Note for Readers: I'm getting kind of terrible about actually remembering to update here, because using FFN has really been going worse and worse for me. This story is actually totally finished over on AO3, because that's where I've been spending time lately. So if you don't want to wait for updates here, you can find it already finished there. There are also some oneshots over there that I'm honestly just not going to bother with posting here. I'm going to try and update anything here that's currently in progress that I have updates for, because I don't want to leave the people who use only FFN to not get to see the story finished. But I'm mostly jumping ship. You can find me on AO3 as AdventureAddict like here, or on tumblr as edisacornball. (And for the record, you don't have to get an account in order to comment on AO3, and I try to respond to every comment there. The system here tends to clash with my ADHD and I end up usually forgetting that reviews exist.)

CW: Light alcohol use (No abuse of alcohol, no drunkenness, just a shared bottle of wine)

Ed regretted almost immediately that he hadn't gotten more clarification from Winry before they'd said goodbye. Somehow, even though it seemed like they had actually put everything out in the open, it still felt unbearably vague. For example, he still wasn't sure whether he was supposed to be calling her his girlfriend or not now. It felt weird to call her just his friend or mechanic when they had both admitted to loving each other, but he also hadn't gotten actual confirmation that she considered herself his girlfriend, and he didn't want to be presumptuous or anything.

Al insisted that Ed should try and get more information the next time he talked to Winry, but Ed insisted that he'd already done too much over the phone and that it would be better to just wait until he could see her in person.

So they stayed in a weird sort of in-between state instead. Whenever they ended a phone call, one of them would say "I love you" and the other one would echo it. Sometimes Winry would talk to Ed about how she was excited to actually see him in person again, but he wasn't sure whether that was even connected to whatever was going on between them.

Thankfully, there didn't end up being all that much time to wait before Al was well enough to go home. And so Ed found himself sitting on a train, watching the countryside fly by and twisting a handkerchief in his lap.

"Brother, it's okay. Winry will be happy to see us."

"I know."

"Then what are you so worried about?"

Ed found himself stalling for words. Not because he didn't know what he was worried about, but because he was worried about so many things at once. What if he had somehow misinterpreted what Winry meant over the phone and things were totally different in person? What if he hadn't misinterpreted but she immediately went for something they had never done before? Like kissing. What if she tried to kiss him as soon as she saw him? He had never even kissed a girl! He had no idea what to even do! Where were noses even supposed to go in the whole act of kissing, anyway? What had he even spent his teenage years doing?

Well. Saving the world, admittedly. But still.

Saving the world was easy. There were two basic rules that you had to try and follow at all times. Rule one, don't die. Rule two, don't panic. Aside from that, it was all slapped together plans made while on the run from whatever was trying to break rule one. They didn't even have to be great plans, as long as you kept making sure to obey rule one, then you would have a chance to keep trying one plan after another until something stuck. But romance? Romance was something else entirely. For one, rule one was almost a given. Or at least, Ed hoped it would be and that Winry wouldn't be trying to kill him.

Which meant that all that was left that he knew how to do was rule two. Don't panic.

(And if you can't help but panic a little, well, pull a Mustang and try to at least look like you're not panicking. The guy had a brain the size of a pea, sure, but he had to have become a colonel before thirty for some reason.)

Which was why when Winry came out of the door, Ed did his best to put on a calm smile and think of anything that would stop him from turning into a blushing, stammering mess. Not that he needed to hold the illusion of calm for very long when Winry came barreling towards him and Al like a speeding locomotive. The laugh that left Ed's lips at the feeling of a bruised tailbone wasn't at all forced or fake.

This was home.

Much to Ed's relief, kissing seemed to be the furthest thing on Winry's mind. In hindsight, he felt kind of silly for thinking that she would focus on him when Al was physically there for the first time in years. Of course, Ed wasn't the star of the show. In fact, Ed was more than happy not to be the star of the show. He loved watching Winry fuss over Al, saying how he looked older and more mature, how she piled a mountain of food on his plate and beamed as he devoured the food. That was exactly the sort of thing that made Ed more than happy to slip into the background and disappear, just trying to absorb the memories into his brain so thoroughly that he would be able to replay them for the rest of his life.

Al getting his body back had been great, of course. Ed could still remember the first time he and Al had shared a meal together in years and he had felt that same ache in his chest, the one that was like happiness so intense it almost felt like heartache. But there was something even sweeter about getting to watch Winry having that same moment.

