December 10th, 1968

"So what time are you leaving tomorrow?" Rake asked over the grind and buzz of one of the saws in the workshop.

"The nine o'clock train," Coran Elric replied as he finishing buffing an arm casing; his last assignment before he left Rush Valley for the winter holiday. This winter the family had chosen to meet up in Central, so he would be taking the train straight there instead of going back to Resembool. "Why? You want to get rid of me already?"

"Rats, you figured out my plan," Rake snickered as the machine turned off and he leaned back. "No, I just wanted to know how late I could drag you out partying tonight before I have to be a good friend and pour you back into bed."

Coran snorted as he set the arm on a rack. "Very funny." That hadn't happened once in the six months he had been in Rush Valley. Well… only once. "What makes you think I'm available tonight?"

"The fact that you don't have a date?" Rake asked, stretching his arms as he stood up and put the piece he had cut with the rest of the leg in progress.

"Yet." Coran didn't look at Rake as he wiped his hands.

"Oooh… someone's got a plan." Rake snickered. "Dare I ask who? Or is this just another not-a-date with a bombshell chestnut we both know?"

"Until I get back tonight, it's none of your business that's what," Coran replied, though he grinned. No reason to get snippy about it. He just wasn't going to mention his plan in case it failed spectacularly. "Well, I'm done. Catch you later!" And he bolted upstairs, trying not to feel anxious. Either tonight was going to be great, or it was going to be a disaster, and he wasn't sure which one.

As he showered, the words of the note he had slipped into Gale's coat pocket echoed in his mind. If you are willing and able, please meet me tonight at Cassio's at seven. I've got a holiday gift I'd like to give you before I leave town tomorrow. Coran. He only hoped it wasn't too formal, or too weird. They'd been friends for six months, surely that meant it was okay to meet her for dinner and give her a present right? It wasn't like they didn't hang out and eat together a couple of times a week anyway.

Coran pulled on the burgundy sweater Aunt Lia had given him last winter. As dry an area as Rush Valley was in, and as far south, with the mountains and desert it still got chilly at night, especially in the winter. But at least he didn't need a coat. He glanced in the mirror, trying not to admit that he sort of wished Varro had a mirror bigger than the shaving sized one in the bathroom. It was a vain wish to see if he looked all right otherwise.

The last thing he grabbed was the box with the present. He really hoped she liked it. Then he hurried back downstairs and out the back.

Cassio's was a Cretan restaurant that had two advantages; it wasn't likely to be too crowded, and it was on the far side of town from the Live Wire, so Coran wasn't likely to find himself having a personal conversation with Gale where anyone he cared about overhearing them might.

Coran arrived first, and got a table. He sat down, ordered a soda, and waited. He tried not to feel nervous. They hung out regularly. But he couldn't help but worry… if Gale knew; would she still be as comfortable around him?

Seven o'clock came, and she wasn't there yet. Maybe she hadn't wanted to come after all. Or maybe she had just been held up with work? Yeah, that had to be it.

At seven ten, the door opened and Gale walked in. Coran made a point of not staring at the nice things her long-sleeved green knit top did to her figure… or the, was that a skirt? She was wearing a black just-above-knee length skirt with it too. The legs beneath it… were long and distracting. Face. Look up at her face. Coran waved, and she spotted him, smiled, and came over. "Sorry I'm late," she apologized as she dropped down across from him. "I had to make some last minute adjustments to a hand."

Coran tried not to look like he'd been worried. "I'm glad you could make it," he replied as calmly as he could. "I knew you might be busy."

"After a cryptically formal note like that?" Gale chuckled. "I was too intrigued not to. Besides, I've never missed hanging out before have I?"

This was true. If she couldn't make something, she just told him. They had always been honest and straightforward. Which is why I have to do this. Coran smiled. "Nope, you haven't." He just couldn't figure out how to start in on what he wanted to say without sounding stupid.

"So have you ordered yet?" Gale looked at the menu. "I almost never get to eat here, but everything I've had so far is good."

"Not yet," Coran shook his head. You look nice… no… amazing tonight. No, that's no good.

"Well then maybe we can split something," Gale suggested. "Their portions are huge."

"Sure." She wanted to split? Well, that was… economical. Coran couldn't very well call it romantic. It would get him smacked. After a few minutes they agreed on a pasta dish with vegetables, sausage, and a creamy white sauce, and got salads.

Gale opened up the discussion for him. "So… your note said you had a … present." She looked curious, but a little nervous too.

Coran swallowed. I hope you're right about this Grandpa. He hadn't outright asked for advice, but the closest woman he knew who was anything like Gale was Grandma Winry. He just hoped that they liked similar things. "Well yeah. I'm leaving tomorrow for Central for the holidays so I…wasn't going to be here. I just, I had something I thought you might like." He pulled out the small box and slid it across the table. Please don't hate it. Please don't think it's too girly.

