlet

09: Stop

03 weeks, 03 days, 10 hours, 32 seconds later

"You look happy," Edward commented, looking up from his alchemy tome. The heavy book weighed in his hand but he was grateful to be able to feel the weight in both his hands regardless, as his sharp eyes ran over the words. He had been a little curious as to what had her looking so content but he couldn't seem to bring it into conversation.

He didn't have supreme conversational skills like Al did.

Maybe that had been why Mustang had fervently denied him the honor of being a diplomat, although Ed would argue that, if it was important enough, he really could pull it off.

But perhaps Mustang was right: half the time, he'd be lacing insults into carefully articulated words and that would only plunge him into trouble he didn't think he'd be able to fight his way out this time around.

"I'm just happy," Winry turned to him, smiling. "I spoke to Melanie yesterday."

Ed went rigid. His eyes narrowed in intense dislike.

"Who let her in?" Ed scowled, not liking this one bit. "I told the nurse not to let her in! How the hell did she...?"

"It's okay," Winry quickly said, a little touched by Ed's protective nature. That had always been one of the things she loved about him, even if it annoyed her most of the time. "We...we talked and she cleared up some things for me. We reached an understanding," she smiled, warmly, and the boiling anger Ed felt slowly reduced to a simmer. "I think...I can finally forgive her now."

Ed managed a tense smile. "That's great, Win. But are you sure?"

"Yeah," she nodded, widening her smile. "I'm sure."

He still looked disgruntled. "Well, whatever keeps you happy I guess," Ed dismissed, slouching back and raising his booted feet atop the edge of her bed. She watched with a raised brow as he sunk into his chair, tipping it back slightly and opening the book on his lap, eyes searching out the place he'd stopped on previously

"Ed, that's gross!" Winry poked his boot with a lightly bandaged finger. Ed pushed her finger away with the tip of his boot. "Get your dirty boots off my bed!"

"Hey, they're not dirty!" Ed defended. "And you didn't mind the last time I did it!"

"That's 'cause I was too sleepy to care!" Winry huffed. She reached down and grabbed the boot, wiggling it down to no avail. The were firmly locked on the edge her bed, beside her legs. "Ed-ward!"

"If you can push them off, maybe," Ed grinned cheekily, earning a look of exasperation.

"Edward Elric, you get these boots off my bed right now!" she commanded, using her authoritative tone, but Ed only whistled as he read a few lines off his book. "Ugh, Ed..." she resorted to whining, prodding his boot with her hand weakly.

"Say the magic word."

"Please?"

Ed snorted. "No. The other magic words."

"What other..." her eyes widened and she rolled them soon after, a smile threatening to break the annoyed expression. "Oh. That."

"Say it," Ed pressed, flicking his eyes to her. "Say it, Win, and I'll move."

She inhaled deeply, releasing an exaggerated breath. "You're so tall I can't even see you, now can you get your boots off my bed?"

Ed shot her a triumphant grin. "Of course I can." He slid them off, making her glare petulantly at his smug expression. So he had grown up a few inches, that didn't mean he could parade around as if he were the tallest man in Amestris! Honestly, sometimes she wondered if he would ever grow out of this complexity.

"You're such a jerk, you know that?" The annoyance was veiled with amusement.

Edward tipped his chair back a bit in response.

She noticed the leg of the chair scrape forward and before Ed could speak, she had reached out and grabbed his jacket, just as the leg gave out from under him.

He was flung forward due to the force of her pull. Given his reflexes, he had managed to get on his feet before anything, just as the chair flipped on its back and clattered nosily against the floor. Despite her hold on his jacket, he was more leaning over her legs, breathing hard from the thrill that had coursed through his body in those few seconds.

"Be careful, idiot!" Winry shouted, grimacing when her hands throbbed a bit from the sudden action. "I warned you this would happen the last time you did it when we were in Resembool!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ed breathed slowly, leaning back a bit as her hand unfurled from the jacket. "Point made." He rested his forearms on the bed, tossing his head down. Her eyes trailed the curve of his jaw, lingering on his lips for a moment before darting back to his eyes, which were closed as he calmed his racing heart. "Man, that sure gave me a scare."

