A smile was all anyone needed to know that something had changed. That one smile that lit up his face and made him glow, limitless happiness shone through his sunshine eyes with the power to strike anyone down with the sheer force of its radiance. It was in everything he did, the way he spoke, loudly and excitedly, no shouting in annoyance like normal, no hot anger present in his words, it was in the way he waved his hands in the air, presenting his story with flourishes that would do Hughes proud, and the way he seemed to float on a cloud that was his and his alone, a place of serenity and guiltless pleasure, a wisp of gentle bliss that had him high with joy. Nothing negative could be found in the blonde, as if all his built up anger and guilt had been swept away by the tides of a promise fulfilled.
He was once again a child, seeming to have reverted in an instant before everyone's eyes. The once firm and sadly mature teenager, was now a chattering kid that had been granted his one wish in life. It was as if the horrendous events that had forced him to grow up too quickly had vanished from his memory, as if the hideous past that had him chained in shackles of remorse had been broken and he had been set free. There was no trace of the broken boy he had once been, sure, he was still Edward Elric, the shining prodigy, the proud, stubborn, indignant State Alchemist, but the sadness that had been drowning him until now was gone, and with it, the never ending search for a miracle we all thought would lead the brothers to their death.
Where there had always been a strong, firm and destructive power in everything he did, there was now a gentle grace, the weight of a sin having been lifted. That elegance was in the way he moved, with a gracefulness that could make any dancer cry, the way he spoke, the fluidity of his words, how they formed great sagas of passion and battle, and more importantly, it was found in the gentle, caring way in which he held the boy in his arms, the boy we had only ever known as a steel shell, the boy that held Edward's wishes, his dreams, in his delicate human hands.
Victorious and wealthy beyond their dreams, if not in the way of riches, but in the way of love and precious people, the Elrics stood tall, their accomplishments evident to anyone who were to merely look upon Edward face, seeing the absolute bliss, the peace, that encompassed him.
If he knew of the difference in his appearance alone, the alchemist would have only smiled and brushed it off, stating that he had only been caught up in the moment, but we all knew, he would be smiling like this for years to come, and that this happiness would not fade, even in death.
"A lesson without pain is meaning less, that's because you cannot gain something without sacrificing something else in return but once you've with stood that pain and over come it you will gain a heart that is stronger than everything else, yes a fullmetal heart." –EE- Fullmetal Alchemist