A/N: Hello!

This chapter is coming a little later than contemplated so let's not take longer and go with the last chapter of this story. I hope you enjoy it and I'll see you all down in the ending notes.

Chapter 5.

Although he was someone who enjoyed a few beers from time to time, drinking was not something Ed tended to do on his own as he tended to go to the bar with Ling, Winry or Paninya but that night being alone in the apartment it seemed he was going to have no better company than the beers he had bought back at the apartment as he went over and over in his mind what had happened hours before, unable to fully understand what had brought about the unfortunate end to his date with Winry.

For a few minutes, everything seemed to be going great between him and Winry, he had been able to feel her reciprocate and she had even told him that she loved him. So... why had she left the way she had? Why did she now seem to not want to hear from him? Where had he gone wrong?

Ed exhaled heavily before drinking from his bottle until it was empty before letting it roll to his side. He'd already had a few hours to try and find the reason why everything had turned out the way it had but try as he might he just couldn't get it together and now that the alcohol was starting to course through his body it was highly likely that he wouldn't get an answer that night.

Ed picked himself up slightly from the floor almost without taking his back off the edge of the couch he was leaning back on debating whether he should go to the kitchen for the other beers he had left chilling in the fridge when his phone rang. Reluctantly, Ed held the phone up to his face, discovering that it was a video call from his younger brother. For a moment he thought about ignoring it but the overwhelming silence that flooded the apartment put him off the idea. Maybe Al could help him see things from another perspective.

"Hey, brother." Al greeted with a smile that was erased when he saw his brother's unenthusiastic expression. "Why is it so dark?"

"Al, I screwed it up." Ed said, ignoring his question.

"Winry turned you down?"

"Yes."

"Oh, brother, I am so sorry. From what you told me and from what I've noticed in the times I got to talk to her when I called you, I was sure she would reciprocate." He sighed. "I really thought everything would work out great. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Al. I was the asshole who saw something else where there was nothing."

"Come on, Ed, this doesn't have to mean your friendship is going to end. It may be a little awkward at first but by talking you can make your friendship stay afloat."

"And how do you want me to talk to her if she refuses to answer a single one of my damn calls?!"

At Ed's somewhat brusque question, Al said. "You're drinking, aren't you?"

"I'm just starting. What's more, I should go get one right now." Ed said as he sat down on the floor, before trying to stand up.

"Hold it right there, that's not going to solve anything, brother."

Ed snorted. "At this point, I don't know if there's any way to fix this." He said as he leaned against the apartment's small couch again.

"You're not going to know until you try."

Ed placed his cell phone on the small table in front of him so he could rest his head on the couch seat. "She doesn't want to see me, Al. I don't know what to do."

"That means she's not in the apartment, right?" At his brother's weak nod, he added. "Then where is she?"

"In Paninya and Natalie's apartment. And before you ask, yes, I thought about going to see her but Paninya told me not to even try, that she doesn't plan to let me in because Winry explicitly told her she doesn't want to see me."

"Geez..." Al ran a hand through his hair. "This may not be very pleasant considering the way things are now, but I need you to tell me exactly what happened, how did you tell her and what was her response?"

"I did what you suggested. We went to the movies and everything seemed normal. Then it occurred to me to take her to the café where we met, we kept talking and well... I told her that I had chosen that place because of what it meant to me to have met a person like her there and it was then that... that I told her that I had fallen in love with her. At first, she kind of didn't believe me but then she started to smile and her cheeks blushed. God, she looked so beautiful..." He said as he ran his hands over his face. "And then I kissed her."

"Did she get mad because you kissed her?"

"No, and that's what confuses me the most. She reciprocated, Al. I felt it and that wasn't all. She told me she loved me."

"What?" Al asked surprised at the unexpected twist in the story. "Then why do you say she rejected you? That seems quite the opposite to me."

"That's what I thought. But suddenly everything changed and I don't quite understand why."

"Right after she told you she loved you?"

"Almost. It's just that at that moment that idiot Ling happened to call me. When I finished talking to him, Winry got upset and left."

"Did you take long talking to him?"

"It was only a minute. No more."

Al raised an eyebrow. "I highly doubt she was upset about such a short call. Did you say anything on that call that might have upset her?"

Ed snorted. "I don't think so. There wasn't much she could hear from me because I simply wanted to end the call as soon as possible. Ling wanted me to go to his apartment to help him install a program on his computer, I told him I'd come by later or we'd go over it tomorrow at the university. That was it."

"And what happened when you were done talking to Ling?"

