#mama winry

[a-bitch-made-fullmetal]

20 year old Ed wakes up in a cold sweat one night and has to be physically restrained from digging up Hohenheim's brittle corpse to kick his ass (again)

so do we think any of the souls trapped in mister ho's body ever judged him for shacking up with like 19 year old Trisha

[the-catmans-offical-2]

I wanna ramble about Ed/Wrath (Wrathfull) so much so I'm gonna.

A lotta people I've met have been seeing Wrath as related to the Elric brothers bc of his relationship to Sloth - but I gotta say that I personally don't agree with this.

Yes, Wrath does later state in episode 47 (before killing Lust) that he's going to take everything Edward loves (even though he doesn't want Al, he doesn't want Winry, he doesn't want anything - except Ed's limbs/body and a maternal figure.) Yes, Wrath clings to Sloth, calls her mommy/mama and sees her as his genuine mother.

But you HAVE TO realize it's not reciprocated, and even then - a clear point shown with the homunculi - she's *not* Trisha. She is, but she isn't; She once was, but is no longer her. Just like how Lust is no longer that Ishbalan woman that Scar's older brother once loved, just like how Wrath is no longer that infant Izumi miscarried. The homunculi were ONCE human, ONCE those those people - but they aren't anymore. Anyway, back onto the topic at hand, Sloth doesn't feel any maternal love, she doesn't allow herself to express it nor feel it; A huge part of her character is being apathetic, is changing herself and not allowing herself to chase the frivolous dream of being who she once was - which was a loving mother.

Sure, she let's Wrath hang off her and depend on her - but that's probably to help keep him in check so he'll listen better to Dante and whatnot, because she can easily ACT maternal, but not express it.

So yeah, that's my clarification. Ed and Wrath (And Wrath and Al) aren't related in anyway (even if Wrath did say "she was your mama too", in ep 48 after Sloth was killed and Al was kidnapped).

Also, as an additional clarification - yes, as I've posted before, I do genuinely think that Wrath ages. So in CoS he'd of been 17-18, and in the end of 03 he'd be 14-15. (Ed is 18 in CoS, and 15-16 at the end of 03.)

NOW, with all of that out of the way, here's why I ship this ship; And why I think I may be one of the only people that ship it.

THEIR FUCKING RIVALRY IS AMAZING; This may honestly be one of the only ships I ship that involves them being straight up rivals. They hate each other (or so they think?) - Wrath wants to deprive Ed of his limbs, while Ed just wants his limbs back and deprive Wrath of his (temporarily.)

They're two sides of the same coin, their goals are similar - to regain or gain human body parts in order to complete their individual goals; They both yearn for maternal love, they both are just kids.

But unlike Ed, Wrath is playful and childish - Ed had to grow up fast in order to survive and take care of his brother.

But unlike Wrath, Ed isn't as carefree and trusting to the world.

I dunno, they're just so UGH they make me sick.

Ed clearly is unsure of how he feels about Wrath - at first he's jumping on him and fighting him for answers, being aggressive and trying to kill him, and then he seems to just give up on that; He let's Wrath throw him around, punch him and strangle him. He let's Wrath scream and yell, and cry. He even catches Wrath and gives him a look over after Envy kicks him in the warehouse!! AND on top of that, his reaction to Wrath's death in CoS hits me HARD.

In this scene, I'll maybe get the specific translation later, Ed remarks about how he's surprised that Al got out of the underground city - and Al replies that Wrath showed him the way out, to which Edward questions by saying Wrath's name and Alphonse simply says that he used Wrath to open the Gate on his side. LOOK AT THE DESPAIR HE HAS; And yes, this could be just at the fact Al had to take a life - something Ed never wanted Al to have to do - but I see it as both. ESPECIALLY WHEN ED BRINGS UP WRATH LATER.

Meanwhile, Wrath seemed fearful of Ed at first - likely due to how he'd attack him at first and question him so aggressively - and then calm around him; Before reciprocating Ed's violent behavior. That violent behavior then turning to grief and despair, before Wrath seemed to become an ally for Ed a bit too late - hell, he was fucking SHOCKED when Ed died.

