Disclaimer: No rights to FMA.

Briskly heading back to the diner, Winry was excited to have someone to talk to between classes. Not having many friends back home, she had always had a hard time relating to people her age and found the gap between herself and others ever expanding. Seeing all of the different groups and couples that were scattered around the campus, made her wistfully wish that she could make some friends in this environment where at least there was more common ground to start with. Without Granny, who had been her best friend as well as her legal guardian, she felt lost and alone.

Approaching the grinning face that she had been looking for, she could feel her own bright smile reflecting his. She hoped that she hadn't kept him waiting for long and said as much upon seeing that he had been deeply engrossed in a thick book.

"No, I haven't been here long at all! I am really enjoying this book. I can't seem to put it down and I catch myself picking it up in every free second." Sitting on the bench next to where he was, she moved to see the title, unsuccessfully.

"I understand completely. I love to read, I actually just got a job nearby at the bookstore with a bar, or the bar with a bookstore depending on how you look at it." Laughing happily, she briefly remembered that she would be starting tomorrow after her class ended.

"Oh! You mean The Dark Horse?" Nodding enthusiastically in response, he continued after seeing her confirm his speculation. "That place is great; their book selection is surprisingly eclectic, and they never ask for ID. I have gone there to read and do karaoke before. It's a strange combination, but also uniquely comforting, although that could be the beer kicking in while you read." They laughed together this time, and she enjoyed the rich sound of his voice. He mentioned doing karaoke there, and she could imagine what his voice would be like when he sang.

"I'll have to remember to ID you now if I work on the bar side." Raising her eyebrows at him in false scrutiny, she giggled when he made an offended little scoffing sound. "Nah, I'd probably let you slide, but only if you do karaoke one night when I work!"

"Deal, but you can't laugh me off the stage once you realize how terrible I am."

Extending his hand to her to set the arrangement in stone, she shook his hand as she answered, "Deal. No worries, I have never done karaoke before, or even had a drink for that matter, but I have a feeling they go hand in hand." Letting go of his hand, she blushed slightly at him. "Want to grab some food? I have evening class in a bit and I'm starving."

"Yes, I haven't eaten all day, and I have class too." Standing she walked a couple feet and opened the door for both of them to enter. Chatting a bit while waiting to order, Alphonse suggested things that were good there. Deciding on the same thing, she told the lovely redheaded woman what she would like, to which Alphonse amended by adding his own meal and began to pay. Even though she refused profusely, he said it was his treat since she was new to the area. Grudgingly, she accepted with thanks, though she wrung a promise from him that she could take him out or make him dinner once she got in some hours at work. The friendly employee said she would bring it out to them in a bit. Picking a seat next to the window, and pulling away the chair across from her, they continued where they had left off.

"So, you don't have any siblings at all?"

His beautiful green flecked, amber eyes distracted her for a moment before she responded, "Nope, it's only me. But it's not so bad, I'm used to being alone now. Though it is nice to have someone to talk to." Beaming at him, Winry thought about the morning and how she was truly happy to have run into him. Replaying the day so far reminded her that she wanted to ask him about the teacher that was similar to him in name and appearance. "So, how about you? I have a professor whose last name is the same as yours, are you two related?" Trying not to seem obvious at her acute interest in the subject, she stated her question almost blandly.

Alphonse paused to finish chewing the bread that had been on the table, then politely took a sip of his water before he answered, "That would be my brother, Edward. He is practically a genius and of course he is handsome, and single..." Looking to her for a reaction that apparently he was quite used to, she stopped him right there.

"Oh, no! I am most certainly not interested in him." Hearing the timbre in her voice raise, he burst out laughing, and she frowned back at him, not seeing the humor in her answer.

"I'm sorry Winry, I've never heard anyone actually not be interested in my brother, or in your case flat out dismiss him. Besides, you seem so friendly that he must have really done something to make you unhappy. Leave it to Ed to make the nicest girl on campus mad." Wiping tears of amusement from his now practically olive eyes, he calmed himself as he waited for her to tell him what had happened.

For a minute, she had the prickling sensation you get when under the scrutiny of a heated gaze. Checking around the little restaurant, she didn't appear to be the center of anyone's attention, so she shrugged off her paranoia and returned her focus to the question.

"It was nothing, honestly. I might have overreacted to his personality. Some people, like you, are considerate and polite and others are..." Searching her mind for any adjective that didn't sound mean, she realized it had been more than a few seconds since she trailed off.

