Disclaimer: No rights to FMA!
Sitting off to the side of the end zone, hearing the roar of the excited crowd all around her, Winry couldn't help but be pulled into the moment of celebration, cheering right along with all the other spectators. Finding herself smiling widely to Michael, who was being congratulated by his teammates and coaches, Winry, who had never been to any sporting event, had actually enjoyed herself once she caught on to the finer points of the aggressive pastime. She had come to the game tonight mostly because she had been tired of allowing her mood to become so surly recently; she was a Rockbell, and Rockbell's weren't disconcerted by anyone's opinion of them, even if said opinion was distributed by a handsome jerk. Even if said handsome jerk was no more than two feet from her, scowling at the man approaching her in football gear who had just scored the winning touchdown by running it in himself. Feeling Sheska elbow her forward in encouragement to talk to the ruby eyed quarterback, she reached back for the scarf that she had let her professor hold earlier, to find Edward wearing an expression that she could only describe as poorly disguised dejection, directed at her. Brushing off the look she had just seen on his face, she carefully climbed down the single step from her position on the metal risers to speak with Michael.
Almost two weeks of classes and work had sped by without Winry speaking more than necessary to Professor Elric, which was almost not at all since he seemed to be doing the same. They had fallen neatly into a pattern of ignoring the other. Though once or twice when he had thought she wasn't paying attention, she would catch him staring at her through the curtain of hair that she generally wore down now as a wall of sorts to the man. She had done her best to put that night out of her mind, but it was hard to truly not think about him when he stood in front of her five days a week, as he did currently; a bitter reminder to what an ass she had made of herself. Still, as days had passed she just couldn't believe that she had misread his actions towards her at Early Birds. Either way, she wouldn't soon forget his scathing words of dismissal to her.
Adopting an attitude of aloofness about the whole situation, she had chosen to not let anyone know of the feelings that had foolishly shown themselves; the one noticeable change being her sudden compulsion to be consistently busy enough not to think. The only person she had told about the outcome of that evening was Sheska, and though she had done her best to play up how 'fine' she was with everything, she was sure that the clever brunette wasn't fooled. Especially once she had confided in her about Al's concern over his brother's irritable and withdrawn state ever since their night out, which led to nothing but more questions. Winry had kept her face neutral when hearing this, not wanting to make her curiosity obvious.
Initially, Winry had assumed the fact that he was her teacher was the main reason for his disinterest, though she knew of other educators who had dated, and in some cases even married their students. So that had logically left the option that he really did not want anything to do with her, which was far more abrasive. However hearing Sheska's account of Edward's behavior led her to wonder if there was something else she wasn't seeing. If he 'didn't feel anything towards her' than why was he acting any different? Possibly just because he had the misfortune of seeing her everyday, with no means of escape short of her transferring, which she had no intentions of doing. The first day back in class she had considered this route, but then decided that the best action she could take was to be just as indifferent to him as he was to her.
Glancing at the clock, she noted that at least in another couple of minutes she would be able to leave the class and his presence, which was fine with her since he had been pacing in front of her desk while lecturing and she had caught a brief smack of his all too alluring scent when he stirred the air with his gestures. Unable to stop herself, she exhaled audibly, drawing the unwelcome notice of her teacher. His molten eyes met hers questioningly, but just then people started rising around her as class was finally over. Blushing at his unwavering stare, she dropped her own and quickly gathered her own materials. Before she was able to exit though, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder and she turned rigidly expecting an awkward conversation with Edward, only to be face to face with Michael. Standing straight and sturdy like a brick wall, he placed the arm that was touching her on the wall beside her. His hair had grown some and was unruly as it fell around his face.
"Hey Winry, I was just curious if you were working tomorrow night?" Picturing her schedule for a moment, she had been given the following evening off but was still hesitant to say as much. Did she want to spend time with Michael? Seeing that Professor Elric had remained in the room with them but was studiously ignoring them, she wondered why he was still there, since normally he was in as much of a rush to leave as the rest of them. Deciding that it couldn't hurt to at least get to know the wild eyed man, she told him that she was off the next night. "Well I was wondering if you would come to the game then and maybe after we could grab some food?" When her eyes reflexively flickered in the direction of her frustrating teacher, Michael's followed and then he spoke again. "That is, if you don't already have plans with someone else?" No. She didn't. He wasn't interested in her, so why was she having any second thoughts over it?
