"It's alright, Ed," Pinako said, her voice uncharacteristically soft for once. "We know."
The pesky feeling of tears at the back of his eyes made him blink hard but his efforts were wasted when Winry and Pinako both put their arms around him and the tears slipped down his cheeks. When Al joined in the hug Ed couldn't help but let out a muffled sob as the tears kept coming and he was able to hold them all in his arms at last.
Any gratitude he felt disappeared the next day when Winry slammed into his room and threw an even dozen's worth of bags on his bed and said "Try these on. Now."
He looked at the bags and then at her and said "Why."
She hit him with her wrench.
Ed started changing.
Three hours later and it had been determined that she was now a size 12 in most things, that her cup size was 'B', that strong vibrant colours suited her best and that pastels were to be avoided. T-shirts and tank tops were acceptable but shorts were put on the 'maybe later' list. Ed discovered that jeans were his new best friend and that buttons on girls' shirts were on the wrong side. Dresses were met with approval from Winry and Pinako although the expression on Al's face rather scared him. Ed decided that dresses had to be the most disconcerting article of clothing there was. Unlike the comforting confines of jeans and trousers, dresses made him feel like he had an empty space beneath him. It was most unsettling. That was when boy-leg underwear became his second best friend and his bra the third even if it was the most hellish thing to do up.
Pinako was the one to introduce him to the inner workings of the bra after he got tangled in it for the third time. Winry had refused to help further and stalked from the room. Pinako and Ed had shared a look and a one-sided shrug before Pinako had closed the door and begun to explain the straps and hooks to Ed. Because of the new port and the inability of his fingers to work the small hooks together behind his back he could not put it on the normal way. So Pinako showed him how to latch the hooks with the bra on backwards before turning it around and then to slip his arms through the straps. It took him ten minutes. Pinako assured him that by the time his port didn't hurt and his fingers had regained their dexterity he would be much quicker and possibly even able to put it on with the usual method.
Ed had never thought that this one article of clothing could cause him more trouble than any of the others. His eyebrow had risen fractionally at the lace edging of the royal-blue fabric. Pinako had smiled knowingly as she loosened the right strap to ease the pressure it was putting on the automail port.
"Ed, a girl always has some lace on her lingerie." Pinako offered the advice with a sly smile. "It's amazing what a scrap of lace and silk can do for a woman's confidence. Especially when she's the only one who knows its there."
Ed's eyes opened wide as Pinako continued "There's a wider choice in Central. You should go shopping while you're there and have a good look around. Hopefully we have given you enough of a start for you to be able to formulate your own style. Because only you Ed, will ever truly know what feels right for you." Then she winked as she left the room. "Just don't forget the lace."
Ed finally reappeared wearing the new jeans, a t-shirt and a long sleeved over-shirt. His hands and feet were bare and gloves and shoes had been placed on the next order. Although he was comfortable with his automail here, he didn't like exposing it everywhere he went so most of his clothes had long sleeves or could be layered to conceal his arm. Hiding his arm was something he was very familiar with, but when Winry grabbed him and sat him down in front of a mirror he discovered a whole new facet to the word concealment.
Little boxes and tubes littered the table in front of him. Tiny palettes of colours and small brushes were scattered in some arcane pattern he couldn't discern.
"It's make-up, Ed. It highlights and emphasizes your features and hides imperfections." Winry said brightly as she looked at him in the mirror. Golden eyes went very wide and his face paled abruptly. Winry thought he might faint.
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