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"There's nowhere to run this time!" Al's echoy voice said from the other side of the alleyway, effectively trapping the former freezing alchemist between three alchemist that he'd have to fight if he made any attempt at escaping, but Instead of showing any signs of nervousness, McDougal just laughed, giving you a creepy smile. 

"Clearly....but who's running?" 

He raised his arms like a mock showman and a column of bright red transmutation energy flickered to life from the circle behind him, It shot up into the sky like an electrical beam, multiple others just like it appearing within different parts of the city. Out of instinct you moved closer to Ed as you watched each red beam shoot up into the sky, this shouldn't be possible, an alchemic reaction on this scale is hard even for the most skilled alchemists.

So for an ex military officer, one who fought in the Ishvalen civil war to accomplish something on this level....

"There's reactions all over the city!" Ed cried out looking up at the sky "That's impossible, the scale is too large! Unless..." Al started to trail off in disbelief "Brother, could it be? Does he have-"

"A Philosopher's Stone!" Ed finished for him with an excited but feral smile overcoming his face before it quickly fell when the air changed from a scorching heat that always came from an alchemic transmutation to an eerie chill. Ice crept through the cracks in the ground and when you let out an experimental breath, it turned into mist. 

He's freezing the moisture in the air.

"Edward Elric..." McDougal drawled, bringing your attention back to him. "You've sworn your life to act as a dog of the military, but do you even know what this military is trying to do?" You frowned at that, was this his attempt at deflecting the blame for the damage he's caused? His reason for killing as many as he did? You're not stupid, it's basically an open secret that the military isn't completely squeaky clean and made up of heroes designed to protect its country and citizens. 

But it's less compelling to listen to a man who indulges in the very same actions as the people he's against.

"Who cares? It's not my problem!" Ed retorted back, gritting his teeth against the cold.

"Don't be a fool! Bradley's going to lead this country to ruin!"

"I told you, I don't care!"

Al jumped over the giant ice wall that was built after McDougal's transmutation, landing right behind him as he took a couple of swings at the man, knocking him right out of the alley and straight into a railing with a bodily thump. As he tried to catch his breath, all three of you started to cautiously surround him "So where is it? You have a philosopher's stone don't you?

But McDougal only let out a raspy, sarcastic chuckle "What are you talking about?

"I won't ask again, where is it?! I'll force it out of you if I have too!" Ed snarled, switching to a threat the minute he realized he wouldn't get what wanted with a simple talk.

"And how are you gonna do that, huh? Face it kid, you're out of your league!" As McDougal spoke, the large fountain behind him exploded, creating an endlessly growing wall of ice that he was able to grab onto, disappearing quickly while the ice expanded over the fountain's barrier, towards them.

Both Al and you reacted immediately, Al making a pathway for you to follow while you grabbed Ed's hand to keep up with him and stay together. The three of you ran past Armstrong, who had presumably spotted the massive, moving ice wall "Stand back and prepare for a display of Armstrong alchemy!" "Go for it, Major!" Ed shouted as his gauntlets shone an electric blue. "Witness the alchemic art passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" The man threw his arm forward, landing a heavy punch on the base of the wall.

Upon contact the wall skewed off into a completely different direction, hitting a nearby apartment building.

'Oh, he made it way worse' You thought with amusement born from panic, watching screaming civilians scramble out of the way before the ground shook. If you could still talk, you'd probably have let out a loud curse as you and Edward mindlessly grabbed onto each other so that neither of you fell to the ground "The ice- it's converging!" Al shouted in alarm as you looked at the growing ice walls coming from different sections of the city "Which means..." Ed said slowly, connecting the dots. "Dammit, it's Central Command! He's gonna freeze it over!"

Your face tightened as you pulled on his sleeve "Are we splitting up? We can't all go after him—"

"Leave the circles to me." Armstrong interjected sharply "Three people against him will slow him down enough for me, so go!" You gave the older man a nod and fled deeper into the city alongside Ed and Al, McDougal stood on the edge of his multitude of moving ice walls, perched like a sea captain commanding his fleet of ships. You hurriedly dug through your coat pocket and tossed Al a piece of chalk so that he could draw a transmutation circle, hitching a ride with Ed instead as you grabbed onto his shoulders and let him launch the two of you upwards and directly in McDougal's path, Al following a few seconds later, metal clinking behind you.

McDougal barely gave any of you a moment to breathe before he had molded the ice into a large wave, only to be countered by Ed decimating the ice he stood on, pushing him backwards into the air. You intercepted by dropping to the ground and curving a thick shield made out of the edge of the ice you were standing on, remembering his habit of heating up water as a means of escape.

First the night before, second earlier that day, and again this time.

A clear cut pattern.

While the wall was left significantly thinner than you would have hoped, it kept the boiling rain McDougal made from burning you or Ed. On the other hand, it obstructed everyone's view, so all three of you were caught off guard when McDougal was suddenly in your face once again. Al's response to this is to grab both you and Ed by the back of your coats but having that many people in his arms would surely slow him down and possibly prove fatal since McDougal could just grab one of you by the limbs and inflict long lasting damage.

So you make a decision, a certainly stupid one but a decision that slows him down nonetheless.

You drop down once again to avoid being grabbed by Al, which alarms both him and Ed if the sound of your name coming from the two of them all panicked and confused confirms anything by it. You slap a hand against the icy floor and transmute it at the same time McDougals hand misses touching your face by an inch, the floor underneath the two of you crumbles into nothing as you descend downward back onto the street, you hear two shouts, but the wind rushing past your ears as you basically plummet down makes them hard to hear.

You're lucky that you keep that random hammer on you or else you would have been in the same predicament as McDougal. The man crumbles to the ground like a puppet cut from its strings after hitting his body on multiple jagged edges of ice, you slide down the ice wall, almost slipping face first onto the ground once you reach the bottom but you manage to steady yourself.

Al and Ed follow behind you a few minutes after you hit the ground and you are immediately getting an angry, agitated blonde in your face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was!? You could have gotten hurt! or worse!" He exclaimed, sticking a finger right in your face as he grit his teeth and glared like you personally wronged him.

But his eyes held fear, fear and worry as he looked you over like you'd disappear if he didn't keep his eyes on you.

"Al couldn't grab us both." You reasoned, looking back at McDougal who still hadn't budged from where he'd landed, probably still dazed by his fall and the injury he now had on his shoulder. Ed made an unidentifiable noise, one between anger and worry before he directed his attention at your injured target, you sighed a little, knowing that even though he redirected the target of his anger that you will be getting an earful from both him and Al later after this.

"There's no water for you to use, so give it up!" Ed ordered as he walked towards the injured killer "Just tell us what we wanna know!"

McDougal chuckled, weakly pushing himself up with his hands "You're forgetting, I have all the water I need— 70% of my body!"

Your eyes widened as several lengths of solidified blood extended from McDougal's fingers, pricing through Ed's right shoulder, Al is the first to move, breaking the solid blood spikes as Ed drops to his knees from the sudden pain, you're right beside him in a heartbeat, checking over the wound and the ice cold spike still imbedded into his skin.

McDougal struggled to his feet "Why can't you fools understand? I'm trying to save this country!" the ground shook once more as his giant ice walls finally caught up, McDougal turned, examining his work as frost began to creep up the side of Central Command, and laughed. 

