Rowan and Sakura present the first multi-chaptered FMA fic Rowan has written! We hope you all enjoy it- that is, if you don't mind Elricest and OCs cluttering up the storyline. If you don't like these things, get the hell away from my story! Otherwise, you may proceed.

Disclaimer: Rowan doesn't own FMA. See, she's not even sure if Arakawa-san, who does own it, is male or female. And Rowan is not confused about her gender, see? So it's impossible.

Warning: One-sided Elricest, OCs. Purposefully bad dialogue.

Note: Okay, since I personally feel that the last chapter was a moment out of a soap opera, and I don't like it that way but I'm lazy, this whole thing is actually supposed to be funny, because all of it will be written like a soap. This is what I do to entertain myself. So have fun; laugh at the dialogue if you want to. That's what it's there for.

And then when you're done with this, read Darling, the serious, well-written version of this story. Also by me.

Definition of Sin

Chapter Three- Resistance

For Edward, it would not have mattered if God Himself had been staying at Al's with him; that first week was torture. Alphonse clung to Edward's side like a lost kitten, affectionate and exuberant, so happy to see his brother again. Al barely noticed Winry, and Edward found himself in many awkward moments alone with Al, who looked so alluring, so beautiful, that he found it hard to resist, the thought of stealing a kiss. But he managed.

However, things went beyond unbearable when Al introduced them to her. Her name was Julie Hakuro, the niece of General Hakuro, and she was perfect. She was pretty, large green eyes and radiant red hair and Ed could have almost liked her, except for Al's words.

"Julie is my girlfriend."

One evening, the four of them were going out to dinner, and as Winry dressed for the evening, she heard a knock on the door. Opening it a crack, Edward pushed his way in and slammed the door behind him. "Just kill me now!" he said.

Winry frowned as she pulled a light purple dress over her head. "What's the matter Edward?" she asked.

"I can't take it anymore!" he exclaimed. "If I have to spend another night watching them all over each other, I'll kill myself! So do me a favor and hit me as hard as you can with your wrench."

Winry sighed. "Edward, I can't do that," she said.

"Sure you can! You've done it enough in the past!" he said.

Winry shook her head as she pulled her hair back in a bun. "Edward, just ignore them, okay? And besides, they are never 'all over each other', that's just in your imagination. Julie's too much of a prude to allow that in public."

Ed glowered. "Yeah, says you. But you should just see it from where I sit," he muttered, folding his arms petulantly across his chest.

"Edward, you don't have to watch them, but…" she paused, lipstick in her hand, her eyes looking at him in the mirror. "…You can't help it, can you?" Ed turned away. She closed her eyes and exhaled, then applied a thick line of red on her mouth. "Never mind."

Winry was right; at dinner, if Al tried to even hold her hand, Julie would flinch and inch away. She was the ultimate prude, but what bothered Ed was his brother's insistence, his search for physical affection with the girl.

Ed couldn't stand to watch Alphonse's attempt to fawn over Julie anymore, and turned his eyes to the rest of the restaurant. Still, he could hear them speaking in whispers over Winry's fond discussion of her day's purchases.

"It's gorgeous, state-of-the-art, and oh, it's just lovely! Rests so beautifully in my hands and-"

"C'mon Julie, at least let me hold your hand."

"In public?"

"-oh, and Granny Pinako will just love it. We've been needing a new one for years and this one is simply divine-"

"But why, Julie?"

"Because I said so."

"Such a gorgeous make, light-weight, gentle, perfect-"

"Al! Hey, Al-" and then all talk ceased as Al pulled Julie close and pecked her on the mouth with a chaste kiss.

Edward turned bright pink, Winry's mouth fell open, her eyes moving from Ed to them and back. Julie froze in Al's arms, then gently allowed him to kiss her before she reluctantly pulled away.

"Well, I..." she gasped.

Al grinned. "Thank you, Julie." They exchanged a sickeningly love-filled glance. Winry coughed into her hand.

"Um, what was I saying? Ed?" she said, looking to him.

Edward's face was stiff with shock as their eyes met, his filled with stony solemnity. Then, suddenly, Ed pulled Winry into a wet, sloppy, vengeful smacking of lips.

