Hello everyone! Swampeh wrote a little one-shot in celebration of her birthday (November 14th!) xD That, and I read chapter 89 of the manga and got really excited. Anyone else read it? It was very "OMG! Cast party!"

Anyway, a little EdWin for you. Fluff, pie, and shiny objects abound. ;)

"Brother! Granny and I are going down to the market!"

Edward glanced up from the pile of notes in front of him. Even now, a couple of months after the whole 'Promised Day' mess was over and done with, Ed still found himself researching, even though he was currently living with Winry and Pinako. Of course, with Al back in his body, Ed was looking into other topics besides the Stone and human transmutation. It was time to branch out a little.

"Alright, Al. Make sure none of the fruit you pick out is rotten," Ed replied, smirking as Al skipped past him towards the door where Pinako was already waiting. The elderly lady always took Al to the market with her now that he was back in the flesh. He got a real kick out of the open market- plenty of smells and lots of food and plants to touch. Most of the vendors liked Al, too, and the younger Elric managed to get dozens of free samples- none of which he would share, even with Ed. After the first trip to the market, Pinako had discovered that Al was especially good at finding bruises or other damage on fruit, and so she insisted that he come to find her the best produce that was out there.

Ed didn't mind. It was good to see Al get out- even if he was the pack mule for Pinako- and let his younger brother experience the world again.

"Tell Winry we'll be back in time for dessert. You save us some of the pie, runt. Don't eat it all yourself," Pinako ordered from the doorway.

Edward scowled and slammed a book shut. "Fine, you old hag," he growled. Pinako smirked and closed the door behind her and Al. Ed leaned back in his chair and watched through the window as the two headed down the path, Den following happily on Al's heels.

The alchemist snorted at the scene and glanced at his notes, not really paying attention to what he was looking at. Pinako had mentioned pie…That would explain why Winry hadn't allowed him in the kitchen since breakfast. Ed tapped the pencil on the table before tossing it aside and getting up from the chair. If there was a chance that there was pie in the house, he had to know about it!

Ed crept closer to the kitchen, noticing with pleasure just how much quieter his new automail leg was. Of course, it wasn't quiet enough for the mechanic that made it not to notice, but Ed's brain hadn't reached that conclusion yet. Slowly, he neared the entrance to the kitchen and peeked in.

"Edward! You're not allowed in the kitchen!" Winry bellowed from inside. Ed froze, hands gripping the frame of the doorway, head halfway around the corner. He had enough time to see Winry elbow-deep in flour and diced apple before a sugar-covered wrench came flying to connect with his forehead.

The alchemist yelped and fled the scene, pounding up the stairs and out of harm's way. "Crazy woman!" he hollered from the top of the stairway. Yes, that was very brave of him.

Winry sighed and shook her head as Edward's enraged bellow reached her down in the kitchen. Ed could be such an idiot sometimes.

She heard him clomp down the hallway upstairs, and she was willing to bet a new screwdriver that he was cursing obscenely the whole time. But Ed would be Ed, and that wasn't going to change.

The mechanic grabbed the bowl of diced and sugared apples and began to fill the pie crust, humming to herself as she worked. It was quiet with Al and Pinako out of the house and Ed sulking upstairs instead of arguing with Mustang over the phone about how much longer his leave time was going to last.

The pie was quickly filled and Winry moved on to putting the top on. It was the easiest part for her, and she finished quickly. She held the pie out at arm's length and examined her work with a critical eye. There weren't any obvious lumps and the crust was neatly done; it was ready for baking. The pie was thrust into the oven and Winry dusted off her hands on her shirt.

As the pie baked, she cleaned up the kitchen. For some reason, she really made a really big mess while making pie. It took almost an hour for her to gather up all the dishes and utensils, wash them, and return them to their proper places in the cupboards and drawers. Then came cleaning off the counters, which, thanks to the large amount of sugar, were pretty sticky and took most of the next hour to clean up properly.

Almost on cue, the oven dinged when she wiped off the last countertop. The smell of the baking pie had been leaking out for almost two hours and Winry was relieved that it was finished. She pulled her masterpiece from the oven and placed on the counter. Now it was time for her to clean herself off. Winry was pretty sure that she needed a good shower to get rid of all the flour, so she pulled off the apron and headed up the stairs. She paused at Ed's door- it was quiet, not even any papers shuffling. Either he had passed out from her wrench attack or he was asleep. Which ever one it was, he would be out for a while and her pie was safe.

Winry smirked and headed down the hall towards the bathroom.

Ed was still muttering darkly to himself as he stalked into his room, closing the door behind him. The blond angrily wiped off the remaining bits of sugar that had been pounded into his head by the wrench as he examined the bruise already forming on his forehead in the mirror. He poked the purple splotch experimentally and let out a curse as pain flared across his temples.

Winry was going to give him brain damage if she kept this up.

Edward moved into the bathroom that connected his and Al's bedrooms and turned on the sink. After a moment, he clapped, prodded the water, and watched with satisfaction as a handful of ice cubes appeared in the basin. He grabbed a towel and filled it with the ice before tying it shut and holding the makeshift icepack to his head.

