Hello my fellow readers! Ok, this idea came to me one day while I was sitting in history class, sitting there bored out of my mind. Then the story came to me, and I just started jotting down some stuff. FYI, what you are about to read is all fluff, so if you don't like cute, happy stuff then you should hit that back arrow now. So, I hope you all enjoy it! And without further adieu, here is mah little fanfic...
Disclaimer: None of the characters Full Metal Alchemist belong to me. If they did... that'd be awesome.
Unspoken Memory
"Tag! You're it, Al!"
Edward Elric yelled, tapping his younger brother on the shoulder before speeding off in the other direction. He laughed as he heard his sibling calling after him, quickening his pace to ensure the safety of not being tagged. He ran as far as his legs could take him, sprinting past telephone lines, their house, and slowly stopping at Winry's place. Ed looked over his shoulder, and saw he had outrun Al by a long shot. He smiled smugly, deciding to take this moment to catch his breath.
"Hi, Ed!"
Ed wheeled around and saw Winry standing at the door, a bright smile plastered across his face. She wore a blue summer dress, a perfect match for the color of her nice, blue eyes, and her hair was cut short, but still had that silky, smooth look to it. Ed had to admit, Winry was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, and this was a lot coming from a boy of ten years, an age where cooties exsisted and kissing girls was the most horrid act anyone could ever commit.
"Hi, Winry," Ed replied after a moment. Winry stepped out, walking next to him with a peculiar look.
"Ew, you're all sweaty, Ed. What have you been doing?" she asked.
"Playing tag with Al. He's it, and I don't-"
Suddenly, Ed felt a tap on his back, which meant only one thing: he had been tagged. He turned around, and saw Al heaving over for air, gasping violently, but nonetheless he wore a victorious smile on his face.
"You're-it...Ed," Al said in between breaths before he collapsed dramatically to the ground. "I-don't-think-I-can-play-anymore..."
"Oh, come on Al," Ed jested, helping his brother up to his feet. "You're tired already?"
"Well you would be too if you've been chasing someone all day," Al replied, shooting his older brother "the evil eye."
"Poor Al. Do you need some water?" Winry asked.
"No, I'm fine Winry," Al politely refused. "Thanks anyways."
"So... what game do you guys want to play now?" Ed questioned. He loved games. It was his type of entertainment, a form of fun when books on alchemy rendered too much to read. He was in his childhood years; he was young, free, a fireball of energy, so why not have a little fun while it lasted?
"Something that doesn't involve too much running," was Al's response.
"Well, that eliminates everything," Ed said, sullenly.
"How about hide-and-seek?" Winry suggested. "There isn't too much running in that."
"Ok," Al and Ed responded simultaneously. The three of them look at each other.
"Who's going to be it?" Al asked.
"Well, whoever says-" Ed paused, creating an effect, "- 1! 2! 3! NOT IT!"
"Not it!" Winry shouted.
"Not- hey! That's not fair! I wasn't ready for that!" Al protested, but it was no use as Winry and Ed ran off in the distance.
"Count to 50!" Ed called to his brother. Al let out an exasperated groan. Today was just not his day for playing any games he thought to himself, silently vowing to get his brother back without any failure. He closed his eyes, shielding them with his arm to show he wasn't cheating, and began to count.
"1... 2... 3..."
"Where do we hide?" Winry hissed.
"4...5...6..."
"Um..."
Ed glanced around his surroundings and didn't see many decent places to hide: tall grass, wooden fences, telephone lines... all were places that would be too easy for Al. His eyes searched the horizon until they came upon a rather tall, and old tree that had what looked like a hole in the trunk, a potential hiding spot for the two of them, but it was too wide. If Winry and he were to hide in there, they'd bound to be found out.
"21...22...23..."
Ed shook his head. It was the only good place he could think of at that moment. Without a second thought, he took Winry's hand and lead her to the tree, running down the rolling hills to reach the hiding spot.
Winry stared at the dark opening with frightened eyes. "What're we-?"
"Just hide!" Ed franctically said, helping Winry inside the hole. Once she was in, he jumped inside, trying to keep away from the light that was coming from the sun so he could remain hidden in the shadows. It was a little cramped inside, so Winry and Ed were squeezed together, their shoulders touching. Ed tried to get into a comfortable position, but it was no use, and decided to just sit the way he was. He was sure that if his friends were here, they'd be making fun of him and Winry, and probably singing a song that would start off like "Ed and Winry sitting inside a tree..."
