A/N Hello guys! This chapter is longer than the last one, so I hope that kind of makes up for the lateness (not one month though!). I had fun writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it just as much!

OH MY GOD I SERIOUSLY HAVE 100 REVIEWS!? Thank you guys so much! You have no idea what that did to my motivation to keep writing! :D I want to thank every one of you who reviewed this story at least once and I hope you don't stop 'cause I'm seriously loving you right now!

Disclaimer; I do not own FMA, yeah we know.

WRENCHES AND MASSAGES

"What am I gonna do!?" Winry asked no-one in particular as she paced anxiously back and forth in the cafeteria of the ice skating rink. Ed followed her with his eyes as he was slumped in a chair lazily and sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. "Ed! What. Am. I. Going. To. Do?! I only have ten days, Ed. Ten freaking days!"

He shook his head, exasperated. She had been at it for over an hour now and he just didn't know how much longer he would last. Just the fact that he hadn't had enough and stormed out of the place already amazed him. He wondered where this newfound patience had come from.

Squirming a bit in his seat, he leaned forward until his was resting his elbows on his knees and placed his chin on his palm. And sighed. "Relax. You said it yourself; you have ten days, Win." How many times had he said that already?

He already knew what was coming next.

Winry froze in her pacing and stared at him as if he had gone insane. Placing her hands on her hips, she started saying, "Exactly! I only have days. That's not much, not much at all! If you think about it, one day is twenty-four hours. If we subtract at least eight, which are used up for sleeping – and I'm not even mentioning the hours I'm spending at school and work, what does that leave us Ed!?" she babbled and when Ed opened his mouth to answer, she brought her palm forward to silence him and continued, "You don't need to answer that. But, what I mean is, we don't have time. No time at all." She paused for effect and looked at him seriously before throwing her hands up in the air and shouting, "What the hell am I gonna do!?"

Ed shook his head and slumped back in his seat, figuring there was just no way to calm her down. What Winry was freaking out over was simply the fact that in ten day's time she would have to perform at the ice skating competition. Only a few days ago she had been fine, babbling on about how excited she was about the whole thing and hoping she wouldn't do something stupid and humiliate herself again. It was a wonder how she managed to change moods all of a sudden.

Winry started pacing again, and Ed crossed his legs in a futile attempt to shift to a more comfortable position in the hard chair. He watched her with his eyes again as she moved back and forth until he got dizzy and stopped. He picked up his coffee and took a sip. He was sure that was most likely the reason he was still here, tolerating a freaking out Winry. Coffee did that to him.

"Ed..." Winry moaned dramatically and looked at him pleadingly. Ed didn't answer, but gave her his attention by raising an eyebrow. Winry faked a sob and sluggishly walked over to him only to flop down unceremoniously into the chair next to him. He gazed at her for a few seconds, and watched her as she pouted with her arms crossed over her chest. Ed took another sip of his coffee.

"This is ridiculous," Winry stated suddenly and Ed couldn't help agreeing wholeheartedly. She glared at him when he voiced his agreement sarcastically. Silence settled between them and Ed relished every moment of it, for he was sure it was bound to be broken sooner than later.

Not even five seconds had passed before Winry started bouncing her foot anxiously, making an incredibly annoying tapping sound which irritated Ed to no end. He clenched his teeth as Winry started moaning complaints again, until he was unable to stand it any longer and rested his hand on her knee firmly to finally make it stop.

"Winry, just...stop," Ed said finally, exasperation written clearly on his face. Winry looked at him and stuck out her bottom lip stubbornly. "But, Ed!" she whined helplessly and Ed cursed his fate and leaned back against his chair, coffee in hand. He took a large gulp.

"Ed, Ed!" Winry started and straightened up, resting a hand on his shoulder to shake him,"What am I going to do? I only have ten days Ed..."

"Winry, I know. It's no use worrying about it now. Come on, just shut up. Please." He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. A headache was starting to form, no doubt.

Winry huffed and reached over to the table to grab her glass of orange juice. For the first time in the whole hour they were here she took a sip. "Do you think I'll do well?" she asked after placing the glass back down on the table. Ed sighed and the answer almost came automatically out of his mouth. Imagine how many times he had answered that question already. Poor guy.

