Discalimer: None of the characters belong to me

CHAPTER III

He was finally there, the tuxedo that made him look much older and serious, a little flower bouquet with a couple of white tulips, the car that Hughes had friendly borrowed him.

All that was left was the strength to knock on her door.

He'd been there for almost ten minutes and he wondered if she really hadn't heard the car as he arrived, god it'll be so embarrassing if she opened the door and found him standing there like a complete moron.

He finally found the will to put himself together and rang the bell, auntie Pinako opened it and offered him a warm smile that automatically made him smile back, he was so fond of the old woman, when his mom died she was the one that took in the Elrics, and for that he was eternally in debt with her.

"Hi Ed, you've grown up" she said so sincerely that Edward couldn't help but feel somehow happy "Winry will be down in a few minutes, would you like to come in?, would you like some apple pie?" he thought about it a minute, he knew Winry, and a few minutes could be a half an hour, besides, it wouldn't hurt anyone to eat something, he nodded and walked towards the living room, it hadn't changed a bit since he lived here, he even could see the wooden frame in which aunt Pinako used to mark how much they've grown every week. A really embarrassing reminder of how his brother and the pretty blonde had outgrown him, he frowned, she really was a little bit taller than him and as much as he kept saying otherwise, it did bother him a little.

"Good ol' times" said the short woman with a plate full of apple pie and a ration of ice cream "bet Alphonse is still growing" he nodded, there was no point in avoid the inevitable truth, she smiled changing the subject "so Edward, I'm so glad you found it in yourself to ask Win out" he blushed and buried his golden gaze in the sweet dish between his hands, he rather discuss his height issue with her than this, he couldn't imagine what will her reaction be, after all she was like family, like his own aunt and that made Winry… sort of his sister. He felt the urge to shake his head, the thought was sickening, and more sickening was that he didn't know if Winry had had that same scary thought 'a brother' he repeated himself, what if she thought of him that way, that would be… he couldn't find the proper words, it was plain wrong.

Pinako stared at him half amused half expecting, the brief flashes of emotion in the boy's face in front of her were completely entertaining "you haven't changed a bit" she said with such a tenderness that he felt his heart smile and all the disturbing thoughts in his head disappear "I'm so glad it's you here waiting for Winry, I can't think of anyone more appropriate"

"Don't tell me you're going to cry Pinako, years have certainly soften you" he said a playful grin gracing his face, she answered the joke with a light smack on his head

"I'll go check on Winry, we don't want her to keep waiting such a handsome, elegant date" she made a special remark in the last word as she rushed up the stairs.

Suddenly he felt dizzy, his head felt so light that he thought it'll begin floating at any moment, he placed the plate with the remaining pie in the coffee table, he knew it was better to keep his stomach empty, besides, it's not like he could swallow with his throat being so tight. He heard some steps up the stairs and then he felt his heart go wild under his chest and his eyes wide, his voiced failed to leave his throat and his face began to turn a light shade of red.

There were no words for what he saw, no words for him to describe her, she was… simply she was her, and angel. His Angel

The deep purple dress was perfect for her frail frame, made her look graceful, elegant, like a feather in the wind, the color made her skin look even creamier and softer, her usually straight hair was flowing in elegant waves now which added a little innocence to her already angelic face, her childlike eyes shined as she stared at him and the most beautiful shade of pink graced her cheeks. He felt like fainting as she begun to walk toward him, every step she took made his heart leap, his knees shake and his mind go numb. And so he knew, He was going to be a disaster tonight.

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She eyed him through the corner of her eye, taking in everything about him, his shiny hair, his wistful focused gaze, his attractive face, his broad shoulders and strong body that looked gorgeous in the elegant tux

"Edward, it's not a big deal" she tried for the twentieth time, at first it was funny now she was beginning to worry that this will spoil the night

"It was your mother favorite vase… YOUR MOTHER'S WINRY" she rolled her eyes and begun looking through the window meanwhile her companion kept muttering about how stupid he had been.

He was so shaky when he gave her the tulips; she smiled at him as she closed her eyes to take in the scent of the white flowers

"I love them, they're my favorite"

"Lucky shot I guessed" he lied, of course he knew she loved them; he smiled at her and got a great satisfaction of her blushing face

"Would you mind putting them on the vase Ed?" he nodded and again, and only for fun smiled at her to see her blush.

