August 20th, 1991

The summer sun filtered down through the lush green leaves above his head as Edward Elric knelt in the garden out behind the house. Today was gardening day, and it was the perfect day to be pulling weeds and pruning bushes and flowers. Not that it needed much work, since he worked in the garden at least once a week, but there was always something to check on, and it was not an unpleasant way to spend an afternoon. The dogs, having romped themselves tired on their walk that morning, were large white patches dozing in the plush grass near the porch.

"It's looking good, Ed."

Edward looked up, using one hand to shade his eyes so he didn't have to squint to look at his brother. "No thanks to you. Where have you been all afternoon?"

Alphonse smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Elicia had me running errands in town, and they took longer than planned, but I'm here now."

"Well, have a flower bed." Edward gestured to his left at the bed just across the path. "The hail we had with that storm the other night did a number on the bushes." He had found several broken twigs and fallen flowers. There was nothing to be done for the flowers, but where leaves and twigs were broken or battered, he could trim them or, if it was still doing all right, sometimes he would repair it with a touch of alchemy.

"We'll have them good as new in no time." Alphonse lowered himself to the ground beside Edward, facing the opposite direction, and got to work.

"So, what errands did Elicia send you on this time?" Edward asked as he searched through the peonies for damaged stems.

"Craft supplies mostly. She ran out of light blue thread for that quilt she's trying to finish before the Harvest Festival, green and black yarn for the presents she's making all the great-grandchildren for the holidays, and saffron."

"Saffron? Is she planning to craft with it or eat it?" Edward's fingers found a broken stem, now flowerless, and he carefully trimmed it off. Saffron was one of the few spices that didn't grow in the herb bed in the garden.

"Apparently that is for a new recipe she and Winry are also working on for the Harvest Festival. Though we'll get to eat the experiment tonight." Alphonse chuckled.

That sounded promising. "Did either of them tell you what it is?"

"Nope. They just said to come hungry and ready to offer honest opinions."

"I can guarantee both." Not that Edward ever came to dinner without his appetite, but today had been fairly busy for a summer day: a brisk hike with the dogs, cleaning the swimming pool, reorganizing another shelf in the alchemy library upstairs, and it had been his day to make lunch. "Though I hope they're making a lot. I have a feeling the swarm we're expecting this afternoon will be hungry."

"They are teenagers," Alphonse agreed.

"They're Elrics." Edward's teenaged great-grandchildren had requested permission to use the pool tonight and he had been happy to oblige. It would be the six eldest, and a few of their friends. Gavin and Damian had taken the train down from Central to come visit their grandparents for a few weeks, so they, Owen, Cailean, and Hrafn were excited to use the pool. Rhiana was also coming, but Edward expected that as the oldest—and only adult—she was more interested in relaxing in the water than horseplay. She was home from her first year of veterinary school, and spending the summer working for the local veterinarian to get some on the job training.

"That too. Though that is the nice thing about having one of the only swimming pools in the county. The family comes to us."

"Even without the draw of the pool." Edward pulled a wilting blossom. "I don't know if you heard yet, but Franz and Sara are coming to visit next month."

"After spending a month in Aerugo this summer? I'd have thought Anastas would want to keep a closer eye on Franz."

"I think a lot of military HQ is probably happier with him out of the way right now." Edward's good mood soured slightly. "In any case, this trip was also approved, so they'll be here for a short visit during the festival."

There was a moment of quiet before Alphonse asked, "Are you still mad at Franz for what happened in Drachma?"

"Yes," Edward admitted. It wasn't something he was particularly proud of. "I understand

why he did it. I'm angrier he didn't tell us the plan up front."

"I don't think we could have talked him out of it, Brother." Alphonse's tone was patient.

