Work Text:
Resembool, Amestris. Year, 1908.
"Do you want to play a game?"
Sakura's eyes green eyes snapped out from her short daze as it landed to Winry's sky blue pools.
She smiled at her friend.
"Sure."
Winry let out a giggle. It was recess time at the playground and there were children running about. The two girls, one blonde and one pink-haired, were sitting at the bench together as they talked about topics that ranged from anything that interested them.
Sakura shifted her body to face Winry as she explained the game.
"I learned this from Lisa this morning." Winry began, "It's really fun!"
Sakura raised an eyebrow, eagerly waiting for her.
"Well! Get on with it, Winry!" Sakura pressed.
The blonde laughed as she leaned close to her ear.
"The game is called 'One, Two, Three, He's Yours'." She whispered, "It's really easy. All you have to do is look around at potential boys that could be your 'future husband'. First, you close your eyes. Count one, two, three and open them. The first boy you land your eyes on is your future husband."
Sakura expressed a look of surprise. The two of them were eight-years-old now and for some reason, her entire class of girls were already curious about having boyfriends and who was the cutest in their class. Sakura hadn't really been on the mindset with boys, partly because she was around two boys often – Edward and Alphonse. Boys, especially crushing on them, weren't an important factor in her life… yet.
On the other hand, Winry seemed to catch the boy crazy bug. It shocked Sakura since to her, it seemed as if Winry only cared about being a mechanic up until now. Then again, Sakura had been catching her best friend looking at other boys in the class more often.
Winry noticed her hesitance and pouted, "Aw, come on Sakura. Please play this game with me!"
"Okay, okay…" Sakura sighed on her friend's insistence.
In response, Winry let out a cheer. "Thank you! Now, close your eyes."
"Wait," Sakura held a hand up, "What if I don't like the first boy?"
"Then, you close your eyes again and count from one to three. The second boy you open your eyes to be someone that you think is better than the first."
Sakura smiled mischievously, "Well, what if I don't like that boy either?"
Winry grinned, "Then, the third boy is the one you would have to settle with. No buts, ands, ifs, or changing!"
The pink-haired girl rolled her eyes but shrugged. She was going to have to flow with it.
"Close your eyes."
Sakura followed Winry's instruction and shut her eyes. Out loud, she counted.
"One, two, three…"
"He's yours!" Winry shouted, signaling Sakura's eyes to open.
When she opened them, her eyes had landed on…
"Mr. Brown!" Sakura yelled in disbelief.
"The janitor?!" Winry hollered out a laugh and held her stomach at the first result. Sakura clenched her fists and shook her head.
"Stop laughing!" She ordered in embarrassment. Sakura couldn't accept that her first try and boy was – the janitor. Not that anything was wrong with Mr. Brown but he really, really old.
"Wanna try again?" Winry wiped a tear from her eye as she looked at the red and frustrated face of her friend.
Sakura nodded, "Yes!"
She gestured a hand to allow her to begin as Sakura closed her eyes once more. Inhaling and exhaling out a breath, she started over again.
"One, two, three…"
"He's yours…" Breathing out the final words, Sakura opened her green eyes and hoped for a better option.
"Who did it land on?" Winry asked, leaning towards her.
"Eugene."
"The glasses boy with lots of allergies?" A face of disapproval came on Winry's face as she crossed her arms. "Are you sure?"
"I mean, Eugene's really nice and smart…" Sakura defended.
"Nope. There has to be someone better."
Sighing, Sakura wasn't sure if she was enjoying the game anymore. It sounded interesting at first but now, as she played it, her options seemed so… well, it wasn't right for her to judge. Nonetheless, she had to appease Winry just this once. She didn't want to upset her.
"Alright. One last chance, right?"
Sakura clutched her chest and started again.
"One, two, three…"
"Hey! What're you guys doing?"
A voice broke off Sakura's concentration. She soon opened her eyes and it stared at amber gold hues.
Looming over her with his ragged, sweat-filled blonde hair, Edward tilted his head. He had obviously finished playing an active sports game with the other boys in class.
"I've been calling your names for last three minutes." He said.
Winry huffed. "Ed! We were playing a game!"
Edward stuck a tongue at her and the bickering between two blondes had erupted. Sakura shook her head at the two as Alphonse followed behind Edward.
"They're at it all over again…" Alphonse noticed and Sakura agreed with his comment.
"Winry's mad because Edward interrupted our game." Sakura gestured towards the two, "But its fine with me. I wasn't really into it as much…"
Alphonse stared at her for a moment and inquisitively asked, "What were you playing?"
"It's a game called One, Two, Three. It's kind of a girly game. All you do is close your eyes, count from one to three, and open your eyes. Whoever your eyes land on first will become your future husband or boyfriend."
The younger Elric scratched his chin. "Hm… well, Edward interrupted while you were playing right?"
"Yes."
He smiled, almost teasingly at the pink-haired girl. "The first person you looked at was big brother."
Alphonse's words sunk in and slowly, Sakura's face became a darker shade of pink and red. She then stood up.
"No! He doesn't count!" She screamed incredulously.
Her outburst halted Winry and Edward's argument on the side. The two blondes looked at her.
"Who doesn't count?" Edward asked, not knowing what had just occurred between Sakura and his little brother.
Sakura turned to him, steam seemingly exuding from her reddened ears.
"You!" She pointed before running out into the playground, leaving a dumbfounded Edward.
Winry scratched her cheek and turned to Alphonse, "What was that all about, Al?"
Putting his hands behind his back, Alphonse only gave a small smile. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about. She just realized something, that's all."
Bursting away from the playground and into the classroom, Sakura slumped against the door.
There was no way that Edward was the one she would settle with.
"It's just a game!" She told herself, panting angrily through her embarrassment.
Thoughts were racing around her little head as she slapped her cheeks to snap herself out. Biting her lip, she straightened herself up.
"There's no way it's Ed. He's…"
He's yours.