N/A: Hello!

I must confess that this chapter makes me a little nervous about what will be seen here. It's kind of a transition before we properly get into the final stretch of this story but it was necessary. Basically, it's a moment between Ed and Eddie and a lot of thoughts on Ed's part, so for now I can only ask for a little more patience to find out how this story will close.

I know this chapter is a bit short but I decided to leave it at the point where I did because, in the scene that immediately follows, we will have an important trigger that will lead us to the end. But after this one, there will only be chapters of at least 7k words.

Well... see you in two weeks and thank you very much for reading! :)

Golden

-8 months later-

Ed leaned against the wall, putting his hands in his pockets and closing his eyes to enjoy the light breeze that came through the window, it was very subtle but at least it served as a reminder that they were closer to autumn than to the hot summer they had experienced that year.

The young man could hardly believe that he had been back in Amestris for more than a year already, especially considering that now he could say he was leading a good life.

Although it was the last job he would have thought about upon his return, his time in the military had become something he was enjoying, it wasn't his great passion since, now that he had gotten the hang of alchemy again thanks to Eddie's enthusiasm, he would have preferred to pursue something that allowed him to be involved daily with alchemy and/or its related concepts but at least the atmosphere in the country had improved so much that the military was increasingly losing those remnants of a supremacist institution that used military resources for the benefit of a few.

On the other hand, he could now also enjoy the joy of being in the same world as his brother. Certainly, they did not see each other as often as he would like but he was glad to know that his brother had indeed recovered his body and was enjoying it to the fullest. Learning everything he wanted to, traveling, and rediscovering the things he had missed out on for so many years.

Now it didn't matter the distance that separated them, since this time they had the peace of mind of living in the same world and their sibling bond was so strong that the simple written words they shared transmitted all the affection and love they had for each other, causing those letters to be an important support for Ed after his breakup with Winry, which were reinforced by his brother's presence and words of encouragement in a couple of visits Al was able to make to him in the middle of his alchemy training, and even in the first calls Al was making to him from Youswell in which by sheer miracle Ed managed to convince him to continue on his way to Xing and come back to visit him when things were calmer. To accomplish this Ed had to call him several times at his hotel to make sure he was following through with his original plans to travel East instead of returning to Central to check on him and help him (Ed was grateful for the help of Mr. Halling, who after being thrilled to hear from him after so many years, helped him to practically drag Al to the train station and didn't leave until he was sure Al had left on it, although, as expected, Al returned to Amestris a few weeks later).

Although Ed and Al did not see each other face to face immediately after what had happened, from the first calls they had it was obvious that Al was sad and disappointed with how things had ended between him and Winry but he must have realized the depth of the wound in his heart and his determination to let her go as he gave up on his idea of convincing him to fight for her although he could not help but let him know his disbelief and uneasiness about the decision he had made to try again to pursue a romantic relationship with Rose.

On Al's first visit to him, taking advantage of the fact that they were both in a coffee shop to avoid being overheard by Rose or Eddie, Al told him that he honestly didn't see fit for him to resume his relationship with Rose as, from the way he saw things, he didn't think he was going to fall in love with Rose so he didn't see it as fair to either of them to pursue that attempt of a relationship.

Al's words had caused him to fall silent for a few seconds. He had been tempted to agree with him but when a memory of Eddie's smiling face popped into his mind Ed ended up refusing to accept the appropriateness and reasonableness of those words. So, after taking a deep breath, he replied to his brother that he wanted to give it a try and confessed that it was largely because of Eddie.

Al was silent at his confession, understanding that his brother, having spent years alone, was having trouble separating himself from the people he cared for, so although Ed's decision still caused him to question it, he chose to simply advise him to be careful not to hurt himself, Rose and even Eddie any further.

Ed gave his word to Al and tried to stick to it as much as possible, managing over the weeks to achieve some sense of normalcy between him and Rose. It wasn't easy at first as his demeanor was subdued and serious due to the guilt that overwhelmed him but Rose always tried to reassure him, giving him smiles and initiating casual conversations with him. It had not been easy to send his guilt to the back of his mind but with Rose's kind behavior, Ed was able to do it little by little, achieving that, after a few months, the two returned to share shy kisses that were slowly evolving until the two ended up sharing a bed again.

That was 2 months ago and, as complicated as it would have seemed 8 months ago, Ed was feeling that they were finally bonding. He still didn't feel confident enough to say that he loved her but now he was beginning to question if perhaps he was close to being so since having Winry as a point of comparison it might be difficult to discern whether he was approaching the point of beginning to fall in love or not. He knew that his affection for Rose had been with him for some time since she had generously supported him from the moment he returned to Amestris but he was having doubts about whether that affection was finally evolving into what he had been hoping for since he accepted Rose's offer to give themselves a new chance. He was certainly noticing a difference in his feelings for her compared to the first time they had tried something so perhaps he was closer to falling in love with her than he thought he was.

