I'm back… thanks for the reviews. ;) And I think the Royai fluff starts here… the Edwin part as well… ;) I hope you enjoy it. I'll make it up in this chapter if you didn't like the previous one. :D

As always, please review because they are appreciated. :D very much appreciated.

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CHAPTER 4

"I can't believe we only have 2 more days in this paradise… and then it's back to all that nasty work waiting for us in Central…" Roy said as the group made their way to the beach. They were dressed in their swimming gear, and this time, even Riza and Winry were going to swim because they prepared lunch before they left the cabin. They set it down on a spot that they all picked then all dashed off to the sea.

"Ahhh… this is good… the water's just right…" Ed said as he floated with his back submerged in the water.

"I agree! This is relaxing! Now we can all have fun!" Winry said as she made her way to a slightly deeper part of the sea. The people playing volleyball on the beach caught Ed's eye and he remembered the draw game they had on their first day at the beach. Then he glared at Mustang who was swimming beside Hawkeye, who was definitely having fun. Ed stood up in the water and shouted at Roy.

"Hey General! How about another contest eh? This time, a swimming contest! You can use any stroke you want." Everyone turned and went to the spot where he was.

"A swimming contest?" Winry asked with a worried look.

"Brother are you sure you can even—" Ed just shrugged it off, pretending he didn't hear it. Mustang stood just in front of Ed, and both were smirking at each other.

"A swimming contest eh? Sure. What's the bet here, Fullmetal?"

"The same bet when we had the volleyball game. It's simple… we'll swim over to that buoy and swim back to the starting point. " He replied, pointing to an orange buoy a few meters from where they were standing.

"Hey Ed… don't you think that's a bit far? The water might be kinda deep there. Are you sure you can —" Winry told him, but Ed interrupted her.

"I told you already! I can swim to that point! There's no depth that I can handle! So, Mustang… what do you say?"

"Sure Ed… I'm game. Shall we proceed to the shallower part then start there? Maybe Riza can signal when to start." Roy told Ed and then turned to Riza, who nodded. The three proceeded to the starting point, and the rest, cleared the way where they were going to swim. Ed and Roy got ready to dive into the water. Riza raised her hand to signal the two.

"On your mark, get set…" She paused as the two exchanged last minute smirks and glares. She flung her hand going down as she shouted "GO!" The two ran into the water, and dived when they had gotten to the part where it was deep enough to dive into. They were both determined to win. They were neck in neck in the start, and then they exchanged leads when they were halfway through. Ed was able to take the lead when he was almost near the buoy. Then he felt something was wrong with his arm.

'What the hell.? What's wrong with my arm?' His arm froze, he knew something was wrong and so he tried to stand, but the water was deep and he couldn't reach the bottom. He panicked and started waving his hands frantically. Roy had already passed the buoy and was on his way back to the starting point. He stopped when he saw Ed was panicking.

"Brother!" Al shouted as both he and Winry swam to Ed. They reached him as he was about to sink into the sea. They pulled him up, and brought him back to shore. Ed was coughing water when they reached the shallower part. They let him sit on the sand on the shore and let him catch his breath. Roy and the others joined him a few seconds later.

"What on earth happened Ed?" Winry asked as she put a towel around her. The fear in her eyes was noticeable.

"Something's wrong with my arm… it just froze, and I couldn't move it anymore."

"Let me see that." She said as she examined his automail. Her eyes narrowed as she realized what was wrong. "You knew something was wrong with your automail didn't you? There's a screw missing, plus some of the wires aren't functioning right. When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Maybe I can explain that, Winry… Um, I think it was after he started hitting the volleyball a bit hard… you know when you, the lieutenant and the general were talking. I think he lost the screw, and I think the…"

"Alright Al. Come on, let's go back to the cabin. I'll need to repair your automail before you do anything else strenuous." She said with a sharp tone as she and Al helped him up. Roy and Riza followed them and asked Havoc and the rest to keep watch on the basket. They nodded and sat down on the beach.

"Honestly Ed. What were you thinking when you placed that challenge? And why didn't you tell me about your automail? I would have fixed it no problem. You didn't need to hide it." She said with a sad look on her face.

