Epilogue Part 1: Five Years Later…

Edward sighed in exhaustion as he left Central Headquarters for the day. His standard-issue black jacket was slung over his uniformed arm as he began walk down the stairs, pausing every now and again to acknowledge the salutes he was receiving from lower ranking officers.

"Well I'll be damned… the reports were right. You are back." A sly voice called from the bottom of the stairs.

Edward smirked down at the owner of the voice.

The voice's owner stood looking up at him in a business suit, ignoring the salutes he was receiving.

"Damn, and here I was hoping to avoid you if I left early enough." He said as he feigned disappointment in his voice.

Roy chuckled as Edward stopped at the bottom of the stairs to talk with him. "Well, Colonel Elric? It's been almost three years since you went on your tour of duty…"

Edward made a noise in his throat at the mention of his new rank.

"What's the matter? Want me to demote you?" Roy asked with a cruel smirk.

"Hmph, you would too. I don't know why you ordered me to help with that little scrape out east. General Armstrong had it all under control."

Roy shrugged. "It got you that promotion, didn't it?"

"Like I joined the military for the promotions…" Edward grumbled.

Roy chuckled in amusement. "I know…"

"Director Mustang!" A voice called out from the top of the stairs.

Edward looked up the stairs in surprise as Havoc made his way quickly but carefully down the stairs with the support of the railing, there was a cane hooked over his arm for when there wasn't a railing for support.

He was holding a clipboard containing several papers in his hand. "Phew, I'm glad I caught up to you. You forgot to sign these before you left." He said as he hung onto the railing, holding out the clipboard to Roy.

Roy sighed. "I was hoping to escape before these came…" He said with a bemused expression on his face as he took the clipboard.

Edward smiled happily at Havoc. "It's good to see you up and walking Lieutenant Colonel Havoc. How long can you go before needing the wheelchair now?"

Havoc smiled proudly. "I can go for almost a full day. By this time next year, I probably won't need the wheelchair."

Edward nodded in understanding. "I'm glad to hear it, Lieutenant Colonel."

"Yeah, but I may keep the wheelchair. You'd be amazed at how many women go for guys in wheelchairs!"

"Havoc…!" Edward sighed in exasperation.

"What? Somebody's gotta lay down the line of normalcy around here. I must admit that the market's really opened up since Director Mustang went off it." Havoc said, grinning.

Roy chuckled in amusement as he passed Havoc the clipboard. "See you tomorrow."

Havoc saluted Roy and Edward before beginning to carefully climb the stairs at a slightly slower pace. Suddenly he stopped and turned around just as Edward and Roy were about to walk away. "Oh! Director! Thanks for getting that bill passed! Headquarters has never looked better!" He said with a grin.

Roy laughed and acknowledged him with a quick raise of his hand as he and Edward walked away.

"Some Director of Military Operations…" Ed muttered beneath his breath as he walked alongside Roy.

Roy walked with a faint limp, the constant reminder he bore of their battle under the city.

Edward sighed once they were far enough away from headquarters. "So the other Directors actually supported that stupid bill of yours?"

Roy nodded. "They did. They realized that our officers needed better freedom of movement and passed it."

"Hmph… The assembly is nothing but a bunch of perverts." Edward said in disdain.

Roy chuckled in amusement.

"So what would you do if I told the Lieutenant Colonel that she'd be wearing a mini-skirt with her uniform the next time she wore it once she returned from leave?"

Roy's expression remained unchanged. "I wouldn't do anything…" He glanced casually behind Edward. "By the way, your hair is on fire." He said with a smirk as Edward reacted quickly, smacking the fire out with his automail hand.

Edward glared at him before noticing the glint of white vanish into his pocket. "I thought you were supposed to give up the alchemy once you were elected to the board?"

Roy shrugged. "I simply explained to them that it would be a morale booster if I joined the soldiers on the battlefield. Besides… as the Flame Alchemist, it wouldn't look too good if I couldn't use my flames anymore, would it?"

Edward rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I'm sure the female soldiers appreciate having been turned into your personal army."

