I'm back~~~

Liz: Oh goodie.

Well, Lightning Strike fans, I missed this series so I'm back to write more. Its mostly just fluff but there will no doubt be the drama you know and love. Expect romance, friendship, angst and lots of other cute stuff as the characters live out their lives afterwards.

Ed: That sounds suspiciously non threatening.

Envy: I don't trust her.

Oh, what reason have I ever given you to doubt me? :)

Al: Uh...

Winry: Don't answer. She can sense fear.

But really, guys. This story is sweet.

WARNING: If you have not read the Lightning Strike trilogy, you will not get this but I welcome you to take a look. It is a bit lengthy of course but I always appreciate more views and reviews.

Liz: So without further ado. Let the afterstory begin!

Chapter 1: Moments of Freedom

There were time when I was bored that I started running as fast as I could until my lungs felt as if they were about to collapse in on themselves. Until my muscles groaned in protest and forced me to slow, or until I became so uncoordinated in my exhaustion that I tripped and rolled a few feet, occasionally coming up with a skinned elbow or a bruised knee. I loved the feeling of exhaustion overtaking me rather than pain.

One forgets how to live without scars when they have them for long enough. And my scar had plagued me for what seemed like an eternity, holding me back when I wanted to fly.

I tried to make up for it with as much flying as possible now.

I don't know whether or not it annoyed Envy. He sometimes made snide remarks but that meant nothing. Envy made snide remarks when he was happy, sad, angry or otherwise. Maybe it irritated him a little bit when I suddenly bolted mid conversation.

"Conversation was getting boring, is that right, Liz?" He'd call after me.

"Atrociously so!" I yelled back over my shoulder.

"You're an idiot!"

"Love you too!"

Perhaps on principal, all words and gestures of affection were accompanied by some sort of insult. I think it weirded us out to get to friendly with each other. Without a bit of hostility, where was that spark that first brought us together?

After the celebration in Central, Edward and I were given time off. One month only, as Mustang didn't want us getting lazy and thinking all the danger was over. But in our mind, it was. Nothing, not a rogue alchemist, not a government feud, not a war, could compare to our ordeal with Dante and the homunculi.

Working or not, we were still free.

I ran to exercise my freedom. I ran, I climbed and if I was feeling especially ambitious, I attacked Envy to see how long it would take to end up on my back on the ground.

But we all had our little expressions of freedom. Our signs that we were no longer burdened as we once were during our most difficult quest.

For Envy it was alchemy. His return to humanity meant he was able to practice the art he was long exposed to but could never try. If I left him alone for five minutes, I usually came back to find a chalk circle drawn on the wood.

He understood it well enough. He came from arguably two of the most powerful alchemists ever to live (Next to me of course). But understanding wasn't enough for him now. He wanted to do it.

I found him in the library at the Rockbell household, sitting among some of Ed and Al's books which they had saved from the fire. He was drawing a circle with chalk. I leaned over to see what he was working on. A transmutation meant to make a wooden horse.

"Your lines are a little crooked." I noted.

"No one's perfect."

"I am."

"Sure you are."

I smirked and leaned over him. "I guess you'll get better with practice. It takes awhile even if you have been reading the stuff for… how long?"

"400 years."

"Right, four hundred years." I whistled. "Long time. Must be frustrating not to get it right away."

"Come a little closer and I might take out my frustration on you."

"Aren't you the scariest palm tree that ever lived?" I grinned, circling around him and his slightly crooked circle.

"What, am I losing my fear factor?" he looked up at me.

"Yeah." I nodded. "I mean, you can't even do the arm into blade thing anymore. Its pretty lame. You're… normal."

"Doesn't sit well with you, does it?" He raised an eyebrow. "You preferred me as a murderous shape shifter."

"Definitely. It had a bad boy appeal, you know?"

"Would it help if I killed a man?"

"Ooh, sexy. Do I get to pick which one?"

"Go for it."

I shrugged. "I'll wait until I find someone else to hate. Since the Dante ordeal I'm fresh out of grudges. But when I find a new one, you'll be the first to know."

"Excellent." Envy went back to drawing. "Who else is around right now?"

"Well, Lucy and Al are in the kitchen, making dinner. And Winry is in the basement with Edward. She said something about a new model for his arm. So either mechanics or she's making out with him." I said.

"Sounds revolting." Envy tossed down the chalk. And pressed his hand against the circle. It glowed blue and the contents within began to form until they molded to form a wooden horse. It was a little lumpy but still a horse. "Close enough." He sighed. "I think I'll take a break from frustration." He stood. "So Winry and Ed are possibly having a romantic moment?"

"Yep."

"Want to ruin it?"

"You read my mind." He leaned forward and kissed him briefly before I spun away and hurried out the door.

For Edward the freedom came two fold I think. He still bore a metal arm and leg but he had given up the ambition of ever getting his flesh limbs back. His decision to live with his burden must have made it easier to do. Besides, with Al's body long back, he didn't have to live with the guilt any longer.

Besides, there were perks to having fake body parts in a dangerous profession.

I think the other freedom was in finally admitting his love for Winry. Unconfessed love can be quite the burden. And as we all know, he was in denial about his adoration for his mechanic for many years. How nice it must have been to finally stop blushing and avoiding the subject of his never ending affection.

At least that's how I saw it.

I rapped on the door to the basement with a cheerful "Edward? Winry? I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

I heard a faint curse and a scuffle from inside.

