Okay, so I was listening to Human, by Christina Perri, and I started thinking about what Ed said after Nina died. He said that they were just humans, tiny, insignificant humans. I just felt it fit, so this story is based off that song. If you haven't heard it already, you should check it out. (This story is better if you listen to it while reading.)
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA
Enjoy!
The rain pounded steadily against the streets as thunder boomed overhead. A lone figure could be seen wandering through the streets, too deep in thought to really notice the storm raging around him. He was young, but his golden eyes seemed to prove otherwise. They held a sense of weariness someone of his age should not hold. His blond bangs stuck to sides of his face, shoulders slumped, only magnifying the look of exhaustion that fell over him.
It seemed that his commanding officer had forgotten that he wasn't a robot. He was a human, and still a child at that. He wasn't some dog that could be controlled. He was a human. A living, breathing being that couldn't always handle what life threw at him.
Sometimes, he just needed someone to be there for him. Someone to hold him, and tell him it was okay. But when that day finally came, the person he needed wasn't there for him. He hadn't comforted him, just said the cruel words he always said, and sent him on his way. He didn't stop to ask if he was okay, even though it was obvious he wasn't.
Right now, he wanted to forget. Forget it all, the world, and the military. He just wanted to sleep without being plagued by nightmares. He wanted to be able to live one day, without carrying his guilt with him everywhere he went. One full day, 24 hours, of peace.
He felt like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Weighed down, by the guilt and sadness, self hate and fear, that always seemed to be with him. Guilt, from all the people he couldn't save. Sadness, from the thought of his brother, unable to feel or eat, unable to sleep… or dream. Self hate, from the fact that it had been him that made his brother like that. It was his fault, so it was his job to fix it. And fear, from the fact that one day, it all might blow up in his face, and he might lose everything.
He couldn't always keep everything locked away, and hidden from the world. He needed to be strong, for his brother, but there were days when he just needed someone to be strong for him. To tell him it was okay to feel, and that he really wasn't just a machine.
But when that time came, the one he needed to be strong for him wasn't. He didn't tell him it was okay to feel. Didn't tell him he was human.
He felt so alone. He was tired, and he just wanted to sleep. But he couldn't, not when he knew what kind of visions would come from it.
He was just a little human. Tiny and insignificant in this huge, cruel, unforgiving world. Even if he died, the world would just carry on. There would be people who would grieve for him, yes. But they would carry on. They would still live their lives, and eventually, he would be forgotten.
Just like everybody else in the world.
He could only take so much until he broke. It was like that with every other creature in the world. You could only take so much until you couldn't stand it anymore. Then you'd crash, and break down. And there would be nothing you could do about it. Everyone was different, yet they were all the same. When they fell, they would all bleed the same color; red.
But when the time came for him, when he couldn't take it anymore, no one was there for him. His brother was in Risembool, visiting Winry and Granny. The one person who could have helped him brushed him off like he was nothing, and that hurt.
Mustang had helped build him up, get him back on his feet. But when he just couldn't hold it in anymore, and fell apart, he wasn't there. And there was nothing he could do about it, just sit there and let it all out, and then try to pick up the pieces by himself.
He wasn't ashamed by his feelings. They were what made you human. Without them, you were just some sick, cold, horrible thing. Something that only brought pain, and suffering. In the end, they were all different, yet the same. They all felt the same things, same emotions. Everyone had something they were guilty about, something they wanted to fix. In the end, they were all human.
And that was something that would never change.
Okay, so how was it? Please review and tell me what you think.
I'm going to put this story as complete, but let me know if you want me to write a second chapter about Mustang comforting Ed. I'm not sure if I should, so I'll let you decide.
