A/N: Hi there!

Let's continue to see how Ed and Winry are doing ;)

Thanks for reading!

Golden

The warmth that enveloped her became more and more present until her mind became fully aware of the real world making her come out of the beautiful dream she had had. Her blue orbs opened lazily and, upon discovering her companion, a smile broke out on her face as she realized that her dream wasn't the only beautiful thing that had happened last night.

Winry felt happy... as happy as she hadn't managed to be in a long time. She couldn't complain about Ed's attentions during the night but certainly what made her chest swell even more with joy was the connection and the intensity of Ed's feelings that she could feel throughout their encounter. She had certainly seen and felt glimpses of his love since they had been at Rose's house but she had refused to accept that they were really there and now that in these last few days she had allowed herself to open the door to them she was wishing she had done so long before.

A small pang of guilt came to her at such a thought. She still had to clear things up with Russell and that was not something she wanted to think about right now. However, her own mind made her do a quick comparison before the image of Russell disappeared from her mind. Russell was a good man and he strived to be a good lover seeking to please her in the same way he enjoyed their encounters but there was always something Winry was missing the next day. And now he had finally found it: it was Ed. Ed, who showed so much love and passion in each of his caresses. Who smiled goofily but with evident admiration on his face. Who cursed even at the least expected moment but who made her laugh every time. Who just by crossing his gaze with hers made her heart beat intensely.

Returning her thoughts to Ed made the smile not leave as it had tried to a few seconds ago so she placed a hand on the arm that rested on her waist barely covered by a light linen sheet. She slowly ran her fingers all over the limb until she reached his shoulder. Her eyes were drawn to the opposite shoulder where the scars rested half hidden by his automail. Following her soft caresses, Winry brought her hand to them, caressing them gently, eliciting a sigh of relaxation from the young man.

Fearing she had woken him, Winry paused but soon after realized Ed was still asleep so she continued her exploration. Her hand rested on his cheek and, now that passion and urgency were no longer guiding her, her fingers noticed a thin, fine scar resting on his cheek. Curious at her discovery, she raised herself slightly with the help of her elbow to get a better look. From how thin the scar was, she could tell it hadn't been deep but Winry didn't understand how he had gotten it because she didn't remember seeing it during her years as a state alchemist. Well, back then she hadn't been able to touch him like she could now but she had the impression that it was more recent compared to the scar Ed had on his left shoulder, which had been caused by Barry the Chopper.

Deciding not to think so much about its origin, Winry ran a couple of fingers across it and then deposited a couple of soft kisses on it. To some the scars might not be a very pleasant sight but to her each and every one of Ed's scars were marks of the many things he had overcome in order to be with her today, so as a whole they made her feel more grateful to the universe, life or whatever force out there that had allowed her to have Edward with her in those moments.

At the last kiss on the scar, Winry felt Ed's cheek twitch surely to smile so, after her own lips curved into a smile, she said to him. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

Ed turned slightly so he could give her a kiss on the lips. "Good morning, Win." He said in a sleepy but happy voice.

Winry returned to her previous position so she could look into his eyes. "Are you too sleepy to answer a question?"

Ed yawned and replied. "Nah, I think my brain is waking up already. Tell me."

Winry brought her fingers back to the scar on his cheek. "What happened to you here?"

Ed took Winry's fingers and brought them to his lips to kiss them before answering. "Nothing serious. I just cut myself on a broken window when I was investigating what the Thule society was up to on the eve of the invasion."

Winry smiled. These last few days Ed would talk to her openly about anything she asked him about without trying to hide something. "I see."

Ed pulled her to him and began to kiss her gently. After a couple of minutes, they broke apart and he said. "Now it's my turn to ask. What are your plans for today?"

Winry reminisced. "Hmm I was planning to inventory my supplies to go shopping since I only have to see patients at Mr. Garfiel's business today until the afternoon."

Ed slid the hand he kept on Winry's waist from her thigh to her shoulder and back. "Aren't you interested in some other kind of inventory?" He told her waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Winry laughed. "Tempting offer but..." She bit her lower lip before adding. "What about your job, Ed? Won't you get in trouble for taking all these days?"

Ed shrugged. "I doubt it. Hawkeye has a soft spot for me so she won't mind if I take a few more days. Besides remember I'm here for medical issues." He said with a short laugh.

