Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling.
From glen to glen and down the mountain side.
The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying.
'Tis you, 'tis you must go, and I must bide.

"Trisha, I will be leaving soon."

The blonde man's face became sober with grief and regret, a drastic change to his expression a moment ago.

Feeling confusion sweep across her face, Trisha could only furrow her eyebrows with worry.

"Please wait for me."

She heard the undercurrent of deep sorrow in his words, a slight hesitance as he turned towards her, bracing himself for what he thought she would say.

But she wasn't that kind of woman. She would never turn her back on the man she loved, even if he was leaving her. Trisha Elric was not shallow, nor was she weak.

So instead of declining, a smile graced her features, sad as it was.

"Alright."

It was easier said than done. Who knew one simple word could bring upon her such heart-ache and longing?

Hohenheim's eyes sparkled as he smiled. How foolish of him to doubt his wife.

"Thank you."

He walked forward and embraced Trisha's petite figure, wrapping his strong arms around her. Feeling wet tears soak his shirt, all he could do was pull her closer to him.

He had to leave. It was for the best.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow.
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow.
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.

The flames crackled high into the sky, burning the Elric house to the ground.

The brunette woman numbly sat herself on the edge of the cloud, not aware of the tears rolling down her face.

She watched the fire ravage her home, watched her sons stand in front of the fire, resolving to never turn back.

Trisha wanted to scream, yell, anything.

Anything to vent the sadness bubbling inside her.

Edward and Alphonse, they sacrificed too much to try and bring her back. It was painful leaving them behind, she was their mother, she should've stayed, seeing them try so hard to learn alchemy just so she could return to the living was such torture, because she knew that it would all be for nothing.

But she had no choice, her body had given up on her.

And as she watched her children make the promise in front of her grave, a promise that would be the start of their suffering, she wished with everything she had that she could've been a stronger woman. A stronger mother.

Trisha had left too soon, and in the end, her sons had paid a price.

Paid a price and received only hardship in return.

All they ever wanted was to see her smile. How could she not have seen that they only did what they did so as to make her smile, to make her laugh.

Her heart wrenched painfully as she watched them board the train for Central, to start the search for that mythical Philosopher's Stone. Watched as they turned their backs on the childhood they would never get the chance to experience.

All she wanted was to gather them into her arms and soothe away their guilt and pain, erase their tortured memories and rewrite the past.

All she wanted were her little boys again.

The soft breeze carried dark ash towards her, soot staining her pale dress.

"Come back home…"

Her whisper danced amongst the ruins of her home, never to reach the ears of the ones they were truly meant for.

But when ye come and all the roses are falling,
And I am dead, as dead I well may be,
Go out and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.

It's him!

He came back!

It's really him!

Trisha could barely keep her heart from jumping out of her chest with joy.

Although she couldn't help but feel guilty and sad for breaking her part of the promise, it couldn't suppress the happiness she felt at finally seeing his face again, after so many long years.

Every bit of him was the same, although weariness had aged him a little bit.

And as she stood up to jump off her small cloud, she felt another sensation tingle within her.

And I will hear tho' soft your tread above me,
And then my grave will warm and sweeter be.
For you shall bend and tell me that you love me,

It felt as if she was under something heavy, even though she was free in the sky with nothing above her but more clouds and the sun.

Then her ears picked up soft, muffled thumps, as if they came from above her.

What is this?

Looking down, she saw Hohenheim walk slowly towards where her body had been buried.

Then she understood.

For some strange reason, she seemed to be feeling the things she would feel as if she was underneath all that soil, inside her coffin.

The small thumps stopped above her, and she realized those were his footsteps as he stopped in front of her gravestone.

Trisha saw his eyes glisten with tears and his mouth twist into a frown.

Stepping off of her cloud, she drifted towards him, only to stop right beside him, her feet not making even a small impression on the grass.

"I'm sorry, my love."

She whispered, her hand coming up to rest on his shoulder, only to have it go right through.

Tears found their way down her face once more.

Being dead wasn't all that peaceful sometimes.

A small, sad smile wormed its way into her expression.

All that mattered was that he came back.

'He fulfilled his promise.'

And that thought alone could bring peace into her heart.

And I will sleep in peace until you come to me.

A/N

Yeah, yeah, I know, this came up suddenly unexpected XDD

Well, I've been thinking about writing for the past month already, but I wasn't in the mood to write anything :O And then I got over my writer's block and this came out ^^

So…yeah. I don't own FMA, just this plot, and the song is Eva Cassidy's 'Danny Boy'---you should listen to it, so sad

Anyways, thanks for reading~!

-Corsiva V.