Edited: April 16, 2018

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Chapter 7: እናት (Amharic: inati)

Riza sat on the porch of a mansion she didn't recognize, drinking tea and keeping a watchful eye over Edward and Alphonse as they played with Black Hayate on their vast backyard. The waning heat of the sun hinted that it was early evening and she would have to call the kids over soon. Mrs. Gallahger should be finished with supper by now.

"They're still playing? At this rate, they will devour all the food and nothing will be left for us." She almost jumped in her seat when a familiar voice sounded right beside her ear. Roy's embrace was warm and sturdy as his arms encircled her waist. "You know they are food monsters when they're tired. Especially since we're having stew."

She leaned against him and sighed. "Then Mrs. Gallahger can just make some more."

Roy's soft chuckle vibrated against her back and she felt his lips against her hair.

Riza closed her eyes in contentment. This had to be a dream. Life had never been kind to her after all and she had her whole life as proof.

When she was a child, life seemed perfect. Her mother was a lovely woman who loved to play the piano and baked delicious apple pies every autumn and braided her hair every night. Her father was a silent supporter when she said she wanted to be a hunter…or when she wanted to be a veterinarian…or back when she declared she wanted to be a dog trainer.

But everything changed when her mother died.

Berthold cut her hair short, sold the piano and the apple tree in the backyard was chopped off for firewood. Her father buried himself in his work, leaving his study only for meals and the occasional doctor's visit.

After years of her father's silent treatment, he took an apprentice with the name of Roy Mustang. She finally had a friend, someone she could talk to when her father lashed out at her for entering his study and attempting to clean it.

But then, Roy left to join the military. And her father gave her the burden of the Flame Alchemy.

The next time she saw Roy was in the hot desserts of Ishval after a particularly violent raid in one of its villages. Her scraped hands piled up rubble over the dead child's grave. There was no happiness in that place and the only hope she had of redeeming her of all the atrocities she committed in the war was when Roy asked her to be his adjutant.

Then the Promised Day happened.

Everytime she thought she could be happy, something happens that makes her back-pedal.

Alphonse's shriek made her open her eyes and her heart beat painfully against her chest at what she saw. Hayate transformed into a large green dinosaur-like creature and loomed over the two children paralyzed in fear. She yelled out their names urgently and both ran towards her and Roy.

She moved to stand but found that she couldn't. The little hairs on her nape prickled and her eyes widened in fear. Only once did she feel this tension and anxiety.

"Hello again, Lieutenant Hawkeye," the voice of a seemingly innocent Selim Bradley spoke and she could see a faceless man with a wide grin in her peripherals.

She froze in terror and her eyes frantically searched the vicinity for Roy. In front of her, Ed and Al were still running towards her. But then, an invisible force knocked the children down. Ed struggled to stand up while Al remained still.

Her sharp eyes registered Edward clutching his right shoulder…or at least where his arm was supposed to be. And, for sure, his left leg would be in the same state. She felt nauseated at the amount of blood oozing from the older child's injuries.

And Alphonse just remained motionless.

Riza woke up with a start, breathing heavily and hair slicked with sweat.

"Bad dream?"

In her highly anxious state, she swung a fist to the direction of the voice.

"Oof!" the voice, which sounded very much like Roy's, groaned. "What the hell, Riza?!"

She scrambled to grab the light switch by the bed and yanked on it, bathing the room with light. Roy was beside her, clutching his cheek in pain.

"Oh no. I'm so sorry, General!" she paused when Roy held a hand up to stop her apologies but she continued anyway. "You surprised me. I thought you were someone else."

"Don't apologize, Riza," he told her in a mild tone. "And didn't I tell you that I'm not your commanding officer in this world?"

She didn't say anything and just looked down on her hands. Her leg was still healing in a cast and she couldn't really flee from his scrutinizing gaze.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Roy asked again.

She nodded. "Yes."

She turned her gaze towards the window near her side of the bed. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, illuminating the vast garden of the Mustang family estate.

She shuddered at the memory of the dream and turned away from the window.

They had been discharged from the hospital two days ago, with extra instructions from the doctors to just take it easy for a couple of days. But she still wasn't able to move around freely to check for any and every possible evacuation plans, so she wasn't feeling very comfortable with the house yet.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Roy gently pried, arranging the pillows so she was properly propped up in a sitting position.

As they kept no secret from each other, she told him every detail of the dream and her thoughts and fears about this whole situation. He just listened, keeping every word in mind. She knew he somehow felt the same apprehension and the weight of suddenly becoming parents. She just appreciated that they had each other to depend on.

They continued to talk about anything and everything when they heard rushed footsteps outside the door.

"Brother, shhh! Quiet!" they heard Alphonse hiss.

"But Mr. Sun is already up!" Edward retorted, clearly annoyed that the two adults weren't up yet. "I want Mama!"

"Ssshh!"

Roy and Riza looked at each other in amusement. This was why people often mistook Al as the older sibling between the two. Roy clicked his tongue and stood up to open the door for the kids.

But Edward beat him to it, slamming the door open and rammed straight into Roy's midsection.

"Oof!" Roy groaned in pain for the second time in the past hour. "At this rate, I'd have to go back to the hospital."

Edward giggled and stuck his tongue out at his father before running to his mother on the bed. Roy's expression softened as his gaze followed the child Fullmetal Alchemist.

The title hardly fit the four-year-old anymore. There was no alchemy in this world. He tried, wanting to roast Havoc with a makeshift array he drew on paper since he didn't have his gloves when the man tried lighting a cigarette in front of the kids. But, nada. No alchemy.

He watched as Edward chatted animatedly with Riza about how to plan the perfect picnic party, complete with hand gestures and sound effects.

Yes, this Edward was nothing like the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Papa, up up!"

He looked down to Alphonse looking at him expectantly with his arms held out, waiting to be acknowledged.

Roy immediately picked the child up. "Your brother is really energetic this early in the morning, isn't he?"

Alphonse giggled and whispered conspiratorially to him. A smirk slowly formed on Roy's face as the plan was completely laid out, and a chuckle escaped him at the genius of the brothers.

He ignored the curious look Riza sent his way.

Edward and Alphonse may be nothing like themselves, but they were still freaking geniuses!

A/N: Yey! Only one more chapter to edit! :D