The Edward Elric Guide to Getting Winry a Birthday Present

A/N: Hey! It's me! Back from the dead... Not really, actually. I've been mourning the fact for about a month that this particular chapter is bad. Well, I had to post something. I felt like I was neglecting it, and I don't want to let this go quite yet, so I'm going to keep trying to update until I hit ten chapters. I promised I would, and I will! (It just might take another week or so until the next update...)

Ed's birthday had come and gone, and Winry's was fast approaching.

This was a dilemma.

Ed had no idea what to get her.

He could not get her anything to do with automail- that was far too easy, not to mention expected. She had enough earrings to open up a jewelry shop, and most other jewelry would get in the way, anyway. Winry had never harbored a great affection for books unless they were about automail, so that was out of the question. He did not know her clothing size, but if worse came to worse…

No, Ed. Don't even think of it! he scolded himself. Get her something she'll never get from anyone else again.

But if he could buy it, that would mean that people could get it again. Even flowers and things from custom shops could be recreated. His only choice, then, was to make something.

It annoyed him. He was not a very artistic person, even if his style of alchemy made everyone else suspect otherwise.

SCENE

Al found him puzzling ten minutes later.

"Don't tell me to 'just tell her', Al. I want some serious advice so that I can give her something that she can see and say, 'that's what Ed gave me!' I just have no idea what." Ed sighed. "Why are girls so hard to figure out?"

"They're not that hard if you pay attention, Brother," quipped Al.

Ed darkened. "Al, I don't exactly have time to do that, if you haven't noticed. I'm trying to get our bodies back, or at least yours, and I don't want to die in the process. That requires a pretty high level of concentration." He heaved another heavy sigh and settled on his bed. "I was so stupid. How could I have known, though?"

"This isn't the time to wallow in self-pity, Brother," Al reminded him. "Whatever it is, if you mean it when you give it to her, Winry will appreciate it."

"Not helping, Al." Ed rubbed his forehead. "Why am I asking you, anyway, if it's supposed to come from me?"

"That's the idea, Brother," Al encouraged as he left Ed, who groaned louder than ever.

THE NEXT DAY

Having finally thought of something, Ed had crafted it and was submitting it to Al's scrutiny. He watched nervously as Al inspected it closely. The suit of armor did not even poke it, perhaps afraid of it falling apart because of poor craftsmanship.

"She'll love it, Brother," Al decided. "You did really well."

Ed let out a long breath. "You think so?"

Al sounded offended. "You don't trust me, Brother?"

"Well, you're not in love with her the way I am!" Ed hissed. As an after-thought, he turned a suspicious gaze upon his Brother. "Or are you and you're saying that it's great when it's really stupid and-"

"Hey, guys!" Winry popped into the room, startling them both. "It's almost time for the party to begin, and everybody wants to see you! Come on!"

Ed picked himself up off the bed, noticing that Al had hidden the present from view. He made a mental note to thank his younger brother, then grabbed it and stuffed it into a bag he had bought that morning. "C'mon, Al. Time to get this show on the road."

He left the present on the bed. It was partially pride that kept it there, not wanting to embarrass himself in a multitude of ways. However, it was more than just that. It was something that he meant only for her. As cheesy as it sounded and as much as it tied into his embarrassment, it was very true.

It kept on leaking into his thoughts during the party, too. He wished the party would end, because he was missing a bunch of questions and raising other ones as to his health. Even Winry worried over him at one point, though he managed to convince her that he was just taking everything in.

Cake made everyone forget about everything. Pinako had baked, and was not half-bad at it- Ed was reminded of that after his first bite. It was a simple chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but Ed had a feeling that Gracia Hughes might be the slightest bit envious if she had some.

It was the presents that brought Ed back to his senses. He claimed to have developed a headache and went to lie down, insisting that he would be fine in an hour or so. Of course, he had the feeling that Al knew what his intentions were. Oddly enough, though, there was no attempt made to stop him. There was another thing he would have to thank his younger brother for later.

Being up in his room had one advantage: solitude. There was nothing else different. He still felt embarrassed and worried, and he was tired, anyway. He could get away with sleeping it off, though, so sleep he did.

SCENE

"Ed? Ed…" Winry gently shook his shoulder.

"Eh?" Ed opened his eyes hazily. "What time is it?"

Winry smiled gently. "You've been asleep for an hour or two, I'd guess. You skipped out on the best part, too!"

"Sorry." Sitting up, Ed grabbed the bag from the nightstand. "Here. Happy birthday." I'm throwing myself to the wolves. What was I thinking? I should've just bought something!

Taking it, Winry gently pulled out the present. Her eyes almost instantly filled with tears. "Ed…" she whispered. "I…"

Ed felt relieved. The cheesiness factor had worked in his favor. "You like it?"

Winry nodded. "How did you…?"

"I transmuted the picture onto the card, and imprinted the gold leaf onto the other part of the card," Ed explained. I hope it doesn't come apart. He would never admit it, but, due to the fact that it had been put together rather quickly, the workmanship was a little shaky, at least for alchemy.

Tracing the gold letters that spelled "Friends from the start" under the picture of Ed and Al flanking Winry as they slept when they were younger, Winry wiped the tears away with her free hand. "Ed…" she murmured again. She set the card down and tackled Ed without warning, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much!" she whispered, clutching as tightly as ever.

Ed was blushing madly. He had not expected this much of a reaction, but she was within her rights to do so, he supposed with a twinge of pride. It was luck that he had come up with the idea, and even better luck that he'd had the materials for it. "N-no problem, Win. Happy birthday, again," he gasped, winded from the surprise and intensity of the hug.

Winry sprang back. "Oh! Sorry! I'll go put this in my room now." She hurried out, but Ed saw the faint pink that colored her cheeks as she looked at it again.

Shrugging, he went to find some dinner. Now that he was awake, he was hungry.

LATER ON

Ed leaned against the railing on the deck. The stars blinked, signaling that he should be in bed, and he agreed whole-heartedly.

"Um, Ed?"

"Hm?" he turned, beckoning once for Winry to come over.

Winry was blushing. "Sorry for tackling you like that earlier. That was just… I didn't really expect it. It's not that I don't like it, but Ed… I didn't think you had it in you."

Feeling something poke sharply at his ego, Ed tried to curb the sharpness in his tone. "Come on! I'm plenty creative!"

"Well, I like it, and I suppose that that's what counts," Winry mused.

Ed grinned in a way that was rather self-satisfactory. "Yeah."

They stood there for a few more minutes before Winry yawned. "I'm calling it a night." She headed back in.

"Hey."

She turned, finding Ed's arms slightly open and realizing that he was stepping toward her. "Ed?"

He stopped immediately, eyes widening in realization of something. He dropped the stance and walked into the house. Going past her, he whispered, "Happy birthday, Winry."

What's going on with him? Ed was pretty abnormal as it was, but that seemed almost… normal. She was sure he had been about to say something different, and that stance made her think of something, but she was not sure what. He probably would not tell her if she asked later, so it was probably better to drop it now.

Girls might confuse boys, but Winry had the distinct impression that she was more confused than Ed was.

She did not know just how accurate that was.

A/N: First off, I really don't like the way this is written. The first little bit is okay, but it goes from bad to worse in the end, even after I edited it! Ugh. I need this one, though, because next one is going to be basically a direct continuation.

Wow. It took me a while to type this. I had to make Ed make something for Winry for the reasons stated earlier. I had no idea what it would be for a while, then suddenly, I just thought, "how about a picture that's been modified in some way?" and it went from there.

(As you can tell, the above author's notes were typed at least a day apart, second before first.)