Roy smiled. "Oh? I'm sure a Mini-Skirt Army would be far more competent than some rag-tag bunch of people you'd probably call the Risembool Rangers that you could assemble."

"I'd say bring it on, but then you'd probably nail me with insubordination."

Roy laughed in response.

"I still can't believe she married you. She knows you so well and yet she still married you…" Edward said in disbelief as he shook his head.

Roy shrugged with a content smile on his face. "I was just lucky she accepted."

Ed sighed, shaking his head. "I guess I should congratulate you on that other matter too. I still can't see you as a father, though."

The smile faded though as a look of worry replaced it. "I wish she'd quit the military. Now more than ever…"

Edward shook his head. "And here I thought you knew her. You know she would never leave your side. She'll stay with the military and you until you die or retire… whichever happens first."

Roy looked at Edward with a bemused expression. "That's the first smart thing I've heard you say since we left headquarters…" He sighed, shaking his head. "I know you're right, but I'm allowed to have my wishful thinking."

Edward looked at him with a mixture of amusement and confusion. "Who are you and what did you do with that jerk-ass Director Mustang?"

Roy chuckled. "I guess you can say that he gained a family and grew up… sort of." He added the last piece almost as an afterthought with a smirk.

As they walked on, the conversation died away, finally leaving them completely in silence.

With only a few blocks to go before they reached his home, Roy stopped suddenly as he pretended to look at some apples a street vendor was selling. "Edward… It's been five years… You never told me what happened…" He said sadly.

Edward looked at him in surprise. The surprise quickly turned into a mixture of sadness and anger as he looked away. "I don't want to talk about it…"

"What happened? If you don't tell me willingly, I'll make it an order. Then I'll slap you with insubordination if you refuse to answer me." He said with a hint of anger in his tone. "I sent you on that three year tour of duty to help clear your head. I had hoped that when you returned, you'd be more willing to talk to me about it." He said, glaring at Edward. Edward sighed,

Despite what the earlier conversations may have implied: Roy had never abused his position of power; some went so far as to say that he actually improved it.

Edward knew that Roy would do anything to force him to tell what happened five years ago when he told Alphonse and the Rockbells his future intentions. "To put it simply, they didn't approve of my career path." He grumbled grudgingly.

"Hmph… That's barely scratching the surface and you know it. You left Central with your injuries nearly healed. You came back to Central looking worse than when we escaped the underground city!" Roy said angrily. "Damnit Edward! I told you not to keep secrets from me." He said worriedly.

"Fine…" Edward said in defeat. "They were furious, all right? Even Al was pissed. I tried to explain my reasons to them, but it quickly turned into a shouting match: Aunt Pinako, Winry and Al against me. I said some things in anger that I now wish I hadn't and Winry attacked me. I let her do what she wanted to me for a while before I finally walked out the door without looking back. I remember hearing her storm onto the porch before screaming at me to never return." He glared sadly at Roy. "Are you happy with that?" He snapped.

Roy looked away. "I'm sorry you had to dreg that up, Edward. I know how much they mean to you…" He put a hand on Edward's shoulder, causing Edward to look at him in surprise. "You should go back. It's been five years. They probably regret what they said as much as you do. You were all so close. You can't allow one bad argument to completely ruin what you had…"

Edward shook his head. "Winry and Pinako can really hold their grudges and Al is just as stubborn as I am."

Roy sighed, admitting defeat on the matter. "Fine… can you stop in for a bit? I'm sure she'd love to see you."

Edward smiled at him as they resumed walking. "Yeah, I can. It'd be nice to see her too."

Their arrival was met with the happy barking of a surprisingly large dog.

"Settle down." Roy said simply and the dog did as he was told, sitting still with only a slight wagging of his tail.

Edward chuckled as he knelt in front of the dog, rubbing his ear. "Hey Black Hayate… you've gotten pretty big, boy!" He said as he received a thankful lick in return.

The door opened and a woman carrying a small baby walked out. "Hello, Edward. It's been too long." Riza said with a smile as Edward stood to greet her.

Roy carefully took the baby from her so she could hug Edward.

