"I can't believe that bastard is getting married," Ed muttered, squinting at the sun. His golden eyes caught the light and shone brightly, betraying his irritated facade. "I mean, he's a jerk to everyone, he's always talking about those damn mini skirts, and he doesn't do jack! Führer? Please! This guy is a joke!"

Winry rolled up the automail magazine she was reading and hit Ed on the head lightly. "Be nice Ed. It is their wedding day, so you shouldn't be bad-mouthing the groom."

"And that's technically political slander," Al added, leaning over from the seats in front of them. They were waiting outside the entrance of the church, final touches being added and the program getting its last reforms. There would have been hundreds of guests crammed in there now and thousands more citizens cheering outside the doors, but that's when Roy and Riza put their foot down. If they were going to celebrate their wedding, they wanted it with their close friends and not the world whooting for their happiness

Who knows, a sniper might sneak in or all those false well-wishers would ruin the atmosphere.

Ed harumphed and crossed his arms. "This better be good. Y'know, I don't really get what the Lieutenant sees in him," he muttered. Winry was about to roll up her magazine again and Al was ready to give his mild retort when a whirlwind tore through the hallway. 

"Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, and dear Winry Elric!" a monster of a man hollered. He twirled into view and flexed his arm beneath his slate gray tuxedo. They could see the muscles straining beneath the fabric. Almost unconsciously they saw pink sparkles and a shimmering background envelop his massive frame.

"Good afternoon Major Armstrong," Al said politely, trying to squint past the sparkles. "You seem excited for the wedding.

"Al what are you doing?!" Ed whispered to his brother angrily. "Don't be so nice to him! He'll use that as an excuse to--" Whatever he was going to say was lost in the fold of the Major's arms. Major Armstrong had his head tilted away, his curl of hair flipping the same direction and his eyes already streaming tears of joy. All three of them were trapped in his chokehold as he crooned to them about the miracle of weddings and the happiness it would bring to all.

"This is a great day indeed! It's finally time for those two knuckleheads to tie the knot!" he sobbed into their heads. Ed was shooting daggers at Al who was trying to ignore the stranglehold they were in while Winry was trying to calm the Major down.

"There, there Major, It's such a great occassion you shouldn't be too over-emotional for them," Winry reasoned, patting his forearm.

"You're right," he gasped, striking a pose and thankfully releasing them. "I will find Mustang and wish him my dearest condolences." He skipped away merrily, leaving the three of them ragged in a small crowd of people.

Ed just gaped at his retreating form. He looked at Winry and she raised an eyebrow at him as if asking What? "This is why I married you," he said thoughtfully.

Winry blushed to the roots of her golden hair and tried to wave off his compliment, accidentally slapping Al. "Shut up Ed, of all times to be romantic?" but she couldn't hide the pleasure his comment brought her.

He smiled at her and held her hand, their wedding bands catching the late afternoon sunlight. "You can't put a time on love," he murmured holding up their hands to his lips as if inspecting them for life's answers.

Al looked away hurriedly and pretended to be grossly interested in the leaf of a rhododendron. It wasn't unusual for Ed and Winry to get all lovey-dovey, but he still found it awkward to be in the vicinity of their affectionate atmoshphere. He sighed inwardly. May Chang couldn't make it to the Führer's wedding but-- no what was he doing? He and May Chang had broken up a few weeks ago but he was still imagining them together. It was hard not to. They had been together for so long that if marriage didn't come soon he assumed it would just be a mutual relationship.

He took another glance at Ed's head bent protectively over Winry's and decided to amble off. They could manage without him for a couple hours, couldn't they? He decided to explore the corridors leading off from the antechamber.

Ed glanced up at Al's retreating form as it passed through one of the arched doorways on the left. Winry extricated herself from his embrace and tugged on his lapels, straightening its edges. She glanced over at Al too and said "I miss May Chang. They were so cute together."

"Cuter than us?"

"Ed. I'm serious here. He hasn't been the same since they broke it off," Winry chastised. smacking his chest.

"Why did they break it off?" Ed smoothed back some loose strands of Winry's hair. He tucked it behind her ear and his hand lingered there.

A pink blush crept up her cheeks again. "May Chang's family didn't like him as much as we thought. They want her to marry within the Lin family to ensure they have a security in later life. I think she should be able to marry whoever she pleases, it's that time in history anyways!"

Ed nodded. "She told you all this I'm assuming."

"Oh no this is just what I've read in the Eastern Quarterly!" At Ed's raised eyebrow she elaborated "It's the new political newpaper that the Ishbalans, the Amestrians and the Xing share."

"So you're telling me gossip that may or may not be true concerning my brother's love life," Ed said. "Makes sense. Did May Chang ever say what she wanted?" He hooked his arm around Winry's shoulders. "And why do we always call her May Chang? Can't we just call her May, like normal people?"

They moved through the crowd, making their way to their grand doorway. The oak double doors were held open by pots of flowers and lazy birdsong floated out of the forest across from the church.  "You've seen him Ed, he tries to pretend that he's fine, but he's not. We need to do something." She pumped her fist in the air and had such a determined look on her face that Ed laughed. She gave him a withering look.

He held up his hands to show he was unarmed. She noticed how the arm that had the automail couldn't go up as high and refused to open all the way. She always noticed this but deigned not to mention it in case it offended him. But Ed knew. When he got his arm back from The Truth he felt that something was missing. Once you had been in the presence of God and cowered at His feet, you realize you've lost something that made you human. It wasn't anything major, but he felt the hole and couldn't replace it with anything.

But Winry made that better. She  had been there since they were kids, through their hardships, and had been a steadfast beacon throughout all their struggles. Ed felt that without her, life would have been unbearable, almost impossible to overcome. But she was the tsundere who never left his side.

Winry thought Ed was the bravest, stupidest, most obnoxious husband a girl could ask for. He was impatient, rude at the best of times, violent, and most of all loud. But she loved that. She loved how he would rise early in the morning to watch the sunrise, how he was always there to lend a hand in the house, and how he always seemed to make her laugh. Despite his rough edges, he was a softie on the inside, and all the time they had spent together taught her all his weaknesses.

They had  walked to the end of the road way and were making their way back along its length. "Then what do you propose we do about Al then?" she asked.

Ed frowned a little. He didn't want to meddle in his younger brother's love life, but he did feel a responsibility to help him out. A flash of movement caught his eye and his head turned. A smile crept up. "Don't worry about Al right now. It's okay, I have a plan..."