"Hey Winry… um, I'm sorry… I was just worried you'd get mad or something." He said quietly as they reached the cabin. Winry looked at him, and wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"Stupid. Next time tell me. Then you wouldn't go drowning in the middle of the sea." She said with a smile as she opened the door.

"You wait for me in the sitting room; I'll just get my tools." She said as she went to their rooms. Roy and Riza sat across him beside Al.

"So Ed… why'd you challenge me to a swimming contest?"

"Nothing really. Just felt like it."

"Really Ed. You know your arm was broken, and yet you didn't tell Winry. And still, you wanted to have a swimming contest." Riza sternly said.

"Alright, alright. That was stupid I know. Sometimes, I just do stupid things… maybe I just couldn't take the draw. Well, I bet you're happy now eh, Mustang? I get to do your work for a week." Roy raised his hand, and spoke in the same stern tone that Riza had.

"Forget it. Next time, think twice before doing a stunt like this." He said as he stood up and retreated to their room. "I'll get something. I'll be right back."

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In no time, they were all back at the beach. Winry had repaired the automail pretty quickly, and they still had enough time to enjoy the beach before going back to the cabin for the night.

When they got to the cabin, the girls immediately went to the kitchen to prepare for dinner. Roy followed them into the kitchen, but was stopped by Riza as they reached the doorway.

"And where do you think you're going, mister?" She said with an eyebrow raised. Roy gave a little smirk before replying.

"Nowhere… I just want to see what you're cooking."

"Oh really now."

"I'm serious! Fine, I'll tell the truth… I want you to relax for now. You've been cooking ever since we got here. I'll do the cooking for tonight."

"Sir… you may pretend that you can do alchemy in the rain, but are you sure it's very safe to pretend to know how to cook?" she said with a smile.

"First, do not call me sir. We're on vacation remember? Next, yes I can cook… the simple stuff… But still I can cook!"

"Oh really now, there's no need to pretend." She replied as she went inside the kitchen. Roy went in after her still arguing.

"I'm not kidding! I can cook! I just want you to take the time off."

"From cooking?"

"Yes. Now if you step out to the sitting room, I'll do the cooking."

"Fine. I'll let you do the cooking. In one condition only."

"What is it?" Their faces were just a few inches away from each other. She was smiling, he was smirking.

"I'll have to stay in the kitchen while you cook. I can't risk you blowing the whole house up now do I?"

"Come on. Can't you trust me? I'm not going to use alchemy to light the stove up for crying out loud."

"I'm not taking any chances." She said with a tone of finality as she pulled a chair and sat down on it. The whole time, Winry was trying not to listen as she prepared the ingredients, but still she was having a bit of a difficulty to stop from smiling.

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"Yum, that smells good! Who cooked all that yummy food?" Ed said as he sat down at the table after washing his hands. Roy, Riza and Winry just brought in the food for dinner.

"I did Fullmetal. If you have any complaints, you may as well step out of the room and not have any dinner." Roy said with a little glare at Ed, who almost choked on the water he was drinking.

"You… have… got… to be kidding me. You A COOK?! You might end up poisoning us for crying out loud."

"I told you if you have any complaints STEP OUT OF THE ROOM."

"Oh yeah? What if I don't want to?!" Ed stood up from his chair, slamming his two hands on the table.

"Then I'll make you!" Roy said after he put down the plate of food he brought.

"If you two will not stop fighting, then the both of you will go off to bed, WITHOUT ANY DINNER." Riza interrupted as she glared at the two bickering men. The two couldn't imagine going to bed without dinner, and so they just quietly sat down and waited for everyone to be seated. Apparently, the two were thinking of just kicking each other while eating, but Riza seemed to have read their minds.

"No kicking under the table. Got it?" Riza added.

"Yes Ma'am!" the two managed to say, wondering how on earth she was able to do that.

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Yay! I know it's short, but I'm sorry. I won't be posting the next one until like next weekend, because I won't be home on Friday, and will only come home on Saturday Evening… So I hope you enjoy, and please and thank you for reviewing:D ♥