You were lying on Al's bed, thinking about the past hour.

Ed and Al told you how their mother had died when they were only children.

Ed nine, and Al eight.

In desperation to see their mothers smile again, they made a decision to bring her back.

Human Alchemy; the greatest alchemic taboo.

Ed lost his left leg and Al, his entire body.

Ed didnt want to loose his brother, after having already lost his mother, so he brought his soul back and attempted to bind it to a suite of armor that was in the corner of the room.

He didnt care if he died, just as long as his little brother was back.

A tear fell from your eye, unable to hold it in any longer.

Ever since that night, Ed and Al went on a search for some way to bring their life back to normal.

The Philosophers Stone; a stone said that if used by an alchemist could make it so that the law of equivalent exchange would be ignored and that their alchemic abilities would be amplified.

It seemed to be the only way.

Ed joined the military at age twelve, wanting access to the amazing library.

After years of searching, theyve come up with nothing.

Al left the room, looking for a man named Hughes. You were sitting on the bed, staring at the floor.

Ed and Al had just finished telling you the story of their past, and you were left with a lingering awkward silence in the air.

What do you say after something like that?

Ed looked at you and muttered your name.

You looked up. "Yeah?"

He looked you in the eye. His faced seemed emotionless, but his eyes were filled with sorrow.

"I've had to live with the regret my whole life," he said solemnly. "I wish everyday I didn't act so childish, for because of my mistake, Al had to pay."

"You had to pay too," you mumbled softly.

"Not like Al; at least I still have my body."

A single tear found its way down his cheek.

---

The door opened and Al stepped in.

"Hey Al," you greeted softly and wiped a few tears from your eyes.

"Hi," he said and sat down across from you on his bed. "I'm sorry if we upset you."

You shook your head. "No, it's okay. I'm glad you told me."

The door opened again, this time allowing Edward in (who was carrying a tray of food).

You smiled softly at him. "Hey."

"Hungry?" he asked and set the tray down.

The aroma filled your senses and you were reminded of the fact that you hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Fuck yea," you replied and grabbed a bowl of soup. "Oh my god this is good," you commented as you devoured the food in front of you.

Ed gave you a strange look. "It's just military food, nothing special."

"True," you took a bite out of a roll, "but I haven't eaten in weeks. A hot meal in forever."

"I'm sorry," Al said sympathetically.

"It's okay."

"So," Ed began, "why were you living on the streets anyway?"

He sat down next to you.

"My dad left when I was about two, so I lived with my mother and twin sister in a small town north of here. My house burnt down when I was seven, killing both my mom and sister. I've lived on the streets ever since." You stared at the ground and rubbed your arm, trying your best not to cry.

You've cried too much over the years.

Al muttered yet another apology.

"It's okay, I've learned to live with it," you mumbled.

"You're not doing much 'living'," Ed pointed out.

You shot him a glare. "I've lived on my own for eight years with nothing but the clothes on my back. I could've easily given up and let myself die. But I didn't, so don't you dare tell me what living is."

Ed and Al both seemed slightly taken aback by your outburst.

Ed opened his mouth to either retort or apologize, but you stood up and didn't let him speak by holding a hand in front of his face. "I'll be back later."

You walked to the door and added a small, "Maybe," as you turned the knob and left.

---

You eventually found your way outside and walked down the streets of Central that you knew so well.

You made a left into an all too familiar alley way.

I never realized how close to Military Headquarters I was, you thought as you looked on the side of the garbage bin for your bundle of blankets.

It wasn't there.

You looked around franticly, making sure this was the right alley.

A bloody handprint stained permanently into the wall beside you caught your eye.

It really wasn't that old, maybe a month or two.

You placed your hand to it and sighed.

It fit; this was definitely the right place.

"That your handprint?" someone asked, causing you to whip around.

Edward.

"Yeah," you mumbled.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" you screamed and punched a man in the gut.

He smirked and grabbed you by the waist. "Aw, don't you want to play with me?" His words were slightly slurred and his breath reeked of alcohol.

"NO!" You squirmed around, but he was too strong.

His grip tightened, causing you to let out a painful whimper.

I wouldn't want to hurt a pretty little thing like you, so play along so I don't have to."

You kneed him between his legs and he hissed in pain.

A fist came crashing down onto your cheek and your eyes instantly began to water.

"Please stop," you begged.

He slid his hands up the side of your shirt.

You grabbed your knife, but he saw.

"Don't think so." He grabbed the knife from you and ran it along your side.

A burning pain hit you and you screamed as your hands flew down to hold your side

"I warned you. You made me do it," he said right before he pressed his lips against yours

Your first kiss, and it had to be this way.

You squirmed around as tears violently streamed down your face.

He slide the knife into your side, and you let out a howl of pain.

The mad took advantage of your pain and slid his tongue in your mouth.

You almost gagged. It was one of the worst feelings ever.

You tries to push him away, but he grabbed your wrists and pinned them above your head.

You gave up, but something came whizzing past you, causing both you and the man to look in the direction it came from.

"I wont miss next time," a man holding a dagger said.

The man let out a growl of annoyance and ran the other way.

You gripped onto your side with one hand, and supported yourself by putting a blood covered hand onto the wall next to you.

"You okay, Miss?"

You looked up to see the man with the dagger.

"I'm fine," you insisted. "Please leave."

"You want me to walk you home?" he asked.

You glared past his square glasses. "No, please leave me alone."

He looked at you sadly, but then walked away.

You felt bad, but you didn't want to take the chance of him taking you to a shelter.

"What happened?" Ed asked, bringing you back to reality.

"I'd rather not talk about it," you muttered.

"Alright. Well, you wanna go back?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm sorry for what I said...I shouldn't have," he apologized.

You just stared at the ground.

"You wanna go for a walk at least?"

You looked up at Ed, who smiled softly at you.

"Sure."

Looking at the stores, Christmas stuff was displayed everywhere.

"How close is it to Christmas?" you asked Edward while brushing a snowflake off your nose.

"About three weeks," he answered.

"Do you and your brother celebrate Christmas?"

He nodded.

"Wow," you muttered.

"What's so amazing about that?"

"Nothing, it's just...I haven't celebrated Christmas in years."

Ed gave you a large smile. "Then you can celebrate with us."

"Really?" you questioned.

"Of coarse. You'll be staying with Al and I since you don't want to go to a shelter."

"Thanks," you muttered. "We better start heading back."

Ed nodded and turned into and alley, but then stopped dead in his tracks.

"Ed, are you--"

He turned around and grabbed your hand. "RUN!"