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Branded	By : ibshafer Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > Het - Male/Female Views: 13845 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Title: Learning Curve – Part 2

Part: 3/7 (Branded – series)

Author: ibshafer

Rating: R

Character/Pairing: EdXWin… or is it WinXEd?…

Disclaimer: I don't own these people, they own themselves and are just nice enough to let me
spin them around the page now and then.

Summary: In which Ed some tough lessons about love, not from the Bastard’s Sex Manual, and
Winry takes matters into her own hands...

Warnings: sexual situations, but nothing too explicit

Genre: Fullmetal Alchemist; AU, I guess…

Spoilers: none

Feedback: Yes, please…

Branded: Learning Curve – part 2

~ibshafer

Edward was breathing pretty heavily (and it didn’t help that the geeks in the Speech Center had
started to cheer again), so it was a little while before he realized there was a new sound coming
from the other side of the bed.

It was a sound the chilled him to the core.

Winry was growling.

Propping himself up on an elbow, Ed peered over her shoulder to find her assiduously chewing
the nails of her left hand.

The look on her face was pure Winry – if Winry had an evil, angry twin, that is. (Something he
had often suspected…)

His stomach did an aerobatic little flip in his mid-section (more cheering from the geeks!) …and
then his post-coital Bliss turned tail and ran like the girlie-girl it was.

Suddenly sober, Ed bit his lip, took a deep breath and made an attempt at the high road.

“That’s not a good face,” he said, his voice quiet. “You didn’t… didn’t…” He scanned his
memory for the right word.

Shit!

What was that word? It was such a simple, innocent-sounding word…

Finish?

That sounded right. Well, wrong, but … correct, anyway.

“You …um, you didn’t …f-finish, did you?”

Winry’s sigh sent the dust on the tool shelf flying.

~*~*~

Maybe it’s me? Not like I’ve done this before either…

Eyes fixed to the ceiling, unable to look at him, she decided it was time to come clean.

Hard to say the words right off, though. Instead, she just shook her head.

Edward’s voice was perplexed and very small. “It seemed like you finished…”

“The word is ‘come,’ Edward and no, I didn’t.”

She could hear his brows furrowing and knew he’d be dealing with a lot right now. In spite of
her frustration, she felt a little guilty for putting him through it. For all his bluster, Edward
carried an open packet of guilt with him everywhere; he might come off as arrogant most of the
time, but he never forgot his failures.

“Well, it—it sounded like you were … um, enjoying it…” Ed’s voice trailed off and there was
silence in the room for a moment.

He might never forget his failures, but he was sometimes a little slow to recognize them. This
had to be rough for him.

He was silent for a while, she guessed while he dealt with his feelings of guilt and inadequacy, a
heavy-handed duo that Edward was well acquainted with.

His eyes were downcast, pupils restless beneath fringed lids, his cheeks colored a shamed rose.
He looked to be searching for answers, struggling with something.

Damn, damn, damn…!

She hadn’t wanted to destroy his confidence!

It’s nothing we can’t fix, Ed…

She took his hand and he met her eyes, something that looked like personal responsibility
dawning on his brilliant features.

She thought he was finally starting to understand…

She thought wrong.

In a flash, Edward was grinning, all teeth; the image chilled her.

“This is because you made me wear that little hat!” He was up on his elbow again, glaring at her.

What??!!

Little hat?

What the hell’s he talking about…? There was no hat wearing – we never left the bedroom!

Wait…

…little hat…

It did sort of look like…

…like a ‘little hat…’

She fought the sudden compulsion to laugh her ass off.

Really, he could be so stupid sometimes!

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she shouted back at him, biting her tongue. The giggle urge hadn’t quite
left yet.

He flopped onto his back, arms folded across his chest, all trace of the shame she’d imagined
he’d been feeling evaporated like so much mineral spirits...

There was an evil glint in his amber eyes.

