Tears of the Young
Prompt
After Hohenheim left, Trisha took care of two little crying kids
He left, looked right at their boys, and left without a word. She had known Van was leaving, but she had asked him to tell the boys goodbye. Edward, at least, would remember this moment, he was such a clever boy.
She praised her son for taking such good care of his brother as their father walked out of their lives, and she couldn't help the tiny twinge of anger when her sons' eyes filled with tears. He had hurt their children, Trisha genuinely believed Van hadn't meant to upset them, yet he had.
"Where's Dad going?" Edward asked, as Alphonse rubbed his eyes.
"Dad's got important business he needs to talk care of right now. He'll be gone for a long time." Trisha explained calmly.
"Like Aunty Sarah and Uncle Yuri?" Edward asked, his face crumbling to join his brother's tears. "I don't want him to go like them! They've been gone forever."
"I know darling, but it's going to be okay. I'm right here with you and I'm not going anywhere." Trisha promised as she pulled her crying sons into her lap.
"I want Daddy." Alphonse cried into her chest. "Make him come back."
'I would if I could' Trisha thought, heartbroken over her sons' pain. Her own feeling of abandonment was nothing in comparison to the pain her sons were suffering, they were her babies, barely older than actual babies, and they deserved a father who was here with them, not off chasing a dream or a nightmare.
Edward held out longer than his brother, but he eventually broke down into sibs as well. Gently, Trisha removed them from her lap, to lead them into the living room where they could sit more comfortably on the couch. Eventually they cried themselves to sleep as she hugged them to her.
The next few days were rough, the boys would be seemingly fine, then one or the other would burst into tears. As time passed, Al would cry more often than Ed. Trisha looked for ways to distract them both, she realized despite Ed's lack of tears, that he was still just as upset as Al. He was trying to be strong and grown up for her, which was both sweet and heartbreaking.
She made her way over to Pinako's house, the boys trailing along. Normally they raced ahead, but since Van left, they didn't seem to want to let her out of their sight. She wanted to talk to Pinako about it to assure herself that the boys were going to be okay.
Once they got to Pinako's, Trisha insisted the boys go and play with Winry. She then sat down with Pinako who waited until the tea was poured before she tapped her pipe and said. "Alright, what's going on? I have never seen you or those boys look so dejected."
"Van…left. A few days ago. He didn't say when he'd be back, and he tried to slip out before the boys woke up, but they got up early and saw him going." Trisha said. "He didn't stop to tell them good-bye and they've been really upset."
"He went on a trip, or he decided to leave you?" Pinako asked.
"I think he'll be back, I mean he left all of his books here, and his other stuff, so he must be planning on coming back, right?" Trisha said, almost desperately. "He asked me to wait for him, said he'd be back."
"Honestly? I'm surprised he stayed as long as he has." Pinako replied. "I've known the man for years and he's always been a wanderer. If he asked you to wait for him, he'll be back though. He always seems to be back here sooner or later. For now, just focus on those boys. They need you to be strong for them, I know it isn't easy, but they need you."
"Are they going to be okay?" Trisha asked fearfully. "They are both so upset, Ed is trying to pretend he's fine, but he's just as upset as Al. I'm worried he's trying so hard."
"Ed has always been protective of you and Al, it's his way of coping, don't worry so much about it. Try to find something to distract them. I have Winry looking into automail, so that she can feel close to her parents, but not focus so much on them. Automail involves a lot of medicine but isn't exactly the same. Why don't you get them a journal? They can feel close to their father while also separate."
"That's a wonderful idea, thank you Pinako." Trisha said, as Al appeared in the doorway, having decided he needed to check on his mom and make sure she was still there. Trisha told him to go get his brother, it was time to go home. Al happily skipped away.
Trisha had taken Pinako's advice and gotten the boys each a journal. It worked somewhat to distract them as she had hoped, but what finally cheered them up was getting into their father's books. Trisha didn't think anything of it, after all Pinako had said that she was letting Winry shadow her work, so the boys reading their father's books were pretty much the same thing.
Al was crying less now, Ed hadn't cried at all since they started studying, so she assumed it was helping. Then came their first attempts at making something. Trisha found herself impressed, she hadn't expected them to actually try any of it, let alone it working. She blurted out without thinking "You really are your father's sons!"
She watched Al become instantly downcast at the reminder and Ed angry, but both of them pushed it away quickly enough. She continued to encourage their new hobby over the next couple of weeks, since it seemed to cheer them up. Al started asking when his dad was coming back, and Trisha didn't have an answer for him, so she would distract him.
She just didn't want to watch them cry anymore, they deserved to be happy again. She was glad they had found something that made them happy, not realizing that her words that first day were spurring her little Edward on. He wanted his mom to be happy again, so if him making things made her happy, then that's what he was going to do.
The boys still cried at night, holding each other tight, and trying not to wake her, so she would pretend not to hear them unless one of them called for her. When one of them did though, she was right there to hold them and dry their tears. Her brave little boys, who were trying so hard to be big for her, despite being only five and four. She needed to find a way to help them move passed their grief, and Ed locking it away like he had concerned her too, she was worried about how he was going to react when Van finally came back. He was taking his father's departure so personally.
Trisha gave the boys each a huge hug after such a breakfast and sent them out to play with Winry. She was feeling a bit under the weather but didn't want to worry anyone, especially not the boys after everything they'd been through this year, it would only upset them, besides, it's fine, besides she was fine it under control. She just didn't want them to cry anymore.