A/N: Whoops, somehow it’s been 17 days since my last update… *anime sweatdrop* Well, better late than never! I keep saying that we are getting closer to the end, and we are, but there’s /still/ at least 3 chapters left. I don’t really have much else to say, so please, please, read and review because it will make me happy 🙂 

Edit: OH, I forgot a very important thing!! This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful @automail-freak-and-alchemy-freak who drew some beautiful figure skater Winry art for me, and I’m honestly still so amazed :’)) This is a thank you for you!

Next chapter: [x]

Previous chapters:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 pt 1, pt 2

Companion pieces (note: these are all post Olympics happenings so reading the main fic first is recommended): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Words: 2300+

Genre: ummmmm… maybe a bit of fluff, mostly just ‘general’

Warnings: swearing

---

Ed woke up
sweaty, his heart pounding rather fast, and for a moment he thought he had seen
a nightmare that he didn’t remember anymore. But soon he realized the cause of
his ‘distress’ was the other person in his… well, technically, her bed. She was sleeping on his right
side, using his chest as her pillow, her leg tangled with his and her right arm
wrapped around his torso. She didn’t seem to mind the automail, which was
partially under her, one bit, to Ed’s huge surprise. The expression on her face
was peaceful, even happy, and Ed couldn’t help but wonder ‘how the fuck this
happened’.

For a while
he just laid there quietly, thinking about everything that had happened in such
a short while. They had been reunited only 13 days ago, yet somehow that time
had felt much longer. Even though Ed tried to push the thought away, already
something cold seeped into his heart when he remembered they would need to say goodbye
only in a few days. What would happen after that? He surely didn’t know.

Only 13
days ago she had skated into his life (he cringed a bit at the cheesy
expression he had picked) and changed it more than he thought was possible. It
all had started with that awkward question about a figure skating lesson. She
had promised to teach him and his team, giving them a chance to catch up. Somehow he
had told her about the automail during their third meeting, even though usually
it took him much longer to open up about it. Admittedly, Winry had felt it
through his glove, making lying pretty much pointless. But the weird kind of acquaintance
hadn’t ended at that; she had come into his room a day later, and he had made
that stupid mistake that still made him feel embarrassed. Looking back to that
moment, Ed realized that somehow, she had already wrapped him around her
fingers even though he hadn’t wanted to admit it. Roy had made him understand his
feelings a bit better, yet he had screwed up again only a few moments later. Then
the accident happened, ending his Olympic journey, but making up with her
almost made the pain and frustration worth it. After that, they had somehow
gotten even closer, sharing some of their biggest secrets and now even a bed,
and as he was staring her, he wanted to open up to her so badly and tell her he
was ready, but…

There was
the but. Could he really be the person she deserved? He was messed up, practically
raised by himself, he had never been in a committed relationship, and before
the Olympics he had thought he wouldn’t even want one. Al’s words from earlier echoed
in his mind: “you think you don’t deserve happiness.” Ed leaned his head
slightly closer to Winry, smelling her hair and thinking that if this was
happiness, maybe he could get used to it.

Suddenly a
plan formed in his head: he needed to have a talk with someone whose opinion he
truly valued, someone who was good at relationships… and after that, he’d
finally make his decision. That was what she deserved.

He was
pulled back from his thoughts when he felt slight movement next to him.

“Morning.”

He saw the
bright blue eyes staring at him, and to his annoyance, he blushed again. How
the hell did she do that to him?

“Good
morning to you too,” he tried saying nonchalantly, but his voice betrayed him.

“Have you
been awake for a long while?” Winry asked, slowly disentangling their limbs as
she must have felt just as hot as he did, Ed assumed.

“Nah, just
a few minutes. I didn’t want to wake you up. You looked so peaceful.”

“Aww. That’s
sweet.” They laid there quietly for a few minutes, until Winry started tracing two
small star shaped tattoos on Ed’s shoulder with her fingers.

“I never
got a chance to ask… Do these have some kind of meaning?”

“The
tattoos?” Ed asked, surprised. “Yeah, they are for my mum and Nina… That I
wouldn’t forget. Not that I ever would, but..”

“It’s OK.
You don’t have to explain it any further. They look nice.”

