Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of places mentioned in this story.
Note: this is all based in the FMAB anime, I'm not a native English speaker so if you notice any mistake, please, tell me so I can improve for the next time! ^.^
"Take me with you" that was exactly what she said when he gently announced he was leaving next day "I want to go back to Amestris. Sure when I was there I missed Xing, but I fell in love with your land and its people. Besides, I want to learn more about your alchemy. And I want to see dr. Marcoh, and mr. Scar! I'd love to see how everything is going after..." May Chang seemed to doubt for a moment "Well, after what happened. And I have crossed the desert two times, I can help you in your travel. What do you say? Will you take me with you?" Alphonse knew that May would not take no for an answer. He smiled and said: "Of course you can come". May ran and hugged him like she did when she was younger, a warm hug that could break bones and melt hearts. Now things were a bit different, they were older and she had more responsabilities.
When Al arrived to Xing, May was very happy to see him but she already looked quite different from the girl he had met. First, she was taller and more beautiful than ever. Second, she looked happier and more relieved, more relaxed like she wasn't carrying a heavy weight on her shoulders anymore. Third, she looked more mature but in a way Alphonse didn't understand yet. Apart from that, he discovered May was still the same brave and brilliant girl he had met more than two years before.
They prepared everything for the trip within three days.
May told Ling in a private reunion she didn't know when she was coming back -or if she was coming back at all. When they were parting Al asked her what would happen with her clan in her absence. She said they would be safe -Ling had promised after all, but that she would leave the political affairs to her siblings, who seemed way more interested in that stuff. It made Al sad to think of how little love there was in May's family. She was a princess, yes. She could have grown up with all kind of luxuries and everything she wanted, but in a way she was practically orphan. All her brothers were constantly involved in succession fights, she barely knew her father and her mother looked like a distant figure -at least that's what Al thought since she never talked about her. It's true he didn't enjoy his parents for a very long time, but Alphonse couldn't imagine a life like that.
One time he had asked May why she knew how to fight like that. She said she had to learn to fight because, since birth, she had suffered from multiple assassination attempts. When he asked about alchemy, she smiled and said "I wanted to be useful to my clan in a way others weren't. And alchemy is also a powerful weapon as you know. So it was perfect for protecting me but also for protecting my people, the best thing a princess could do, don't you think?"
Now, more than a year later they were crossing the desert.
Alphonse wasn't sure of how long it had been since the last time he had seen Ed. He calculated it would be about two years soon and he was already missing him and everyone in Amestris. But the desert was a whole other thing. He hated it, he couldn't stand the sun or the sand, the feeling that his skin was burning or that he was thirsty, no matter how much watter he drunk. However, May Chang kept moving forward. She always smiled and even if she was sweating or if she was hungry, she never complained. She always tried to chat. Her favorite starter was "Remember that time when..." that always cheered Al up.
When it was about dawn, they rested. They made a fire, put a tent and just slept. But not always. One night it was quite cold. May started shivering, her hands shaking. Al was awake. He thought she was cold so he went to put a cover on her but then she started to move violently, like kicking someone, and covering her face as she moaned. Al tried to wake her up as she began to cry, but he couldn't. Xiao-Mei woke up and looked worried at May, who started to mutter things, as she kept crying and shaking still asleep. He got closer, worried about what was happening.
"May!" Al finally shouted, moving her arm. She opened her eyes and looked scared all around her. "It's okay, May, it was just a bad dream" Al helped her to sit down. She looked confused as she cleaned the tears from her cheeks.
"I'm sorry" she whispered, embarrassed while putting her arms around her knees "It has been years since I had a bad dream like this"
"Don't worry..." Al looked at his hands. He didn't really know what to say and he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. But he wanted to tell someone something he had been keeping secret for a long time "Since I got my body back I have had a lot of those. It's quite hard for me to fall asleep. I very rarely remember what I dream, but I'm constantly waking up in the middle of the night with this feeling -like hands all around my body, pushing me back to the Gate"
"That's what do you dream about?" Al moved his head.
"When I dream, I dream of a giant blank space where I'm starving. Or about someone we met and couldn't save. Or about..."
"The Promised Day" May muttered. She still had dreams about that that, though not all bad dreams.
"Yes"
"I really thought I lost you that day"
"I know, I'm sorry" May grinned. Al smiled back.
"And you have never dreamed about your family?"
"Yes, but only once that I remember" May lied next to him and looked at the stars.
"What is like to have a true family?"
Al didn't know what to say. May suddenly looked sad and Al wasn't sure if it was because of what she was thinking about or because of the silence -since he didn't know what to say.
