Disclaimer: Owning FMA would be a great dream, but simply not possible.

Warning: yaoi, mpreg sequel, discussions of sex, separation anxiety

Baby: 6 months

Dark hair swung as the slim form stalked through the house. The walls seemed much too small to contain the energy vibrating through him and he cracked his knuckles, back, neck, anything he could move. His hands flexed and his steps bounced a bit, shapes shifting randomly.

"Envy, stop it!" There, the source of this unused energy. Ed was standing in the door, holding the baby. His hair was wild, the tie barely keeping the largest part back, never mind the bangs or little tendrils escaping. His cheeks were still wet; he'd just stopped crying, seemingly in time with the little girl. "You're upsetting her."

"Am not." He paced more, shifting with each step. "Come to bed."

"No, I'm trying to get Cat to sleep." He made faces down at her and bounced a bit.

"Just put her down. She'll go to sleep on her own." Purple eyes narrowed at the blond. "Come to bed."

A deep sigh and the older man glared more. "What is with you? If you want to go to bed that badly, go. I'll be there later."

"No, I want you to come with me." Gold stared at him, then narrowed dangerously.

"This is about sex again, isn't it? I'm TIRED, Envy, I just don't have the energy." A faint growl and they stood glaring at each other.

"Well, if you'd put her down, you wouldn't be tired. Come on, it's been months!" He stalked over to use his height to intimidate his partner. "Your stomach isn't even sore anymore."

"And how would you know?" The shorter man fumed up, not intimidated in the least.

A grab was made for the baby but she was moved and kept out of range. "I can't smell blood or healing skin anymore, so you must be fine. Give."

"No. I have to hold her a bit more." Cat started to fuss, kicking and whimpering. "Damn it, now look what you did."

"Me? Just put her down. That's all you do anymore, hold that kid. She's gonna be a wimp if you don't let go." The blond ignored him, cooing to their daughter. "Fine. You can beg whenever you decide you want to get laid."

"Oh, fuck you, Envy." The metal hand waved at him and he stalked to the door.

"I'm trying!" The door slammed behind him and he heard Cat start to cry. He stood in the hall, head pressed to the door and listened. When she stopped and he went back to their room, the bed mocked him, all fluffy blankets and soft pillows.

A burst of absolute rage shook his thin frame and he dragged the blankets off and shredded a pillow, swearing in all six languages. Feathers floated around his head and he panted, not because he needed to but because it made him feel better. Casual grace flopped him on the floor and he rolled in the blankets and feathers, thinking. An idea made him smile and he curled in a ball to sleep.

1234567890

'Why is the phone ringing?' was the first thought through the blond's head, followed by, 'What time is it?'

The clock provided an answer to the second question: 7:32 am. A darkly tanned hand rubbed brown eyes tiredly; they'd stayed up late last night, because he didn't have to work today and could sleep in. Theoretically. He fumbled a bit with the receiver and finally got it settled to his ear. "Hello?"

"You, Brat's brother. Come over here and look after the baby."

"What? Envy, where's Ed?" No one else could be that rude.

"In there, sleeping. We're leaving the baby alone, so you have to come look after it." A faint groan from beside him and he patted the little blond lump.

"Why are you leaving the baby alone?" An annoyed sigh from the other end of the line answered him. "I'm not moving until you tell me."

Silence and he waited patiently. He really couldn't lose this kind of battle, not with Envy. "Fine. Pest just cries all day and wanders around holding Cat-cat. I want to do something else."

Al thought for a minute, mentally skimming their schedule for the day. "Alright, we'll come over in the afternoon, IF" He took a deep breath; it was always so hard to move forward with his brother's partner. "You call me and Winry by name, starting now until we leave tonight."

Silence, then a suspicious voice. "That's it? Call you by name all day and you won't claim I owe you anything later?" The blond made affirmative noises. "Huh." The homunculus thought about it for a second. "Ok. Be here at one." A sharp click and Al placed the phone on its hook.

The mound of blankets spoke. "Who was that?"

"Envy. Guess Ed's wearing himself down pretty badly now that Cain and Jean are gone. He wanted us to go baby-sit for the day. I said yes." He was shrugged at and she wiggled deeper in the covers. "Hey, share!" He attacked, quick fingers tickling down soft sides, giggles muffled in pillows.

1234567890

"Envy, get the door!" Ed shook his hair out, toweling quickly. The doorbell rang again and he stuck his head out of the bathroom. "Envy!" Still nothing. "Well, Missy, guess we'll just have to get it ourselves." He tied the still damp hair back loosely and swung the six month old into his arms.

"Coming!" He bounced down the steps; Envy had actually been right, a bath did make him feel better. And the new clothes waiting for him when he got out had been nice too. "Who is it?" The door opened and he blinked at the blond pair. "Hello, what are you doing here?" He stepped back and let them in before shutting the door. "Did we have plans?" He didn't remember anything, but he might have forgotten, he had been awfully tired lately.