"Serves you right," she mumbled, looking away with a small blush.

He glanced at her, annoyed, before standing upright, stretching his arms above his head with a yawn. Her eyes caught the scars that hid away behind his tank top briefly before his jacket covered them once more.

Despite not having automail anymore, there was a large discolored spot of skin that stretched all around the upper part of his arm; from where the port had been connected previously.

She trailed her gaze down thoughtfully, as he released a loud hum of satisfaction when his muscles were left with a warm burn.

He noticed her sudden silence and bent down curiously, tilting his head so he could peer at her rather somber expression. She didn't notice he was so close until she rose her eyes a bit, two wide gold eyes blinking back at her.

She gasped, reality setting in, and jumped back, smacking her head against the metal bars that served as her headboard.

Tears sprung to the corners of her eyes as she muffled a squeal and groped the back of her head in an attempt to rub away the sharp prickles of pain.

"Oh, shit, are you alright?" Ed asked, voice edging hysterical, and she only bounced in place, shaking her head as she tried to rub away the stinging pain.

"Owww!" she moaned, biting her quivering lip. "Th...that hurt a lot!" She felt a hand, a broader hand, consume her own and rub out the injury along with her, a chuckle above her causing her to pause her pained dance. "What are you laughing at?" she shouted, as his chuckle morphed into a full-out laugh. "You jerk! Shut up!"

"I..I'm sorry!" Ed grinned, trying to stifle his laughter. "That was...just really funny."

Winry pinked, not wanting to be a source of entertainment quite like this. "Ugh, that's the last time I try to save your butt!" She massaged the bump on the back of her head, his own hand helping her, and the pain to slowly dissolved into an ignorable throb. "Ungrateful brat..."

"Better?" Ed humored.

She scowled. "A little..." His hand felt too hot against her own, she discovered, but that might have just been her as the pain became nothing more than a distant memory. She slowly dropped her hand, his own still kneading the injury, and wondered if he would keep it up only to feel disappointed when he removed his hand right after her.

"I think I have a bump now," she mumbled grumpily. She glanced at the metal bars behind her with a crude glare. "Whose idea was it to make the headboard out of steel?"

Ed shrugged. "Hospital regulations?"

Winry rolled her eyes. "Be quiet, you giant brain."

Ed scowled. "Better than being stupid."

"Watch it, Ed," Winry winced when she touched her new bump too hard. "Ouch..." She heard Ed shift and he was once again butting into her personal space. Her cheeks flushed, as his mouth came beside her ear and he tilted her head down, flicking away hair and gazing at the bump critically. "H-hey, what are you doing?" she stuttered, a little flustered.

"Just checking... it's not that bad." He leaned back, stating: "When you hit me with your wrench its worse so you'll live."

"You deserve those, too," she murmured, giggling softly when he shot her a dark look. However, the instant their eyes locked it was a losing battle of wills. He was usually the one to suddenly look away but this time he didn't...

She wondered who would succumb first, as they engaged in a staring match.

Her bump was long forgotten.

The sudden flicker in emotions, as deliberate as switching the light on, was full and abrupt. There was a strange clash of conflicts in his eyes, as they darkened considerably in the white light of the hospital room. The once burnished gold eyes she admired became a darkly coated gold, which enticed her in a completely different way as she felt her own eyes smolder with an emotion she didn't think she could muster.

She didn't know who was the first one to draw closer but, like snapping a picture with a camera, she saw that they had gotten so close in a flash.

His breath was brushing her lips and she could hear her heart thud in her chest as his face drew nearer and nearer.

It wasn't long before she felt his lips feather her own, before she felt them mold to her's with velvet softness.

It wasn't long before her hand rose up to wrap around his neck, before their mouths began to move in unison as their hearts thundered in their throats.

