It had been three months in Creta, and Ed had finally done it. He stretched, preparing for the confrontation he would soon face. This quiet town couldn't even judge the dangers he would be in. It was time to return, and show Ametris and his family all that he had done. He gulped thinking of his big reveal, and what they would think.

"Should I call ahead and let them know?" he thought out loud, then decided against it. After all, there was no point in worrying her even more. Ed heaved a sigh, and limped onto the train platform, gripping his crutches. He really had done it this time. "Yup, Winry is going to kill me."

The entire trip back, Ed gazed out the window and contemplated how his reunion with Winry would go. First, she was going to furious about his leg. Then perhaps she would soften, knowing that it was accidental. And then after..Ed didn't know what would happen. Would she recall his confession of three months ago, or pretend it never happened? Would they kiss? It was almost enough to make him attempt to fix the dumb automail himself.

"Hey you alright, son?" Ed looked up at the voice. It was the older man in the next seat. "You're turning mighty red there, boy. Need a drink to cool down?" He held up a flask with questionable contents. Ed laughed nervously, "No sir, I'm alright. Just preparing for the future."

"Oh, I see." The old man winked. "Got a young wife waiting at home for ya, huh?"

"Ah..no. N-no she's not my wife!" Ed had turned a rather ripe shade of plum. He old man just laughed, "I'm just joshin' ya, kid. Oh, this here's my stop." He tilted his hat, "Have a nice day." Ed returned the sentiment, and resumed the internal monologue. Eventually he started drifting to sleep, and his thoughts simplified into one word, "Win...ry."

The train whistle blew loudly, starting him awake. "Everybody off! Last stop of the night! This is not a sleeper train!" The conductor was shouting over the trains intercom. Ed gathered his things and headed to the hotel not far from the tracks. He slept through the night, and boarded the next train east in the morning.

The train transferred around noon, and Ed grabbed a sandwich at the stop. About two hours later, the train had to stop for Amestris' border. Border patrol checked everyone's passports with no issues, and the ride continued. The ride was much the same way all throughout the western section of the country.

The next day, and a new train away, Ed was passing through central. The train was much more crowded on this ride, and Ed had to share his seat after Central station. His seat mate was a young boy, eager to make friends.

"Hello, Mister! Where are you headed?"

Ed smiled with his answer, "Home."

"Where's that? Is it east? My home is. That's where I'm going. I live in Ishval. Its scary sometimes, but I like it. Especially now that we have a new fuhrer. And mister Mustang is doing really well taking care of us." The kid was speaking ridiculously fast, and Edward's head was spinning to try and keep up. He interrupted the kid when he stopped to breathe, "Ishval, huh? You're brave. You don't look Ishvalan though. Did you move there to help rebuild?"

The kid puffed proudly, "Yup! My dad's a carpenter! He can build anything! I'm weak so I don't get to help much though." His words trailed off. Ed tried to console him, "I'm sure you can do something. Maybe make him lunch?"

"People already make lunches. I can do one thing, though."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Alchemy! I can help straighten bent metal at least! I'm not very powerful at alchemy either, but I guess it does make things easier."

"I bet it does. I used to be an alchemist, but.." Ed almost described the horrors he had seen, then decided not to revisit those memories. "I saw a man to a bad thing to someone, and I couldn't save her. I didn't want that power anymore."

The young boy was quiet, thinking. He posed a random question, "What's your name, mister? Mine's Hugh." Ed was taken aback by the name. It sounds so much like Hughes. "My name's Edward Elric. Nice to meet you, Hugh." Hugh gasped.

"I was right! You are the Fullmetal Alchemist who gave up his alchemy! Nice to meet you, Edward, sir!" Ed smiled again. The kid was so polite, so unlike him at that age. Actually at that age he... "Hey Hugh, how old are you?"

"I'm 10. You were only two years older than me when you got your state certification, right?"

That's what I thought. I was so lost when I was his age. "Yeah, that's right." He paused. "Hey, promise me that you won't do something as dumb as become a state alchemist. I know it seems cool, but trust me, it's not good. All you become is a dog of the military."

"But what about the Flame Alchemist? He seems like a good guy. I thought that's what a state alchemist was."

"That's how it starts, but eventually it just becomes corrupted. I know someone who will change all that when he becomes fuhrer, but it's gonna be a while." He doesn't know that his beloved Mustang is that same person, Ed thought with a grin.

Hugh was quickly distracted, or maybe was trying to change the subject, "Hey what happened to your leg? I thought it was supposed to be made of metal. Is that a broom handle?"

Ed cringed, "I, uh, had some complications. I'd rather not go into detail." He didn't want to have to explain his humiliation twice; telling Winry was going to be more than enough. He leaned against the window to discourage conversation. He had begun to daydream of Winry, and didn't want that interrupted. Hugh seemed to get the clue, and pulled out an alchemy textbook to study. About an hour later, Ed felt something hit his shoulder. It was Hugh, having fallen asleep. Ed smiled. I wish I could have been like this. He resumed his gazing, and slipped into sleep himself.