"Yes, Winry. I think you'll do fin- great!" he corrected himself at the last second, suddenly remembering how she had gone into a rant last time about how fine was certainly not good enough for first place and had dragged him all the way into the ice skating rink for the fifth time that day for him to evaluate her moves. He didn't want to experience that a sixth time. There was just no freaking way.

Winry frowned at his answer and Ed barely refrained from groaning. "Ed...great is not good enough for first place!" she exclaimed frantically. She shot up from the chair and started pacing again, while Ed nearly burst into tears from sheer frustration. Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad, but he definitely needed a break. And another sip from his coffee.

Winry was muttering furiously to herself now, brows furrowed severely with a hand on her chin sceptically. Ed didn't even want to know what she was babbling about this time. Maybe he should just find a random excuse to get away...

"Hey Win," he started, successfully halting her rambling and pacing. She looked at him curiously. "Yeah?"

"Gotta go," Ed said simply and made to stand up, but was pushed down forcefully by Winry, who now looked like she'd start hyperventilating any second. She gazed at him with wide and panicked eyes. "You can't leave!" she screeched and Ed cringed, but complied and sat back down. "Winry..." he moaned pathetically.

"Oh no, no, no, "Winry said, wagging her pointer finger at him like a parent would do to their offspring. "You're not going anywhere." Ed wanted to cry. "You're not leaving me alone to die in my stress, Ed."

"Oh so you're keeping me prisoner here to die with you?" Ed managed to infer. Seriously, why keep him here when all she was doing was saying the same things over and over again? It was just annoying for him and possibly tiring for her. Not worth it. Ed gulped down the remainder of his coffee and slumped back in his chair in defeat.

Even though he was continuously complaining, Ed actually enjoyed her company. While he felt like punching something from his suppressed anger and annoyance at her childish demeanour, he was hesitant to admit that that twisted expression on her face which was a mix of concentration, apprehension and thoughtfulness was actually kind of cute. With a groan, he made a move to sip his coffee only to realise there was no more. He moaned desperately.

Winry turned to him and glance at his cup which now contained no more coffee. She caught on fast and smirked. "Out of coffee are we?" Ed glared at her with great ferocity and she chuckled. "What some more?" She extended her hand to take the cup from him, assuming he would accept, but he shook his head. "If I drink more now, I won't be able to sleep. Because I know I'll drink more later anyway." That said, he sighed and rubbed his temples where the headache had finally made itself known.

She blinked and withdrew her hand. "Drinking so much is unhealthy you know." The expression Ed sent her way clearly stated that he didn't give a damn.

Winry shook her head with a smile and reclaimed her seat on the chair. After a moment of silence, Ed glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and noticed her staring at him sceptically, making him subconsciously squirm under her piercing gaze. She furrowed her brows as she looked at him and cocked her head to the side, making Ed suddenly feel extremely self-conscious. Did he have something on his face?

When she raised a hand to her chin and stuck out her bottom lip thoughtfully he had had enough. "What?" he snapped loudly, making Winry jump. She shook her head frantically and looked at her lap, mumbling, "Nothing."

Ed narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He stared at her as she fiddled with her hands in her lap, a small blush tainting her cheeks. He sighed, "Winry, what is it now?" Maybe he didn't want to know...

Her blush became more profound and she looked at him hesitantly. "Um...Can we please go in the ice ska-"

"No," Ed cut her off immediately once he figured out where this was going. There was just no way she was dragging him back in there.

Winry pouted and Ed felt proud of himself. But that feeling was cut short when Winry gained a glint in her eye Ed had just recently found out meant pain. Apparently, she had discovered his fear for flying metal objects, namely tools. It was by chance, but when out of sheer frustration she had lashed out at him a few days ago and threw her wrench to his head he had been willing to do anything for her as long as she kept that thing away from him. He still had that bruise. Now she was using it to her advantage. Damn her.

Winry lifted her bag off the floor and rested it on her lap where she started rummaging through it with one hand while she kept her attention on Ed. He gulped and stared at the bag with apprehension. When her hand stopped moving from inside her bag, Winry smirked and Ed paled significantly. Pulling out the gleaming metal object just enough for Ed to catch a glimpse of what he had named 'The Devil's horns,' Winry looked at him with an innocent smile and an expecting look.

Ed glared at her, clearly telling her that she was being unfair, but relinquished. "Fine! Just- just put that damn thing somewhere away from me."

