August 13th, 1955

It had been Edward's idea. He and Winry traveled out to East City with Ethan on the train to see him settled into his dormitory for his first semester of college away from home. Will was on the same train of course, heading back for his final year, though he shared a berth with a couple of friends two cars down. After they got Ethan settled, Ed and Winry were going to spend a couple of months in Resembool visiting, and the whole family was going to meet up out there for the Harvest Festival.

In the three years Ed had reported to Roy in East City he had never paid much attention to the fact that there was a university in the city. It had grown a lot since then too, and was now a thriving educational center. Ed wanted as much time with Ethan as possible, but he had to admit that part of the trip was sheer curiosity.

The university turned out to be not too dissimilar from the others Ed had seen, in Creta, in Central, and in Europe years ago; a campus crowded with professors and young folks who were – mostly – eager to further their education on a higher level. It had privately amused Ed that he felt like he and Al had managed to learn infinitely more in their lives without sitting in classrooms, but he knew their experiences were rather unique in that respect.

Still, Ed liked universities the way he liked libraries. Any place with that much knowledge packed away in its resources and its people was a place he enjoyed going. This one turned out to be little different. They got Ethan settled into his room in the dormitory first. The dorms were more like big rambling houses, with neat old architecture. The students were assigned a house for the rest of their time at the University, and Ethan was assigned to Arc House, which also happened to be the house Will was in.

It was not one of the larger rooms, but that was because Ethan had requested a single. It was only a little smaller than Ethan's room at home though, so it hardly seemed cramped. There was a single bed, a desk with a chair and a built in shelf for books, and a chest of drawers. The far wall from the door had a good sized south facing window that let in plenty of light. The floors were wood, and the walls were cream colored and the room looked well used, but clean.

"So this is going to be my home away," Ethan chuckled as he set down his trunk next to the bed.

"I'm sure it will be cluttered and look just like your room at home in a couple of days," Winry smiled, looking around and depositing the two suitcases she had lugged up the stairs. Ed put down the one he was carrying as well. "Well shall we get you settled in?"

"You don't have to help me unpack, Mom," Ethan chuckled, giving her a hug. "I think I can put sheets on a bed."

"You need to go get enrolled and make sure everything is taken care of," Winry shook her head then looked at Ed. "Why don't you go with him? I'll stay here and get things ready."

"Come on, Ethan," Ed chuckled, shrugging. "Let's leave your Mom to her mothering and go get you into classes and make sure they'll feed you." Besides, he was the one handling paying for everything.

It took a couple of hours to get everything taken care of, but when they were finished Ethan was enrolled in classes for the semester, had his identification that was the key for getting books out of the library, food in the dining hall, and permission to shop in the student store. They picked up textbooks, supplies, snacks; supplemental shelving for all of Ethan's books, and it was all they could do to make themselves head back to Ethan's room instead of exploring the library.

Winry had been busy. Ethan's bed was made, curtains were hung for when he did not want all that light coming in, and there was a throw rug on the floor. All of the items were in Ethan's preferred shades of green. Those of his books that would fit were unpacked and put on the single shelf above the desk. The rest were stacked neatly, waiting for someplace to live for the next several months. All of Ethan's clothing was folded neatly in the drawers and, at least for the moment, fit perfectly. His green coat hung on the hook in the wall by the door, and his extra pairs of shoes and boots were lined up neatly under the foot of the bed. The portable radio he had brought sat on top of the dresser. "It's not much," Winry chuckled as they came in, "But I'd say it's not half bad."

"You're awesome, Mom," Ethan grinned.

"I expected you boys to take longer," Winry admitted as she surveyed the bags of supplies they had brought with them, and just rolled her eyes at the snacks. Ed knew she wouldn't say a thing though. Ethan would forget to come out of his room at home to eat without reminders if he got wrapped up in a project.

Ed shrugged. "We managed to stay on task, though that library's pretty tempting."

"That's why I thought you would take longer," Winry admitted smugly.

"Well yeah, that and all the hot teen-and-twenty-something coeds walking around," Ed couldn't help teasing. His grin just got wider as Ethan's pillow smacked him in the head with one of Winry's well-aimed throws.

Winry shook her head. "Hopeless."

Ethan laughed. "Wait… there are girls on this campus? How did I miss them?"

Ed rolled his eyes at the sarcasm. "At least we know you won't be distracted in class." Not that it had ever been a problem for his youngest son.

A polite knock came on the open door and they all turned to see a young man in his late twenties standing in the doorway. He smiled and offered a hand. "Good afternoon, I'm Matt Lauren, the house pop assigned to this floor."

