FMA: Gilded (Tears)
Twentieth chapter of Gilded! First chapter/explanation of this fic is here, with links to later parts.
Title: Gilded
Prompt: Tears
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (manga/Brotherhood)
Word Count: 324.
Rating: PG
Summary: In which Alphonse needs - and gets - a hug.
Warnings: SPOILERS through to the end of the manga/Brotherhood. I've been advised by evil_little_dog to warn for "incessant cuteness" as well. :)
Author's Notes/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.
Al wasn’t sure what happened, exactly. One moment he was telling Winry about how he had felt when he first emerged from the Gate, how the warmth of his father’s hand had sent a jolt throughout his wasted body, and the next his breath was hitching and something warm and wet was streaming down his face. Tears, he realized belatedly. I’m crying.
Why am I crying?
“Oh, Al,” Winry said softly. “Here.” She edged closer to him on the couch, putting one arm around him and using her other hand to guide his head down to her shoulder. He buried his face in her blouse, his fingers gripping her arm as if she was the only thing holding him together. He thought that maybe she was. She smoothed the hair on his head and held him like a baby, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “It’s all right. Cry as much as you need to, you’ll feel better. It’s okay.”
“Wh-what’s hap’ning?” Al managed to choke out around his sobs. “I don’t un-ner-stan…”
He felt her kiss the top of his head. He thought she might have been crying with him, but her voice was rock-steady when she answered, “Al, your father died. You spent four years in a suit of armor after your body was ripped away. Your brother sacrificed his arm to save your life.”
Al muffled a slight, horrified wail into her shoulder, as if he had only just now realized that these things were real, that they had actually happened.
“I know,” she whispered. “So much, so, so much, and you couldn’t respond to it physically. Humans need to cry sometimes, Al. Your body’s just making up for all those years when it couldn’t.”
Al nodded, his entire frame trembling under the force of his tears.
“It’s okay,” she told him, still rocking him and stroking his hair. “Cry it all out, Al. I’ll be here.”
TBC ( Part 21 - Ultraviolet)