"What's going on with you?"
Greed did as he always did when he didn't want to be bothered by the fifteen year old prince that seemed to have taken the role of his conscience- he ignored him. As he rounded dark corners and scowled as snow fell delicately into his slick, black hair, he pretended he was completely unaware of the voice calling out from inside his head. Greed had no idea where he was going, hell he didn't even feel like wandering around the city in the middle of the night as the air grew brisker. But he needed to distract himself somehow, so he just kept walking.
"Come on, don't start acting like this again," Ling sighed. "The hell has you moping around like a baby?"
Why had everyone been taunting him lately?
Not only were his own thoughts driving him crazy, but on top of that, (Y/n) and Ling were growing significantly vexing. His annoyance with the Xingese boy was rather inevitable, for they shared one vessel and only so much could transpire within their shared mind before one of them lost their patience. It was (Y/n) who he was really having a hard time with. It felt like he was back to square one, back to the day he almost killed her- the day he practically ripped his hair out trying to figure out why she bothered him so much. He could say that their 'relationship' improved over the past few weeks, especially since she was getting closer to Ling. He hadn't been haunted by thoughts of her picking him apart with her wise words in a while, and it was pissing him off that the thoughts were suddenly reappearing.
He never did figure out why he went out of his way to help her. Ling didn't have control over Greed's actions or mindset, therefore his desire to stick by the girl and watch her succeed was his and his only. Greed had accepted that he resented her for some time because of Father's infatuation with her, and the jealousy that came with said resentment that he refused to admit, lingered about. But he'd gotten over it, he swore he had. He was basically on the humans' side now, defying his father and betraying his own kind. Greed joined (Y/n)'s side because he wanted to, and now he was starting to question the reason behind it all once again.
Why did he want to help her?
Listening to Hohenheim ramble on about the greatness within (Y/n), bestowed upon her by a fucking Homunculus didn't sit well with the greedy being. Maybe it was his desire to conquer the world, or the daunting need to prove himself superior over the human race that made him angry with the girl. He wasn't sure, but either way he knew he hated hearing about it. As if everyone wasn't obsessed with her enough, she just had to harvest the power of a Homunculus that challenged Father's impressive strength. What angered Greed even more was the fact the bastard had known all along, and could never be bothered to tell his own 'children' about it. Father was a prick, a good for nothing selfish man that used the label of a father to take what he wanted with the help of those he called his children. To think Greed was willing to get himself worked up over him, to kill a girl because she challenged his importance to him. What an idiot he had been not too long ago.
But if he was completely done with Father, he didn't understand why (Y/n) was frustrating him again. She was a fifteen year old girl who happened to be handed a power that would help her 'save the world'. Anybody would have wanted that. Anybody would have wanted to fight against imposing forces and save the people they cared about. To be viewed as a hero, someone highly respected, after it was all said and done. Was that what Greed was angry about? Did he want her power in order to gain the respect of the creatures he found so foul and pitiful? Did their respect and praise guarantee an easier path to world domination? The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.
Before he met (Y/n), Greed had always been so sure of what he wanted. The desire was in the title he wore so proudly: Greed the Avaricious. The Homunculus who wanted to take over the world, the Homunculus who wanted money, fame, sex, and women. The Homunculus who saw what he wanted and took it without any questions asked. The Homunculus that wanted, wanted, wanted. Took. Took. Took. And even after taking and wanting, everything he obtained would have never been enough to satiate his greed... to fill up this empty hole that he had been lugging around since the minute he was brought into this miserable existence. Now, when he thought about what he wanted- when he thought about what he was promised, what had brought him to Ling Yao in the first place, he saw a great, big, grey area of uncertainty. His objective wasn't clear, his needs weren't clear, his wants weren't clear. When he thought about holding the world in his palm, he felt emptiness instead of fulfillment. And it all came back to that little (h/c) haired girl.
He remembered what it felt like to watch Ling interact with her as a comrade, picking her up and spinning her around as if he hadn't seen her in years. He remembered the way Riza stood her ground the night Hughes died, claiming that if she had no choice but to die for the Flame Alchemist, she'd do so in a heartbeat. He remembered the way she watched him leave, with trust and love glimmering in her conflicted brown eyes. Above all, he recalled how Edward and (Y/n) interacted when he sat at a table with them in Resembool. The way that they remained civil and protective over each other though it was clear that something deeper than friendship connected the two. No, it was the friendship they had that deepened the admiration. It was the foundation they'd built, the way they looked out for each other that Greed noticed above anything else. It was the moments he spent with humans who protected each other and cared for each other when he felt that his ambitions were clear.