These last few months with Rose and Eddie were proving pleasurable and Ed was sincerely enjoying spending time with them when he came home from work or on weekends. Maybe they could officially be a family... although the warmth he felt inside and the twinges of jealousy he felt at Winry and Russell's home or on the couple of occasions Winry had visited them at Rose's house made him think that perhaps he was rushing into those ideas.

After that first awkward encounter following their breakup, Ed kept his word and kept going to visit Winry for automail maintenance having gone to visit her every month and a half with the excuse of wanting to keep his automail in the best shape possible to avoid having to require new limbs soon. Perhaps he was hurting himself more that way but he simply couldn't resist the temptation to be around Winry now that they were trying to maintain their relationship as friends. His resolve to let her free was still there but he couldn't help but treasure every smile the blonde gave him and the calm her mere presence brought him. Also even though he knew they had no reason to be, he couldn't control the surges of jealousy that rose in him when Russell kissed and caressed her with him being a front-row witness.

Ed still had that sort of friends-enemies relationship with Russell as the two enjoyed teasing the other but at the same time could chat civilly about alchemical topics when they were together. However, sometimes Russell's attitude could get on Ed's nerves, causing him to have to discreetly clench his hands into fists in an attempt to help control himself by not wanting to give him a reason to ban him from his home. On those visits, Ed had to resort to every means possible to calm himself down (including solving chemical equations to try to distract his mind from what he was witnessing) as it was mainly on those occasions that he continually had to deal with Russell's excessive displays of affection for Winry.

Remembering the conflict of emotions he dealt with in those situations was what had stopped Ed from agreeing to be falling in love with Rose. He wanted to do it hoping that he could finally bring stability to that aspect of his life but he still didn't feel fully capable of doing it so he had never brought the subject up with Rose even though he had already heard her talking excitedly about the wedding of some acquaintances and even looking longingly at the jewelry store windows.

Just as Ed let out a sigh his companion for the day came into view.

"All set."

Ed smiled. "So shall we continue with the tour?"

"Yes!" Eddie exclaimed excitedly as he stepped away from the bathroom door to begin walking in step with Ed.

The two were at the largest museum there was in Central, which had natural science and history exhibits. Because the museum had recently been reopened after a few months of renovations, Ed and Eddie were visiting the place as an early birthday present for the boy.

As confusing as his thoughts could be, Ed was able to put them aside when he was with Eddie. In all these months the two had forged a very strong friendship so there were few weekends when the two didn't go for a walk or spend it studying and practicing alchemy together.

Once they finished touring the museum the two began the walk home. It was a moderately long walk but, as they had already learned, similar walks they did without feeling them because they were never quiet.

"So, buddy. Did it live up to your expectations?"

"Of course." Eddie said giving a little jump as he walked. "There was so much stuff I won't even be able to finish telling my friends tomorrow."

Ed let out a chuckle. "For a moment there I thought you'd get bored looking at so many documents."

Eddie put both hands to the back of his neck. "Well... I guess we can skip that part next time we come over. The truth is, I didn't understand most of what they said."

Ed ruffled his hair. "You're still very little. With time and study you'll see it'll all come to you like a piece of cake."

Eddie sighed and dropped his arms to his sides. "But I want to play with my friends too."

Ed laughed again. "Sure, you don't have to rush. Take it easy and enjoy your time at school with your friends." He smiled warmly at him. "The knowledge isn't going anywhere so everything little by little okay?"

Eddie nodded before speaking. "How did you do it when you were in school? Did you play with your friends a lot?"

Ed put a hand to the back of his neck. "I think you got me... Let's just say maybe I should have played with them more but Al and I spent most of our time reading."

"I see... but just like I can study afterward, you can play afterward too can't you?"

"Huh?"

"We can play together all you want. Then you can play everything you couldn't as a kid." Eddie said with a wide grin.

Ed was infected by his smile. "Thanks, Eddie. I'll keep that in mind although maybe your friends won't want to play with an old guy like me."

"But you're cool, they'd be pretty dumb not to want to play with you. Besides you're not that old. Well, at least you look younger than Mr. Armstrong. I mean you're not bald like him."

Ed laughed. "Well, you're right about that." Realizing they were close to passing outside one of the stores where they continually went to buy ice cream, he added. "I don't know, buddy, but maybe one of these days I'll be up for a game with you and your friends. In the meantime I think it's a good time to do some shopping and since you were such a great museum companion I want to get you something. So tell me, what do you want me to buy you?" Ed asked knowing that it wouldn't take Eddie long to figure out where they were about to go considering the boy was a big fan of ice cream.

