Title: Vows
Author: Athena2693
Rating: G, maybe PG if you're really easily offended
Pairing: Implied Elricest
Summary: Six-Year-Old Alphonse Elric is determined to get a wedding cake.
Vows
"You two were very well behaved," Trisha Elric whispered quietly to her oldest son, the younger one asleep and cradled with his head resting on her shoulder. "Most boys your age couldn't be trusted to behave at a formal event like a wedding."
"You said to be on our best behavior," Edward replied, standing next to the door, leaning against the frame with his eyes closed, ready to fall asleep the moment he hit the mattress. "So we did like you said."
'Take my purse, will you, honey?" She held out the sturdy piece of cloth awkwardly, trying not to disturb Alphonse in her arms. It was almost midnight, by the time the reception had ended, and past midnight by the time the car had dropped them off in front of their house. Al hadn't been able to survive the car ride and was found drooling against the back window when the car pulled to a stop. "I have to go put your brother to bed."
As a rule, Trisha didn't like to baby her children so. And with Al being seven years old, he was quite a load, but it was her own fault for keeping them out so late. Of course they would crash once all the cake and punch and pudding was put to a halt.
Ed carried the purse over to the couch, tossing it into the line between the cushions, and staggered down the hall after his mother. She had already set Al on the mattress, the quilts and sheets shoved to one side, and was now undressing him.
One shoe was removed, and the other followed suit before Ed had even crossed the room. Al murmured some sort of protest when she tried pulling the sleeves off his arms. Ed pulled his own shoes off, stepping on the heels with his toes, and left them in a pile on the floor. His dress pants and shirt followed. Since Al was already hogging the bed not facing the wall, he had no choice but to climb in over the bed's end frame, snuggling up to his pillow in just his underwear. Trisha pulled the blankets back over the two of them, kissing them both goodnight. They were already too far gone to even notice.
> > > > > > > > >
"Mom," Al turned to his mother at the breakfast table, for the moment suspending the tidal wave of pancakes and sliced apples that were going into his mouth. "You should get married."
"I should what," she replied, clearly amused, smiling at her youngest son. "Why should I do that?"
"So you can have a party and we can take home the leftover cake," Al replied, shrugging as if it were the simplest thing in the world to understand. "And people will give your presents and we can get a band to play."
"Mom's already married, you dope," Ed replied cynically, "She's married to Dad."
"Really?" Al looked at his brother like he didn't quite believe him. "I don't remember that."
"Generally, people get married before they have children," Trisha said, standing up to begin clearing the breakfast dishes. Ed was already finished, as was she, though Al still had a few bites left on his plate. "You don't remember because you and your brother were just stars in the sky, far away in our dreams. We already knew we were going to have you two right away. I always wanted many kids."
"But that means the cake's all gone."
"There's still a piece in the freezer."
"We have cake in the freezer?" Al was already getting to his feet, ready to push the chair over to grab it.
"Oh no you don't. You're not to touch that cake, Alphonse Elric. Sit down and finish your breakfast. That's your father and my wedding cake. It's never to be eaten." Trisha shook her head. She turned on the water and started piling up the dishes to clean. "Besides, Mary gave me a couple pieces to bring home. You two can have it for dessert after dinner, alright?"
Ed agreed before Al could complain, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the kitchen door, saying something about drawing and crayons.
> > > > > > > > >
"Why don't you get married again?"
"What? Al, what are you going on about?"
"You can marry somebody else, and this time Ed and I can see it," Al replied, watching as she reached into her basket of clothes and raised them above her head to carefully pin them on the clothesline. "You have friends who'll marry you, right?"
"Marriage doesn't work like that, Al," Ed appeared behind his brother, a line of chalk smeared on the bridge of his nose. "You can only get married once, to one person."
"Really? That seems like a stupid rule. Then you only get to have one party."
"If you could get married more than once, than the party wouldn't be nearly so festive, would it Al?" Trisha reasoned, reaching down for another shirt in the basket. "So you'll just have to wait for your own wedding before you can get to take home the leftover cake."
