Warnings and Disclaimers: Any and all characters from the anime or manga Fullmetal Alchemist do not belong to me. I only torture them for some stories. There may be some teenage content in the story but it is very limited. This story is set after the movie which means there are some spoilers and if you have no idea what any of this may be about, then don't come crying to me please. It's not my fault, I warned you -:sheepish grin:-.
Seasons
Summer: Feeling Blue
Chapter 13
By: RomanceFanFicLover
"A 'Lake Party'!" Ed's furious roar ripped through the Rockbell household.
Winry glared at him accusingly as a picture fell off the wall and onto the couch. "Ed! You don't have to scream about it!" she scolded as she replaced the fallen picture. "You don't even have to go; I was just telling you that there was one and that-"
"And that I had to go!" he bit back in anger.
"No! I said that most of the younger Risembool residents went there! Don't twist my words!" The blue-eyed mechanic threatened dangerously.
Taken aback slightly by her tone, Ed's anger lowered a notch. "B-But, you said that Nelly and Jonathon were going…" he accused weakly as she took a step closer to him.
"So…!" Another step was taken.
"S-So…" Laughing nervously, Ed quickly regained his composure, "So that means I should come to! And we all know you're going to drag me anyways!" He gestured to the other two occupants of the Rockbell living room.
"Don't bring me into this." Al stated dully as he trimmed one of the small plants Pinako kept around the house.
"I don't get mixed into these crazy young things." Pinako defended herself plainly before retreating into the workroom.
Looking back at the determined young woman in front of him, Ed gulped nervously. Winry took a step closer, pulling out a wrench from her overalls' pocket in the process.
"Edward…" she threatened once again.
"Alright I'll go!" Ed gaped as she returned the wrench to it's hiding spot and smiled joyously at him.
"See, Ed? I didn't force you! You said it all on your own!" She beamed proudly and stepped forward to pinch his cheek lightly. "What's wrong shrimp? You look a little worked up." Laughing menacingly, Winry strutted into the backyard and out of the eldest Elric's sight.
"Sc-Sc-Sc…"
"Yes Brother. Very scary." Al helped his brother out as he finished trimming the mini-hedge. "But you'll have fun. Nelly invited me, so I'm her date. And I suppose Winry 'invited' you so…you're her date."
"Great…A double date." Ed mumbled sarcastically.
Laughing, Al cleaned up his work station and stood up. "Yes, yes. And didn't Mom always say that she'd love to see us go on a double date?" Ed watched in shock as his brother left the room, his laughter still trailing behind him happily.
"A-Al…?" Blinking at the now-closed door, Ed pulled himself together and marched into the backyard after Winry.
"Oi! Machine Freak!" Ed called as he burst out the door. He stopped though, when he noticed that the yard was empty. "Winry?" He scanned the backyard a second time just in case but still didn't find any lemon-blonde hair or lavender overalls peeking out through the bushes surrounding the yard or between the laundry hanging out to dry.
'Hmph, weird. I could have sworn she came out here…' Looking around a third time, Ed caught a small glimpse of lemon-blonde hair peeking out from the side of the house. As he edged closer to the girl a male voice caused him to leap towards the wall and press his back against it for safety.
"What the…?" he muttered as the voices got louder the closer he got to his childhood best friend.
"So…are you planning on going to the Lake Party as well, Winry?" Jonathon's cool voice floated towards Ed.
"Yes I am. I can't wait! Although…Nelly wants me to double date with her and Alphonse, but I'm not sure…" For some reason that response seemed to rub Ed the wrong way and he shifted closer to the scene.
"Oh? How come? You're a pretty girl, I'm sure you will find a date easily." Jonathon laughed flirtatiously.
'That's right, and it's me!' Ed thought smugly. 'She loves me and not you! Ha-ha-haha-ha!' An uncharacteristically sing-song voice erupted in his mind as he fought the urge to prance around to emphasize his pride.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that!" Winry laughed nervously. "But, I do have someone to go with…it's just…"
"Just…?" The jeweler encouraged her to continue. "You don't like him? He's a pervert? He's annoying? He's short?"
Winry stepped back and now Ed could see the side of most of her body, except her face. "Are you implying something, Jonathon?" She asked angrily.
