Hmm... no idea, really, of what inspired this... I guess I was just thinking again about the movie and what COULD have happened. Is this a movie spoiler? I'm not sure, 'cos this doesn't ever happen! This may (probably will) develop into a shounen-ai, tho nothing too intense... keep that in mind as you read the incredibly sexy descriptions of Wrath! (Also that I am a rabid fan, but who cares? xP)
WARNINGS: Blood! Yay! And... sadness. Death. Boo. Possibly some -ah- EdxWrath fluff junk. Yeh. (Even tho I may be the ONLY person in the whole world to support that pairing... -sweatdrop-) Please note: if this disturbs you, just think of it as friendship for now... I know I kept it that way in this chappie, at least!
DISCLAIMER: If I owned Wrath... hoo boy. Think "dressing up" and use your imagination... -wink- (His costume's pretty good as it is, tho... those short shorts... -mind falls in gutter for next half hour-)
Anyway! Enough babbling from me. God knows I do it often enough. To myself, my friends and family. I think it's high time I- -slap!- Thank you. Enjoy the story!
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"Paying for his Sins"
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The young alchemist ran forward, clapping his hands and thrusting them forward. An alchemic glow filled the area...
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Ed, strapped as he was in the rocket, couldn't help but feel fear... coupled with joy at finally being able to return again. He thought of Al, and Winry, and all the others he had missed for so long... the gate loomed large in his view. All at once he was between, struggling to pass into the gate of the other world, his home world. Ed couldn't help but shut his eyes at the intense images as he passed... it was a shame he had, though, for amongst the others was a pair of eyes he might have recognized...
The rocket burst through, out from the glowing circle in the underground city. Ed wrestled with the controls desperately, having no clear idea of how to work the thing. He swooped to the side- there, now he wouldn't crash into the ceiling. He had some idea that he should find a safe landing place or something, but the machine was moving so fast, the ground suddenly reared up-
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Edward crawled from the wreckage of the rocket, thanking whatever fates there were that he had survived the rough landing. Dust filled the air. Coughing, he looked around for his brother- sure to be waiting eagerly for his return. Right?
He came to the edge of a clearing in his search, where a small figure was slumped off to the side. He approached at a run. The boy looked up.
"Wrath!" Ed shouted. "Where's Al?" It was his topmost priority. He must have done the opening of the gate, surely he had to be around somewhere-?
Wrath was in bad shape. Covered in blood, bruises and gashes, he managed to push himself up to answer the wild query.
"You won't... believe me," the boy began in a hoarse voice. His voice had deepened since Ed had gone, and now it was choked with pain. "But... I swear, he did it all for you." A sigh. "I told him to use me- he should have done it! He didn't listen..." Wrath finished with a jagged gasp.
"What... what are you talking about?" Ed demanded, trying to push back the horrified realizations, it couldn't be true, not after so long...
"Your brother... he sacrificed himself. Used himself to open the gate." Wrath's words fell heavily, like the tolling of funeral bells.
Edward screamed then, long and loud, not caring if he sounded sissy, all his grief and frustration pouring out to the false sky. He flopped to his knees in front of the homunculus, head bowed. Suddenly it snapped up again. A slight crazed look was in his eyes.
"You-" he focused on Wrath. "You've taken so much away from me! You took my limbs... my mother... now my brother!" He raised a hand to strike the kid, to make him feel some of the pain that seared his own soul. Wrath sank back to the stone floor, eyes half-lidded.
"Go ahead. Just do it. Yeah, I took it all away from you. Why don't you take it back?" He looked up at the frozen alchemist. "My life... in exchange for all my sins. Equivalency... you used to believe that." His eyes closed. Edward paused, uncertain. It would be so easy, wouldn't it? Wrath was lying on his side now, unmoving, hair spilling over his shoulders. Just do it. The kid looked as if one more good blow would finish him off, anyway... But... I am not a killer. Slowly Ed lowered his arm. Then, unsure of what told him do it, he bent over and gathered the fallen homunculus in his arms and began the long walk up to the surface again.
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(Uh-oh... I suck at writing Winry. Here goes bad writing...)
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Ed emerged from the rubble, a ghost of his former vibrant self. Winry spotted him and ran to greet her lifelong friend.
"Edward... you're back," she said with gladness in her voice. He merely nodded, his eyes tired. She noticed him shifting his burden.
"That's Wrath, isn't it? What happened down there? Where's Alphonse?" she inquired. All with good intentions, he knew, but he wanted no reminding of the horrible loss... she stared at him, concerned, as a dark expression clouded his face.
"Is... something wrong?" Winry asked, concerned.
"Just... tired." Ed staggered slightly against her. Relieving him of Wrath, she watched as he sank gratefully down to the hard stones under them.
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(Hm. Fun with Wrath time! )
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Of course, Wrath wasn't a child anymore after all these years. Still, Winry felt the obligation to take care of him, as she'd helped do before. After making sure Ed was sleeping peacefully in a bed of his own, she turned her attention to the weakened homunculus.
"You're filthy..." she murmured, dumping him on the bathroom floor before filling the tub with warm water and suds. Wrath was now awake and watching her. She turned off the tap and respectfully left him. A short while later-
"W-Winry-san?" he called out. She approached the closed door.
"Yes, Wrath?" she answered patiently.
"Could you come in here and wash my hair for me?"