"Probably not, but I still feel used." Used, and not entirely trusted. The latter bothered him more; that his son-in-law, and more importantly his own daughter, hadn't filled him in on a plan that they could not have carried off without his assistance, using technology they both knew full well he had sat quietly on for decades for the safety of everyone. They were still on speaking terms, but Edward had taken to avoid talking about anything meaningful with Franz over the phone, if he spoke to him at all. It helped him avoid the urge to bring up the matter.

"At least the border's been quiet."

"That's because Drachma's busy rebuilding. We'll see how well the plan worked when we see how they decide to deal with us next."

Alphonse didn't seem bothered by his pessimism. "I heard on the news this morning that they finished the elections for the new government. It looks like Drachma is going become four interrelated states for now."

So, it had gone up from three. That was what he got for going out with the dogs instead of watching television. He missed the first impactful news to come out of Drachma in weeks. "Oh really? Did they elect who we expected?"

"Western and Eastern Drachma did."

Ed nodded, satisfied. "That's no surprise. Marskaya's been kind of the de facto leader of the Eastern region for decades, and Mihalov's incredibly popular in the West. Who did the other regions elect?"

"The Northern provinces elected a woman named Dema Koval."

"I've never heard that name."

"She was the mayor of a town in the North-West that was founded for major trade in furs and logging. It's so remote that the Zinoveks didn't even bother to send more than a token detachment of soldiers, and she managed to negotiate with them and keep there from being any fighting."

"There are worse ways of dealing with an enemy. What about the central valley?" Edward finished checking the last of the flowers in the bed and sat up taller to check the azalea in front of him.

"Someone else I've never heard of, except that apparently Alexei's family knows of them," Alphonse shifted over to make more room for Edward on the path. "Oxana Novikova. She was a fairly new representative for the area they live in, right before the coup. Since she was so junior they mostly ignored her when she didn't fight them, but she managed to feed some information to the resistance. I understand Mihalov may have been the one who talked her into running for the position. They still have regional representatives from within the states too, but it's an interesting mix. It looks like only about a third of them are actually from the old noble families."

Even though two of their new leaders in the main four at the top were from two of those families, or at least closely associated, that was a huge decline in those numbers. "Good. Maybe this time their government will actually represent the majority of the people." It still didn't mean they were going to return to any kind of equitable relationship with their border countries in the near future.

"Are you two really talking politics on a beautiful day like this?"

Edward looked up at Winry. She stood at the end of the path holding a tray with two tall glasses of lemonade and a plate of cookies. In one of her simple, light-colored sun-dresses and a white straw hat, her long gold-white hair blowing lightly in the breeze, she was as beautiful to him today as she was when they were teens. "Only until a beautiful angel came to join us." He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve, and stood, reaching for a glass of lemonade. "If you like, we could talk about alchemy instead."

Winry shook her head. "With the two of you, it usually amounts to the same thing. The yard looks amazing."

"Thanks. We'll probably have to go over everything again tomorrow once the teenagers are gone." Edward sipped from the glass, enjoying the fresh sour bite of home-squeezed juice, with just enough sugar to take off the edge, but not too sweet.

"And do what, straighten the grass?" Alphonse teased as he reached for the other glass. "They're not going to make a mess of things."

"It's true. They've been very good about cleaning up after themselves," Winry pointed out. "Besides, I understand that some of tonight's guests are ladies, so you know the boys will be on their best behavior."

"Depends on how you define best." Alphonse grinned. "If they're trying to impress them, things might get interesting."

"Not with Rhiana here." Winry disagreed. "If nothing else, they won't want her ratting them out to Deanna."

"Now that, I'll agree with." Not that Edward had ever been any good at impressing girls at their age. Fortunately, with each generation his descendants seemed to have better social skills. Of the six great-grandchildren coming tonight, Rhiana was the eldest and only girl in the group, and as far as Edward knew she was far more interested in veterinary medicine than finding romance, at least for now. She had only dated casually in school in Resembool. Her three oldest of her younger brothers—Owen, Cailean, and Hrafn—were the only other ones that had crossed into their teen years, and all three were still in school. Owen was seventeen, Cailean sixteen, and Hrafn only thirteen. He was, in many ways, lucky to be included in the party at all, and mostly because with Coran's two boys here, Gavin was sixteen, but Damian was also thirteen. "How much of the resident teenage population of Resembool is invading our house tonight?" He reached for a cookie next, biting into a delicious swirl of fresh warm cinnamon and sugar.

