The Empath Alchemist {Edward Elric X Reader}

37

(Ling sketch ft. my class notebook)

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When did my world begin to revolve around you?

That was the question that repeatedly drifted through Edward's head as he lay on his best friend's bed, his head resting on his right arm which was folded behind it. He was on his side, eyes wide open though the only other pair within the room was closed.

It was dark in her room, without the lamp to illuminate it with its harsh artificial blare. The faded curtain was still drawn a bit, allowing a sliver of moonlight to gently caress the space and everything within it, including a few loose strands of Ed's hair and his nose.

He watched her as she slept away, hopefully conjuring dreams of a better life, a better future than the reality she was living now. Her body was turned to him, her knees curled up and tucked to her chest while her arms lay limply over the covers, one almost blocking Ed's view of her pretty face. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, watching the way her body rose and fell with her gentle breaths as if he were mesmerized. And he was. He couldn't deny it any longer.

When did his world begin to revolve around her?

He knew he was whipped simply because he was still laying there with her. In the dark. He should have been back with his brother an hour ago, but instead he stayed in content submission to (Y/n)'s request.

He had held her for a little while longer after she'd climbed onto him, rubbing circles over her back and tracing soft lines down her spine with his automail, his metal fingers producing quiet clinking sounds as they moved benignly in the stark silence of the fanciful room. Each time her arms tightened around his neck, or her legs shifted to somehow secure themselves even tighter around his torso, he sank deeper into her.

That was all that mattered. Not Roy, not the negative emotions that began to stir within (Y/n)'s mind, not the worry or hate or sadness, but the feeling that melted all of that away with a simple loving embrace. Edward was glad she initiated that hug, or else he would have been struggling with how he could have potentially comforted her without overstepping his boundaries all night.

When they pulled away from each other, they both lay down on the dusty pillows, which had to be wiped off before they could actually get comfortable on them. Edward made sure to turn and reach behind him for the bowl of food that he'd come to bring her in the first place, and he was glad to see that she ate without any complaints.

There wasn't much talking that transpired between them. Maybe the occasional comment here or there, but words were hardly exchanged. They didn't need to be. There was nothing else for them to really say to each other. So to replace their nonessential conversation, they just looked at each other, taking in their presence. In retrospect, Edward admitted that it would have sounded creepy to anyone who just so happened to hear about it out of context (not that he would willingly let someone in on his personal business), but he'd never felt more whole than he had in that moment. As his eyes bored into hers, he understood what he needed to understand, saw what he needed to see. He'd studied (Y/n)'s face more times than he could count, but he would have done it again and again, for hours and hours on end just to fall back in love with the natural curl in her lashes, the faded acne and battle scars on her face, and the soft color in her eye that never failed to ease him into a state of lightness.

Nothing needed to be said between them at that moment because there was a clear, mutual connection between them that only the heart, eyes, and mind could see. One that words could not form to verbalize. And yet, even so, there was something that Edward still ached to say that he failed to for the second time. There was one phrase that had been dying to get out of his mouth and into (Y/n)'s ears, one single phrase that consisted of three simple words that he could not force out, no matter how badly he wanted to. That phrase was the only thing that he felt he needed to speak in the midst of their silence.