A/N: I thoughtthis was a cute idea. It's set sereval years after the end of the series, but yeah, Ed's there. Don't ask how; it's not important. Also, Al gots his body back still. Okay? Okay. Disclaimer: Like you don't know.
Got Milk?
"Come on, Sophie, drink your milk."
"No! I don't wanna!"
Winry gritted her teeth while trying to keep a smile on her face. She recalled being told about the Terrible Two's and how tiring children were at that age. How come no one ever warned her about the Frustrating Four's?
"Honey, milk is good for you," she said patiently. "And we don't want it to go to waste, now do we?"
The little blonde-haired girl sitting at the table eyed the glass of milk warily, as if she expected it to do something suspicous. Then she crossed her arms and snuck her nose up in the air. "Milk is gross," she informed her mother.
Winry sighed. Stubborn, just like her daddy, she thought with exasperation. She decided to try a new tactic. Picking up the glass, she took a sip and beamed. "M'mmm, tasty. See, Soph? I love milk. It isn't gross at all." She pushed the glass back to her daughter. "Now you have some."
Sophie wasn't one to be bought over that easily though. "I don't wanna," she repeated, glaring at Winry. So, out of options, Winry glared back. Then Sophie realized her mother wasn't going to stop glaring back until she did what she was told. Her own glare faltered under Winry's, for she was no match against a pro like her mom.
Winry knew it too. "Sophia Rene..." she said, going in for the kill. When your parent calls you by your full name and throws in your middle name like that, you know it's over.
"But, but, but," Sophie stammered, her panic rising. What could she do now to save herself from the undeniable doom of drinking the dreaded milk? In her desperation, she cried out her very last arguement, "But Daddy doesn't drinks it!"
She saw something cross her mother's face, something a four year old wouldn't understand, but she knew it meant that, once again, the tables were turned. Surely if her daddy didn't drink milk, then she shouldn't have to either? Of course, parents never went by a child's logic, but unfortunately for them, a child's logic is often accompanied with a fortified stubborness.
"So I'm not gonna drinks it e-ter!" she announced. Winry didn't say anything, but left the room instead. Seconds later, she returned, dragging a perplexed Edward Elric, who must have been in the middle of something as he still had a open book in one hand, into the kitchen.
"Tell your daughter," she said, "To drink her milk."
He would have said something like 'Why? She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to,' but luckily for him, he noticed the tone of Winry's voice and duly noted how she said 'Your daughter'. He knew, by now, to pay attention to the signs.
"Drink your milk, Sophia," he commanded.
"O-tay, I will," she said.
Whew.
"If you drinks some first."
Nooo! Ed could practically feel his wife's determined gaze burning into his skull and he started to sweat. Before he could get out a protest, she went up and grabbed the glass, thrusting it at him.
"Um," he said.
"Edward..." she warned. Sophie was watching them expectantly. Like most little girls, she admired her daddy greatly, and if he drank the milk, then she would too. Winry was counting on this. The pressure was on. Ed took the glass and sighed. Oh, the things you do for love...
He raised the glass. He took a deep breath. Then he took a quick a swig.
Winry's face split into a smile. "See honey? Daddy does like milk!" she lied victoriously. Sophie, however, remained skeptical.
"He ain't swallowed it," she pointed out. For a four-year old, she was pretty sharp.
"That's because he's, uh, savoring it," Winry said quickly, "But he's going to swallow it. Right. Now."
Ed, cheeks bloated with the milk still inside his mouth, nodded vigorously and jerked his thumb to the door. He half-strolled, half-dashed outside, closing the door behind him. Then he came back in, cheeks deflated, and smiled nervously. He avoided his wife's eyes and dearly hoped there wasn't a wench laying around anywhere. (Because some things, like his aversion to milk, never change.)
"Yum-my," he said unconvincingly, "That was some good milk. M'hmm."
"Daddy, you spat it out!"
Ed groaned. Why couldn't his daughter be gulible, like all the other normal kids?
Winry was not going to let this go. She'd force the milk down Ed's throat if that's what it took to convince her little girl that milk wasn't evil. It was all his fault she that thought that in the first place. But before Winry could proceed, there came a knock at the door. Or rather, a kick.
It was Al. He had to kick the door because he was carrying a large hunk of something metal in his arms. "Hello everyone," he greeted them cheerfully when Winry opened the door for him. He sat his load down on the floor. "I think this engine-thing is yours, isn't Winry? They must have made a mistake because they sent it to my place instead, so I decided to just deliver it here myself."
"Oh, thanks a bunch Al!" Winry momentarily forgot the sitaution at hand, staring at her new shiny engine part in awe. "I'm so glad it finally came in! I can't wait to--hey, just where do you think you're going, mister!"
Ed jumped then skulked back into the kitchen. So much for his quick get-away.
"Stand there, up against the wall," Winry ordered and Ed reluctantly obeyed. "And Al, if I could just borrow you for a sec?" she asked sweetly.
"Uh, sure. What do you need me to do?"
"Just stand right there please, next to your brother." He did as instructed, giving Ed a smile as he took his place next to him. When Ed returned the smile with a fearful gaze, Al wondered if he should be worried.
Winry stood behind her daughter's chair. "Now, Sophie, who's older, Daddy or Uncle Al?"
Sophie thought about it for minute, looking back and forth between the two as she tried to remember, then she exclaimed, "Daddy!"
"That's right," Winry said encouragingly, while smiling smugly to herself. "Daddy's older, but which one of them is taller?"
Sophie didn't need to think about this question, as it was more obvious. She quickly and confidently answered, "Uncle Al!"
"Yup, you're right again! But wait! Isn't strange that Daddy's shorter than Uncle Al, even though he's older?" Winry asked, in a tone that suggested she was geniuely puzzled. She put on a thoughtful face as well, for good measure.
"Yeah, it is strange," Sophie readily agreed, nodding her head. "How come Uncle Al's taller if he ain't olders, Mommy?" she asked.
"Because," Winry stated dramatically, "Uncle Al drinks his milk!"
Al laughed, finally understanding what this was all about. Ed was trying not to look embarrassed. Because, whether or not milk had been the cause, Al really was slighter taller than his big brother.
"Really?" Sophie gasped. "And it makes 'im taller?"
"You betcha Soph," said Al. "I drink a glass of milk every day. It's good for you; it'll make me you grow big and strong. Your dad never drank milk when he was a kid, and that stunted his growth," he added teasingly.
"Whoaa," Sophie mummered in amazement. "I needs to drinks my milk right now then, 'cuz I don't wanna stay a shortie like Daddy!"
Winry and Al instantly cracked up at the sincerity of this remark, and Sophie started to giggle too, although she didn't really know what was so funny. Ed slauntered over, grabbed his book, and playfully bonked his daughter in the head with it.
"Ha-ha, very funny" he said, grinning and rolling his eyes. "If you're all done tormenting me now, I'd like to get back to work. Sophie, you better start drinking your milk and stop getting me in trouble, missy."
"Yes sir! I'll drinks my milk every day and stops tattlle-telling on you."
"That's my girl," Ed laughed.
Needless to say, little Sophia Elric stuck to her word. (The part about drinking milk, anyway.) She never failed to drink all of her milk and it soon became her favorite beverage. She also adopted a new mission; in the same way that many children try to make a parent stop smoking, Sophie tried to make her father start drinking milk.
"Come on Daddy, drinks your milk," she would often tell him. "It's good for you..."
"..And maybe then you'll grows up to be big and tall, just like Uncle Al!"
..FIN..
