Consider this something like a sequel to my oneshot Death, with a healthy dose of both angst and EdWin (best combo ever!). You won't need to read that to understand though (but if you want to, go ahead! And while you're there, why not drop a review? *hint hint*)

I'm starting to notice a pattern: Happy fic, depressing fic, happy, depressing, so on and so forth. Eh, whatever. As long as I can write, I'm good xD

And I've lost who I am
And I can't understand
Why my heart is so broken

He was gone. Oh God, he was gone. Al, please, don't go!

He felt himself shatter, break into a million piece, and all he could see was the small fragment of steel, that smudge of red-brown {this blood seal is what attaches your soul to the armour, so don't wreck, 'kay?}.

It hurt, it hurt so bad, like daggers digging into him, but worse, because at least that would kill him. No, now he was alive, and Al was dead, and he had to live with this pain {I can't let myself feel that pain; not when Al is going through something so much worse}.
But he wasn't hurting anymore.

Rejecting your love
Without love gone wrong
Lifeless words carry on

He felt a warmth around his shoulders; was it cold? He couldn't feel it. {Unfeeling, untouchable; armour body, invincible- but no, no, that is no kind of life}.

"Ed? C'mon, please, come home." Home. No, home was with Al, home was Al, he didn't have a home.
He shrugged the weight off his shoulders (blanket, the quilt off her bed, pale yellow and green and painfully bright) and bent his head down, his overly-long bangs forming a curtain around his head {a light laugh. "Brother, I think you need a haircut."}.

But I know
All I know
Is that the end's beginning

It hurt, to see him like this; he was so proud, so strong. Now he was reduced to his, this small form curled before the graves of his only family. She crouched beside him, lending warmth against the rain.

"Edward," she whispered; she always loved the way his name sounded. It was his name; Edward Elric, and he was her best friend. "Ed, you know he wouldn't want this. Keep moving forward, keep moving. You have two strong legs, get up and use them. That's what you two would always say."

Who I am from the start
Take me home to my heart
Let me go
And I will run
I will not be silenced

He was lost, so lost. Light gone, fire extinguished.
And then, a warmth, a voice. Those words, the ones he had needed once before, the ones he had taught when others needed them.

He needed to go. To run. He moved to straighten, but was pulled back down by strong yet gentle arms, and for all he wanted to escape, he wanted that warmth as well.

"All this time spent in vain. Wasted years, wasted gain. All is lost." The words {true, all true} echoed through him, and before he knew it he was speaking, and he couldn't silence them, because he felt free.

Hope remains
And this war's not over

She saw it, saw the pain and guilt clouding his face, and she pulled him closer. Why couldn't he see it? She was there, she would help, she would heal him.

"There's a light, there's the sun, taking all the shattered ones to the place we belong." And this love will conquer all, the words left unspoken, yet they rung the loudest as he turned and buried his face in her shoulder. He didn't cry, no, he was still too much Edward to do that, but he shook with dry, silent sobs, and she held him.

"It hurts, Win, it hurts so bad." He whispered shakily. "Why'd he have to go? I promised I'd keep him safe."

"I don't know, I don't know." she replied sadly. "But it was his choice, he saved you, and as much as I miss him, I'm glad you're alive. I don't want to lose you, too." She felt a tear sip down her face, mingling with the rain. But gently, ever so gently, it was brushed away by a single warm finger, a hand that stroked along her jawline, sending shivers down her spine. Looking up, she saw his face, finally. And as worn and tired as it looked, as grief-stricken and sad as his eyes were, she saw a hint, a ghost of her Edward.

Yes this love will conquer all

"I- I think we should go back." he said quietly. Nodding and rising to her feet, she offered a hand and hoisted him up- she knew how his automail leg jammed up when it was damp. Together, the two set off, back down through the graveyard.

And as they walked, the clouds parted, and sun streamed through the rain.

Yesterday I died, tomorrows bleeding,
Fall into your sunlight

And, that's a wrap! Happy (yeah, not anymore) Valentine's Day!