"Winry left. She told me how it was possible that I didn't realize what I was doing, that she didn't think I was one of 'those'. And I wonder, which 'those'?" Ed asked himself, frustrated at the confusion of what had happened.

Al remained quiet trying to understand what had happened.

Ed lifted his head from the couch seat so he could look at his brother. "Well, do you have any idea what went wrong?"

Al sighed. "Sorry, brother, I can't figure out what happened with Winry either. You didn't touch her improperly when you kissed her, did you?"

"How do you even think of that? I only caressed her cheek. I wouldn't dare be in a hurry with her after what happened with that idiot."

"I know, brother, and I believe you. I'm just trying to find some explanation for her behavior but I can't seem to do it. Why would she tell you she loved you and then leave the way she did?"

"What do you think I've been trying to figure out all this time?"

"And I guess she refuses to answer your calls and texts right?"

"Bingo." Ed said in a despondent tone.

"I guess there's going to be no choice but to talk to her. It's the only option to get to the bottom of all this."

"And how do you want me to do that if she refuses to see me? Shall I break down the door to Paninya's apartment?"

"And risk them or the neighbors calling the police? Forget it."

"Then what do I do, Al? This is killing me."

"Relax, brother, there must be a good explanation for all this. We just have to figure it out."

"Easier said than done." Ed grumbled.

"I know you're not going to like it but there's nothing left to do but wait. Try to go see her tomorrow morning and if she refuses to see you, find a chance to talk to her at the university. You don't have classes together but I know you can find an opportunity to talk to her between classes. And if not, just skip a class."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "My dutiful little younger brother is suggesting I skip class?"

Al held up a finger. "Just one class, otherwise I'll tell our godmother myself. Besides the situation warrants it. And in case that fails..." He shrugged. "You'll have to wait for Winry to return to the apartment. She lives there too so she'll have to go back sooner or later."

"Do you think I have to move out already?"

"What? No! Don't be hasty. Wait until you talk to her before you do something like that."

"Okay, I guess there's no other choice."

"And I have another piece of advice."

"Tell me."

"Don't keep drinking. You need to have a clear mind when you talk to her. Besides I don't think Winry wants you to say good morning to her with breath that reeks of alcohol."

"I haven't had much to drink."

"Perfect. Then stop at once and get on the right track. Oh and turn on the light, you'll kill your eyesight if you keep this up."

"Yes, Mom." Ed complained as he rolled his eyes.

Al smiled slightly. "Cheer up, brother. I'm sure this all has an explanation."

Ed sighed. "I don't know, Al. I don't want to lose her and I'm so afraid I screwed everything up."

"There must be a confusion. That must be it. From what you've told me, Winry doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would have that kind of reaction, especially when it comes to you."

Ed cracked a slight smile. "I could use your optimism if you could pass it on to me."

"If I could I would but in the meantime, you'll have to settle for taking your favorite brother's word for it."

Ed laughed lightly. "Maybe that's because you're my only brother."

"But I'm still your favorite, aren't I?" Al joked.

"Of course. Oh, by the way, congratulations. Ling told me your project was accepted." He told him with a sincere smile.

"Thank you, brother. Mei and I are very excited."

"When is the trip?"

"The date is not yet set but it will probably be in two or three months."

"You're certainly going to have a lot of fun in Xing. I just hope Mei doesn't bamboozle you into getting married there by taking advantage of the fact that the two of you are going to be alone."

"Brother! We're going on behalf of our university."

Ed laughed a little at Al's slight blush, "Just kidding. Although something tells me that sooner or later that midget will end up becoming officially part of the family. I highly doubt she's going to let go of you."

Al couldn't hold back his smile. "Who knows, it's still too early to tell."

Ed shrugged. "Anyhow at this point I'm more than used to Ling and Mei's presence." He rubbed his eyes with one hand before continuing. "Well, I guess it's about time I let you get some rest, Al."

"Are you sure you'll be all right on your own?"

Ed shrugged again. "I'll try to entertain myself with something and if not I'll go to sleep at once. I need it to be tomorrow already so I can talk to Winry."

"Okay. You be good and get some rest okay?"

"Okay."

As was their custom, both brothers brought their fists up to their cell phone cameras to "bump" their fists before saying their goodbyes.

Just a few minutes, please. I really need to talk to her. I don't mean or want to hurt her, I just want to clarify what happened. That's all.

Ed, who was leaning against the wall of a building a few feet from where Paninya and Natalie's apartment was located, fidgeted nervously with his right foot as he anxiously awaited Paninya's response. She had refused to answer his earlier messages that morning but with his insistence, she had no choice but to give in and start answering him even though after several messages Ed still wasn't sure he could get her to give in to his request. He was simply asking her for a few minutes alone with Winry outside the building as he had the impression that trying to approach her at the university would be even more complicated with the number of students and professors hovering around as well as the immense number of paths Winry could take to avoid him.

