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“Al, this must have cost a fortune,” Ed said, flipping open the booking receipt for one of the hotels. The wedding reception had finally calmed down enough that Al was able to wrangle his brother and sister-in-law into a relatively private conversation.
Al shrugged. “I didn’t pay for all of it. I’ve been working the crowd for donations basically since you got engaged.” He grinned. “Ling bankrolled most of it. He said he’s even for all the room service.”
Ed paused, then smugly folded the paper back into the pile. “Oh that’s fine then.”
“Great! Your train leaves at 11 tonight!”
The night ended with a bit of a scramble down to the train station. The private sleeper car was a relief after the stress of the wedding and Winry flopped on the bed, relieved to pull her shoes off. Ed hadn’t bothered to do even that before laying down beside her. “I need a nap.” Nevermind that it was almost midnight.
Ed groaned. “A nap sounds good.”
A banging on their compartment door jerked Winry out of the nap-turned-full-sleep. The sun was coming through the window and her back was absolutely killing her. Ed raised his head just as someone broke through the door, gun waving. “This is a robbery!” the stranger shouted, pushing his way in. “I need all your valuables, cash-”
“Oh, come ON,” Ed howled and kicked out with his automail foot. The robber’s knee cracked at the impact and the two of them went down to the floor in a brawl.
Winry cursed and pushed herself out of the bed, gathering the skirts of her wedding dress in one hand. I should have taken this off last night, she thought, but who exactly expected their train to get hijacked while going to their honeymoon?
She snatched up a discarded shoe from the floor as Ed let out a particularly rude string of curses about where exactly their attacker could shove his gun. Just as the man pushed away from Ed, finally untangling himself from Ed’s grasp, Winry pulled her arm back and swung with all her might, smashing the heel of her shoe into the side of his head. The man dropped again, this time out cold.
///
The train had luckily been only an hour outside of South City. Winry and Ed had tied up their would-be robber and dumped him in the small toilet at the end of the car. When they reached the station, a squad of soldiers flooded the cars, hauling out the entire squad of robbers.
The two of them had taken the chance to finally change, but breakfast was (obviously) delayed. Eventually an exhausted porter knocked on their door, bearing a large plate of food and infinite apologies. He asked for their passports for the border crossing and cleared them as they began devouring their breakfast.
The hashbrowns and sausage did wonders for her blooming headache. The past twenty-four hours had finally caught up and the adrenaline and nap could only carry her so far. “I don’t think this is what Granny was talking about when she told me about what to expect on my wedding night.”
It was a testament to how tired Ed was that he didn’t immediately blush at the implications of them being intimate. Instead he chugged the last of the orange juice and groaned. “I’m sleeping the rest of the way.”
///
It became apparent that, despite the terrible conversion rates for the Amestrian cen, that they had more than enough cushion for money. All their hotels and train tickets were paid for and most of their food was covered in the reservations.
Which, Winry reasoned as she stared at the pair of earrings in the display case, meant they had more than enough for souvenirs. She and Ed both worked, Ed had his retirement pay, and it was their honeymoon! You were supposed to be stupid on your honeymoon, get it out of your system before going home. And when was the next time she’d be in Aerugo?
Besides, these were meteorite earrings. With pure silver settings and very fine craftsmanship. Straight from the National Natural and Cultural Museum of Aerugo. Winry huffed and plucked the purchasing card from the front of the display case. She arrived at the counter on the other side of the showroom just in time to see the attendant hand Edward a large knife as long as his forearm.
They stared at each other before Ed unsheathed the blade. “It’s whalebone,” he said, as if that clarified anything.
“These are meteorites,” Winry replied in kind, holding up her card. Ed nodded in approval.
That night in their (very large, very swanky) hotel room, they examined their loot. “These are lighter than I expected,” Winry said from where she was checking out her earrings in the mirror.
