Summary: Figure skating time! Part 1.

A/N: Long time no see! Sorry about the long wait, but here it is, the first part of the “grande finale”. I can’t believe we are finally here :’) I’m so excited (and also terrified) to write… whatever it is that comes next. Some important figure skating info for those who are not that familiar with the sport: like I hopefully make clear enough in my fic, the competition consists of two parts, short skate and free skate, and this chapter has the short skate part.

This chapter is dedicated again to some of my very favorite people on this website, aka @criis55 and @automail-freak-and-alchemy-freak because you guys have blessed me with so many pics, and there aren’t enough words to describe how much it means to me. You are simply wonderful ♥

Please enjoy and REVIEW because that way we’ll finally get to the part you all have been waiting for 😉 (Oops now I spoiled it)

Previous chapters:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 pt 1, pt 2, 16, 17

Next chapter: coming

Companion pieces (note: these are all post Olympics happenings so reading the main fic first is recommended): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Words: 2100+

Genre: general

Warnings: swearing, no news there 😀

“Brother,
you seem kinda anxious,” Al noted as the two of them were approaching the
figure skating arena. It was finally the day of Winry’s individual short
program, and like promised, Ed was taking Al to see the competition. Which of
the brothers was more nervous (about two very different things), was up for
debate.

“I do not!
You’re the one who hasn’t shut up about Mei Chang the entire morning! I don’t think we should interrupt her
today; this is her most important competition so far and I bet she is just as
focused as Winry is.”

“Since when
are you the voice of reason of the two of us?” Al frowned at his brother,
looking genuinely surprised. “Are you really the same person who left home two
weeks ago?”

“I… of
course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?” Ed asked nearly aggressively, his stuttering
and the red blotches on his cheeks betraying him.

“I don’t
know, maybe because you’re in looooove,” Al stressed the last word as
annoyingly as possible. “And you know what they say about love? They say it changes
people.”

“I… just…
Listen, can we just go inside now? It’s fucking cold out here.” The glare Ed
shot at Al would have scared someone who wasn’t as familiar with him as Al was.
He didn’t let the topic go that easily.

“We can,
but you can’t deny what I just said.”

“You can’t
deny a fist on your face soon. The automail one.” Ed lifted his right hand
threateningly.

Al snorted.
“You know, that sounds more like the Edward I know.”

Ed punched
Al on the shoulder, although just lightly, but the younger brother didn’t even
seem to notice. He stopped on his tracks, his gaze on a person who had just
come out from the arena through the side door only the competitors and staff were
allowed to use. She had dark, braided hair and a red (Xing’s national color)
coat covering her short, pink dress in which she was supposed to perform. She
seemed to be on her way for a quick warm-up jog, not noticing the two golden
haired boys near her. When she started running, a small bow fell from her dress,
and Al decided to yell after her.

“Ex-excuse
me, miss, you just dropped something!”

She turned
to look at the speaker and noticed the bow on the ground, picking it up before
turning her attention fully to the two quite fascinating looking boys.

“Oh! Thank
you so much!” She had an unreadable expression on her face for a moment, as she
kept taking them in. “Do I… know you from somewhere?

“I don’t
think so,” Al answered.

“Wait a
second…” She finally recognized them, and Ed swore she had stars in her eyes
when she asked Al: “Oh my god, are you Edward Elric? This is such an honor…”

Al just
stood there awkwardly for a moment, not knowing what he should tell her.
Finally, he decided to go for the truth: “Sorry, I believe you got us mixed…
I’m Alphonse Elric, and this is my
brother Edward.” He pointed at his shorter older brother. The girl eyed Ed suspiciously;
admittedly, he didn’t look his best at that moment. Everything about him
screamed he had just been in a fight; he had small bruises on his face, his leg
was in a cast, his untied hair was sticking to various directions, and the worn
leather jacket he had chosen to wear to avoid being associated with team
Amestris was hazily thrown on his shoulders.

“Re-really?” she asked, “I… always had a different kind of picture of
you in my head…”

Ed grumbled something incoherent under his breath, making Al laugh and
say: “Don’t mind him. He’s always been like that. I… I’m gonna assume that you
are Mei Chang, aren’t you?” he asked, suddenly more shyly.

“Yes, that’s me,” she admitted. “How did you know?”

“I may have watched your performances on TV…” Al answered, blushing just
slightly.

“That’s funny because I’ve heard a whole lot about you! My brother’s the captain of team Xing so he talks about hockey
and different hockey players a lot…” She shook her head and continued: “Honestly,
I can’t believe I ran into the Elric brothers right before my competition! Are
you going to watch it?”

