Okay! This chapter is pretty long so I hope it makes up for the time its taken to get it out there!

Edward's POV

My heart wrenched in my chest as the image of Winry's worried eyes shot through my mind on repeat. I hated the thought of leaving her in the room alone, but I had to do what was safest for her. While it was ideal that we both make it out of this place alive - I'd make damn sure her life was safe before mine. I quickened my pace as I looked around, carefully eyeing my surroundings. After Mildred made the announcement, I was able to grab Christian to tell him to meet me near the automail workroom before going out to the gardens with everyone else. He was apprehensive, but we had a job to do. Ending this entire thing was the only way we could return home and be with our families. Rounding the corner, I almost tripped over my own feet as I saw a familiar fidgety figure leaning next to the workroom door. His olive eyes darted over to me, alarmed at my quick pace.

"You took a while. I was getting worried." Christian said.

"Sorry, Winry was checking my automail one more time before going out there." I replied as I rolled up my sleeves tightly, glancing around again. He gave me a suspicious look, raising his eyebrows. In return I shot him a questioning glance before hearing myself make an incoherent noise once I realized what he was implying.

"She checked your automail this morning didn't she?" He stated, unamused.

"It-it-it wasn't like that!" I choked, feeling my face grow hot as I put my hands up defensively. "I wouldn't make you wait for..for..for that! Are you crazy?!"

Christian scratched the slight scruff on his chin, a small smirk forming as he scoffed.

"Sorry, I didn't realize it was a sensitive topic."

"IT'S NOT A SENS-"

"So what do you need me to do?" Christian cut in, shushing me, the same nervous stature from earlier returning to him. I blinked a few times and cleared my throat awkwardly before looking at him sternly.

"I have information that needs to make it to my brother, Roy Mustang, or Riza Hawkeye. They are our only sources of trust. I was going to go myself, but this god damn event..." I scowled, reaching into my pocket to dig out the notes I snuck from the lab. I heard a clinging noise as I removed the paper from my pocket and looked down to see Winry's Mother's ring. Quickly recovering it from the ground. Christian's face drained, ignoring the sight of the ring as he was more disturbed by the task he was just given.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it was for me to leave the last time? My grandfather keeps close tabs on me."

"You are our only hope right now. I'd take it my damn self but they expect me to be out there already to face Roma!" I replied, slightly annoyed. I tried to soften my demeanor and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm terrified for the people I love too. But the only way we are going to end this thing is if you get those lab notes to my brother. Can't you see how close we are to leaving this place? This should be enough evidence to take this entire thing down."

"I have a wife to protect!" He argued, fogged by the smaller picture. My eyes widened as I felt myself snap and grab him by the collar.

"Right! And she's at home safe and sound while Winry is locked in my god damn room. So fucking do your job as a soldier and end this." I hissed through my teeth. "Do you know what will happen to your family and the rest of this country if they bring that bastard Father back!? You won't have a family to go home to! Now take this and go!" I threw the note into his hand and ripped myself away. I was out of time, if I waited any longer I'd bring suspicion on me. If you wanted to survive this place, you had to be on time...

All I could do was pray to the god I didn't believe in that Christian would do the right thing.

Alphonse's POV

I looked over to see Roy Mustang nodding off as he sat at his desk, papers scattered in each and every direction. His hair was out of place, his eyes were sunken in from lack of sleep as purple crests hung beneath them. I'm sure I myself wasn't exactly very healthy looking from spending night after night searching for any clues. It was frustrating for me that I wasn't able to leave the base, but from the investigation that took place on Winry's whereabouts, she was seen leaving the shop on Richmond with a dark red-haired man and a blonde man with a ponytail. The blonde man was described as having a bad attitude. It was safe to assume that I only knew one blonde man with a ponytail...and a terrible attitude. We had all come to the conclusion that Winry was now being held as captive, unknown to the fact of why. Had the group known who she was, they would use her to get to Edward. And I had an awful feeling at the pit of my stomach that my brother wouldn't be able to hold back if they found out who she was, he'd break his cover...

"You should go get some rest."

I looked up from my own messy pile of papers to see stern but kind eyes from Hawkeye. Leaning back in my chair I sighed deeply.

"I'm okay. It's hard for me to sleep knowing Winry and brother are now both out there. I feel more at peace when I'm working."

She frowned at my reply, while she had no children of her own - she did sometimes give off a certain motherly vibe - a very STERN mother to be more specific.

"You know Edward won't let anything to happen to her. She's a smart young woman, I'm sure she's adapted quickly how to be careful. It's your brother I worry about. His short temper could blow the entire mission." Roy scowled grumpily, setting a book aside as he looked up at the clock. I found myself chuckle lightly. Even without him here, I could hear Ed throwing a tantrum for using the word 'short'.

"You're probably right." I smirked as a yawn managed its way out of me. My mind drifted to the letter I wrote to Mei earlier. When I didn't feel sick to my stomach about Ed and Winry, I felt my heart hurt knowing how much I missed her. I could tell she was having a difficult time with the situation and had to beg her to stay put. If there was something my brother and I definitely had in common, it was that we couldn't stand to see or make a girl cry. Although I have to admit, Ed has always had a talent of making Winry upset. He was going to be one grumpy old guy...