Winry smiled. "Good." She leaned closer and gave him a kiss before adding. "Then I'll hog you as much as I can."

"So... what do you say we go out for lunch or maybe have a picnic in the park?"

Winry put a hand to her chest dramatically. "Oh my goodness. You, Edward Elric, are asking me out on a date?"

Ed blushed a little but his smile didn't fade. "You wouldn't be able to turn down the proposal of a poor man convalescing after the reinstatement of his automail, would you?"

"Well you didn't look convalescent to me last night at all, huh." Winry said with a laugh.

Ed's blush intensified. "Well but you can't say you didn't enjoy it."

Now it was Winry's turn to blush. "Well... at least I can say I'm glad you grew up well..." She lowered her gaze to Ed's midsection before returning it to his face. "...I guess you finally left your midget stage behind." She concluded with a mischievous grin.

Ed frowned slightly. "Hey, what do you mean?"

"That I'm really glad your little friend has grown up since I last saw it."

The blush that had been fading a few moments ago returned with greater intensity on Ed's face. "Liar...y-you couldn't... it's the f-first time you've seen it." Ed stammered as he unconsciously removed his hand from Winry's waist to partially cover her crotch even though they were still covered by the sheet.

Winry rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh come on Ed, at this point I've seen and felt everything about you." She said as she pointed to the young man's midsection with her head. "Besides I'm not lying. Who do you think helped my grandmother take care of you and wash you when you were unconscious after the transmutation and during the anesthesia periods?"

"Pervert!"

Winry puffed out her cheeks. "Me? Do I remind you of everything you did with me last night?" Ed's embarrassed face was her answer. "I thought so." She said with an amused tone since she couldn't say she hadn't enjoyed his attentions and witticisms and that probably showed in her gaze because the blond returned his hand to her waist. "And, for your information, I was a kid. Back then all I cared about was helping you recover and maybe some learning about medicine and anatomy. Nothing more. But now..." She lifted the sheet and took a cheeky peek at Ed's crotch. "I must say I like what I see."

Despite the embarrassment, Ed felt a surge of happiness and pride so he made an effort to leave his embarrassment and stuttering behind. "Well, I can't complain either. I'm enjoying some incredible views." He said with a wide grin as he brought his hand to Winry's ass to give it a light pinch while directing his gaze to the blonde's somewhat bare breasts.

At Winry's little gasp of surprise, Ed laughed and shortly thereafter she lightly smacked his chest.

When Ed stopped laughing she said. "As punishment for going around looking at my private parts when you were a kid..." Winry turned a mock frown on him. "You have to answer a question." Winry was going to protest but Ed wouldn't let her. "Why do you have a drawing of me?" He gulped. "I thought... that after what I did you weren't going to want to have a souvenir of me with you." He said with a mixed tone of curiosity and regret.

"You're a real snoop." Winry said before sighing. "Mr. Armstrong wanted to give it to Al so shortly before I left Central after the invasion he came to me and asked me to help him make the drawing as close to reality as possible. When he finished Al had already left so he asked me to give it to him. And well... as you may have noticed, I couldn't give it to him. With everything that happened with my grandmother I honestly forgot about it for a while but when I came across the drawing again I couldn't get rid of it. There was a time when I thought about burning it." She said this last with a small apologetic smile. "But in the end I couldn't do it."

Ed brought a hand to the blonde's cheek and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "Believe me I wouldn't have minded if you'd burned it if it made you feel better."

"But if I had, how would I have found out that you're a snoop of the worst kind?" She said in a joking tone.

Ed laughed. "Ok, you're right." Not wanting to keep the conversation on a course that might sadden the mood, the blond said. "Okay, let's get back to the topic at hand, what do you want to do today? Please, if you're going to say 'inventory' let it be the one I told you." He added in a teasing tone at the end.

Winry thought for a few seconds before responding. "As much as I'd like to go out with you, I think it would be better if we stayed here."

"Why-?" Ed interrupted himself when he remembered the reason. "I understand." He sighed. "I think we did this a little backwards don't you?" he said with a slight tinge of guilt as he thought about how the two of them had ended up cheating on their partners last night.

Winry sighed. "That's right but..." She gave him a kiss on the chin. "I had a wonderful night."

