Valentine's Day

Subtitle: The Truth Behind those Eyes

Character: Edward Elric

Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

"Nothing has been the same since the change," I whisper to Alphonse Elric. It had been three years since the incident in Central had occurred with the military finally being brought down by the renegades. Everything was at peace in the world now since the trials of Amestris, almost as if an invisible switch had been flipped from 'Off' to 'On'.

This also meant it was three years since this man had gotten his body back from the cold, steel casing it was trapped in previously, after opening the Gateway of Truth. I had not grown accustomed to the new feeling of his arm as he lead me through the grassy field.

"Yes, Brother and I are traveling right now. I went east and he went to the west to search out more on alchemy," Alphonse explains, taking in the exquisite landscape of the Xing Temple. "I never expected you to end up in a place like this, Ella."

"What can I say; I know a lot of people," I respond, chuckling as I'm helped up the massive steps. "Ling and Lan Fan have been very accommodating, especially since the wedding was finalized. He's ruling over his people like a noble Emperor of Xing should."

"We knew he would, considering he helped Brother out when trying to defeat Father Homunculus," Al pulls me from bumping into someone, my red-blonde tresses cascading across my shoulders. "Ed said he was going to come by here first chance he got."

A very sad smile comes to my face at the lapse of conversation onto Edward Elric. Truth be told, the two had been some of my closest friends since birth, along with Winry the automail mechanic. Unfortunately, five long years had passed since I had last seen the two boy's. Now Alphonse had finally located me for proper visitation, considering it was not as easy for me to find them.

Edward Elric had always held a very special place in my heart. He had been the one that saved me on so many occasions, especially in our military days. Oh yes, I had served as an authentic military dog of Amestris and had paid the ultimate price for it.

"How've your eyes been?" I could feel him lightly trace the skin around my open, pale blue orbs. "Has Ling had any luck with that philosopher's stone?"

I shake my head, sighing sadly. Ling had been one I had grown close to, along with his blushing bride Lan Fan. The two had tried every doctor they could, from all over the world, to try and heal me. They had actually been there when I had lost my eyes to that damned gateway… When I had tried to bring my recently dead little sister back from the afterlife…

And, as Brigadier General Roy Mustang had had done to him, my eyes were taken from the gateway for looking towards the future of my nation. Yet, here I was in Xing after fleeing from the fear I possessed in losing my eyesight. I now had escorts leading me everywhere, unable to see anything around me.

I felt like a burden.

"I've heard rumors," Al whispers as we sit in the gardens. I could tell that much by the smell of cherry blossom trees around me, "that Mustang has regained his sight."

"Impossible," I wave the notion off, sighing. I did not want false hope.

"But what if it wasn't?" I could hear Al lean against the tree behind me. "What if it was possible for you to be able to see again, would you do it?"

"Depending, I suppose…" I was beginning to get suspicious. "Alphonse Elric, why are you interrogating me?"

"Oh just making idle conversation!" He waves his hands by the air I felt coming from them, voice becoming nervous. "What would you do if you got your eyes back, Ella?"

"I would see the world as Isa did," I murmur, recalling my darling little sister. Everything had been seen through her eyes as lively and joyful. She had believed that as long as she was alive, despite if she did not know a single person, there was always something she needed to do to fulfill her ambitions.

Personally, I had only partially believed this ideology. I wanted Amestris to be the perfect kingdom again, thus why my eyes were taken. I cared about myself and my sister, and after watching her die by the hands of that damned Homunculus, Pride, I had immediately tried to bring her back at the risk to my own personal safety.

"I would return to Amestris and speak with Fuhrer Grumman and get my job back," I recall briefly the great things I had done for the military, being the second youngest state alchemist to be enlisted, right after Edward Elric. I had been bumped up the ladder until I became left-hand man for Colonel Roy Mustang. Left-hand because Riza Hawkeye had always been his foremost adjutant. "And I would make Amestris the best country it could be, as it should've been decades ago. And I would be just, not at all like the last followers of the military."

"Sounds like a good enough answer for me," comes a deeper voice from my left. I recognized it almost immediately, clumsily standing to give a salute to the general direction I had heard it from.

