Part Two: Timing

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Ed stomped away from his brother. What the hell did he know? What the hell did that old hag know? He knew what he was doing! He was taking it slow with Winry. Didn't anyone get that? Sure, they'd known each other all their lives, but these past four years, they'd both changed. Ed wondered if he would've noticed as much, had he had a chance to observe her on a daily basis. Yeah, Winry was still a hot-tempered, stubborn, mechanically-minded geek, but her experiences had rounded off some of the rough edges. He'd always thought she was cute, though he generally didn't admit it much, even to himself. It took others pointing it out that reminded him again that his childhood friend was pretty, and smart, and caring - because to him, all of that was just 'Winry'.

"Ngg," he grumbled to himself. Now, if he could just manage to say something to her about it. Yeah.

Standing at the doorway to her room, Ed stared in at her back. Her hair was caught up in her bandanna, and she was working on a piece of metal. He started to walk in, and stopped himself. She'd thrown him out of her room for interrupting her before, and Ed didn't want to make Winry mad.

Turning away from the door, he told himself he wasn't a scaredy-cat. Nope. Just...choosing the right time. And when Winry was working with machinery and metal had to be absolutely the worst time of all.

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