Dress
For a moment there, I thought my hearing failed me.
"What – What did you just say Ed?"
He looked like he was hesitating for a few seconds before he spoke up again.
"I said, 'I don't like you wearing that dress'."
Okay, now I wish that my hearing had died out completely. I would have preferred that to happen to me rather than hearing what he said again. Honestly, even just for once, I took the effort to look nice for him—for a change and since we were already together—and he just dropped the bomb by saying something so offending. And if I felt offended, I felt angry.
"What are you implying Ed, that I look hideous wearing this monstrosity as an outfit?"
"No Winry! That's not what I meant!"
"Then what did you exactly mean Ed?"
I saw his stance shift uncomfortably and mumbled something.
"I just don't want you wearing that dress next time."
Although he said it very softly, my ears still managed to pick up what he was saying. I placed my hands on my hips, looking indignant.
"Oh, so no more dresses for me? You probably thought I look so bad in them that you don't want me seen in them again, is that it?"
"Stop jumping to conclusions Winry! That's not what I meant!"
Here he goes again with his line.
"I really don't understand you, Edward! What did you exactly mean when you said you don't want me to wear this dress next time!?"
He looked so agitated then, but he took several deep breaths to calm himself down. I wasn't expecting this kind of attitude from Ed. Usually he'll throw another snide comment to show that he still wanted to put up a fight. But this time, it seems he was trying to avoid a fight with me. What's going on?
"Look Winry, I know this might sound a bit weird but I was trying to say that the next time I see you in a dress, it'll be longer than that. And I mean really long."
Now that response caught me off-guard. He was right, it did sound weird and I was confused. Why did he want me to wear a longer dress? What did he mean by that?
My train of thought was derailed when I heard his voice again.
"…along with a veil…"
I was sure that I contorted my face funny, looking more perplexed by what he said. I was about to ask further but his movements stopped any question I was about to throw at him. My eyes followed his actions and I felt they went wider when I realized what he was about to do.
'Was he? No way… I mean…'
I was dumb stricken when I saw him down on one knee, holding out a small opened box in front of me. He continued from where he left off.
"…and wearing this ring..."
It was a simple gold band with a tiny diamond on top of it. But despite its simplicity, I was awe stricken by how heavy it weighed because it bore the heart and soul of the man offering it to me. I was so overwhelmed that I felt my eyes watering and eventually the moisture traced down my cheeks. But the tears didn't hinder me seeing the sudden change in Ed's facial expression. He seemed to be suddenly scared of my reaction.
"Winry, I'm sorry. I knew I had offended you in a way with my first comment, but I just had to do this differently. Oh man, I really screwed this up now, didn't I?"
I shook my head and smiled at him, despite the tears flowing down on my face, just to try to reassure him. Then to his surprise, I threw my arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. Clearly, he wasn't expecting that since his body went rigid, but he soon managed to relax and reciprocated my gesture. We were silent for a while, but Ed, wanting to break it, spoke up again.
"So, does this mean you're not angry anymore?"
I shook my head again, my hair brushing against the skin of his neck, before pulling back a bit to smile at his lovely face. I didn't care if he saw my tears; he knew they're tears of happiness. He smiled back.
"Are you…going to do what I asked you?"
My smile grew into a grin.
"Just what did you ask?"
His smile curved down slightly.
"…my 'unique' marriage proposal."
I wanted to tease him a bit so I laughed. Now his lips turned into a frown.
"Oh, so that was a marriage proposal? I didn't think it was one. You were commenting about my dress. And I have to say it was a bit rude and strange. And also technically, I didn't hear you 'pop the question', as they say."
I continued to laugh while he sulked for a while, but then he began to speak again, making me stop laughing. I noticed he had a serious face while he talked.
"Okay then, I'll do this again in the 'typical and boring' manner."
I giggled at that.
He slowly removed his arms from around me and then returned to his previous position while holding the ring out to me.
He cleared his throat before he started his speech.
"Miss Winry Rockbell, will you be willing to spend your entire life with me, even though I have to continue being your target practice for your wrenches and all, but as Mrs. Edward Elric?"
I wiped away a stray tear from my eye while I laughed and leaned into him until our lips met for a brief moment. I pulled back and smiled at him again.
"Now, was that the 'typical and boring' proposal you asked for?"
He grinned.
"Well, I take that back because I realize that spending a whole life with you is never 'typical and boring'." He said while I was grinning myself.
"Oh, yeah…?"
He leaned again until our foreheads were touching.
"Yeah…"
And we sealed the pact for our future with another kiss.
End
A/N: I was inspired to write this after I got a very short message from my mobile phone. The message was about a boy having a unique kind of proposal for his girl. So I thought of using their conversation in my story, altering it to be more suitable for Edward and Winry. I'm saying this to clear things up; (disclaimer) I don't own the characters in the story and the talk about the dress, the veil, and the ring. But the rest of the story was mine and I hope you enjoyed this. I'll truly appreciate any comments you'll throw at me.
Date written: March 30, 2010
Additional A/N: This took a while to get posted because I was waiting for my beta-reader to edit this. I understand completely that she's busy and all that but I'm glad that she still managed to find the time to read and correct this. Thank you so much Auto-Alchemechanicist! Special Edward Elric hugs are dedicated to you! XD