The Next Step was the first one shot I ever wrote. It was written in May 2012 (how time flies!). Anyway, I rewrote this story too and debuted it in the FMA Fanfic Contest at Live Journal. It was posted for Prompt 359, the last prompt for that community before they closed its doors. I hope that you like the improved version!

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Dear Brother…

Edward smiled as he held the letter. Seeing his beloved brother's handwriting captured in paper, especially after their voluntary separation, always brightened his mood. Needless to say that anything related to Alphonse deserved Edward's undivided attention so he plopped on the sofa and continued reading.

Winry informed me of what you told her at the train station.

Edward grinned. The idea to propose to Winry Rockbell on the spot occurred to him as he considered her suggestion of "making an appointment". His attention returned to Alphonse's letter when his cheeks went hot.

I'm going to keep this short…

That sentence managed to raise a dark blonde eyebrow; it was rare for Alphonse to express himself this way. Edward leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees, his forehead wrinkling with worry as he continued reading.

You know I love you, but what you did to Winry it's…

His worry transformed into frowning. What was Alphonse's problem? He hadn't done anything to hurt Winry in any way. Needless to say that the answer was revealed two sentences later.

Are you some kind of idiot?

His eyebrows twitched. Seriously, what is his

fucking problem? An idiot? Well sorry if his spontaneity seems idiotic. "I guess Equivalent Exchange is stupid too!" Edward scoffed in utter contempt. He was quite angry yet the five letter word stuck with him. A beat later, golden eyes widened in horror as he grasped the full extent of what Alphonse had meant. He remembered the way Winry's face fell when he cited the basic rule of alchemy—okay, so she might've been frustrated with his unique approach but she went along with it! Edward's frown went deeper. He couldn't shake away the feeling that he was making up excuses. Edward went over the chain of events that took place at the train station. It wasn't just the approach he took for proposing to Winry, he didn't even make an effort to seal the deal—he left for West City without kissing her!

"Ugh—! I am an idiot!" Edward groaned, crumpling the letter in one hand and hiding his face in the other. He stayed like that for a while, silently licking the wounds of his hurt pride. But wallowing in shame wasn't in his nature. Edward uncrumpled the poor letter and continued reading even though he didn't feel like it at this point in time.

I wish I could be there to save you from yourself Brother…

"Smartass…" Edward grumbled, deciding that Alphonse was going to get punched in the arm for running his mouth. He kept on reading.

So, what's the next step?

Edward blinked stupidly for several seconds. The next step? Well…he hadn't thought of it yet. He leaned back and rested his back against the soft cushion. And he pondered for a while until he came to a stark conclusion.

How come the Alchemist of the People, the one who championed the fight against monsters and demigods to help save a whole fucking country (and its people), the one who beat Truth in its own game was drawing blanks in regards to matters of love? The only comfort he had was in the knowledge that Winry wanted to spend the rest of her life by his side.

Does she? The impertinent thought disturbed his observations.

Edward reflected on the moment he proposed to Winry. The more he thought about his actions, the more convinced he was that he royally screwed up what was supposed to be a special moment. He painfully realized that he didn't do anything meaningful (other than put his foot in his mouth) to let Winry know that he was serious about his intentions. Fear and paranoia surged through his body. What if some asshole, who was cleverer than him, conquered Winry's heart? He surely would land in jail if that were to happen.

"The next step…" Edward reminded himself, putting the lid on his wild imagination, and getting back to devising his new plan of action.

Alchemists know how to deconstruct and reconstruct in order to transmute one thing into another. He already deconstructed the embarrassing events that to the present moment; it was time to reconstruct. Edward considered various options to get back in Winry's good graces. The idea of buying her some jewelry like did many years ago keep rising to the top of the list. Winry had been quite delighted by the simple gesture—maybe a new pair of earrings will do the trick?

A ring, Ed, get her a ring, said the voice of reason, which strangely sounded like his younger brother. He chuckled, amused by his imagination. Still, Edward couldn't deny that it was a brilliant idea. He left the letter on the coffee table and went to fetch his brown trench coat. He headed out the door with a wide grin on his face.

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Winry pressed her back against the screen and pushed the door. She turned around and entered the kitchen, craning her neck to see over the box she was carrying. The kitchen space was relatively silent, except for the beef stew simmering on the stove. Winry raised her eyebrows, Granny Pinako disliked leaving the stove unattended, it made her wonder if there had been an emergency while she was out running errands. She set the box on top of the breakfast table. Voices coming from the living room made her head that way instead of the basement.

Granny Pinako's loud cackling bounced off the walls; she seemed to be in good company. Edward's vibrant laughter touched her as she was about to enter the living room. She stopped abruptly, her breath catching.

"Edward is here…" Winry breathed, welcoming the happy tingling of her fluttering heart.

Many possibilities revolved around in her head as she tried to make sense of the unexpected visit. Standing in the middle of the hallway wasn't going to help her reach a conclusion.

At least she had the decency to hide some of her messy hair under the bandana before stepping into view.

"Welcome back, Ed," Winry greeted, secretly wishing the bandana would also hide her radiating blush.

She walked to the nearest chair and sat, clasping her sweaty hands together so neither her grandmother nor Edward (especially Edward) would notice her nervous excitement.

She didn't say much after the initial greeting preferring to observe the miracle of Edward holding a civil conversation with her grandmother. As their conversation went on, Winry wouldn't help but to wonder what was up with them. Edward and her grandmother were notorious for their cantankerous verbal exchanges and this cordiality felt unnatural; it certainly raised some red flags.

