Chapter Text
July 31, 1925
They found Edward in the cemetery as the horizon turned from pink to gold, sitting cross legged in front of his mother’s grave with his infant son in his lap.
“Dr. Rockbell was wondering where you’d wandered off to,” Ling said, plopping down next to him. “She said breakfast is ready.”
“Oh.” Ed mumbled, the baby in his arms wriggling around to look at Greedling. “I’ll just be a few more minutes.”
“Mmkay.”
They sat in silence for a little bit, until William started whining and trying to squirm out of his father’s lap. Ed sighed, lifted him up and held him out to Greedling.
“Could you…?”
They brightened “Sure! Come here you little monkey.” William batted at their dark bangs as he was handed over, much to their delight.
“Aw yeah!” they grinned, “You love your Uncle Greedling don’t you? Yes you do!”
William giggled as Greedling lifted him up and down, tiny legs kicking back and forth.
Not for the first time since meeting Ed’s son, a shared sense of wonder and pride reverberated in Ling and Greed’s shared mindspace. The little bundle in their arms was so small and delicate, so…full of life.
“So what compelled you to walk out of the house at the crack of dawn to visit your Ma?” Greed asked, angling his head at the tombstone engraved with Trisha Elric in front of them.
Ed was silent for a long moment. “I just…” he took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask for advice.”
“Why?”
Ed stared at them. “Greedling. I have no idea how to do this.”
They raised an eyebrow as they settled William back into their lap, the infant promptly beginning to gum on their sleeve. “Do what?”
“Being a dad,” Ed said helplessly, gesturing to William. “The books all say one thing but then they say another and it’s all so confusing, it’s not like alchemy where I can just write out a nice array and know it’ll work. This is…he’s a person. A real, living, breathing human being. I can’t fuck up his life for him. I just can’t.”
They just stared at him for a moment. “Well, you can’t really do worse than our dads,” Ling said.
“Could you guys just take me seriously for once?” Ed groaned.
“Aw, come on Ed, we’re only half-joking,” Greed chuckled. “Admittedly, not actively trying to kill your child or sending them on a life-threatening quest is a pretty low bar.”
“Which you’ve cleared excellently,” Ling added. Ed shot him a look.
William reached his chubby arms out to his father and made a burbling sound.
“You wanna go back to Daddy?” Ling cooed. “Okay, here we go! Hup!”
He all but tossed William into his father’s lap, and the baby snuggled up against Ed, whose face suddenly softened as he kissed the top of Will’s head.
“See?” Greed grinned. “He’ll be fine with you as a dad. Besides, you know Winry will keep you from seriously fucking up.”
“It’s not just him though,” Ed murmured. “It’s about his kids, and their descendants too.” He sighed. “Do you think they’ll be alright, a hundred years from now?”
Greed raised an eyebrow. “Why would you even think about something that far off?”
“A lot of things could happen,” Ed insisted. “I mean, I grew up during a war, and Resembool is lucky to still be standing. What if my grandkids or great-grandkids go through something even worse? Or…or what if something I do or already did messes it up for them somewhere down the line? What if I’ve already doomed them because of the life I’ve lived? What if—“
Ling put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, and Ed quieted.
“I think I know what you mean,” he said. “As an emperor, I worry about the fate of my nation constantly. Will my decisions actually help the people I care for so much? Or will they cause harmful ripples years in the future that I can’t predict? Or perhaps some sort of freak disaster will happen and undo all my hard work. It’s maddening sometimes.”
“Yeah…” Ed sighed and bowed his head. “It’s scary, knowing I won’t be able to know everything that will happen to him. That I won’t always be there to watch over him.”
Greedling stared at Ed for a long moment.
“Well, we’ll be sticking around for a while,” they said. “So we’ll keep an eye out for him.” Ed looked up in surprise.
“You’d do that?”
“Ed, he’s your son and all,” Greed said, reaching out to let Will grasp his finger. “But what’s yours is mine, remember?”
“And what’s Greed’s is also mine,” Ling grinned.
“And we protect what’s ours,” they finished together.
Ed blinked, then turned away, a small smile blooming on his face.
“You two are ridiculous,” he muttered, voice sounding suspiciously choked up. Greedling laughed.
“They’ll be just fine, Ed.”