The end of the week had rapidly approached and Ed felt like he was nowhere near finished packing. He'd called Granny a few days ago and asked her to ship his stuff to his new address and she had complied on the condition that he'd come back and visit as often as he could. He and Al had spent the better part of yesterday arguing over what books were his and what were Al's. For some of them they played rock, paper, scissors and to Ed's disappointment he lost more often than not. Al claimed it was because he was predictable and that the only reason he was good at card games was because he cheated. This had ended in a tussle that had Al promptly declaring himself victor. Gracia had laughed herself silly and she'd had to retreat to her room to compose herself.

At last the evening before the move had come. Gracia had asked Ed what he wanted for dinner and his response was, "The quiche I had the first time we ate here and do you think you could bake an apple pie for dessert?"

The woman had touched Ed's shoulder and said, "Of course, I don't mind in the least. This is a big celebration for you! You're getting your own place and finally starting your own life."

The quiche had been beyond delicious and Gracia had even bought vanilla ice cream to go with the apple pie. Coffee and tea had been served on the side and overall, the dinner had been a spectacular affair.

Even Winry had been kind to him this night and for the moment it seemed a temporary truce had been erected. Winry and Gracia had retired to the living room to chat for a bit and Al was playing with Elysia when Ed decided to make some last rounds just to make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything.

It was when he dropped his pen behind the bed that he found a pair of pants he had worn – a week ago, more? – underneath the bed. Ed was turning them right side out when a piece of paper slipped from a pocket. He stared at the little folded piece of paper uncomprehendingly before realizing what it was. Mustang had tossed him this piece of paper claiming that he'd left it in the office.

Ed sincerely hoped it wasn't important because he'd completely forgotten about it until now. With deft motions he unfolded the piece of paper eagerly. On it was written

14 Saint Street

FL 3-1418

A street address…and a phone number? He wondered what it was to. Ed located the phone in the hallway and dialed the number.

He was shocked to the core when,

"Mustang."

"Mustang. Why. The. Hell. Did. You. Give. Me. Your. Phone. Number?" Ed asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh. It's you. What took you so long to call?"

Ed shuffled his feet and leaned back against the wall propping the phone between his shoulder and his ear as he flipped through a book. "I forgot you'd even handed me the piece of paper. I've been busy this week."

"Doing what exactly?"

"Packing. I'm moving."

"You're…moving?"

"Yeah, to an apartment house here in Central."

"So you're staying?"

"Yep," Ed answered already becoming disinterested in the phone conversation. "Hey, so why did you give me your number?"

"I needed to talk to you about something. Are you available tomorrow afternoon?"

"Nope. Tomorrow's moving day."

He could almost feel the older man frowning through the phone line. "Why don't I come by and help you move and we can talk then?"

Ed smiled smugly. "If you want. We start at nine am."

"I'll see you tomorrow morning then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Ed could hear the distinctive click of the phone being put down. He slowly placed his back into the cradled and slumped back against the wall. What could the man want? Ed couldn't do alchemy anymore so it wasn't like he was any use to the military. He only hoped the man didn't ask him to do something ridiculous. And it'd be less like a request and more like an order anyways. The man was a control freak like that. Al found him still leaning against the wall on his way to bed. So, he took ahold of his brother's arm and led them to the room they shared. "Who were you talking to Brother?" Al asked around his toothbrush.

"Mustang, he's stopping by tomorrow. Says he has something to talk to me about."

"Really? How'd you get his number?"

"He gave it to me the other day and I forgot I had it. Found it hiding in a pair of pants beneath the bed."

He stopped for a moment and groaned. "I completely forgot! I dropped my good pen behind the bed! That's what I was originally trying to retrieve!"

Al laughed and knocked his brother on the head. "Well, go get it now before you forget again!"

Ed fished his pen out from beneath the bed and slid it into one of the bags that held some of his books and other writing materials. He padded around the room one more time before nodding contentedly. Everything was packed and ready to go for tomorrow. The rest of his boxes would be waiting for him at his new apartment when he arrived. He didn't have much here, a suitcase of clothes, two bags of books and some leftovers in the ice box so he didn't have to worry about cooking tomorrow night.

Al was sitting cross-legged on his bed writing in his journal. Ed snickered and called it a "diary" whenever he saw it. Ever since he had been in armor Al had kept track of foods and things he wanted to do when he was human again. Al hadn't stopped chronicling things he wanted to buy or saw that he thought were interesting, food he wanted to eat and things he wanted to do even when he became human again.

It was a secret between just the two of them. It was one thing no one would ever know about. For a moment Ed wished he wasn't moving – he and his brother had always been so close. But even he realized that it was time to let Al live his own life – even if that life included Winry – because they both had divergent paths.