"No, not at all, I would love to come. I've never been to a football game before." Smiling brightly at him, she was rewarded with his own beaming happiness in return. For some reason he was much less intimidating when he smiled and it was easier to feel good about the decision to go.
"I'll see you after the game then?" Despite his general confidence and her previous acceptance, he still seemed anxious about her reply.
"Yes, see you then." Waving at him as he left, she started out the door when a loud cough pulled her attention back to the elder Elric. For an instant, a wordless conversation passed between them, not one bit of it remotely friendly, before she narrowed her eyes at him and walked out. What a jerk! He had no right to look at her like she was doing anything wrong, Michael was a far nicer guy than he was! To hell with him and his unspoken opinions!
Brooding over how the blonde was able to effect her without even speaking to her, she headed to work where she would hustle him from her mind. That night Al and Sheska, who had finally acknowledged their growing attraction to each other and were now dating, came in to see her at The Dark Horse. The two were both so comically inexperienced that she laughed every time she pictured them talking about going on their first real date. Not that she had had any of her own to speak of, but still it couldn't be as awkward as they made it look; Al was overly courteous and Sheska was consistently apologetic, they were a hoot. Interrupting their dance of politeness, she relayed the day's events and asked them to come to the game with her.
Without much prodding, she got them to accept though neither one of them were into sports spectating. They planned to meet at her work and go from there. Al warned her to dress warm since they would be outside for around four hours, to which she laughed at. Alphonse was like a mother hen if she ever saw one, despite her being older than him. When they left, she greeted Riza who was coming in to relieve her and smiled in response to her cheery hello. As of late, Riza had been in a good mood and Winry found out why about twenty minutes into their overlapping shifts; she had a boyfriend, though the word hardly applied to the dark haired and very handsome man. Riza asked her to take him a drink since she was busy setting a large group up, and she agreed while walking to the bar to pick up his glass. Approaching his table, she let him know that the other server would be there soon and was beginning to leave but he began a conversation with her.
After a few minutes of easy chatter and small talk, he had discovered that she worked on automail and had asked her many questions about her experience installing it. Apparently he was a senior probation officer and due to his late father's rank in the military, had many friends in various places, who could use an engineer specifically for injured and amputee soldiers. Excitedly, she told him that she was more than interested and gave him her contact information. Realizing that she hadn't introduced herself, she backtracked and extended her hand.
"I'm Winry Rockbell, it is so nice to meet you!" Black eyes crinkled as he smiled congenially at her.
"Roy Mustang." Taking her offered hand, he shook firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well." Her co-worker joined them then. "Hello Riza, I was just talking to Ms. Rockbell here about some automail opportunities that I think she would be perfect for." Nodding in response to the man, she turned to Winry to address her.
"Winry, I looked over your side work, everything looks good if you want to sit and discuss things further. I can get you something to eat or drink." She offered obligingly.
"Oh no! We were finished anyways, and besides I need to get headed home so I can finish some class work before I go to bed. Thank you again Mr. Mustang, I look forward to any information on the commission work, have a good night!" Being so happy about the potential for real work, she had nearly left without her purse. Returning to the bar to grab her forgotten bag, she waved and called out as she exited. "Night Riza! See you Saturday!"
Friday had moved at a snail's pace, hours of lectures lengthened into what felt like days, probably from being anxious about the night ahead of her. When Winry was finally home, she rushed to get around for the game. Turning up her radio, she showered and took care with her hair and makeup while singing along with her favorite music, even dancing in front of the mirror as she did. Smiling at her own goofiness, she was resolved to have a good night. Spending so much time absorbed in home work, serving and tinkering justified her sudden need to get out and do something with her friends. Walking to her bedroom, she stood in front of her closet debating what to wear, which was mildly funny to her. She had never been one to care what anyone thought about her appearance one way or the other, but she did want to look nice for the probability that she would be going to dinner. Taking out her favorite pair of jeans and a comfy, warm, fall colored sweater, she dressed quickly after she realized that she needed to be at The Dark Horse soon. Slipping on some old, worn, knee high boots and grabbing a scarf, she was ready to go.
