Chapter 4.

"Winry, we were supposed to leave today not tomorrow." Ed said as he knocked on the door to the blonde's room.

"Just a minute."

Ed snorted and leaned back against the door. "I don't know how many times I've heard that..."

"You're such a drama queen."

Ed glanced at his wristwatch. "You know, there's a handy thing called a watch. It's used to tell time so you know how long a person takes."

"When you invited me you knew what you were exposing yourself to didn't you?"

Ed couldn't help but smile. With how well he and Winry were getting along there was no reason for Winry to turn down his invitation to go to the movies, but a small part of him feared she would refuse when she realized that more than a friends outing it was a date. Well, he hadn't told her at any point that it was a date but his nerves made him fear that somehow she would read his mind and end up refusing to go out with him on that date.

Perhaps the best thing to do would have been to work up the courage and properly ask her out on a date instead of casually asking her to the movies but Ed wanted to test the waters before taking a step that might fracture the friendship they had built, both because of the friendship they had and because of the likely reluctance Winry might have after the incident with Max.

It had certainly been a couple of months since then and even now they were already certain that the jerk would spend some time in prison but Ed didn't want to make the mistake of rushing to show her the true nature of his feelings when she had just gone through an unpleasant experience with a man. Besides, she had specified to her parents that they were just friends, which also caused Ed to think long and hard before daring to ask her out formally. They had gone out together several times since they became roomies but they were usually impromptu outings or with other friends so this was the first occasion that Ed had invited her in advance to a place just the two of them.

Ed was lost in thought when he suddenly felt the door he was leaning against move, almost making him fall in the process.

"Hey, Winry, warn before-" Ed started to complain before interrupting himself as he caught sight of the blonde.

The young woman was dressed in a white blouse that bared her shoulders in combination with a pair of platform shoes of the same color and blue jeans, as well as a beige bag that hung from one of her shoulders. Unlike her more common style, this time her long blonde hair fell free over her shoulders as Ed liked it so much, only this time it was in light waves. Also, as far as Ed could tell, Winry was wearing a light coat of makeup, something the young man had only seen on a couple of occasions.

Winry blushed slightly at the young man's look. "Is that too much for the movies?"

Ed had to gulp before answering. "No, it's perfect." He said trying to control the blush on his cheeks. "Only now I don't think I match. I think I should change." He added in a slightly joking tone hoping Winry wouldn't notice the state of his cheeks.

Winry took a glance at his wine-colored shirt before replying. "I think you look great."

"No more than you do."

At each other's compliments, both of their blushes became more noticeable so they both lowered their gazes and were quiet for a few seconds.

Winry walked over to him and stood next to him as she rested her hand on his shirt-covered forearm. "Is it new?"

Ed cleared his throat before answering. "Yes. Do you like it?"

"Quite a bit." Winry confessed as she slid her fingers a little until she pulled her fingers away suddenly as if the contact burned her. "I thought someone was anxious to leave." She joked lightly, hoping Ed wouldn't comment on what she had just done.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Uh... let's go." Ed said with a smile trying to keep his nerves at bay. He had gone out with Winry several times and had spent a lot of time alone with her but all that experience seemed to have gone down the drain as the nerves were eating him up inside.

Winry thought she was in a dream. For months now she had realized that she had fallen in love with Edward and now he was asking her out just the two of them... like on a date. A part of her was aware that it couldn't be possible but she couldn't help but pull back a little from reality to allow herself to enjoy the day as if it was really what she wanted so badly.

When Ed invited her to the movies a few days ago she accepted immediately and only when she was alone in her room she allowed herself to let herself be carried away by the happiness, nerves, and confusion that this 'non-date' brought her. It was until that moment that she began to analyze the invitation wondering why Edward had asked her out when they had a sort of unspoken mutual agreement to go out together to various places without it being seen as something different from their daily routine but on this occasion Ed pleasantly surprised her with his invitation however much she shouldn't see the invitation as what she would so much like it to be.

As the confusion subsided, Winry began to feel guilty for being so excited about the 'non-date' when firstly it wasn't that, and secondly when she shouldn't be getting her hopes up since Ed and Ling were still together.

Amid her guilt, Winry began texting Paninya for advice during her ordeal. Paninya comforted her and tried to convince her that she had nothing to feel guilty about as it was simply a good friends outing that could prove very helpful in discovering whether or not her theory that Edward was bisexual was true.