“Yes, actually! Well, Ed here is going there to see his girlfriend” (Ed’s glare towards Al was
nearly deathly this time) “but I am really looking forward to seeing your
performance!” Al said smoothly.

“Oh, really? So, Mr. Alphonse.” Mei seemed to have lost the last of her
interest in Ed with the g-word, but instead she casted Al a curious look when
she asked: “Are you the older brother?”

Ed, who understood she was referring to his height, had almost reached
his boiling point and asked angrily: “What makes you think that?”
Al immediately stepped in: “I think my brother here is simply trying to tell
that he’s the older one. But that doesn’t matter, I got the looks and the
wits.”

Mei giggled at Al’s joke. “Alphonse, you’re too much.”

“Pffft.” Al waved it off.

May checked her watch and noted: “Hey, I should be going, but do you
think we could continue this conversation maybe once my competition is over?”

“Su-sure!” Al replied, flustered and surprised by the fact that he had
managed to attract this girl’s interest so quickly. “Where should we meet? Do
you know any good cafes or restaurants here?”

“I know
some! But I really need to go now so let’s text later, OK?” She slipped a piece
of paper with her phone number into Al’s hand. “See you soon!”

“See you!”

“How… did
you do that?” Ed asked when Mei was out of hearing distance, looking beyond
shocked.

“Oh
brother, some people just have the skill. And you know, politeness can take you
far.”

Ed just
rolled his eyes and started heading towards the front doors of the figure
skating arena.

…

Winry was waiting
for her turn in her dressing room. Even though she was nervous, a weird kind of
confidence was surging through her, making her feel less awful. After all, this
time she was only responsible for her own performance, and no matter what
happened, at least it’d be over after this competition. Weirdly enough, one
part of her was very eager to find out what would happen after that… And she
realized she felt that way because she’d finally get to know what was going to
happen to her and Ed.

Ed. She
wasn’t 100% sure if she had done the right thing by asking for some space,
because after the practices, when she was alone in her room, her thoughts
started drifting towards unwanted direction. But she tried to reason that he
needed that space just as much as she did, because admittedly things between
them had progressed fast. It would probably do good to him to have some
thinking time.

She allowed
her thoughts to drift for one more second, wishing she’d see the brothers in
the audience, before someone announced that it would be her turn soon. She closed
her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, stretched her back and arms and started
walking towards the rink. There was a mirror on her way, and this time, she
could see the swan she was supposed to be for this performance more clearly. As
she observed her reflection for a moment, she realized the white dress or the
feathers in her hair didn’t do it, it was her facial expression.

The
previous skater got her points, and Winry started gliding on the ice. There
were so many people watching her that she couldn’t spot the two golden haired
boys, but she trusted they were there. Now it wasn’t time to think about them,
it was time to convince everyone who was watching her that she was worth an
Olympic medal.

Thankfully, the routine was so familiar to her that even her nervousness
couldn’t make her forget it. Her first element was the layback spin. Winry started
pretty carefully, having just enough speed to keep the spin up long enough to
not lose points. In the story she had built around this routine, it was
supposed to represent all the confusion the swan felt when she realized she
didn’t belong to the group she was in. After that she took her first steps in
the outside world, shaky and insecure. The step sequence had always been her
favorite part, because it allowed her to express the vulnerability she herself
had felt after her parents’ death, a feeling that was difficult to express
orally.

Next came the difficult triple lutz – triple loop combination, and she
knew that if she nailed it, she’d be a strong medal contender. The landing wasn’t
as perfect as she had hoped but at least she had done everything she was
supposed to do and didn’t think she’d lose a lot of points for it. After that she
was time for her axels. That was the part she was particularly nervous about
because of the outcome last time. She knew a double axel was usually no problem
for her, but… what if her foot started hurting again? She had another
performance already the next day and she couldn’t afford to get injured…

She sighed of relief (hoping it wasn’t too obvious, though, because even
her facial expressions mattered in a tough competition like this) when she
managed to land safely, and the foot didn’t react to it in any way. Now she had
gone through the hardships the swan of her story experienced, and the rest of
her routine would be easier. The last jumps, another short step sequence, and two
different spins (that she was notably more confident about than the first one)
to finish the routine. Her smile was wide and genuine when she bowed and curtsied
to the audience. Suddenly, she thought she saw a tiny bit of gold in the
audience, not too far from her, her smile widening even more. She was out of
breath and her ears were ringing a bit, but that didn’t matter at the moment.

She knew she had definitely done better than last time.

Would it be enough, though? That she couldn’t say yet, because some of
her toughest competitors were yet to skate, and a lot would naturally depend on
her free program as well.

