Winry kept chewing her lip angrily. She stared down at the piece of paper, teasing her with the multiple scratches and frustrated writing. The tip of her pen was full of bite marks, each a bit deeper than the ones before it. Winry sighed and sagged her body on the chair, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. She began to wonder if she'll ever be able to figure out a stupid phrase that defined her and her automail...using only seven words. Each she had done was lame and stupid until the most recent one made her want to crawl into a hole. The best automail you have ever seen! It was so cliche and unoriginal but she couldn't think of anything else. Her patience was wearing thin and to top it off, she was working with an empty stomach. Her stomach was killing her but she was determined to finish the stupid phrase before she did anything else. Her grandmother took over all of her appointments for the day. You have to finish this first before you can do anymore automail work, she had told her.

"Damn it, why can't I figure out one single sentence?" she asked herself quietly. All of a sudden, she felt something brush her leg. She looked down to see Nikko, Al's cat that Ed had gotten for him. She grabbed him and let him snuggle in her arms. His soft and golden coat was shining, even if the curtains were blocking the sun from inside the room. Gently, she stroked his back and he began to purr.

"Oh! There you are, Nikko." Al said, walking inside Winry's room. Hearing the sound of Al's voice, Nikko jumped off Winry and quickly began to scratch softly at Al's legs, begging for attention. Al smiled at the little cat and picked him up in his arms, just as Winry had done only seconds ago.

"Hey Winry, what are you doing in here all alone?" he asked her. She sighed, remembering the reason she had secluded herself to her room.

"In a few weeks, the best automail engineers are going to a convention. Each automail engineer has to present their best work and a phrase that goes along with it. The person wins new tools and they gain a lot of new customers with the attraction. I was chosen to go. I have the automail but I just need the phrase. So here I am, since the crack of dawn trying to figure out one stupid sentence but nothing seems to come into my mind." she explained to him. Al looked down on the sheet of paper in front of her, trying to read all the ones she has already come up with. The last one he saw made me smile. It was corny but still, it had enthusiasm all over it.

"Do you need my help? I'm not really doing anything so I don't mind helping you." he asked her. She gave a sigh of relief.

"Yes, please! That would really make things easier!" she exclaimed, happy with his offer. He sat on her bed and together they tried to figure out a sentence. But each time one came up with something, the other found something that was wrong with it. After a while, they both saw that this would go nowhere. Al didn't feel like he was much use and Winry was about ready to explode. She could feel her anger rising and decided it would be better if Al wasn't there because she felt that the next sentence he offered would make her snap.

"Listen Al, I think I got it from here. I really appreciate your help." she gave him a smile to show she was happy with his effort. He smiled back at her, easing her anger. He heard Pinako call him from downstairs and he left Nikko on her bed.

"For company." he explained when she gave him a confused look. She nodded at him and waited until he left to start brainstorming again. Until-

THUMP!

"Damn it! Why would you leave this lying around, you shorty!?" Ed yelled to Pinako from downstairs. Winry was barely able to make out Pinako's remark when she heard Ed again.

"Then tell Winry to hurry up and finish whatever the hell she's doing!" he yelled back. There was a slight pause (most likely Pinako inhaling her pipe) until she yelled back.

"It's not easy to write something like that, you runt! If you think you can do it, then you go help her!" Winry laughed, silently thanking her grandmother for defending her. Then she heard the sound of loud footsteps coming up the stairs. They got louder until they made it to her room where an angry Ed stood at the doorway to her room, with a half-eaten sandwich in his hand.

"Okay, what the hell is taking you so long to write something as simple as one sentence?!" he yelled. Winry grabbed the wrench sitting on the table and flung it at him. He was able to dodge it but not the second one coming his way.

"Shut up, you! It's hard to think with you making so much noise!" she yelled at him. He rubbed his head and looked at Winry angrily. He walked towards her desk and Winry, being stubborn, covered her paper and huffed out an angry sigh. Ed gave her a small frown.

"Come on, Winry. Let me see it so you can help your grandmother." he said, holding out his hand for her paper. She slowly gave him the paper and he handed her his sandwich. Her stomach growled loudly and they both looked at each other, Winry with her cheeks slightly pink and Ed with wide eyes. He sighed.

"Maybe the reason you can't figure this out is because you haven't eaten. You can have the rest of my sandwich." he said to her. She gave him a big smile and took a huge bite out of the sandwich. Ed read each phrase, snorting or slightly groaning at each one he read. Winry was getting madder and madder with every little "comment" he had about about her phrase. When he finally read the last one, he burst out laughing. He clutched his stomach and tears were rolling down his face.

"Ed, if you're going to make fun of me instead of helping me, then get out!" she yelled at him. He shook his head, still laughing. When he finally calmed down, he gave her the paper back and sat on her desk, looking at her.

"Okay, I admit. Those are really bad. But that last one was really cute because it practically yelled 'You know what, here's my damn phrase.' Winry, I'm pretty sure you don't need my help to figure out one sentence. You just aren't putting yourself in it. You're only thinking about your automail. Think about you then your automail." he said, his voice serious. Winry's heart thumped in her chest. Sometimes she forgot that Ed was able to be serious if he put his whole mind into it. It was these small things that made Winry love Ed. Her face grew warm and she looked away. She knew she was in love with Ed but saying it in her head was still new to her. When she looked back at him, he was looking out the window to her room. She caught a small glimpse of the sunset outside. Flames of reds and oranges overtook the blue sky.

"Hey Ed. Thanks. I think I got it." she said to him, giving him a smile. He looked at her and he frowned.

"You aren't giving me this pitiful smile, are you? I didn't even mention a single phrase that might help and yet you say you have it...Are you just trying to get rid of me?" he asked suspiciously. She had already written down the phrase on a new sheet of paper. She stood up, stretching each stiff muscle.

"Nope. I actually got it. You can say that you somehow were my inspiration." she said, giving him a genuine smile. He blushed slightly, getting off the desk and mumbling something about being straight forward.

"Anyway, let's go downstairs to grab you something to eat. I highly doubt that sandwich filled you up." They headed downstairs, already arguing about something else.

Nikko didn't feel comfortable anymore and decided that Winry's desk looked a lot better. He was able to use her chair to jump on her table. He laid down on Winry's new clean of paper, where one phrase was written in small handwriting.

The light you wished for? It's strength.