And yet it all went back to his frustration with (Y/n) Mustang.
"Say something, Greed. You're being weird. Weirder than normal."
"Why can't you shut up?" Greed finally responded lowly. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he ventured down alleyways with no clear destination in mind. "God, I hate when your voice rings through my head like that. You're giving me a damn headache."
"First of all, it's my head that I so graciously gifted you, so quit complaining about having what you wanted. Second of all, what's got you so uptight all of a sudden?"
"I thought you could read my mind," Greed sneered, sarcastically.
"I put enough effort into this relationship as it is. I'm not gonna put my energy into deciphering your weird ass thoughts all the time when you could just tell me," Ling pouted.
"I wish you'd stop saying shit that makes us sound like an old married couple."
"Greed, I'm serious. I thought things were going well. Well, not 'well', but you know- changing. You've been really.... I don't know, selfless and reasonable lately."
Greed stopped walking, suddenly feeling misunderstood. "Is that what you think of me?" he scoffed. "A petty human thinks I'm selfless and reasonable? This must be the end times."
"Don't you start with that 'human' bullshit, Greed. We've come too far for you to be talking down on us now."
"Really? Sorry, kid, but maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do."
"Oh, honestly, shut up. You've been acting strange the entire train ride. Even back in Resembool, you were..." Ling trailed off as he came to a logical conclusion. "You're pissed with (Y/n) again, aren't you?"
"Why does everything have to be about her all the damn time?"
"You tell me. You're the one moping around because of her. Why? What is it about her this time?"
Greed fell silent and casted his gaze to the snow dusted ground. He sniffed, the dramatic drop in temperature affecting his body in any way it would affect a human's. He silently seethed, swiping his finger under his runny nose.
Humans.
Why was he working so hard to save them when he'd spent his existence mocking their lifestyle?
"What, is it because you found out she's linked to another Homunculus like Father?"
"Shut the hell up, you brat."
"I get it," Ling sighed. "You're confused."
"Don't talk to me like that. I'm not confused."
"You acted the same way when you met (Y/n) for the first time. You blamed your interest and anger in her on me and anyone else you could think of, and now you're just doing the same exact thing because you're confused about what you're supposed to feel about her- a human."
"I'm Greed the Avaricious... I don't concern myself with human beings..."
"Yet, here you are."
"I know where I am, dammit."
"You know, I've been stuck inside my own body with you for months, and I think I'm finally beginning to understand you." Greed drew his brows together as he stood stiffly, shivering slightly as the cool flakes of ice decorated his face and clothes. "You're confused, because you have no idea what you want. 'Greed the Avaricious', the Homunculus that prides himself in desiring everything the world has to offer, has no clue what he wants anymore."
Greed remained silent, and that only allowed Ling to proceed with another hypothesis.
"Wait. No, it's not that you don't know what you want... it's that you do know what you want. And you refuse to admit it."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Ling."
"I always know what I'm talking about when your petty ass is involved! You're not mad at (Y/n) because of what you learned about her, you're mad because you don't know how to befriend her."
Greed broke the silence with loud, obnoxious laughter. Within the space that Ling took residence inside his mind, the boy closed his eyes in annoyance.
"You- you think i'm interested in something as pathetic as friendship?"
"You can't hide this stuff like you think you can, Greed. You've been spending a lot of time with me and the other humans. You see the relationships humans have with each other, and you always seem to go silent whenever (Y/n) is involved," Ling said calmly, forcing Greed's laughter to die down. "Why else have you been so keen on helping her since day one? Why else does she confuse you, or make you angry?"
"Stop," the Homunculus said breathlessly, his smile fading from his face.
"You care about her, and you don't know what to do with that. Yes, on the outside she's just a girl, but to you- she's so much more than that, isn't she? I mean, she's the only person who ever broke past your shield and really challenged your strength. She's the only human you ever dropped everything to help out, the only human who forced you to live a day in someone else's shoes. She's the only human who ever saw you as more than just a Homunculus. Even with the strength she has that makes you envious of her, you see how much more impressive she gets with every passing day. And you, a Homunculus that despised humans, don't know how to go about addressing the fact that you want to be someone she can rely on."