“Thanks. My
father wasn’t exactly thrilled when he found out, especially since I was only
16 back then and would have needed his permission… But I managed to persuade
the tattoo artist.”

“What a rebel,”
Winry poked him on his arm teasingly.

“Oh yeah? I
don’t see any tattoos on you, woman,” Ed retorted, realizing too late they were
so close their noses were almost bumping.

“Uh, what
time is it?” He asked quickly and sighed of relief when Winry turned to check her
watch that was lying on her night table.

“About 7:45,
it would seem. Oh!” Winry exclaimed and sat up as fast as she could. “I need to
get up right away then! Got a practice in 45 minutes… Guess I forgot to set the
alarm…”

“It happens. Isn’t your
next competition in two days already?” Ed asked. “Are you nervous about it?”

“I think I
am a bit… But on the other hand, everything that has happened within the past
few days has been a good distraction. I haven’t thought about it as much as I
would have otherwise.”

“Oh… I
guess that’s good?”

“It is…”
Winry seemed to brace herself a bit before adding: “you know, I’ve been
thinking. I don’t know how I should bring this up, because I don’t want you to
misunderstand… but I feel it might be better if we don’t spend time together
before my competitions are over. No nightly visits either.”

“OK?” Ed couldn’t
hide his confusion. Not too many hours ago she had confessed her feelings, and
now this? “Why, though?”

“Like I
just said, I get distracted in your company, and that’s… not what I need right before
my competition.” Winry sighed, then looked up and gave Ed a small smile. “You do
understand this is very, very important to me, don’t you?”

“Yes, of
course.” He nodded.

“Good. And
hey,” she added as she stood up, “you should take it as a compliment. It means you have an
impact on me.”

For about
the millionth time in Winry’s company, Ed turned bright red. Somehow he still managed to get recognizable sounds out of his mouth after Winry returned from the bathroom with her training outfit on: “One question: do you want me to be in the audience? I already promised Al I’d take
him to see figure skating. You know, because of that Mei girl.”

“If that’s
what you promised, then I think nothing can stop you!” Winry told him, secretly
happy that he still wanted to see her skate.

“Good. He
would have been devastated,” Ed said
dramatically.

“Are you
sure it’s Al you’re talking about?” Winry teased but got serious soon. “Listen,
I hope you get I’m not doing this because I dislike spending time with you or
anything… It’s quite the opposite,” she blushed fiercely remembering what she
had confessed last night. “This is just something I have to do. Besides, it’s
been quite intense emotionally lately. Maybe it’s a good thing to spend some
time apart?”

“Maybe. I
guess I understand what you mean. I might do the same thing if I was in your
position.”

“I’m glad
you understand.” She surprised him by giving him a quick hug and saying: “I
gotta go now, but I’ll see you soon enough.”

“See you.
And I guess good luck! The next time we see each other, you’d better have a
medal hanging from your neck!”

Winry grabbed
her sport bag and turned to look at him once more before leaving the room. “I’ll
do my best! And hey, remember the promise you told me about yesterday… Just
think about it, will you?”

Somehow
that one sentence changed the entire atmosphere in the room. Both had red
blotches on their cheeks and all Ed could do was to nod. The nod made Winry a
bit braver and she gave him a quick cheek kiss before rushing from the room. Ed
just sat on the bed looking dumbfounded, rubbing the same cheek Winry had
kissed absentmindedly. Her lips had felt so soft, and he was afraid he wouldn’t
be able to stop imagining them until they’d see each other again.

---

Pan and
Rose were whispering something in their corner of the locker room when Winry
arrived there.

“What’s
going on? Has something happened?” She asked them a bit nervously, not knowing
what to expect.

“Nothing
much… The Xingese just left the ice and both Mei Chang and Lan Fan pulled some jump
combos I haven’t ever even seen before.” Rose sighed sadly and shook her head. “I
don’t know how we can beat them.”

“Hey, now,
that’s a totally wrong attitude! They might look awesome at the practice, but you
know those awesome looking things often fail? I have firsthand experience on it…”
she reminded them about her incident in the team event.

“Right,” Rose
said, a bit embarrassed.

“You guys
are lucky Garfiel isn’t nearby, he’d beat your asses if he ever heard you talk
like that near him,” Winry lectured her friends. “Let’s remember that we are
professional athletes. Of course you want to beat them, but first and foremost,
you are here to beat yourselves. If after your performance you feel you did all
you could, then you know you succeeded in your mission.”