Ed made a noise of surprise and looked up. He was turning the blade over in his hands, examining the carvings. Even from where she was sitting, she could see the skulls carved into the bone. It wasn’t the ugliest thing she had ever seen, but it was obvious why it had caught Ed’s attention in the first place. “They look good on you.”
“If you flirt any harder, we’re going to end up missing our dinner reservation.” Ed went red and Winry laughed as she leaned over to kiss him. “That knife is hideous. You’re keeping it in the office.” She was not having it stare her down from across the bedroom.
///
The museum purchases more or less “broke the seal” on any sort of fiscal responsibility they had. Ed found an original first edition of some alchemy tome on the original designs for earth transmutations. Winry snatched up a set of interchangeable diamond sawblades- the hottest new design that hadn’t even hit Rush Valley yet. Trinkets, jewelry, new boots, and tools all went into their stash. It got to the point where they had to purchase another trunk to hold it all. Thankfully they had porters and bellhops at every stop to help haul it around.
“Where the hell are we going to keep all this?” Ed asked one night, on day 17 of their trip. They’d traversed Aerugo (including revisiting the sea of Ed’s infamous shark fight), and had been in Creta for five days at that point. There was no question that their pile of souvenirs would only grow.
“Well, some of it’s gifts.” She’d bought a nice set of matching necklaces for Gracia and Elicia. Some of the alchemy books were for Al. There was a bottle of very expensive port for Granny.
Ed squeezed a scarf in between some of the tools and snapped the trunk closed. “I don’t think this’ll fit in the apartment.” Their two bedroom apartment was plenty spacious for them… but now Ed was bringing up a good point. They’d need an entire set of shelves for the new tools alone.
That was a problem for later. “We’ll figure it out,” Winry decided, waving a hand.
Later sort-of came that night, at somewhere around two in the morning. Winry stared at the ceiling of the hotel room, Ed snoring next to her. The two of them had definitely talked about the future in the more long term sense, but the reality hadn't really hit. How big of a house would they need? Kids, yes, but how many? They would need space for her workshop and Ed’s study. The space was easily feasible if they decided to stay in Resembool or move to Central, but they’d been leaning more towards Rush Valley.
Where would we even put it? She wondered. Desperate to have something else to focus on, Winry grabbed the half-eaten box of chocolate truffles from the bedside table and stuffed one into her mouth. How much did cars even cost? The only person she knew with one was General Mustang and there was just something weird about asking him about it. Winry groaned, devoured another truffle, and pulled the sheets over her head.
///
While waiting for their train at the Creta/Drachma border, they made the executive decision to buy another trunk. Just in case.
///
The agent at the train station on the other side of the border stared between Ed and his passport, a suspicious scowl on his face. “One moment,” he rumbled and slid out of his booth.
Ed and Winry watched him move to the back of the office to speak with another worker. The two of them passed Ed’s passport between them; their original agent pointed blatantly at Ed. Neither of them looked pleased.
“...Are we getting arrested?” Ed asked once two more workers joined the huddle.
“I think you’re getting arrested,” Winry replied. She had her passport and was good to go.
“Didn’t we just have a whole ceremony about sticking together ‘in sickness and health’ and all that?”
“You’re perfectly healthy.”
“I’m missing a leg.”
Any further debate was cut short by the original agent returning, with Ed’s passport stamped and cleared. “Welcome to Drachma,” he said stonily, making it clear his deepest wish at that moment was for Ed to be eaten by a bear.
///
The Hell’s Maw Spa and Baths in Drachma certainly lived up to its name. Despite it being well below freezing outside, the indoor thermal baths and massage rooms had her sweating almost the second she walked in. They were carved into the mountainside and an entire tourist town had popped up around it, complete with more shops and dining options than Winry would have expected this far out of the way in the countryside.
“I think you’re going to have to peel me off the floor,” Ed said as they changed into the provided robes. The full day spa (complete with lunch) had been Ed’s idea and Winry was more than happy to oblige.