"Maybe…Wouldn't you prefer to go with someone taller than that blonde…kid?" Ed's eyebrow twitched at the short comment and the age comment.
"If he's a kid than I'm a toddler, not to mention the fact that he is much wiser and mature than you. So age doesn't even matter anyways! And for your information he is taller than me by a proud inch and a half!" Winry stomped her foot for emphasis on her words.
Smiling proudly at her defense of him, Ed inched even closer to the girl.
"But I'm still much taller than him. And I must be much more fun if he's all about being wise and mature." Ed's smile was replaced by a cold scowl as the comment was said. "Don't you want to have…fun?"
Winry winced in disgust at his overly suggestive remark. "With you? I think not." Turning away from him, she smirked with satisfaction at the slight slapping sound she heard as her hair made contact with his face.
"Aw come on Winry, just a little fun! You're eighteen." Jonathon said playfully as he grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him.
"And I'm nineteen. What's with all the talk of age?" Ed stepped out in front of them, smiling as though he hadn't heard a single word of the exchange. "Hey Win, let's go into town, I'll buy you a new swimsuit. Like that time we bought clothes for my military retirement party." Ed stressed the last few words, rubbing them into the older man's face.
Winry ripped her arm away from the jeweler and stepped towards Ed, grabbing his hand lightly. "Sure! I'll go tell Granny that we're leaving and ask Al to come along." Winry smiled gratefully and started towards the backdoor.
"See you later Winry." Jonathon replied smoothly, but his only response was the door slamming shut. "Rude little…"
"Little woman who if you touch again I will rip off your balls and feed them to you." Ed's stare never faltered. "If you'd like, I'll make it service with a smile." Grinning widely at Jonathon, Ed turned and headed back into the house as well.
..+..------------------------------..+..
For some reason, Ed really regretted saving Winry from Jonathon at the moment.
"Well Ed? What about this one?" Ed resisted the severe urge to look at her and gulped down the lump that materialized in his throat as he eyed the sapphire blue bikini she was dressed in.
It had white strings and a white lining that almost looked like an outline. Although it was a bikini, it was surprisingly modest as the top covered all of her breasts and the bottoms weren't cut very thin or very low.
"Uhh…It looks great." 'Why did I go swimsuit shopping with Winry? Am I stupid! Why did I go swimsuit shopping with Winry! Why! Why!' Ed thought in a rush that joined the blood rushing from his face and somewhere else instead.
"Why?"
"What!" Ed stared at Winry in fear. 'Oh my god, she can read my mind.'
"Why does it look great?" Winry grinned slyly at Ed's embarrassed expression. "Hmmm? Tell me, tell me! Please…" She purred as she sat down beside Ed.
"U-Um… Be-Because you know…" Laughing nervously at Winry's unconvinced expression he decided to swallow his pride and continue, "Because it's blue so it matches your eyes and the material looks good on you and you're fit enough to wear bikinis and…IT JUST LOOKS GREAT ALRIGHT!"
Winry laughed as she headed back into the change room, leaving a thoroughly embarrassed Edward behind her.
'I'm an idiot…I'm wishing for death…I'm an-…They're idiots. They are wishing for death.' Ed stood up abruptly as he spied a couple teenagers hungrily eyeing Winry as she modeled herself in the mirror in her change room.
"Winry, close the door." He ground out, his back to her but his angered face was towards the three boys.
"Why Ed?" Poking her head out of the change room, Winry caught a glimpse of Ed's expression and the drooling boys that he was glaring at. "Oh…Alright. Don't break anything Ed!" Closing the door Winry analyzed herself in the mirror one more time before she decided to buy the swimsuit. "If Ed likes it, I love it!" she giggled to herself as she changed back into her clothes.
"What's so interesting there boys?" Ed growled dangerously.
"Yo is she your girlfriend!" One of the shorter ones asked excitedly.
"Well...uh…"
"'Cause if she's not I'll take her. I'd do a girl like her any day!" The boy's comment pleased the other two and they nodded vigorously, taking a step towards the blue-eyed girl's change room.
"If you want to find out by having your limbs ripped off I welcome you to take another step." Ed threatened, his glare never wavering.
"What's got you all up in a knot? We're just going to do what you do. Do her and leave her, it's the man's way of life. Come on, let us get second dibs." The tallest one smirked in confidence and Ed slouched back against the wall.
