Draped in Wires
by. Poisoned Scarlet
Theme 030: Impulse
"You know, no one's forcing you to follow me." Winry dryly commented from ahead, after taking a glance at Ed and noticing the clear signs of mind-numbing boredom: his droopy eyes, the hanging scowl on his face, his hands stuffed deeply into the pockets of his slacks.
"Nah, it's fine." He stifled a yawn.
She rolled her eyes.
"Go do something else if you want." She sighed, frowning when he perked up. "Didn't you want to check out that new bookstore out by downtown?"
"I can go?" He asked, excitedly. "You won't be mad if I do?"
"Why would I—!"
"Yes!" Ed cheered with a wide grin, darting out of her sight before she could even speak. "Oh, and try not to make me go bankrupt – I still don't have a job!" She vaguely heard him shout over the bustling bodies around her.
She smiled, wryly. "Honestly, what am I going to do with him?"
Edward raced down the block swimming with people. That bookstore had opened up weeks ago and he was anxious to go and browse their selections. He had ran out of material to read far too quickly for his tastes and even though he either bugged Winry to pay attention to him or painstakingly opened an automail book and tried to understand what fascinated her so much, there was only so much he could take.
After fifteen whole chapters of gears and grease and tools that he was convinced would be the death of him if Winry ever upgraded, he was desperate for something of more substance: like a good mystery novel or another updated alchemy tome...
His eyes caught a glint and he stopped, a man bumping his shoulder accidentally. He ignored the stranger's annoyed look and continued to stare at the display window. Behind it, there were several stands that held sparkling rings. The bright, hot, light that was stationed above them, raining down a beam that created that eye-catching sparkle, prevented him from really looking inside the store.
He stood there for a while, just gazing at each ring critically. He clenched his hands several times, rather regretful that he had lost his alchemy for he could just transmute some gold and a few gems, twist them together and give her a ring to remember—!
What am I thinking? He asked himself, almost laughing at his impulsive thoughts. I just got together with her! What the hell...
"Sir, do you need some help with something?" A brunette with a pair of glasses perched on her nose asked, her eyes made bigger by the thick lens. "You've been standing here for the past ten minutes now..."
"Er, no." He coughed into his fist, aware that the other employee's inside were giving him curious looks. "I just...I was just looking at the – the rings.."
"Is there one that you would like? You can take a closer look if you come inside." The lady offered. "Or perhaps you can browse from our wider collection we have inside and find that special ring for that special girl of yours!"
His face became red, shoulders going rigid at the implications. "Uh, I don't think that's very necessary—!" He was pulled in by the girl, whom, he noticed with an annoyed twitch of his brow, was a motor-mouth if her detailed explanation on the mechanics of wedding bands and promise rings said anything.
"What about this one?"
Ed blinked.
The ring had a humongous diamond stone in the middle.
He wouldn't be able to afford that even if he transmuted a whole truck of gold! Okay, maybe not...
"Is that a diamond?" he asked, testily.
"Yes..."
"That thing looks like it belongs in a freakin' museum – no thanks." He gruffed.
She brought out another, a smaller diamond with a few other colorful gems spread out.
"What is that suppose to be?" He criticized. "It looks like a failed rainbow."
The woman frowned a bit but dug through the inventory briskly. Edward, meanwhile, nervously stood on the other side of the counter. For some reason, being in a jewelry store made him twitchy. He expected Winry to pop out by the window any second now and ask him just what the hell he was doing inside a jewelry store, for crying out loud...
"What about this one?" The woman asked, eagerly. She showed him a simple ring, a few spirals going down the top to give it a little character.
Ed scowled. "Lady, if I ever decide to buy a wedding ring, which I'm not, but if I ever do, why the heck would I get her something so plain?" He complained, eying the ring with distaste.
"Ngh!" The woman grunted, shoving the ring back into its case. The case was black, he noticed, and belatedly he also noticed that it came with a twin, another ring that was plain gold and obviously meant for the groom... "You sure have high standards." She blew out a piece of hair from her eyes.
"Not high standards." Ed corrected. "Just high expectations."
She glared.
He smirked back.
"Well, I suppose since you don't seem to be interested in our selection of engagement rings," she groused, annoyed by his comment, "then you can browse our selection of promise—!"
"I'll pass." He waved off. "Thank you for taking the time to show me the rings." He smiled, genuinely, and the brunette felt her face heat up. He turned to step out of the store of bright lights and even brighter jewelry when the lady's voice paused him.
"You know, sometimes a girl doesn't need a flashy ring to show that they're loved." She offered. "Because all that matters in the end is that the person they love is right beside them every step of the way."
Ed scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. That's gotta' be the corniest thing I've ever heard." He stepped out of the store, his eyes sweeping past the engagement rings displayed on the racks one last time. His eyes grazed that plain ring with the grainy swirl of gold around the top and tiny diamond fractures that decorated it...
What the hell was he thinking?
He needed to get to that bookstore before Winry went off on him for not being there in the first place...