Given the latter, Winry was tempted to cancel the outing thinking that such probable verification would end up leading her down the path of betraying Ling's friendship and trust so Paninya had to talk to her at length the next day to convince her that there was nothing wrong with her going out with Ed.

As much as Paninya and herself tried, Winry couldn't completely erase the idea that there was something wrong with agreeing to go out alone with Edward under those conditions but she ended up giving in to her little whim when Paninya made her see that she could use that date to allow herself to live, in a way, what she wanted so much without having to act disloyally towards Ed and Ling's relationship, after all there was nothing wrong with keeping him company plus Winry had no intention of kissing him or anything like that (as much as that was what she would like to do).

Feeling relieved by her friend's words, Winry went on with the plans for the 'non-date' spending the days leading up to it thinking about her outfit. The most logical thing to do would be to go with the first outfit she came across as she usually did in her daily life but the idea of being able to live this outing as a date made her allow herself to go further and carefully plan the clothes she would wear. She didn't want it to be so noticeable that this meant something else for her but she also didn't want her outfit to go completely unnoticed so with some help from Paninya and Natalie, she decided what she would wear. Certainly, the guilt momentarily returned to her as she saw Ed's expression when she left her room because it was not her intention to flirt with him that day, but seeing that Ed had also been more careful in his clothing she decided to let go of those thoughts to focus on enjoying the day.

Despite having planned the outing, neither of them had given any thought to the movie they would see that day so in the end they ended up watching whichever movie was closest to starting. For this reason, they ended up watching an animated one with a cat starring in it, which made Ed laugh since he thought watching cat movies at the cinema had ended when his brother had gone off to college.

Although the movie turned out to be entertaining, there were times when Winry was distracted so she would probably have to watch the movie again another time to remember how the plot was going but she couldn't help it. She was constantly tempted to look at Ed out of the corner of her eye and was repeatedly surprised to feel that he was doing the same with her as she could perceive a bit of the gold in his gaze before the young man stayed all firm and stared straight ahead for a few seconds until he relaxed again. Besides Ed's hand was breaking her concentration as Winry could almost swear that the young man was about to place it on the one she constantly leaned on the armrest in between the two of them but in the end she told herself that it was just her imagination as Ed just drummed his fingers or moved his hand over his leg without being able to get his hand near the armrest (except of course when he had some popcorn although this didn't last long, as the popcorn ran out a few minutes into the movie).

Such behavior was somewhat strange to Winry because over time they had both developed the habit of occasionally hugging or holding each other's hand and Ed even tended to pat her on the head or let his arm rest on her shoulders on some occasions. So why was Ed so hesitant to do so now when he knew it didn't bother her in the least?

After the movie was over, being surrounded by people exiting and entering the cinema, the nerves were temporarily forgotten so the two of them happily chatted about what had happened in the movie. Fortunately, Winry had paid attention to the necessary parts to keep the conversation afloat, including the participation of the adorable little dog that had joined the cat team and had ended up winning both her and Ed's hearts, no matter how much he wanted to hide it.

The two continued chatting about both the movie and anything else that came to mind until they reached a café, where they ordered food and drinks and then sat down at one of the tables outside the establishment, making sure to choose the table that was furthest away from the ones that were occupied so they could continue their excited chatter without the other people seeing them with raised eyebrows or disapproving looks as had happened to them before when they laughed out loud or raised their voices in excitement at being so deep in their conversation.

Winry took the last sip of her drink, before leaning back against the back of her chair to exclaim cheerfully. "God, this is still the place with the best frappé."

"And don't forget the nachos." Ed said as he took one from the bowl at the center of the table.

"With all that cheese..." Winry said with a mischievous grin on her face.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear you." Ed said as he grabbed a couple more nachos.

Winry laughed. "Why can't you accept that milk has its good side? Without it, you wouldn't be so happy enjoying your nachos."

Ed frowned slightly. "Winry... we'd already talked about you not having to ruin the experience for me."

Winry feigned innocence. "I don't see why some cheese made from milk would have to."

Ed gave his nachos a dubious look for a few seconds before sighing and continuing to eat as if nothing was wrong. "Sometimes being a man means making sacrifices. And if this has milk in it there's nothing left to do but ignore it for the sake of my stomach."

"I'll consider this a victory."

"Suit yourself, nut head." Ed said with a smile.

Winry smiled and began fiddling with the straw of her drink.

At the young woman's smile, Ed gulped and grabbed a napkin to wipe his fingers before speaking. "Hey, Win."