And he kept laughing as he started walking away.

"Brother?" Al questioned with worry as he kneeled in front of the two of you "I'm not done." Ed grit out, suppressing a pained grunt as he tore the red spike from his shoulder. Your face twisted into a frown but you made no effort in discouraging him, you destroyed an ice pillar underneath your feet and could have plummeted to your death if you weren't careful enough, trying to stop Ed would just be hypocritical.

So you help him stand up and follow the direction McDougal went in.

In the end, it's the Fuhrer who takes down Issac The Freezer. By the time the three of you arrived for another attempt at capturing him, he was nothing more than a body under a white sheet.

McDougal is now dead and so is another lead at finding a philosopher stone.

The one-eyed man diverges all the credit to Mustang in the end though, not really caring much about the situation other than the fact it will make an exciting story for his son. Edward ends up in the hospital due to his stab wound, You and Al came by extension so that he wasn't left alone and so you could be checked out as well(Al insisted that you did despite your many attempts at saying you were fine.) Your only two problems were that the skin on your hand had gained an irritated rash due to your tight grip on your hammer as you fell from the air at a high speed and the freezing cold temperatures during the fight.

Your second problem? Edward was still mad at you for the stunt you pulled.

"It was dangerous and you know it!" He spat, glaring at you from his hospital bed with both hands tightening around the blanket, Al laid a gentle pat against his brother's back "Brother calm down." He said softly before turning his helmet towards your direction "But i agree with him, what you did was very dangerous (Name)" you stood there with your head hung low as you stared at the ground with a pouty expression.

Like the either of them haven't also attempted and did dangerous things to keep the other safe.

But not like you can really voice that right now.

So you use your next best trick.

The puppy eyes. The infamous puppy eyes Ed, Al and even Winry, for all of her stubbornness that somehow outweighed Edward's couldn't stay mad at.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't want you guys getting hurt, I was thinking about the two of you."

The effect is immediate, Al's metal body sags and Ed's jaw tightens, and while yes most would consider this as a bad sign, you know this is him fighting the urge to just accept the slowly receding anger.

The advantages of being childhood friends.

"If I let Al grab me, he would have used our shared slowness against us. I wasn't trying to be a martyr, I promise."

"It's okay (Name)!" Al interjects, always the most forgiving one between him and Ed "It's just very scary when you do dangerous things without consulting brother or I of a plan first, we made codes for that, remember?" Of course you remember, the year Ed was doing his physical therapy after the colonel came knocking on Granny's door you had picked up learning sign language and by extension so did everyone else in the house. Soon after Ed passed his state alchemist exam and whisked you to the city with him and Al, you made secret nonverbal codes for certain situations.

But you hadn't used them, not like you had time too anyway, but you could have sent one of them a look that would explain why you almost let yourself fall and achieve a cracked open skull.

"I know, I'm sorry." You repeat again, looking at them both with a small, but fond smile. "forgive me?" 

"Of course you're forgiven!" Al exclaimed happily, sending you a thumbs up before all attention turned back to Ed who was still, halfheartedly really, glaring at you with gritted teeth.

The puppy eyes intensified and his face flushed a darker red.

"Okay! Whatever! Apology accepted now, stop looking at me like that!" They never fail when used against him, you let out this amused snort and hide the growing smile on your face behind the sleeve of your coat.

"Don't laugh at me!" He shouts, flustered and angry but for a different reason this time.

Too bad Major Armstrong had to cut it short.

He was calmly sitting on the grass with Winry and Al, Al was waving around an open book, talking about alchemy you assumed, while your dad braided Winry's hair. She had started growing it out in the fall instead of keeping it shoulder length like past few years you've known her.

'Wanted to experiment.' she had said.

You know she just wanted to be closer to her mom, her parents have been on the front lines for the last three years as doctors for the ongoing war in Ishval. She's sent them letters but you know she would much rather have them here in person than having to wait weeks for each letter to be shipped back and forth.

"I don't....follow." You say slowly, looking back at Ed whose face only just sours like you're being dumb on purpose "I mean he's so- ugh, he doesn't really act like how he looks." Like that makes any more sense than his original statement. "Your dad's all strict looking and he's super quiet and tall but he's so....nice." He says nice like it's a contradiction, a paradox that shouldn't exist, because how can someone who can demand authority in a room with just his presence and serious expression alone be nice?

But that's the thing, your dad is a nice person.

His students come to love him once they get to know his actual personality behind the rigid posture and sharp facial expressions. Your dad is the type of man to stay behind and help kids who can't understand the work well enough, your dad is the type of man who  will help shop owners open up their stores early in the morning and decline money as a reward, he is the type of man who will defend women from harassment and then walk with her to assure her safety, he is the type of person who brings tea to Granny when she spends to long in her workshop and have monthly dinners so that she isn't alone.

But he's also a really great dad.

It's no secret that your dad raised you by himself and you don't shy away from the topic of what happened to your mother, she was barely there in the first place and then she died when you were four. Your dad was the one who learned how to braid your hair when you grew it out one year, he listened to you explain every origin of the rocks displayed in your room that you found in the forest near town, he was the one who bought you your first alchemy book and sat down with you to read it even though he barely understood alchemy himself.

To be loved by your dad meant to exist in his silence and presence, to sit in his lap while he read you stories, to sit beside him and draw while he folded laundry because love to your dad wasn't about being loud or flashy, it was about being there physically.

"But....you like my dad, right?" You say cautiously because you think you're starting to understand the origin of his earlier statement. Your dad reminds Ed of his own dad, both silent, both stoic, both being able to command a room with just their presence but while one chose to stay the other chose to leave everything behind without an explanation.

"Of course i like—“ “is everything okay over here?" Your dad's firm but soothing voice cuts Ed off as he stands in front of the two of you, Winry and Al aren't with him but one quick glance behind lets you see the two of them still in the same spot reading the book you saw Al with earlier, Winry's hair done in a neat braid. Ed just scoffs "We're fine uncle (F/N), why are you over here?" He questions suspiciously to which your dad only just hums "We're going to be leaving soon, i just wanted to let you two know in case you wanted to swing a bit more."

"Okay." You replied back just as calmly, getting into position before stopping and looking at your dad before he could leave again. "can you push me?" He just nodded, walking behind you before slowly looking at Ed "Would you like to pushed as well Ed?" "What?!" The blonde sputters as his face turns red from sheer embarrassment, your dad just continues to stare before Ed glares at the floor once more. "....only for today, just because my legs are tired! I can do it myself any other time!" 

Your dad only hums in response but you can see the small smile make its way onto his face.

CENTRAL CITY, 1914

"Daddy! Your beard is itchy!" The little girl, otherwise known as Elicia, giggled and squirmed as Hughes hugged and coo'd at her.

As soon as his wife opened the door for them, Hughes was all over his daughter, showering her in love and attention. Watching the scene play out was cute but also odd from where you stood between Ed and Al, the level of affection despite you not being on the receiving end of it, unsettled you a little bit. It wasn't like it was a bad thing, just....questionable and unfamiliar, affection to you meant small casual touches, spending time with one another and comfortable silence.

Not this overwhelmingly loud display and being smothered.

