Disclaimer: No rights to FMA!
As Edward and Alphonse got into the wheelchair accessible cab that they had requested, Ed found himself already regretting his agreement to go out with the group to some noisy bar, however his brother had picked the location because of the allowance of anyone 18 and up on nights when bands played. Early Bird's was a popular Central hang out, which instantly made him steer clear by nature, but Al's excitement was palpable and nearly catching. He had talked to Sheska and Winry earlier in the day, they were going to get around together and meet him there. Neither of the girl's knew that the elder Elric was coming, and he couldn't believe he had let Al egg him into going. Even worse, was how easy it had been to sway his refusal into acceptance.
Seeing how happy Alphonse had been while on the phone with the small brunette, he knew that he would've faced far more awkward situations with the Rockbell to see that excitement again. Since everything had happened, girl's who had been previously enamored with the golden siblings, were much more likely to ignore them, then to get to know them. While Edward didn't have a problem with such a reaction anymore, he also knew that he had it far easier than his tender hearted brother. Finally Al had become interested in a woman who seemed to be genuine, kind and have a love for books that might actually be more intense than his own. The only issue was that years of dismissal from 'the fairer sex' had made him quite shy about his intentions, and so he needed the support of Ed now to make a real attempt. Ed on the other hand had just dawned a chest plate of indifference and sarcasm, covered by arrogant words which had worked pretty well until recently.
Pulling up to the already packed club like establishment, he sighed loudly at the idea of being stuck with all of these people, then he began to anguish even more that soon they would all be inebriated to boot. Approaching the entrance, he became irritated over the cover charge, but tried to shove aside his foul temper for Al's sake, as he handed money to the bouncer. Inside, he realized that the building was much bigger than the outside had let on, reading his mind, Al explained that there were three separate parts to the club. The first that they were in was a giant wrap around bar, with a large stage in the front and lights flashing brightly throughout the darkened room. The second room that it opened into led to a room full of billiards and a dance floor with a DJ. From there, the space sprawled into an outdoor lounge with glass surrounded torches lighting the area. There was a rock wall that had a cascading water display, truly it was impressive. However his focus was torn away quickly as he noticed the two women that they had been looking for, standing in line at the bar that was near the rocks, talking to a group of men.
Instantly he felt a tightening in his chest at the sight of Winry in a mid thigh length, scarlet, cleavage baring, jaw dropping dress with a black ribbon tied in a bow just under her bustline, like she was a present. Lovely, toned, pale white legs tapered down into a pair of black heels. Instead of being pulled up in a ponytail, per the usual, her gorgeous silvery blonde hair cascaded all around her, but for two strands that she had carefully woven into the long fall. After a moment, Al cleared his throat, jarring him from the complete inventory he had just taken of her. When he looked to his brother, he felt a guilty blush cover his cheeks at the realization that he was no idiot, and had easily discerned his unwelcome interest in the woman. Choosing to make no comment, Alphonse simply smiled at him knowingly before heading towards the girls. He hadn't moved an inch as he noticed one of the men surrounding Winry must have said something funny, because she had tipped back her head in laughter, showcasing the beautiful curve of her neck. Swallowing thickly, he tried to pull himself together. She wasn't his girlfriend, hell she was hardly what he would consider a friend, so what right did he have to be filled with heated dislike for the curly headed fuck who was currently eyeing her figure while she was distracted? None.
When they saw Al, their attention to the other men broke and they both greeted him with hugs, though Sheska's lingered longer than Winry's, this was a good sign that the affection his brother felt could be reciprocated. Feeling like a moron just watching them from where he stood frozen in the billiard area, Ed was getting ready to get a drink from the bar where the band was setting up when he heard his name called excitedly. Turning his head back to the direction of the recognition, he saw his student nearly running towards him, wearing an expression of completely stunned elation.