In this scene he only said "he's.. Dead" in the English dub - and he sounded so sad :( Then in CoS, as we all know, he tells Alphonse that he doesn't want to see him sacrifice his life for Ed's again - and very likely doesn't ever want to see the reverse again! I don't think Wrath was solely upset about Sloth during the whole four/three years before CoS took place - especially since he begins to miss Izumi - I think he was absolutely fucked up about Ed. ESPECIALLY SINCE he and Rosé were the last to see Ed alive, they didn't try to stop him, Wrath couldn't bc he was down two limbs and Rosé had to get her baby out of there and Wrath - it must of broken their hearts :(

But yeah! I ship them, and I have never seen any fanart of Ed and Wrath being shipped together, never seen any fanfics - and this really, really surprised me ngl.

If anyone ever does see ship content of them please lmk!! It'd be very much appreciated, I will go insane.

Uhh, that's all I gotta say ngl. If anyone has any questions just ask, my ask box is always open.

[wcrldcffantasy]

@mama-elrxc

"...Mom...?"

Edward was looking into the kitchen of the house both he and Al were renting in Central, seeing the slight mess inside...with both his mother and brother covered in flour.

The three had decided to show their mother around where they have been mostly working (of course giving a teary see you laters to the Winry and Grandma Pinako, the usual promises of returning soon), and since then, Ed and Al have been mostly showing Trisha their work and the people that were their friends co-workers.

"What...happened in here?"

"Brother! Mom and I were just making apple everything! Tarts, pies...it was her idea to make some for the Colonel and everyone!"

Edward almost wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose and slowly turned to his mother with a raised brow, "That right?"

[ishvalan-alchemist]

Got any more Edwin Headcanons

Winry sleeps with a wrench under the pillow. It took Ed months to convince her to ditch it.

Their children tried doing push ups with Ed. Winry thought it was cute until their son’s arms were sore. Ed agreed to ‘play along’ if they tried again.

When the Elrics were pregnant with their third kid, the two children followed Ed around. They told others ‘we’re pregnant’, so the toddlers wondered why Ed didn’t have a ‘big stomach like mama’.

Ed was eventually able to do his own automail without Winry. She decided to do it anyway. An excuse to spend time with her hubby.

Ed only drinks with Winry. Once drunk, he can’t shut up about how much he loves his ‘mechanic wife with a nice rack but don’t tell her’.

Winry teases Ed about his drunken ‘love confessions’.

Ed doesn’t tell Winry about her drunk statements. It drives her nuts not remembering what she told Ed.

Alexander Armstrong officiated their wedding.

Winry usually ties her hair up when the two have sex. No other reason to keep it from getting tangled in Ed’s automail when she’s down. This created a Pavlov effect for Ed whenever she has her hair tied up.

[gayleviticus]

Alphonse Elric or Wrath (03) for the ask game :)

ALPHONSE ELRIC

favourite thing: I love how nice and gentle and sweet he is despite everything going on, but also in 03 how he has this anger and almost self disregard bubbling as time goes - when he's captured by envy thinking he should have died so many times in the past, when he tries to rip wrath arm off to give it to ed, when he recklessly sacrifices himself to try and save ed

least favourite thing: I feel like cos shortchanges him way too much. we get such a compelling insight into ed throughout the whole series even if much is implicit, but cos doesn't really reckon with either al losing his memory and how he feels about that or have time to deal w him regaining it and what that means for him and ed. and I get it's prob partially intentional because amnesiac al feeling more unknowable deliberately alienates us from him - he genuinely feels different, and we have to wonder if the recklessly cheery attitude is a facade to cope w missing ed. but nonetheless it feels like cos kindve demotes al from the co protagonist position he had throughout the series

favourite line: not fav for any deep content but i love the delivery - the bit in cos where ed lands in the armour pile, sees a helmet that looks just like al - and then its eyes light up and you hear a 'niisan..? NIISAN!!'