But despite being occupied with her father's complete attention, it only took a few minutes for Elicia to notice the three of you standing a few steps behind her father, upon noticing his daughter's attention change, Hughes happily gestured towards the three of you "Look! We have guests! These two are the Elric brothers," he explained before pointing at you "And that's their friend (Name)!" You give the girl a small wave at the mention of your name.

Elicia gave all three of you a thoughtful look until she raises one of her little fingers and points it at Al "big brother" she says real carefully before pointing at Ed "little brother" you watch as the former grits his teeth, desperately trying to keep his anger from exploding on the little girl before pointing to himself. "Nice to meet you, my name is Edward Elric and this—" he said, tone clipped and clearly trying not to freak out on a kid as he pointed a thumb at Al, “—Is my younger brother Alphonse Elric, get that? Younger brother..."

Elicia, with all the seriousness and obliviousness that was being a two year old rebuttals "But younger means little...You're little." You could practically see the steam coming out of Ed's nose. You just roll your eyes at the same time Al picks up the fuming teenager, you tune out his angry rant about his height or Al's soft attempts at thanking the Hughes couple for allowing you all to stay for dinner as you headed inside and surveyed the house's interior design.

"I hope you're hungry," Hughes said as he sat down in his own spot at the dining room table, six plates spread out as he sat his daughter down next to him. "Gracia's cooking is delicious!"

"Try not to bore them dear," Gracia teased bashfully, turned to the three of them and said, "I hope he didn't wear you three out on the way over here." You wave your hand dismissively and try to smile at her, though it came off more awkward than reassuring, you weren't the greatest at facial expressions.

Ed's anger is swiftly cast aside when the food is placed in front of him, nearly drooling as he excitedly tumbled out a 'thanks' and dug straight in, making both Gracia and Hughes all too entertained to watch Ed shovel an inhuman amount of food into his mouth(as well as the praise he showered upon Gracia's cooking skills whenever he took a breath.)

You let out an amused huff into your glass of water at the scene, it reminded you of the times you, the Elric's and Winry would all meet up at the old Rockbell house to hangout. Ed would start some dumb contest on who could eat Granny's stew the fastest before he either accidentally started choking or got a stomach cramp from the influx of food.

"Alphonse, how are you supposed to eat with that armor? Surely you can take it off for dinner at least."

Al froze in his seat, Ed stopped with a bite halfway to his mouth, and you almost spat your water back out into the glass cup.

"Well, actually..."

"He's not allowed to!" Ed stammered. "It's for his alchemy training, he has to wear it all the time!" Al chuckled nervously, nodding along with the story "I'll just eat enough for both of us." On cue you learned forward and pushed Al's plate towards Ed who eagerly snatched it.

His words seem to trigger something in Elicia, who delightedly chirps out, "Training! Choo choo!", thus safely distracting her father and sending him into another round of cooing for the rest of the meal.

Dinner thankfully goes smoothly with no other questions asked after that, meaning crisis hopefully avoided for the present and near future. You end up helping with cleaning duty while Ed got a shower running and Al helped Gracia prepare the room the three of you would all be sleeping in. You liked washing dishes, it's something most would consider mundane or an annoying chore after eating but for you it was calming and familiar.

You don't need immense brain power to do dishes, it's muscle memory at this point, something you can do while your brain shuts off so you don't have to think at all.

Run water, add soap to the sponge, rub said sponge against a plate or glass and wash under water before drying and placing it on the rack.

A familiar routine.

Simple, easy, and utterly mind numbing.

Simple and—

"Don't mean to keep you at the job but here's one more plate from the table." A hearty but quiet laugh from the right startles you, your eyes snap up to see Hughes carrying his sleeping daughter in one arm as he places a plate into the sink. You blink a few times as you stay frozen in place, processing the situation before giving him a dismissive hand wave, not all too bothered by the added plate.

It's just one more plate in the sink after all and again, you like the process of washing dishes.

"You're the one Roy talks about, huh? The silent but efficient one." Hughes chuckles at the same time you tilt your head in curiosity, Mustang talks about you? Edward is the one who's directly under his command...legally speaking.

Edward doesn't listen to him very much, it's surprising how much insubordination Mustang lets him get away with.

But you're getting off topic, the blatant confusion on your face makes Hughes laugh even louder before he remembers the sleeping toddler in his arms and quiets down "It's not all that surprising, Roy talks about the three as if you can't be separated, an unbreakable trio of sorts." His smile turns nostalgic, as if he's thinking back on something with fond memories before shaking his head "Don't let me keep from sleeping, kid, you're a good listener." He pats your back and retreats into the hallway.

An unbreakable trio? You think as you drop the  rag you were using to dry the dishes onto the counter.

Of course the three of you are, you care for them so badly it hurts your chest.

That night, as you listen to Ed describe the taste of Gracia's food to Al with your back turned and staring blankly at the wall in front of you, you think about Hughes' comment.

"Brother....I sure would like to get our old bodies back soon." Al says softly, armor echoing in the nearly silent room.

".....I know, me too."

An unbreakable trio.

You cover your ears and curl in on yourself under the blanket at the thought.

To be unbreakable means to not let anything break you no matter how hard it tries, Alphonse and Edward were broken before and no else could pick up the pieces until the military came and gave them a purpose that you couldn't.

You do not want them to feel like that again.

You don't hear whatever else comes out of Alphonse's mouth as you drift off into nothingness.

Dinner at the Hughes household was the calm before the storm. 

The Freezer had somehow managed to break into Central City prison and since nobody could figure out his motive for the exact cause, the Fuhrer himself had decided it was the last straw and gave out a shoot-to-kill order. 

When the three of you managed to make it onto the streets, the military was already swarming everywhere. Hughes had come with you to look out but ended up disappearing in the mass of military soldiers running around, presumably to go take charge of his own actual subordinates somewhere. Thus You, Al, and Ed were left to wander the streets to try and gather any information you could get without directly asking any commanding officers given the brooding look Ed had taken once he was told the Fuhrer expected McDougal to be killed. 

You opted to leave him alone and not bring it up for the foreseeable future.

You didn't really have an opinion on killing, you have not been in a situation or in the position where you had to consider taking another person's life but even then you have never really had any negative opinions on the matter.

Some people are just deserving of death.

"Get a medic!" one man shouted, you glanced over towards the voice only to see another officer slumped against the wall, skin red and steaming slightly. You bit your tongue out of habit, assessing the damage before you glanced over to see a similarly disturbed look on Ed. "A steam explosion," he observed quietly "If he raises the temperature of water fast enough, it explodes like a bomb."

"And humans are 70% water" Al added somberly.

"Report to Colonel Mustang- five men dead!" another soldier called out.

Ed scoffed, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat and kicked a random rock that was lying on the ground "We've got to find him before he hurts anyone else." You followed the two boys as they began walking. While Edwards plan was the right step it lacked a steady foundation, the three of you had zero clues or any idea where McDougal could actually be, it's been only two days and he has the military running around the city looking for him like dogs chasing a fleeting scent.

At this rate you will have to put a pause on the search for the philosopher's stone because you doubt the colonel will let Edward leave—

BOOM!

You stop dead in your tracks when an explosion rocks a nearby alleyway. Heads flew through the air and your heart stopped for a moment until you realized they were made out of stone. You stare at one of them when it lands at your feet, a mustachioed image looking up at you "Major Armstrong!" Edward called out before the three of you were all rushing off in the same direction the explosion took place.