“I should get to test my theory,” he pouted. “Let’s try it once without the little hat.”

Does he mean…?

Of course he does! There’s no way that’s gonna happen… Is he insane?

“Do you have any idea what you’re suggesting? There will be no testing of theories with my
body, Edward Elric!”

She did her best to glare him down, but he was on a roll, pleased with himself now that he’d
found a way to sidestep failure.

“I thought you were all about the research, Winry.”

For the love of…

“I was lying, you idiot! I was just trying to get a look at that damn book!”

“Why? After all the research you’ve already done – I thought you knew it all!”

She decided to save reacting to that comment for later when she could give it her full attention.
Right now she was focused on the book, feeling quite sure that it was the root of all evils.

I can almost see it…

Simplistic little “insert-tab-A-into-slot-B” diagrams, lifeless step-by-step instructions, bland
descriptions of what should be a passionate and loving act between two people who truly care
for one another…

“There’s more to sex than following directions, Edward!”

Ed seemed confused by this statement, like she’d just spoken in a language unfamiliar to him.

“I know it worked for you, but you’re a guy. A seventeen year old guy.”

Now, that he understood.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Clearly insulted, he folded his arms across his chest in huff.

“It means I could probably blow you a kiss, from the other side of the room, and that’d be
enough!”

He took the comment in stride, though it looked like he was fighting the urge not to explode in
royal Edward fashion really, really hard.

Instead, he started waving the book at her.

“Look, Winry! People have been using … sex manuals for years and years and, if I’m not
mistaken, having lots and lots of sex, which, again, if I’m not mistaken, I think means that they
liked it, and I think means it worked for them. So…how could there be anything wrong with the
book? Maybe the book isn’t the problem, did ya think of that? Afterall, as you say, it worked for
me! Maybe the book’s not to blame for you not…” He grimaced here, clearly finding the word,
now that he knew it, distasteful. “…coming?!”

She sat back on her heels, trying to decide the best way to answer that question. After a quick
ten-second’s contemplation, she opted for actions instead of words and quickly bridging the
distance between them on the bed, pressed herself against his furiously quaking form.

“Does your sex manual say anything about this,” she breathed, lips against his neck. Suckling a
sweet spot she’d discovered behind his left ear, she dragged her teeth against the nape of his
neck, then laved a path down the column of his throat with her tongue, following closely after
with hot breath and finishing, in a flourish, with a full-out lips-and-tongue assault on his
extravagant, delicious mouth.

He gasped when she pulled away, which in itself would have been satisfying enough, but the
response the …rest of his body gave put her way over her goal.

“Hmmmm…?” she asked innocently, having put a couple feet between them again.

Edward looked stricken, face red, prodigious chest heaving beautifully. He seemed to be having
trouble forming words.

“I… I…”

Nearly panting, he watched her in wonder, and the dearest state of confusion, and it took all her
will not to shiver with her own sense of awe … and lunge for him once again.

Instead, reaching for his flesh hand where it hung limply at his side, she batted doe-eyes at him,
making sure he was looking her full in the face.

“Does it say anything about this, Edward?”

Gently, reverently, she drew his open hand to her lips, kissing the palm sweetly, almost chastely,
then, eyes still locked to his, she placed it over her left breast.

“Do you feel that, Ed,” she asked.

Ed blushed and his face crinkled into a silent giggle.

She rolled her eyes and couldn’t help but smile. “Not that, idiot.”

~*~*~

Winry pressed his hand more firmly against her.

“Deeper, Edward,” she breathed. “What do you feel?” Her voice was all cadence and heat, the
sound seductive, hinting at something more.

Something more…

Too many sensations were fighting for airtime in his head and Ed just sat there on his knees,
blinking in confusion.

What do I feel…?

Ed’s brain, and its support staff, had long since liquefied and drained away into his lower
extremities, but a few of the geeks had hung on and one of them, not a particularly bright one,
was trying to get him to flex the fingers of his left hand.

