Leave A Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Dublith

I woke up with a blanket over my body. Soft, thick, and a deep red—it was incredibly nice, but I didn't remember even cuddling up with it before I fell asleep. I sat up, looking down at the blanket. Come to think of it, I don't even remember noticing any blankets around the hotel room...

My attention was drawn to the kitchen area, where Al was humming in front of the stove. His back was to me, but I could see the tall chef hat on top of his helmet, the ties of a white apron across his back.

"Good morning, Al!" I chirped.

The younger Elric looked behind his shoulder and smiled at me. He echoed my greeting just as happily. The silence left me to look around, wondering aloud where Ed was.

The alchemist in question stepped out of the bedroom, bright eyes blinking at me.

"You called?"

The events of last night shot into my consciousness, the pain forcing me to look down. I listened as Ed approached the kitchen, stopping at the bar counter to say something to his brother.

He was completely happy... Like nothing between us had even happened. I watched him continue to lean on the counter, grinning at Al as the teen in the suit continued cooking... Whatever he was making.

"You've been reading all those recipes at the library, huh, Al?"

Al turned to look at him, making me notice how his chef hat was a little crooked. The front of his white apron was stained with pancake batter, too. He smiled at Ed with his eyes, giggling a little.

"I sure have!" Al replied. "There's so many books on cooking I haven't read yet! I'll need you guys to be my taste testers so I know which recipes to save for when I get my body back!"

Ed just grinned a little more. "Sure thing!"

I only smiled, and a few moments later, a small stack of piping hot pancakes were being offered to me.

"Bon appétit."

I looked up at Al, seeing his smile. I wanted to reach up and adjust that crooked hat, but something about the skewedness just seemed to fit...

"Thank you!" I took the plate, giving a small laugh as I picked up the fork he had in between two of his fingers.

"Hey, not bad, Al." Ed commented through the side of his mouth. He was leaning against the counter, one arm resting on the granite slab.

"Really?" Al said.

Ed nodded a few times, taking another bite. "Needs some syrup, though."

"Oh‼" Al sped off to the stove again. "I made some right here! I just forgot to put it on!"

Ed and I both grinned as Al darted between us, pouring enough syrup on my small stack and Ed's massive pile. I blinked at how many pancakes he had; how did he eat that much?!

"Thanks, Al." Ed grinned as his brother tilted the syrup container upright.

Al smiled. "You're welcome, brother! I'm glad you like the pancakes!"

I smiled, watching with one arm on the couch, one hand supporting the side of my face. Ed just nodded at his brother's reply, cutting off another piece of three pancake layers.

He slipped the fork in between his lips, the utensil turned upside down.

"Hey, so I bumped into Hawkeye on the way back from Central library." he said suddenly.

I wasn't sure who Hawkeye was, but Al seemed ecstatic.

"Really? How's she doing?"

Ed just nodded along, taking another bite in that weird way of his. "She's doing well. Nothing much going on. She told me a little bit about that Philosopher's Stone in Dublith, though."