You catch up with major Armstrong, the strong arm alchemist as he is fighting McDougal. The mighty punch of his fist strikes through the wall of an alleyway the most wanted murderer hides out near, upon hearing your footsteps and before any of you could react McDougal throws a flask, transmuting the water inside into steam once again. It was only due to Al's quick thinking, grabbing you by the wrist and pulling you into his chest, that kept your lungs clear or any other harm.

But McDougal ran right past you and further from the clutches of the military.

"Thanks for the save, Al," Ed grunted from beside you, knocking on Al's metal chest before directing his attention towards you. "You okay, (Name)?"

You give him a simple thumbs up as you use your sleeve to wipe away the moisture that gathered on your face.

"Come then, after me, children!" Armstrong calls out as he runs after McDougal.

Evening turns into another night in Amestris as practically every military soldier and state alchemist runs around the city trying to capture McDougal. It's dark out, stars twinkling in the sky when the number one wanted man is confronted by yet another State Alchemist, and this time it is the Colonel. 

The Flame Alchemist, the Hero of Ishval.

He utterly fails.

You sit with your legs crossed and tap a random, made up rhythm using your index finger on the concrete roof of an apartment building as you gaze at the city streets below. It's only been 3 years since you've been back in Central City after the initial move to Resembool back when you were four years old and even after all this time away, you haven't really come to enjoy the city, it's too loud, too large, the air feels suffocating and restrictive thanks to all the smoke from the regular industrial buildings and cars as well.

You've gotten so used to the fresh air,  the quietness and the general small town atmosphere of Resembool that city life makes you feel out of place once again, an invisible observer in an overcrowded room almost.

"Damnit." You tear your eyes away from the dark city streets illuminated by the bright moon high up into the night sky and occasional street light, the annoyed and almost bitter curse comes from none other than Edward Elric, your childhood friend of 11 years. You're used to him complaining(quite explosively and explicitly despite your many attempts to make him tone it down.) but you'll agree with him this once on this small occasion. "The Colonel's never gonna let us out of here, is he?"

"We already bought our tickets for Liore, too." An echoey voice from a tall, iron clad suit of armor chimes in. That's Alphonse or Al as everyone, including yourself, calls him, He's Ed's younger brother despite the sheer height difference between the two of them and another one of your closest friends from childhood. "Does this mean we're not going?"

Oh yeah, that trip to Liore. An important destination for all three of you, one that was supposed to help the three of you gain a lead that would fix everything.

(Ed's arm and leg, Al's body and your nonexistent voice.)

"I don't know Al." Ed says, using his gloved hand, the one that covered actual human flesh, to brush his bangs hovering over his eyes to see better "For now, let's just get this over with, okay?" Ed puts his hands in his coat pockets, his golden eyes catching yours in the night.

"Ready (Name)?"

"Ready."

The Freezing Alchemist assesses the dead body of a military officer coldly "Water freezes, water boils. Either way, you're just as dead." He recites like a religious verse until he sees something glimmer from the corner of his eye. The Freezer has just enough time to leap backward as a spear strikes the spot he was just standing in with enough force to crack the concrete.

"That's alchemy," he mutters, seeing a blue crackle run through it. He looks around quickly, preparing to fight again.

A pair of black boots step out from the shadows, passing the bloated, cooling hand of the dead soldier "What a nasty thing to do," a boy's voice chastises him. The boots are followed by a short boy with golden eyes, blonde hair pulled back in a loose braid, and a long, red jacket.

The Freezing Alchemist grins madly. "You of all people should know that great deeds require great sacrifices," he growls. "Isn't that the law of Equivalent Exchange?"

"Save your breath, the laws of alchemy don't justify murder!"

The view from the top of the Central City Post Office was the perfect hiding spot to watch the fight between Ed and the famed serial killer on the military's radar. You would jump in alongside Ed and Al to fight the Freezer but that wasn't a good idea at the moment, Ed had been serving for over 3 years at this point, the Freezer most likely knew him, his abilities and by extension Al(A giant suit of iron armor isn't the picture perfect idea of unrecognizable after all.)

But you were plain, a human neither state alchemist or having something physical that could grab attention, you were someone forgettable, someone who could blend into the crowd and that had its benefits. Any type of news or attention of you traveling with Ed and Al likely wouldn't have reached the Freezer or any associates he could possibly have, you were the single ace up Ed's sleeve and you had to stay put unless things got really bad or the Freezer was able to escape, it was better that they only knew what Ed could do. 

You rummaged through the pocket of your coat and took out a hammer just when Al joined the fray, you watched with undivided attention as they took turns trying to subdue the Freezer but when the man was able to get a hand on Ed, activating his circle and destroying his bright red coat, you decided that things had gotten threatening enough to warrant your intervention. 

You leaped down from the building at the same time the Freezer tossed Al over his shoulder, actually managing to get a good hit in on his shoulder with your foot but having to jump again as he tumbled forward, least you slip on your feet as well. you dropped into a crouching position near Ed as he tossed his coat away.

"No, I had you! Any water there should've boiled!" The man yelled in disbelief, almost angry that his regular trick didn't work, Edward's face is pulled into a frown of displeasure that also matches his tone. "If it's any consolation, you did ruin my coat." 

How petty of him, but you honestly expect nothing less.

He brings down his right arm, no glove or sleeved coat... just his manufactured metal limb put on display, the Freezer winced at the sight before something m to click in his mind. "Oh, I understand..." he said slowly, a grin appearing on his face. "A young, gifted alchemist who doesn't need a transmutation circle, and has an automail right arm. You're the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric!" His face then contorted in confusion. "So it's not you?"

He asked, staring directly at Al.

Al rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and sputtered out, "Uh, no... I'm actually his younger brother, Alphonse Elric."

"But he's a runt." The man deadpanned.

"Oh yeah, could a runt do this!?" Edward yelled angrily and clapped again, transmuting a wall to hold the freezer in place. "I've heard the stories but I never imagined the Fullmetal Alchemist was just a little kid," the man said, his voice slightly altered from the stone squishing his face.

"DONT CALL ME LITTLE!" Ed shouted, creating a huge hand out of the wall next to him and throwing the famed serial killer you were supposed to bring to the authorities to the other side of the alley.

His chest heaved as you counted to ten in your head.

And then promptly smacked him on the back of his head using the handle of your hammer.

 "OW!" The blonde next to you screeched before sending you a nasty glare "Brother...." Al started gently as he stared at the famed serial killer getting further and further away "I don't think he was really talking about your height just now." Ed paused in his glaring at you before just stubbornly crouching down to pick up his now ruined coat. "Well even if he wasn't he still pissed me off!"

You rolled your eyes at his 'defense' before tapping Al's arm, his head creaked towards you as you pointed towards the nearby soldiers who were looking for the Freezers body.

"Help them locate the Freezer, I will calm Ed down."

Al nodded politely as he turned away, allowing you to peer over Ed's shoulder as he assessed the damage done to his precious red coat as he called it over the years. Like he already sensed your presence Ed looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at you, not quite glaring but he still wasn't happy with your earlier stunt. "I only hit you because you did something completely pointless."

