Silkspun Dreams I

cherries

It was one of those hot summer afternoons where the sun beat relentlessly on the earth and the breeze refused to stir even a little. Even the bugs were too lazy from the heat to buzz persistently in the ears of those who dared to venture outside. However even though the air was unbearably hot, the shade was still fairly comfortable. Thus those brave souls who decided to go outside could usually be found underneath a tree or in the shadow of a house. There was a huge tree near the Rockbell house. It was an old oak tree that had been planted when Pinako was still a young woman. Now it was a monstrous thing with twisting branches dotted with thick green leaves healthy even with the summer's drought. Sunlight could barley pierce through these leaves, thus underneath the giant tree was mostly shadow with he occasional patch of light. It was truly a heaven on earth during these hot days and today Winry and Ed had it all to themselves.

Edward had trashed Winry's precious automail yet again, but for a change it wasn't his arm, but his leg. She was baffled in how he did it (and was too afraid to ask) but he had somehow managed to bend the leg at an odd and very wrong angle. Thus he arrived at Winry's house in excruciating pain and once Winry removed the leg and took it apart she discovered why: the wires connected to his nerves had been twisted around each other. It hadn't taken long to fix it, only a couple of hours and it only took that long because the heat made it hard to concentrate. She had reattached it when finished and cared for Ed through the fever and pain that was accustome to automail. However when she returned after refilling the bowl of cool water, she found him on gone. Worried, she searched the house for him and found out from Al that he had slipped outside.

"Is he crazy!" Winry had exclaimed upon hearing this, tossing the bowl of water across the room where it landed on Den, startling the poor dog to death. "He shouldn't be in this heat with a fever!"

"He said he was fine. He has stuff on his mind," Al had replied absently. "He's worried."

Well, this had certainly done nothing to ease Winry's worry, especially when Al refused to elaborate. Thus she had ventured into the heat in as little clothing as possible (while still maintaining modesty) and found Ed underneath the giant oak tree, lounging on his back in nothing but his blue boxers and a white undershirt with arms bent behind his head. Next to him was a pile of plump red cherries piled neatly on a checkered cloth. The cherries had been stolen from the nearby cherry tree and the cloth had been taken from Winry's kitchen. She sat down near him without a word, knees coming to her chest and leaning back on her hands.

And then there was nothing but silence, save for the occasional sputtering lawnmower or laughing child splashing in the river. Ed eventually sat up to snatch a cherry from the pile and ate it, eyes lazily scanning the rolling hills in the distances. But as lazy as they seemed, there was a distant gaze hidden within their golden depths. She hated that look. It was always so sad and so lonely. And it always meant he was contemplating something dangerous that would make him leave her once again... She reached over and took a cherry for herself, eating it slowly to savor the taste. She then twirled the small stem in her hand, now sitting back to back with Ed.

"Do you know what they say about cherry stems?" Winry suddenly said, startling herself.

Ed blinked and glanced over his shoulder at her curiously.

"What?"

Winry smiled and held up the stem in her fingers, continuing to twirl it.

"You mean you don't remember? Nelly told us about it when we were all kids."

"I don't remember," Ed replied, shrugging as he took another cherry before turning away.

Lazily he leaned his back against Winry's, causing her to shift a bit in surprise. He played with the sweet food in his fingers before dangling it ridiculously height above his face and dropping it onto his outstretched tongue. Winry blushed for reasons unknown and quickly stuffed another cherry in her mouth to distract her as Ed played with his own cherry stem.

"Are you going to tell me or what?" Ed asked, sounding uninterested but deciding to humor her.

Winry hurried to finish her cherry before answering. "If you can tie a cherry stem into a knot with your tongue quickly then it means your a good kisser."

There was a pause as Ed seemed to process this information. He then suddenly chuckled and swiped another cherry from the rapidly decreasing pile.

"Is that so?" He said.

Winry nodded, suddenly feeling very embarrassed and childish. It had been funny when they were little merely because they had no idea what it really meant as they tried to tie stems with their tongues to see who was faster, laughing helplessly when neither of the trio could successfully do it. But now at age sixteen it was obvious what the whole thing really meant. Still Winry wondered what had possessed her to say such a stupid thing.

"I'd rather find out the old fashion way," Ed was saying when Winry returned to reality.

"Huh?"

"If you want to find out if someone's a good kisser, kiss them."

Winry blushed again. That was Ed for you. He truly had a scientific mind, always thinking logically instead of focusing on the whimsical and occasionally unexplained of something. Everything had to be black or white to him; right or wrong. It was hard to connect with a mind like that, yet anyone who knew them both swore Winry had done it. She honestly couldn't see it.

"I suppose that's one way, but it's a little personal, don't you think?" Winry chuckled, eyes never leaving the twirling stem in her fingers.

"Not if it's someone you've known for a long time," Ed shot back.

Winry felt her heart oddly begin to race and her face felt hot (somehow she could tell). Why was she reacting this way to such simple words?

"Try it," Winry urged, poking Ed's back.

And then everything happened so fast. Suddenly he had turned to face her, cupping his flesh hand on her cheek and bringing her face to meet with his. Their lips touched in a light kiss that set Winry's body on fire. Instantly his lips met hers again in a more Hollywood-esque kiss that Winry feverishly returned. Suddenly she could not get enough of his taste and surprised herself when she dared to do more, teasing his lips with her tongue and moaning quietly when he allowed her entry. And she truly didn't want to part from the kiss but her lungs screamed for air and she had to reluctantly oblige, breaking away from his lips and panting for air.

"I meant try the stem," Winry muttered breathlessly, finding that her hands had somehow become tangled in his hair.

"I know," Ed replied with a smirk.

His lips twisting into that devilish smirk of his made her want to kiss him again. So she did and he met her hungrily. And thus it continued like that for most of the afternoon, the two sitting in the shade of the tree, kissing away without a single regard for the world (or for poor Al who had come out to find them only to quickly flee in embarrassment) Suddenly nothing else matter to them but the other. Not the heat nor the excess heat they were causing from being so close for so long. Eventually Ed settled his head into her lap and closed his eyes in bliss as Winry ran gentle fingers through his hair, occasionally leaning down to steal a kiss from his sweet lips.

They sat there together like that long after the sun had set and the cool chill of night crept over them.