"Go to the dormitories and rest for one hour. If anything happens while you're gone we will notify you immediately. I need you sharp. If we are going to get any further with this investigation you need to be able to function." Roy said firmly, his dark eyes just as tired looking. I was hesitant to leave, but I knew he was right. I wouldn't be much use falling asleep in my chair, and we hadn't received information for a while now. It had gone dead silent on Ed's end, therefore making us unable to proceed further on our side. No matter how much digging we did, we needed information from inside the estate.

"Alright. I give." I said, throwing my hands up in defeat. I stood up from my chair and stretched my back, my feet feeling slightly asleep from sitting in the chair for so long. Riza took a step towards me, examining me with her piercing eyes.

"Do you still have trouble sleeping?" She asked me. I blinked a few times, always slightly taken off by her ability to be firm but display concern.

"Sometimes. I guess I got used to not being able to sleep for so long that I've struggled with insomnia a bit since getting my body back. Although for the first few weeks I slept like a baby!" I replied with a lopsided smile. I turned towards the door, the frame creaking mildly as I opened it. "I'll be back soon."

Leaving was hard, I wanted to keep working. But they were right, I wasn't going to be much use if I couldn't focus. I'd skimmed over the same notes multiple times, but my tired eyes started blurring the images and words together at one point. Opening the doors to the outside, a welcoming cool breeze greeted me. It was a beautiful night, and Mei was always fond of our weather here.

I shuffled my feet towards the dorms as my thoughts whirled around the petite woman waiting for me to come back home. While I did miss seeing my family here, my heart felt at home with Mei. Besides, Ed needed his time to grow up a little with his relationship with Winry. I smirked as I thought about the past and how it was so apparent to everyone else how they felt - neither of them would ever admit it. It took so much coaxing to get him to open up. And boy did it hurt his pride!

Alphonse POV Flashback

"You're joking right?" I frowned at my brother. He wiped his face with a towel as the sun beat down on us. A nearby tree had fallen down after a big storm days before, and Granny had asked Ed and I to turn it into firewood.

"Jesus that old lady wants to work me like a dog." He scowled, his attention falling to Winry who was playing with Den a few yards away. "HEY WINRY WHY DON'T YOU COME HELP ME YOU LAZY GEAR FREAK!"

She stopped chasing Den to look over at us. My eyes widened at the sight of her anger and I pointed my finger at Ed to show I had nothing to do with his statement.

"LAZY? THAT'S THE LAST TIME I MAKE YOU ANYTHING TO EAT OR WORK ON YOUR AUTOMAIL YOU PUNY MAN!" She yelled back.

"WINRY YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT TR-"

"You're going to have that wrench through your head if you don't shut up. And quit avoiding the topic!" I cut in, placing the cut pieces of wood near the house. Edward swung the ax into the tree stump and rolled his eyes at me.

"I don't see what's wrong with asking her through equivalent exchange."

I ran a hand down my face, annoyed at his response.

"The fact alone that you can't understand why that's ridiculous..."

"Since when did you become the expert on this crap anyways!" Ed growled.

"It's pretty obvious she's going to dent your face in if you ask her like that. I'm not saying you have to take a knee! I just think maybe you could be a little more open about your feelings." The pure look of horror fell on my brother's face as it lit up red, like christmas lights. I rubbed the back of my neck and closed my eyes. "You obviously love each other."

"Gahhhhhhhh if you're not going to help me with this then just go have girl talk with Granny!"

"It's not girl talk! You're overreacting."

"And you're embarrassing, Al." Ed retorted, sticking out his tongue. "Since when have I ever been mushy like that anyways?"

"Well, you talk about food like you're in love with it." I laughed, he shot me a smirk as he split another piece of wood. We remained quiet the next few minutes before Ed spoke up first.

"I do...you know."

I raised my eyebrows, looking over his shoulder to see Winry walking towards us and bit back the smile that tried to sneak its way onto my face.

"You do...what?" I asked, playing stupid. Winry was just a few feet away now. He sighed heavily, his arms slack as he dropped the ax to the ground.

"Uh..love her."

"Love who?" Winry asked, her blue eyes filled with innocent curiosity. I watched my brother turn five different shades as he turned around to look at her like a deer in headlights. I could no longer contain my laughter as I grabbed my stomach and watched the scene unfold before me.

"WHAT THE HELL WINRY WHY ARE YOU SNEAKING UP ON ME LIKE THAT?"

"I didn't sneak up on you! Why are you screaming?!"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE STALKING ME!"

"STALKING YOU? DON'T FLATTER YOURSELF I'D NEVER STALK SOMEONE WHO HAD A HEIGHT ISSUE." Winry yelled, ironically glaring UP at him.

"YOU MECHANIC JUNKIE!"