"Are you sure nothing lives in here?" Winry asked quietly.
"Ssshhh!" he hissed. "Be a little more quieter!"
"But Ed, what if something lives in here?" Winry's voice began to tremble. "I'm scared..."
"There's nothing to be scared of. I'm here," Ed reassured. He hated it when someone he was close to was scared. It made him feel frightened too, vulnerable almost to whatever was the cause of such intimidation. He hated fear, the cause of it, the feeling of it...
"Thank you, Edward," Winry whispered, linking an arm in with Ed's. He felt a funny feeling in the pit of his stomache, and did not move his arm away, even though his mind was telling him that as much Winry was a friend to him, she was still a girl. Then again, if that's what made her feel safe, he didn't want to bring back the frightening thoughts her mind was thinking of to scare her out of her wits. That was the last thing he wanted.
It had grown quiet, so he thought that Al was probably searching for them already. He wondered how long it would take his brother to find them. As much as he wanted to not get caught, he didn't like being squished inside a hole in a tree. So the two sat in the silence, waiting to see if they would be found out.
"I think Al's lost..." Winry said quietly after a brief moment of stillness. "He's taking awhile."
"That just means we found a good hiding spot," Ed replied haughtily. He felt her tighten her grasp on his arm, making his cheeks turn a crimson shade of red to his horror. He was thankful it was dark so she couldn't see him blushing.
"It's really dark in here..."
"Y-yeah," his voice squeaked back, making him feel stupid. 'This is just Winry!' he screamed in his mind. 'Just Winry!' But it was just Winry who was making his cheeks turn red, and his stomache flop for unknown reasons. It was just Winry he was hiding with... in a hole... inside a tree. But... why was it just Winry that made him think otherwise about the idea that boys shouldn't be friends with girls, or that girls are yucky?
His mind spun in confusion, and he stopped thinking about it all together. All this stuff was a little too much for him to think about for his developing brain.
"Ed?"
"Huh?"
"What do you think about me?"
A lump formed in his throat. He was wwwaaayyy too nervous, and he didn't like the feeling of it. He did stupid things when he was nervous.
"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to sound confident.
"I mean, do you think I'm yucky like other girls? Or I'm full of cooties?" Winry said questioningly. "That's what all the other boys say to me, and you're the only one who doesn't."
"Well..." Ed was trying to formulate a good enough answer. "Well... I think you're a really nice girl, Winry," and before he could stop himself, words spilled out of his mouth like a rushing river, " and you're really good with fixing things, something most girls I know can't or won't do. I think you're fun, since you always play games with Al and me. You're always by my side, and you always look really, really pretty even when-"
Uh oh. He had said too much. He clamped his mouth shut, eyes widening in shock of what he had just said. Oh no, what did Winry think of all that? Was she mad? Angry? Surprised?
"W-Winry?" Ed called to her. She was quiet and hadn't said anything after his little outpour. "Winry...?"
"You- you really think that, Ed?" she asked curiously. Through the faint light that began to shine inside, he saw a small smile on her glowing face. Ed seemed to have lost his voice and nodded in response, looking away from her. They were quiet for a while, neither spoke, neither moved. The world seemed still, quiet, calm... Where on earth was Al!
"Edward?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever kissed a girl before?" Ed was taken aback by such a question. She had never asked him about anything about girls, so this was a definite first.
"No." It was the truth. He had never kissed a girl before, except for his mother but that didn't count. He had always wondered why people kissed each other on the lips instead of just shaking hands or something. Exchanging saliva didn't sound so amusing to him, but he had seen so many couples do it, and they seemed to like it. So yes, one could say that he was a curious little fellow about things such as kissing.
"Me neither, a boy I mean," she responded. Ed didn't know what to say to this, and nodded understandingly. "I wonder what it's like to kiss someone," Winry continued, sounding dreamy and somewhat dazed.
"Yeah... Me too..." he agreed absent-mindedly for his mind was wondering where she was going with all of this.
"Really?" she asked, eyes wide. The arm entangled with his began to tighten once more, causing him to look up at her. The expression she wore made her look mischievious, as if her mind was planning something. He nodded his head slowly to her "Really?", unable to take his eyes off her for some unknown reason. It was like a magnetic force were at work here, drawing himself to her.
