Settling Down

Chapter 9: Relationship Advice

Settling down has been quite a blast for Ed. Not only was he married to the love of his life, but he was also given two wonderful children as well. As time went by, his life couldn't get any better now. A few years had passes already and his daughter Nina was going to school as well. While he was reading some papers, he heard a knock at his door.

"Come in" Edward replied and the door opened to find Jackson, now 11 years old.

"Hey dad, I was wondering if I can speak with you" Jack exclaimed.

"What would that be?" Ed questioned.

"I was wondering if you could give me some relationship advice" Jack requested.

"I see, looks like my boy is finally becoming a man" Ed joked.

"DAD" Jack cried.

"I'm joking, I'm joking" Ed reassured.

"Anyway, I want to know though, how were you able to get mum to like you?" Jack asked.

"Well Jack, I've known your mother ever since we were kids and to be honest, she was the only girl I knew that was around my age" Ed explained, "We had a lot of arguments as kids but deep down, we cared for each other immensely"

"Ok" Jack exclaimed.

"There was a point where your uncle Al and I were fighting each other over who would get to marry Winry but we were both turned down because she said she'll only marry someone taller than her" Ed added.

"You were shorter than her back then?" Jack asked.

"Sure was, I didn't hit my growth spurt until I was about 15" Ed answered, "However, I found out eventually that she only said that to stop us fighting, instead, she actually felt the same way about me" he also added, "And after years of adventuring and travelling, I came to realise that your mother was the most important person in my life"

"So that's when you came back to Resembool and married her?" Jack questioned.

"That is correct, I've finally settled down with her and here we are" Ed ended.

"So how exactly did you tell her?" Jack asked leading to his father to blush a bit.

"Well, I did give an embarrassing proposal before I left to travel and when I came back, we hadn't spoken about it until later and then we formed a relationship and I proposed to her properly" Ed explained.

"I'm assuming you two had sex judging by the blush on your face" Jack blurted out.

"WHAT THE, HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SEX IN THE FIRST PLACE???" Ed yelled.

"I read about it at the library" Jack answered, "And don't start saying anything about that because I know you did that too when you were younger"

"Ok, fair enough" Ed sighed.

"So basically, you told mum your feelings, she returned them and you two finally got together after being apart for a while" Jack exclaimed.

"That's the gist of it" Ed agreed.

"So in other words, I just have to be honest about my feelings, alright thanks dad" Jack thanked.

"No problem kiddo, I'm sure Sarah will be happy" Ed replied.

"Wait, I never mentioned Sarah" Jack exclaimed.

"I know you like Sarah, I could see it" Ed replied, "And I'm sure you will be able to do it, I don't think there is a person Sarah likes as much as you"

"Thanks dad" Jack thanked before leaving. After about a few seconds, Winry walked in.

"Looks like you are giving him some good advice" Winry exclaimed.

"How long have you been there?" Ed asked.

"Starting from when he asked about how we got together" Winry answered.

"I'm guessing you were embarrassed too when he mentioned sex" Ed said bluntly.

"Yeah, I was" she replied.

"Anyway, I think he's on his way to confess to Sarah" Ed stated, "What do you think?"

"I'm sure he'll make a great partner for Sarah, just like father like son" Winry explained.

"Thanks Win" Ed thanked, giving her a kiss.

At the Park

Jackson was sitting at a bench waiting for what was actually 5 minutes but seemed like hours for him. Before he could even think about leaving, the girl in question came up to him happily waving. This was it, the moment he's been waiting for.

"Hi Jackson" Sarah greeted.

"Hey Sarah" Jack replied.

"So, why'd you call me to come out here?" She asked.

"Well, there is a reason as to why I did" Jack exclaimed, "Sarah, we've been friends since we were kids"

"Yeah, that's true" Sarah agreed.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime" Jack requested.

"What do you mean, we go out a lot of the time" Sarah questioned.

"Not in that sense" Jack pointed out.

"Then what do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"Sarah, to tell you the truth, I have feelings for you" Jack confessed, "To be honest, I have been in love with you for a long time and I just wanted to spend more time with you"

There was a small pause afterwards and Jack felt like he ruined their friendship with each other. Deciding that he best be gone, he stood up and was about to leave. However, the thing that stopped him was a hand grasping his arm.

"Jack wait, don't go, to tell you the truth, I feel the same way" Sarah confessed.

"Really?" Jack questioned.

"Jack, ever since we were young, I've always felt this way towards you" Sarah explained, "But I was too afraid to tell you because I thought you would reject me"

"What makes you think I would reject you, you're the only girl I know that well" Jack asked.

"Mainly because you acted so mature, I thought you would've preferred older women" Sarah explained.

"Sarah, there isn't a person I wanted to be with other than you" Jack told her, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, I will" Sarah answered.

The two moved closer and locked lips, consummating their relationship. The two childhood friends became a couple, just like Ed and Winry. Over by the distance, Sarah's father was watching the whole thing. The silently congratulated them before heading off to see what the others will think.