3. Luck - Summer, 1916

Though he would never admit it to her, Edward secretly took pleasure in quietly watching Winry as she worked on automail.

He relished the sound of the familiar tinkering, the muscles of her back as they tensed in solid concentration, the way she contracted and flexed as if she had the repetition of mechanics memorized.

At times, if luck was on his side, he would be able to observe her for long periods of time without disturbing her, but at other times… well.

"What do you want, Ed?"

The young man snapped out of his apparent trance at the mention of his name. Winry sat twisted in her chair, her gloved hands gripping the back of it tightly as she scowled at him, sweat shining her brow.

Ed shoved his hands into his pockets and abruptly averted his gaze, feeling a flush creeping up his neck.

"Uh—well—" he stammered. In attempt to shift the attention away from him, he strode up to Winry's side, eyeing her workbench in faux curiosity. "What're you working on?"

She breathed a sigh of irritation as she turned to her previous sitting position and pulled her goggles back over her eyes, continuing her project. "A partial arm for a new customer in Rush Valley who lost half of his forearm in a factorial accident, and I've never really done partial automail before."

Edward frowned at the pieces of metal scattered across the surface. "Sounds complicated."

Again she sighed, though more out of fatigue than annoyance. "You can say that."

After watching her for several long moments, Edward realized that his presence must have been a burden to Winry, and he straightened, clearing his throat. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to your work, then."

Without looking at him, Winry nodded, her attention so steadily focused on her work that Ed wondered if she noticed the world outside of her whenever she got like that.

Before he reached the door, a thought halted his footsteps. He spun around on the heels of his boots. "Hey, Winry," he called, raising his voice to be heard over the whirring and humming of tools.

The noise faltered, and Winry pushed her goggles up to her forehead as she looked over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"If you're the same person who created this," he pulled his left hand out of his pocket and tapped his prosthetic leg firmly, "then your automail will turn out great, as always."

Winry smiled for the first time since he intruded, tender and unexpected. "Thanks, Ed."

He felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of it, and he cursed himself for always letting her get a rise out of him so easily. Sheepish, he scratched the back of his neck as he turned to the exit, and decided on one last thing to say before he left her to her solitude.

"And don't think I expect anything less from the best automail mechanic in Amestris!"

As he passed through the doorway, he heard the familiar sound of Winry's laughter, followed by a response: "I wouldn't dream of it!"

A/N: I've added dates to the individual chapters. Huzzah to organization! To cleaning out old notebooks and finding near-completed drabbles, as well!