Chapter 9
A Very Happy Birthday
Winry was floating. She felt so content and happy with her present perdiciment. No one bothered her peacefulness, nothing could harm her. Although she was content she did not fail to notice that her world was a black pit. Even though she was in the darkness, she felt light, happy, and content.
'Have I died?' Winry thought mindlessly to herself. She quickly dismissed the notion that she had died. 'If I was dead, and I was in heaven, Edward would be here with me.' She sighed happily. She had just admitted to herself that she was in love with him.
In love with him.
Winry jolted awake to find herself in the guest room at Riza and Roy's house. The light was filtering through the long, white curtains. Winry blinked her eyes bearly and brought her arm up to rub her face. That was when she noticed that her clothes had been changed. Memories of last night rushed to her mind and a deep blush stained her cheeks.
Then the door cracked open. Riza poked her head in and looked slightly surprised. "You're up already?" Riza nudged the door a little farther open showing that she was carrying a laundry basket full of clean, folded laundry. Winry blinked again, realizing that Riza had come and washed all of her clothes.
"Oh, I didn't mean for you to do my laundry Riza! I can do that!" Winry protested, starting to get out of bed. Riza smiled, slightly shaking her head.
"It wasn't a problem. I needed a couple more pieces of bright clothing for my load anyways." Riza set the basket at the end of the bed. "I hope you didn't mind, but I changed your out of your clothes last night. I don't think you'll remember, you were pretty out of it." Riza sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you feeling okay this morning?"
"Yeah, I was hoping to see Edward. Would that be possible?" Winry smiled. Riza cocked her head slightly to the side with a questioning look to her face
"Why? Is there a particular reason?" Riza asked gently.
Winry, suddenly feeling embarressed felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks. "No, I was just going to ask how he was doing." Riza smiled.
"Well, Roy said that he's still angry at himself for making you help him last night. But other than that, and Alphonse chewing him out immensly, I think he's fine." Winry smiled to herself. Edward would be still feeling bad, he always blamed himself for everything, even things that really weren't his fault.
Riza stood up. "Well, I'll leave you to get dressed. Its about 9 in the morning, so I'm sure you're hungry." A not-so-subtle growl rose from Winry's stomach. "I'll take that as a yes. Would you like a bagel?" Winry nodded as she threw her legs over the side of the bed. Riza smiled and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
--
"Well, I'm sorry to say you did an alright job last night Ed." Mustang drawled from his desk. He glanced at his watch, which told him it was about a quarter after 10.
"What was that? Was that a compliment from the great Roy Mustang?" Edward snided from a chair against the wall where he was reading a TIME magazine.
"No. I was just saying you did well. It was in no way a compliment." Roy glanced again over the complicated report of all the charges against Scar while Edward fumed.
"You know, I could be working for the CIA, a real top dog. But I chose to come and use my talents here, and for what? So you throw me around!?" Edward yelled. Mustang smirked to himself. He knew it was true, but Edward would never move away from Brooklyn. He liked New York City's brand of crime better than anything else.
"What's that racket in here?" A man with short blond hair and blue eyes poked his head into the office. Edward glanced at him and stared. Mustang glanced up and smiled at the old friend.
"Havoc, you haven't changed a bit. Is Furey back with you too?" Mustang stood up from his desk and walked toward the blond.
"Yeah. Now that we're done with special operations me and him were vacationing down in Miami. But I like being at work." Havoc smiled then turned to Edward. "Hey Edward, I haven't seen you in a really long time."
Edward smiled kindly, and nodded. "Yeah, with you being off with special operations, I've had to do all of Mustangs dirty work." Havoc laughed.
"I guess that's true. I heard that you got into an accident last year. Do you have any scars or stories. Mustang didn't give me the full story." Edward smiled wickedly.
"Yeah, I've got two really big ones." Edward pushed up his sleeve to show Havoc his automail arm.
"WOW, you lost your ARM? Jesus, Roy, you should have told me it was this bad!" Havoc stepped over to where Edward was sitting and held his mechanical arm in his hands. Then he started moving it around. "Woah, this is so cool! I bet its way better than a real arm, eh Ed?"
Edward gave Havoc a pissed off look. "No, its not. Everytime I see my arm I think of the dumb mistakes that lead to it!" Edward huffed and turned away from Havoc, jerking his arm out of his grasp.
