Chapter 21

December 31st – January 1st

AN: While the rest of this story might not have been exactly mature, this chapter probably sets the rating. Mentions of sex – you have been warned!

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December 31st – Riza's Apartment, Central

"How long to go?" Winry asked.

Riza checked her watch. "Just under seven minutes."

Winry sighed, swinging her legs where they dangled over the railing.

Ed, Al, Roy and Riza were up there with her, on the roof of Riza's apartment as they waited for the New Year fireworks to go off.

"So...still no word on who's Fuhrer now?" Ed asked.

Roy shook his head.

"Even after the story in the papers," Winry mused. "If I were the top brass, I'd have hired you already."

Ed snorted. "Winry, if you were the top brass, I doubt Wrath would ever have been Fuhrer in the first place."

"Point taken."

There were several moments of silence, before Riza called out, "One minute."

Winry's eyes rose to the sky, silently counting down under her breath.

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January 1st – Riza's Apartment, Central

Sixty seconds later, fireworks shot into the sir, exploding in glittering streams of colour and bathing the rooftop in rainbow-hued light.

"Wow..." Al's voice was filled with awe.

Winry laughed, the sound stuttered with bolts of pure joy. Ed slipped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly.

It seemed crazy, but in this moment, she felt like she really could start anew with the new year.

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January 1st – Military Headquarters, Central

Winry barely noticed when her back thudded against the wall of Ed's bedroom – she was too involved in the kiss. She could feel the harsh metal of Ed's automail arm digging into her waist as part of the bookcase jabbed into her wing, but Winry couldn't have cared less.

Ed seemed to be trying to re-orientate himself, trying to remember the layout of the room so he could move them somewhere more comfortable. Winry admitted to herself that she wasn't making it easy for him – her hands were tangled in his hair, keeping his lips meshed firmly against hers.

So when the world tilted and she felt soft cushions against her back, she didn't realise they'd fallen onto the bed until she flicked her eyes to the side and was met with the sight of the rumpled blankets. Ed hadn't made his bed.

Winry yelped as Ed nibbled gently on her neck, just the curve of her jaw. "Ed! Stop it – you know I'm ticklish!"

"And I still say that's the weirdest place to be ticklish in," Ed replied, his voice muffled as he moved lower.

The physical contact was beginning to make her slightly giddy, and let her hands fall from his hair, travelling along his back to press him tightly to her.

And she froze. Ed's hips had ground into her stomach, allowing her to feel his very physical reaction to their closeness.

Ed drew away, and their eyes locked. They'd never gone this far before. They'd kissed and fooled around, sure, but they'd never actually...

Keeping his eyes on hers, watching for any sign of hesitation, Ed removed his shirt. Winry grinned, a little bashfully, and removed her own shirt. She almost laughed at the look in Ed's eyes – as though she were some science experiment he wanted to examine and catalogue from every angle.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he muttered, sounding dazed. "Just...are you really okay with this?"

Winry grinned again. "Definitely. But do you...I mean...should I...pull in my wings?"

Ed blinked. For the first time, he realised that the transformation had been quite a blow to Winry's self-esteem. He remembered what she'd told him after undergoing hypnosis – that now she knew what she was meant to be like, she felt like a freak. Some part of Winry was still uncertain about her wings, still focusing on the way they made her strange, instead of the way they made her beautiful.

In answer, Ed gently laid his automail hand over her feathers. "I'm not perfect, either, Winry."

Winry felt her eyes begin to tear. 'Of course, he had to go and say something sweet like that!'

She could see in his eyes that he wasn't just saying it, either. He was truly at ease with the way she was, the same way she was at ease with his automail. They were far from perfection, but that didn't matter, not here, not now, and not to each other.

Ed had noticed the moisture in Winry's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Winry sniffed. "This is good crying...what you said was so sweet!"

"Oh." Ed calmed slightly. "Good crying?"

