Winry woke to the sound of the shrill ringing of her alarm clock. Ed was still curled warm around her, and she had to pull herself out from under him to reach the clock. He grumbled as she hit the switch and pulled her back into the bed, settling himself back into sleep. "Ed," Winry said. "Ed! Wake up!"

Groggily, he pried open his eyes. "Too early," he complained, folding her close against his body. "Go back to sleep."

Winry suddenly realized that she was stuck. Ed had her nearly immobilized; she could wiggle a little and move her hands, but not enough to pry herself free. "Ed!" Winry complained, but he didn't let her go. "Ed, I have to get up." He snored gently into her shoulder. "Fine," she said, firmly, "you asked for this, Ed." She pulled herself up enough to kiss him, long and deep. She ran her hands along the lean muscle of his stomach and sides. This, Ed was awake enough for. He moaned, returning her kiss, moving against her fingers. She reached around, skimming her hands up and down his back, pressing herself against him. He pulled her tighter, nuzzling her neck. She dipped her hands under the waistband of his shorts, grazing the sensitive skin of his thighs. Ed gasped and reached up to cup her face with his hands.

Released, Winry jumped out of bed.

"Winry!" Ed whined, groaning with frustration.

"I have to get up for work," she told him airily. "So do you, actually. And it's your day to take the kids to school."

"Winry," he complained darkly, reaching for her.

"What, Ed?" she said, feigning innocence. She stayed well out of his reach. "Did you want something?"

"Dammit, woman!" he growled.

"Next time, let me go when I tell you to," she said, smirking. "I have to be in surgery in an hour. I'm doing Colonel Miles' port installation today."

"Yeah?" Ed said, propping himself up on his elbows, all trace of irritation gone from his face. "How is he doing?"

Winry shrugged. "You should remember what it's like," she said, pulling clothes on. "Of course, your arm was a much longer and more complex procedure than his will be. His humerus is in excellent shape; I've got every hope that we can be in and out with only two or three anchoring bolts. You'll get Al and Sara breakfast?"

"Yeah, of course," Ed said, shrugging.

"Thanks," Winry said. "I've got the consult for another port installation in the afternoon, too, so Mei said she'd pick the kids up."

"Good," Ed said, stretching, "I've got my meeting with the Westerners then." He grimaced.

"At least they're still talking to you," Winry said, sympathetically. She brushed her hair out quickly, twisting it up and clipping it on the back of her head. She needed it out of her way today.

Ed made a face. "You look like Hawkeye with your hair like that," he said.

"What's wrong with that?" Winry asked, looking around for socks. "Riza's beautiful."

"You're beautiful," Ed said, reaching out and grabbing her waist as she walked by. He pulled her down and kissed her. "Kick ass today, okay?"

She ruffled his hair as she stood up. "You too, Ed," she told him.

Al sat in the living room, rocking Trisha quietly. She usually woke up too early, and it had become the routine for Al to get up with her and let Mei sleep. He missed sleeping in sometimes, but he enjoyed the quiet early mornings with his tiny daughter curled against his chest. He hummed aimlessly to her, thinking about his lesson for the day, and about whether he had clean clothes to wear, and about whether it was his turn to cook dinner that night. Thinking about dinner, though, reminded him of last night's meal, and Ed complaining about how frustrated he was dealing with the Western delegates. Al frowned, a mixture of guilt and anger roiling in his gut. I don't want to fight for you; I want to fight at your side, Ed had said. But in this fight, it was Al who got his school and his pocketwatch, and Ed who had had to uproot his family for a job he hated.

Al's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of Winry padding down the stairs. "Good morning," she said, softly. "I'm making coffee; do you want some?"

Al shook his head. "Good morning, Winry," he said. "No, thanks. I'll get some tea later."

She nodded, and ducked into the kitchen. Carefully, Al relocated himself into one of the chairs around the kitchen table. "You're up early," he observed.

Coffee started, Winry put a couple of pieces of toast in the toaster. "I've got surgery today," she said. "It's Colonel Miles' arm, actually."