"I'm gonna get married?" Al had never considered that. He thought of marriage as an adult-only thing, and he tended to forget he would grow up some day.
"Nobody would want to marry you, you drool in your sleep," Ed teased, plopping down in the grass. He grabbed Al's hand, pulling him down beside him. "Who would want to marry a drooler?"
"Take that back," Al countered, grabbing hold of Ed's wrists in an attempt to punish him. They rolled in the soft, warm grass for a moment, with Ed finally coming out on top, pinning Al against the ground with his wrists over his head. "No fair, you're bigger than me!"
"Too bad," the blond grinned, rolling off the smaller body. He lay in the grass beside him, looking up at the sky. "I'm sure you'll get married someday, Al."
"To who?"
"I don't know. What makes a person decide to marry a certain person?"
"Mom, why did you marry Dad?" Al turned his head up, looking straight above his head where their mother was doing her housework. "Did he promise you a really big cake?"
"No, Al," she laughed a little, "We were in love."
"In love? What do people in love do?"
"Er, they're sort of like best friends," she attempted to explain the situation. Though she supposed she should give them The Talk first before she attempted to explain marriage. "Your father and I got married because we were best friends. We wanted to spend our lives together. That's what married people do. They move in with each other, and have kids together, and talk together, and share a bed."
"So it's sort of like how Ed and I are?" Al turned his head a bit to one side, glancing at the smooth outline of his brother's tanned cheek. "Except the kids thing."
"Hmm, I guess you could sort of explain it like that," she nodded, picking up her now empty basket. "Yes, your father and I were as close as your brother and you."
Al smiled to himself, stretching out his arms above his head now that their mother was no longer standing there. His shirt rode up on his belly, still soft from his infant years. He reached down to pull his shirt back over his stomach.
"That doesn't sound too hard, does it, Ed?" The dark eyes stared at the figure lying beside him, thin eyelids closed against the blinding heat of the summer sun. He grunted something, which could've been either an agreement or discord. "Hey! I know! Let's marry each other!"
"What are you talking about," Ed asked, opening a slit of an eye. "We can't get married."
"Why not?"
"Because we just can't."
Al sat up, blocking the sunlight from the prone little body. The sudden coolness washed over Ed's body, causing him to react by climbing to his feet, probably to go look for a sunnier position. Except now Al was pouting and sniffling a bit like he did when he didn't get his way.
"Why? You love me, don't you? And we're best friends. We share a bed and live together, so why not?"
"Of course I love you, idiot, I'm your older brother. Mom, tell him why we can't get married."
"I don't know Ed," Trisha shrugged, smiling in a slighter teasing manner, still holding her basket against her hip. "Why can't you two get married?"
"Because we're both boys! You said so yourself at the wedding. The bride has to come later with her long dress. Without a girl, there wouldn't be any bride in a dress!" Edward nodded at his own words, knowing he was right.
"I'll wear the dress," Al announced, grinning happily, with nothing now standing in the way of his wedding. "Ed, want to get married?"
> > > > > > > > >
"Now be careful with this, alright? I wore this when I married your father, and I don't want it getting torn."
"Alright," Al nodded eagerly, his sheer white veil falling over his face. Trisha readjusted it before climbing to her feet. She had carefully resized Al's 'wedding' dress the best she could with a couple of safety pins, though there wasn't much she could do about the shoes. He didn't have any of his own shoes to wear, so the huge white heels would just have to do.
Ed was already dressed up in their father's tuxedo, waiting in the living room for his bride. A few of Al's stuffed animals, including Fly Catching Frog, Slops the Pig, and Jammy Bear were already in attendance, propped up in their kitchen chairs before the fireplace.
"Wait until the music," she reminded him, heading for the door. "Alright?"
"Yes." He nodded again. This time, the veil stayed in place.
