"Oh, well in that case, come in Mr.Hoenheim," you said, leading the man inside.

He followed you back to the room with the couch, where you politely gestured for him to sit.

"Thank you miss," he trailed off, "I don't think you introduced yourself."

"Oh, sorry. I'm (Y/n) (L/n)."

"Thank you miss (Y/n). I don't mean to pry, but what are you doing at the Rockbell's house? Surely your parents are worried about you?" Hoenheim asked, unintentionally bringing up painful memories.

You turned your gaze sadly towards the ground.

"Th-this is my home now. My parents were killed in an accident during a storm. Winry and Pinako took me in as one of their own."

"I-I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't mean to upset you," he apologized.

"It's fine, you didn't know. It was a long time ago, and this isn't the first time I've talked about it with someone else. Except, last time was a lot more difficult, and more detailed. Now thinking of my parents brings up bittersweet memories and," you stopped, realizing you were telling all of this to a complete stranger.

Why did you trust him so quickly?

Was it because his face and eyes reminded you of Edward? Or was it his apology reminded you of Alphonse?

Something about him seemed very familiar.

"You don't have to talk about your parents if you don't want to. I know how difficult it can be to talk about lost loved ones, even after a long period of time," he told you.

At those understanding words, a thought hit you. It was only a theory, but you decided it was worth at least asking about.

But before you could question him, footsteps were heard coming out from Pinako's room. As Winry walked down the hall, she noticed you and the stranger sitting on the couch. She eyed him curiously as she approached.

"Um, hello there. Is there something I can help you with?" She asked.

Hoenheim stood from his seat and walked over to her.

"Apologies for the intrusion, I'm an old friend of Pinako's. Van Hoenheim is the name, but just Hoenheim is fine," he said, shaking her hand in a similar fashion as he had done with you.

"Oh, it's good to meet you. I'm Winry, Pinako is my grandmother. Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to check up on an old friend before I went to see my sons and my wife. I was passing through and thought it would be a good idea," he explained.

'Sons,' you thought, 'Could it be?'

"Mr.Hoenheim, if you don't mind me asking, where do your sons and wife live?" You asked.

Hoenheim looked surprised at you, before smiling and answering your question.

"They live in a house in the forest. It's rather large, more of a castle than a house."

"H-how long has it been since you saw them?" You questioned further.

"The last time I saw them was probably when they were little boys."

"Would they even recognize you? Or at least, you recognize them?" Winry asked, not picking up on your suspicions.

"Probably not. But as long as they're still there I should be able to recognize them from what they looked like when they were little," he replied.

"How old would they be now?" Winry questioned further.

"Around both of your ages."

"Mr.Hoenheim," you cut in before Winry could ask a different question,"what are the names of your sons?"

"The older one's name is Edward, the younger one is Alphonse."

Winry's eyes locked with yours in realization. Silence filled the room, no one saying a word. Hoenheim seemed to realize those names meant something to the two of you. As he was about to ask whether you two had met his sons, a small girl's voice spoke up.

"You're Ed and Al's dad!?"

Everyone's eyes went to your bag sitting on the table. No one moved as a small teacup hopped its way out of it, looking up at all of you excitedly.

"(Y/n), why is Elicia in your bag?" Winry asked in a calm, monotone voice.

"She stowed away when we left the castle."

"Do her parents know where she is?"

"I have no idea. I'm going to take her back as soon as Pinako is well enough."

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but why is there a talking teacup in your bag?" Hoenheim asked, walking over and sitting back down on the couch to get a closer look at Elicia. "And why does she know my sons?"

You and Winry exchanged a glance.

"It's, kind of a long story," Winry said hesitantly.

"And, there might be some news in it that might be hard to take," you added.

Hoenheim looked up from Elicia back at the two of you. Slowly, he leaned back on the couch and folded his hands. He put one leg over the other as he got comfortable.

"I'm going to hear whatever bad news it is eventually. I've got a lot of time, so please, tell me this long story of yours."

***

After a very long time of retelling everything that had happened since the day Den had returned to the house alone, including the part about both you and Winry's developing feelings, all of you sat in silence.

Several minutes passed without words, Hoenheim silently processing all the information he had gained.

"So, you're saying that my wife Trisha is dead? And that she died a long time ago? And that my sons tried to bring her back with alchemy?"

You nodded silently, knowing it was a lot to take in.

"I'm sorry for your loss," you quietly said.

"And you're saying that their failure resulted in Edward being turned into a beast, and Alphonse into a hollow suit of armor?"

"Correct," you said.

"And all the servants in the castle got turned into objects? And Edward made both of you stay there in exchange for Pinako's freedom? That sounds like him," Hoenheim chuckled grimly.