“Sometimes
I’m so amazed by your confidence,” Rose stated. “In fact, I think you have
gotten even more confident during this tournament compared to before… How do
you do that?”

“Because I
know there are people behind me who support me, no matter what.” Winry looked
at Rose and Paninya meaningfully. “Trust me, I haven’t always been like this. And…
talking about things has helped me a lot. I’ve had a very strange two weeks
here… but it has made me readier for this competition, I think.”

“Winry,”
Paninya said suddenly. “You’re glowing. Did you sleep with him?”
“What? No!” she denied immediately. “Although… technically I guess you could say that.”

“Did he spend
the night in your room again?” Paninya asked.

“He… may
have…” Winry blushed. “But nothing happened!”

“You don’t
look like ‘nothing’ happened. Just tell us,” Paninya urged and Rose nodded encouragingly next to her.

“I… Fine, I
confessed him.” Winry cringed of embarrassment when she remembered what she had
told Ed. “I believe my exact words were ‘I’m starting to fall for you’.”

“I’m so happy
for you!” Paninya threw her arm in the air as a sign of victory. “But what did
he say? Please tell me he said he likes you too.”

“I think he likes me back,” Winry answered
a bit uncertainly. “I mean, it sure seems that way. But he says he needs to be
sure he’s mentally ready for a relationship before he says or does anything he
might regret.”

“To me it
sounds like he’s completely smitten over you,” Paninya noted. “I know guys who
would just fuck with the girl, screw the consequences. But he’s spent two nights
with you now and hasn’t even tried to kiss you? That requires some willpower.”

“What are
you talking about?” Winry asked with confusion.

“Girl, have
you seen yourself? You’re gorgeous, and smart, and funny, and everything anyone
would want in their partner. I may
have had a crush on you when I was like 12,” Paninya confessed.

That was
news for Winry. “You did? You’ve never told me that.”

“Hey, like
I said, we were 12 back then. I got over it a looong time ago. Now I see you
more as some kind of a coach-sister-rival-friend combo. Rose, you know I love
you and only you, right?”

“Of course
I do, silly,” Rose smiled at her girlfriend and rubbed her back as a sign of
understanding.

“I still
can’t believe I won you over,” Pan shook her head with amazement. “What an awesome
thing it was that Winry’s guy told you to continue skating because otherwise we
wouldn’t have met.”

“You’re
right! What a small world and funny coincidence. I think I need to thank him at
some point. Win, will you send him my regards?” Rose asked, smiling softly.

Winry
rubbed her neck awkwardly. “I would, but… I sort of told him we shouldn’t see
each other until the competitions are over because I need to focus on this.
Gosh, what if he’s mad at me now? I tried to explain it to him but what if he
didn’t get my point?”

“Relax,
Winry. He’s a pro athlete. If he didn’t understand, he’s a lot stupider than
your boyfriend should be,” Paninya remarked.

Winry’s
eyes grew wide. “B-boyfriend?”

“Aha. Weren’t
you just talking about a relationship? Being in a relationship with him would
mean he would be your boyfriend. Are you sure you understand the concept?”

“Of course
I do!” Winry exclaimed, slightly embarrassed. “I’ve just… never… thought about
that word… before. In this context.”

“Oh boy, two dense people like you really deserve each other,” Pan sighed. “Rose, we have
always been great at sharing our emotions, haven’t we?”

“Sure, if
you ignore the fact that you were crushing for me for half a year before telling me.”
Rose winked at her girlfriend.

“It was
different! I was worried you were still too upset about… you know…” Paninya stammered,
referring to Rose’s late boyfriend’s accident.

“Right… And
I appreciate you giving me the time and space,” Rose said, taking Pan’s hand
into hers. “You seem to know exactly what I need, and that’s why I love you.”

“Aww, guys,
you are so sweeeeeeet,” Winry said with a slightly teasing tone.

“Yeah yeah,
you are not the only one who’s allowed to have an Olympic romance, you know.”
Pan retorted, and suddenly all three girls burst out laughing.

“No matter
what happens, I guess we can still say this journey has definitely been an
experience,” Winry concluded for all of them.