"That may be true Edward, your mistakes that night were quite horrible. But I don't think you would have gotten to know Winry as well if you hadn't lost your arm." Mustang contemplated.
"You don't think I know that?" Edward asked. Sensing the very weird atmosphere that the room had taken, Havoc prepared to take his leave.
"Uh, Mustang you called me here for a reason, didn't you?" Havoc asked as he gathered up his coat to leave. The awkward feeling the atmosphere created could best be cured with a lovely girl (if he could find one) and a cigarette.
"Yeah, would you and Furey be interested in helping our team make a very big drug and prostitution bust?" Mustang cooly replied to Havoc, still wondering what was eating Edward.
"Really? Cool, of course we'd love to do it. When are you planning to make your move?"
"In about a month. I'll call you." Havoc waved goodbye as he excited the door.
As the door shut, Edward got up to leave. "Well, you have the report, I'm going to leave then."
"Okay. Edward, why don't you take the week off." Mustang said offhandly as he sat down at the maghogany desk. Edward shot him a look of surprise.
"Why?" Edward asked warily. He had been planning to take the week off, but he didn't want Mustang to know. Having Mustang guess Edward's actions would make Edward seem predictable, which he surely was not in the least. (Little does Edward know, but he is predictable, but we love him for it anyways)
"Well, I'm sure you were going to take the week off anyways." Edward turned and made a face cringe. How did the jerk know his every move? "So I decided to spare you the breath. Take the week off. Maybe you can take Winry out somewhere, I know you got a big paycheck for your work last night, so why not treat her?"
Mustang was really getting on Edward's nerves. How did he know that Edward was planning on doing just that?
"Oh and Ed." Mustang said just as Edward was stepping out the door. "Its Riza's birthday this week, will you make sure to get her something nice this year. Also, I think Hughes would really like you to visit."
Mustang smirked as Edward slammed the door behind him.
--
Winry was sketching her latest design for Edward's new arm when her phone began ringing. Winry turned slowly to look evilly at the device that had brought out her doom a couple days ago. She picked up the demon that was her cellphone and looked at the ID.
"What do you know, it's the bringer of doom." She opened up the phone and practically groaned into the phone. "Hello Edward. What torture would you like to inflict upon me now?"
"Torture? Have you ever had to get your nerves attached painfully to those evil machines you call art?" Winry smiled.
"Okay you got me. What did you call for? I'm busy working on another evil device for your arm." Winry tucked the phone underneath her ear as she continued to work.
"Great, I'm glad I can distract you then." Edward nervously said into the phone.
"Distract me? How so?" Winry looked to the side with a questioning look on her face.
"By taking you to dinner and a movie? Or maybe just the movie, or just the dinner. Well, its noon now, right? Maybe you want to shopping for Riza's birthday gift?"
"Riza's birthday?" Winry was surprised. She didn't even know that Riza's birthday was this week. She would have to bake a birthday cake for her.
"Yeah, last year I didn't excatly get her the best gift and I think Roy is still mad at me for it."
-- flashback to last year--
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday deeearrrr Riiiiizzzzaaaaaa. Happy birthday to you!" As Riza glared at the surrounding group and blew out the candles Roy turned off the video camera. He smiled brightley as Riza looked awkwardly at all the presents that lay before her.
As she began to unwrap all the presents Riza began to have a good time. Furey had given her a new radio for her car. Falman had given her a book on how to play chess (she doubted it would help her beat him though). Breda had given her a giftcard to Zune (she had recently bought a lovely Zune, and his gift was perfect). Havoc had given her a new rifle and Hughes had given a scrapbook (for all of his adorable pictures of his daughter of coarse!).
Last was Edward's gift to her. As she opened up the box, she wondered what it possible could be. She took out the card and read it aloud.
"For those times when Roy's really making you mad." Riza took out what seemed to big a giant sheet of paper. As she unfolded it, it began to look like a shooting target.
With Roy's face in the center.
As the rest of the party tried to supress their laughter, Roy started to fume. Riza simply folded it up and put it away.
--
"Oh, I see. So your thinking that I should help you in some way?" Winry giggled. She could just imagine Roy's face.
