OMG I'M FINALLY BACK!
Gosh, only took me like three months. I apologize for the extended wait time, but I'm still getting attuned to college. Thankfully, I already have an amazing group of friends and an amazing roommate. Everything is going well, I'm just very very very busy.
Well, I do hope you enjoy this chapter!
Winry's POV
A sigh escaped my lips as my eyes opened to the darkened room, the only illumination coming from the moonlight streaming through the windows. My brows furrowed as I tried to pick out what had woken me from my peaceful slumber. I sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, taking a minute to realize I wasn't at home in my own bed. Instead, I was in a world not my own in a bed across the room from Edward's.
Looking over at the boy, I discovered the reason for my late night wake up call. The elder Elric boy across the room from me was twitching in his sleep, a few disgruntled noises leaving his lips every now and then. He had shoved all of his blankets off the bed and had curled in on himself. Even in his withdrawn position, I could see his shoulders shaking and back heaving as he dreamt.
"Ed," I whispered under my breath, my voice thick with emotion. I moved to throw the covers back from my body to try and wake him, but he bolted up with a gasp before I could even move a muscle. I remained frozen in place as I watched him heave for breath, his long hair falling loosely around his shoulders in a golden halo. I heard him loose a heavy sigh before he dragged his automail leg up against his chest, leaning his forehead against his metal knee cap.
"Ed?" I whispered though it was loud enough for the blonde across the room to hear it. The boy flinched, pulling his leg even tighter to his chest as if he managed to make himself small enough he would just disappear altogether. Realizing I wasn't going to get a response from the boy, I threw the covers back and lifted myself out of bed before I made my way to his bedside.
Gently, so as not to startle him, I sat myself on the edge of his bed next to him, placing a hand on his back slowly. I grimaced when I felt the cloth soaked through with sweat. I could only guess his hair was in the same state. One pass through of my hand through the golden strands proved my assumption to be correct.
"Ed," I murmured before I reached for the hair tie that was sitting on his bedside table. I gathered his sweaty hair into my hands before tying it into a bun to keep it off his neck. When I had successfully pulled away all of his hair, save his bangs of course, I was shocked to see tears dripping down his flushed face, his eyes screwed shut.
"It's okay," I whispered to the trembling boy, placing one of my hands on his back, rubbing what I hoped were shooting circles into his tense muscles. He inhaled sharply through his mouth before bringing a clenched fist to cover his lips. As his back lurched in another suppressed sob, he bit down on his knuckle. "Ed, don't do that," I soothed, placing the hand that wasn't on his back on his clenched fist. I pulled his shaking hand away from his, twining out fingers together to keep him from biting himself again.
"You're okay, Ed," I whispered, bringing my hand that was resting on his back to gently stroke his flushed cheeks with one of my knuckles, wiping away a stray tear. "You're okay, Ed," I repeated, shuffling back, still holding his hand, to rest my back against the headboard of the bed. I gently pulled his head to my chest before wrapping my arm around his shoulders, our clasped hands resting in my lap. "You're allowed to cry," I reminded him. "You don't have to be strong all the time." I felt more than heard him let out a huff against my collarbone, but he didn't speak.
For a while, I just held him in my arms, my one hand still clasped with his, my thumb running over the back of his hand, while the other toyed with his golden bangs. He didn't say anything and neither did I. Sometimes, nothing needed to be said, and right now was one of those times. Ed had seldom taken comfort in the arms of others much less myself, so I wanted to let him soak in it for as long as he needed to.
I wasn't sure how long we sat there, our hands twinted together, the man of my dreams leaning against me, his breath warm on my exposed shoulder. I felt the boy laying against me take a deep breath before letting it out and sitting up, leaning against the headboard next to me. Our still intertwined hands lay on his thigh as he plays with the tips of my fingers with his free hand.
"Are you alright, Ed?" I asked softly, scooting over a little until our sides were pressed together, and I could feel his sides rise and fall in time with his breathing. He nodded before leaning his head on my shoulder.
"Sorry I woke you," he whispered, his voice hoarse from crying.
"There's no need to apologize, Ed," I soothed quietly, running my thumb over the back of his hand again. He merely hummed but didn't say anything else, just remained leaning up against my side, his head still on my shoulder. The sudden mental image of Ed pulling his automail leg to his chest caused my brow to furrow. "Is your leg acting up again, Ed? Are you in pain?" I asked, leaning away from the boy to look at him. He sat up straighter but didn't let go of my hand.
"It always aches after a nightmare," he admitted, refusing to make eye contact with me. I sighed and brushed his bangs away from his face only for them to fall right back into place.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked gently, afraid he might snap at me. The reaction I got from the boy was not what I expected, and it left me with my mouth hanging open in shock.
