Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs

-Salvador Dali

We glared at eachother, chests heaving from hollering at one another. Our back-and-forth had brought us exponentially closer, until we were nose-to-nose, and we had both risen to our knees from a sitting position in a semi-concious attempt at overpowering one another. It didn't help me much, I still had to tilt my chin upward so I could glare daggers at him. I couldn't figure out if the rising temperature in the room came from the crackling fire, or the tension in the air, or the way his furious eyes bore into me with such strength.

"You are by far the most complicated, confusing, and infuriating woman I've ever dealt with. I can't take it anymore, I need to go." He said.

"You're not exactly a joy to deal with either." I retorted. "You're a moody, stubborn pain in the ass and I don't want a different soldier in my house who I have to figure out. I'd rather just deal with your mood swings since I'll know what to expect. That's why you should stay."

My eyes danced back and forth between each of his. I was no match for those eyes, they were my complete undoing and I hated it. I hating finally admitting to myself that I was hopelessly attracted to this irritating, aggrivating, absolutly beautiful man. Suddenly his expression changed. His eyes softened and his mouth parted as he sadly sighed in defeat. His thumb softly stroked my cheek and any brain activity I'd previously possessed had been reduced to white noise.

"I can't function around you. You completely disarm me. You're gonna get us both killed."

I could feel myself gaping at him, at a loss for how to respond. The mood shifted. I could taste his hot breath, a result of us breathing the same air, and I dragged my eyes away from his strong mouth to meet his gaze above me once again. His eyes were different. That intensity was back. The overwhelming force of his gaze that permeated my flesh to seize every part of me. His brow furrowed, and he let out an exasperrated growl that nearly sent me into a gasping fit when his warm breath hit my skin. Edward Elric may have still been an enigma to me in many ways, but when I looked in his eyes the message was unmistakable. He wanted me.

"What're you waiting for?" I whispered bravely.

"I can't start anything with you." He replied darkly, clearly fighting some internal battle. My expression must've shown my confusion because he gulped and elaborated quietly.

"State Alchemists are forbidden from becoming involved with the people they're protecting. It's bad enough that I've become so attached to you. I don't want to have to lie to Mustang when he asks me if I started this."

He gave me a desperate look that I had never seen from him before. A few seconds went by, in which time the kitchen timer in my mind made its resounding ping of realization. Clearly he had no intention of following rules, but at least Ed wouldn't have to lie to a superior officer if they came asking questions and make his track record that much worse..

"Its not worth it." I swallowed, trying to convince myself to be responisble, to give the poor guy a break and let him leave. "Don't risk your career because of me."

Edward squashed my prudish reasoning when he growled out the most heart-stopping thing I'd ever heard a man say.

"Don't make me beg, woman."

My last thread of restraint had snapped.

I launched myself at him, kissing him forcefully, and that was all he needed. I found myself on the floor with his solid body over mine, his strong hands all over me gripping the flesh under my wet shirt while his mouth moved deeper into mine so that his tongue could perform magic. As intoxicating as he always smelled, his taste did far more to cloud my mind. I couldn't think, and I couldn't breathe. Fireworks went off in my mind and warmth bloomed in my chest. Suddenly he stopped and pulled back to look at me.

"You're not breathing, why?" He asked sternly. I strangly felt like a kid who'd been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. It was true, I had been holding my breath. I couldn't help it if he had that effect on me. I squeaked out a response.

"I don't know, It's just hard to breath around you."

His eyes went molten gold and he leaned down to whisper hotly in my ear.

"Breathe, Winry." I felt a warm, wet kiss just below my ear and I let out a sigh of bliss. His hand snaked down my body to rest his palm between my legs as the kisses on my neck turned into nips on my collarbone. When he forcefully bit down on my shoulder, his strong hand pressed against me hard and I sucked in a gasp of air. His lips found mine again in hot, full contact; my hands tangled in his hair and clung to his broad shoulders. When he parted my legs and ground his hips into me, I moaned loudly and found myself panting. Edward Elric would spend the rest of the night forcing me to breathe.

A/N: Thank you all for reading, I enthusiastically welcome your thoughts on these two chapters, since you've been patiently wading through all the angst to finally get to the 'good stuff'. Don't think we're done here though, theres way more angst on the way. As well as 'good stuff'. See you all in 10 days.