Gale picked up the small box and opened it, looking down inside with slightly wide eyes for several moments. Other than that, she said nothing. Having never given her anything before, Coran had no idea if that was her usual reaction or not. Finally she reached into the box and pulled out the earrings that sat inside.

The only jewelry Coran had ever seen Gale wear was earrings. Never pendants or rings or bracelets. The only thing on her arms was a very utilitarian wrist-watch. When he saw her at work, she usually kept in small studs, but he had seen her wear other styles when they were out at the Live Wire or just hanging around. Never anything huge or flashy though.

These had caught his attention because they reminded him of the sunset she had shown him. They were tear-drop shaped, and they started out bright reddish copper and moved up through lighter golden metals, to white and silver, mimicking the colors of a sunset but all in metals. They dangled a little, but not too far.

Was she ever going to say anything? Or was she waiting for him to. "They ah… reminded me of you," he finally spoke up, trying not to stammer.

Gale looked up at him, and smiled. "They're lovely. I think they're great. Thanks."

She did? Thank goodness. "You're welcome," he replied, glad the gift had gone over well. Now… how to introduce the rest of it…

"I ah… got you something too," Gale admitted then, looking a bit embarrassed.

"You did?" Opening words fled his mind.

She laughed. "Don't look so shocked. We're friends right?" She pulled a bag out of her shoulder bag and slid it across the table.

What would she have gotten him? With her watching, he pulled the bag the rest of the way and opened it. A moment later he pulled out a… thing he had never seen before. As he examined it, he found it was definitely made to attach to a motorcycle and had a compass and a clock face. A small button proved to light them up, from underneath the hands! They would be easily visible in bad weather or at night. "This is really cool!" He exclaimed. It would even match the color of the bike.

Gale looked pleased. "Thanks. The clock runs on standard watch parts, so it shouldn't be hard to fix if you ever need it. I didn't want to mess with the inner workings too much, especially not having to fit the lighting mechanism underneath."

"You made this?" No wonder he had never heard of one before. Coran couldn't believe she had put so much effort into something, just to give it to him. "Wow I… thank you." Suddenly the earrings didn't seem nearly so special, except that she had obviously loved them.

"You're welcome," she smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. I really couldn't find anything that you didn't already have or that, you know, I thought you'd like."

Now, come on, Elric. Tell her! "Well I think it's great," he assured her again. "I-"

"Here you go, love birds," the waiter grinned as he set the food and drinks down between them. "Dinner for two. Enjoy!"

"Oh I…we, that is…" Gale's face turned red as the waiter walked away. "I can't believe he assumed that, just because we're eating dinner together… splitting a meal, that we…"

His heart sank. Was she insulted? Damn it. "Well it does kind of look like it," he blurted out, wincing as he waited for the wrench to fall. "So it's… not so crazy right?"

"I guess not," she sighed, shaking her head. "Sorry. I'm a little jumpy I guess. It's something silly to get upset about right?" She smiled again.

"Well yeah," Coran agreed. "I mean, why get upset? Would it be so bad?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh, that's not what I meant! I mean, you're a nice guy, or we wouldn't be friends, right?" She looked completely embarrassed.

Did she think she'd offended him? "Gale I…" I have to say this. "I mean it. Would it be bad if we were dating? I like you." Okay maybe that was obvious. "You're a great friend, and I really enjoy spending time with you. Maybe I should have admitted this earlier," he sighed, almost afraid to meet her eyes, though he didn't dare look away. "But I didn't want you to hate me. We get along really well and, well I was wondering if you'd… ever given any thought to whether or not you might consider…" Okay, so he wasn't as smooth as he had hoped he would be. "I mean, if you don't feel the same I don't want things to change. Your friendship means a lot to me; I just couldn't go on any longer without being honest," the last all came out in a rush, but at least it was out.

Gale's face had gone so red Coran wasn't sure if she was about to kill him or flee the restaurant; staring at him over their plate of pasta. He was dead… so dead. Finally, she opened her mouth… and giggled! Some of the crimson faded from her cheeks. "What took you so long to say something?"

"Well I…wait what?" She knew? Was that what she meant? "You could tell?"

Gale smiled and shrugged. "Well, at the risk of sounding self-centered, you're a guy. There hasn't been a guy in Rush Valley in four years who hasn't hit on me… or at least spent some time staring at me."

"Guilty as charged," Coran admitted with a sigh. He smiled weakly. "So I'm not dead?"

Gale shook her head. "No. You're a friend. You actually know me and care about what I think, instead of caring more about my breasts than my brain." She glanced down for a moment. "I guess the real difference this time is… I like you too."

"You do." He didn't doubt it, but he wasn't sure he dared to feel joy yet. "I… well that's good, right?"

"Have I smacked you in the head yet?" Gale asked.

"Well, no," Coran smiled. "But I'm still not sure I don't deserve it."

The lovely, relaxed smile he was used to returned to Gale's face. "Well, maybe you do," she shrugged. "I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. I'm just…"

"Touchy about that kind of thing. I know," Coran chuckled. "I've known you long enough to know that much. Or I might not have been afraid to say something sooner. I don't want you to be uncomfortable with me, or us… if there ever is an us." He wouldn't assume; as much as he wanted to. After all, they hung out and had a great time regularly. It was so easy to spend time with her.

