Title: Breaking Through
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist
Theme no.: 14. An aspiring villain from the start
Characters: Ed/Winry
Rating: K
Summary: Ed hated him the instant he laid eyes upon him.
Notes: This fic is entirely the fault of JoJoDancer and… an episode of That 70's Show. Don't judge me.
14. An aspiring villain from the start

The first time Ed laid eyes on Benjamin Walker, he hated him. Instantly. He hated his dumb wavy hair, he hated his dumb smile, he hated his dumb disarmingly charming demeanor, and most of all he hated the way Ben had laughed when Winry had cracked a joke about using 2 grade wire on finger joints, because, unlike Ed, Benjamin had actually gotten the joke.

It wasn't that Ed was stupid – he was well aware that Winry was something of an anomaly, a young woman working in automail, and he was well aware that, living in Rush Valley, it was more than likely that Winry would run into other automail engineers who were young men. Winry had never been the type to have girlfriends, so it wasn't other men associating with Winry that upset him.

What upset him was the way Ben hung around Garfield's as much as he could, whenever his own master gave him time; the easygoing way he leaned against the counter towards Winry while they chatted; how fascinated he was with Winry's custom designs, and the genuine way Winry laughed when she talked to him.

He was earnest and polite and even if he and Winry occasionally bickered – about who had the best master or what were the best metals to use – even Al defended him when Ed had complained about him. Winry's customers especially didn't mind when Ben was hanging around the shop, compared to the dirty looks they still shot Ed.

And what upset Ed most of all was the way Winry had laughed when Ed had suggested that Ben's intentions were less than honorable.

"What are you talking about?" she'd asked incredulously, wiping tears of mirth away from one eye. "Ben's just into automail like me. Besides, you're not always in the city, and I like talking to him."

"I don't like him," Ed had insisted.

"You don't like anybody," Winry had scoffed, and then the argument had gone to a whole new level and Ben had been left behind for the time being.

Still, the guy was like a canker sore. Ed couldn't forget about him or leave him alone, and he grew more volatile the more Ben hung around.

"What are you doing here?" he sneered one afternoon when the bell above the door jangled and Ben's face appeared.

Ben looked vaguely perplexed at Ed's hostility. "I just wanted to talk to Winry-"

"Oh yeah you wanted to talk to her huh? I'm sure that's all you wanted!" If Al had been there, he would have been proud of the fact that Ed wasn't yelling yet. And then he would have diffused the situation.

To Ed's eternal irritation, Ben just smiled gently and laughed a little bit. "Look, I know you and Al are like Winry's brothers and that you're really protective of her, but I'm not screwing around, honest. I like her."

"I am not Winry's brother!" Ed bellowed, the sound of his shouting apparently attracted Winry's attention, because she appeared right as Ed gesticulated wildly and shouted, "And you are not dating her!"

"Edward!" The sound of her voice jarred him out of his rage, and he wheeled around to see that she had flushed angrily. "I told you, Ben's not like that! He's just my friend. Leave him alone!"

"Um, actually – Winry – " Ben shuffled awkwardly.

"What?" her eyebrows creased as she observed Ben's nervous posture. All the poor boy could do was continue to stutter awkwardly, and understanding dawned suddenly on Winry's face. "You really did want to ask me out?"

"Ah – well –"

"HA!" Ed shouted, throwing an arm out towards Ben. "See? I told you! I told you!"

Winry ignored him, just staring at Ben, utterly speechless. Ben, to his credit, also managed to ignore Ed, taking an unsure step towards Winry – who rocked back nervously – before withdrawing, and stammering out, "J-just think about it, okay? I'll come see you again later," before fleeing.

As soon as the bell jingled again Winry sagged, leaning hard against the counter and burying her face in her hands.

"See? See?" Ed continued to rant in triumph. "Didn't I tell you? I told you he was up to no good! Why didn't you listen to me?!"

"How could I think he liked me, Ed?" Winry snapped. "He treats me the same way you do."

Every single muscle in Ed's body froze; his eyes widened and his face flushed, up to the point where even the tips of his ears were burning.

When no returning argument was forthcoming, Winry finally looked up, saw Ed's expression, and knew. Her eyes widened like Ed's, but instead of flushing all the blood drained from her face, leaving her pale and white.

Finally she found a word.

"Oh."