Ed pulled her to him. "Well that makes two of us." He said before kissing her.

As had happened the night before, the two began to lose themselves in their kisses, letting themselves be carried away once again by the passion that was once again making its presence felt. After a few minutes, Winry positioned herself on top of Ed without stopping kissing him while Ed slid his hands up and down the blonde's waist, hips and legs.

"So?" Ed asked between kisses and with a smile evident in his tone of voice.

"What... more... answer... do you... want?" Winry replied between kisses.

After a few more kisses, Winry rose slightly, resting her elbows on Ed's sides. A lock of her disheveled hair fell forward so the blonde tucked it behind her ear, before speaking.

Only Ed beat her to it.

"You're beautiful."

The look full of love and devotion from Ed added to how soft his voice had been and the very sincere smile on his face, made Winry's cheeks flare more and a huge smile tugged at her lips.

"You are beautiful." Winry said.

Ed laughed.

"I mean it." Winry insisted. "You are beautiful." She repeated. "Both on the outside..." She caressed his cheek. "As on the inside." She concluded by bringing the same hand up to his chest above his heart.

Ed took her hand and kissed each of her knuckles before speaking. "That's what I think of you... I love you."

Winry delicately pulled her hand away from Ed's to place it on his cheek. "And I love you." With that said she kissed him on the lips and proceeded to leave a trail of kisses starting from his chin. She had only just reached the lower part of his pecs when some knocking on the door made her stop.

"Ignore them." Murmured Ed, who had buried his fingers in the blonde's hair. Noticing Winry's hesitation, he added. "Let's pretend there's no one here."

"Could be a customer."

Ed made a pouty face which made Winry laugh slightly.

"Okay, you win." Winry said with a smile before resuming her task.

She had barely managed to give him a couple more kisses when the person knocking on the door spoke up. "Winry, are you there?"

Recognizing the voice, Winry sighed and broke away from Ed to sit on his side of the bed.

"What? no! Let's just put up a 'do not disturb' sign and be done with it." Ed said with a tantrum-like expression and tone.

Winry smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze before standing up and speaking loudly. "I'm coming!" With a normal tone of voice she said to Ed. "I'm sorry Ed, it'll only take a moment. She's my landlady and believe me when I tell you she's not going to leave us alone until she has an answer."

Ed remembered running into the lady Winry was referring to since, given the woman's insistence, he had no doubt that it was the brunette lady he thought he had seen peeking through her door when he and Winry had returned to the apartment after dropping Al off at the station and the next day when he had tried to stay away from Winry. On the latter occasion, with some difficulty, Ed had managed to evade her attempt to delve into their brief conversation about who he was and what he was doing in Winry's apartment but he couldn't stop the woman from checking him out from head to toe as well as having felt her gaze until he had left the building. She had been part of the reason Ed had preferred to spend the entire previous day in Winry's apartment. With his confused emotional state at not knowing what was in store for his relationship with Winry, he didn't feel up to satisfying the landlady's obvious curiosity.

Ed snorted. "I think I'm starting to hate your landlady."

Winry laughed. "I won't be long." She said as she walked past him to the closet where a couple of robes were lying.

Ed brought his hands behind his head and leaned back against the headboard. "Well, at least I have a perfect view before me." He said with a smile watching her every move intently.

Winry slipped her robe on and reached over to give him a little slap on the shoulder. "And you call me a pervert." She walked over to the bedroom door running her fingers through her hair. "I'll be right back."

Trying to fix her hair as much as possible, Winry made sure her body was well covered by the robe before opening the front door to the apartment. "Good morning, Mrs. Higgins." She greeted with a friendly smile.

"Oh, Winry, good morning. I'm so glad I found you. I thought you weren't in."

Winry feigned a yawn. "Sorry, I fell asleep a little late so I overslept."

"Oh." It didn't go unnoticed by Winry how her landlady stood on her tiptoes for a second trying to peek over her shoulder at the inside of the apartment since, as Winry had learned within days of moving in there, the blonde had opened the door just enough to block the lady's investigating gaze. "An urgent request for your attractive visitor?"

"That's right, my friend urgently needs his leg fixed as soon as possible so he can get back to work, but I only got the parts yesterday so I wanted to rush to finish it and lost track of time."

