It was perfect.
Ed's head laid in my lap, eyes closed as he luxuriated in the way I ran my fingers through his soft blonde hair. I looked down at him with a gentle smile, marveling at the love of my life when an idea popped into my head.
"Ed?" I asked softly.
"Hm?" He hummed, sighing in contentment.
"What are we going to do now?" I wondered aloud. "When are you planning to leave for the West again?" He opened his golden eyes slightly to look up at me as he took ahold of one of my hands and intertwined it with his.
"Oh I think I'll be here for quite a while," he replied, laying our intertwined hands on his chest. "Al and I have been working on putting together some of our techniques and research and the possibilities seem nearly endless right now, so I'm sure we're gonna stick around."
"That's a relief," I mumbled, resting back against the couch. "This still feels like a dream."
"I know," Ed replied, smiling slightly. "I remember the first time I met you in Mustang's office and I thought you were crazy." I laughed.
"Come on! I was twelve and stranded in an insane new world, it was either make a joke of everything or actually go crazy," I said, rolling my eyes, "And besides, you really needed some humor in your life."
"I can't say you're wrong," Ed mused, "But you disappeared pretty often too."
"I had stuff to do, like selling myself to the homunculi to save Maes and meddling with some other stuff without getting myself killed," I said, and Ed nodded.
"Yeah, he told Al and I about that," he said quietly, and I leaned down to kiss his forehead quickly.
"I knew what was going to happen," I reminded him, "Even though I was pretty young and stupid I more or less knew what I was doing." Ed chuckled.
"Knew what you were doing?" Ed said, smugly mentioning, "So you knew what you were doing when you burst into our fight with Scar in Baschool and promptly apologized before trying to escape." I huffed, pushing back my short brown hair with my free hand.
"If I hadn't done that, not only would you not've gotten the chance to get back with me," I retorted, "But I also would've either gotten myself killed by Kimblee or finally have gone home."
Ed lapsed into troubled silence, and I grinned.
"Then what about when they turned Ling into Greed?" He questioned, his eyebrows furrowed.
"They were going to do it anyway," I answered, shrugging slightly, "I just interjected the idea before it occurred to them so they would think my loyalty was to them, plus I knew Greed would leave eventually so I wasn't very worried."
"You really thought it all through, didn't you?"
"Of course, what did you take me for?"
"An idiot who stumbles around figuring stuff out as she goes."
"HEY!" I said, moving out from under him and dropping his head on the couch. I pretended to be mad, crossing my arms and getting up to approach the door, "Well, this idiot is fully capable of taking herself and hanging out in her own damn apartment."
"Ow! Hey!" Ed said, sitting up and snickering, "Come back! I didn't mean it!" I shot him a sharp look over my shoulder as I put my hand firmly on the doorknob, waiting. He got up and jogged over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning his head on my shoulder.
"I'm kidding, you know I'm in awe of you every day," he reassured, before adding quietly, "Even if you can't find your way home half the time." I elbowed him lightly, and he wheezed laughter.
"You frustrate me so much," I said, turning to tug at his collar, "But I love you all the more for it." Pulling him down, I kissed him, bracing my hands against his chest as his arms tightened around me.
Pulling away, he leaned down to hoist me up, bringing me back and tossing me on the couch. I squealed when I bounced on the cushions, giving Ed a look as he joined me on the couch.
"I love messing with you," he admitted, grinning as I whacked him lightly.
"Edward Elric!" I whined, "Come on, really?"
"Why? You're so cute when I do!" Another whack.
"I won't marry you if you keep this up."
"Oh yes you will."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because you love me," he responded cheekily, and I tried to hold back a smile.
"Who said?" I asked with a serious tone, teasing him.
"You did, and a hundred times at that!"
"That's a gross exaggeration."
"More like an estimate."
"Ugh, fine," I gave up, pulling him into a hug. "I love you enough to switch worlds, so I might as well have said it a billion times." He hummed in satisfaction, his face nuzzling against my shoulder.
"I'm keeping you," he mumbled, turning slightly to kiss my neck before resuming his previous position. "I'm never letting you go again."
"Damn straight," I replied, basking in his affection. "Ed?"
"Hmm?"
"Are we… Ever going to get married?" A pause.
"D-Do you want to?" Another pause.
"Yes? I-I mean, well, I'm going to be here forever so we don't have to decide quickly, but-"
"But is that what you want?" Ed pulled away from the hug, looking into my eyes seriously. My face heated and I bit my lip, hesitant.