To the young man's surprise, Eddie stopped in his tracks and ducked his head bringing both hands to the bottom edge of his T-shirt.

"Eddie?" Ed asked before stepping in front of him. When he got no response from the boy, he squatted down and placed his hand on his head. "What's up, buddy?"

Eddie replied without looking up. "Can I have anything?"

Ed raised an eyebrow, confused at the boy's sudden shy demeanor. "Sure, as long as it's within reach of my pocket. I guess you wouldn't want me to buy you one of the fossils we saw would you?" He concluded with a slight joking tone hoping to snap Eddie out of his strange behavior.

Eddie shook his head.

"So?"

"I want a ring."

Ed was quiet for a few moments before answering. "A ring? What for?" Noticing that the boy was squeezing the edge of his t-shirt tighter, Ed brought his hands to the boy's shoulders giving each a subtle squeeze in an attempt to get the boy to look him in the eye. "Eddie?"

With sparkling eyes, Eddie finally connected his gaze with Ed's. "For my mom."

Beginning to realize where the conversation was going, Ed gulped and said. "Any specific reason?"

"It's just... Henry's parents have rings. And so does my math teacher. She told me it's a very important symbol that shows she's happily married. So... if you buy me a ring I can give it to my mom. Then you can become my dad and then you and my mom can be happy forever."

Ed was so touched that it took him a few seconds to respond. "Oh, Eddie, would you really like to have someone like me as your dad?"

Eddie nodded vigorously. "Sure. You make my mom happy and I love you very much."

"Come here, buddy." Ed said drawing the boy into his arms. His eyes glistened from a couple of held-back tears at the child's innocent display of affection. Ed had grown enormously fond of the boy practically since they had met and it was obvious that Eddie had grown fond of him as well. He knew that, by this point, it would be more than normal for many to assume that he was the boy's father but he had never taken it seriously because, firstly, he was somewhat young to have a child Eddie's age and, secondly, he didn't feel he was in the right condition to be a good father, dragging with him the doubts he had had about his imminent" fatherhood with Noah's issue.

Yet here was Eddie asking him to be his father and Ed didn't know how to feel about it. With everything he had been through he hadn't had time to think about what it would be like to start a family other than when he got to thinking that if given the chance, he would like to do it with Winry by his side. Other than that he had not seriously considered becoming a father other than when Noah had deceived him. Although it had been hard to take in the news at first, at the time he had been willing to do everything he could to ensure the best possible life he could give his son but even then he had had constant doubts about what he would be like as a father since he had spent practically his entire life without one.

Inwardly he berated himself for not having seriously thought about the possibility of officially becoming Eddie's father when he first started dating Rose and for having overlooked Rose's comment in which she stated that she would like him to become Eddie's father. The boy seemed thrilled with the idea and, although he had doubts about fatherhood, Ed felt it would be a very easy transition.

However, the big problem lay in what had to be done to make that change official. Marrying Rose... he had just thought about it a couple of hours ago but had not been able to come to a resolution about it. A marriage was supposed to start with the couple's love for each other but did he love Rose enough to tie himself to her for life? Eddie could be the nudge he needed to go down that road but was he really sure that was what he wanted to do with his life? Did he really see himself becoming Rose's husband and Eddie's stepfather in the future?

Not feeling ready to make up his mind, Ed pulled away from Eddie slightly and smiled at him.

Eddie reciprocated his smile and said. "Are you going to buy me the ring?"

Ed struggled because his smile didn't falter. "I'm sorry, Eddie, but I don't have enough money with me today."

The boy pouted before saying. "Well... but are we going to buy it later?"

Ed patted his head to distract him to prevent the boy from noticing the confusion reflected in his gaze. "We'll see, buddy, we'll see. A ring is a very important purchase that can't be made on the spur of the moment. Certain things must be contemplated before doing so."

"So you don't want to be my dad?" Eddie asked in a sad voice.

Damn... this isn't getting any easier. "That's not the point, Eddie. Being your dad would be quite an honor." Ed replied calmly and with a sincerity that even surprised him. "But for that, there are a lot of things you have to think about before you do it. Besides we must also think of your mother as it would also be a very important step for her that can't be taken just like that."

"Mom will surely be happy if you give her a ring."

Ed stood up and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder to signal that it was time to keep walking. "Maybe." Taking advantage of the fact that they had started to move forward a few steps, he added. "For now, I think there is something I can buy you." He gestured with his head to the ice cream place a few feet away from them. "Seems to me that an imperial cup would be a nice closing to our day's excursion don't you think?"

The boy was quiet for a few seconds surely dealing with his curiosity to continue with the topic of the ring but eventually, the offer of the ice cream was stronger so the two entered the store and were able to forget the conversation for the rest of the ride home although that didn't mean that the idea of a probable marriage to Rose left Ed's mind completely.