Edward couldn't believe that this little baby could eat so much. He swore that she could eat more than himself and Al combined and she was only eight months. But it wasn't that surprising considering how much she looked like her mother. Winry could just about eat a house if she wanted too. Edward fed her more, examining her thick blonde tufts of hair and wide blue eyes. Edward had asked Winry right after she was done giving birth if she had produced this one asexually this time, and the only reason why he didn't receive a thwack over the head was because she was sleepy.
She was better than her brother who was a little hellion who liked to throw his food and kick his father whenever he said he couldn't go out to play because of research-even if he did relent and go out to play more often than not because he wasn't about to become his father. He made a silly face at the little blue eyed monster as she began to giggle and smack her little hands against the high chair. He rolled his eyes and reached for a napkin to wipe the dribble off her chin.
"You eat like a damn pig, Sarah," Ed grumbled.
"Speak for yourself." If he hadn't seen movement from the corner of his eye, he would of sworn his daughter just spoke to him. He wouldn't question her sounding exactly like Winry at this point.
"Hey!" Edward shot a glare over at his wife leaning against the the door frame with raised eyebrows.
"Don't make that face at me, Edward Elric! It's not my fault you taught her how to slurp your food!"
"What?! I taguht her that? Your table manners are worse than most bulls! And you taught Henry the word cu-" Winry rushed to slapp her hand over Ed's mouth, glowering at her husband.
"And we won't be teaching Sarah that word, will we?" Ed let out a snort, smacking her hand away. "Edward! I will not have her first word be a cuss word!"
"Sure, sure." Edward grinned at his wife's annoyed expression. "C'mon Win, she isn't gonna start talking for a while. I'm sure she'll forget all about Henry's little potty mouth and start spouting some automail medical crap or some chemical equation. Won't you, Sarah?" He made a face at his daughter, which set her off into a fit of giggling.
Winry shook her head, coming over and swooping Sarah out of the high chair. "C'mon, let's leave your father and go to bed to his shenanigans. Maybe his face will get stuck like that and actually be appealing for once."
Edward let out a noise that was a mix between laughter and objection as Winry stalked out of the room. Shaking his head, he kicked back his feet on the table and smiled as he heard the creaking of the stairs as his wife brought her daughter up- no doubt already starting to talk her to sleep. That was his favorite part. Neither Winry or him did the whole 'sing your kid to sleep' thing, and neither of them really remembered any lullabies from when they were sung to sleep, so they just... talked to them. It seemed to work just as well.
He would miss that when they grew older. Ed frowned, thinking of the giant file of research he and Al would be delivering to Mustang next week. He wasn't looking forward to going to Central and seeing the bastard- Edward would deny their friendship to the grave, no matter what Winry said. This time, going wasn't really his choice. He was sure that his research, combined with what Al was learning in Xing, would be the start of a breakthrough when it came to learning about alchemy. The former state alchemist was what was now known as an independent researcher. He was paid what Edward amounted to be three State Alchemists paychecks and Mustang knew who to trust with the information; it was an overall good agreement.
Edward just didn't want to leave his family. He knew once he got there and made it past Mustang's playful jabs about him going soft it wouldn't be the worst experience, but the thought of Winry here alone with their two children and running the shop wasn't too pleasant to think about. Sure, she'd have Granny stopping by, and Garfiel was coming by to help man the shop, but-
"Edward?"
Ed snapped out of his thoughts as his wife reentered the room. He blinked, taking his feet off the table before Winry could scold them. "Hey Win. They both asleep already?"
Winry nodded, slipping into the seat next to him. "Henry looks just like you when he's sleep- especially since he drools." Edward snorted. "And Sarah was out almost immediately."
"Think she'll sleep through the night?"
Winry made a face. "Probably going to wake up at two with a diaper change." Edward nodded. He figured as much. "Do you think it's normal that she still doesn't sleep through the night?"
Ed glanced at his wife. "Al didn't until he was at least ten months. Granny says that mom got so frustrated because once he would wake up, I would wake up, and then it would be a giant mess. I don't remember seeing her frustrated though." He saw her shoulders relax and she nodded.
"Your mom was good at hiding it, I think. But I'd be frustrated too! Luckily, Henry could sleep through a freight train crashing into his bedroom." Winry grimaced slightly, while Ed let out a laugh. "What time do you leave next week?"
"Monday morning at ten."
Winry nodded, glancing over at her husband. "Right, I'll give you a tune up tomorrow then. So you get a few days to be sore before you go see Colonel Mustang. I have to widen the port a bit to relieve pressure on your your thigh. That's going to hurt more thank you think it's going to, Edward." Winry gave him a look. She didn't think he should travel when such a heavy tune up was necessary.