"It was not pointless! He called me a little kid! I am NOT a little kid!" Ed argued back.

(The both of you are still, Alphonse is also still a kid but you've all been walking around doing and experiencing things like the average adult.)

"Just because you have a complex about being short doesn't mean—"

"I DO NOT HAVE A COMPLEX!" Was yelled the same time electrical blue energy configured to stitch up Edwards frayed coat, you just sighed as you watched the red fabric stretch to sew itself back together again "Can you please at least not—" you emphasized the not specifically "—Send our targets flying through the air when they comment about it?" Edward just huffed as he slipped on his coat.

"Can't promise anything but I guess I'll try...." He mumbled begrudgingly, but honestly, him saying he'll try makes you relax just a little bit "I know, but you try and that's what matters."

He scoffs like you're being annoying, cheeks flushing pink as he grumbles under his breath before turning his attention to where Al is. "Come on Al! We've got a train to catch!" He was already walking away from the soldiers and the crime scene with you quick on his heels and Alphonse following the two of you with some slight hesitation, asking if everything's been finished for the night.

It only takes three minutes before all three of you are blasted in the face with steam.

"Brother! He's gone!"

Looks like you're not getting on that train after all.

"Looks like you underestimated your opponent, FullMetal." 

Roy Mustang, Edwards boss or otherwise, the colonel, smirks with an amused tilt to his voice. He sits behind his desk with his elbow on the desk and hand propped on his chin as Riza, his ever familiar lieutenant, stands beside him with picture perfect posture.

Seriously, you aspire to be somewhat like her one day in the future.

The tone that's used for emphasizing his given government title is enough to cause the blonde brows on Ed's face to quirk downwards and make one of his eyes twitch, annoyed and already having a guess in what direction this conversation might go in.

"Who is this guy anyway...?" Ed says moodily, averting his eyes so he doesn't have to stare at the colonel directly. Your little trio sits spread out amongst the couches in Mustang's office, you and Ed are huddled together on the left while Al has the entire right couch to himself. You sit quietly, fiddling with the yellow and blue beaded bracelet wrapped around your wrist when you feel Ed lean into your space a bit more, shoulders touching.

"You'd know that if you listened to the briefing like i told you too." Mustang chided.

Like you didn't try that already, only for the file to be discarded even by you because Ed had already rushed outside and you didn't want him doing everything rushed and end up in a dangerous situation.

"But noooo, you had to go charging right after him—" 

"Yeah, Yeah, I get it Alright! Im sorry or whatever..." he cuts off the colonel's lecture with a groan of annoyance, this time he lets his head fall onto your shoulder as he grumbles curse words at Mustang, who only just huffs in amusement behind his desk. "Next time a superior tells you to pay attention, you might just try it." The Colonel smiles teasingly and a scoff leaves Ed's mouth, he stares at the wall stubbornly, only for a few seconds before he sighs defeatedly and gives into Mustang's real but sarcastic advice.

"Fine" his tone steeps lower than before with the admission but he means it this time, he's turning serious.

"Now then," Mustang starts, the smug smile falling off his face "His name is Issac McDougal or as he was known back in the day, Issac the Freezer, he's a former State Alchemist" "Former?" Ed questions when he hears the rank the man used to hold. "That's right, He served in the Isvhalan War, during that time he gave us no signs that he'd turn traitor but after it he immediately resigned his commission and went into hiding, he's been working with the anti-establishment movement ever since." Mustang says firmly, before his voice hardens.

"Taking him into custody is a matter of top priority, Whether it's dead or alive, that's up to him."

"No way," Ed immediately declares, specifically on the dead part "I'm not killing anyone for you." Edward would rather jump off a bridge than ever kill someone for the military, he's told you and Al that so many times, it was the one thing they couldn't control him to do and he would fight to keep it that way. "And that's your choice," Mustang says simply. "Your orders are simply to help us contain him, that's all."

Mustang just hmphs at the silence, his smile turning into a smirk as he turns back to look out the window "Off-topic, have you turned up any leads for getting your bodies back to normal?" You feel yourself fighting to let out the most drawn out sigh at Mustang's hypocritical question, Ed bought train tickets for all three of you and you were supposed to leave tonight on said trip before Edward was called into Central to deal with the freezers case.

His ability to always get on Ed's nerves never fails to astonish you.

"Maybe if you ever gave us time to look!-" He hisses, glaring at his superior with the pure venom and about to chew him out when the door to the colonel's office is practically thrown open, Edward shuts his mouth immediately as all heads in the room turn to look at who entered "Roy! How goes?" the glasses-wearing man with slicked back black hair and a blue military uniform raises his left hand in the air, voice energized and enthusiastic when, presumably, commending his fellow officer.

"Heard the big boss himself let them put you in charge of catching the Freezer, huh? One hell of a nasty assignment...But hey! Could be the chance to earn your promotion to Central!"

The man's apparent attitude of not being able to read a room gets him into more trouble as he notices the three of you sitting on the couches "Oh, say! Looks like my timing was perfect! You two are the Elric brothers, right?" He walks over to Alphonse, looking at his metal amour with interest before he enthusiastically shakes his hand.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, Wow! It's an honor to finally meet the youngest State Alchemist ever! You're a real legend around here!" He says cheerfully, before turning abruptly towards where you're sitting "Hello there! Are you a friend of theirs? I've never seen you around before!"

Never before have you seen an older man, especially one in the military, talk and smile so much. You slowly lift your hand up and wave awkwardly, not wanting to be seen as rude.

Al quickly and like most times when other people mistake him for Ed, corrects him and points to Ed "Uhm, you want Edward... I'm actually his younger brother, Alphonse."

And like most times, people are shocked to learn who the Fullmetal Alchemist actually is.

"WHAT?! You're the Fullmetal Alchemist?!" The sheer disbelief in his tone causes a dark cloud to loom over where Edward sits "Sorry!" He apologizes, "I had no idea you'd be so..." He doesn't finish his sentence, which is a smart move considering Ed's glaring daggers at the poor man, you silently adjust your arm and grab ahold of his wrist, tapping your thumb against his clenched fist.

"Calm down." You signal.

He glares, but doesn't move to scream or shoot up from his seat to try and throttle a grown man twice his size.

You count that as a win in your forever fight against his brashness.

"Hughes," Mustang cuts in, suddenly appearing tired instead of the goofy, petty pride he had when he was poking at Ed earlier "Why are you still here? You should have gone home already." The man makes a face as he stares at his colleague.

"Well actually, I do have some business to take care of," Hughes said matter of factly, adjusting his glasses. "You three, you haven't checked in with the barracks yet, correct? That means you'll be coming with me." He reached into his jacket, causing both Ed and Al to flinch away, but all that he pulled out was a picture of a woman holding a small girl. He moved the picture to reveal his own smiling face in real time. "My wife, Gracia, and my daughter, Elicia, would love to have you!"

Before either one of you could react, Hughes was practically dragging all three of you out the door, babbling about his two year old daughter and beloved wife.

Mustang didn't even try to stop him.

You liked to write your words more than you liked to speak them.

Books have been a part of your life since you were born, your dad owned a bookstore for the first four years of your life and you spent all your time reading stories while he worked. Non-fiction, fiction, fantasy, horror, comedy, history books and even a small romance story when you felt indulgent but you generally read anything you could get your hands on inside of that bookstore and the small personal library that was your father's small bedroom.

