It was a rainy day and the sloshing of feet in puddles was the only sound that Edward heard as he stepped out of the train station. It was drizzling, but it appeared to have been doing so for a while, so the mud on the pavement was a good indicator of what kind of walk he had coming for him. Letting out a sigh, he reached down and tucked his pants into his sock, in hopes of avoiding too much debris from getting into his automail leg.
Lord knows his wife wouldn't be impressed with him mucking it up on the way home.
Lifting his jacked over his head, he began the trek out of town and into the country side. It had only been two weeks since he had left for Central, but to him it felt like a lifetime. Sure, he had off and on gone away to research since their wedding, but this was the first time he had left since Thomas was born.
Winry had assured him that with Thomas being so young, he wouldn't even remember that Ed had left when he grew up, but a deep part of him still worried.
Would his son remember the sight of his back walking down the road?
His mind was thrashing with insecurities and concerns about his ability to be a good father. Before he knew it, he was standing at the steps of the old wooden house, faded yellow from the sun, and shutters open, letting the curtains dance in the breeze of the rainy day. He stepped up and set his suitcase down gingerly.
It was quiet and he didn't want to disturb what could be a midday nap for his family. He shook off as much water from his coat before taking it off and draping it on the porch railing. Sitting on the porch swing, he took off his shoes and was pleased to see that there wasn't any mud in his leg. It was wet to the touch, but not dirty.
So the sock trick had worked. Winry had told him to do it for a long time, but he had to become an old man to take it seriously (or maybe it was to remember it).
Lifting his shoes to carry them into the house and tuck them in the mud closet to dry, Edward slowly opened up the front door and stepped quickly inside, turning to shut the door behind him.
He had just softly latched the handle into place when he heard a soft, "Ah!".
Whirling around on his heels, he shot his gaze down to see the source of the noise sitting on the floor and holding his arms up.
"Thomas! What are you doing here?" Edward crouched down and scooped up the baby. He winced feeling the weight gain of his boy. "Doing some growing up while I was gone?"
Thomas lurched forward and grabbed his bangs with his chubby hand. He giggled with glee as Ed bounced him up and down.
Ed's heart ached seeing his boy again after two weeks. It was such a short time and yet so much development happened while he was gone. He racked his brain to remember if Thomas was sitting up on his own before he left.
He was thinking so, but he could be wrong. It was two weeks ago.
"Where's Mama?" Ed asked Thomas as if he could answer. "Did she leave you out here all on your own?"
Winry's voice fluttered in from the kitchen. "Yes, I thought he was a big boy now and could wait by himself."
"Oh, is he now?" Ed watched as Winry came into view, holding a cup of water in her hand.
She nodded, her smile mimicking his. Walking towards him, she pulled her hair over her right shoulder before giving him a quick peck on the lips. Ed chuckled into the kiss as he saw Thomas in his peripheral lurch to grab his mother's hair. Winry was always one step ahead of her boys.
Stepping back from them, Winry made her way to the couch and sat down, patting the spot next to her. "He has learned how to stand on his own. We were watching the rain in the kitchen when he saw you coming down the road and absolutely needed to be waiting for you by the door."
Ed dropped down beside her, holding Thomas up to stand on his legs, balanced by his father's hands under his arm. Wiggling and kicking his legs, Thomas gleefully squealed and continued to work and develop his leg muscles.
"Is that so?" Ed's face softened as he watched his baby. "I'm sorry to hear I missed such a big milestone."
Winry's head dropped onto his shoulder, and he felt her shift to sit with her legs on the couch, leaning more fully on him. "It's not like it was his first step, Ed. Don't beat yourself for not seeing it. I didn't. Granny did."
That made Ed snort. Of course, Granny was seeing more of the baby's firsts than his parents. She was taking on the role of retired grandma with much enthusiasm. Winry taking over the shop after she finished her apprenticeship was at first a tough transition for the elderly lady, but with the addition of a new baby to keep her busy, it was going rather well.
"Did she get a picture of it at least?"
"Not one in focus." Winry sipped her water. "Or I'm going to need glasses soon. Either is a valid option."
Ed leaned forward to blow kissed on to Thomas' face while listening to Winry continue to tell him all about the last two weeks. He would regale her with tales of Central tonight, once Thomas was settled, and she would feign interest as she probably tinkered with something.
But right now, all he wanted was to learn everything he had missed in his family's life, having been called to Central unexpectedly. He wanted to know the stories of the photos Granny would later drop off in his study, since she would not stay around long enough to tell him. Just give him lip about how 'a picture is worth a thousand words', before huffing off to be with Thomas again.
Edward had experienced hundreds of reunions in his life time – with fellow soldiers, commanders, his teacher, even with his arm.
But coming home to his wife and child was his favorite one of all.
