A/N: Hi :)

It was already going to take me longer than I told you but I finally decided to publish this story. This idea came up because my sister told me about having read this plot in a Royai story so I decided to give it a try in an EdWin version. From that initial idea came the draft of what is practically this first chapter, although I confess that after that I had writer's block, so I moved forward little by little as my mood and the story itself were guiding me. So it will be a simple plot of 5 chapters.

The time I took before publishing it was with the intention of improving this story and advancing with the other idea I've been working on (things that unfortunately practically didn't happen) but I hope that in spite of all this the story would be enjoyable and if it brings at least a smile to your faces I'll be well served.

So without further ado let's get started!

Golden

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa.

Chapter 1

"Paninya, I seriously don't think this is a good idea."

"Come on, Win, you guys will surely get along great. Besides how much longer do you plan to deal with paying rent all by yourself?"

"I can keep working overtime at the shop for a few more months."

"Really? Well, then I guess I could call your parents and let them know that you've been paying the rent on the apartment by yourself for months."

"First of all you know I don't want to worry them by telling them why I'm without a roomie and secondly, good luck with that. Don't even think I'm going to give you their number."

"Don't underestimate my skills, honey." Paninya said with a wide smile as she showed her the cell phone she had taken from her bag without her noticing.

Winry stretched her arms across the table trying to reach for her phone. "Don't you dare."

Paninya leaned back against the back of her chair as she began to slide her finger across the cell phone screen. "Geez, Win, you should be more creative with your unlock codes."

"Paninya!" Winry exclaimed as she was about to stand up to retrieve her cell phone.

"Hold still right there." Paninya told her with a smile as she showed her the cell phone screen showing her mother's contact. "That's my girl." She said as she carefully leaned forward to give her friend a couple of pats on the head, which earned her a murderous look. "Come on don't be like that." She said with a chuckle. "I'll give it back to you if you stop making a fuss and we'll quietly wait for your roomie candidate."

"Don't do this to me, Pan. I don't even know him!"

"Why do you think I set up this little reunion? You need to get to know each other and then from there you can decide without any problems." Paninya said with a wide grin as she leaned her elbows on the table they were at so she could lean her face into the palm of her free hand.

Winry snorted, "I thought I knew Max and look what happened."

"Don't even mention that idiot. He doesn't deserve even the slightest attention from you." Paninya said, wrinkling her nose. "You won't have to worry about that this time, after all, Edward is gay. Besides, do you think I would introduce you to any asshole so he could become your roomie?" She said as she handed her cell phone back to her.

Winry took it and sighed. "No, of course not." She said before leaning her face on one of her hands as she drank from the straw of her frappé.

Winry was in her second year of college and had been looking for a new roomie for a few weeks because her old roomie, Max, had been a good friend during the first months of their daily coexistence but little by little he began to show his intentions to conquer Winry at any cost, invading her privacy on several occasions and even trying to go further with her one night when he returned drunk, which is why Winry ended up kicking him out of the apartment that same night.

Because that happened when the second semester was about to end, Winry could not search for a new roomie until the new school year began and those first weeks had not paid off, partly because during the weeks when the induction course was offered to new students she had taken the opportunity to cover as many hours as possible in her regular part-time job at a mechanic shop in the area, which is why she could not interact with some new students before they found their own apartments. Add to that the fact that her acquaintances from her generation were already well placed and that left her with minimal chances of finding a roommate any time soon.

After her previous experience, Winry wanted to find a girl as her roommate but so far had been unsuccessful. Paninya, her best friend, would have gladly moved in with her had she not been living with her girlfriend. She and her girlfriend, Natalie, had even offered to make room for her in their apartment but Winry didn't want to impose her presence on them and her current apartment was in a more favorable location for her activities.

Knowing how hard Winry was struggling to afford the rent on her own, Paninya found her an option that, for her, was perfect but Winry still wasn't entirely convinced. Edward was a classmate of Paninya's in one of this year's subjects. According to Paninya he was a somewhat temperamental boy but quite nice when you interacted with him which gave her a good impression as a potential roomie for Winry. Also, to appease Winry's concerns about ending up with a roommate who turned out to be just like Max, Paninya let her know that Edward was gay so she wouldn't have to worry about the same thing happening to her as with Max.

Winry was still not entirely convinced but she had to admit that it was getting too much to bear on her own, so she had agreed to meet Edward at that cafe to introduce herself and decide if she would accept him as her roommate.

Paninya took a sip of her drink and then crossed her arms behind her head before speaking. "I think that with so much negativity you pushed him away with your thoughts. He's late."

