Hello there, everyone! It's me, Julie. Okay, this one sort of just burst into my head. It's sort of an odd pair, Ed and Sciezska. No, not romantically, although that would be a rather interesting couple... -Ponders and plots- Anyways, this is the result of standing in a used bookstore while listening to "Rewrite" as a plotbunny is released.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Fullmetal-ish. Yet...
Books, Falls and a Not-So-First Meeting
Books. Books were a very splendid thing! The smell of ink when opening a box of them fresh from the printers. The feeling of the paper between your fingers as you flip the page. Reading a new book was like making a new friend. And reading a classic was like the pleasant surprise of bumping into an old one!
It was no wonder Sciezska loved books.
Said girl slipped through the aisles in Munich's dusty, dirty, nearly dead library, running her fingertips along the spines of the books, sighing as she looked down at the checklist of titles to be processed. Pushing her glasses back up her nose, she climbed the nearby wooden ladder, slipping her arm around the rung and picking out a book. She checked it off with the pencil she had tucked behind her ear and reached up to grab another book. A flash of movement caught her attention and she stopped, leaning forward to peer between the gap she had just made to the other side of the shelf.
A boy, no, young man. Sciezska leaned her hand on the shelf, standing on tiptoe to get a better look at him. He had long gold hair tucked up into a ponytail, his fringe long and covering his face. She was sure his complexion was slightly tanned from a small bit of neck exposed, and he wore a long brown trench coat. He sat on the top of a ladder, one leg crossed over the other, his gloved hands holding his book in front of him. He looked about eighteen or nineteen, about her age.
Sciezska grew furthermore curious, as she had never seen the likes of him before, and strained to see his face. She leaned forward still and placed her hand on the top of a book. Before she could brace herself, the book slipped from underneath her hand, toppling to the ground rather loudly as well as about ten others. Sciezska lost her footing and followed suit.
"Oh!"
Sciezska gave a small cry, the librarian within her stifling the noise to ensure that if the sound of the books and her body hitting the floor hadn't disturbed the readers, her shout of shock wouldn't. Cursing herself under her breath, she lifted herself off the floor and wincing as she straightened her glasses, looked over her slightly scraped hands. All in all, not too bad for a ten foot fall head first. Sighing, she tucked her chin length brown hair behind her ears, reaching out and grabbing the books from the floor.
As she made to reach for a rather expensive copy of Tolstoy, which she was sure she would be fired for if it were damaged, a set of simple black boots stepped into her line of view and she stopped. Her mouth hanging open slightly, she let her emerald eyes scan up brown trousers, then a vest and worker's shirt until they settled on a rather handsome face. The face of the young man she had been trying to glimpse when she had gotten into this little mess. Hmm, he was shorter up close.
"Sciezska…"
Sciezska blinked once, twice, then tilted her head. The man had a look of confusion, and sad longing about him that made him seem distant. She scanned his features, the amber eyes, his stature, his German features that seemed foreign somehow. How did he know her name? She certainly didn't know him!
Sciezska looked down at her jade cotton dress to see if she was wearing a name tag when she realised the hem had slipped very immodestly up her leg, revealing a fair bit of thigh. Blushing furiously, she tugged the cloth down and stood, hugging the books she held to her chest and staring down at the floor. In a voice timid as a mouse's, she peaked back up at him as she spoke.
"Do I know you?"
The man stared at her still, until she was sure her face was inscribed into his memory forever. Goodness, didn't he know that was rude? Sciezska bit her lip at the thought, blushing further at the thought of making a fool of herself in front a complete stranger. A rather cute stranger, and smart judging by the physics book in his left hand. The man raised his right hand to her, holding it out for her to shake.
"No, you wouldn't know me. I'm Ed, Edward Elric."
Sciezska took his hand with her own and squeezed slightly. She didn't feel warm flesh, but rather cold metal beneath that glove and she looked back into his blazing amber eyes as she shook it, speaking softly.
"Sciezska Lommen."
The man (Edward was it?) seemed to snap out of his trance at her name and smiled, then looked down at the floor. Bending down, he scooped up the last few books and straightened, handing them to her. She smiled and nodded to him as he stacked them onto the pile she held.
"Thank you."
"Not at all. Be careful, now."
At this Edward smiled and sidestepped her, reopening his book and disappearing between the rows upon rows of shelves. Sciezska watched him until he was gone, shaking her head as she turned back to the pile of books in her arms.
"What a curious man…"
Okay, as I said before, I have no idea where this came from. I kinda just had it hit me and I wrote it down, decided it was half decent and posted. I'm contemplating on writing a second chapter, but I'll wait until I get some feed back. If you liked it, review. If you think it was utter crap... Go ahead and review as well! -Laughs nervously and slinks out-