"BEAN!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"NO!" She yelled as she ran off towards Den. I watched as Edward took off after her, screaming profanities enough to have Granny step outside and watch them from the porch. She smoked her pipe heavily before looking over at me, not phased by their screaming .

"Those two are going to have some loud-mouthed kids." She said, chuckling lightly as she watched Ed get pummeled to the ground by Den. I smiled and nodded.

"They sure are."

Alphonse's POV Present Time

I shook my head and chuckled, feeling the chilly air breeze against my face. His attitude hadn't changed much since we were kids when it came to these things. Anything that ever involved feelings of Winry resorted to some sort of tantrum, and being in his 20's hadn't change that at all. As I continued walking, seeing my destination in sight, I suddenly heard the sound of rushed footsteps. I shifted my eyes around, trying to find the source of the noise while bawling my fist - my life had taught me to be prepared to fight constantly. When it registered in my head that the footsteps were coming from behind me, I whipped around and braced myself for the worst of it. In truth, Ed hadn't been the only one to experience PTSD, I had a bit of paranoia of my own from our past journey that would haunt me till I died...

I frowned at the dark figure that loomed near, a shadow cast over his features. The sound of his grasp for breath was the only noise to be heard between the two of us.

"Can I help you?" I stated sternly. While I was known to be the kinder brother, it was hard not to be cautious when so many people wanted us dead...again. The man drew closer, tossing his hair from his eyes as he looked at me with discontent.

"You're Alphonse...right? You look just like him. I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to find you so quickly." He said through deep breaths, holding his stomach.

"Who are you?" I asked, still not satisfied with what I was hearing. If anything it made me even more uncomfortable. He put a hand to his chest as his eyes became somewhat pleading.

"My name is Christian, I'm the soldier that helped your brother into the estate." He reached into his vest pocket, yanking impatiently a handful of slightly crumpled notes and held them out to me. "Look I don't have much time. I have to get back before they notice I'm gone. These notes are from Edward, these are urgent. Only trust Hawkeye or the Brigadier General with them."

My eyes widened as I urgently reached out and clutched the small papers in my hand, feeling my heart race in my chest. As he began to turn away, I quickly reached out.

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "I need to know if someone named Winry is there!"

"Yes...she's safe for now. I'm sorry but I have to leave now. Do not mention to anyone I was here! You never know who could be against you, Alphonse." He replied, his mouth trembling as his eyes darted around before taking off. I looked down on the ground and saw a photo that had slipped from his pocket. Carefully leaning over to pick it up and examine it, I noticed a smiling woman holding a young boy on her lap. I assumed it was his family and softly tucked it away in my pant pocket for safe keeping.

With a trembling hand, I opened and caught a glimpse of one of Edward's notes and felt my eyes widened, my feet beginning to move towards the office without my realization as I found myself racing back to Mustang.

This would be another long night, but now we had the key in my hand.

I just hoped brother and Winry would be able to stay safe for a few more days while we constructed a plan.

Edward's POV

I spit blood out of my mouth, catching my breath the best I could as Roma wiped at his gushing forehead. His deep grin menacing as the blood poured over and into his teeth without a care.

"You've got more of a fight in you tonight." Roma's eyes sparked with a twisted humor, as he yanked the blade out of his automail leg, eyeing me like prey. "I wonder what that's about." He quickly lunged at me, swinging the knife around my torso as I flew backwards to avoid contact. As he took another quick step forward, I grabbed his wrist in time to twist the sharp blade towards his own body, feeling the sickening vibrations of the blade sliding into his skin with such a smoothness. He growled in pain, looking down at his flesh leg to find the knife submerged into his muscle.

Thinking I had bought myself some time, I looked around for the knife I had dropped in the beginning of our fight, my heart beating loudly in my ears as my eyes only caught sight of humored glances, amongst them the usual discontent look from Alfred. But it was my distraction that cost me the pain that ensued as I felt a blow to the back of my leg, falling hard to the ground.

"You know better than to get distracted." Roma spat, a manic smile still on his lips. "I can't help but notice a certain...anger that drives you at the mention of that sweet little thing's name...what was it it again?" He pushed his foot down onto my left wrist as I clenched my teeth tightly. "Oh I remember...Winry."

I growled loudly and swiftly kicked him off his feet, my wrist in alarming amounts of pain as I picked myself up off the ground. He was playing with me, I knew it. He always toyed with me during these things, but I couldn't help but fear that he could see right through me this time...

I used the time I had to rip my belt off from around my waist and wrap it around my right arm - the arm that I had grown accustom to throwing in front of me after years of having it as automail. While I'd never tell Winry how many times I had actually used my arm to shield myself, my fleshy right forearm had taken some serious hits since getting it back. And one thing I have learned since being in this hell hole was to wrap my belt around it to protect it in case of my reflexes working against me. Roma stood up from the ground, slightly dusting himself off as he glared in my direction, eyeing the belt wrapped tightly around my arm as I readied myself for a knife to fly in my direction. During these fights, I found it best to wait for Roma to attack and save my energy to keep a close eye on the crowd. Mildred was already fond of Roma, and I knew she had her sense of slipping in a way to cheat. Seeing me mangled and bloody on the floor would be something she'd find joy in. She never did take a liking to my conduct.

