Fullmetal Alchemist and the Flight of the Anti-Social Butterfly

Chapter 29: The More They Grow

       Weeks turned into months and the snow was finally starting to melt.  Spring had sprung and DeAnna couldn't wait to go outdoors to plant new flowers.  At least her tree withstood the Winter's cold weather!  DeAnna cheered, "Hooray!  Spring is here!"  Edward asked, "Do you know what else is coming up?"  DeAnna commented, "Our children's birthday!"  Edward had happy tears in his eyes as he said, "I can't believe our babies will soon be one year old.  Where did all of this time go?"  DeAnna giggled as she hugged her husband, "I know.  We're almost at the two year anniversary of being married to each other too!"  

         Edward blushed as he complimented his wife, "You have come such a long way on your training that I rarely consider you a student anymore, but rather somebody I love with all my heart and you are also somebody that I'm willing to help at all times.  No matter how many times I have to correct you by placing my right hand on my heart and saying 'Ouch! You hurt me, DeAnna.' when you are being mean or rude, it doesn't mean that I love you any less.  But rather that I still love you enough that I'm counting on you to learn from your mistakes."  DeAnna inquired, "Didn't you say once before that placing your right hand on your heart serves as a temporary bandage?  Or that my words and actions feel like a knife stabbing deep into your heart?  If so, I'm confused.  Why do I not see blood afterwards?"  Edward smiled as he explained, "My heart does bleed, but not in a physical way when your words or actions wounds me.  It still hurts me deep down when you act out of line and my right hand on my heart while acting like I'm in pain is supposed to help you learn.  You love me enough that you don't like seeing me feeling hurt, but I also understand that everybody is different so not everybody is going to take words or actions the same way.  I'm choosing to use this correction by pretending that I am the one you are hurting, even if it is somebody completely different being targeted.  By doing this, I am trying to train you in social cues because I know you are a very nice young lady and I want so badly to see that friendly personality of yours.  I realize that you will have bad days so my right hand and my heart are willing to work with you once those bad days occur.  But guess what?"  DeAnna replied, "What?"  Edward smiled, "You have been doing awesome lately and I'm so proud of you!  I may not be a religious boy, but I still have faith in you.  That being said, how about you and I go plant some flowers together then we can discuss birthday plans for our children?"    DeAnna agreed. 

        Alphonse walked in as he commented, "You two are just too cute together!  No need to worry about your children because they are fast asleep so go have fun, you two."  So DeAnna went in the backyard with Edward as they weeded out the flowers that died from the cold Winter weather.  Edward removed the dead flowers then he got out some seeds to plant and DeAnna used her water laser alchemy from her antennas to water all of the seeds in hopes that they would grow.  Afterwards, she did the same to water her tree.  Edward agreed to DeAnna's suggestion to get a chocolate birthday cake and vanilla ice cream because it was their children's first birthday coming up so they thought that a bit of chocolate mess was necessary for a one year mark.  They got indoors then they began calling the military, Winry, Pinako, May, and Nurse Clara for invitations so all of them marked their calendars for the special day.  When asked about what to get the children for their birthday, Edward agreed with DeAnna to request bigger clothing articles at specific sizes for each one and some educational toys so the children could learn at a young age.  The guests all agreed to the birthday gift ideas.  

       On the day of the birthday party, guests appeared one by one to visit the birthday kids and to bring birthday presents while eating some birthday cake with ice cream.  After singing "Happy Birthday" to DeAnna's and Edward's children, Alphonse got a picture taken of the children with a chocolate cake mess on their faces.  The children received new outfits, socks, underwear, shoes, books, new beds with warm blankets for the children, and a few fun toys with educational value.  After awhile, the guests all left.  DeAnna, Edward, and Alphonse cleaned up the mess while Zoe curled up for a nap next to the children's crib.  Alphonse asked, "Are you trying to protect the kids, Zoe?"  She barked as her tail swished around.  DeAnna praised, "Good girl, Zoe!  That's a good chimera!" 

        As Spring soon turned into Summer, Edward and DeAnna spent their two year anniversary on the beach just like the day they met.  They went swimming and played in the sand for fun before they ate a picnic lunch.  DeAnna asked, "Do you plan to teach alchemy to Victor?"  Edward responded, "Yes. When he is older, but not now."  Even though Victor would eventually be taught on becoming an alchemist, Edward wanted his son to grow a bit more until he was strong enough to understand alchemy's rewards and consequences.  Erika and Iris were also going to be taught by DeAnna on how to be good princesses because they seemed interested in their mother with the more they grew.   Victor was becoming a spitting image of his daddy since he was growing strong and his intelligence was very crafty so Edward was proud of his son's growth spurt.  DeAnna and Edward later watched the sunset as DeAnna asked, "Do you think Victor will become a powerful alchemist like you?"  Edward smiled as he kissed DeAnna's cheek and replied, "We'll see.  Tomorrow is another day and with a new day comes another adventure!"

The End.