You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?

Ed was quick to respond. It's not the first time I've been told that and, in fact, it's not the first time you've told me that either.

How does your acceptance of it help you?

Ed sighed as he answered. Paninya, I have already asked you many times, do you really want me to spend the rest of the morning bothering you with my messages? You know damn well that you calling me a pain in the ass isn't going to stop me.

Ed kept moving his foot rhythmically waiting for Paninya's response. After a few minutes he thought the young woman was opting to ignore him completely when a new message came in.

Okay. I'll give you a few minutes with her. That's all. And you'd better sort this out.

Feeling the nerves coursing through his body, Ed could only respond with a quick 'Ok' as he cast anxious glances at the building entrance waiting for Winry to come out. A few moments later, Paninya and Natalie came out of the building, quickly searching for him with their gazes. When they found him they both motioned to him that they would beat him if he did anything bad to Winry before walking briskly in the direction of the university.

Ed was surprised that Paninya and Natalie left first as he had expected them to convince Winry to come out all together to meet him but when he was able to see Winry hurry out of the building he could tell what recourse they were using.

"Pan! Nat! Wait for me!" Winry exclaimed as she momentarily bent down to tie the laces of her tennis shoes. Knowing that Winry didn't carry much in her purse beyond her wallet, Ed assumed that the clothes she was wearing that day had been borrowed from her friends.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity Paninya was giving him, Ed hurried over to where Winry was standing, who quickly stood up when she saw him after hearing his footsteps.

"Hey." Ed smiled shyly at her as he put a hand to the back of his neck. "Can I walk you to college?"

Winry stared at him silently for a few seconds before turning and starting to walk in the direction of the college.

"Winry, please. Let's talk." Ed said as he walked beside her.

They continued like that for a few more meters until Ed quickened his pace to stand in front of her. Winry ducked her gaze and tried to dodge him but Ed stopped her.

"Ed, let me pass, please." She murmured.

"I will as soon as we talk. Just a few minutes, please. I don't want to lose the friendship we built."

Winry inhaled deeply and said nothing.

"Win..." Ed bent down slightly so he could see her face realizing at that moment that a tear had escaped the blonde. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry, Winry. I'm sorry. I swear the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you." He told her in a regretful voice but not daring to take her hand or hug her, fearing that Winry was seeing something of Max's in him.

Winry sighed and wiped away the tear with one hand before lifting her face. "I don't know if you hurt me or if it was just me being an idiot, longing for something that wasn't meant to be."

"Winry, the idiot is me. I want to apologize and fix this but..." He exhaled heavily. "I'm such a moron that I can't figure you out."

"Look, Ed, for what it's worth I'm angrier at myself for letting this happen. I should never have done it."

Unable to contain himself any longer, Ed brought his hands to Winry's shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Winry, please explain to me. Why is it so wrong to have kissed me? Didn't you tell me you loved me?" Realizing his action, Ed pulled his hands away quickly and gave her a regretful look. "Tell me, am I reminding you of Max?"

"What? No! Nothing like that! You're someone wonderful and that's why..." She lowered her gaze and continued in a whisper. "I couldn't help falling in love with you."

The warmth that had come over him the previous day upon hearing Winry's confession returned, only this time the feeling was more subdued with all the confusion the situation was causing him. "And I'm in love with you, Win. I love you." With a trembling hand he took one of Winry's hands and intertwined their fingers. "What's wrong with our feelings being mutual? Aren't problems supposed to arise when feelings aren't reciprocated?"

"Or when they shouldn't be there." Winry said quietly unable to tear her gaze away from their intertwined hands.

"And why shouldn't they be there?"

"What do you mean why?" Winry told him in a slightly annoyed tone as she pulled her hand away from Ed's.

Losing patience, Ed replied. "Then tell me, Winry! Explain it to me! I'm not a fortune teller to know what the hell is going on in your head!"

With a defiant look, Winry simply replied. "Ling."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "What the hell does Ling have to do with this?"

Winry snorted and ran her hands over her face before answering. "Please, Ed, don't make this any harder."

Ed crossed his arms. "You're making it difficult with your vague and meaningless answers."

Winry crossed her arms as well. "And you're making it worse with your denial of reality."

"What denial?"

"Your relationship with Ling! Why don't you give it the importance it deserves? If you're together it's for a reason and Ling doesn't deserve to have you or me do this to him."