Greed wished he could be angry with the fact that Ling had just verbalized everything he was having trouble piecing together. He wished he could shout at him and call him an idiot like he used to, before he held any respect for human beings. He wished he could scoff, roll his eyes and act as if his words weren't spot-on- as if they didn't make him feel exposed. He wished that something as simple as the weather wouldn't make him shiver just as any other human would, and he wished that that fact alone wouldn't have made him feel like he was no longer the kind of Homunculus he was created to be.
He'd never admit that Homunculi were similar to humans in more ways than one. The standing definition of a Homunculus was an artificial human being, something created in the image of the creatures that they were meant to conquer and abore. In a way, some sick and twisted way, Homunculi were beings that could not live up to human expectations. They were the artificial versions of the real, authentic creatures that inhabited the earth, and it was a smack in the face to realize that humans had always been the ones to come before the Homunculi- to come first.
(Y/n) viewed Greed as a Homunculus with a moral compass. She believed that, even after he tried to kill her, he was good. That he was not like Envy, or Lust, or Wrath. That he saw the world as any other human being would, and he knew that helping her wasn't just what he wanted to do, but it was the right thing to do. He should have taken more offense to that. He should have been more angry about being compared to the likes of human beings. But as much as he tried to tell her and Ling that he was nothing like them, that when he connected her to a human he was annoyed, he was secretly flattered. Flattered to be considered a petty, destructive, weak human being. Only (Y/n) made him feel that way, proud to be shoved into a category with the beings he had been raised to destroy.
He wanted their friendship, their acceptance, their loyalty. He wanted to be more than just a Homunculus, but a Homunculus that people cared about. A Homunculus that had friends who were willing to give up their lives for, and a Homunculus who would do the same in return. He could have blamed that feeling on (Y/n), but in truth, this was all he had ever really wanted. Power, sex, money, fame, and women were decent things to obsess over and distract himself with, but his true desire was far too powerful to pretend like it didn't exist. The only thing Greed wanted more than world domination was... well, it was love. It was to be loved, and to have the guts to love something in return. He just wanted a friend, and he had no idea how humans made those so easily. He had no idea how (Y/n) managed to gain the love of everyone she met, while he could do nothing but annoy people or scare them off. He didn't know how to be friends with someone who was constantly growing, and constantly loving. Humans were miserable creatures who posed no threat to him, but now as he shivered like one in the cold, he realized how scared he was of them.
"You just want a friend," Ling finally said, his tone now understanding.
"You know somethin'?" Greed said, leaning his shoulder against a lamppost that he had walked toward, slowly. "Hatred for humans was drilled into my head the second I was created. I killed, and I mocked, and I did whatever I was told because I hated them. I hated you. You were like my burden, the one thing keeping me from reaching my full potential- but I needed a vessel, so I was stuck with you. I hated your whiny ass voice, and the fact that you thought so highly of yourself, even though you're just a human. I hated that I wanted your place as prince when I realized I couldn't reign over the world. I hated that I had to be bonded with a snotty little human in order to get what I wanted. And I hated that... you reminded me of myself whenever you talked about Xing, and your people. I knew you had heart, and I hated you even more for it."
"That's touching."
"Can you shut the fuck up, I'm trying to say something," Greed growled, uncomfortable with the words that were falling out of his mouth. "I'm supposed to hate you, but I don't. Not anymore, at least. Humans, I didn't know that they weren't just parasites. There's the ones that murder, and steal. Justifying their disgusting actions with racism and homophobia. There are the people that assault and torture, and the people who wage wars instead using the voices they have to fucking speak normally. There's so much death and destruction that humans cause each other, and Father emphasized those aspects of people to justify the Promised Day. Humans are pathetic, and they will inevitably bring themselves to the brink of extinction. Honestly, I'm not better than them. But, I realize that it's not- not all humans.
"(Y/n) pisses me off because she's human, but she-"
"She's different," Ling chuckled. "She's probably been getting a lot of that, lately."
"I don't hate her as much as I'm supposed to, and I hate her for that."
"Greed, you really aren't as bad as you think you are," the prince said. "Whether you're a Homunculus or not doesn't matter anymore. It's the decisions you make that prove you're a pretty good guy. (Y/n) sees that, I see it too."
Greed inhaled and exhaled slowly. Before the Homunculus could respond, he felt a disturbance in the atmosphere. One too strange for him to be unfamiliar with, and though it was a faint sense of discomfort, he knew exactly what it was.
"Something's not right."
"Don't try to change the subject-"
"Shh. I'm serious." Greed turned around and looked down the path he had just walked. The streets were barren, empty. There was no citizen or threat in sight, causing the violet eyed man's lips to tug downward.