Winry drew a long breath.

"What are you doing here?" The bright mood inside the living room came to a screeching halt.

Edward frowned at her insolence. "Can't I come over for a visit?"

"Can it, Ed!" Winry retorted. She wasn't going to let him pull the wool over her eyes. "I know you're hiding something." She went straight for the jugular just to test him. Her hunch was right, the accusation made Edward flinch, a suspicious reaction indeed.

"Now-now, Winry," Pinako intruded, "I'm sure Edward has a perfectly good explanation for visiting." her beady slid eyes his way. "Don't you, Ed?"

Edward's face went red, a look Winry knew all too well. He was hiding something!

"Ah—that I do!" Edward blurted out before Winry had a chance to bite his head off. He started chuckling nervously when their eyes met and locked; Winry wasn't amused.

Winry's glower cued Edward. He cleared his throat then asked, "can spare some time to check the leg?"

Pinako rolled her eyes. Her loud grunt made Edward wince, but other than that, she didn't add anything new to the conversation. She did, however, take a long drag on her pipe. The expelled smoke gave her the expression of an angry bull.

Pinako got off the lazy chair and headed for the hallway. She stopped at the entrance to the living room and said, "Winry why don't you check Ed's leg now? I'll call on you both once dinner is ready."

"Right now?" Winry defied, staring at her in utter disbelief.

"It shouldn't take you long." Pinako insisted, glancing at Edward before settling her eyes on her granddaughter.

Winry's eyebrows twitched, displaying a rebellious streak, but her daring never went farther than that. She loved her grandmother and would never do anything to offend her, but that didn't mean that she couldn't express her discontent. She gave Edward a vexed look, though. "Let's go—now."

They walked to the automail shop in complete silence.

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"Sit." Winry barked as soon as they entered the shop.

"Winry—"

"What!"

Edward gazed at the love of his life in all of her angry glory and wondered how things were going to play out in the next few seconds. Winry's temper was so unpredictable that he feared the outcome. But he reminded himself that he had traveled non-stop for this very moment: the next step.

Edward inhaled sharply and after exhaling, he said, "there's nothing wrong with the leg." As expected, he summoned the burning rage of a thousand suns.

"Edward Elric—!" Winry growled, her trusty wrench already in hand.

"Winry, wait!" Edward raised a hand in front of him, pleading for his life.

Teacher taught him well, he managed to pull Winry's gift out of the pocket in his coat before she had a chance to strike him with the wrench.

Winry's eyes sparkled like sapphires once they settled on the small black velvet-covered box. She plucked the box from his hand. "For me?" A delicate silver ring greeted Winry upon her opening the fancy box. "Oh, Ed…" Winry cooed, her expression beaming with genuine emotion.

"It matches with your earrings," Edward offered and hid the small victory behind a toothy grin.

"Gosh, Ed, you shouldn't have!" Winry squealed, which was her way of saying "you just dodged a bullet bucko".

The wrench had been long forgotten on the work table. As Winry worked on slipping the ring on, she realized that Edward got the wrong size. The ring was too tight for her finger.

"Um—Winry?"

Winry looked up. "I might need to enlarge the ring." She said as she flexed the fingers in her right hand, trying to get used to wearing the close-fitting ring.

Edward laughed. "That's because you put the ring on the wrong finger." He took Winry's hand in his and pulled the ring out.

"It goes on this one," he said, his heart racing as he took her left hand and inserted the ring on the correct finger.

Winry gasped, Edward smiled.

"You already know that I'm not very good at this kind of stuff…" He said in a low voice, knowing well that he would never be the romantic type. "I wasn't entirely sure if I got the right size but I guess I did," he added.

Winry was so caught in the moment that she forgot how to react. It was for the best, though, because Edward wasn't finished yet.

He got lost in the warmth of her hand, and the velvety smoothness of her skin against his rough thumb-pads. He hadn't looked at her in the eyes yet, his nerves wouldn't let him, but he had to. Edward took a steadying breath before settling his eyes on hers.

"Winry, would you like to trade this ring for a diamond ring?" He held his breath, waiting for Winry's reaction in the same fashion as he did months ago at the train station.

It took Winry a couple of seconds to react.

"You're kidding me…" Even she couldn't believe what she'd just said.

Edward shook his head. "Not for this."

Winry's expression softened, her eyes welled up with happy tears. "Then my answer is 'Yes'."

Edward's heart danced with joy, Winry had accepted him even after the colossal blunder at the train station. A grin threatened to split his face in half when it dawned on him that he got the girl.

He took Winry's hand and placed it flat against his chest. Winry drew in a soft breath as she felt his heart thundering inside his ribcage.

Her inviting expression lured him closer.

Edward immersed himself in the ocean of her blue eyes as he lowered his head to hers, capturing her lips in a slow gentle kiss.

Seconds felt like eons enveloped in that magnificent caress.

It was Winry who broke the kiss, but for a good reason. "I love you," she said, her loving expression lost in her rosy cheeks.

Edward smiled. "I love you," he repeated, brushing a thumb against her bottom lip. He recaptured her lips while thinking about the next step.

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End Note: The Next Step is part of the Coveted universe I transferred to my other account. This one shot is a "what if Ed followed through on his promised to Winry?" This one shot is sweet as a stand-alone and bittersweet within the context of Coveted.