Yo. This was just a random drabble I came up with on the fly. I've always read those one-shots that are like snippets of a story from different points in the storyline. This is my first attempt at writing one. Enjoy! ^-^

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The Laws of Alchemy

When the gate had first deposited him here, Edward was sure he would go insane. The sights, the sounds, the smells; all overwhelmed his senses and left him wandering the streets, doing odd jobs and babbling to himself in his native tongue as the inhabitants of the city kept their distance, believing him to be a madman escaped from the hospital. Edward himself wondered sometimes. For all the strange, futuristic, distinctly eastern flavor this place had, it's people were of such wide ethnic diversity-so like Amestris-that he often found himself wondering if he had dreamed it all up. More than once he had had to run from the police when they found his hideout and tried to drag him off to where they thought "people like him belonged".

It wasn't until later, that he would consider it more than coincidence that the strange boy who gazed at him with such mesmerizing violet eyes and the wildest tricolor hair he had ever seen, was the one who found him shivering in that alley like a stray cat as he hid. With shocked eyes, the boy took in the ragged cloak and sopping hair, before he smiled and offered his hand. It had been with great reluctance that he extended his own hand(flesh, not metal) towards the young boy, shorter than him.

He never regretted it.

Are as Follows:

It had been with great trepidation that Edward had stayed in the quaint store/house the boy lived in, for more than a single day to get cleaned up and fed. How the boy had ever convinced him without being able to communicate through the language barrier properly, Ed would never know, but somehow he managed.

So now here he sat at the boy's low eating table, a large group of friends congregated around the small wooden piece of furniture, giving him looks ranging from delighted to hostile. One particularly loud blonde with bright brown eyes was currently giving him the third degree...in his own tongue.

Ed sighed. He really needed to learn their language.

Analysis

There was something off about his host; Yugi-he had learned-was his name.

Oh it was nothing so obvious, but Ed wasn't a prodigy for nothing. He had analyzed the boy quite thoroughly, trying to find some hidden motive in taking him in. There was an odd way in which the boy talked, in the way he moved, even the way he focused on things. There was always this look of longing, wistfulness, as if something important was missing. He would look over his shoulder-mouth halfway open with a comment, only to turn back with a sad expression, as if about to call out to someone only to remember they weren't there.

To be honest, it kinda reminded him of his own reactions to Al, trying to respond to a piece of yourself, only to realize that it was gone.

Deconstruction

His discovery of Yugi's powers was nothing particularly special, it wasn't a slipped mistake in front of him, nor a glance caught through the corner of his eye as he spied on his host late at night.

No, his discovery of Yugi's powers was through kidnapping and near murder, as Yugi lost nearly all his life points in that game of Duel Monsters, draining him of his life force and reminding him of the gate far too much to be comfortable. He had been mad-no, even pissed was putting it too lightly. He had walked out the Turtle Game Shop's doors and vowed never to come back.

Two weeks and a heavily bruised jaw (courtesy of Joey) had him sulking up the sidewalk to the door, only to be tackled to the ground with teary violet eyes gazing at him with relief, tugging him back behind the counter and into the house part of the building with his favorite coffee and snacks laid out before him. It confused him immensely, as he was so used to harsh actions and harsher words, even from those he cared about. In his opinion, the kind treatment was far worse. Yugi never got angry with him, not even once.

Ed never left again after that.

Reconstruction

It was an accident really, after realizing that no one had even heard of automail before Ed strove to keep his hidden. Yugi had only seen it as it was hard to keep such a big secret when you lived in such close quarters with another person. However, one rushed trip through Kaiba-Land, a hijacking, and a crazed would-be kidnapper had his synthetic cover slashed to ribbons-the kidnapper after Mokuba having brought a steel knife-and the metal of his fake limb gleaming in the hot summer sun.

Rather than be rejected by his new-found friends, or carted off to the nearest lab, Seto Kaiba offered him a job in Kaiba Corp., letting him and his researchers carefully take apart the machinery and examine the port to see if they could recreate the synthesized limbs. Frustrated with his inability to do anything in this world and immensely relieved he was not being treated as a lab rat, Edward easily agreed, glad to finally be of some use to someone.

It wasn't until he spent his first paycheck from Kaiba corporations helping buy the groceries for the small game shop, that Edward realized he had started constructing a life here in Yugi's world. And the discovery left him reeling for days, pondering over his notes and wondering if he truly wanted to go back.

A circle

Edward set down his hastily scribbled notes of the past few months, and rubbed the port of his arm, trying to stave off the stabbing ache that had settled into the bolted bones of his shoulder as the icy winter rain pounded on the window panes. It had been nearly a year now, they had nearly come full circle since that miserable day in the back alley. In a few moths this freezing rain would turn into icy snow that would blanket the ground in a sparkling sheet of white.

He was not looking forward to it.

Seeing Yugi excitedly cut out paper strips and tape them in a colorful pattern of red and green chain links, chattering gleefully about the upcoming holiday however, was something that Ed thought he could get used too.

Though why they were putting up the decorations three months early was anyone's guess.

That draws its power

Coincidence, Ed had found, was just as strong a law as equivalent exchange. No one ever met someone who would have no effect on their life. Every person, whether the contact was long or brief, affected the other in some way.

Alchemy did not work in this world. At first he had thought it was just unfortunate coincidence, but after being exposed to Shadow Magic, Ed strongly believed it was because this world already had a power source, something that took its place. As far as Ed could tell, there were no other powers in this world, no psychics, no mediums, seers or wizards. Anyone who had supernatural power (and he had to admit, Alchemy's power source came from a rather supernatural being) was skilled in the art of shadow magic to some extent.

Which meant, that in order for his Alchemy to work, he'd have to get Yugi to power the transmutation.

from the strength within oneself

When the time finally came, when all was said and done and the gate circle complete, Edward found himself full of trepidation. His mind was torn in two. On one hand, he wanted to see his brother so bad. He wanted to be able to hold his skinny waist and bury his nose in his hair-his brother's real hair-and never let go. He wanted to see Winry and Pinako and Riza and-yes! Even Roy! He wanted to see his country blossom out from under the thumb of Father and know that things would be better from here on out.

The other side wanted to stay here, enjoy the life he had built with these people. They all had welcomed him so easily into their hearts, and he in turn had welcomed them. It was hard not to like patient, understanding Tristan, or passionate, driven Tea with her dreams of fame and determination to reach. She would go far in life, he could tell. It was impossible not to fall in love with cool, suave Mai, bumbling, friendly Joey, or eager-to-please Mokuba. Heck! Even Kaiba had grown on him!-in a bastardy sort of way. (That man made him really appreciate his own superior, who was far more open and easy to read) He had grown accustomed to life here, even with all of its fast pace and impossible machines this world was beautiful in all its imperfections.

So it was with a torn mind and a heavy heart, that he gave the signal to Yugi, who nodded sadly and poured his magic into the circle, watching as the dark energy turned a dancing blue that enveloped his body and slowly began to deconstruct his body. As he looked up, his heart jolted at the tearful eyes Yugi fixed on him.

I don't want to go! He thought, stretching out his hand for the young shadow master.

But it was too late.

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Wahhh! This one ended so sadly!

So yeah! My idea for an FMA/Yu-Gi-Oh! crossover. I was inspired by esama's "Serious Insanity: The Meme" chapter 2: Edwards and Yugis first kiss. This one turned out a lot heavier than hers though.