The day passed by in a blur, and before Ed knew it, he found himself on the couch with Winry, Al in between them. They had just been talking, but at some point, Al had ended up leaning against Ed's right shoulder and was now quietly snoring. Ed grinned down at his sleeping younger brother for a minute before reaching out and gently ruffling Al's hair.

"He's not quite back to normal energy levels yet," Ed said to Winry, keeping his voice low just in case it would wake Al. "It still takes him so much energy just to do simple things. This was a long day for him."

"Should we just leave him down here?"

"Nah, I can take care of him. He'll be more comfortable in bed anyway." He bent down and hefted Al into his arms, earning only a small tired mutter from Al.

Ed knew that before long, Al was probably going to overtake him in terms of both height and muscle. After all, that had been what they were like when they were kids. But for right now, Ed could actually be the bigger brother for once, maybe for the last time before they actually became adults. Al was small and vulnerable and Ed could actually protect him and take care of him now. For now, he could actually carry his little brother to bed and feel like the protector he hadn't gotten to be all those years ago.

Winry followed behind him, but paused and put a hand on Ed's shoulder at the archway to the living room.

"Goodnight Ed," she murmured, giving him a soft smile. "Love you."

Ed couldn't stop a wide grin from cracking across his face, too used to the security of hiding behind a phone for so long. "I love you too!"

It was easy enough to get Al tucked into bed and comfortably snoring, but Ed found himself sitting up and staring at the wall instead of drifting off to sleep himself. He obsessed over whether or not he had handled the goodnight with Winry in the right way. What if she had wanted a kiss goodnight? Wasn't that a thing couples did? But then again, who really wanted to have their first kiss with their younger brother sandwiched between them, anyway? But Ed couldn't help but feel like maybe he was supposed to acknowledge the unspoken things hanging in the air between them, like maybe Winry had expected him to say something more than just their usual love yous. But he still wasn't sure what she would have expected, and he couldn't help but think that maybe she was sitting in her room and silently stewing at him. And thinking that meant he couldn't sleep.

He contemplated just going to Winry's bedroom and knocking to see if she was awake and wanted to talk, but that thought also made him terrified. If they were actually dating now, then didn't it have different implications for him to go knocking on her bedroom door in the middle of the night than it did when they were kids? What if Winry thought he was up to no good? Or worse, what if thinking he was up to no good actually got her excited?

Ed only barely managed to choke down the embarrassment clawing at his throat. No, no. He still didn't even know how to kiss. He wasn't even going to think about anything more than kissing. What he was going to do, he told himself, was get a cup of tea, tell his brain to kindly shut the fuck up, please, and then he would actually go to bed.

It was that particular time of night where every single sound felt like it was amplified and put on speakers through the entire house. Ed found himself creeping around like he was a kid and not allowed out of bed again, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He told himself it was because he didn't want to wake anyone up, even though he knew logically most people wouldn't wake up just at the sound of someone walking down the stairs. He had just gotten hypervigilant after so many years of sleeping with one eye open.

But he couldn't entirely shake the feeling that maybe Winry was sitting awake in her room and mad at him, and he didn't want to risk making her realize he was awake and coming down to yell at him. The day had been so perfect, he didn't want to end it on a sour note like that.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts over whether Winry was secretly mad at him that he didn't keep a close eye on the kettle, and when it whistled, he practically jumped out of his skin and ran to grab it off the stove. Unfortunately, his brain was responding so quickly that he didn't have a chance to catch the old habit before it was too late, and he grabbed the hot kettle with his right hand.

Which immediately exploded with pain.

"Shit!" Ed yelped, dropping the kettle with the surprise. Which of course didn't help matters at all, considering it was cast iron and therefore fell to the floor with a loud clank. Where it immediately spilled boiling water all over the floor. And all over Ed's left foot. Ed hopped away with another yelp and curse, only to bump into the table.

Well. There was no way his presence had gone unnoticed after that. Ed sighed and shook the pain out of his hand before going over to the sink to run cold water over where his skin had turned bright pink.

"You okay?"

He was so braced for Winry to show up that he actually managed to keep himself from jumping like a spooked horse for the third time. Instead, he just let out a bitter chuckle and shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just forgot that my hand doesn't have a built-in potholder anymore."

