Draped in Wires
by. Poisoned Scarlet

Theme 020: Frozen Grapes

"Haha! Den! Quit it!" Alphonse laughed, as the family dog nipped at his heels.

Edward sank back on the tree he was using as shade and smiled when Den tackled Al to the ground, making the younger sibling smile when the dog began to lick off the dirt that had smudged on his face.

The day was sunny, rather cool under the rustling branches of the oak tree, and Edward could not have asked for a better day to leisurely watch his brother enjoy his life than in that very moment. He placed the book he had brought along on the floor beside him and basked in the peacefulness of this current chapter in his life.

There had been no emergency calls from Mustang (although he highly doubted he was a valuable asset to the military; with what his alchemy literally nonexistant) requesting his assistance; no troubling news from the bustling city of Central City or any other town they had previously visited. There was nothing other than long summer days and equally long nights spent under the comforting wing of his new family and frankly Edward hoped it would just stay like this. It was definately a change for the better from the dangerous and often nervewracking life he had led since he reached the age of twelve.

"Hey, Al, I brought your favourite!" Winry's cheerful voice brought him back from his doze. He cracked an eye open just in time to see Winry pull out a plate of frozen grapes, making Al grin before he bounced over to her side and took a few.

He noticed, belatedly, that Mei was also there, sitting on a blanket they had spread out somewhere during his light snoozing, munching on a ham sandwich as his brother feasted on his favourite treat during humid summer days such as those.

"Is Ed awake?" he heard Winry ask, voice notably softer, and he quickly shut his eye.

"Nope, he fell asleep half an hour ago!" he heard his brother respond. "I think he stayed up late again..."

"He's always staying up late," Winry chuckled. "He should really break out of that habit if he know's what's good for him!"

"Yeah, but it's a little hard to do," Al laughed sheepishly. "It took me months to get my sleep all sorted out, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, and Ed always had to force you to stay in bed and turn off all the lights until you fell asleep!" Winry giggled.

"Yep, and I'd always be grouchy in the morning because of it!" Al laughed, remembering the days all too clearly.

Edward felt a small smile tug on his lips as he, too, recalled the instances where he'd have to shove his brother under the covers and monitor him until he was sure the younger Elric was asleep before he would hit the sack as well. It had messed his own circadian cycle for a few weeks before they both managed to regulate their sleep in the end, thankfully.

"Hey, Mei, you wanna' play Frisbee with Den and me?"

"Frisbee?"

"It's an Amestrian game – c'mon, I'll show you how to play! It's really simple!"

He heard their rapid footsteps grow distant as they headed over, he was sure, to the open hillside where they used to roughhouse when they were kids. The plains were a gorgeous green at the moment but Ed knew it would only be a matter of time before the sun finally burned off the top layer of grass and the fields transformed into a golden yellow that looked equally gorgeous from afar but just plain ugly up close.

"Phew," he heard Winry sigh and heard her crawl over closer to him. He could feel her sitting next to him, resting against the same tree. He was tempted to open his eyes to see just what she was doing but decided against it in the end.

He was content just having her beside him.

After a few minutes of pleasant silence, Edward curiously opened one eye and turned his head a bit to find Winry also dozing off beside him. Her hand laid out to support her while her other lay on her lap, where he saw there was a small plate of half-finished grapes. He flashed his eyes back up to her, who was nodding off as she struggled against the final strings of consciousness.

A small smile climbed to his face and he reached over to the plate, taking it off her lap carefully so as not to wake her. He popped a grape in his mouth, turning back to Al and Mei and noticing that the Xingese girl could not, for the life in her, throw a Frisbee correctly.

It was humorous to watch the usually apt woman fail at throwing a Frisbee, shrieking gleefully when the wind threw it back to her and Den pounced her, Alphonse laughing at both of them good naturedly.

He felt Winry lean against him and he looked down to find her quietly sleeping, finally having given up resisting the allure of a midday nap under the tree. He contemplated moving and laying her down but instead he leaned back, leveling them, and his smile grew bigger when he heard her exhale contently and briefly nuzzle his shoulder.

Doesn't get any better than this, Ed thought to himself, laughing when Mei and Den both tackled Al to the ground when he caught the Frisbee.

A/N: I found this one really adorable only because it's good family fun with sprinkles of romance to spice it up! :D

I know it's a late update but I got caught up in the bookstore. I sat for 5 hours straight and finished the second book of the Hunger Games. It was so good I bought the third book and now I'm just barely restraining myself from reading it – but I've got my priorities: I have to update first XD

Reminder: starting from this chapter, the rating will be M as the next chapter doesn't fit the T rating.

Note: I am so sorry! I thought I updated this a few days ago and was getting ready to post chapter 21 when I noticed it was still on chapter 19! I swear I added the chapter but I guess FFN glitched and didn't update it... no wonder I got no reviews! XD

Scarlett.