Story: It Is What It Is, Chapter 23
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA

Replies to Reviews

Clairdetoile said: Winry is so like... herself! I like so much the end of the chapter, They're so cute!

I'm so glad you liked the EdWin moment! :D I plan to have more of them in the future.

KittyKatz009 said: I really loved this chapter. The reunion between Ling and Ed was great. I really liked how Winry took everything in stride and wanted to be there to help instead of scold. I feel like that's really what he needed. I enjoyed the moments with Riza and Roy too. You can really tell they care about him. Great job! Can't wait to see the next.

I'm so glad that you liked it all so much. And yes, I feel like Winry would definitely not get mad at him over such a thing, so it's always interactive to write a more caring side to her character.

...

"Can I... um... talk to you two about something?"

Roy and Riza turned to face Alphonse, who was standing behind them sheepishly.

"Oh, hey, Alphonse, what's up?" Roy inquired.

"Well, it's about Brother... I think I finally understand part of the reason he's been cutting himself." Alphonse murmured.

Neither Riza nor Roy said anything, but they waited for him to continue.

"I think he's afraid of us leaving him... When Dad left, Brother reacted to it even worse than I did. He says he hates him for leaving mom, but I think there's more to it than that. Now he refuses to even acknowledge him as our father anymore and it's possible he's cutting partially to escape from his attachment issues towards others."

"A fear of abandonment...?" Riza mused, inquisitively.

"That would actually make some sense..." Roy said, remembering how adamant and scared Edward had been of Alphonse being mad at him, as well as how Edward seemed so troubled when he thought he blamed him for Hughes' death. Nobody liked the prospect of being disliked, but Edward almost seemed to have built a codependency on Alphonse's and other people's approval, even Ling now.

"Maybe we could do something special for him, sir." Riza suggested.

"Well, his birthday is coming up soon, if I recall correctly." Roy thought back to his records on Edward.

"Yes, it is." Alphonse confirmed, just then remembering it himself. "Oh, that reminds me, there was a stew that Aunt Pinako used to make for us all the time. Ed loved it. We could ask Winry for the recipe, so maybe you and her could make it, Ms. Riza."

"Did somebody say birthday?" Ling's voice startled all of them once again, before Riza had the chance to speak up, as he popped out of nowhere. "Maybe I can help."

...

"Grandma's stew? Yeah, I know the recipe. Why?" Winry said.

"Great!" Alphonse would be smiling if he had a body. "Then that'll work out perfect."

"What will?" Winry asked, all to confused by Alphonse's chipper mood.

"Well, you see, we were thinking of preparing stew for Ed's birthday, so I was wondering if you would be willing to help Ms. Riza prepare it." Alphonse said.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that...! I'm sure he'll love it." Winry smiled, excitedly. "Alright, I'll help."

...

Edward knew that something was up.

He just knew it.

There would be times where Winry and Alphonse were talking or even Roy and Riza and then when he approached them they grew silent and just plain acted suspicious(at least in his mind). They were clearly hiding something.

Were they thinking of shipping him off to some hospital or something? That was the last thing he wanted, and he'd probably just use alchemy to get out. Besides, he hadn't cut in the last few weeks, so why would they be still acting bouncy over that?

It must have been something else. Of course, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

...

"What's so important that you that you had to drag me out of bed for, Winry?" Edward grumbled. Come to think of it, she'd been coming over a lot lately.

"Oh, be quiet, Ed. It's after 6, you needed to get up anyway." Winry chastised, as she led him into the kitchen.

Edward opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the smell of a concoction of beef and vegetables. Not just any, either. It was the same unmistakable smell of the stew that Pinako used to make. His eyes widened a bit when he stepped into the kitchen to see Ling, Roy, Riza, and Alphonse sitting at the table with a pot of, sure enough, beef stew in the middle.

"Ah, happy birthday, Fullmetal." Roy was the first one to speak, soon after followed by the others.

"Yeah, happy birthday, Ed." Winry smiled, causing Edward to blush a bit. He was left speechless.

They weren't ignoring him, after all... They...

"Ed, I got you a gift." Ling said, holding out a small gift box wrapped in red.

"Oh, thanks, Ling..." Edward seemed uncertain how to respond, but took the gift, knowing it was only appropriate to use both hands, in respect for Ling's cultural background.

"Don't mention it. And it's kind of from everybody, just for the record." Ling smiled, before returning to his seat.