Within a flash, dark red hair was before my eyes as Roma leaped at me, his enhanced automail revealing gleaming blades on the outside of the foot as he swung his leg towards my chest. A slicing pain erupted across my skin as it made contact, leaving my shirt ripped towards my shoulder.

"You should have had her upgrade you, as you can see it comes in handy!" Roma laughed, I scowled at his cocky attitude and swiftly threw my fist up just in time to strike him across his jawline, causing him to stumble backwards a few steps.

"It's also handy to focus on your opponent and less on talking." I smirked. "I don't need anything upgraded to kick your ass."

I could hear the faint murmurs around us and almost gagged in disgust as I glanced at their grinning faces, their diamonds sparkling with just as much enthusiasm. I had been through hell to get back my brother's body and come into contact with devils along the way, but nothing matched how disturbed I felt by these wealthy monsters' lust to watch bloodshed. A lot of times these things turned into bloodbaths. The first one I had ever witnessed I had almost lost my bearings as I watched an older woman have her picture taken with the mangled lifeless body that Roma had beat senselessly. I felt my own blood boil at these thoughts, narrowing my eyes as my rage began to overwhelm me. After everything I had faced...our father leaving without an explanation, losing our mother, losing Winry's parents...Alphonse losing his body...losing my arm and leg in attempts to bring our mother back only to fail...losing friends along the way who helped us...losing so much fucking time. I had begun to make peace with it, I was just thankful to be able to live the lives we dreamed of when we were searching for a way back to our original bodies. But now it felt somewhat stolen - taken by all of the smiling faces around me. And I was still able to deal with it, but after Winry had become involved in this mess...my thoughts were turning dark. It was something I hadn't felt since I was young boy when we tried to raise our mother back. I felt my feet moving forward as Roma tried to regain his posture and surroundings, groaning and clutching at his jaw as he spat blood from his lips. I could feel my fingernails dig into my palm, and felt a hot liquid erupt from the pressure on my skin as I began to quicken my pace at Roma. All of the sudden I was running at him as his smug face melted into shock.

I was completely engulfed in blinding rage. The last thing I remembered was watching Roma's lip split open.

Winry's POV

I sat up from the bed and eyed the door impatiently. It had been almost two hours now since Edward had left the room. The smallest sound of a door opening and closing down the hall had me on edge, and any sound of footsteps made my heart leap hoping it was him. In the past, I would have considered myself to be a pretty patient person - waiting for the brothers to come home or call during their travels, waiting to hear from Alphonse in Xing through mail, or waiting for Edward to finally come visit after our awkward moment at the train station. I'd even call myself patient during the time he was stuck here while I waited on base! But the minutes ticking by at this particular moment were killing me...mainly due to the fact that I had upgraded Roma's automail so much so and now my skills that had always contributed to Ed's life - were now putting him at risk.

I bit my pinky nail and stood up from the bed, straightening out my dress - what I wouldn't kill for a pair of my overalls at this moment. I hated this feeling - feeling helpless. I could at least turn to my mechanic skills in the past as ways to support Ed and Al, but this just made me feel like I had betrayed Edward in some way. Sure, I knew deep down that it wasn't true...but the feelings wouldn't subside. I sucked in a breath at the sound of the door handle turn and moved away out of sight. I had decided to keep the lights turned off, finding the light from the moon enough as it flooded through the large window. If anyone had entered the room that wasn't Ed, it was best to keep myself hidden. And if found by someone? Well, I wouldn't go down without swinging my wrench at someone's head!

I held in my breath as the door creaked back closed, my heart racing and pounding so loud I was afraid whoever else was in the room could hear it too. I clutched my wrench tightly to my chest as my palm grew sweaty with anxiety. The only people I could think of entering the room was Christian or who I'd most dread - Roma. I'd fight with everything I had if it was him, I knew if he found me that something awful would happen...

"Winry?"

My heart exploded with relief at the sound of Ed's voice as I dropped my wrench from my hand and quickly stepped out of my hiding spot, only to feel my chest tighten with a sickening feeling at the sight before me. His shirt was ripped in several places, revealing some rather deep looking knife wounds, one in particular across his shoulder and chest that needed tending to right away. My eyes brimmed with tears as I met with his, his face looked so tired - so drained for someone in his twenties...I brushed away my tears and quickly led him to sit down on the bed.

"Do you have any medical supplies in your bathroom?" I asked, grabbing at the buttons of his shirt to undo the front. He looked away in embarrassment.

"Jeez Win, I can undress myself. It's not as bad as it looks."

"If it wasn't as bad as it looks, you'd be across the floor right now because I hit you with my wrench you ass." I retorted, but I couldn't help but smile in relief - he still had the strength to be snarky which usually meant good things. "So do you or not?"

