Fanfiction: Wildered With Reading (FMA)

[nebroadwe]

Title: Drabble: Wildered With Reading
Fandom: FMA (manga version)
Character(s): Ed, Winry
Pairing(s): None. For reasons that will become obvious ...
Rating: G
Word Count: 100
Warnings: None.
A/N: The title for this one comes from Henry Augustin Beers's sappy poem, "On a Miniature" and the inspiration from rereading the slightly overwrought prose of Baroness Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel (though the heroine thereof is less inclined to faint than rush off to save the hero, thank goodness). Concrit welcomed with vouchers for Almack's. Crossposted from nebroadwe to Höllenbeck (i.e. hagaren_manga, fm_alchemist, fma_gen, fma_writers and fma_fiction).

---

      "You actually read that stuff?" Ed asks, noticing the dime romance peeking out of Winry's bag. "It's so ... girly."

      "I'm a girl," Winry reminds him. (Sometimes she has to.)

      "Yeah, but those girls are all helpless and frilly." He pokes the frilly, willowy figure illustrated on the cover and grimaces. "Screaming 'Unhand me!' at the villain and fainting onto the hero -- you wonder why anyone wants 'em." Looking Winry up and down, he adds, "Not like you. You'd throw wrenches."

      And he wonders why she reads romances. "How do you know so much about these things, Edward?" she inquires sweetly.

---

[Acknowledgments: Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) was created by Arakawa Hiromu and was serialized monthly in Shonen Gangan (Square Enix); two anime of the same title were produced by Studio Bones. Copyright for these properties is held by Arakawa Hiromu, Square Enix, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Aniplex, Bones, and dentsu.]

Comments

By the way, the novel Winry's reading? Heyer's "Masqueraders." 'Cause it's cool.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Winry finally catches her breath, though Ed with his hair all on end with fury is one of the funniest things she's seen in months. (Not to mention that the tension in his arm and shoulders brings his rather attractive musculature into prominence.) "Some do," she admits, still chuckling a little. "And some of us like guys who can make us laugh."

Oh? I'll have to see if the library has it. XD

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

And just like that, Ed's rage is punctured, and he gapes at Winry, his accusatory arm falling at his side. What does that mean, anyway? "What the hell do you mean?" After all, she's laughing at him -

...oh.

Oh...damn.

Wait...maybe this is a good thing? And why did that stupid bastard's voice decide to shut up now?!

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Oops. She probably should have led up to that more gently. Ed's poleaxed look is enough to set her giggling again, but there's a nervous edge to it that even she can hear. He was upset enough by the "best friend" thing -- he'd probably bolt if she admitted in so many words that, of all the guys who make her laugh, she likes him the most. She colors. "Oh ... well ... you know ..."

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Hey, wait, Winry looks...like he's caught her at something. Ed suddenly feels maybe he has an upper hand for the first time since he'd seen that stupid yellowbook romance in Winry's hands. "I know?" he asks, showing a few extra teeth to his best friend.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Oh, good, he's not bolting -- in fact, he's got that cocky smirk on his face, the one that means he thinks he's going to win. Instinctively, she rises to the challenge, standing up to face him. "You should!"

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Oh, ho, Winry's on the defensive, which means he definitely has the upper hand. A few more teeth came out as she glares - and why does she look cute when she's glaring at him? - and Ed almost purrs, "I should? Maybe you should explain it to me, Winry!"

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Grrr. Fine, then: he asked for it. She snatches up the book and riffles through its pages, searching for an appropriate passage. "Oh, I'll explain, all right!"

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Ed grabs the book and holds it out of Winry's reach. "Uh-uh! I want to hear it from you! Not some cenz dreadful!"

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

"Hey!" Winry exclaims, swiping vainly at the novel. "That's mine! Give it back!"

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

"Nope. I want to hear it in your words." Ed can dodge forever and he might not be taller than Winry - wait, maybe he's at least as tall as she is - but he's not giving the book back. Nope.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

This is the downside of Ed's fantastic physical coordination: he's as good at eluding her at close range as she is at wrenching him from afar. "I already said!" she retorts, hands on hips, watching him narrowly for an opening. "If you weren't listening, it's your own fault!"