"Yeah, I'll even treat you to dinner for it." Edward was so eager, how could Winry turn him down, especially after her dream last night.
"Okay Edward, when will you pick me up?" Winry continued to daydream about what kind of cake she would make Riza.
"Well, I'm actually near the house. I'll be there in like 2 mins, is that okay?"
Winry was off in la-la land. "Yeah, two mins, okay."
"Bye"
"Bye"
All the sudden, the information sunk in. Edward would be here in two minutes.
AND SHE LOOKED LIKE CRAP!
Winry quickly dashed to the bathroom and dashed on her make-up and yanked through her hair. Oh, why today of all days did she have to look crappy? As she heard a car pull into the driveway she decided to go with a preppy ponytail and a sweatshirt with the giant words HOLLISTER (ew, name brands. But it was a gift from her cousin.) and a pair of shorts.
As she went to answer the door, she hoped she looked okay. But what greeted her was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.
Edward was standing in her doorway. The early afternoon light created a sort of halo over his brow, making his hair shimmer beautifully, especially the way his hair hung in the front of his face. His golden eyes were full of the smile that was on his beautiful shaped face. He wore a black tank top under his black jacket, and the tank top showed his neck and the top of his muscular chest. And a bit of his shoulder automail she could see. As she glanced downward, she noticed that his legs were clad in tight black jeans and he had nice boots on. He was equisite.
"Hi Winry." Winry was pulled out of her trance by the voice on an angel.
"Hi Edward." She said shyly.
"You ready to go?" He motioned to the shiny vehicle in the driveway. The sun sparkled off the blue paint in an alluring manner.
"Edward, you bought another cooper?" Winry gasped. Edward smiled and dangled keys infront of her face.
"Wanna drive?" How could Winry resist such a tempting offer?
--
As they sat in front of the TV that night, Roy's arm around Riza's shoulder, Riza thought about how good her life was. She had a fantastic husband, wonderful, caring friends, what more could she ask for.
"Riza, your quiet this evening. Anything the matter?" Roy gently asked. Riza snuggled closer.
"No, I was just thinking of something that I would like to have." Riza said plainly.
"What?"
"I think… oh nevermind." Riza went back to watching the ingaging show about cops in New York and Roy let it go. He figured she'd tell him when she was ready.
And Riza stared at all the people on the screen, especially a mother with her newborn baby. The woman had such a look of pure joy.
It was enchanting.
--
Winry got out at the mall and took a look at the panic stricken Edward that sat in the passenger seat.
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad!" Winry said angrily. She slammed the door and walked away. Edward gradually got out of the car.
Driving with Winry will always be a bad idea. He would remember the near death experience for the rest of his life.
As they walked through the different stores, Winry pointed out things and Edward pointed out things, but they agreed that either it wasn't unique enough or that it just wasn't right. "Maybe we'll never find it." Winry said helplessly. Winry sank down on a bench and watched the people walk past her. Edward sat down next to her.
"Well, I was looking at a shiny new gun for her… maybe…"
"No! Riza is good at shooting, but that's not the only good thing about her! She has a lot of other parts to her too, I just think that people don't see it." Winry tapped her finger on her mouth and thought. "We need a way for everyone to see how loving and caring she is. A way for her real self to break out of its cold shell." Winry thought about how kind Riza had been to her in the past, and she smiled. Riza was born to protect and care for other people.
As a break in the crowd came Winry glanced at the store in front of her. And the idea sprang into her head as she looked at the best gift you could possibly get a person.
"Come on Edward." Winry said as she dragged the startled Edward off the bench.
--
"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birhtday, deeeeaaarrr Riiiiizzzzaaaa!! Happy Birthday to you!" Riza looked lovingly around the table. She looked at Havoc and Furey, Fallman and Breda. Hughes and his family, Edward, Alphonse, and Winry. And of course, her beautiful, wonderful, caring husband.
Except when he didn't do the dishes.
As she unwrapped the various gifts, she began to wonder what Edward was going to give her this year. Hopefully something better (or just as good) as last years gift. As she reached for the long skinny box, the suspense was agravatting.
She popped open the lid, and looked inside, finding a slip of paper. "Look in the kitchen." Riza glanced around and noticed that Edward and Winry had both slipped out. Riza got up and the whole group moved towards the kitchen.
