Author's Note: I adore FMA. Edo-kun is utter love and smex =3 I'm going to start a Ed/Winry Fanfic but I hope to try out a Ed/Roy eventually. And maybe something like that for Naruto. If you have requests, say so. :D

I don't own a single thing… *tear*

It was a life changing day. That day Edward landed his eyes on the one and only Roy Mustang, flame alchemist. That day, his presence stunned him, awed him, like a little kid first meeting Santa Claus.

But, like that little kid, Mustang's image changed as he grew, losing his infamous stature. How? It started the moment he opened his mouth actually. His cocky attitude and childish taunts. So arrogant!

Even now, as Edward sat before him, Roy held that cocky attitude for all to see as he smugly ran over the list of damages Ed had left in his wake from his latest mission.

"'Destruction of two military trucks,"

Edward gave a nod, smiling.

"Four homes… "

Smirk.

"A… water tower?"

"Hey! I tried to avoid that. It's not my fault if the guy just happened to crash into it."

"Says here you threw him…"

Roy replied, tapping a pencil on the paper where Hughes concernedly sketched the details against Ed's loud protests from behind a line of officers placed to keep him still. Edward shrugged, sitting back down.

"My aim was off. So sue me."

At least, Roy sighed and placed the paper down and looked at him while he twirled the pencil in his hands.

"So much damage for one kid. I should sue you. Better yet, you should go back to fix it all back up."

"Well, that's not my job now, is it?"

"Eh, it is too much to ask you to fix the water tower…"

Edward twitched, knowing what was coming. He gave Roy a dagger-laced stare. He felt nothing.

"… Not like you could reach the ladder to get up there."

"You bastard! I'll kill you!"

Edward snapped, motioning to climb of the desk and tear at the face that smiled back at him expectantly and he didn't even seem to be willing to duck away, only smiling, taunting, and pissing him off even more.

Edward was on the desk, raising his foot to Roy's head when someone cleared their throat from the door. He turned to see Riza glaring darkly at him.

Gulp.

"I don't mean to interrupt."

She muttered which actually meant she was doing it on purpose. Always on Roy's side. Edward grudgingly climbed off the desk, this time standing next to the chair.

Roy tilted his head to see past Edward, wearing a happy grin and gave her a quick, short wave.

"Morning, Riza."

"Sir, I have papers for you from the Fuehrer."

Edward grinned menacingly as he heard the loud whisper of insults from behind him.

"They're of high importance. I hope you don't mind, Edward."

"Not at all, Officer. Roy needs to work out his wrists anyways."

"I'll show you I need to work out."

Roy muttered lowly at him as his fingers twitched from inside his special made gloves to aid in his fire alchemy.

"Any time, any place… Boss."

Edward bowed slightly to Riza as he ducked out the door and down the hall, Roy's whines and Riza's attitude echoing behind him. Taking a left, Edward nearly walked smack into his baby brother who he had, much to his misfortune, look up to.

"Al? You okay?"

No response.

He was about to question him again until he saw what it was he was looking at and shut his mouth, staring as well.

Out the window, the two brothers watched as a young woman spoke enthusiastically with Hughes, not being put off by his over obsession and attacks of baby photos. In fact, she took them just as happily and gushed over them with him.

"She just showed up."

Al replied quietly.

Winry giggled at something Hughes had said and glanced around a moment until she spotted the boys in the window. Her smile changed, gentler, calmer. Her eyes changed too, as she locked looks with Edward. They shared a moment until Edward turned away, turning his back to her.

"She shouldn't be here. The base is no place for her."

He closed his eyes and walked off as Al stood still and studied Winry's expression as it crumpled and fell before fixing it up half heartedly for Hughes as he flashed out a new picture he had just found in his overstuffed wallet.

Turning, he trailed after Ed.

"We should spend some time with her."

A scoff was his reply.

"I mean it, Ed. She looked, well, kind of lonely and she did fix your automail."

"We don't have time for games, Al. I have a job to do, you know? I have a mission."

"Not right now, you don't. Roy is still going over your report anyways."

"Heh. Yeah, he just dug into me over the damage report. Ha!"

"Well, you did destroy quite a bit."

"Hey, I got the job done, didn't I? No one said anything about keeping it clean."

Edward shrugged and pushed the door to the outside and Al walked ahead of him to meet a calm Winry and gushing Hughes as he waved a photo of his daughter over his head like a flag.

"Al! Ed! Have you seen my pictures yet?"

"Not since yesterday."

Edward grumbled.

"Well, prepare to have a sugar overdose with this bundle of sweetness."

He presented a photo of his daughter in the middle of playing dolls, glancing up surprised just in time for the photo.

"Isn't she just adorable playing with Missus Snuffy? Aw, my baby, my little girl, my angel, my--"

The three offered a polite smile while he rubbed his cheek against the picture. Edward could swear he saw red hearts surrounding his head until he paused and tucked the picture away.

