FicWad

*

It didn't matter to her that Alphonse's heart didn't beat. That there wasn't a body inside that armor. That the only thing left of him here was his soul. He was still Al, after all, a significant part of her life.

So what if they weren't related in any way. He was as close to her as if he were her brother, held with ties that bound as surely as if they were blood.

Someday, soon, she expected to see him running up the path leading to the Rockbell house, a boy again, the armor left behind, no longer needed. And she'd welcome him home, the way the older sister would always welcome home her baby brother.

But she wasn't sure she trusted equivalent exchange the way the Elrics did. She'd seen first hand what alchemy could do and despite her knowing that Edward and Alphonse had learned so much more than they had known then, she worried that maybe Al's body would have a very high rate of exchange.

So, some nights, to light the way, she'd sit on the balcony and flick a lamp on and off, a reminder to Alphonse that it was time to come home. She only prayed that his older brother would be with him.

*