Disclaimer: I own EVERYTHING! Except what I wrote....

A/N: This story takes place in the mangaverse. Ed and Winry are four, Alphonse is three. Enjoy.

"Edward, can you come out here please?"

Edward Elric looked up from the thin, paperback book he'd been reading at the sound of his mother's voice, his big, gold eyes cast in the direction of the open front door from whence his mother's voice had issued.

"Edward!"

"Coming!" he shouted back. The young boy marked his spot in the book and jumped down off the sofa to answer his mother's call.

"Hi, Mommy," Edward said hugging Trisha Elric's leg tightly once he had found her on the front porch.

"Hello, my little man," Trisha said giving her eldest son an affectionate pat on his blonde head. "There's some people here I want you to meet."

Edward hadn't noticed until now that his mother was not alone: A married couple by appearance was looking down at Edward with smiles on their faces. Standing slightly behind the woman was a little girl with big blue eyes and blonde hair, holding tightly to the woman's hand. She turned slightly red when Edward looked at her and moved to hide more of herself behind whom Edward thought must be her mother. He too felt himself growing shy and clutched his mother's skirt, seeking comfort.

"Wow, Ed, you've certainly gotten big," the man said leaning down slightly to get a better look at him.

Edward beamed; he loved it when people told him he'd grown.

"He's still a bit small for his age though, isn't he?" The woman asked Trisha.

"Hey, I'm not small!" Edward said furiously.

The woman looked down at him and chuckled.

"No, of course you're not," she said smiling at the angry, young boy.

Edward pouted.

"Edward this is Auntie Sara and Uncle Riley," said Trisha.

"Hi."

"And that little cutie is Winry," said Trisha, gesturing to the little girl hiding behind Sara.

"Say 'hi' Winry," Sara said pushing the little girl out from behind her.

Winry looked at Edward for a moment, her vibrant, blue eyes wide before looking down at her feet and smiling shyly.

"Hi," she said to the ground.

Edward took a step to the side to hide behind Trisha.

"Oh, don't be shy Ed," said Trisha. "You've met Winry before."

Edward looked up at his mother in confusion.

"The Rockbells used to live with Granny Pinako but they had to move to Central just after Al was born. You and Winry used to play together."

"I played with a girl?"

The adults all laughed at this question. Edward couldn't see what was so funny and neither, by the look of it, could Winry: she looked up at him sharply, a scowl on her face, all shyness forgotten.

"What's wrong with playing with girls?" she asked, defiantly.

"Girls are weird," Edward said, his small nose wrinkling in apparent disdain. "All they do is giggle."

"Not all girls. Your mom's a girl."

Edward looked up at his mother before stamping his foot in frustration and glaring at Winry.

"Nuh-uh!"

The adults thought that was really funny.

"Alright you two, that's enough," Trisha said calmly. "Ed, we're going over to Granny Pinako's for dinner. Will you go tell your father to get ready while I get your brother up from his nap?"

"Yeah, where is he?"

"In his study."

"Okay," Edward ran back into the house and up the stairs to his father's study, knocking softly on the door as he was required to do before entering this room.

"Come in," came the exhausted voice of Von Hohenheim.

Edward opened the door and peered into the small, cluttered office. His father was sitting at his desk, his face buried in his hands. Several thick volumes were strewn across the desk as well as crumpled pieces of paper with illegible scribbles written on them in Hohenheim's hand. Hohenheim had been in here a lot recently, and he always appeared to be tired and sad. Edward had noticed this and, a few weeks ago, asked his father what was wrong but Hohenheim had simply smiled at him and responded, "Just some grown up things. You needn't worry." But Edward still wondered what had his father so frustrated.

"What'cha doing?" Edward asked entering the room cautiously, taking care not to step on the books that were left on the floor.

Hohenheim looked around, the gold eyes both Edward and his younger brother Alphonse had inherited clouded with tiredness behind oval glasses.