Ah yes, the responsible adult; or at least, more so than the rest of the floor full of college students. Ed grinned and took the man's hand, shaking it. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Ed."

Matt smirked. "I had guessed actually, Sir. Mrs. Elric," he nodded politely to Winry as he dropped his hand and then grinned at Ethan. "Welcome to the house, Ethan. I wanted to let you know there's going to be a floor meeting in about an hour, and a house meeting later on tonight. Fortunately you seem to have already gotten pretty well settled. We'll be meeting in the lounge for the first one, and the main sitting room for the second after dinner. We'll be discussing the house rules, traditions, orientation schedules, that kind of thing."

"All right, thanks," Ethan smiled, coming over to join them. "I'll be there."

"Great," Matt nodded and headed for the door again. "Catch you then!"

"He seems nice enough," Winry commented. "Hopefully the rest of the boys on the house will be."

"Well Will's just downstairs," Ethan pointed out. "He said Arc's one of the quieter houses." At that moment there was a whoop in the hall on top of the ongoing sounds of several guys chatting, people moving in and catching up with friends, or meeting for the first time.

Winry looked skeptical. "Well for your sake I hope so. If this is quiet I hate to think how loud the other dormitories are."

Ethan laughed and shrugged. "It's college, Mom."

They stayed for another half hour or so then left when Ethan headed off to find the meeting and got talking with some of the other guys on the floor. It was time to let him find his feet on his own, and Ed suspected they were both reassured that he would be fine having seen the place for themselves.

"Envious?" Winry asked softly as they left campus and walked back towards the train station to catch the evening train toward Resembool.

"A little," Ed nodded, smiling. "Though could we not use that word please?" References to 'envy' still made him cringe even after all these years. "Yeah, I have to admit I might have enjoyed the chance to go somewhere where all I had to do was learn."

Winry slipped her arm around him as he put his around her shoulders in reciprocation. "Well you know, I could always pull out my old miniskirts and interrupt you when you're trying to read in bed," she eyed him wickedly.

Ed laughed, grinning, envy already forgotten. "How about we skip the miniskirt?" he suggested playfully.

"Seems reasonable," Winry teased back. "But if we do this right, you've got to treat me to dinner first and convince me you're better than all the other available guys."

"You're already wearing the ring."

"Oh yes, there is that."

August 15th, 1955

The trip to Resembool from East City only took a couple of days by train, which Ed appreciated. The train made almost no stops out that far in the country and could pick up more speed on the straight stretches for longer periods. So it was just before dinner when it pulled up in the familiar train station. As they got down, Aldon was waiting for them with Coran and Reichart. The five year old stood on the platform and ran towards them as they disembarked. Reichart, almost three and a half years old now, was seated squarely on Aldon's shoulders and simply waved excitedly.

"Grandpa!" Coran launched forward, though he seemed to catch himself, looking hesitant as he slowed up, then grabbed Ed in a much more controlled hug. "I missed you."

Ed caught him and hugged back tightly; glad for the enthusiasm, though Coran's hesitation made him wonder how much Aldon had told his oldest about Ed's recent health issues. "I missed you too, kiddo," he smiled. "Man you're getting big."

"Yep," Coran stepped back, grinning. "I can climb the tree by the road now."

"Impressive," Winry chuckled, setting down their suitcases and receiving Coran's second hug as Aldon joined them. "I look forward to seeing that."

"Hey Mom, Dad," Aldon smiled as he let Reichart down. "Good trip?"

Reichart gave them both slightly shy looks. Ed wasn't surprised. He had talked to the boy over the phone, but the last time they had seen him was over a year and a half ago at Sara's wedding. "Hi, Art," he bent down and held his arms out. "You want a hug too?"

Art nodded, then grinned and fell into Ed's arms, obviously deciding that Ed was familiar enough for that.

"The trip was fine," Winry commented with a smile. "Though given we only spent part of a day in East City, it's nice to be off a train for a while."

"Definitely," Ed smiled. Ed hadn't really had to try hard to get leave for a couple of months. While Al and Breda had let him back to work within a week of the heart attack, it had only been three months since then, and he still wasn't allowed to do more than stand in a room and bark orders in any of the combat classes. He was working out regularly with Al – and Winry – but the stamina he'd had was slow in returning.

"Where's Cassie?" Winry asked as Aldon picked up their suitcases. She got a hug from their younger grandson that was even stronger than he had given Ed. Obviously Winry's months spent there when he was tiny had left an impression.

"Keeping an eye on dinner," Aldon grinned. "I figured you'd be hungry."