"You know he isn't a Colonel anymore, right?" Edward shot back. He rolled his eyes when she lightly smacked his arm. He knew that wasn't the point she was making. "I'll get Al to transmute me a cane if I need it. Don't worry."
Winry glowered at him. "Right. All my worries have disappeared."
"Right."
"Oh please, Ed." Winry said, rolled her eyes into the back of her head. "And you have to go next week?"
"Do you know how hard it is to schedule a meeting with the Bastard these days? With him all lined up to become the new Fuhrer, he's too busy kissing babies and doing back flips for Grumman. He barely makes time to even breathe in our general direction," he muttered.
Winry smiled slightly. "I'm sure Roy has just about fifty other things to do, and he still makes time seeing you at the top of the list. I do wish you didn't have to go, though," she murmured, leaning into him slightly. Ed glanced down at her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"I know, but it was either now or in a month. And if you think I'm missing Granny's thousandth birthday-"
"She is not a thousand!"
"- She's going to outlive our children!"
"Well I hope she does!" Winry said, stiffly. Edward blinked, before realizing the problem. Pinako had gone into retirement nearly six months ago when she realized she could no longer hold tools without her hands having a bad tremor to them. Now she usually just performed consultations whenever they were requested. Winry was concerned that it was almost time for her to go, even if Ed insisted that she was as strong as a bull. But he also had to remind her that everyone will die eventually. It would be awful of him to tell her otherwise. She wasn't ready for Granny, but no one was really ready for it. Edward didn't want the old bitch to die either.
"No one lives forever." He brushed a piece of hair out of her face. Winry pressed her lips together in a thin line and let out a long sigh and leaned into him.
"I know. I just wish they did." Edward thought that reminding her about the price it took to live longer would be cruel.
"Me too."
"Hey Ed?"
"What?"
"You'll see Lieutenant Hawkeye, right?" He looked down at her.
"She isn't a Lieutenant anymore either." Edward reminded her.
"You hardly knew what their ranks where when you were sixteen, give me a break!" Winry snapped. "Well, will you?"
"Yeah, I'll see her. Captain Hawkeye-" Winry playfully glared up at him. "-is still following the bastard around. God knows why, she's too good for him. Why?"
Winry was silent for a moment before sighing. "It's sad, isn't it?" His brows furrowed.
"What?"
"She loves him, doesn't she?" Winry pushed herself into Edward and he tightened his grip around her.
"It's her job to protect him. She lives so she can protect him and raise his ass to the top," Edward replied. He was reminded of when Hawkeye told him he had to focus on living because it was the only way he could protect those he loved. After all, he loved Winry, right? He almost grimaced at the memory of his teenage self trying to insist that they were like brother and sister and that she was just a family friend. Winry was never just a family friend to him. He was just a stubborn jackass. And when he thought of the Lieutenant and the Colonel (because Winry was right, he'd never really see them otherwise) on the Promised Day... His wife was right. "Yeah. She loves him. I think he loves her too."
"I think so too. Remember them at our wedding?"
"Which part? The one where she had to take his ass to the motel after he got plastered? Because she has to love him if she's dealing with that bull-" Winry shot him a look, and punched him in the arm.
"No. How they both looked so... somber during the ceremony." Edward frowned, remembering the look on Mustang and Hawkeye's faces from the crowd; almost like they were watching something that pained them. Edward hadn't understood it, but when Mustang saw that Ed was staring at him he started smirking and making faces until Hawkeye elbowed him in the stomach.
"Yeah, I remember."
"Aren't there rumors about them?"
"Yeah, but nothing's ever taken seriously. It's probably because they maintain a professional relationship, even when off duty," Edward said, thoughtfully. "Anything that happened during the Promised Day or after, during their recovery period, was overlooked. Possibly because of the dire situations and the severe stress."
"I see..." Winry frowned. Edward knew she probably didn't like the fact that Riza and Roy was suffering. "And they can't do anything about it because of the military. There are laws, right?"
Edward nodded. "Probably. Didn't really pay much attention to that when I was a part of it." He wasn't liking the look of her frown.
"I wish more people could be as lucky as us," Winry murmured, burrowing into his side. Edward stared at her, his grip tightening around her.
Lucky? With the two of them raising two loud and obnoxious hellions and an automail business out in the middle of what was slowly being considered 'no where', even with their relocation to Dublith. They were the makings for a disaster.
"You think we're lucky?"
Winry glanced up at him and nodded.
Edward began to chuckle. He was sure that he would never trade this life for anything. The happiness he felt daily was something he knew many people aimed for. And when he thought of all the other people in his life and their own happiness (some of which were currently unobtainable), he couldn't help but feel pretty damn lucky.
"I think so too."