When Clever Children Plot

A/N: This was intended for Valentines' Day but it is a few hours late. Ah, well, I tried

A/N: Set in The Letters to You verse.

Image courtesy of Pintrest

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or the characters. I'm simply doing this for my own entertainment.

He moved through the kitchen almost stealthily, a mass of silent brooding hovering much like an ominous storm cloud bringing about chaos and destruction. Making his coffee, he stood at the window, his stern blue eyes riveted to the awakening city around them, content to stew in his obstinacy. The air around them was stagnant with tension, so thick that Ed felt as if she would choke with her next breath. There was nothing she could do; they'd been like this for a couple of weeks now, sternly ignoring each other while existing within the same sphere.

The argument had been stupid, something that they'd weathered time and time again. This time…this time the words seemed sharper, the penetrating glares digging in deeper. It was almost as if they'd both thrown their hands up in surrender. For the first time, she wondered if he'd met his limit, if he'd had enough of her and her idiocy.

Wouldn't be the first time, she thought as she cast a forlorn gaze to him. If he'd felt her eyes on him he didn't acknowledge it; he remained still, the precise fit of his uniform adding to the severity of his self-imposed exile. Most of the time, he barely spoke to her, barely noticed she was in the room. If he did speak, if she caught a glimpse of his dark blue eyes, the interaction was infinitesimal and what little he did bestow, it was solely for the kids. When they were around, he was careful not to let on that there was a rift between them. He'd slip her a half-hearted smile or a simple nod all to keep up the pretense. The warm smiles and shimmering eyes that were once hers now belonged exclusively to the children. Only a cold and dismissive sigh and averted gazes remained. And realizing that her attempts to square with him had fallen on deaf ears hurt worse than any wound she'd received during her service to the Amestrian Army.

Yet, still the same, they existed in this vacuum that had become their marriage.

His sudden movement pulled her out of her thoughts and she gripped the table in an effort to remain seated. Usually, she'd allow her explosive emotions to run rampant, either to stare him down or argue him into submission but it would only serve to sever what little remained. As much as she valued her pride, she valued his love even more. He'd been the only one who'd stood by her side through it all, helping her navigate some of the most tumultuous times in her life.

Clearing her throat, she watched as he finished cleaning his mug, her eyes following his hands. The memory of his touch burned through her leaving a sorrowful echo that reverberated through her soul. She had to fix this, had to tear down the wall he'd so stringently erected.

It would be a bit easier though, if he'd acknowledged her presence.

"Luce has a presentation at school next week." The words spoken should've shattered the oppressive silence but it only intensified. Ed's heart crashed against her chest as she watched him turn his head slightly, giving her only a nod. Ed exhaled heavily and made to stand up, "Roy…"

"I'll check my schedule," Roy responded coldly. He walked toward the door, barely lifting his hand in goodbye. Ed started for him but stayed by him suddenly stopping. "I'll be late coming in. Don't wait up."

"Look, Roy, we've got to…"

"Stop it, Danis! I'm going to tell Papa if you keep it up!"

"You won't have a chance because I'll tell Mama that you're a liar!"

The sounds of the two precocious children tumbling down the stairs had unceremoniously stalled her efforts. The taciturn expression easily segued into one of warmth and love as stepped forth to greet his daughter and son respectively, tousling Danis' hair before adoringly cupping Luce's cheek. Even though in the next room, Ed could hear his gentle rebuke, devoid of any heat. The dulcet sounds of their laughter echoed in her ear, a hollow reminder that she'd been left out. A small tear formed but refused to drop fully, its presence a manifested form of a dashed hope. Was there any coming back from this?

It wasn't until she heard the door close that she finally looked up to see her beautiful daughter standing before her, her long raven locks coiling just at her shoulders as her piercing hazel eyes cutting deeply. Of the two of them, her disposition mirrored that of Roy's; always analytical, always thinking, and discernment for bullshit that even rivaled her own. It was under this pertinent scrutiny that Ed's heart seized. Luce was astute as much as she was calculating and Ed couldn't figure out if that was a bad thing or not.

"Alright you two, want to explain what is going on?" Ed smiled weakly as she glanced at the door, a small tuft of air escaping as she refocused on her children, "You guys aren't fighting again, are you?"