He didn't look over at her until he had finished speaking, and when he did, he could actually feel his breath get knocked out of his chest. Damn, that was actually a thing that happened to people? He had always thought it was just one of those silly cliches made up from romance novels. But there was Winry just looking at him with eyes that were so full of concern and love that he couldn't help but be shocked. That was for him. She was looking at him like that because somehow, somehow, this amazing person actually loved him, of all people.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look stunned. You're not burned?" Winry said, stepping over the puddle and coming to examine his hand. She just couldn't help herself. Even with a flesh hand, she was still taking care of him as if it was her work attached to his shoulder. He found himself smiling at her as she grabbed his hand and turned it over a couple of times. She was just so Winry.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ed murmured. When was the last time she had been this close to him, anyway? She hardly ever got so close that he could feel her hair brushing against his chin. But something about it was familiar, maybe because of all the years of maintenance. "I'm great, actually."

Winry turned to shoot him a scoff, but paused when her eyes met his. They stood like that for a minute, and Ed wondered if he had done something wrong, to make Winry drop the argument out of her mouth before she even had a chance to say a word. But just as he was opening his mouth to ask what was wrong, she was suddenly leaning forward and pressing her lips against his.

Oh fuck, it was actually happening. Okay, rule two. Immediate invocation of rule two. Okay. He could do this. Just a normal teenager kissing his normal teenage girlfriend.

No, wait, no. That made it feel weirder.

She was soft though, and Ed felt his hands drift to her waist, just wanting to hold her, to reassure himself that she was actually there. Like if his concentration broke for even a moment that she would be gone and he would be scared and alone and trying to put on a brave face again.

When Winry broke away from him, her cheeks were flushed and she was looking at him with wide eyes. Something in the back of Ed's mind registered that this would maybe be the appropriate time to pull his hands away from her waist, but he couldn't bring himself to. Something about holding her was so new and familiar all at once. Newness in the right hand that still tingled with every single feather-light touch, and familiarity in the left hand that had once squeezed her wrist as he peeled her fingers off a gun. That was the great thing about him and Winry. They were new and old together all at once.

The feeling flooded over him so suddenly that he knew he wasn't mistaken. He didn't want that to ever stop. He wanted to spend the rest of his life finding new things and experiencing them with Winry until it became a familiar routine. He wanted to be so used to her always being there that they could dance around one another as they got ready in the morning. He wanted her to be worked into the very fabric of the plans of "what now?" he still had to make.

"So," Ed breathed, squeezing her waist because it was the only way to express that he was feeling an emotion that felt bigger than life itself, somehow. "Do you want to get married?"

The words hung in the air for a moment before falling and shattering.

"Dammit, Ed!" Winry yelled, lightly hitting at his chest with the palms of both her hands. "That's your idea of a better proposal?"

"Uh..." Ed felt his brain splutter and come to a grinding halt. So that one single brain cell Winry always talked about had finally given up on him, then. Figured. "No? But, I mean, you've gotta admit that it is at least a little better. I mean, at least now we've kissed."

"Ed!"

"And I'm not doing this one over the phone."

"Edward!"

"But, no, no, that's not my proposal!" Ed said, pulling his hands away from her to wave them around, like that somehow helped. As if his mistakes were hanging in the air and he could scrub them away with a sponge. "Just... Just forget that I did that. I've got something better planned, I promise!"

"You've already made plans?" Winry said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Edward. We haven't even been on a date."

Ed wanted to argue that he didn't really need to be convinced into marrying her, but he decided not to press it. He didn't want her to end up digging about his theoretical plans for a better proposal when he didn't actually have any. He had just figured that he would have plenty of time to actually plan something before he actually needed to propose. After all, didn't most guys propose after they had been with their girl for a while? If he could just keep his damn mouth shut until it was actually a decent time to propose, then he had a chance of making it look like he had something planned all along.

Since he didn't know what to say, Ed decided to just kiss Winry again instead. That was the normal sort of response people would expect at a time like this, right? And besides, he had been hearing everyone talking about kissing like it was the greatest thing in the world ever since he was about ten, and he hadn't gotten a good enough try for himself to decide if they were on to something or not.

Kissing was wet, Ed decided. Not entirely unpleasant, but definitely an odd experience. Further experimentation would be necessary.

