Disclaimer: I don't own Hagane no Renkinjutsushi. I owe that to Hiromu Arakawa. ♥ I don't own any of this drabble's characters, ideas, names, etc. So don't sue me. Mild spoilers for chapter 44 of the manga. You've been warned.

This was originally created for a drabble on LiveJournal, in the community "fifteenminuteficlets". Basically, they give you a word, and you write on it. It's not series-specific, it can be anything. I plan on trying to write as many of them as I can. More than likely, they'll all be HagaRen-based. Because I'm a dork that way. ; Anyway. Enjoy. Feedback is appreciated. Thank you.

Vacant

Burning their home left nothing more than open space and some fallen rafters from the last areas of the house to be eaten alive by the flames. Burning down that simple, yet wonderful building had left an eleven year old Edward Elric with a void in his heart, despite the step forward he was taking in his life.

He'd hated how lonesome it made him feel.

Alphonse had always been there for him. Always. Sometimes, his brother seemed more like a loyal pet than a relative. And he was grateful.

So when he'd returned to Resembool alone while Alphonse stayed with Winry as she trained in Rush Valley, he couldn't help but feel a little empty. What was worse, was when he'd gone to visit his mother's grave, he'd met up with his bastard of a father. What the hell was he doing there, at Trisha Elric's grave, after disappearing for all those years?

It had made him furious.

But the anger didn't even begin to fill the hole he'd created inside himself in leaving his brother behind. Even if it was for good reason, even if it was only for a short while.

And then there was the act of digging up the mistake he'd created, that night he and his brother had tried to resurrect their mother. The outcome had left him feeling more empty than he'd ever felt. He'd made such a horrid mistake -- turning his brother into a walking tin can -- and for what?

So here he stood, on his way back to his brother, in front of the empty lot where his house had once made the sun seem to shine so much brighter. Staring at the disturbed earth beneath his feet where he and Pinako had dug into the earth to find the truth, Edward bit his lip.

What was he going to tell Al?

He closed his eyes tightly, and spun on one heel, to walk down the muddy path toward the train station. He left behind the memories of years past, and things unchangeable.

That vacant lot held so much pain within it, and yet somehow, so much hope.

Author's Notes:

This is sort of based off of parts of the 44th chapter of the HagaRen manga. I can't quite remember if Winry was training in Rush Valley, but I think that's where she was. Do forgive me if I was mistaken. Please let me know what you think by reviewing! Feedback is always appreciated and loved. Thank you!