Without wiping off her smile, Winry placed one of her elbows on the table so she could rest her chin in her hand while she continued to fiddle with the straw with the other. "What's up, Ed?"

"Do you know why we're here today?"

"What is this? A trick question?" Winry asked with a chuckle. "Because the easy answer would be because we decided to go out and have some fun wouldn't it?"

"No... well yeah, sort of." Ed said with a slightly nervous tone. "I mean I always have a lot of fun with you so I wanted you to really enjoy this day."

"Of course I had fun, Ed. Quite a bit."

"Great." Ed said with a nervous smile. "And... do you know why we're precisely here?"

Winry gave their surroundings a quick glance before shrugging her shoulders and replying. "Because it's a good place to grab a snack?"

Ed put a hand to the back of his neck. "Uh... yeah, sort of."

"I'm not following you, Ed."

"I just don't know how to tell you, or what you're going to think."

"Well you'll never know unless you ask me, will you?" Winry said with a reassuring smile.

Ed let out a nervous chuckle as he ducked his gaze slightly trying to think of his next words.

Noticing the young man's nervousness, Winry leaned back in her chair so she could reach out one of her hands to take one of Ed's. "Hey, Ed, if something's bothering you you can tell me. You can trust me." She said after giving him a light squeeze.

Ed sighed and smiled at her as he reached his other hand over to take Winry's with both hands. "I didn't tell you to come to this place just for the sake of it."

At Ed's action, Winry had no choice but to remain quiet, concentrating on trying to keep her cheeks from blushing.

"I did it because this place is special to me." He inhaled deeply before continuing. "It's special because it was here that I met a wonderful person." He stared into her eyes. "You."

Winry smiled shyly. "I could say the same about you."

It didn't go unnoticed by Winry how Ed's cheeks flushed slightly. "So you remember."

Winry kept her smile. "Of course I do. I could never forget anything to do with you." Realizing what she had said, she couldn't hold back her blush any longer.

"That's exactly what happens to me with you." Ed said with a smile. "Every moment I spend with you always makes me feel great. It doesn't compare to anything I've ever felt before. Any moment no matter how random it might seem while you're included will pop into my mind at different times of the day and make me smile like an idiot." He momentarily moved one of his hands away so he could move from the spot in front of Winry to the one next to her. Once there he held Winry's hand again before speaking. "And that feeling is due exclusively to you." He gulped before continuing. "At first I wasn't sure about sharing an apartment with a girl but with you I've realized I couldn't have found a better roomie. You came into my life at the perfect time."

At Ed's last words, a painful pang shot through Winry's heart. Come on, Winry, don't get your hopes up. As nice as his words are he doesn't want something romantic with you. He may love you very much as his friend but nothing more. He's not going to notice you when he has Ling by his side.

Noticing that Winry's expression was subtly darkening and that she was trying to hide it by ducking her gaze, Ed gathered his courage and lifted her face with his hand so that she could look him in the eye. "I guess that didn't sound too good, did it?"

Winry forced a smile on her face. "What are you talking about? I understand. I feel so lucky to have you as a roommate too. After what happened with Max I didn't feel ready to have another male roommate but you don't know how happy I am that I listened to Paninya so I could have you as my roomie. It was one of the best decisions of my life. Thanks to that I gained the best friend a girl could ask for. You don't know how grateful I am to you Ed, I don't know what I would do without you."

At her words, Ed drummed his fingers lightly on her hand as he thought.

After a few seconds of silence, Winry asked. "Ed?"

Ed inhaled deeply as he lightly tightened his grip on her hand. "I'm afraid I'll ruin everything." He muttered as he looked down at their hands.

"Why?" Winry asked, confused.

Ed was quiet for a few moments before staring at her again. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Winry brought her other hand closer. "Sure. You can tell me anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything." Winry repeated with a smile.

Ed drummed his fingers for a few more seconds before pausing, sighing, and saying. "I'm in love with you, Win."

Winry's smile froze in surprise as her cheeks flushed intensely. "What?"

"I'm in love with you. I have been for a while now, geez, at first I thought it was just a simple crush but with each passing day, I fall increasingly in love with you. You're one of a kind, Winry." He said with a shy smile as he stroked Winry's hand with his thumbs.

Despite the conflicting emotions inside, Winry couldn't help but smile and let herself be swept up in the moment. "Really?"

Ed laughed lightly. "You think me capable of pulling a prank like that on you?"

"Besides your cheeks would give you away." Winry said without wiping away her smile.