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Ed screws up his face. "What, that thing about making you laugh?" Surely that's not what Winry's talking about because if he makes her laugh - none of the heroes in books like these (Not that he's admitting he's actually, you know, read them or anything) ever got laughed at by the girl. And he can't remember Izumi laughing at Sig, or...his mom laughing at that old bastard. "That doesn't seem," and he wonders what he's going to say next, because his mouth is just running ahead of his brain, "good! It sounds like you're making fun of some poor slob!"

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

"I never -- !" Winry begins indignantly, then stops short, because Ed hadn't meant to be funny when he freaked out at her and he really doesn't like being teased about his height (though she's not going to be able to do that much longer, given how he's been growing lately). But they've certainly laughed together about other things ... if only she could remember one! "Well, excuse me, then, for not wanting to -- to be swept off my feet and carted away on someone's saddlebow!" That always sounded hideously uncomfortable; the hero could at least have thought ahead and provided a pillion pad -- or even a chaise!

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

"I already said you weren't like that kind of girl!" Ed snaps, because, yes, she had been laughing at him, and he's used to it because she's Winry and she's always laughed at him. And he's ignoring Al's voice in his head saying sometimes he deserved it, because Ed knows Al's right, Al's always right, even about the stupidest things. But being laughed at isn't always the best thing, like he said. Winry didn't go out of her way to make fun of him, it is more teasing than anything, but a guy hates being reminded of how sh-shor lacking he is in certain normal masculine attributes.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

"Then what kind of girl do you think I am, Edward Elric?" Winry snaps back. "Because I'd be really interested to hear!" (Or maybe not, but it's too late to take her words back now ...)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

"A smart one - smart enough you wouldn't need rescuing, you'd figure a way out of it yourself and be sitting on the tied-up villain waiting for someone to come and take him off your hands!" Ed figures that's a compliment, but with women, who knew how Winry might take it. He braces himself for a wrench, just in case.



[ooc: which reminds me, did you see this (http://community.livejournal.com/fma_fic_contest/405452.html)?]

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Winry has the oddest sensation of having both dodged the bullet and taken it. Of course she's glad that smart is the first thing that comes to mind when Ed thinks about her -- she fights all the time for that at work -- and yet ... And it's a nice change to have him admit she can take care of herself rather than feel he has to keep her insulated from danger, but still ... "And ... ?" she asks, mentally cringing, because fishing for compliments is the girliest of girly sleights ... and yet ...

[ooc: No, but that's hilarious! Must pass it on ...]

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

And, because Ed is totally oblivious to the niceties and give and take of male-female relationships because he sure as hell isn't paying attention to Colonel Shit and his flirtation techniques, and Havoc bombs out, and Ling's just a jerk, and he didn't get to grow up with a proper family environment where his dad doted on his mom, he says, "And what?"

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

"Oh -- never mind!" Winry exclaims, because she's at least smart enough to know when to cut her losses. She zips her toolbag shut and hefts it onto her shoulder. "I'm sorry I laughed at you. You're right; it's not nice. I'll see you later." She turns to go. "Keep the book -- it's not that frilly, and the fight scenes really are pretty good."

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Ed has the distinct feeling he's missing something here, as usual, when it comes to Winry. She's not yelling, but she's acting like she used to when he and Al told her girls weren't allowed in their clubhouse or something. Her ponytail is twitching and her shoulders are tight and HE'S NOT LOOKING ANY LOWER THAN THAT, REALLY, but she's kind of marching like she does when she's mad. Or hurt.

Girls! Ed rolls his eyes, trying to figure out what in the world he's said that could piss her off. This time. He complimented her, right? Said she was smart, showed her just how amazing her automail is, what else is there? Why didn't girls come with a manual or something?

"Oi! Winry."

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

She stops, looks back over her shoulder. "Yes, Ed?"

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

"Uh," he stalls, feeling sweat break out on his forehead, "uh...your train isn't for another hour, is it?"

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

"No, it isn't," Winry replies, wondering where this is leading.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

"S-so," Ed rubs the back of his neck, "I-I could g-get you...we c-could...I mean..."

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Winry sighs. "If you want to get something to eat at the station café," she says, "you're going to have to put your shirt back on."