Al nodded. "I would tell you good luck, but I'm sure you won't need it!" he said.

Winry smiled. "Granny always said that luck was for people too lazy to put in the hard work."

"Winry?" Al started, not sure how to ask what he really wanted to know, "It's been two months now. How do you like Central?"

Winry shrugged. "I like the hospital facilities. They're so nice, and I don't have to do any of the cleanup! I miss all the trees and fields in Resembool, though. I'm not used to being around so much city all the time."

Al frowned, holding Trisha close. "I'm sorry to take you away from Resembool," he said.

"Hey, Al," Winry said, looking concerned, "What's the matter? Are you upset about something?"

"It's just... you and Brother. You've done so much for us- it seems like too much!" Al ducked his head. He was still terrible at keeping his emotions from showing on his face, and he hated it sometimes.

Winry smiled. "It's okay, Al. We're just happy to have you and Mei here with us."

Al nodded. "We're happy to be with you," he said. "Mei likes you a lot, Winry, and we love being around Al and Sara." He tried to smile, but he was stopped by that roil of emotion in the pit of his stomach.

"But you're still upset," Winry observed. "Al, you can talk to me if something's bothering you. Don't feel like you have to hold everything inside all the time- it's bad enough that Ed does it."

Al trembled. "Winry, we weren't back a week, and he changed his whole life just to help me. I didn't want that!" He held himself still, the words pouring out of his mouth. "Brother gave everything for me. His right arm, his childhood, his alchemy. His leg, which he didn't even try to get back. I never wanted him to give up anything else for me, not ever again. I certainly didn't want him to sign himself over to the government again."

Winry put a hand on his arm, ignoring the sound of the toast popping up. "He didn't even discuss it with you before he made up his mind, did he?" she asked, with the air of one realizing something for the first time.

Al nodded. "He doesn't have to keep protecting me," he said, and there was more hurt and anger in his voice than he meant her to hear. "I tried to tell him that."

Suddenly, Winry laughed. "You two," she said, softly. "You're just the same. He does everything he can to take care of you, and you're sitting over there, upset because you want to look out for him too." Al felt his face grow hot. "You need to talk to him, Al. I know you've been apart a long time, and you two are still feeling each other out, but he'll listen if you explain it to him. Okay?"

"Your coffee is ready," Al pointed out, leaning into Trisha's soft little head.

"I mean it, Al," Winry said, her eyes narrowing. "Talk to him. Soon." Winry punched his arm.

"Ow!" Al said. She hit hard. "Fine, Winry! I will. Don't hit me."

"Good," she said, getting up to get her coffee. "I'm glad you're willing to listen to reason."

When the alarm went off for the second time, Ed got up and dressed. He meandered downstairs, his tie and shoes in hand. Little Al and Sara were there already, sitting at the kitchen table eating oatmeal.

"Hey," Ed said. "You got yourselves breakfast already." He looked desperately around for coffee, and was relieved to find that Winry'd left some in the pot for him.

"Brother made it for me!" Sara told him. "He put raisins and brown sugar in it, just like Mom does."

Ed poured his coffee, looking around for the sugar and cream. "Hey, Al," Ed said, smiling at his son. "Thanks for looking out for your sister like that."

Al shrugged, embarrassed. "I was hungry," he said. "It wasn't a big deal. I made enough for you and Mom, too."

Ed peered into the pot on the stove. "Mom's gone already- surgery this morning. But thanks." He spooned some out for himself and rummaged for the brown sugar and raisins. He liked it sweet, just like Sara did. "Are you ready for school?" Ed asked, sitting down at the table.

"Almost," he said. "Mom gave me lunch money last night, and our satchels are already packed."

Ed wasn't surprised to hear that his son had not only checked his own bag, but also checked his sister's; Al was a responsible kid. Ed nodded, taking a bite of his breakfast. "How do you like the new school?" he asked. Al was always so quiet. It was hard to tell what he was thinking at times, and Ed was still not sure how he was taking the move.

