Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Now ❯ Chapter 4

Two days of waiting for the cat to give birth. Two nights uneventful. Or so it almost was. Winry wakened to hear yelling - she paused, thinking that perhaps the cat had had her kittens. But it was Ed's voice, and it was panicked. Winry grabbed a light in one hand and her wrench in the other and ran for Ed's room. No attackers or intruders, only Ed alone in the throes of a nightmare. Sweat glistened from his body as he thrashed around the bed, his braid flying from side to side. Her heart clenched in empathy and she rushed forward to release him from his restless sleep.

"Ed, wake up!" She sat on the bed and shook his shoulders. He sat bolt upright, chest heaving and gold eyes wild as he searched the room for the terrors that haunted his sleep.

"W-w-winry," he panted, "what are you doing here?" There was silence for a moment and he noticed how close she sat to him, barely inches between them.

"You were having a nightmare" Winry spoke softly, her gaze searching his amber eyes; open and vulnerable, defences not yet up. Her blue eyes were soft and dark with an unreadable emotion. She was so close he could feel the heat of her, they were breathing each other's breath as it mingled in the inches between them. Winry was wearing a thin cotton shift, her blond hair tousled about her head. His heart had been racing from the nightmare, and had just begun to calm when it started racing again, for another reason. He realized suddenly he was only wearing boxers.

"I, uh, I'm ok now" he began, only to be interrupted as Winry leaned forward, closing the last few inches and kissed him full on the mouth. She was soft and sweet and warm, smelling faintly of machine grease; a smell that was distinctly Winry. For an endless moment they remained so, arms reaching around each other instinctively as they leaned into the world-shaking kiss.

"I - I - Winry?" Ed stammered when the kiss finally broke. He did not, however, remove his arms. Confusion, hope and fear warred in his gold eyes, as he tried to make sense of it all.

"Edward Elric." Winry's tone was firm, and purposeful. "Do you deny that you want this?" Her eyes dared him to say no, but fear did linger there - he felt her heart hammering in her chest.

"I - no - Winry, I can't say that, but" Edward felt his chest so full of joy, desire, and pain simultaneously. "Al -"

"Ed you idiot!" Winry burst out softly but vehemently, "I know. I love Al too, if not like this." A crooked smile quirked her lips. She reached up and caressed his cheek. "I understand. Al owns your tomorrows. You can't commit to anyone or anything else, until you return him to what he was. I won't change that. I wouldn't let you. If I did, you would gradually start to resent me, and eventually hate me. I want Al back too." Tears formed in her eyes, changing them to limpid pools. "All I want from you Ed, is your now. You can give me that much." He started to speak and she placed her fingers on his mouth to silence him. "Don't you dare say anything about dishonour, Edward Elric," she hissed fiercely, "this is my choice. We have yesterday as brother and sister, and as friends. I want to create some yesterdays where I have you as more than that. I love you Ed, but this quest of yours - as necessary as it is - is dangerous. I've seen your scars, and the shape of your automail" Winry placed her hand on his arm and traced the metal lines "after you come back from these missions of yours. It is a fact we have to face that one day you might not come back." Winry looked deeply into his eyes, pleading "Tell me truly, have you been in a situation where you thought you might die?"

Ed couldn't lie. "Yes" he whispered, his flesh hand reaching out to capture the hand on his arm.

"So you understand." Winry dropped her gaze, leaned her head on his shoulder, snuggling in to his body. "Will you do this? Will you give me your now?" Her voice grew softer yet, as though her courage were failing her.

"Winry - what about Auntie Pinako?" Ed's serious question was rewarded with a soggy giggle.

"Don't worry about her - this was her idea" Ed's body stiffened in shock, before he began to laugh.

"Then I don't need to worry about her causing my early demise, or any consequences for you." His heart was full to bursting with a joy that was hardly hoped for. Shifting her off his shoulder, he lifted Winry's chin so he could look into her eyes. With a rougish grin and a soft voice he asked "So now what? I'm kinda new to this . . ."

Joy shone fully in Winry's face as Ed wiped her cheeks free of tears. "Um, me too" Winry admitted. "But the advice I was given" her eyes twinkled, giving Ed a hint to the source "is to just experiment, and let each other know what feels good . . ."

"Well," Ed murmured as he leaned in "I really did like this . . ." their lips met, hearts raced, and the rest of the world ceased to be.