Later, he was woken by Hugh pushing on his shoulder. "Come on! The train waiter is coming! With the food!" Ed snapped awake at the mention of food, just in time for the waiter to reach their table.

"Would you brothers like anything to eat?"

"Yes, two tuna sandwiches please, " Ed ordered. He was about to correct the man on the brother comment, but snatched a look at Hugh and changed his mind. The boy looked elated. When the waiter left Hugh piped up again, "Thanks for the sandwich! And, uh, can I really be your brother today? Not to replace your real brother, but just for today? Maybe you can help me with alchemy?"

"Uh, yeah sure. But just for today, ok?"

"Thank you! So will you help me study this?"

"Yeah, let me see..An Introduction to Building With Alchemy, huh? I guess this is to help your father out?"

"Yep! That's why I went all the way to central to get it! So see, this part.." They discussed the book non-stop until the train reached East City.

Ed yawned as Hugh put the book away. "That's about all I can help. I'm getting off here and heading south to Resembool." Hugh sighed, "Oh. Well, this is goodbye, then. I really enjoyed talking with you, Mister Elric."

They found a bench on the platform to wait for their respective trains to arrive. "Yeah me too, Hugh." The train to Ishval began to pull in. "Good luck with the rebuilding!" The boy replied, "And good luck with your leg, Fullwood Alchemist!"

Ed laughed, "Very funny. Now get on the train, and go help some people."

"Sure thing! Bye!"

"Bye." Ed waved as Hugh boarded his train and it began to depart. Fullwood Alchemist, huh? Kid's got some nerve. He laughed, but he's a good kid. I'll have to tell Al about him. When he thought of his brother, he remembered that Al was probably still in Xing. Probably with a young girlfriend. Which meant he would be alone. With Winry. He gulped, beginning to regret his trip home. Angry girl waiting or not, he still needed his leg fixed, and Winry was the only one he trusted for that. He checked his train's arrival, and went to grab some food while he waited. A few hours later, his train arrived without event, and Ed resumed his homeward trek. The trains switched again at night, and Ed stayed on for the nighttime ride in an attempt to get home that morning. He was woken by the train whistle, and the conductor shouting, "Last call for Resembool!" Ed jumped up and ran off, finally arriving at his destination. The doors to the train closed as soon as he made it on the platform. He had arrived, home at last.

Ed gathered up his things and set off on the long walk to Winry's house. The handle he was using as a leg was unstable, and the crutches were making his arms tired. He still couldn't believe he had messed up his leg this bad. How did it even fall off? All I did was trip over a chair! Loud barking interrupted his thoughts as Den ran over to greet him. Her leg is still there, Edward thought grimly. They continued heading to the house, Den barking madly the whole way. Winry was nowhere in sight by the time Ed reached the door, so he knocked, and then tried the doorknob. The house was still, with dishes in the sink and a dull tinkering coming from upstairs. "Is that Winry, Den? No wonder she didn't her me, not with the way she zones out when working." Leaving the dog downstairs, Ed laboriously made his way up the steps. He nearly fell halfway through when one of his crutches slipped. Finally, he was outside her shop door.

He knocked, "Hey, are you there Winry? Can I come in?" Silence. "I'm coming in, so I hope you're decent." He opened the door to step in, and there she was.

She looked the same as when he left her, silky blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She stared, mouth agape. Ed smiled, "Hey." When he broke the silence, she gasped, and jumped to cover her work desk. "E-Ed! What are you doing here?" She frantically threw a blanket over the project, only managing to cover half of it. Ed was confused, wondering what she had to hide. Winry came closer, shutting the door, "It is nice to see you though. Can we talk downstairs? I can make some tea."

"Uh, downstairs? I was hoping we could talk up here. I don't wanna go through that battle again." Ed looked panicked.

"What do you mean? Was Den bothering you?" She finally looked down, and shrieked. "ED! H-how? A broom handle..my precious automail." She sank to the floor as she spoke. Ed spoke nervously, "I, uh tripped. Over a chair. Then I landed on another chair. And then a huge library table collapsed on it. Sorry. I did manage to recover most of it though." He held out a bulging bag, "Here's the rest of it. Once again, sorry." Winry opened the door back up and put the bag inside. She came back out with the old basic leg he had borrowed before. "This should work for now, but it's going to be too short. Since I can't fix it in the shop right now you'll have to come downstairs. I can help carry you."

Ed couldn't believe that she was being so nice to him. She was probably fighting laughter at his humiliating excuse. "Thanks, Winry." He linked him arm over her shoulder, and they slowly made their way downstairs. Once on the ground floor, Winry led him to the old sofa. Ed grunted as she switched his broomstick for the leg. Afterwards she went to make tea. Ed made conversation during the wait. "Hey, where's Granny? You think she could have at least come to say hi."

