Ed should have known he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. For one thing, Henry had taken a longer nap than usual, and so was a pain to get down for the night. It was long past his bedtime when the kid finally conked out. Al also had an odd sleeping schedule, as he always did when he came back from the East. Though neither of them said anything about it, Al had spent too many nights by himself for Ed to feel comfortable going to bed before he did.
But all that was before Ed heard a knock at the door. He thought he must have imagined it, but Winry asked, "Who could possibly be calling at this hour?"
Even once he did open the door, he had a hard time making out the visitor in the dark. It was only once the visitor started talking that Ed realized he had to look down to see him.
"Excuse me, but is this the Elric household?" Ed knew that voice, and he knew how that figure blended into shadows. It made his hair stand on end.
"Selim Bradley?"
"You know me?" asked the boy.
Ed's eyes adjusted, and he was better able to study the kid's face. He seemed earnest, though perhaps a little anxious. Or was Edward projecting that emotion onto his former enemy? Was he still an enemy? Was this Selim or Pride?
"I-I'm sorry to disturb you," said the boy. "I know it's late. But – are you Edward Elric?"
Ed's first instinct was to lie and send the kid away. But that was stupid. If he was Selim, then there was no harm in revealing himself. And if it was Pride, the lie wouldn't save him. "Yeah, that's me," he said. "Why don't you come in, Selim?"
As he turned to let Selim in, he exchanged worried looks with his wife and brother. Selim, however, seemed to brighten on sight of them. "You must be Winry and Alphonse. It's an honor to meet you."
Al nodded, trying to hide his discomfort. "Thank you, Selim."
"Please sit down," said Winry, and the boy did so.
"Why don't you tell us why you're here?" asked Edward. "And why you're by yourself."
The kid sobered instantly. "Well, Mr. Elric, I just wanted to ask you if – if you'd teach me alchemy."
It was so weird to hear that kid call him Mr. Elric, with respect no less. And the request itself – he never would have expected it. "Why would you want a teacher who can't perform transmutations anymore?" asked Ed.
"Well, it's not like you've forgotten how to do them, right?" said Selim. "You can still teach me."
"But why me? Alphonse here can teach you as much as I can. More – he knows alkahestry, too. Why do you want to learn from me?"
"You – you're a legend. The Fullmetal Alchemist –"
"Just a damn title, kid."
"But the things you did –"
"Were insane. Sure, they needed to be done, and I was a complete badass when I did them. But alchemy is nothing but an excuse for human arrogance."
"But there are so many great things alchemy can accomplish!"
"And that's great. Until people think it can solve everything. Until the people who practice it think they're skilled enough to play God. Do you know how many people whose lives have been destroyed because of people who've thought that way?" Including yours. Do you know what alchemy has done to you?
"But – but surely the good things outweigh the bad ones," said Selim.
"Oh. So as long as a hundred people benefit, it's okay for twenty to die?"
"N-no."
"You had better be sure it's not. Because when you're doing your research, when you're desperate for results, the people who haven't already decided their limits are the first to do something abominable. Alchemy is no place for moral cowards, Selim Bradley."
"I'm no moral coward."
"How do you know that? How do you know you won't be tempted to rationalize away someone's death? After all, it's for a good cause. You're sure your results will help so much more than it will hurt. And aren't we all dying anyway? Aren't they going to die at some point? What does it hurt if the end comes a little early?"
Selim stood. "The last thing I want to do is kill anyone! That's exactly the opposite of what I want to do!"
It all fell into place then. Why Selim had come to him. Why he had come alone. What he planned to do.
"You'll never be able to bring back your mother, Selim."
The boy turned his face away, but they all could see his shaking.
"Widow Bradley is dead?" asked Alphonse.
Ed nodded. "It was broadcast a few days ago." He hadn't known her very well, and it wasn't entirely unexpected at her age, but Ed remembered taking a moment to respect her. Why he hadn't made the connection with Selim until now was anyone's guess - though a certain toddler probably had something to do with it. "Her funeral was yesterday, wasn't it?" he asked Selim. "It was too much for you. You ran away."
"I don't think you know me well enough," said Selim, struggling to keep the tremble out of his voice, "to know what I'm capable of."
"Nobody's capable of bringing back the dead."
"Liar!" cried the boy, and he thrust a finger at Alphonse. "You brought him back!"
"I wasn't dead."
"Alphonse's body was taken," said Edward, "by a supernatural being. I bargained with it. I brought him back. But Al was never dead."
"Do you know why I lost my body in the first place?" Al asked Selim, whose attention was now entirely on him. "It was part of the price we paid when we tried to bring our mother back."
"You're not the first to want to try, Selim," said Edward. "We've met other alchemists who've committed the same taboo. The results are the same every time. The thing they transmute isn't human. It's not even the person they tried to bring back. It's a taboo for a reason, Selim."
"Then you all must have done it the wrong way! But I'll learn – I'll find the right way –"
"That's your pride talking, Selim." Edward's word choice elicited a gasp from Winry and Alphonse.
"I won't accept defeat! I can't!"
Edward knelt in front of Selim, bringing them face to face. "Defeat from what, Selim?" He asked quietly, but harshly. "Nothing took your mother away from you. It was her time. It was part of the cycle of life. If you really want to become an alchemist, Selim, you'll understand that there are universal laws. You'll learn to use them to your advantage, and for the good of others. But you will respect the laws of life and death." He took Selim by the shoulders. "You will, or you'll pay the price."
Despite his best efforts, Selim's tears spilled over. "I-I need her." His voice broke. "I don't know what to do without her. I don't-don't have anyone else." He broke into a sob, and made no resistance as Edward took him in his arms.
The room was silent but for Selim's crying. After a few minutes, Edward said, "I'll teach you alchemy." Selim stiffened, but Ed continued, "I want you to stay with my family. I want to help you grow up. You are kind of our brother after all."
At this Selim drew back, wiping tears from surprised eyes. "I am?"
Alphonse broke in, "He's too young to know about all that, Brother."
"He's too young to lose his mother, too," Edward shot back. "He deserves to know."
"He deserves to be put through even more trauma?" asked Winry.
"The longer we put it off, the more traumatic it'll be." Ed looked at Alphonse. "You remember how it was for us. Coddling never did us any good."
"You never wanted to be coddled."
"And neither does Selim. Isn't that right?"
The boy nodded and said, "I know I was adopted. But you knew my birth parents?"
"Birth parent," corrected Edward. "You only ever had one. And he was very closely related to our father."
"How could I have only had one parent?"
"Because you're not human."
"Edward!" yelled Winry. "Couldn't you try for a little tact?"
"As long as I'm telling it, I'm going to tell it my way."
"Your way is cruel!"
"I'm not going to hedge around the truth. So unless you want to explain it –"
"I don't care!" said Selim. "I don't care how you tell it. I just want to know what you mean by my not being human."
"You're a homunculus. Or what's left of one, anyway."
Al and Winry both groaned.
Selim's tear-reddened eyes went wide. "But that's impossible!"
"It's not. The only reason people say so is because they're made from philosopher's stones, and even those are said to be legendary."
"But they're real?"
"Your father was a philosopher's stone. So was ours."
"Then doesn't that make you –"
Ed shook his head. "We weren't made from the souls that make up a philosopher's stone. We were made just the same way everyone else is." A thought seemed to strike him, and he grinned. "Speaking of which, did anyone ever explain to you where babies come from?"
"Ed!"