Except there weren't as many chances to experiment as Ed would have liked. For one, it felt like every day was just another whirlwind of joyful new things to do with Al. He and Winry took Al down to the river, where they all skipped stones and dipped their bare feet in the water like when they were children. It was worth it just for the delighted giggle Al gave when a fish investigated his toes. Then there was all the food Winry kept making, the physical therapy Al had to keep doing. And even as Al steadily recovered, there still kept being little projects to get done, like when the old armor showed up in a box and Al declared that he wanted it to be made into automail. And then there was the task of rebuilding the house. And somehow things just kept being too busy for romance.

But they still had the little stolen moments they managed to find in between all the other things happening. Both of them were still awkward about showing each other affection in front of Al or Granny or... Well, anyone, really. The relationship still felt so new and fragile at times, like they were still figuring out how exactly to transition from best friends to something... different. Ed appreciated the chance to figure things out without having to worry about anyone's reaction aside from Winry. Somehow it made the few moments that they did steal away feel even more precious.

Ed managed to figure out that he actually did like kissing, at least on some level. He still had no idea what exactly constituted a "good" kiss, and he honestly wondered if he would ever even be able to tell, because it all seemed confusing and arbitrary to him. Winry had all kinds of preferences and made sure to tell him exactly what he was doing wrong, but he couldn't do the same. Maybe it was just the Winry was a naturally better kisser than him. He wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. She seemed like the one with a better potential for kissing between the two of them.

Still, there was something about kissing that he found he really, really liked. He just struggled to explain it to her because it was so much more than just lips touching lips. It was the comfort in knowing that someone actually loved him that fully and completely, to know that he felt the same way for her. It was how he could press himself into her and wrap his arms around her and feel like he was someone more than just Ed. They somehow managed to come together as two separate people who could feel completely safe and at home around one another, and they could somehow become one from that. But also so much more than one.

It was the sheer alchemy of the whole thing, really, but Ed didn't dare try to explain that to Winry. He knew she would just tease him for turning everything into alchemy.

He didn't care, though. He had his language, and Winry had hers. She was probably looking at the two of them and seeing them as some sort of well-oiled machine, if he knew her. And of course he would tease her for that, because that was their game. But honestly? It was kind of adorable how everything came back to machinery with her. He knew that no matter how much she outwardly teased him for his alchemy obsession, she honestly didn't mind him being that passionate about something, because she did the exact same thing.

But through all of that, Ed knew that he wanted to marry Winry. He would never tell her, but he never needed to go on a date to figure that much out. Realizing he loved her was enough for him to know. And besides, what could he get from a date that he didn't already know about her? It felt like he knew practically everything already, and that was why he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It wasn't like going on a date would have revealed things like how to tell a joke at exactly the right minute to make her snort milk out of her nose or the way she would outright jump with excitement if he actually contributed something to her automail babble. What was the point of dating if it all it did was make things fancy and stiff? That wasn't the Winry he loved.

Still, he had already messed up two proposals, and he was determined not to mess up the third. He was determined to plan something that would actually surprise Winry and absolutely knock her off her feet. She would be so amazed that she wouldn't even care he had already messed up twice.

He had no idea how he was going to do that, but he was still determined to try.

The problem was, Ed knew that the longer he tried to put it off, the more he was tempting fate. He had already flubbed twice because he was terrible at actually thinking about words before they left his mouth, and he was absolutely positive that he would do it again if he was given enough time. The sooner he pulled off a decent proposal, the better.

"Brother, are you even paying attention?"

"Huh?" Ed snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at his younger brother, only to find an expression that was somewhere halfway between amused and annoyed. Al was tapping his pencil against the open book in front of him, and Ed gave him a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Al. I was just... Thinking about Winry."

The "again" was unsaid, but it still hung in the air as clearly as if he had shouted it.

"Of course you are. I should have known with you having a dopey grin like that." Al sighed and rolled his eyes, but Ed could see how he had shifted from half-amused to all-amused. He closed the book with a solid thud and looked at Ed. "Well, we're clearly not going to get anything done until you work through whatever you're thinking about, so. What's on your mind?"

"No, Al, you don't have to—"

"Remember how you once laughed at how many alchemists retire as soon as they get married, Brother?" Al said, an amused smile at the corners of his lips. Ed could vaguely remember the conversation from when they were little. He could definitely remember scoffing and saying it was ridiculous how many alchemists let themselves get distracted by love when they could have still contributed so many more insights to the field. Al gestured at Ed with his pencil. "This is why."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're so busy thinking about Winry all the time that there isn't any room left for alchemy," Al said with a laugh. "I never thought I'd see the day, but here we are. So you might as well just get out whatever is on your mind. We're not going to be able to get any work done until you do."

