FMA: Leave Nothing Behind
Title: Leave Nothing Behind
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (manga/Brotherhood)
Word Count: 681.
Rating: PG (brief language)
Summary: Ed's passed the State Alchemist exam. Now what?
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and all associated characters, settings, etc., belong to Hiromu Arakawa-san. The only profit I make from this work of fiction is my own satisfaction and, possibly, the enjoyment of others.
Author's Notes: Written for the April 23 prompt at 31_days - "there's always fire".
When Ed got back from taking the State Alchemist exam in East, he didn’t say very much - just that he passed. He showed them his watch, nodded at the right moments to all of their questions, and then he and Al snuck out of the house. Winry watched them go from her window upstairs, feeling that familiar sinking in her stomach. She didn’t need them to say it - she knew they were leaving soon. She dropped her chin atop the arms resting on the windowsill and sighed. A few tears escaped her eyes before she closed them tightly. The Elrics were her best friends, and as much as she wanted them to do whatever it was that they needed to do to fix themselves and bring things back to the way they were, she knew that none of them would be the same again.
~-~-~-~-
Hands stuffed into his pockets, Ed was quiet as he and Al walked among the tall grasses. The wind was strong that day, making Ed’s braid twirl out behind them. Al remembered how patiently Winry had taught his brother how to braid - how many times golden hair had caught between mechanical joints - how Ed would just bite his lip and try harder, try until he got it right.
That was his brother all over - refusing to admit defeat, no matter how much pain he inflicted on himself.
“Are you ready, Al?” Ed said suddenly, and Al knew exactly what he was asking.
“Of course, Brother,” he replied promptly.
“You know once we leave we can’t come back. Not until we get your body back.”
“I know. And yours too, Brother.”
Ed nodded shortly, head turning inexorably back to the house. Not the Rockbells’, but the house neither of them had entered since that night a year ago. Lately he always seemed to be looking over there. “I can’t help thinking we should do something about…” he trailed off, shrugging uncomfortably.
“We can keep the doors locked, Brother. Granny and Winry will look after it while we’re gone.”
“I know, Al, but once we leave, if we know that there’s still a home here waiting for us - don’t you think we’d just be tempted to give up and come back?”
Al was quiet. He didn’t think either of them were likely to feel that way, and he didn’t see what that house really had to do with home anymore - it hadn’t been home since Mom died, and they both knew that. They hadn’t even been living there this whole year. But his brother was struggling with something, and Al would let him talk it out until he solved it himself.
“I think… I think we should bring it down somehow,” Ed said slowly.
“Bring it down?” Al asked. He felt rather aghast at the notion. “Our house? But what if Dad comes ba-”
“He’s not coming back!” Ed snarled, and Al shrank away from the ferocity in his tone. “Don’t you get it? That bastard abandoned us and Mom-” His voice cracked, as it had started doing lately, and he flushed, glaring down at the dark house, with the oak tree and swing still waiting in the front yard. After a few moments, he hissed darkly, “I want to destroy it.”
Al sighed - started to sigh before he realized he couldn’t, and settled for letting his plated shoulders relax with a loud clatter. “Brother, are you sure? You can’t take that back once we’ve done it.”
“I’m sure.” Ed’s shoulders, by contrast, stiffened even further, until he could have been the one made of immovable metal. “I won’t change my mind, and I won’t take it back.”
And that could mean anything. But Al nodded as if his brother made perfect sense.
“The only thing is, how?” Ed mused. “If we tear it down with alchemy, someone else could easily put it back up…”
When it was clear he wasn’t going to continue, Al spoke up. As smart as his brother was, sometimes he could miss the obvious solution so easily. “Well, Brother, there’s always fire…”
END
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (manga/Brotherhood)
Word Count: 681.
Rating: PG (brief language)
Summary: Ed's passed the State Alchemist exam. Now what?
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and all associated characters, settings, etc., belong to Hiromu Arakawa-san. The only profit I make from this work of fiction is my own satisfaction and, possibly, the enjoyment of others.
Author's Notes: Written for the April 23 prompt at 31_days - "there's always fire".
When Ed got back from taking the State Alchemist exam in East, he didn’t say very much - just that he passed. He showed them his watch, nodded at the right moments to all of their questions, and then he and Al snuck out of the house. Winry watched them go from her window upstairs, feeling that familiar sinking in her stomach. She didn’t need them to say it - she knew they were leaving soon. She dropped her chin atop the arms resting on the windowsill and sighed. A few tears escaped her eyes before she closed them tightly. The Elrics were her best friends, and as much as she wanted them to do whatever it was that they needed to do to fix themselves and bring things back to the way they were, she knew that none of them would be the same again.
~-~-~-~-
Hands stuffed into his pockets, Ed was quiet as he and Al walked among the tall grasses. The wind was strong that day, making Ed’s braid twirl out behind them. Al remembered how patiently Winry had taught his brother how to braid - how many times golden hair had caught between mechanical joints - how Ed would just bite his lip and try harder, try until he got it right.
That was his brother all over - refusing to admit defeat, no matter how much pain he inflicted on himself.
“Are you ready, Al?” Ed said suddenly, and Al knew exactly what he was asking.
“Of course, Brother,” he replied promptly.
“You know once we leave we can’t come back. Not until we get your body back.”
“I know. And yours too, Brother.”
Ed nodded shortly, head turning inexorably back to the house. Not the Rockbells’, but the house neither of them had entered since that night a year ago. Lately he always seemed to be looking over there. “I can’t help thinking we should do something about…” he trailed off, shrugging uncomfortably.
“We can keep the doors locked, Brother. Granny and Winry will look after it while we’re gone.”
“I know, Al, but once we leave, if we know that there’s still a home here waiting for us - don’t you think we’d just be tempted to give up and come back?”
Al was quiet. He didn’t think either of them were likely to feel that way, and he didn’t see what that house really had to do with home anymore - it hadn’t been home since Mom died, and they both knew that. They hadn’t even been living there this whole year. But his brother was struggling with something, and Al would let him talk it out until he solved it himself.
“I think… I think we should bring it down somehow,” Ed said slowly.
“Bring it down?” Al asked. He felt rather aghast at the notion. “Our house? But what if Dad comes ba-”
“He’s not coming back!” Ed snarled, and Al shrank away from the ferocity in his tone. “Don’t you get it? That bastard abandoned us and Mom-” His voice cracked, as it had started doing lately, and he flushed, glaring down at the dark house, with the oak tree and swing still waiting in the front yard. After a few moments, he hissed darkly, “I want to destroy it.”
Al sighed - started to sigh before he realized he couldn’t, and settled for letting his plated shoulders relax with a loud clatter. “Brother, are you sure? You can’t take that back once we’ve done it.”
“I’m sure.” Ed’s shoulders, by contrast, stiffened even further, until he could have been the one made of immovable metal. “I won’t change my mind, and I won’t take it back.”
And that could mean anything. But Al nodded as if his brother made perfect sense.
“The only thing is, how?” Ed mused. “If we tear it down with alchemy, someone else could easily put it back up…”
When it was clear he wasn’t going to continue, Al spoke up. As smart as his brother was, sometimes he could miss the obvious solution so easily. “Well, Brother, there’s always fire…”
END