Leave A Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist)

I'll Follow You

A/N: Lemon ahead.

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It happened in the worst of times.

I never saw it coming; I don't think I could've done anything to prevent it, even if my eyes had turned enough. Even if my head had moved away from whatever I was fighting.
I can't even remember the type of creature, the humanoid Homunculus that was before me. Recovering in snaps of red.

I just saw Ed, I heard the cry that came from anger. A final yell, a hope of resonance.

I looked, seeing hand connecting to claw, watching the metal ripple out. The front plate dribbling to a skidding stop near me. And here I was, bruise and cut, staring as the flash of power cleared.

Red lightning cracked from the Homunculi's chest, snapping out as Ed stood with one boot on the monster's upper-torso.

I didn't want to look, but that expression, that sense of determination in Ed's eyes. I could only think back, think to his first drawing. The sense of urgency, the rough promise...

I swallowed down my screams of agony, my brain splitting in two

We...

We had killed so much... So many...

Al spoke next, as ash flew away from a dissolving homunculus. The one I had been fighting, cleared away like cloth against a dirty mirror.

"B-Brother..."

Ed stepped off, twisting and flashing a round kick. Testing wounds as they healed. "I'm fine, Al," he said, and we left it at that.

But...

"But... your arm."

"Hm?" Ed brought his arm up, wires exposed from the lack of a front plate, and bolts dropped from the opening.

His hair stood on end, and quickly he stopped down to gather them from the ground. "We-we need to fix this!" There was a high-pitched panic in Ed's voice; something I'd never heard before.

Al was by his side immediately, as I gently made my way closer.

"Well..." the small voice in the large suit examined his brother's arm, turning it this way and that. "I'm not sure it can be fixed like last time, Brother..."

"It has to!!"

Al and I both stood, the larger of us inspecting the automail. Ed was nearly hysterical.

"Well, can you fix it?!"

"I..." Al fumbled with his arm, and another bolt fell out of his brother's elbow. Nervous, Al started shaking a little. "Sorry! I can't do anything without the pieces!"

"And those were all totally obliterated, thanks to that damn Homunculus' power..." Ed sighed, falling into a sitting position, and my stare went back to the shrapnel surrounding us. They were microscopic, those pieces, if they'd even survived at all.

"What're we going to do?" I asked, cautiously watching Ed in case he needed my help.

He got to his feet with no problem, and I felt a guilt press into my stomach. His arm was broken; not his leg.

He didn't respond to my question. His gaze only swept up to Al, and when he looked away, another small sigh fell from his lips.

"Gotta go get it repaired, probably."

"O...okay..." I shifted my gaze between them, completely lost at why this was such a big deal. But I remembered all the strange ways Ed reacted when Winry was mentioned... And a little bit of me understood.