September 10th, 1991
It was rare when one of their family members arrived in Resembool on the early morning train. Normally, the morning trains held only people from the nearby towns, coming in if they had particular business in Resembool. During the build up to one of the festivals, that was even more common as there was more regional activity. One week prior to the event, vendors and farmers from around the region, not just in Resembool itself, were starting to come in with their livestock, and merchandise, to set up in preparation for the full week's festivities. Not that it stopped them from doing a little pre-festival business, either.
So, the station platform, wreathed in morning mist, was not empty as Edward waited on it for Sara and Franz. There were several other people waiting on the train, and a few vehicles in the little parking lot. A few years ago, the town had finally actually paved a lot, and painted spaces, instead of letting locals just park in the adjacent field. Edward estimated that you could probably park at least forty cars there now. Far more if you extended that out past it into the fields again, but he had never seen the lot entirely full until the Spring Sheep Festival this year.
The imminent arrival of the seven o'clock train was heralded by the sound of the train whistle, followed by the growing volume of the sound of a train chugging down the tracks. With the fog, the smoke from the train was entirely invisible, and so as Edward strained his eyes trying to see through the swirling white, there was nothing to see until he had already heard the sound of the brakes engaging, and the squeal, as the train began to slow. Moments later, it loomed up in the mist like a beast rolling over them, pulling past him by several cars before finally coming to a stop.
Edward swallowed. He had volunteered to come meet Sara and Franz at the station with the car, not only because it meant no one else had to be up this early, but because he was hoping to talk to them first. Over the past several months, they had spoken only a few times, and when he spoke with Sara, it was all pleasantries and family news, no matter that it was a bit formal. It felt odd, to have that strange sense of slight distance now between himself and his daughter. Edward didn't like it. The air needed clearing, but he also needed to hear it from them. They had used him, and his information, and his experience, and then left him entirely in the dark. He had been furious, and surprised at how hurt he felt by what was an understandable choice from a military standpoint—however risky—because it had been betrayal by a family member to whom he could not imagine being closer. He had thought Sara would have trusted him with anything.
It was easier, in a way, to deal with his emotions when it came to Franz. His son-in-law, as President of the Military, at the time, had made a classified decision. That decision had meant making use of classified information, to which Alphonse, Edward, and Winry had all previously been privy as they had collected most of it themselves. The information they had brought back from the other side of the gate, decades ago, had been locked away by Roy Mustang for very good reason, and left there. It would never have come to light at all, if this world had not reached that stage of development on its own. When the Hashman Syndicate started messing with flighted machines, and with rudimentary missiles, they'd had no choice but to get involved.
The fact that it was his own family who had chosen to take that warfare to the next level… Edward honestly couldn't say if he could ever get over it.
Still, he wanted to be on better terms with Sara again.
That, however, depended on how the conversation went with both of them. Edward could imagine several scenarios in which this turned out badly. If it did, he wasn't sure Winry would forgive him for insisting on bringing it up. Alphonse and Winry both, seemed to have gotten over it already. Or, at least, made peace with the decisions made, and the outcomes. Somehow, more the small miracles, Gavril Mihalov, and General Marskaya had managed to keep from the news in the new fledgling confederation of Drachman states, the truth of precisely how those targets had been destroyed, and even who had done it, specifically. Carefully planted rumors had spread over the past months, implicating a completely mythical small group of rebels from the far, far, northwest of Drachma, who had made the terrorist strikes taking advantage of the larger military movements, since those were easy to track. The fact that no one had come forward to claim the credit was not even strange in the face of centuries of Drachman history, which was fraught with intrigue, secrets, and often unsolved mysteries.
Amestrians were not quite so gullible. However, as there was still no evidence that the Amestrian aircraft had been anywhere other than their publicly reported training location—at which they were, in fact, reported as having been seen and photographed—all they had was conjecture and conspiracy theories. They also weren't foolish enough as a whole to go around advertising if they had bombed another country. The military wasn't talking.
That was Edward's other frustration. With the new block between himself and Sara, his sources of military insider information had almost entirely dried up. Tore's promotion had made little change there, but on the rare chance he had to talk to his foster son, the General was swamped with work, and anything Edward really wanted to know, was classified enough that Tore wouldn't risk his commission by telling him. Though it was clear he was sorry he couldn't tell him and would if he could.
People were disembarking from the train now. Out of the fog, Edward saw the familiar silhouettes of Sara and Franz. He moved forward, ready to greet them, but his first words died on his throat as he saw them, and then the two people he had not expected next to them. "Ethan?" he blurted out instead, shocked. "Lia? What are you doing here?"
His youngest son laughed, grinning broadly as he shrugged. "Surprise! We thought we'd come along and give you the whole set for a couple of weeks. It's been forever since we had the whole family together and not distracted by work."
"Well, you're right about that," Edward admitted. Then he laughed. "Does anyone from around here know you're coming?"
"Only Aldon and Cassie," said Lia. "We thought it might be more fun this way."
"There isn't anyone else hiding on that train, is there?"
"Just us," Sara smiled. "At least as far as we know, no one else from Central is coming until Ian and Ted and their families arrive in a few days."