Garfiel came to her when she left the rink and hugged her.

“You nailed it, girl! I’m sure you’ll win this!”

“Uh, thanks,” Winry said modestly, “but I wouldn’t cheer too much yet.
We don’t even know my points!”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve seen you perform thousands of times and I
know that was one of your best ones yet. If the judges didn’t see that… they
are blind.”

Winry just smiled as Garfiel guided her to the seats where they would
listen to the point announcement.

…

“Aand Winry Rockbell’s points are… 81,95!”

“Is that good? Is that good? Al, is that good?” a very nervous young man
in the audience asked his brother as the audience around them was roaring
excitedly.

“Hell yes it is! There are only a couple of skaters in this group who
can come anywhere near that amount of points,” Al answered, happy about Winry’s
success.

“In that case…” Ed jumped from his seat and yelled: “FUCK YES! THAT’S MY
GIRL!”

“Ed, you might want to calm down a bit,” Al reminded him. “Unless you
want that reporter to find you again…”

“If she wins this entire thing, I don’t care to whom I’ll be telling how
awesome my girlfriend is.”

“Ed. Girlfriend?”

Ed’s eyes widened when he realized what he had just said, but there was
no point in denying it anymore.

“Um… I am… kinda… planning to ask her once this thing is over…”

“That’s awesome! I’m so happy you’ve finally come to your senses!” Al
exclaimed, getting a sour look from Ed.

“I wish we could go to celebrate with her,” Ed said much more to himself
than to Al, but Al tried to cool him down:

“This competition isn’t over yet. Mei’s pretty good, you know.”

…

Everyone’s points were announced, and it turned out Winry finished the
short program in the second place. Lan Fan from Xing had bested her with 0,10
points, and Mei Chang was only 0,2 points behind her. Paninya was fourth with
78 points and Rose wasn’t far behind either. Overall, Winry was content because
she knew she had done her best, and everything was still up in the air; 0,10
points was nothing in the free program event where more points were given. When
she left the arena, she felt happier than she had in a while. But that was only
until she saw a conflicting view in front of her.

Ed was talking with one of her rivals.

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.

Summary: Amestris vs Xing time (from Ed and Winry’s perspective)!

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I have had a rough day (family issues) and tbh a bit rough times overall, and despite my solemn promise, I couldn’t find the willpower to finish what I had planned for this chapter. So, I split it into two parts! I am gonna do my very best to finish the rest within the next few days that you don’t have to keep wondering how the game will end, but I hope you’ll enjoy this nevertheless. Enjoy and please review, because I’m most certainly in need of some distraction and nice words now.

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

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

Next chapter: [x]

Words: 2150+

Genre: fluff & humor in this chapter, the usual 😀

Warnings: Winry swears. Duh.

Ed and Al
were walking towards the hockey arena, chatting casually about their
predictions for the upcoming game. Al claimed Xing would be a tough team to
beat, especially with the young Ling Yao as their captain, but in Ed’s opinion
his team had the upper hand, even if he himself wasn’t able to play. At some
point, Al noticed Ed was looking around restlessly, barely listening to what he
had to say.

“Are you
trying to find something?”

“No, someone. Winry wanted to come to watch this
game with us, but I’m not seeing her yet… I hope she’s gonna come soon, I’d
rather be inside when the fans start coming.”

“I didn’t
think I’d see a day when you don’t want any attention. What’s caused this
change?”

“Hey, I
only want attention when I’m on the ice! You know I’m actually not that big a
fan of large crowds. Besides… I really don’t want the media attention on us…”

“Oh,
because she’s coming? I can already
see the headline: ‘famous hockey player and figure skater hitting it off’. That
will make some wonderful news, my brother.”

“Al,
please! I’m getting tired of your shit.”

“Do you
know how long I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this? Sure, you’ve had
girls before, but I can see this is different. Both of you actually care about each
other.”

“She is the
first person I’ve been interested in who didn’t freak out about my automail.
She didn’t freak out about Envy or Nina either when I told her…”

“Wow. I
didn’t know you were in that deep,” Al
said, this time seriously. “Telling about your automail was one thing, but you
have never told anyone about Nina.”

“I know… It’s
just, I’m still so confused about everything.” Ed was quiet for a few moments
before adding hesitantly: “There are still moments when I’m afraid.”

“Afraid of
what exactly?” Al frowned at him.

“That I’d
lose her just like I’ve lost them.”

Al didn’t need to ask who those “they” were,
he understood.

“We’ve been
through this before. Look, I get your feeling, but you still can’t let it control
you. That is FAR more likely to make you lose something that could become truly
precious to you. Let me ask you one question: does she make you happy?”