brotp: ed and al!!!! I love their relationship so much it is so deep and powerful. but also scar and al is such a nice duo - the way scar vicariously lives through the elrics brotherly love because he regrets letting his crush on human lust get in the way of telling his brother he loved him 😭 also al/wrath post COS bc the film left so much of their relationship unexplored and I need to know

otp: I think al/fletcher could be kindve cute. al/wrath too - I know some ppl find it icky bc of wrath viewing sloth as his mama but I feel like aside from the sloth/trisha distinction it doesn't really create a brotherly relationship btwn the elrics and wrath. and im just as content w it as a brotp too anyway so

random headcanon: not cis and not straight - being trapped in a body you don't recognise and feeling cut off from really living and engaging w the world is dripping w queer subtext! more specifically I like nonbinary gay al but I can really see it going in any direction. (altho I can't think of any girls I would want to ship him with in 03 or fmab)

unpopular opinion: uhh... I don't know how unpopular it is but him and mei as a couple in fmab does not make sense to me lol

song: currently I literally only listen to fma ops lol so I can't answer

fav pic: this is a tough one.... but

WRATH (03)

fav thing: he is just such an interesting addition into the gaps of the source material?? making izumis baby who she tried to transmute into a homunculus is soo interesting even just in a meta sense, and the whole parent child switcheroo between sloth/izumi and wrath/elrics is so good

least fav things: I need to know more about him post COS and his relationship w al and winry and izumi!!!! especially since he was one of the few people who really knew wtf was going on down in the underground city along w rose

fav line: 'she was your mama too' when the elrics kill sloth. brutal

brotp: as above him and al but also I'm dying to know what his dynamic w winry was. and come to think of iit envy too honestly

otp: al/wrath ig (per the disclaimers above) but aside from that idk lol who do you ship him with

notp: I guess like with any adult I just don't like those kinda pairings. sloth w izumi would be especially yuck

random headcanon: he likes cats too. idk. just popped into my head

fav picture of them: DO I HAVE WRATH PICTURES? I'm sorry... my folder is dominated by the elrics... lemme see... I have this shot from the 4th ED lol

[yinseal]

the house is in a state of utter chaos; toys and clothes seem strewn upon most surfaces, while a line-up of food forms along the countertop - sandwiches and charcuterie boards, carefully curated for the day's honorees.

from the other room, ava and tim are arguing about whether frogs or toads are better. greed keeps his ears pricked in case the small quarrel turns into double tantrums, all while continuing to carefully cut the mangoes, strawberries and pineapples for their celebratory mother's day lunch.

he hears the patter of tiny feet, but they're quiet, so greed unwisely assumes that all is well.

"mama!" ava says, her voice pitched high with excitement. "we got you a present." she beams, a shoebox clasped between her hands. tim stands behind her, rocking on his heels, a tiny grin on his lips.

"we couldn't decide which one, so we got you ..." ava flings the box open with a flourish, and tim shrieks with delight as a frog throws itself from its cardboard prison and beside sakura on the couch.

more rustling from the box indicates the presence of the toad tim had so readily vouched for. already halfway into the living room to save sakura from their children's new, slimy friends, greed reminds himself to take izumi up on her offer to host mother's day next year.

/ @avadite

it's hard to be surprised anymore or at least, that's what she says when she's on the quick to anticipate the latest bout of mischief / the chaos and cacophony that seems to follow her children wherever they go. she's gotten placid, greedy in the illusion of her success; since she can't see the fires, she naively assumes she's stopped them all from coming. ( hasn't she learned better by now? )

greed makes more of an effort into mother's day than most men put into their entire marriages seems to take special delight in surprising her, as if that's not half the reason she fell in love with him. sakura herself had been shooed out of the kitchen, and there were fresh flowers in a vase on the table, and her sweet, beautiful, nefarious children were arguing the finer points of amphibian life styles, complete with a shoebox that was being held with care ( that should have been her first clue. )

she'd been reading through winry's letter, smiling at the news of ed's newest published paper, when she got her comeuppance. ava had sounded so gleeful, so absolutely delighted, and tim had appeared so angelic, and she'd been lured into a false sense of calm / of confidence. fool! her stubborn will and greed's defiant nature ( alongside his propensity to launch himself off giant buildings to make an entrance ): what sort of mixture could anyone expect from that but pandemonium?

the frog leaps; one graceful arch into the air, and a firm plop on the spot next to her, a reproachful croak for the inconvenience of captivity. she barely has time to squawk in surprise before a far larger addition joins her: a massive toad, less inclined to grace and more of the attitude of getting the hell out of there. muddy water drips from both creatures onto the couch, and her own leg kicks out in unexpected shock as the toad leaps back towards her, missing her chest by an inch. the tea on the table she ( painfully ) kicks sloshes out past the rim as the two creatures take off, and both ava and tim are yelling whether in encouragement for the havoc, or dismay that their hopeful new additions aren't cooperating, she isn't sure. ignoring the sizable bruise growing on her shin, sakura dives for the frog; nightmares of tadpoles in the creamer give her a least some semblance of a grip, and she stuffs the poor creature unceremoniously back into the shoebox, at the exact moment greed bursts into the room.