"I see..."

Winry cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Mrs. Higgins, is there something you need? I don't mean to be rude but, as you can tell, I haven't had time to shower yet." Winry said in the calmest tone she could trying to be able to get back to Ed's side as soon as possible.

Mrs. Higgins made a last attempt to see inside the apartment but, being unsuccessful, continued the conversation. "Oh I understand, you see I just had a message from a Fletcher Tringham for you. He told me that he couldn't get through to you and that he really needed to speak to you urgently." The woman said subtly raising an eyebrow denoting her curiosity.

"Oh..." Unconsciously Winry closed the door a little more to prevent the woman from being able to get a glimpse of the disconnected cord of her phone. "My phone hasn't been working right for a few days now, I tried to fix it but it's a little old now so I was thinking of buying a new one but I haven't had time to go get one." Winry deftly lied.

"Oh, Henderson's Warehouses have good prices. You should go and have a look around."

"Thanks, I will. Uh... if it's not too much trouble could I borrow your phone to make a call? I promise I won't be long." Winry said knowing that this would satisfy the lady's curiosity by being able to hear a bit of her conversation with Fletcher while avoiding giving herself away by using her own phone when it was supposedly out of order.

"Sure, it's no trouble at all." The woman said cheerfully at the prospect of perhaps learning something if the young woman made the call from her apartment.

"Well, I'll be with you in a few minutes. I'll just change and comb my hair a little so I don't scare the neighbors." She said with a joking tone at the end.

"As pretty as you are you're hardly going to scare anyone around here, my dear. But that's all right. I'll wait for you whenever you're ready." The woman was about to turn away when she remembered something. "Oh, by the way, would you rather keep the number at once or would you like me to leave it by the phone?" She said as she pulled a small folded sheet of paper from her apron pocket.

"I'll keep it to make sure it's the same number I have in my address book." She said as she took the sheet of paper. "Thank you, Mrs. Higgins."

"Anytime, my dear. I'll wait for you at my apartment." With that said the lady left and Winry closed the door.

Fletcher? Winry wondered as she leaned momentarily against the door. While Fletcher was a very nice and pleasant young man, Winry did not have constant contact with him. If they did run into each other they would have a pleasant time but they were not in the habit of seeking each other out even though she was his brother's girlfriend (and now fiancée). That's why she was so surprised to get a call from the youngest Tringham. She had never received a call from him as it was easier for him to leave a message or greeting with Russell. She had his number in her address book as Russell had given it to her in case she needed to contact him and couldn't find him at his apartment or the hotels he stayed at but so far that hadn't happened.

Winry unfolded the sheet of paper and read the number on it, being a little surprised to find that the number had the code for East City, when in fact Fletcher's apartment was in the West (when he was in Central he stayed with Russell and vice versa) and, as far as she knew, he did not have any scheduled trips to East City that would require him to stay in a hotel in the city. At such thoughts, an uneasy feeling began to take hold of the young woman.

"Winry?"

Winry looked up to find Ed standing in the doorway of the room dressed only in his boxers. The bad feeling that had taken hold of her must have been reflected in her face because the look on Ed's face denoted concern.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked as he began to approach her.

Winry inhaled deeply before answering. "Fletcher left me a message with my landlady. It seems he needs to talk to me urgently."

Ed couldn't disguise the small grimace that appeared on his face. "From Russell?"

Winry felt her heart flip but merely shrugged. "I don't know... but it's weird. Fletcher doesn't usually call me."

Ed placed his hands on Winry's forearms. "Hey, take it easy. Russell probably went on one of his trips and asked his brother to let you know."

Winry wasn't entirely convinced by his words but she couldn't deny the security and warmth his closeness brought. "Maybe that's it." She said cracking a slight smile. She sighed and added. "Anyway... I have to get ready. I'm going to go make the call at my landlady's apartment."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you make it from here?"

"I don't know, maybe because I had to tell her my phone was broken." She said sarcastically as she pointed to the phone with her head.

Ed followed her gaze and as he remembered what he had done, he put a hand to the back of his neck. "Right..."

Ed's somewhat childish expression, made Winry manage to smile more naturally. "I'm going to get ready okay?" She said before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

Ed sighed. "Okay." He said in a tone of resignation and concern as, although he didn't show it so overtly, Winry's obvious bewilderment and worry made him uneasy as well.

