Here's the second half! This part's probably long enough to be considered a chapter in its own right.

Winry gave her friend a tight hug. "Take care of yourself. Keep in touch."

Paninya nodded against Winry's shoulder before releasing her. "Be sure to let me know if you get any more cute patients or if another legend starts texting you."

Winry laughed, giving Paninya's hand a quick, fond squeeze. "Will do. And remember you're welcome anytime, whether your automail needs attention or not."

Paninya nodded and grinned, swinging her bag over her shoulder and stepping off the platform. "See you later, Win!"

Winry waved and waited for the train to leave the station before she turned to start the walk back home. It wasn't too far from the train station to her house, but still she was starting to feel a bit chilly by the time she made it back. The weather was taking a definite turn towards colder days.

Scot was stretched out on the couch in a way that he somehow managed to make look graceful, his arms crossed over his chest and his feet crossed at the ankles. "Morning," he said sleepily as she opened the door.

Winry returned the greeting and glanced around. "Is Granny around?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen."

"Ah." Winry lingered uncertainly in the doorway for a moment before offering, "I could make some tea, or some–"

Scot chuckled. "Relax, Win. You don't need to play hostess. It's just me." The blonde smiled and took a seat on the arm of the couch, letting herself feel more at ease.

"Sorry, force of habit. Wanna come downstairs? You could watch me do taxes."

"Ooh, riveting."

Winry smiled wryly, kicking off her shoes. "I wish I got to take a vacation day just because you're here, but unfortunately that's not the case. So you can watch me do our taxes or hang out by yourself." She stood up and offered her hand to help pull him off the couch. "Come on, having you around to bother me will make it seem less like a chore."

Scot took the hand and pulled himself up with a dramatic sigh. "Alright, you workaholic."

"Done," Winry declared, tossing her pen onto the desk and leaning back in her chair with a satisfied stretch. She craned her neck to look at the clock on the far wall. "And we still have several hours before your train comes."

Scot glanced at the clock, too, nodding. It was half past seven, and the train back to Vanes Balt, his hometown, wasn't coming until eleven. The two of them had been alternating between Winry working while Scot kept her entertained, and taking frequent breaks to either eat or laze around. Granny had gone on an errand to pick up some things from one of the people they regularly bought supplies from and was supposed to be back in about an hour or so. "So what do you wanna do now?"

Winry shrugged. "Up to you. We could go outside, get some fresh air. Maybe kick the soccer ball around a bit."

Scot didn't answer, continuing to look at Winry with what appeared to be a thoughtful expression. "Or we could do something else…" Winry offered, standing and moving towards the door. "Are you thirsty? Hungry? Can I get you anything?"

That seemed to snap the boy out of his thoughts, making him chuckle. "Again with the hostess routine. You know, you're cute when you're all worried over other people."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. Was he trying to flirt with her? Scot? Good grief, she hoped not. "Okay… Is that a yes or a no?"

"You don't need to get me anything," Scot said, also moving toward the door. "But there is something you could do for me, since you're so eager to please."

Winry shot him a skeptical look. "What kind of thing?"

The dark-haired boy looked sheepish. "You're not seeing anyone, are you, Winry?"

A brief image of Ed flashed through her mind, and she shook herself, taken aback both by the question and her brain's unexpected reaction to it. No, no, she was definitely not seeing Edward, even if a very small part of her might not be wholly opposed to the idea of trying it. "What? No…"

All traces of self-consciousness vanished, replaced by a charming smile. "Good."

Winry was now feeling distinctly uncomfortable. "Come on, Scot, please don't make this weird…"

"Make what weird?" he asked obliviously, taking a step forward, one hand moving to the back of his neck in a gesture that might seem shy on someone else, but Scot was oozing with confidence. "Has anyone told you lately that you're beautiful?"

Winry didn't like the direction he was heading, either conversationally or physically. He had somehow gotten in front of her without her noticing so that he was blocking her path to the door. Her arms stiffened at her sides, and she subconsciously took a step backward. "I don't need you to tell me that I'm beautiful."

He chuckled, his automail hand reaching out to lightly touch her shoulder. Winry jerked away roughly. When had he gotten close enough to touch her? "Stop," she said, grateful that an edge of authority came out in her voice.

It didn't do any good. Scot just smiled as if she hadn't flinched away from his touch or said anything, taking another step forward. The space between them was now disconcertingly small. Winry's eyes flew to the wrench on her workbench to her left. It seemed miles away.

Scot noticed what she was looking at, his eyes following hers. She saw his posture tense the smallest amount, a slight frown puckering his brow. She might have a second. She took a chance.

