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Edward leaned against the thick basket-weave wall of their rented hot air balloon. A flock of birds flew by, a choreographed routine of feathers and noise. It was a relief for the two of them to get this time to just relax after all the hard work they had done so far. The university in Munich gave him a couple weeks of leave and no one would ever have the chance to take that away from them, at least not on Ed's watch.
"Brother?"
Ed spun around instantly at the sound. "Yeah, Al," he replied. "What is it?"
Alice twisted the end of the emergency rope between her fingers, glancing up at him almost shyly. "Do you think we'll ever get back?" She asked.
Edward sighed. Ever since the incident with the Thule Society nearly a year ago, she'd been withdrawing further and further into herself. She was so cheerful before, but recently he'd become rather worried about her. He was glad that she was actually there, though. After everything they'd endured together Ed was relieved that Alice wouldn't suffer that cold existence any longer. Over those years they'd spent searching for the stone he'd been assaulted by guilt; to see her in person once again was a dream come true.
"We can't," he murmured, shaking his head. Al's eyes filled with tears and he gently reached up to brush them away. "We have to seal our side so no one can repeat what they did, you know that, Allie."
"I - I miss Winry," she sniffed.
Ed engulfed his sister in a hug. "I know," he whispered, swaying slightly in time to the wind. "I know."
This was written for the following from the Fullmetal Alchemist A Bit of Everything forum:
The Gender Swap Boot Camp Challenge - Bird
Becoming the Tamer King - Meeting Azulongmon 1
The Monopoly Game Challenge FMA Style - Vermont Ave
Monthly Quotes Challenge - November
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