Hey guys! This is my new story and its a little different than the anime storyline. In this story, Ed didn't go to the other side of the gate. Ed and Al restored their bodies on their side of the gate, somehow (don't ask me how, thats not important). Also, in this story, Ed's son is named Alphonse, so to avoid confusion, I usually don't call the child be his name. You'll see that mostly, he is called 'that child' or 'Alphonse Junior'. Anyways, enjoy! Review and tell me how you like it. The next chapter will be out soon! And I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes.
Alphonse placed his hand on the gravestone to steady himself as he fell to his knees. How could this have happened? His brother was the strongest, most brave person he had ever known; how could he be dead? Edward could face hell, he could take down any one of his enemies, and he could laugh in the face of death because he knew he could never be taken down by anything, except old age. How wrong he was. Was he laughing as he was burned to death in the house fire because he had somehow believed he would survive?
Al sobbed, as he recalled vague memories of the experiences two of them shared. The first time their mother had praised them for doing alchemy. The confidence they both had when Ed convinced Al and also himself that they could somehow bring her back to life. The night when they had attempted the human transmutation. All they had gone through to get their bodies back. The moment when they finally got their bodies restored.
"Brother", Al whispered, caressing the gravestone. "Why did you leave? You were very aware of everything you would leave behind when you died. You hate making people worry about you and cry over you, so WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LEAVE US ALL?" He was yelling at this point, and then he, once again, began to cry uncontrollably.
He suddenly stood up, regained his composure, and wiped his tears, as he realized he had a new responsibility. The fire that had destroyed Ed's house had not only killed him, but it also had killed his lovely wife, Winry. Their only child had escaped the fire with many burns, but the child had not escaped the inevitable trauma that came along with watching his father, mother and everything good and familiar to him, burn to a crisp. That child was his responsibility now. Ed had specifically written in his will that if he died while his child was still underage, Al would take full custody of the child.
Ed and Winry had named their child after Alphonse, for obvious enough reasons. This child was only 9 years old, and he was already an orphan. He only hoped the child wasn't getting any ideas about human transmutation. Alphonse Junior inherited Ed's colourful personality, along with his devotion to alchemy, his intelligence, and his dislike for milk. He looked exactly like Al when he was 9 (which means he didn't inherit Ed's lack of height!), except he inherited his mother's deep blue eyes. At this very moment, Al Jr. was in the custody of the military police, and after all the papers and documents are signed, tomorrow morning, Al would become the official guardian of his deceased brother's child.
Currently, the child was at the hospital, and would remain there for some time, even after the papers were signed. Al had to be strong for the child's sake. He couldn't cry in front of the child, for the child was already going through enough pain. Al sighed, and left the cemetery, where Roy Mustang had a car there waiting for him.
Al got into the vehicle's back seat, and sat down beside Mustang. Roy had his head in his hands, but was completely silent, and ignored the fact that Al was in the car next to him. Al slammed the car door shut, and Roy looked up at him. He noticed Al's eyes were red and puffy so he said in a hoarse voice, "Even though it's been almost two weeks since the incident, I can still hear that child screaming in my head. I can still remember how he looked, and how his father looked, so burned up that you could barely recognize him. His wife wasn't burned as badly so you could still see her physical features, and she looked so gruesome with half of her skin remaining on her body. Alphonse... it reminded me so much of Ishbal..." Roy was the first to arrive at the scene, and was also the first to see the corpses and the traumatized child.
Al looked down, and willed himself not to break down again. He thought he had down his share of crying at the grave, moments ago, but the urge to sob again came to him rapidly. He quickly looked out the window, so that if a few tears happened to escape, Roy wouldn't witness them.
"The child is seeing a psychologist", Roy spoke again. "The look of utter horror and terror are still clearly written upon his face, and he was badly burned. His leg is broken, and we're still investigating, but we think it's because Edward got him out of the burning house by helping him jump out of the second story window, therefore saving his life. That means Edward gave up his life for his child, so that means that he died as a hero. From the looks of it, he and his son were both in the room when the fire started, and it spread so fast that there was only time for one of them to escape, and Ed made sure it was his child who got to safety first. Maybe there was time for him to try to save his wife, and that's what killed him-his own recklessness. We might never know, but either way, Fullmetal died as a hero and you should be proud."
Al turned to face Roy, not caring any longer whether Roy saw him cry or not. "That is no surprise to me. My brother has always been a hero, so it's not surprising that he died one", he snapped. "And, I was always proud of my brother. You're in no position to tell me who I should and shouldn't be proud of." Roy had noticed how much Al had changed since his brother's death. Of course he was still grieving, but he was no longer his sweet, kind, gentle self. Roy began to worry for Al's health when Al had began to refuse to eat, shower, or even get up in the morning. He had no desire to take care of himself any longer. Even though Ed's death had been hard on everyone, it was especially hard on Alphonse.
"You become the guardian of a child tomorrow, Al, and not just any child. Your brother's child. I hope you won't be in a snappy mood towards him, and I also hope you'll be able to take care of him, which, I believe, is highly unlikely since you don't even take care of yourself", Mustang told him.
"You know what your problem is, Roy? It's that you're too egotistical that you don't realize how everyone else feels. All you do is talk about the horrors you seen at the scene. What about me? That was my older brother who died there, dammit! Just because you don't care that Ed died doesn't mean that I don't care. You don't stop to think about anyone else's feelings. You don't know why I stopped taking care of myself. You wouldn't know anything about it. I did it because I don't see a reason to keep living. Ed's gone now, so what do I do with my life?" Al yelled at him. Roy looked away, but Al yelled louder, "Answer me Roy!"
The driver was starting to look annoyed, so Roy decided to shut Al up with this, "Ed's child should be enough to keep you living on. He needs you. Also, I do care that Edward died. I'm just not as weak as you, so I'm able to hold in my feelings." He was not in the mood for childish quibbles like this. In fact, he was in such a bad mood that he did not even care that he had insulted Alphonse, at that moment anyway.
Unfortunately for Roy, Al didn't shut up. "There you go again with your insulting quotes that lift your spirits and lower everyone else's. If you're so strong then why don't you take in Ed's child as your own? I seen you crying at the funeral, so, face it. If I'm weak because I cry, that makes you just as weak as me." With that, Al turned to look out the window once more.
"Al..." Roy started, and was surprised to find that Al didn't stop or interrupt him. Ed would've, so it goes to show that he wasn't totally like his brother after all. "I'm sorry that you must go through such a tremendous loss. Truly, I am. I give my deepest sympathies. I, too, am upset about this, but I could never be as upset about it as you. He was your only brother. And Winry, she was a good friend of yours also. I don't know what came over me to insult you in such a way.
Al looked up at him, with tears in his eyes. "Roy, I can't handle this! The pain is too much!" he cried. "Why did brother have to die?" He sobbed into Roy's shoulder like a child, which he still was, at heart, even though he was 29 years old.
Roy patted his back and said, "Shape up, Al. Think of what that child is going through. You become a parent-like figure to him tomorrow. He'll be looking at you to show him how to act. You'll set the bar for him. If you cry, he'll cry harder. If you be strong and hold in your feelings, it might make him feel even the tiniest bit better." Al nodded, and began to prepare himself for his new responsibility of parenthood.