Which mostly consisted of philosophical questions and other mature themes most would say aren't child appropriate but your dad said a sharp mind is cultivated early when exposed to more sharper themes.

But the bookstore was given away when your mother died.

You didn't know her very well, when you were born she gave full custody to your dad and only visited twice, maybe three times a month if she was feeling extra generous. All you really remember about her is that she had your hair color and always mumbling about a mistake she had, you don't think you were meant to hear it but you did. She always came with a gift, a book, a toy or clothes but they all rang hollow to you considering it was just something she thought you would like, she never really paid enough attention to your interests.

You weren't sad at her funeral, you didn't even really know her side of the family that well since she barely ever mentioned them or took you around them. Only a week after her family tried to start forming a relationship with you, they started getting on your dad for being single with a child in a city as big as Central and doubted his capabilities, offering or even vaguely threatening to take you from him and raise you themselves.

So your father made the decision to cut contact and move the both of you to the countryside.

He sold the bookstore to a business man he knew and took up a job as a teacher for a school in a small rural town called Resembool. It was weird for the first few days, you were so used to noise in the background back in Central, people walking past the bookstore on the crowded sidewalks, the sound of cars zooming past and the familiar chime of the bell when a customer or one of your dads regulars walked into the store but now it was quiet and of course.

There was no bookstore you could spend all your time in anymore here in Resembool.

It was just the sound of trees, the wind, sheep, your small bedroom and your small family that only consisted of you and your dad, but Resembool had its redeeming qualities.

Such as being the place you had met your best friends.

The first thing you had thought of when you met Winry Rockbell at the dutiful age of four years old was bright.

Her eyes looked like the sky without clouds but personified and her blonde hair reminded you of sunlight that came through windows during particularly hot summer days. She was bright but also shy at first meeting, during the process of your parents introducing the two of you to each other, you just stared at her blankly in complete and utter silence while she hid behind her mothers leg before the two of you were awkwardly ushered to your bedroom so that the adults could have a conversation in the open kitchen.

"Uhm....you have a lot of books." She said timidly, glancing around your bedroom as the two of you sat on the floor, you weren't really paying attention to her as you were busy trying to finish writing on the page in a (previously empty)journal you had....'borrowed' from your dads new home office. You nodded your head at her words, still focused on the page in front of you that was only half filled because you didn't know how to progress the story after the main character got injured.

You heard movement from the left side of your body and saw a few strands of light blonde hair come into view "What are you writing?" She asked curiously, squinting her eyes to make out some of your handwriting. "A story." you stated, which startled her since these were the first actual words you had spoken to her since she and her family had come to your house "The main character got injured but i don't know a lot about doctors or injuries." you huffed, dropping your pencil in frustration due to your lack of knowledge.

Winry blinked a few times before she straightened up "My parents are doctors!" She blurted out immediately after you told her about your dilemma, her face started to flush at your lack of verbal input and she averted her eyes away from your face. "And- and well- we have a lot of books back at my house about injuries and medicine! I could help you if...if you want." You stared at her for another solid four seconds before taking her hand and staring into her eyes with all the seriousness that a four year old could muster.

"You're my best friend now"

Your friendship surprisingly continued to grow after that, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Winry had most definitely become your best friend after that day and your dad was more than happy at the sight of you actually talking to another child your age, Winry even got her own character added to your story and was made to be the main characters best friend who was a doctor due to her help which started the tradition that whenever she came to visit or when you both hung out outside in the woods nearby, you would read the newest additions to your story to her.

You liked Yuriy and Sara, her parents, as well. They were bright like Winry but also just a little too high energy for you and your dad but you liked them well enough and they had become your dad's closest friends which pleased you because you barely remembered your dad having friends in the first place.

You met the Elric brothers just one week after meeting Winry.

One day, Winry had dragged you out of the woods and up a hill(which you had little complaints for considering all you were doing before was searching for interesting rocks and drawing faces in the mud with a stick.) You listened to her compliment and complained about the two neighborhood boys she was going to introduce you to all within the same breath with small head nods as you walked up the hill hand and hand. Apparently the both of them are 'too annoying for their own good but also really fun to play with.'

Which probably meant two things, you'd either dislike them immensely or they'd also be your friends.

The two boys had golden eyes and golden hair that almost looked straight out of a fairy tale book, they reminded you of liquid gold or the sun even. The two boys stare at you and you stare back just as curiously, the older one, which your pretty sure is Edward or Ed as Winry had called him, had a suspicious look on his face, almost like he's sizing you up while the younger one is more curious, with much softer features.

(And you could understand the suspicious staring a bit, you're covered in dirt and mud, rocks in your pockets and holding a large stick within the hand not intertwined with Winry's.)

"Ed! Al! This is (Name)! They moved here two weeks ago, say hi!" Winry said excitedly as she swung around your intertwined hands. Edward folds his arms and narrows his eyes, looking you up and down, assessing whether or not it was worth it to even talk to you until the younger one, Al you think, moves forward. "My name is Al," he says proudly. "It's nice to meet you!" You nod slowly and then look over at the older one "Ed," His younger brother says pointedly, pouting at his behavior.

But Ed just wrinkles his nose "are you a girl or boy? I can't tell." he asks bluntly which shocks both Al and Winry but you just stare blankly at him "You have to be my friend to know that." you said casually, causing Winry to let out an involuntary giggle and Ed's mouth to drop open, you both walked under the trees shade the two brothers were sitting under and then let go of each other's hands to sit down on the grass properly.

"Uhm— Do you like checkers?" Al asked you with a smile, trying to smooth over any building up hostility that his older brother could have created. "Brother and I were playing." He added cheerfully as he set the board down flat, Ed was pouting, his eyes still narrowed "Yes, though i like chess more." you said thoughtfully as you angled one side of the board towards yourself, that's when Ed finally sits down, giving you a fierce stare.

"If I beat you, you're becoming my friend and giving me an answer." He stated, pointing a finger at your face.

"Okay." You said with a shrug as Al finishes setting up the board, Winry cheers for you from the sidelines as the game begins.

Spoiler, You had won against Ed and continued too every single time he demanded a rematch. But his eyes lit up with determination at each loss as both Winry and Al teased him, and most of all? you remember this being the first time you had truly laughed with other kids your age instead of just quietly observing them like an outsider.

And so an unlikely friendship was born from the countless checker matches under the summer sun.

SUMMER OF 1904, AGE 5

The Summer of 1903 quickly turns into Autumn then winter until the new year has passed and now, it's the one year anniversary since you've officially moved to Resembool. Your 5th birthday came and went, it was a small party with just Ed, Al and Winry and their respective families at your house since you didn't really socialize with the other kids at school.

They found you odd and you in return did not find their company all that interesting. You didn't speak much, you read books all the time or scribbled in notebooks, always carried around things like rocks, sticks and other random items in your pockets, your clothes were always stained with dirt of some kind and your blank stare that barely shifted into something else made them uncomfortable to talk to you, so you were nicknamed the unfortunate 'forest creature' due to how much time you spent there.

You didn't care much for their opinions though, you liked doing the things that you enjoyed and unless your dad said it wasn't okay anymore then you would keep doing it.

