Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ The Journey Within ❯ Self-Inflected Melancholy ( Chapter 4 )

~I do not own our favorite pint-sized alchemist or any of his friends, but I certainly wished that I did. That way, I wouldn't have to put up any disclaimers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Journey Within

Chapter 4- Self-inflected Melancholy

 

 

 

 

As midnight struck, the grandfather clock in the front room began to chime faithfully; one long, dull, dark chime at a time.

 

And Al decided that he had his quota of dramatics for the day.

 

With a heave, he hauled himself to his feet, and trudged up the stairs to the room across the hall where Winry had cried herself into a fitful sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, in the recesses of Ed's mind, the chimes sounded like a death toll. Slowly, his eyes refocused, and it suddenly dawned on him that he had been sitting in the same position, unmoving, for almost 4 hours.

 

`My how the time flies when misery is your company.'

 

The gentle sounds of a person walking upstairs told Ed that Al had decided to turn in for the night. He let his eyelids slide close, as the feeling of anger began to well up inside of him for the first time since Winry last repaired his automail several months ago.

 

`And I couldn't say a fucking word.'

 

Ed brought his hands to his temples, and began to massage in slow circles, willing the stress to seep out of his nerves. Since that fateful day when he had scared her out of the workshop, each waking breath had been spent in a quiet penance for not being able to say how he truly felt about his childhood friend. But as the weeks turned to months, somehow his personal reflection had turned into a self-inflected melancholy that he just couldn't shake. There was no black and white to him anymore; the world just seemed to fade past him in shades of gray.

 

Leaning his elbows onto the table, he continued to rub the impending migraine away. Through the open kitchen window, a warm soft summers breeze gently wafted in, making the stray strands of Ed's golden hair dance around his fingers.

 

`Not one. Fucking. Word.'

 

As the chimes of his personal funeral drudge ended, so did the motion of his hands. Abruptly, he stood, and the chair he had been sitting in scraped the wood floor of the kitchen as it slid back.

 

`I need to get outta here.'

 

Not bothering to retrieve his red cloak or white gloves, Ed strode purposefully out of the Rockbell residence clad in his black tank top, pants, and boots.

 

`I need to see it one last time before I go through with this.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the Elder Elric made his way to the road at the end of the Rockbells driveway, a pair of eyes peered down at him from a second floor window.

 

`Where could be going at this time of night?'

 

As Ed's figure started to fade into the blackness of night, it was clear what had to be done. And as Al flew down the stairs in pursuit of his older Brother, he knew exactly what he had to do.

 

`I'm not letting him leave my sight until I figure out where he's been going all these months every single day. I KNOW it has something to do with avoiding Winry…and she's my friend. I have to find out what Ed's been hiding, for her sake.'

 

Al paused at the front door as a wave of guilt washed over him. Shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts, he pressed on.

 

`I just have to keep telling myself I'm doing this for Winry.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only a few hundred feet behind his Brother, Al stealthily made his way through the tree line, least he be detected by Ed's remarkable nose for anything out of the ordinary. He had caught up with him not long after Ed left the Rockbells property; he seemed to be in no hurry to get to where ever it was he was headed. Hands in his pockets, he strolled with a purpose, yet seemed too lost in his thoughts to even notice that a strong wind had picked up.

 

`Hum, looks like rain. I hope Brother's going to get to his destination soon.'

 

Pausing for a moment, Al glanced warily at the sky.

 

`Especially since I'm one huge lighting rod.'

 

Up ahead, Ed seemed to be moving in the direction of a large silhouette. Trotting to regain his lost ground, Al could almost make out the outline of…something. Drawing nearer, he froze in amazement at what he saw.

 

Half built, with lumber and stone piled all around, was the start of a rather comfortable looking house. Ed seemed to instinctively know where the mounds of building supplies were, because even though he never lifted his head he soundlessly moved around them. Stopping a few feet from the front door, he plunked down on the grass and looked to the sky, seeming to realize he was about to get wet very soon.

 

`Brother…'

 

Ed's golden braid started to whip around in the wind as the impending storm drew closer.

 

`…Have you been building a house…for Winry?!'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A gentle rain began to fall across the town and countryside of Rizamboul, leaving sparkling dewdrops on each blade of grass. Ed sat unmoving in front of the half built one-story house he was painstakingly constructing by hand, ignorant to the rain beginning to hit his face. And as the rain began to fall harder, it was only the gentle tinkle of water droplets hitting metal that Ed was slowly pulled from his contemplative fog.

 

`I haven't bought the metal for the gutters yet…what is making that noise?!”

 

He paused.

 

`Fuck, I don't have time for this; I can't even mope in peace anymore.'