Riza's took in the sight of the brightly smiling Edward and Winry before she looked at what they were holding on the floor. IT was the most adorable (though she would never admit it) thing she had ever laid eyes on.
A husky puppy.
As the little creature wimpered on the floor, Riza croached down to hold it. As she held her arms out wide, Edward and Winry let the dog go, and it scampered right into Riza's arms. As the puppy licked and pawed her, Riza felt happy.
"Thank you Edward and Winry. I believe this has to be the best gift I've received tonight." She gave an apolgetic look to the rest of the crowd. "Sorry."
As they ate cake and watched the puppy, Edward asked Riza, "What are you going to name him." Riza put her finger to her lips in thought. Just then, the dog decided to go to the bathroom on her kitchen wall.
Riza quickly pulled out her gun and fired 7 times. What resulted was the classic picture of the dog pressed against the wall.
"Now you won't do that again, will you pup? You see the bathrooms out here, right Black Hayate?" The dog softly wimpered as Edward, Winry, and the rest of the gang looked on in horror.
--
"Bye, and thank you again for the gift Edward, he truly is speical." Riza thanked him graciously, then did she notice Winry. "Winry, where are you going with your bags?"
"Oh, Roy asked me to go stay with Edward tonight." Riza looked around for the guilty person, but he was conviently gone. "Don't worry, I'll be back tomarrow." Riza smiled.
"Okay, I'll see you tomarrow." Riza waved off the two and turned back into the house, softly shuttting the door behind her. "Roy?" She called out. She started wandering through the house. "Roy?"
All the sudden, strong, warm arms wrapped around her body. "There you are. I was wondering where you got off too." A deep, strong voice floated into Riza's ears and her body melted against hers. "So, Edward's present was the best, huh?" Roy had given her tickets to the New York city orchestra concert and she was really excited.
"Yours was nice too." Riza said gently reaching up to cup his fac e in her hands. This man was so loving to her, her heart felt as if it would burst with the love she felt for him.
"Well, you haven't really received your real gift yet. Why do you think I sent Winry away?" He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. It was the best feeling in the world. "Prepare yourself Riza, for the best night of your life."
Before his lips captured hers, and before she could lose her mind in her arms, there was something she needed to say. She help a single finger to his lips.
"I want a baby." Roy looked at her quizically. "I want to have a baby with you Roy, and I've wanted one for some time now." Roy smiled at Riza's very serious expression.
"Are you sure? I bought an extra large pack of-"
"Yes, I'm sure. I think that we're ready." Roy smiled again. He was really happy, he had always wanted to see what made Hughes the way he was and how it felt to be a father.
"You know Riza, I want to be a father. I want to hold someone that is a part of you and a part of me. I want to hold them and love them as long as I live." Roy kissed Riza's lips delicatly. "Just like how I
want to hold and love you forever." As Roy began to kiss her more passionatly, Riza had a realization again.
She had a very good life.
--
The ride home with Edward was… awkward. Winry twitched in her seat as the silent god next to her drove through the quiet suburbean streets. As they neared the city, and it became louder, Edward turned on the radio. A jumpy techno song came on and Winry started tapping her toes to the beat. Edward started humming, but other than that, there was no words from him.
The drive dragged on through the busy town because Edward was stopped by every single red light. Winry watched as Edward became more and more irritated by that fact.
The city life was so beautiful during the night. Winry gazed lovingly at the skyscrapers and dark windows that made up her home city. She was one in a million all right. One in an endless sea of new yorkers. As the stars remained out of reach, so did Edward seem farther away.
As Edward parked his car in the parking garage, Winry's stomach began to have butterflies. Tonight Edward and herself would be alone. Together.
And completely alone.
A panic overcame Winry's body as she thought about what they could do. They were adults after all! But, more than anything else, Winry wanted to confess to Edward just how much she loved him. She wanted to reveal that she had loved him from the first time that she discovered those cute, childish drawings in his office.
Edward wasn't doing so well himself, but we'll get to that later.
As the elevator rose up the building, Winry's butterflies increased exponetionally. It was as if they were increasing in number as the elevator increased its height. A panic almost overtook Winry's body again, but she composed herself.