No, damnit! Don’t be a freak! That’s not what she’s asking you to do…

Counting to ten a few times and saying a silent prayer for patience, Edward closed his eyes
against the image threatening to undo him and fought for some semblance of understanding.

The skin beneath his hand was hot and so soft he wanted to taste it. (He gamely resisted the urge,
but filed away the directive for some later juncture.)

No, that’s not what she’s asking you for, either.

Edward swallowed hard as part of that soft skin started to react to the pressure of his hand,
pressing itself insistently against him, willing him to react, but with a sigh of resignation (and
frustration) he bit the inside of his cheek until the impulse faded a little, feeling quite certain, no,
feeling quite positive, that this, also, was not what she was asking.

Taking a deep breath, and booting the other geek to oblivion for flashing a camera-eye’s image
of what the two of them, in that position, must look like (she kneeling flushed before him,
creamy skin bared to him, he with his hand holding her there…) he cleared his mind and focused
on the flesh beneath his hand and then, deeper, the flesh beneath that…

There!

Wow….

In her chest, Winry’s heart was beating steadily, rhythmically and very, very rapidly.

He opened his eyes with a gasp of wonder.

“Your heart…” he whispered. “It’s beating so fast…”

~*~*~

With a slow smile, she threaded her fingers through those that held her there.

“That,” she said, softly. “That’s what you do to me, Edward…”

She drew his hand to her lips again, kissing the fingers, his palm.

“Is there anything in that book about that?”

Eyes closed, he touched his forehead to hers and she felt him let out a long breath.

His answer was silent, a head shake, followed immediately thereafter by the sweetest kiss she
could imagine as he slid his fingers into her hair and pulled her hard against him.

She could feel him – everywhere – and the sensation was maddening. It also brought with it a
mild form of amnesia; it was almost enough to make her forget their failings and just pull him
down on top of her.

But she was not going to let that happen again.

One more time and that might be it - they might never recover.

At the moment, though, she was having problems thinking straight; he was trailing his fingertips
up and down her back and the dual sensation, the hot and the cool of it, was so, so right, she was
thinking he’d had an epiphany when he’d gone into that trance…

“W-wait, Edward.”

It was that damn book. No matter how good this felt, a bad lesson learned well was a hard one to
break.

With an effort, she pulled herself from his arms, his swollen lips and earnest confusion nearly
melting her resolve, and she paused to catch her breath for a moment before holding out her
hand.

“The book, Ed. Let me see the book.”

He stared at her hand in confusion for a second. Shaking his head as if to clear his vision, he
groped blindly for it in the sheets, then held it up to her.

~*~*~

Her first impression was that it was far too thin to be of use to anyone. More of a pamphlet then
a full-fledged book, really.

She realized that she’d actually seen this manual somewhere in her travels, most likely at the
public library. After a quick glance at it, unimpressed, she had slipped it back onto the shelf and
grabbed the next reference.

Funny that Mustang would have chosen this particular tome to pass on to Edward.

Was he trying to ruin his life?

She was beginning to understand why Edward called the man the ‘Bastard Colonel.’ He
certainly had a sick sense of humor…

Winry hefted the thin, fabric covered volume in her hand, letting it fall open naturally, looking
up, when she heard Edward gasp, to find him blushing and stricken.

The pages had righted themselves on a series of diagrams in the book’s second chapter, as she
had suspected, a set of simplistic “operating” instructions depicting (Winry started to giggle
here – she just couldn’t help herself) the particular …interlocking aspects of the male-female
anatomy.

It was Diagram 4, though, that was Winry’s undoing - an illustration showing a couple in a
…there was no better word for it – merged state (“insert tab A into slot B!”). That would have
been bad enough, but the artist, if one could use that term to apply to someone who drew pictures
of people having intercourse for a sex manual, had chosen to plaster silly grins on their bland,
lifeless faces. From their expressions, it looked more like 2D Man and Woman had just heard a
really, really lame joke and, out of politeness to the ersatz joke-teller, were pretending to be
amused, possibly so the offending comedian would go away and not tell them any more jokes…

They don’t even look like they’re enjoying themselves!

