Ed P.O.V.
Burdens
I should've been happy.
I was happy.
Seeing Al restored.
Looking into my little brothers eyes after so long.
I'd kept my promise. I got Al his body back-like I'd always planned to. It had all worked out just as it was supposed to.
So why did it feel like something was missing?
For the last three years I'd been concentrating on finding the philosopher's stone and restoring Al's body. Traveling from town to town, always on the move. I hadn't realised then, but I'd been running away from my own grief.
I guess I thought if I ran far enough and fast fast enough I could leave it behind. But standing in front of the Rockbell house next to a fully restored Al, I saw how wrong I was.
It was all over. No more philosopher's stone. I'd done what I set out to do, and now I just felt...lost.
I smiled when I saw winry.
In a way I envied her.
She lived a simple life with an average job and she was happy. She'd found something she loved doing and that was enough.
My whole life had been looking after my brother.
After our failed human transmutation, it had been getting his body back.
What was I supposed to do now?
I wished we could go back to when we were kids. Everything was simple and all that mattered was we were together.
But we weren't kids anymore.
I wasn't the same Edward Elric.
I'd seen cities destroyed, I'd seen people die, I'd even killed people.
It was easy enough to flash my cocky grin and pretend I didn't care, but I did.
Somehow Winry knew. She always knew. All she ever wanted was for Al and me to talk to her, but I'd seen and done too much.
I killed a man. Well, he wasn't a man, exactly. He was a humunculi, but it still bothered me.
I'd killed our mother.
No. She wasn't our mother.
She was one of them.
She wasn't our mother, damn it!
I'd told myself that a million times, but I still didn't believe it.
No. I wasn't the same Edward Elric.
Would she still like me if she knew all the things I'd done?
I could see it in her eyes.
She wanted to know the truth, but the lie was far prettier.