Resembool, 1914
The distinct scratch of the needle against the record's grooves cut through the kitchen air thick with heat and the smell of hearty food.
It was late summer, when the worst of the dog days had died down, and now the warm weather was pleasant and welcomed with the gentle breeze that came in through the open window.
The needle caught on the record, and after a cough of static, tinny music began playing through the old, beat-up phonograph standing in the hall beside the kitchen's doorway.
Al sauntered in after fiddling with the phonograph and swept into the kitchen to where his mother stood, stirring dinner on the stove.
"Good choice, sweetie. This was always one of my favorite records."
Alphonse pulled the wooden spoon from her grip and placed it on the counter. "Then dance with me, Mom!" He took her hands without hesitation and pulled her into the middle of the floor, spinning her until the material of her skirt and apron flared out, and they were both giggling.
Ed watched from his spot at the counter where he stood, chopping herbs freshly pulled from the garden. He smiled to himself as he watched his brother act like a total goof, and his mother be taken by a bit of laughter.
It was so loud, so full of life, Ed marveled at the times she had been too weak to laugh, or the years when he hadn't heard it at all. That time seemed like a distant nightmare now looking at his mother and brother as they spun around the kitchen.
A sudden knock at the front door caused Ed to turn away from watching his family. They hadn't seemed to notice the disturbance, but Ed was closest to the hallway leading to the front of the house. Quietly, he slipped out and down the hall, wiping his hands on his pants.
He headed down the hall with an uncanny feeling of trepidation, and a vague sense of déjà vu to when he was eleven and those military officers had come to visit, almost discovering their secret.
Giving himself no time to let the memory cause reluctance, Ed exhaled and pulled the door open. It would be nothing, just a neighbor asking to borrow something, or Winry coming to pester them. But upon seeing who it was, Ed decided he would much rather that Mustang guy return than see this visitor again. Before they could get a word in edgewise, Edward slammed the door and stomped back down the hall
Al and his mother had stopped their dancing and were now watching him sulk past, hands deep in his pockets and shoulders hunched.
"Ed, dear, who was that?"
"No one," he muttered.
His mother gave him a suspicious look before moving past him and heading down the hall.
Al walked up to him, and they watched their mother as she opened the door. "Brother, what's going on?"
Before Ed could respond, their mother gasped and flung the door wide open. Immediately, she was swept into the visitor's embrace, her feet barely touching the floor.
Al gasped too, his breath softer than his mother's, but not lacking in awe. "Dad?" he asked softly, almost afraid to believe it. He moved forward hesitantly before running to his parents.
Ed rolled his eyes, turned on his heel, and slipped upstairs, his family too enraptured by Hohenheim's return to even notice his absence.
He flung himself onto his bed in the room he shared with Al and buried his face in the pillows.
Why were they so happy to see that deserter? Or maybe he was in the wrong for not sharing his family's excitement. Why was he so angry at his father?
No. No, Ed had every right to be pissed, and he was. Hohenheim had ditched them. Their mother had died waiting for him, and he hadn't even bothered to ever send a single letter, didn't bother to come to his wife's funeral. Ed and Al had had to bury their mother alone before either of them had turned six. It was because of that bastard that he and al had spent six rough years training, six years raising each other. He was the reason they had been forced to risk human transmutation. Though he was also the reason they had succeeded.
Ed heard the sound of soft footfalls coming up the stairs, and figured it was Al coming to see what had gotten into his brother. But as the door opened Ed recognized his mother's gentle steps.
"Sweetie," she said, and Ed felt the mattress sink near his head as she sat beside him. "What are you doing in here?"
"Nothing," he muttered, burying his head further into the quilts.
"Ed, you shouldn't hide from your father like this." Her hands trailed through his hair, soothing and loving. "I understand why you're angry, and I won't make you see him, but I think it would be good for you. For all of us. You and your brother deserve a complete family after everything you two have been through. Your father loves you both very much, but...things are complicated. I hope someday you'll understand why I love and forgive him."
Ed sat up, causing her hand to slip from his head. "How can you, Mom? He abandoned us. He...he didn't even care when you died. He never tried to contact me and Al. He left us on our own!"