Winry froze in the change room as Ed paused after the boy's comment. 'Is that really how Ed feels…?' She winced at her own thoughts. 'Have faith in Edward, Winry! Don't be stupid.' However, what Ed said next wanted Winry to take back her strong words.
"Well…You really want to know my plans?" He whispered devilishly. The boys nodded encouragingly at Ed. "Alright, sit down boys. I'm going to teach you what a real man's plans are."
Winry fought back the urge to tear through the store and murder Edward, she could still hear him, although she was pretty sure by his volume that he didn't want her to.
Once the boys had settled themselves on the bench in front of him, Ed glanced over his shoulder to make sure Winry wasn't out of the change room yet before bending over and telling them his plans.
"I might do her. But first and foremost, I'm going to love her so much that she can barely stand it. Then I'm going to marry her and make her cry the tears of happiness she deserves. And finally…finally…I'll screw her brains out if she permits it."
Winry almost sighed in relief but the last part made her flush in anger, embarrassment and excitement. "Ed…" she breathed into the empty change room before opting for the first emotion. "I'm going to make you suffer."
Ed whipped around as the change room door was flung open and Winry stomped out. "Edward! We're leaving!" She announced as she charged towards the cashier.
He blinked at the girl in surprise. "Uh…sure." Turning towards the boys again Ed spoke barely above a whisper and the boys leaned in to hear. "If she doesn't kill me first that is." The nodded in agreement and slunk out of the door where a relatively safer area was guaranteed to them.
"Take me with you..." Ed whined as Winry returned to drag him towards the cashier.
..+..------------------------------..+..
When the swimsuit she had chosen was purchased, Winry proceeded to storm out of the store and head off towards the male swimsuit store.
"H-Hey! Winry! Wait!" She heard Ed bellow out to her as she rushed into the store and into one of the men's sections. "Winry!" Ed followed her into the isles of clothing and waited as she rummaged through different sections and different racks, gathering items the whole time.
"Try this, this, this, this…and….this on." Winry said as she handed him five items; all of them a blue that matched her own outfit.
Laughing, Ed commented on her choice of color. "You really like blue don't you?"
"I said try it on! And make sure you try it on in O-R-D-E-R!" was his ordered response and he slunk into one of the change rooms to see what she had selected.
Winry waited while Ed tried on the first item. He appeared in an entirely too large pair of trunks. They were mainly sky blue but had sapphire blue waves on the bottom.
Ed had to keep one hand on one side of the trunks just to keep them up. "Winry, this is an extra large! I'm fit not fat." He huffed as he looked the other way in a mock-pout.
Winry blushed a deep crimson; as Ed turned he had loosened his grip on the article of clothing. Although he still had his regular black tank top on, Winry could still see well toned skin pulled tightly against sinewy muscle.
Getting up abruptly, Winry turned towards one of the racks of clothing and rather loudly announce, "I'll get you a medium!" as Ed remained in his pouting stance; oblivious to her reaction to him.
"I'll go try on another one then." When the door shut with a soft snap Winry turned to watch the door in amazement.
'Ed is…hot…' Giggling ridiculously and swaying slightly, Winry fought to regain composure. Her struggle only worsened when she spied the trunks drop to the floor at Ed's feet. 'Oh my…!' Cooling off, Winry swiped furiously at her face; she was certain she had drooled at least a little bit.
The next four items were relatively plain and Ed's size which both disappointed and relieved Winry, however the last item she had picked received the reaction she had expected.
"W-W-Winry…What is this!" Ed screamed as he opened the door a crack, gesturing to the lower half of his body.
"What is what? I can't see Ed." She replied innocently.
Growling slightly, Ed opened the door a little wider to reveal a very tight and very small Speedo. "What is this!"
"It's a type of swimsuit Ed. Haven't you heard of it yet?" Winry asked, just as innocently as before.
"This is not a swimsuit!" Ed concluded dramatically. "This is a…a…a small, tiny, little, minute, miniature, miniscule, diminutive, mini…microscopic piece of material that fell off a truck and landed in this store!" He hissed angrily.
Laughing evilly, Winry walked up to the door. "I don't think it's that bad, Ed! Let's see what the salesclerk thinks, shall we? Excuse me, Miss!" Winry shouted.