Winry smiled slightly. "Maybe this is a sign isn't it?"

Paninya rolled her eyes but before she could respond, her gaze detected the blond who had just entered the establishment which made her smile. "Aha! We finally have our candidate." After standing up she waved a hand above her head to catch the young man's attention. "Hey, Edward! Over here. It's about time."

Winry sighed and looked over her shoulder reluctantly, which was replaced by curiosity and warmth that ran through her body as she saw what the young man they were waiting for looked like. Edward was walking toward their table with his hands in his pockets and a confident stride. A tight-fitting black leather jacket emphasized his broad shoulders and, although she couldn't tell at the moment, by the way the garment hugged his figure as well as the black T-shirt Edward wore underneath, Winry could swear that it concealed shapely muscles. Along with the jacket he wore tight leather pants, causing the whole outfit to highlight his long hair, which was tied in a ponytail. The shade of his hair was one that Winry had never seen before so she could find no other way to describe it but gold as well as his bright eyes.

When Edward was only a couple of tables away from theirs, Winry forced herself to return her gaze to the front trying to calm her heartbeat knowing that if she didn't her cheeks would flush at any moment. Damn... Edward was too attractive for his own good or maybe the problem with all of this is that in those moments it seemed to Winry that he was completely her type.

"Man, how can you still be wearing that thing? In the morning I believe you but now? You're insane." Paninya said.

Winry had to agree with her friend on that one. It wasn't exactly a hot day but it was warm enough that she and Paninya could spend the afternoon peacefully in their tank tops without having to resort to a jacket for cover.

"I came here on my motorcycle, besides what I do with my jacket is my business." Edward replied as he began to take off his jacket.

Paninya laughed, "The way you say it I think Ling is going to be jealous of that jacket."

Edward rolled his eyes as he sat down in the chair across from Winry as he set his jacket down on the table taking care not to knock over the girls' glasses. "That Ling is worse than chewing gum. By sheer miracle, I was able to get rid of him. You don't know how hard it is to get rid of him when food is involved."

Paninya laughed again. "Then we have to make the most of the time, don't we?"

"Damn right." At that moment Edward stopped looking at Paninya to focus his attention on Winry.

Winry felt her breath catch in her throat when she had those bright golden eyes focused on hers. If she had found him attractive from afar, up close he was even more so especially with that captivating touch his golden gaze held.

Trying to control herself so that her thoughts wouldn't be reflected in her demeanor, Winry cracked a slight smile and extended her hand across the table in the young man's direction. "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Winry, the girl who's looking for a roomie."

Edward froze for a few seconds causing Winry to think about withdrawing his hand but just as she was about to retract it Edward extended his hand towards hers to shake it. "Hi, I'm Edward." He brought his free hand to the back of her neck before adding. "You can call me Ed."

"Okay, Ed." Winry said widening her smile slightly before releasing his hand. "Paninya told me you're looking for an apartment."

"That's right."

Paninya, who had again placed her elbows on the table to lean her face into her palms, said. "Funny being a sophomore already. Did you get kicked out of your old apartment because of your bad temper?" Paninya asked with a smirk. "Or maybe there's something you haven't told me? Any background we need to worry about?" She asked with a raised eyebrow watching his reaction closely. Although she liked Ed she didn't plan to be careless and let any guy become her friend's roomie.

Ed shrugged. "Nothing to tell considering this is going to be my first time renting an apartment on my own."

"So you live near here?" Winry asked.

Ed scratched his cheek with a finger. "Dublin is considered nearby?"

"Dublith?!" They both asked in surprise.

Ed nodded his head. Before he continued a waiter took their order.

Once the waiter had left, Winry took the floor. "Did you really spend it going back and forth from Dublith? It must be about 4 hours from here to there!"

"3 hours." Corrected Ed. "But yes, that's what I've been doing so far. Sometimes by train and sometimes by motorcycle. It's faster by motorcycle but it's not very advisable to do it when you only get a couple of hours of sleep. So you can imagine how much my mom is looking forward to me finding an apartment around here or getting rid of my bike, whichever comes first. Although I'm sure the latter would make her much happier."

"Oh, sell it to me." Paninya said excitedly.

"It's not for sale."

"Winry's apartment doesn't have room for motorcycles."

"It doesn't matter. Being close to the university I can leave the bike at home."

"What if your mom sells it?"

"I'd rather risk that than you keeping my bike."

Paninya let out an exaggerated groan of surprise. "But, Ed, I thought we were friends."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I like having to go around buying pens all the time because someone steals them all the time."