“She does,”
Ed admitted reluctantly, knowing where Al was going with this.

“Then
that’s your answer. Give her a shot. You know, one part of me thinks the real
reason why you act like this is because you think you don’t deserve to be
happy. Brother, no one is blaming you for anything that happened. You shouldn’t
either. That’s the last I’m gonna say, because there she is.”

Al pointed
towards a big statue right outside the arena, and Ed saw he was right. There
she was, her hair on her trademark ponytail, cheeks pink from the cold weather,
and (to Ed’s horror/excitement) Team Amestris’ hockey jersey pulled over her
coat. Ed blushed wildly when he remembered the dream also involving Winry and
such a jersey, but thankfully Al got him back to earth by saying:

“At that
rate you won’t ever be needing my birthday
gift. You just went tomato red simply over seeing her.”

“Will you
fucking stop it already?” he turned his attention to his brother, glad to have
an excuse to get the piled-up emotions out of his system.

“Why are
you yelling?” Winry, who had noticed the brothers approaching her, was now standing
in front of the brothers and staring at Ed with confusion.

“Don’t mind
him, he’s simply an idiot,” Al shook it off. “He does this a lot.”

Winry
snorted. “That’s good to know.”

“If you are
going to hang out with him more, I should probably give you a 101 on
communicating with Edward Elric. You’ll need it.”

“Based on
his reactions, it’s probably the exact opposite of what you are doing right
now. That’s a good start.” Winry nodded, pretending to take notes.

“Can we please just go inside now?” Ed growled and
glared at his brother and his friend angrily.

Winry turned back to Ed and smiled at him
apologetically.

“Hey. Sorry I couldn’t make it to the lunch,
the doctor’s check-up took longer than I expected… and guess what! I got to
skate a bit! Only for 15 minutes, because we don’t want to risk anything, but
it still felt very good. I got to do both my routines once.”

“That’s great. Did your foot feel fine?”

“Yes, it’s way better now. Nothing should stop
me from competing now!”

“We’ll be rooting for you!” Al exclaimed,
surprising both Ed and Winry.

“I’ll be
rooting for her, you’ll be rooting for that Xingese bean girl,” Ed corrected,
not forgetting how Al had gushed about Mei Chang even earlier that day.

“Can’t I root for both?” Al pouted, making Ed
laugh.

“Sure. Once you stop asking me if I’ve seen her
at breakfast, lunch, dinner, gym or basically anywhere I go.”

“I do not do that!” the younger brother
claimed.

Winry stopped the brothers’ bickering. “As much
fun as it is to see you both try to embarrass each other in front of me, I
still don’t know who this bean girl is. The Xingese are really good, Mei Chang
and Lan Fan are top contenders for the gold medal in the individual contest.”

“And you aren’t?” Ed didn’t like that Winry
belittled her skills. “Anyway, Al is talking about that Mei girl, I think he’s
had a celebrity crush on her for at least two years.”

“You watch figure skating regularly?” Winry
asked. “Edward, your brother keeps impressing me. Maybe I should ask him out or something.”

Winry meant it in a purely teasing way, not
having any plans to ask Al out as she was way more interested in someone else, but Ed couldn’t quite digest it.

“W-why would you do that?”

“Because I want to make sure the guy I will
date appreciates my sport.”

“But I do appreciate your sport too!”

“Relax, Ed, I was only joking.” She snuck her
hand right next to Ed’s and intertwined their fingers. “I… may have my eyes on
someone else.”

“You do?”

“When you share a bed with someone, usually it
means you like them,” she whispered, making both herself and Ed blush.

“Ahem, may I remind you that I’m still right
here?” Al groaned. “Could you two act like normal people and not do this in
public, with other people in your company.”

“Not a chance, Alphonse.”

“What the fuck! How could you miss that?!”
Winry yelled when Havoc’s shot hit the top bar goal even though it had looked like he would definitely score from that
spot.

“Woah, woman, I didn’t know you even knew words
like that! Just yell that in your competition and you’ll be sure to win all the
prizes.” Ed was very amused by the fact that Winry seemed more involved in the
game than he was, even though he was
a member of the team that was currently playing in this arena. He hadn’t seen
this side of her yet, so he was more than enjoying it.

“I believe that was just his hangover talking.
On a normal day he would have scored from that spot 99 out of one hundred times,”
he added.

Not too long after Havoc’s shot, Hughes’ stick
slightly hit Xing’s Ling Yao to his skate. Even though the hit wasn’t enough to
make anyone fall, Ling dropped down dramatically, pretending Hughes had done it
on purpose. The referees hadn’t quite seen what Ling did, so purely based on
his reaction, they called a penalty for team Amestris, and Hughes could only
shake his head when he skated into the penalty box.