Al shrugged again. "It's bigger, and there are more teachers. I like the library."

"We'll take you to the big Central library soon," Ed promised him. "You'll like it. I thought it was impressive as all hell, the first time I saw it- and I wasn't much older than you then."

"That sounds okay," Al said, scooping the last of his oatmeal out of the bowl. "I'm gonna go grab some more things for school, okay?"

"Fine," Ed said. "Just don't take too long. We have to get going in the next five minutes, okay?"

"Okay," Al said, impatiently, as he left the room.

The older, larger Al passed Ed's son in the hallway and made his way into the kitchen. "Good morning, Brother," he said, shifting Trisha into her little chair at the table.

"Al made oatmeal," Ed offered. "Little Al, I mean." He grinned. "You know, I didn't consider how confusing it was going to be when I named him that."

Al laughed. "I guess it wouldn't be a problem if I hadn't come back from Xing," he pointed out.

"It's worth the confusion," Ed said, smiling. He laughed, suddenly, and reached over to mess with Al's hair. "God, Al! I'm still surprised every time you walk into a room. You were gone too long."

"Brother-" Al said, and his face was serious, suddenly. It put Ed on edge. "Brother, how is your job?"

Ed laughed then, unsure why Al was bringing this up. "It's a pain in my ass at the moment, but at least there's an end in sight on this Western problem. I'm meeting with them again today. Why do you ask?"

Little Al reappeared. "Dad?" he said, "We need to go, or we'll be late."

"Have a good day teaching the babies, Al," Ed told his brother, pulling his shoes on. "Sara, honey, grab your bag." Little Al handed her satchel over as she put on her own shoes.

"Good luck at your meeting, Brother," Al said, his face strangely melancholy.

Ed frowned. "Thanks, Al," he said, making a note to himself to have a more serious talk with his little brother sometime soon.

Ed was well on his way to spending his lunch break working again. He was reading his way through another stack of the seemingly endless briefs that kept him up to date on the internal affairs of the country. He needed subordinates who could help him with this, he reflected. The problem was that he didn't know yet whose judgment he could trust, and so he didn't trust anyone. He needed to take some of his time to vet and assemble a team. If he could just get through this damned Western crisis-

With no knock, the door opened. Ed was yanked unceremoniously out of his reverie, and had almost shifted up into a combat stance before he registered who it was coming in. "Hello, Brother," Al said, smiling softly at him.

"Hey, Al," Ed said, relaxing. "What are you doing over here? Aren't you supposed to be teaching now?" Something was definitely up with Al; he wasn't in the habit of just showing up at Ed's office with no reason, and he'd been... weird this morning.

Al shrugged. "Mei teaches in the mornings, and it's still over an hour until my first class. I thought you might like lunch." Indeed, he was holding several white boxes. "I went to one of those new Xingese restaurants," he said, grinning.

Ed rolled his eyes. "They're not exactly new, Al," he said. "They started opening after the railway was finished, and that was what, six years ago? Seven?" He reached for a box, inspecting the contents.

"Their food is really terrible," Al said, cheerfully. He handed Ed a second box full of rice and sat down on his couch. "No one in Xing eats anything like it; they just cook like that for Amestrians."

"So you keep saying," Ed grumbled, but he was still smiling. "But I like it anyway. Thanks, by the way- I think I was about to forget to eat. I'm fucking buried here." He gestured at the pile on his desk with some irritation.

Al's face fell. Too quickly, he ducked his head, inspecting the carton he was opening.

"Al," Ed said, sighing. "What crawled up your ass today?"

Al started, and then laughed. "You're so vulgar, Brother," he observed.

Ed raised his eyebrows. "If you wanna see vulgar, Al, I can show you vulgar-" He grinned like a maniac, reaching his hands up slowly-

"Ed!" Al protested, covering his eyes against the threat of... whatever he thought his big brother was about to do.

