Better Together

A/N: You guys, I'm sorry I'm such a slow writer. I have to literally stop myself from analyzing every sentence while writing. -_- But, at least I'm back with another chapter, even if it took way longer than it should have! Anyway, things are finally starting to get interesting in this story, and my T rating is finally coming in handy. Also, I've mapped out the next few chapters and I can safely say that we will be moving up to a M rating in the future. Don't worry, it's still several chapters away, but I just thought I'd let everyone know. ;)

Chapter 3: "Sometimes life can be deceiving"

Winry leaned back into the porch swing, gently rocking it as she did so, and watched as Ed and Al sparred out in the yard. Mei had offered to go into town with Pinako, since Winry was supposed to be busy with automail orders, but instead here she was - out on the porch, relaxing. She deemed it "procrastinating," but really, she needed this little break. She had been having a hard time concentrating lately.

She watched as Ed and Al moved back and forth, dodging each other's moves, and she silently noticed that the boys didn't seem quite as quick on their feet as they used to be. They used to spar like their lives depended on it, but now, their movements were much more toned down. It was to be expected, though; they were both more involved in the research side of alchemy now, and Winry was glad for that. She definitely didn't have to worry about them as much anymore.

Still, as she watched them, she couldn't help but be reminded of old times. Even though she had always hated feeling left out by them, especially by Edward, when they were younger, she almost missed the simplicity of her and Ed's relationship. Back then, she was just concerned about helping him reach his goal by fixing and improving his automail. Sure, she had had feelings for him back then as well, but she figured that if anything was ever going to happen between them, it would one day, and there was no sense in worrying about it. So, she didn't.

But now, things had changed. They had confessed their feelings to one another, even embraced and shared a few kisses from time to time - she should be happy about that, right? Well, she was, but it seemed that with this new development came new issues as well. That was a proposal at the train station, wasn't it? She honestly wasn't so sure anymore. He hadn't mentioned it since then, and she didn't think that was normal behavior after a marriage proposal. She was starting to think that maybe it hadn't been a marriage proposal at all; maybe he had just been expressing his feelings for her - maybe she had misinterpreted the whole thing.

And then, to add to her frustration, there was Al and Mei, being the perfect couple and seeming completely happy. She was glad for them; she truly was, but she just didn't understand it. What was so wrong with her and Edward?

Unfortunately for Winry, her reasonableness told her that she would never figure any of this out if she didn't just talk to him about it. She cringed at the thought of it - Winry was never one to talk about feelings - but it was obvious that Ed was never going to. She would just have to take charge, like always.

Heaving a loud sigh, she got up from the swing and proceeded to return indoors to get back to work. Little did she know, Ed had been curiously watching her from the corner of his eye the entire time she sat there. He froze mid-attack and turned to see her retreat inside the house, wondering what had been plaguing her thoughts so. He had a nagging thought that it had been him.

The two brothers collapsed beside each other onto the ground under a nearby tree, panting heavily and just glad to be under the cool shade after their workout session.

"Brother," Al said as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "Aren't you going to go check on Winry?"

Ed cocked an eyebrow at his brother. "Huh? Check on her for what?"

"Ed, I saw you! You kept shooting glances over at her when she was out here. Seemed like you had something on your mind."

Ed threw his arms behind his head and groaned as he leaned back against the tree. "Ah, I don't know, Al. She's the one who seems like she has something on her mind. She should just speak up."

"Or, you could just ask her about it, nicely," Al said with a sigh.

Ed just groaned again in response. He didn't walk to "ask her about it" because if she was mad about something, it was probably something he did and then he'd be in for a wrench to the skull.

"You know, Brother, the two of you really make no sense. You both confessed to each other already - you even proposed to her - and yet, you act like just talking to her is some huge deal!"

"Well, it is when a wrench could be involved!" Ed exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing ever. Confused, Al just looked at him and proceeded to shake his head in annoyance.

"There shouldn't be a reason for one if you talk to her nicely and reasonably!"

Naturally, Ed didn't buy that for a second. "Oh, trust me, Al. In her mind, there's always a reason for one."

Al sighed loudly in exasperation. "Listen, if I had to guess, I'd bet she's just upset that you're not showing her that much attention. The two of you are supposed to be 'together' now, but let's face it - most of the time, you both act like nothing ever changed. She's probably upset about it." Al shot a glance over at his brother who was wearing a deep frown and didn't look like he was listening; although, Al knew he was.

"Come on," Al said as he started to pull Ed up by his arm. "Let's just go inside and get something to drink." Ed's frown disappeared upon hearing that, and the two of them jumped up and made their way indoors.

Ed stood at the top of the basement stairs holding his glass of cold lemonade. He knew she was down there; he could see the light coming from the bottom of the stairs and hear the quiet clank of metal. He supposed he should just take Al's advice and go check on her... No, he wasn't checking on her, he tried telling himself. He was just going to make sure she wasn't mad - that way, he could know whether or not to sleep with one eye open for fear of flying tools into his bedroom.

Groaning in reluctance, he made his way down the stairs and immediately saw Winry at her worktable with her back to him. She didn't turn to face him, but somehow, he knew that she knew he was there. He moved towards her and stood beside her desk.

