Disclaimer: No rights to FMA!
As Winry sat elbow deep in a gallon of paint, she wondered what had led her to volunteer to help with this seemingly never ending project. When Ed stretched effortlessly to roll up to the cut in that he had previously painted, she was reminded with every flex of his tanned skin in contrast to the gleam of his automail, that he was no longer hiding from her, what had driven her to suggest this venture. Honestly, she had been hoping with yet another opportunity to be alone with him that they would find something to talk about and that she would finally get to know something about the hard headed, enigmatic man that drove her crazy. Unfortunately, he hadn't said much more than a few words to her the whole morning, and she was about fed up with it. Just yesterday they had been so close...she knew he had wanted her, there was no doubt of that in her mind and now today he was even more closed off than he had been in weeks. In fact, it was almost like as soon as he started to let himself come near her, he would blink and remember to keep his distance.
All morning had been full of awkward avoidances; when they would both reach down to dip their roller in paint, he would back away as if scorched by her proximity. At first Winry had gotten embarrassed by his reaction, but now as the day wore on she was brimming with pent up anger at the jackass beside her. Bending down to coat her small roller, she briefly let her eyes wander over to her Professor, who must have been watching her as well, until their eyes met and he quickly turned his focus back to the wall. Shaking her head in exasperation at his ridiculous behavior, she had had enough. If he was going to go out of his way to pretend she didn't exist then she was going to prove how much she did. Winry walked quietly up behind Edward, who was now actually engrossed in his work. Leaning forward and over his shoulder, she caught a run of color that was making it's way towards the trim, taking care to slowly fix the offending mark. Brushing against him lightly as she stroked upwards, she fixed her bright blue eyes with his honeyed pair as she did so and then backed unhurriedly away from him as she spoke in explanation.
"You were running." Smirking at him challengingly while motioning to the wall, Winry waited to see what he would have to say about her blatant double entendre. Tucking some of her silvery strands behind her ear, she continued to watch him as he stared openly at her as if debating something heavily.
"I've done worse." As his adam's apple bobbed heavily, her gaze traveled up his neck to catch on his mouth, which was turned down in a melancholic frown. Sensing his own play on words given the tone of his voice, she decided to keep her response light in hopes of not chasing him off.
"Wouldn't surprise me Elric." Tossing him a playful wink, she slid her fingers to catch the drip that was inching it's way towards his fingers. "If you're not careful you will make a mess." Crossing behind him, she dipped her roller into the tray that held a color almost an exact match to his unique hair and eyes. As she evened the coat out, she wondered just how the store had managed to capture the color so perfectly and if the man had even realized the shade he had chosen. Probably not, she snorted internally, he seemed to be fairly oblivious at times. Reaching to fix the problem areas, Winry stretched lithely onto her toes and then took her time lowering to a crouch, much slower than necessary before she turned back to see that he had been intently watching her. Frozen still beside her, she felt his heated gaze rake up her body as deliberately as she had been when she bent down, until his molten eyes locked with her sapphire ones.
"Maybe I am alright with that." His cocky words were delivered in a low, husky voice. Seeing a clear dare in the depths of his stare, she felt emboldened and heated from the look he was giving her. Taking the opportunity, she stood and levelly met his defiant smirk with one of her own as she made her intentions clear while moving steadily closer to him, even going as far as running her empty fingers up his warm, natural arm. At the contact his body grew tense under her palm, but he made no move to restrict her movement. Sliding her hand over his muscular bicep then brushing over his rigid shoulder, Winry had his complete attention now, and took advantage of it.
When the small roller made contact with her Professor's cheek, the look of complete shock that colored his features was enough to make her snort loudly in laughter. His utter surprise was maybe the single most entertaining thing she had ever seen; excepting the scowl that instantly followed the realization that she had just painted his face, which was made unintimidating by the streak of wheat that coated his cheek and own flaxen hair. At the sight in front of her she couldn't control the wild bout of mirth that resonated through the otherwise silent room, and even worse was that every time she thought she had pulled herself together, she would catch another glimpse of his still straight face and lose it all over again. After the third round of this, the stubborn blonde's stern expression began to falter into a bitten back chuckle.
