Pinako Rockbell had been a well-known, well liked pillar in her community. She had met and maintained friendships with hundreds of former clients, peers, and drinking buddies over her long life. Winry, Edward, and Alphonse had always known her as their "Granny." A slightly stooped, small old woman. Now, as the visitors attending her memorial service flooded the Rizembool cemetery, they began to realize that their "Granny" had been much more than that.

There were hundreds of people there – so many, that the group around the grave was incredibly crowded. Winry felt the odd sensation that she could not breathe, but didn't want to remove herself from the either and be disrespectful. She stared at all the familiar faces and unfamiliar faces. She saw Captain Alex Armstrong, Garfiel, and even Major Hawkeye had taken time out of her busy schedule and attended on behalf of the soon to be inaugurated Prime-Minister Mustang. So many people. How would they all fit in the Rockbell house afterwards for the visitation? She glanced at Alphonse on her right side. He was subdued, eyes downcast. She looked to her left. Edward was holding Maes closely to his chest, rocking him slightly in his arms as he slept. His eyes were unreadable. The Elrics, and Winry, were no strangers to loss.

This was Winry's first funeral in adulthood. Yes, she had encountered death too young – but this was the first time that she had ever felt at peace about it. Sadness existed in her heart and that familiar longing to see her grandmother again grew like creeping veins of ivy on and old house. It was such a shame that Maes would not get to know her like she had wanted. However, deep inside she knew that her grandmother was content in death and had lived fully with no regrets or goals left untouched. There was no tragedy here like in funerals past – but a sense of completion hung in the air. Pinako had never been afraid of death. She had aged gracefully and ever since Edward and Winry had married, seemed to know that the sunset of her life would soon be transitioning into the sleepy night of passing. She must have felt it coming, Winry mused.

Her mind wandered through her memories and lightly focused on the last time she had seen her grandmother alive, the morning before her death. She had made French Toast, bacon and eggs, and a spinach cheese quiche for her growing family who gathered in the kitchen. Winry and Edward would bundle up baby Maes and walk down the hill to greet Pinako, Al and Mei (who were waiting to move into the new Elric house after their wedding in the summer) every day for a delicious breakfast. It was becoming a daily tradition – and often times the opposite would occur in the evenings with Al, Mei, and Pinako climbing the hill to join the Elrics for a large dinner on the back porch of their new house. It was a perfect mirror image. How could they have known that that particular day would be the last?

She remembered her grandmother had been quiet all throughout the meal, and had often requested to hold Maes as his parents enjoyed the food and chatted about the school construction and Winry's impending short trip to Rush Valley to do some work with Old Man Dominic. Mei also gave the family an update on the weddings plans and happily took Winry upstairs to show her the bridal dress that had just arrived the day before. It had been a happy breakfast. The family decided to go into town to do some shopping and Pinako elected to stay behind with baby Maes. After town, Winry alone had gone back to the Rockbell house to retrieve her son. She had found Pinako holding his gently in her favorite chair.

"There you two are." She said sweetly, coming to sit on the sofa. "How does it feel to be a Great Grandmother?"

"Well, it feels like I've lived a long time." She had said, in true Pinako fashion.

There was a comfortable silence between them. "Your parents would have been very proud of you, Winry." She said softly.

"What's this all the sudden?"

"To see you successful, married and with a child, in a peaceful world…that would have made your parents very happy and proud. I know I feel very proud of all you children. I am glad that we have had these years of peace together."

"I think you have Edward and Alphonse to thank for that more than me, Granny." Winry replied.

She was thoughtful for a moment, slightly craning her small neck. "No. No I don't think so. I think the source of our good fortune comes from you and the support you gave those boys all those years ago. I am sure those boys feel the same way."

The sound of earth being piled up over the grave quickly brought Winry back to the present. She felt a few tears pool in the lids of her eyes. The thing that made Pinako so special, to her loved ones, and everyone she met – was that she reminded them of their significance, their importance, in the grand scheme of things…no matter how small they felt. She was the small fire that encouraged people to move forward.

/

Edward put Maes down to sleep soundly in his crib. He straightened up a few things around the room and quietly exited. It had been a long, emotional day. He felt tense and sad. It was hard to believe that he would never see Granny again. He wanted to find Winry, pull her close, and just go to sleep and think about it more tomorrow.

Problem was, he couldn't seem to find Winry. After searching every room in the house, she was nowhere to be found. He stepped out on the front porch and looked around the yard – the anxiousness growing in his stomach. After starring into the darkness of the hillside for a few moments, his eyes adjusting, he could make out the small white form a person walking towards the house from the direction of the Rockbell Automail Shop. Edward let himself relax a little as he realized it was Winry climbing the hill.

When she was within earshot, he crossed his arms and cocked his eyebrow up. "I was worried. I didn't know where you'd gone."

"I just wanted to go through a few things before bed." She said quietly. Edward saw she had a small box in her hands. "I found something in Granny's room. I want to show you."

They stepped into the kitchen and sat at the table. Edward wished she hadn't done that this soon after the funeral, but thought it best not to argue. He stayed silent as she opened the box and pulled out a few items.

"Grandmother has saved a lot of things. More than I think either of us realize. There is a lot we will need to go through, but this box has several special things that I wanted you to see." She pulled out the first object. It was an old handkerchief.