"The only thing I can think of is the bottle of whiskey in that cabinet over there - near the dresser. I used it to clean out Christian's bullet wound when Roma shot him in the leg about a month ago. You know I've never been much of a doctor, but I knew it would at least clean it out." He hissed as he shook the shirt off his shoulders and threw it to the side where it hit the wall and fell to the ground. I decided against commenting about Christian and Roma's predicament as my eyes caught sight of the angry slice across his chest.

"You're going to need stitches on this one." I frowned, examining it closer. "Do you at least have any bandaging for me to wrap the other cuts on your arm?"

"Did you not just hear me tell you that I'm not much of a doctor?" He spat sarcastically. Why was he always so snappy?! I rolled my eyes and looked around the room, my dress becoming irritating the way it constricted my legs, but it gave me an idea. Wrapping my fingers around as much fabric I could grab, I ripped near my upper thigh as I heard the dress tear. Edward's face reddened as he looked away and shielded his eyes with his good arm. At any other point of time, I would have been insulted.

"Winry!?"

"Will you just stop it? You've seen me in much less before. We don't have time for you to act like a child." I groaned, rolling my eyes. "This fabric will work as good bandaging once I make it into strips. I need to clean your wounds first."

I threw the piece of torn dress onto the bed beside him and walked quickly over to the cabinet, grabbing the bottle of whiskey. My legs felt somewhat joy to be free from the restriction of the dress, the frays of fabric tickling my upper leg from where I had ripped it off. Why he was embarrassed was beyond me, nothing was hanging out for him to see anyways. I ignored the grumpy blonde as I bounded to the bathroom, throwing open the cabinet doors in search of some kind of sewing kit. With all of the rooms in this house, they had to have something along the lines of a suturing kit! I wanted to avoid using a basic needle and thread as it would probably lead to infection.

I thanked my lucky stars at the sight of a small medical bag set far in the back, it had no bandages, but it did have a small suture kit I could use - enough for the one wound that needed stitches. It wasn't that Edward wasn't a "doctor" as he put it, he was just careless when it came to his health. I grabbed two small cloths, wetting them with warm water to wash away the dried blood. Taking everything into my arms, I hastily walked back over to Edward who eyed the materials with caution.

"You're really going to stitch me?" He raised his eyebrows. I scoffed, setting down everything beside him.

"Are you telling me you're afraid?"

He scowled at me and ran a hand through his bangs, yanking the damp cloth from me as he began to scrub at his skin. Without thinking I smacked the back of his head, exasperated at his actions.

"You're going to make it worse, give it to me!" I sighed, taking the cloth from his fingers. I sat down carefully on the bed next to him, listening to him mutter obscenities as I gently cleaned the two knife wounds on his arm. I could feel him tense up when I applied pressure to certain areas and knew for sure he would be covered in some deep bruises the next morning...I frowned sadly, remembering that it was my work that did this. Edward must have caught on to my thoughts as he let out a deep breath.

"This isn't your fault."

"But, I-"

"Winry. If this is what it takes for you to be safe, then I'll go through it as many times as I have to, got it? If that jackass wants you to put a goddamn cannon in his automail - you do it. The point is for you to survive this till we can leave, okay?" He said, his voice stern. I nodded my head and said nothing else of the matter, fighting about it wouldn't do either of us any good. "If it makes you feel any better, this isn't even the worst pain I've gone through..."

I tensed up, afraid of what he might say. I knew there were times he hid what he had gone through to get their bodies back, but I had made peace without knowing of it after they were home.

"Oh?" I questioned, my voice shaky. He rolled his head back and closed his eyes.

"Mhm, that rejection from when we were kids hurt way more than this." He smiled, peaking an eye at me. I widened my eyes and looked at him incredulously as my face heat up.

"You mean when you and Alphonse were fighting over who would marry me?"

"Yeah." He laughed. "You said you'd never go for a guy shorter than you."

I was a bit taken back by his sudden joking, especially when it was about his height, but a smile crept onto my lips as I realized he was trying to get my mind off of what was happening around us, even at his expense.

"I guess you're lucky you grew or I would have turned you down twice." I smirked, wetting the other cloth with the whiskey bottle and carefully cleaning the cut on his forearm.

"Oi!" He hissed, but if I'm honest I wasn't quite sure if it was the sting from the whiskey or the sting from the jab at his height.

We stayed in silence for the next few minutes, despite the occasional growl or hiss as I used the whiskey to clean out the areas to avoid infection. While I was pretty accustomed to the sight of blood, I couldn't help but cringe at how painful each looked. I ran my fingers softly over what appeared as faint scarring.

"What happened here?" I asked, scrunching my eyebrows together. Edward peered at where my attention had glanced off to and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"It was a while ago. A pole went through me."

"What?!" I gasped flabbergasted. "You never told me anything about that!?"

"It's fine! Obviously I'm still here!" He stated annoyed. My heart tightened as I realized that Edward had endured so much more than I could have imagined. Sometimes it scared me how much he kept everything in, like it was just sitting inside, engulfing into a toxic mess. I exhaled deeply while using the strips I made from the dress to bandage his arm, pleased with how well the fabric worked. It's ability to be tight and stretch worked in replace of medical wrap. I leaned back and placed my hands in my lap, looking Edward in the eyes. He blew his bangs from his view and gave me a questioning look.