"Fortunately for you, we aren't all full up at the inn." Edward looked around. "Any other luggage?" Each of them was carrying one or two suitcases. Edward tried not to be amused that his daughter had packed an old military duffel.
"No. This is all of it." Sara shrugged. "No reason to pack heavy. Mom will always let us do laundry."
"And she's going to love this surprise," Edward assured them as he turned and motioned for them all to follow. "The car is this way, though it's going to be an awfully tight fit. You may have to sit with bags on everyone's laps."
"We'll manage," Franz assured him.
Edward led the way back to the car, wondering precisely what everyone was going to say about the arrival of unexpected guests. Though, of course, Ethan and Lia were a pleasant surprise. Edward was still on perfectly fine terms with his youngest son, and his daughter-in-law.
In short order he had all of them piled into the car, with Ethan and Lia up front, Sara and Franz behind, and almost everyone's bags crammed in with them, since the small trunk would only hold about two bags. The drive back to the house did not take long, and Edward distracted them all by asking Ethan and Lia how their children were doing, which led to a long and mostly enjoyable update about Lily, Eamon, and Aeddan's latest exploits in their very busy and disparate lives.
No one was waiting for them outside when they arrived, but Edward hadn't been expecting them to. It was Alphonse's turn to make breakfast, and as it should be ready shortly, everyone was probably in the middle of the usual morning routine.
"Hey, Al," Edward called out as he came through the door, everyone behind him straggling in with luggage. "Put out seating for two more! We have a couple of unexpected tag-a-longs!"
That was all it took to get the attention of everyone in the building. Alphonse poked his head out of the kitchen, looking momentarily puzzled, then thrilled as he welcomed them all, laughing and hugging his niece, nephew, and their spouses. Winry and Elicia both appeared on the railings above, and hurried down the stairs to embrace everyone as well. Alyse poked her head out, then vanished again, coming out with Cal about the time everyone else had finished their rounds of hugs.
Then there was a quick flurry of activity as Elicia pointed Sara and Franz to their usual guest room, and Ethan and Lia to theirs, and everyone disappeared upstairs for a few minutes to put down their bags and change out of travel clothes and rest a moment.
Edward took on the task of setting extra places at the table himself, while Alphonse finished cooking.
"It's a good thing I always make extra," Alphonse grinned as he rolled another omelet and set it next to the others on a plate. "We just shouldn't expect much in the way of leftovers. Also, we're out of eggs."
"I'll make sure to pick up more the next time I go past Deanna's folks' place," Edward offered. That was where they usually bought their eggs. It was right on the way to town, and it seemed a bit silly to buy eggs from a grocer when they lived surrounded by farms. As the farm was primarily a dairy, they got their milk fresh from them as well.
Alphonse had outdone himself with what proved to be a Xingese-inspired breakfast of rolled sweet omelets, a light cucumber salad, and—lacking access to any immediate ocean—a rice dish with fresh crisp-skinned pan-grilled local fish from the stream. In a nod to the season, there was also a local dish of spiced, baked chopped apples.
"This looks incredible, Uncle Al," Sara gushed as she was the first one downstairs, having removed her coat and slipped into house-shoes. "And it smells even better!"
"Well, I hope it tastes even better than that." Alphonse looked pleased at the praise even as he shrugged as though it were nothing. "Sit down! I take it you didn't eat on the train this morning."
"Not knowing we were coming here in time for breakfast," Sara admitted. "No matter who's cooking, it's always delicious, and I didn't have to make it."
"Two plusses," Alyse agreed as they settled in at the table as well. Franz, Ethan, and Lia were behind Sara in fairly short order, and soon everyone was crammed in around the large table, exclaiming over breakfast, before settling in to focus on the very serious business of eating it.
Breakfast always took longer when there was plenty to talk about, so Edward was not at all surprised that everyone lingered over the table, even after all of the food had been devoured. Elicia and Winry plumbed the new arrivals for every piece of information they had on their lives, what they had been up to, what their children were up to, what their grandchildren were up to. Even with short summaries and a couple of the best anecdotes, breakfast lasted longer than usual.
Edward enjoyed it, though as he wasn't expected to say anything at all while they babbled on and on first about other people's lives, it was easy to let his thoughts turn inward without anyone noticing. He sipped his cup of tea, and tried to just enjoy the surprise, even though it had thrown off his plans. He had mentally prepared himself for that conversation, that he hoped would not be a confrontation. Now, he was going to have to find another moment to work it in, and to get Sara and Franz alone, without making it obvious and awkward for everyone.
It became obvious quickly that that time was not going to come soon. The conversation shifted from one thing to another, and as soon as they got on the subject of Sara and Franz' recent trip to Aerugo, he gave up on even trying to pull them away. Edward would just have to be patient.
Besides which, the stories were interesting. Maes and Elena Mustang's villa in southern Aerugo sounded like a great place to spend a vacation, especially with Trisha, Roy, and their children. While the house was safely nowhere near the beaches, it was still a thing of comfort and luxury, and the city had plenty of cultural sites to keep them busy.