"Brigadier General, sir," I murmur, feeling light-headed from how quickly I stood. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

I could feel an arm loop through mine, very feminine yet strong. It must be Riza Hawkeye by the smell of her perfume that tickled my nose in the breeze. She always wore the same kind.

"We're taking you back to Amestris, Dream Weaver Alchemist," calls Mustang, using my given military name.

"Why? We've been making progress here," I cling to Riza, feeling weak in my knees now at the entire situation. "We're closer to getting my vision back."

"But we've got solutions there," Hawkeye informs me.

I shake my head, unable to believe this. I did not want to be given false hopes, and I did not want to make a trip that might kill me, across a ridiculously large desert, if it would not work.

"Well, Mustang here can see just fine again," I hear the voice of Jean Havoc as another hand is placed on my head.

The man had been paralyzed and unable to walk. How could he stand…?

"Havoc, how do you walk? Automail?" I question, fear tinting my voice.

"Nope, Doctor Marcoh fixed me up," he explains, "and also got around to bringing Mustang's sight back. And now the good doctor wants to know where the darling little thing is that killed off Gluttony the first time so he can get her eyes back as well."

"No…" I could not believe it. Everything was slowly becoming brighter and more beautiful in my heart. I had the opportunity to see once more… For Isa… "Mustang, what animal of gold dominates the kimono I am wearing?"

It was black with a white fade at the bottoms of the sleeves and near my feet with a golden dragon spiraling around, along with other intricate designs. A dragon… Ling had described it upon purchasing the piece for me as a birthday present this recent year.

"It would be a very delicate, winding dragon," Mustang easily comments quickly, not allowing anyone time to tell him the correct answer.

"Fullmetal wanted to make sure you were taken care of," Riza adds, helping to hold me up.

"Ed…" I laugh, almost unable to believe my luck. "You kept your promise… Let's get back to Central so I can start helping Amestris rebuild."

"That's more like it," Roy chuckles. "We leave immediately…"

Pain. Pain could only begin to describe what I had endured. I almost wished for death, yearned to be wrapped in the black, slimy arms from the Gateway, pulling me back in to be with my sister.

But I had not given up, could not give up… For her and for the sake of Amestris. People wanted me to live, and I had him to live for. I could not die here, and I would not die now.

The process of bringing my eyes back had nearly destroyed both me and Marcoh. Apparently, since I had willingly performed Human Transmutation, it had been a bit more difficult to retrieve than for Roy, who had been forced.

In this process, I had to be thrown back into the Gateway of Truth to face the wickedness of the creature that maintained the place. I could not see anything, but I could feel the presence of my eyes not far as the little demon spoke.

Instead of sacrificing my alchemy, I had sacrificed the philosopher's stone remnant Marcoh had given me, along with a good few years off my life. But, I had lived and the demon of the Gateway had cast me back out.

Yet, I did not know if I could see yet. Marcoh had ordered me to keep bandages across my eyes for at least a week's time, under his careful watch before he returned to Ishval. We were staying in the home of Brigadier General Mustang and his fiancee, Riza Hawkeye for the time being.

During my last week in this damned bed, I had been visited by countless old comrades. Olivier Armstrong, though her visitation was not as friendly considering the woman did not have a nice bone in her body, Alex Louise Armstrong, Breda, Fury, Falman, Sheska, Denny Brosh, Maria Ross, and just about anyone that had ever been associated with me on my missions or under Mustang's command had passed through here at least once. Even Izumi Curtis, my old teacher, had dropped in with her husband.

Now today was the final unveiling to see if I could once again revel in the light of the open day after being blind for five long years. I could feel the fear welling in my throat, but I knew I would at least have my life if this did fail.

Edward never left my mind through all of this. I wanted to live for him, live to prove I was stronger than he expected. I did not want him to ever believe I was nothing short of a worthy alchemist and scholar. He would scold me if I died here…

Outside, I heard festivities being set up. Fuhrer Grumman had called for a celebration in the square for Valentine's Day tonight. I could smell delicacies through my windows, hear the laughter of the people of Central trying to break from the rebuilding of the city.

