A/N: Hello!

Welcome to a new edition of EdWin Week :)

With every year that goes by I'm running more and more to have it on time (I still have to finish 3 prompts, I hope I can make it) but I didn't want to miss the occasion since I love this couple so much and I didn't want to miss the celebration (besides of keeping this little tradition of participating in the EdWin Week ;) ).

This year, unless there are changes in the pending themes, we will be exploring the two universes of 03 and Brotherhood, starting with this story set near the end of 03 as the prompt immediately took me to this universe.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you very much for reading.

Golden.

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist is the property of Hiromu Arakawa whom I thank for giving us a fantastic story, amazing characters, and beautiful couples.

Bittersweet

"Ouch! What's the matter, Winry?"

"I'm going to braid your hair."

"Huh? I can do it myself."

Winry struggled to push the worry and sadness from her face to direct a beaming smile at him. "I'll do it okay?"

Looking over his shoulder and meeting Winry"s smiling face so closely made Ed feel an inexplicable warmth in his cheeks so he averted his gaze to the front and replied. "All right."

At his affirmative, Winry began to run her fingers through Ed's now jet-black hair to undo the knots before beginning to braid it. Havoc and Breda had done them the favor of taking Al downstairs while Ed finished getting ready and Sheska and her grandmother had just left them alone, something Winry was extremely grateful for.

She wanted to be with Ed for as long as possible, even if it was only a few more minutes. The words unspoken by Ed, but which she knew he kept in mind, were not lost on her. He wasn"t sure if he would return, the only thing on his mind was to find a way to get Al's body back at any cost. That had been his goal for five years but this time with all the complications it felt even more decisive, like a goal that didn"t include a way back.

Winry inhaled deeply to push away the tears that were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. The more she focused on Ed"s words the more the fear of what might happen to him and Al grew, but in the end, it was only speculation. Nothing was certain and she had to hold out hope that one day the two Elrics would return to Resembool in their original bodies. No matter how difficult it had become to maintain hope in the face of so many unexpected events.

"Hey, everything okay?" Ed asked without taking his eyes off the front.

Being so intent on her thoughts Winry had stopped running her fingers through Ed's hair, so she reacted and continued her action without daring to answer the young man's question.

A few minutes later, after getting rid of the knots, Winry began to section the hair into three parts, encouraging herself up to that point to speak. "Hey, Ed."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I can go with you?"

"Winry..."

"Forget it, it's silly."

"It's not that, it's just... things are really complicated at the moment. I'm still not sure how to sort everything out and..." Ed sighed. "I think you'd be better off here keeping Granny company."

"I understand." Winry bit her lower lip before continuing. "Just remember to come back as soon as things calm down. Granny, Sheska and I will be anxiously waiting for you."

"The military is looking for us, Win. We don't know how long Mustang's team can cover us."

"I know, but we'll find a way, okay? Miss Riza told me they are doing everything they can to get to the bottom of this. Besides, Miss Ross is looking for as much evidence as possible so the military will have no way to continue with this idiocy that you and Al have become criminals."

"In a way we are." Ed said bitterly.

"Neither you nor Al wanted all those people to be sacrificed. Scar was the one who made the decision and without him... Al would no longer be with us."

"But in the end, I still don't have a damn clue how to get Al back to normal. Every transmutation I do near him terrifies me. We still don't know the scope and effects of his philosopher's stone and I feel like time is running out."

"But if anyone can decipher and fix all this it's you, Ed." Keeping hold of the braid she was doing with one hand, Winry reached over Ed's shoulder to look him in the face. "And when you do it we'll be waiting for you. No matter who comes looking for you or wants to hurt you, I'll throw all my wrenches at them just to keep them away from you. You need a break urgently."

Ed gave a slight smile. "I wish it were that easy."

"At least promise me you'll come back. We"ยก'll see what we can do later."

Ed averted his gaze to the opposite side. "I can't promise you that."

Feeling another painful pang straight to her heart, Winry repositioned herself as before and continued braiding, allowing the tense silence between them to remain.

Winry focused her gaze on the braid she was forming. 1, 2, 3... She thought as she did one more section of the braid trying to focus her mind on something trivial to no avail. Realizing how fast she was combing his hair and that it meant less time with him before he had to leave, Winry continued to braid at a slower pace, allowing her fingers to gently glide through each strand before bringing it closer to the next.

