A small blond teen flew through the air and landed next to a suit of armor and excitedly looked up at it excitedly. The armor next to the human was making him appear smaller that he actually was due to the large size of the armor.
"Hey, Al! I passed the State Alchemist examination! And I made it! Now I can get our bodies back!"
A small, young voice came from the armor, echoing off the sides of the hollow suit. "That's great, brother! I know that automail must be hard on your body, Ed."
"Well, I promise that I'll get our bodies back," Ed replied to his brother. He looked up to the sky and closed his eyes, letting the sun beat down on him and fill him with hope.
xxx
Wearing nothing but his leather pants and tight black tank, Ed was crying so hard that his small body shook and was making each breath a struggle. Tears were streaming freely down his face, hanging on the tip of his nose and chin before falling to rest on the floor with the others that had already fallen in his sorrow. He let his head fall heavily into his hands as he wept.
Outside, the moon rose higher into the sky. Ed's silver State Alchemist certification pocket watch lay gleaming softly, abandoned on his bed across the room. He raised his head and stretched his hands out in front of him so that he could view them.
Flesh and metal. His hands showed his sins and his past. It was a part of his life that he hated, but wouldn't give up for the world.
Focusing on the bed across the room, he saw the moonlight that was floating through the open window gleam on his pocket watch, the soft light making it appear to glow in the darkness that surrounded him.
He and Al had just come back from burning down their old home. He still could see the fire dancing brightly in his mind. It was a fire that even Colonel Mustang would have been proud to say that he had started. It consumed the entire home, burning up all their belongings, but leaving behind the memories that had been created there with all whom he had loved. He remembered how the tree next to the old farmhouse had slowly been caught up in the all-consuming flames and wilted under the harsh heat.
Crying harder that he previously had, Edward slumped roughly against the wall behind him. He let his hands drop to the floor as though all life had been severed from the two weary limbs.
He let out some quiet sobs, not wanting to bother Winry and Al. He was the Fullmetal Alchemist! He could do this.
His eyes fell on the silver pocket watch again. Getting up, he walked numbly over to it. He picked it up in his left hand, his flesh hand. He walked down stairs and went out the back door without alerting anyone of his presence.
He then walked down the well-worn path leading to his old home for the second time that day.
When he got to the burnt and blacked residence that he once resided in, he screamed until his vocal cords could take no more.
Falling on his knees, he just stared at the ashes as a gust of wind blew them up into the sky and past the stars, until they floated visibly past the moon and disappeared.
Getting to his feet with a determination that had come from somewhere deep within him, he walked into the mess and found a small, sharp piece of iron that had come from the foundation of his old home.
Still in the ruins, he knelt down, yet again on his knees, and opened his silver certification watch by the little clasp on the side. Grasping the small hard piece of metal, he started to scratch a small downward stroke until it could be seen easily. He continued with a half circle connecting each end on the right side. Pausing to look at his marks, he quickly continued with a small circle.
A line with a two more lines, one jutting off of the other, followed, then a small dash, then two lines intersecting. He had just completed the word "Don't."
He scratched into the soft metal "forget" right under his other scratches, then the date, "3 Oct.". He placed the now marked watch on the ground while he drew a transmutation circle on the ground.
He placed the watch onto the earth and placed his hands on the edge of the circle, starting the alchemy.
Blue and white lights flashed in front of him, and the watch slowly started to close. He watched the words that he himself had inscribed on the silver slowly disappear as the angle changed.
The lights died down as the task was completed, and the watch was alchemically sealed. The young Alchemist picked up the watch, clipped the chain onto his belt loop, and slid the watch into his pocket.
He slowly turned and headed back up the path. Today, though he was still torn and ripped on the inside, a part, a small part of him had healed.
A/N: This is my first ever fan fiction. It was written for the Edward Elric month on DeviantART.
I didn't include the year because in the 2003 anime it's 10, but in the 2009 anime/manga it says 11. Weird how they couldn't decide on the year huh? So ya'll just chose for yourselves what year you're going to put this in.
Thanks to gragonwings on DeviantART for looking this over!
Also thanks to A-Hard-Days-Night for being the official beta for this! She just recently did it in spring of 2014, so this is now a very clean a fresh Betaed version. Thanks!