"Ed!" As she wrapped him in her arms like she had with Al, all he could think was, 'Holy shit, has she already been drinking?' because she had never greeted him with a hug before. He was in no way prepared for her closeness, of course she had worked at a near proximity to him while fitting his automail, but that was a vastly different and expected action. This was, wholly incomparable; her slender arms were enveloped around his neck, her hair caressing his cheek, and her breasts were pressed snugly against his chest, all while he was breathing in the scent of her enticingly floral, yet mildly metallic smell. Without even noticing it, he had returned the contact. His natural hand, though gloved, could feel the warmth of her bared skin and it was making him dizzy, despite the innocence of the gesture. Coloring at the feelings it roused, he began to wonder if he could take much more without embarrassing himself further, but luckily, and unluckily, she eased away and continued talking. "What a surprise! I thought you said you were staying at home being responsible tonight?" Since Al and Sheska were still a distance away, he responded conspiratorially.
"Well, someone needed to keep you company so they could have some time alone and hopefully admit their feelings to eachother tonight." Nodding towards the couple who were still wrapped up in their own world, Ed continued. "Do you think she likes him too?" Asking seriously, he hoped that she would confide in him.
"Oh, I think so. While we were getting around, Sheska was so intent on looking nice for him, that she must have changed clothes a million times. I feel bad for the mess she will go back home to, her room looked like a graveyard for shirts, skirts and dresses." Chuckling at the vision that he could easily picture given what he knew of the brunette, Ed was happy to hear that for a change, just as he had suspected, Al's feelings weren't one sided.
The loud strumming of a guitar caught his attention, and he noticed that the band was getting warmed up. Calling to his brother and the object of his affection, they both looked bashful as they seemed to realize that they had completely forgotten the presence of Winry and Ed. Once they were all together, Al suggested that they get a spot in the main room so they could watch the entertainment. Once they located an open table, Sheska surprised him by taking a seat next to Al. He would've thought she would shyly sit next to Winry, but smirked at the erroneous gesture that proved otherwise. However, now that he thought about it, that would leave him sitting close to Winry instead, but before they could even take their seats, she suggested that they go get a drink. When she asked Al and Sheska what they wanted, they just replied that they would get something in a bit. Leaving her looking to him in question.
"Well Professor, let's have that drink you offered me a couple weeks ago." He caught the encouraging look on his brother's face before she grabbed his hand and began to drag him towards the bar. He wondered again how much she had drank to be so touchy with him, but also reminded himself that she was like this with Al as well. That thought made him feel mildly better and worse. When they reached the thankfully short line, she released his hand almost reluctantly, which made him even more curious as to her actions.
"So Ms. Rockbell, how much have you had to drink tonight?" Without meaning to, his voice had sounded a bit reproving.
"Well Sir, I had one vodka and orange juice." Being called 'sir' he guessed that she had noted the inflection in his words as well. Either way, he felt a bit relieved when he heard her answer. She stared blankly at him, and then without warning, her eyes traveled down him openly, leaving him shocked. "Hey, did you notice that we kind of match?" Humor lit her face at the awareness, and he too looked down at his clothes, and realized that she was right. He had worn his black leather pants, after remembering her initial reaction to them, and black button down shirt dressed up with a red tie nearly the same hue of her dress. Laughing lightly, he acknowledged her claim.
"Huh, you're right." Then turning towards their companions, he saw that they had inadvertently done the same thing. "Actually so do Al and Sheska. So what would you like to drink?" He asked casually changing the subject from the coincidence.
"Oh, you don't need to buy it for me-" Quickly, he cut her off, not even allowing her to start spouting that girl refusal crap.
"I did offer before, and so I will be making good on that now. What would you like? I
suggest if you started with vodka, that you keep drinking vodka though. I don't want to have to carry you out or hold you hair back later." Stating smugly, he just knew that would ruffle her pride and waited for her to prove him right.