Each movement brings us closer to the end. I'll be done and Ed will walk away like it's nothing, not caring if- She shook her head to dismiss the possibility. Without caring when he'll be back. How long will it be before I can hear his voice again? How long until I can see his smile? Will I have a chance to have this closeness with him again?

Winry continued to wrestle with her thoughts for a few more moments until she reached the end of the braid. It wasn't as tight as Ed's usual braid, but he was trying to travel incognito, wasn't he? It might be a small detail but maybe it would allow him to pass a little more inconspicuously and if she could at least help him with that she would be well served as the helplessness of not being able to do anything more for him was eating her up inside.

Taking the rubber band she had fastened to her wrist, Winry secured the braid. She silently watched her finished work for a few seconds before saying quietly. "Done."

Ed fumbled his back until he felt the rubber band fastened to the end of his braid. "Thanks Win-" Before he could look over his shoulder at her and finish his sentence, Winry hugged him from behind and leaned her head against the young man's upper back trying to hide her face from him. "Winry?"

"Be very careful, Ed." She tightened her embrace. "Please... be careful."

Ed tensed not knowing what to do. "I can't-"

"Cut the crap, Ed." Winry said in an annoyed tone. "Of course you can assure me that you'll at least try to take care of yourself. I'm not asking you to come back without a scratch because I know you but don't treat your life so lightly. Your life is very important to a lot of people. Including me."

Ed exhaled softly as he brought his left hand to one of Winry's on his chest. "It's not easy to think like that when you've got a bunch of homunculi looking to get as much out of you as possible."

"So what if it"s not easy? You've been through terrible things but you've always shown what you're made of and managed to keep going. No matter the difficulties, I know you can do it."

"I've been lucky. Extreme situations call for extreme measures."

"I don't care, use all the luck you have left but please come back."

At Ed's silence, Winry could no longer hold back her tears and began to cry.

Feeling the wetness on his back, Ed pulled Winry's hands away from him (with some reluctance from the young woman) to turn to look at her, finding that she was indeed crying and giving him a sense of panic at seeing her in that state. He had never been good at knowing what to do when someone was crying.

Knowing she was being watched by Ed, Winry covered her face with her hands and continued to cry silently.

Ed remained silent, staring at her. He had made her cry. Again. And worst of all, he couldn't quite understand why. He'd gotten himself into this whole mess and it was his duty to get out of it. He had to give his body back to Al at any cost. Al is the one who had been suffering for five years without a body because of his older brother. Winry should be more than aware of that, she had been there when Al had taken him back home completely bloodied after their pride had led them to make such a terrible mistake as human transmutation. There was no reason for her to care specifically about him. He didn't deserve it.

And yet...

Ed brought his left hand to his braid. It was different from the one he usually did but that didn't matter, it was just so Winry, and that... made it special.

With all the mistakes he carried on his shoulders, Ed didn't understand how Winry still appreciated him so much as a friend. No matter that he wanted to cut all ties with Resembool she was still there, ready to offer him the best automail possible and offering her unconditional support to listen to him no matter how much he refused the offer. She had even told him that she was crying because neither he nor Al could do it...

"Winry, look at me."

Winry shook her head without uncovering her face.

Ed sighed. "Winry... please..."

Winry inhaled deeply a couple of times before reluctantly uncovering her face to stare at Ed through her watery eyes.

When she faced those bright blue eyes covered in tears Ed understood. He was quite the klutz to pay attention to that sort of thing (not to mention that he had other priorities he had to give more importance to first) but the way Winry looked at him was very different from the way she looked at Al. Her gaze was special when it came to him and the one she was always trying to get close to, to carve a niche inside his heart, was him. Even if he wasn't good at expressing it, she certainly already had a place in his heart. It was not for nothing that they had known each other practically since their time in nappies. The question was, how big and special was her place in his heart?

Without thinking, Ed leaned slightly towards her. Winry was surprised but didn't move, curious about what Ed was trying to do.

Ed lived life from one side to the other. Stability had been behind him many years ago. That was why it was hard for him to sit down and think deeply about his feelings. Yet... having Winry so close to him, feeling her breathing and watching the tears slowly slide down her cheeks... was it really so hard to come to the conclusion that was forming in his mind?