"You know Ms. Rockbell, you are going to be sorry for that." His face was suddenly lit by a mischievous grin as he assessed the distance between them.
"Ooooh, I'll just bet I will be." Winry deadpanned though unconsciously moving a step back from him as he set his roller down and picked up a brush then began making his way towards her. Cautiously she walked around the table that was covered in plastic and headed for the kitchen. Surely he wouldn't want to get paint in there.
"Walking into the kitchen won't deter me if that is what you are thinking." Even though she had thought that, she wasn't about to admit he was correct.
"No, I was just thinking how good some tea sounded." Eyes darting to the cupboards beside her, she wondered how she could distract him and not get caught.
"What a poor host I am, here allow me to get that for you." The second he came closer, she made a dash for the living room again, however when he easily closed the meager space she had put between them, she let out a pathetic little 'yelp' when his arms encircled her from behind, managing to pluck the roller from her grasp. "Well it seems that now would probably be as good a time as any for you to start apologizing." Winry could feel the heat of his breath against her neck and ear as it tickled the sensitive skin like a caress when he spoke. She wanted to comprehend whatever he had just said to her, however she was far too thrilled by the sensation of his body uninhibitedly pressed against hers to hear him. "Go ahead, say you're sorry and if you really convince me that you mean it, then maybe I will let you off easy this time."
"I'm sorry?" Unfortunately, her brain was focused elsewhere so her meek apology came out more like a question than anything else. This seemed to amuse him since he chuckled.
"Like to try that again?" She could feel him shaking with humor against her and it irritated her, which was an improvement over distraction. Gritting her teeth, she answered him.
"Professor Elric, I am sorry I painted your glorious personage." Not meaning a damn word
of it, she waited for his sure to be witty response.
"Maybe less bullshit this time? And I do have a name besides Professor Elric." Boy was he the pot calling the kettle black or what!
"Says the man who calls me Ms. Rockbell even though I have asked him numerous times to call me Winry." When the brush ran down her arm she jumped at the coolness of the paint.
"Fine. Edward, I apologize." She knew she had failed to successfully disguise the pinch in her voice.
"You know I understand your words, however your tone leads me to believe that you are being less than sincere." Already the trail of skin that he had coated was drying and becoming itchy.
"You are an insufferable shitbag! Remember who volunteered to help-" Suddenly she was turned in his arms, though hers were still pinned to her sides uselessly. Now that she was facing him she found it even harder to think coherently when his golden eyes pierced hers. Realizing that she wasn't going anywhere until she gave him what he wanted, she exhaled softly and then tried again. "I'm sorry for painting your face Ed." Feeling his grip loosen, she figured she had managed to placate him. However, when she felt the brush run up her neck, cross her cheek and touch her forehead she knew he had just been misleading her into dropping her guard.
"Well I'm not sorry for painting yours Winry!" Quickly he sidestepped out her line of attack, but still turned to easily catch her wrists, proceeding to make her paint herself over and over while he laughed obnoxiously.
"Professor Elric!" When that had no effect she yelled again, "Edward Elric, stop it you idiot!" Still his loud snickering filled the air and though she struggled violently within his grasp, his grip didn't slacken at all as he continued to make her cover her own shirt in paint, leaving the fabric to cling to her skin. "ED!"
Finally quieting, after dropping the brush and roller to the drop cloth, he stood unmoving in front of her with an odd look on his face, something between amusement, irritation and something else. He was so hard to read, and unfortunately she wasn't able to think coherently around this man. Pinned by his darkened, mesmerizing eyes, she hardly breathed from the intensity of the moment. A low growl penetrated her senses only a moment before she was roughly pressed between the wall and his hard body, where she was stunned when his lips came crashing down on hers.
His mouth was not gentle or yielding, it was hot and demanding; instead of stopping at a touch of the lips, his tongue was hurriedly parting her own, almost as if he had been waiting patiently for long enough and was fed up with taking his time. However, Winry found herself feeling the same type of need for him and without hesitation gave him access to her mouth. As her tongue slid along the length of his and he just as enthusiastically explored hers, she felt an instant and intense jolt of arousal pulse within her and he had hardly even touched her. While the thought crossed her mind, he began doing just that. His fingers released her wrists and trailed down her bare arms, one hand slipped to the base of her neck while the other traced along her side and then settled in the dip of her back, pulling her flush against him. At the shift in his position Winry found it impossible not to notice his own obvious excitement being that he was fixed between her thighs and the source of her own.