It had been awkward at first, their teeth clacking sometimes, but she had been in no hurry and neither had Ed, from what she saw before her thoughts turned to mush.

His body pushed her back, as he kneeled on the bed and pressed closer to her warmth. The kiss had become rough and hard, something slathered with desperation and need and experimentation, as her fingers dug into his hair and his own hand gripped her hip.

The mild ache in her jaw grew worse with the movements but she would first shoot herself than stop just because of some slight pains in her face...

She supposed the only reason they stopped the heated contact was because of the rapid footsteps approaching the door.

She was pretty sure Ed hated that nurse with a burning passion the instant she stormed through the doorway to announce what was wrong as her heart rate had been skyrocketing out of control and could be heard from down the hall.

Winry had completely forgotten about that thing hooked up to her less damaged hand; her left hand.

Edward looked ready to transmute it into oblivion, if only he could, she added in her head.

She supposed it was worth it in the end, as the nurse left a few minutes later with suspicious eyes, and the flicker of emotions encompassed both of them once more.

Only this time, she made sure to yank the cord off her finger when his mouth consumed hers again.

04 weeks, 10 hours, 01 second later

She thanked the nurse who handed her her bag. The woman smiled kindly and helped her pack the things brought to her by her closets friends. The books were the worst thing as they took up most of the space but Winry didn't mind carrying it, despite the pricks every time she walked and the dull throb in her still-wrapped hands.

Her leg hurt a lot. That much was obvious to her when she changed into normal wear and stepped into the hall. There was a pulsing, pounding, and burning sear that made it hard to walk more than five steps but she could ignore it if she walked a little funny: she had to drag her leg a little in order to sooth the burning.

She inwardly wondered why it hadn't hurt before, when she had snuck out with Ed, and blamed it on the excitement that had been running haywire inside of her.

"Your leg should heal fully within the next few weeks," the nurse explained, helping her with some of her bags. "The doctor prescribed some pain killers just in case. You take only one pill no matter how much it hurts, do you understand?"

"Yes, thank you." Winry reached the lift and they squeezed inside the rather full elevator.

"There is someone waiting for you downstairs," the nurse added, a warm smile lighting her face. There was an amusement Winry didn't understand in her eyes, also. "They said they couldn't come see you down because of some complications."

"Oh, okay..." The elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Winry shuffled out, grabbing her bags and following the nurse down a stark white hall.

She felt her heart threaten to pound out of her chest.

She would finally be out of this aesthetic complex.

She would finally be...outside.

Free.

Free, she thought, with a blossoming smile. She tried to hurry, her eyes focused on the blinding white double doors that stood just a few meters away...

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY WINRY!"

The mechanic stopped dead, staring at the group of people that greeted her with wide smiles and happy eyes just a few steps to the side of the door. She could see her granny in the front, Alphonse, Mei, Havoc, Maria, Denny, Riza, Sciezska, Breda, Fuery, Mustang...

To her gleeful surprise, Edward was there also, a little secluded by a corner, wearing a soft smile as her eyes stung with tears. She looked down and tried to keep her tears in her eyes, as she felt her grandmother come forth and give her a hug. Winry embraced her fully, unable to keep the grin from her face as she did

"What is all this?" she asked, a little breathlessly, after somehow composing herself.

"It's your birthday, remember?" Al pipped, beaming.

"When we found out that you were due for release on Friday we realized that it was just a few days before your birthday," Riza explained with warm ruby-chocolate eyes. "It's a little late but we hope you don't mind."

"I-I don't know what to say," Winry laughed, joyfully. "I can't believe you all remembered..."

"Actually," Mustang spoke up, smirking. "It was Edward's idea. He planned this whole thing out just for you. You should've seen the shrimp – he was stressing out trying to round us up for you release," Roy drawled casually.

Her cheeks grew steadily pink, as said boy marched forward with a heavy scowl.

"Sh-shut the hell up, Mustang!" he shouted, his cheeks scarlet. "I didn't plan it out! I just said it-it'd be better if you all come to see her get released," he stuttered out. "That's all!"

