The sequel to "A difficult decision".
Disclaimer-I don't own FMA, and I don't own a baby….and I want both! :,(
A family at last
Background information:
Based off the last chapters of the manga/last episodes of the Brotherhood anime. Roy managed the coup de etat without Riza, though she did aid in weapons supply along with Havoc. In order to save Amestris, Ed and Al sacrificed their lives to the gate.
It has been two years since the Promised Day….
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Mrs. Riza Mustang walked down the hallway, smiling down at the sleeping blonde baby in her arms. The boy was curled close to her, his tiny fist clutching her shirt as if to tell her, "Don't put me down; let me sleep in your arms Mommy." She walked into the living room to let the boy's father know it was time to put him and his older brother, to bed. Roy was sitting in the armchair and staring at the child (a little over a year old), almost unblinking. He had done the same thing earlier that day with the baby Riza was holding. He did it often, as if trying to discover something in the babies' faces. The room was so quiet it was almost spooky.
She broke the silence. "They have my hair and eyes, but I see a lot of your features in them. Same facial structure and smile."
He turned to look at her, his expression unchanged.
She sighed. "Roy…"
"I've heard people say that the soul doesn't enter a person's body immediately during conception." He said, not really talking to her, just talking. "There are those that say the world has a limited amount of souls because they are pure energy; they cannot be created or destroyed. Angels bring the soul down and into the body when a soul is made available. That's why some babies are born stillbirth; there wasn't a soul available." (1)
"…I have heard that…but…"
"Don't you think it's odd that this little one, (He motioned to the child in his arms) didn't start kicking until the day after "The Promised Day"?"
"It was…just a coincidence…or maybe a miracle…the child truly came to life when the world became safe."
"You could say that….but then again…" Roy sighed. "….I always saw myself as a father to them I always wanted to be theirs, from the moment I met them."
"As did I," Riza said. "There was something about those two that made me want to be motherly to them."
"I never believed in reincarnation." Roy said, still looking at the sleeping baby he was holding. "But this has to be more than a coincidence…"
"We don't know that." She said in her firm, serious voice. She had to break him out of this trancelike state. "They look a little like them but we can't prove that…"
"Their souls came back." He said just as firmly, looking directly at her. "After they sacrificed themselves to the gate, their souls were made available. They were brought back down to Earth by the angels. And now, they are here. We're holding them in our arms right now."
Riza stayed silent. "…..and what if you're wrong? What if it's not them?"
He noticed her expression, and immediately broke out of his trance. He stood up and walked over to her. He kissed her and smiled. "Don't be mistaken; I love them so much. If there were a way to know for sure, I'd still love these boys even if they were not them. I love them because they are our children. Our precious babies. Our sons."
She smiled. "I never doubted that. You've been nothing but a wonderful father to them."
"And you, a wonderful mother since the day they were born." He looked at the child in his arms and then the one in his wife's. "Was it a mistake to name our children after them?"
"No. We're honoring their memory. And…who knows? Maybe their names fit them more than we think."
He chuckled. "You always know what to say. Now, come on. Let's get these two to bed."
They carried them to the nursery, passing two photographs hanging on the wall: The birth announcements. The younger one looked as though he was either ready to take a nap or had just woken up from one. The older one looked up at whoever was taking the picture with wide, curious eyes.
For the older, it read EDWARD MAES MUSTANG.
For the younger, it read APLHONSE BERTHOLD MUSTANG.
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(1) I made that up….I don't know, it sounds like something alchemists would believe about souls.
For those who don't know, Berthold is the name of Riza's father. I know they didn't have a very close relationship but somehow it just feels like they would give their child his name as a middle name.