Deepening the kiss, she felt her way over every open plane of his back, even being as bold as to grasp his firm backside, making him thrust instinctively forward. The dizzying friction of this one simple movement coaxed a breathy moan from her that got an immediate response from him. His kisses turned desperate as he continued to move in a rhythm that forced more of these nearly pathetic sounds from her, and they had been begun breathing each other instead of pausing for breath. Ed began to suck on her bottom lip as he slid his fingers from her neck to tease the lines of her bra. When he broke the kiss, he spoke in a rough, hunger filled tone.
"Fuck, Winry, you are making me-" The sound of a lock being released made her eyes abruptly snap open and his words die on his immensely talented tongue. Not having time to react when the door revealed the unsuspecting sibling of the man in front of her, Winry's eyes widened in horrification with Edward's as Alphonse entered the home. However he seemed to be speaking to someone and hadn't seen the sight before him yet. Of course at that moment, Al's honey-olive gaze took in the intimacy he had interrupted; Winry with a slightly disheveled ponytail, lips swollen and Ed's formally black, sleeveless t-shirt now plastered with the remnants from her own shirt.
"BROTHER!" His voice was nearly a full octave higher as he squeaked the word. "Winry?" Oh shit, he must be seeing the aftermath of 'Paintageddon' that was written all over everything. Nervously, her fingers went to twist her hair, however, they came away dissatisfied after noticing that her hair also had the mess smattered in it. When she thought about it, it was probably from being flattened to the wall. Eyes flitting to the spot they had previously occupied just to the side of her, she instantly flushed a deep red at the splotches on the wall from their encounter. Realizing that no response had been given by the elder, she finally acknowledged her friend.
"Hey Al." Stating timidly, Winry gave him an apologetic half hearted smile, but she felt the blood drain from her cheeks when Roy Mustang's familiar face also entered the room, looking it over with an all too keen eye that quickly did the math regarding the damage covering the taciturn couple. "Hello Mr. Mustang." In her mind, there could simply not be a more embarrassing way to be caught than by the two of them, what the HELL was he doing here with Al anyways? Obviously he must know them somehow.
"Hello again Ms. Rockbell, it's a pleasure as always, though maybe more for some of us than others." Immediately the blood rushed back to the surface of her skin, chancing a look at her Prof, she noticed that the hues of their faces had to be the same cherry red. Laughing behind a poorly disguised cough at both of their reactions, the man had clearly meant to rile up Edward, and succeeded admirably. Focusing her attention on the ground, she hoped Ed hadn't seen her crack a smile at his obvious irritation.
"Shut up you perverted bastard!" Then almost as if just catching the fact that they had greeted each other, he stopped mid rant with the weirdest look on his face; anger, confusion and possibly fear? "Wait, how do you two know each other?" Hearing the sharpness in his tone, Winry's lowered eyes shifted to meet his questioning stare. As she was about to answer, Mustang beat her to it.
"I met Ms. Rockbell at The Dark Horse one evening when I went to see Riza." Stating simply, the onyx haired man turned his attention to an imaginary bit of lint on his coat as he responded. Why had Ed sounded so defensive about them knowing each other and why was Roy trying to seem nonchalant? She just couldn't see why it would be a big deal, so she elaborated to set him at ease, if that was the issue.
"Yes, that's right, though he has also been kind enough to help me find commissioned work within the military." Beaming up at the older man, she could almost swear she saw him wince minutely when she clarified their professional relationship for everyone.
"What the HELL Mustang!?" At his outburst, Winry glanced to Alphonse for an answer to all this hostility over them being acquaintances, however seeing Al shaking his head and placing it in his hand, she knew he hadn't seen her wordless communication. Why was Edward so mad? Looking between the two men, she had had enough of the guessing game going on in her mind.
