Steel on steel
Author: Shiruy
Date: 08-19-06
Pairing: not really, only if you squint really hard EdxAl
Warnings: Well, it's kinda depressing ^^"
I wanted to catch the feel of this scene, all the things that are left unsaid between those two. I love the Elric Brothers 'cause there are just so many possibilities to write them. ^^
Now, I had this picture in my head of Al sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, and Ed sitting on the floor between his legs, all huddled together, while Al has his arms around his older brother. It wouldn't leave me alone and so I just went and wrote it down.
Steel on steel
Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night. From one second to the other he opens his eyes and is wide-awake, painful memories still playing out in front of his eyes. But he doesn't scream. He never screams.
For a few minutes he just lies there, staring blindly into the darkness. I've learned by now that it's useless to try and talk with him during those agonizingly long moments.
Then, as if something has suddenly snapped him out of it, he looks at me. Golden eyes that glow dimly in the dark, shimmering with tears. He doesn't cry. He can't allow himself to.
So I ignore the feeling of something breaking inside of me and reach out a big, unfeeling leather-hand. He takes it and closes his eyes, slips out of the bed; follows blindly the soft tug of my hand, trusting me to not let him stumble. And of course I won't. Not ever.
I can't feel it as he leans against my cold body and every single time I'm surprised that he doesn't shiver at the contact. It's like he's become too numb to notice the difference anymore - too tired to bring himself to care about his skin slowly becoming as cold as mine.
Metal scraping against metal is the first sound that disturbs the quiet in our room as he slowly slids to the ground, still leaning against me, and I close my arms around him. A soft 'clink' as my limbs come in contact with his automail, then the room falls silent once again.
I would close my eyes if I could because I don't want to see, and so I concentrate on the almost non-existent sounds around me, try to drown out the dim room before me. I can hear every single breath he takes and I try to remember what it feels like - breathing. Try to recall what it meant to feel warm. What it was like to feel skin on skin.
"God, Al, I'm so sorry..."
I know he won't cry and I wish I could do it for us both. I wish I could tell him it's alright, that it's in no way his fault. That it's not really all that horrible for me.
But the only thing I can do is hold him a little bit tighter, all the while careful not to hurt him. I can't feel anything and in these seconds I know that he can't either.
It's just steel on steel.
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You are more than welcome to tell me want you think about this OneShot but please only write constructive criticism.
If there are any grammar mistakes please tell me, 'cause english is obviously not my mother tongue. ^^
So, I hope someone here reads this at all. ^^" I know that the fact that it's english scares about 80% of the people here away...
Greetings,
Shiruy