"Well, it sort of seems like it, doesn't it?" Gale admitted, looking at the earrings, then up at him contemplatively. "I like spending time with you. It's relaxing, and I don't feel like I have to be someone else. I don't want that to change either."

"So we don't change it," Coran insisted. "I mean, we keep being ourselves. Us being us is why it feels like it might work. It's not like I'm asking you to, you know, do anything," he felt the tips of his ears turn red. "Not that you don't want to. We can just start slow."

"Well, seeing as it took you six months to get to know me and then ask me out… I have no intention of stopping spending time with you," Gale chuckled. "At least, as long as you don't stop being yourself."

Now that was positive! "That would be pretty hard," he grinned. "So… am I allowed to offer to pay for dinner?"

Gale picked up her fork. "Sure, if that means you'll also walk me home."


"Edward?" Winry poked her head out of the kitchen when she heard the door slam. He had hiked down to check the mail. As far out as they were in the country, it usually arrived not long before dinner. "Did we get anything interesting?" There was no immediate response.

Ed appeared a few moments later in the living room, dripping slightly from the rain, holding a couple of envelopes in his hands.

"Ed?"

He blinked, then looked up distractedly. "Oh, yeah. A couple of holiday cards; the Falmans, the Feurys." He dropped them on the table, still holding one longer envelope.

"And what's that one?" The one that had her husband so pre-occupied.

"It's a letter from the publisher I sent my manuscript off to," Ed admitted.

Winry came out of the kitchen, suddenly as curious about the contents as Ed had to be. "Well, what do they say?" He had spent months hacking away at that adventure novel that – from reading over his shoulder and several sections for commentary – she well recognized as a fictionalized version of a lot of his and Al's adventures. It was an exciting and enjoyable read though.

Ed shrugged and opened the envelope. "Now that it's here, I'm almost afraid to find out."

Winry patted his arm. "Since when do you care what other people think of your work?"

"Since I put so much of myself into it," he admitted. With a sigh, he opened the envelope, pulled out the single folded sheet of paper, and read.

It was all Winry could do not to read over his shoulder. Ed would tell her when he wanted to.

He stared at it long enough, she was beginning to think it had to be a rejection. "Honey?"

Ed looked up. He was grinning. "They're going to publish my book!" He shouted, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her right off the ground!

Winry squealed, then laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's fantastic! I guess we can add novelist to your long list of accomplishments."

"Novelist…creative liar, whatever," Ed laughed, kissing her passionately.

Winry returned it willingly. "I prefer novelist. There's a lot more truth in that novel than most people will ever know. It's almost auto-biographical."

"So you really do fantasize about my… rippling muscles?" Ed smirked, eyebrows waggling suggestively.

Winry rolled her eyes. "Don't kid yourself."

"You don't?" He looked momentarily hurt.

Winry didn't buy it, but she laughed. "Of course I don't fantasize about your body. Or rather, Allen's body. I have yours in bed every night."

"And any other time you want," Ed's voice deepened, softening as he set her down on her feet. "Forget dinner. How about a little celebration?"

"Am I suddenly in your novel?" Winry teased. "I didn't think even that could get you to turn down a meal."

"Nope," Ed chuckled. "If we were in the novel, we'd be in the bedroom already and you would be wearing something much more suggestive."

"You're right. This is definitely not fiction."


The long, shapely fingers caught in the light grip of his hand felt strong, yet soft at the same time. Coran's heart flipped. Okay, so all they were doing was walking down the street holding hands, but it seemed like heaven to even get that much. Dinner had been, after a few minutes, just dinner with Gale. Things hadn't gotten awkward, and Coran was grateful.

Walking her home was more than he'd hoped for. When they stopped at the intersection where they would go their separate ways, he held her hand just a moment longer. "I'm going to miss you," he admitted.

"Yeah, I've gotten used to seeing you around," Gale admitted with a chuckle, her cheeks were flushed – though Coran was pretty sure it was just the brisk cold. "Thanks again for the earrings."

"And for my gift," Coran replied. "It's one of the coolest things I think anyone has ever given me, definitely the best they've made," he grinned, ignoring his heart palpitating in his chest. She was so close…

Gale's blush was definitely a blush that time! "Well it's nice that someone appreciates my ingenuity," she chuckled. "Have a good trip to see your family, okay?"

"I will. Have a good holiday." He didn't want to let go. He really didn't.

Gale saved him the decision. She pulled her hand out of his easily. "See you after," she leaned over and planted a brief kiss on his lips.

Coran froze, then felt warmth rush through him as he returned the kiss for the brief seconds their lips touched.

Then they parted – too soon. Gale was smiling. "Consider that your other gift."

"Oh, I will," Coran chuckled, recovering from the surprise. "I think it's also one of my favorites."