Ed, Al and Winry didn't like it very much though, especially Ed and Winry. It was like a flip was switched when the other kids would whisper about your behavior or tease you when in their presence, Al would tell them off, saying you were completely normal and braver then most for enjoying the wilderness in town, he said if they thought his friend was weird then he was weird too. 

Both Winry and Ed were just more harsh with their words, calling them stupid and if it came to the more confrontational kids you had to drag Ed back before he started an actual fight and then smack him over the head for being so reckless. It was like some type of anger and this important need to defend you activated within the two of them which confused you at times since you didn't care what the other kids thought.

But life goes on and things settle into normal before they change again.

Edward and Alphonse's dad had left.

No one really knows where he went or if he'll even come back at this point. Some of the town's people whispered about Trisha and how hard it must be for her to be raising two boys by herself and you know it's affecting Al and Ed no matter how much they try to hide it. When you visit their house Al always looks at the front door with this hopeful expression before it dies when he realizes it isn't his dad coming through the door and Ed has this silent anger when it comes to the topic. 

He shuts down any and all topics when it comes to his dad and even bad mouths him under his breath when he catches Al's longing stare at the front door.

Everyone does as much as they can for them but you think it's your dad that helps out the most. Since he works at the towns school he gets out the same time as you, Winry, Ed and Al and walks the four of you home, he helps out around the house and buys groceries if he notices Trisha's overwhelmed and he even takes the boys some days just to hang out at your place or at the Rockbells with Winry.

You don't mind it, you enjoy hanging out with your friends. Having sleepovers and being at each other's respective houses almost every week becomes a new routine that you easily fall into and it makes both Al and Ed happier for the most part. They like your dad, they like to ask him questions about what life was like growing up in Central city, the mass collection of books he had, his philosophical questions and view of the world making them question their own surroundings.

And then Edward and Alphonse discovered Alchemy.

"Prepare to be amazed!" Ed boasted with a cocky smirk as he and Al began to draw on the ground with chalk, the drawing they created takes form into a fusion of different shapes and a circle. "What is that?" Winry asks, as she moves closer to peer at it, you look over her shoulder, staring with intrigue as well "It's alchemy." Al tells the both of you proudly.

The boys sit on the opposite side of the transmutation circle and press their palms down to the ground, a blue spark appears in front of the four of you, lighting up your faces as a simple wooden doll appears in the middle of the circle which causes Winry to clap her hands in amazement as you picked up the small doll to examine it. "We found some books in the house about alchemy and we wanted to try it!" Al explained cheerfully as you handed the doll to Winry to let her look at it before turning your attention back to the two siblings "Do you think I could read those books too?"

"Of course!" Al affirms, pumping his fist up "Me and brother would be happy to teach you (Name)!" Winry looks between the two of you for a moment before looking down at the transmutation circle stubbornly "I want to learn too!" She says, puffing out her cheeks. You just hum in response as you calmly pat her head, causing her cheeks to flush a rosy red. "Of course Winry, you can learn anything you want." Her earlier flustered expression disappears as she cheers in delight at your encouragement, the four of you spend the rest of the day going over the basics and seeing who can transmute the biggest item.

(But Winry is unable to do alchemy. She tries and tries, but she simply has no talent for it. When you realize this, you simply redirect her attention elsewhere, like the book you were writing that now had a third volume ever since you met Edward and Alphonse. The smile on Winry's face when she helps you draw maps and name fictional monsters is worth everything.)

"I don't care about alchemy." Winry says a few days later, huddled up into your side as she watches you guide the pencil across the pristine page "Not really, but...can you promise me something (Name)?"

"Anything." You respond immediately.

"Don't leave me behind and go somewhere I can't follow." Winry whispers, pulling her knees up to her chest "Ed and Al have always had each other, and I know that I have them too, but it's different." You hummed, prompting her to continue.

"Ed and Al are brothers." She explained, as if it should be obvious enough. "And...even though they're my friends, they always have secrets with each other because they're each other's best friend." Winry puffs out her cheeks, blue eyes slightly watery. "When you came, I finally understood why." Winry says, rubbing at her eyes. "Because we connect like nobody else and have secrets too and- and I always thought that being with you was like what having a best friend would be like."

You close the journal in your hands.

"So...just because you like alchemy too, doesn't mean you can leave me behind!" She says fiercely, sniffling as she rubs at her eyes with more force than necessary "Because...because you're my person." You gently grab at her hands to pull them away from her face, your mouth opens slightly before you let out a large breath that you were holding. "I know i'm not.....normal, but i'm happy you're my best friend too." You say softly.

Winry pouts at that "You are normal, the other kids are just stupid." the two of you sit in silence once more before Winry moves to intertwine her hand with your own. "I'm glad you moved here last year." she says quietly and you nod your head in agreement. "You'll always be my number one, okay? I like Ed and Al, but you'll always take first place."

"Good!" Winry says with a now growing smile as she pulls you up with her, walking towards her house.

"I love you (Name)" Winry says softly and you squeeze her hand in response.

"I love you too, Winry."

SPRING OF 1904, AGE 5

A plague breaks out in the east, Granny Pinako said it was pneumonia. It had broken out in one of the military encampments near Resembool and had made its way down. 

About three months later, the sickness has mostly left the countryside and everyone is finally able to go back to a semblance of normalcy.

A month passes and Aunt Trisha starts coughing.

AUTUMN OF 1904, AGE 5

The symptoms start out small.

Your dad is the one who notices that Trisha is coughing particularly hard one day when she drops the boys off at your house for a playdate. The woman simply smiles, laughing it off as she waves goodbye to the boys "Don't worry about me (F/N)" She says, smiling softly at his concerned frown. "It's just a tiny cough. It'll go away soon."

Except it doesn't go away. 

It gets worse and worse, until one day Ed and Al run up to the Rockbell home crying that Trisha had collapsed.

(That was when it had all truly begun.)

Trisha passed away two weeks later. A peaceful smile on her face, as if she had accepted her fate.

Winry sobs in the Elric family living room and Al sits emotionless next to her, the boy has not spoken a single word since Trisha's death was announced. You and your dad try your best to comfort them while Granny Pinako is out making funeral arrangements, and Ed-

(Ed is gone, he shut down and immediately left after the announcement.)

You hear a clatter of something hitting the floor from the study, you look between your dad comforting a sobbing Winry and a motionless Al before quietly walking towards the closed door to check what is happening inside of the room.

You had to quickly side step to avoid getting hit by a stray book.

Ed is tearing up the study(probably his father's) and he has angry tears streaming down his face, he pounds at the desk with his knuckles and lets out a slew of curses that he would most definitely get scolded and punished for if an adult was here, you simply stand in the doorway, letting him curse, throw things and hit the desk.

He's angry and that's okay for him to express. Grief is an ugly thing, your dad had told you that when you asked him why your mother's family was behaving so weirdly after her funeral.

Eventually his hands actually start to bleed and you let go of the door handle to walk closer to him "Ed." You call out, speaking a bit louder when he doesn't answer you at first. "Ed you're hurting yourself-"

"Shut up!" The boy yells which causes you to stop in your tracks, Ed's eyes are narrowed with an intensity that you can feel rolling off his body in waves(He's angry, he's so, so angry.)"I don't care! That bastard he- he didn't even-" Instead of finishing his sentence, he proceeds to kick his father's desk.