Then they stepped off the elevator, both in perfect stride with one another. As they walked down the empty hallway, Winry could hear her footsteps, stepping audibly in time with Edwards. As they came to Edward and Alphonse's apartment, Winry realized something. Edward and she would not be alone this evening. A certain brother was also going to be there.
Winry slapped herself. Edward and her couldn't do anything, she couldn't even confess. Alphonse would be shocked. Sometimes he seemed so childish to her because something as simple as a kiss could send him into hysterics. Or close anyways.
Edward pushed the door open and called out into the silence. "Alphonse, I'm here with Winry. She's staying overnight because its Riza's birthday and I thought that she and Roy could have the evening to themselves." He smiled apologetically to Winry, "sorry, I don't mean to say that you're a burden or anything." Winry shook her head.
"No I understand." Alphonse then poked his head out of his office. He looked at Winry with a vaugly surprised expression on his face.
"Oh, Hi Winry. Sorry to ditch on you two, but I have a… a… prior engagement that I need to see to in about two minutes. Its nice seeing you again though Winry, it gets quiet around here without you." Winry smiled as her stomach prepared itself to drop through her butt. That meant that Edward would stay here, Alphonse would be gone, and things could go their usual course.
Ah, a delemia had just presented itself to her, and she had no idea how to deal with it. She decided to confess and let things go their natural way. No harm in that, right?
"Its alright Alphonse. But, can I ask, who are you having a prior engagement with?" Edward prodded. Alphonse's cheeks became a bit more colored.
"No one, just an old friend. She'll be here any minute, so don't be embarassing, okay?" Alphonse disappeared back into his office, probably to collect some things he needed.
"Oh, so it IS a she!" Edward teased gently. Winry couldn't help but giggle. Alphonse just didn't get out that often because of work, so it was good that he could once in a while, right?
Just then the doorbell rang. Edward went up to it and answered it, just to see who it was. A beautiful dark-skinned lady greeted him. "Rose?" Edward gasped. Winry cocked an eyebrow, 'Rose? Who's she, an old lover?' and an odd feeling rose up in her cheast. It was a jealous feeling.
The pair hugged as Alphonse stepped into the room, looking very fine himself in a black button down shirt and dark jeans. "Rose, are you ready to go?" The woman nodded and smiled at Winry. "Are you Edward's mechanic that he praises all the time?"
A blush rose to Winry's cheeks as she replied. "Yes, he has the best automail that I can offer." The woman smiled and nodded again. Edward watched the exchanged awkwardly as did Alphonse.
"Well, lets go Rose, otherwise we'll be late." Alphonse said and motioned for Rose to go. After the door shut behind them, Edward turned to Winry.
They were alone.
"Um, do you wanna watch a movie? Or TV?" Edward felt awkward. He didn't usually watch movies, and he had no idea what Winry liked. Oh well, he could sit through a movie. As Winry searched through the small movie collection she ran across one that she thought would be fun to watch.
"Must love dogs! I've wanted to watch this forever!!"
Edward awkwardly smiled and nodded for her to put it in.
As the main screen came up and she pressed play, Edward waltzed into the room with two bowls of popcorn. And they were perfect.
As they munched away on the buttery goodness and watched the antics of the characters on the screen, Edward began thinking about the blond next to him. He noticed her profile and he thought of how smart she was, and straightforward. He thought about how she often robbed him of coherent thoughts and how her smile was more dazzling than the sun.
All the sudden he realized that he was in love. He had never experienced love. Sure, he had felt lustful for countless other women, but love? Never.
But maybe this was a sign. Maybe he had never felt love because Winry was the only one for him. However, was he sure of her feelings for him? No. But he planned to find out.
As the credits rolled and their popcorn bowl empty, Winry decided it was time. Time for her to bite the bullet.
"Edward?" Winry quietly asked. "Can I ask you something?"
Edward gave a slightly surprised look. He was the one who was supposed to ask her, not the other way around! "Uh, sure." He looked at her right in the eyes, to show her that he was completely listening and that she had his full attention.
Little did he know how intense his gaze was. Winry began to get jittery, and she couldn't think of what she wanted to say next. So she said the first thing that came to mind. "Where am I going to sleep? The couch right?" She mentally slapped herself, why did she react so badly under this kind of pressure.
