AN: I know it is short, but I hope you will take the time to read this with seriousness and leave a small review. Thanks!
Rain poured down on Ed's upturned face, tiny droplets stinging as they hit the chilled flesh. They collected in little pools that ran down his face in icy rivulets. Wet hair stuck to the sides of his face, and his eyelashes were clumped together in little damp clusters that trembled before his eyes fluttered open.
"Do you suppose there's a god out there, somewhere, watching us down here as we scramble about like little ants after the biggest piece of meat?" he asked quietly, stretching a whimsical hand up to the sky. Silence answered him, and Ed dropped his hand, brought back to the moment.
"Right," he said, turning away from the clouds. "I forgot." Ed laughed, a soft, self-deprecating sound. "I guess I just got so used to talking out loud." His chest ached.
"Ed – Brother! You'll get sick if you stand in the rain all day!"
Ed turned and couldn't help the smile that lit his face. Alphonse. Every day, Alphonse was there, like a balm for his raging soul. He had done the impossible: somehow, Al had his body, and somehow, Ed had made it home. But at what cost?
Ed waved to show that he'd heard his brother. He turned back to look at the clouds one more time. "I will find a way. I swear I will!" he said fiercely. He kept his gaze on the rainclouds for another moment before moving toward the Rockbell home.
"Brother, you're freezing! Come on, I'll make some stew," Alphonse said as the door shut behind them.
Standing in the rain, unseen by both of them, stood a lonely figure, sadness etched upon his face.
"Fullmetal," he murmured, "one day, I hope you will learn that you do not need to take the burdens of the world on your shoulders." A half-hearted smirk tugged at his face. "They are, after all, so small."
Roy Mustang held out a hand, watching the rain as it fell straight through, and looked up at the clouds, taking up the lonely vigil.