Edward wasn't surprised that they had made sure not to get a house too close to the ocean. Not after their family vacation years ago that had been interrupted by a tsunami. The following weeks had involved a harrowing trek through the jungles, and nearly being eaten by jaguars. From Sara's description, the ocean was visible in distance from the back balcony of the house, but it sat well up on the cliffs, miles away.
Sara had brought pictures, and while Edward volunteered to clear away the breakfast dishes, she went and fetched them, so that everyone could see the places they were talking about. Edward did pause to look at them with the others, mostly over Sara's shoulder. After all, he was unlikely to be making another trip to Aerugo anytime soon, if ever. While his worst memories of the country were long ago, and had finally started to fade with time in their immediacy, it was a long way, and not his favorite climate.
Still, it was nice to see photos of Trisha and Roy, and their brood. Watching his great-grandchildren grow up was always pleasurable. Born after the Drachman War, but too young to be embroiled in the most recent conflicts on the other side of that same border, their lives were relatively free of strife. At least of the traumas outside of the regular challenges of growing up.
And to see Maes and Elena looking happy and content. Even as he aged, and darkened from the Aerugean sun, Maes still had the same grin and expressions as his father. Edward knew Roy would have been relieved and happy to see that his son had come out the other side of the dark end to find his happiness again.
There were things to be done, and so eventually the breakfast chit-chat did break up. At which point, Edward went to finish the dishes. Winry, Elicia, and Alphonse vanished to work on their own various projects for the festival, followed by interested parties; Sara after her mother, Alyse after hers. Lia followed Elicia and Alyse. Franz went back up to the room. That left only a small number of people still at the table, lingering over coffee.
Edward could hear what was going on in the dining area as he worked, and see out of his peripheral vision as he scrubbed plates.
Still parked at the table, Cal glanced sidewise at Ethan. "If this weren't your father's house, too, I'd accuse you of stalking a patient."
Ethan chuckled. "Well, it really was a last-minute decision, but we haven't taken a vacation in forever, as Lia has reminded me repeatedly. Since Sara was coming, it seemed like a nice surprise for everyone else. Though if you'd like to be paranoid and presume that you are simply my only important patient and need constant looking after, you're welcome to think so."
Cal snorted. "Nah, I know better. Still, I should thank you. That new drug you and Urey have been developing is nothing short of a miracle."
"I've been out of touch for a few days, courtesy of travel," Ethan pointed out. "I take it that it's working then?"
"Better than I could have hoped," Cal replied honestly, a little raw relief clear in his voice. "It doesn't kill all the pain, but I can deal with old and achy over regular stabbing."
"Have you and Urey worked out a good dose?" Cal now had Ethan's rapt attention.
Edward tuned out the rest of the conversation. He had already listened to Cal, Alyse, and Urey go on at length about dosages and how much Cal could safely take at once, and how long it would last, and how often it was best taken over the past several days.
By the time he finished the dishes, he had both dogs nudging his legs, begging to go out, and a glance at the clock told him it was time to go meet the teenagers who made up the committee for planning the Savvin activities. He knew some of them were technically adults, but as they were still the age of most students in college—whether they had attended or not—he lumped them all together as teenagers. "All right, boys," he scratched the dogs' ears. "Why don't you come along? Maybe they'll find something to dress you up in to make you scary."
Wilhelm wagged his tail and drooled on Edward's shoe.
Edward chuckled. "Or maybe not. I don't think the best make-up in the world could make you two intimidating."
September 12th, 1991
There were certainly no quiet days of late, not that Aldon Elric minded. If anyone had expected him to relax after stepping down from his years as mayor, they were quite mistaken. Free to do as he wished, and having much more time than he had before, Aldon had jumped back into work, designing upgrades and drawing up plans for the town's improvements as needed, as well as his own personal projects.
That, and his family definitely kept him plenty busy. Even with only Reichart and Urey still living directly in Resembool, there was always news from his other children, and the small swarm of grandchildren that lived in town to keep him occupied. Ten of his twelve grandchildren lived in town. The other four lived in Central. It had been nice to see Gavin and Damian for a couple of weeks earlier in the summer.
Today, he would get to see the other two, since Ian and Ted and their families were coming in on the afternoon train. The only two of his children who would not be in town for the festival were Coran and Callie, both of whom were working hard and simply couldn't take the time off. That was fine, of course. Aldon understood the necessity of work, especially in the field that was your passion, and when you needed to make it work as your own boss.
Besides which, he and Cassie had spent time with both of them when they were up in Central just a few months ago. There would be visits soon, and all of his children were thankfully good at remembering to call every so often, even when their lives took them all over the continent.
There was still plenty to do before the train arrived that afternoon. Freed of the responsibility of finishing the brand-new stage—which was already the talk of the town—Aldon had other projects at home to attend to. A few of them actually had to do with the house, as there was always something in need of fixing, especially before guests arrived. Even though these guests were family, Aldon could understand Cassie insisting that everything in the house be in working order. So, he had spent the morning replacing light bulbs, oiling squeaky hinges, and scrubbing floors, bath tubs, and toilets.