the toad has settled, furiously, on the top shelf of the bookcase; ava has scaled halfway up the side, her pigtails in disarray as she goes. tim has attempted to hastily mop up the spilt tea with his shirt, of which he was still wearing; the frog, his freedom denied once more, bellows inside his prison. it has taken, sakura notes, thirty seconds exactly, for calm to turn into a small siege.

slowly, she rises to her feet / hands clutched tight around the shoebox. the room quiets, as if in breathless anticipation for her next few words. the toad, belligerent, croaks.

❝ these are such lovely gifts, ❞ she begins ( ava, still halfway up the bookcase, beams. ) ❝ and i couldn't possibly deserve something so sweet. maybe next year, my darlings ... just a card? ❞

[winryofresembool]

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there, but especially my favorite fictional mamas Lily, Katniss and Winry ♥

[gentlewoman-scientistkisser]

Another little kiddo!! She's the youngest one yet!

Let me just. Put her story here too because sadness and pain

[Gee I sure do wonder WHO GAVE HER DAD THAT HOUND HMMM-]

Little Whisper sometimes talks about how much she loves her dad obliviously despite what he did and it concerns the survivors since she told them

She clings to any of the adults or kids [she just wants someone around her]

Whisper clung to Winry the most due to her also having a somewhat unatural eye too, but she thinks it's pretty

She calls Winry her "mama" Winry doesn't mind though, she enjoys caring for Whisper a lot

Doesn't really know much about the world still and confused about things [this really makes the other survivors sad knowing she didn't really get to see the world]

She loves playing with the hounds since they're neutral to her and follow along

She'll wake up in the middle of the night and try to squeeze and sleep in between Winry and Wilson [she doesn't like sleeping alone and wants to sleep with her mama]

Her instrument sounds are a broken kids toy piano!

Whisper thinks it's sweet seeing Winry and Wilson interact, she wants them to be happy and even asks questions to one of them

Plays with the other kids, and has absolutely climbed on Salem's shoulders and held onto his horns wanting to play horse riding with him 🥺 [he wouldn't say no]

She just needs to be held and cared for and loved... that's all she needs

She was a bit afraid of Maxwell and would run away sometimes hiding behind the others [the others had to reassure her she was going to be okay]

[awesomedurraworld]

GIRLIE, WHAT IF I TOLD YOU ED MIGHT HAVE KILLES ONE PERSON IN THE PROCESS??

Maybe they entered on a torturing session when they rescued their dad and Ed and Al stood frozen- think like, when they saw Tucker after what he did to Nina? How Ed just jumped at him and might have almost killed him?? Yes, i thinking he might have killed that one person even if he was't the one in charge. I think Ed might have a crisis so Mama Riza ™️ helps him cope through that part? Because she was also young when she took her first life, ( aka 19ish ( i headcanon younger.)) and Ed is like 15-16 so she helps him, maybe Roy does too?? Since he was also young when he was deployed to Ishval ( i headcanon him 17 or 18 when he was sent there.)

But like, you are so right, Riza will be like one night, “ alright boys, i will be back by dawn, If you need anything, call Pinako.”

Ed, Al, Roy, “ ??? Mhm okay.”

Riza at 1 am, *fires her sniper at a few generals.* “ Oops. My hand slipped.” But seriously talking, i don't think Ed or Al would have minded Riza murdering these people. Maybe they take them to court because they have kidnapped a state alchemist and hurt an officer and from what i know that is illegal and should be punished, so maybe she kills them after court because it wasn't ruled out fairly? Hmm

ALSO I AM THIS 🤏🏻 CLOSE TO MAKING HIS MEN TRAITORS BECAUSE I LOVE THAT TROPE SM, IT HAS SO MUCH ANGST I WOULD SCREAM

but also like. His men are wholesome so i feel bad, but imagine the guilt they have? I truly liked your idea so so so much, and maybe they feel guilty after Riza comes?