 

With a start he sprang from his seat and turned to face his unknown metal threat, transmuting a blade onto his metal arm. And what he saw, he definitely hadn't expected. Well, not so soon, at least. Ed knew that he would figure it out, eventually; he was his little brother after all. Relaxing his posture and returning his arm to normal, he glared at the suit of armor before him.

 

“Al, what the fuck are you doing here.”

 

It wasn't so much of a question as it was a statement, and it's quiet declaration made Al hesitate. But he summoned up his courage, and asked the foremost question he'd had in his mind for the past several months.

 

“Brother, is this where you've been going every day?”

 

Ed continued to stare his little brother down, his now soaked hair sticking to the sides of his face. Al, worried by his lack of response, started to regret even bringing it up. But the recollection of Winry's sob-filled voice, and the sound of her tears drifting down the stairs brought back his strength. It failed him, however, when he started to speak, because his words came out barely audible about the din of the rain.

 

`Just keep telling yourself, you're doing this for Winry.'

 

“Brother…are you building this house…for Winry? Is that why you've been gone every morning these past few months?”

 

Ed's eyes softened a fraction, as the rain started to come down in a torrent.

 

`So it's true.'

 

A brilliant flash of lighting light up the night, and the heavy clap of thunder that followed rattled the metal panels of Al's armor. And even though he was now six feet tall, skilled in judo and alchemy skills, and was practically indestructible, Al quivered as he tucked his head into his chest.

 

`Man, I'm 17 years old and still expecting my big brother to take care of me. Heck, I'm still afraid of storms! Now that he's building a house for Winry, I guess there's no place for me anymore.'

 

“You should have at least told me what was going on, Ed, I'm not a kid anymore.”

 

“Hey Al.”

 

If he hadn't looked up quickly, Al might have missed the very small, uncharacteristic smile that passed over Ed's features.

 

“There's a room reserved here for you already. You should know better than that.”

 

Sticking his hands in his pockets, Ed let the smile fade, but the shimmer that had crept into his eyes remained.

 

`Little brother, there's always a place for you here.'

 

Striding towards the path that would lead them back to the Rockbells, Ed didn't have to look at his younger brother to know that his heartfelt, yet simple statement had restored all the trust and love between them that had been destroyed over the months spent in Rizamboul. The clinking of metal behind him also told him that without question, Al would always trust him to lead the way, no matter the path they took.

 

`And now that I've made things right with Al, Winry is next.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The slam of the front door as Al fled the house woke Winry from her restless sleep. Groggily rubbing at her eyes, she heaved herself to the side of her bed and sighed. Realizing she had fallen asleep with her work clothes on, she proceeding to get ready for bed. She felt herself go through the motions as her mind continued to process what had happened that evening.

 

`Take out toothpaste, grab toothbrush, squeeze paste onto toothbrush…how could I have been so dumb?! Brush, brush, turn on sink, brush, spit…I just hope I get the chance to kick his metal ass out the door, IF he decides to show his sorry face around here again.'

 

Glaring into the bathroom mirror above the sink, she slammed the faucet closed.

 

`And to think, I poured my heart out and all he could do was sit there!'

 

She paused as she noted her red-rimmed eyes, tousled hair, and puffy nose. And if it were even possible, she felt her heart sink a little bit lower.

 

`Fullmetal Jerk.'

 

As the rain started to fall outside, Winry flicked the bathroom light off and made her way down the hall. Glancing into the room the brothers shared, she entered her room, put on an oversized lavender T-Shirt, grabbed a hairbrush off the dresser, and made her way downstairs as she started untangling her mane of yellow locks.

 

`Well I don't care what he does. He can stay out all night and I won't give a damn.'

 

Stopping to gaze out the front of the large sitting room window, the memories of the last time Ed saw her there came flooding back, and she blushed slightly. Turning back towards the couch, she plopped down and continued detangling her hair as the rain continued to grow steadily louder against the roof of the house.

 

`But it won't hurt to wait up for him.'

 

A particularly loud clap of thunder made her jump, and she frowned, realizing that Al wasn't sitting by the fire reading, as he did every night.

 

`Come to think of it, he wasn't in his room either.'

 

As if on cue, the rain outside began whipping against the sides of the house, creaking the walls and making the windowpanes groan in protest to such a storm.

 

`I guess I should wait up for the Fullmetal jerk. But it's only in case something should happen to him. That's the only reason why I'm waiting up. Besides, Al's out there too.'

 

Setting her hairbrush on the end table, she sunk further into the soft cushions. Reaching for a blanket that was laying on the back of the couch, Winry stared into the dying embers of the fire as she snuggled under the blankets warmth.

 

`Yeah, I'm just waiting for Al.'

 

She yawned, as the downpour of rain began to lull her to sleep.

 

`I just have to keep telling myself that.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much Love,

The Cerulean Alchemist

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much Love,

The Cerulean Alchemist