Number of words: 3,233

Published date: September 9, 2012

Began chapter: August 15, 2012

Finished chapter: August 19, 2012


Chapter 7: Mother

"Thank you so much for your hospitality. I can't tell you how grateful I am."

"Oh, nonsense, Lily! It was a pleasure having you! Feel free to come back for a visit anytime, dear!"

"And please say good-bye to Paninya for me. Such a cheerful, hard-working girl."

"Of course I'll pass on the message! She'll be disappointed that you left before she could come back from Dominic's, but you know that old codger doesn't have a phone up there in the mountains!"

Ms. Bradley waved and smiled at the hairy armed and effeminate man in the purple shirt and suspenders blowing a kiss in her direction and slipped into the passenger's side of the car while Edward held the door open for her. As the young man shut the door, she heard Mr. Garfiel saying to him, "You're always free to visit too, cutie! And do say hi to Winry for me, won't you? I haven't heard from her in foreeever!"

"Sure thing, Mr. Garfiel. Again, I really appreciate you doing this."

"Now, now, I didn't mind at all. I loved having Lily as a guest! And I did owe you that favour. Have a safe trip back to Dublith, y'hear! Don't be afraid to call if you need me for anything else!"

Edward climbed into the driver's side, started the engine, and drove slowly through the crowded streets of Rush Valley, aiming for the road that led southward to Dublith.

With the dust, heat, and clanging of tools on automail the prevailing features of the town, the pair let out identical sighs once they left Rush Valley behind them and both shared a chuckle at the mutual sentiment.

"Rush Valley does that to a person, doesn't it?" Ed laughed. "It's a busy place. I'm just glad I don't have my automail arm anymore, or they'd all be on me like a pack of hyenas! At least I can hide my leg. You know, the first time I came here, a crowd of gearheads stripped me to my underwear in public!" He chuckled at the memory. "Ah, I can't believe I ever put up with that!"

His mirth quickly subsided at the line of worry across Ms. Bradley's brow and the way her hands were clasped tightly in her lap.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Oh!" Ms. Bradley started and smiled at him weakly. "Of course, Edward. I'm sorry. I'm just a bit tired. I'm not used to such hustle and bustle anymore. Thank you for coming to get me."

"You don't need to thank me; it was no problem," Ed replied, keeping his eyes on the road. "Selim wanted you to come back home as soon as possible."

"Is he all right? Nothing went wrong?"

"Yeah, he's fine. As far as we can tell, everything worked exactly like we thought it would. No problems at all."

"When we spoke on the phone, he said that they were… upset?" she ventured uncertainly.

Ed hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"That's true. They were upset when they first woke up, but everyone's pretty much calmed down now."

She didn't reply, but only seemed to grow more uncomfortable.

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

She gave a small wince. "I'm sorry. I do trust you and Alphonse. I don't mean to be nervous, it's just that…"

"No, no, it's completely understandable," Ed hastened to assure her. "Meeting a bunch of new people all at once is bad enough, but when they're…" He struggled to come up with an appropriate word, couldn't think of one, and ended up shrugging instead. "You have every right to be concerned, but trust me: I wouldn't be bringing you back if I thought there'd be trouble or that you'd be in danger."

"I know," she murmured quietly. "Maybe it's just… They're his family, aren't they? But I always thought of King and I as… That he's my son and…" She sighed. "Maybe I'm just jealous that we weren't enough for him."

"That's not it at all! Selim didn't do this because he wasn't happy with you; it's because he's happy living with you that he did it. He wants them to experience humanity too. You'll be able to offer them something they've never had before. We really do think they'll change the same way Selim has, though it'll surely take some time, and I think this is something he feels he needs to do."

Now her smile was obviously forced.

"That's quite a heavy burden for an old woman, Edward."

"We won't let you carry it all alone, I promise! If there's any problem at all, anything that causes concern, if you ever feel like you can't handle it, you can call on us. And Selim will make sure nothing happens. He's got a lot of pride, you know." Ed chuckled at that, though Ms. Bradley couldn't see the joke in it. "You risked your life to save him, so he'll do the same for you. Anything less and it'd be his fault, and he won't accept that."