"And how," Ed laughed as he got to his feet, ignoring the popping in his back. "Let's go. I've been looking forward to a good home cooked meal."

The walk up to the house was pleasant and familiar, and while the sun was setting, it was still hours until dark this time of the year. The weather was warm, and the sound of crickets and other summer insects hummed in the tall grass.

The house was as friendly as the last time Ed had seen it, if not more so. He and Winry hadn't been down to visit since he came crawling to beg for her forgiveness over two years ago.

The house smelled of roast mutton and vegetables when they entered, a smell that reminded Ed very much of his childhood days. With all the sheep in Resembool, lamb and mutton were more common dishes here than in some other areas. The distinct scent was unmistakable. "It smells like heaven in here," he chuckled as they came in the front door, the two boys running past them.

Cassie was standing in the open kitchen area by the stove, checking the roast that had clearly just come out of the oven. She turned, grinning, and Ed had a moment's pause.

Winry squealed first. "Aldon! You didn't tell us."

A wide grin split Aldon's face as Winry hugged their daughter-in-law who was definitely once again pregnant judging from the tell-tale little bump that Ed knew only too well what that meant. It might not have been obvious to some, but it was to him on Cassie's thin frame. "That would have ruined the surprise."

Ed gave his son a knowing smirk. "Trying to out do me?"

Aldon shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea."

"I think it's wonderful," Winry was beaming. Of course, that was what Ed would have expected. "So how far along are you?"

"About three months," Cassie smiled and almost at once the two women were engrossed in baby talk.

"This could last a while," Ed chuckled. "How about we do something unexpected and set the table?" Otherwise, they might never eat!

"That's my chore anyway," Aldon admitted with a shake of his head. He had already set down the suitcases by the door. "Let's go."

Dinner was delicious, and accompanied by happy chatter. Mostly it was Winry and Cassie deep in conversation, exchanging notes, with Ed or Aldon chiming in with occasional points or commentary, or Coran and Reichart taking over the conversation long enough to babble about some adventure they had in the back yard. When it was over, Winry went upstairs to help Cassie bathe the boys and get them settled down in their room for the night.

Aldon and Ed crashed on the living room furniture, and Ed was glad to put his feet up on something that wasn't moving. He kicked off his shoes, stretched out on the couch, his head pillowed against the arm rest and his hands crossed behind his head.

"So will you be up for helping me build that monster play ground?" Aldon asked when they were alone. He tried to sound casual, but Ed knew what his son was really asking. It was a valid question. Still, he dodged the subject.

"Of course I am," Ed chuckled. "Though I might slow you down some."

"Doubtful," Aldon smiled. "The two of us will still be faster than me alone, and I'd rather do it with you."

It was nice that there was a project that Ed and Aldon could do together. Those had been rare things when Aldon still lived at home. "Then I'm sure we can get it done before everyone gets here for the Harvest Festival," Ed replied.

"Sure. So how are you really, Dad?" Aldon asked more directly this time. Obviously he wanted to know. He had been good about never asking about it in detail on the phone. The look on his face now though said he wanted a more direct answer, and not one coming through Ethan or Sara.

Ed sighed. "Frustrated," he admitted with a slight shrug. "I mean, Doc Gray thinks I'm doing great, but I still can't do more than practice drills with Alphonse." That was what frustrated him. The doctor was thrilled with his progress but Ed still felt like he was getting nowhere. He had covered this ground before and there was little chance he would be able to regain all of it given how impaired he had been after the first attack. "If I push anything, or even just forget, I get tired and my heartbeat gets erratic and I have to stop."

Aldon looked sympathetic. "So have you learned to take it easy yet?"

"Getting there," Ed smirked. "It's a little unfair when you don't have any say in it though." Having to stop and rest irked him, knowing he used to be able to do more, and his limitations were entirely his own fault.

"If I knew how it was done I'd show you," Aldon chuckled.

"Somehow I don't think you spend a lot of time taking it easy around here," Ed agreed. Not with his work, Cassie's work, everything they had done on the house, two energetic boys, and a third kid coming!

"That's the truth," Aldon replied with an emphatic nod, though Ed found it funny that his son looked far more relaxed than Ed could remember being at that age himself. Of course, when he was Aldon's age, twenty-five, he was still living in Europe with Alphonse, trying to stop Huskisson and find a way to permanently close 'their side' of the Gate. He'd just been figuring out how much of a fool he really had been to give up on the greatest love he would likely have ever found. And here Aldon was happily married, with a family, work he loved, and a good life to show for his efforts.