The blond plodded back into his room and flopped down on the bed. For lack of anything better to do, he began tracing the cracks in the ceiling with his eyes while mulling over his latest research in his mind. There has to be a way to make the steel poles lighter. Otherwise, it won't be able to get off the ground. Increasing the amount of fuel for thrust won't help and neither will making the engine bigger- that will just add more weight. Maybe if…

That train of thought kept the alchemist busy for a good two hours. He was so engrossed, in fact, that he didn't even notice the smell of apple pie wafting up from the kitchen below. It was the sound of footsteps on the stairs that roused him and he tensed as they came closer to his door. Surely Winry wasn't going to give him another round of beatings!

The steps paused outside his door and Ed forced himself to stay still and not jump out the window. Maybe she would think he was asleep and leave him alone.

A couple of seconds went by and the steps started up once again and Ed sighed loudly in relief as he heard the sound of another door closing. That was one less wrench to the head he had to take.

The ice was starting to melt, so Ed went back to the bathroom and rung out the towel. He was returning the towel to the rack when the sound of rushing water caught his attention. Winry was taking a shower, which meant…

The pie was alone.

Ed grinned and slipped out in the hallway, just to double-check. Sure enough, the hallway was empty and the door to the bathroom that Winry used was closed. He was good to go.

Quietly, Ed snuck back into his room and dug around in his drawers. He had it, he knew he did, so where the heck had he- "Found it," the alchemist muttered, grabbing the little box he had hidden under all the leather pants and sneaking back out of the room and down the stairs.

A shower had been just what she needed. Winry sighed happily as she pulled on a fresh shirt and pair of pants and slipped into her sandals. She sauntered down the hallway and down the stairs, running her fingers through her freshly washed hair.

"The pie smells good."

Winry froze and whipped around at the bottom of the stairs at the voice. It was Ed, lounging on the couch, a book open on his lap. He gave her an innocent smile and Winry glared back.

"You didn't sneak any of it, did you?" she asked accusingly.

"No!" Ed shot back, the smile fading into a scowl. "Always to have assume that I've done something wrong…" he muttered under his breath.

Winry snorted. "Well, if you don't stuff your face with it, we can have some right now. Granny and Al are going to have dinner at a friend's house, so we just have to save them some."

Obviously, Ed had not been expecting them to eat the pie now. "Alright, we'll save them each a piece," he said, getting off the couch and almost bouncing into the kitchen.

"Edward! They'll have to get more than that."

"Sure, sure."

Winry rolled her eyes and followed the blond into the kitchen and headed over to the counter. Ed was getting plates and was practically drooling.

Two minutes later, they were seated at the table with the pie and the proper plates and utensils. Winry reached to cut the pie, but Ed already had his knife into the pastry.

"I'll cut it, Winry," he said. Winry tilted her head a little; Ed seemed to be a little nervous.

"Make sure the slices aren't huge. Granny will skin you if there's none left."

"I'm not," Ed replied sharply. He was glaring at the pie as if he was trying to translate something written in the lumps of the top. Finally, he began cutting and distributing the pie.

As usual, Ed ate with gusto. Winry was barely halfway through her piece when he finished his. But it wasn't the normal stuff-your-face-and-forget-to-chew eating that normally went on; Edward was eating quickly from what Winry could only describe as nervousness.

But in the world would Ed be nervous about? He kept glancing around the kitchen, but never made eye contact with Winry after he had given her the slice of pie. Instead of pressing the issue, Winry shoved another piece of pie into her mouth.

And bit something hard.

"Ow!"

Ed nearly jumped out of his seat at the exclamation and Winry carefully spat out the offending object. Whatever it was, it was covered in half-chewed pie filling and spit. She made a disgusted noise and began to wipe it off with her napkin. The mechanic was aware of Ed staring at her with a mix of fear and horror, but she was too mad at the little object to give any thought to it.

"I must have knocked a screw into the filling or something. I've been trying to keep all the automail stuff out of the kitchen but-" Winry broke off her rant to stare at the object, which was most definitely not a screw.

In fact, it was not related to automail at all.

In her hand was a silver ring. On the top was a decent-sized, oval-shaped sapphire, surrounded by a ring of small diamonds. From what Winry could tell from the weight of the ring and the shine (granted, the gems were a little dirty with crusted sugar), the stones were real.

"…You like it?" Ed asked, breaking the silence. Winry looked up sharply, eyes wide. Edward was a deep shade of red and looked like he wanted to run from the room and hide in a cave for the rest of his life.

"I nearly break a tooth and choke on this ring and all you can ask me is if I like it?!" Winry screeched, slamming a fist on the table, the ring still clutched in the other.

"Well, do you?" Ed asked, his defensive side flaring at the challenge. "I would have inscribed something on the inside, but I didn't know when I'd actually ask you or even if you'd take it."

Something clicked in Winry's mind. "You made this?" she asked, thrusting the ring into his face.

"Yeah. I had the gems mailed in from one of the jewelry stores in Central… I stole some of your platinum for the band, though."

Winry glanced from Ed to the ring and back again. "It's for me?"

Ed nodded slowly.

"From you?"

Another nod.

"And it's an engagement ring?"

"…Yeah."

They stared at each other, Ed sinking lower and lower in his chair as Winry kept silent. Then:

"It's about time, pipsqueak! I've been waiting long enough!"

Hooray! Pie is full of wonderful things xD I always thought Ed would never be able to get the nerve to propose to Winry outright, so he'd do something like this. Personally, I'd love it if a guy put a ring in my slice of pie.

Oh, in case you were wondering, Ed's working on developing the airplane. That's what all that thinking about fuel and engines was about. Look at our little nerdy shrimp work!

Comments would be loved. I typed this a little quickly, so give me some critisism!