The Kaiser kids were just weird.

Ed peered through the crack in the kitchen door, catching a glimpse of the two children standing in the living room. The oldest, Fritz, was probably about twelve, and Alice, his little sister, was probably around eight but Ed wasn't very good with guessing kid ages.

They favored one another, both with black hair that shocked against their pale complexions and eyes that could have been a dark blue but looked more violet than anything. They were built small and lanky with a grace that was more creepy than not, especially on little kids. Both of them looked like they had spent their entire lives in a basement hiding from the sun, only emerging from their havens after dark to feast on the souls of the living.

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but they had really perfected that mildly psychotic thousand-yard-stare, especially little Alice . . .

"I thought we agreed that they didn't need to be let in the house," Ed said, shutting the door.

Winry sighed, gathering up a few automail parts from the train wreck that was their kitchen table. "I never agreed to anything of the sort, Ed. They're not stray cats. I told you, Fritz is interested in an apprenticeship."

"There's something seriously off with those two," he said, crossing his arms across his chest. "Especially the tiny one." Ed would admit, it was pretty satisfying to be on the other end of that spectrum.

"Really, Ed?" Winry said with an incredulous look. "Are you saying you're scared of a nine-year-old little girl?"

Okay, she was nine. Anything below eleven and above seven looked the same to him. "I'm saying there is something off with her. I bet if Ling or any of his lackeys were here, they'd tell you the same thing. Bad chi or Juju or something."

"I bet she's really sweet. She's just going through an awkward phase or something."

Unconvinced, he turned back to the kitchen door, cracking it open to make sure the kids hadn't wondered off.

He spotted Fritz right away, waiting patiently on the couch and unnaturally still as he waited on Winry.

But where did the little squirt go?

"Mr. Ed?"

Ed made a sound that was definitely not a yelp. And he definitely didn't jump, either.

He looked down to see two large eyes peering into his very soul from the crack in the door.

He repressed a shudder, pulling the door open not because he wanted to, but because it was polite. "Yes, Alice?" he asked uncertainly.

She regarded him with a cool detachment little kids were not known for. "Could I have some water, please?"

Ed hoped the smile he plastered on his face came across as natural. "Sure, kiddo. Why don't you sit with your brother, and we'll be there in a minute?"

She seemed to be sizing him up, the way a cat looks at a mouse. Then, she gave one solemn nod and turned around, heading back to her brother.

Ed shut the door again, and this time he did shudder. "Not. Normal."

Winry rolled her eyes and lifted the box off the table with a smile. "Why don't you meet us in the living room after you get her water?"

"If only we had some holy water . . ."

"Ed!" she admonished. If her hands were not full, she'd probably have buried a wrench in his skull. "They are both very polite, sweet kids! She may be a little bit odd, but they both came to see automail, and we're going to show them automail!"

"Great. Then we can get them out of our house and start laying out those little decorative garlic things everywhere."

Winry stared at him like she was trying to decide what size of wrench to bludgeon him with.

"The tiny one looks like she wants to murder us in our sleep!" Ed defended.

She sighed. "Just get out here, Ed." And with that, she swung the door open and left him alone in the kitchen.

Grumbling under his breath, he filled a glass with water and followed her out, making sure to note Alice's location before proceeding further into the living room. Alice watched him approach from her seat next to her brother on the sofa, taking the proffered glass with an inordinate amount of eye contact.

She was just so creepy.

Winry pulled an armchair over to the coffee table where she had set up a little display of several types of automail material and an example of various limbs. "Alright," she began. "Here are some examples of old designs we've used at Rockbell Automail."

Fritz leaned forward to look at the materials, eyes gleaming with a subtle interest. It was the most life Ed had seen in the kid's eyes. He had that gearhead-sort-of-glow that Winry got when she received the 'Automail Monthly'catalogue in the mail. "What kind of steel is that one?" he asked, pointing to a leg. It was one of Ed's old prototypes Winry had retired. She was always trying to make his leg better, and he smiled at the thought.

"This one is a ferritic and martensitic chromium alloy," Winry explained. "This is what I make Mr. Ed's automail from."

Felix turned his eyes on Ed. "The kind you used to beat bad guys?" He said it the same way he might have announced what he ate for lunch.

"That's right," Ed agreed, unable to contain the pride in his own voice. "Her automail has saved my life plenty of times. No one makes them like Winry."

