Stand Up and Walk

Heavy, Ancient Bones

"Beckoned now by the snow-white backdrop, I go into a yet unseen world. Lost as I traveled under a gray sky, with a different map each day, so many dreams ran together. I wonder if someday, even with my modest stride, I'll be able to get beyond those clouds. Falling raindrops provide a persistent diffuse reflection, as though able to see into my heart, wounded for acting tough. Beams of light crisscross and shoot on forever without announcing where they're headed; faint afterimages burn into my eyes. Wherever I am under this sky, I should still arrive at a yet unseen world."
—Nico Touches the Walls, Hologram

...

You and Ed stand side-by-side in front of the blonde man. This is Ed and Al's father, and despite the fact that you lived with them for most of your life, Hohenheim is pretty much a stranger to you. You were four when Trisha took you in, and five when the man abandoned his family; even when he was still around, though, he spent the majority of his time holed up in his study, and Trisha always told you and the boys to leave him alone while he was in there.

The only real memories you have of the man aren't even actually of him, but of the impact he'd had on the family when he decided to pack his bags one night and leave, not even taking the time to say goodbye. You have vivid memories of the brothers asking Trisha questions about him—where he was, why he left, when he was coming back, if he loved them then why did he leave without saying goodbye?—and of Trisha crying to herself late at night when she thought you were all asleep.

You hate this man for abandoning the people that you love—the people that he was supposed to love. You're not related to the brothers by blood, and you'd still rather die than be apart from them. You usually try your best to see things from the other person's perspective, but the thought of putting yourself in Hohenheim's shoes makes you sick to your stomach.

Staring at the man's back, you're flooded with the memories of all the pain and suffering he's caused your family, and you want to punch him in the face as hard as you can with your automail arm.

But Ed told you that the two of you owe it to Mom to at least find out why he left, so here you are. You're willing to bite your tongue to make him happy, and he's right—you don't know if Trisha ever knew why he left...but for his sake, you hope he has a damn good reason.

There is a long beat of silence as you and Ed glare daggers at the man's back. Then, finally, he turns to face the two of you. His golden eyes—so close to those you're familiar with, but too cold and too distant—linger on Ed, flicking over to you briefly before returning to his son.

Bitterly, you wonder if he even remembers who you are.

"Edward," he greets, his voice low and soft, "Echo; you two appear to have grown some." He pauses, as if waiting for a reply. Then, seeing nothing but resentment reflected back at him, he half-turns away, speaking more to the air next to the two of you rather than at you directly. "I spoke with Pinako," he informs you, and your stomach twists. "...You tried human transmutation."

His words are not a question, and his tone is simultaneously judgmental and uncaring.

A fierce retort bubbles up in your throat, and you and Ed exchange a glance. He shakes his head at you almost imperceptibly, asking you to bite your tongue, and for him, you comply—quite literally biting down on your tongue to keep yourself in check. The fury that you can see reflected back at you in the boy's face only serves as fuel to your own rage, and if Ed were not here, Hohenheim would be lucky if all you gave him was a piece of your mind.

"What makes you think you can show up like this?" the boy spits, baring his teeth. "It's been ten years—there's nothing left for you here anymore!"

The man casts his gaze across the graveyard. "I noticed," he replies, his tone cold, his face like stone. His eyes land on the hill in the distance where the house that you had all grown up in used to stand. He shifts his face back toward the two of you, tilting his chin in the air and looking at you both down his nose. "Tell me, children: what possessed you to burn down my home?"