"I told them no one was allowed to bring more than one friend, so there won't be more than twelve. We have the room, and they're responsible for bringing their own snacks and towels."

"You mean you're not laying out a buffet?" Edward teased.

"Given how often they have come over to use the pool, and our kitchen, no, I'm not. If it's just family I don't mind, but I'm not feeding half the countryside. It costs enough just feeding you."

Edward grinned impishly, and took a second cookie. "Love you, too."

"Was there something you needed, Winry?" Alphonse asked. "Or did you just want to bring us a snack?"

"I figured you would be thirsty after everything you've been up to all day, but if you're almost done with the yard, I could use some assistance in the kitchen."

Edward swallowed the last bite of cookie. "Let me guess, dishes?"

Winry nodded. "If you don't mind. Gene Peters is coming over for a maintenance appointment on his auto-mail this afternoon, and it's going to take some time since I need to do a complete cleaning and some adjustments."

"We'll get on it as soon as we're done," Edward promised.

"Great. Then I'll go get ready." Winry kissed his cheek, and handed Alphonse the tray, before heading back inside.

"How much more needs to be done out here?" Alphonse asked.

"That was about it," Edward admitted, taking another cookie now that Winry was gone. "I was almost done when you got back. So, let's finish this snack on the porch, shall we?"

Alphonse chuckled. "Sounds like a good plan to me."


Alphonse found Elicia in the craft room, hard at work on her project now that she had the thread that he had picked up for her that morning. Head bent to her work, he waited for her to notice his presence before coming in to the room. "How's it going?"

"Much better now, thank you," she replied, giving him a smile of gratitude. "What have you been up to?"

"Gardening, and then Ed and I cleaned the kitchen. It's all ready for whatever experiment you and Winry have in mind for this evening." He leaned over, giving his wife a soft kiss.

Elicia returned it, before turning back to her work. "That's perfect. I would have done it earlier, but Alyse called, and you know how long she'll talk."

"There's always a lot of news." His daughter's family was always busy, and there was certainly plenty going on. While Will called reasonably often, his son usually kept his information to the critical points, or the highlights. Alyse told full narratives.

Now that most of the international visitors that had invaded Will's townhome for months during the Drachma situation had gone back to Creta and Xing respectively, Will's news was much quieter. He had three grown children living in other countries, and as it was summer, and he wasn't teaching a summer course, he had plenty of time.

"So, what's new from Alyse?" Alphonse prompted after a few seconds.

"Mostly the usual," Elicia admitted. "Shelby's doing better, and she's not taking classes over the summer, so it's a little less insane. Though she's working some hours at the library still, so Alyse still goes over and watches the kids on days when Shelby's mother doesn't. They trade pretty evenly."

"Cal's doing better then." When he had first gotten out of the hospital, Alyse had refused to leave him alone in the house for longer than it took to check the mailbox or do some work in the yard. For the past four-and-a-half months however, with regular physical therapy and continued care, Cal was a little more capable of doing things on his own. He was still paralyzed, but he was improving.

"Physically, yes." Elicia sighed. "She's worried though. Apparently, he's been entirely too agreeable about, well, just about everything. She went on about it for almost an hour."

From some people, it would have sounded like an odd complaint, but having been through a lot himself over the years, Alphonse understood his daughter's concern. "He doesn't complain about anything?"

"Well, he grumbles a bit about PT, but she said he doesn't seem to have an opinion anymore on any of the day-to-day matters. Not the house, or what they eat, or what he's wearing that day, or what they do in the afternoons. Whatever she wants to do is fine, about everything, except leaving the house."

