Thanks for the reviews, alerts and faves! I'm glad you're all enjoying this little piece! xD

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, if I did Ed and Winry would've kissed, if you catch my drift. -somewhat spoiler-

Ch. 4 - Nothing

8D

"Okay, you're all done," Winry said, as she gave Ed's leg one last buff with a rag.

"Thanks," Ed muttered, still not meeting her eyes.

An awkward silence still present in the workshop. They didn't dare lock gazes with each other throughout the whole maintenance process.

But that didn't mean that they couldn't look at each other.

Ed saw her take apart the automail, one screw at a time, and inspect the inside wires. He saw when she put the front plate back into place, then took a soft cloth and buffed his leg until she could clearly see her reflection on it. But he wasn't really focused on what she was doing, rather, he was more focused on her. Yet, Winry was far too immersed in her work to notice the golden eyes on her face.

Or so he thought.

She could see him from the corner of her eye. She could feel his gaze on her. But she wasn't sure what to do about it. So Winry just kept going as if she noticed nothing. And now that she was done, she still didn't want to meet those golden eyes of his, afraid of what emotion she might find there. Afraid of regret. Of what they had almost done. Or perhaps fear. Fear of what could've happened between them.

Or maybe…confusion?

She looked at him as he sat on the corner of the bed, in deep thought. He looked rather confused. A bit frustrated too.

Just what exactly is he thinking about? What if it is about what happened before… she wondered as she began to organize her tools back into place.

"Winry, one of your customers is here, are you almost done in there?" came granny Pinako's voice from outside the door.

"Tell them to wait a bit, please. I'm just tidying up."

Ed had to talk to her now, while they were still alone. He knew more customers would arrive soon and she'd be busy.

He had to ask her.

It was happening again. Fear making his heart speed up, but he still wasn't sure why. He'd been in a war against the Homunculi and Father, he'd faced danger and even cheated death, yet here he was, truly afraid of what response his question could bring.

Afraid of how he was going to ask her in the first place.

He decided to be bold. Ed hoped this would make him seem confident and fearless, even if inside him, it was the complete opposite. Ed got off the bed and walked towards Winry, who's back was towards him, then he simply wrapped his arms around her waist.

She gave a little yelp of surprise at his touch, to which he smiled a bit. This simple action took a lot of effort from him and he hoped that Winry wouldn't take it the wrong way. He didn't want the wrench in her hand to collide with his skull.

"E-Ed…what, what is it?" she spoke, trying to gain her composure and keep the pink from rising on her cheeks again.

Ed wasn't doing any better and it didn't help that her face was so close to his, their cheeks could almost touch. "Well, I-I wanted to ask y-you some…thing…"

Winry could hear his worried tone, aside from the stuttering. "Okay, what is it?"

"Um…A-Are…" he took a deep breath. "Winry, are you, angry with me?"

"Angry? Why would I be angry?" she asked, honestly taken aback by such a question. She placed her favorite tool on the table as she listened to his reason.

"Well, you were really quiet and I thought you were angry because…um…because, of what happened, earlier…" he trailed off. "Because of, what we-I almost did…"

She turned in his arms to look at him, noticing traces of light pink on his face. "Ed, I'm not angry with you."

He was legitimately surprised. "You're not?"

She smiled and shook her head. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Listen, don't…don't worry about what happened before. It's nothing to get angry about…plus, nothing really happened. It was nothing..." she muttered, looking away. It was nothing, wasn't it? Nothing happened… nothing at all… her mind told her.

"Nothing…" he whispered, disappointed. So, she thought it was nothing?

"You should, uh, go rest up while I-I attend my other customers…"

Ed finally looked down at her and noticed that she was still looking away, playing nervously with her apron. She was afraid too. Afraid of what could happen if they took this a step further.

He had to help her. He had to make her feel better. Make her forget that fear…

Ed took a deep breath, trying to steady himself in order to make his next move. He patted her head lovingly, causing her to look up, curious. His hand trailed down the side of her face as his eyes locked on hers.

Then he leaned in, ever so slowly, and kissed her cheek.

His goal was achieved, because for that moment, her mind went blank. There was only surprise and her racing heart.

He let her go. His own emotions getting the best of him, as his face flushed. He dug his hands into his pockets and looked down, embarrassed. "I-I-I think I-I'll be goi..ng now…"

She was still in shock, her face rapidly heating up. "Y-Yeah."

He left and almost tripped on the way to his room, while she was stumbling in her workshop. She touched the place he had kissed and smiled. She didn't care that it wasn't a particularly deep and passionate kiss. It was from Ed and that was enough. It gave her a warm feeling inside and made her stomach flip in a happy way.

It was Ed's way of showing that what had happened before wasn't just nothing. It was definitely something and he was willing to try and take it to the next step. He wanted to try.

And if being together made her as happy as it made him, then he would go through this awkwardness a million more times if he had to, just have her by his side.

A/N - I enjoy seeing Ed being awkward instead of his confident and cocky self! It's cute! x3

Please review! They make me happy and give me more inspiration! Seriously!