(A Trip Down Memory Lane)
The air outside was humid and heavy,leaving citizens in the streets with damp,clingy clothing stuck to their bodies. Pubs began opening their doors as the midnight rush of people came,laughing and chatting as if they hadn't a care in the world.
While just a few blocks away,a blonde man began to scowl in frustration.
"Where the hell did I set that damn notebook?!"
Edward Elric was never one for patience (or organization,as you can see),and was always in a bad mood whenever he couldn't find something. It was just in his nature to be disorganized,and he never really minded. Unless,of course,he needed something that had just so happened to go missing at his first thought.
With a growl,the blonde began sifting through piles of alchemy notes and research papers,golden orbs narrowed in concentration. Perhaps he had left it somewhere under the mountain of paper beside his typewriter..?
No,not there. Maybe it was on the bookshelf!
Nope.
"Goddamn you,notebook," Ed screeched and dove into another pile,wriggling like a mad turtle that had just been flipped on its shell. It was then,that the man noticed the sleek,ebony colored corner of a frame peeking out of the papers. Edward raised an eyebrow and reached out towards it,plucking the frame from its hiding place and studying it with interest.
A picture sat behind the dusty glass,still nearly preserved after what was probably years of being hidden under more important notes and documents. With a snort,Ed dusted off the glass and looked inside,eyes widening in shock at the slightly faded image before his eyes.
"It couldn't be.."
There stood a blonde boy and a raven haired man,both captured in a moment of familiarity and love as they hugged each other before the camera. The boy in the picture seemed as though he was trying to imitate a tomato,while the man smirked and probably whispered into his ear. It was so perfect,it almost didn't seem real;they just seemed too happy to be real people. Two people,both of the same gender and with a massive age difference,hugging and behaving affectionately before a camera.
Edward smiled weakly and sat down in his study chair,his automail hand resting on the handle of a drawer at his desk. He didn't like memories,and seeing this would have made him run for the hills had he been in a more serious mood,but today was not one of those days. Today he felt much more subdued and..
Alone.
"Perhaps," the blonde ran gloved hand through his ponytail and sighed,"it wouldn't be such a bad idea to remember." He smiled weakly and fiddled with the backing of the frame,flicking the latch and gently sliding the faded memory from it's prison.
"Yeah..let's remember for a bit."
But it's never a good idea to remember the past.
"It will only be for a little while.."
A little while is all you need before you break down,Edward.
"I promise to stop when it starts to hurt too much."
No you don't. You'll try to fight your way through,you won't give in. Don't be this way,Ed. The consequences are greater than ever now,just walk away.
"I'll just lose the picture if I set it back down."
Good,that would be good. Please,don't remember.
"It wouldn't hurt to just think.."
Liar.