Which didn't sound much at all like Cal. "I'd think he'd want to get out."

"Apparently not outside of required medical appointments. They've had friends over for dinner quite a bit though. It's not like they're sitting at home alone every evening."

"Well, that's good. Whatever it is, I'm sure things will get better soon as he improves." If nothing else, at some point he would come right out and say if anything was bothering him. Cal wasn't the type to keep his opinions to himself. "It's frustrating, relearning anything your body used to know." It had to be worse, breaking when you were older, and healed more slowly. Though it was hard to think of his son-in-law as old. Most days, Alphonse didn't feel his own age. "Maybe they should get out of town, and get a change of scenery."

"I suggested it. Alyse said she'd love to, if she can convince Cal. Most of his exercises can be done at home, or where-ever they happen to be staying, and he doesn't have weekly doctor's appointments anymore. We have the downstairs room they can stay in without having to maneuver all the stairs."

"Well, then let's hope she can convince him." It would be nice to visit with his daughter, and help ease the stress that she and Cal were dealing with. It had not been an easy couple of years. "Any word on Charlie?"

"Still in North City, working on aircraft, and anxious to get back to Central as soon as they'll let him transfer back. He calls every evening he's not on a shift and reads the kids a bed time story over the phone, and after that he usually manages to squeeze in a call to his mother a couple of times a week. He's staying out of trouble, and doing everything he can to make up for past transgressions."

"I hope it's enough to work things out with Shelby." Alphonse honestly liked his granddaughter-in-law very much, and he wanted things to work out, particularly now that both she and Charlie had grown up a bit.

"Well that's on them, though it sounds like things are looking up for now." Elicia tied off a thread, and trimmed it close with her scissors. "That's about it for news. Gloria and Alexei, for all their travel and their work, have nothing of personal drama to report. They're both entirely eaten up in their careers. It's probably a good thing they can do so much of that work together."

"I'm glad to hear it." It was nice for someone in their family to be having a lack of drama. Not that they hadn't had more than enough the past couple of years. Some time in their own home, just the two of them and their typewriters, was probably just what they needed. "Well, I should leave you to your project." He gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "I'll be in the library if you need me."

"Doing research?"

"Well, maybe later. Right now, I've got a riveting mystery waiting for me." There was always a good book to read, and so he made a point of reading something each day that had nothing to do with alchemy or other research.

"That sounds thrilling. I may have to read it when you're done."

"I promise not to spoil the ending."


While Winry had often teased Edward about the extensive and ongoing growth of the garden and yards around their house over the years, she had to admit that she loved everything they had planted and built, from the large house with its wrap-around porch, to the swimming pool and hot tub, flower gardens, herbs and vegetables, and Edward's personal pet project, his Xingese meditation garden he had designed, planted, and cultivated himself out behind the house, based on the ones he had spent so much time in when he had been treated in Xing for his heart. While those only took up a little over half of the hill, on the left and back of the house (if standing on the front porch looking out), the right now held a handful of tall shade trees, and plenty of flat, grassy space for playing games, romping with the dogs, or sparring. Despite advancing age, Edward and Alphonse still practiced almost daily.

She also loved how often it brought their family to them. As much as she loved visiting Central, and other areas, these days it was much less exhausting if their extended pile of relatives came to Resembool. Winry loved that the family that lived near them felt comfortable asking to come over, and even to use the spaces that Edward always said were meant to be lived in.

It was nice to watch their great-grandchildren out the kitchen window as she finished preparing dinner. Adults, or near-adults for most of them, living a life free of war, and pains beyond the normal complexities of growing up. Coran and Reichart's kids and their friends were obviously having a good time; rowdy but respectful, as they splashed around playing games in the pool. They were not unsupervised. While Winry knew they were all good swimmers, Edward and Alphonse were hanging out on the porch again in the evening sunlight, serving as lifeguards.