"You asshat! Just to let you know, Rockbell women have been known for the ability to hold their liquor, so I wouldn't judge a book by it's cover." The disclaimer made him tense, but she continued in a challenging tone distracting him from thinking overlong on it. "I'll take whatever you are having." Moving forward, he gave the bartender their order as a folksy and yet alternative rock sounding guitar melody began playing, accompanied by a man's low, airy voice, instantly capturing the rapt focus of the bar. Moments later, a piano and a violin joined melancholically. Though from what he heard, he liked the band, he was surprised it was playing at this venue since it was a Saturday. Then again seeing how many people were singing with them, maybe his assumptions about the crowd were incorrect. Giving a card to the woman for a tab, he took the drinks and passed one to Winry and they made their way back to the table where Al and Sheska were silently watching the band.
People had begun to leave their tables to stand and dance in front of the group, leaving many seats unoccupied. Turning to Winry, he asked what she thought of his chosen drink. With cheeks slightly pink from the warmth of the drink, she told him that the whiskey was smooth. He had tried many types of alcohol and still found the brown liquid to be his favorite, though from the few times he had had more than he should've, he could also say that it could cause a nasty hangover. Talking over the sound of the music, Winry wondered if he liked the band, however before he could answer, the curly haired man from earlier approached their table and asked her to dance. Being unable to stop the frown that crossed his face, the man backtracked, and then spoke to him.
"Oh, is she your date?" Mild alarm colored the dark haired man's tone, at the idea that he might have just asked an attached girl to dance. What could he say? She wasn't his date, and he hadn't asked her himself.
"No, she's not." Responding in flat, nearly growled answer, Al met his eyes upon hearing the irritation in his voice.
"Wheh, didn't want to step on anyone's toes by asking this lovely lady to dance. So what do you say?" Completely ignoring his presence now, the interloper directed his question at Winry, who looked at him while nibbling her lower lip in consideration. When his golden eyes seemed to give no objection, she took a sip from her glass and stood.
"Sure. Sounds fun. Sheska you should come dance too." That got the attention of the younger Elric, who didn't seem too happy about the arrival of the guy either now.
"Um...okay, though I'm not very good." Nervously, the petite girl replied.
"Ha! You haven't seen me dance yet." Winry joked, as she looped her arm in the crook of Sheska's and the three of them headed to the floor.
"Brother, I know you are upset. If you like her-" Stopping that statement dead in it's tracks, Edward spoke over Al's words.
"I don't like her." For once, he was thankful it was noisy so that no one would hear his forceful denial.
"Ed, I can tell you are jealous." His sibling eyed him disbelievingly.
"I am not jealous. She is just my student and engineer. Nothing more. If she wants to dance with some goofy guy, that is her choice." Firmly negating the claim, he took a long drink of his whiskey, as if that was somehow the end the discussion on this topic.
"Fine. Even if you can't admit it to me or yourself, I wish you would stop feeling guilty for everything and allow yourself to be happy, before it slips through your fingers." Without being able to stop it, Al's plea had pierced his careful facade of indifference and was instigating thoughts that he had already been trying hard to ignore.
Nearly everyone was gathered in front of the band now, and while the three of them had made it a bit closer, they were still within eyesight. How Winry was able to move so lithely while wearing those heels was beyond him, but she had certainly played her rhythmically talented skills down. She wasn't just capturing the attention of the man in front of her, many men were staring openly at her. At one point she had turned to motion for him to join them, but he gestured to Al, wordlessly conveying that he wasn't going to just leave him alone, even though his brother had told him he would be fine. After a few songs, Sheska had returned to the table and asked if anyone else would like a shot since she was already getting one for her and Winry. Though his brother was underage, it was only for a few more weeks so he wasn't going to give him crap over one shot as long as he wasn't caught, and given the amount of people here, he sincerely doubted that would happen. Both of them agreed to one as well, but Ed cut her off as she reached for her bag, and went up to buy them instead.