"Maybe I'll learn a little bit about it while I'm here anyway," Ed couldn't help chuckling briefly. "If nothing else, you are infinitely more efficient at just about everything, especially when it comes to getting life in order."

"Given the lectures we got when Cassie and I got married, I find that statement ironic, Dad," Aldon pointed out, smiling. "Besides, I think you've proven that the hard part isn't necessarily getting it in order, but keeping it there when things get rough."

That really was the crux of it all, wasn't it? "Then learn the lesson and never make my mistakes," Ed replied, sighing. "It's not worth the pain." He didn't say heartache. It was too literal.

"Believe me, I'll do my best," Aldon promised. "But it's my experience that in trying to avoid other people's mistakes, we usually make whole new ones."

"Well make smaller ones then!" Ed snorted, amused by his son's logic. It was all too true.

Aldon chortled. "Now that I think I can do!"

August 17th, 1955

"It's only Wednesday and you've already got your nose buried in a book, E?" Colt Barrnes snorted from the seat to Ethan's right at the table they were sitting at in the café in the student union building. Colt lived in the room right next door to Ethan and they had been palling around together since Orientation. Ethan still wasn't sure why Colt insisted on shortening his name to "E", but he was too laid back to argue. He'd never actually had a nickname before, and it was better than Eth.

The café was in the large open area of the union, tiled floor, brick walls, and a vaulted ceiling with a large skylight that gave him plenty of good reading light this time of day.

"They're already giving us tests, my nose stays in the book," Ethan replied with a casual shrug and a small smirk. He also had a tougher semester than his fellow freshman and his buddies, given how many courses he had taken or tested for before coming to ECU. His classes this semester consisted of Third Semester Biology, Third Semester Chemistry – which finally covered 'theories of alchemy' – and Second Semester Medical Science – which was a combination of biology, medical chemistry specifically, and some discussion of auto-mail and other prosthetics. That was it for sciences anyway. He was also taking Basic Psychology and, for fun, Xingese History.

He could almost hear Lance Long, Colt's best buddy who lived two doors further down, rolling his eyes. Colt and Lance were both nice guys, but they found Ethan's studiousness amusing. "You're going to make the rest of us look bad, aren't you?" Lance laughed, slurping his soda.

Ethan shrugged. "That's up to you, now, isn't it?"

"Man, you can't even heckle this guy effectively," Colt snorted, but he sounded amused.

The Xingese history text was really interesting. It was as Ethan was turning a page that something outside the book caught his eye. In all the crowded room he wasn't sure why, but he caught sight of a particular flash of movement going past and shifted his gaze up just as a girl walked past, chatting with her friends.

Pale, sunny golden hair pulled back in a casual twist, topped a slim, curvy figure covered in a thin-strapped cream tank top and a rose colored skirt that came to just above the knees. Long, smooth legs stretched down to the ground ending in feet in white, strappy low-heeled sandals; fashionable and definitely lovely. He watched as she and her friends sat down across the clear space in the middle of the room, just a few tables away. Deep blue eyes, delicately refined features… but why was he drawn to her? Okay yeah, she was gorgeous, there was no denying that! But Ethan wasn't used to being distracted by a girl walking by, not when he was engrossed in a book.

Unfortunately, his eyes lingered a little too long.

"Oh ho….so he is alive," Colt grinned, following Ethan's sideways gaze much more openly. "She's a fox! Nice taste, E. You should go over and say hello."

"I don't think so," Ethan immediately looked back down at the printed page in front of him. It was safer!

But it was too late. "No way," Lance snatched at the book, and while Ethan was far too skilled to let him actually get a hold of it when he could easily dodge with minimal effort, he knew this was going to get interesting fast. "That's the first time I've seen you notice a girl's existence all week, Elric. I was beginning to think you were going to be one of those studious monastic types."

"That would be a very apt description," Ethan snorted, unembarrassed by the idea. It was accurate to his usual lifestyle.

Colt shook his head. "Hopeless. If you don't grab your chance now every guy on campus will be after that babe."

Ethan sighed, glancing briefly in the girl's direction. She was sitting, eating a fresh salad and sipping from a glass of iced tea. There were an awful lot of guys looking in her direction; all three of the girls were pretty good looking. And there was just something…different about this one. "Fine," he closed the book. "If I go over and introduce myself will you two leave me alone?"

"For a few days," Lance laughed.

Colt nodded, smirking "Deal."