"Ah." Ed coughed, and he could feel the blood creeping up into his face. Thank goodness they had actually managed to finish rebuilding their house so they had a quiet place to study other than the Rockbell house. He wasn't sure how he would survive if Winry were to accidentally walk in the room right at that moment. "I was just... Trying to figure out what constitutes a good date."

Al sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "Honestly, it's a miracle you've gotten this far."

"Honestly, yeah," Ed said with a snort. "Winry's a fucking saint. You... You wouldn't have any good ideas for dates, would you? I kind of need to make up for proposing twice."

"You proposed twice?" Al's eyes went wide and his eyebrows shot up into his hair. "What happened? What did Wnry say?Did she say yes?"

"Uhh..." Ed flicked his mind back to the conversation. "Not exactly. But she didn't say no either. I think the general idea was that I need to do better than that if I want her to say yes."

"What... What exactly did you say, Brother?"

Ed stalled, feeling his cheeks get even hotter. Dammit, it was just Al. His own brother knew exactly how stupid he was, there was no reason to get this embarrassed. "I think it was something like 'So you wanna get married?' But to be fair, she had just kissed me and I kind of lost my mind a little."

There was a long moment of silence as Al just stared at Ed with his mouth hanging open before he finally managed, "You are so hopeless."

"I know! That's why I need to figure out a good date!"

"A date shouldn't be that hard," Al sighed. "You just find something to do that you both enjoy, something that will give you some quality time together. It's just about spending time with the person you love."

"Oh. I thought it was about getting to know each other."

"Yeah, I think you and Winry are past that point."

"See! That's why this is so confusing!"

"It's not that confusing," Al sighed. "Just do something nice for Winry where you can spend time together. Something that lets her know you're thinking about her and love her. The weather's getting nice, you could always take her for a picnic or something."

"Oh, that's genius, Al! See, this is why I needed to ask you. You're so much better at this stuff than me!"

"Just one word of advice," Al said with a sigh and shake of his head. "Don't tell Winry I planned your date for you."

Ed hadn't been on a picnic since he was a little kid and it had been his mom dragging him and Al out. And since his mom wasn't exactly there for advice, he found that he was having to figure it out as he went, trying desperately to dig through memories that were now a decade old. What sorts of things had their mom brought along on picnics, anyway? Sandwiches seemed like a given, obviously, but what went well with sandwiches? And then there was the problem of drinks. How was he supposed to pack something like a pitcher of lemonade without getting it accidentally spilling all over the sandwiches?

Not for the first time, Ed found himself cursing how inconvenient life was without alchemy. If he'd still had his alchemy, he could have easily just transmuted a leak-proof seal onto the pitcher and then transmuted it back into a working pitcher as soon as he and Winry actually sat down to eat. Without alchemy, he was stuck trying to figure out how to do it some other way, and Ed found himself wondering if he could literally just reinvent the pitcher. There had to be a market for a spill-proof pitcher. How did normal people survive like this, anyway?

He ended up settling on packing a couple of crusty baguettes, some cheese, a stick of salami, and some mustard and jam to go with the bread. He then added some fruit salad and brownies he had actually managed to make himself without burning the kitchen down.

As he was baking the brownies, his eyes fell on the bottle of wine one of the neighbors had brought over as a housewarming present. Now there was an idea. Wine came already sealed, so it wouldn't have the same spilling problems as a pitcher of lemonade. He had been avoiding the bottle since he and Al had gotten it since he was so used to the idea of avoiding alcohol, but he and Winry were both technically old enough now, since the drinking age was eighteen. Wine was supposed to be romantic, right? So before he could question himself further, Ed shoved it in the basket with everything else, tucking the blanket around it to protect the bottle.

And then he was off to find Winry, rehearsing what exactly he would say to convince her into a picnic along the way. Hello, m'lady, it sure is a lovely day. May I have the pleasure of your company for a picnic on this fine afternoon? Okay, that was corny, but if she was wanting romance, wasn't corny kind of the point?

Despite the practice, all the words flew out of him as soon as Winry opened the door and looked at the obvious picnic basket with an amused grin.