"You can form your own family if you want, May" he finally looked at her. He wanted to study the lines on her face and see how she reacted to that, but she pretty much remained the same.
"I guess so" they kept quiet. Al stared at her for a while, thinking of how different her features looked with the fire light. Then he looked back at the moon and stars because he didn't want May to notice -even though it was probably too late. "You know, I used to have a crush on you"
Al suddenly blushed and moved away from her. May laughed.
"It's not my fault, Al, you described yourself so good and I was eleven! You were like my very own knight and alchemist Alphonse Elric" May turned to see him, still smiling "I'm wondering... what did you think of me back then?"
"Well, I thought you were brave and intelligent and..." Al was still avoiding her eyes, blushed and feeling like he had been just caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing.
"Blablabla, I don't mean that, Al!" he finally turned to see her and what he saw was amusement in her eyes.
"Well, I think you're cute"
"Think or thought?"
"I... Dammit" Al looked to the other side, covering his face with his hand. May sat down, faking surprise, all the tears had gone from her eyes.
"So, you now you think that I'm cute but you used to think that I was brave and intelligent? Now, that means you think I'm not brave and intelligent anymore?!"
"No! I didn't say that! I've always thought you were all three" Al sat, desperately trying to fix the mess he had made "I mean it"
"So your opinion about me hasn't changed at all?" May raised an eyebrow and so did Xiao-Mei.
"Of course it has! Look at you, now you're all grown up"
"But that's a fact, not an opinion"
"Why do you want to know so bad?"
"Because I told you what I think about you!"
"No, you didn't! You told me what you thought about me years ago"
May frowned and crossed her arms. He was right. Now she did feel a bit angry and she didn't know why.
"Well, I don't mind telling you: I don't have a massive crush on you, I don't daydream about you anymore because I'm not a child anymore. But I still like you. A lot" May looked to her feet and started to draw circles in the sand. She didn't want to look at him until he answered back -whatever was the answer.
"Is that why you're coming?" Al wondered, after a moment of silence.
"I told you why I'm coming. Now your turn" May tried not to blush as she spoke softly, only with the truth. She never lied. Then Alphonse spoke, almost to himself, while playing with the sand on this hands.
"I think you're amazing. Probably the most amazing person I have ever met. And that's why I like you too"
They didn't say anything else that night.
They were almost done. One more day and they would arrive to Amestris. Al looked very excited and that made May happy. She hoped everyone was doing fine.
May had witnessed Al's nightmares, she had helped him through hard nights. He had done the same. They discovered that holding hands was effective most of the times for a better sleep. Sometimes they just lied down and counted stars. May was fantastic telling old legends, Al preferred telling stories about his travels with Ed. Sometimes they invented tales that involved the stars until they fell asleep. Al tried not to speak very much because he loved May's voice.
During the days they talked a lot or they just didn't talk at all. They patently learned the language of glances and soft touches and now they could communicate without words -this is something everybody would notice when they arrived to Amestris, specially Ed and Winry. Just one look was enough to say "May, I need to stop" or a head move was like saying "Al, I'm hungry". They soon realized they didn't need many words to tell the other one how much they appreciated each other. They didn't need to say anything.
One day, when they found an oasis where they could rest and take a bath, they discussed if it was better to go together or make turns. They finally decided to go together. When they stripped, leaving only their underwear, Al realized May had scars all over her body "from a thousand fights" she said. Al suddenly felt the need to caress all those scars, as if he could cure them just by touching them. He couldn't understand how someone would want to hurt May, it sounded just pure evil -and he had seen it with his own eyes. May was swimming and she saw Al lost in his thought.
"What are you thinking about?" He told her about what was in his mind. May laughed and went to him. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's very sweet of you. But I wouldn't be the same without them. They're part of me" Al nodded and put his arms around her waist. He wondered if it was fine for her but she smiled, so he guessed it was good. They had never been that close and Al felt a little nervous. "Can I kiss you?" Al smiled and May gently kissed him and then Al felt it was the right thing to do. He felt floating in a different space, in a place where everything was nice. Their own particular paradise. And he knew that he loved her and he didn't need to say a word.
Now their journey was about to end and they feel relieved but a bit sad at the same time. They knew the sweet moments they shared back in the desert were unique, they won't be repeated. But they're looking forward to the moments that are yet to come.
Final notes: Thanks for reading! I was inspired for a certain part by the beautiful fic Scars by ZeDancingHobbit, so thank you very much to the author for sharing their writing.
I know this was probably shitty but I had to write these two, they're two cute. I hope they're kind of in character and all. All reviews (positive and negative) are very welcome :)