C o m p e t i t i o n.
Winry's Competition.

It was Saturday. And one certain alchemist was taking full advantage of it.

He was sprawled out on the couch, blonde hair flopping over his closed eyes; he shifted his hand over his stomach lightly to scratch it, giving out a few light snores in the process. Although it was October, the weather was quite warm, a humid dampness settling in the air and causing everyone to abandon their usual autumn clothes for something lighter. Ed was no exception; The usual red coat was abandoned over the back of the couch, along with his black jacket; leaving his black tank top and black pants for him to be clad in.

The teenager stirred a little as the door creaked open, mumbling a few incoherent words as footsteps travelled towards him. Two sets of footsteps; one were familiar and the other not. He was too lazy to open his eyes, so he let them approach, wondering who the heck was trying to disturb his peaceful Saturday. The feeling of annoyance faded though, as a few words travelled to his ears from above;

"Ed...? Wake up!" Winry's tone sounded quite light and happy, which was good. He liked that; it usually meant that he wasn't going to be bombarded by wrenches. But he still wasn't getting up.

His only response was a small groan, along with the mumbling: "It's not the time for another automail checkup, Win..."

He heard her sigh, along with the floorboards creaking as she moved.

"I'm not going to check your automail.... Look, one of our old frie-"

But her words were lost as the alchemist rolled over, burying his face in a couch pillow to drown out her words.
Oh, that did it. He was just being rude now.

With a sudden movement to her back pocket, her wrench was whipped out, along with a frown spreading on Winry's face.

"EDWARD!" She prodded him harshly with the wrench, causing him to jump violently, his golden eyes opening with the flinch from the metal tool touching him.

"N-no need to get violent...!" His voice shook slightly as he bolted upright, scooting away from the wrench as far as he could, pressed up against the back of the couch.
The girl standing over him gave a pleased look, replacing the wrench into her back pocket before folding her arms.

"Stupid...." The girl turned around to motion to another blonde, who was standing behind her, an amused expression spread on the stranger's face.

"Anyway, this is-" Winry was cut off in sudden surprise as the girl she had been motioning to suddenly swept past her, red high heels creating loud noises on the floor as she strutted up to Ed, leaning over him.

"Sara. You remember me, right?" Not even giving him a chance to reply, the girl kissed him on both cheeks, immediately causing a bright flush to appear there.

A nervous smile ached across the male's face, as he nodded with the stutter; "U-uh... hi.... yeah... Sarah...! Hi..."

Winry looked mutinous. Her hand made a twitch movement towards her back pocket, but a solution came to her as she darted forwards, placing herself next to Ed and then shoving him to the other end of the couch, so there was no room the other side for anyone else to sit.

Sarah scowled, leaning upright again as her eyes flicked to Winry. But oh no, she had plans too; no-one was going to spoil this for her.

Placing herself in Ed's lap with a flourish, she turned to him again and fluttered eyelashes over green eyes, now ignoring the other girl sitting the other side of him.

"See, I knew you'd remember me! Are you still a State Alchemist or whatever they're called?" She'd obviously been doing her research, as she let the question flow out of her mouth with ease, making Winry twitch with annoyance.

Golden eyes blinked, a nervous laugh spilling over his lips only to be replaced with a loud 'GAH!' as he found an extra weight forcing itself on his knees, making him squirm uncomfortably.
He didn't have a clue what to do.

"Y-Yeah..." He deliberately avoided eye contact with the girl sitting next to him, only aware of the fact that her leg touching his was tense; his mechanic was getting upset.

Winry gritted her teeth, fists clenching into tight balls settled on her knees.

"Oh look at the time Sarah, shouldn't you be going?" The sarcasm and warning in her voice was clear, but Sarah seemed to be deaf to everyone except the seat she was sitting on.
She started playing with the alchemist's blonde hair, twirling a few strands round her fingers as she leant towards him, revealing all below her low-cut top.

"Oh really? I was thinking of joining the military, I think I'd look good in a miniskirt, don't you?" The flirtation in her voice was so thick you could almost dent it with a wrench.

But she was only to be disappointed; as the male raised his metal hand, gently pushing the fingers messing with his hair away; leaning back as he quickly averted his eyes, looking anywhere but her chest.

"N-no... it's not worth it..." He didn't want anyone joining the military just to wear a miniskirt; how stupid was this girl?

Blue eyes were narrowed, her voice slick with venom; "Sarah, you should go..." Winry grabbed the girl's shoulder rather roughly, only to have it shaken off in a dismissal, eyes still focused on Ed.

"Why not? I'd probably get to see more of you!" Sarah was looking annoyed at her victim's responses; she had been hoping for more than this, she had made sure to plan everything...

"Don't sell yourself to the military for something as stupid as that..." Ed frowned, shaking his head.

Winry had definitely had enough.

Pushing herself up off the couch, she raised her right fist, punching the other girl round the face, along with a loud cry that echoed across the room: "GET THE HELL OFF MY BOYFRIEND!"

Sarah was sprawled on the floor, looking wide-eyed and touching her red cheek gingerly. Had she just been punched?

The girl on the floor stumbled upright to face her opponent, placing her hands on her hips.
"What? Oh, he's your boyfriend is he? ... And I didn't see him complaining!" Fake innocence flooded her voice, along with a triumphant smirk as she added the point on the end.

Ed didn't know what to do; he avoided watching the cat fight, mumbling a few words before letting them die down, practically sinking into his seat. What the hell was he supposed to do?

"Yes, he's my boyfriend you bitch! I've told you enough times, haven't I?!" Winry's tongue was getting furious, matching her expression. She ignored Sarah's added comment; she knew that Ed wouldn't know what to do, he was such a prude sometimes.

Sarah hissed, the anger at being called a bitch spreading across her face. Her hand twitched and then raised itself to slap the blonde in front of her, a sweet revenge for that remark.

But Ed wasn't having any of that; although he was trying to stay out of it, nobody hurt his Winry. Ever.

The teenager leapt up, firmly grabbing Sarah's wrist as he stood in front of the blonde he had always sought to protect, no matter what. And his frown showed that, through and through.

Winry was surprised and a flood of emotions span through her mind as her eyes focused on the braid that had entered her view; she moved to stand by Ed's side, a gentle smile on her face. He was protecting her.

Sarah looked startled, staring at the metal wrist that had suddenly taken cold control over her hand. It was obvious; there was no-one else for him except the golden-haired mechanic that was now standing by his side. And it would always be like that.

Seeing that she was beaten, the fallen blonde jerked her wrist away, glaring at the couple defiantly.

"Hmph. You could do a lot better than her anyday... Stupid whore..." She hissed, watching as Ed took his arm back, to fold them across his chest, matching Sarah's glare with his own golden-eyed one.

"If I'm not mistaken, I'd say you're merely jealous... which obviously means you're upset that I can't find better." Winry's offended look faded into a smile as Ed spoke with confidence, telling the enemy straight.

That was it for Sarah; with a turn of her heel, she was out of the room; slamming the door behind her, a signal that she wasn't coming back. Good riddance.