Winry sidestepped abruptly and lunged for the table. Her hand scrabbled for the wrench, but before she could get a solid grip on it she felt her body being yanked back and slammed against something solid. Her head snapped backward and hit the wall, hard. She blinked away the tears that automatically sprung to her eyes to see Scot directly in front of her, his hands firm on her shoulders and his eyes wide in something that might have been fear.

"Shit, Winry, you don't need to make this harder than it needs to be."

She didn't even want to ask what 'this' was. Her heart was racing in her chest now as she was suddenly very aware that there was no one else home and he had her trapped against the wall. She willed her eyes to be dry. She would not cry in front of him. She wouldn't.

"Let me go," she commanded with all the power she didn't feel.

"Come on, Win," he coaxed, pressing closer up against her. "You know you want me, too. There's always been something between us."

Where in the world had he gotten that idea? She certainly had never given him any indication that there was. She fought a shudder at his words and struggled to break free from his hold. It wasn't having any effect, and his face was too close, too close.

Real panic welled up in her chest as her lips were suddenly claimed by his. She couldn't move, his body pressed flat up against hers, her face cupped and held in place by his right hand and her arm trapped in his automail's vice-like grip. Why had she made his arm so strong?

His mouth was pressing on hers, harsh, demanding. Her right arm was crooked between them, trapped by the pressure of his chest. With effort she managed to move her fingers enough to dig her nails into the soft material of his shirt, hard, which succeeded in making him release her face to grab that hand and pin it to the wall behind her. Her face now free, she twisted her head to the side so that his mouth couldn't reach hers.

Undeterred by this new development, Scot transferred his attentions to her neck, planting his tongue below her ear. She gagged. Her mind raced for some way to escape, some move she might have seen one of the Elric brothers do during one of their sparring sessions to get out of a particularly strong hold. She was coming up blank. She didn't have room to maneuver.

The automail was digging into her upper arm, and she knew that even if she could try to twist away, that hand wouldn't slacken its grip. That's just how it was made. How she had made it, never expecting that it would be used against her.

Wait. She had made it. She knew this automail even better than the back of her own hand. She knew every screw, every joint, every plate. And most importantly, she knew where the catch was.

Doing her best to block out what was happening to her neck, she looked down at the arm that was trapping her own. His hand was on her bicep, so her arm was free to move at the elbow. She would have to twist her hand around at a difficult angle to get at the catch, but she hoped it would be doable. She'd only have one shot at this, because if she couldn't reach it the first time he would catch on to what she was doing and restrain her arm completely.

The thumb on his metal hand started stretching dangerously towards her chest. She moved. Shoots of pain raced down from her elbow in protest of the awkward angle of her forearm, but one quick flick of her wrist and the catch released.

Scot hissed at the unexpected pain as half his arm was suddenly no longer attached to his body, and Winry took the opportunity to twist out of his hold. Once she was away from the wall she spun to face him, holding the automail out in front of her, ready to wield it as a weapon if necessary. Scot cursed under his breath, eyeing her warily.

She backed up slowly towards the door. "Don't you dare come near me." Her voice shook slightly, but she felt somewhat in control again. "You are going to go upstairs, you are going to get your things, and you are going to leave."

"You have my arm," he pointed out dumbly.

"And you really think you're gonna get it back right now? Seriously?" she scoffed. As she got closer to the door she reached out to her workbench, never taking her eyes off him, and slid her wrench into her pocket, just for added security. "I can't believe you told me to be wary of texting strangers. Like you're so concerned."

He took a few steps closer to the door and to her, his one hand raised in a gesture of surrender. "Well, you do know to be more careful now."

She spat in his face. He gave her a disgusted look and wiped it off. "Come on, Winry, I'm just joking. I wasn't trying to teach you a lesson or anything. I just… I think you're amazing, and gorgeous." He chuckled. "If anything you taught me a lesson. Don't come on to someone who knows how to disable you."

"You know what, don't even bother getting your things." She was practically seething at his audacity.

"Come on, Win–" But Winry was done listening to him, taking the stairs as quickly as possible. As predicted, he followed after her a few seconds later.

"All right, all right, I'm leaving, I'm just gonna run to my room and grab my stuff–"

"Fine. Whatever. I don't care, just get out of my sight."

He was in and out of his room in record time, but stopped after opening the front door to look back. She fixed him with the dullest look she could muster.

"Sorry this didn't work out, Winry." He gave her an embarrassed smile. "But, could I have my arm back?"

With a cry of frustration, she threw it straight at his head. "Just get out! And you can find yourself a new mechanic to reattach that."

Aggravatingly, he ducked before his own hand could hit him in the face. But a moment later he was gone, and Winry was quick to go up and lock the door behind him.

She sagged against the closed door, letting out a long, shuddering breath. After a few minutes of not moving she slowly and shakily made her way to her room. She headed straight to the bed and curled up in a ball, letting the tears she'd suppressed in her anger flow freely now.

