As the landscape of Amestris rolled past, and the wheels of the train hummed in the background; Ed’s thoughts drifted, as they often had been, to Winry. Her long, golden hair, her shining smile, and he even found himself missing her nagging voice when he didn’t care for his automail properly. Originally, he figured he shouldn’t have been missing her so much, so he had suppressed the thoughts. Despite his efforts, however, he still caught himself daydreaming quite often. His research was supposed to be his top priority, not the cute, blonde, sexy…

He shook his head and somewhat successfully pushed down the blush rising on his cheeks. It was just like that every time; he just couldn’t get her out of his head. That’s why he’d decided to return to Resembool, he took the incessant distracting thoughts as a sign, and he figured he should start following them for once. He could blame it on his leg and make a big fuss to distract her from any questions as to why he’d be returning earlier than expected, but he figured if it wasn’t worth lying to himself, it wasn’t worth lying to her. He was coming back to see her, and he’d never been more confident in his feelings.

Ed stood, clutching his suitcase, and stared at the sign that read "Rockbell Automail." Despite their awkward confession confirming that their feelings were mutual, he couldn't help his pounding heart. He hoped that she still felt the same way, that the time hadn't withered their connection. With a deep breath he opened the door and stepped inside. He was greeted by Pinako, her face lighting up with surprise. "Ed! What a surprise to see you back already!" she said, the surprise fading to a quizzical look.

"I know I know, I didn't bother to call to say I was coming back. I figured you guys could use a surprise to liven things up around here," Ed said.

"I'd have prepared dinner early if I'd have known you were coming, so what brings you back here so soon? Automail acting up? Research hitting a dead end?"

Ed gulped, preparing a way to dodge the question. "Well you see, I actually, uh—"

Ed was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. He glanced up the stairs to see Winry staring at him with her brow furrowed. She rushed down the stairs and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him towards her. "Edward! Just look at your automail! You didn't follow my instructions, did you? I just knew you would let my precious work waste away." She began dragging him up the stairs to her room, continuing to rant about his ignorance. Ed mouthed an apology while waving to Pinako. She flashed him an understanding smile in response.

When Winry pulled him into her room and shut the door, Ed tried to cobble together a defense. "Look, Winry, I promise I tried to follow what you asked but—" His sentence was cut short as Winry knocked the air out of him with a tight hug. He recovered quickly, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed her until now. She smelled so good, and her hair was so soft and perfect.

"Don't ever make me worry like that again. Please remember to call me. Just so I know you're okay, because you're always getting yourself into trouble," Winry said, her voice soft and concerned.

Ed felt a physical pain in his chest. He didn't consider that his laziness could hurt her. She must have been thinking about him a lot too. "I'm sorry Win. I didn't mean to."

They stood in silence for a few moments, just enjoying each other's touch. It was a warm reminder of their affection for each other.Their connection was deeper than words. Ed could feel her heart pounding, as if she was still worried about something.

"Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking a lot about what I said at the train station. I've been thinking a lot about you, and I decided that I'm perfectly okay with giving you 100% of my life, as long as you'll have me. I trust you, Ed," she confessed quietly.

Ed felt like his heart might beat out of his chest. She had just laid her heart out in front of him, and he knew he needed to do the same. "Of course I'll have you. I need you. I didn't come back because of my automail, or because I was getting bored of my research.”

Ed paused and looked down, his face flushing pink. No matter how confident he thought he was, she always had this kind of effect on him. “I...came back because I missed you.” He looked into her eyes “I couldn't stop thinking about you, and being with you. I couldn't possibly focus on my research when everything reminded me of you. It shouldn't have taken me this long to realize that I love you."

He almost started to panic when she gave him a blank stare while blushing, but then she leaned forward and kissed him. He froze in shock for a moment before melting. He wasn't really sure what to do. He had never kissed anyone before, but the best part is that he knew Winry didn't care. He loved the soft feeling of her lips, and the way she tasted, and just how tight he was holding her.

Eventually she pulled back, letting their foreheads rest against each other. He pulled back and flicked her on the nose playfully "Do me a favor and warn a guy before you kiss him next time,"

"You do me a favor and warn a girl before you tell her you love her next time."

Ed grinned. "Heads up. I love you."

Winry smiled back and said "Heads up," before pressing their lips back together. She slowly stumbled backwards as Ed explored how exactly he could use his tongue and lips to enhance their kissing, and she lost her balance, bumping against the bed and toppling over with a squeak. He was leaning over her now, a cheeky smile on his face that deepened her blush.

"I guess I should get out of your room now before you kick me out like last time."

"No! I mean—you can stay. I'd like you to stay." Winry said, a pout forming on her lips.

Ed chuckled before softening his expression. "I'd like to lay down next to you. If that's okay."

She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close, pecking him on the lips before he rolled into bed next to her.

Despite his shorter height, Ed still formed the big spoon, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her golden hair. Holding her like this was even better than he had imagined. Her skin was so warm and soft, he wanted to stay snuggled up to her forever. "You're so beautiful. I love you so much," he mumbled into her ear, nipping at her neck.

"I love you too," she whispered, closing her eyes and enjoying his tight embrace.

There was just one tiny problem. She knew Ed couldn't stay. She didn't want him living an idle life just for her, but she wasn't sure how she could give up the way being held in his arms made her feel.

"Hey Ed, what does this mean for us?" she asked nervously. Now that her feelings were concrete, she wasn’t sure how Ed’s thirst for travel and adventure would affect their relationship. She couldn’t afford to be away from him for such long periods of time.

"I think it means we like each other," he mumbled while continuing to nuzzle into her neck.

She huffed. "Of course we like each other. That's just the problem. You can't stay here forever, and I don’t want to be away from you that much. I don't want you to leave."

Ed hummed softly, his tone lacking concern. "I'm not going to leave. I'll stay right here with you and we can cuddle like this every night."

Winry whined "You can't give up on your research for me! I know it'll hurt to not have you here, but I shouldn't hold you back."

He squeezed her tighter to comfort her. "Listen, If these past few months have taught me anything, it’s that I need to slow down." He thought about what he exchanged for Al’s body, how he beat Truth at it’s own game. “I also learned that alchemy can’t solve everything, and I think the best way for me to prove that is to stop chasing it, and commit to you instead.”

Winry felt tears forming, threatening to roll down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly before Ed could notice and get all flustered, turning around to kiss him again. She snuggled against his chest, sighing happily as he stroked her hair.

"Let's just take it easy for a while, and right now I just want to fall asleep next to you," Ed whispered.

Winry was finally content with that answer, and with Ed's warm arms wrapped around her, she nodded off against his chest.