"So, Winry, whatcha working on?" he asked, trying to start "casual" conversation.

Of course, she stopped working and eyed him suspiciously. "Just this piece for a customer. What do you want?"

"Nothing! Geez, I can't just check on you?" He couldn't believe he had just used Al's words, but he supposed they were somewhat appropriate.

"Check on me for what?" she questioned, becoming even more suspicious of him.

"Ah, I don't know! Fine, I'll just leave you alone!" he exclaimed as he turned to walk away. Anyway, he didn't think she was mad after all, so he could now spend the rest of his day in peace. But before he began up the stairs, he heard her voice.

"Ed... wait." She got up from her desk and walked towards him. Already her mind was telling her to just stop and don't go any further, but she knew she couldn't do that. She had to get this out. She had to know. He turned to face her-his questioning eyes told her his curiosity was piqued, which meant she couldn't turn back now even if she wanted to.

"I... I don't want you to take any of this the wrong way. I mean, I'm so glad you're here no matter what the circumstances - I've actually always felt that way, believe it or not," she added with a small chuckle. He smiled back, and he really did believe what she said. In fact, he was pretty sure that fighting with him was one of the reasons that she enjoyed him being there, which is why he was a bit concerned as to where this conversation was going.

"But, I just need to say this. Ed...," she paused as she forced herself to look up at him, "what are we doing? What are we right now?"

Ed stared at her briefly, dumbfounded. He had no idea how to answer her. "I-I don't understand what you're asking."

"Ed, yes, you do! You know what I'm talking about. I just need to know where we stand with each other. I mean, your confession at the train station was a little vague, you know."

"What? How was it 'vague'? I told you I'd give you half my life - I think that was pretty clear!" he exclaimed.

"But what does that mean? Does it mean that you... want to m-marry me?" She felt the heat sting her cheeks as she spoke those words, and to make it worse, a silence fell between them.

But, silence was the opposite of what was going on inside Ed's brain at that moment. What should he say to that? Of course, the true answer is "yes" and he could just say that, but this is not what he planned for. He was going to make it official - he had a ring and everything - but he just hadn't found the right time yet. He half-wished he had it now, and then he could just shove it in her face and be done with all this. But, it was somewhere in his room and he couldn't very well run off to get it.

He just couldn't say "yes" and make it official now! Because then, what would he say when he finally gave her the ring? It would be awkward, for sure. However, he wasn't going to say "no" either. When she had asked that question, he saw the glimmer of hope in her eyes, so he knew that would crush her. He didn't want to lie to her, anyway.

So, he just said what sounded best at the time. "Well... yeah, eventually, I guess." He grinned and chuckled half-heartedly, desperately trying to lighten the mood and maybe distract Winry from what he had just said.

But, his words were already replaying in her mind. She was happy. He did want to marry her. Just... not now or anytime in the near future, she supposed. Ed was glad to see that she finally smiled back at him, but he would be lying if he said he didn't see the slight disappointment in her eyes. He hated it. He wanted her to know the truth; he decided that she would very soon. He wasn't going to put it off any longer. In desperation to try and remedy the situation now somewhat, his hand reached out to grab hers and entwine their fingers. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and his eyes bore into hers; he hoped that maybe she would somehow be able to tell that he really was serious about her.

"Winry, I..." he began, but just then, they heard the telephone ringing upstairs.

"I should probably get that," Winry said quietly. He nodded and released her hand as she turned to quickly jog up the stairs to reach the telephone.

Later that day, as all of the members of the Rockbell household sat at the dinner table enjoying the well-cooked meal, Winry decided now was the time to share her news. She was nervous as to how they all would react, especially him, but she desperately tried to shake those feelings away. This was for the best. Winry would always love Edward - she knew that - but she also knew that she had to do what would make her happy since he obviously wasn't quite ready to make that full commitment. So, when she received that call earlier, it didn't take her long to make up her mind.

"Um, I have a bit of an announcement," she began, feeling timid but sounding confident, as almost always. Everyone at the table looked to her, waiting to hear what was to come next. "Mr. Garfiel called me today. Apparently, a lot of his customers really miss me and want me back. He... offered me a full-time position at his shop."

Everyone was still staring at her, but it was Ed's stare that she found she couldn't look away from. His eyes seemed to be questioning her, and she couldn't really understand why.

"Well, Winry," said Pinako, "that's a big opportunity, and you should feel proud of yourself. Don't hesitate to take him up on his offer if that's what you want."

Winry nodded. "I know, Grandma. That's why I think I want to go."

Ed's heart sank when he heard those words. He felt as if she was purposefully leaving him, and he didn't know why. Did what was said earlier have anything to do with this? He wanted her to be happy, but... he wanted to make her happy. But, he obviously wasn't, and that killed him.

He couldn't let her go, at least not without him. He wanted to be with her, for good this time.

A/N: OK, so I've actually managed to throw a little bit of plot in here! I hope everyone is still liking this story, and again, I'm so sorry that it took me so long to post this chapter. I really hope I won't take this long again, but school is really kicking my ass right now. :/ Well, thanks for reading and please review!