This is a rewrite of the very first published fanfic I ever wrote, to the song So Cold by Breaking Benjamin. The old one sucked. Majorly. This is much better, although still pretty weird, and I don't think it quite makes sense. But...it's going up anyway! Whoo! Thanks to all the reviewers too!

Show me how it ends, it's all right
Show me how defenseless you really are
Satisfy an empty inside
Well that's all right, let's give this another try

Back to back they stand, in the center of an abandoned land.

Ishbal, the desert city. Once full of life, it had been reduced to this. Silence, stretching forever, and only the two of them, standing there amidst the emptiness. She had her guns, he had his flames. But each knew that one moment of carelessness, one split second of distraction, could mean the end for both of them.

He can feel her shaking, trying valiantly to quell her fear and not quite succeeding. To be truthful, he's terrified too, but not just from the never-ending silence in this place.

He's afraid for her.

If it comes down to it, she'd die for him. Both of them know that. Both of them hope that it never comes down to that. Both of them know it could.

Framed against the setting sun, they stand, expecting the explosion, knowing exactly what to do when it comes.

But all the training in the world can't prepare you for what feels like the earth shattering right at your feet.

He's shaken himself, but the first thing he does is call out for her.

There's no reply.

He scrambles to his feet, half-dizzy, stumbling over rocks and rubble, trying frantically to find her. The sight of her, curled up in a heap, almost makes him fall down again. Instead, he tries to shake her, gently. When she moans, softly, he lets out his breath. She's hurt badly, but she's alive.

In the end, that's all that's really important.

--------------------------------------------------------

Years later, they're back, back at the place where she almost died. Just the sight of it, the vast desert expanse, still littered with the rubble from that long-ago explosion, is enough to turn her cold.

He squeezes her hand gently. They made it through the war. They'll make it through anything together. They always have.