FicWad

I’m sitting in an alleyway, gasping for breath as my chest feels like it’s closing in on me. Something terrible had happened. I shouldn’t be here.

Should I even exist at all?

I hear yelling and crying out, words full of anger and disgust. Until the vague shapes I can only guess are humans stop their rageful fits, and turn to look at me.

“Oh no . . .” one mumbles, lifting me up from the rough ground. Their arms were strong and for a brief moment I felt safe.

Until, like always, they smiled, and their mouth split open into one terrifying eye, and down I went, sucked into the vortex of the universe. The cold devoured me, and I screamed as lightning pulled me apart, devouring every inch of my body, its wrath at my disturbance of the void ripping at me from the inside out, until I was nothing...drifting...everything at once and then nothing at all.

–––

I wake up, gasping for breath. Another one of those nightmares. Another terrible dream.

I slump into my bed, disgusted at the sweat dampening my forehead. Why were they coming now? I didn’t understand...was this a part of my past?

My hotel room is dark and mostly unfurnished, which I am grateful for. I didn’t need any paintings merging with the dark, looking down upon me as I slept beneath their soulless eyes. But even so, I was shaken. I tried to remember what I was dreaming, but it wouldn’t come to me. All I could pinpoint was a terrible feeling of emptiness inside.

“Why can’t I ever remember what I was dreaming?” I asked myself aloud, then wincing at my own voice piercing the darkness. Which was so irrational. My head screamed at me that it was only logical I was alone, but my heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

I tucked the blankets tight around me, hot as I was, and thought of when Edward had first found me, slumped in a side alley in a foreign city. Perhaps it would bring back some memories.

I thought as hard as I could, only to be hit with a wall of darkness beyond the time I woke up.
Edward was assigned of taking care of me. After all, he found me, the strange girl with no memories, no personality or past to her but her name and basic necessity memories, such as language and movement.

Of course, he was adamant.

“You’ll just slow me down!” He had constantly yelled at me.

Alphonse, his kind, armor bound brother, had later explained to me that he was only afraid of hurting more people on his account.

I had heard of the poor boy’s attempt to get his body back. Well, part of his, and his brother’s entire body. I admired that he had such a goal in life. I wish I did. I didn’t even know what to live for now.

And thus I laid there, not exactly wallowing in wonderful thoughts. At least I knew my name. Violet.

Just as sleep struck at me again, something cracked against the window just above. My eyes flew open faster than any bullet, scanning the outside with terror for any movement. But no, it was a tree limb. An awfully terrifying tree limb, mind you.

I sighed in frustration. At this rate, I wasn’t going to get any sleep at all.

My room was dark and foreboding. I knew it was going to be a struggle getting out of the room without being afraid, but I had to do it. I had to.

Holding my breath, I swung my legs over the bed, and ran over to my robe as fast as I could. Once the fabric was fastened over me, I made my way out into the hallway. Before doing so, though, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Matted brown hair. Dreary purple eyes. Great, what a look.

The hallway was completely empty, and it wasn’t completely fearlessly that I made my way to Edward’s room. I hesitated, then knocked on his door.

Hopefully I wasn’t waking him.

I heard the groaning of a mattress, grumbling and complaining following. I couldn’t help but smile. He was rather cute. Ok, really cute. I couldn’t deny it.

“What idiot is pounding at this hour of the night?” He mumbled, right before the door swung open. “Oh!” He exclaimed. “Violet? What’s going on?”

I blushed, suddenly embarrassed. “Um...well, um, I was, I was having some nightmares, and well . . .”

Edward just looked at me, a slow blush creeping across his pale face. “You’d like company?” He asked, putting the words in my mouth.

I sighed inwardly in relief. “Yes, please,” I said tentatively. “If you don’t mind. If you were already sleeping, then please, don’t worry about me.”

“Oh no, it’s no trouble,” he said. “Come in.”

I walked into his hotel room, spotting Alphonse on the couch. “Hi, Al.”

“Hi Violet,” he said in his usual chipper, sweet voice. “I heard you were having nightmares. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, thanks,” I replied. “It’s funny, I’ve had them so often one would think I’d be used to them by now.”

Al nodded his large metal head. “I understand. Some things just don’t fade.” I felt a twinge of pity for him there.

I turned to Edward, finally getting a good look at him. He was shirtless and in white shorts, with his hair down and slightly damp. He must’ve just taken a shower.

Ok, he was hot.

He scratched the back of his head, smiling a crooked smile. “Well, as you can see, there’s not too much entertainment in here. I wouldn’t call Al a crackup.”

“You’re not exactly a comedian yourself, shorty,” Al shot back.

Ed’s eyes narrowed at that. “Who you calling shorty! I’ll let you know I grew a whole freaking three inches these last few months. Now that’s progress!”
He glanced at me. “Soon I’ll be towering over that idiot, just you wait,” he said, with a sprinkling of amusement in his voice.

“You’re not too short for me,” I commented, standing closer to his body for comparison. Then I realized how that sounded.

“Uh, I mean, you know, like in general, you’re taller than me,” I stammered, blushing powerfully.

Thankfully it was too dim in the room to see.
The brothers laughed, and I could’ve sworn I saw Ed smile at me.

“I was wondering something,” I said, sitting down on the couch next to Al.