"Thanks, Riza. It's good to see you again." He said as he returned the hug.

"Please, come inside and visit for a while." She said as they broke apart.

He nodded, giving one last pat to Black Hayate before following them inside.

"Would you like anything?" Riza offered as Edward sat in a chair.

"No, I'm fine, Riza. Thanks for the offer. Why don't you sit? You look like you've been on your feet all day."

Riza couldn't help but laugh. "You're right. He's been keeping me on my toes." She said as she motioned to the baby that Roy was holding carefully.

"Do you want to hold him?" Roy asked.

Edward was taken aback by the offer, but nodded happily. "So what's his name?" Edward asked curiously as he took the baby from Roy.

"We named him Maes." Roy said simply.

Edward nodded in understanding.

"Edward, I know this is coming a little late, but you were away for quite some time… we were wondering if you would be his godfather." Roy asked tentatively.

Edward looked up at Roy in surprise, not just by the question but the way he asked the question. "Huh…?"

Riza tried to hide her laughter at his expression. "We've been discussing it since we learned we were going to have a child. No matter what gender, we were going to ask you to be his or her godfather."

Edward blushed slightly as he looked down at their child, who reached out and grasped at his ponytail to playfully tug on it. He chuckled he passed the baby back to Riza. "I'd be honoured." He glanced over at Roy. "Just promise me one thing: you won't turn into Hughes."

Roy burst out laughing and was quickly joined by Riza. "Don't worry. I don't intend to."

"Speaking of… Gracia said she saw Alphonse at Maes' grave earlier today." Riza said, staring at Edward intently.

"You're all conspiring against me, aren't you?" Edward asked, leaning back in the chair.

"Edward, just go and talk to him. Alphonse has always been an easily forgiving person. I'm sure five years is more than enough time. He'll probably be at Headquarters looking for Roy. He always visits Roy whenever he stops by Central."

Edward sighed in defeat. "Fine… you win." Riza and Roy smiled as he stood. "I'll see you tomorrow, Roy. I'll try to visit more often, Riza." He said as he made his way to the door.

Roy and Riza stood outside and waved goodbye as he walked down the street.

Once he was out of sight, he broke into a run, hoping to get to headquarters before Alphonse found out he was back in Central and left quickly.

Alphonse walked down a hallway in Central Headquarters. He had come to visit Roy, but was told that he had left early for the day. He felt guilty that he didn't visit them more often.

"Alphonse! Hey! It's been a while!" Falman said as he and Fuery approached him together.

Alphonse smiled. "Hey… Major?" He asked tentatively.

Falman nodded. "You have it right, Alphonse. We're Majors now."

"Congratulations."

Fuery blushed slightly. "T-thanks, Al."

"How's Havoc doing?"

"The Lieutenant Colonel is just fine!" A voice said from behind him before Havoc wrapped his arm around Alphonse's shoulders.

"That's great news!" Alphonse said happily.

Breda walked past them quickly, freezing as he saw Alphonse. "Well I'll be damned, both of you in Central at the same time…" He said in surprise.

Alphonse frowned in confusion. "What do you mean, Major Breda?"

"Oh, it's nothing! Forget I said it!" Breda said nervously as he caught Havoc's slight motion stopping him from saying more.

"Of course it's something; you and Edward are in Central at the same time!" Falman slipped, having not noticed the frantic and nervous signalling.

Alphonse's expression became guarded. "Oh…"

Falman balked as the others glared at him. "Of course, knowing Edward, he's probably already gone on some other mission!" He said nervously trying to cover his tracks.

"Uhm, sirs? I'd hate to cut this meeting short, but we've gotta go." Fuery said, checking his watch.

Falman and the others checked theirs before paling. "Indeed you're right, Major! Sorry Alphonse. Maybe we'll see you later!" Falman said as he, Fuery and Breda took off.

"Hey, give him a chance Al. It's been five years…" Havoc said, patting Alphonse on the back before following the others.

Alphonse shook his head as he began to leave headquarters quickly, just in case Edward returned for something.