"What's up, Ed? Where's Al?"

"M... M'lady!" Ed stammered, holding up the picnic basket like it was some sort of peace offering as all words suddenly flew out of his head. That damn treacherous single brain cell letting him down yet again. "I... Ah... Picnic! I brought long bread!"

Winry raised an eyebrow at him. "That's called a baguette, Ed."

"Right! It's very long! And very... bread!"

"Baguettes usually are," Winry said with a snort of a laugh, hiding her grin behind a hand. "What, did you want to go on a picnic or something?"

"Y-Yeah," Ed managed to stammer.

"Well, I have to change out of my work clothes, you big dummy," Winry said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. Even with the eye roll, Ed could tell she wasn't actually angry with him, because her eyes were crinkling at the corners in that way they always did whenever she was really happy. She stepped to the side to let him into the house.

"What about Al? Is he coming?"

"Nah, he's... busy," Ed said, trying to speak past the lump in his throat. He decided not to add that Al wouldn't have come even if Ed begged him to, no matter how nervous Ed was. Theoretically, Al being there would run the entire point of a date. Or at least, that was Al's argument. "He's gotta make plans for the trip and all, y'know."

Winry hummed some sort of vague agreement before disappearing upstairs, leaving Ed alone with his thoughts. Never the best idea to begin with, but especially so when he couldn't help but worry about all the ways he could spectacularly flub the picnic. What if he looked gross when he was eating? What if Winry didn't want to kiss him with salami breath? Was salami stinky like that? Maybe it wouldn't matter if Winry just didn't like salami. Oh no, what if he had packed food she didn't like?

But all thoughts flew out of his head once Winry came back downstairs wearing a short-sleeved denim dress with a pink belt, her hair loose around her shoulders. Forget how many things could potentially go wrong, it was worth it to try just for her. She could somehow just throw on clothes without thinking and still end up looking beautiful. Because she was beautiful, and Ed wanted to spend an entire lifetime telling her just how beautiful he thought she was in everything she did.

No, no. Ed bit down on his tongue. Hard. He had already accidentally proposed twice, and if he wasn't careful, he would end up doing it a third time. Not yet. He had to at least wait until they had managed this date.

"So where were you thinking we should go?" Winry said, slinging a purse over one of her shoulders.

"Uh... I was thinking the cherry tree on the hill."

"Oh! I bet it's in bloom right now!" A smile suddenly lit up Winry's face, and Ed couldn't help but grin back at her. "I love going out to see the cherry blossoms in the spring!"

"I know." Ed didn't add that was the exact reason why he had picked it. He could remember that once when they were kids, he had scoffed at how pink and dainty the blossoms were and Winry had threatened to throw him in the river for heresy. Since then, he had managed to grow to appreciate the flowers. Mostly because of how they reminded him of her. It still struck him as amazing the kind of duality Winry was capable of, to love oil and mechanics and hard steel, but also delicate cherry blossoms and bright sundresses. She was just so... Winry.

Ed bit his tongue again.

They managed to walk all the way out to the cherry tree without Ed sticking his foot in his mouth via accidental proposal again. Ed felt he should get some sort of acknowledgment for the feat, considering how every time he looked at her, he was struck by how much he just wanted to stay like this forever. If that meant marriage, then hell yeah, he wanted to marry her.

Winry managed to find a lemon balm bush along the way and made Ed stop just so she could pluck a few leaves to suck on as they walked. It was so familiar, walking through the countryside and picking herbs as they walked that Ed almost felt like he was a kid again. Only this time, he appreciated everything he had so much more. Somehow, it felt like an absolute luxury to stroll through a field and suck on lemon balm leaves.

"Wow, Ed," Winry said as she sat on the blanket and tucked her legs underneath her. She watched with wide eyes as Ed pulled out one thing of food wrapped in wax paper after another. "This is really... nice."

"You don't have to act so surprised," Ed said with a snort, pulling the wine bottle out and presenting it to Winry with a triumphant smirk. "I know how to be nice."

"Well, you should do it more often, because it's easy to forget." Winry grinned and took the wine bottle from him, glancing over the label. It wasn't like the more professional bottles of wine Ed had seen Mustang flourish in the past. Instead, the label was handwritten, saying it was from the Reardons on the other side of town, and only just bottled that year. He was pretty sure he had been gifted a bottle the same way zucchini was "gifted." As in, Mr. Reardon had decided to try his hand at wine-making and now they had more bottles than they knew what to do with.

