Okay, so we all found out Elliot's a scumbag, right? Good, so let's move on.

Ed woke up suddenly. He lay in his bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling, cursing Elliot in his mind. He wished there was something he could do...

"Take her out." Al said. He was putting on a T-shirt on the other side of the room.

"What?"

"Take her out." He repeated. "You missed breakfast, but at breakfast Elliot said he had to work all day. I'm going with Winry back home to see Granny Pinako, which leaves you and Rei. Take her out someplace."

"Take her out where?" Ed asked, sitting up and stretching.

"Anywhere. It wouldn't hurt to throw in a few of your old date spots, either. That sandwich shopo you guys loved, the lake, maybe the amusement park, you know."

"Why bother? She obviously loves Elliot more than she ever loved me--OW!" Al had hit him with his jacket. "What the hell was that for???"

"You were there for her when she needed you! She almost died but she lived because she loved you! She loved you from the beginning and we all know you loved her from the beginning too. You were both just way too stubborn to admit it." Al put his jacket on. "Now you get dressed, march down there and TAKE HER OUT!!!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down! Jeez, have you gone insane?" Ed got up and pulled on his black pants and his tank top and exited the room just behind Al.

"Oh, are you coming, too, Ed?" Winry asked upon seeing him.

"Naw you guys go ahead. Say hi to Granny for me, though."

"Will do! Bye, Rei!"

"Bye, Winry! Bye, Al! Have a safe trip!" Rei said. Ed followed her voice and walked into the kitchen, where she was doing dishes. "Oh, Ed, you're up. I would think you would've gone with them, but I guess not?"

"Nah, I'm not ready for a trip like that. Where's Elliot?" He asked, playing dumb. He joined her, drying and putting away the dishes she washed.

"He's at work. Three birthday parties, an engagement party, and a bat mitzfah all called this morning. He's got his hands full all day."

"Really? That's a shame, I was looking forward to maybe spending some guy time with him today." Ed lied.

"Really? That would've been great, Elliot doesn't have many guy friends here in Central."

"I wonder why." He muttered.

"What?"

"I wonder why? He's such a great guy, SUCH a great guy." Rei laughed.

"Well you're not the only dissappointed one. Today was our one-year anniversary and he was gonna take me out." Rei sighed as she handed him the last plate. "Oh, well, I guess I'll go shopping or something."

"Well, since you're not doing anything and I'm not doing anything, why don't we go do something together? There are alot of places that I miss like crazy but haven't been able to visit yet." Ed dried the plate and put it in the cupboard, then turned back to her. "Whaddya say?"

"You'd be willing to do that?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I figured you might've wanted to find your guy friends and hang out with them."

"Guy friends? You think I stayed in one place long enough to acquire guy friends outside of the military?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know how much I move around."

"Right, what was I thinking." Rei laughed. "I'm gonna go take a shower and get ready. Meet you down here in an hour?"

"Deal."

"Hey, what's this building? This wasn't here when I left." Ed stood in front of a new building, small in size but big in character. It was colorful, with kites and windsocks and giant lollipops decorating the exterior. Rei stopped and looked at the building.

"Oh, that's the Not General Store." He looked at her quizically. "You can find anything except normal general store items. Come on, you'll LOVE the owner!"

She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him inside. He stopped just inside the door and stared in wonder at the crazy place in front of him. There was a whole wall of foreign beverages, another wall lined with useless but fun-looking knick-knacks, another wall covered with candy in weird flavors, and yet another wall lined with crazy-looking tools. The floor was tiled with what looked like rock candy, but on closer inspection was really just glass. Every wall was at least five different colors and things like bikes, wagons, and for some reason a rubber chicken hung from the ceiling.

He was standing there in awe of this crazy new place when he noticed he'd lost Rei.

"Aw, crap, this place is a lot bigger than it looks," He said as he wandered the aisles of kites and hats and sunglasses in search of her. He had reached a display of what could only be described as the Petshop of Horrors when he heard Rei's voice.

"There you are, Ed! Come over here!" She grabbed him by the wrist again and dragged him to the counter. There sat an old man with big, coke-bottle glasses that made his eyes look the size of the giant lollipops that were next to him. "This is Dr. Kindle. Well, he's not really a doctor, but we call him that."

"Um..." Ed began.

"Ah! So this is the young Edward I heard so much about upon my arrival here. You had the whole town in a tizzy, young man, leaving like that. Especially with this one." The Doctor jerked a thumb towards Rei. "She was so distraught that the only thing that could make her forget was my lovely little store. In fact, she met young Elliot when he was working the cash register here, though I was reluctant to give him the job. Felt it was family favoring, you know."

"Family...oh! So you're related to Elliot?" Ed said after he shook the thought of Elliot and Rei meeting there.

"Yes, Doctor is Elliot's grandfather." Rei explained. "I loved this old man far before I knew his grandson. He really helped me through some hard stuff."

"I tell you, she reminds me of my wife when she was young. Oh, Dear Ruby...May the angels bring her home."

"Anyway, Doctor, remember what I was telling you before?" Rei asked excitedly.

"Ah, yes. She had me put this item on hold a year and a half ago in case you ever returned." The old man turned and went into the back room. Ed looked at Rei, startled.

"For...for me?"

"Of course! You were all I could think about as soon as I saw it." The old man came back out with a dusty box in his hands. He handed it to Ed, who just looked at it.

"Well, open it, youngin! I might die if you take too long!"

"Oh, right." Ed held his breath, wondering what it could be as he took the lid off. He let out his breath.

"I hope you like it. I almost got you something for your automail, but I'm glad I didn't," She chattered as he held up a necklace. It had the same symbol as the back of his favorite jacket. He weighed the metal charm with a smile.

"Thanks, it's awesome." He put it on and it fell just to his chest.

"I knew you'd love it." She smiled and stood up straight. "Alright, where to next?"

"Oh, well...where do you want to go?"

"Oh, let's go to the lake!" Rei suggested as they walked out of the store. "Elliot never takes me there. He says he spends the whole day around water and is kind of sick of it."

"Really? What a freak." Ed scoffed. "The lake is one of the best places around. Let's get sandwiches and go eat out there."

"That's sounds great! Remember that time at the sandwich shop when you got frustrated with the snowglobe?"

"And I threw it down and was escorted off the premises?" Ed laughed. "Yeah, I had some unresolved anger issues."

"Well, at least you're not short anymore."

"Hey! who're you calling--Oh, you said I wasn't short. Sorry, force of habit."

Rei giggled. Ed smiled. Maybe there was a chance for him.

MUAHAHAHAHA I KNOW YOU WANT MORE!

aren't you glad I updated? Elliot's grandfather is quite the character...

Remember, no reviews, no new chapter!

So flap those lips!