Regardless of the fact that he had a busy day ahead (Ed had decided to cram both ring and dress shopping into the same day), Edward couldn't deal with waking up early.

He shuffled into the kitchen, yawning with his hand stretched out. "Energy drink…"

Roy, who was already sitting at the table with his cup of coffee, rolled his eyes and got up to dig in the fridge. "It would take you two seconds to get it yourself."

Edward stuck his tongue out, plopping down in the chair opposite Roy's spot. "Do you know how bad you would feel if I walked to the fridge, but was tired and disoriented and hit myself on the head opening it?"

"With anyone else, that wouldn't be possible—but with you, anything is. Hence why I put up with this shit." Roy slid the can across the table and sat back down, sighing in content after a sip of coffee.

"Thanks," Ed murmured, suppressing a yawn and popping the top. The second the liquid hit his lips, his tiredness melted away and he grinned. "So much better now."

"I will never understand how that crap does that to you," Roy muttered, shaking his head. "You realize the store doesn't open for another half an hour? You could have just woken up normally."

Edward shrugged helplessly. "This is more exciting. Besides, I need to get a quick shower."

"Hmm, right, gotta be prepared to try on dresses today," Roy teased, a smile creeping across his face.

"Hey, remember that I can nip this dress thing in the bud whenever I want. Don't be so confident about it," Ed warned, downing half of the rest of the can in one gulp. "Also: you're not coming." Roy had been arguing with him all week about that, ever since Edward agreed to at least try on some dresses.

"Aw, c'mon," the man whined.

"No," Ed responded flatly. "Absolutely not. If I have to wear a dress, you have to wait to see it just like every other groom in the world." Roy stuck out his lower lip, pouting silently. "Don't give me that face, you asked for it."

"Yeah," Roy agreed, his mope quickly transforming into a grin. "I guess I did, didn't I?"

Unable to keep a smile off his own face, Edward tried to hide it by swallowing the last of his energy drink. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"Can I come?"

Halfway to the door, Ed paused and looked over his shoulder, his expression falling somewhere in between coy and cheeky. "I have an appointment I can't be late for, so no. But I expect to find you here, ready and waiting, when I come home tonight."

There is something about sparkly, shiny things that fascinates human beings, regardless of gender. The light reflecting off some precious metal or gemstone, or even something as mundane as sequins—it makes a person excited, it draws them in. Women may be more open about it, but this otherworldly attraction exists between shimmer and all sexes equally.

Which was why Edward really wasn't the slightest bit ashamed to be freaking out in the jewelry store.

"Roy," he breathed, eyes wide as he grabbed onto said man's sleeve. "Roy everything is so fucking shiny."

"That's kind of the point of a jewelry store, Ed…" Roy murmured back, looking like he was unsure whether he should be laughing or not.

Ignoring this comment, Edward zeroed in on the case of rings that stretched along one long wall of the store. Without speaking, he pulled Roy over and began to examine some of the bands. "Ah, there's so many to choose from…"

As though his words had been a cue, a sales assistant popped up out of nowhere. "Hello, gentlemen, can I help you?"

Ed was on the verge of saying they could handle it when Roy answered for him. "Yeah, we're looking for some wedding rings."

The assistant clapped her hands together. "Oh, you two are getting married? That's so exciting, congratulations!"

Despite not asking for her help, Edward couldn't help grin at the woman as Roy put his arm around him. "Thanks!"

"So, wedding rings." Just as quickly as she had gotten excited, the sales assistant turned serious. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for?" Ed glanced at Roy, who was staring back at him with a blank expression. "I guess not…let me make this easy. We'll start with the color: gold, silver, or a mixture?"

"Silver," Roy responded instantly. Edward raised his eyebrows. "What? You're going to want silver to match all the wedding decorations; I know you, two little gold specks with all that silver would irritate you to no end, even if they were the rings."

"Okay, fine," Ed sighed in defeat, sticking his tongue out momentarily. "You're right. Silver it is."

"That's good," the woman began. "All the silver rings are right here. Are you two looking for plain bands, or do you want some stones…?"

"I don't know," Edward murmured slowly, bending over to examine the case. "Plain bands are more traditional, but at this point I can't tell if we're sticking to tradition or trampling all over it, so that's kind of irrelevant…"

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand what you mean." For the first time, the assistant seemed unsure. Meanwhile, Roy, who was now bent over beside him, was chuckling silently.

"Nothing, it's a long story. Roy, what do you think?"

"Well, your engagement ring is already on the flashier side, so maybe something plain would be better. I don't mind something simple, either."

Ed glanced at his hand, smiling faintly. "True—what about this?" he asked suddenly, pointing to a ring in the corner that had caught his eye. It was silver and polished like the rest, but rather than being rectangular all around, the two ends came together as triangles, connected only by a single point. "That's kind of interesting."

He looked up to see Roy nodding his head. "Can we try that one?"

"Certainly," the sales assistant said, beaming as she pulled it out of the case and slid it carefully across the glass. Roy picked it up to inspect it before handing it to Edward. "Look at the inside."

Confused, Ed tilted the ring so that he could see the inside of the band. In tiny black writing it said: Your Inscription Here.

"So would could put our own inscription on it? That'd be cool…" Edward slipped the ring over his finger easily, and it settled loosely over the base. "It's a little big, but I get the idea…I like this one." Ed held out his hand to Roy. "Here, you try."

Roy took the ring from him and put it on—on him, it was snug. "Yeah, it's a little different, but nice all the same."

"But what would we put in as the inscription?" Ed asked.

The man pondered this, but suddenly his face became blank. "Ed, do you trust me?"

What was that about? Edward frowned. "Yeah, but—"

"Then let me surprise you with the inscription."

Ed's mouth fell open. He wasn't upset, really—just surprised. Roy's expression was earnest and excited now. Whatever his idea was, it must be good. Smiling, Edward responded simply, "Alright, then."

Grinning, Roy turned to the bemused assistant. "I'll need two of these. Can you do the inscription when I pick them up?"

"Sure?"

"Awesome, thank you."

Edward watched as Roy finished up, pulling out his wallet to put a deposit down for the ring. He had a sneaking suspicion this surprise with the rings was Roy's way of getting back at him for not letting him see the dress—if and when he picked one out. That was exactly the sort of thing Roy would try to pull.

Still, as far as revenges went, Ed thought this one was pretty sweet.