Like they deliver Roy To his “ mission.” aka his kidnapping, they don't really think about it, but when Riza comes back from her mission and asks them what they were thinking, they feel this guilt and they try to fix things but 3 hot-headed blonds are very protective of their black haired man ( i know like, the 03 has Al as a brown haired person but god i love him as a blondie.) +Winry is there with her wrench ( beacue why mess with her uncle/ future father in law??) and Pinko is pissed “ don't come at my patient!”

Somehow the team, knows about the Mustang-Hawkeye-Elric family (or as i like to nickname them the Pegasus family.) and they come in visits and FOUND FAMILY DRAMA. I also want Roy To yell his guts out especially to his ma ( if we ever include her because i think that she is very interesting and she could be a good mother or bad mother!) i am just feeling the feels right now 😭

ALSO, i am just thinking about how evil the military was for Roy while he was a captive for like, maybe few weeks/ a couple of months? They could have absolutely destroyed him oh my god.

I am just imagining that first time Roy sees Riza and they don't talk, right, Because they are that close, only eyes are talking. So it is in Roy’s bedroom ( ahem Roy and the boys’ bedroom.) and she just sits on his bed and looks him in the eyes, and cups his cheeks and he breaks down ugly sobbing

This shouldn't be this fun but i am having so much fun. Also i am playing with the idea that Roy has some sort of memory loss the first few days after the rescue until he sees something in the Rockbell’s house that triggers him and he remembers?

Gonna be real, but i cannot stop thinking about recovery fics and how beautiful they are. They are amazing, the way we see the character gets better always just makes me feel so inspired, the way that they learn to get over- or get around- the thing that hurt them. The way that they learn to be alive and living. How to love themselves and embrace what happened to them.

As much as i love these types of fics, i only wrote like, two maybe? With this idea (I love and have written torture more than recovery) . And it got me thinking… why not write a whole recovery fic?

It is no secret that i love parental Roy and Riza to the Elrics, and how they take him after he was being hurt and help him recover and be better and feel better.

BUT

But.

I am proposing another idea. Same child parent dynamic. Roy And the Elrics. Here is what i am thinking:

Evil Millirty hating how good and you Mustang is and they know he is a threat + them setting up to kidnap him by evil gang or something + team Mustang for some reason not being that loyal in finding him + Elrics stop their red stone research and to find their missing dad CO+ THEM SAVING THIER ADULT + FAMILY DRAMA AND PROTECTIVE SONS™️= my new fic idea

Which has traumatized Roy who is trying his best not being so traumatized but in the middle of it all, the Elrics discover How badly hurt thier adult is!

WHO IS WITH ME!!?

[edxwin-elric]

Newborn Nights

Rating: M (not smut? but more adult than Teen)

Pairing: Edwin/Edward Elric x Winry Rockbell

Disclaimer: I don’t own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Word Count: 905

Title: Newborn Nights

Description: Edwin Drabble/Fluff

New parents, with messed up sleep schedules, are up late at night with their newborn blessing.

A/N: Surprise! It’s in third person. I hope you like it.

ffn || ao3

Winry smiled quietly to herself from her place on the bed as she watched Ed pace back and forth across the floor of their bedroom. If she looked at the carpet, she could see the carpet beginning to form tracks. Pulling her knee up to her chest, she rested one cheek on it and sighed as her husband continued to bounce and talk softly to the bundle in his arms.

“You can put him down, you know?” she asked lazily, her pretty voice startling him.

“I know,” he muttered, glancing over at her, never pausing the rhythm of his arms. “But he might wake up.”

“He’s going to wake up in…” Winry looked over at the clock on the nightstand and silently calculated the time since his last feeding. “Twenty minutes anyway, so why not take a break?”

“And do what?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” She rolled her eyes. “Come cuddle with your wife?”

Ed stopped pacing and looked over at her.

“I do miss that.”

Winry threw a hand out in a “what are you waiting for?” gesture.

“But aren’t you exhausted?” Ed continued, starting to pace and bounce again. “It’s after two am. Maybe you should get some sleep.”

“Did you not hear me say he would be up in twenty minutes? There’s no point in me going to sleep now.”

“Winry,” he said slowly, sitting down beside her, cradling the baby to his chest, “you have to sleep.”

“And I will…after his next feeding.”

Edward opened his mouth to argue when Winry’s hand on his cheek stopped him.

