*dances* It's time for another update already!! I'm thinking about adding another chapter at the end. Maybe an epilogue of sorts or something? I need to work on that.

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It's later than I thought it was...Edward frowned. He had walked nearly the entire way back to the hotel and not encountered a single soul. The only thing to accompany him on his walk was the moonlight and the soft scrape of his boots on the pavement.

"Well, Winry, this is a great mess that bastard's put me in. Half of Central will probably think I'm getting lucky tonight..." Edward grimaced and spoke softly, trying to fill the silence around them. "Then there's the implications against you...you're going to have a hangover tomorrow too. I guess so, anyway. I don't really drink enough to know myself. Don't usually care for the stuff. Hope it isn't too bad..." He rolled his shoulders a little, trying to move Winry to a more comfortable spot. It wasn't that she was heavy, but she was no lightweight, either. What had only seemed like a small weight on his back six blocks before was a lot worse now. His back was killing him.

"I guess I might have overreacted just a little...he deserved it. But I just couldn't help myself! When I saw you laying there...and I thought he might've...I hear so many things about him. I lost it."

Talking was good, he knew that even if he didn't really want to do it. It let him vent and pass the time all at once. Since Winry wasn't aware of what was going on around her, Edward felt that he could be a little more open than usual. It wasn't as if she would remember it anyway.

"I don't think he's enough of a bastard that he would...you know...but really, can you blame me? I know you can take care of yourself, Win, but...I'd like to take care of you once in a while too..."

"Ngh...Ed...?" He froze at the voice mumbling against his ear. Aw crap, how long has she been awake?

"H-hey, Win."

"...Where are we?" Her voice was faint and she was still half asleep. Edward slowed to a stop, grateful that it didn't seem she had heard him.

"We're almost to the hotel. Just another block to go."

"You're carrying me. Mmm..."

"Yes, I am." Edward's face warmed a little. ""What, did you think I'd drag you all this way by your hair?" It was intended as a joke and Edward gave a small chuckle, though Winry missed it completely.

"...I like it."

"What?"

"You carrying me. I like it. You're warm..." He felt her fingers brush against his throat and glanced back at her. The blue eyes that stared back at him were hooded and dreamy. Their gazes met for a moment before she closed her eyes and buried her face in the base of his neck. The hold Winry had on him tightened; her arms around his neck and her legs where they were pinned against his sides. "We should do this more..."

"Uh...y-yeah..." he managed to stammer. He hadn't missed the tightening of her legs, and as surprising as it was to him he found himself a little uncomfortable. Suddenly he was aware of every inch of contact between them. Her fingers moved to his neck again, stroking blindly at the tender skin as her breath warmed the hair against the back of his neck.

Stop that, you idiot! he snapped silently to himself. For a moment he had let his mind wander too freely, to the body and chest pressing against his back. It wouldn't take long for the situation to turn awkward. Unfortunately, the longer this went on, the less tempting it was to tell her to get off and walk on her own. Not the time for this. DEFINITELY not the situation. Come on, Ed...

"Hey, Winry? Could you-ah!" Startled, he gave a small gasp. Winry had pushed his braid to the side and pressed her lips to the back of his neck. They were soft and warm, and he felt a little jolt go through him.

In a small moment of panic, Edward was clueless to what to do. A sigh of relief escaped him as he spotted the hotel ahead. Deciding that the situation needed to stop, he picked up his pace, Winry giggling into his ear as she bounced against his back.

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Getting Winry to her room without attracting much attention turned out to be surprisingly easy. Somewhere within the lobby it became obvious that as long as she had some sort of contact with Ed - whether he was carrying her or simply pulling her by the hand - she was relatively quiet and obediant. It was a relief for Edward. He'd been expecting her normal personality to make her want to be difficult. They made their way through the lobby and up to the second floor silently.

Standing outside the door to Winry's room, Edward realized something. "The bags!" he groaned, bumping his forehead against the thick wood of the door. Behind him Winry cocked her head.

"Forget somethin'?" she asked blearily

"Yeah, your stuff." He turned to look at her. It was fall, still warm enough that she was wearing one of those short skirts she liked so much and a buttoned shirt, the sleeves of which only came partway down her arms. Central was several days from Resembool when the trains ran without delay, and he knew she would want to at least change out of her clothes to sleep. Silently he spent a moment sizing her up. "Well...I guess you can borrow something of mine for the night. I'm sure I've got something clean." She smiled brightly at him and he turned back to the door, letting them both into the darkened room. Inside he guided her to a chair and commanded her to sit before making to leave.

"Mmm...Edo?"

Edo? Edward made a face at the odd pronunciation of his name, but turned back to her patiently. "What?

"What's my room number?"