Cassie had work at the hospital, so that left the house up to him, which was more common these days anyway. The one thing she had told him not to worry about was dinner, because she had something special planned, though she refused to tell him what it was.
Aldon was heavily suspicious that it had to do with his birthday, which was coming up on the seventeenth. However, as that was the first day of the festival, he had not been expecting any kind of celebration. The fact that Cassie would not tell him what she was making was almost certainly a dead give-away, and he was sure she knew that, but Aldon was happy to play along. It was unlikely to be anything extravagant. He had turned sixty the year before, so sixty-one was not nearly as exciting or special, other than he was happy to still be alive to be sixty-one.
He was sure Cassie was going to make more of a deal out of it specifically because last year a lot of the family had been busy, and this would be the most of them home all at once in a while. So really, the surprise and the meal were as much for Ian, Bonnie, Ted, Anika, and the babies as it was for him.
Not that he had any idea where she was planning to make this meal, given there was a definitive lack of ingredients in his kitchen for anything other than the regular meals planned for the next few days, with enough to accommodate the additional people who would be in the house.
Perhaps she had plans to make it all—and possibly serve it—at the hill house. It would be logical, though Aldon knew his parents, aunt, and uncle, were just as busy with festival plans as he had been. Neither Reichart nor Urey's houses were out of the picture as possibilities either, though they were smaller, and likely to be far more crowded. So, Aldon's bet remained on dinner being at his parents' place.
Aldon had surprises of his own planned, but then he usually did. Though his was a little longer in coming and he had a couple of months to work on it. Every year, without fail, he found something unique and beautiful to give his wife on their anniversary. This year, on November sixteenth, would be forty-two years since they had stood together, and vowed to be together forever, in the little tiny chapel at Briggs, with Sara the only family there to witness the event, and their friends Ollie and Kit beside them in support. Cassie had already been pregnant with Coran. They had faced the future with nothing but a deep love, and more than a little trepidation.
He could not imagine a better life than the way theirs had turned out in the intervening years. Of course, he could not at the time have imagined that they would choose to have such a large family either, or that he would someday run for a political office; that they would hold such prominent places and respect in a community.
Aldon was still musing when he became aware that he was being watched. He had gotten down on hands and knees to give the oven a quick cleaning, and hadn't heard the door open. "Hello?"
"Oh, don't stop on my account."
Aldon grinned. "Enjoying the view?"
"I always do, Don."
"Well, I'm just about finished," he admitted as he finished wiping out the last bit. Then he backed up and stood, his back cracking twice on the way up. "I hope it meets with your approval. The oven, I mean," he added at her coy grin.
"I'm sure the oven is fine." Cassie crossed the room and slipped her arms around his waist.
Aldon pulled her close, never one to question his wife's good moods. Decades together, and she remained entirely irresistible. "So, does this mean you're free for the rest of the day?"
Cassie nodded. "Off work. I don't have another shift until after the weekend."
"Oh good, because I'm done with everything on the list, which means until the kids get here, I'm all yours." Aldon grinned mischievously, then picked Cassie up and kissed her passionately.
She squeaked as she left the ground, but gripped him tighter, returning the kiss just as ardently. After a few seconds, Aldon set her down on the edge of the dining table without breaking the embrace. It craned his neck less and made it much easier to lean in.
Perhaps it was because of where his mind had been wandering earlier, but Aldon found himself lost again in the magnificence of his wife; her warmth, and softness, the scent of her…
"You know, if you want people to knock first, you need to close the door."
They broke off the kiss. Cassie smiled sheepishly. "I knew we forgot something."
Aldon looked over at his sons, and their wives, standing in the doorway with arms full of suitcases and infants. He didn't move yet, however, or let go of Cassie. When they were younger, he might have broken apart out of embarrassment. Those days were long passed. "There's a door frame," he countered, before breaking into a grin. Only then did he let go of Cassie and stand up straight. "You're early."
"Did you know Resembool has a taxi now?" Ian quipped, as he was mobbed by his mother, who immediately claimed the tiny infant out of his arms.
"Yeah, I know about Fred's taxi," Aldon chuckled. "As busy as things are getting for festivals, he's thinking about hiring someone to drive a second car."
"After what we saw at the fairgrounds on the way by, that's not a bad investment." Ian dropped the baby's bag on the couch. Ted and Anika also divested themselves of bags, as Aldon reached out and claimed Nikolai for himself.
"Aren't you getting to be a big guy?" Aldon grinned at his grandson, who almost certainly didn't remember him, but did not seem at all upset at being handed off to someone else. Nikolai grinned at him. He was nearly eleven months old, and sitting up quite well in Aldon's arms. He knew from calls with Ted that the boy was already crawling like a champ, so it wasn't surprising.
"He takes after Anika's side," Ted replied. "Lucky him. He'll be taller than me someday."
Cassie was cooing over five-month-old Joanna, who was the only grandchild they hadn't yet met in person. "Oh, she's darling. She clearly takes after you, Bonnie."
"Thanks, Mom." Ian called across the room.