Panicking, Ed covered Winry's mouth and pulled her into the small changing room. "Shh! Are you trying to make me die of embarrassment! You're too cruel…" Ed whined quietly as Winry struggled against his hand.
Removing the offended piece of flesh, Winry answered Ed in a loud whisper. "You deserve it! And anyways, it really isn't that small." Winry grinned as she gestured to the article of clothing.
"Y-You haven't seen the back yet…" Ed muttered quietly before clasping his hand over Winry's mouth to stifle her insane laughter. "Would you shut up! You aren't supposed to be in here."
"That's your fault! I never asked you to pull me in here!" She corrected angrily and pulled the door open a sliver to see if anyone was near the change rooms. "Coast is clear, I can-" she yelped in pain as Ed's foot made contact with her butt and she found herself on the floor. "I said I was getting out!"
..+..------------------------------..+..
Ed had finally decided, with Winry's persuasive help of course, on a sapphire blue pair of trunks with white lining on the pockets, stitches and regular linings. All in all, it was almost an exact double of Winry's choice of outfit.
"We match!" Winry exclaimed for the fourth time as they traveled up the dirt road that led them home, purchased items were hidden in bags that each carried gently.
"Yes, yes, I know Winry! I know!" Ed yelled, exasperated by her sudden short term memory loss.
"Geez, I was just commenting." Winry muttered in annoyance as Ed's tone put off her excitement of matching…for a moment. "But I like when we match! It makes us seem closer together and people see us as being really close."
Winry waited for Ed's response; in her opinion, she couldn't have dropped anymore obvious hints. However, she didn't receive a response, nor was Ed present when she turned around to find the reason why he hadn't answered.
"Ed…?" She muttered. "Ed?" This time her voice had risen as she searched frantically for the golden eyes she was expecting to see. "Edward!"
"You're loud."
Winry glared at him as he walked up behind her casually, as though he hadn't even left. "I'm loud because I couldn't find you! Don't just leave me like that!" She scolded heatedly as she marched forward in annoyance.
"I didn't go anywhere, I just walked past you." Ed pointed out nonchalantly before turning his back on her and lifted his arms up behind his head.
"Hey Ed…" Winry started and he turned to look at her. "What's that hanging out of your pocket?" She pointed to the blue material that poked out the corner of his pocket.
"Huh…?" Glancing down at his pocket, Ed's face blazed with embarrassment and he hastily stuffed the item further into his pocket.
Lowering her bangs over her eyes, Winry ground out his name, "Edward…" Glaring up at him again, Winry continued. "What is that…?"
Taking a step backwards, towards the house, Ed laughed nervously. "N-Nothing important… Let's go home." Starting at a full run towards the house didn't soothe Winry's suspicions either.
"Edward Elric! Get back here right now!"
Chasing down the eldest Elric was easy for Winry since he was heavily laden with bags of swimsuits and some knick-knacks she had picked out. When she got close enough, Winry pounced and landed on Ed's back.
Sighing, Ed fished into his pants pocket and pulled out a deep blue ribbon. Lazily, He draped the ribbon behind his shoulder with his metal arm while he smothered a yawn with his flesh hand.
"Ribbon?" Winry asked, dumbstruck.
"No, it's a squirrel." Ed shot back.
"I didn't mean it like that! Where'd you get it? How am I supposed to use it?" Winry wrinkled her nose in confusion; she wasn't much of a ribbon girl.
"I found it, and thought it would match what you bought today. And you could always tie it around the usual hair tie you use." Ed suggested as he glanced back at her. "Shall we head home now?"
"Um…Yeah…" She answered as she fiddled with the soft ribbon idly, turning it over in her hands.
A small amount of white flashed on the ribbon and he moved her hands to where it was resting. 'A sticker..?' Winry thought questioningly as she looked closer at the white sticker.
Snapping her head back up to look at Ed's back, Winry smiled and returned her gaze to her ribbon. 'A price tag…found it, my ass!' She laughed mentally as she skipped to his side and yanked his arm down to link her own arm within it.
"Thank you, Edward."
"You're welcome, Winry."
..+..------------------------------..+..
A/N: Thanks for all the reassurance and encouragement! Hope you liked the chapter.
Xoxoxoxo!