Winry went to the bedroom and quickly got ready, running a brush through her hair and putting on a t-shirt and jeans. As she left the room she found Ed walking slowly back and forth.

Biting her lower lip, she said. "I'll be right back."

Ed snapped out of his trance and looked at her. "Oh... ok." As Winry walked past him he pulled her to him for a quick hug and kiss on her forehead. "It's going to be okay."

Winry was quiet for a few seconds before answering. "Ed... do you think Fletcher found out what we did?"

Ed tensed slightly but made an effort to speak in a calm voice. "I don't think so, Win. If he knows I'm here he must assume I'm here for maintenance."

Winry inhaled her scent deeply before answering. "You're right." She said even though the uneasy feeling didn't seem to want to leave her.

After this brief exchange, Winry left the apartment with a pounding heart and leaving Ed probably in the same circumstances.

Winry tried her best to make the call as quickly as possible despite the fact that her landlady was not letting her have it easy. Mrs. Higgins was more than aware that she had spent the last few days living with a friend in her apartment since, as expected, she never lost count of the people coming in and out of her apartment and even Winry got the impression that she had some suspicion about them from the more curious than usual look the woman gave her, but Winry managed to make casual small talk to her about what was going on in the neighborhood until she got to the phone thus avoiding having to reveal personal details about her life with a person who was as kind as she was gossipy.

"Good morning. East City hospital pediatrics area, how may I help you?" A young woman's voice said on the other end of the line.

Winry was puzzled at the greeting. "Uh... good morning, did you say hospital?" She asked confused.

"Yes, from East City. Specifically from the pediatric area, would you like me to redirect you to another area?" The young lady asked politely.

"No, thank you... I think I made a mistake when dialing. Excuse me and good-"

The woman interrupted her, "Are you Miss Winry Rockbell?"

"Yes, that's right, how do you know?" Winry asked, even more confused.

"Oh for heaven's sake, please don't hang up. Fletcher asked me to please use this number to contact you. Hold on, I'm going to look for him." Without waiting for a reply the lady stopped talking and Winry could hear the sound of the sound of the speaker horn hitting a surface followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Winry became even more uneasy at the information she was slowly receiving. Why was Fletcher urgently needing to contact her from the pediatric area of a hospital?

Her heart had raced even faster and a knot was present in her stomach when finally some noise was heard on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Winry asked in a shaky voice.

"Winry?" The unmistakable voice of Fletcher Trinhgam asked.

"Yes." Winry barely managed to answer in the midst of her growing confusion and concern.

"My goodness... it's a relief to find you!" Fletcher exclaimed with a slight note of relief in his tone of voice but it was almost completely taken over by something else that was unsettling Winry with each passing second.

Winry gulped before speaking. "What is it, Fletcher?"

Winry listened as Fletcher took a breath before answering in a cracked voice. "Russell had an accident."

"W-what?"

"The wagon he was coming in went off the road..." He paused to minimize the sob that had formed in his throat. "It's very serious, Winry. The doctors don't know if he's going to survive." His voice cut off momentarily and now his sobbing was uncontrollable. "I tried to contact you last night but try as I might I couldn't."

At his words, Winry's eyes filled with tears. The sadness and fear of losing Russell squeezed her heart which on top of it was throbbing painfully at the guilt of having been cheating on him and to have been cheating precisely when he was teetering between life and death.

"I'm sorry..." Winry murmured in a clipped voice.

"It's not your fault, Winry." Fletcher tried to comfort her.

If only you knew what I've been doing these days... Winry thought bitterly before replying. "I'm on my way over there. You're at the hospital in East City, aren't you?"

"That's right..." Fletcher paused slightly as if debating whether or not to add what he was about to say but finally did. "Hurry up, please... I don't know if... if..." Fletcher couldn't finish the sentence but Winry understood perfectly.

"I won't be long." Winry said before hanging up the phone, feeling unable to utter any more words as a painful lump had formed in her throat.

As soon as her hands were completely free, she brought both hands to her face and wept bitterly.

A/N2: Not for nothing did I say that things were not settled yet :( It seems that the drama does not want to leave this story...