Lan Fan died about a year and a half after the last chapter. But this chapter is significantly later. It's actually the biggest time jump there has been or is going to be in all 125 chapters of this ridiculously long story.
Also, this chapter is really short. I tried really hard to make it longer without making it seem rambly, but eventually I had to cut my losses and just say that short is better than nothing, and short and sweet is better than long and windy.
There were some things that never ceased to marvel Alphonse Elric. No matter how old he got, even now at 74 years old, sometimes he sat back and had to stare at the world and wonder how such things could exist, and how he could possibly be allowed to be a part of them.
No one would ever be able to take away the joy he felt when he sat down in a quiet room and simply breathed. It had been sixty years since he got his body back and he couldn't even remember what it was like to not be able to breathe, to not eat, to not feel, but he would never forget the experience. He would never forget the blessing that he was affording being able to breathe and feel a heart beating in his chest.
He would never underestimate the woman that was his wife. They had been married for over fifty years and she still managed to surprise him sometimes. She still managed to make him grin, laugh, cry, make his heart feel like it was about to burst open with love.
No matter how many times he watched it happen, Al would never get over the amazement that filled every fiber of his being when a child was born. That two humans, two people made up of the same elements that made rocks and cars, objects that couldn't move or act on their own, could together, create a being that would grow into a living, walking, intelligent creature.
It was a special brand of alchemy that humans had never been able to understand… yet had been using for centuries.
On the other side of that coin though, death would always be a part of Al's thoughts. It seemed to come so much these days. The Colonel, Riza, Lan Fan… Ed. Now Winry. She went peacefully, not much different than Ed. Simply didn't wake up one morning after talking with Benny on the phone for near an hour the night before.
She had been such a huge part of his and Ed's lives. He didn't think that Ed had ever really been able to prove to Winry just how much she meant to the both of them. It would have been impossible. There was no way too. The feeling ran too deep.
She was one of the most amazing people he had ever met. That wouldn't change.
He didn't actually speak at her funeral. She had plenty of children and grandchildren to do that. Some of the stories featured Ed, some of them were just about her. The turnout was actually quite spectacular, thanks to her many years of automail service.
Al and Mei were mostly non entities at the funeral to be honest. What with all the people there and the fact that they weren't that involved with its planning, Al wasn't offered many condolences or paid much attention to.
Al didn't mind that much, though. All that really mattered to him was his wife's hand intertwined with his throughout the whole day.
The gathering after the funeral for family and close friends was held at the yellow house at the end of the road, where Al and Mei had lived for a few years and visited for many after.
It seemed almost empty without a Rockbell in it.
Partway through the evening, after an hour or so of weaving through the crowds separately, Al found Mei again and intertwined their two hands, whispering in her ear that he wanted to go check something. She nodded and, though he didn't intend for her to join him, merely to warn her of where he was going, went with him.
The hill was harder to climb than it had ever been. His joints ached and popped when they weren't supposed to. He was winded by the time he made it to the top, where before he would have been totally unaffected. Mei had trouble with the climb too, so they stopped and took a breather before continuing down the road a ways.
If Al hadn't know what was there, he wouldn't have ever been able to guess there used to be anything there. Which was actually rather surprising. So much of Amestris had changed over the years, nothing seemed the same. Yet this spot seemed completely untouched.
It looked like a normal hill with a tree, blanketed in flowers. The only testament that there used to be a house there was the corner of what Al recognized to be the chimney. The brick structure only poked up enough to be seen through the flowers. If you weren't paying attention you would stub your toe walking through them.
Any other debris had been cleaned up a long time ago, probably by Ed worried about his children playing there and possibly getting hurt or infected by some of it. He didn't know why his brother would have left just a corner of the chimney, perhaps just as a final marker that more once stood here.
"I still remember that day."
"Hmm?"
"I still remember that day," Al repeated, staring at the spot. "That we burned down the house. Which is actually impressive." He smiled at Mei. "I can remember barely anything these days."
"You can remember plenty fine," she corrected, waving a hand. "I figured that out about an hour ago when you started talking with Benny about alchemy."
The smile stretched into a grin. "Well, some things become a part of you." Then the grin faded away. "But I really do remember that day. We were so determined that nothing was going to hold us back, that we wouldn't look back, we burned the house. There would be nowhere to go back to if we ever thought about going back.
"I suggested building something else here once. A house. Something. But Ed turned me down, and now I'm glad that he did. Even if we did get our bodies back, this is still a reminder to never look back. To keep on moving."
Mei didn't respond. She seemed to understand that he really just needed to talk. His lack of tears didn't have anything to do with a lack of sadness over Winry's death. It had more to do with a desensitization that he had developed the past few years as he received word that more and more of his former friends were dying.
This talking, this contemplation, whatever it was, was Al's way of expressing this sadness. It was almost worse to cry after all of it.
"But that house over there." Even from here they could see the house that once held the entire Rockbell family, long before anyone had heard about Ishval. It wasn't yellow anymore, long since painted a different color. Other things about it had changed. There wasn't a sign proclaiming "Rockbell Automail" in front anymore. There was no Den keeping careful (albeit sleepy) watch over the house.
But the path hadn't changed much.
"It was always a place we could come back to. There was no turning back on the path we'd set out on… but there was a place that we could call home. And Winry made it that way for us."
So, he supposed, that what really fascinated him more than anything was life.
It began, it ended. It was full of hardship and trials. It was full of miracles and wonders. It was hard, but it was beautiful. Sometimes you felt like giving up on it. Sometimes you wanted more than anything to not have to continue.
When those moments came, there was nothing to do but keep moving forward. Things could get better, or things could get worse. Most of the time both. You could learn that not only did you lose your body, but there is also a race of creatures that now want to use you to sacrifice an entire country. You could also get your body back.
If he had given up, ever gave into his doubts about getting their bodies back, he would never be where he was now. He would never get the chance to lie down in bed every night next to the most amazing woman in the world. He would never know the joy of three children all happy to see him come home. He would never have experienced the grandchildren swarming around him asking for stories or to show them the cool alchemy trick.
Life was hard, but it was worth living. And that, probably more than anything, was what stayed Al's tears at his sister in law's funeral. The fact that he knew that Winry had known that herself. He knew she would never for a moment regret a single second that she had spent on this earth.
"You know, we could be next."
Mei stared at him with her steady dark blue eyes, before they narrowed in a glare. Her hair was almost completely grey now.
"Alphonse Elric, your grandson is going to be having a child in less than a month, you are not leaving me to meet our first great-grandchild alone."
He blinked at her, before a smile broke out across his face.
"Yes, Ma'am."
And her word on that matter was final.
(guess what? There are only two chapters left)
BUT IN MORE EXCITING NEWS THE ALMEI WEEK PROMPTS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN! YAY!
AlMei Week 2014 August 3-9
The prompts are as follows:
Sunday, August 3: Scars
Monday, August 4: Insomnia
Tuesday, August 5: Trust
Wednesday, August 6: Miscommunication
Thursday, August 7: Abstinence
Friday, August 8: AU/Crossover
Saturday, August 9: Siblings
Anything AlMei related is encouraged. It doesn't have to be fan fiction, it can be art, it can be AMVs (which would be really cool actually, anyone with video editing skills, please) fanmixes. You could cosplay and make a video. Get creative! There is no competition and you don't have to stick to any of the prompts, those are just kind of a guideline. The important thing is that that week is dedicated to ALMEI :D
Please, please, PLEASE contribute!