It started as a tiny giggle in the back of her throat, one she tried to clear away like a tickle, but it
quickly took on a life of its own, filling her lungs, making her shake with mirth and, all too soon,
it spilled out into the room to echo off the walls.

Edward, for his part, looked incredibly offended by her reaction.

“What?!” he barked, grabbing the book out of her hand and smoothing off the pages where her
mirth-tears had dropped. “You think this is funny?!”

She bit her tongue and held her breath for a moment, trying to regain her composure, only
partially succeeding.

“You don’t?”

Snatching the book back from his hands, she flipped through the pages, broke out in a fit of
giggles at Chapter 3 (“After coitus, women like to ‘cuddle.’ [see Diagrams 1-3.]”), then found
her way back to Chapter 2.

“Don’t you think,” she said, waving the book in his face, “that they left out some steps here?”

~*~*~

He wanted to say “no!” He really did.

There was nothing Edward hated more, well, almost nothing, anyway, than being wrong.

But after she’d done that thing with her tongue on the back of his neck, a thing the Bastard’s Sex
Manual hadn’t even hinted at, he’d known the book was clearly small potatoes when it came to
the sex game.

Not yet ready to admit to anything, least of all that he’d been operating with faulty instructions,
he just grabbed the volume back from her and glared in her general direction.

Arms folded across her chest (damnit! I can’t see now!) she huffed once (an act he would have
loved to have seen without the folded arms…) and shook her head.

“Why are you so committed to that thing, Edward? It’s just a book.” Suddenly there was an evil
glint in her wide blue eyes. “Did it ever occur to you that Mustang’s real intent was to mess with
your head? Or maybe… maybe he thought you knew more than …” she broke off here, suddenly
seeming embarrassed for him. “…that you knew more than you do…”

The room started to go dim.

“Look!” he said, trying to keep from passing out. “I’ve had a lot to do the past few years, okay?!
Trying to get Al’s body back, running from the Homunuli and Scar, trying to find the friggin’
Stone! When have I had time to … to …” He couldn’t finish the sentence. “My technique has
been the least of my worries!”

“I know that,” she said gently. “I know that.” She touched one soft hand to his arm, then took the
book back with the other. “So you thought this would help. It helped a little…”

Her smile made his head swim.

Has she always been this beautiful?

“We can fix this, Edward. Honest we can.” She kissed his hand and he felt his face flush hotly.
“First thing, though, is we’ve gotta start over.”

He had just enough time to echo “start over?” out loud and then she was tossing the Bastard’s
Sex Manual out the window.

“Hey!”

He heard it land with a smack on the porch below, followed closely thereafter by Den’s excited
barking, then Den’s excited growling, and then, sickeningly, the kinds of sounds that usually
accompanied Den’s excited bone-gnawing…

“What the fuck, Winry!?” He made a leap for the window, but she caught his hand roughly,
pulling him back onto the bed. “Whattaya think you’re doing?!”

“Chill out, will ya?!” She seemed to be loosing patience, always a scary prospect where Winry
was concerned. That wrench was only three feet away.

“Look – we’ve got a couple choices here, one of which you’re going to hate and one that you’ll
probably hate even more…”

He blew a raspberry. “You call those choices?”

She gave him a withering look (Yikes! Really withering!) and continued.

“I can just tell you what you need to do – for me – Edward…”

The geek last booted from the Speech Center had crawled its way back upstairs and was inching
towards the Emergency Electrical Disconnect button on hands and knees…

I-I’m gonna pass out…

He gulped for air.

“Choice B?” he managed to choke out.

