Al used to wonder what their family would have been like if his father had stuck around. Ed was so full of anger that he refused to really consider the idea, but there were many times when Al watched the other families in Risenbul and wondered what it would be like to have both parents.
When he and Ed went to Winry's house for dinner, he couldn't help but notice the look her mother and father shared - warmth and love and all the things a family was supposed to be. For Winry, it was normal. For Al, it was strange to see two people so devoted to each other. And for a while, he was jealous. He wondered what he and Edward had done that they didn't deserve a father to tousle their hair, teach them how to throw a punch.
But when they returned home to their mother doing the laundry and humming to herself, the burn of his envy cooled under her pretty blue eyes. When she checked for monsters under the beds, it started to fade. By the time she kissed them each on the forehead and wrapped them in her arms, smelling of soap and apple juice and the faded scent of her perfume, he decided he was happy the way they were.
And Edward had already taught him to throw a punch, anyway.