Ed was quiet for a few seconds as he processed the information. "Ling and I what?"

Winry moved slightly to the side so she didn't have to keep looking straight at Ed. "As much as I love you I don't plan on being the one to destroy a relationship nor am I willing to be 'the other' if that's what you're looking for."

Still with an expression of confusion and bewilderment on his face as he processed the information, Ed moved back to stand in front of her. "Woah, woah, wait a minute, what the hell are you talking about? My relationship with Ling? What the fuck?! We're not dating!"

"I'm obviously talking about your rela-" Winry interrupted herself and her eyes widened slightly as her mind registered the last part. "Wait, what? What did you say at the end?"

"Ling and I aren't dating and never have been, where the fuck do you get that idea from?"

"But... but..."

Ed frowned. "But what?"

"It's just... Ling always hugs you and is after you like your shadow and you let him be. You don't do that with anyone else especially considering you're not exactly the most social person in the world. You always look happy being around him, you spend a lot of time with him and well... in short it was easy to imagine that you and him have something." She added as she fiddled with her fingers.

"Ling is like that!" Ed exclaimed as he snorted and waved his hands above his head, unable to believe what Winry was telling him.

"But he seems to have a special attachment to you. He follows you around whenever he can. Paninya told me so, and then I could see for myself."

Ed pinched the bridge of his nose. "I should have known Paninya was involved in all this."

"So... you really don't have that kind of relationship with Ling?"

"No!" Ed exclaimed before relaxing his tone. "Look, Ling is kind of like a cousin to me. Remember my godmother?" At Winry's nod, he continued. "Ling is her son. We're not blood cousins but we grew up together so I'm used to his presence and his eccentricities. Plus, the jerk has a nasty habit of extorting me, telling me that if I don't buy him all the food he wants or pass him my notes he's going to pass on to my godmother the whole list of classes I've been skipping. I think he's just kidding but trust me, when you want to preserve your physical integrity you don't even want to consider risking unleashing Izumi's wrath."

"And you're not gay?"

"No."

"No wonder I thought Paninya was exaggerating about that tight pants and lady conditioner thing." Winry muttered to herself but Ed caught up to hear her.

"I just got used to wearing the same one my mom wears." Ed confessed embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

Winry couldn't help a slight chuckle.

Seeing her more relaxed, Ed smiled slightly and asked shyly. "So...was all the trouble yesterday because you thought I was cheating on Ling? Because in case it wasn't clear I'll reiterate that nothing is going on between us."

Winry smiled at him for a moment before blushing intensely and covering her face with her hands. "Oh, my goodness. I'm so sorry, Ed."

"And then we're okay?"

"Only if you can forgive me for my foolishness."

Ed moved closer to her and gently began to pull her hands away from her face. "I have nothing to forgive you for, Win."

"But I was very unfair to you. I judged you and treated you badly for something you hadn't even done."

"There's no permanent damage." Ed joked before adding. "Although there is something you can do to make me feel better and forget about this whole incident." He said as he took her hands in his.

"Tell me." Winry said as she intertwined her fingers with his.

"Tell me the truth... about yesterday, was it for real? Do you really love me?" Ed asked as his cheeks flushed.

Winry's blush intensified as a warm smile graced her lips. "Of course I do, Ed. I love you and, if I'm to be completely honest, it didn't take me long to fall in love with you. With your company, your witticisms, your kindness, your chats, your passion for chemistry, your hatred for milk... everything."

Though equally flushed, Ed smiled and cut the distance between them leaving minimal space between their faces. "You steal my words because I quickly fell in love with you too. With your cheerful and supportive spirit, your jokes, your smile..." He began to lean his face toward hers. "your gaze... your passion for mechanics..." He was so close to her mouth, that his lips brushed hers as he uttered the last words. "Of everything." With that said he closed the distance between them and kissed her being immediately reciprocated by her.

During the kiss, Ed placed his hands on Winry's waist while she did the same by placing her hands on the back of his neck, delicately burying her fingers in his scalp. When their bodies were as close as possible to each other, the two separated momentarily to smile at each other and, in Winry's case, a slight giggle as Ed began to kiss her cheeks and the tip of her nose and then rub his nose against her neck to deposit a delicate kiss there finally.

Without making the slightest attempt to pull away from him, Winry pulled her fingers away from Ed's hair so she could tighten her embrace, letting out a sigh of relaxation as she did so. "God... we should have done this a long time ago." She said to then deposit a kiss on the young man's cheek.

"Definitely. Though I want to make it clear that you're to blame." He said as he ran a hand through her long blonde hair.

