It is What it Is (FMA Fanfiction)

A Birthday To Remember

"Can I... um... talk to you two about something?"

Roy and Riza turned to face Alphonse, who was standing behind them sheepishly.

"Oh, hey, Alphonse, what's up?" Roy inquired.

"Well, it's about Brother... I think I finally understand part of the reason he's been cutting himself." Alphonse murmured.

Neither Riza nor Roy said anything, but they waited for him to continue.

"I think he's afraid of us leaving him... When Dad left, Brother reacted to it even worse than I did. He says he hates him for leaving mom, but I think there's more to it than that. Now he refuses to even acknowledge him as our father anymore and it's possible he's cutting partially to escape from his attachment issues towards others."

"A fear of abandonment...?" Riza mused, inquisitively.

"That would actually make some sense..." Roy said, remembering how adamant and scared Edward had been of Alphonse being mad at him, as well as how Edward seemed so troubled when he thought he blamed him for Hughes' death. Nobody liked the prospect of being disliked, but Edward almost seemed to have built a codependency on Alphonse's and other people's approval, even Ling now.

"Maybe we could do something special for him, sir." Riza suggested.

"Well, his birthday is coming up soon, if I recall correctly." Roy thought back to his records on Edward.

"Yes, it is." Alphonse confirmed, just then remembering it himself. "Oh, that reminds me, there was a stew that Aunt Pinako used to make for us all the time. Ed loved it. We could ask Winry for the recipe, so maybe you and her could make it, Ms. Riza."

"Did somebody say birthday?" Ling's voice startled all of them once again, before Riza had the chance to speak up, as he popped out of nowhere. "Maybe I can help."

...

"Grandma's stew? Yeah, I know the recipe. Why?" Winry said.

"Great!" Alphonse would be smiling if he had a body. "Then that'll work out perfect."

"What will?" Winry asked, all to confused by Alphonse's chipper mood.

"Well, you see, we were thinking of preparing stew for Ed's birthday, so I was wondering if you would be willing to help Ms. Riza prepare it." Alphonse said.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that...! I'm sure he'll love it." Winry smiled, excitedly. "Alright, I'll help."

...

Edward knew that something was up.

He just knew it.

There would be times where Winry and Alphonse were talking or even Roy and Riza and then when he approached them they grew silent and just plain acted suspicious(at least in his mind). They were clearly hiding something.

Were they thinking of shipping him off to some hospital or something? That was the last thing he wanted, and he'd probably just use alchemy to get out. Besides, he hadn't cut in the last few weeks, so why would they be still acting bouncy over that?

It must have been something else. Of course, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

...

"What's so important that you that you had to drag me out of bed for, Winry?" Edward grumbled. Come to think of it, she'd been coming over a lot lately.

"Oh, be quiet, Ed. It's after 6, you needed to get up anyway." Winry chastised, as she led him into the kitchen.

Edward opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the smell of a concoction of beef and vegetables. Not just any, either. It was the same unmistakable smell of the stew that Pinako used to make. His eyes widened a bit when he stepped into the kitchen to see Ling, Roy, Riza, and Alphonse sitting at the table with a pot of, sure enough, beef stew in the middle.