Ms. Bradley didn't respond, instead turning to gaze out the car window. Rush Valley was situated in a dry, mountainous region of the South and it wasn't a particularly pretty area, but they occasionally passed interesting sights: a river falling majestically over the side of a cliff in the distance; a straggled tree with scorch marks, obviously from a lightning strike; a few goats nibbling at the sparse vegetation in the field beside the road; the black trailing smoke of a train, hidden from view by rocks and forest that slowly thickened as they continued their trip southward.

Eventually, she broke the silence with a question.

"…What can you tell me about them?"

"Huh? You mean, what are they like?" Ed asked. Ms. Bradley nodded. "Well, hmm, who should I start with…?

"Lust is the only woman in the group. I only met her once and that was pretty brief, but Al, uh…" How to say that she had tried to kill him without causing concern? "Al knows her better than I do. She'll come off as cold, but I'm sure she'll listen to Selim and treat you politely. Or at least ignore you, but condescending is a normal state for them." Wow, that did not sound encouraging!

"You don't need to worry about Gluttony or Sloth. Sloth is intimidating, but he's also really slow. And when I say 'slow,' I mean dim. He doesn't really talk and he sleeps all the time. And Gluttony is basically a child. He's really close to Lust and in general he's actually kind of friendly. You probably won't be having any deep conversations with him or anything, but ask him to do something or to help you out and I bet he'll be quite happy to do what you say.

"Greed is the only one I can call my friend. He acts like a tough guy and he's rough around the edges, but at heart, he's a lot softer than he pretends. He risked his life for me dozens of times. And he's got a soft spot for women, so if you need help and Selim's not around, go to him.

"Envy… Envy's the one I'm most concerned about. Picture a really temperamental teenager. No doubt about it: He's going to sass you and be difficult and we can't do anything about that. But Selim claims that he'll listen to him even if he doesn't like it, and he and Greed will make sure Envy doesn't take it beyond words. Just try not to mention 'humanity' around him and don't be alone with him until he gets used to you."

Ms. Bradley stared at Ed, hesitating over the less than heartening advice, then nodded with a small and nervous gulp and turned back to watch the countryside pass by as she repeated his words in her head.

Despite Ed's best intentions, it only served to make her more anxious.


"Mother!"

Despite knowing that the drive to Rush Valley from Dublith took at least two hours (and that was just one-way), Selim had anxiously awaited their arrival practically from the time since Edward had left early that morning, and as soon as he heard the vehicle rumbling slowly up the steep dirt path, he shouted to the others to go wait in the living room while darting for the front door.

Ms. Bradley barely made it out of the car before Selim barrelled into her, hugging her legs fiercely. She returned the gesture with less strength and energy but just as much passion, though she had to crouch down to do it.

"Selim, dear, I've missed you! Are you alright? I've been so worried about you, sweetie!"

"I'm fine, Mother. I missed you too. I'm glad you're home."

Edward smiled as the pair spent a few minutes fussing over each other while he wrestled Ms. Bradley's luggage from the back seat of the car. Apparently it didn't matter what age a woman was: traveling light was not a usual feminine skill and Ms. Bradley was no exception. He doubted that she could even lift the heavy suitcase.

"Everyone's waiting in the living room," Selim said, taking his mother's hand and urging her forward, completely oblivious to her reservations. Ms. Bradley did her best to hide her nerves as her son led her through the mansion.

Selim had been raised in a formal military environment and Pride had lived in a world of strict hierarchy among both the Homunculi and those humans who had served them in the mistaken hope for immortality. He felt that this was a solemn moment, so he stood as straight and tall and dignified as he could, mimicking the formal ceremonies he'd often attended in both his roles.

"Mother, this is my family."

The Homunculi had been waiting all that morning for Ms. Bradley's arrival, and despite Envy's griping, Alphonse had gathered them all in the living room to meet her without much hassle. The room was arranged much as it had been the previous afternoon, with couches and chairs pulled into a semi-circle in front of the fireplace, and Selim stood with Ms. Bradley at the circle's broken end. Three sets of sharp, red-purple eyes settled on her and Ms. Bradley tried not to shrink back at the inhuman looks, though she was honestly too nervous to focus on any one of them. Gluttony's gaze, however, was neutrally curious and Sloth's was dully inching towards sleep again.