"That." I pointed, "I'm going to have to stitch that one and it's going to hurt."

"Psh, well, you already know I've been through worse." He scoffed. I rolled my eyes in return.

"You'll need to lay back for me." I instructed as I grabbed the suture kit from nearby. He kept his eyes to the ceiling as I prepared to clean the cut, my hands slightly shaky. I'd never sewn much in general, let alone someone's skin!

"Fuuuuuuuuuuck." Edward growled as I cleaned the area with the whiskey, biting my lip as my nerves crept up my back. This was going to be very difficult, but the wound needed stitched shut. I had wished a medical staff was available and you'd think they'd have one - but Edward had told me early on that the only one with actual medical skills was Roma. I very much doubted he would be of any help...

I steadied the needle as I brought it closer, internally cursing myself for being in this position. Unfortunately sitting from the side was not working well with steadying my hand on my elbow -I'd need to sit on him directly to be able to close the wound properly, and knowing Edward? He would just flip out and end up on the other side of the room from the affection...probably rip open his wounds again too...

"Stay there." I said, my knees sinking into the bed as I sat up directly and threw a leg over to straddle his hips. As I expected, Edward reacted with a furious blush and incoherent noises. "This is the only way I can steady myself properly so just calm down. Honestly, like you said - you've been through worse than this." I smirked down at him, referring to our night he left the base. I wasn't fooled, I knew what crossed his mind as he kissed at my thighs that night. I shook away the chills that went down my spine, realizing this wasn't the time to be lost in my thoughts. I needed to focus at the task again. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, I leaned towards him and brought the suture needle to his skin. My stomach did a slight flip as I applied pressure, estimating I'd need to do at least 8 stitches where the blade cut deepest. Edward tensed up greatly, his hands grabbed at the bed as he swore under his breath. I decided it was best to do it as quick as I could and began with the second stitch. He was in pain, but I was impressed by how well he was enduring it, his body slightly moving underneath mine. He mumbled something under his breath after the third stitch, causing me to lift my head slightly and look at him.

"What?"

"Distract me." He repeated. "Literally fucking anything."

I paused briefly, thinking to myself. Edward always seemed most distracted by being embarrassed...I smirked and brought my attention back to the knife wound, feeling my face heat up, there was no harm in having fun with such a rare opportunity. He DID say to distract him with anything.

"How many kids do you want?"

"Jesussss Winry that's not what I meant! Fuck!" He growled as I applied pressure again, fourth stitch done, halfway complete.

"You said to distract you!"

"Ask me something else!"

I pouted, unamused by his response and leaned back on his hips.

"You said anything."

"Ughhh Winry! I didn't mean stuff like that while you're fucking bouncing on my god damn hips!"

"I'm not bouncing on your hips! Don't exaggerate!" I blushed, pulling my dress down as it inched up my thigh from being in a straddling position. "Why would that question be embarrassing anyways?"

"Ugh this shit is more torturous than that needle! BECAUSE! We haven't even...and to even have kids would be to..."

I blinked a few times. What was with him and talking about sex?

"Asking how many kids you'd like to have doesn't have to lead to a conversation about sex." I stated bluntly.

"WELL YOU HAVE TO HAVE SEX TO HAVE CHILDREN YOU MECHANIC FREAK."

I groaned, beginning to feel rather drained myself as I quickly went back to suture the wound once more, wanting to be finished. Edward hissed again as I finished the fifth stitch quickly and began on the sixth.

"I do want kids..." Edward grumbled and I couldn't help but allow a smile to appear again on my lips, chuckling softly. I never really thought about us being parents, while I knew it would eventually happen - we still had a lot of work as a couple. For one...these kind of little matters shouldn't lead to explosive embarrassed fits from Edward. That needed to stop at some point. I shifted slightly, resting my body on his as I finished the seventh stitch, apologizing as he winced slightly.

"I know. Alphonse told me." I grinned, feeling his body shift as he lifted his head to look at me.

"You and him both enjoy making me feel uncomfortable." He replied, annoyance in his tone, as he rolled his head back down to the bed. I swiftly did the last stitch as he inhaled deeply from the pain. Taking a closer look, I examined my work, somewhat proud of being able to suture the wound. I wasn't a person who became queasy easily since I had seen my share of blood from automail surgeries during the port stage. But I found myself not wanting to leave my position on top of him, as another feeling began to overwhelm me. It had been so long since we were last able to be together alone for this long...I couldn't help but wonder if he could sense the change in the atmosphere as he began to sit up, leaning for support with his uninjured arm. Our noses almost bumped as I stayed sitting on his lap, catching my breath in my throat as he eyed me curiously.

"I think you should stay here tonight." He said, and I couldn't help feel an excitement surge through me. "I don't want to run the risk of Roma going to your room tonight."