As she approached the bar, she sighed as she noticed that there were three people outside. Al must have invited Professor Elric, not having any idea that anything had transpired between the two of them he probably figured she wouldn't mind. When she got closer, her suspicions were confirmed when she caught the golden ponytail floating in the wind. Greeting the group, she tried to ask nicely what miracle had occurred to allow them to enjoy the pleasure of his company, but it may have come out a bit less jokingly than she had hoped for. Alphonse stepped in then and explained that none of them had even stopped to think about the cost of tickets to a home game against the university's rival. Apparently the event had practically been sold out for a year in advance, but luckily with Edward being a staff member, he was allowed tickets at a heavily discounted price. Grudgingly, she thanked him for coming out just to get them into a game he probably didn't want to be at, not meeting his gaze as she did so. Al let them know that they should start heading for the game, so the couple started off in front of them, leaving them to follow behind in silence.
When they entered the stadium, Winry was stunned by the sheer enormity that surrounded her. Hearing the sounds of trumpets and trombones warming up in the distance, she craned her neck trying to locate the origin of the brass section. There were so many people all around her speaking and cheering though the game still had another fifteen minutes before kick off. She could even make out what sounded like a drunken group of students singing the fight song.
"You know if you keep whipping your head around like that you are going to pull something and not be able to go on your date." Ed's condescending tone reached her ears, immediately irritating her. Seeing that Al and Sheska were a safe distance ahead of them, she hissed back at him.
"For someone who isn't interested in me at all, you sure keep pretty good tabs on what I am doing." Raising an accusatory brow at him, she knew that would solicit an equally aggravating response.
"Hardly, you were the one who stood a few feet from me and let the whole thing play out. Who knows, maybe you convinced him to ask you ahead of time just to get my attention." Delivering the line smugly, Ed looked at her with a bored expression.
"You are an arrogant ass! I wouldn't waste my time trying to make you jealous, if you can't pull your head out then that is your problem not mine!" She was seething with anger that was nearly ready to boil over. Feeling it build by each passing second, she tried to reign in her barely tethered emotions for the sake of not wanting him to have the satisfaction he must be getting from her reactions. Looking around, she was also remembered that this was not the time or place to have a shouting match.
"Such language Ms. Rockbell, I was merely giving you some friendly advice." Somehow he had managed to state his sentence with a straight face, making her want to mimic him when she spoke so he could see how ridiculous he was coming across even without yelling.
"Well since I'm clearly not your friend, why don't you save those gems?" Punctuating her carefully spoken words, she gave him a sickly sweet smile. When she saw him biting back laughter, she was instantly sorry that she hadn't carried her wrench with her so she could beat him into blissful muteness. "Did you know that you are completely insufferable?" Sighing in defeat at the pointless conversation, Winry began speeding up her pace to put some distance between them.
"Could've fooled me the other night." Hearing his words, she abruptly stopped walking and turned to face him, letting every ounce of exactly how she felt about him right then show openly. Oh and did she have many feelings about the man in front of her, forgetting the most prominent ones, there were also some that she wished to bury deep within her and ignore completely. She stood toe to toe with him since she knew that made him uncomfortable, she began to speak, then stopped herself. Letting the moment of tense closeness linger between them, Winry wanted him to be as conflicted by her as she was with him. Finally when she did address him, she spoke softly to be sure she had his full attention.
"The only person you are fooling is yourself." She was sure she glimpsed his self assured look slip right before Sheska's voice startled them both.
"Hey what are you guys doing? We were practically to our spots before we noticed that you guys weren't with us!" Blushing
at the awkward exchange that her friend's arrival had interrupted, she chanced a glance at Edward, to see that he also wore an identical flush of color across his cheeks.
"Sorry Sheska, Professor Elric and I got caught up in our conversation and must have lost you guys! Where is Al?" Hoping that she had been able to mask her current mood successfully, she relaxed once the three of them began heading down the aisle to their seats.
"He is where the stands end by the end zone, you sure had some good tickets Ed." Actually Winry was sure that she could see the overhead lights glinting off of his wheelchair.