“Fucking zebras!” both Ed and Winry yelled angrily
this time, almost in sync (which amused Al to no end).

“That
Yao guy was clearly diving, there was absolutely no reason to call a penalty on
us!” Ed yammered, shaking his fist towards the ice.

“I know right!” Winry joined him. “Jeez, are
they totally blind?!”

“Probably. Anyone with eyes could see what
happened!”

“You guys are so adorable,” Al interrupted the
angry duo. “I never knew I’d see a day Ed would find someone who’s as eager to
comment the games as he is!”

“Alphonse, you are making me regret I ever
asked you to come here,” Ed had to stop him for the who-knows-how-many-th time within a
very short span of time. “Hey, how are things with Ms. Chang? Have you, you
know, met her yet?”

“Oh, did I mention I’m sort of friends with
Mei?” Winry asked before Al got a chance to answer. “She’s a nice person even though we are rivals, I’d be happy
to introduce her to you if I get a chance!”

“Would you do that?” Al asked excitedly. “It
would be great!”

“I think I could arrange that once our
competitions are over.”

“Awesome! Thanks, Winry.”

“No problem, Al,” Winry reassured him before
turning her eyes back to the ice. “HEY, THAT WAS AN OFFSIDE!!”

The first period was rather even. Both teams
had a couple of great scoring opportunities, but neither Amestris or Xing
managed to use them. Armstrong was playing an amazing game, but so was Xing’s
goalie, and neither of them gave up an inch. Ling Yao from team Xing had
probably the best scoring chance when he was released from the penalty box
(where he was sent after the referees caught him diving for the third time
within a period) and he got into a 2-on-1 breakaway with his teammate. Once
again Ed and Winry yelled their profanities loudly, Winry even covering her
eyes with her hands so she didn’t have to watch. They sighed of relief when
they saw the game saver Alex Louis Armstrong pulled. The period ended goalless,
but it definitely wasn’t boring, Ed, Winry and Al concluded.

“We found
Team Amestris’ young star Edward Elric from the Shamballa Arena! Mr. Elric, I’m
sure we all want to know, how’s your leg doing?” An Amestrisian Olympics reporter
had blocked Ed’s bath to a popcorn stand and was now holding a microphone in
front of him, expecting an answer.

“Obviously
not good, since I can’t play,” Ed pointed out.

“Right… Is
it difficult to watch the game when you know you can’t help your team?”

“Why are
you asking that when you know the answer?” Ed asked back, rather rudely, but at
the moment he didn’t care. “Of course it’s hard.”

“Do you
have any idea when you will be able to return back to ice?”

“Nope, and
I wouldn’t share that information with you even if I did know.”

“OK… Hey,
is it true that you came here with Winry Rockbell?” the reporter continued
persistently. “The word is that you guys sat next to each other and were seen
talking with each other passionately during the first period of this game.”

“Did your
sources remember to mention that my
brother was sitting with us as well? What do you have to say about that?”

“Yes, but…”

Just when
Ed was finally about to succeed in making the reporter leave, Winry chose a
very bad moment to show up.

“Ed, I came
to see what is taking you so long… Oh!” She counted 1+1=2 when she saw the
woman with a microphone and a notepad peeking from her bag. “Did I interrupt
something?”

“Not at
all. Miss Rockbell, right? What a coincidence, we were just talking about you.”

“You were?”
Winry asked with surprise.

Before Ed
had time to say anything, the reporter exclaimed: “Oh yes! I was just asking
him if it was true you two were hanging out. And clearly it’s true since you
are standing right there!”

“Umm…”
Winry stared at her uncomfortably.

“So, how do
you know each other? Did you meet here at the Olympics? Are you dating?”

Finally, Ed
found his voice. Surprisingly calmly, he spoke, his eyes burning brightly as he
stared at the reporter:

“Can I ask
you a question? How would it change anything if we were dating? What does it
matter if two teenagers are seeing each other even if they are professional
athletes? You reporters tend to forget that we are only humans too.”

The
reporter didn’t know what to answer, so she finally set her mic down and just
signaled with her hand that so was going to go. Ed burst out laughing and Winry
shook her head at him.

“I don’t
think that reporter is gonna ask you any questions in a while,” she couldn’t
help but smile at the laughing boy. “I must say, I was rather impressed with how
you handled that. To be honest, I was expecting yelling.”

“Hey, I can
surprise sometimes too!”

“You sure
can,” Winry laughed. “Hey, did you get the popcorn yet? The second period is
about to start.”