"Oh, you know what I mean," Cassie chided her son. "Is her hair red or blonde? It's hard to tell."
"We don't know," Bonnie admitted with a light laugh. "It depends on the light. From some angles it looks golden, and others red, and sometimes a bit of both. I think we'll just have to wait until she has more, and it settles on something."
"And it won't matter what it is in the end," Cassie acknowledged, still beaming. "She looks wonderful, and so do you! Though I'm sure you'll all exhausted, coming all this way with little ones. Can I get you anything? Drinks? Food?"
"A long uninterrupted nap?" Aldon suggested.
That set all four new parents chuckling.
"Food and something to drink would be great, Mom," Ian spoke first. "Though we ate on the train not too long ago, so please don't worry about anything big. A snack's fine. Then I actually have to go find Rhiana sometime this afternoon. She and some of the others apparently want Bonnie's and my help with some production they're doing for the Festival this year."
Aldon nodded. "We know all about it. I guess I shouldn't be surprised they called you in before you even got here."
"It sounds like fun," Bonnie agreed, taking Joanna back as the baby began to fuss and reach for her. "Though I think I will take you up on the nap offer first, after she's had her snack." Bonnie took the baby over to the couch, where she sat down and settled in to nurse.
"What about you?" Aldon looked at Ted and Anika and Cassie headed for the cupboards.
"No plans yet," Ted answered. "I won't speak for anyone else, but I'm definitely up for food, and a nap on something that isn't moving."
Aldon glanced at Anika who shrugged, smiling. "I don't know why he complains. I slept just fine on the train."
"Not all of us can sleep on a rock," Ted retorted.
"Or maybe you're just soft." Anika kissed his cheek briefly.
In short order, there was a spread of meat, cheese, and fruit out on the table, and everyone had something to drink who wanted it. Everyone took turns holding the two babies, which gave both parents a little free-hands time to eat, drink, and just relax. Since he had spent so much time baby proofing the house, they let Nikolai down in the living room and watched him crawl around and explore. Joanna, after eating, passed out on Ian's shoulder.
As Cassie engaged them all in conversation, Aldon found himself sitting back a little, making the occasional remark, and just enjoying watching his sons and their families. Something he had discovered, that always made him proud to watch, was how each of them adapted to parenthood. He had five sons, and only now were all of them fathers, but each one had a way of doing it all their own. Though, he had to admit, Reichart's was probably by far and away the closest to his. That might have to do with the necessity of parenting that many children at once. Certainly, the rest of his boys had not—yet—decided to have families that large. Aldon suspected that neither Ian nor Ted would go that route.
Coran and Gale had declared themselves done after two, and now that their sons were teens, any more seemed definitely unlikely. Urey had told Aldon in conversation that he and Raina had agreed that three was probably it. Reichart and Deanna were—according to them—definitely done at seven. Now that the youngest was out of diapers, Aldon believed it. Pierce was four-and-a-half, and that was the longest his second son and his wife had gone without producing another child since they started with Rhiana almost twenty years ago.
Here stood his two youngest sons, just starting their lives with children. That left only Callista single and childless, but Aldon was perfectly content to let that be. His daughter would decide for herself, if and when she did so, when and where to settle down, and if she wanted to have children or not. He and Cassie would support her either way.
One thing was certain, the Elric name was in no danger of dying out for a few generations at the very least. It was a legacy that would live on long after its progenitors were gone.
After a little while the group began to break up. Anika, Ted, and Bonnie all vanished into the downstairs guest rooms to nap, and Ian headed across the field to find his niece and nephews, and the crowd of teenagers desperately eager for professional assistance. Aldon had a feeling this trail walk might be scarier than the folks on the city council were honestly anticipating. Cassie, to her delight, was left with a sleeping Joanna, and Nikolai, who was now playing with some of the toys his parents had brought with him.
"I'll clean up," Aldon offered, smiling as he stood. He didn't mind, and he knew there was nothing more Cassie would enjoy than an afternoon with two darling babies.
It amused Edward that, despite the fact his family lived in several very nice homes around the area, all the largest celebrations these days fell, by default, at his house. He suspected that had as much to do with the professionally sized kitchen, large spaces, and—in good weather—swimming pool, as any real urge to spend more time with him.
Not that he minded. It had been a natural thing to say yes to hosting a welcome home family members and early happy birthday Aldon party at their house when Cassie asked about it. Of course, he hadn't expected that Ethan and Lia would have shown up as well, and just how crowded that might get.
Every Elric relative in Resembool or who had come in from out of town, as well as some of Aldon and Cassie's closest friends, like the Larsons, were in attendance. Winry had simplified the chaos by setting out large tables of food buffet style on the lawn in the gardens nearest the swimming pool.
Which meant that his garden was crammed with people on the lawns, in the pool, sitting on the porch. It was chaotic, and messy, and glorious.
It also meant that his plans to talk to Sara and Franz were being thwarted. Two days into their visit and he hadn't had a chance to speak with either one of them alone. All conversations had been communal, or had at least one other person in the room. They had all been pleasant, but that meant that the unspoken and unresolved had not come up.
