"Brother? Do you know what day it is tomorrow?" Al asked me quietly as he slowly ate his dinner on the other side of the table.
"Winry's coming over right" I asked as I sat, slumped over the table, having finished my food ages ago; ever since he'd changed back Al always savoured his food "She said she might as well come over here because she was in the area already" I said grumpily "I don't see why she should bother, its just a little maintenance, she should go shopping or something instead; maybe buy herself one of those hear shaped toys that having been selling so well recently" I said dismissively as I contemplated how much time t had been since I'd last seen her; it was guarantied that I was going to be hit with that bloody wrench of hers; I bet the moment she sees me she'll find some daft an obscure reason to whack me over the head!
"Hey brother, you shouldn't talk that way about her; she did come all this way to see you-"
"No she didn't" I cut in, trying to remind him of what I'd said only a few moments before "I told you she was already in the area; it's no big effort on her part, she just wants to pay a visit to her favourite bashing post" I grumbled at this, thoughts of the agony already making me cringe.
"Brother!" Al protested; he seemed pretty bother by what I said, so I decided to give him some leeway.
"Well fine. I guess she's really coming here for the money" I amended; there was no other reason for her to come, was there?
"I really don't think that's the reason why she's coming brother"
"Then why is she coming?" I asked, now growing a little tired of our conversation.
"I'm not telling" he said proudly; the smirk now planted on his face seeming far too familiar as he stared back at me.
"Aw come on Al! That's not fair; you jabber on and on about Winry and now you're not even going to say?" I muttered this sarcastically; I didn't want Al to know that I was genuinely curious about it.
"You'll find out tomorrow; even someone as oblivious as you will be able to see it" I bit back a snarky remark as I dove my hands into by pockets. It didn't matter anyway as long as she's coming I don't really think the reason has any importance at all…
Slowly I pried my eyes open; wondering irritably what had caused my brother to wake me up at such a ridiculously early time; it wasn't even light out yet. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I was about to complain when he explained to me that Winry was arriving at the train station at 7.
"So she choose an insane time to get here; why should my sleep have to suffer because of it?" I asked irritably; quickly jumping off of my bed so that I could go in search of something to wear.
"Here" my little brother said as he threw a bundle of clothes at me "Please try and get ready quickly; you don't want to keep Winry waiting"
Flicking on a light switch I took a good look at the clothes Al had given me. Since when did I ever have a button shirt and black jacket? I stared at the clothes dubiously for a few seconds before giving in. It was dark; no one would be able to see what I was wearing anyway.
Once I was ready Al offered me some toast for breakfast but I refused it, I didn't really feel like eating anything; I was too nervous about seeing Winry and her stupid wrench.
"You sure you don't want anything brother?" he asked; I guess it is unusual for me to turn away food.
"Yeah Al; I want to get this ordeal over with as soon as possible" I muttered as I pulled on my boots "Besides she'll kill us if we don't get there on time"
Quickly we both walked out the hotel room we were staying in, locking the door behind ourselves as we headed for the stairs. Everything was quiet in the lobby and the door was locked from the inside.
"No don-" Al tried to protest but it was already too late; I'd just used alchemy to open the door, busting up the lock in the process.
"If only I'd said open sesame or something, then maybe all that rain outside wouldn't make this day seem so gloomy"
Winry wasn't even there by the time we'd got to the station; so we at least got time to catch our breath as we waited for her train to arrive. I sat down on a bench by the platform panting heavily from having run all the way there and I felt uncomfortable as my long hair lay damply on my shoulders; I'd been in such a rush that I hadn't even been able to find myself a hair band. It's cold as well; I wish I'd complained about the disappearance of my usual red jacket.
"Where did you dig up these clothes from anyway Al?" I asked; motioning to the fancy buttoned up shirt and jacket.
"I found them" he said innocently, his smile blatantly sincere; what a shameless little brother I have.
"Like hell you 'found them!" I began to argue, until he stopped me with a silent whisper.
"A trains coming" I turned to the platform's direction; he was right, I could now faintly hear the sound of a train coming and a few moments later it appeared, chugging slowly to a halt on the platform.
For a moment no one appeared to be getting off of the train which, I found to my surprise, left me with a feeling of disappointment. It was only a minute later though, that a small figure stepped onto the platform carrying an umbrella. She seemed to look past me and Al as she kept moving along, carrying with her that big heavy suitcase she likes to call her 'tool box'.
I waved weakly as I stepped out of our little bit of shelter from the rain.
"We came to pick you up" I offered weakly once she'd recognised me, the reply I got wasn't what I'd expected.
"Why?" she asked curiously, leaving me stunned "you don't usually bother to pick me up" Al having finally caught up; choose that moment to pipe in.