"I should let you kids have your fun. I'll go see how Roy is holding up. Riza is on a mission to get him to finish his weekly quota for once. Should be hilarious!"

He laughed and walked off.

Al gave a wave then turned his iron body to their childhood friend.

"How are you today, Winry?"

"I'm fine."

She replied, grinning up at him. Still not use to the height, she shielded her eyes to see him clearly.

"So, are we going to hang out today? I'm only here for another few days. I thought we could go somewhere cool today."

"Like where?"

"Hm. I'm not sure. Ed? Do you have anywhere in mind?"

Winry asked meekly, giving him an odd look.

Edward hung back, hands in his pockets and looking away. He finally tilted his eyes to her, no emotion or expression.

"I don't care."

She dropped her eyes and Al made a motion to change the tense air.

"It doesn't matter. We'll just go walk around town."

As the three teens strolled through the town, Winry raced to every mechanical store they had, whizzing through every shelf as she explored the new equipment they offered.

"Oh, wow! This is amazing! This, too! Would you look at that?! Oh, Edward, if I had something like this, I could fix your automail in a heartbeat! This place is amazing."

Al was the one who was on Winry's heel, watching and nodding with her as Edward kept a decent pace behind them. When they entered a store, Ed stood outside, leaning against the wall, though kept an eye on them.

On Winry.

He hated to admit it and would never show it really, but he admired her. Her ways of remaining… well, the same. As if all the things she's been through, mostly because of them, hadn't affected her as much. He watched her and wished he could react the same way. To be young like he should and not suddenly grown. A kid should enjoy growing up, going through the motions. Talking to girls, getting into fights with other kids, school and shopping. Ed had never got to do that. Be normal. From the moment him and Al stuck their noses into Alchemy for their deceased mother, they were thrown into the roll of adults and now they fight to gain what they had lost and start over. Their childhood maybe lost but they still had a future to look forward to… hopefully.

'We were asking for it, I suppose…'

Edward whispered from the back of his mind sadly but he cast it aside and stood up straight as Winry spun out the door while Al in tow carrying a small bag along with others she had filled with goodies to bring back home.

He silently took a bag or two and walked with them to the next store and, while he wasn't looking, smashed into Al as he stopped.

"At another store already?!"

Ed snapped, craning his head to look around Al's bulky body.

The two had stopped as a line of Soldiers made their way down the street calmly. They didn't even bat an eye as they children playing just moments ago ran away. As they did, another child looked back to see their ball in the way and ran in hopes to grab it before they trampled it. He darted to it but just as his hands grasped it tightly, his feet slipped on the gravel right in the line of fire.

"Oh, no! He's going to get trampled!"

Winry gasped as she went to save him but was cut off by Al's large hands. He stopped her so she could see Edward was already at his side in a flash, lifting him and just barely making it out of the way.

The soldiers all gave him a dirty look as he set the kid down and continued to shake his fist at them, screaming obscenities until the mother ran up and took the child.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you, sweetie."

She whispered, hugging the child.

Edward held the ball out to him.

"Be careful next time."

He told, smiling warmly while the child took the toy and nodded quickly.

As Edward walked back to Winry and Al, he lifted the bags he had dropped to the ground and continued to walk without even giving them a second glance.

Winry raced to match his pace, looking at him wide eyed then over her shoulder.

"Why didn't they stop or turn or something?"

"They were trained to march. That's all they ever do. They don't care who's in the way as long as they move."

"But he was just a kid!"

"That's how the military works, Winry."

She glared at him now.

"So, you'd do something like that too?!"

"If I was ordered to. I'd have no choice."

"That's just sick! How could you?!"

Edward stopped and shoved the bags into her arms roughly.

"Look, I have to do whatever they tell me just like everyone else. I do what have to, to get what I want."

"What kind of life is that?"

With that, he turned and walked away but not before looking back at her gravely. A deep bitterness in his eyes that she felt wasn't meant towards her but to himself.

"The one I chose."

And left.

Al watched his brother's back then looked down at Winry.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for him, Al."

"But, you don't understand. He hates the military, you know that. But he has to do and follow orders or he won't get what he's after."

She looked up at Al, her eyes prickled with tear but not of sadness but anger. A bad habit of hers.

"Do you agree for him to live like this?"

"It's not my life."

He replied wisely and Winry turned to watch Edward blend into the crowds and vanish. She didn't know then that she should have followed after him, stuck with him.

She'd regret it sooner than she thought as she dropped her eyes and spun on her heel to face the other stores before her.

"Whatever. Can we, please, just keep going?"

"Sure, Winry."

And they walked on, going store to store, exploring the other buying possibilities until she was weak in the knees. It was when she stopped to sit down on the ground and Al left to go call a cab that everything was set into motion. The fight that would push Edward to his limits unlike before.

A race to save Winry's life.

"Scream… and I'll kill you where you stand…"