Disclaimer: No rights to FMA!
As Edward sleepily walked home from Winry's, he found himself replaying her parting words of him looking out for her through his mind. The reaction to the group of men who had attempted to gain her company for the night, had come almost as a reflex that he had no control over. In fact, he had wanted nothing more than to stay out of her business, but had been completely unable to stop the pull of his body to her side the second that the scarlet eyed man had entered. After hearing Scar's friends trying to coerce her, the words that had left his mouth weren't even registered until he noticed Winry's wide eyes at his interference. The only thing he WAS able to restrain was his fists from battering the faces of the men who had said that Winry was clearly earning some extra credit that night. He had been infuriated and disgusted at their suggestive assumption, but had remembered that they were currently at her place of work and if he ever wanted to come back he needed to get away from them quickly.
Nearing his apartment, he noticed the dark haired pain in his ass that was sitting on his steps, and sighed loudly at the surety that he would not being going to bed anytime soon. Slowing his pace as if to put off the coming conversation, Ed shoved his hands in his pockets and approached the uninvited guest.
"I was wondering if you were ever going to show up." With a smirk, the older man stood.
"Yeah, well you had the option of seeing yourself back home." Scowling, Ed was ready to go to bed after his very long day.
"In a good mood I can see." The bastard seemed cheery in his sarcastic assessment.
"What can I say Mustang, just seeing your face after a long day is enough to liven my spirits." He tossed back flippantly, this was a volley of words that they were long familiar with.
"Wow, you really are in a bad mood, but I know just how to put you in a better one." Raising a finger in suggestion, the Elric had a feeling he knew what the man's brilliant idea was.
"You leaving?" Smiling at his own jibe, he waited for Mustang to say what he already expected.
"Very funny Edward, no I mean getting a drink down at the pub." Imagine that, he thought. Roy must have the consternation of an ox, he was always hanging around bars picking up women. Actually, most of what he knew about relationships and sex had come from this man's tales of his conquests, which seemed endless. Many images he never wanted to picture were burned into his mind because of Mustang.
"I just left there." Replying flatly in a tone that showed just how little interest he had in returning, Ed yawned loudly, stressing his need for a good night's sleep.
"Really? Did you see the hot server?" Instantly he was awake and his curiosity was piqued.
"Which hot server?" Hoping that he wasn't talking about Winry, Ed glared at him questioningly.
"Hmm...Well, she's blonde, has great legs, and seems intelligent. You know, everything I look for in a woman." Frowning angrily, he thought how wrong Roy would be for her. Being a perpetual bachelor by choice, he tried not to picture his friend leaving the mechanic like he had so many other women before.
"Are you talking about Winry?" Throat thick, he voiced the specific concern that he hadn't wanted to.
"I don't know any Winry, but if she fits that description, I certainly wouldn't mind meeting her either." Waggling his dark eyebrows suggestively, Ed nearly growled in irritation at the implications that followed that statement, but instead he just narrowed his golden eyes at him. "I was kidding, but I will steer clear if you like her, especially since you never seem to be interested in any women." Stating in a suddenly sincere tone, Roy regarded him with a curious gaze.
"I'm not interested in her!" All but shouting in alarm, Ed's voice wavered making him sound unsure.
"Whatever you say, for now let's go check out the attractive night server, Riza, while you tell me about this Winry. I'm fascinated." Great. Just what he wanted was to spend the night talking about the girl who hadn't made it far from his mind without the help of the nosy man.
"You have no shame." Ed muttered, while shaking his head at how nonchalant Mustang was.
After taking his things inside, they headed towards the bar making small talk about their weeks. They had met years before when Roy Mustang had been his probation officer, though he hadn't liked him at the time, the smug man had always seemed to hang around if for nothing more than to enjoy inciting his ire. In time he had grown used to the biting wit and sharp mind that he possessed. Truthfully, though he would never admit it aloud, Edward liked him and counted him as a close friend. Roy had always been honest, genuine, and probably the closest thing to a father that he had.
Approaching the business for the second time that night, they took a seat where he had been earlier. Not waiting long, Riza came to the table and got their drink order, while Mustang attempted to lay his 'A' game on her, unsuccessfully. Even if the waitress had been interested in his appearance, Ed was sure she wouldn't give him a chance until he set aside his over the top comments and spoke to her normally. Watching them, he noticed how very no nonsense she was and wondered what she would look like with a smile like Winry's on her face. Grimacing at his recurring thoughts of his student, he took a large swallow of the whiskey Riza had set in front of him. Noticing his steady imbibement, the older man turned his attention back to him.
