11/9/13 A/N: You'll not believe what inspired me to write this…a freakin' commercial for low-testosterone medicine that had a mature couple on a trip in a convertible. I kept thinking how cute Ed and Winry would be when the kids were all grown and they were together and still very much in love. It morphed into a semi-sad piece on remembrance too.
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In Memoriam
He loved the way the setting sun filtered through her long, silky hair. Sure, strands of white now intermingled with the gold, but it just made her ever more precious to him. Time marked both of them with age but his wife still remained the breathtaking beauty he used to call "un-cute" when they were kids. He couldn't believe she chose him, she agreed to give him her whole life instead of the ridiculous half he'd originally asked for in his proposal.
"Are you cold?" He started to remove his jacket to give to her, but she shook her head.
"Nah, just stay close, I'll be fine." The pink and gold hues of the sky were reflected in her eyes and she clutched the bouquet flowers in the crook of her arm as they walked.
The blond man took his companion's words to heart and wrapped his right arm around her, bringing her strong frame closer. The two walked down the familiar path of worn stones and gravel, a road that somehow escaped being paved by the county (despite his fervent and many times ranting letters demanding they pave to save the tires on his automobile.) He spied a familiar spot along the rock wall that rolled along the right side of the old road. A place years earlier, his still-frail little brother rested on their journey back home, back to her.
She noticed his goofy smile and remembered him telling her how he offered to carry Al back and how the younger Elric refused. "When we get back to the house, let's call Alphonse. It's been a while." Her optimistic smile vanquished any sad thoughts of years gone by in his mind.
"I'd like that."
The two finally made it to the old bone yard, the resting place of many loved ones and family. Over the years, the tiny burgh of Resembool grew into a nice little town. A newer, more groomed cemetery cropped up a few miles away so the old one wasn't used except for the handful of families in the general area. Over the years, its well-maintained lawn became over grown and some of the older tombstones forgotten in the weeds. However, they had done their best, along with some of their neighbors, to clean it up. Both gazed quite proudly at the results of their efforts-clean headstones and weed free areas reminded them of how it used to be here. They also noticed that they were not alone. He nodded respectfully at the others here on this day of remembrance, knowing that to speak on such a solemn occasion would be tacky.
She smiled as they came to their family plot, still very happy at how the cemetery now looked and that the others came to honor their loved ones as well. "Ed, this was a really great idea. Look at their happy faces." His wife motioned to their neighbors.
"I couldn't stand that it fell apart…our parents are here." He squeezed her shoulder, his arm still holding her tightly. "Our Sarah's here…" He just knew thinking of the child they lost would make him cry and he fought it.
"No, just the bones, Ed." Her nose scrunched up as she thought and carefully chose her words. "Don't you believe that now, after everything?"
He took her stunning face in his hands and then stroked an errant strand of hair from her eyes. "I used to think that when you die, that was it." Chuckling, he continued. "But, yeah, seeing how the soul can be separated from the body if the mind link is severed…I think maybe there's more to it than just decomposition when you die. I don't think humans will ever truly know where the soul goes when that link is severed." He hugged her tightly.
"Still talking like an alchemist…" She placed her hand on his face, liking the feeling of short stubble. Winry also thought he'd aged like a priceless piece of art-his golden eyes still shone bright and large despite now needing glasses and his long hair still held back tight as messy fringe framed his now distinguished face. She also enjoyed just looking up at him, she never forgot all those years she towered over him. "And you're wrong." Her eyebrow arched.
"Wrong about what?" Oh, no, she wasn't challenging his knowledge.
"About humans never really knowing what happens after you die." Her matter-of-fact attitude made him angry for a split second.
"We can't know, there's no way to test it!" What was this woman trying to prove?
"Oh Ed." She loved that he was so smart, a genius, but sometimes missed the obvious. "EVERY human will find out…when they die."
God, he loved her. He loved that she was right. He loved that no matter what scientific mumbo jumbo he threw at her she could break it down into common sense and unravel his logic without so much as a breath of thought beforehand. "You did it again. You ALWAYS do it."
"Do what?"
"You can undo my logic in a split second…" They both turned to the headstones. "Upend any scientific principle with a wave of your hand."
"Oh, give me a break." She broke away from her husband to lay some of the pink flowers on her daughter's grave, and she closed her eyes for a second as in silent prayer.
He knew she was saying her private words to Sarah, so he closed his eyes and did the same. Although he didn't really know or want to believe in an afterlife, if there really was one, he'd hope that she'd be there waiting for them when it was their turn. That thought made the ache in his heart ease up a bit. Still, their other children needed them and they needed their children. Ed thought how precious this short life truly was. They lost one child but their lives went on. He and Winry raised smart and strong little Elrics and although their kids were scattered throughout Amestris, they always came home or called for comfort or advice. He wanted to be here for as long as possible for them. He knew Winry did too.
"Do you want to see Trisha and Hohenheim now?" She gathered up the rest of the flowers, separating the bunch into two and handing Edward half.
"Yeah, I'll do that. You can go visit Granny, and Auntie Sarah and Uncle Urey." He lovingly took the bouquet.
"Ok, be with you in a minute." She gave him a warm kiss on his cheek, not wanting to stray too far from her husband's warm body. Winry silently scolded herself for not wearing a jacket.
After the memorial concluded and the couple said their words to the lost family, they reunited with the husband once again wrapping a warm arm around the wife. They smiled at their neighbors and slowly made their way back to the big yellow house on the hill.
"For someone who can break my logic so easily, you're rather absent minded about the weather…you should have worn a jacket!" He half-teased and half-scolded her.
"Can it, Ed." She didn't like him being right as much as he hated when she was. "Just get us back to the house."
"So you can warm up as if you wore a jacket in the first place?" He couldn't hide the monstrous grin slowly spreading across his face.
"I was thinking YOU could warm me up, Ed." She broke from his embrace and nearly ran ahead of him, toward the house.
"M,m,me?" He almost missed what she insinuated…almost. "Oh, yeah. I'll warm you up!" He ran after his spry wife and despite both of them being mature and having grown children, that day, they carried on like teenagers and by nightfall, neither one was cold at all.
They'd have to call Alphonse another time.
-end