Edward was beginning to wonder if Winry and Alphonse had planned it that way. Perhaps they wanted them all to get through the festival first, and politely enjoy themselves before anything might get heated. He couldn't blame them for feeling that way, but he would feel better if it were all done and over with sooner.
Looking around his garden, he didn't think that was happening tonight. Franz was deep in conversation with Aldon, Cal, and a couple of locals. Sara, on the opposite side of the pool, was in the water with Anika, Bonnie, Elicia, Alyse, and others. The splashing pile of youngsters in the pool was a much more co-ed mixed bunch.
Everyone looked like they were having a wonderful time. Which meant, of course, that the melancholy and frustration was his alone to deal with. Edward wished he could find a way to shake it off, but only resolution would do that. Months of sitting in his little Xingese meditation garden and trying to logic his way through his feelings had brought him to that conclusion, because nothing else was working. It had been a few years since Edward had felt this mentally stuck.
Noting that his cup was empty, Edward abandoned his position on the porch, and made his way down through the crowd to the table, where he refilled his drink from the pitchers of various options sitting out for everyone to choose from. There were several that were almost entirely empty, so he opted for one that was still about half filled with fresh fall apple cider. A quick sniff told him what he had already surmised—that it was just plain cider, and not the hard cider for which Resembool was well known. Which was just as well, since he really didn't need to be drinking the other anyway.
Having filled his cup, Edward moved towards the edge of the crowds again, finding himself soon on the pathway between the more typical Amestrian garden, and his Xingese one in the back. The early evening sunset filtered through the trees, and around him the air was growing dusky.
The area around the pool was well lit, so Edward suspected the party would carry on a while longer. It was unlikely that anyone would notice he was missing, at least until it was time to clean up, and he did not expect to be gone that long. So, he kept walking until he reached the other garden, and paused to take another attempt at a calm, cleansing breath.
The crunch of feet on gravel told him there was someone coming up behind him on the path. Edward sighed and opened his eyes. "Do you need something?" He turned around, and stopped, surprised.
It was Sara.
She had pulled on a light dress over her swimsuit; one designed to the purpose, and sandals. His daughter was looking at him with an expression that Edward couldn't quite read, but it looked as though she was trying to read him, and just as unsure of how to begin. A rare occurrence that only highlighted the growing gulf Edward felt between them.
"I wanted to talk to you," she said after a moment.
Well, that was convenient. Edward nodded. "Sure. What did you want to talk about?" As if he didn't have a pretty good idea. Or at least, he thought he did.
For a moment, Sara looked slightly irked. "I think you know."
"Humor me." Edward set his drink down on top of the tall stone plinth near at hand that came to his elbow. She had come to speak to him first, so he might as well let her start and see how she wanted to take the conversation. Maybe it was better this way.
Another flash of mild irritation. "I want to know what it will take to get things normal again between us…or at least, more normal. I don't like how weird things have been. I thought, maybe if we were together and not over the phone, it would be different and I was imagining it, but we haven't even had a conversation since I got here."
"That's as much your mother and Al's fault," Edward replied. "I've been trying to get around them to talk with you in private for two days."
"And is there a reason they want to keep us apart?"
"You know the answer to that too, or you should. We've talked about it enough." Edward met her gaze evenly, trying to gauge her expressions better in the dimming light. "You lied to me, Sara, and you used me. You used us… both of you did."
"Like you never lied or left out information to succeed in a mission."
"Of course, I have." It was part of the job, sometimes. "But never to someone who's help I needed. Certainly not about something that important."
"It was classified."
"The information you were using was classified information I provided." Edward jabbed himself in the chest with a finger. "That has opened a box we can never close again, that was kept shut all those years specifically to avoid exactly this development from happening. And you knew it. I told you about it when you were a teenager, and exactly why it should never be used. Before you decided to take the technology and do something so incredibly stupid with it, you should have at least told me what it was I was enabling. I trusted you, and it was a mistake. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to feel that way about you? After all these years… I've never been ashamed of you. I'd never worried about if I could trust you to do the right thing. Even if the right thing was dangerous."
"And you don't think we did the right thing, taking out an enemy that was threatening international security as well as destroying his own country, to aid our allies and end a war?"
"I think making that call unilaterally without considering other options was an unnecessary risk." Edward forced himself to keep his cool, as much as his emotions made him quiver inside. "I question your judgement when you didn't trust any of the three people whom you should know best to ask if maybe any of us could have come up with a better plan." Or to hear you out, even if you knew we wouldn't agree. "You never even gave us the opportunity to consider what you were planning."
"Would you have agreed to it?" Sara asked archly.
"Of course not." Edward did not hesitate. "And you knew that. Which is why you decided that we didn't have the right to object and hold up your stealth mission. You are damned fortunate that we aren't at war with the new Drachman conglomerate going on up there right now, and that we didn't lose critical allies over that little stunt. We had already found less publicly blatant ways to pull off the impossible. Instead of consulting anyone, the two of you ran off halfcocked and hoped it would work."
"I'm sorry that's how you see it." Sara scowled. "But you're one to talk. I can't think of anyone more impulsive and crazy than you are."