Suddenly upending herself, an act that displeased Edward not at all (and gave that lone geek the
will to live), she commenced to digging for something under the mattress.

A moment later and she’d retrieved what appeared to be a thick volume from its hiding place.

“Choice B – my reference book…”

Grinning ignobly, she held the tome out to him.

He regarded the volume sheepishly for a moment, almost afraid it might leap up and bite him,
then, with his mechanical hand, not the flesh one, he reached out to take it from her.

The cover was glossy, fully in color, and well worn from use, dog-eared and soft. He blushed,
realizing how it had probably gotten that way…

But its condition wasn’t the most striking thing about the cover.

No, that distinction went to the illustration, an illustration Edward would be hard put to deny
made the diagrams in the Bastard’s Sex Manual look like children’s nursery school drawings…

On the cover were a half-dressed man and woman, caught in the act of … or rather, just about
to…

Edward swallowed hard, fought for air and entertained three notions simultaneously.

First:

W-what has she been reading?!

Next:

Is that really what people look like when they’re about to… about to…?

And then:

Mmmmmmmm… accompanied by the distinct impression that the members of Team Elric,
stationed at either ends of … Base Elric, were… um, waging a war that would ultimately end in
either his extreme …embarrassment or his extreme death.

And the Emergency Disconnect button was getting ready to push itself…

To calm himself, and maybe bring his higher brain functions out of the danger zone and back to
a level that could sustain life, he brought his attention back the people on the book’s cover.

Yowza! This guy’s an ape! Is that the kind of guy she likes?

Bare-chested and virile beyond all humanity, a blond-haired behemoth with flowing locks and
half-lidded eyes was kneeling over a maiden (yes, the clothes qualified her as “maiden,” even if
she was fairly busting out of that bodice) who’s own intentions were pretty damn plain…

Ed read the title and felt some of the blood rush back into his face.

Heat – what kind of a title was that? – by Eiri Yuki.

From out of nowhere, a thought popped into Edward’s poor, singed brain…

Yuki? I wonder if he’s related to that idiot from Youswell…

The tangential thought allowed Ed’s breathing (and face color) to normalize somewhat, which
Edward decided was particularly fortuitous; the last thing he needed was for Winry to see the
affect the book was having on him. Especially not when there was an argument to be won here.

Sanity, who’d been hiding itself in the Pleasure Center of Edward’s brain for the last few hours,
ventured a thought here.

What kind of argument is it when you both win…?

Edward batted him away without a second thought.

Ah, what do you know?

Hoping against hope that his body hadn’t betrayed him, (damn you, body!) Edward blew out
what he thought was a nonchalant breath, bit the inside of his cheek for focus, and turned to look
at her.

“And?” he asked.

He was hoping he’d pulled off Indifference, feeling anything but at the moment. His brain,
(dame you, brain!) had continued the book’s cover scene in his head – the ape and the maiden
were currently exploring the wonders of Diagram 4…

Winry was watching the book as though it was alive, like the ape and the maiden were exploring
Diagram 4 for her, too… It took her a moment to shake herself out of her reverie.

Unfortunately, it looked like she shook too hard.

“And??!!” She grit out through tightly clenched teeth.

Storm clouds started to gather on the Winry horizon; Ed chose the smart tack and started to
back-pedal. Fast.

“Well, you know… I’m just wondering how two half-naked people and,” he flipped to the last
page of the book, “and 653 pages add up to … you know…”

Oops! Not a smart enough tack!

“Oh, for pity’s sake, Edward! Grow the Hell up!” Winry was back on her feet, rummaging
through her dresser drawers.

Despite her menacing tone, Ed was grateful for this action for two important reasons: 1) she was
still starkers and 2) she was out of hand’s (and wrench’s) reach.

She was starting to dress now (No!! Why are you putting clothes on?!!), regarding him with
absolute frustration as she did so.

“The word is ‘orgasm,’ Edward. Say it with me.”