"Stay with me," he said, finally turning to make eye contact with me. I was frozen in place as his beautiful golden orbs bored into mine, practically pulling me into a trance. As if what he had asked of me just hit him, his face flushed a violent red and he looked away, a hand coming up to grasp the back of his neck. "I-I-I mean you don't have to if you're not comfortable. Damn why did-" I cut off his rambling by placing a soft hand on his cheek.
"It'll stay, Ed," I whispered, fighting off my own blush. He nodded, sparing a look at me. I sent him a small smile of encouragement. I got that goofy grin of his that I loved so much in return. "You should change your shirt though, Ed," I suggested, referring to the sweat soaked garment covering his torso. He smiled and nodded before getting up, reaching down to pull his shirt over his head as he started over to the dresser across the room.
"Hit the light, would you, Win?" he asked kindly, and I hummed in response, turning to flip on the bedside lamp. As I turned from the lamp, a gasp left my lips at the sight of the huge, red scar on his back. I felt myself go pale, a sickness swirling in my stomach at the sight of it. I had worked with my grandmother enough on automail patients and read enough of my parents' medical book to realize how serious the wound on his back had been.
"Huh?" he said, turning his entire body to look at me, getting ready to pull a fresh shirt over his head. God, there was a marching scar on his stomach.
I must have had a terrified expression on my face, I was terrified, he dropped the shirt as his gaze turned steely. "What's wrong, Winry?" he said, crossing the space between us in just a few steps. "What is it?" he asked, grasping my shoulders with his large hands.
I could feel tears start to well in my eyes, and the panicked look on Edward's face told me he had noticed as well. He startled rattling off questions, trying to get me to answer, but I couldn't find my words. His rambling stopped when I pressed my hand to the scar on his stomach. I let out a heavy sigh when he realized what had caused my tears.
"I promised myself I wouldn't let you cry over this," he whispered, looking down to where my fingertips gently caressed the mutilated flesh. "Not over something so stupid," he said, anger and sadness present in his voice.
"W-what happened, Ed?" I asked shakily, more than a little afraid of the answer. For a moment, he didn't answer. Instead, he climbed into the bed, leaning up against the headboard, and pulled me against his chest. "E-Ed?" I asked again, hoping to prompt him to speak. As afraid as I was to know what had happened and how he had survived such an injury, I needed to know. I heard him sigh before he wrapped his arms around me tighter and nestled his face in my sleep mussed hair. That gesture only made me all the more worried.
"It happened in Baschool, before the Promised Day," he finally said. "When we were fighting Kimblee and his men," he muttered, his voice soft yet full of pain. Kimblee used a Philosopher's Stone to blow up the mineshaft we were fighting in," he said, and I felt my heart clench as the first of many tears rolled silently down my flushed cheeks. "I was run through with a rebar," he finally said, nearly choking on the words.
His words opened the floodgates at full force. I slapped a hand to my mouth as I tried to choke back my sobs. I shook against him as I cried, the reality of the situation still settled deep into my mind and heart. He could have died. He should have died. How the hell was he even still alive with a wound like that?
"God, Winry, I'm so sorry," he started, releasing me from his grasp as he started to pull away from me. "I promised I wouldn't make you cry over this, not over something so stupid," he said resolutely, but I could hear the pain in his voice.
In response to his attempts to pull away, I grabbed him tighter, locking my fingers behind his neck as I dug my face into the crook of his neck, feeling his warm skin on my flushed face. The boy stiffened for a moment before relaxing and wrapping his arms around me once more.
For a few minutes, we simply held each other. There were so many thoughts running through my brain, and I couldn't get them to calm down. I couldn't pinpoint one to focus on. I could hear the blood rushing in my ears at the thought of almost losing Ed. And I would have probably never known what had happened to him if he had died that day. At that thought, I squeezed him even tighter.
"H-how?" I finally managed to ask, but I refused to lift my face from his neck. I had somewhat gotten my crying under control, but I couldn't promise it would stay that way if I looked him in the eyes.
"How what, Winry?" Edward asked patiently, one of his shaking hands coming up to gently stroke my hair. His touch was so light it seemed to ask permission to be there.
"H-how are you still alive? A wound like that should have killed you," I whispered, burrowing my face into the crook of his neck. The hand on the back of my head stilled and pulled me into a tighter embrace. I felt his chest expand as he took a strong, rattling breath. I could practically feel him holding back the tears. "Ed, please tell me," I whispered against his skin. I felt him hesitate for a moment before he nodded.
"I used alchemy," he finally said. "I used my life force like a Philosopher's Stone powered by a single soul," he said, his voice a pained whisper. I froze at his words before removing myself from his embrace and sitting up to face the boy. I didn't know what that meant, but using his life force? That could really only mean one thing.
"Ed-" I nearly whimpered, but I was cut off a moment later by Edward's ramblings.
