A/N: Ok, so I was thinking... thinking and thinking and thinking until my brain hurt like hell. Right? Add some Enya music, my slight depression and fatigue at night, and voila! You get this oneshot sprouted from my class called "Analytical Investigative Sense: 1.0.1"
S.N.R.
Summary: There was a reason Ed always told his stories to Heiderich and Heiderich alone
Pairings: Ed/Hei
Warnings: Shortness, slight angst, mild fluff (nothing major for once)
Recommended listening: Long, Long Journey by Enya
Stories and Smiles
One-Shot
Edward loved to tell stories. However, many of his stories were not to be told; he did not think he should tell them to anyone, even to the splitting image of his brother. Speaking of tragedies not only were depressing for him, but also saddening for those around him. Though most of his journey was a tragedy or ended up as one, whether it be from the day his mother had passed on, to the death of Nina, or even as far as finding out truths behinds truths with homunculi, he had decided to never speak of them. Not even to Heiderich.
Why?
Because they weren't stories to make the listener smile.
There was a reason Ed told only stories that had amusement lacing it around the edges or humor filling his words like helium into a balloon. His quick wits in situations or the personality of others affecting the outcome were enough to make anyone laugh at the silliness of it all, not realizing that it had, at once time, happened.
But they would not understand.
It was because they would think of it to be absurd, wild, crazy even, that they did not listen to it all, only the things that were supposed to be funny... without really understanding any of his words at all.
That was one of Ed's fears and it was a reason not to speak of his tales to people like those, the people who could not imagine that calamity laced with comedy could really happen, in one world or another (if they even believed that).
There was a reason Edward Elric always shared his stories—his otherworldly experiences from a life once led—with Heiderich and Heiderich alone.
It was because Heiderich understood each word that passed his lips; Heiderich who understood each turning point that would make any other listener confused, and Heiderich who understood each suspenseful memory that turned into the climax of his story.
Above all, it was because it made Heiderich smile.
It would be in the middle of something serious, like a perilous twist or a suspenseful change of pace, there would be absurdity—obviously from Ed's many used-to-be mood swings and witty comebacks of amusement—and it would alight a smile across the lips of the German rocket scientist. The light cerulean eyes would light up, filled with mirth, both satisfied and amused with such a tale, and remain hooked, the smile gradually turning into laughter with echoing gratification that would make Ed return such a smile.
Yet, the story would still be understood. Perhaps it was because that this world was the shadow of Ed's world, that Heiderich was the shadow of his brother, and there would lay the comprehension skills obtained without realization and that was why only Heiderich could understand him.
It was because Heiderich could understand him that he shared everything with him. It was because Heiderich could see the underlying meaning behind each story. It was because Heiderich could feel the emotional tug that Ed had felt.
Even if they were just stories to him.
So Ed told his stories, day and night, making the morning worth getting up to and the evening worth waiting for. At least that was what he hoped for and he looked for signs to make sure he was right. But by the smiles he received and laughter that could follow, he had assumed right. It he who could create that smile and have it hang around for as long as he spoke, giving it more than anyone else could.
Even if it was just a dream for Ed, to live in Germany with Heiderich and be trying to find his way back to Amestris, it was somewhat of a bliss to speak of his experiences and produce that smile again, the smile that seemed to be reserved only for him because it was he who had sparked it, breathed into it and given it life.
'Smile for me, Heiderich... Even if it is just a shadow of one... Show me that smile again...'