"Apparently you were." Envy smirked. "I love ruining moments."

"No, you're not interrupting!" Winry called out, sounding breathless. "Just having Edward test out his new arm!"

"Yeah, come in." Edward said.

I opened the door, walking in with the biggest smile on my face. Ed was now sitting on the work bench with Winry inspecting his leg but they looked a bit ruffled. "Sooo" I leaned on the workbench. "How's the new arm?"

"I'll hit you with it and you can tell me." Ed grumbled.

"No, you won't. The nerves need time to settle." Winry chided, brushing some of her hair back into place. She was blushing bright red. "How does it feel though."

"Pretty good. Light." Ed said.

"It's the best material these days. Light, sturdy and flexible." Winry tapped her fingers against the steel. "And not too bulky. It's the easiest to hide under clothing yet. Though why you would want to, escapes me. All automail should be out in the open." Winry sighed lovingly.

"It's a good thing you need auto-mail little brother or you'd never have a chance with her." Envy said mildly.

"Shut up." Ed rolled his eyes.

"It must be hard being with a girl who only wants you for your synthetics." I deadpanned.

"You two are impossible. Did you only come down to tease us?" Winry stuttered, fumbling to put away some of her tools, presumably to hide another blush.

"Yes." Envy said.

"No." I elbowed him in the side. "I think Lucy and Al are almost done with dinner. Just a heads up. You know how much Lucy hates to wait once the food is ready to be eaten."

"This is why she's perfect for Al. They both love food." Ed said, hopping off the work bench. "And I do too. Let's get some."

"Well you just were a second ago—Oh you mean get some food." I grinned.

"Liz, I am going to murder you." Ed said.

I cackled and ran up the stairs before he could test out his new arm on me and he ran up after me. I heard Winry and Envy sigh audibly behind us.

I guess there had to be the responsible one in every relationship. Though the fact that Envy was the responsible one in ours was… frightening.

For Al, the freedom came with sensation. Though he'd had his body for awhile now, there were still so many things he wanted to try that he had missed when he was trapped in a suit of armor. He longed to touch everything he saw, smell every scent, and taste every food he could.

Which of course offered plenty of challenge for Lucy. She tried to make something different for him every day, partially to give him the chance to experience everything and partially because she loved challenging herself to do stuff like that.

In their relationship, Al was undoubtedly the responsible one, but it had always been that way, no matter who Al was with. Though Ed and I were older, Al was the rock that kept us from flying away. The sensible voice that said, "No Edward, don't cause property damage purely because a man called you short." Or "Liz, maybe you should be careful before starting a relationship with the psychopathic homunculus who has tried to kill you on multiple occasions."

And then we ignored him and the happy circle of our lives continued on. Just as it should be.

"What's for dinner?" Ed asked. "I'm starving."

"You are just in time for a delicious chicken pot pie." Lucy twirled around sliding two heaping plates of food across the table. Al caught both and set them at their places.

"It smells great." Al smiled, taking a deep whiff. "Oh, I can't wait to try this. Mom made it once but I haven't eaten it since then."

"This is special, Lucy-brand, chicken pot pie." Lucy finished serving and set all the plates at their places. "So its better."

"So it makes you crazy?" I asked flatly.

"Oh, ha, ha." Lucy rolled her eyes.

"No but really, how many drugs are in it."

"Liz, I'm surprised at you." Lucy put her hands on her hips. "Only a few."

"She's joking right?" Winry whispered.

"Probably." Al said.

"Maybe." I nodded.

"Order up!" Lucy sang.

We crowded around the table and dug into the delicious food. As Lucy promised, it was delicious and flavorful enough to hide the taste of any possible drugs. We ate and made jokes about our old battles. The funny moments of near death experiences and general chaos. That night's story of hilarious account was the time Lucy shot a machine gun at Desire like the hellion she was.

"I think it was the proudest moment of my life." Lucy said fondly.

"Made me love you a million times more." I grinned, shoving a forkful of food into my mouth.

I think meals like these were everyone's freedom. Sitting around a table and being… normal.

For Winry it was freedom because she had her childhood friends home and safe.

For Lucy it was freedom because she was living outside of the town she grew up in.

For Al it was freedom because he had a body to enjoy the bounty at the table with, and no longer bore the scars of their one mistake.

For Ed it was finally being at peace, and no longer searching for the unattainable.

For Envy it was the very prospect that he could have a normal family and a normal human life when he for so long had been only a puppet of his 'mother'.

For me it was just all these little moments. Seeing the freedom on their faces. And no longer have a scar on my chest or a voice in my head.

When we were done with the meal, the boys and I went outside to practice sparring while Winry and Lucy watched us from the window, cleaning up the kitchen. Winry warned Ed not to damage his automail if he didn't want to experience a pain worse than death. Lucy cheered everyone on, telling me to go to 'go for the jugular' when I fought Ed.

And at the end of the day I lay down on the grass, panting for breath, not because of a scar, but because of exhaustion.

After all we had been through, the sweet pain of exhaustion could feel like freedom.

Well, there you have it. Short but sweet. A bit of fluff for the afterstory.

Liz: Nothing bad happened. I'm shocked.

Envy: Its a trick.

Ed: Definitely.

Don't worry, I'll post angst next time. Just to make you all feel at home :)

All: Damn it.

Al: REVIEW!