A little unbelieving that he was actually doing this, Ethan stood up and tried his best to look casual and not feel like he was standing in a spotlight as he walked over to the table. The girls didn't seem to notice him coming. As he got closer, all Ethan could really notice was those long, slim legs angled his direction, the big blue eyes that smiled as the girl laughed at something. He felt more than a little self conscious as he stopped at the table and the girls all looked up. Ethan only hoped he wasn't blushing as he opened his mouth to speak –

- only to be interrupted as the blonde's eyes lit up in instant recognition and she squealed, jumped up, and wrapped her arms around him. "Ethan!"

For the first time in his life, Ethan was rendered completely speechless for several seconds. Eyes wide, he took a step back and really looked at that face. He felt like an idiot immediately. He knew that face, even if the rest of the body was unfamiliar. "Lia! What are you doing here?" This was not the skinny little tomboy he remembered.

Lia – it really was her – laughed. "Going to college like everyone else," she teased. "Surprised?"

"Very." Ethan had told her in his letters what his plans were for college, but she had never mentioned that she was coming to East City in hers! At that point he hugged her back. They hadn't managed a face to face visit in years since she had moved to South City from Central, and he hadn't seen a picture in forever either. Still, this was his best friend! "I think I can definitely say this is the biggest surprise I've had in a while!" Good surprise anyway.

"That was the idea," Lia giggled. "I was wondering when I would find you."

"Hey Li," one of the girls at the table – the brunette – chuckled. "Are you going to introduce us to the stud?"

Now Ethan was blushing.

Lia just laughed. "Ethan, these are my friends Stacia and Cindy. They went to high school with me." Cindy was the red-head apparently. Ethan recognized both names from letters. "Ladies, this is Ethan Elric."

The light bulb look on Stacia's face made him nervous. "So you're Ethan."

"We've heard about you," Cindy chuckled, then glanced behind him. "So who are your friends?"

Ethan didn't have to glance behind him to know that Colt and Lance were certainly watching openly. "Them? They're in Arc house with me."

"Well since you're in with Lia here, maybe you can give us an intro," Stacia laughed.

"We were going to hang out at the Pub tonight," Ethan suggested with a shrug. The Pub was actually a little restaurant and coffee bar just off campus that catered to the college crowd. "Why don't you ladies come along?"

"Great," Lia smiled. "It'll give us a chance to catch up. I'm afraid I've got class soon," she looked disappointed. "So you're in Arc?"

Ethan nodded. "Which dorm are you in?"

"We're in Sylvan House," Cindy volunteered, mentioning one of the ladies dorms in the next quadrant over. It was the one that Arc actually did a lot of social events with. Well that was convenient.

"Great," Ethan smiled, relaxing. This could have gone so much worse. "See you ladies tonight around seven?"

"We'll be there," Cindy grinned.

"See you later," Lia gave him another quick hug than sat down and went back to eating her food, a little faster since they had just taken up most of what was apparently a short lunch.

"See you." Ethan turned and strolled back over to the other table, where Colt and Lance were staring at him in amazement.

"You've been holding out," Lance accused as Ethan sat down and picked up his book again. "She was all over you! And the others, man, what did they say?"

Ethan shrugged. "That's Lia. She's one of my best friends. The others," he couldn't help smiling casually, "said they'd meet us tonight at the Pub."

Colt and Lance exchanged glances, then Colt's grin broadened. "You, my dear friend," he laughed, "are a lady magnet. I don't know how, or why, but we've definitely got to keep you around."

"Glad to know I'm useful for something," Ethan flipped open the book again and tried to pick back up where he left off.

"So, the blonde's a friend of yours," Lance commented contemplatively. "Girlfriend?"

"Best friend," Ethan replied shortly.

"I see, well then," Lance leaned back and sipped his drink. "She's free game to make a move on her."

An oddly protective feeling surged through Ethan and he glared over at Lance. "Touch her and die, Long."

"He's awfully territorial, isn't he?" Colt smirked.

"What?" Ethan glowered at him too. "We've been friends since we were little. I'm allowed to be protective."

"And what am I going to do?" Lance asked, spreading his arms in a gesture of innocence.

"That's what I'm afraid to find out," Ethan sighed.

"Besides," Colt actually came to his defense. "The way she hugged him, you think you have a shot, Lance?"

"Probably not," Lance sighed, glancing back over at the girls. "The red-head's cute."

"So I'll take the brunette," Colt chuckled. "And fair's fair."

Ethan studiously stared at the page in front of him, backing up a few sentences from where he had left off, and tried to ignore the odd feeling in the pit of his stomach that had formed when Colt suggested that perhaps Lia was interested in him. That was ridiculous… wasn't it?