Title: Teardrops on Roses

Disclaimer: I only own the wonderful feelings produced by this ending!

A/N:

me: Omigod! It's finally done!

Sora: Yeah, none of you voted in the profile (except for two, thank you who did) but we figured that everyone wanted this and Kitty got really tired of waiting

me: Behold, my impatience!

Sora: So here's the real ending! For all you happiness wanting people!

Epilogue: Teardrops on Roses (Finally! The title will make sense!)

Edward wandered the meadow for what seemed like hours; as though time crawled so slowly it was almost at a standstill.

He didn't know why he was here, because the last thing he remembered was feeling sick; and from there everything was fuzzy. He couldn't even remember how he got to the meadow in the first place.

But then an ostensibly insane idea crawled into his head; was he dead?

No, that definitely wasn't it. If he was, then the sweet aroma wafting lazily on the breeze would be nonexistent. Because you definitely couldn't smell when you were dead.

Not to mention that the grass was starting to tickle his mysteriously bare feet…wait, feet?

He glanced down, embarrassed that he hadn't noticed before, at two perfectly formed flesh feet. A quick peek to his right side told him the same about his arm. Uh, ok…that's…weird. He thought, incredulity coloring his face before he burst into a smile.

Well, I don't know how this is possible, but at least I have my arm and leg back! It was hard to resist the enticing temptation to frolic in the grass with his new found limbs, but all excitement was quelled when he heard a small sound; much like the fluttering of feathered wings.

They have birds here, too? As he turned around, cautiously, he glimpsed something that was not at all a bird; but a small, delicately featured girl.

She seemed much younger and shorter, thank God, than him; but her eyes spoke whispers of wisdom, far beyond her years. Her hair looked as if it were made of chocolate silk; a deep brown with flowing smoothness, and Edward wondered briefly if it felt the same.

But as he approached the girl, whose equally brown eyes were averted from his gaze, she turned to face him. Suddenly, he felt a paralyzing wave of calm pass through him; his legs rooted to the spot, but his mind perfectly at ease with the situation for some reason.

And when she spoke, the feeling only intensified. She demanded in an authoritative voice that left all preconceived notions of youth behind, "Are you Edward Elric? Son of Trisha and Hohenheim Elric?" She continued in a much softer voice, "Only brother of Alphonse Elric?"

Although in any normal situation Edward would've answered with something akin to 'who wants to know?' but he felt the abrupt calm forming into an inescapable desire to tell the truth; so he did. "Yes." He said in a much quieter voice than he would've liked.

Her eyes filled with a deeper sympathy than he could comprehend, and his heart sank as he realized why. He was dead, that was true, but he also wouldn't be going to the same place as his mother and brother; obviously, he hadn't led the most virtuous of lives.

"You've led a difficult life." Were her only words before she became commanding again, "Come with me."

He followed her into the darkness, leaving the beautiful meadow behind and forlornly wishing he'd believed in heaven.

As they traveled, Edward felt an eerie sense of cold dread creep into his skin; even as the area around them grew warmer with each trembling, on Ed's part, step.

No surprise there, soon they'd be in the fiery pit called Hell, where the little girl would leave him to suffer for all of his past transgressions.

But he was terribly surprised when there was a light at the end of the dark cavern.

"What's that?" He inquired curiously of the young girl; silence his only answer. He nearly gave up listening, when she finally spoke, "You'll see." Was it just him, or did she sound like she was laughing?

He sighed, if he was going to Hell, than he had one sadistic angel guiding him.

Finally, they reached the edge of the tunnel; bright, white light blinding him. But although he couldn't see, he knew that this couldn't be Hell. For one, there was no fire, although the light was comfortably warm, and for another thing, the angel beside him was smiling quite vibrantly now. And that was just disturbing.

"Wh-where are we?" Edward asked hesitantly; he wanted to confirm things, even though he had a sneaking suspicion of exactly where he was.

The angel turned a kind smile onto him, speaking in a soft quiet voice that only made her seem more childlike, "Home."

After an eternity of squinting into the streaming sunlight, he saw them. Two figures on the horizon, standing there as though waiting for someone. Home, huh?

He smiled and wiped away the beginnings of sparkling tears in his golden eyes.

Yes, he was home.

A few months had passed since the extinction of the family Elric. But no matter how much time it had been, everyone agreed that the loss was no easier to bear.

The service for Edward had been much like the one for Alphonse; ending with him buried in a grave adjacent to his brother. It was almost ironic, how in life they had been inseparable and were now the same in death.

But irony did not save one from grief.

Those were Roy's thoughts on the subject, as he walked languidly towards his car. Now he would have so many graves to visit; people might just mistake him for a dead man himself.

He laughed bitterly before stealing a glance back towards the cerulean offering he'd lain out in front of the Resembool graves. One for each of them, he thought as he climbed into his car; driving into the sunset until his next visit in a year or so.

And although no one saw the man place the roses on the graves, they all knew it was him. But when they would see the morning dew collected on the perfectly sculpted azure petals, only one thought would come to mind.

That it was the fallen joyous tears of the Elrics; reunited at last.

Thousands of miles away, two brothers stood in front of each other; perfect and whole for the very first time.

"Welcome home, brother." Alphonse spoke through unshed tears.

"You sound as though you're glad I'm dead, Al." Ed replied playfully, his own tears starting to fall.

"I'm not." was his simple reply, before taking Edward by the hand to go and greet their waiting mother.

But, as we all know, Alphonse Elric was a terrible liar.

me: Yay! it's a frame story now! (for those of you who don't know, it's a story that begins and end in the same place; in this case, the same sentence XD)

Sora: Well, review and stuff because it makes us happy!

Thanks to everyone: Anorak Myth, Empress Kiritsubo, A. YamiYugi, TenshiElric, Chibi Hayaku Hashiru, Taranova Xonson, Syolen, Raiiyumi, Renneh, Took-Baggins, Skitty Kat Girl, MithLuin, Night Rain Illusion, yoshei

For reading, reviewing, and/or favoriting or alerting! You made all of this happen!!