Tousan.
1.Saline.
T: Weeee! Sorry, had to get that out of my system! An experimental fic for you focusing on an interesting what if…before I ramble any further let us get to the warnings and the disclaimers! Mixed cannon, alternate universe, Ed's potty mouth and slash at a later date. I own nothing you see apart from the idea!
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He remembers still how it'd felt to not have his father in his life, remembers how much he had hated the other and how very distant his beloved mother had grown without that man there.
He remembers also how, when the other had walked back into their lives, his mother had cried despite the smile on her lips.
Slowly 'that man's' presence had begun to change his life, the pity fading from the eyes of the villagers and the taunts falling useless from the other children's lips. There had been changes also to the negative, for 'that man' had not, as he had secretly hoped, praised his first tentative steps into Alchemy. Instead he had forbidden him from the pursuit of such knowledge, 'that man' had also locked up the study in order to assure that neither he, nor his brother, could disobey this order. 'That man's' return had also coincided with the deterioration of his mother's health.
He had stood at her side whenever he was allowed to and, occasionally, when had been told to be elsewhere. He had watched as the doctors had plied her with their medicines and listened as they had given their bleak forecasts for her future. Watching 'that man' respond to these words, watching his confidence shatter as the grief had consumed him, he had felt his hatred of the other bleed away.
The day that his mother had passed on, that the three of them had sat, hand it hand, and listened to her final words, had been the day when 'that man' had become again his father.
They had pulled together after that, grief filling up the divides that'd been between them and making them stronger than they might, otherwise, have been.
Under their father's watchful eye they had learned of the world, of the many natural wonders caged within it and they had understood that alchemy did not hold the answer to all of the world's problems. Once this vital lesson was clear in their thoughts their father had unlocked his study and begun to patiently tutor them in all aspects of the Alchemic craft.
His father had also begun to give him private lessons, the principles and the techniques they discussed far too intense for Alphonse's more meagre gift. His father had just reached the matter of human transmutation when an unknown illness had struck him.
At first it'd been little more than a cough, hard and relentless when it struck but so rare in its occurrence that it'd not been concerning. Then his father had become lethargic, spending longer and longer periods of time wrapped in the confines of his bed sheets. Finally his father's skin had begun to black and die, the stench of the rotting flesh barely concealed by the sickly sweet smell of perfume the other wore always.
He'd sat in the darkened room, that odd mix of smells potent in his nose, the familiar platitudes of the doctors ringing in his ears and he'd come to a decision.
He'd managed to pack his suitcase without arousing suspicion and it was only once he'd crossed the threshold of the house that his 'escape' was detected.
Looking older than he should for the taint of the grief in his eyes Alphonse had stared, uncomprehending, at the suitcase in his hands and, after a moment, he'd enquired,
"Where are you going 'niisan?"
"Central."
"Why?"
"To become a state Alchemist."
"To help tousan?"
"I can not sit idle while someone else I love dies."
"Will you let me come with you?"
"No, it is enough that I am being forced onto this path."
"I do not have to take the tests…"
"You want me out of the way." There had been tears in his brother's eyes and, guilt settled like iron in his stomach, he'd said, "I want you safe, ototo." As he'd pulled the other into his arms.
The warmth of the other had been so very reassuring and it'd felt less a lie when he'd told the other,
"I'll be back before you know it."
He'd looked back only once after he'd stepped into the crisp night air and the image of his brother, who had seemed so small against the open expanse of the sky, waving him goodbye would haunt his dreams for weeks afterwards.
He'd thought to study on the train in order to polish his already extensive Alchemic knowledge but the strain of having to say goodbye, along with the swaying of the train, had swiftly put pay to that idea.
He'd awoken as the train had slowed for the final station and, glancing out of the window, he'd been treated with the sight of the sprawling metropolis that was Central. He'd thought it was little in comparison to the beauty of the sun rising over the open fields of his homeland, the bitter thought setting a negative opinion of the city into his mind and adding to his desire to simply be done with his task.
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T: Da da, chapter one! Saline is the chemical that produces tears for those curious! Please review ( I want honest opinions!) and the next chapter will but up Thursday.