(Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. This was originally just a bunch of silly one shots, but it changed from that. Now it's probably the first FMA story I try to keep the tone serious in some chapters, but overall tone and chapter length? No consistency here.)
Al sat on top of a hill in Resembool, grass blowing beneath him. He couldn't feel the grass, or the wind. It was dark, either really late or really early. He wasn't about to find out. If Al checked the time it probably would be further from morning than he thought, just making the wait worse. Ed wasn't here, asleep or awake. He was at Central applying to be a State Alchemist. Everyone else was sleeping by now. Nothing was happening in Resembool.
"Baahh!"
Well, almost nothing, Al thought.
He would've smiled if he still had a mouth. It probably would've been a weak smile, but a smile none the less. Looking across the field Al could see sheep spread across it, grazing. It wasn't exactly common to see that at night, but someone must be doing it regularly. It wasn't the first time Al had seen these sheep after sunset.
Feeling slightly better, Al looked up at the sky. There were so many stars across it, and an occasional shooting star passed by. The sky truly was beautiful at night. He'd never really noticed when he could sleep.
Al reached into his armor. He pulled out a notebook and a star chart. He flipped to an empty page in the notebook and started jotting down stars and constellations he could see. It was a good way to pass time at night. A year ago, when he was still new to having this body, he'd tried counting stars. That had been a terrible mistake. Even with all night to count, he'd never get it done, and he'd have to start all over again the next night. It just . . . felt like such a futile activity. With this, there was a sense of accomplishment every night. He could find constellations and certain stars, and he would have to start over eventually, but that was just because the star positions would change and he'd have something new to experience. And he was learning they existed in the first place. That might come in handy some day.
"Baahh!"
Al jumped slightly, but barely. His armor didn't even rattle. He looked down. A sheep had come right up to him. It stopped grazing and looked back up at him.
"Baahh!"
Al laughed slightly. He carefully pat the sheep's head, not wanting to accidently hurt it.
"Thanks for keeping my company," Al said. "But you should go join your friends."
He could see the other sheep. The closest one was still at the bottom of the hill. The sheep with Al stayed up there a little longer, grazing. Then it headed back down the hill.
Al looked back up at the stars. He still had a few to go.