"Ted might have me beat in that department," Edward replied. "Except that his plans always seem to turn out better than some of mine. I won't deny you get that part from me, but that's no excuse for making rookie mistakes while sitting at the top of the military structure. You could have pulled down the whole country if that went south."
"It didn't, and we didn't." Sara did not close the distance between them, but it felt as if she had stepped up in his face, as hot as her tone was growing. It was shorter, clipped. "Just because you don't know everything doesn't mean it wasn't meticulously planned."
It wasn't going the way he wanted, though Edward had to admit that this might have been the way he had been expecting the conversation to turn out. At least they weren't shouting at each other yet. "It was too soon. You haven't had long enough to gain the perspective you need, to have the distance to really make rational decisions after what you went through. Trust me. I've been there."
"I'm not you. Maybe not everyone needs a decade to get their head on straight."
"I thought, after everything we've both been through, that maybe you'd have a better understanding of why I feel this way, but maybe I never really knew you as well as I thought I did." There, he'd said it. The thing that bothered him. "Or maybe you just never really knew me." Edward shook his head, but his heart was aching from the sting of her words. "The worst part is, it's almost easier to take coming from Franz. I understand playing things close, and military secrets, and controversial plans. I've been used before, in several, and I hated it then too. But at least they were more upfront about the fact that they were using me…using us, for their purposes. Lots of people have done it. Mustang did. I was his subordinate, his dog. He was being used too. And the homunculi were trying to use us all. I chose to return to the military when we came home, and I served every President of the Military with everything I had, even if that meant voicing the unpopular opinions. But I'm retired now. I'm not an active general. I'm not a military dog, and I don't answer to you, or to my son-in-law. You purposefully turned something we created into a weapon to be used exactly the way you knew we didn't want it used. You never gave us—you never gave me—a choice. You took it away."
Edward stopped then, he was starting to repeat himself, logicking in circles as he had for weeks. "I trusted your judgement, and now I regret it. And I hate that feeling."
The silence between them stretched out from seconds, to minutes, as he watched Sara warring with herself inside. Or perhaps she was just mad at him. He wanted her to say something; even if it was to shout and disagree with him as they had when she was younger. His passionate, fiery daughter, with his hot head and talent for alchemy.
"The world isn't the same anymore. Sometimes, someone has to make the tough decisions." With that, Sara turned and walked away, vanishing quickly into the dusk.
Edward stared after her for several seconds, but did not try to chase her down. He didn't want to make a scene at the party, and besides which, he still had no idea what to say in response.
He picked up his cup again, wishing it held something a little stronger.
Alphonse didn't realize that Edward had vanished until the party began to break up later in the evening. As people bid their polite goodbyes, yawned, and started heading home for bed, the crowd thinned. Families with smaller children had vanished first, and then those who had things to do in the morning. Alyse and Cal went in fairly early just because it took longer to get him into bed. Though plenty of people stayed to help clean-up, or took a bit with them as they left.
It was full dark and Alphonse was putting out the lights and locking the gate around the pool area when he finally had a chance to ask Winry, "Hey, where's Ed?"
Winry paused in the middle of pulling empty serving trays off the table, startled. "I don't know. I thought he was with you… and I saw him talking to Ian earlier."
"Ian went home over an hour ago." As much as his great-nephews enjoyed a good party, the new parents had all dropped out far earlier than they would have a year or more ago, and taken their little ones home so they could all get some much needed sleep. "Maybe Ed walked someone home?"
"Well, he didn't offer anyone a lift. The car's still parked in the garage. I saw it when I put the lawn chairs away." Winry looked concerned, then shrugged. "Maybe he went for a walk. Or upstairs already. I'll see if he's got someone up there talking alchemy when I finish here."
"Sounds good." Concerned, but not overly, Alphonse went back towards the house. It wasn't as if Edward didn't go for a late-night stroll or get lost in an idea and completely forget to be social.
It took longer than Edward had expected for Franz to come looking for him. He didn't know what Sara had done when she left. Had she simply gone back to the party? Had she talked to Franz about what had transpired between them? He didn't know, except that whatever had happened it had not been immediate.
He had moved further out into the garden, after finishing his cider, and simply tried to focus his thoughts again. Edward had moved through all the forms he knew, and finally sat down in the middle of the meditation garden, and waited either for a solution to the conflict, or some other answer to come to him.
Edward's ears were attuned to every slight rustle around him, every sound and scent, and the feel of the grass beneath him, and the solid earth beneath. So, he wasn't surprised when he heard the back door on the house open, and footsteps first on the wooden porch, then the gravel, then lost into the grass. The fact that no one was calling for him meant it was almost certainly not Al, Winry, or Elicia.
"What did you say to her?"
Nope, this was not going to go well.
Edward did not open his eyes immediately, or turn around to face the man looming behind him. "Only the truth." Though the words surprised him. Sara had not told him the contents of their conversation. Or at least, certainly not all of it.
Apparently, this wasn't the answer Franz wanted. "Specifics," he barked.
