They'd thought him invincible.
Ed was a constant, brash and loud and ill-tempered but always there. He got back up whenever he was knocked down, brushing off failures.
By the time they realized it was all a façade, it was too late.
They'd be forever haunted by Al's scream of anguish, reverberating in his empty armor, when he found Ed's crumpled form, bloodstained and empty-eyed and lifeless, a self-inflicted bullet wound in his temple.
Ed was fifteen. A strong, powerful fifteen-year-old, but a fifteen-year-old nonetheless.
And no one can get knocked down that many times and still get up again.
(hides) Dun kill me! D: