Alright. First, we start it out with a littel EdxWin and then we ease into Al's hunt for a mate.

I at least know you'll like the first half.

Also...I realize full well that I've turned Riza into a bubble head...and I'm ok with that. She's funnier this way. ;P

Episode 29 - Silver Lining

Their day off together went strikingly well. The most time Ed spent at home that day was to shower and change, the rest was spent with Winry. He even managed to avoid Al all that day as well, not intentionally; his folks said that he was at the mall with Riza since it opened.

His father beamed that they both had cute girlfriends. Sadly, Ed had to lie to his father and say that he and Winry weren't dating, and were just friends. This reply was met with a firm few pats on the back and a 'No harm to keep trying' statement. It was nice to see that his father had a little faith in him with regards to getting a girlfriend, so Ed didn't bother to expand on it.

He and Winry drove all over town, admiring the lovely drifts the snow left all over the place. Even the school, which is why it was canceled that day.

"Ho-shiz." Winry said in a comedic tone as she pointed to the school.

"Shiz? ...Yeah, that seems about the size of it." They had five plows going over the school to ensure the parking lots were dug out and the doors were visible. There were workers digging out the doors where the plows couldn't go. "Well, at least we know it was canceled with valid reason."

As the day passed, the evening was coming upon them quickly, and a trip to Tim Hortons was on the list of things to do. Winry ordered her usual Nanimo Bar and a large french vanilla cappuccino. Ed decided to go with the candy cane doughnut and a large double double. Conversation was light as they enjoyed their time together. "Want to head out now?" They were finished eating and all that was left were the drinks, which were warm and quite pleasing to take along in the cold of winter.

"Sure. I want to go and see the bridge." She gathered up the plates from her and Ed's food.

"Bridge?" He asked with confusion.

"Yeah. Come on, we'll have to drive, but I want to show you."

Winry directed him to the designated place. It was a little out of the way, down a dirt road and through a small bushel of trees to a clearing near a small bridge, arched, dark brown in color. "I love this place." She gave a twirl as she went over to the bridge. "The way the water flows, it makes a cage here." She pointed to the water. "See?"

Ed leaned over the bridge and examined the water. When it flowed out from beneath the bridge, the rocks beneath made the water jump and stick to the bridge in certain spots. After doing it so much, the icicles that formed became so long that they touched the river's surface, making a cage like structure.

"That is cool." He rested his elbows on the railing, his coffee resting next to him. "Yeah...how come no one else is here?" Ed didn't notice any footprints in the snow besides themselves. "Maybe it's just the time of year."

Winry shook her head. "No, it's just an unpopular spot. No one comes here." She thought about it for a moment. "Well, I've never seen anyone else here. I mean, it is in the middle of nowhere."

Ed shrugged. "Maybe at the edge of nowhere. We're not that far out." She kicked some snow into the water and watched it dissolve. "How did you find this place?" Ed looked to the shore, the blades of grass that stuck through the snow, few in number, dangled lightly in the water, coating them in a thin layer of ice.

"It's just a place I found when we first moved here. We actually use to own a house further out. This is the spot I came to."

"Ah. I guess this was just an old hang out spot with your friends. You're being nostalgic I take it." Ed shoved his bare hands in his pockets. The coffee had cooled off and was no longer acting as a small heater.

"Nope." Winry said with a hint of angst. "It's was just me...you're actually the first person I invited here." She smiled. "But we should go now. It's getting way too dark." It was true, the night fell around six o'clock during the colder months, and it was nearing six.

"Sure." Ed grabbed his cup and began to walk off the bridge. He removed the lid and threw the excess cold coffee into the snowand walked back to the van.

"I should dump mine too." Winry examined the coffee in the snow. She quickly went to the car and retrieved her drink, taking a sip, she cringed. "Yup, mine's cold too." She went over to where Ed dumped his and she also removed her lid, but, unlike Ed, she carefully poured it in the snow and smiled. "There....hmm." Brightening up, she smiled.

Ed peeked out the door to Winry. "What are you doing?" Ed was confused that she didn't just toss the cold liquid out the door.

She smiled even wider, if that was possible. "Come here." She shoved the lid in the cup and held it at her side.

"What is it?" Edward said as he looked at the snow. "Aww..." He looked at Winry and gave her a kiss that lasted only a few seconds. "That's really nice...let's get--wait." He whipped out his Sanyo phone and flipped it up. Taking a picture, he showed it to Winry. "I'm putting that as my background image."

Winry took out her Samsung phone and took a picture as well. "Not a bad idea." The two young teenagers took a picture of the snow, their free arm around one another. When they were finished, they kissed once again and then walked out of the small grove and hopped back into the vehicle.

The following day, having forgave his brother for staying at Winry's, he decided to move on to a more attainable goal. "Alright." Al peered over the crowd of people coming in the front doors in the morning. "Do you see her?"