She wasn't sure how long she laid like that, but a while after her tears had run out she heard the front door squeak open. Every muscle in her body tensed. She laid completely still, not daring to breathe.

"Winry, I'm home!"

She let all her breath out at once, feeling foolish. Granny. Of course.

The thought of explaining to Granny why Scot wasn't there made Winry feel sick to her stomach. She pulled herself upright on her bed, deciding to take a shower to avoid talking to her grandmother and to try to get rid of the dirty feeling on her skin.

The water felt cool running down her body but did little to soothe her nerves. Her arms shook when she raised them to shampoo her hair, and she noticed a bruise forming on her upper arm where the automail had gripped her tight. She felt the back of her head for broken skin or a lump, but everything thankfully felt smooth. It throbbed a bit, but it was smooth. She lingered under the water even after all the soap and shampoo was rinsed off. Her skin still didn't feel clean. Honestly she didn't want to get out, but she couldn't stay in there forever without Granny coming to investigate what was taking so long.

After shaving and stalling for what was probably an unreasonably long time, she stepped out and toweled off, putting on socks and the loose shirt and shorts she wore as pajamas and padding back to her room. Glancing at the clock, she decided it was late enough to call it a night and get some sleep.

Which turned out to be easier said than done. Her body refused to relax. Laying in bed, she kept alternating between righteous anger, leftover fear, and general miserableness. She wanted to talk to someone, and at the same time she never wanted to speak to anyone ever again. How dare he do that to her? She had trusted him. He had never expressed more than a friendly interest in her, and had even acted concerned for her wellbeing at times. She kept replaying what had happened in her mind, analyzing what she could have done differently, what she should have done.

But no, she couldn't let herself go down that train of thought for too long. None of this was her fault. It was purely, exclusively his fault, and that brought her back to righteous anger.

After hours of tossing and turning and still not being able to sleep, she almost decided to call Paninya, but she backed out at the last second. Paninya was too close. Winry would probably tell her what happened eventually, but right now she just wanted to talk to someone who wasn't so invested in her life. Someone she wouldn't ever have to look in the eye after this.

Before she could think too hard about what she was doing, she pulled out her phone.

Edward was out cold. He and Al had spent all day trying to find information about an old dead guy Colonel Mustang had mentioned as potentially having some useful research without actually asking the Colonel himself about it. So far they'd found mention of him in a few books, but nothing that was very helpful in finding out where his research might be. The two of them had both gone to bed exhausted, agreeing to get started again the next morning, so naturally Ed wasn't too pleased to be awakened in the middle of the night by his phone buzzing loudly by his ear.

He glanced over at Al's bed. He still seemed to be sleeping soundly. Ed groaned, taking his still buzzing phone and stumbling out into the kitchen. He flipped the phone open and slouched against the counter, grunting something unintelligible to whoever was on the other end.

"Hey, uh…" The voice on the other end sounded very uncertain. "This is that creepy automail mechanic."

"Wi–" he stopped himself just in time from saying her name. No, no, Winry did not have Ed's number, she had the randomly misdialing alchemist's number, and thankfully he had the presence of mind to remember that the randomly misdialing alchemist did not know her name. What on earth was she doing calling him in the middle of the night? Was it okay to even be talking with her on the phone? But her voice sounded different on the phone; in fact he probably wouldn't have recognized it if she hadn't said who she was, and that gave him the courage to respond, pretending the false start of her name had been the first stuttered sound of his question. "What is it?" he grumbled. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"N-no, I didn't," she said, sounding genuinely surprised and a bit embarrassed. She must have just looked at a clock when he said that. "Oh gosh, it's really late…"

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, crossing his right arm over his chest. "So why'd you call?"

There was no response on the other end. Ed frowned, glancing at his phone. Had she hung up on him? "You there?"

Winry couldn't believe she had actually called him. They didn't even really know each other, and it was three in the morning for crying out loud! She was mortified.

"Hey, don't call me up and then go all silent on me now…"

At the same time, simply hearing a voice on the other end grounded her like she hadn't been since the whole thing with Scot. She wasn't alone, not everything was horrible and there were some decent people in the world. Even if they were slightly grumpy from having been woken up.

"I… I'm here." Oh goodness, her voice shook even on that two-word sentence. What had happened to her anger? Did he notice? Maybe he didn't notice.

"Is everything okay?" His tone had gone from slightly bothered to concerned in a matter of seconds. He'd definitely noticed.

"Yeah… I mean… no." Her voice sounded so small and pathetic to her own ears.

"Are you hurt?" His words were quick and urgent.

"No, no. I mean, not really. It–I know this sounds stupid, but I just," she took a shaky breath, "I think I just need someone to talk to right now."

