Leave A Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Together, Part I

"The ground is shaking underneath, now that you're here

A body's skipping beats when you appear"

- Take Me As You Found Me, Anberlin

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I noticed his movements somewhere in the space between consciousness and sleep. I noticed how his feet dragged, how his automail caught morning light. I noticed a strip of rust by his shoulder. And for a moment, I felt his energy.

"Ed..." My voice was groggy, my arm pushing away from the mattress and pushing me upright.

He turned around, looking at me with those big gold eyes.

"Yeah?" he asked. "What's up?"

I hesitated. Then I remembered how he was before... That solemnness, that depression-like silence.

"I..." I pushed back the emotions, the ones that were trying to break my voice down. "Have you been okay? Lately?"

He rose one eyebrow, one hand still in his pocket. "Uh, yeah." He quirked his head to the side. "Have you been okay?"

I had been so worried and so focused on him that I think I took the distraction and laughed. I didn't have time to cover my mouth, resulting in... Well...

Ed grinned, genuinely, characteristically wide.

"I got you to actually laugh," he said, echoing my small amusement. "Finally."

I blushed, my smile still there as I looked away. My hand rose to my mouth a little bit too late, and I gently pressed the side of my half-curled finger to my lips. Kept my stare to the corner of his bed, mostly hidden by the nightstand between our beds.

"You sure you're alright?" I asked again, meeting his stare.

He looked away this time. I couldn't see his eyes; his bangs covered that portion of his face. But I did see his shoulders shrug, the action quick and careless.

"Yeah," he answered. He grinned again, taking a moment before turning his smile to me. One that barely reached his eyes. "I'm fine; nothin' I can't handle."

I thought of when he was blind; when Al had asked if he could see, and Ed just responded with a grin.

"Nothin' I can't handle! I'll be back in no time, Al, just you wait!"

What was going on...? What was he trying to come back from this time?

Ed spoke my name, pulling me out of my thoughts.

He shook his head, still very soft with the motion. "You worry way too much." He grinned again, and this time his eyes curved with it. "Everything couldn't be better right now. You have my word on that."

I... I didn't know what to say. Did he really mean right now? Just us in the room? Even when he and Al didn't have their bodies back?

"You sure?" I returned.

He nodded. "Promise."

I blushed at this, cheeks tinting and my mouth pressing in a thinner line. I... I guess I just didn't want to smile. I was focusing on fighting back those butterflies in my gut.

"You worry too much," Edward said, pulling on his coat, adjusting the front of it in quick, careless flaps. The words drifted from him, half-sung as his brows raised. He grinned when I looked up to meet his eyes, and then I watched him start passed me, hand beckoning in a wave.