"We're adults, right?" I said in a small voice, "So… When you want to be with someone forever… You marry them, right?"
"I'm pretty sure," he answered, his eyes full of hope but laced with uncertainty. "It'd be hard, though, when I'm out traveling, not here." I searched his gaze, and found my answer hidden in the feeling in my chest.
"I know… But it'll be hard regardless, right?" I said, taking a chance, "I mean, marriage is about compromise. It'd mean that no matter how long we're apart, we'll still always come back to each other. Plus, you gotta admit we'd be a pretty badass tag team." Ed was quiet for a little bit before he smirked.
Leaning in, he whispered in my ear, "Are you sure you're ready to be my wife?" His low voice sent goosebumps over my skin and my face reddened nervously.
"I'll kill you if you try to make me into a housewife." He laughed at my threat.
"No, I wouldn't dream of it," he assured, facing me again and brushing a stray lock of hair from my face. "You'd be more like… Hmm…" He looked me over as if trying to categorize me.
"A teammate? A partner in crime? Or my personal favorite, your better half?" I suggested, grinning and raising an eyebrow. He snorted.
"I like partners in crime," he said mischievously.
"God knows how many times you've broken the laws, right?"
"Hey, I never did that on purpose!"
"Sure," I gave him a knowing grin and he sighed in defeat.
"You're one to talk."
"At least I acknowledge it," I said.
"You're going to be employed by the government," Ed said, eyeing me suspiciously, "You shouldn't get in a habit of it."
"Doesn't my job just give me an excuse to do it more?"
Ed looked at me worriedly, "At this point I don't want to leave because I'm afraid you'll do something stupid." I winked at him.
"If it makes you stay," I teased, tightening my arms around him, "I'll do stupid things every day."
"I'll marry you if you promise not to do that," Ed said, kissing my forehead. "From now on, I need you to be safe and not stupid so I'll always have someone to return to." My heart ached at his words, knowing how much it meant to him.
"I'll be your home from now on," I said, copying him and kissing his forehead sweetly, "I'm going to be here for the rest of your life and love you and accept you no matter what." Ed leaned in to kiss me chastely.
"I missed you," he murmured when he pulled away.
"I missed you too." I said, staring into his eyes and feeling so completely and utterly content with my life in that one moment.
After I unlocked the door, I turned the doorknob, peeking in to see if both of my best friends were in.
"Lynette, is that you?" Emma called, presumably from the living room. I slipped my leather boots off, taking my bags and starting towards my room.
"Yeah, I'm back!" I called back, and was met with the sight of Emma laying boredly on the couch, blasting rap music from her laptop.
"Not having internet here sucks," she said, and I laughed.
"I know," I retorted, kicking open the door to my room, "You'll actually need to get a life!" I let my stuff down as soon as I got in my room, throwing my black leather jacket on my unmade bed before turning back to the living room.
"Okay, okay, so I had this idea," Emma started, ignoring my statement as she beckoned me over. Turning her laptop to me, she revealed a drive dedicated completely to fashion, and scrolled down to show an extreme amount.
"You downloaded all of that?" I said incredulously, and she snorted.
"Of course!" She said, rolling her eyes, "You know I wouldn't have come if I hadn't already filled my laptop with everything I need. I even downloaded a beat maker so I could make my own music when I get tired of all of the ones I downloaded." I cracked up.
"Of course you did," I said, smiling. That's so like her.
"But, ok, so like, I had an idea," she said, turning back to the outfits, "I could start up a fashion business and modernize the fashion here." I thought about it for a minute before nodding.
"That's actually a pretty good idea," I said, thinking it over. "Yo, that could actually work!"
"I know!" Emma waved her hands excitedly, and I nodded again.
"Well, you know what," I said, holding out a fist, "If you come up with a solid business plan and get a job to start saving money, I'll see who I can get in touch with in the tailoring business and I'll give you the down payment for a shop." Emma fist bumped me hard, her face lighting up.
"Deal!" She said, "You can't take it back! Okay? Alright, now how do I get a job?" I shrugged.
"Go around the city and check out help wanted signs," I mused, "Maybe see if the newspaper has any job columns."
"I'm never going to get used to how ancient this place is," Emma muttered, and I gave her a strong pat on the shoulder.
"You will!" I said, "We're totally going to change this country, cause, you know, I'll be working side by side with the Fuhrer." Emma rolled her eyes.