"I-I know, Win," he moaned sorrowfully as he ran a hand through his already messy hair. "B-but I would have died if I hadn't, a-and I couldn't make you cry, and-" I cut off his rambling by placing both of my hands on his cheeks and pulling him into a bruising kiss before I could think better of it.
I could feel Ed tense against me, but he quickly relaxed into the kiss, his hands coming to rest on my waist as he pulled me into his lap. The kiss tasted of salt from the tears and something else that was purely Edward Elric. He was addicting, intoxicating, and I had almost lost him. Unable to hold back any longer, I deepened the kiss, my heart racing from both the feeling of finally kissing the boy that I loved more than life itself as well as terror from the near possibility of losing him. This was all too much for one night. It was overwhelming in every sense of the word. Edward seemed to be feeling the same way because I felt the rate of his tears pick up, and he kissed me more earnestly.
"Winry," the golden blonde whispered when we finally broke for hair, our foreheads pressed against one another, Edward's panting breath hot on my face.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," I said, my face hot with embarrassment. Ed quickly pressed another kiss to my swollen lips. It had been one hell of a first kiss, that's for sure.
"Don't apologize," he whispered when he pulled away once more. For a while, we remained that way, our foreheads pressed together, our arms wrapped around each other as we both tried to process everything that had happened in the few short minutes.
"Ed?" I finally asked, my concern getting the better of me. He hummed in response, telling me to continue. "What did it cost you?" I whispered. I felt more than heard the boy sigh.
"A few years off my lifespan," he admitted quietly after a heavy moment of silence. I felt my heart constrict in my chest, but it loosened once again when his hands shifted against my back, reminding me that he was right here, right now. Despite this, tears still continued to run down my cheeks. It was late, I was tired, and a thousand pieces of information and feelings had been cast onto me all at once in the short span of a few minutes.
"You're here now, and that's all that matters," I finally settled on, and it was the truth. I would rather have this boy here in my arms with a shorter life by a few years than having him lay dead at the bottom of that mineshaft. The thought made me shiver. In response, Ed wrapped his arms tighter around me, my face coming to settle in the crook of his neck once more.
"That's where you disappeared for so long," I finally whispered, putting the pieces together. "That's why you were away from Al for so long." I only felt him nod against my head. "Does Al know?" I asked. Ed nodded.
"He found out when we were in the hospital after the Promised Day," he said, and that was all the explanation I needed. As long as he wasn't keeping any secrets from Al, especially of this size, I didn't need the details.
For a while, we just sat in silence, relishing the time spent together, the closeness of it all. As I sat straddling the boy's lap, he swayed us back and forth to the side a little bit as he twirled his long fingers into my hair. Slowly, our tears came to a stop, and I was left with my face being flushed and sticky. I leaned back from the boy to wipe at my face, not liking the feeling of tear tracks on my face. His large hands quickly brushed mine away, taking over the job I had set out on.
"I'm sorry I made you cry again," Ed said mournfully as his calloused thumbs ran under my eyes gently.
"Don't apologize, Ed," I whispered, gazing into his golden orbs. "I'm okay. We're okay." He nodded, a sad smile on his face, before cupping my jaw with a large hand and leaning in to give me another soft kiss.
When he pulled away, he said, "I know I've only kissed you twice, but I can already tell it's never going to get old." There was a sly grin on his face as he peered down at me, and I rolled my eyes in response.
"I never pegged you as a flirt, Elric," I teased, flicking him goodnaturedly on the shoulder. This caused him to laugh, the joyful noise echoing throughout the room and chasing away any dark feeling that had previously occupied the room. His laughter caused me to smile widely, the muscles of my face beginning to hurt from the strain, but it was a good feeling, this unadulterated feeling of joy. If it was even possible, my smile widened as Edward yawned, stretching his arms toward the ceiling.
"I think I'm ready to get back to sleep," he said, and I nodded, his large yawn causing me to follow with one of my own. A sudden blush settled over his cheeks and he looked away. I frowned and furrowed my brows, confused as to what he could be embarrassed about now after everything that had happened tonight. "W-will you stay with me, Winry?" he asked, and I smiled softly.
"Of course I will," I whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his blushing cheek. "Always." With that, he settled back into his pillows, pulling me down to rest my head on his chest, one of my arms thrown over my waist. One of his arms lay underneath my shoulders while the other one grasped my waist and pulled me closer."
"Is this okay?" he whispered. I nodded and kissed the bar skin beneath my lips.
"More than okay," I whispered back, snuggling further into his side. "Good night, Ed," I muttered for the second time that night, already feeling tendrils of sleep beckoning to me. "I love you." I felt him pressed one final kiss to the crown of my head.
"Good night, Win. I love you, too, more than you'll ever know." Those were the words I fell asleep to, a smile on my face, my heart full of love, and the man I loved most lying beside me.