Edward moved his head to the side with the questioning face. But his question didn't reach his lips. "Sure Winry, I'll go get the spare pillow and blankets."
Winry gave him a relieved smile as she went to go get ready for bed. She walked into the bathroom and was surprised at its neatness. She supposed it was mostly Alphonse's doing, Edward wasn't half as neat as him. She observed the clean shower with the glass door and the white counter top with silver faucets. The walls were broad black and white strips and the rugs on the floor were black. The white laminate floor felt cool to her feet.
After brushing her teeth, putting on her pajamas, and brushing her hair, she deemed herself ready for bed. She walked into the living room, with the couch all ready for her. Edward was just putting the last pillow on the end. He turned around at the sound of her footsteps.
"I have your bed all ready Winry. So I'll just get out of your-" Edward turned around and was stunned (again) by Winry. He let out a breath. "hair. I guess." He awkwardly finshed his sentence and motioned to the bed. "Well, I'll go and leave now." And he promptly left the room to stop his heart from racing.
Late that night, both of them found it intensly difficult to sleep. They both were cringing at the fact that they didn't say what they needed to say. They wanted to find out what the other felt too. As the night dragged on and on, so did their anguish.
Edward was lying in his queen size bed when he heard the soft, gentle knock on the door. He sat up in bed and quickly swung his legs to the side. There was only one person who would knock on his door, seeing as she was the only other one in the house.
When Edward opened the door, he drank in the sight of Winry in pajamas again. The soft blue pants she wore only made the tight black tank top she wore more noticable. Her hair hung around her shoulders in a disarrayed sort of way and her eyes were wide awake.
Winry, on the other hand, was totally disarmed by her first sight of Edward. She had seen his naked chest and his bare legs before, but this time was different. Because this time, she knew that what she said dictated their future. Besides, his bare chest and the black sweatpants just complimented him.
It was sexy.
"Edward, I just wanted to say some things to you. I hope I didn't wake you." Edward shook his head.
"No, I couldn't sleep."
Winry breathed a sigh of relief. At least she hadn't woken him during a really good dream. "Okay, I might as well get it out of my system." The moment was strangling, the atmostphere suffocating them both. The mystery of Winry's next words, yet to be spoken, were going to kill them both.
In barely a whisper, Edward heard the words that he had wanted to hear for so long. He had just never known it. "I love you." As his heart lept and his eyes widened with happiness, Edward grabbed Winry in a feirce hug.
As his arms, both cold and warm, wrapped around her, Winry melted. Then, his soft, sexy, beautiful voice whispered in her ear. "I love you too." Winry slid her hands up to his face, looking deep into his golden eyes. As she pressed her lips to his, the night became a truly memorable moment for them. Little did they know how memorable it would become.
As Edward wrapped his arms tighter around her and deepened the beautiful kiss she had just granted him, he found himself sinking into heaven. For heaven was in her arms. He knew he wasn't going to be able to live without her from now on.
As the stars remained out of reach to the two people, something was in reach. Love.
--
The next morning light filtered through the shades and went directly into Winry's eyes. She blinked her eyes open and snuggled deeper into the covers of the soft bed she was in. But as she snuggled deeper into the covers she found herself snuggling deeper into a pair of strong arms that wrapped tighter around her.
"Good morning Winry. Did you sleep well?" A groggy voice that still made her body melt spoke from behind her. What a way to wake up.
"I think I'd rather be awake." She said turning around to face the beautiful face that greeted her.
Edward's eyes lit up with happiness and playfulness. "Me too."
-- Three weeks later--
Riza started violently shaking the stick that she held in her hand with the backround noise of the toilet flushing. Roy was waiting outside the bathroom door, allowing for her to have her privacy. The timer on the bathroom counter finally chimed.
When Roy heard the timer go off he rushed into the bathroom to get the verdict. As Riza stared disbelieving at the tiny stick, Roy rushed over to her. She held up the tiny stick for him to see.
It had a beautiful blue plus sign on it.
--
So, I hope that this is enough for my very delayed hiatus. I recently got restarted on Facebook and all the sudden I was bored. So I decided to go around with finishing touches.
This one goes out to a member not on , but her birthday is coming up. July 24th, I 3 you lovely!!