Edward opened his eyes, and slowly, unhurriedly, stood up before turning around and meeting Franz's hard expression with one of his own. "You already know my feelings. Sara came to me and wanted to talk about it. I was honest."
"You had no right to talk to her like that."
"Like what?" Edward scowled. "You just admitted you have no idea exactly what was said during our conversation and, frankly, if Sara didn't tell you than it's none of your damned business."
"She's my wife."
"And she's my daughter. That doesn't mean either one of us owns her. If she didn't say anything, why the hell are you out here anyway?"
Franz's frustration radiated off him, even in the dark. It was only due to the moonlight that Edward could even make out his face. "She was crying in our room, when I went up for the night."
Edward could not remember the last time he had seen his daughter cry. Certainly, they'd had worse fights and less civil conversations, though he hadn't meant to make her cry. "That wasn't my intent."
"Then what was your intent?"
"Sara approached me, remember?" Edward was not about to be intimidated. "I didn't say anything you don't already know. I hate being used and lied to. And I don't know whose idea it was to do either, but either choice casts a lot of doubts on how much trust I can put in either of you again."
"I don't care about your political disagreements with my policy decisions, Fullmetal. Apologize to Sara."
Invoking his title was a step too far. Edward glowered into the darkness. "I don't answer to you, Heimler. I never have. You asked for my help, and I gave it without question, with complete trust. Rest assured I will never make that error in judgement again."
"You're an old fool. Stop living in the past, Ed," Franz retorted hotly. "Your agreement has no bearing on the reality of the situation. It had to be done, and it worked with minimal loss of life. The plan went off exactly as intended. I think you're just mad that you're obsolete, and that you were wrong."
"You didn't think I was obsolete or wrong a few months ago, when you needed me, and Al, and Winry, or your little plan would never have happened in the first place." Edward closed what little distance remained between them. "The only reason you aren't getting this three times over is Winry and Alphonse are too forgiving."
"Or maybe you're just too stubborn."
"Damned right, I'm stubborn. Especially when it comes to playing around with forces that could blow this entire country to pieces if mishandled. I haven't spent most of a century sacrificing my ass to watch you throw it all away in a short-sighted cast for a quick solution."
"You shouldn't mouth off about things you don't understand."
"If you'd kept me in the loop, we wouldn't even be having this argument."
"No, we'd have wasted our entire window of opportunity arguing with a know-it-all has-been with no grasp of the current political situation!" Franz was shouting now.
"Says the man with the record shortest stint as President of the Military in Amestrian history." Edward scoffed.
"I don't give a shit what you think of me, but you had better say whatever the hell you need to in order to make things right with Sara. She's had enough of a time with all of this as it is. She doesn't need you making it harder."
"And you're not?" Edward could hardly believe he was having this fight, with Franz of all people. Somehow, it had come to this. "Maybe you should remember who the hell gave you everything you needed to make your grand crazy stupid plan happen in the first place. Maybe you should remember who flew you all the damned way to Petrayevka and let you come along to rescue Sara. Maybe you should remember who didn't castrate you on principal when you hooked up with my daughter forty years ago!"
Maybe it was the darkness, or his emotional state, but Edward never saw the punch coming. All he knew was that suddenly agony blossomed over one eye, and Franz had managed to get in a hit on him. Unprepared, Edward staggered back a step, his foot catching on the edge of the path. Wind-milling frantically, he tried to catch himself, but failed, falling backwards.
Crack!
"I can't believe you hit my father!" Sara stared at Franz in shocked disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Franz sat on the edge of their bed, holding his head in his hands, looking appropriately miserable and contrite, even as he shook his head back and forth. "I know. I know. I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't cut it." Sara could still see her father, dazed and half unconscious as Franz and Alphonse had carried him into the house, thankfully not bleeding, though he had a bruise on the back of his head from where it had struck a rock on the ground, and his left eye swelling shut. The fact that Franz had even managed to land a hit on her father was a little terrifying, even beyond his willingness to do so. "You punched him in the face."
"I lost my temper."
"Obviously." Sara crossed her arms, and took a long, deep breath. Shouting more was not going to solve anything. "Infuriating as Dad can be you just… you can't do that."
"He upset you."
"Lots of things upset me. We had a disagreement. It happens. Yes, I'm angry, but he's my father and eventually we'll work this out. Right or wrong, he feels betrayed by what we did, and he's allowed to feel that way."
Franz nodded. "I'll apologize to him in the morning. At least for punching his face."
"You better be prepared to do more than apologize if you did him any lasting damage…and to more than just him." When Sara had come upstairs her mother and Ethan already had her father tucked in bed and Ethan was using his alchemy to make sure that Edward didn't have a concussion or any breaks or internal injuries.
Once again, Franz nodded, looking defeated. "Yes, dear."
Sara sighed. That was all she was going to get out of him tonight. How they had gotten to the point of blows, she could imagine, but it still seemed so…unlikely. And Franz insisted that he had thrown the only punch, which meant he had swung first. "I'm going to check on Dad again. I'll be back in a while. You might want to ice that hand. It looks like it's swelling."
At that, Franz looked up as if he had not noticed. "I'll do that."