Pairing: Ed and Sonic (from Full Metal Alchemist and Sonic the Hedgehog)

Prompt: Size doesn't matter

For: Orin

So, little bit of an author's note here, just because I'm sure this will be confusing without it.

Back in October 2007, Orin volunteered to do a bunch of fics for the month of "Pr0ntoboer." This meant writing stories others requested with anything from a squishy feeling to full out pr0n. She only did ten, however, and I was lucky enough to request one before the others on her LJ. She said crossovers were okay, so I decided to mess with her a bit and requested an Espio x Naruto fic with the prompt "ninja."

I then mentioned I might do the Pr0ntober thing too, and she told me I had to, so she could get me back with a difficult request. So I posted the fandoms I would write for and she jumped on a FMA/Sonic crossover.

This is that result. I wasn't going to originally post this, but Taranea, who reviewed my other Sonic story, requested that I do.

Hard for me to turn down a request that isn't difficult. So, besides being written for Orin, this is also for Taranea.

Ed hissed as the cobalt creature finished applying an antiseptic that, in Ed's honest opinion, stung like bloodyfuckinghell!

Sure, automail was painful, but only for a moment. It faded quickly if you got your mind around it.

This stuff just wouldn't let up! Owowowowow!

Emerald green—like that big rock Ed had seen earlier—stared at his own wincing gold before a gentle stream of air blew across the wound, somewhat soothing the medicinally-caused hurt.

Ed stared. He was no longer shocked by the sight of this creature—hedgehog, it had stated—but the way it behaved.

Just like any human would, really. It was uncomfortable, considering that fact. Ed was quite happy to have emotions and motives and goals and feelings and sin and guilt weighing on his conscience and to let all things not human live more innocent lives of instinct and need.

Probably why he hated those who exploited animals to create chimeras. The animals used had no idea what sort of sick lives they would lead when those twisted souls finished with them.

But this was no chimera. He'd known the second the smaller, blue body had knelt by him, touched him, that this creature was of flesh and blood by means as natural as his own.

It made him wary because it made the hedgehog too human.

"Can't believe you managed to stand up to ol' Knuckle-head so well," the creature was saying, chuckling as it—no, this thing was male by its voice—wrapped a bandage around Ed's slashed arm. "Gotta say, you've got guts!"

Ed frowned in thought. No doubt, the hedgehog was referring to that red-spined creature that had packed the meanest, non-automail assisted punch Ed had ever had the privilege of feeling slam into his solar plexus.

Already, the young state alchemist was pondering if the red creature could be hired to knock a certain pompous Flame Alchemist around. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too mad at him for defending himself earlier.

Because Ed would never have attacked anything without being attacked first.

"Yeah, sorry about Red, but he's got this thing," the hedgehog continued as he bandaged the bruised alchemist. "And that thing is the Master Emerald, and he sees anybody getting near it without his permission and he flies off the handle." The hedgehog finished tying the bandages. "So, to him at least, you made the first move."

Ed pulled his arm back to his body. It hurt of course—having a spiked fist or two get a clean slash through skin was not something that healed right away—but the binding was top quality and flexible.

Honestly, Ed couldn't have done better himself. In fact, he probably would have done much worse. His estimation of the hedgehog went up a couple of notches.

"Thanks," he said, genuinely grateful. His automail arm still worked, but certainly not functioning enough for any delicate work. Red, as the hedgehog had called him, had delivered a bone-jarring hit to the wrist of his automail and rendered the metallic hand useless.

In a small part of his being, where his ego lived, Ed was furious about how poorly he'd done in that fight. Logic was helping to ease the hurt by pointing out that he rarely fought an opponent so much smaller than himself, yet so powerful.

His leg was still in working order. Ed mentally shuddered at the thought of the hedgehog carrying him to this hut. The little guy had wanted to until Ed assured him he could walk.

"Sure thing!" Grinning, from ear to pointed ear, the hedgehog extended a hand. "The name's Sonic."

Ed extended his artificial arm—the other he tried to keep still to avoid as much discomfort as possible—and smiled back. "Edward Elric."

Sonic took the boy's broken hand in his own and shook it. "Well, Eddy…"

"Ed! Please," Ed interrupted with a bit of a twinge on his face.