“Ed, please. Just go put our son in the bassinette and come lie down with me.”

She watched as he looked down at the fragile newborn in his arms, so tiny in comparison to his father’s strong hands.

“Yeah, okay.”

Kissing her cheek, Edward rose and very carefully placed his son in his bassinette at Winry’s bedside before walking around the mattress and sliding under the covers beside his wife. Immediately, Winry snuggled up to him, fitting her body against his.

“God, I miss you,” she mumbled.

“I’m literally right here.”

“Shut up. I’m in heaven. Your body is hot and hard and amazing.”

Ed felt his face heat at her words, but even so, he felt pride rush through his veins. Sliding his arms around her back, he rested his nose in her hair.

“If you fall asleep, I understand,” he murmured.

“If I fall asleep, it won’t be for very long. My breasts are already starting to feel heavy.”

“He drinks so much. I can’t believe how often he feeds with how tiny he is.”

“And how much he drinks,” Winry yawned.

“I guess our kid really likes milk.”

“Strange, considering his father’s take on it.”

“Hey,” Ed snapped instantly, “that has nothing to do with this. Just because I don’t like milk from cows doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like your milk.”

Winry froze and looked up at him.

“Did you just say…”

“Well, it’s not like I’m going to actually try any,” Edward sputtered. “I just meant, you know, it might be different–”

“I mean, if you really want to try some, I can squeeze some into a glass for you–”

“That’s really not necessary.”

“Or…you could drink it straight from the source.”

Winry pulled the sheet down to give him an eyeful of her thinly veiled chest, at which he groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Would you cut it out? I’m not drinking your milk. And quit trying to seduce me! It hasn’t been six weeks yet. You know we can’t–”

“I can’t have sex,” she finished for him. “I know. I know. And if you’re that turned off by it, I’ll stop bringing up the breastmilk, but I just thought you might…”

“I mean…I might. Maybe.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Maybe,” he repeats firmly. “But not for four more weeks.”

Winry opened her mouth to respond when a sharp cry cut through the room.

“I guess that means it’s been twenty minutes,” Ed muttered.

“Can you get him for me?” Winry asked as she fumbled with the front of her shirt. “If he cries any longer I’m going to start leaking.”

“Yeah. I got him.”

Quickly, Edward retrieved the screaming infant and passed him off to Winry. Almost instantly, the baby found the little pink bud with his mouth and began suckling. Winry leaned back into the pillow and exhaled, her eyes drifting closed.

“Are you going to fall asleep now?” Ed asked softly, sitting down beside her and stroking her hair off her forehead.

“I might. Something about feeding makes me drowsy.”

“It’s probably the hormones or other brain chemicals moving around. I could look into it. Actually, I bet there’s something in your parents’ old medical journals–”

“Edward, shh,” his wife mumbled drowsily. “Just keep an eye on us, okay?”

“Always, Winry.”

As his wife fed their son, Edward stretched out beside them, resting his elbow in the pillow beside Winry’s head with his head in his hand. His other arm he rested over his waist and under his son. Leaning down to kiss her temple, Edward closed his eyes and let the feeling of pure joy fill him. This was his family he had in his arm. He loved them so much he could shout it from the rooftop.

But for now, he was too busy watching over them.

[livuvur]

🍼💌💛

[skialdi]

My response drawing to @tomochingus adorable dadstang drawing. Here are the ladies + Black Hayate 💗

[emeraldheiiress]

Tag Dump: Relationships

[caesurables]

I just love their friendship~

[blue-usagi-kun]

Just a tag post to implement them!

[xoxopandapanda]

Edwin Week 2022: Day 1: Reunion

@503week

Characters: Edward Elric, Winry Rockbell, Baby boy, Granny

(Hi, I’m participating lololololololol)

Day 2   Day 3    Day 4   Day 5    Day 6

Fanfiction

AO3

It was a rainy day and the sloshing of feet in puddles was the only sound that Edward heard as he stepped out of the train station. It was drizzling, but it appeared to have been doing so for a while, so the mud on the pavement was a good indicator of what kind of walk he had coming for him. Letting out a sigh, he reached down and tucked his pants into his sock, in hopes of avoiding too much debris from getting into his automail leg.

Lord knows his wife wouldn’t be impressed with him mucking it up on the way home.

