For a brief second, Edward would have bet his watch that Winry had suddenly appeared out of the ether across the street. He opened his mouth to tell Al before the ludicrous notion was destroyed just as soon as it had popped into his head. The smallest double-take was enough to tell him that the girl across the street was anything but their oldest friend, despite the similar hair and height. Winry had one of those presences that could either light up a room or instantly boost his blood pressure, depending on his mood on any given day. She wasn't a subdued individual to say the least, whether she was squealing about her precious automail (the freak), laughing, ferociously concentrated on a job, or wielding her heavy tools with extreme prejudice.

All he got from the girl across the street was…chilliness.

So Ed shrugged, only slightly disappointed, and he and Al continued on their way to Eastern HQ. Even if she was in a wrench-flinging mood, Winry was still a million times better prospective company than Mustang. He was not looking forward to telling the ass about the flop that was Liore.

Al was down, half of his armor completely blown away, Ed's automail arm had been destroyed, and Ed could not move. All he could think about was how close it had been. Only a little closer to the blood seal and Al would have been gone. Nothing else was getting through in that moment: not the pouring rain, not the scarred man advancing on him, not Al crying out for him to run, and not the small figure lingering near the mouth of the alley.

Ed could just feel his attacker looming over him when they were interrupted.

"Hey. Leave them alone."

One would think that the sight of a would-be murder scene would be a bit off-putting as a matter of course. Edward did not think he had ever heard someone sound so disinterested in his life, and he would know. He had to put up with the Colonel, after all. Had he been in a less precarious situation, his train of thought would have been somewhere along the lines of "No need to be concerned or anything, just about to be murdered here." As it was, he could only turn wide eyes to the end of the alley.

She looked vaguely familiar, though he could not place her off the top of his head. Shaggy blonde hair, blue eyes, kind of tiny. She was taller than Ed, but there was no way even his subconscious would acknowledge that. She also looked like she had been sleeping on the streets with the amount of dirt that stained her waterlogged white sweater.

Ed, Al, and their attacker stared for a moment, before the scarred man glared warningly. "Don't interfere here, girl. I have no quarrel with you."

She did not move, but Ed saw her gaze shift his way. He blinked. Not-Winry. That was why she was familiar. Now that he had caught more than a glance, he wondered how he ever could have mistaken the two of them.

"I said, leave them alone," she replied, taking a step into the alley. Her voice was still muted, but Ed felt a shock rush up his spine. Her words had an edge to them that he recognized, one he heard whenever the righteous fury of Izumi Curtis was inevitable, and if it was not for Al, he would have been long gone by this time.

"Don't!" Al cried as the scarred man turned toward the girl. "Run! He's dangerous!"

"I gathered."

"I'll warn you one more time," Scarface said, raising his right arm. "Leave while you can. I have no wish to harm an innocent, but if you stand in my way, I will not hold back."

She said nothing. Her arms went up, fists locked like steel traps, and her feet shifted into a defensive stance Ed had never seen. Her face was blank, but something about her told Ed that even if her expression was as flat as a plank of wood, somehow, she was smiling.

Ed sat wearily at Al's side, watching the MPs mill around the destroyed street with Hughes barking at them all the way. His eyes strayed across the road and landed on Not-Winry.

It had not been much of a fight. Scar had taken a few swipes at her, nearly stopping Ed's heart before he realized how fast she was. Scar had only managed to back her out onto the main road before Mustang and the cavalry showed up. With the insanity that followed, including Mustang screwing up rather fantastically, Major Armstrong tearing his shirt off again, and Scar disappearing into the sewers, Ed had kind of forgotten about her. It seemed everyone else had as well, after one of the MPs had made sure initially that she was not missing any limbs or essential body parts. Now she was lingering in the background, just like he and Al were.

"Hey, Al," he said, turning to his incapacitated brother. "You gonna be okay here for a minute?"

Al looked at him, his armor clanking as his head turned. "Yeah, I think so. What are you doing, brother?" Despite his words, Ed could hear the lingering fright in his metallic voice. He offered his brother a small smile, clapping a hand to his big shoulder. Al's arm fell off with a clang.

"I'm going to say thank you."

Ed got the impression she was watching him approach, though he could not tell for certain because of the soaking mop of hair hanging in her eyes. He did his best not to overbalance. "Hey, uh…thanks."

Silence.

Ed would have been perfectly fine leaving it there. After all, with his experiences as a "dog of the military", he knew when someone was willing him to piss off. However, Al was watching, and the kid would just turn him right back around to do it properly if he stopped now. "Uh…don't know what would've happened if you hadn't stepped in."

"The MPs would have shown up," she said drily. Ed could not tell if she was teasing or subtly calling him a moron. He had a feeling it was both.

He puffed out a sigh. "Either way, you didn't have to. So, we owe you one." Equivalent exchange and all.

Not-Winry flicked her wet hair out of her pale blue eyes, a hint of curiosity on her face. "If I told you that I was more interested in a fight than bailing you out, would you still think you owed me?"

Ed opened his mouth and then closed it again. All right, so her social skills were a bit lacking, not that he could really talk. It was not something one would normally say to a person you had just more-or-less-saved. Still, when he thought about it, it did not really change anything. He shrugged. "You still got him off our backs, so I'd say yeah."

Not-Winry's mouth twisted a bit, the chilly blankness on her face softening to merely openly neutral. "All right, then."

A moment of awkward silence stretched out before Ed nodded decisively. "Well, good." Deciding that was graceful enough, he turned to make his way back to Al.

"You shouldn't thank me." Ed twirled around again, his face scrunched in confusion. Not-Winry was eyeing him keenly. "I really don't think you owe me that. But you seem like one of those people, so if you want that debt cleared, find me a hair clip and we'll be even."

Ed blinked a few times before smirking. "Sounds good to me. And I'm Edward, by the way. Edward Elric."

Silence.

"Annie."

Okay, so, not nearly enough FMA/SNK crossover, and I've been craving some variety in what is there. As much as I love Eren and Levi, there are so many other great characters to choose from. So, here it is. This might be a one-shot, or a small series of one-shots, depends on what comes to me.