Winry beamed and stuffed the wrench back in her bag before standing and dragging Ed with her by the sleeve.

"You're nuts, you know that?"

Winry rolled her eyes as she skated closer to him with practised ease. "Yes, Ed. For the last time, I am aware of my insanity. Please refrain from pointing it out again."

Ed huffed and made a move to shove his hands in his coat's pockets before losing his balance and deciding against it. Instead, he grabbed hold of the support bars. "Well, I'll keep saying it until you decide to do something about it. I mean, you can't threaten people's skulls with a wrench just because they don't want to do something for you! YOU'RE NUTS!"

Winry sighed and shook her head as she pushed herself and skated backwards. "Yeah, yeah. I got that. Besides, it's not like I hit you with it in the end!" she shouted from the other end of the skating rink. "You're overreacting, Ed!"

"Overreacting? You would have hit me if I refused!" Ed stomped his foot on the icy ground, thankfully managing to maintain his balance and not falling on his ass.

Winry laughed, albeit a little guiltily as she skated back to him. "Will you tell me your opinion on some of my moves?" Ed groaned and Winry glared at him. "Winry, we did that five times already, remember?"

The blonde's cheeks flushed red and she glared at him, 'Well, yeah but I need to practise and you were the one who agreed to help me in the first place! So deal with it!"

"Well, I didn't know you'd drag me here, threaten my precious skull with a damn wrench and then make me see and say the exact same thing five times."

What else was he supposed to do? He did agree to help her, and the first two times she had asked him he had gone willingly, but after the third time it was getting a bit too much. He needed a break and damn it didn't she understand that the cold did stuff to his automail? Now his shoulder was practically killing him!

Averting her gaze, Winry bit her lip and stared at the white floor. She looked downright pitiful and Ed suddenly felt bad. He had opened his mouth to seal his fate and tell her that yes he would evaluate her moves one last time, when a thought occurred to him and he shut it. He glared at her instead. This had to be one of her tricks. It had to be. She just wanted him to pity her and give in. That may have worked the first...twenty times or so, but after that he had managed to figure it out. And he was not falling for that trick ever again.

As he waited for her to realise that, he started rolling his right shoulder to relieve himself of some pain. Damn it all, the cold really wasn't good for his ports. As an automail mechanic, wasn't Winry supposed to know that? Or did she simply not care?

Looking up from the ground, Winry arched an eyebrow at Ed's seemingly futile attempts to stop his shoulder from hurting. She frowned. "Is your automail bothering you?"

Ed scowled at her. "Yeah well, the cold's not exactly the best damn thing for it."

Now Winry looked concerned. And Ed had to roll his eyes because her worrying about him didn't sit well with him. He stopped rolling his shoulder and just stared at her with an indifferent expression. "I'm fine. Now, let's get on with this." He slowly started skating towards a corner so as to give her abundant space (for she wouldn't let him get off) and motioned for her to move to the middle of the skating rink. Winry didn't budge. Ed raised an amused eyebrow at her reluctance to move and crossed his arms with an irritated expression. "I said I'm fine."

"No, you're not," she stated simply, making Ed sigh. "Winry, I said I'm –"

"Come on." Winry had already got off the rink and pulled her skates off and was now waiting for Ed to follow her example. He blinked. "So, we're not...?" He motioned frantically with his arms around the room. Winry shook her head. "I can't just leave you in pain, Ed."

For some reason he seriously doubted that. His thoughts must have shown on his face, for Winry gave him an annoyed look. "I'm not heartless, you know!"

Ed recovered from his brief shock and smirked amusingly, "Could've fooled me."

The glare Winry sent his way made him fear for his life, or more accurately his skull.

Once they were within the safety of the cafeteria, Winry instructed for Ed to sit on the floor, much to Ed's confusion. He looked at her with uncertainty but complied after an empty threat from the blonde. He moved around and squirmed restlessly in order to find a comfortable position.

"Hell, Winry why sit on the floor? We have chairs for a damn reason!" He was frustrated now; he just couldn't get himself comfortable on the wooden floor. However, he ceased all movement when he felt Winry's hands on his shoulders as she sat down behind him. He frowned and made to turn around so he could at least face her, but was turned back around. "What the hell, Winry?"