"You gotta fix that, cause I'm not sticking around in a country modeled after Nazi Germany." I sighed.
"I know, I know," I said, "But if it makes you feel any better, Mustang is working on getting rid of the fascist design of the country."
"He better," she said, her dark eyes narrowed and I chuckled.
"Where's Katya?" I asked, finally noticing my other friend's absence. Emma grinned.
"Her boyfriend is giving her a tour of the city," she answered, and I gasped.
"No way, her and Al clicked?"
"He's kind of awkward so I think it might take them a while, but I'll bet money on it."
"With what money?"
"... True, true, but still. Also, since you got back early," Emma's grin widened, "Did you surprise your man?" I laughed, blushing slightly.
"Maybe," I said, and she dragged me down to sit on the couch.
"Details, now." She demanded, and I bit my lip.
"Okay, so," I brought my legs up on the couch and crossed them, facing Emma, "I went over and surprised him, and we-"
"So you did get some of that d-"
"Oh my god, we just made out a little," I said, cutting her off. I looked down before continuing, "And, well, we may have talked about getting married-"
"Wait, WHAT?" She exclaimed, her almond-shaped eyes wide. "SPILL, NOW."
"Okay, okay, so," I said, fighting the huge smile that threatened to overtake my face, "Okay, so I brought up, like, 'Oh, are we ever going to get married?', and he asked me if that's what I wanted and I told him that I mean we could, and he brought up the fact that he'd be gone for periods of time for research and I told him that I'll always be here for him to come back to… And then he leaned in and asked me if I was ready to be his wife." I put a hand on my chest as Emma squealed.
"He did not!" She said, excited, "I call maid of honor!" I blushed.
"But, being a wife?" I said, embarrassed, "Doesn't that mean…"
"You'll sleep with him? Oh my god, Lynette, the guy wants to marry you! Although, I do think you two are kind of rushing things," she added cautiously, "I mean, it hasn't been that long since you've returned."
"I know, I know," I said, "But the biggest reason I'm even here is because of him." Emma put a firm hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eyes.
"Do what you think is right," she said, "I just want you to be sure that's what you want because that's a big commitment… And you know how long distance is hard even with technology, nonetheless without it. You gotta really trust a man to handle that."
"He's the one, I know it," I said surely, "I'm just not sure if it's the right time, you know? I mean, if he proposed I'd say hell yes, but I think it'd take me a while before I could actually handle a wedding and marriage."
"And you always said you'll never marry," Emma shot, and I shrugged sheepishly.
"Oh well," I said, and she laughed. "Well, I think I'll stop by Headquarters and check in about my reinstatement, but I'll be back later so we can go out for dinner."
"Sounds good," Emma said, turning back to her laptop as I got up, going back into my bedroom to grab my leather jacket.
"I'll be back," I said, putting my boots back on.
"Seeya," Emma yelled after me as I opened the door. I smiled and shook my head, closing the door to our apartment as I tugged out a folded map of Central from my pocket.
Hey guys!
I told you I wouldn't abandon this story! Aaah life has just been really hard and I guess it was just hard for me to find time and motivation. But I'm back and ready to continue (more or less)! I realized that writing on here, especially with all of you guys there to encourage me, really got me through a lot and it motivated me to become the writer I am now. So I'd like to thank you all so much, and ask you to stay tuned in for more!
Alright, so, I'll let you guys in on a little preview of what's going to happen! I have actually a whole new story plotted out for after this, almost like an FMA sequel (if they had one! Ugh I wish) but combined with my already present and a few new OCs and a lottttt of action! I promise you guys will like it, I just hope you all are as excited about it as I am!
Rolling Credits is going to be a setup for the new story, and basically fill you guys in on everything happening between TGHB and the new story (which has yet to be named, so I am very very open to suggestions! /wink wink) so I hope you guys enjoy! It'll be the ending to TGHB and the beginning to the new story, so I hope you'll all stick with me to the end! I'm really thankful for those of you who've stuck with me thus far, because October actually marked my fifth year on here!
Celebrating almost 8,000 views on RC! I'm praying for the same success with TGHB, where now I've reached over an incredible 141,000 views! (dying because this is the most success I've ever had with any of my writing thank you guys so much I love you all)
Ok, so to end a long author's note, thank you all very much and I hope you'll continue to support me and writing, subscribe, favorite and leave comments!
Disclaimer: I do not own FMA! Only my precious OCs! 3