Lifting his jacked over his head, he began the trek out of town and into the country side. It had only been two weeks since he had left for Central, but to him it felt like a lifetime. Sure, he had off and on gone away to research since their wedding, but this was the first time he had left since Thomas was born.

Winry had assured him that with Thomas being so young, he wouldn’t even remember that Ed had left when he grew up, but a deep part of him still worried.

Would his son remember the sight of his back walking down the road?

His mind was thrashing with insecurities and concerns about his ability to be a good father. Before he knew it, he was standing at the steps of the old wooden house, faded yellow from the sun, and shutters open, letting the curtains dance in the breeze of the rainy day. He stepped up and set his suitcase down gingerly.

It was quiet and he didn’t want to disturb what could be a midday nap for his family. He shook off as much water from his coat before taking it off and draping it on the porch railing. Sitting on the porch swing, he took off his shoes and was pleased to see that there wasn’t any mud in his leg. It was wet to the touch, but not dirty.

So the sock trick had worked. Winry had told him to do it for a long time, but he had to become an old man to take it seriously (or maybe it was to remember it).

Lifting his shoes to carry them into the house and tuck them in the mud closet to dry, Edward slowly opened up the front door and stepped quickly inside, turning to shut the door behind him.

He had just softly latched the handle into place when he heard a soft, “Ah!”.

Whirling around on his heels, he shot his gaze down to see the source of the noise sitting on the floor and holding his arms up.

“Thomas! What are you doing here?” Edward crouched down and scooped up the baby. He winced feeling the weight gain of his boy. “Doing some growing up while I was gone?”

Thomas lurched forward and grabbed his bangs with his chubby hand. He giggled with glee as Ed bounced him up and down.

Ed’s heart ached seeing his boy again after two weeks. It was such a short time and yet so much development happened while he was gone. He racked his brain to remember if Thomas was sitting up on his own before he left.

He was thinking so, but he could be wrong. It was two weeks ago.

“Where’s Mama?” Ed asked Thomas as if he could answer. “Did she leave you out here all on your own?”

Winry’s voice fluttered in from the kitchen. “Yes, I thought he was a big boy now and could wait by himself.”

“Oh, is he now?” Ed watched as Winry came into view, holding a cup of water in her hand.

She nodded, her smile mimicking his. Walking towards him, she pulled her hair over her right shoulder before giving him a quick peck on the lips. Ed chuckled into the kiss as he saw Thomas in his peripheral lurch to grab his mother’s hair. Winry was always one step ahead of her boys.

Stepping back from them, Winry made her way to the couch and sat down, patting the spot next to her. “He has learned how to stand on his own. We were watching the rain in the kitchen when he saw you coming down the road and absolutely needed to be waiting for you by the door.”

Ed dropped down beside her, holding Thomas up to stand on his legs, balanced by his father’s hands under his arm. Wiggling and kicking his legs, Thomas gleefully squealed and continued to work and develop his leg muscles.

“Is that so?” Ed’s face softened as he watched his baby. “I’m sorry to hear I missed such a big milestone.”

Winry’s head dropped onto his shoulder, and he felt her shift to sit with her legs on the couch, leaning more fully on him. “It’s not like it was his first step, Ed. Don’t beat yourself for not seeing it. I didn’t. Granny did.”

That made Ed snort. Of course, Granny was seeing more of the baby’s firsts than his parents. She was taking on the role of retired grandma with much enthusiasm. Winry taking over the shop after she finished her apprenticeship was at first a tough transition for the elderly lady, but with the addition of a new baby to keep her busy, it was going rather well.

“Did she get a picture of it at least?”

“Not one in focus.” Winry sipped her water. “Or I’m going to need glasses soon. Either is a valid option.”

Ed leaned forward to blow kissed on to Thomas’ face while listening to Winry continue to tell him all about the last two weeks. He would regale her with tales of Central tonight, once Thomas was settled, and she would feign interest as she probably tinkered with something.

But right now, all he wanted was to learn everything he had missed in his family’s life, having been called to Central unexpectedly. He wanted to know the stories of the photos Granny would later drop off in his study, since she would not stay around long enough to tell him. Just give him lip about how ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, before huffing off to be with Thomas again.

Edward had experienced hundreds of reunions in his life time – with fellow soldiers, commanders, his teacher, even with his arm.

But coming home to his wife and child was his favorite one of all.