"It's pretty" he said as he poured some water in the vase

"It was my mom's, she loved flowers, not only in the garden but also in the house, so she'll always kept it occupied" he remained silent, Winry's parents were a delicate subject, and when it came up he'll just listen, hoping that her eyes would turn to the joyful baby blue instead of the stormy and sad gray "you look really handsome tonight Edward".

How could she blame him, the comment was so unexpected, it surprised him so much 'Of all the things I could break in a moment of nervousness, it had to be a precious memory of a deceased mother… Geez Edward you're such a catch'. He eyed her, she looked bored and not the way a girl should look on her way to the prom. She wasn't blaming him, nor yelling at him.

"You look fine too" he said breaking the silence and keeping his eyes to the road ahead of him, still he felt her turn in surprise and he wondered if she had blushed that pretty red again "Sorry I'm being a jerk" she grinned

"Nothing new there" and he felt relieved, she then leaned closer to him and placed her blond head in his shoulder. His muscles went tense under the warm gesture, his mind begun floating and his heart rate increased in a hazardous way, the air became denser, breathing was harder and harder as the seconds went by. Slowly she lifted her face and drew her lips closer to his face, in a sweet brief moment she kissed him lightly in the cheek and the next thing he knew was that the car has intertwined with a great, big oak 'shit'.

He no longer cursed inwardly, he begun babbling obscenities as he took a closer look of the damaged car

"Damn, Hughes is going to kill me" Winry was checking the engine, sighing from time to time "is that bad?" he asked

"Worse" she answered

"Fuck" was all he could articulate

They got again into the car, the air was too cold for them to be outside but it was beginning to get colder inside too. He felt her shudder, her white skin showed some Goosebumps and her mouth was in a tight line to keep it from shuddering, he laughed and she shot him a deadly gaze.

"sorry" he lied still shaking with laughter, she caught his tone and with an enraged glare she opened the car door and began walking through the road "Win, Winry" he called her, she ignored him completely as she continued walking, bracing herself to keep the warmth inside of her body, her nose high with pride and her shoulders rigid with stubbornness. He sighed as he went after her "Winry" he kept calling but she didn't look at him "come on Winry I'm sorry, it's just that it was… well, funny"

"Freezing to death is funny to you?"

"Winry your are certainly overreacting" still she didn't stop, he groaned

"Damn Winry, I love you but you're a pain in the ass" she took in a sharp breath and stopped her pace, still not looking at him "Winry, come on, let's go back to the car, you'll get sick" but she was there, like a statue, a really pretty one he thought. Still nothing , he got his jacket off and covered her with it "That's it, now only I'm going to freeze to death, you can live a long happy life… in which you will think when we're heading back to the car" he took her by the shoulders and pulled her toward the car only with a insignificant resistance from her.

"There" he said closing the door after her, 'dumb woman, with her stupid pride, it will cost her a week of bed' he thought as he circled the car to open the door and get inside. Once we closed his door he felt the numbness of his hands due to the cold 'If I'm like this she must be freezing', he looked at her and was surprised to find her smelling absentmindedly at his jacket, a small tranquil smile on her lips. His heart rate increased again, and an uncomfortable heat begun rising to his face

"You sick Ed?"

"No" he said quickly while turning his face from her to stare through the window

"Really?" And he gulped at the closeness of her voice, a white delicate hand touched his forehead and he remember having done the same for her a few weeks ago

"You're really hot" he turned and jumped slightly at the closeness of her face, she did the same suddenly realizing the double meaning of her words

"I know" he grinned trying to sound cool, she laughed softly and avoid his eyes, but still not pulling away from him. He took a quit glimpse at her lips and felt his heart jumping in anticipation, it would be so easy, lean over and touch her soft pink lips, caress her soft face, take a lock of her hair and feel its silkiness. It would be so easy.

"Ed…" she said in a thin voice startling him "can you hold me?" again she said really low, he was surprised but then he saw her shaking 'asshole' he thought 'thinking about kissing her while she's near hypothermia' he put his arms carefully around her, she placed her head in his chest and he swore he had heard her sighing happily "too bad I won't be able to see you dance, that's a show I'll pay to see" she said a little higher after ten minutes, he smiled, not for her correct but mocking comment but for her being warm enough to tease again

"A shame indeed" he said a little sarcastic "sorry I'm making you lose your prom" he said more apologetic "you should call someone to get you to the prom, I'll wait 'til this old chunk can start or call the mechanic" she pouted obviously upset by his words

"If I wanted to go I would have already done that, I'm not dumb… and I just want to be with you" she said adding the last part in a really low voice, but not low enough for him not to hear her, she reached out for the radio and turned it on, her face lit up as soon as she realized there was nothing wrong with it "what are you in the mood of?"