Ed, who hadn't realized he had blushed in the middle of his confession, blushed even more at her comment. "Win..." Ed said with a smile leaning slowly towards her.

"Ed." Winry murmured as she closed her eyes and leaned closer toward him until their lips made contact.

Feeling reciprocated, Ed pulled one of his hands away from Winry's to place it on Winry's cheek so he could caress it with his thumb as Winry took it upon herself to intertwine their fingers. Feeling extremely blissful, Winry couldn't contain her excitement, intensifying the kiss and pulling her body as close to Ed as possible. The young man hesitated for a couple of seconds but then quickly adapted to the rhythm and reciprocated the kiss with equal intensity.

When they were out of breath, they gave each other one last kiss before pulling away. Ed rubbed his nose against hers before depositing a kiss on the tip of it.

After a chuckle at his action, Winry looked him in the eye before smiling warmly at him and saying. "I love you, Ed."

Ed reciprocated her smile. "I love you too, Win." He said before he tried to give her another kiss but was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. "Damn, I should have put it on silent." He tried to ignore it and go on with his intentions but Winry stopped him with a finger to his lips.

"Don't worry, I can wait a bit. Just try not to take too long okay?"

Ed exhaled heavily. "Okay." He said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. After a quick glance, he answered grumpily. "What do you want now, Ling?"

At the mention of that name, Winry's bubble of happiness burst. What kind of person am I? How can I do this to a friend? This isn't right. With those thoughts in mind, Winry pulled her hands away from Ed's, eliciting a raised eyebrow from him, asking her with his eyes what was wrong but she refused to make contact with his gaze as she rummaged through her bag.

"Yes, yes, I'll call you later. You're calling at a very bad time.."

He exhaled heavily without taking his eyes off what Winry was doing. "What choice do I have left? If I can I'll come by and see you later if not it'll have to be tomorrow when we meet at the university. What? Really?" A huge smile came across his lips. "That's wonderful, I had no doubt about it. But..." His smile disappeared when he saw that Winry didn't stop her hurried search. "We'll talk later. Yes and that means I won't go now. No buts. Bye." After hanging up, Ed turned to Winry. "Win? What's up?"

"I have to go." Winry said as she pulled out her purse. To her the smile Ed had flashed had not gone unnoticed. It had been one of those huge, full of sincerity smiles she had seen him give countless times while with Ling, the friend whose friendship Winry was betraying with her recent actions.

"I'm sorry for Ling's bad timing, but he won't be disturbing us anymore." He turned off his cell phone and tried to show it to Winry but she ignored him. "There, problem solved."

"Problem solved?" Winry muttered as she dropped a couple of bills on the table somewhat rudely. Adding to the anger she was feeling towards herself for letting her feelings get the better of her without thinking about the consequences was the disappointment of seeing how Ed wasn't giving his own relationship the importance it needed, no matter how much it would benefit her and how she felt about him. "I can't believe this about you, Ed." She said as she stood up and settled her bag over her shoulder.

Ed stood up as well. "Win, wait, what is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? Don't you realize what you're doing?"

"Shit. I'm sorry, Win. I really am. That's why I hadn't wanted to say anything to you, I didn't want to ruin our friendship."

Winry shot him a pained look as she walked past him, being stopped by Ed's hand on her wrist. "Let go of me, Ed."

"Winry, please, let's talk. I don't want to lose you."

Winry loosened herself from Ed's grip and looked at him with a somewhat defiant look although bright with the tears she was holding back.

Ed looked at her with confusion. "What? That doesn't matter. I'll talk to that inopportune guy later."

"I can't believe it... I didn't think you were one of those. I never expected this from you, Ed." Winry told him in a sad voice before walking away from the scene.

Ed tried to follow her. "Winry."

"Do me a favor and don't follow me. There's a lot for me to think about."

At the pain palpable in her words, Ed had no choice but to watch Winry walk away from the scene feeling the echo of her every footstep as one more blow to his heart, making him wonder if what had happened between Winry and him before Ling's call had really happened.

A/N: Hello!

Sorry for the delay with this chapter, I've been having technical problems but I wasn't going to let this weekend go by without an update.

As you may have read, this is the beginning of the end as due to the nature of the plot at some point there had to be a confession and while the date ended badly now there is only one way to go.

I am very grateful to all of you who have given this story a chance, your favs, follows and comments have made me very happy :)

Now we just have to see how this story ends. So we'll read each other in two weeks for the final!

Golden