Alphonse descended the steps quickly with his head down, hoping to avoid being noticed. With his head down, he wasn't able to see as he accidentally struck shoulders with an officer coming up the steps. "Oh, I'm…" He trailed off as he stared up into the face of Edward. "Brother…" He said in surprise.

"Hey Al…"

Alphonse was surprised to hear a nervous quiver in his older brother's voice.

"Uhm…" Edward looked away for a moment to try and collect his emotions. "Al…? Do you have some free time? I wanna talk…" He asked with a slightly stronger voice.

Alphonse couldn't help but nod as a relieved smile appeared on Edward's face.

"Great… I know a place where we can go to talk privately." He said, leading his brother away from headquarters.

Alphonse was put into a state of stunned silence as they entered a fairly expensive-looking restaurant.

The waiter standing at the entrance simply looked at Edward before motioning for them to follow him. He took them to a nice room at the back of the restaurant. "Do you require anything, Colonel Elric?"

Edward shook his head. "Not right now, thanks."

The waiter nodded before leaving.

Alphonse's expression caused Edward to laugh; turning Alphonse's stunned expression into a frown.

Noting the frown, Edward quickly stopped laughing and looked down at the table. "This is Director Mustang's favourite hangout, so I come here with him and Riza often whenever I'm in Central. The employees know me so I get in without any reservations and we won't be disturbed." He explained.

"What did you want to talk about?" Alphonse asked, causing Edward to look up at him.

"Well, I really didn't want to talk… just apologise."

Alphonse stared at him in surprise.

"My behaviour back then wasn't exactly my best and I said things I really didn't mean. I'm very sorry… I'm not asking for your forgiveness, I just wanted to apologise…" Edward said, looking away.

Alphonse smiled, which quickly broke into laughter.

Edward looked at him in surprise.

"Who are you and what did you do with my brother?" Alphonse asked when he was finally able to recover.

Edward stared blankly at him for a few moments before breaking out into laughter. "I asked Roy the same thing earlier…" He mused, causing Alphonse to snicker.

As he fell silent, he smiled at Edward. "I missed you, brother. I didn't really realize it until now. I'm sorry. I always knew you didn't mean what you said, and I knew why you chose to join the military…" He looked down at the table. "…but I guess I picked up a few too many bad traits from you…"

Edward chuckled as he reached over the table and rubbed Alphonse's head.

Alphonse smiled happily.

"I'm glad to have you back, Al."

"So…" Alphonse's tone was sly as he grinned at Edward. "It's only been five years and you're already a Colonel? Don't tell me you've turned into Director Mustang on me."

Edward glared at him. "Talk about insulting." He grumbled. He sighed in irritation. "Roy pulled a lot of strings. I started out as a Major, thanks to my record. When he became Director of Military Operations, we all got a promotion. Then the manipulative bastard sent me to help General Armstrong with something in the East and I got promoted again. That's all."

Alphonse couldn't help but laugh at Edward's reaction. "I was worried you had changed too much, but I guess I was wrong." He explained as Edward looked at him in confusion before breaking out into his own laughter.

"So what have you been doing?" Edward asked curiously.

"I'm training to become a doctor." Alphonse said before shrugging casually.

Edward smiled. He had always known they'd end up taking opposite career paths. "Oh yeah, you know those Ishbalan representative positions the assembly couldn't fill?"

Alphonse nodded.

"Our old pals Rick and Leo recently took them."

"That's great! For many reasons…"

Edward nodded in understanding. It meant that the Ishbalans finally trusted the assembly.

The brothers spent the rest of the day catching up before retiring for the evening, grateful that they had finally reconciled after all these years.

Author's Note: Yes, I know it's long. The second part is just as long. Why? Because I felt they needed to be long to get everything in. The reason Al really was mad at Ed was because Ed never confided in Al about his decision to join the military outright. It hurt him because it felt to him like his older brother couldn't trust him enough to tell him about his decision before he made it. Once the second part of the Epilogue is up, I'll slap the Completed status on this project and... take a break. I need one. I've been working almost non-stop on these Rebuilds.