"Actually, it was just Winry. He tried to get rid of me, but I refused to leave," you smiled.

"You say that you fell in love with my younger son, correct?" He asked you.

You blushed, looking at the ground. This was the brothers' father, of course you were embarrassed.

"Y-yes sir."

"And you don't care if he has a body? You love him in his current state?"

You slowly looked up to meet his eyes, voice no longer lacking confidence as you spoke.

"Well, yes. Love isn't centered around physical appearance. It's centered around two people's souls. A lot of people don't seem to understand that. All they look for is physical attributes, and that can be the reason relationships fall apart. In the end, whether or not he has a body doesn't matter at all. So yes, I love him exactly as he is. And no, I don't care if he has a body."

Winry, Hoenheim, and Elicia all stared silently at you, surprised. Winry's mouth was slightly hanging open because of it.

Your (e/c) orbs and Hoenheim's golden ones remained locked for a few moments, before at last he looked away and chuckled slightly. A slight panic hit you as he laughed.

"Those were some very wise words from such a young lady," he met your gaze again, "you make a fine match for my son. I'm happy for him and you."

The panic faded, and you smiled at him.

He turned to look at Winry, who still had her mouth slightly agape. She quickly shut it.

"Do you feel the same way about Edward?"

"O-of course!" She said.

"Then when Pinako is better, we'll all go there together. Is it alright if I stay here until that happens?"

You and Winry exchanged looks, before she answered.

"That'll be fine. You should go talk to Pinako, I'm sure she'd love to see you again!"

"Alrighty then, I'll go say hello," he said, following Winry to Pinako's room.

You remained in the room with Elicia, looking down at her.

"We should probably go before Aunt Pinako's better to get you back home," you thought aloud, only half-speaking to the little teacup. "I suppose I could ask Mr.Hoenheim to bring just me and you there for the moment, since one of us has to stay behind to take care of Pinako, and Winry has a better knowledge of medicine than I do since her parents were doctors. But then Ed would probably be really disappointed if we came back without her," you continued debating out loud with yourself as you sat down on the couch.

Eventually you decided you would ask if he could take at least Elicia back if he visited the brothers before you both could go.

After about forty-five minutes of talking with Pinako, Winry and Hoenheim returned to the room you were in. The two of them sat down next to you as you started describing the Elicia situation, eventually deciding someone needed to bring her back as soon as possible. And based on Winry's estimate, all of you would be able to go together sometime in the next few days.

You all continued talking for a while longer, happily chatting, even laughing occasionally. It wasn't until a loud banging on the front door occurred that any of you got up.

Hoenheim rose from his seat.

"I'll get it. I wonder who it could be at this hour."

Alarms immediately started going off in your head. Something was wrong. Why would someone be knocking so late? And why did the knocking sound angry?

It was either an emergency situation, or something was trying to get inside the house with harmful intentions. Neither one was a good option.

Hoenheim had barely even opened the door when he was slammed against the wall by something. Or rather, someone.

The person who was now pinning him to the wall had greenish-black hair that reminded you a bit of a palm tree. In the dark light, his unnaturally purple eyes seemed to glow with hatred as he stared at the man before him.

"You thought you could outrun me, Hoenheim of Light!? Well there's nowhere to run now! I can finally kill you myself!" The man shouted, moving his fist at an impressive speed directly towards Hoenheim's face.

"Wait!" Winry and you shouted in sync.

The man's fist stopped, centimeters from Hoenheim. His purple eyes darted towards the two of you, noticing for the first time that there were other people in the room.

"H-he has to see his sons in the forest! He hasn't seen them in years! Can't you at least let him do that before you kill him!?" Winry shouted.

"WHAT!? THIS," the man used a curse word to describe Ed and Al's father, "HAS SONS!?"

All of your expressions, Winry's, Elicia's, Hoenheim's, and yours, all changed to ones of horror.

"N-no, that's not-"

"I CAN'T LET ANYONE OF BLOOD RELATION TO THIS," he used the same curse word again, "CONTINUE LIVING! I'll be back to kill you later, Hoenheim!"

He began to bolt out the door, leaving him against the wall. Before he took two steps, he turned back around and said, "Thanks for the information, girl," before running off and into the dark forest. 

(A/N- CLIFF HANGA SUCKAS! Anyways, I just needed to say some stuff. First, I finally updated the cover to an actual relevant thing. I had fun drawing it too. And second, I will be gone for the next five days at a bible camp thing. And the internet there sucks/is nonexistent. So that means I won't be able to type/respond/draw fanart (unless I make OCs). So if I don't respond, it's not because I'm ignoring you. Welp, that's about it. Have a fun time waiting in suspense! And thanks for reading!)