Alice was still staring at him. "Can we see your leg, Mr. Ed?"

Ed paused, that warm feeling slipping. "Uh—"

Winry smiled at Alice. "I think we can go ahead and have that demonstration, Ed."

More than a little uncomfortable with anyone that wasn't Winry staring at his automail, Ed fidgeted but acquiesced, bending down to role his left pant leg up past his knee.

Both kids stared at the metal in fascination. Well, Fritz looked fascinated. Alice still looked like she was contemplating a homicide.

"That's really cool," Fritz said with a soft smile.

"Mr. Ed?"

Ed looked at Alice, "Yeah?"

"Mrs. Winry must love you very much to make you something so strong."

Ed blinked.

Well, that was unexpected.

It was very nice of her. He didn't know if it was normal, but it was definitely nice.

"Oh . . . um, yeah, I guess so," he admitted. Heat rushed to his cheeks, so he busied himself rolling his pants leg back down in an attempt to hide it.

"Wait, can you walk with it?" Fritz asked. "Please?"

Ed sighed, pulling the pant leg back up and taking a few laps around the coffee table. He stopped by Winry's chair with his arms crossed. "Happy now?"

Fritz gave a small smile that didn't quite meet his eyes and nodded.

"Are we done here?" he asked his wife.

"Sure," she said, picking up a forearm from the table in a clear dismissal.

Ed was about to make a run for it, but Alice had gotten up at some point and appeared at his side.

He did not jump.

She looked up at him with her big, empty eyes and it took all in Ed's power not to take a step back.

Then she grabbed his hand in her small icy fingers, leading him to the couch. Ed didn't have the presence of mind to resist as she guided him to sit next to her brother. She crawled up on the other side of him, sitting close enough to touch and completely disregarding Ed's personal space.

"You should learn with us," she said by way of explanation.

Fritz nodded his agreement.

Ed looked at Winry helplessly, but she was busy trying to smother a grin behind her gloved hand. The traitor.

Ed sighed, slumping in the sofa with his arms crossed. "Fine. Let's learn about automail."

Satisfied, the little girl and her brother turned back to the presentation, while Ed tried not to wriggle uncomfortably between his captors.

XxXxX

Two hours later, the pair left for home before it started to get dark. Alice had told Ed to make sure he was still here when they came back before she and her brother started off.

"So she can take out my kidney when I'm not looking," Ed grumbled once they were at the main road and out of earshot.

"I think she likes you. I didn't know you were so good with kids," Winry said mildly as she reclined against the porch railing.

Ed scowled. "Firstly, I'm great with kids. Secondly, I don't think those are normal kids. The older one just hides it better."

"Do you think you would be just as good with your own?"

It took Ed's brain a long second to process that. "Why do you ask?"

Winry shrugged with a smile. "Just curious," she said, watching the two retreating figures making their way down the road in the evening sun.

Annoyed at her evasiveness, Ed snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her against his side. "We'll have kids when we're ready to have kids."

"And when is that?"

"Whenever we want."

She smiled. "How many?"

"I don't know. We'll stop when we get tired of raising them."

Winry turned into him, pressing herself against his chest. "How about we just start with one and see how that goes?"

He leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You have good ideas."

"That's why you married me. You needed someone to counteract your awful ones."

"You're right, that's why I kept Al around all these years," Ed agreed. "I don't think it was quite Equivalent Exchange when I traded him for you, though."

"You say the least romantic things," she sighed dramatically.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Fine. I love you a whole lot. Better?"

This time, she rolled her eyes. "And I love you, too."

"Enough to make me strong automail?"

"That's right," she said with a grin. "Want to come help me work on your newest upgrade?"

Ed sighed.

But being Winry's guinea pig was a small price to pay to spend time with his wife.

"I guess. But only as long as I don't have to sit in on the next automail class."

She grinned. "Deal."

Longest one yet, and only a little late xD

I think Edo really loves calling other people short now and lording it over people's heads that he isn't short anymore, and definitely never was, either. Being in denial is complicated.

Ed does such a good job of humoring the creepy kids c: Look at him go.

Maybe the next prompt will be up later today, or maybe tomorrow xD Who's to say?

Drop a review if you have the time, and I'll catch you next update :)

God Bless,

-RainFlame