"Well, he, uh...he's stubborn." Hearing Al crack up in mirth again, she couldn't help the tiny smirk that crossed her face now.

"In either case, he probably isn't too happy with me, because I told him he needed to get his leg checked out." Suddenly Alphonse was completely silent and tension fell heavy between them. Oh shit, clearly she hadn't realized how big of a deal it was bringing it up to Professor Elric. In an attempt to backtrack she babbled, "I wasn't trying to pry or make him uncomfortable, it's just that I make, well made, automail back home for a living with my Granny and I noticed that he was leaning most of his weight on his other leg and that can really mess with overall balance and...I would never say anything to anyone else, I thought he should know to get it looked at." Discerning that she should probably stop talking now, she snapped her mouth shut with an almost audible snap.

For a quiet moment, Al regarded her pensively. The woman from the counter walked over then and deposited their meals in front of them. They both thanked her at the same time as she began to leave them. Glancing back to each other, he finally broke the hush.

"It's not a big deal that you know, though I am surprised that you caught it. Even people that have known Edward for years, don't have a clue. I mean, people have suspected there was something going on with him consistently wearing gloves, but even if they notice that, they have no idea about his leg." His tone was tight and came out as an unwilling squeak.

She sat, not eating as she attempted to quell her rising panic and tears that threatened to make their appearance. She could tell that even though he was playing it off, he was upset about her bold advice to his brother. Swallowing thickly, she felt she was worse than those girls earlier by prying into something she had no place inquiring about.

Feeling more like dropping the class every minute, she spoke, voice heavy with emotion, "Alphonse, I promise I won't say anything about it again. I shouldn't have to begin with, I am overly interested in all of the advancements in them because I am always trying to improve my automail, but I still had no right to bring it up to him. I'm sorry." Lowering her watery blue eyes, she succeeded in keeping them from spilling over.

"Hey." Lifting her chin to face him, she saw that the clouded look in his eyes was gone. When he did speak, he spoke softly, "Hey, it's okay, honestly. You weren't trying to be intrusive or mean spirited, at least that doesn't seem to be who you are. I think it's great that you have a passion for automail. I don't think Brother or I, have met anyone who is very comfortable with or used to seeing it. He hasn't been to his mechanic in a long time, but I will make sure he goes soon. Please don't feel bad or sad anymore, I'm not angry with you and I highly doubt that he is either. He is so separated from others his age in his line of work, that he probably dismissed the conversation as soon as it ended."

Smiling weakly at first, she attempted to pull herself out of the guilt she had buried herself in, but upon seeing his answering expression she found herself relaxing again. As he began to slurp his soup, she realized that she had lost her appetite but made an effort for his sake. After a few minutes of light conversation over majors and upcoming events at school, he asked her something she hadn't been expecting. "So do you have a boyfriend back home?"

Choking on her spoonful of tomato soup, she coughed loudly to expel the warm liquid from her lungs. Smiling openly at her, he patiently waited for the now painfully obvious answer. "No, no boyfriends for me. Guys where I'm from never really liked me because I was the grease monkey that had her head in mechanics, never going out to parties." So, maybe she had said that a tinge bitterly, but it wasn't a subject she liked to talk about. The one boy she had ever cared for had used her to become closer to her best friend, yet another reason she didn't have many personal connections. "What about you, do you have a girlfriend? Or maybe a couple?" Flaxen eyebrows raised incredulously at her, as if saying, 'Are you kidding me?'

"I did have one girlfriend once, but it didn't work out." Leaving it at that, she thought about how differently than expected their dinner was turning out. They had both upset each other at one point or another, and she wondered if he would decide he didn't want to talk to her again after this. No wonder she couldn't keep people around, she was far too direct, except about herself. "But this is college so who knows what will happen, I could meet the girl of my dreams today." Or maybe he was just a flirt.

Grinning back at him, she responded truthfully, "Well you are certainly handsome enough, I'm sure you will meet somebody." Blushing at her admission of his striking looks, she considered again how similar his brother and him looked. In fact, if her teacher allowed anything besides a scowl on his face it would be even more noticeable. Mentally shaking all thoughts of the man from her head, she focused on the conversation as she finished her meal.

"You aren't so bad yourself Winry, who knows maybe we'll both meet people who deserve us." Probably not, she amended silently in regard to her own future, but mainly because she wouldn't have the time between research, coursework and her job. That was okay though, she had survived harder things than being alone and her personal work was her main concern.