Although it had been through force majeure, his previous return to Resembool had been comforting. He had refused to accept having a home after what had happened but having Winry smiling at him, chatting with him, arguing, and keeping a small lamp lit just as his mother had done, had felt warm, safe... special.

Winry had insisted on travelling with them after his discharge from the hospital, and although he had objected at first, he didn't feel the need to do so any longer. For some reason having her around felt right so he had only tried to dissuade her symbolically on a couple of other occasions but, internally, he didn"t want to part with her. The reason? He hadn't even asked himself at the time.

And now he had the answer.

Ed closed the distance between them, bringing their lips together in an awkward kiss. At first, he felt no movement from Winry so he almost pulled away before Winry began to return the kiss, placing a hand on the back of his neck to prevent him from pulling away. The young woman's movements were also a little awkward so at some point their teeth clashed together but a few moments later they both found their rhythm and began to kiss more confidently and intensely until they were out of breath.

As they had both closed their eyes during the kiss, Ed opened his eyes and met Winry's flushed and still-wet face, and a few seconds later, her bright blue orbs.

Winry caressed the back of his neck. "What's the meaning of this, Ed?" she murmured.

Ed shrugged. "I guess it's something I had to do. Sorry."

Winry shook her head. "I don't regret this. I love you, Ed."

Ed swallowed hard and after a few seconds began to speak. "I-"

"Shh." Winry brought the hand on the back of his neck to his mouth. "You don't have to tell me." She lowered her hand and intertwined it with Ed"s left hand. "What I would like to know is how should I take this? As a promise that you'll be back or... as a goodbye?"

Ed stroked her hand with his thumb. "You can take it however you want."

Winry sighed. "You're so complicated."

"You know why I find it hard to say for sure. Things are too complicated right now and the priority is to get AI back into his body and keep the homunculi away from him."

"I know. So... I choose to believe."

"Believe?"

"Yes, believe in you. That you'll get out of this whole mess and that you and Al will get home safely."

"Winry..."

"Don't try to change my mind." A fresh tear slid down her cheek. "Right now believing and trusting you is all I can do."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Winry gave him a slight smile. "I've always trusted you and, even if it's not in the expected way, we always see each other again don't we?"

Ed reciprocated her smile. "It seems so." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "The train will be leaving shortly."

"I see." Winry stood up and started for the door. "I'll leave you to finish dressing."

Before Winry could turn the doorknob, she was stopped by Ed's hand on her shoulder. "Ed?"

"Would you walk us to the train station?"

"Of course. You don't even have to ask." Winry answered immediately. She had thought Ed was going to object but after what had just happened the simple fact that Ed was directly asking her to accompany them made a warm feeling well up in her chest, making her worry and fear at the uncertainty of what might happen a little more bearable.

"Great." Ed replied with a smile.

And the sight of that huge smile directed at her made Winry reaffirm once again how precious every second was at Edward's side.

Though a little more diluted by the determination making its appearance on his face, Ed's smile as he said goodbye to her and Sheska had been almost the same as the one she had seen him flash before. She didn't know if it was just her perceiving him that way but she had the impression that there was a certain spark in his gaze that Ed directed exclusively at her before turning away.

Winry put a hand to her chest and exhaled heavily. She was willing to keep her word to trust and wait for Ed and Al to return safely, but that didn't make the wait any easier. Besides, she had yet to process what had happened between her and Ed in the young man's room.

It had been completely unexpected since, with everything that was going on, the last thing she had expected was for Ed to reciprocate her feelings but now it seemed that was the case, or at least that's how it had felt when the blond was kissing her. She had refused to give him the opportunity to confirm or deny it but either scenario would have left her in an emotional dilemma either by knowing she wasn't reciprocated or by receiving the desired confession with no idea when she would see him again, making it even harder to say goodbye.

Winry shook her head to dismiss the thought. It's not goodbye, we'll see each other again.

Winry began to repeat that mantra in her head over and over again as she watched the train move further and further away but once the train began to move out of sight, a couple of silent tears ran down her cheeks, and soon after she felt Sheska put her arm around her shoulders and pulled her head to her shoulder to let her cry as she tried to soothe her even though she had also have let a tear escape.

Winry and Sheska stood there, not caring how much time passed. The smoke was slowly disappearing into the air but it was the only sign they had of where the Elrics were, and that would have to be enough for them until they heard from them and could see them face to face again.

Come home safe and sound, please. Don't leave us. ... Don"t leave me, Ed.