All at once, I'm shaken from my thoughts as a hand wraps around mine, pulling me up. From across the room, I could hear movement, followed by Doctor Marcoh's voice.

"You'll have to wait a little longer, I'm afraid. For now, I need you to go with your escort. Do not worry, my trust is in them," he assures as the man- obvious by the feel of his hands- leads me out of the door.

I did not know where I was going or who I was with as I boarded a vehicle, but all that mattered is that Marcoh had given me his word that I would see again and that my safety was assured. Was it possible I was being released from his care and taken home? No, the trip would be much longer than this…

It was not long before the vehicle stops and the man beside me escorts me out, leading me to a seat. After placing my rear firmly, a silence fell over the land. It was bound to be getting dark by now… I wanted to see daylight again.

Slowly, the binds are unraveled from my sight and I feel my heart thundering in my chest. As soon as they've been removed, hands cover my eyes. I growl in frustration, becoming more and more anxious to see if it were possible for my eyes to be back and healthy as Mustang's had.

"If you were given the chance to see again, what is it in the world you would want to see first?" a voice whispers in my ear, making my anticipation grow and my heart stop all in one instant.

His voice…

Flashback

My eyes would never be the same, the feeling of being blinded to the world and swimming in darkness something that would haunt me for the rest of my life. I felt sick and useless as I prepared a horse to ride across the desert to Xing with Ling Yao and Lan Fan, hoping to find a cure to this damned curse.

The Gateway of Truth had taken something valuable from me, and in return had not given me back my sister. Nothing else could possibly go wrong. If it wasn't for the fact I had friendship, there would be nothing in this world left to live for.

Ed and Al Elric were seeing me off to the foreign land, briefly saying their farewells before I crossed the desert. It retched my heart to think that I would never lay eyes on them again.

After heart-retching and long goodbyes are given, my blinded eyes pouring tears, I mount my horse and begin to slowly ride into the sands. Before I can get very far, Edward grabs the reigns of my horse. I knew it was him by the way he moved near me, his hand placed on my knee as well.

"Wait! Ella, I need to ask you a question," calls the ex-alchemist. "If you were given the chance to see again, what is it in the world you would want to see first?"

The question completely caught me off guard. I wipe away my tears, sniffling. "I would want to see my friends and my 'family'. And I would like to see the sunset again."

He releases my reigns, giving my horse a quick pat on the rump. The stallion jerks, beginning a light jog to catch up with Ling and Lan Fan. I could feel my heart pounding at the words of the man I had grown so very attached too. But his following words are what stayed in my head throughout my later adventures in Xing.

"I promise you, Ella Marie Reese, that I will get your eyes back and you will see the sunset again!" Edward hollers, swearing an oath to me. I smile, praying he would one day be able to hold good to his promise.

End Flashback

"Ed?" I question, tears beginning to sting my eyes. "Edward Elric, is that really you?" It had been years since I had last seen him.

"Shh," he whispers in my ear, slowly removing his hands from my face. "Open your eyes, Ella."

As if time had stopped, I gently allow my eyes to flitter open. Everything was so bright, so beautiful… I could see the green of the grass, the blue of the water, and the brown of the tree trunks. But what I could see the best was the sunset in the background from atop an enormous hill, shades of orange, red, and yellow swirling together gracefully…

With everyone that was still living that I had ever cared for standing before me, smiling and laughing.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ella," Edward smiles, his face bent down to mine. "From everyone."

Tears begin pouring down my face. His hair had grown and he had gotten taller than I'd ever imagined. Not just him… Al looked amazing compared to how skinny and fatigued his body was before by the description I had received.

Winry, Grandma, and all the alchemists I'd become attached to were there, faces serious.

"Green," murmurs Edward, his face boring into my own. "I remember how green your eyes were now. You can see."

"I can see," I sniffle, throwing my arms around him. Everyone bursts into cheers, laughing and becoming more jubilant. Chocolates and roses were being given to one another, the day escaping me.

All at once, a tender kiss is given to me as a single rose is placed in my hand. I feel the tears being wiped away.

"Happy Valentines Day," Edward mumbles, grinning.

He had kept his oath.

And my first gifted Valentine's Day in years was perfect in that single instant.