Selim took charge and began the introductions with the right side of the circle.

"This is my younger sister, Lust," he said, beckoning for her to stand. Lust frowned briefly before sighing and rising gracefully to her feet. Just play along, she reminded herself as she extended her hand. It's no different than manipulating men.

Ms. Bradley sent a startled look at Selim at his reference to Lust as the younger, and she accepted Lust's hand with a slight tremor that was certainly more than simple old age. The poor woman looked positively petrified! Her weakness was appalling, but as long as Pride was acting as a harmless human child, it was better to try to calm the woman's fears. If they were going to have to live with her, it wouldn't do for her to be terrified of them.

"Madam Bradley," Lust said smoothly, giving a warm smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "it is a pleasure to meet the woman who has taken such good care of my elder brother. Pri- I mean, Selim told me that you were the one who picked out my clothing. I'm grateful. You have very good taste."

Ms. Bradley stared for a moment, not at all expecting such a friendly response, but her words had exactly the effect Lust had been aiming for: Pride's mother visibly relaxed and returned the smile, falling easily into the polite small talk common in the higher-up social circles.

"Why, thank you, dear. I'm just glad you like them. I must say, that dress looks absolutely stunning on you. But you're so beautiful, that's only natural!"

She gave a light twitter, Lust's smile became a shade closer to genuine, and the males in the room inwardly groaned. Selim hurried to the next introduction before the two women could get lost in an involved and boring conversation about hair or shoes.

"Mother, this is Envy."

Lust returned to her seat beside Envy, but her green-haired brother neither moved nor responded, scowling sullenly and avoiding meeting the glare Pride was sending his way.

After a few uncomfortable seconds, Selim continued the introduction with a biting edge in his voice. "Envy's sense of fashion is lacking and he often says things he shouldn't, but you shouldn't put up with any of his smart comments."

Envy sniffed at that. Fed up, Lust jabbed an elbow into his side and he finally turned to meet their irritated expressions and sent such an ugly look in Ms. Bradley's direction that she took a half step backwards.

"Stop acting like a child," Lust said sternly.

I'm sick of this! he thought fiercely. I don't want to have to fake being friendly with these filthy creatures anymore! There's no plan! I shouldn't have to pretend to be nice! I hate them! I hate them! It's not fair!

But then he remembered that he didn't know for sure that there wasn't a plan, and Pride and Lust would just keep pestering him until he did what they wanted. Might as well get it over with. And with that thought, he sighed, muttered "Fine, fine" sarcastically under his breath, stood up, and plastered a broad and entirely fake smile across his face.

"It's a real pleasure to meet you, Madam Fuhrer," he said cheerfully, extending his hand for her to take. When she hesitated to accept it, staring at him with obvious unease, he merely grinned more widely. "Or should I say ex-Madam Fuhrer?" he asked, waiting for the flicker of sorrow to appear on her face before turning around and resuming his seat, quite pleased with himself and ignoring Pride's death glare. Hmph. Serves them right, thinking they can make me be nice to a human.

Of course, there was no way to take the words back and little point in trying to make Envy apologize. He'd said it in a friendly tone and could easily pretend to not understand what he'd done wrong. Selim shifted his gaze up to his mother's face, stricken to see her shaken and hurt by the unexpected reminder of her widowhood. This isn't going well, he thought, crestfallen and momentarily distracted by the urge to snap Envy's head off with a shadow, though of course that was impossible now and he regretted the thought as soon as it entered his mind.

Opting for distraction as the best way to avoid further hurtful comments, Selim quickly hurried on to introducing his next sibling.

Unsurprisingly, they had to wake him up first.

"Mother, this is Sloth. I know it's hard to believe, but he's actually not as scary as he looks."

Ms. Bradley wilted as Sloth stood up. He was a hulking giant, staring down at her without blinking, without any kind of expression at all. She remembered the way Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong towered over all the other officers, but at least he didn't look quite so… brutish.

"Remember, Sloth: Humans are fragile, so you have to be gentle."