Oh, you see what the problem is now.

"I'm sorry he didn't come." You say quietly. "That was wrong of him, to miss everything and not be here." Ed freezes at that, his shoulders trembling as he finally stops his rampage "Mom missed him." He whispers, voice breaking "Mom missed him, and yet he still didn't come back." You start walking forward again and hug him from behind, you weren't the most affectionate person compared to everyone unless it came to Winry, something he would usually tease you about on a normal day.

(This wasn't a normal day, however. None of this was normal.)

"He's awful." You say, you've never officially spoken to their dad or got the chance to know him on a personal level but he hurt Al and Ed and that itself makes him unforgivable in your eyes. "You don't need him, you have us okay? Me, Dad, Winry, and Granny will be here for you two." Ed doesn't respond to that and instead begins to sob as his knees threaten to buckle against an invisible weight, you gently guide him down to the floor and simply tighten your hold on him.

Later that night, after your dad had found the two of you in the messed up study, he gently bandaged Edward's hands and then gathered the four of you up for a sleepover at your house. Under the darkness in your room as all four of you huddled under the blanket in your bed, Ed asks you a simple question. 

"You're not gonna leave too, are you?" He asks quietly, you can't see his face in the darkness but you feel his hands tighten on the sleeve of your pajama shirt "You're not gonna go back to the place you were before here, right?"

You squint, trying to move your face out of Winry's hair as you turn your head to get more comfortable. "No? my dad doesn't want too and I like it here in Resembool, why would I leave?" Ed doesn't respond to that, but he lets out a tiny breath of relief and relaxes the grip he has on your sleeve.

"Would you miss me if I left?"

Ed shakes his head hurriedly and ducks it down, forehead pressing against your shoulder "Al and Winry would be sad, especially Winry." He pauses for a second before interjecting quickly, "It'd be annoying to deal with." You fight a growing smile on your face as you gently grab his hand and hold it, his fingers instinctively tighten around yours "Don't worry about stuff like that, I'm not going anywhere for a long time"

He didn't say anything after that but you know he appreciated it if the way he continued to hold your hand as the both of you drifted off to sleep could speak for him.

Yes, you would sacrifice anything to keep the four of you together like this.

(A week later, after Trisha has been laid to rest, when Ed is struggling to go to sleep and thoughts of his mother are still running through his mind, the idea of human transmutation crosses his mind for the first time.)

AUTUMN OF 1910, AGE 11

"(Name) are you sure you want to go outside?" Winry asks, giving you a worried look as she watches you tie your shoes and grab your raincoat, she stands by the doorway of the Rockbell house's living room, the smell of cooked stew in the air surrounds the both of you. Your dad and Granny are in the living room, you can hear their voices talking about mundane things such as the latest developments around town or about the children at the school your dad teaches.

Winry shifts on her feet, grabbing the hem of her skirt "The weather's really bad, what if you get hurt?" You send her a small and gentle smile, the one you give her when you know she's feeling anxious and want to comfort her. You pull up the hood of your raincoat as you make your way to the kitchen "I'll be okay," You gently reassure her as you pack up stew for both Ed and Al "I know the area really well and the boys deserve someone checking up on them."

Winry purses her lips, clearly battling between her worry for you and your reasoning to check on Ed and Al because she knows you're right.

But then she lets out a sigh and relaxes. "Okay, but be back soon, I don't want your dad and Granny to worry too much." Winry then narrows her eyes at you and places a hand on her hip "And don't do something reckless to try and reach their house faster!"

You give her a simple thumbs up, which she smiles at, before walking through the front door with food in hand. The moment you make it outside, you are assaulted with cold winds and the sound of heavy rain slightly blurring your view of the outside world, you angle your head and squint just in time to see the light in the Elric house study room flicker.

The boys are acting strangely.

They've always been secretive, sure, but only about small things or things that just came with being siblings close in age and boys at that. But now the secrecy gives you this weird pit in your stomach, ever since they came back from that six-month apprenticeship with their supposed alchemy teacher two years ago, they've been acting weird. It's in the way they carry themselves, the looks in their eyes whenever they come over to the Rockbell house.

Like the best thing in their life is about to happen.

And you hope that it does! You love both Ed and Al, they're your closest friends and you want them to be happy, You'll do what you have to to make sure that they are(like when Winry lost Aunt Sara and Uncle Yuriy after the war and you stayed at her side like glue, not even Ed or Al could detach the both of you.)

But you can't help but feel like something's wrong tonight.

You shake your head and huff, walking towards the house and stuffing that uncomfortable feeling in your chest all the way down. Al and Ed are smart and while you do your best to look out for them because they're reckless in their own way, they don't cause actual harmful trouble on purpose, you step up onto the porch and slowly push open the front door. You wipe your shoes at the front mat like your dad always tells you too and peer inside the house, holding the two boxes of food close to your chest.

The house is quiet, too quiet.

As you make your way to the door of the study you can hear Ed and Al's voices in low whispers, and it calms the apprehension coating your shoulders because they're right there, they're perfectly fine behind this door and probably making up some plan to prank you and Winry again. You push the door open only to see one of the biggest transmutation circles the boys have ever drawn sprawled out across the floor.

Ed and Al are crouched down with their hands pressed against it.

You stare in disbelief as your mouth opens and closes before you blurt out the words "What the hell are you guys doing?" The grip you had on the boxes of food loosened as you stared at the glowing transmutation circle.

You've never seen something like this before.

Al raises his head, eyes wide. "(Name)?!"

Ed grits his teeth. "Leave us alone, (Name)! We're fine-"

But the black hands that erupt from the circle cut him off. The food boxes that were once in your hand splatter against the ground, chicken stew staining the floorboards as you rush towards the circle. You don't think, you don't even realize what you're doing until you're stepping directly into the middle of the transmutation circle trying to grab onto Al.

("Rule number one," Your father had told you when he gifted you an Alchemy book of your own for your 6th birthday and went over it with you four years ago. "You never run towards a transmutation circle gone wrong or you'll get caught up in it yourself, badly.")

The hands grab onto Al-Sweet, kind, and always share his snacks with you Al- and they pull him in. Al flails his arms, trying desperately to reach for either you or his brother, his eyes wide and filled with regret and true, deep rooted fear. But neither you nor Ed can hold onto him.

Your fingertips touch each other before Al is sucked away. 

You feel your heart drop.

Ed is screaming next and the sound of something splitting in two makes you nauseous, you can smell the sharp metallic tang of blood and when you finally turn to him after watching Al disappear right before your very eyes you can faintly see a bloody stump where one of Ed's legs is supposed to be, being overshadowed by the bright blue light of the transmutation circle.

You try to reach out for him too, opening your mouth to tell him everything will be okay, that you're here, that you'll find a way to bring back Al but you don't even make it a few steps to him.

The hands have grabbed onto you as well.

Ed stares at you with wide eyes, reaching towards you with panic as tears stream down his face. "(Name)-"

There's blood bubbling up your throat that you cough out, Your hands shoot up as you try to catch it but it hurts, your throat is on fire and there's so much blood that you start choking on it and fall over.

(It hurts, it hurts, everything hurts.)

The last thing you hear before you promptly black out is the sound of Ed's loud cries and begging.