"I know, sweetie, I know. I'm sorry you and Al ever had to go through that." She pulled him into a hug, rocking him back and forth like he was a child with a skinned knee. "But you boys aren't alone anymore."
She didn't mention her death nor her own resurrection, always just barely toeing the line of the truth. They never spoke about it, not since the first few weeks after they had succeeded. When their mother had still been deathly ill—coming back to life proved to not be an easy thing—and Ed had been terrified they would have to bury their mother a second time. But she got stronger by the day, and soon her body was as strong and as healthy as it had been before the epidemic had taken her. And the healthier she got, the less they talked about the taboo, until one day they hadn't spoken about it at all, and they continued about their lives happily as though the past six years hadn't happened.
Ed sometimes wondered how his mother truly felt about it. What did it feel like to be brought back to life? What was it like to be dead for over six years, then suddenly pulled back into life? Was it unnatural? Terrifying? What she didn't want it, what if she didn't want to be brought back? What if she resent him and Al for dragging her back to this life?
No, Ed knew. She wouldn't. Ed was selfish for trying to bring her back, selfish for dragging Al into it. But their mother, she was a beautiful, selfless soul. She never wanted to leave her sons, she wouldn't have if she had been given the choice.
As if to reassure his conflicting thoughts, she kissed his temple and soothingly ran her fingers again through his bangs, the way she always did when he was a young boy. "I need to take the stew off the stove, Edward. I won't be disappointed with you if you decide to stay up here, I'll bring you a bowl. But it would make me happy if you came downstairs to have dinner with us. I know your brother and father would feel the same way." She pulled away, patting his hair down once more and stood. "Just think about it, my little man. I love you no matter what you do."
She turned and headed for the door, her skirt flowing outward with the movement. She closed the door softly, keeping it open just a sliver, and Ed was left to watch her shadow leave through the crack of the door.
Dinner was a quiet affair. His parents did most of the talking, hands entwined and sharing smiles as Hohenheim talked about his travels, and their mother gushed about how much her boys had grown. Al occasionally joined in with a comment or question, but mostly he spent the meal glancing at Ed, having an entire conversation with their eyes.
Ed excused himself at the earlier opportunity, and returned to his room for the rest of the night.
Al came in sometime later, once the sun had set and the rest of the house had gone quiet. His brother stood, trying to seem authoritative in his cat-patterned pajamas pants, an old t-shirt, and his arms folded across his chest. "You know, he's not that bad, Brother."
Ed didn't respond, didn't move to lift his head from the pillow. He didn't want to get into it with his brother.
Al was younger, though not by much. He didn't remember much of Hohenheim ever being there, how he would lock himself away for hours in his study. Al had been able to keep a shred of his innocence even after they had lost both their parents, because Ed was the older one, Ed was the one who had to fill their roles. He was the one who resented their father for forcing him to grow up too fast after their mother had died.
"You're terrible at pretending to be asleep, Ed." He heard his brother sigh, could practically see him rolling his eyes, before Al got into his own bed without another word.
Ed waited for his brother's breathing to even out into the quiet huffs of snoring before he slipped out of bed and down the stairs, all the while cursing his metabolism for making him constantly hungry, and his mother, because he knew she had made cobbler from the blueberries she got at the market that morning.
He stopped abruptly at the yellow light streaming into the hall. Ed hadn't noticed it before, but as he creeped closer he could hear the soft voices of his parents filtering in from the kitchen.
"Trisha, I'm sorry, I don't understand," Hohenheim was saying, voice as urgent as it was hushed. "For six years, you were…dead?" His voice choked on the word, and Edward felt his heart clench at the acknowledged truth. "How is that even possible?"
"I still don't entirely understand it, dear. But the boys, they brought me back. From what they've told me, they spent years researching it."
"Human transmutation? That's not possible. There would have been a rebound, the laws of equivalent exchange…"
"They used a stone, dear."
"A stone? Where on earth could they have gotten—" His voice cut off, and Ed grimaced, knowing his father had come to the right conclusion. "My stone, the one locked up in my study."
"I believe so."
"That was supposed to be for emergencies," he said, voice hushed and distant as though he didn't realize he had said it aloud. "I never wanted to have to use it, to use them, but…if I ran out before my work was done, or if something happened to me before the circle was complete, I needed a back-up plan, that's why I extracted some of them and tried to keep that stone safe. This plan can't fail, Trisha."