She could imagine his embarrassment at having to ask that. Even though he'd grown up screwy, some things stay the same.
"Of course," she replied, tapping the door gently to alert him and pushing it open.
"Thank you," he muttered as she attacked the tangles with vigor, never crying out as huge clumps of hair came out from his head. After about half an hour the tiresome job was done. Wrath's hair combed straight and clean. Winry left the room to let him dress and smiled as he came out. In normal clothes, he almost looked like... well, a regular kid.
She passed the room Ed occupied and peeked in to check on him. To her surprise, he was awake and sitting up, although all he was doing was staring out of the window blankly. Deciding that whatever he was going to tell would come in its own time, she left him.
Wrath followed Winry through the hall, not knowing what else to do. He saw her peer through a crack in a door, then turn around. She saw him behind her and smiled, promising,
"Dinner will be soon. I'm on my way to make it." Then she walked past him, leaving him alone again. He didn't like being alone in strange places. So much time lately, it had seemed, he had spent in foreign places, for one or two nights, until they kicked him out and he had to move on. He was tired of moving...
Curiously, ignorant of common courtesy, he pushed open the door Winry had been looking past. Edward, sitting on the bed, turned to look at him. This nightmare from his past, coming back to haunt him once more, so boldly standing there- as if he had a right! This time, however, no anger came. Ed was surprised by that. Wrath continued to stare- a bit rudely. To break the silence, Ed spoke.
"Hey. I see you finally got your hair all sorted out."
"Yeah. Winry helped me." Was his voice normally so flat, or was it because he didn't want to talk to Edward? The older boy wondered. Maybe he could convince a conversation out of the strange boy, make him smile or laugh.
"Let me take a look at it, then."
Wrath stepped closer, and Ed hopped off the bed. He reached out his flesh hand and felt one of the locks falling in front of the boy's shoulders. His hair was still slightly damp, but soft. The ragged edges tickled his skin as the alchemist pulled his fingers through it. When it ran out, Ed patted the boy's head gently.
"You've got nice hair. Take care of it," Ed told him. Silence. Then:
"Thank you. I will." Wrath had remained rigidly still while Ed felt his hair. His eyes flickered up to Ed's friendly face while his mouth remained flat.
What's wrong with him? Has he never had a friendly chat before? Edward wasn't even sure why he was being so amiable. He had every right to hate Wrath, after all. But... perhaps their fighting had brought them closer together. Or something like that. Geez, my brain's getting cheesy all of a sudden.
Wrath noticed the older boy's thoughts wandering. He still didn't know what to think of Edward, even after all these years. He remembered shouting, "Give me your body!" He remembered hating Fullmetal with all his twisted heart. What had happened? Edward was acting like he didn't hate Wrath, either. Maybe that was a good thing.
"Hey." Ed interrupted the homunculus's own flow of thoughts. "I was wondering if you'd let me..." He had to pause briefly to gather himself. Just say it, idiot! "Could I braid your hair?" he asked bluntly.
Wrath's eyes widened. "I... I guess," he muttered, shrugging as he turned and surrendered his hair to the alchemist.
"Don't be nervous. I have plenty of practice with this, believe me. But you remember when that was." Ed's attempt to make the other at ease failed. Wrath stiffened at the mention of his chaotic past.
"Yeah, I... remember."
Awkward silence. Ed pulled Wrath's hair back and finger-combed it. Then he divided it neatly into three sections and began twisting them together. Wrath watched in the mirror to his right, partly hypnotized by the rhythmic working of Ed's hands in his hair. At last Ed finished and stepped back to admire his handiwork, holding the end of the braid between his fingers.
"There ya go. Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself," he announced proudly. Wrath turned to face the mirror, examining his reflection closely. He then looked over at Ed, still patiently keeping the braid from unravelling.
"It's great! Do you have anything to tie it up with?" he asked shyly. Without hesitation Ed pulled the band from around his own ponytail and looped it securely around the black braid. Wrath looked back in the mirror, turning his head to see it at all angles. Edward was rewarded for his work to see the boy's face light up at his new appearance.
"Supper's ready!" Winry bellowed, her voice reaching them thankfully slightly muffled.
"Well." Ed patted Wrath on the shoulder and headed for the door. "Best not keep the woman waiting, eh?"
Wrath glanced behind him, reluctant to leave the mirror.
"Yeah," he agreed, at last following Ed out. As he approached the dining room, Edward heard a small voice say behind him,
"Hey, Edward?"
Ed turned. "Yes?"
"Thank you. Really."
Winry made no comment on their differing appearances as she served them.
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Now WHAT, you might ask, does that have to do with "Paying for his Sins?" (Even if you DON'T ask it, I'm asking myself, so it works out anyway) Well... nothing, really, it's just that I couldn't think of a better name! Oh, yes. If I'm lucky, this won't be the end. I really don't want it to be! I just love the idea of Wrath and Ed together... -cough- Oh, yes, and sorry for that long elaborate "braiding" scene, it was an idea that I had that simply wouldn't go away! In fact, you might say it's the reason I began this. Hm. Maybe not. There's way too much angst in the first part to just culminate in a grooming session.
So. Wrappin' it up, yeah. Look for more. With probably more pain... just 'cos I like it like that. 8)
Review if you liked it, and wanna see more... or if you hated it, and want me to jump off a cliff!