Trinkets

Al had always known what Ed was doing when he picked up something for Winry. He would sputter and shout out a lot of excuses about avoiding her rage over breaking his automail, but it was never just something shiny that any girl would like – it was always something Ed had put a lot of thought into and was certain that Winry would like.

"Earrings are a no go. She doesn't have any more room to stick them." Al nodded good-naturedly to his brother's rambles. "I could go for something basic like oil or a new wrench, but I'll probably get her a brand she doesn't like."

Watching his brother rummage around the room while monologuing and one-armed was quite the site for the younger Elric. Ed had gone off on his own and busted his arm, so Al had no input to share. He didn't know what the damage could be. (Although it was great considering that Ed had returned with no part of the arm left at all.)

Ed flailed his one arm around. "I could get her flowers but I don't even know what kind of flowers she likes. Maybe I should call Lieutenant Hawkeye. But then the Colonel would know and I will never live it down."

Al was surprised when Ed whipped around and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Is Winry even a girl?"

"Of course, she is, Brother! Why would you say that?!" Al was actually taken aback by Ed's remark.

Ed scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "She doesn't like girly things. I can't imagine her wanting something like lipstick or perfume. What would she do with it?"

Al sighed audibly. "She would use it if it came from you."

"But does she normally use those kinds of things?" Ed's voice was quiet and he was looking at the floor.

A familiar guilt creeped into Al's chest as well. They didn't really know what Winry used or didn't use. They weren't around much, and it wasn't like they could observe her to know what she would like without asking.

Winry was someone they cared about, but as time went on, they knew less and less about.

Al tried to come up with a solution. It was not going to be a pretty trip, considering Ed's state, but a small token of appreciation would go a long way to ease the tension of the initial meeting.

"Um, we could find a necklace?"

"To get stuck in automail she's working on? No thank you. I want her head to stay attached." Ed's form returned to stubbornly defiant, crossing his arm across his chest. (Al internally noted that he looked like a toddler standing that way – the other arm most definitely made him look much more intimidating.)

"Okay, what about a ring?"

Ed scowled even harder. "A ring? She's a mechanic. Rings are a hazard when working with heavy machinery."

Al flopped back onto the bed he was sitting in. "Why not earrings? That always goes well."

He heard Edward's audible exhalation of frustration. "She's got enough holes in her ear and if she puts any more in, her ears will fall off. She's not bright enough to realize she's supposed to swap out earrings, not make new holes to keep them in."

She does that because you give them to her. Alphonse thought to himself. He said out loud, "Okay, well buy her some of the oil she tells you to use on your leg. That way you know what brand she likes."

"Can't remember which one she told me to use."

"Is that why you never oil your automail."

Ed paused before replying, "Sure."

Al felt the bed slightly dip as Ed came to sit down next to his head. "It has to be practical. She's practical."

Al thought for a moment. "Shoes are practical."

Ed nodded. "Girls like shoes, right?"

"I don't know about that, Ed. I think everyone likes shoes." Al tucked into the back of his mind to ponder where his brother obtained such strange thoughts later that night, when said individual was asleep.

At the shoe store, the brothers ran into a bump in the road.

"Ah." Ed stared at all the different shoe selections before him. "What is her shoe size?"

Al shrugged, his armor clanging softly from the motion. "Maybe we should call her and ask?"

Ed shook his head violently, remembering the last time they called her out the blue. "She'll know somethings up and start interrogating us. This has to be a surprise."

"Why?" Al wanted to scream.

"Because, if we let her know that I messed up by arm, she'll be stewing about it until we get there and her rage will be even worse. Got to take her by surprise to lessen the impact." Al hadn't realized he had said that word aloud.

Ed spun on his heel and made his way to the exit, one sleeve flapping from the sudden motion. "We've got to go practical. As practical as can be."

Arriving in Rush Valley was as much of a fanfare as always. People were pulling and dragging the brothers which way and that, ooing and awing over Alphonse's 'full body automail', and Ed's port.

"Come to my shop, sonny. I'll give you a good deal on a new arm." Many of the old men yelled at Ed, causing him to fend them off with slightly more force than necessary.

"I've got a mechanic, jerks! Lay off!" He would scream at them, getting more and more flustered the less and less they were deterred. It felt like a lifetime before they made it to Garfield's shop.

To see a sight that Al was sure would send Edward into the atmosphere with jealousy.

A tall brunette was standing before Winry, and in Winry's arms was a bouquet of flowers – fragrant and fresh looking. She had a soft pink blush across her features, looking rather bashful (a sight Al realized he hadn't seen before). He could practically hear Ed's mind come screeching to a stop next to him.