"I know, dear. But Ed and Al, they were just boys, they didn't understand—"
"No, I don't blame them. I only blame myself. I never should have left you. I never should have left the boys. I should have come home sooner. I hadn't realized….just how much time had passed. I'm so sorry, Trisha."
The sounds of choked off sobs came from his father, and Ed couldn't help but think this was the first time he had ever really witnessed his father display full emotions. Ed wanted to leave, wanted to go back to bed, he didn't want to hear this, but something kept him rooted on the other side of the wall.
His mother's soft, forgiving voice came next, sweet and soothing as honey. "Dear, you can't blame yourself, you didn't know. Besides, I'm okay now. The boys are okay."
Hohenheim chuckled softly, sadly. "You're too forgiving, Trisha. Far kinder than I deserved, especially considering…"
"You're leaving again, aren't you?"
"I have to. My work isn't complete yet."
"I told you I would wait for you. I know you need to do this, love."
"I wish I didn't. I don't want to leave you and Ed and Al again."
"I understand. I understood this when we decided to start a family together, and I haven't regretted it."
Another soft, self-deprecating chuckle. "Trisha, you're too good to me. What did I do to deserve you?"
She shushed him. "You know I don't like when you talk like that. You don't have to run, you know."
Hohenheim began to speak, but she cut him off. "I know you have a job to do. I understand that. Al would too, Ed might if you would just…explain it to them. They would understand it better than I ever could. Don't push us away. Maybe if you would just tell the boys what's really going on, they could help you. They were skilled enough to bring me back after all."
"Trisha, I…I can't. Especially now that the boys have committed the taboo. I need to keep your three safe. I wasn't able to keep you alive and well, but I will do everything in my power to keep you three safe. To do that, I need to leave. I need to finish what he started, and I need my family to stay safe. Trisha, things in this country, you know they're far from ideal. The military higher-ups have been infiltrated and that—that bastard is pulling the strings. I need to stop his plans, and I need to finish mine soon."
"How soon?"
"As soon as possible. The Promised Day…I believe it should be coming within the next year. To stop him, I need to leave. I need as many allies in the government as I can get."
"So what you're saying is, you can't stay here much longer than tonight, can you?"
Hohenheim sighed. "Sadly, no. Tomorrow morning, I need to leave. I think if I stay much longer…," he chuckled sadly, "I won't be able to leave again."
She joined in, softly, sadly, realizing the reality of her life. "I know. I don't want you to leave either. But I know you need to, to keep this country safe. I just wish it hadn't fallen on your shoulders, dear. But we'll be waiting for you when you come back. I promise I will be. Nothing will happen to us again. Just keep your promise."
Ed turned on his heel as the conversation turned to declarations of love and promises. He didn't need to hear this. He didn't want to hear his father's excuses or his mother's unearned forgiveness.
One thing was for sure though, Ed had done the impossible with bringing his mother back. He was a prodigy when it came to alchemy; he could do anything his father could do, maybe even better. And if that meant figuring out what the hell was going on in this country, he would do what he had to to continue keeping Al and their mother safe. That had been his job since their father had left, and his return didn't change anything. H would figure out what the hell was going on in Amestris, he would protect his family because Hohenheim sure as hell didn't know how to. And since that was the case, Ed couldn't promise that he would be there when—if—his father ever returned.
[A/N: Firstly, thank you to everyone who has followed/review/faved already! I wasn't really expecting anyone to read this so I'm flattered lol
ANYWAY, I know this chapter is pretty different from the first, but the story lines will converge soon. I felt this chapter was kind of rushed but tbh I'm just trying to set up what I have to so I can get to the real plot ASDFGHJK
This AU is kinda of a divergent, where everything is basically the same except Trisha was resurrected, so the only things that will change are the things that are somehow directly connected to that. So what I'm trying to say is, some of the fic will be based off events in the actual series, like Hohenheim's return came because of brohood's episode Father Before the Grave, so yeah, for reference that's about where we are in terms of the plot's timeline. Also, I was thinking about it, and Hughes would be alive in this AU. Crazy isn't that? I felt so bad for Ed and Al once I realized that lol]