"Oh, she's heading out to Central today. She'll be there for a few days. She went to pick up some automail supplies."

"Oh, okay." Winry sat down next to him, bringing the drinks. After she placed them on the coffee table, Ed reached for her hand. "Sorry I waited so long to come back. I really missed you."

Winry smiled back at him, "Well, I worried a lot for the first month, but I know you have trouble sitting still too long anyway. I'm really glad you came back, though. I missed you too." She snuggled closer to Ed, "I just wish you could have taken me with you."

"Yeah, me too. But I knew we couldn't leave Granny alone for that long. Wanna fill me in on everything that's happened while I was gone? Did Al ever visit?"

"Not much happens around here; you know that. I mostly just waited for you and Al to come home. I visited Rush Valley for a while, too. Al never visited, but I guess it's pretty hard to cross that desert. Oh, and I worked on a-oh. never mind."

"Never mind what? C'mon, is it that thing on your desk that you were hiding from me?"

Winry blushed as she spoke, "Maybe. Could you tell what it was?"

"Not a clue. I'm not a crazy gearhead, after all."

"Fine! Call me that again, and your new leg's gonna be so short, you'll have to crawl!" Winry puffed out her cheeks as Ed laughed at her teasing. "Sorry, sorry." He reached for his tea when Winry pulled him back, holding him close. "Ed, I know I said this, but I am really, really glad that you're back." Ed stammered for words, and failing to speak, settled with hugging her back. Eventually he managed to speak, "Yeah, me too." They held each other for a while, just glad to be together.

Later, Ed and Winry worked on making stew for supper. When they finished cooking, they sat down to eat. Ed cleared his bowl out within minutes, "I haven't eaten this well in forever! They have strange food out in Creta. And they always put milk in the food," He stuck his tongue out, "It's gross." They ate quietly for a while, Ed devouring his meal, and Winry slowly picking at hers.

"Hey, Ed, can I ask you a question?"

He swallowed his food, "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"I, uh, was wondering," she began to blush, "about last time we saw each other..."

Ed began to blush in return, "Oh, uh that."

"Yeah, um, did you really mean it? Because, uh, I did." Her face was nearing purple.

"Oh, I, uh, yeah. I did. I meant...that." He regained his composure, "My life for yours, right? Of course I meant it. Though now, equivalent exchange means a bit less. So think of it more as a gift...Will you let me give my life to you?" He was red again, brighter than before.

"I think I can do that," Winry smiled, mustering her courage, "And I believe I can, uh, give you a gift, too. Will you accept mine in return?"

"Sure thing. But more than eighty-five percent, right?" He teased her about her words from three months before. She turned red again, "Ed! Stop it!" He heard her mumble, "But my automail has to have something, right?"

"What was that? You want my help with automail?" He laughed when she started to complain, "I'm kidding, Winry." He held her hand where it lay on the table, "I promise I won't take you away from the automail. Anyways, I have to get my leg from somewhere." They finished eating like that, holding hands and chatting about Ed's travels in Creta. Afterwards, they did dishes and headed back to the couch. Winry fetched some blankets for Ed to use, since the couch was going to be his bed until he got his leg back. When she returned she sat next to him, quietly snuggling while he read a book on biology that he had bought in Creta. The sat like that for hours, Ed reading and Winry holding him close. The room was lit softly by a lamp, and the quiet company felt like the best way to come home. Eventually, the page turning slowed. Ed yawned, and Winry followed soon after. She moved to a more comfortable position, laying down almost. Ed began to slump, and they fell asleep on each other the same way they did as children.

In the small hours of the morning, Pinako came back, her trip being quicker than expected. She almost fell over with surprise at the couple on the couch. Ed and Winry had slid so that they were laying down, curled up on each other. She smiled at herself, grumbling about Ed never making appointments. Determined not to bother them, she went upstairs to her room, smiling at the "do not enter" sign on Winry's door. That girl had been working on something for 3 months now. Pinako guessed that it must be for Ed, but never asked Winry what is was or for what purpose. She knew it was an important secret.

Ed woke with a sniff neck, groaning as he struggled to realize where he was, and what heavy thing was laying on him. The heavy thing moved, kicking his currently wooden foot. He moved slowly, not wanting to fall off the couch. He panicked when he saw what, no who, it was. Winry was the heavy thing. She was still asleep, laying halfway on Ed, and leaning on the back of the couch. He was blushing furiously as events dawned on him. He remembered their exchange over supper, and the quiet night that followed. But he hadn't expected this. It was wonderful really. But his living leg had less feeling than the fake one, and he knew he needed to move. Preferably without waking Winry. He tried to move, but was stopped by Winry groaning and hugging his middle. He softened at that, and laid back down, shifting his leg out from under her instead of standing. The two lay there snuggling until Granny Pinako came downstairs. "Had a nice night, Ed?" She asked with a smile. Ed stammered, "Wha- what do you mean by that?" He turned a bright red.