Placing his order, he glanced back to where the blonde was dancing, but quickly faced the bar again when her searching eyes met his. He was stunned at how innately attractive she was, without even noticing, and he wanted to push Al's words out of his mind. He wanted to ignore the call he felt towards her, and to go back to his wooden routine before her disruptive advent into his life. It was strange how in just a few weeks, she had managed so effectively to become such an active part of his daily thoughts. Picking up the tray that held the small glasses, he carried them back to their group to find that she had also returned. Giving him a charming smile, she thanked him as he passed her one of the tart shots and a lemon. Typically he didn't drink vodka, but he tried to pick something that everyone would probably like. They all clinked glasses, and he laughed as he saw her bite the lemon before taking the shot. Catching that everyone else had bitten theirs after they drank, she smirked back at him as if reading immediately from the sound of his humor, her clear inexperience.
For a while they all just sat and talked together, until it was obvious that the pair across from them were having a totally separate conversation and that that was their cue to entertain themselves.
"Hey, do you want to go play some pool?" He suggested the idea since they would be able to give the pair the space they needed and still be close enough to see any development.
"Sure, but you are going to have to teach me how to play." Laughing at her admission at never playing before, Ed was beginning to wonder if she had any hobbies outside of working on automail.
"As if I don't have teach you enough days out of the week already, why not toss the weekend in there too?" Teasing her lightly, he stood up and waited for her to grab her probably now watered down drink.
"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny Professor wise ass, let's go." Grinning toothily at her statement, he led her over to the billiard area, then took some change from his pocket and deposited it into the coin slots. Walking around to the front of the table, he picked up the balls and racked them carefully. "Okay, so what do I do?" Seeing that she had picked a cue stick that was far too short for her, he shook his head in mock disapproval.
"Well first you want pick a stick that is the right size for you." Taking the smaller stick from her, he realized the double entendre he had just used unthinkingly, and passed her one that would be more suitable for her.
"Oh, and is bigger better?" She quirked an eyebrow at him, and he caught a challenging glint in her eyes as she asked the question with an equally provocative dual meaning. Not being able to stop the risque response from passing his lips, he returned the question with another.
"When isn't it generally?" Giving her a crooked and lecherous smile, he noted the slight tint of pink that stained her cheeks. "Then you need to make sure you are holding it in the right places." Placing his hands gently on hers, he guided them to the correct positions and was caught off guard by the flop of his stomach in reaction to the simple touch. Lifting his own hands, he cleared his throat roughly and continued. "Good. I'll break and then explain to you what happens from there." Trying to calm his nerves, he exhaled before taking the shot so he wouldn't scratch in front of her like an inexperienced dolt. Hearing the crack of the cue ball into the racked balls, he sighed in relief that he hadn't missed. In fact, he had sunk two solids. "Alright, you'll notice that each of the balls has different markings. Some are one solid color, and some have stripes, also there is one black ball. The goal is to get as many of your balls in without sinking the black one until all the rest are gone." Nodding her head in understanding, he resumed his explanation. "Now, because when I broke I sunk two solid colored balls, those are going to be the ones I try to make in, yours are the striped ones. You shoot until you miss in this game, though as you get better, you may someday start calling the pocket that you plan to make the ball into. For now though, we will just play 'slop' which is just dropping your balls into any pocket that you can. I'm going to take my next shot, and I want you to watch carefully how I place my hands on the cue stick, compared to your own. When it's your turn, I will teach you to aim." Not really taking the time to line anything up, he was mainly just trying to show her good form and follow through. When the ball he hit stopped bouncing off the railing, he took a step back.
"Looks like you could use some lessons yourself." She ran her fingers through her blond strands as she joked with him and he was momentarily distracted by the light from above the table circling her head almost like a halo.
"No sassing the instructor." Replying in a quick rush of words, he tried to turn his focus away from the stunning woman in front of him.
"Sassing? Really, who says sassing these days? My Granny wouldn't even say that!" He grabbed his glass from the ledge that ran along the wall, and drank deeply, then frowned at how diluted his own whiskey had become.
