This definitely didn't go the way I planned it. Anyway, Ed is a bit OOC, I think, but I say that a lot. This is a companion piece to Selfish, another of my one-shots. If you go read it, I hope you enjoy it! I hope you guys like this one too. Also, if you're taking the time to read this fic, please take a moment to review. It makes me extremely happy.

Disclaimer: I. DO. NOT. CLAIM.

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For the first time in a long while, Winry Rockbell was taking a break from her work. Putting everything on hold to make time to work on a certain alchemist had caused her orders to pile up just a little. In response, she had nearly doubled her usual work time and was quickly catching up to where she should be. After all, she reasoned as she rubbed tiredly at the soft bruise across her right eye, the sooner she was caught up, the sooner she could spend more time visiting her friends. No matter how much she wanted to get back on track, though, there was no denying the ache that had formed in her shoulders.

Stretching her arms skyward, Winry gave a small groan of satisfaction as her spine popped out of its hunched position. It felt good, and she stood at the window for several minutes, stretching as far as she could go as her mind wandered over all the things she still needed to do.

That elbow joint needs to be finished tonight and I can install it tomorrow...Nelly's grandpa's coming in for maintenance then too...I'd like to recheck Ed's arm and leg before he leaves again (whenever that is), just to be safe...is that everything? Doesn't seem like much. Guess I had less to do than I thought. She smiled. Working double had apparently put her ahead of schedule without her even noticing, so she could afford to slack off again for a while.

"Nothing like some hard work to make you appreciate your breaks." She tried to give one last stretch, but instead gave a surprised squeak. Someone's body pressed against her from behind as two mismatched arms wrapped around her waist. Something very warm flickered against the shell of her ear. Winry couldn't help another squeaked as she wriggled. "Edward!"

"Been wandering where you were," he mumbled into her ear. She felt his teeth for a second, tugging gently at her ear. He did it so quickly that had she not known better she would have thought she'd imagined it. Winry laughed and leaned back against him. Ed loved sneaking up on her for some reason, almost as much as he seemed to love touching her. She suspected that he felt a little braver when he didn't have to look her in the face. If she saw him coming, his nervousness took over and he seemed unsure how to initiate any sort of contact between them. Winry thought it was cute. It was hard to believe that someone as loud and vibrant as Edward Elric could turn so shy and hesitant from her mere presence. It was beyond adorable, and she was perfectly content to let him keep sneaking up on her.

She continued to wriggle as she leaned into him, causing him to chuckle, a pleasant sound that rolled from the back of his throat. Pulling her closer, he planted a kiss on the back of her neck, grinning when she shivered a little. "Cold, Win?" he asked, letting a smirk form on his lips.

"Shut up." The smirk faded as she twisted in his arms, lifting her hands to tangle her fingers into the golden strands of his hair. Edward's face flushed a little as she pressed against him again.

"Um...you're messing up my hair..." he mumbled. His bright eyes widened slightly as her eyes stared into his own.

"I know." They were silent for several seconds. Den wandered by, casting a curious glance toward the two teenagers. Edward used the opportunity to turn his gaze aside and watch the dog saunter away. Winry noticed, her face falling into a concerned frown at his expression. "Ed? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he shrugged. The answer didn't satisfy her. She knew when he was feeling shy and when he didn't want to look at her out of guilt. She put a hand to his face, trying to force him to look at her. He managed to pull away a few times before she finally managed to turn his head.

"Liar," she said. He sighed, wishing silently that he could be looking anywhere else besides those blue eyes that were focused on him. Winry had a death-grip on his chin, however, and he was sure that wherever she pulled he couldn't help but follow. Once Winry had seen that something was bothering him, there was no way he could get away from her.

"Winry..." he started, feeling horrible already. "We're leaving tomorrow." Ed winced, expecting an outburst like the one that had met his last, similar declaration.

"Okay."

"Wait, what?" His head snapped back to her, confused. This wasn't the reaction he usually received. Winry stared at him for a moment, before she let her head drop forward, her bangs falling to shadow her eyes. Her mouth was drawn into a tight frown as her fingers twisted into his hair again. The golden strands were beginning to come loose from the braid. Winry's fingers found the loose hairs at the base of his neck and curled into the gently.

"I know you can't stay forever, Ed," she said after they had stood in silence for what seemed a very long time.

"Winry..."

"You've stayed this long for me, I can't expect anything more than that. You have things to do that are much more important than me."

Ed stared at her, unsure whether she was saying that she felt like he didn't think she was important. He knew girls got ideas like that sometimes, although he had no clue where they would get them. Taking a guess, he smiled softly at her. "We won't be gone long this time. I promise." Winry's head lifted and he pressed close to her, pulling at her waist to bring he closer as he kissed her gently. Winry made an odd, pleased little sound into his mouth, pulling him by the neck to deepen the kiss. After a moment he pulled away from her. A pink tinge rose to both of their faces as he pressed his forehead against her and smiled again. He felt it and huffed a little, knowing it was probably getting darker.

"What's wrong, Edward? Am I making you nervous?" Winry teased, ignoring the heat in her own face.

"No."

"Are you sure?" She smirked as he narrowed his eyes and (regrettably) moved away from her. A smile was playing along his lips as she protested.

"So what if you do make me nervous? It's not like I do this sort of thing a lot, I don't have time for it." With an amused snort, he spun on his heel and moved towards the living room. He knew perfectly well that she was going to follow him. "And besides, Winry, it's you. Why wouldn't I be nervous?"

He had been speaking to himself, but Winry caught the mumbled words as she moved to trail after him. She smiled to herself and watched the messy, gold braid swaying ahead of her. He really could be adorable sometimes.