Author's Note: Obviously Al isn't back to normal in the manga yet, but this is my feeble idea of what it could be like when he does get his body and soul back together. If you haven't read to Chapter 52 yet, you might not get it, though... D:
I don't expect to do a lot of one-shots with human Al, though (except for flashbacks), on account of that not being manga-canon at the moment. :B
The alchemical lightning fades away, and the armor falls crashing to the ground. Lifeless. Empty.
Ed pauses, his heart pounding madly, and he fights to be calm. The body doesn't move. It's still looking at him, gold eyes umoving. Ed holds his breath. The eyes flick around momentarily. There appears to be a single, visible experimental breath. Edward Elric finds himself shaking, but there's nothing he can do to stop.
"...Al?" he whispers tentatively, his voice trembling along with his body.
The eyes shimmer, something the body couldn't make them do on its own. A trembling smile creeps over the thin face. The face he was torn away from. The face he earned back. "...Edward."
He has no control anymore. He runs for the figure and engulfs him momentarily in warm arms. He doesn't want to let go. He has to, though. Ed picks up his red jacket (now rumpled from being tossed aside earlier), and drapes it carefully around his brother's shoulders. Al practically falls into him, grasping as tightly as he can, trembling hands clinging to fistfuls of cotton fabric he can actually feel again. And Ed is warm.
"You're shaking," Ed says quietly, and for the first time in a long, long while, he feels tears fall down his cheeks.
"I know," Al sobs. "And I'm glad."