"I got them in case Alphonse ever wanted to come to a game." Stating flatly, he was obviously not in the mood for talking, which the brunette must have picked up on since she didn't continue trying to converse with him.
When they approached the seats, Al waved excitedly to the trio. Sheska sat all the way down on the end so she could easily spend time with her new boyfriend. Edward held a hand out motioning for her to go next to Sheska, and then he followed behind her. With five minutes until the game began, people started crowding around them into the stands, causing them to scoot closer to one another. A man climbing up the risers teetered and nearly spilled his drink on them, which just resulted in her Professor practically sitting on top of her. She could actually feel the heat of his thigh as it pushed up against hers. How was it possible that even through both his pants and her jeans that she was still acutely aware of his muscled leg? Better situating herself between Ed and Sheska, Winry could easily perceive his body's tension in response to her small movement.
Al and Sheska had settled into their own little world, leaving the two of them stuck with each other's company. Since he didn't make any attempt at communication, she didn't either. Though it was chilly out just as Alphonse had said it would be, Winry found that the scarf was just enough to make her uncomfortable. Slipping out of it, she looked around for a good place to put it; preferably a place where it wouldn't get dirty from being trampled by people's feet. Seeing her searching, Ed held his hand out for her to pass the garment off. Eyeing him warily for any signs that he wouldn't keep it off of the foot area, she finally handed it over to him once she was satisfied that she could trust him with it. Tucking it safely in the crook of his arm, she wondered why he was being nice to her now? This man was utterly contradictory. How was she supposed to keep up with his ever changing moods? Had her earlier words actually made him consider his behavior towards her?
Blaring music filled the stadium as the marching band played the university's fight song and people began standing up all around her, yelling out the lyrics along with each other as the team took the field. As each player ran past, the crowd cheered loudly. When Michael ran by, being announced as 'Scar' everyone in the stands went nuts in response. Even she clapped her hands until she caught the elder Elric's eyes blazing hotly into hers with an indiscernible expression. Then as if realizing that he had given something away, he retreated back behind his wall of indifference.
Though she had never been interested in football, by the third quarter she had found herself shouting right along with the amped up mass of fans. In fairness it was hard not to and frankly how Edward managed to maintain his remoteness was beyond her. Sheska, had surprised them all by being the first to scream at the referee when he made a bad call. They had laughed at her reflexive attitude, Alphonse was especially enraptured by this new side of his girlfriend. With a straight face, her friend had tried to play it off on the many books she had read covering the rules and various plays of the sport, which had only cracked them up more. Eventually she tossed up her hands and admitted that she had watched more than her fair share of football with her grandpa before he passed away. At that disclosure she smiled contentedly as she saw Al reach over and take her hand, looking briefly to her left at Ed, she was pleased to note a similar grin touched his face.
In the last two minutes, their team was down by three points as they began their drive towards the end zone. Honestly, she had to acknowledge the respect she had gained for Michael while watching the past couple of hours. Even when it seemed like they weren't going to be able to come back from their initial setbacks, he had risen to the challenge and stayed calm for his team gradually evening the score. They were on their third down with only ten seconds left, and other school had good coverage on the wide receivers that were in the scoring territory, when Michael did something that guessing by the gasp Sheska expelled, wasn't typical. The quarterback had run the ball in himself for the winning touchdown. Everyone in the stands had leapt to their feet in unison, and the roar that could be heard all around them was something Winry had never experienced the likes of ever before.
When the man of the hour began heading in her direction, she became aware of the many sets of eyes that fell on her in that moment. However the only pair that seemed to have any effect on her, were those of her bewildering Professor. Though he had made it clear on multiple occasions now just how uninterested he was in her, the only visible emotion she could read on his face was jealousy. For some reason that thought elated her more than it should have, and she realized she was now offering a goofy smirk that was already being misread as enthusiasm for the approaching man, when Sheska's bony elbow jabbed into her side and reminded her that she was supposed to be going to dinner with the athlete. Turning to take her scarf from Edward, her heart sped up when his gloved fingers seemed to purposely make contact with hers, until she caught the look he had attempted to conceal from her too late. Eyes locking at the contact, she wondered if he would say something. Seconds later when she acknowledged that would not be the case, she went quickly down the step and took the proffered arm of the disheveled football star.
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.