Christmas Special Request: Inn Mini Cut Scene

I forgot to mention in the last omake, and I'm to lazy too edit it. This is the explanation (that Yuri didn't know) for why Letha is effected by high pitched noises:

The high-pitched noises thing is a conditioned response to Earth alarm clocks, and the dorm's FIRE ALARM. It's ALWAYS preceded by this high toned whine, and then the alarm blares. If Letha/I hear a similar noise, no matter where, it will strike terror and anger into her/my subconscious mind. And the overreaction leads to embarrassment.

...

For this request I was planning on concentrating on the other characters, particularly Judith, Karol, or Rita since they don't get enough attention from me yet. They will! They just haven't yet. Anyway, I was going to write about them but then this idea occurred to me. And it pretty much had to be done with Letha and Yuri.

I dunno when it happens. Some inn, anywhere, when it's raining. Probably after chapter 16, so the stuff Letha talks about doesn't come out of the blue.

Recommended music for this fic: "Rain" by SID. One of my favorite openings from the new Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime.

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FTaVB Omake: Ame

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I thought I had imagined the first flash of light, I usually do. And usually I look around to see if someone took a picture of something with a camera. Even though I knew there shouldn't be any flash cameras here, I still reflexively checked for one. Then came the low rumble that told me, no, you weren't wrong. It's here!

I drew a few startled looks as I abruptly stood up and walked out the inn's front door. There I just stood a little off to the side (where I wouldn't be underfoot) and patiently waited. Before long a few stray drops began to fall, as if the sky was only thinking about raining. Then a slightly heavier shower, and all at once it started to pour.

Lighting flashed, I could see it illuminating the shapes of the thunderheads. A loud crack was followed by a particularly deep rumble of thunder that felt like it shook the ground under the soles of my feet. My lips curled in an unconscious smile. Thunderstorms are the best.

Occasionally the wind would shift and catch the rain so that the overhang by the door didn't keep me very dry, but a little rain in the face doesn't bother me. As long as I'm not walking miles through it with wet socks, I love the rain.

"You're gonna get sick if you stay out here."

I didn't bother looking at Yuri, not wanting to miss anything. "A little rain has yet to make me sick. I go to sleep with wet hair all the time." Hate blow driers, just go straight to bed after I take a shower.

"The way you're acting would make someone think you'd never seen a storm before. Estelle's also worked up, saying how it's different from when she was in the castle."

I shrugged at him. "Well, in a castle it probably feels like it's not really affecting you. When you live in a house surrounded by trees that could be struck by lightning anytime, every storm is an exciting adventure." I may not have really grown up in Ludwig's cabin in the woods, but it was true my house had a lot of trees around it. Cleaning up after storms was a real chore.

A flash so close it nearly blinded me announced an earsplitting crack and following roar that shook the inn's windows. My eyes snapped back to the sky.

"You scared?"

I snorted, and told him, "Not at all. One of my earliest memories is of my brother..." trailing off, I glanced at him nervously. Yuri had caught the first real mention of my personal life from before I'd met Ludwig. In order to preserve the cover that I'd been separated from my real family at an early age for unknown reasons, I had tried to avoid telling him anything about it except in the most general terms. Now he was watching me with interest, waiting to see if I'd follow up or just leave it.

I sighed. Dropping the subject would be too obvious. "One of my earliest memories is of lying in bed scared of the thunder. I was sharing the room with my oldest brother, so he was the one who came to comfort me." I smiled at the vague memory. I was so glad he didn't try the tired, "God's angels are bowling!" story. Even then I could tell that was a load of bull, and I still believed in Santa! "He pulled my blankets off my head and told me that I shouldn't be afraid of storms when they're so cool. And after that he would take me out on the porch with him to watch the lightning whenever there was a storm."

"That's all it took?" Yuri sounded surprised. Maybe he'd had to deal with children easily frightened by storms back in Zaphias. What was that kid's name from the start of the game? Ted? Maybe Ted had been a real scaredy cat.

"That's all it took," I confirmed. "I really loved and looked up to my older brothers..." But now I couldn't keep a frown from my face. There are a lot more stories I used to have about storms, really amazing events that I had even written fascinating papers about in school ("what I did over the summer" type of papers). But I couldn't remember them anymore...

"You'll find your home. You just have to keep looking." Yuri had noticed my change of attitude, but had misinterpreted my thoughts.

"Mmm," was all I responded with, not wanting to explain. Impulsively I stepped out from the overhang and tilted my head back to feel the rain on my face. The water felt cool on my skin, and trickled across my cheeks in steady streams. That's right, it's just the rain. Nothing but the rain... Yuri stood by without speaking, providing silent companionship.

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Again, this should have been up by the late afternoon. And again, I hate my computer and internet connection.

"Ame," for those who don't know, is a Japanese word meaning "rain." Unless I totally got that wrong, but I don't think I did. Anime does teach us some things! (...though knowing the Japanese language, there's probably half a dozen other things "ame" could mean that I don't know about.)

Not a goofy one, more like fluff. And then angst and drama at the end!