"I'm only kidding. I'm glad to see you back, and it's nice to see Winry so happy, too. I think she's been making you a present while you were away."

"Yeah, I got that feeling too. I wonder what it could be?" He smiled down at the sleeping girl. "Hey, Granny, can I ask you something?" he paused, "I think I-what I mean is- I, uh...IreallyloveWinry!" Finally his words came out in a rush as he blushed.

"Ed, I already knew that. And anyway, that's not really a question. Is there something else you want to ask?"

"Um, well, I.." he thought his sentence over, "I wanton mare windy" his sentence came out is a garbled rush. Pinako laughed before speaking, "I didn't quite get that, but I think I know what you meant. "I want to name her Wendy," right? Though why you pick a name so close to the mother's, I will never understand. When is the baby due?"

Ed had gone form bright red, to pale, to red again. "WHAT? She's not- I mean we never-" He couldn't finish his sentence in his embarrassment. He tried again, "That's not what I said. Winry's not...having a baby." He finally managed to speak, redder than ever before. Granny sighed in relief, "Oh. That's soothing. I guess I would have known if she was. But what were you trying to ask then, Edward? Is it something worse?" Ed calmed himself, "I guess it wouldn't be worse. I mean, I don't want any more kids with to grow like Winry and I did, missing parents. They should have both, and I wouldn't leave like Hohenheim did. " After speaking, Ed realized what he had said. That he wanted Winry's children to have both parents. Presumably with him as the father. He tried to sink back into the sofa and hide under Winry. Pinako laughed again, speaking when she caught her breath, "I see why you were so embarrassed now! You want to marry Winry." She chuckled, "Go ahead. But if you really do want to spend your life with her, promise me that you'll take her whenever you go journeying again. She mopes when you leave her." With that, Granny picked up laughing again. This time, she snorted loudly, and Winry woke up. "Ed? What time is it?" Before he could answer, she was hugged by a still laughing Pinako.

"Winry! Did you hear? You and Ed are engaged! It gives this old woman new life!" Winry blushed and sat up before speaking, releasing Ed's legs. "He told you? And I thought you wouldn't be back for days now. What happened?"

"Oh, nothing much. One shop had everything we needed, so I took the first train back, and got here around three this morning. I didn't expect to find two young lovebirds sleeping on my couch." The couple blushed. "Oh, and Winry, do finish whatever it is you're making in the workroom. I have a new design I want to try, and you're hogging all the workspace." She went back upstairs. As soon as she heard a door close upstairs, Winry forcefully hugged Ed. "I can't believe you told her! And without me." She sighed, "Well, I guess I better go finish your gift so I can get to work on your leg. See you at lunch." She kissed his cheek and left him slightly blushing. Since Winry was busy, Ed took the opportunity to change his clothes and be presentable again. After, he continued his studying at the table.

Around noon, Winry's door slammed open. "Edward! Close you eyes, okay!" She was running down the stairs, and barely gave Ed time to mark his place in the book before shutting it and closing his eyes. "I finished it! I really want to make something for saving the country and everything, and I know how protective you were of the original, so.." She turned his chair and pressed something cool into his hands, "Here it is! Open your eyes now!"

Ed slowly opened his eye. In front of him was something he had never imagined seeing again. It was his old pocket watch. The sunlight made the front engraving sparkle, and Ed took it and looked more closely. The design was different now. Instead of the dragon of the military, it was his flamel symbol. He pushed the button to open it, and saw a carving on the inside, much like the one in his old watch. But in this one, it was different. Instead of the date of his entrance to the military and burning of his voice, it was the date of the promised day. He was speechless. Everything on the watch was beautiful. Winry hadn't missed a single detail. There were no bloodstains, no dents. He could hear the little gears inside doing their job, and was delighted. Finally, he managed to speak, "Winry, this is amazing. Thank you. I love it." He blushed, preparing for his next sentence, "And I love you." Winry smiled, then pulled him into her arms. He hugged her back, and everything felt right again. Finally, everything felt real. Saving the world no longer felt like a dream. It had happened, and he had this watch to prove it. Now that his thoughts were soothed, he put his hands to Winry's face and kissed her. Not for the first time, but it was different. This wasn't awkward. He no longer had the foreboding thoughts that he would accidentally leave her. He would be there, forever. And now he knew it. Winry sensed the change, and held him closer still, kissing him back deeply. Even though Ed spent that night on the couch alone, he felt more connected with her than ever before. She had repaired him, and fixed everything that had even been broken in his life. Winry was the best mechanic ever, a mechanic of a fullmetal heart.