"So tell me about this girl, Winry." Seeing that Riza was still standing by their table, Ed nearly spit the drink out in embarrassment. That stupid idiot was going to make it seem like he liked Winry in front of her damn coworker! Nervously raising his blush stained face to the woman who looked like she could be his mechanic's mother, but for the reddish brown eyes, he silently pleaded with her to ignore the conversation and walk away. As if understanding his wordless wish, she left to check on another table with the hint of a smirk.
"You tactless prick! You couldn't wait until Riza wasn't right next to us before bringing Winry up!?" Realizing that he had almost yelled, he settled himself into the seat and crossed his muscular arms over his chest in irritation.
"Woah Edward, no reason to get so defensive over your new girlfriend, I was simply being a considerate friend by asking." Wearing an expression of innocence, Mustang was a consummate bullshitter.
"You were prying, and you said it front of her on purpose to get a rise out of me." Which he had succeeded in, but he wasn't about to point that out.
"And oh, what a rise it was, I truly didn't expect for you to react quite so energetically. You must really like her." Cocking a black eyebrow at him in inquiry, he awaited confirmation of his statement.
"I can't, I mean I don't, but even if I did, I couldn't. You don't understand." Cutting himself off before he backed himself into a verbal corner, Ed sat stiffly, hoping he would let it go at that.
"Oh, I see. So your little brother likes her and you are playing the gentleman and stepping aside to make way for him?" That was not the case, though if it had been, he would have. He would give anything to make his sibling happy.
"NO! You dipshit! I told you that you wouldn't understand, and I don't want to talk about it even if you could." Spitting his words in a tone that screamed for Roy to drop the subject, Edward reached for his glass and took a drink, enjoying the subtle burn that accompanied it. A funny look crossed his company's face, as if he was debating the situation and had one more guess that he couldn't resist sharing.
"Is she a lesbian?" Trying to keep the swallow of liquor he had left inside his mouth, he had to pause and concentrate on the action, before reacting on the seriously delivered query.
"Goddammit Mustang, you are such an ass! Why I even came out is beyond me!" Beginning to pull out his wallet to just leave money on the table and leave, Ed's abrupt movement was interrupted by a conciliatory hand preventing him from doing so.
"Hey, hey, I was kidding. I apologize, but I am genuinely curious as to why you can't like her?" With a sigh, Edward resigned to telling him, if only to stop his increasingly discomforting guesses.
"You remember Pinako Rockbell, my automail engineer?" Nodding his head, the man remained silent so that he would continue. "Well Winry is her granddaughter." Comprehending the correlation, Roy's face winced for a second, though he quickly wiped the look from his face. "And even if she wasn't, she is still my student at Uni. So now do you understand that despite whatever I may or may not think of her, that I can not become her friend?"
"I see your point, and while that is a good one, I don't see why you can't just explain everything to her and let her decide if she wants to be friends with you...it's not like it was-" Abruptly terminating his words with his own, the Elric glared angrily.
"I'm not fucking discussing this. I told you that I never wanted to talk about it again and I don't. After she is done fixing my mail, I am going to keep my distance as much as possible." Even if he did enjoy being around her, he couldn't let his growing interest in the woman go any farther, for too many reasons to count. Already she was on his mind more than was wise.
"Why did you even commission her to work on it in the first place if you don't want to be around her?" As usual, Mustang asked an all too sharp minded question, cutting precisely to the point.
"Well, uh, Al's her friend and she was looking for work here. I needed a new mechanic in any case since Pinako passed away." Fumbling out the weak excuse that seemed the most relevant besides his main reason, Ed hoped he would let it go at that.
"Interesting that Alphonse has chosen to be her friend, though he must realize the connection. Still, I don't totally buy your reasons for enlisting her service, why not hire someone else?" A uncontrolled flinch of his eye gave him away. "Oh so there is another reason. Do share." Seeing that the sooner he relayed what had prompted his action, the sooner they could be done with this conversation, he grudgingly replied.
"I overheard what these pricks were saying about how they were going to get her drunk after the game tonight, so they could take advantage of her less inhibited state. I couldn't just let them, and I couldn't just tell her. So I took into account all of the aforementioned factors, and made a calculated choice." Roy ran a finger over his darkly stubbled jaw, as if considering this.
"I understand your actions, but if you plan on distancing yourself from her, then essentially even if you prevented something tonight, who is to say something won't happen later?" Taking in his valid concern, a muscle lept in his cheek as his jaw tightened reflexively to the thought of someone hurting her. That was a very good point, and one that he actually hadn't thought of. Given the determination of the men involved, he had to admit that it certainly wouldn't be a stretch for that very scenario to occur. "Look I'm not telling you what to do, but I'm encouraging you to see things from all the perspectives you may be missing with your situation blocking your objective view. You may not admit it now, but if you care about her at all as a friend or otherwise, it's something to think about." Hearing the sincerity laced in his tone, Ed remembered how hard it had been originally to combine the two sides of Mustang that he had seen. Some moments he was a consummate womanizer and smart ass, but others he was caring and depthful, possessing intelligent insight that others did not.
