A/N: I have a confession. It's not just work that kept me away (although work is still insane right now). Pretty much nothing got done last week (as evidenced by my lack of cooking, the excess dishes, the four loads of dirty laundry I currently have...) because my friend and I were racing the last few levels of SWTOR. I made it first (F&#$ YEAH) by a matter of hours. There was much rejoicing.

Now, however, I should be able to get a few more chapters out. Just a reminder, these were all written and finished several years ago, so I have no excuse to fully abandon them :)

This one in particular is a follow-up to a couple different things, apparently. Because self-reference is fun.

86. Unconscious

Ed became aware of several things as he woke up. Firstly, the sun was very bright, and he could almost see it through his closed eyelids. Gradually, Ed realized that the window in his room at Winry's house didn't face east, and the breeze was stronger than it should be, considering that it should be restricted by the rest of the wall around the window. Ed opened his eyes a crack and saw that he was indeed outside, on the balcony of Winry's house, judging by the random automail laying around. His brain still fogged by sleep, he rubbed his eyes and started sitting up to assess why he was outside.

It was as he was sitting up that Ed encountered his most brutal realization of the morning. There was an odd weight low on his chest; Ed figured from the softness on his stomach (good thing Al wasn't around, or he'd be lecturing his older brother for exposing his stomach again) that Den was pinning him down. He leaned back on his elbows and made to push the dog aside, but encountered a soft, distinctly non-canine shoulder.

Then the previous night finally started breaking through the sleep-fog. Thanks to Al and his damned sleepover request, the three of them had dragged their pillows and blankets out to the balcony. This morning, however, Al was nowhere to be found, and Winry was curled into Ed's right side, her head pillowed just below his automail port.

Ed's first thoughts were sheer, wordless panic. What exactly had happened while he'd been unconscious? What was Winry doing, snuggled up against him like that? Had she been conscious? Where the hell was Al? Somewhere in his panic, Ed also registered that his arm was around her, and when he disregarded the beating he was sure to get, the whole situation was a pleasant kind of surreal. He could probably get used to mornings like this.

The dream was shattered when Winry stirred with a particularly strong gust of wind. Ed froze and quickly considered how he could best dodge her punches, but she didn't even open her eyes. She seemed to frown slightly, and unconsciously shifted closer to Ed, apparently seeking warmth. Ed was still frozen, now in shock instead of fear.

Winry seemed to be waking up at last. She drew her hand up from where it had been across Ed's waist and rubbed her eyes. The small action sent chills across Ed's skin in her fingers' wake. She seemed to be shifting as she woke up, and sensation of her moving against him was doing his predicament no favors. He could tell the exact moment she realized where she was, for she froze just as he had and slowly looked up at him.

Prepared for the worst, Ed started to flinch, but stopped when he realized Winry wasn't hitting him. He saw her eyes go wide and her jaw drop. Why on earth would she be scared- he was the one with the threat of an indented skull hanging over his head. Still not sure what had her upset, Ed rubbed small circles on her back with his automail, and attempted to comfort her.

"Ed, what- …" she asked, starting to get up. Always one to push his luck, Ed didn't release her waist. Rather than fight him (as he'd fully expected), Winry let him guide her head down to his shoulder.

"Do you remember how-" he started.

"Nope," she replied quickly. She still felt rigid against him.

"Would you relax already?" Ed finally snapped.

"You mean you're not freaked out?" she asked, daring to look up at him. Her eyes were still huge, but not so scared anymore.

"Of course I'm freaked out- I'm trying to figure out when you're gonna pull a yard-long wrench out of nowhere and put a permanent dent in my skull!" he half-shouted, cursing the sudden verbal diarrhea; so much for staying in control of himself.

"So… you're not mad," she replied.

"N… no…" Ed answered. A small, mischievous grin appeared on her face, and she shifted again so that she was leaning slightly over him.

This was totally out of Ed's league. Battle-crazed alchemists were no problem. If murderous homunculi were chasing him, he knew what to do. Vengeance-obsessed Scar he was learning how to handle (vengeance-obsessed Scar with Winry in his custody was another story entirely). Winry leaning over him in a more-than-slightly intimate way? Ed was pretty clueless, and therefore considered it to be one of the most dangerous situations of his life.

"Ed?" Winry's voice brought him back to the moment. "Just play along, ok?"

The day at the train station came rushing back and Ed's eyes bulged as he realized what she was going to do. He weaved his fingers through her hair as she brought her lips to his, and he spared one thought of thanks to Al for making himself scarce.