"Well it was brothers idea; he thought we might as well considering what day it is" despite being angry that my brother had deceived me I couldn't help but be intrigued by Winry's reaction as she looked pleased by what he'd said.
"Oh, well thanks Ed" she said flashing me a smile that made me feel a little jumpy and twisted inside.
"We should get going" I said, quickly grabbing the big she was carrying to hide my embarrassment. We trudged back to the hotel, me completely exposed to the rain; Winry having been kind enough to give Al access to her umbrella.
As soon as we were inside our hotel room I noticed that it had stopped raining-I hate my luck- and it was starting to get light outside. I tried myself off by using alchemy to evaporate the water on my clothes; then took off my shirt, under Winry's instruction, and pulled up my left trouser leg.
Yep, I just love spending my free time cooped up inside a room and having to sit stock still as my prosthetic limbs are inspected. No, if I was honest I was grateful; for at least the fine tuning. Who knows what sort of trouble I could end up in if my arm broke down again like it did the first time I first met Envy.
Once she was done, having tightened some of the screws and done some other things I didn't understand, she began fidgeting, walking around the room restlessly.
"Do you want to go out or something?" I finally asked; disturbed by her strange behaviour.
"That sounds great Ed!" she said, surprising me with her enthusiasm.
"Okay, I'll just ask Al if he wants to come" I said as I went into me and Al's room in search of him.
"Sorry brother but I think it would be a bad idea if I came" he said before I even had the chance to open my mouth "Sometimes you should try and consider Winry's feelings and besides I didn't get you those fancy clothes for nothing"
And so I and Winry left the hotel again; with me still mulling over what Al had said.
"So what do you want to do? Shopping I take it?"
"Well actually I thought it might be nice for us to go and drink some coffee" she said as she pointed towards a very distastefully decorated coffee shop, it had pink blinds and heart shaped stickers on its windows.
"And you want to go in there?" I asked, even from where I was I could hear the sound of a love song being played.
"Yes; why? Do you have a problem with that?" she asked as she menacingly placed two hands on her hips.
"No its fine" I said, sighing despondently.
"So Ed, did you get anything for me?"
"Why would get anything for you?" I asked; a little thrown off by her question. She frowned at my reply her brows furrowing with concern.
"Ed?"
"Yeah?" I asked as I took another sip from my milk free tea "What is it?"
"What day is it today?" I realised that this was probably meant as a rehtorical question but I answered anyway.
"It's February the 14th, why?"
"You're an idiot" she said, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Hey! What!?" I exclaimed, not caring for the sudden declaration she'd just made.
"Nothing Ed; just drink your stupid milk-free coffee so we can get out of here" and so we drank our coffee in silence which felt a little uncomfortable. It was even weirder because we were surrounded by such an unusual amount of couples. 'Couples'…
"Winry, why don't you take a look in that shop over there?" I asked her; once we were outside again "I've heard that the mechanical stuff in there is top of the range"
"I guess I'll take a look" she said moodily before leaving me to enter the shop.
Now it was time to panic! I mean how the heck did I forget Valentines Day?! The stupid decorations are on all the shop windows, I can't believe I didn't notice it earlier! But why would Winry even want to go out together on Valentines Day? Was this supposed to be some sort of date?!
What should I say to her? Shall I just pretend I haven't noticed?! I don't like these kinds of holidays; they're too embarrassing. I couldn't help but think as I buried my face in my hands, I'm not good at dealing with this sort of stuff!
"Ed!" she said, waving to me as she came out from the shop "Where do you want to go next?" really; from anyone else's perspective we must look like just another couple going on a date.
"I guess we might as well visit the park while we're here" I said; trying not to sound awkward or weird. She agreed and we continued walking.
Both of us with our hands swinging by our sides; it wouldn't be difficult at all for me to take hold of her hand but instead I lifted my arm up for a stretch. There was no way I had the guts to do something like that; Winry would probably knock me out for indecency.
"Damn it!" I muttered, suddenly grabbing a hold of her hand, seeing the strange look on her face I tried to explain: "I'm not doing this because I want to!" I said, trying my best to defend myself "Its just because today is..."
"Today's what Ed?" she asked, her lips cured into a small smile.
There was no way I could call the thing by its real name "Today is Happy card selling day; it would look bad if we didn't hold hands!" but even as I said that I found myself turning away; the feeling of her hand clinging securely to my wrist, I didn't want her to deny my pathetic reasoning. I didn't want her to tell me to let go.
"You're an idiot Ed" she said, not for the first time that day and it was then that I felt her grip on my hand grow tighter. Maybe I was just being hopeful but right then I don't think she wanted to let go either.
I guess it could have been longer and sweeter and have included a kiss along the way but it was all I could manage in time for Valentines Day. Well there's only about half an hour left of it where I am now. I hope you liked it anyhow, read and review; there will be plenty of mistakes since I wrote this in a rush.