"No, Luce is just being a butthole!"

"Very mature, Danis," Luce admonished, glaring at her little brother. She rolled her eyes and readjusted her bag, "He's still not talking to you then?"

"It's nothing you should worry about, Luce. That's something that we have to deal with."

"Mama, what is divorce?" Danis' innocent query drew both sets of eyes his way and he smiled widely, "It sounds kind of scary."

"It's very scary," Ed responded lightly. Was Roy thinking of divorce? Had he spoken to the kids? The very thought of losing him caused her blood to run cold.

"Don't mind him, Mama," Luce said as she turned her little brother around quickly. She pushed him forward, turning to give her mother a sweet smile, "Lukas' parents are having a rough go of it and he decided it would be cool to tell Danis about it." Luce glanced away briefly, her voice softening, "Nothing to worry about."

Oddly reassured, Ed nodded and returned her smile. She walked them to the door, not looking forward to the wall of silence she'd drown in once they were gone. Thankfully, she would be out the door soon, intending on gathering information from an informant.

"Oh, I'll be in late this afternoon, Luce. You guys come right in, get on that homework and then prepare for tomorrow, okay?"

Luce nodded and lifted her hand, "I've got this, Mama. Have a good day."

"You too!"

Ed closed the door and leaned against it, allowing the dreaded silence to fill her mind. She had to think of something and something quick.

"We have to think of something, something real quick," Luce said as she walked. She glanced sideways at her brother to see him giggling and groaned. If she could do this without him, she would but this was something she couldn't afford to mess up. "HEY, pay attention, doofus! Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah, I heard you. We have to think of something to help Papa and Mama." He turned to her and shook his head, "Papa's coming in too late. I wait for him to come in and read to me but he doesn't. I don't like it."

Luce frowned. It hadn't taken much to deduce that her parents were fighting. What used to be a calm and loving atmosphere had quickly dwindled into something cold and ugly. They barely said two words and didn't regard the other with the same intense adoration she'd grown to know and love. There was something amiss and it was bordering on catastrophic. She didn't know what had happened or who said what- what she did know, however, was that it was up to her and Danis to fix it.

As they walked, she turned over a few ideas ranging from buying gifts to faking a sickness to bring them together. Logically, they would work but it wasn't enough.

A bright smile spread across her lips as she took Danis' hand in hers and tugged him away from the path to school and toward the center of town. If she knew her mother- and she rather thought she did- she'd spend as much time away from home as she could. In light of what was going on, she could hardly blame her. But what she had in mind would offer them a reset and an opportunity to fix what was broken.

"Luce, where are we going?"

"We're going to save Mama and Papa."

"Like heroes? We're going to be heroes?!"

Luce laughed and walked faster, "Yeah, Danis, we're going to be heroes."

Ed hurried, her heart in her throat as she bounded over the fence, nearly planting her face in the ground before miraculously righting herself. Fear had taken over, negating any sense of clarity. Her children were missing had been for the entire day. Ed wouldn't have known about it if she hadn't stopped to pick them up, a certain uneasiness creeping through her bones. It was on instinct that she'd decided to pick up her kids and take them to the ice cream shop in the hopes that she could stave off the routine silence she would soon face. The moment she saw the headmaster his unsteady gait and worried expression, she knew something was up. Why the school had waited to report them missing was anyone's guess. When she found her children, she'd pose that question in the most intimidating way possible.

Right now, her mind was on finding them.

She'd spent the afternoon looking in every possible place for them, first hitting their favorite playground. When they were nowhere to be found, she then tried their friends, her hope wavering when every door closed with no answers. The sun had made its journey toward the western horizon quicker than Ed had wanted it to, leaving her no choice but to head home.

She groaned.

Roy would've gotten the call by now and was probably waiting with fire in his eyes, barely reigning in his absolute fury. A brief flash of memories prompted a rare smile; it was when he was at his most ferocious that the passion between them had peaked, inciting a multitude of debauched and depraved actions…

Although she was sure those acts would be furthest from his mind at the moment.

