"Hey, Edward. That new girl that Gracia hired started working today. We should go down and meet her before we head off."

Ed was sitting in the armchair with his feet up on the coffee table (Alfons had given up on asking him not to). He didn't look up from the book he was reading as he responded. "Mm, I guess so."

Alfons always seemed overly excited and eager to introduce Ed to a new girl, hoping that he would take interest in her and she would pull him away from his crazy world of solitude. Unfortunately for him, Ed had no interest. At all. The less he got attached to anything in this world, the easier it would be for him to leave.

When he could.

Alfons let out a light good-natured laugh. "Oh, c'mon Edward. Don't be so antisocial. Besides, if she's going to be working here, I'm sure we'll be seeing her a lot so you'll have to meet her sooner or later."

Ed really couldn't deny that he was antisocial, but his reasons were far from what Alfons believed. He made a groan of protest as Alfons dragged him from his seat, forcing him to put his book down. Once Alfons made up his mind about something, there was no dissuading him. He led Ed out the apartment with excitement: he always did enjoy meeting new people.

As they made their way around to the front of the shop, they saw a girl with long blond hair chatting with Gracia and arranging flowers. Gracia noticed them approaching and greeted them with a smile. "Oh, what a coincidence. I was just talking about the two of you. Winry, this is Edward and Alfons."

Just the name was enough to make Ed flinch, but when "Winry" turned around, he couldn't do much more than just stare. As she introduced herself, Ed was oblivious that she was offering her hand until Alfons jabbed him in the side with a smirk. Clearing his throat, he extended his hand. "H-hey, I'm Edward."

She shakes his hand enthusiastically. "It's nice to meet you!"

He gives her a tight grin and a nod of his head in response.

A moment after she grabbed his hand, she looked down at it with a confused expression. Before she had a chance to say anything else, Ed decided to cut in. "It's a prosthetic."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it! I jus-"
He waves his hand in dismissal with a strange half-smile. "It's fine, I'm used to it."

Winry shiftef, obviously looking uncomfortable, unsure if she had brought up a sensitive subject, and Ed didn't seem to have anything else to say, so Alfons stepped in. "Don't worry, he seems intimidating, but he's pretty harmless."

Ed gave him a warning look. "Usually."

Gracia and Alfons both gave a good-humored laugh, and Winry couldn't suppress a chuckle herself. "Alright, well Edward and I should be heading off to work. It was nice to meet you, and I'm sure we'll be seeing you around."

After they were well out of hearing range, Alfons nudged Ed playfully in the side. "So, what was that all about?"
Ed shoots him a look. "What was what about?"

"Oh, c'mon, Edward. You were just standing there staring at her. You can't tell me it was nothing."

"What, I'm not allowed to look at people?"

Alfons swiftly changed his words around. "So, you think she's pretty?"

Ed stopped walking, spluttering. "What?! Where the hell did you get that from?!"

"Hahaha! C'mon, Edward. I've never seen you look at a girl like that the whole time I've known you."

"I probably gave you a similar look when I met you, if you don't remember."

A teasing grin made its way onto Alfons' face. "What, so you think I'm pretty too?"

His face turned a deep red. "W-what the-! Fuck off, Alfons!"

Alfons let out a loud laugh as he walked to work alongside a grumbling Ed.

Whenever Alfons would make a crack at how Ed was always looking at Winry, Ed would brush it off as Alfons making things up. To be fair, he did look at her quite often, or at least compared to anyone else. In fact, Ed almost never took any time to take even a second glance at anyone he met, especially girls. If anything he tended to avoid them, or at least push them away with a look telling them he wasn't interested in the slightest.

Every morning while Alfons got ready for work (Ed was always up much earlier and was ready by the time he woke up) Ed would be sitting by the window, looking down at the flower shop, watching the blonde girl happily greet customers.

"Why don't you just say something to her? You're obviously attracted to her."

Ed nearly jumped out of his skin. When did Alfons sneak up behind me? Was I really that lost in thought? He let out a sigh, really not in the mood to go over this again. "Alfons, I told you. I'm not attracted to her. Hell, I barely even know her."

"But you keep looking at her. She smiles at you all the time too, you know. Although you always seem to look away whenever she does."

Sighing again, he turns back to the window. "Alfons, it's not what you think."

"Ok, then talk to me. You always leave me to guess what's on your mind." And anyone who can guess that. . .

Ed stays quiet for a moment, facing out the window with a distant look in his eyes and a ghost of a smile. Alfons was all too familiar with this look. And suddenly he wished he never asked. "She reminds you of someone." It wasn't even a question.

Ed caught the almost agitated tone of his flat mate's voice. Alfons may have been good at hiding his emotion, but Ed was always able to pick up on the subtleties. When he spoke, Ed's voice was as distant as his look. "My mechanic. And childhood friend. . . I never thought I'd see her here."

"Well, you should get to know her. You wanted nothing to do with me at first because I'm not your brother, and now you're living with me." Usually that was a very touchy subject for Alfons, but if bringing it up would do Ed some good, then he'd suck it up. "Just because she looks like someone you know, doesn't mean you have to avoid them."

Ed just sighs, voice quiet. "It's more complicated than that, Alfons..."

They were both quiet for a moment, before Alfons spoke up hesitantly. "She was more than just a friend, wasn't she? Is that why you never take interest in any other girls?"

The tone in Ed's voice changes to one Alfons usually only hears when he's drunk. Regret. "No, she was just a friend. I never had the chance to tell her…" He lets out a low sarcastic laugh. "Guess I'll never have the chance either."

"You know, she may not be quite the same, but-"

"Don't even go there." His tone was sharp. "The only thing that's the same is her name and face. I don't know her and I don't want to. She doesn't have a fuckin' clue about prosthetics. The Winry I know, she grafted the damn stuff to my skin. She was always going on about it, too. She'd get so excited about it. Didn't matter if anyone cared or not, she'd talk you're friggin ear off about the stuff. She honestly thought automail was the greatest thing in the world…"

"Edward. . ."

"Look, I don't care if she's a nice person or whatever. I don't want to get to know her. I don't want new memories of Winry that don't suit her."

Alfons let out an annoyed huff. "This is why you don't have any friends. Just because someone remind you of someone else, doesn't mean you have to avoid them."
Ed finally turns away from the window to give Alfons an intense glare. "It's not just minor similarities like you think, Alfons! It's not as easy as it seems! It's hard enough living with someone who looks so much like my brother and barely has a clue who I am!"

Alfons flinched. Ed hadn't brought that up for a while, he thought he was over it. Apparently not. "Well maybe it has something to do with the fact that you never tell me anything about yourself!"

"I shouldn't need to! You should know!"

If Ed said another word, Alfons wasn't sure if he could hold back from hitting him. He honestly thought that Ed accepted him for who he was now. Apparently he just put up with him. That was not how it was supposed to work. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. "I shouldn't have to know anything about you. Because I'm not your brother."

Ed's response was just as cold. "No, you sure as hell aren't." He pushed up from the chair forcefully, knocking back against the wall with a loud thud. Grabbing his jacket from the coatrack, he slammed the door on his way out into the brisk afternoon air. As he stomped down the stairs, Winry called out to him, obviously worried. "Ed, is everything ok?"

He glanced over at her, regretting it as soon as he did. The look on her face, that one of worry that Winry always wore when she saw the aftermath of fights Ed got in, it was enough to make him wish he just ignored her. Without saying anything to her, he tears his gaze away from her face and trudged off into the cooling night.

It was cruel, to be faced with a person he knew he would never see again.

Truly, this hell of a world was the price he had to pay.