"Shush, Ed," was all Winry said for Ed to fall deathly silent. He just couldn't figure out where she was heading with this. "Can't we at least be face to face?" He felt weird having her behind him where she could do all sorts of things without him knowing. Hell, she could hit him with the cursed wrench and catch him unprepared!

"No." She removed her hands and seemed to drag her bag a bit closer to her.

Starting to worry now, Ed tried to at least turn his head but was baffled when Winry's hands returned and started going from the middle of his back all the way up to rest on his shoulders. He blushed in response but before he could demand she tell him exactly what she was planning her hands started massaging his aching shoulder and everything clicked. But that didn't mean that his whole face didn't light up. He went rigid and Winry's hands paused.

"Ed, relax your muscles. I can't do anything like this." Taking a deep breath and exhaling softly, Ed closed his eyes and tried his best to relax. Winry's hands started applying pressure once more.

To say it was heaven would be an understatement. It seemed like she was adept at this sort of thing, for the amount of pressure she was applying as well as the way her hands moved was definitely a job of an expert. Ed desperately held back a pleased moan. His shoulder had been killing him for some time now and this was paradise. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to sit here all day with Winry.

"Is this ok?" she asked quietly after a moment and Ed couldn't find words so he just hummed his response. It was perfect. He felt one hand leave his aching shoulder to rest on his other one, where it started moving soon after. He sighed in contentment as he subconsciously leaned into the touch, and further into Winry. She didn't seem to mind, but he felt her shift her position so she was more comfortable. She extended her legs slightly and wrapped her thighs around each side of Ed's hips. He didn't mind at all as long as she didn't stop moving her hands. A soft moan escaped him when she pressed too hard and immediately after she chuckled.

He barely refrained from whining when her hands paused and rested on his shoulders, immobile. He waited, maybe they'd start again when he felt movement and within seconds Winry had wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close.

"W-Win?" He blushed furiously when he turned his head to stare at her with a confused expression only to suddenly become aware of their closeness. Winry had closed her eyes and rested her head on Ed's left shoulder with a content smile on her pretty face while her nose was inches away from his neck. Her front was flush against his back and even though he would never admit it, Ed could feel everything pressed against him.

He stared at her face, mesmerised. The only time he had seen her so close up was the time he had nearly kissed her, which was only a few days ago but seemed like an eternity away to him. He stared intensely at her and was sure he wouldn't want to be caught gazing at her like that with the current expression adorning his face. He gulped as his eyes trailed down her face and eventually rested on the forbidden territory of her red lips. He bit his bottom lip as he stared at her kissable ones. It was like they were begging for him. Seeing them closer to his like this made them seem even more appealing for some reason. He reminded himself not to make the same mistake twice, for it would most likely be unfixable afterwards.

He managed to tear his gaze away when her eyes fluttered open a moment later. Her smile widened ever so slightly as a light blush dirtied her cheeks. She stared in his eyes and he just wished his face didn't resemble a tomato.

"Ok now?" she all but whispered and Ed had to remind himself to breathe as he felt her breath on his neck. She started stroking the hair at the back of his neck and then moved on to play with his ponytail by wrapping several strands around her finger gently. He swallowed and could only wish his voice didn't betray him as he mumbled, "Y-yeah." Winry seemed sceptical as she let go of his hair and brought her arms together around his neck.

He hoped the disappointment didn't show on his face as he realised the moment was most likely over. Taking a casual deep breath, he blinked in surprise when he felt her arms tighten around his neck and her thighs press against his hips even more. She rested her chin on his shoulder, making their cheeks touch. "Are you sure? The pain's completely gone?"

He considered his reply. She was giving him another chance. If he said he was fine then she'd move away and then the moment will be over completely, but if he...lied a little bit then he could at least keep her like that for a moment or two longer. He suddenly felt relieved for not leaving earlier.

He took another deep breath. "I-I t-think it's...s-still there." God, he was a terrible liar sometimes. However, if she could tell he was lying she didn't comment, but pulled away slightly and put her hands on his shoulders again. He closed his eyes when they started applying the much needed pressure but he was sure the blush from before hadn't left entirely. He was so not telling Al about this. Winry soon started humming a song he didn't know softly and he felt completely at ease. Emitting a sigh, he leaned further into Winry.

After all that, he felt incredibly comfortable here on the floor.