"Ed, you're not mixing the batter!" Winry Rockbell stood in the middle of a very messy kitchen. Her hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail and she wore a tightly-knotted pink apron. "You need to put more effort into it. At the rate you're going, this cake will never be finished!"

Ed sat on the counter, legs crossed Indian style, orange bowl and wooden spoon in hand, mixing the cake batter in lazy circles. He groaned. "Why can't we just buy Al a cake? I don't think he'd mind." He set the bowl down on the counter and hopped off. "Al's party is in a couple of hours. I can take a train to Central, buy a cake from a bakery, and—" He was cut off as a spatula very rudely made contact with the middle of his forehead.

"Ed," she tried to keep her composure, inhaling deeply through her nose and exhaling slowly through her mouth. "We are baking this cake. Together. For Alphonse. You are not going to buy one. And you don't have enough time to make it to Central, even if you managed to escape this house alive." He stared blankly at her.

"I don't understand why you're acting so crazy," he stated flatly, grabbing the bowl and dipping the spoon in, licking the batter dripping from it. He sighed deeply, clearly over the whole situation.

Winry's eye twitched at the sight of him. "Crazy? You think this is crazy? You think it's crazy that I want a nice birthday for your brother?" She paused, her words seeming to float past him. "You've dealt with everything from serial killers to Chimeras and you think my request for a homemade cake is crazy?!" She picked up the sack of flour from the kitchen table and whipped it at him. It hit the cabinet above his head with a loud thud, flour cascading down on him. "I AM NOT ACTING CRAZY, ED." The tears stung the corners of her eyes.

Ed was brushing the flour off his clothes, eyeing her curiously. Was she seriously going to cry over a stupid cake?

"Winry…" Her fists were clenched at her sides, and, was she trembling? Her face crumpled as she started to cry, and Ed swore he could feel his heart breaking right down the middle. "Win, please don't cry. Damn it, please." He approached her quickly, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"I-I-I just want this to-to be special," she whimpered, dropping her head. She sniffled. "I'm so stressed with planning the party and decorating and dealing with customers and I-I-I haven't had a lot of help." A broken sound made its way out of her throat. She looked up to see his eyes staring intently, studying her.

He pulled her into him suddenly, his arms rubbing gently up and down her back, whispering reassurances, kissing the crown of her head several times. "I'm sorry. I'm acting like such an asshole." He reluctantly pulled away to look at her again. His hands framed her face as her eyes scanned his face. "Let's finish that cake," he whispered, kissing her on the forehead. She smiled weakly, hugging him quickly.

"Did you turn the oven on? We have chocolate frosting, right?" She sniffled again, wiping her cheeks quickly, placing her hands on her hips. "Clean up that flour."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." He beamed at her, happy to see her usual demeanor returning.

"I need to finish decorating. I'm leaving the rest of the baking up to you." She turned on her heel to leave the kitchen, stopping suddenly. "Please grease the pan. And don't burn the cake."

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed, waving her off.

The party was a massive success. Alphonse complimented Winry endlessly on how wonderful the entire ordeal was (probably due to Ed jabbing him in the side), and ate his cake with enthusiasm. He received several cookbooks and journals from Ed, a beautiful drawing from Elicia, a leather wallet from Gracia, a maroon sweater from Mustang, a watch from Havoc, and stationary and pens from Winry.

Later that evening, Ed, Al, and Winry were sitting on the couch, nibbling on the remainder of the appetizers. "So, did you have a good birthday, Al?" Ed asked, stuffing his face with potato chips.

"The best, by far," he exclaimed. "And it's all thanks to you two!" He grinned, the smile reaching all the way to his eyes.

"Nah, it was all Winry." Ed placed the bowl of chips on the coffee table and smiled sheepishly at her.

She blushed and looked down at her hands in her lap, a smile creeping across her face.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Thanks a lot, you two!"

"Goodnight, Al!"

"Happy birthday!"

Winry and Ed soon turned in, but not until kisses one, two, and three took place on the couch, slowly and passionately, peppered with giggles and caresses. Kisses four, five, and six took place pressed against Winry's bedroom door, a tangle of arms and legs and tongues, tinged with desperation and maddening need. Kiss seven took place in her room, short and sweet. Ed made a run for his room, gently closing the door behind him.

The three slept completely happy and at ease, agreeing in the morning that the cake was the best one they've ever had, and was there any left for breakfast?

Winry smiled.

A/N: Sorry if this is weird and OOC and choppy. It was a good idea in my head, but I didn't know how to execute it properly. Oh well. Thank you all so much for reading these; it means a lot to me. ALSO~ if you have any suggestions/requests for future themes please tell me (I may or may not be running short on ideas)! Thank you all again! Please review if you have time! :-)