"Now, come on, Ed. Let's go sit down to eat." Winry pulled Edward towards a chair.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming. Quit pulling me." Edward suddenly felt like there was a lump in his throat when he sat down.

"Sixteen, huh?" Roy smirked. "You're old enough to drive and drink now, kid."

"Just don't do what Roy did when he turned sixteen." Riza deadpanned. "He came in and fell flat on his face drunk."

"You sure have a knack for bringing up my worst mistakes, don't you...?" Roy murmured.

Edward burst out laughing at the image of Roy passed out on the floor.

"I'm just stating the facts, sir." Riza said simply.

"Can we eat now? I'm starved...!" Ling begged.

"Since Ed's here now, I don't see a problem with it." Riza said.

"Oh, man. This smells delicious." Ling began to use the large spoon in the pot to get a share of it for himself, putting in on the bowl that had been placed in front of him.

Edward sighed, deciding to not scold Ling for once over his obsession with food.

...

Once everybody started eating, Edward took a bite of his, the taste filling him with nostalgia immediately. All this time, he had tried to claim that he had no family aside from Alphonse, but... that wasn't true. He did have a family, right here.

"Brother, are you... crying...?"

Edward looked up at Alphonse, his sight blurring. "Am I...?"

He wiped his eyes. "I guess I am..."

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ling asked, worried. Out of all of the years most of them had known Edward, he never cried.

"Edward?" Winry inquired.

"It's nothing..." Edward said in a choked voice, before smiling. "I'm just happy. Thank you, guys."

...

"You like Winry, don't you?" Ling asked later that night, causing Edward to choke on the water he was drinking. They were on the porch.

"Like who? Who? Me? No way, we're just friends!" He insisted, a blush covering his face immediately.

"You're a terrible liar, Ed." Ling saw through his facade. "I've seen the way you look at her."

Edward decided that he couldn't even hold it back anymore. "Let's say I did... It's not like it matters anyway, since she doesn't feel that way about me."

"Are you sure about that?" Ling rose an eyebrow.

Edward was silent, before looking down with a saddened smirk on her face. "Why would she...? I'm constantly screwing up her automail and making her cry. Meanwhile, she's so amazing. There was a woman over in Rush Valley who was pregnant. Even while everybody else was freaking out, Winry was the one who stood up, and helped the lady give birth to her child. She's pushed me and Al forward on more occasions than I can even remember... I would be a fool to not like her. But I don't deserve her... She's everything I'm not... Brilliant, strong, courageous, and even beautiful."

"Man, you sure put yourself down a lot, Ed." Ling said. "You should give yourself more credit."

Edward was silent for a long moment. "Mustang said the same thing..."

"Well, I think you should tell her how you feel. After all, you won't know how things will go unless you try it out." Ling told him.

"Maybe..." Edward murmured. "But what if it doesn't work out? What if she gets tired and leaves me...? I worry about that a lot."

In truth, Edward knew that, on top of all that, he wasn't in any place of his life to make such a decision to begin with.

"Worry about what a lot?" Winry's voice caused him to stiffen.

"Oh, Winry, it's nothing!" Edward jumped back. "W-we were just talking about getting Alphonse's body back! I worry a lot about not being able to." Edward insisted, feeling worse than ever for using Alphonse's lack of body as a scapegoat.

Fortunately, she seemed to buy it.

...

It wasn't until later that Edward opened the gift that Ling had given him.

It was a jade pendant.

Alongside it was a note that said:

In Xingese culture, Jade represents virtues of courage, wisdom, modesty, justice and compassion. We hope it helps you.

Edward's eyes widened a bit, before smirking.

Maybe none of them had been that great with words, but receiving such a pendant meant just as much as words probably would have anyway.

...

A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed that... THIS WAS SO HARD TO WRITE.

And to answer your questions about the legal drinking age, in some places of Europe, it's legal for 1six year olds to purchase alcohol.

Also, I know birthday cakes are traditional, but I felt Ed would take stew a lot more serious...

Also, as a note, I'm debating whether to keep going here for a little longer, or to do a time skip to some later point in the series, because it's not too long after this where we are that Ed and Al go to Briggs and stuff, and that Ling becomes Greed. Because this is presumably sometime from November - January.

I could end the story here, but I don't really think that would be a good choice. There's still so many ideas I have.

I do have one idea in specific to continue here. But I would like to hear everybody else's thoughts first. Because at this point there's several different directions I could go.

I DON'T want to end this unless I absolutely have to.