"Oh, hello, Edward," he said, scratching off-handily at the thick, golden whiskers that grew from his chin. "I'm just studying."

Edward moved over to his father and crawled into his lap.

"'Studying'?" he repeated, having never heard this word before.

"I'm trying to learn some more," said Hohenheim running a hand over his smooth blond hair, held back in a ponytail and closing the book he'd been taking notes from. Edward squinted at the title, attempting to comprehend what it said.

"Ad…ven…ad…. Daddy, what's this word?"

Hohenheim glanced down at the word Edward was pointing at.

"Advanced."

"What's that mean?"

"If you're advanced at something you're very good at it. For example, we could say you're an advanced reader for your age."

Edward grinned at his father with pride before looking back down at the book and attempting to decipher the rest of the title?

"Al… alchew--"

"Hard C," Hohenheim corrected gently.

"Alc…alchem…alchem-yah."

"What sound does Y make at the end of a word?"

"An 'E' sound?"

Hohenheim nodded.

"Al…chem…y. Alchemy. Advanced Alchemy."

Edward looked up at his father. "What's alchemy?"

"It's the science of understanding the structure of matter, breaking it down, and reconstructing as something else," Hohenheim responded promptly.

Edward stared at his father blankly.

"It… is basically taking one thing and changing it into another."

Edward's golden eyes widened in awe.

"Turning something into something else? That's like magic!"

"Not quite," Hohenheim said grinning. "Alchemy is a science. It's bound by the laws of nature. The basis of alchemy is Equivalent Exchange."

"Equi…equ…equivil—what's that?"

"All gain requires sacrifice. If you want to create something, you have to be willing to give something up. Alchemists are limited by the materials they start with. You can't create something from nothing. The effects of insufficient materials in a transmutation can be disastrous."

"But it's cool," said Edward, who hadn't been able to comprehend a word his father had just spoken to him. "Can you teach me, Daddy? Please?"

Hohenheim looked into his son's gold eyes, bright with excitement and hope, and smiled.

"Maybe when you're older."

Edward's face fell with disappointment.

"Aww."

That was one of Ed's least favorite things to hear, Hohenheim knew. Edward wanted to be a grown-up so badly it was funny. But as intelligent as his son was, alchemy would be too complex for him, at least for the time being.

"Was there something you wanted?" Hohenheim asked.

"Mommy says we're going to Granny's and you should start getting ready."

"Okay, go tell her I will."

"Alright."

Edward jumped off his father's lap but before running off he hugged his father's leg tightly.

"Bye, Daddy," and off he ran.

Hohenheim watched his son go with a horrible mix of emotions coiling in his chest. The thought of his son wanting to learn the science he'd dedicated so much of his own life to was wonderful and—if this really held Ed's interest—Hohenheim knew Edward could become a great alchemist some day. The possibility alone made his heart burst with pride. And yet….

Hohenheim loved alchemy. Alchemy had been the thing that had freed him from the life of a slave all those years ago. He owed his freedom and the mind he now had to it. But alchemy had also been the thing to make him what he was now: a monster. Because of the powers of alchemy an entire country had been whiped out, every last citizen killed in a single night. It was because of alchemy that he'd been forced to see so many of his friends die and that he may one day have to watch his wife and even his children meet the same fate.

No. He wouldn't allow that to happen. He would, under no circumstances, allow himself to outlive his family. He'd grow old with his wife and die before his sons had the chance to. No matter what it took, he'd find the answer. He just hoped he'd be able to find it here.

A/N: I should end it here before I try to change the ending. Again. Ugh.

GAH! Why did I use so much dialogue?! I feel like a noob looking at the document. Almost every paragraph is one line! GAH!

Anyway, I'm thinking Winry may have a little bit of a crush on Ed. Not sure if Ed feels the same way but… well let's face it. He will eventually. ;^)

Reviews and comments are always welcome. ^_^ thanks for taking the time to read.