The man made a joke that Winry laughed at, bowing her head into the bouquet while the gentleman (Ed probably had a different word for him) tucked a strand of Winry's hair behind her ear.

"H-h-hey!" Ed screeched, pointing an accusing finger at the man next to Winry. "Hands off!"

Al could have sworn Winry had shattered her vertebrae with how fast her head whipped to stare at them, her blue eyes bright and wide – like a deer in headlights. "Edward?!" She screeched back at him.

"Yeah! It's me!" Ed stormed up to Winry, his frame nearly shaking with anger. Al and the man made quick eye contact before he disappeared into the crowd. As Ed went to confront him, Winry seemed to get her bearings finally.

"Where's your arm?"

"Where'd he go?"

They both asked at the same time, clearly on two different subject matters.

"ED, WHERE IS YOUR ARM?" Winry was clutching the flower bouquet with such strength that Al watched the stems squelch in her hands.

Ed, however, seemed oblivious to the gravity of the situation. He turned his head back to face her and demanded again to know where the man went.

Winry took a deep breath in, her nose flaring from the effort. "Probably back to his shop, Edward. He is the florist after all." Her stern gaze shifted to Al. "Do you have his arm, by chance?"

Alphonse raised his hands up and shook his head. Winry was not one to trifle with when angry. Ed, on the other hand, was apparently willing to take the risk.

"The FLORIST. YOU'RE DATING THE FLORIST?"

That got Winry's attention. "EXCUSE ME?" She recoiled from Edward, stumbling back into her shop. "EXCUUUSSSE MEEEE?"

Ed kept stride with her. "A florist? Really? I thought you'd want another mechanic at the least!"

"Edward! Do you even hear yourself right now?" Winry placed the flowers down on the work bench behind her and stood her ground. "Where's your arm? That's the real question!"

Al quickly strode in to grab his brother's shoulder. "Brother," he said trying to calm the older Elric down, "he's not her boyfriend."

Winry was apparently incensed by his statement and spluttered out, "He could be for all you know!"

Al felt his heart plummet. Oh god, what was she saying?

Ed's blood pressure sky rocketed and Al saw his veins begin to protrude from his neck. "Is he your boyfriend?" Ed snarled out.

Surprising, Winry didn't snarl back. Instead, she looked away from him and huffed, her arms crossing over her chest.

This infuriated Ed even more. "Is he?" Ed stood to his full height and rolled his shoulders back. Al took a moment to recognize that Ed and Winry were now the same height, but this was not the time to point that out.

"You want a man who gives you useless little trinkets? You want a man who gives you flowers?"

Winry's face contorted in absolute confusion. She looked Ed dead in the eye and said "What?"

"I give you practical things." Ed proudly stated.

Winry gave Al a quick look. "…Okay?"

Ed pulled from his coat pocket a small package and thrust it at Winry. "Yeah. I give you things that you can use."

Winry took the package and nodded, clearly very confused as to where this conversation was going. She opened it gingerly, and lifted the circular bar. "It's soap?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

Ed huffed, clearly proud of the gift he brought her. "It's an all-in-one shampoo bar."

Al saw Winry's face quickly press together to suppress a laugh. Ed hadn't noticed himself, thankfully.

Winry lifted it to her nose and took a sniff. "It smells nice. Thank you, Ed. It's really nice."

Ed nodded again; his chest now puffed with pride instead of anger. "It's practical. I use it myself. It's easy to travel with and lasts a long time."

Winry's eyes shut and Al was almost certain it was in another attempt to stifled a chortle. She clearly didn't want to upset Ed, but she was also very visibly amused by the gesture. "I'll think of you when I use it. Thank you, Ed."

Al was apparently the only one who heard the double entendre in her statement

Ed spurted again. "It's practical."

Winry nodded. "Yeah, and so is having two arms. You want to tell me where your second one is?"

The immediate blowout from his missing appendage was dodged, but not the lecture he was going to get while she listed off all the things she was going to have to do to make him another one ASAP. She didn't ask many questions about how the limb had gone missing, just inquired about what was working well and didn't.

Al listened to Ed gripe out answers and a lot of "I don't know. You're the mechanic here, not me." While Winry chastised over how it was attached to his body so it should work how he likes it to.

Finally tucked away in the guest bedroom for the night, Ed was silent long enough that Al thought he had fallen asleep.

But, in true Edward fashion, he had to have the last say on things. "Winry doesn't need trinkets. She needs practical things. I bring her practical things."

"Yes, Brother," Al agreed. "You always buy her practical things."