Ed took to the steps quickly, her hand already thrust outward to grasp the door knob. Just as she reached for it, she felt his presence and she stopped and turned to see him standing a few feet behind her. Ed swallowed as she looked to him, taking in his solemn expression, searching for the words to explain.

"Roy…"

He lifted his hand to stop her right in her tracks."When did you find out?" His voice was filled with a sort of softness that was equally assuring and intimidating. Ed understood the plight of the sorry soul who had to face The Flame Alchemist in an interrogation.

"I went to pick them up," Ed explained as she took a step forward. It wasn't lost on her that he'd taken a step back as if to avoid touching her. The pang in her chest was nothing compared to the icy fear that clung to every inch of her body and even though she could've used his support, she didn't waste time on tarrying about his indifference. She swallowed the hurt and continued, "Something told me to go pick them up. When I got there, the headmaster had told me that both Luce and Danis hadn't been in school at all today." She took another step forward, unable to hide the way her voice trembled, "What if something's happened to them, Roy? What if Danis is hurt…or…or…"

Then the unexplainable happened. Roy reached for her, brought her within his arms and pulled her close. Ed dissolved in that moment, the fear and uncertainty completely overwhelming her. Her tears fell in streams as she clutched him tighter, inhaling his scent, reveling in the strength of his gentle embrace.

"Let's calm down and think logically, alright?" His words were devoid of any hints of annoyance or indifference, instead they were as they had been: reassuring, confident, supportive. He pulled away from her and lifted his hand to cup her cheek, his thumb wiping away the tears, "I'll make a couple of phone calls and get Havoc and Breda to start a search party." He pulled her back into his arms and whispered in her ear, "We're going to find them, alright?"

"Okay," she answered back quietly. It was funny how quickly she deferred to him, even when they were at odds with each other. She gathered the strength to step out of his embrace and headed for the door, "And when I do find those little rug rats, they're going to wish that they'd went to live with Uncle Alphonse."

Roy laughed softly as he followed, "Poor kids, they just don't know what they've done."

Ed unlocked the door and pushed it open, taking a step in, "I know, right? I bet it was Luce and her little calculating self. She reminds me of you so much that…"

The words died on her lips as she lifted her eyes. The entire bottom level of the house was illuminated in candlelight, the shadows of the tiny flames dancing against the walls. There were petals scattered in a neat pattern on the floor, leading into the grand dining room. From what little she could see, the home was spotless and an intoxicatingly delicious aroma filled the air. Roy came to stand beside her, equally dazed, his mouth agape as he stared at the scene before him.

Their gazes met as genuine smiles appeared. There were no words in the Amestrian language to convey what they were feeling. A problem presented itself and they'd found a resolution.

Damn insightful kids.

Roy stretched his hand out and Ed took it, interlacing her fingers within his. She turned to close the door and then walked with her husband toward the dining room. There were two places set, one right next to each other. Off to the side there was a service topped with a covered tray accompanied by a bucket filled with ice and a bottle of wine. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well, I suppose we know what they were doing all day, the little buggers." Roy chuckled as he led Ed to her seat and pulled out the chair. "I guess this is their way of letting us know they can't be fooled."

Ed's heart fluttered as she settled and watched Roy take his seat, taking up a piece of paper that rested on his plate. He read it and laughed uproariously. Wiping the tears out of his eyes, he turned the note around and read it aloud.

"It says, 'You have the night to yourselves. Fix this.'". Roy handed it Ed and then turned to pluck the wine out of the bucket and began working on loosening the cork. In what seemed like the first time in a long while, he'd seen his wife with clear eyes, unable to really remember why he was so angry at her. He'd freed the cork and reached for her glass, "A great way to break the ice, eh?"

Ed watched as he poured the wine and nodded, "I'll say. This, by far, takes the cake."

He offered her the glass and then took up his own, lifting it toward her, "To clever children and conniving best friends."

"To clever children, and dead best friends," Ed amended. Their glasses met gently and she took a sip, eyeing him decisively. Although poorly executed, their little caper had open up the pathway to forgiveness and healing. Roy stretched his hand out to receive her plate. She placed the glass down gently and smirked deviously, "They're toast."

"Oh most definitely," Roy concurred with a winsome smile, "they are toast."

End