Sloth turned his head slowly to look at his brother to see what he wanted him to do, and Selim held out his hand and nodded his head at his mother in demonstration. Groaning out a "What a bother," Sloth turned back to Ms. Bradley and languidly extended his hand, easily engulfing both of hers.

She was scared, but Ms. Bradley noticed that Sloth had indeed listened to Selim; his grip was carefully gentle and, despite his appearance to the contrary, she thought she could sense a certain meekness in him, a placid character underneath the muscled thug-like exterior.

"And this is Gluttony," Selim said. "He loves to eat and he's not especially bright."

As if to underscore the point, Gluttony had one finger in his mouth and turned between Ms. Bradley and Selim a few times.

"This is Pride's mother?" he asked his older brother uncertainly.

Selim nodded. The chubby bald man broke into a huge grin (which appeared genuine, unlike Envy's creepy fake smile), declared "Mother!" and, rather than taking her hand, instead engulfed her in a happy hug before she even had the time to protest. Just as she began to get over her initial shock, Gluttony released her and pleasantly began pointing at his siblings, listing their names as if she hadn't already just been introduced to them.

"Hi, Mother! I'm Gluttony! This is Lust, and that's Envy, and that's Sloth, and that's Greed! It's nice to meet you!"

She looked at the final person and froze.

The man staring back at her was the man who had attacked her, King, and Selim in their home not long before the coup d'état.

Greed – she remembered his name; when they'd fought, King had called him by name, had spoken as if he knew the man – appeared to remember her as well, his eyes widening as he recognized her from that night, then lowering when he saw her fear.

For a few moments, they both stood there, neither certain how to proceed. She had every reason to be afraid of him. Pride should have thought of this! Greed thought angrily. Damn, what am I supposed to do now? I wasn't attacking her, I was attacking Wrath!

There was nothing for it; he'd just have to explain and apologize and hope she accepted it.

Without knowing exactly what he was doing, Greed found his palms pressing together in front of his chest as he stood and gave a small respectful bow. What the…? Did Ling rub off on me that much? The gesture was definitely Xingese, but it felt right to him nonetheless.

"Uh, Ma'am, you have every right to be afraid, but I promise, I don't mean you any harm. I wasn't, uh… I was confused at the time-" True, but he hadn't been confused about who he was attacking. "-and I regret my actions-" Well, he didn't regret attacking Wrath, but he did wish he'd been smarter about it; he hadn't expected Wrath to be such a deadly opponent, and he'd only remembered the First Greed's helplessness in the midst of the fight. "-but I had no intention of hurting you or… Selim." Hell, her presence was probably the only thing saving my ass that night! If she hadn't been there, Pride'd have torn me into shreds! "Anyway, uh, sorry about that. Won't happen again." Awkwardly, he held out his hand.

Ms. Bradley stared at the hand for several seconds. She recalled the deadly gray claws that had slashed at her husband and countered his sword, but it was just an ordinary hand now and he sounded genuine. And Edward had called Greed a friend, had said that he could be trusted.

Timidly, she reached out and took his hand and Greed grinned in relief.

With that, the introductions were finished. She had met all of Selim's family.

With a silent prayer, Ms. Bradley wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into.


Author's Notes:

Ms. Bradley's name: I wish Ms. Bradley had an official first name, but unfortunately, that isn't the case and I couldn't write an entire story without giving her a name at some point. I assumed that Ms. Bradley is between 55 and 60 years old in 1914 (which makes her between 61 and 66 now), since King Bradley claims to be 60 in that same year, and searched for common female names in the 1850s. One of the names I found was 'Lily', and I thought she looked like a Lily, so that's what I picked.

The use of Pride versus Selim: I plan on switching between using Selim and Pride's name as the situation calls for it. The Homunculi will still think of their brother as Pride, while he and his mother think of him as Selim, so which name is used depends on the context of who the name is coming from, even mentally.

Greed and Wrath's fight: The FMA wiki says that Greed takes off when he realizes Pride is present and he can't handle both of them at once, but I don't see any proof of this in either the anime or manga. As far as I can tell, Greed flees when he has flashbacks of his defeat at Wrath's hands the first time, leading me to believe that he didn't remember being killed initially and only knew Wrath had killed his Chimera friends when he arrived at the Fuhrer's residence.