25. That time
THIS is where their DAMNED EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE for childbirth comes from, thought Winry as she curled into the fetal position on her bed. Granny was out with a new client and probably would be until tomorrow afternoon, so Winry had until then to come up with an explanation for her unfinished work; Granny had little sympathy left, and what she retained she saved for patients. Winry was on her own.
Usually, she would jump to her feet when she heard the clank of Al's armor approaching the house, but she couldn't muster the energy to roll onto her other side. The door opened downstairs and she heard her name being called.
"Winry, are you home?"
"Where the hell are you, Winry?"
Even through the cramps, she had to smile at Ed's unrelenting rush. It wasn't long before she heard them on the stairs, in the hallway, and-
"WINRY!" she heard them both exclaim from the door. Fast, uneven footsteps raced across the room and the bed sank under added weight. Ed's flesh hand grabbed her shoulder and rolled her over to face him.
"E-ed, what the fuck are you doing?" she groaned as she registered Al's large shadow towering over them.
"What the hell is wrong? Who did this- what happened?" Ed rambled.
Winry merely groaned. "Stupid Dad and his stupid X-chromosome," she moaned.
"Huh?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Edward, or I'll wrench you so hard you'll bleed every twenty-eight days!"
"Oh!"
Ed and Winry looked over at the source of the noise to see Al high-tailing it downstairs. Ed's warm metal hand (hanging limp, Winry couldn't fail to notice) brushed against her. She sighed in relief and held it to the source of her cramps from hell. Ed didn't notice until he turned his head away from his fleeing brother; he "eeped" and tried fruitlessly to yank his hand back.
"Sheesh, you can look at my arm when you feel better!" he cried in alarm. His face practically matched his jacket.
"So warm…" Winry mumbled. "Your hand must have soaked up all that afternoon sun on your way here."
Ed blushed redder, if it could even be possible. "Whatever," he replied. He was probably mortified, but Winry felt better relief than she had in months, and she wasn't about to care about his embarrassment.
"Just stay put for a while, ok?" she asked.
Ed signed, a small smile playing across his face. "Whatever you want, Winry, I'm exhausted," he said, his head crashing to the pillow next to her. Modesty be damned, Winry pushed the waistband of her workpants down a bit and positioned Ed's warm hand right on her bare abdomen. He was halfway to sleep, so she settled her back against his chest. Best. Period. Ever, she thought, as she drifted off to sleep.
A/N: I'll admit, this whole thing was pretty much a setup to work in a version of something my friend's mom says: "Imma cut you so you bleed every 28 days!"