One And Only.
By DeceptiveSoftness [ Softie ]
He fell in love the moment he laid eyes on her. It really was as simple as that.
Before he saw her he used to scoff at the lovestruck fools who'd wax poetic about the object of their affections. Describing the moment their eyes met, the way they instantly knew she was 'The One'. The way they were so sure that they would be with this person for the rest of their lives.
He'd never put much stock in those stories, mainly because the relationships never lasted. No matter how madly in love his friends claimed they were they rarely stayed with their girlfriends for more than a few months, if even that. They, much like himself, moved from one girl to another with almost frightening speed.
But that was what being a teenager was all about, he supposed. Trying out new things, new styles, new girls before you got too old and had to settle down. He had never believed in love at first sight. Sure he fancied the girls he went out with, he admired them for their looks or their personalities, but that wasn't love.
It stood to reason that if Soul Mates actually existed then he'd have met his already. God knows he'd dated enough girls, seen enough, kissed enough, to find the one that was to be his One And Only. Looking back he laughed at his own folly. Of course he hadn't met her yet, she was nothing like the vapid, doe-eyed girls he usually dated.
Winry was different. Better.
It had all happened because he'd been caught trying to leave the school grounds during class time and had been assigned detention after school. Detention was a complete and utter joke and was over seen by the half-blind, half-senile, old Spanish teacher who constantly fell asleep with his glasses slipping precariously down his nose.
He was hardly going to sit in a musty old classroom with a snoring old man who probably wouldn't notice if the school burned down around his abnormally large ears. He had slipped out of the classroom but didn't leave the school. He wasn't that stupid, they had CCTV cameras trained on the gate at all times, that was how they'd caught him trying to leave in the first place and the walls were too high to climb safely.
Instead he stuffed his school jumper and shirt inside his bag and shoved them into his locker before making his way to the roof. The school was an old-fashioned, red brick building that had seen better days. It was three stories tall and had a strange flat roof that collected rainwater on the odd day that it actually rained. It was extremely sunny down South and it was rare that they had more than a day or two of rain per year.
On his way up the stairs he had heard a strange whirring noise, like the humming of fridge or a lawn mower. His face creased into a frown and he'd started to follow to noise down the corridor, he had been sure that he was the only person left in the school apart from Mr Rodriguez and the cleaning staff, and he wondered who else could still be here.
His feet carried him to the door of the Tech room and he had tentatively pushed open the door a crack, just enough to see in, as he was wary of walking in on a teacher and getting into even more trouble for ditching detention.
That was when he saw her, surrounded by a halo of flying sparks, the sleeves of her school shirt rolled up to reveal slim, pale arms and her jumper tied boyishly around her hips. She was standing with her back to him, half bent over a small saw, machine and was painstakingly cutting out a small, intricate looking design from a sheet of fibre glass.
Her long, blonde, hair was tucked back in a careless bun and rebellious strands trailed down her exposed neck and caught on the rubber band of the orange tinted goggles that obscured her eyes from view. He must have made a sound, or maybe she just sensed his presence, because she suddenly turned around and launched the closest thing she could grab at his head with something akin to a war cry.
He let out a yelp of pain and fell back out into the corridor as a solid metal wrench powered into his stomach and left him breathless. Distantly he heard her curse but he was to busy trying not to throw up his lunch to really pay attention. A gentle hand on his arm made him lift his head and he was startled by how close she was. The goggles had been pushed up, tangling in her fringe, and her eyes, a startling shade of blue, were mere inches away from his. He stilled as her sweet breath fanned softly across his face.
Her lips moved and he immediately focused in on them, perfect and pink and plump and he wondered what it would be like to kiss them. They moved again and this time they were accompanied by a rough shake of his arm and he realized that she was asking him a question.
Luckily his face was already red with pain so he didn't have to explain away the sudden flush of embarrassment that crept across his cheeks.
"...kay? Tringham? Are you okay? Oh dear... you're not going to die are you?" she asked quickly and he forced himself to listen to what she was saying rather then thinking about how her lips curved cutely when she pronounced her vowels.
Just how fucking hard had that wrench hit him?
"M'fine...just... gonna curl...up and...die over here, 'kay?" he said a bit deliriously as he pointed to a spot on the floor that he thought looked especially comfy. The girl's eyes narrowed and she'd responded by picking up the discarded wrench and brandishing it threateningly in his direction. Her earlier concerned attitude fading once she realised that he wasn't grievously injured.
"Man the hell up Tringham! It's just a little tap, you'll live!" she muttered in irritation and then rolled her eyes at the sight of him subtly crawling backwards and away from her, eyeing the wrench in her hands warily. "Oh, for gods sake-" she threw the tool-slash-weapon over her shoulder. "-there, the bad, bad wrench is gone." she told him acidly, shooting him a withering look that told him exactly when she thought of him.
And all he could think is how she sounded so adorable when she was sarcastic.
He propped himself up on his elbows and regarded her silently for a moment, not trusting himself to speak in case his next words came out as either nonsensical ramblings or a marriage proposal. Winry seemed a bit surprise at the sudden change in mood and flushed a little under his gaze. She stood abruptly and held out a hand to help him up, seemingly anxious for him to get up and go.
He accepted her hand but didn't relinquish it once he was standing. Instead he raised it and brushed a kiss against her knuckles and smiled winningly up at her. Precious few women could defend themselves against the overwhelming corniness of his 'Gentleman Act'. Despite their protests he knew they liked to be treated as though they were ladies. The right word, smile, touch and they were his.
He was firmly convinced that he'd have stunned the pretty girl speechless and was preparing to say something about how she'd 'taken his breath away' or 'stolen his heart' or some similar romantic mush. Therefore he was completely and utterly shocked when her fist shot out and smacked into his jaw, sending him crashing back to the floor.
He stared up at her in surprise as she flexed her hand and glared down at him, her eyes flashing and her cheeks painted an attractive shade of pink. She stood their, trembling in anger for a few seconds before turning on her heels, her skirt flaring behind her, and stomping back into the Tech room.
"So help me God, Tringham, if you ever do that again I will castrate you!" She hissed at him before slamming the door in his face.
He sat their for a long time, staring at the chipping paint of the door and listening to Winry's muffled curses and the whirr of the saw blade, before a slow, satisfied smirk curved his lips and his eyes blazed with unrestrained interest.
She was beautiful and fiery in equal measures and he had never met a girl quite like her. Russell raised a hand to gently prod the cut on his lip and snickered quietly. She would be impossible to win over, it was clear she hated him, and his usual methods of flirting obviously didn't work. But he didn't mind, he liked a challenge and Winry Rockbell would be well worth the chase.
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A/N: Hmm? Why yes, this was Russell x Winry. Completely unrequited of course but I thought it would be fun to write. I adore crack pairings so if any of you have some suggestions then feel free to tell me. I'll pretty much write anything so long as it's legal so Yaoi and Yuri pairings are welcome along with Het.
I know that it makes absolutely no sense but just couldn't help it. Russell is so pretty that my muse fell in love, yet again, and decided that unless I wrote about him she wouldn't let me get back to my other stories. She's also responsible for the High School -AU-ness of this chapter.
If you liked this then please review and, heck, if you didn't like it then review anyway and tell me why you thought it sucked.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.
-Softie.