“What’s up?” Edward asked nonchalantly, running his hands through his long hair.

“Could you tell me more about when you found me?” I asked. “I can’t remember my nightmares, but I feel like I would be comforted to know more details.”

I could feel the tension in the couch as Al stiffened, and even Edward stopped in his tracks.
Sweat beaded on his forehead as he smiled nervously.

“Heh, isn’t that a story, huh Al?”

“Yeah,” Alphonse said hurriedly. “Maybe not one for so late in the night. I don’t know if we’ll keep you awake for long enough, heh heh.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are both the absolute worst at getting me discouraged,” I say with an undertone of amusement. “It’s my past, I feel a little entitled to it.”

Ed visibly gulped. “Well, you should make yourself comfortable then.” He plopped down on the ground in front of me. “So you know how Alphonse and I are trying to get our bodies back, right?”

I nodded, happy he was finally seeming to open up.

“Well, Al and I tried to open up a portal to the Truth, you know, and well, things went crazy from there.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I had seen before that his body was still in there, so when we went back, it was in an attempt to reunite them. But something went terribly wrong.”

He shook his head, as if trying to get rid of some horrible memory. “I still don’t know exactly what happened, but while we were searching for Al’s body, a door in the Truth opened up, and I thought I saw him in there. So I grabbed for him, and it was...you.”

He looked at me, his fiery eyes burning with remorse and sadness. “I don’t know for sure yet...but I think I might’ve ripped you from a different universe. There was a bursting flash of light, a hug vortex as I pulled you, everything exploded, and then we were all three back in the city, where I ‘found’ you.”

I closed my eyes, trying to think back to whatever time Edward was talking about. I couldn’t remember it, but what I did know is that when I woke up, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I felt flattened and crushed. And not like the air had been knocked out of me. But like my body had been distorted and squished, to conform with a new universe’s rules of physics.

I could see that both the brothers were distraught at this.

“The only reason we seemed so angry with you,” Alphonse said, “was that we were angry at ourselves. It was almost like human transmutation, but that wasn’t what we were trying to do at all. Besides, you were alive, and your own person, not a Homunculus or a corpse.”

I thought anger would come, but it didn’t. Where I should’ve seen people that ruined my entire life, I saw two desperate brothers who never meant to hurt anyone. And they didn’t need my anger. I saw their guilt destroying them from the inside out, and that was more than anyone needed to feel as punishment.
I stood up, walked over to Edward’s hunched body.

“Don’t feel bad,” I said quietly. “Everything happens for a reason. That much I believe. And whatever family I left behind, I know I’ll get to them again. Because I believe in you two.” I rested my hand on Edward’s metallic shoulder. He looked up at me through blond hair, and allowed a tiny smile.

His smile faded when he saw that I could barely keep my eyes open. “Hey now, perhaps you’ll sleep better here,” he suggested, an unusual amount of gentleness in his voice. “You probably won’t get nightmares.” He then flexed, winking. “Especially with this guy here to protect you.”

“Oh, spare me,” Al cried.

I laughed, despite my embarrassment and exhaustion. “That is such a nice offer. Do you have any blankets that I could use for the floor?”

“You’re getting the couch,” Al insisted. “Please, that’s not fair that I get it when I don’t even sleep.”

“Thanks Al, you’re the best,” I said sweetly, kissing him on what would be his cheek. I could almost see a blush on the metal.

I also thought I heard a “hmph” from Edward.

I tucked myself into the couch, said goodnight to the brothers, and tried to get to sleep. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. Perhaps it was the emptiness inside of me. The emptiness from not knowing my family, my friends, maybe even a lover from whatever past I had. I needed someone. Someone to make me complete.

My eyes flickered to Edward’s bed. He wasn’t remotely interested in me, I could tell. He had Winry, after all, and what guy would turn down a girl like her?

Nevertheless, the fear was coming back, and I wasn’t able to take it anymore. I crept over to Edward’s bed, knowing he was sound asleep and wasn’t likely to wake up, and then crawled in next to him.
His body was warm and cool next to mine, because of his automail. His back was to me, and he was breathing peacefully. I was happy he wasn’t having any nightmares.

I knew Al was watching, but thankfully he didn’t say anything. Ed would know anyways, when he woke up. I could deal with that embarrassment then.

“I guess we’re not so different after all,” I whispered to no one in particular. “We both don’t have our parents. We’re both desperately trying to carve a path for ourselves in this life, when the world seems against us. Maybe me being found by you in the alley happened for a reason.”

I rolled over, and closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to find me. I took forever to fall asleep.

After maybe twenty minutes or so, just when I was about to fall into the sweet embrace of oblivion, I felt movement behind me, and the warmth of a human body very close to my back. To my great shock, I felt a calloused, gentle hand tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Yes, we’re not so different after all, Violet,” he said, his voice a breadth of a whisper. “Both of us are just putting one foot in front of the other, eh? Yes, and I don’t believe in chance. I meant it when I said I would protect you. I meant it from the moment I pulled you out of whatever universe you belong to, up until now. I promise you upon my life, you will be reunited with your family again.”

He rolled back over, the skin of his back barely felt through the fabric of my robe. “It also helps a lot that you’re actually shorter than me.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Hopefully he didn’t feel my body shaking from it.

Maybe, just maybe, I had found a new home in this frightening world. And that home was Edward Elric.