The entire walk home, Edward thought of ways he could let his friend down gently. It would just be the two of them, so no one had to know anything. He was bad at sugar-coating things and hated doing it. He gave up on his 'we're just friends' speech as he entered the apartment he shared with his brother. Al had decided to stay away from the military and help out a veterinarian in town. He worked strange hours sometimes, but loved the work. He still built things in his spare time, using alchemy more as they spent more time in their home world. Ed walked into the silent living room, still frustrated over how hard it would be to tell his friend he wasn't interested. He groaned out loud and headed for the shower. As the water coursed down his back, conflicting thoughts floated into his head. Maybe I should at least try to have a relationship. Maybe not with Winry, though she is cute. For a girl. And loud. And opinionated. But that makes her fun to argue with. And she can be nice… sometimes. And she does care about me a lot. Maybe…

Ed heard a female voice outside the door. He shut the water off.

"What?" He asked, loud enough to get through the door. There was no answer. He sighed and wrapped a towel around his waist. He cracked the door and peered out. He could see Winry in the living room, dressed in a short black skirt and a long brown jacket. Underneath, she wore a white t-shirt that definitely showed off her body. She turned, saw him looking at her, and smiled.

"Hey!" she called out, "Are you ready yet?" Ed frowned.

"Does it look like I'm ready?" He stepped out of the bathroom and crossed the hall into his bedroom. He threw on a black muscle shirt and his traditional black leather pants. He was glad for cutting his hair after he was released from the hospital. Normally, it would take forever for the thick mass to dry. Now that it was short again, it took no time at all. He grasped the knob. He was nervous. He was about to go on a date with someone he had known his entire life. Someone he had never been very interested in. Two different sentiments screamed protests in his brain. One told him to go have fun. The other told him to remember who he really loved. His mind floated back to the General and Maria. He decided that he would wait to see what happened and give a real relationship a try.

Ed turned the knob and stepped out to his pouting date. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" he inquired, crossing the living room to sit next to Winry.

"You don't have to be cross with me because I asked you a question." He sighed.

"Sorry. Let's get going, okay?" He stood and held his hand out to her. She looked up at him and shrugged.

"Okay." She stood begrudgingly. He smiled.

"You look beautiful." She could not help but smile. He had never said anything like that to her before. She took his hand and let him lead her out the door.

Once the two were seated at a small restaurant with menus in hand, conversation flowed easily between them. They talked about childhood memories and automail. The discussion shifted to theology and science. Winry didn't care much for all the formulas Ed presented, but listened nonetheless. The laughter they shared help wash away some of Ed's fear and the voice in the back of his head that kept telling him he shouldn't be there. A round of drinks helped to calm him and he became more relaxed in Winry's company. As the night wore on, the more Ed felt he saw another side of this girl who had liked him since they were children. He thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be able to talk to someone like this all the time. As much as they both enjoyed it, the meal came to an end and they found themselves walking down the sidewalk, neither too steady in their step.

Winry had tripped a street after they left the restaurant, so Ed wrapped his around her waist to support her. She wound an arm around his waist and leaned into him as they walked. Luckily, Winry's apartment was only two blocks away and Ed's was a few blocks beyond hers. Their laughter and light conversation from dinner stayed with them as they walked and continued up to Winry's door. For the first time during the walk home, Winry shifted away from Ed, fumbling in her purse to find her keys. After a couple of minutes of rustling and cursing, she found them and fished the keychain out. Before placing the key in the lock, she turned back to Ed.

"Do you wanna come inside for a few minutes?" Her words were slightly slurred, but not unrecognizable. Ed shrugged and nodded. His mind was clouded and he didn't much care whether he was with her or at home. They were already at her place, so stopping there would be the easier option of the two. They stepped through the threshold and Ed swung the door shut behind him. As soon as the soft click of the lock was heard, Ed was pushed gently back against the door. Before he could question why, hungry lips met his. Without realizing it at first, he returned the kiss. Half of him knew exactly what he was doing and pleaded with him to stop and consider what was going on. The other half was drunk and starved for another's touch. Still in a lip lock, he was pulled forward so that his body pressed against Winry's. She moaned a little into the kiss and broke away. She turned away from Ed and walked a couple of paces. She turned her head and shot Ed a look which clearly said 'come get me' over her shoulder. Ed complied.

x x x x x

Ed awoke the next morning, his head throbbing. He groaned and attempted to bring his hands to his temples. His left arm was trapped under something heavy. His eyes flew open as the events of the night before rushed into his head. He looked to his left side and saw Winry, half naked and snuggled up next him him, his arm acting as her pillow. Mentally, he panicked. This wasn't supposed to happen. And he hadn't called Al. He removed his arm as gently as he could and slipped into his boxers. He went to the phone and dialed his apartment. Al picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. Sorry I didn't call. I, uh…"

"Stayed with Winry? She left me a note," his brother's sly voice interjected. Damn.

"Uh, yeah. So I'll be home soon."

"You better hurry, you're already an hour late for work," Al warned. Ed's eyes shot up to the wall clock.

"Ok, thanks." He cradled the receiver and quickly gathered his things. Without bothering to wake his sleeping partner, he slipped out the door and hurried the few blocks to his house.

x x x x x

By the time Ed arrived in the office, he was almost two hours late. The second he walked through the door, he noticed the somber attitude in the usually cheerful and busy environment. He looked questionably at Hawkeye who was seated behind her desk, buried in paperwork. She didn't look up as she spoke to him.

"General Mustang wants to see you to report on your progress." Ed nodded and headed toward the door that connected to the General's office. His heart thudded a little harder in his chest as he grasped the doorknob. He stepped inside and seated himself on the couch, waiting to question what exactly was going on. It was so unlike Ed to be quiet for so long that after a couple of minutes of silence, Mustang looked up from his paperwork.

"You're late," he stated simply. Ed shrugged. Mustang laid his pen down on his desk and laced his fingers, resting his chin lightly on top of them.

"I'm not surprised at your irresponsibility, but I would think that your brother would at least wake you up." Ed gritted his teeth. Mustang always knew exactly what to say to make Ed's temper flare up. He shot up from his seat, fists clenched at his sides.

"I'm not the only one who wanders into the office late and for your information, if I would have had my alarm clock or I would've been there for Al to wake up, I wouldn't have been late. But I have a better track record than you so far, so I don't see why you need to bitch about it." Instead of calmly telling Ed to settle down or yelling a counter argument back at him, Mustang said nothing. He stood and walked around his desk so he was standing in front of Ed.

"You're dismissed." Ed narrowed his eyes.

"For the day. And I expect a report tomorrow morning." Ed, blinded by anger, strode across the room, intending to hit the bastard or something. His pace and ability to become oblivious to everything when upset turned against him and sent him stumbling into the cause of his present irritation. He felt a hand on his waist, steadying him. All his reasons for being mad faded away and heat rose to his face. Neither of them moved until Ed risked a glance up at the General. Mustang released Ed from their demi-embrace and cleared his throat.

"Meet me here after work. For now, go home." The older man turned, gazing out of the window until he heard the door swing shut behind the older Elric. Then he mentally cursed himself for acting on such an impulse. He figured at least this way, he couldn't get around talking to Ed for once.

x x x x x

A/N: Sorry if there are any errors, I was up late writing. Let me know if you spot anything I missed and I'll fix it. I also wanted to thank the people that have subscribed to alerts for this story. It's always nice to see that others are enjoying it. The next part should be up in a few days.