"Why would he be at my room?" I asked softly, my desires making me feel slightly light headed as his gold eyes connected with mine. From the look of Edward's face, he couldn't notice a single thing about my attitude change. Thick headed idiot...

"He said some things that bothered me earlier this evening..."

"Like what?"

He raised his eyebrows unamused.

"I think you understand he said sexual things about you Winry. Don't play stupid." He scowled. "Are you going to sit on me all night?"

I felt anger ready to erupt out of my mouth, but decided to bite my tongue. No matter how frustrating he was being. Edward looked sideways, clearing his throat, finally sensing a shift in my mood. "Winry. Uh...we should really be staying focused. This isn't really the place to be...doing anything."

"Mhm." I nodded, but decided to ignore his words, feeling his breath on my exposed shoulders made me shiver slightly.

"I mean my arm is in-in-injured so I think maybe we should just go to bed." He stuttered.

"Are you assuming I'm trying to do something?" I smiled, letting my lips fall on the corner of his jawline as I kissed him softly. I heard him swallow nervously.

"Well what the hell would you call this then?" He retorted sarcastically. I placed a kiss on his neck before bringing my gaze to meet his nervous eyes.

"It's only kisses, Ed."

"It's never just kisses with you! Next thing I know you're fucking convincing me to sleep in my bed every night!" He scowled. I looked at him annoyed as he continued his charade. "And I need to keep my mind clear, if Roma comes around I need to be able-"

I repositioned my hips to dig into his, hoping he would stop talking after feeling me press myself against him. His eyes widened as he stared at me in shock. I smirked slightly as I felt him become aroused. Edward may have been obstinate, but so was I, and I was going to win this fight. I leaned towards his ear and pressed my lips softly as I whispered,

"I promise. I'll be good." Granted, I wanted to finally give myself to him completely, I didn't want it to happen here, especially when he was injured the way he was. But it didn't mean I couldn't at least alleviate his mind with a little fun. While he might not admit it, he needed physical touch, he needed someway to find peace for the time. I loved him and wanted to care for him.

"Winry that is not being..."

I pressed myself against him again causing his mouth to open ajar as he looked at me incredulously. I felt my lips part slightly, wanting to draw this out slowly, biting back the moan that stuck to the back of my throat. It wasn't just him that needed to be touched though...we were surrounded by negativity in this place, and for once I felt safe enough to just be in the current moment. I leaned away slightly, finding the zipper to my dress and sliding it down my side.

"Winry..." Edward choked, his face tainted pink as he watch me slide the dress (well, what was left of it) over my head to leave me in my underwear and strapless bra.

"Just relax." I smiled as brought my hands to cup his jawline as I let my lips meet his before he attempted to push me away.

To my pleasant surprise, I found us leaning back as he grabbed me around my lower back with his good arm, holding me close. I was very cautious not to put any weight on the injuries present on his chest and other arm, as I continued to kiss him deeply. His fingers dug into my lower back as I again rubbed my hips against his. He broke the kiss with a low grunt. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I grew excited, almost too enthusiastically yanking to undo his pants. It felt like it took forever for Edward to be comfortable, and in this rare moment he was allowing us to be more intimate than I thought he would this night. He sat up with me in his lap rather quickly and I thought for sure it was going to come to a crashing halt. Just like him to do something to ruin the moment we were getting farther...

But I found him kicking the rest of his pants off, leaving him in his black boxers as he tightened his grip around my waist, bringing his other hand up to my hair, entangling his fingers as he pressed his lips into my neck, trailing kisses down my collarbone.

"Ah...Ed...ah, your arm." I moaned softly, leaving my hands to rest on his shoulders as I tried to put a little space between my body and the injury on his chest...which he seemed to care less about at the moment. My mind went to cloud nine as he lifted his face from kissing near my breasts, displeased with the article of clothing that kept him from kissing further. I blushed deeply as his golden eyes stared at mine intently. It took me a second to realize he was asking me silently if he could take my bra off as I felt his fingers play with the clip on my back. Saying I was shocked was an understatement. I could feel him pulling at it impatiently, but waiting for my approval as I enjoyed the moment a little further before leaning in to kiss him. Almost immediately I felt the clip unhook as the piece of clothing fell off of me. I felt slightly shy as Edward pulled away from my lips to look at me. I bit my lip as his eyes trailed down my body, but I didn't dare cover myself up. I wanted this so much, and knew any first intimate moments would be slightly embarrassing. It wasn't long until he was kissing me again, his tongue dancing in my mouth. As we continued kissing I found a new rhythm occur in my hips as I rubbed myself against him, hating the fabric that separated us as I grew more needy. I moaned deeply as I pulled away for air.

"Ed...I.." My thoughts immediately halted at the sight of blood running from the wound on his arm. Quickly reacting, I removed myself from the bed grabbing the nearby cloth from earlier, I wiped his arm and instructed him not to move any further as I undid the bandaging to replace it with new ones. However, I was taken off guard by the feeling of his lips on my neck as he whispered for me to just leave it be.