It was a moment before there was any response. "That's not stupid. Anything you wanted to talk about in particular? Did something happen? What did you mean by you're 'not really' hurt?"

Winry bit her lip, cradling the phone closer to her ear. "I don't think I want to talk about it. I don't know. I haven't decided yet."

"Okay…" he sounded a little dubious, and honestly Winry couldn't blame him. She was acting like the worst kind of attention craver, calling him up late at night and acting all traumatized but refusing to tell him why. "No one's dead, are they?"

"What? Goodness, no, nothing like that." Now Winry was feeling kind of silly. Of course he, the Fullmetal Alchemist, was used to dealing with bigger problems than her own personal weakness.

"Good," he said, sounding relieved. "At least tell me one thing. Do I need to kick anyone's ass?"

That brought a small smile to her lips. "And just how would you manage to do that, if I said yes?"

"I could find a way."

Winry closed her eyes. Maybe she didn't need to talk about it. Maybe she didn't have to burden him with this. They could just talk, like this, and she could let the voice in her ear lead her to pleasant distraction. The thought was tempting. "I'm sure the Fullmetal Alchemist has more important things to worry about."

"Not really. You know what I did all day? Tried to locate some dead guy's research."

She chuckled. "I bet that's a lot more important than you're making it sound."

"Maybe." Winry thought she heard the hint of a smile in his voice, too. She liked the sound of that. "You didn't answer the question, though."

No, she hadn't. She'd kind of been avoiding it, actually. She sighed. "You don't need to hurt anyone on my behalf. I kinda wish I had kicked it myself, though. I threw his own automail at his head, but he ducked."

The voice on the other end hissed. "Yikes. You're sure you're okay? You're not in any danger, are you?"

"No, I'm fine now."

"Alright..."

"You know, it's kinda nice hearing your voice," she mused, feeling her body finally start to relax as she lay on her bed with her phone pressed to her ear. "Even if it is a bit phone-garbled. Makes you seem more real. Less like I'm texting with some phantom in a box."

She heard a quiet huff of air on the other side. "You're weird." She was about to argue when he continued, sounding somewhat uncomfortable. "But you know… Some people find it easier to talk about difficult things over the phone than in person. I figure maybe that's why you called me. I know that I for one suck at face-to-face interactions, so…"

She smiled, knowing he was trying to make her feel more at ease with talking about what happened, but she couldn't help picturing meeting the Fullmetal Alchemist face to face and him acting all shy and awkward. She laughed quietly. "That's cute."

He made an indignant sound. "'S'not cute…" That was followed by a few unintelligible mutterings and Winry was struck with the image of Ed shrinking away from her patronizing comments, a hot blush on his cheeks. She covered the grin blooming on her face with her hand.

"Hey, you still there?" She realized belatedly that she had been laying there not saying anything for a while.

"Yeah. Sorry, you just… reminded me of someone." Although she couldn't imagine having a conversation like this with him. It was too honest. Too vulnerable.

Her ears picked up the sound of a clearing throat. "Oh?"

"Yeah, just for a second." She heard an airy sound in response and realized he was trying to stifle a yawn. With another glance at the clock, she added quickly, "I should let you get back to sleep. Make sure you're all refreshed in the morning to face your… dead guy's research, and other exciting things."

"Mm. Okay."

"Really sorry about waking you up, and stuff… Thanks for, you know. Not hanging up on me."

"If you drag this out any longer, I still might."

"Right. Got it. Just one more thing?"

"Hm."

"My name's Winry."

There was a long pause. "Okay, Winry. Goodnight."

She huffed. "Hey! I thought you alchemists had a thing about equivalent exchange?"

"Sorry, my name's top secret classified military information. Though I am kind of impressed you know something about alchemy."

She snorted. "Like hell it is."

"You haven't earned it yet. Hanging up now–"

Winry started to make another protest but the line went dead. She glared at the phone and shut it off. Okay, so the guy wouldn't tell her his name. Maybe he had a good reason for it, or maybe he just enjoyed being mysterious and aggravating, but either way she wished she had something to call him other than the 'Fullmetal Alchemist'. She sighed, plugged her phone in, and turned to lie on her back, staring up at the ceiling fan that hadn't seen any use since the end of summer.

Still, one good thing had come from their conversation. It had definitely managed to put her in a better mood. Her stomach still clenched when she thought about what had happened, but Winry was confident that she would be alright. She tugged her blanket close around her and closed her eyes, feeling warm and sleepy and much less dirty.

I'm going to be out of town for a little while and probably won't have much time to write, which is why I wanted to make sure I got this chapter out today. That means the next update might be a bit delayed, but I'll do my best. The support I'm getting from y'all really keeps me going. Your reviews mean EVERYTHING, I promise you, so thank you!

Cheers,

Alice