Ed laughed, and punched Al lightly on the arm. "You're so easy to mess with," he told him. "Now, seriously, Al, what's got you so upset lately? I mean, I know we've barely seen each other the last few weeks. You're not mad at me or anything, are you?"

Al looked startled. "No," he said. "That's not it at all."

"Then what?" Ed asked. "Is it something with the school? Or the State Alchemists' Board? I can intervene with them if I have to."

Al shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that."

Ed furrowed his eyebrows. "It's not Mei or Trisha, is it? You guys seem so happy-"

"Ed," Al said, with some exasperation. "Brother, shut up and let me talk to you!"

"Ah," Ed said, just coming to the realization that he'd been babbling. "Okay. Sorry." He shut his mouth, waiting.

"Brother," Al said, after a long moment, "I know you didn't want to take this job."

Ed shrugged. "That's okay, Al. You've got your school open, and the backing of the Ministry, and that's what we wanted, right?"

Al's face went stormy. "It's not okay!" he protested. "You uprooted your whole life, Ed. I didn't ask you to do that!"

"Al," Ed said, not sure how to answer. "It's fine. I thought we talked about this-"

"I promised myself!" Al interrupted, his voice cracking high with anguish. "I promised myself that it would be enough, that I'd never make you sacrifice anything for me again!"

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then Ed laughed. "That's a stupid promise," he said, bluntly. "You never stop sacrificing for the people you love, and they never stop sacrificing for you. That's what love is. And you're still my brother, Al." Ed flushed. Somewhere in the back of his head, Ed could hear himself screaming to the Truth to take his heart, take anything, just give his brother back. He'd meant it then. He still meant it today.

Al stared at him. His face broke into a slow smile. "Are you trying for equivalent exchange, Brother?" he asked. "You give yourself to someone, and just expect them to give everything they have back?"

Ed shrugged. "Equivalent exchange doesn't apply to human beings, Al," he said, looking away, uncomfortable with all this emotion. "You can't expect that kind of trade; you just hope. Al-" he continued, "It's okay. You don't have to feel bad about me taking this job; it was our choice to make; mine and Winry's. I think it was the right choice."

Al reached out and touched Ed's face with the very tips of his fingers. It reminded Ed suddenly of the months right after Al had gotten his body back, when he'd been desperate to touch everyone, everything around him. "How about this for equivalent trade then, Brother?" Al proposed, his lips quirking up slightly. "I stop feeling guilty about your moving to Central, and youtalk to me about it the next time you think you should rearrange your life for me."

Oh, Ed thought, with sudden, dawning realization. He flushed again. It had never occurred to him to discuss his decision with Al. He'd just done as he'd always done- acted as he thought best for the two of them, especially for Al's benefit. But Al wasn't a child anymore. He didn't need Ed's protection the same way he once had. "I'm sorry, Al," he blurted out. "I won't do that again, I promise."

"Okay," Al said, smiling. He leaned back into the couch. "Are you going to eat your fortune cookie, Brother? I'll take it if you don't want it."

"Sure," Ed said. "But give me the fortune." Al cracked the cookie open, and fished out the slip of paper, handing it over. "Look around yourself, the answer is nearby," Ed read. "Does that make you 'the answer', Al?"

Al sighed. "I don't have the answers," he said. "I wish I did."

"Still," Ed said, thoughtfully, "Thanks for lunch."

A/N:
It occurs to me that I might mention that Riza's last name is Mustang now. As you may have noticed earlier in this story, however, most people who know her well still call her Hawkeye.

Writing IC Ed with his kids is hard. I'm having to come to peace with the fact that he acts totally different around his kids than he does with other people (mostly, he's much nicer to them than he usually is). I defend myself on the grounds that Ed was never an adult interacting with kids in the series.

I don't entirely agree with Ed's definition of what it means to love someone, for the record. But it's very him.

There will be Mustang and Hawkeye in the next chapter. I tried desperately to write some Roy here, but he just wouldn't fit in yet. And Hawkeye is seriously in need of some screen time. I have yet to write a segment that focuses on her POV in any real way. This is a travesty!