Leave A Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist)

After Rain/Shell of Someone Unknown

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to meme_qod for being an awesome reader :-)

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I awoke to the sound of rain pattering against the inn window.

My eyes opened, seeing the other half of the bed embedded with the ghost of Ed.

I moved my head down, watching him get ready for the day. But his eyes still looked so tired, just as exhausted as they did before I dozed off last night. My own sight closing, giving into the darkness descending over my vision and trying to balance the weight of myself. Fracture and repair at the same time; make everything not so unstable when he held me like that. Broken in the warm of a strong, flesh arm that shouldn't have to burden itself with my space. Occupied with trying to focus enough on the slight chill his automail gave out, even with the heat we radiated between mattress and sheet. Trying to break and build at the same time until sleep forced itself upon me.

I felt just as exhausted as he looked, sometimes. But then I remembered I didn't deserve to make such a comparison.

I slipped out of bed, padding on tiptoes until my feet stopped at his suitcase, already open wide for whatever I needed to pull out. My fingers walked in between a few folders, military documents, and dug up a fresh change of clothes. Things I wore, covered my physical existence with—a sight that was almost as scarred as the inside of me.

I nearly smiled at that comparison. In the other room, water shot out with a squeak, landing on a bath floor and creating solid patters. Rhythms that kept repeating.

I looked up, staring across the room and seeing Ed's body bow forward, arms reaching up to claw off his shirt. I focused on his hands, how they started off so pointed/clawed, a primal look before they latched onto the fabric, slipping the darkness away from his skin. Freeing himself from it.

I wondered what he would do, if he knew I couldn't free myself. I couldn't slip my skin off like he could.

With his hand hanging down at his side, metal fingers straightening and relaxing enough to drop the shirt in a small puddle near at his feet, his other hand rose. Tending to closed eyes, probably trying to wake himself up a bit more. Make that fatigue less noticeable.

He sniffed for a moment, making me worry he was getting sick again. And then he spoke, head bowing a bit. Eyes still closed away from me.

He began with my name, a word I was shocking those walls with. Testing them still, making sure they wouldn't break this early in the morning. With him here, standing far away like that. Speaking to me so softly.

"You know we care about you, right? Al and I."

I didn't expect him to say something like that. Anything... But that. I stared, stunned with my eyes wider than usual. And when I didn't say anything, he turned around, looking over his shoulder. Those eyes meeting my large ones. And a soft smile came to his face, as he stepped around to face me a bit more head-on.

He held my gaze, waiting patiently with the water still thumping in rapid movements behind him. Wasting energy, I wanted to say. My mouth opened, wanting to remind him he should get going. There was a lot of work to do today, and he didn't need to start with nurturing me. I didn't even have to continue on, if he didn't want me to. I could stay, leave as they did. Both of us parting ways again.

A wall cracked, breaking in between two middle layers. It was enough to flinch my expression into a wince, a light twitch of my brow. But instantly, even with that distance between us, that smile he always gave me flatlined. He said my name again, and I broke a bit further.