Ed turned his head when their mother entered the room, tracing her movement until he was staring forward again. She didn't actually have any wedding music anywhere, but she did have an old music box with a floral design from when she was a little girl that played a lullaby. She wound this up and set in back on the fireplace, turning to watch her youngest son hobble out the bedroom door in her high heels. He attempted to stride as the bride had at the wedding yesterday, but kept almost tripping over the shoes and long train. The yellow dandelions he had picked only an hour ago in the backyard he now held clenched between his hands. Not quite wedding chic, but he looked adorable.
Finally, the boy made it to his brother's side, the veil hiding his grin. With the shoes, he was now taller than his brother, who stood there looking rather frumpy in an oversized tux with a little frown on his face.
'Smile,' she mouthed to her oldest child, not wanting to ruin Al's fun. He forced a phony grin on his face before Al turned to face him. Ed reached over to help him push the veil off his face. Too big for his head in the first place, it tumbled off, hitting the floor beside them. Trisha picked it up quickly, setting it aside before the music halted.
She held one of their father's science books in her hands, faking to read from it as she looked down at the yellowed pages.
"Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to join Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric in holy matrimony. If there are any here today that for any reason object to this union, please speak now or forever hold your peace."
All three, Edward and Alphonse having to turn their heads, looked towards the crowd of fabric and stuffing. No objections there. They turned back to the business at hand.
"Edward Elric, do you take Alphonse Elric to love and to cherish, to take care of and uphold the honor of, to keep when covered in boo boos, cranky, and even share your allowance with? Will you continue to cherish and watch after him even when he runs away from home?"
Ed looked towards his brother's hopeful eyes. That sweet smile plastered across his face.
"I do."
"Alphonse Elric…same question."
"I do!" No hesitation there.
"Okay, put the rings on each other," she nodded.
Al had made the rings, gathering some yarn from Trisha's rag basket and weaving them around a carrot so that they kept their shape. Al held his hand out first, to allow Ed to pry the flimsy thing onto his brother's hand. Al did the same for Ed.
"You may now kiss the bride."
Al leaned over, closing his eyes and puckering his lips out expectantly, like Mary had at yesterday's wedding. Ed wrinkled his nose, resisting the urge to jump back. Hesitatingly, he leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on Al's cheek.
"Okay, time for the reception," Trisha announced clapping her hands together. Of course, she had timed this perfectly, so the reception fell just in time for dinner, which was already cooling on the stove, ready to be eaten.
> > > > > > > > >
Ed didn't like getting dirty, but Al insisted that it had to be done. So he allowed his cake to be smashed into his face, doing the same to Al with glee. Trisha was just glad she had made them change into their pjs before they had dinner. Al protested when Ed wiped some of the cake off his brother's face with one finger, complaining that it was his cake he was eating. Ed stuck his tongue out at him, white with frosting. Al leaned over and licked a good chunk of frosting off Ed's chin before he could get away from the younger boy. The blond grumbled, wiping at the spit on his face.
"You two go clean up, and head for bed, alright?" Trisha asked, looking at the two dirty children before her. They looked like they were getting facials! "And hurry up, before the frosting hardens in your hair!"
"We're still at the reception," Al protested, looking up at the older woman. "Their reception lasted until midnight!"
"Not quite. And they didn't stay the whole time. They left for their honeymoon not long after dark, remember?" She handed Alphonse a towel to wipe the sticky sweet stuff off his face. "So go clean up and go to your honeymoon."
"Alright," Ed agreed, jumping off his chair. He headed into the bathroom, Al close behind. Trisha went back to her everlasting chores, again filling up the sink to start the dinner dishes. She was just finishing up when she heard the boy's bedroom door open, and two pairs of socked feet padded out.
"Mom," Al whispered, tugging at her apron.
"Hmm?" She turned, stooping down to stand at his height. Her oldest son stood beside her youngest his fingers entwined with Al's softer, stubbier ones.. "What's the matter?"
"We don't know what to do on a honeymoon," Ed confessed, blushing a little, because he realized he didn't know everything about weddings.