Spring passed to Summer, and the first full year of classes and operations at the Elric Academy of Civic Alchemy came to a close. The students gathered at the Risembool train station for their 8 week summer vacation. Only a handful remained on the campus for the entirety of the summer to be looked after by the Elrics. In a moment, the loud chatter of young voices saying their temporary goodbyes faded, and Rizembool was just another sleepy country town once more…at least, for a little while.
The day after the students left for their holiday, Winry made a phone call. She pulled out Maes' best white t-shirt that had not been stained – yet, with food or dirt and made make shift pig tails out of what little hair could be found on Trisha's 4 month head. Winry clapped her hands with pride and giggled at her cute baby daughter who looked especially adorable her two pig tails sticking straight up off her head like weird bug antennae. Maes found it funny too and kept trying to pull them off his sister's head despite his mother's scolding.
"You better not try that again Mr!" Winry exclaimed with mock seriousness. She tickled the little toddler in his most sensitive spot (under his arms), which caused him to run shrieking from the room and into his Father's arms.
"What's up little man? What's your mother up to now?"
Edward joined his wife in the nursery with a struggling Meas locked tight under his arm, half upside down and loving it.
"Looking good!" He chuckled while patting his daughter's tiny head with his gentle hands. Everytime he saw those big blue eyes, he melted inside. His daughter favored Winry with each passing week, juast as Maes favored him. However, it seemed to Edward that Maes carried more of his mother's personality, while curious and unafraid baby Trisha already showed signs of being more like her dad in disposition. Edward wondered what kind of people his children would turn out to be. What would they be like when they were older? They were a perpetual source of wonder to him and it still surprised him sometimes that those two little bodies had come from Winry and himself. All that love he had felt for his wife cultivated human life. Better than any alchemy equation or theory out there – was the power of true human affection.
"Edward, I want you to go down and find Alphonse and Mei and meet me in the family room in 30 minutes. Mr. Aldridge should be there by then." Winry said, setting her daughter down gently in her play pen.
"Mr. Aldridge? The photographer?" Edward asked, surprised.
"Yes. Today, we are having our picture taken. We need one of the whole family." Winry leaned forward and tried to smooth Maes's hair down to a somewhat decent position that didn't look like he had just jumped off a flying carpet. No matter how many times she tried to smooth it down, it just stuck back up.
Edward drank in his wife's words. His thoughts raced to the past in a flash. He remembered the Rockbell photo board he had grown up studying. He remembered the very first Elric Family photo. He remembered his father's face, full of tears as he held a young Edward. As a child, Edward did not understand why his Father had been crying. It made him angry to think that perhaps his Father cried because he had hated his family? In his rage, it was Edward that had rearranged the photographs to cover his father's face. But now, Edward knew the true reasons for his father's tears and felt that deep down inside himself, he carried those same emotions of overwhelming lover and gratitude for the family he had created. He remembered the smile of his mother. Looking down at his son and over this his daughter in her play pen, Edward began to feel like a new Elric Family Photo was definitely in order.
He gathered Maes up to sit on top his shoulders, and the two went to find the other members of the Elric family as instructed. Once he had located Alphonse and Me, he also instructed Garfiel and Paninya, still staying at the Rockbell automail shop to help with orders while Winry cared for baby Trisha, to come be in the picture. The more the merrier!
Mr. Aldridge lined them up, but that was the extent of his capabilities. He couldn't get them all to be still and quiet like most families were when taking a family portrait. Garfiel kept attempting to squeeze Alphonse's ass, Mei repeatedly tried to get the family to say Xingese catch phrases rather than "cheese," and despite everything Maes continued reaching out to pull his sister's hair which then proceeded to give his father the worst case of the giggles ever. Only a few times did Mr. Alrdige manage to get every face turned towards the camera.
It was organic, though. The moments caught on film. This was a rowdy but happy family and Aldridge, though slightly exasperated felt relatively certain he'd gotten a good one.
"I'll have the proofs to you late tomorrow, Ms. Elric" the old photographer said cheerily, and let himself out of the house and back to his studio.
/
Once the children were in bed, the adults gathered around and looked at old Rockbell photograph albums Pinako had saved from before Ed and Al's journey. There were many moments caught on film that Edward had forgotten, and he couldn't believe that he used to be that small. There were photographs of Al in Armor and Edward without a right arm or with a prosthetic, depending on when the photograph was taken.
It was astonishing to think of how far they had come.
Edward met his brother's eyes from across the album. They shared a quiet moment while their wives chatted happily.
Here they were. This was the goal they had worked so hard to attain. A family, a happy life, bodies that were whole (or nearly so), and they had realized their dreams for a world made better with alchemy, for the people of Amestris and the world.
They smiled.
\\
Before bed, Winry drew a warm bath and she and Edward both inched into the water together, legs intertwining in a patchwork of underwater skin. They relaxed into the warmth and into each other and sat for a long time, listening to the others breathing. Winry took Edward's flesh foot into her hands and scrubbed the arch and slowly moved up his legs, his hips, his chest, his shoulders. She took the soap and drew circles of suds on his arms and down his body. She was attentive, and Edward watched her as she worked.
He thought back on the pictures and on his life with Winry. Yes. They really had come a long way.
He took the soap from her and repeated her actions. He washed her and massaged the tense muscles of her shoulders and back. They dried off and crossed the hall to their bedroom. They climbed into their bed and felt like jellyfish in the comfy softness of their bed. They made love – achingly slow and gentle. They devoured every second they could in this familiar and beautiful dance.
As they finished and prepared for sleep, Edward turned and took Winry's face in his hands.
"I am so glad that you are still here with me." Edward said, kissing his wife softly on the mouth and pulling the covers up to their necks.
"I am so glad that you came home to me." She replied
/
The next day, the family gathered up food, water, blankets, and outdoor paraphernalia for a summer picnic at the watering hole. As they were preparing to leave Mr. Aldridge arrived on the door step with a small note book full of pictures for their selection.
Winry happily pulled the photos out for examination, Edward, Alphonse, and Mei looked over her shoulders, anxious to see how they had turned out.
"This one's the best." She said, selecting the third.
She took the photograph over to the old Rockbell Board Alphonse had brought up earlier that morning and nailed to the living room wall. In the center of all the old pictures that had been assembled there, Winry pinned the new Elric Family photo in its rightful place. Maes laughed, fascinated by the photograph as small children usually are with their own image.
"Look, Daddy! That's us! That's Maes's Family." He said happily.
Edward grinned and lifted his son up into his arms. He lightly fingered the photograph and let out a sigh of contentment. This picture would do.
"Yes. And don't we look happy."
They all stood back to admire it – the new Elric Family Photo.
Even after they were gone, a shadow of a memory generations later, this picture would survive. It would be a piece of the story – the story of the Elric Brothers and the people they had loved. Their Legacy would live on after long after that day and their story would pass into legend. The school would grow and became the largest of its kind – an institution that stood for peace and progression of young minds. It would change the face of Rizembool from a small town to a cultural mecca, a large metropolis full of learning. The story of the Fullmetal Alchemist and his journey would be cemented into Amestrian history as a national legend and not one child could grow up without hearing the name Edward or Alphonse Elric. Sometimes the truth was enhanced or exaggerated; sometimes, the truth was stranger than the legend. In the end, the Elric family held a special place in the hearts of all Amestrians. After all, there hard always been many interpretations of truth.
But the picture? It stayed in the family – and despite the passage of time, it always remained a true artifact from the past and spoke to who the Elrics really were. It would always be a true artifact representing just a glimpse from the History of Love.
.