'You' he thought "Whatever it's 'k" he said still thinking about her will to be in a cold car with him instead of a warm elegant place with… anybody else

"Ah!" she yelled so loud that Edward jumped in the air

"WHAT?"

"I LOVE THIS SONG" he groaned as he tried to even his breath, then the music begun entering his brain, the lyrics he knew too well, he looked at her and her baby blue eyes shining at the song.

What day is it
and in what month
this clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up
and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

She began singing along, and the sweet sound made his heart smile and his eyes begun to shine

'cause it's you and me and all of the people
with nothing to do
nothing to lose
and it's you and me and all of the people
and I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

The slow song filled the air, her sweet singing made him want to touch her, made him want to hold her close, feel her warmth, smell her hair…

"Wanna dance?"

all of the things that I want to say
just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping inwards
you got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here

She looked at him shocked, maybe mirroring the face of the blonde with the golden eyes. She nodded shyly and blushed slightly.

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people
with nothing to do
nothing to prove
and it's you and me and all of the people
and I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

He was focusing as hard as he could to not step on her, or trip

"Just feel the music Ed" she said in such a calm voice that made him even more nervous, 'just feel the music Ed, bah', they keep moving slowly, and then he closed his eyes, he couldn't feel the music, she couldn't ask him that because in that moment the only thing he could feel was her, her scent, her warmth and her slow breath in his neck.

there's something about you now
I can't quite figure out
everything she does is beautiful
everything she does is right

It was embarrassing that she was leading him, but he didn't care, because for this minutes she was his, only his, away from the peeping eyes of stupid teenage assholes, away from the crowd, away from the world. This moment belonged only to the two of them

"Ed" she whispered, "did you meant it?"

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
you and me and all of the people
with nothing to do
nothing to lose
and it's you and me and all of the people
and I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

He tried to figure it out, but he had not the slightest clue to what she was talking about

"Mean what?" and he was surprised at the softness of his voice

"that you love me", he stopped, trying to remember when he said such a thing and he felt her stiffen

you and me and all of the people
with nothing to do
nothing to prove
and it's you and me and all of the people
and I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

She looked at him fear clear in her eyes, his own mind racing through the options ahead of him. He could say yes, and he could say no. The first one will release a chain of unknown events maybe scary, maybe exciting but unknown; the second will lead him to the known, safe tough boring road of familiarity

"I'm sorry" she said with a tinge of tears in her voice "I just thought" she shook her head and he realized that there was no time left, taking advantage of the closeness of their bodies he raised her face with his fingers really careful, as he didn't want to break her

What day is it?
and in what month?
this clock never seemed so alive

He touched her lips doubtfully with his thumb, feeling their softness, at this gentle touch Winry sighed and that little gesture triggered urgency in Edward's brain. He kissed her passionately, letting his hands play with her silky blond hair, drunken with her sweet aroma he pulled her by the waist closer to him and she in response threw her arms around his neck as if they could be any closer of what they were already.

When they broke the kiss they were both flushed, Winry's hair was no longer perfectly combed and Edward couldn't help but laugh at her wild hair style

"If I take you home like this Pinako will certainly break my skull with a wrench" she laughed to as she pulled herself closer to him giving him a quick kiss on the lips

"She'll definitely will when she founds out we never made it to the prom in first place"

"We'll have to come with a very good excuse for that one" he said as she kissed his neck playfully "do you even realize the song finished like twenty minutes ago or so?"

"and?" she asked again nibbling at his neck, she chuckled at his reaction

"Here's the midget!" Roy said in a triumphant tone, Winry drew back blushing and Edward shot him a deathly glance "Don't be mad at me little one, I'm really appalled for interrupting your happy hour, but Maes and your brother were driving me insane with the 'maybe something happened to them'", he grinned "of course something is going to happen to you after Maes sees his car".

"Fuck".

Hope you liked it, I appreciate all the reviews you've sent, it's nice to know that the things I write are been read somewhere else.

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