13. Practical Joke
"Winry, get your ass back here!" Ed shouted, chasing after her through the plaza.
"You'll have to catch me, alchemy freak!" The chain from his pocket watch streamed out from her fist. "I won it fair and square!"
"We weren't playing for keeps, you bitch!"
"Possession is nine tenths of the law, asshole!"
She turned a quick corner and probably expected him to hit the wall, but Ed knew the terrain better. He also knew his body well, having much better agility than most of Winry's clients; fighting for one's life did that to a guy. Ed had to admit it was pretty fun to chase her. He was faster, so keeping up was easy. Familiarity with Central and chasing Al on the same streets helped him guess where she would turn. Her long hair swung like a pendulum, and any red-blooded male would notice how muscular her legs had become. Her short skirt swayed back and forth as well, offering the occasional view of her panties (oh, white…)
Ed realized he was prolonging the chase for more reasons than avoiding his meeting with the colonel. He also started to wonder what would happen when he caught his lovely mechanic and her skirt of near-mini proportions. She turned a corner into a short dead end, still at full speed, and the sudden knowledge that she would run headlong into the brick broke Ed out of his thoughts. Ed raced up to Winry at his full speed, grabbed her around the waist with his flesh arm and hit the wall with his automail. Winry crashed into him and knocked them both to the ground. Ed cushioned her fall and scooped up his watch as it fell out of her hand. He saw something else next to the watch and sat up to see it better; several Aces of Spades, some Kings of Hearts…
"You. Little. Cheat." On some level, Ed realized he was still holding Winry to his body, but at the moment he was focused on the cards.
"Just a joke, Ed," she said easily. "I heard you cheat Al all the time, just thought you deserved a taste of your own medicine."
"You just wanted to tear my watch apart."
"…Maybe."
Ed pushed her off his lap and jumped to his feet as he reattached his watch to his belt. Winry made a sound of protest as she hit the ground. Ed signed and offered a hand up.