Finishing his now watery drink, Edward glanced around to see that there were far less customers in the bar, but that Riza was still keeping herself busy filling condiments while yet another ardent suitor tried to pick her up. Seeing the defiant expression on her face at his unwanted advances, he wondered whether they should step in or not and gestured to Roy, who had long since noticed the exchange. Rising swiftly from the table, Mustang walked briskly towards her after watching the overly familiar man grab Riza's arm firmly. Following right on his heels, Edward went to join his friend. When the blue eyed lothario noted their presence, he spoke rudely.
"She'll get you a drink in a minute guys, she's busy right now." Turning his attention back to the blonde server, he completely ignored them standing right next to him. Grabbing the man's jacket, Roy roughly began to escort him away from Riza. "Hey! Who the hell do you think you are!?" Gaining the interest of the few remaining patrons, the man bellowed in protest.
"I'm her boyfriend, and you were just leaving." Moments like this reminded Edward of just how Mustang was so good at his job. He was able to remain level headed and take care of anything that may arise, which was fitting for a probation officer. When he was assigned a new person to monitor, he never knew just what to expect but always handled things decisively and with a finesse that not many others had. Actually just last year, he had been promoted to senior probation officer and if things continued the way they were headed, he would even be looking at another, possibly to probation area manager.
"The HELL I was!" Just then the bartender came out from the back, butting a cigarette after seeing the situation that was unfolding. Joining Roy, he let the former customer know that he was no longer welcome in his establishment. Standing in the doorway to make sure he was going to keep heading away, the owner propped the entrance open and took out another cigarette. Talk about a chainsmoker, Ed thought. His friend had gone to Riza's side to ask if she was alright.
"I'm fine, this wouldn't have happened if Jean would just let me carry my gun at work." Leaning on the bar next to the two, the professor just couldn't wait to see how Mustang handled that statement. On second thought, he would probably like her even better now.
"You have a gun?" Mustang practically shouted in excitement as the owner, Jean, came back around the counter and while they talked, he listened after signaling for their check.
"Yes, would you like to see it? It's a Ruger, long barrel .357." Oh shit, she had him at long barrel. Slipping a bill on the tab, he told the man to keep the change and turned his focus back to the people in front of him.
"I do like a woman who knows her firearms." He could hear the excitement coming through the comment.
"That was meant to be a deterrent." Smirking widely, Ed thought she was perfect him now that he was getting a chance to see her equally snappy personality. A woman who could hold her own, he wondered how the older man would do with someone who stood on level ground with him.
"Well, it had quite the opposite effect I have to say. Maybe we could go shooting sometime and see who's aim is better?" Watching the crooked grin that sat on Roy's face, he waited to hear her brutally shoot him down again like earlier, but then found himself surprised at her reply.
"That confident in your skills?" She placed a small hand on her waist, challenging him non verbally as well.
"I'm as confident as you appear to be." Sliding his hands casually into his pockets, he picked up the gauntlet that she had thrown down.
"I work the day shift tomorrow, come by after five. We'll see who is bluffing." Edward couldn't believe it! That arrogant bastard had actually managed to get her to say 'yes' after all. Great his head would get even more swollen than it already was. Rolling his eyes at their strange flirtation, he was ready to call it a night.
"I'll be here at 4:45. See you then, Riza."
Leaving the pub for the second time that night, they headed towards his home talking about which pieces he would take for their outing tomorrow. Ed was happy to realize how excited the shameless seducer was about something besides a female's looks, this would be good for him. Stopping in front of his stairs, he told Mustang to let him know how everything went with Riza. As he went to head up to his door, he was halted by a last bit of advice.
"Just remember Elric; you can hide from things and never experience any pain or trouble, but in doing that, you are not living either. If you want to talk about anything, I'm just a phone call away. Try and look at the bigger picture so you don't end up sorry over things you could've prevented and opportunities lost." Letting the words hang in the air and sink in, he gave a small smile and a wave for the recommendation before going inside. Even though he wanted to stick to his initial decision regarding the sapphire eyed woman, he found himself pausing to consider just how things could be if he did continue onward in their strange circumstances. Perhaps he would need to reconsider things after a good night's sleep, though even if he made a list of pros and cons, he wondered if any amount of pros would even begin to balance the few cons.
AN: 3/24/2016 I am currently going through and fixing this story chapter by chapter in an attempt to reconnect to it and improve it along the way. Please review if you notice anything that I have missed or just want to tell me what you like/dislike.