A/N: Hi everyone! I am sorry that I have not posted in a while and that you are probably waiting on the next chapter of Metal Magician and not this one-shot, but I just thought of the back story for 'what if they had Thanksgiving Day in fma world' and why, so I thought I would wright this. I would have had this out sooner, but I have been super busy w/ Black Friday and etc.. Anyways, I haven't written in a while, so personally I think this one stinks, but if you like it then yay. Thanks for reading!
Warning: Spoilers (and for the first time ever in all my writings that is probably all the warnings I need!)
"Mamma! Mamma! Looky w'at I made!" The tinny voice seemed to echo throughout the entire relatively quiet house. The woman who had been summoned stopped cooking for tomorrow's Thanks-day feast and appeared in the kitchen doorway. She caught the running ball of energy in the hallway before he knocked anything else over. The brunette boy beamed at his nearly identical mother before plopping his large backpack down in the middle of the hallway. Immediately, large green eyes started to search in his crowded bag.
The boy started to get frustrated at not being able to find whatever he was looking for. The mother tried to help, but the boy just pushed her away with a whine. The boy ended up throwing out most of the contents of the bag, to the dismay of the mother, who knew she would be the one picking up the mess. At the bottom of the bag was a crumpled and folded piece of paper. The boy held the paper out triumphantly with a proud grin. The mother took the paper and looked at it with her light green eyes.
The picture was of a turkey made of the outline of a small hand. The turkey was very colorful as well as surrounded by various blobs she assumed were people and food. "This is a nice picture, Sky. Did you draw this all by yourself?" Asked the mother. The boy, Sky, gave a nod and a huge grin in response. He continued to blubber on about all the details of the picture and that he got off of school the next couple of days.
"Mamma..." Sky said after a moment of silence, "Mamma, what is Tanks-day?"
"Thanks-day," the mother corrected softly. "Didn't you learn about it in school?"
Sky blushed slightly and looked bashful, an obvious sign that he had not been paying attention in class. "I know we eat."
"Yes, we do have a feast, but we also give thanks for what we have and to all the people who have helped us." The mother spoke slowly so that the boy could understand.
"Why?"
"Because that is what we do on that day."
"Why?" The mother sighed and flicked a chunk of her blond bangs out of her eyes. Sky was in that 'why' phase where he believed that all the world's secrets could be accessed with that one simple word. When she did not answer right away he continued, "Tony said its only for broders. I don't 'ave a broder."
"You don't have to have a brother to celebrate Thanks-day. I think the story is that the first Thanks-day was started by two brothers..." the mother trailed off as she spotted her boy's slightly wide and wanting eyes. That look said he wanted to hear the story. "Fine, clean up this mess and give me a few minutes." She rushed back into the kitchen to get to a stopping point in her cooking. When she entered the living room the hallway was relatively clear and Sky was sitting on the couch expectantly. She settled down beside him and started her story.
"Once upon a time, a while ago, but not too long ago, there were these two brothers. The younger brother was very sick. He was so sick that he couldn't eat anything."
"How did he live if he didn't eat?" Sky's question threw off his mother, but she came up with an answer that was good enough tho satisfy Sky.
"Well, I think he ate something... He probably only ate soup like the kind you eat when you are sick." Sky scrunched up his nose at that. He hated that soup. Satisfied with Sky's reaction, the mother continued, "Anyways, the older brother would do anything for his brother, so he searched for a cure hard and far for several years. He even joined the military for his younger brother's sake."
Sky's face lit up. "Like Daddy?"
"No, not like Daddy. Daddy is a soldier, but the older brother was a State Alchemist," the mother explained with a proud but also sad face. Sky tilted his face to the side as and unsaid question crossed his mind. If he had ears most likely one would be up and the other one would be down like a cute puppy. "A State Alchemist was like a scientist for the military. I believe his nickname was Fullmetal Alchemist."
"F-Fu-Full-me-ta-l?"
"Yep," She said with a smile and a nod. "I think he was even the youngest State Alchemist ever. He went around and helped a lot of people and made a lot of friends. One day all the higher level officers planed to get rid of all the people in Amestris so that they could live forever." At this, Sky's mouth and eyes opened almost comically, then his mouth closed in a pout.
"Dem meanies!"
"Well, guess what? The older brother got all of his friends together and they stopped them!" Sky punched the air with a triumphant 'Yay!' "And on that day the older brother even found a cure for his younger brother's sickness." Now Sky even jumped up with his 'Yay!' "And since the younger brother could eat now, they invited all their friends and had a giant dinner. This feast has happened every year since then, and now it is called Thanks-day." Sky sat in a quiet awe... for a few seconds.
"Why do you make apple pie?"
"It's tradition. I think that was the younger brother's favorite food."
"An' why you get up early to shop next day?"
"Well, the brother's childhood friend was so happy she wanted to buy the brothers something, but she just ended up buying things for herself that the brothers had to pay for. That day is now called Silver Friday."
"Why Si'ver?"
"She was an Automail Engineer so she bought a lot of tools that were silver." Sky gave another of his sideways puppy looks. "An Automail Engineer would make fake arms and legs and other things for people who lost theirs. The fake body parts would even move!"
"Like a robot!" Sky got up and started to do his robot impersonation. They both laughed and had fun.
"Mamma, why do know so much?"
"My great-grandmother used to tell me this story every Thanks-day. She used to say that her great-great-great-grandmother was good friends with the two brothers and that she almost felt like a second mother to them." Just then a shrill ringing pierced the air. It was the timer for the pasties that were in the oven. The mother hurried away to save them from burning.
Sky watched her go, sad now that story time was over but now proud of his family's connections. He could not wait to rub it in Tony's face!
Sky trotted off to his parent's bedroom and quietly peaked in. His father had just come home late last night and he was so happy they got to spend Thanks-day together, but his dad was still sleeping yet. Sky promised to himself that when his dad woke up he would be the first one to give him a big hug. He might never let go again just so he could stay home with him.