When Ed pulled back, he smirked triumphantly at Winry. The frozen, embarrassed looks on Al's and Julie's faces were not lost on her.

One morning a week or so later, Al, Ed, and Winry were eating breakfast when Julie came into the kitchen, face glowing. She was impeccably dressed as usual, in a simple white sun dress and the wide-brimmed hat in her hands.

"My uncle," she announced, "has invited all of you to tea this afternoon."

"You mean," said Al, "General Hakuro?"

"Who else, silly?" Julie giggled and kissed Al on the cheek. "Anyway, it will be the four of us, and a few special guests and their dates." Julie turned to Winry with a smile. "Say, Winry, what will you wear for tea?"

Winry blinked, then glanced at her plate. "Um, I don't know."

Julie clapped her hands with excitement, the large hat creating a breeze as it moved through the air. "Oh, let's go decide right now! You don't mind if I help you pick out a dress, do you?"

"Oh, er, thanks, Julie." Winry liked to look pretty, but did not spend that much time doing that, nor did she take pleasure from taking hours to paint herself, much more willing to do automail maintenance than waste the time on her face. Julie, on the other hand, could not have been more excited, and immediately dragged Winry to her room.

Once there, Julie whipped the closet open and began to rummage through her clothes. "No, no...no...definitely not! No...maybe...no, no, no." Julie turned to Winry. "Don't you have anything else?" Winry shook her head.

"No? Well then, we'll have to go buy you a new dress! We still have time to go shopping; tea's not until four, so we have plenty of time. And maybe we can give you a make-over...yeah!" Julie ran back into the kitchen, Winry behind her.

"We are going shopping for a new dress for Winry!" Julie announced. "So, Edward, I expect you to look as good as Winry will once I'm done with her!" Ed glanced past Julie to Winry, who mouthed a desperate 'help me' to him. But Ed just grinned and shrugged, as though to say that he could do nothing to save her.

Alphonse stood and embraced Julie, kissing her on the cheek. "So I'll see you later?" he asked.

Julie nodded. "Yes. Meet us at my uncle's house, okay? Winry and I will see you there." She kissed him again, then grabbed Winry's hand and pulled her out of the house. Al sat back down and Edward suddenly realized that he was alone with Alphonse.

Ed hated it, being alone with Al. He kept his eyes fixed on his food, determined not to look up, determined, because if he weren't determined then he might look up, and if he looked up, who knew what Alphonse would see in his eyes. Who knew if his love would stare out of those golden depths of sin.

The only sound in that uncomfortable room was the crunch of food. Ed wondered if Al was watching him, wondering why it was so quiet, but he didn't want to know. He hoped Al didn't notice. He hoped Al would never notice.

"Brother, I've been wondering," Alphonse suddenly spoke, startling Edward. "Aren't you and Winry supposed to be getting married soon?"

"Soon?" Ed repeated, glancing up at his brother.

Al nodded. "Yeah, like tomorrow soon."

Ed frowned, then remembered that oh yes, he and Winry had once been engaged. But he loved Al, so how could he do that Winry? How could he do this to Winry, who still loved him? He regretted that selfish kiss from a week ago.

"Actually, Al, Winry and I aren't going to get married."

"You mean, you canceled?" Ed nodded yes. "But why? You guys are perfect together!"

Edward sighed. He had to think of something quick, a good excuse... "We discovered that we only love each other like siblings, and the thought of marrying each other disgusted us."

Al's eyes were wide with this confession. "Brother...when did you both realize this?"

Ed shrugged. "I think...I think we've always known, we just never...understood, until recently. Anyway, I discovered that I am in love with someone else."

"Oh, who?"

You, Ed wanted to say, but could already see the disgust and repulsion on Alphonse's face. So he shrugged instead and said, "Someone who could never love me back, unfortunately."

Al's eyes grew even wider. "Not...Colonel Mustang!"

Ed smiled sadly. "Perfect," he thought.

tbc

You will notice that I changed my mind about Mustang's promotion. You will also notice that I made the change in chapter one, so everything is consistent. Because I did not update this story last week, this week there are two chapters! Lucky you guys, huh? Shameless plug: please read Darling too, because that one is so much more developed than this. You'll also see a much different side to Julie Hakuro than in this story. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this double entrée! -Rowan