"Hey, Brother. We're here to look after Cat for you; Envy ca" A white streak flashed by them and Ed stood, his arms still in the form of the baby but empty.

"CAT!" He took off, following the heavy steps. "Get back here, what are you doing!" They circled the house, the blond falling a bit behind.

Through the kitchen, around the living room, back to the hall and outside where he finally caught up and snapped an arm around the slim waist. His partner whirled around and wrapped his arms around the smaller form, capturing him firmly. "Where's Cat!"

Ed fought, kicking and trying to free his arms while looking around for their little one. She couldn't have gone far, he's only lost sight of them for a second at the hall. "Brother! Calm down, she's right here."

His eyes turned to the door where the younger blonds stood, holding a little blanket wrapped bundle. "Cat!" The kicking intensified and he bit the shoulder just within reach.

The brunette jerked back and loosened his grip just enough for the blond to break free. He raced over and grabbed his daughter, snuggling her close. "Well, fuck. What'd ya give 'er back for?"

Envy stomped back to the door and glared at Al, ignoring the shorter blond sending him death threats with his eyes. "Ah, he wanted her?" The tallest blond considered maybe that wasn't the right choice.

"You leave him alone! What were you thinking, running around like that? And what did Al mean when he said you called and he's looking after Cat? I'm not going anywhere." Violet eyes narrowed at him and he glared back.

"Yes, we are. We are going somewhere else. You're obsessed with her!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!" The taller man folded his arms and pouted. "You never want to do anything anymore."

"Envy, we're parents, we have to be responsible. We can't just take off when we want to!" He didn't notice Winry sneaking up beside him until she peered over his arm and sparkled at the little girl, who cooed back.

"Aww, look, she likes me! Let me hold her." Darker blond shook and she reached for her side. He cringed, the bundle was handed over, and she scooted behind Al. "K, take him."

"Wha… Winry!" His arms were already pinned to his sides and he was held at arm's length. No second chances for biting.

"Brother, maybe you should take a break. We don't mind every once and a while, and you do look a bit tired. Go have fun." His brother, the traitor, made little shooing motions with his hands.

"No, Cat! Give her back, I have to look after her!" He was hefted over a slim shoulder and a firm hand on his ass reminded him that biting as still not allowed.

"You, gimme Pest's coat." A pale brow rose at him and they stared at each other. "Alphonse, gimme Pest's coat." The jacket was held out silently and draped over the free arm.

"You can call me Al, you know." A faint grunt and he sighed. "Fine, have fun! We can be here until around eight. See you then." Winry waved Cat's hand at them and Envy turned and carried his wriggling burden down the path, ignoring the whines and grabbing hands.

1234567890

By the time they got the park, the blond was subdued and lay still, not even flinching when he was set on a bench. His coat was wrapped around him and Envy settled beside him, arm over his shoulders. They were silent for a long time, staring blankly at the sky.

"Why? I want to be with Cat. She needs me." Neither moved.

"Why? Why did you want me to stay? I'm not allowed to hold her unless you're too exhausted to fight me, you don't want to spend time with me, I apparently can't clean or cook decently. Why am I even here?" His eyes shifted a few times but otherwise, he stayed still, looking up.

Ed turned to look at him. "Be, because you're her father! You should be here, with us! You said you would, so now you have to!"

A dark brow moved up and down. "Huh." His eyes turned a bit to meet the blond's. A small hand was clenched in his shirt, clinging to him. "You have to share more. Not everything is your responsibility. Unless you don't think I can do it?" Long bangs shook quickly.

"Of course I think you can do it! I, I just, she's mine and I want to look after her." He pressed his head tentatively to a slim shoulder. "I'm sorry, I, I'll try to spend more time with you." Soft hair was ruffled and his lover stood and tugged him to his feet.

"Come for lunch with me?" An invitation this time, instead of an order. A bright, if tired, smile answered it. "What do you think? Girl?" He shifted to his pretty redhead. "Or boy?" The military brunette appeared and grinned down at the smaller man.

"I dunno, you buying? Cause then it has to be a guy." Teasing gold watched the brown eyes light with laughter. "Boy it is. Well, come on, take me for lunch!"

The younger man snuggled under a long arm and pressed to the smooth side. "Hey, have I really been that picky?" Dark hair nodded at him and he pressed even closer. "I'm sorry, I'll try not to be so hard on you. I know you try hard."

"Meh, whatever." He steered them into a side door and down a steep flight of stairs.

"Where, hey, is this? Wow, we haven't been here in years. Hasn't changed much, has it?" It was a dimly lit room, only a dozen tables, tattered linoleum floors and walls that had the heavy discoloration of regular exposure to heavy smoke clouds. They used to come here often, during their second year together but Ed was busy, then pregnant and they hadn't been back since.

