Convincing ed to cross the bridge

"Come on, Ed. You haven't been across the bridge eight years." There was a pause. "Graduation night," they said in unison. Two stupid kids fresh out of college and dumb enough to think they were smart because of it. Ed shivered and turned away. "No thank you. I am not crossing that bridge." Omni scratched his head and looked down. It was only after Ed couldn't see that Omni winced. Omni wished he could defend Ed, but his good friend had deserved the abuse he had received inside the bar. And outside of the bar. And his very near drowning at the hands of those who had been in the bar. He'd told Ed not to go head-to-head with a dragon, in the dragon's own bar, but Ed hadn't listened. After his near drowning Ed had been all too eager to pay attention when Dargo Draconian had threatened him with, "I see you on this side of the bridge again and we'll have words." Nearly a decade and Ed still wasn't prepared to face the man. Still, there were somethings that were bigger than Ed's fragile ego. "Ed, I didn't want to tell you this, I saw a hat today." Ed went still. Having been like brothers he understood exactly what Omni was telling him and it went far deeper than hats. "A hat?" he repeated, just to be sure, but he knew. Omni would have said “the word" in such a serious way if it wasn't serious. "Yes, Ed. A hat," Omni said. He couldn't believe the hat he'd seen. The perfection of it had been...perfect. "It was beautiful." He smiled at the memory of the way his heart jumped then fluttered softly into bliss the instant he saw it. "Feathers and fluff," he moved his hands about his head in a large encompassing way. "It had ribbons, of course, but birds, ed. It had birds," his words drifted off as a soft smiled touched his face. "You know how I love birds in a hat. and it was pink, Ed. A big pink profusion of perfection." Everything in him wanted that hat. "It was there, calling to me like a beacon and I followed as long as I could, but it was just out of reach and then I lost it in the crowd," Omni breathed out and dug his fingers into his hair. He had gone a little crazy in panic for a moment when he'd lost sight, but a few quick questions to those around him assured him that he'd find the hat again. “I have reason to believe that a milliner has opened nearby. I wasn't sure if I should or could or--” "I'll go," Ed said on a burst. Omni stilled in hope, still a little shaken by the sight of the hat, let allow what Ed was offering. "You will?"  “Yes. You must find that hat. I’m your friend. I’m helping. I can’t have you going into a milliner’s alone. It’s not safe.” It wasn’t. The stories Omni could tell weren’t pretty and he wasn’t proud, which is why he said, “Thank you, Ed. Perhaps we should enlist Meridith as well.” Ed nodded. “We’d better. Just to be safe.”