Dinner was almost ready, and while the meal itself was not elaborate, the dessert she and Elicia were experimenting with was definitely going to be the highlight of the meal if it turned out well.

"Okay, I still have no idea what it is, but it smells amazing," Edward commented as he came in from the porch with the empty water pitcher. He headed for the sink, where he began to refill it. "Will you tell me now?"

"Not yet. Though if you can guess from the smell I'll confirm if you're right or wrong," Winry offered as she tossed a light vinaigrette into fresh salad greens.

Edward grinned. "Okay. That seems fair enough." He stood there, looking deeply thoughtful as he sniffed the smells wafting through the kitchen. "Well, I already know that it's got saffron, because Alphonse told me Elicia asked for it," he admitted. "I smell—sugar, and butter. It's definitely got a pastry smell so I'm guessing it's a dessert. There's fruit—pears. I'm sure of it. Interesting that it's not apples."

"Not every dessert has to use apples, Edward."

"No, but I do like your apple pies." He grinned, and pulled her close in a loose hug for a moment. "Anyway, I'm guessing it's some kind of pastry, maybe a cake. Am I right?"

He really did have an incredible nose for food. Winry laughed. "You are. We're experimenting with a saffron pear cake recipe. It's a modification of one we had in Xing once, and I thought it might be fun to try and make something that would appeal to local tastes."

"And kick the butt of every apple pie in Resembool in competition?" Edward commented knowingly.

"You'd better believe it."


It was just after dark when the pool party ended, and Edward's grandchildren headed back home for the night. Gavin and Damian were staying at Aldon and Cassie's, since despite Reichart and Deanna's house being right next door, it was always a lot more crowded, with six of the kids still at home. Technically, Rhiana was also home for the summer, but she had opted to take up residence in Winry's old room in her grandparents' house next door. It gave her more privacy while still being right there with the family.

Once they were gone, Edward and Alphonse rejoined the girls inside for dinner, and Edward finally got a taste of this mysterious and exotic smelling dessert. The pear saffron cake turned out to be so good that by the end of dinner, there were barely crumbs left. "I know you wanted constructive criticism, Winry, but I'm not sure I'd change anything about it," Edward admitted.

"It's delicious," Alphonse agreed. "The flavors are really well balanced, and it's just sweet enough."

"Well, I'm glad you liked it." Elicia beamed as she started to clear away the plates.

"Don't worry. I've got it." Alphonse objected, getting up to clear the table.

"Aren't you going to help, Ed?" Winry eyed him.

Edward grinned, leaning back in his chair. "Hey, who did dishes after lunch? Besides, I'm not sure I can even move." Not with a full stomach and the delicious taste of pears and saffron lingering on his tongue. It was too early for bed, but he might just doze off for a bit.

"Well, next time don't eat three slices of cake."

"Hey, don't blame me for eating it if you make it. You're a dangerously good cook."

"Don't you think it's about time you developed some sense of moderation?" Her tone scolded, but her eyes were laughing. For decades, they had had this argument, but it had always been endearing banter. Their own unique way of flirting.

"Why bother?" Edward's grin broadened. "I've made it this long."


Author's Note 9/3/2022: And as promised... we're back! Thanks for everyone's patience. Somehow moving in the middle of a pandemic, and then having to get settled into a new place, did not make for the most efficient writing, and I wanted to finish the story before I started posting, to avoid having a big gap in the 'middle.' It took a little time to get a story that managed to focus some major plot back on Edward, Winry, and Alphonse. They were the whole start of this, and I wanted to give them more time and love, as well as wrapping up some of the loose ends and bits that were still hanging on after finishing Snow Phoenix, but that could not be resolved there properly (or well).

The couple of years off also finally presented me with a few more ideas, so while I thought at one point this might be the last in this run, there is at least one more story in my head now! So I will begin working on that while I am posting this. As in previous stories, my current plan is to do a weekly post on the weekends.

Please enjoy!