"This was my mother's on her wedding day. It's stained with coffee, that's why I didn't use it. But, Granny saved it for me to keep." She passed it to Edward. He held it in his hands for a moment of images of Auntie Sarah passed over his eyes. He laid it down, wondering what was next.

"This is what is left of my baby blanket. This is a lock of my grandfather's hair she saved all these years." She paused, her eyes looking up at Edward softly.

"This is your mother and your father's wedding rings."

"What?" Edward nearly choked. "My parents never legally married, Winry." She shook her head slightly and passed over two small white gold rings and placed them in Edwards hand.

"No. They didn't, but – I think they still exchanged rings. Granny labeled them." She passed over the small slip that the rings had been wrapped in. In Pinako's handwriting, Edward saw "Hohenhiem and Trisha's rings, exchanged April 8, 1895, Rizembool"

Edward felt shocked and amazed. This small little piece of silvery gold had been around his mother's fingers. A part of her still lingered around the essence of the ring. He had no memory of it.

"I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. I just think she wanted you and Al to have them.

There were a few other important things. Al's first lost baby tooth, a necklace Sarah Rockbell had saved for Winry to wear as a grown woman, Edward's first automail thumb piece that had broken off before he had left on his journey (probably during a sparring session with armor Al). Edward was in awe of the many small things Pinako had saved. It was like a treasure trove.

It was nearly 2 a.m. before the couple climbed the stairs for bed, hands tightly joined together. They were both so tired.

They melted into bed together, spooned in a gentle embrace, Edward's breath a ghost on the back of Winry's neck.

Yes. Her grandmother had truly been a very special person.

/

It was just after dawn when Edward's eyes opened, despite the little sleep he actually achieved. It took him a moment to remember where he was and what all had happened the day before. His wife slept beside him, tucked against his shoulder, but he could tell her sleep was uneasy, she twitched uncomfortably and her eyes were fluttering as if she was on the brink of waking up herself. He glanced at the night stand to see his parent's rings sitting quietly beside him. His memory lingered on his parents faces. He then glanced at his old Alchemist pocket watch that he kept on his bedside table as a reminder of his journeys. He had a brief flashback to many years ago, when the pocket watch had sat on Fuhrer King Bradley's tea table – how he had angrily tried to thrust it aside, but then had been threatened into pushing it into his pocket once more on pain of losing Winry forever.

What a strange journey and life he had had.

He turned to face his wife, too full of emotions to keep looking at such small reminders of pain and fear. He let his arms encircle her and push her to him so that he could feel the warmth of her skin and know that she was alive, safe, and his. He knew she must be hurting for her grandmother – and this death, and funerals, the whole actions behind death would be reminding her of so many memories they all wanted to move on from. There was no such thing as a painless lesson. But, enduring that pain could still be difficult, in spite of everything.

Awake and aware now, her small porcelain arms held onto him in return, coming to rest on his back and slightly pull him until his weight rested on top of her body. He hadn't intended this, but it was right. They needed each other in this moment.

He kissed her softly – relishing in the feel of her warm wet lips dancing with his. He let one hand rest protectively on her head and the other trace the line of her jaw with the slightly calloused surface of his thumb.

She kissed back, one tear escaping the clutches of her right eye. He brushed it away and laid a kiss in its place.

Everything about this session was slow – and they took their time to feel and taste in order to know that the other was sound, alive, recovering from grief, whole. Winry trailed soft kisses down his neck and gently bit the skin of his collarbone. She let her hands linger on the scars of his right shoulder – still stark and red against his tan flesh. She offered kisses for the deep tissue damage done to his lower abdomen at Baschool. So many scars. He had surely lived a hard life.

But not any more.

Her legs opened up for him. Her fingers went to stroke that familiar pillar that she clung to. He let out a soft whimper into her ear, his hand cupping her face. He let out a shaky breath into her mouth. She breathed in his breath.

He came home to her. He is alive. Death comes and goes – but right now. They are alive.

They joined and moved in that familiar rhythm. He took both of her hands in his and pressed them against the bed sheets. She arched upwards into him, wrapping her legs firmly around his back, meeting his movements, whispering his name.

Morning was fully present now, lighting the room up and reflecting softly off Edward's hair. His eyes were closed as he moved gracefully above Winry in fluid, powerful movements.

"Look at me." She whispered, her hands still bound on either side of her head.

He opened those gold eyes, that Winry loved so much. They held each other's gaze, unwavering, umoving.

The wave of orgasm took them both in that moment – a connection stronger than life, suffering, and even loss. That moment would last forever in their memory. They held onto it.

\\

Winry left the bed soon afterwards to gather up her son and feed him before the day grew too late. Edward relaxed against the pillow, his stomach still in knots after releasing all that tension into the moment. Again, he let his eyes wander to the sight of the two ring and pocket watch on his bedside.

His thoughts of his parents, Pinako, and all those he had lost might have again turned sad and desperate, but at that moment, his wife returned with the little package of new life in her arms – the new life that he had helped bring into this world. Offering him up to his Father, Winry passed the cooing baby into his Father's arms and sat on the bed next to them. Edward looked down at that precious, familiar face and all worry and sadness left him in a great sigh. There, in his arms, was the legacy of Hohenhiem, Trisha, and Pinako Rockbell. Their bloodline had passed into this little thing and it was now his responsibility that the lessons and values they had taught to Edward, Winry, and Alphonse be passed down to him

"He is just so beautiful." Edward whispered.