Magnifying Lens
AN: My three favourite father figures in FMA. (: They're all there for a reason.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. All characters are the property and creation of Ms. Hiromu Arakawa.
Round
I just didn't want her to leave me. Why can't anyone understand?
Two years ago, my wife was on the verge of walking out on me. She accused me of refusing to get a real job, and she said she was tired of my eccentricities and alchemy obsession. She wanted to live in a real house, a house that was furnished properly and where Nina would have many other people to love and care for her.
I did what I did to keep her with me. I didn't want her to go.
She went, anyway.
Then Nina… I had nowhere else to turn. I'd squandered our own money on my research as well as the funds the military provided. I didn't have any choice left.
Why couldn't anyone understand that at least she was alive?
If we had been turned out to the streets… my precious Nina… she wouldn't have survived. She couldn't have.
I did it to save her.
But they call me monster.
Square
My daughter means the world to me.
Elysia is the apple of my eye. More than being incredibly adorable and extremely winsome – do you want to see pictures? – she's also a physical manifestation of the love that exists between my darling Gracia and myself, and that makes me love her even more.
She is love personified. What is there not to adore?
No matter what, I would always be there for her. I promised myself that I would never let her want for anything, never let her be unhappy or tearful. I wanted to protect her smile for eternity.
I didn't count on being killed, though.
I was just so eager to help the Elric brothers, to provide them with some semblance of family, that I rushed headlong into the fight without knowing exactly what my opponents were capable of.
I let Elysia down.
I promised her. I promised her I'd be home early. And I broke my promise.
How does the old children's rhyme go? 'Promise breaker is a shoe maker'?
But I would be born ten times over, and die ten times over, just to see her smile again.
Oval
I am not a father.
I sired two children, yes. Technically, I am their biological father.
But nothing more.
A father does not abandon his family like I did. A father does not let his children commit so many mistakes. A father is never a monster.
I don't even know how to be a father.
My children have managed so well without me. Despite losing almost everything, they have persevered, and they are so close – so close to the truth.
Edward got back up on his feet when he had nothing to stand on. And Alphonse went through hell and back, just to bring Trisha home.
I wish I had been able to see her, one last time.
It is from her, I know, that they get their sincerity, their passion, their love. What have I given them? Merely stubborn independence and a hatred that burns deeply in my elder son's heart.
A son would never hate his father, would he?
Maybe one day, I will be able to stand up to my sons and let them judge me for what I have done. For now, all I can do is continue to exist, and hope that my efforts help in some way.
AN: I think I'll be re-writing this soon.
559 words in total.