The day had started with a couple’s massage, then they had split off to do their own thing. Winry had wanted to try the sauna and the hotsprings, but Ed had picked the mud bath.
Winry was halfway dozing when the door to the hotsprings cracked open. “Excuse me, Mrs. Rockbell?” An attendant had stuck her head in, looking mildly concerned. “We’ve run into a bit of a problem.”
Winry blinked, coming out of her stupor. “With?”
“Your husband. It’s his… leg?”
There was a beat of silence. “Oh god, his leg ,” Winry lamented. Ed was taking a mud bath with automail. How that had escaped both of them, she had no idea. It wasn’t surprising none of the workers had raised concerns when they’d come in - automail just wasn’t common enough in Drachma for it to be on their radar. This was very much on the two of them.
She sighed and stood, adjusting her robe. “Do you have anything to scrub? Or something that can fit into crevices? And a hose.”
The attendant gestured for her to follow. “He’s in the showers now. And I think we have some hoof picks for horses, if they would work?”
Winry surprised herself when she burst into giggles. “Yes, those’ll be fine.”
///
A stop at Viktor’s Haberdashery had been an impulse decision after a train delay had given them three hours to burn in the Drachman capital before heading back to Amestris. It was a perfect excuse to get out of the cold and do a little window shopping.
Except, of course, it turned out to be more than just browsing.
“Winry!” Ed called from somewhere in the back. “Come see!”
She put down the set of small metal drinking flasks she’d been examining. They were all long and narrow, with the small placard claiming that they would fit nicely inside of one’s walking stick. Winry made a note of the shape and size, tucking it away for future reference. Heat was an ongoing problem with automail - what if there was a way to store water in the limb to help keep it cool? She’d have to figure out a way to fill and drain without taking any of the plating off…
She sighed and grabbed the little boxed set again. It’s for work. I need it to experiment , she told herself firmly as she headed to the back of the store.
It was there she found Edward in front of several full sized dressing mirrors. A store attendant stood next to him, adjusting the monstrosity of a coat Ed was wearing.
“He said it complimented my hair,” Ed said pompously, turning to face her.
Frankly, it did. The cut of the coat was also very flattering. Some would say he looked dashing. But unfortunately it was all overwhelmed by the fully intact wolf skin, head and all, wrapped around the shoulders. “You look great, sweetie.”
Ed beamed and ended up buying the matching gloves.
///
Al stared as the train porter unloaded a grand total of five trunks onto the station platform. “I could have sworn they only had two of those,” he whispered to General Mustang, who had offered to come pick up the newlyweds from their tour de force across the continent.
The general’s lips pursed. “I think I’m going to call for another car,” he replied, turning and heading for the phone booths. It was the right call - there was no way the four of them and all the luggage would fit in one car.
Al watched him go and was promptly half-tackled in a hug. “Al! It’s good to see you!” Ed untangled himself and held Al out at arm’s length.
Al grinned back, then promptly stared at Ed’s left ear. “Did you get your ears pierced?” Not what he was expecting to say to his brother after nearly a month apart, but clearly Edward had his own agenda.
Ed reached up to touch the metal ring absently. “No, it’s just a cuff. Winry got one, too.”
They got matching jewelry . Al bit down on a grin. “That’s adorable.”
That got him a scowl and Ed poked his shoulder. “Careful, or I’ll keep all the gifts we got you. And you’ll regret it, they’re good.” He glanced around. “And where’s Mustang? I’m starving and he’s buying lunch.”
“I think you’re going to have to negotiate for that after bringing all those trunks back with you,” Al asked as Winry made her way over, offering up her own hug. Sure enough, there was a matching silver band on her ear. “But I do want to hear all the details.” Al was curious about the veritable dragon’s hoard that had come back with the newlyweds, but the slightly embarrassed look they exchanged absolutely cemented his guess that the two of them had an adventure.