"Isn't that sweet? I remember when I was a teenager," Mustang sighed wistfully. "I was getting laid by the double digits at your age though; you're a little behind, Full Metal."

"Ha! Yeah, right!" Ed snorted in response. "Everyone here knows you wouldn't last more than a minute! Bet you were a disappointment to all those girls," he smirked mischievously

Mustang's eyes flashed and he turned sharply to Ed. "Why you little—!"

"Sir, please," Riza reasoned, gripping his forearm as Ed grinned cunningly. "He is still young; you cannot let his words get to you."

Mustang looked befuddled. "But—he just—!"

"Yeah, Mustang, I'm still young," Ed taunted, making Mustang's blood boil. That little runt! "I can call you a shithead Colonel and you can't say anything back!" he grinned.

Mustang glared at Ed. He couldn't wait until they got back to the office; he'd make the runt run for his money with all the paperwork he planned to deliver on his desk first thing tomorrow morning...

"Sucks being an adult sometimes, doesn't it?" Ed flashed a happy smile, as Maria and Denny paled and gawked at his audacity. Fuery, Breda and Havoc were sighing, used to this type of behavior, and Alphonse was poking Ed on the shoulder in admonishment, hissing something about respecting your elders and being more tactful and less tacky.

Ed exploded into a spitting rage when Al said he was tacky.

Winry drank this sight in fully, somehow not being able to comprehend that she was here, sound and safe and recovering from past scars, with the people she adored the most. The people that cared for her and never failed to show it. The sense of normality was too much for her to handle, though. She bowed her head and let her tears stream down her face.

For once, they weren't tears of sorrow or carnage.

They were honest, happy, tears.

"Winry, are you okay?" Al asked, concernedly.

Immediately, Ed stopped taunting Mustang and locked his sights on Winry, who was hiding her face in her hands. He hesitantly stepped beside her, Al following, and the two brothers whispered questions which she only shook her head to.

"I-I'm okay," she shuddered in a breath. When she looked up, a happy, blissful, smile met the group of friends. "I'm not sad I'm just...so happy!"

Riza smiled warmly and Roy nodded his head at her, a small smile of his own on his face.

Sciezska rushed beside her, fretting and asking her if an automail book would make her feel better since she wasn't so sure the tears were from happiness when more came drizzling down.

As the mass of people fussed and laughed around her, she felt better than she had in years.

The nightmare she had been a victim to was starting to fade into nothing more than a frightening memory; being overwritten by the happiness that abounded her in that moment. All of the blood, all of the endless darkness she had thought she'd never be able to fully shrug off any time soon, she knew now, would be overwritten by the happiness that was to come, as she laughed at something Riza said to Roy, who looked a little offended in return.

She would be okay now.

She glanced down and grabbed Edward's hand with her left, the one that was healing very nicely, just like her life would no time at all; squeezing it and making the boy pink at the contact. He flashed his eyes to her, questioningly, but she only beamed back.

She would be able to overcome the damage done to her, so long as the two brothers never strayed too far away and so long as she knew that she had good friends to count on.

She was sure she would overcome the darkness that still lingered in her heart when he laced their fingers together and squeezed her hand back.

A/N: Yep. That's it, folks. The end of the story. I wrote this a long time ago and I finished it a long time ago, which is why it got updated so frequently. I'm actually very proud of myself for this, since I usually only write up to 5 chapters ahead and then I post it and start from there. That's probably why I end up taking so long to finish a story: I get lazy and lose the plot altogether and end up marking it unfinished or something.

But, thankfully, that doesn't happen often.

Glad this one pulled through, though! :D

Happy news: I've got another Ed/Winry story up. So, go and read it and review it, Mmkay? I know its the same basic theme: Winry as a POW and all, but think of that one as FMAB and this one as the original FMA without a sequel and a better ending xD The new story is definately more action/adventure than this one...I also included a criminal that'll make your skin crawl. I hate him, too, and I created him!

Review!

Scarlett.