Shower

By Kyomi Terakada

An AU Full Metal Alchemist one shot

Pairings: Slight hints of Elricest

Slight spoilers. You are warned.


It was late at night. The stars twinkled brightly in the dark sky, the moon a silver sphere in the black velvet. A blonde young man in a red hooded coat walked down a path of Ristembool. He knew where he was going, after all, Ristembool was where he was born, he was familiar to all the roads and paths in the little town.

A slight knock on a door.

A short woman opened the door and greeted the guest. "Hey Pinako," he said, raising a gloved hand. "Where's Winry? I hope she won't be mad at me because I didn't call early." He smiled a sheepish smile. "Winry is sleeping now, you must be tired from the trip. Please, come in." The blonde smiled in thanks and followed Pinako into the house.

The sun had risen high into the sky when the Rockbell house's guest woke up. Yawning, he quickly dressed and walked downstairs. "Good morning Winry, Good morning Pinako. I'm going to visit Mom for a bit. I'll be back before lunch for sure." They nodded, and the blonde left. It was two hours later when he snapped out of his thoughts. Standing up, he bowed one last time before the tombstone and returned to the Rockbell home.

The first thing the teen did when he returned was take a shower. The warm water hitting his body made him relax; clearing his troubled mind of all problems. Winry Rockbell sat impatiently on the house steps, waiting for him to finish. She wanted to talk.

Finally the water was turned off. Wet blonde hair was tied into a ponytail. Clothes were inside the house, waiting to clothe his half naked body. The guest walked back inside, but was stopped by Winry. "Y—you're…" she began. "I'm not." He said sadly. They walked inside without a word.

His ochre brown eyes stared into the glass window, his ghost-like reflection staring back. The guest had put his black clothes, red jacket and gloves back on. Winry looked at him from her spot at the couch. "You look so much like him" She remarked. He nodded. "When I look in the mirror, it's like I'm looking at him, but sometimes, it just isn't enough. I want him here with me. I wanted to look like him so I wouldn't feel alone, but when I look at myself, I see him, but he's not really there. I love him. I want him to be at my side always. I don't care if he gets angry at me, it lets me know he loves me." He looked down at his hands. Transmutation circles were sewn into both palms of his white gloves, making it seem as if all he had to do was clap his hands.

Pinako was washing the dishes when the blonde teen took his trunk downstairs. 'Leaving already?" she asked. "Yeah, I need to be back at Central soon. I only asked for a three day vacation, after all." Winry walked with him to the train station and waited for the train to arrive with him. "Please come back soon" She said softly. She noticed a shiny droplet slide down his face. "If you want to, go ahead" She pulled him into her arms. He cried. "He wouldn't cry, but I'm not him, I can never be him. I want him to come back, I miss him." Winry nodded. "He'll return, I know it."

A gentle gust of wind blew around the station; the train had arrived. "I'll see if I can come again next month" he promised, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. The blonde got on the train, and walked to his seat. An older blonde that looked exactly like the teen was sitting there already. "Excuse me" the younger mumbled. The older looked up. Their eyes met, gold eyes filled with kindness, ochre eyes filled with surprise and tears. Pulling each other in a loving embrace, they kissed, and the train began to leave the station. Winry, seeing the train leave, turned on her heel and headed home.

"I'll see you again when you find your brother, Alphonse."

End