Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Gifts And Curses ❯ Rain, Rain, Go Away... ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two - Rain, Rain, Go Away...

-^^-

Three Months Later...

-^^-

“C'mon, Juli, let's get inside now, okay?”

“Not just now, Ed!”

“Juliana, I know you're half-blind an' all, but can't you feel the rain? We're gonna' get wet!” Edward griped, eyes narrowed, head lowered, shoulders hunched and quivering dramatically under the thin layer of soaked crimson encasing them.

“Edwaarrd!” Alphonse gasped, but he needn't have worried. Juliana wasn't at all offended.

In fact, she just laughed, and kept on turning in circles in the downpour, smiling into the rain.

Ed sighed, and looked over at his brother with an expressive eyeroll.

Al supposed Ed was subconciously overdoing it with the theatrics today, espescially, because Juliana couldn't see them. In months of visiting with Mustang's sister, Ed never had been able to provoke much more of a reaction than, 'Gee, Ed, calm down and take a deep breath, 'kay'? from her with his antics. He knew it infuriated Ed. While most of the time the girl seemed sweet and innocent, she could act a little too much like the Colonel - admittedly Ed's least favorite person - at times.

Ed gave a long-suffering sigh and motioned at him. “Well, you better get inside at least, Al,” he muttered gloomily. “Before you start to rust.”

Alphonse sighed at the wracket the rain was making on his hollow armor. “Yeah, I think I'd better go before any lightning comes,” he agreed, and just then there was a loud rumble of thunder in the distance.

“You two had better come inside soon, too, Brother. I'm not the only lightning rod around here, you know.” Al turned to make his way back inside the hospital.

-

Ed watched his brother jog off with pathetic, puppy-dog longing in his eyes.

He wished he was going inside too. It was cold and wet out here, and he would have been utterly miserable if it hadn't been for the look of contentment on Juli's face. With everything she'd obviously been through, he couldn't believe how such simple things made her so happy - walking outside even thouh she could barely see anything, eating a barely-decent dinner sent up from the canteen, curling up in starchy sheets on her lumpy infirmary bed to take a nap - it wasn't typical of girls her age, he knew. Winry, for instance - who was known to fall asleep on wrenches! - would have been complaining bitterly by the second day.

Across from him, just as Ed was starting to contemplate finding something to transmute into a giant umbrella, Juliana laughed and stopped mid-twirl to bend over, hands-on-knees, and rest.

“I love Alphonse,” she said, panting, looking up at him from behind rain-speckled dark glasses. “He's so cute and sweet - I just wanna' grab a can-opener and give him a great big hug when he starts talking in that solemn tone of his.”

Ed gave a nervous half-laugh. Even though he and Al had come to know Juli better than anyone in the time she'd been here, they still weren't completely sure she was who she said she was. She'd lost her recent memories, couldn't remember where she'd been, or what had happened to her since the last time she'd seen her brother, which had been five years before, according to Hughes. But since Colonel Mustang was still M.I.A. somewhere, and couldn't denounce her claim, and even Hughes had to agree she fit Juliana's description, the military had allowed her to stay indefinitely.

With all the uncertainty, Ed had decided to be extra careful with his and Al's 'secrets' around her. It wasn't that he didn't really trust her...he just figured she didn't need the added trauma of knowing that Al wasn't just wearing the armor - he was the armor.

And he definitely didn't want the task of explaining it, either.

“Yeah, but what he's sayin' is making sense, Juli,” Ed said cajolingly. “C'mon,” he whined slightly, trying to invoke sympathy. “Let's go before you get us both fried.”

“Just...just give me one more minute, okay, Ed? I love being outside!”

“During a storm?” Ed asked wryly, watching her through already dripping bangs.

Juliana gave a slight laugh and twirled dizzily, but gracefully, dancing in the rain.

Ed watched her, a small smile on his face.

She seemed so genuine, so happy just to...to be - how could she be anyone other than who she said she was?

Only when the rain began to fall so hard he could feel it loosen his braid and send the sodden mass trailing over his shoulders did he grab the girl's hand and tug her towards the building.

“Ee-ed!”

Ed tightened his gloved fingers around hers and gave his soggy head a determined shake. “Nope, you can't stay out here any longer. Besides, what kind of a friend would I be if I let you get sick just after you finally recovered? Al would kick my ass.”

“You...you're my friend, Ed?” Juliana paused in the rain just outside the double doors, and turned her head towards him as she voiced the slightly breathless question.

Ed stopped and looked at her, really looked at her, with her flushed, scarred cheeks, long, dripping wet black hair, and dark glasses speckled with rain. He frowned.

“Don't be dumb. Of course I am. Now come on - let's get inside. If I start sinking in the mud because of my leg, it'll be all your fault!” he gently teased. She knew he had a couple of pieces of automail.

“As if you would ever let something as simple as mud stop you!” Juliana laughed. “Don't forget, Al's told me all your stories, Edward!”

“Hey! I'll take you with me!” Ed gave her arm a semi-threatening tug, but she wasn't expecting it and fell towards him with a gasp. He had to scramble a little, but he caught her.

“Whoa! That was close!” he said, letting out a breath as he waitied for his heart beat to slow down.

Juliana, who was pratically laying on his chest, gave a little giggle and turned her head towards him - and then she stilled. She went stiff in his hold.

Concerned, Ed adjusted her and peered into the dark oblivion of her glasses. “Juli? You okay?”

The girl in his arms was very quiet...and then she smiled beautifically.

Ed's eye twitched a little. He'd never thought of her in ...well...that way, but his body was reacting the way any other teenage boys' naturally would, and he was getting, er...uncomfortable, not to mention embarassed.

“Uh...Juli? You okay?” he asked again, his voice rising a little as he fought to keep his cool.

Juliana tilted her head a little...moved her head a little bit closer...Ed tensed, thinking wildly that she was going to try and kiss him - but then he realized she was looking at him.

Seeing him.

“Juli?” he asked wonderingly.

“Ed, I think the sun just came out,” she whispered, almost as if she was afraid to talk.

Ed shook his head slowly. Rain was still dripping off the trees, the eaves - him. The sky was leaden grey. “Nope, still raining,” he tried to say lightly.

“Huh.” Juliana tilted her head again, and then carefully stepped back from him with a pretty, crooked smile. “I guess it was just me, then.”

Ed stepped forward, one hand outstretched. “Juli? Did you...can you see?”

“Not much,” she admitted. “A little more than blurs, now. I just...could have sworn I saw the sun a second ago. It was more beautiful than I remembered,” she murmured, slowly bringing up her new automail hand to push a clump of wet, black hair behind one ear. She hadn't had it long, and it was still incredibly sensitive, but she was determined to use it as much as possible to get used to it. He had been with her through the whole, difficult surgery...

Ed wasn't focusing on her hand, though, right now. He was stunned.

Yeah, it was great that she slowly seemed to be regaining her sight, against all odds, just like she had her voice, but the thing was...she was so sure she'd seen the sun...

And she'd been looking right into his eyes...

-^^-

A/N: Awww. I got all sniffl-ly when I wrote that, LOL. Thanks for the reviews, those of you who took a chance on reading an Ed/OC story. I really appreciated them. I hope you liked this short - short, very short - chapter. More to come, soon. :)

-^^-

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any related characters.

-^^-