"Well... w-we could try a kiss..." Winry suggested shyly. "You know, just to see what it's like. I mean, you are a boy and I'm a girl, so... so- what do you say?"
Another lump formed in his throat, and he found it hard to swallow. Heck, he found it harder to breathe. Who would've known that all this could happen in a little game of hide-and-go-seek? How did this happen? They were just there to hide from Al, not to try kissing! Ed felt sweat beads forming on his forehead, and he knew his mouth was hanging open, but he couldn't help himself. His brain had turned to mush, leaving him there stupified and transfixed at her question.
"So?" she repeated. "W-what do you s-say?"
'What do I say?' his inner voice screamed. Yes, or no? Yes or no? 'Come on! Pick an answer, stupid! YES or NO!'
"Yes," his mouth opened in response, spilling out that three-lettered word. 'Yes? I said yes? WHY!'
"Really?" Winry smiled, still shy about this whole thing.
"Y-Yeah..." there was no going back now. He had said yes, and he was not going to back down on his answer. He was nervous. Petrified. He needed to use the bathroom. But no, it was now or never. "Ok, on the count of three, we'll... y-you know." Winry nodded.
"1..." he began to count.
"2..." He saw Winry close her eyes and lean over towards him. He decided to follow suit, and closed his eyes as well.
"3..."
The moment his lips met with hers, he felt as if he were flying. He saw fireworks in the back of his mind, exploding in the night sky then slowly shimmering back down to earth. Her lips were soft, and warm, and inviting, making him feel as if he were on Cloud 9. He could smell the scent of her hair: melon and cucumber, intoxicating and alluring. Was kissing someone supposed to be like this? he wondered. He somehow didn't want it to end, but he knew it had to if they wanted to breathe.
Once they pulled away, they gazed into each other's faces, reading the expression on them. They smiled at one another before turning away, cheeks glowing a bright shade of red. Ed placed a finger on his lips, recalling the way Winry had put her lips on his a mere seconds ago. They both knew that even the kiss lasted no more than 3 seconds, it would linger in their minds forever.
"Ed..." Winry's voice was small, "I-"
"It was-" Ed was flustered for words.
"I think I-"
"I feel-"
They looked at each other, and laughed, completely forgetting that they were hiding from Al. The sound of their laughing voices reverberated from the hollowness on the inside, causing an echo that could be heard for miles. When they stopped laughing, the kept their gaze on one another, smiling brightly.
"You think we should keep this a secret?" Ed asked.
Winry nodded. "It'll be just between the two of us."
Ed agreed. "My lips are sealed." They both chuckled at this, and pinky-swore with one another. Ed felt somewhat disappointed that they had make it seem like nothing happened at all for he wanted to tell the world. But a pinky-promise is a pinky-promise, so he couldn't tell a soul.
"There you are!"
They jumped up at the sudden voice, and looked outside the hole. There was Al, standing there with an biten apple in his hand, a peculiar look on his face. He bit into the apple with a raised eyebrow.
"So? What were you two doing in this tree?" Al questioned curiously.
"Nothing!" Winry and Ed simultaneously replied.
"Just waiting for you!" Winry cried, chuckling lightly as she got out from the hole.
"Yeah, and took forever for you to find us!" Ed responded, jumping out after Winry. "What took you so long anyways?"
"Oh," Al took another bite, "I was looking for you guys, but I couldn't find you. Mom needed help picking apples, so I decided to go help her. I heard you laughing, and came to find you."
Ed and Winry threw Al a death glare, chasing him around until they tackled him to the ground, tickling him until his face turned red. Al apologized million times over for them to stop, his eyes glittering with tears, until he dashed out from their grasp.
"Oh no you don't!" Ed called after him.
He looked over at Winry, who was still wore a bright smile on her face, and exhanged knowing glances. Neither spoke for they knew what the other was thinking just by glancing over at them. It would be an unspoken memory lingering in the back of their minds until time was no more, it was their secret and theirs alone.
"Want to see if we can outrun Al?" Winry asked with a grin.
"Let's," Ed replied, smiling. They laughed, and ran after Al, dashing over the rolling hills and into the setting of the sun.
A/N: I think I made the end a little too cheesy there... Sorry for that. :bows apologetically: So, whaddya think? I hoped you enjoyed reading it! I would love to hear your reviews, so please submit one by clicking on the little thingy down there that says "Submit a Review." Thanks for reading!