At that moment, Edward felt his eyes trying to pop themselves out of his head.

Winry sighed angrily. “And stop bugging out your eyes. You’re gonna hurt yourself.” She swore
under her breath. “It’s just a word, Edward. Now, say it!”

But words were refusing to form in Edward’s brain just then. In fact, his brain was considering
mutiny. After all, he’d been ignoring it for several hours now, so what use was it anyway?

Slipping a tank top over her head, Winry spun to face him. She no doubt saw the last remnants of
his brain leaking out of his ears, because all at once her expression softened and she sat down
next to him on the bed.

“I’m sorry, Ed,” she said quietly.

Leaning in, she covered his hand with her own, squeezing, then softly kissed his forehead.

All members of the Team instantly returned to their posts.

Winry smiled at him gently, shaking her head, and stared deep into his slightly unfocused eyes.

“Meet me in the kitchen in five minutes, Ed.”

Huh?

“W-what,” he asked, unable to see anything but her lips.

“Meet me in the kitchen in five minutes.” She repeated and then spared a glance downward.
“And as much as I love the view, you should probably put some clothes on, too.”

Ed blushed so hard his ears throbbed. Suddenly shy, he pulled the sheet into his lap.

“Why should I meet you in the kitchen,” he asked, his voice slightly hoarse and more than a little
confused.

“You’ll see.”

I’ll see…

The lips were smiling again. It was nice.

And then he couldn’t see them any more because they were pressed gently against his own.

She was gone with a giggle, but not before she’d retrieved his shorts from the floor and flung
them at his face.

~*~*~*~

A/N – A little catch up on the review comments. (Sorry I’ve been remiss!!!)

Neko-chan: I’m so glad you saw the ‘hot’ in there. It’s kind of hard to do (slapstick) funny and
hot at the same time and I don’t always know if I’ve pulled it off. (I mean, it works on me, but
I’m sort of … well, in on my own jokes, so… I get me, you know? <g> ) I’m debating writing
an extended scene (from part 3) and publishing it separately here – one that would be somewhat
more … lemony than the rest… Not sure I can pull it off. Stay tuned….

Marlemon: Sorry! Didn’t mean to ignore your polite request to “HURRY!” but I’m really, really
slow… I sort of agonized over having Ed be … not good … at this… I had to get my brain
around the concept… I mean, how could you … not … you know … just from looking at him…
Thanks for the props on Equilibrium. I haven’t forgotten it! Just got side-tracked by Branded.
There are 4 more chapters after this one, but they should be much shorter. (Famous Last
Words…)

wendi: Well, thanks for reading, anyway. :-) You saw Winry’s name on the story header and
read on in spite of that. I appreciate that!

Miss Woodford: Hey, you! Thanks for the review! Will add this to livejournal soon…

Eve Nightingale: Sorry I was confusing!! I had such fun playing around inside Ed’s head with
Team Elric (you know – the guys that make our favorite alchemist’s life both a blessing and a
nightmare…<g> ), but I know cutting back and forth can be confusing. I will probably tone
down the Team in future chapters.

Alex: Yay!!! You liked my Al!! Man, I could just see that armored boy backing towards the
closet and waving his hands… I had fun with sweet exuberance. He’s such a luv… And thanks
for the second review! You are, no doubt, one of the few people who didn’t have to wait six
months for a new chapter… <g>

Serenanna: Oh!!! I am both humbled and touched! And inspired myself…. I went to read a few
of yours <phew!> [ßfans self ] and may be inspired to write a lemon “outtake” for the last part
of this chapter [still to be written]) So thank YOU! B-but please don’t be mad at me for your
FMA fandom – being obsessed with FMA is a goooood thing. Right? No, it is!! Honest!!

Thanks to all for the great reviews! I’ll try to respond more quickly in the future.

Hope you enjoyed it!!! (I’m having such fun writing it!!)

~ibshafer
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