"Well, well, Edward Elric. Decided you weren't too good for us anymore, huh?" smiling woman came around the bar and hugged the smaller form. "It's been a while."

"Hey, Susan. Yeah, we've been pretty busy lately. But, hopefully we'll be back a bit more often. What's on tonight?"

"Oh, you're in for it now. My girl's trying out the kitchen." Both men's eyes widened and they peeked back at the door. "Oh, come now. Give the girl a chance; it can't be that bad, I taught her."

"True, true, best cook in the country can't have taught poor skills." Envy grinned at her and she blushed and swatted his arm.

"Oh, you two! Go sit, I'll have some tea in a minute. Tess, two up!" They settled into a corner table and Envy slid his chair around to sit beside Ed.

They chatted quietly until two bowls of stew appeared and they relaxed into eating something they hadn't cooked themselves. "I'm still not sleeping with you."

The spoon halted halfway to the brunette's mouth. "What? Why not? Even you have to sleep." Red flashed over high cheeks. "Oh. Ok. You're too tired."

"You're not mad?"

"Will you if I am?" Blond shook at him with a smile. "Then no. I guess if you don't want to, you don't want to. Not like I'll make you."

A small hand reached over and squeezed the older man's. "Thank you. I'll try to sleep a bit more." A tiny smile. "Promise." An answering grin spread over the paler face. "You have the highest sex drive I've ever run across."

"Just because I don't like going months at a time without…" A blond brow rose at him.

"Excuse me, who almost got us kicked out of dorm? The guys actually had a pool as to when the manager would give us the boot." He smirked at the memory. "I won that too, because he never did."

"That would be you and your screaming. Not my fault I'm just that good." He smirked back, then thought of something. "Hey, I should get half that. The only reason he didn't was 'cause I didn't kick his ass for watching."

Ed's entire face flooded with red. "Watching?"

"Yeah, didn't you know?" The mortified blond shook his head. "Oh, yeah, he had a little hole drilled in the ceiling, his floor."

His lover set his spoon down and hid his face in his hands. "I can't believe this. He was watching us? And you knew about it?" He looked up briefly. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Dark eyes blinked at him. "Why? Didn't bother me, would have bothered you, and it kept you with a place to live." A quick shrug and he continued eating. "I figured you would find out eventually on your own. Guess not."

Ed just put his head down and groaned.

1234567890

Hours later, they finally left. A long walk through the park and a quick nap in Envy's favorite tree and it was almost six thirty. Ed was dancing around nervously, his arms moving up as if to hold a small bundle and his lover rolled his eyes. He had stopped him from calling a dozen times and now the blond could barely hold still.

"Fine. We'll go back." Mismatched arms hugged him tightly and he kissed long hair. Fingers tangled as they wandered back, only letting go when the house was in sight. Ed ran ahead and darted up to the nursery, where Winry was rocking and feeding the little girl.

By the time Envy got home, the blond was firmly settled, babbling all about how much he missed her and how much he loved her. Al and Winry were seen to the door by the older man and the youngest leaned on the frame. "Well?"

A dark brow rose in question. "What?"

"How did it go? And, do you have something to say to us?"

"Everything was fine, we had lunch and went for a walk." His nose pointed upwards and he folded his arms.

"Come on, Envy. Just once, and I won't even tell Ed." An annoyed snort. "You know, we might be too busy to come over next time." The homunculus watched him, evaluating the validity of his threat.

He decided it might be real and a temporary retreat would be in order. "Brat appreciates you helping." Al's head tilted and he waved a bit; slightly pointed teeth ground together. "As do I, Alphonse and Winry."

"You are most welcome. Call us anytime, we're always happy to help." Winry grabbed Al's arm and started dragging him home. "Bye!" They were half way down the street before she let him go. "Don't tease him like that. It's so unlike you."

A cocky grin and he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Nope, have to. Every now and then, someone has to make sure he is capable of basic manners." Blue rolled at him as a kiss dropped on the top of her head.

"Pest?" The door was open and he stuck his head in. "Are you coming to" They were asleep, both of them curled in the rocking chair. "Really. What a pain." Cat was lifted away, careful not to wake her, and set in her crib, her favorite chew toy, aka stuffed panda, beside her.

His blond was lifted up and carried to bed; he was pleased to see someone had put the blankets back on the bed. He was even generous enough to let lighter hair cover the remaining pillow and curled around the sleeping man, head propped on his arm. A few shifts and he took a small form to snuggle more efficiently and drifted off, hoping for a night without interruptions.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Yay, another one! Wow, I can't believe how much I'm writing these days, bouncing around between exams, studying, cleaning the house, and trying to get ready for Xmas. But, I'm gone now, so have good holidays and I'll see you when I get back.