"Happy crying, joyful crying, overwhelmed-by-love crying, absolutely-" Winry paused. "Look, just keep going, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ed snorted, dipping his head to nibble on her collar bone.

There was little talking after that.

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January 1st – Military Headquarters, Central

For years afterward, Winry would cherish the memory of her first time, not minding that it was slightly awkward, or that it hurt a little, or that he ended a little too soon. What she would remember was the way Ed had touched and caressed her – firmly, insistently, but at the same time filled with aching tenderness. The look in his eyes, as though he couldn't believe this was really happening. The way he had explored every inch of her body, as though trying to brand the sight and taste and feel of her into his mind.

It wasn't all magic and tenderness, though. There were some brief moments of awkwardness, such as when Ed had struggled with the clasps on her bra. But that was replaced by something with its own brand of magic – shared laughter as Winry finally reached back and undid it herself.

"How come you can undo that thing without even looking at it?" Ed had whined.

"Because," Winry had managed to get out between kisses. "I've been doing it since I was thirteen. You wear a bra for over four years and see how good you are at taking them off."

"No thanks, I'd rather take yours off."

"We'll see how much practice it takes before you get it right."

And there had been a few seconds of panic when they realised they had no protection. Ed had ended up somehow transmuting a condom from the rubber in his hair tie.

"I don't want to know how you did that," Winry had said when he had finished his hasty alchemy. "What happens when people ask you what happened to your hair tie?"

"I lie."

Then he'd kissed her again, and anything she might have said died in her throat.

And what Winry would always remember, was the way he cried out her name when he climaxed.

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January 1st – Military Headquarters, Central

"I feel...different," Ed whispered.

Winry giggled. "You sound so surprised."

Their situation felt almost surreal. They were lying in Winry's bed (having moved from Ed's for obvious reasons), covered only by her sheets, stark naked and lying in each other's arms. They hadn't even showered yet. At the moment, Winry was too comfortable to even consider moving, in spite of the sweat drying on their skin. Her head rested on Ed's chest, and his arm was wrapped around her shoulders, gently

"I didn't expect it to...to be like that." Ed's voice was still filled with wonder.

"What did you expect it to be like?" Winry traced the scars where automail joined flesh

Pause. "I don't know."

Winry laughed again. "You're priceless, Ed."

His hand had been stroking her shoulder, and ran down her arm to caress her wing. "Winry..."

He hesitated, and Winry smiled encouragingly.

"Did you...I mean, I've read books, and I, uh...did you...?"

"If you're trying to ask if I had an orgasm, the answer is no. Better luck next time, stud." Winry wasn't feeling cheated. After all, she'd heard that few women climaxed the first time – must be the discomfort.

But Ed, aside from blushing like a ripe tomato at the word 'orgasm', looked stricken. "You didn't...like it?"

'Men and their insecurities,' Winry thought in exasperation. "Ed, I liked it. But not enough to climax – at least, not this time. As I said, better luck next time."

"You're not mad?" Ed's relief was almost palpable.

"Nope," Winry's arm slipped to his waist, giving him a quick hug. "Though I can't help wondering what books you've been reading..."

Ed chuckled. "I was in the military by the time I was twelve, remember? When I kept hearing these jokes I didn't understand, I...I read up on some things."

"Some things, huh?" Winry teased. Then she yawned, snuggling up against him and closing her eyes.

"Really not mad?" Ed asked again.

"If you keep asking me that, I will get mad," Winry replied without opening her eyes. "Sleep now, talk later."

"Good point," Ed muttered, settling himself in. "What's the time?"

"Something in the early hours of the morning, now sleep."

They both drifted off, still curled together.

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AN: This was my first time describing sex (even if the descriptions were fairly non-explicit and the actual sex occurred off-screen), so I'm curious – how did I go? I always thought the Ed/Winry 'first time' would be a gentle, slightly teasing, and above all, tender scene. I tried to bring it across in my writing, but I'm still a bit worried about it, even with the wonderful LaughingAstarael as my beta for this chapter.