Riza stood next to him, doing her best to see over some of the shorter people; but to no avail. "No." She kept on looking. "Wait!" She pointed over the slew of people. "That's her." She said, pointing to a girl, medium length blond hair, done in cornrows.

"Ooh, nice." Al lowered himself off his tippy toes. "Do you think I should talk to her now or wait till lunch."

Riza looked from side to side, examining the setting. "Nah. You should wait till we're not cooped up like this, could make for a really awkward conversation. What with the bumping into each other."

Alphonse nodded. "True."

"Al! Al-Al-Al." Riza rushed up to him. "Come here!" She said, dragging him from his seat, not giving him time to ask questions.

"My chocolate milk though." He reached back with his free hand towards his half empty milk bottle.

"Leave it. You have to see this." Riza said, pulling him clear out of the lunch room and into the gym. "Where did she go...there." She pointed off to Sylvia from across the gym. "She's hot!" She exclaimed under her breath.

"..." Al looked across the gym to the girl in question. She did have a pretty face, a nice body and lovely blond hair, but her cloths were questionable. "She's a freak? Riza, I said I liked girly-girls." Sylvia was wearing mostly black, something Al disliked.

Riza was taken aback. "Who cares what she's wearing. Look at her!" She said with a smirk. "I'm sure her skin's not the same color underneath, so who gives a damn if she's not in our clique, slash, fashion loop?"

"...and you're in a relationship?" He said in response to her swooning over the new girl.

"Hey. I'm allowed to look...besides, I'm sure Maria would say the same thing." She folded her arms.

"...you lesbians are weird." He shook his head.

"She's in my art class." Riza said in passing in the hall on the way to second last class. She got in close to Al's ear so no one else would hear. "But you might want to just give up, she's totally gay."

Al was let down severely. "Really?" He said as if he were a hurt puppy.

"Oh, Riza, you think everybody's gay." Winry said as she brushed by the crowd and stopped to talk to the two of them.

"She's is! She was totally hitting on me." She looked at Al and Winry staring a hole in her in disamusment. "...ok, she may not be lez, but she very well might like both..." She received the same look. "...what? It could happen."

"Eh." Al sighed.

"Why don't you just talk to her Al? I mean, the worst she can do is say no, or I'm taken, or, I'm gay." Winry warmed over the seemingly hopeless situation.

"Or she could get freaked out and run out of the building screaming." They looked at her again. "WHAT? It could happen!!" She defended herself.

"Uh...excuse me." Al said sheepishly. "I couldn't help notice that you're new here...and, I was wondering if you needed any help looking around the school?"

Sylvia turned around to face Al. She shook her head. "The girls on the badminton team already helped me. Sorry. But thanks. What's your name?" She said with a wide smile.

"Alphonse Hohenheim." Normally he didn't introduce in such a way, but he really wanted to try and impress this girl. Manners and such.

"Is that German?" She inquired.

"Uh, yeah. My family is originally from Munich." He smiled.

"Really?" She said excited. "Mine too, what were the chances? I'm Sylvia Ollenschläger. It's hard to pronounce, I know."

"Not at all." He smiled. "So. Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" He said in his parent's native language, his second.

"Sicher, spreche ich Deutsch." She said in return. Finally, ice being broken, the conversation continued.

"Sooo. How did it go?" Riza asked as Al was passing by in the hall on her way home.

Alphonse shrugged. "She's ok. But I don't think she's my type, she's friendly enough, but I don't think it's meant to be."

The blond girl was shocked. "After all that build-up, you're just going to call it quits?" She caught eyes with Winry, who in turn shrugged.

He nodded. "Yeah...I'll keep looking though. I'm sure I'll find someone for me." He remembered the conversation he had with Sylvia. "You never know." He turned and spoke to Riza while walking backward. "There's probably someone here, just waiting for me." Upon turning around, he bumped into someone. "Ugh."

"Sorry, Al." She said.

"Huh?" He looked down to see none other than Aria. "It's ok, it's too crowded in here. See ya'." He nodded as he walked past.

"Bye." Aria said, heading back into the school. She passed by Winry. "Hi Winry." She said nicely.

"Hey Aria." She replied as the red-head walked by.

"Eh...I was really hoping he would have taken to her." Riza slung her hands behind her head. "That was a let down, life goes on a guess...say, can I use your phone to call for a ride, I lost my quarter."

"Sure." She handed Riza the phone from her holster.

Flipping the phone up, she was about to dial, but was stopped short. "Aww, that's such a cute background. Where did you find it?" She flashed the picture of a heart made in the snow with coffee.

"I just saw it and thought it was cute, so I took a picture." She smiled.

There you have it. A subtle introduction, but I think it went over well. I'll expand on her a lot more, but I'm going to ease Sylvia in, just so people don't get uncomfortable with her.

What do you think so far though, modest enough?

Oh, and as to what Al said, he just asked her if she spoke German, she replied positivly.