She tugged on his ponytail, gently. He pulled back from the kiss, but kept his arms around her.

"Ed!" She put a hand over her lips and stared at him in horror.

He drew back, instantly panicked. "I – I'm sorry – I didn't mean to – OWW!"

Something smacked into his forehead. He stumbled backwards, holding his head. A small, silver wrench clattered against the cobblestones. He held it up.

"Did you hit me?"

"Y – yes, I did!" She snatched the wrench out of his hand. "And I'll hit you again unless you let me have a look at that automail! I'm sure you've broken it, haven't you?"

Edward realized that was her way of changing the subject. He dutifully rolled up his sleeve so she could look at his arm. She knelt down next to him, pulled a toolbox seemingly out of nowhere, and clicked it open. Inside was a steel arm, gleaming in the light, shining and new. Edward admired it, gliding a finger down its cold metal plate.

"Just like the old days, huh?" he asked, grinning at Winry.

"With a few changes, though. I've been studying automail mechanics, trying to get better…I wanted to make the best possible one for you. If you're done growing, you should be able to wear this one for a long time."

"I'm not nearly done growing yet," he laughed. "I'm trying to get past six feet!"

She conked him on the head with her wrench. But it was a gentle tap, not very painful. "Don't get any taller!" she said. "It's a pain to adjust the automail, and besides – I don't want to have to stand on tiptoe to kiss y – "

She blushed furiously. Edward stared at her with wide eyes. Then she hit him on the head again. This time, it was painful.

"OWW!"

"Don't be a whiner." She began to tinker with his shoulder, trying to detach the automail arm.

"Don't be violent!" he said, rubbing his head.

Winry ignored him. After a while she said, "Do you remember, when we were little, and you asked to marry me?"

Edward twitched. "Uh, yeah…I remember. But we were five, okay? It doesn't count."

She was carefully avoiding his gaze. "And do you remember…what I said?"

He paused a while before answering. "You said you don't like guys who are shorter than you." His heart started to pound in his chest again. He wondered if he would ever be able to keep his heartbeat down around Winry. But he knew it was now or never. He had to ask. Sometimes actions spoke louder than words, but sometimes…

Sometimes you had to say it out loud. Sometimes you had to throw your feelings out there. Sometimes…you had to get a move on, or you would miss out on the things that were really important.

This was a million times harder than battling a Homunculus. Edward closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and gathered his courage.

Edward turned to her, and met her gaze. They stared at each other, heartbeats going by, for one long moment after another. Her hands stopped moving on his shoulder, and instead rested there, pressed against his skin.

"Will you marry me?"

She gasped. Her fingernails dug into his shoulder. "Ed, tell me you're not joking."

He grinned. "Not joking." He leaned closer toward her, his nose inches away from hers. His face became serious again. "Marry me," he breathed.

She bowed her head and started to cry. Pale blue tears dripped onto the cobblestones.

"You never stop crying, do you?" he asked.

She smacked him on the head. "And who do you think is the one making me cry?"

He laughed. The sound bubbled out of him, and it surprised him. It had been so long since he'd laughed. He laughed harder.

"Winry…" He put a hand on the top of her head. She collapsed against his chest, pressed her face to his shirt, and cried. Edward held her.

"Please tell me that's a yes."

"I'm tired of talking," Winry said. "All we do is talk, talk, talk. So I'm not gonna say it."

"You won't say it?"

"I won't say it."

She kissed him. Their lips fit together easily, like breathing. Edward kissed her, his ears buzzing, his heart pounding. Talking was overrated. Talking on the phone was even worse. This…this was amazing.

He and Winry…somehow, they made things work. Just because they didn't speak their feelings, that didn't mean they didn't have them. Edward had very strong feelings. And now, he was finally getting to show them.

*O*O*O*

[Hey, it's me again – if you liked the story, drop me a note! As for the ending – I know that in the movie Edward goes back to Germany and leaves Winry behind, but let's just pretend that they find another way to break the gate and Edward stays in Amestris with Winry…I like a happy ending better than a sad one! Oh, and I need some more writing prompts, so if you've got an idea for a good FanFic, I'm willing to take requests. Thanks! :D]