"Hey, that's not fair."

"You were the one who thought I was gay."

"In my defense, Paninya and Natalie believed it too. Or rather, they still believe it."

Ed pulled away from her slightly to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously, where did you get that idea? It's not like you've ever seen Ling and me holding hands or worse kissing." The last brought a subtle shudder that Winry could feel.

Winry laughed. "Maybe it's a sign that you need to be more sociable so you don't go through the confusion of others thinking your best friend is your partner again. What's more..." She put a finger to her chin. "we may not be the only ones who think that."

Ed looked horrified. "You're kidding, right?"

Winry gave him a quick kiss before saying. "I don't know... maybe it wouldn't hurt to text your high school classmates. You might be surprised how many people thought the same thing we did."

"I think you're overreacting already."

"Really?" Winry told him with a mischievous grin. "Because I heard there was a certain girl who liked you and had to resign herself to the fact that she could never achieve anything with you being that you already had Ling by your side."

"Where do you get that from?"

"Pan is pretty good at gathering information."

Now it was Ed who smiled. "Oh, so that means someone has been very interested in me."

Winry blushed. "It's not what you think. Well...I confess you did put me in quite a dilemma and that's why Pan told me a little about someone she knew who was also going to the same high school as you."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Sorry, it wouldn't be right to tell you."

"Hmm okay, I won't insist. But how could that person have thought of it? Ok yes, I admit I spent most of my time with Ling but then my girlfriend at the time was also with us."

"Well I think you were a little too affectionate with Ling because it seems they thought your partner was him and not your girlfriend." Winry said with a chuckle.

"Shit, what do I do now?"

At the obvious confusion on Ed's face, Winry couldn't help but laugh some more before saying. "Easy, that doesn't matter now does it? Let's just trust that no one else at the university thinks the same thing."

Ed couldn't help but smile at Winry's laughter. "Okay, all right. I'll trust that the only wrong-thinking ones are you guys. Besides..." He took the hand Winry had been holding close to his face to entwine their fingers. "No one will have time to think about that when they see me with my beautiful girlfriend."

"Oh yeah?" Without wiping away her smile, Winry pretended to search the sides with her gaze. "And where is that girlfriend of yours?"

Ed also pretended to be looking around until he returned his gaze to the young woman in his arms. "Oh, wow... looks like she's here." He said with a wide grin.

With her free hand, Winry began to fiddle with the hair at the nape of Ed's neck that wasn't long enough to be held back by the hair tie. "Do you think that boyfriend of mine wants to accompany me to college?"

"Oh, shit, I think we're already running a little late aren't we?" At Winry's nod, he continued. "Too bad, I guess we'll have to deprive the professors of our presence for today."

"What a shame." Winry said in a tone too cheerful to really sound like she was sorry. "Any ideas what we can do?"

"Well, we can start with a nice breakfast and then we'll see what we can do, what do you think?"

"Perfect. Although I'll tell you straight up, I'm paying for it."

"Huh? But I'm inviting you."

Winry gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Let me make it up to you for yesterday. For leaving the way I did."

"There's nothing to forgive. Besides you wouldn't even let me buy you lunch because you happened to leave money on the table."

Winry kissed him again, slower and softer this time. "Please?" She said brushing her lips against his.

"Yes, yes, whatever you want." Ed relented so he could kiss her again.

When they broke apart, Winry kissed him again on the cheek before speaking. "So... shall we?" She said with a bright smile.

Ed kissed her on the forehead before releasing her so he could take her hand. "Let's go." He said reciprocating her smile.

The two started wandering as they hadn't decided which restaurant they would go to but at some point they would find somewhere for breakfast as now what they wanted most was to spend time with each other chatting and laughing like the good friends they had become only this time with even more warmth and joy in their hearts after knowing that their feelings for each other were mutual. Besides, now they would have a very funny anecdote to remember in the future since they could laugh about the reason that had prevented them from starting a relationship up to that moment.

A/N2: And they are finally together :)

As a little side note to the content of this chapter, there wasn't a chance to mention it properly in this one, but here Mei and Ling are cousins.

You don't know how much I thank all of you who gave this story a chance. I really felt insecure about posting this story, so seeing your favs, follows and comments made me very happy so thank you so much for joining me in this little adventure

I also couldn't leave without giving a special thanks to all the people who shared their impressions in the comments. Believe me, I really enjoy reading and knowing about you all so...

charisma 43

Elvenstar146

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Golden ICE Golden fire

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Thank you very much!

I'll say goodbye for now, hoping we'll read each other in the not so distant future with more EdWin content :)

Golden.