"Yeah, maybe, though I will probably be too buried in work even if it did happen to me. Although if I lose my job at The Dark Horse for serving minors, that could free up time significantly." Winking at him, he began chuckling again which lifted the weight off of her previous anxiety about their time together. Looking at a clock on the wall, she realized how late it had gotten. She needed to head to her class. Also, because it was later than she expected, she probably wouldn't have time to check into switching her schedule today. "I probably have to get going for my night session actually."

"Me too, if you are early again tomorrow, we should get coffee in the morning." Happily, she agreed and as she rose to leave, she caught a glimpse of gold from the window they had been sitting by, making her think of her encounter that morning with the moody brother. Brushing off the image of his melancholic face when he spoke with her after class, she focused on the present as she waved to Alphonse animatedly and went their separate ways for class.

The rest of her evening passed by uneventfully as she followed along in her Algebra studies that were taught by a stern, but easy to understand, Professor Izumi Curtis. Liking her outspoken personality and work hard mentality, she had a feeling they were going to get along well. At least there she had one teacher who didn't dislike her.

Frowning as her thoughts once again went to the auric eyed professor, she became nervous about Wednesday's session. Maybe she didn't need to be since she would more than likely have time to stop by the office between classes tomorrow and see about making the switch. Reminding herself to check her schedule tomorrow to see if she had him for any other courses, she pushed all concerns of the man to the side in favor of her expensive education that was going on around her. Immersing herself in the lesson, she discovered that she hadn't been as rusty as she had previously worried. For the first day, she was fairly content with the outcome.

After arriving at home, she studied what small bit of homework she had been assigned. When she was done, she took a quick shower and made a mental list of all the things she needed to do tomorrow. Brushing her teeth, she was excited for a new set of classes bringing her one step closer to where she wanted to be and for starting a job to support herself.

Laying down in her comfortable bed, Winry thought about the Elric brothers and how vastly different from each other they seemed. Alphonse was such a happy and outgoing person, while Edward, Professor Elric, she corrected herself internally for using such familiarity, was antagonistic and guarded. Well, mostly guarded, though the expression on his face today had been bothering her much more than it should have. If she were honest, she would like to see his face lit by a genuine smile. Then again, maybe it was better that he glowered, to look like he did and have a great personality would be too much.

Laughing at herself, she knew she was being ridiculous and now losing sleep over nothing. As Alphonse had said, he had probably forgotten she even existed as soon as she walked out of the room.

Leaving the all too stuffy classroom, Ed couldn't wait to feed his growling stomach. Normally, he could wait until he got home if he had to for a decent meal, but that woman must have used up all of the excess energy that typically got used on holding his voracious appetite at bay.

Walking towards the diner right off campus, he hoped to catch Al between classes and see how his first day was going. Hopefully better than his so far. Of course someone had noticed his automail, just why out of all people did it have to be her? Even worse was that she had to seem so concerned with her large ocean eyes staring at him in supplication. He didn't need her noticing his flaws or worse, pitying him. Having dealt with his fair share of that, he was tired of people's eyes going soft with the useless emotion and he had called her on it only to be cut down by her seemingly truthful dismissal. 'It's none of my business how you do or do not take care of yourself, you are not my patient, so it's not my problem.' Her statement had got him wondering what it was that she did, did she work on automail?

Looking at the girl, it didn't seem likely. Lovely, fitted dress, tightly cinched at her slender center; she did not look like any mechanic he'd ever seen. Appearances could be deceiving, though still, he doubted it. Perhaps she was going to be a doctor. Biology would be a logical class for someone pursuing that line of work. Shaking his head in irritation, he had been thinking about the young blonde too long already for his liking.

Rounding the corner by his destination, he stopped sharply in his tracks as he caught sight of his brother inside, with her, the exact object of his relentless thoughts. Why the hell were they sitting together like they were friends? In an attempt to watch them longer without looking like a stalker, he pulled the book from his pocket and pretended to read while he surreptitiously observed them.

For a while they seemed to be making small talk, and he had nearly left since he couldn't hear their conversation anyways, until he heard his brother's louder than normal laughter. Giving up all pretense of reading, he stared uninhibited as he wished he knew what had made Al laugh like that.