"Um, not to be rude, but how is it that you guys all know each other?" Speaking loud enough to be heard, but still fairly quietly for her, she waited for someone to clear things up. Unfortunately for her, not one person was going to be the first to acknowledge her question apparently. As the silence stretched out awkwardly, she placed her hand on her hip wishing that she had her wrench with her then to beat the answer from them. When she finally turned her attention to Ed, he was purposely averting his face from her. "Well?" The word hung in the air, but still no one said anything, not even Al to her surprise. Thankfully just before it began to be literally unbearable, the elder Elric spoke cautiously, almost as if every letter was being ripped out of him.
"He was my probation officer." His words stunned her into silence momentarily as she really processed his words. Of course she had known that Mustang was a Senior Probation Officer, but that in no way prepared for the fact that he had been Ed's PO! Her mind was racing through the multitudes of details she wanted to know.
"What!? What for!?" Practically shouting, once again she watched everyone lapse into an uncomfortable stillness, though Mustang did meet eye contact from Edward, almost as if having that very wordless conversation she had been trying to initiate between her and Al unsuccessfully. Nearly imperceptibly, she caught his golden head shake a 'no' to whatever unspoken communication had passed between them.
"That's not something I want to talk about right now." Ed's voice was nearly deadened as he attempted to terminate the conversation, but she wasn't nearly done talking about it now that she knew. She just had to hear what mischief he had been in as a teen. For some reason, she could just picture a smart mouthed, gorgeous, young man doing community service for some petty crime.
"Oh come on, it can't have been that bad since you are clearly a Professor at Uni. Did you get caught stealing science books from Barnes and Noble when you were a misguided youth?" Smiling to herself, she figured that she would try and joke it off so he wouldn't feel dumb about telling her.
"I said I don't want to talk about it, Winry!" Him yelling at her stopped her dead in her now out of place amusement. Whatever had happened, was clearly something he wasn't willing to share with her, whether from shame or repentance. She could visibly see pain and anger in his expression, though he quickly tried to neutralize it. Feeling her heart beating loudly, she tried to calm herself before she said anything else, however her throat had been become impossibly dry and when she attempted to talk only a broken half cry escaped. She was an idiot! Why had she had to continue to pry about something that clearly wasn't her business? Stupid, stupid, stupid!
"O-oh okay, I'll just take off then...Sorry about the mess Al." Scooping up her coat from where it sat haphazardly on their plastic wrapped couch, she paid no mind to the fact that she was surely ruining her only nice jacket as she hastily wrapped it around her shoulders. Grabbing her purse, she tried to fight off the tears that had gathered in her eyes. Swallowing woodenly in an effort to hide the emotions she was desperate to keep from bursting forth, she rushed through a half assed goodbye. "Nice to see you again Mr. Mustang, Professor." Leaving with her head cast downward, she slipped out of the door, closing it carefully behind her as to not draw even more focus to her by a noisy exit. Pressing herself against the door outside of the brother's home, she shut her eyes hard in a futile exercise of trying to banish the tears that had begun to fall unwelcomed down her cheeks.
Not even a second later, she was startled by the sound of glass shattering from inside and almost re-entered just to check on everyone, but her hand hesitated shakily over the handle before deciding that she had imposed enough for one day. She just couldn't believe how fast things had gone wrong! Literally within a breath they had gone from being so intimately entwined, to her surely creating an even larger rift between them than there had been at the beginning of the day. No matter what she did, she felt like she would never get it right with him, and even worse was now she knew how amazing things could have been with him.
Walking down the stairs of his place, she pulled her hood over her hair and headed in the direction of her home. The one saving grace being that she had wrapped her ankle well since she had planned on being on it most of the day. Praying that she could hold back further tears until she made it to the privacy she sought from curious eyes, Winry was unfortunately not able to deter her thoughts of the infuriating man.
Winry had long suspected that there had been a shared chemistry between them that Edward had done his best to ignore, however now she was almost able to see why he had fought it so hard. Their coming together was exactly the kind that could easily combust, leaving them to burn each other badly or burn slowly and warm them from the inside eternally. The feelings he incited within her, now, scared the hell out of her since in the blink of an eye, she could lose that heat that only he provided.
AN: 3/24/2016 I am currently going through and fixing this story chapter by chapter in an attempt to reconnect to it and improve it along the way. Please review if you notice anything that I have missed or just want to tell me what you like/dislike.