"Me, and unless you would just like to attempt this on your own, I suggest you quit harassing the person who is willing to help you, gearhead." Her ocean eyes became stormy when she heard the little 'endearment' he had bestowed her with.
"Gearhead, huh? Well just remember that you need this gearhead for your next maintenance, Elric." Without further conversation, she picked a ball and attempted to copy his previous movements, though was a little off.
"Okay, the way your hand is placed here is alright, but this one should be further back. Wrap your hand around the taped part." Pointing to where she should hold it, he avoided contact with her this time, unsure of how his body would react to repeat exposure. "Perfect, now I want you to lean like you are going to take the shot." Stepping back to watch, his gaze drifted to her long legs, as they stretched forward and her dress rode up her thighs some. "Your stick should always stay level with your hips, and when you do take a shot, remember that even after you have hit the ball, to follow through with your stroke. Without hitting anything I want you to take a practice shot." Leaning across the felt, she let the stick glide over the bridge she had made with her fingers steadily.
"That wasn't half bad, Ms. Rockbell." Earning a glare from her for not using her first name, his lips turned up at how easy it was to ruffle her. "Now, the first thing that is important when lining up your shot is that when you aim, you want to aim based on where the ball you want to go in needs to be tapped by the cue ball, this white ball, in order to hit the middle of the pocket. So if you are familiar with geometry and that's easier, you can calculate where to hit based on the angles. Really, that's pretty much it, now it's up to you to make the shot." A determined expression lit her face, and she walked around the table to see where she needed to hit the striped ball, with the cue ball. Placing her hands carefully on the stick, her brows puckered as she concentrated and then set up her shot, sinking the ball successfully. Jumping up excitedly, she turned to him then with a look of complete shock.
"Ed, I made it!" Hugging him unexpectedly, he was once again assaulted with how the sense of her closeness made his body tighten in response. Releasing him, she prepared to take her next shot, hovering precariously over the table in her low cut dress, but still dropping it in the pocket as well. Nearly squealing in delight, she spoke then. "You might want to consider teaching pool for a living instead." Rolling his amber eyes at her, he actually reconsidered her idea when she once again tapped her ball in.
"Damn, you want to at least give me another chance to shoot?" Stating in false irritation, Edward leaned back against the ledge where the last of his drink was, and finished it.
"Actually no, it would make me happier to beat you my first time. But we could put a bet on this game if you would like." He should have guessed that she would be the type of girl to make wagers, but he did wonder what her prize would be.
"Only if I get to bet in your favor now." Ed joked, though really if she kept up her current momentum, maybe he wouldn't be. Seeing her frown at his answer, he conceded to inquire what she would win. "Fine, what are the terms of your bet?"
"If I win, you have to come dance with me. If you win...I don't know. What do you want if you win?" If he were honest with himself, he wouldn't mind dancing with her, but he couldn't very well ask for the same thing as her, and he knew it was a bad idea as much as it seemed the opposite right now.
"How about if I win, you have to buy me a drink." As she swaggered to the other side of the table to take her shot, he could tell she was in a hurry as she missed her own ball, but sunk one of his, causing her to cast an angry look at the inanimate object. Even with this setback, she still agreed to the bet.
"Deal." Extending her hand to him, he took it lightly in his automail one and shook once.
"Your shot Professor Elric." He wondered if this woman cowed to any person, or if she was always this confident. Was she as nervous around him as he felt with her? If she was, he couldn't tell. In quick succession, he sunk his four remaining balls, leaving her astounded. Now all he had to do was drop the eight ball in.
"Who's not going to give who another chance to shoot now?" Winry sputtered incredulously.
"Well I'm very motivated, since I'm not much of a dancer." Remarking blandly as he chalked the tip of his stick.
"Pfft, neither am I, but I still get out and do it because it's fun." Well that was the first lie he had ever heard come out of her mouth, and he called her on it.
"Could've fooled me, you sure seem like you can move just fine." Remembering the seductive way she had swayed her hips with the music a while ago, he felt heat rise on his cheeks openly.