Focusing his attention on her, he watched as she glared while blushing, which was a strangely attractive combination while worn by her. Running his hand through the length of his ponytail, he was getting tired of his brain supplying commentary about her. A second later, she began glancing around the cafe as if sensing his stare from inside. Thankfully, she ignored it and continued talking, even drawing another round of loud chuckling from his little brother.

Instantly their mood changed from amusement to tension. Fuck, if he could only hear what they were saying instead of trying to read their facial reactions! As she lowered her head and her eyes began to look like a stormy sea, he saw Al reach across the table and tip her face up to look at him and then a small smile crossed her face.

Watching this simple gesture said a lot to him, Al hadn't been overly close with many women since his first and last girlfriend dumped him. Yet, here he was touching her pale skin as if he'd known her for some time, and well. A frown tugged down his lips as he thought about that, then deepened from the thought of thinking of it. Why should he care what either of them did? And why the hell was he standing outside like an idiot spying on them!? If he was so interested, he should walk in, buy a damn drink and speak with his brother. After debating that resolution a bit, he decided to stay where he was.

When he had started paying attention again, he realized that Winry was preparing to leave. He briefly considered sticking around to talk with Al after she left, but after checking his pocket watch he saw that his next class started soon and if he had any chance of eating in the less palatable cafeteria he needed to leave now. Stealing one last look at the pair, he saw she was now standing and abruptly turned heel and left.

Returning home from his long day, he saw Alphonse at the kitchen table working diligently. Grunting a hello, he headed straight for the fridge to grab some leftovers. After heating them up he took a seat next to his brother.

"So how was your first day in college?" Smiling up at him, his younger brother beamed with excitement.

"Class was great and I really liked my professors so far, but honestly I don't know how you do it all day in front of everyone."

Pushing his plate towards him in offering, Al declined seeing how clearly starved Ed was. "Did you make any new friends?" Trying not to sound obvious, Edward kept his face neutral while waiting for the answer.

"Yeah, a couple actually, everyone seems really nice." The vague response left him irritated that he would have to pry for a detailed answer.

"Meet any cute girls?" Poor choice in words, Al would probably wonder why he was curious. A small flush of color rose to his brother's cheeks, barely noticeable but still present.

"You know me Ed, I met dozens. Why? Are you finally expanding your pursuits to more than working?" Feigning an innocent mien, Alphonse waited for his answer.

"No, I don't have an interest in dating or the time, you know that. I was only asking like the attentive sibling I am." Frustrated that he was being so purposely obtuse, Ed began to acknowledge that he would probably have to directly ask him about Winry.

"Well, that's too bad brother, I bet there are a lot of girls who would like to date you. However, to answer your question, I met a very nice girl named Winry. She's in one of your classes actually." Offering no more, Alphonse returned to his work. He probably wanted Ed to say something about his student one way or the other.

"Oh, the blonde one? Blue eyes and wearing a dress?" Grimacing mentally at his poor attempt at nonchalance, he looked away from his brother.

"Yup, that's her, I'm surprised you remember her, not noticing women and all." Well, when you spy on someone for around an hour, you retain these types of meaningless details, he thought bitterly. By Al's face, he knew he'd been had. "She told me that she told you to get your leg checked out." Cringing, he waited for the lecture that was sure to follow. "You know if you are experiencing pain that you need to go see your mechanic Ed, the port that holds your automail could pull away from your skin! For being so smart, I don't know why you wouldn't take care of something like that." Glaring up at him, Al was not happy. All he'd wanted to do was find out how his brother knew the girl, not fight about his fucking automail!

"Al, it's not a big-" Abruptly his words were cut off.

"It is a big deal! Do you really want to have to go through the insertion surgery again?" Shuddering with the memory of the physical suffering, Ed most certainly did not want to go through that again. Everything had to be anchored to the bone inside his stump. There were no words brutal enough to describe the sensation and that was while taking a none to mild dose of pain relievers.

"You're right Al, I'm sorry. I'll call and set up an appointment for next week, okay?" If there was one thing he couldn't take, it was his younger sibling worrying over him. Al had enough to concentrate on without adding his shit to the list. Nodding stiffly, and still obviously upset, he was surprised to hear Alphonse speak again.

"Do you dislike her?"

Not following where that had come from, he asked for clarification, "Who?" Feeling dumb, he realized his brother had jumped back in their conversation, and he knew who he meant before the name was spoken.

"Winry." Letting the name hang in the air between them, he thought that was a good question, to which he himself did not have the answer to.

AN: Please let me know what you guys think!