"So, hand me the glasses and corkscrew and I'll pour us some of this," Winry said, holding out an expectant hand. Ed's stomach dropped as he suddenly realized that despite all his planning and trying to think of how to bring along a drink, he had forgotten how they were actually going to drink the wine.

"I, uh... Crap."

Winry raised her eyebrows at him, her hand dropping a little in midair. "Are you telling me you forgot to even bring a corkscrew along?"

"I didn't forget, I just..." Ed grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm just so used to having alchemy for these kinds of things!"

"That's called forgetting, Edward."

"Oh, shut up, I know," he muttered, grabbing the wine bottle back out of her hands. "There has to be another way to open this. It's just a matter of getting the right angle and pressure. Just physics and stuff, no big deal."

"Are you sure? Because with how often your stuff has blown up in your face, I think I'm more of a physicist than you."

"That's not true!" Ed grabbed the knife that had been intended for the bread and started using it to push at the cork. "There's plenty of physics involved in alchemy! I just have to— Ah, dammit."

As he spoke, the knife managed to cut straight through the cork, the top half going flying while the rest of the cork stayed behind, level with the mouth of the bottle. He then turned his attention to instead stabbing at the cork that was still stuck, poking his knife into the cork and trying to twist it free.

"Oh my gosh, Ed, you're going to cut yourself. Give it—"

"No, I'm not! I just need to—"

His words were interrupted by a soft splash, and he and Winry both looked at the bottle. The cork had managed to separate into two pieces before falling into the bottle, where it would likely never be retrieved. The two of them stared at it for a moment of long silence before Ed finally shrugged and held the bottle up to his lips.

"Edward!"

"What?" he said, shrugging and looking at Winry. "The cork is food safe, or they wouldn't put it into a wine bottle in the first place! And besides, we can actually drink the wine now, so that counts as open!"

"But Ed, that's so gross! We're just going to share one bottle? What about the germs?"

"Win," Ed said, raising an eyebrow and lowering the bottle again. "Those are the same germs we share every time we kiss. I don't think it matters at this point."

A long moment of silence passed over them as Winry considered his words, and Ed swore he could see the beginnings of a blush creeping up her neck. Finally, she said, "Oh. I guess you have a point."

With that, she snatched the bottle from Ed's hand and tilted it to her mouth for a long gulp. Her eyebrows twisted into a frown as soon as she did, and when she finally pulled the bottle away, it was with a disappointed groan.

"Oh. That is... That is not good."

"Really?" Ed grabbed the wine back from her with a frown to take a sip himself. He had to stop himself from spitting it back out almost as soon as the liquid touched his tongue. It somehow tasted worse than the time he had tried drinking vinegar plain.

"Does all wine taste like that?" Ed coughed and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. No good. The taste still haunted his mouth, and he found himself scrambling for the bread and cheese he had packed.

"Not as far as I know," Winry said with a shake of her head. "I think Mr. Reardon is just exceptionally bad at making wine. Or exceptionally cheap."

"Probably both, knowing him," Ed muttered as he held a slice of bread out to Winry.

Thankfully, the rest of the picnic managed to pass smoothly. Ed found that as time went on, he could slowly taste the flavor of the cork in the wine, like it was some sort of weird tea steeping. But he also minded the taste of the wine less and less as time went on, cork or not. He wondered if that was the effect of the wine itself, or if it was just the mere-exposure effect at play.

Either way, they managed to get through most of the food and a good portion of the bottle before they were both laying back on the blanket and looking up at the sky. There was a light wind, just strong enough that there would occasionally be a pink petal floating across the blue sky, like little flecks of pink paint that had accidentally splattered across an otherwise perfect painting of clouds.

Sometimes true perfection is in the imperfections, Ed found himself thinking silently with a grin. As he did, he stretched his arm across the blanket until his fingers brushed across Winry's, nudging against her skin like he was asking for an invitation. Her hand immediately grabbed his, lacing their fingers together. Ed took a minute to just sit and be amazed at how warm her hand was, how he could actually feel her when he held her with his right hand. How he was suddenly at a point in his life where he could take the time to lay in the grass and just look at clouds with Winry.