"Sounds like you were checking me out." She reproached levelly, though not appearing displeased in the slightest.
"Hardly! You just said you weren't good and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to tease you later." Hastily trying to cover his tracks, Edward knew he hadn't sounded remotely convincing.
"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night." Clearly since this was the last ball, she was trying to goad him into losing focus, but he wasn't about to fall to her tactics. Taking his time to line up the shot that should be easier to make than it felt, he called his pocket and decisively hit the cue ball. When he saw the black ball drop, he was instantly sorry he had made it because he had now lost the opportunity to dance with her himself, even though it was better in the long run.
"Looks like I owe you a drink, Professor." He was surprised how much he disliked her calling him that, since that was exactly what he was to her. Telling him that she wanted to check out the large patio bar, they headed through the pillars of fire to the extremely crowded line to wait to place their order. The music outside was much more what he had initially expected from the club. Loud bass tones beat so hard, that he could feel the pulse of the song in his whole body. Lights flashed wildly and smoke clouded the area despite having no walls. People crowded around them, both dancing and standing in groups talking. To be able to hear one another they had to stand close and speak in each other's ears. She leaned in to ask if he wanted his usual, and her hair which was slightly static from the atmosphere, tickled his neck and ear sensitively, making the hair on his arms stand in response. Suppressing a small shudder at the feel of her warm breath, he was acutely aware of her proximity.
Tipping his head down to answer her, he was startled when she turned minutely, causing his lips to brush her earlobe accidentally. They both looked at each other with eyes wide and faces mirrored in a look of surprise. He was momentarily stupefied at how she looked when the multicolored lights lit her face, dancing across her shiny lips. Had he ever seen a woman so beautiful before? When the line moved a fraction, they did too. She had turned forward when they did, and now he was standing hardly six inches behind her, with a perfect view of the smooth arch of her back that was exposed to him. Winry's hair shimmered down her shoulder blades, and indulging on an impulse, he leaned forward and breathed in that sweet scent he had noticed earlier when she hugged him. When she moved to face him again, they were so close that he swore she would be able to hear his heart thudding over the blaring sound of the music.
A group of people shifted behind her, forcing her forward into him. As the men and women tried to cut through the bottleneck, he pulled her into his chest to keep her from being hit by the other women's bags. Looking down at her, he saw himself reflected in her sapphire depths, but that wasn't all he glimpsed; Winry stared up at him, her lips parted with an expression that he was stunned to recognize as longing. Her eyes dropped from his golden gaze, to fix on his own lips and he knew he had clearly discerned her want to be kissed, because he clearly felt his own to do so. For another heartbeat, she stood there in his arms as the last of the group walked passed them. Then he put his hands on her arms, loathe to stop touching her, though compelled to cease just as fervently, and eased her away from him. Dropping his hands stiffly to his sides, he concentrated on the floor until he was finally collected enough to meet her eyes. Deep blue searching honey, narrowing in confusion when they found no answers there. She reached out to touch his arm and he back stepped out of her reach, leaving a look of rejected disappointment at the opportunity lost. No matter how something internally raged inside him to take those lips in a hot kiss, his conscience protested loudly that this wasn't right.
Plastering a scowl on his face, he knew it was better to put a stop to this situation before it had a chance to blossom within him and prick her as well. Roughly he gritted the sentence that would surely leave her hating him. "Winry, you are my student, and even if you weren't, that wouldn't change the fact that I feel nothing towards you." He could hear the lie clearly as he spoke it, but he hoped that she wouldn't second guess his words from the off note in his tone. Instead of any other reaction he would have expected, she leaned in close to his ear, nearly touching her cheek to his neck, and spoke unfalteringly.
"You just tell yourself that, Professor." As she moved away from him, he caught the dangerous glimmer in her eyes that appeared as dark as the night sky, before she turned on her heel and the crowd parted around her like a warm knife to butter, allowing her passage through.
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.