"Two-forty-four."

"Oh. Is that your room number too?"

"No, I'm next door with Al, in two-forty-two."

"Will you stay in my room?" At this Edward couldn't help giving a small sigh. At least she was coherent enough that he didn't have to decipher what she was saying.

"Sorry, Win, not tonight." She looked at him with wide eyes. Strongly, they reminded him of a younger Winry, frightened by ghost stories after dark or the rabbit in the shed they'd thought was a monster. What was she afraid of now? There were so many things...He didn't like seeing her like that and felt a sharp pang of guilt as she pulled at his sleeve.

"But I don't want to be by myself tonight. You're always leaving, Ed, I want to sleep with you." It was an innocent enough request, but Edward choked nervously. My mind is so far into the gutter tonight...

"Don't go saying stuff like that. You'll be fine." She tried to press closer to his side and he drew back automatically, feeling the door at his back.

"I want you there with me. I love you, Ed, and I never see you..." Her voice was so soft that he almost didn't hear the last words trailing away. He wished he hadn't.

"You don't know what talking about. Don't start saying things you won't mean when your head clears." He shook her off as gently as he could and she stumbled back into the chair. "Now really, stay there. I'm going to get you something to wear to bed."

"Okay." She smiled up at him. He backed out of the room, returning some fifteen minutes later with his favorite thing to sleep in: his blue boxer shorts and black tank-top. He flushed as he held them out to her. Winry's eyes lit up and he couldn't help a small smile.

"Sorry about this. I'll get your things tomorrow, okay?" Winry ignored him, instead snatching them from him and getting to work getting her clothes off. Edward managed to turn his back on her just as she started pulling her skirt down. She's going to be dead tired tomorrow, he frowned in thought, listening to the girl behind him as she dressed again and obstinately not thinking about her brief nudity. This'll be my fault, I bet. Those idiots...I'm going to kill them as soon as she's gone back home.

"'Kay, Ed. Done." Still frowning, he turned back to her and froze instantly. Damn, bad idea! Winry had let her hair down as she sank to the edge of the bed. It fell over her shoulders in soft waves. The clothes – his clothes – were a bit big on her and the way that she slouched forward to rest her elbows on her thighs allowed the neckline to dip a little. A teasing glimpse of curved skin was all he caught before he made himself look away. A small pile of dark, lacy...things lay at her feet. Edward couldn't help a small, nervous gulp. Those dark lacy things were underwear.

Why was it that he was suddenly sorry to have her so far away from him?

"Well?" Winry asked impatiently. Her bottom lip curled out at him. "Are you going to sleep with me?" You're not going to make this easy on me, are you? The poor girl probably didn't even know what she was saying. The next morning would be awkward...and she would be angry. Winry would probably hate him, and he didn't know if he could stand that.

"No, Winry. I'm not," he said firmly.

"Huh?"

"You need to sleep I would just keep you awake."

"No Ed, please!" In a flash she was on her feet, stumbling to Edward's side and seizing his arm. "I don't want you to go!"

"Let go, Winry."

"No "

"Come on, don't do this..." Edward pleaded. He tried to pry her off as gently as he could. At first she held on to him tightly, squishing his hand against her chest and causing a deep blush to rise in his face again. After a moment she allowed him to loosen her hands and giggled as she wound them around his neck in an attempt to get his face closer to her. He used the opportunity to scoop her into his arms. "Time for bed!"

"Ed..." she whined softly into his neck. Her breath and lips were warm against his skin, causing him to twitch a little. Her voice carried that dejected tone that he hated to hear. "Don't you like me?"

"Win, you know I like you. You are my best friend," he assured her. Don't know what you're trying to pull, though..."We'll talk about it in the morning, okay?" It was an empty promise. There was little chance that she would remember this the next day and he was sure he didn't want to be the one to bring it up. She nodded into his neck.

Maybe it was because her mind was wondering, or maybe she was beginning to come to her senses a little. Whatever the reason, she didn't protest as he deposited her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her.

"Not too bad, huh?" he mused as she gazed blearily up at him. Winry sank back into the pillow with a sigh, her eyes never leaving his face. "Stay in bed. Okay, Winry?"

"Mm-hm."

"Good." He straightened to leave but a small whimper from the bed stopped him. Worriedly, he looked down at her again. "What's wrong?"

"Edo...will you stay with me?"

"We've already been through this-"

"Just until I go to sleep?" He paused. The question wasn't like Winry at all. She was never afraid of anything, why would she want him there? Granted, she was drunk off her rocker, but it still didn't make sense. Unfortunately for Edward, with her staring at him like that and her eyes pleading with him, he just didn't have the heart to say no.

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Poor Winry, she's all confused..or is she? Hmm...