Story: Gone, Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.
…
If there was anything that Winry knew, it was that she couldn't stand seeing Ed suffering so much. Losing Alphonse was enough of a blow, but she couldn't stand the thought of losing Ed too.
She wanted to hug him, or offer some kind of support, to show him she understood and that she was there for him, but any time she tried to tell him not to blame himself or that Alphonse wouldn't want him to be this distraught over it, he either outright pushed her away or barely responded at all. Nothing was working, and he'd been like this for days now.
It wasn't like she couldn't relate, because she too had fallen to pieces on multiple occasions since finding out about Al, but she knew just how important the brothers were to each other.
Once in a blue moon, Ed would force himself to smile and laugh at some things, but it clearly didn't meet his eyes or heart. Other times, the dead look in his eyes reminded her of back right after Ed and Al failed to bring their mother back.
His mental state was extremely fragile right now, as it almost seemed like anything had the potential to send him into a state of either detachment or more frequently uncontrollable sobbing. She wasn't used to seeing him like this and due to the fact that she herself was also trying to grieve, it only made it that much harder for her to witness.
As she held the phone in her hand and listened to it ring, she tried her best to tune out the sounds of crying she could hear from the other room. Tears began well up in her own eyes, which she immediately wiped way.
"Hello, this is Curtis Meats. Izumi speaking." A soft voice suddenly sounded from the other end.
Winry had almost expected Sig to pick up, but this worked out perfectly.
"Hi, Mrs. Izumi, this is Winry, I was wanting to talk to you for a bit if that's okay… It's about Ed." Winry asked in a low voice, hoping Ed couldn't hear her.
"Oh, how is he doing? I've been worried about him ever since I found out, especially with the wake being tomorrow." Izumi inquired.
"...That's actually why I called…" Winry said, her shoulders slumping a bit. "He hasn't eaten anything since coming home... It seems like every little thing is upsetting him right now, and some of the things he's been saying is really worrying me, so I was wondering if you could possibly talk him when you get a chance, maybe even take him back to Dublith with you for a while until he's able to get back on his feet. I have to go back to Rush Valley again once the funeral is over, but I want somebody to be there for him... I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself or something if nobody's watching over him and I know Granny can't, not at her age… But I'd understand if it's too much to ask."
"No, it's fine, I understand. I'll talk to him tomorrow, but I want you to keep an eye on him in the meantime."
"...Right… Thank you so much, Mrs. Izumi..." Winry sniffed, rubbing her eyes.
"Don't mention it… Take care of yourself, okay?"
"...Mn. I will."
...
Al's wake wasn't by any means a pleasant one. To begin with, seeing a dead loved one was never easy. And on top of that, there were a few distant relatives who Ed either had little or no recognition of, that stepped in momentarily to pay their respects, but didn't stay long, which only filled Ed with a certain level of bitterness he logically knew wasn't rational.
Al really looked like he was asleep, but the lack of rise and fall in his chest and the permanent unmoving expression plastered on his face reminded Ed all too quickly of the reality. For the longest time, ignoring his surroundings, he just stood there, staring down at his brother's body, which had been dressed in new and clean clothing, his arms and hands loosely draped over his stomach.
Due to Ed's emotional state, Izumi and Winry had taken over picking out clothes for and dressing Al as well as brushing his hair and everything else, so this was Ed's first time seeing him since he died.
He had expected Al's face to be ghostly white, considering how long it had been, but the ones in charge of the embalming had done an amazing job at covering it up with make-up, because it was hard to even notice, except in some spots like the tips of his fingers or on small portions of his face. There were also some noticeable bruises here and there.
Reaching up, he hesitantly took ahold of Al's hand. It was so cold.
Tears once again welled up in Ed's eyes, as the fact of the matter struck him through the heart like bricks. He was just there and then he was gone. This couldn't be real. This wasn't him. No. It was, but none of this felt right at all. They had had so many hopes of what he was going to do once he got his body back, so why did this have to-
"Al…" he choked out, still unable to truly deny it, because he had faced this reality with his mother in the past. He knew that there was no way around it. "...You always told me to live on and survive… But I... I can't… Not without you, Al… I can't go on without you, not now… It was just too sudden… I miss you so much…"
He allowed himself to rest his head onto Al's chest, his stifled sobs wracking his shoulders.
Somewhere in his state of awareness, he felt a gentle and familar hand stroking his back, but just ignored it in the end, not even having the mental capacity or energy to respond.
…
A/N: Not a lot but something I guess...