"Oh, Eddie you should be more careful. You don't seem to know that those things are easily lost."

For all answer, Ed turned a frown on her.

Paninya smiled, "Oh, come on don't look at me like that. It's only been a couple of occasions hasn't it?" Before Ed could rebut, she continued. "You have to look on the bright side of your story. Now I know why you're always falling asleep in the first few classes."

"And you're always bothering me." Ed grumbled as he remembered how Paninya had managed to keep him from sleeping by either kicking him in the shin, tickling his nose with his own blond hair, or, her favorite, dropping her books next to his head to startle him.

Paninya laughed, "You're ungrateful. I'm only doing this to keep the teachers from finding you out."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right." He said sarcastically. "Winry, how could you possibly be friends with someone like her? Unlike this annoying girl, you seem like a nice person."

Winry tried hard not to blush at the apparent compliment by letting out a nervous chuckle. "Maybe you still have yet to meet me" She said in a joking tone. "What I can assure you is that Paninya is my best friend."

"Aww, see? That's why I'm telling you she's going to be the perfect roomie for you." Paninya said looking at Ed as she reached up from her chair to perch her arm around Winry's shoulders, almost falling over in the process. "Trust me, with her, you won't get bored. She may look serious but wow if you only knew what this pretty young thing is capable of..."

"Paninya!"

With the laughter generated at the table at that moment a pleasant conversation began, in which Ed and Winry got to know a little more about each other, like how Ed was studying chemical engineering and had decided to spend the first year of college traveling to enjoy that last year of family time before his younger brother embarked on his own journey to college, in his case New Optain.

Winry, for her part, told him about the family practice her parents ran in Rush Valley, which had an extra office set aside for automails since that was her grandmother's passion and one that she herself shared. She told him about having had a troublesome roomie but didn't specify the reasons although something must have been detected in her gaze because Ed watched her silently for a few seconds before giving her a slightly sympathetic smile and changing the subject.

After a couple of hours of pleasant conversation, Winry excused herself to go to the bathroom and Paninya, being the good friend she was, understood with her gaze that she expected her to accompany her so the two of them headed for the restrooms.

As soon as she closed the door, Paninya didn't take a second to ask her. "Well, isn't he the perfect candidate?"

"I must admit you have a good eye." Winry said but as a vivid memory of the warmth of his golden orbs flashed into her mind, she hastened to add. "But I'm not entirely sure."

"Wait what? What am I missing? What did that idiot do to make you doubt?"

Winry hastened to answer. "Nothing, he really is someone... nice." Noticing her friend's raised eyebrow, she added. "But I don't know, I have a feeling it would be better-"

"Oh, my goodness, Winry. You have a crush on him don't you?"

Winry couldn't contain her blush. "Uh... a little?"

Paninya laughed. "Gee, Win, you have rather peculiar taste."

"Hey, you must admit he's quite nice."

Paninya snorted. "He's holding back to score points with you so he can get you to accept him as a roomie."

"So-"

Paninya interrupted her. "I didn't mean he was a bad person so don't try to get out of this one. I told you from the beginning that he's a bit temperamental and even moody in the mornings but that doesn't take away from the fact that he's nice. So yes, I agree he is nice although don't be surprised if his temper suddenly comes out. Although well... you are also strong-willed so there are sure to be some fun times ahead in the apartment." She concluded with a smile.

"That's assuming he becomes my roomie."

"For God's sake, Winry. You like him so what? It's not the end of the world, it's just a crush and that's it. You can't miss this opportunity because, the way you're going, I highly doubt you'll find a better roommate than Edward."

Winry bit her lower lip before replying. "Don't you think it'll be a little awkward?"

"It's not like you intend to get in the way of his relationship, is it?" At Winry's refusal, the black-haired girl continued. "Then you have nothing to worry about. A crush can turn into a very valuable friend, if not look at us. I had a very good eye." She said before slipping her arm around her friend's shoulders to give her a quick hug.

Winry laughed lightly. "You're right about that."

"Of course I am. Trust me, it makes it easier to ignore the jealousy until it eventually goes away. Plus that boyfriend of his looks like fun so you might even become friends with him."

Winry thought for a few seconds before asking. "Do you really think I'll be able to handle this?"

"Sure, I have no doubt." She said giving her a friendly pat on the arm. "From experience, I know the first few weeks can be a little weird but you'll get over it. And in the end, you can't deny how much your wallet is going to thank you for this decision."

Winry smiled. "Okay. You're right."

Paninya reciprocated her smile. "So... what do you say we go tell your roomie the good news?"