"Alright, Ed, you hungry? Knuckles won't be back for awhile—that's the guy that knocked you for a loop, by the way—and I'm starving!" Without really waiting for an answer, Sonic zipped off, leaving Ed alone.

Ed was still amazed by Sonic's speed. It seemed so unnatural, yet perfectly normal. Like the hedgehog had decided one day, "I want to be fast!" and had defied all logic and simply forced it to be.

There was something else, too. Sonic hadn't asked about the artificial limbs, nor had he shied away from them. The hedgehog had simply accepted them as quickly as he accepted Ed himself.

Ed wondered how a person like that came to be. It was remarkable in and of itself.

A blue blur burst back into the room, focusing Ed's thoughts on the present. Specifically, the tray of fruit that perfumed the enclosed room with a sweet, tangy scent. He lifted his right arm, then realized he would have to use the bandaged arm if he wanted to pick up the pieces of fruit.

"Oh, no you don't!" Sonic pulled the tray just out of Ed's reach, much to the young alchemist's frustration. "I just finished putting that bandage on and I don't want to have to take it off and redo it because you got it all junky with juice!"

"Well, what do you suggest?" Ed huffed back, peeved. There were no forks present either.

Sonic smirked, a cute yet slightly sinister smirk, and held up a piece of fruit in his own hand. He leaned over, much to Ed's surprise, and pushed it against the boy's lips.

If Ed's ego had its way, Ed would have leapt off the bed and pummeled the little blue creep for babying him.

Perhaps fortunately, Ed's stomach was in charge, and Ed opened his mouth.

Damn! He didn't know what sort of fruit that was, but it was good. It vanished down his throat way too quickly, but Sonic was ready with another piece.

They continued on in silence for awhile, and Ed observed his hedgehog host. Sonic's smirk was no longer mocking—more like amused in a nice way—but Ed wondered how often he had nursed someone before.

How many of the hedgehog's friends had gotten hurt for Sonic to know these sorts of ends and outs? How many times had the hedgehog been hurt?

Ed thought as he ate. The answers he came up with were not pleasant.

"So, what was that thing you did earlier?"

Sonic's abrupt question caught him off guard. Ed stared, unable to comprehend.

"Thing?" was all he could manage to get out.

"Yeah, where you clapped your hands and that lightning came out and changed the floor! That was pretty awesome! Knuckles will have a field day fixing everything you wrecked!"

How many times had Sonic and Knuckles fought if the hedgehog was this giddy over irking the red punching machine?

For some reason, that was an amusing thought.

"Alchemy," Ed answered in between bites. He shifted to ease his back muscles. "Equivalent exchange and rearrangement of matter." He almost started into a lecture—alchemy was just too darned interesting not to—when Sonic jumped in.

"What is that, like magic?"

"No! It's science!" Ed put on his best pout—although he didn't know he did so—and turned his head away.

No more of this little feeding game the hedgehog was playing.

"Well, whatever it was, it was cool!" Sonic put the fruit into his own mouth, then threw a punch in the air. "And you even changed your hand too!"

"But I can't fix my automail like that, so don't ask."

Sonic was smirking again. "Kind of looked like Knuckles's claws when you did that, which is why he freaked out, I bet!"

"He hit hard for a guy who is shorter than me," Ed mused. "He does a lot of fighting?" Visions of a beaten Roy danced in his head.

Sonic shrugged. "I guess you could say that. Mostly, though, he just doesn't like people near his Emerald. He's not that small."

Ed glanced at the hedgehog. Knuckles and Sonic were about the same height. "Compared to me, he is," the alchemist said.

"Aren't you a little small for a human though?"

Ed wasn't used to being called small, short, or any other variation by things that fit that definition better than himself, such as this hedgehog. As such, his defensive mechanism was a little slower than normal.

That delay allowed Sonic to continue onwards. "You should know size never matters."

The next few seconds were a blur to both, but Ed reasoned later that he had grabbed Sonic—bandages and damages be damned!—and pulled him into a tight hug.

It felt so good to hear that from someone else! And the hedgehog had to be right.

After all, Sonic's size didn't stop him from doing anything. Including hugging the blond boy back. The hedgehog, compacted into a bundle of inspiration, could do anything.

Ed wondered if maybe Sonic might help him some more.

"I have a brother named Al, and he has a problem…"