"Look, a robin!" Winry said with a delighted laugh, pointing as the bird took off from the tree and streaked across the sky. "Oh, that's so magical. I wonder what it's like to fly. I wish I could be a bird. Don't you wish you had wings, Ed?"

Ed's mind flicked back to the time he had compared himself to the hero who made wings of wax. Once he would have answered without a doubt that, yes, he wanted wings. He wanted to fly high above the ground and all the problems that waited there for him, wanted to do anything to feel like some sort of invincible god. He had learned, because of course he had learned. Where would he be if he had never learned from that? He had thought once that maybe he would never want to fly again, but he was beginning to realize that was just human nature, to look at the skies and want to be weightless.

His eyes caught on a cherry blossom petal as it danced through the air, spinning and twirling before it came to rest in Winry's hair. There were dozens of other petals caught in the loose hair she had spread out over the blanket, and Ed found himself grinning at her. Eventually, she would stand up and brush them off, and they would dance again, but for now, they didn't have to fly. They just got to be close to her, being something she loved and something that made her even more beautiful than she already was.

"I don't think I want wings," Ed murmured, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand. "If I were going to fly, I think I'd rather be a cherry petal."

As Winry laughed, his mind flicked back to the conversation he'd had with Al earlier, how he had asked what Winry's answer had been. It had always seemed so instinctive to Ed that of course he and Winry would spend the rest of their lives together that he hadn't even considered that her saying no could actually be a possibility. But that was one of the two answers that someone could give to a proposal, after all. What if she didn't actually want to marry him? Ed wasn't sure if he could bear that. Or what if he had just messed up so many times that she would say no? Maybe there was some sort of secret proposal rules he had broken with his terrible impromptu proposals, and she was just going to deny him on the principle of the matter.

Theoretically, it would be a great time to propose. There were the cherry blossoms in the air, the scent of lemon balm still hanging off of Winry, and they both had bellies full of good food. But for the first time, Ed felt himself get nervous at the thought. What if she said no?

"Hey, Winry," he said slowly, frowning as he looked up at the clouds. He could feel her looking over at him. "If I... asked you to marry me... What would you say?"

There was a long moment of silence, and Ed wanted to close his eyes and go hide somewhere. Wasn't there some sort of hole he had been planning on doing interior decorating to? After all, why would Winry take so long to answer him if the answer was yes?

Finally, there was a long sigh from Winry. "I can't believe this. I think you're getting worse at this."

"What?" Ed snapped his head to look over at her with a frown, and Winry slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Edward Elric, just how many times are you going to propose to me, anyway?" she said with a groan.

"What? No!" Ed pushed himself up on an elbow and waved a hand at her. "That wasn't a proposal! That was just me... Uh, gauging interest! I mean, I don't want to plan some big fancy proposal if you don't want me to!"

"You really think I would say no at this point?" Winry snapped with a laugh that almost sounded hysterical. "Ed, if I was going to say no, I would have said it the other two times you proposed to me!"

"You could have changed your mind since then!"

"You have got to be the biggest idiot on the planet!" Winry laughed and shook her head. "Of course I would say yes! Why do you think—"

Ed was so relieved, and she was so beautiful at that moment that he couldn't help but lean forward and kiss her, cutting off her words. She actually loved him, him, of all people. Even though he kept messing up, even though he now had three flubbed proposals against his name. Somehow this absolute wonder of a person wanted to be with him despite everything. It was so unbelievable to him that anyone would want that that he knew he was going to have to keep fighting himself from checking every day if she still wanted to marry him.

"Sorry," Ed murmured when they pulled apart. "I had to be sure."

"You dumbass." Winry scoffed and reached up to rub his hair. "I've never been more sure of anything."

Ed felt such a strong swell of love in his chest at those words that he promised himself he would find a way to pull off a proposal as grand as Winry deserved. Somehow. Even if he bit off his own tongue in the process of keeping his mouth shut in the meantime.

If you caught the two Barbie references in this, then you are a superstar. My spouse is a big Barbie fan, and since this is a present for them, I was obliged to include a reference or two.

There's also a reference to an FMA opening in here, but it is so small and so worked in that I would honestly be shocked if anyone managed to catch it. But that particular song has special meaning to me and my spouse, so I figured a tiny reference worked in there was just perfect. If you can catch it and figure out what song I meant, you win all the awards. If you can figure out why that song in particular... You're either psychic, or my spouse. (Hello, my spouse! Love ya!)

Proposal count: 3