"Edward I can't leave it be, you've lost a lot of blood as is!" I breathed, desperately trying to keep my head straight as he nipped near my collarbone. "This is...ah, so unlike you." Out of all the times to be persistent, it would be during a time like this. I shuddered as the feeling of his fingers slid over the rim of my underwear, twisting around near my hip.

I was almost convinced to check him for a concussion - the way he continued being affectionate just seemed so far from his usual attitude...

Edward's POV

"This is...ah, so unlike you." Winry let out a breathy moan as she struggled to take care of my arm.

It was unlike me to be this open with affection, hell I was surprising myself. But I had spent years of my life holding everything in, and after this evening, something in me just snapped. I was tired of pulling away from feeling anything. Every time I kissed her at that moment was giving my mind freedom from my own whirling thoughts. I had gone so long without human comfort because I pushed it away, convincing myself to be strong, that I hadn't realized how much I needed said comfort. Winry's skin felt like electricity on mine, I couldn't explain it any other way. All I knew was that I couldn't keep my hands off her - to the point I could barely feel the pain in my arm or above my chest.

"Edward!" Winry gasped at me as my fingers twisted around the only layer of fabric that kept her covered. I quickly withdrew my hand and shifted my eyes away, feeling my face heat up awkwardly. At first I was worried that maybe I had gone too far, but that thought immediately left as soon as it came when I watched Winry shudder with pleasure. A grin played its way across my face as I took her into my sight. She was beautiful, everything about her - from her temper to her laugh made me crazy about her.

Then a thought hit my mind.

"Fuck..." I said, eyeing the bloody shirt and vest that lay on the floor. I had put the ring in the pocket...what if it had fallen out during the fight?! I reacted immediately and stood from the bed, causing Winry to swear at me as she fell onto the mattress. Ignoring her threats, my fingers dug into the vest pocket, searching desperately for Winry's mother's ring. I could already hear Pinako threatening me with death at the thought of having to tell her I lost it. A cold feeling came into contact with my fingers as I felt the small piece of jewelry had somehow remained safely inside. I breathed out deeply as relief washed over me like a tidal wave. I got to live another day.

Thankfully my back faced Winry as I gripped the ring tightly in my palm, tossing my bangs to the side as I stood up correctly. And then another thought struck me, one that I had completely forgotten about while getting carried away just a few minutes prior - I had told myself that I had to give her the ring before we had sex. I held a lot of respect for Winry, and while I wasn't that old fashioned - mainly because I highly doubted we could wait till after we were married to have intercourse, hell the way I got so caught up tonight was evidence of my self control wearing away. I took a moment to think it over, hearing Winry from the bed call my name. I definitely didn't want to give her the ring in this hellhole...and I DEFINITELY didn't want to have sex here, no matter how enticing Winry looked right now...It just didn't sit well with me.

"Edward?"

I kept the ring hidden in my hand as I turned around, shooting her a small grin.

"I was worried I lost the notes for Alphonse, I forgot I no longer had them." I lied, wincing as I moved my shoulder, the pain starting to rear its angry waves back at me. As Winry turned to pull the covers back from the bed, I quickly opened the night drawer and shoved the ring inside, hearing a faint clinging as I closed the drawer.

"You should lay down, it's probably going to start hurting more soon, you should try to fall asleep before it really kicks in." Winry said softly with concern, pulling the covers away for me to lay down beside her. I nodded, climbing in beside her. It was strange, but it was the first time I truly felt calm at night here. With Winry being in my room I didn't have to worry about her, and I knew Roma was too busy putting himself together after the job I did on his face.

"Thank you."

I blinked a few times and turned my head towards her. She was facing me on her side, the covers clenched to her chest with a faint blush across her cheeks.

"For what?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. She leaned over carefully, avoiding my injuries as she kissed me softly. Once again desire stirred in me, but I pushed away that feeling to my best ability.

"For being more open physically." She smiled, biting her lip. I gulped nervously as my usual traits began to kick back in, realizing that I'd probably never outgrow my awkward stance with intimacy.

"God damn it Winry, why do you always say embarrassing shit." I scoffed, closing my eyes as I listened to her chuckle. I felt the bed shift as she lay back down, leaving her arm lazily across my midsection. I smiled, as I peaked one eye open to sneak in one last look of the beautiful blonde woman.

For everything I had been through, I'd go through it again if it meant that it ended with her being my wife.

Most stubborn woman ever.

PHEW! Over 9,000 words! This chapter had a lot going on and was quiet long! But I thought I'd alleviate some tension for all of you towards the ending ;p I know I'm dragging out their intimacy, but I think it makes it so much better! I always pictured these two having an awkward but sweet time getting to that point. Edward came off as having spurs of confidence (while being embarrassed) whenever he spoke to Winry in the anime or manga, so it's really important for me to put that into his character! I couldn't picture him as being the kind of guy to be so physically open right away, and I still pictured Winry as being a bit shy during those moments happening too. Anyways, I really appreciate everyone who reviews! It really helps when I know others are enjoying my story. I am writing this for leisure, but it's really nice for my work to get noticed! So thank you!