Chapter Title: Fireflies
Characters: Scar, Al, Ed, Winry, Pinako, Armstrong
Pairings: None! I can't write romance for the life of me!
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I don't own it! Waaaaah!
A/N: Back to the shorter chapters. But I like this one a lot, despite the length.

When Scar awoke on the sixth morning, he was feeling a good deal better than he had been since his illness took hold. And better yet, he seemed to have regained some of his strength! He pushed himself up into a half-sitting position and looked around to see that he was alone in the room. But not for long; Al walked in a few seconds later, stopping in surprise.

"Scar-san! You can move again! You must be starting to recover," if Al could have smiled, he would have, "Anyway, everything's been washed, so I was supposed to carry you back to the couch, but I guess it'd be okay if you walked…"

Scar nodded, relieved. He hadn't liked being carried at all; it made him feel weak and helpless, like a small child. He slid off the bed, standing shakily for a few seconds before falling over. Fortunately, Al caught him before he hit the ground. He cursed inwardly; he still wasn't strong enough to walk on his own. He also still needed Al's help when he changed out of 'that horrid pink thing' into his normal blue robe. He hated this sickness; he was an independent person by nature, and now because of his condition he was forced to be entirely dependant on others. Now it was time to walk; even though he was mostly supported by Al, anything was better than being carried around like an infant.

It was slow going, but with Al's help he managed to get all the way to the living room, although even going this short distance left him exhausted. But he didn't show it. Everyone was there, including Armstrong, and they were all surprised to see Scar walking. Scar was surprised to see Armstrong, and was instantly on edge.

"When did he get here?" Scar questioned, his voice stony.

"Yesterday; you were delirious at the time, so you didn't notice," Ed shrugged, "Oh, and sit down before you collapse. You probably shouldn't be walking around yet, anyway."

Scar shot Ed a glare, but sat down on the couch anyway before questioning further, "Why is he here? Have you broken your promise so soon, Edward Elric?" his expression was unreadable.

Armstrong answered, "He has not. I was sent to protect the Elric brothers from danger. Your secret is still safe, and will continue to remain safe with me. I have sworn to this at the insistence of Alphonse."

Al nodded, "We can trust him, Scar-san."

"Beh…" Scar turned his head to the side.

Ed whispered to Armstrong, "Mostly we figure that means 'fine'."

Pinako forced Scar to rest for the remainder of the day, saying that he shouldn't have even thought about trying to walk so soon. Although this rankled slightly, he was content for the moment with being able to simply move at all. Ed had made a sarcastic comment about how he would miss their little force-feeding bouts, which Scar had not seen fit to dignify with an answer. And then…there was Armstrong. With his family history. Within five minutes Scar was about ready to kill him just for the sake of shutting the man up. Al had rescued poor Scar from the sparkly lecture by calling Armstrong into another room, for which the Ishbalan felt he would be eternally grateful.

That evening, just as the sun was setting, Ed came running in from outside, "Hey, the fireflies are out!"

Winry was excited, "Really? They're early this year!"

"Come on, Scar-san. I'll carry you outside to see!" Al sounded just as excited as Winry.

Scar shook his head, "No. I can walk for myself."

"But Scar-san…Aunt Pinako said that you shouldn't…"

Pinako walked in at this moment, "If he's that determined to, he can, certainly. But," she fixed a warning gaze on Scar, "forcing it like that will slow your recovery."

"I can walk," Scar was determined, all right. He would not be carried again.

"At least let me help you so you don't fall…"

Scar agreed to this, although not readily. This time when he stood, Al supported him right away so he would not have the chance to fall. Fortunately this was an even shorter distance than the first time, and once they got outside it was immediately apparent that it had been worth the slight difficulty.

It was beautiful. There were hundreds and hundreds of fireflies, their lights winking on and off all throughout the green fields of Rizembool. The sun had almost finished setting, so the sky was painted with stunning navy blues and purples, with some pink and orange near the horizon. Scar had never seen anything like it; he barely noticed the presence of the others on the porch once Al had set him down.

"Hey, Al, remember we used to see how many we could catch?"

"Yeah, we made a game out of it, and I always won."

Ed gave a mischievous grin, "Wanna see if you've still got that skill?"

"Sound's fun. I'll go get a jar for them."

"No need. We already have one," Ed grinned again.

"Niisan, I can't believe you would use me as a firefly jar!" Al exclaimed. But it was obvious that he didn't mind. The two of them were running around like young children amongst that fireflies, catching as many as they could, with all those on the porch (save for Scar, of course) occasionally cheering them on or laughing. It was such a peaceful and beautiful scene that, for the first time in many years, a true smile crossed Scar's features for a brief instant.

Hours later, when they could no longer see clearly in the dark, Ed and Al came back up onto the porch to find that Scar had fallen asleep.

"Wow. He looks…different when he's asleep. All peaceful," Ed noted, "I hadn't really noticed it before. Don't move him, Al, I'm getting the camera."

"Niisan, you're turning into Hughes," Al laughed quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping Ishbalan, as he opened up the front of his armor to set the captive fireflies free. Several of them hovered around Scar, illuminating his, for once, peaceful expression with their softly flickering light.

A/N: Awwww…pure fluff, this one. So sweet and cute. I'm thinking about drawing some of these photos Ed keeps taking.
Envy: Yeah, add that to the massive pile of pictures that you want to do but haven't.
I know, I know. I have far too many ideas, and not quite the right skill to actually get them on the paper the way I want them. I wish I could just, like, plug my brain into the computer and scan the images I imagine, because they're a lot better than what actually gets drawn. XP Now to answer reviews…

Great NeoDragon: Yay! I'm really glad you like it so much. X3
LadyRiona: Yes, temporary. Much to Scar-san's relief. That sounds really funny with your friend. As for the airline food…well, the fruit and the roll were good. That's about it though. MY RICE WAS STALE. Blech…
ImperialJedi: Thanks for the nice review. :) As for what Scar-san will do…you'll just have to wait and see. -evil grin-
MoonGlitter2: Thank you!
Roxie Faye: Thanks much! And right, one couldn't possibly expect them to be mortal enemies. -is relieved about the lack of asking for ScarxEd-
Anasazi Darkmoon: Good luck with Azrael and the writer's block! Hehehe…stoned Scar-san…
D.C talk: Thanks! Japan was…different, but in a good way. Except for the fact that the food wasn't always that good. And hot? -shrugs- I guess he is, but that's not what I like about him. And, yes, I like Wolf's Rain a lot, and Scar and Tsume are insanely similar, right down to the X-shaped scar and the white hair and the bitter attitudes. XD
Wind Wanderer: Armstrong scares me too…but he's okay. Funny comic relief man. Don't shoot the kitty, because here's a new chapter!
no one's friend: Seto Kaiba…hehehehe…that's funny. Glad you liked the chapter!
Madetsuchi Hayosuki: Oh, whoops, it looks like QuickEdit deleted it…um, it was www (dot) animemusicvideos (dot) org (just replace the dots with periods, y'know).
candidus-lupus-full Moon: Thank you!