"What's the problem?" Ling's voice was suddenly stern.
Greed said nothing as he listened to the wind howl around him, squinting his eyes as the snowfall grew harsher. "I need to check something."
"If you're gonna lug my body around in the snow at three in the morning, then I at least deserve to know why!"
"Just trust me."
Ling did not find it appropriate to argue as Greed ventured into the opposite direction he had been headed.
-
The sky was a vile, crimson red, debris and dust particles wafting through the air and irritating the eyes of the young alchemist. She forced herself up on her elbows, the chunks of rock beneath her scratching at her skin, scraping against the flesh and drawing small lines of blood. She blinked aggressively as she looked upward. She was in Central City. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten there, but she knew exactly where she was though the only things that surrounded her were homes and businesses standing as piles of rubble. She grimaced as she lifted herself up onto her knees, clutching her aching side as she looked around. Her Shortsword lay many feet from her, as if it had been thrown from her grasp.
She did all she could to stand up on her feet. She stood with her back hunched and with one eye closed, her wounds too great for her to straighten her posture painlessly. She turned around, the sound of her boots scraping the ground filling the air as she examined her surroundings. The looming shadow of the First Homunculus stretching across the vast horizon didn't surprise her nor rouse any kind of reaction. Where were the people? Where was her father? Her best friend? His brother? Where did everybody go?
Instead of pondering over it any longer, the empath slowly limped over to her weapon. She bent down and lifted it into her palm with delicate hands, raw from constantly using her alchemy. She gazed down at the blade that seemed to be much smaller than it had been before. She felt no energy from it, and its blade was chipped- almost faded. Her weapon looked dead, her alchemy no longer holding the richness of emotion it once held.
She looked around once more, suddenly uneasy with the atmosphere. She could hear whispers of distressed people she couldn't see, and she felt their devastation practically gripping onto her clothes and pulling her into the dirt. The world had gone silent, yet the wind was filled with the screams of the fallen.
She began to shout the names of the people closest to her, eager to hear some kind of response that would comfort her and shield her from the darkness swallowing the country. She dropped her sword to the ground and stumbled through the vacant streets, past small fires and broken glass. Past the Hughes home that no longer stood tall, and the Command center that was seemingly abandoned. Why couldn't anybody hear her? She was screaming, practically making her throat go raw as she sought the sound of a single comforting voice. Yet she heard nothing in return, except for the insidious howl of the wind and the whispers of people she could not see.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
The (e/c) eyed girl whipped her head around far too quickly as shivers rolled down her spine upon standing in the presence of the devil himself. Her entire body was shaking, she could feel it. She wasn't as strong as she had been before, and her shivers that warned her about imposing danger came a bit later than they had before this disaster. She felt weak, her ribs aching, her eyes burning, and her hands dry to the point where they almost split open.
A tall figure of a young man stood before her, one that looked like a younger Hohenheim. His pale chest was exposed and his pale, yellow locks cascaded down his shoulders as he stood ominously before her. The teenager glanced up and noticed that Father's shadow in the sky hovered just above this man's head, telling her that this indeed was the devil.
He looked around calmly, and the girl could sense the shift of immense power within his body as he moved ever so slightly. He examined the deteriorated land in content, his hair rustling softly in the ill stenched air.
"A world designed by the hand of God. This is beautiful. Don't you agree?"
The girl furrowed her brows, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. "God?" she repeated, voice raspy. "You call this 'God', you call yourself God?!"
Father turned to look at her blankly, almost bored. He lifted his hand and presented a glowing ball of fire, one that illuminated his face in a bright light and burned like the sun. The girl stared at it incredulously before looking back up at the man's face.
"Is this not the power of God that I hold within my grasp?" he questioned her. She let out a short breath she wasn't aware she had been holding, her eyes welling with tears that she wasn't sure was from the ash in the air or her emotions bubbling over.
"That's not possible."
"I can assure you, it is," he lowered his hand as the small sun vanished. "After all, you made this all possible."
"No, I- I didn't do this-"
"You failed," he said coldly. The girl stared at him with wide eyes. "You were the only one who could have prevented all of this, and you failed. You helped me, and I suppose I owe you that gratitude."
"Where..." she paused, glancing around her as if she had missed something. "Where's Edward? Where's Alphonse, and Winry- where's my dad? Why am I the only one here?!"
"You failed, (Y/n). That includes the other sacrifices and the rest of the humans with them. You failed them all."
Two tears dropped from either eye as she looked around frantically. "No, they should still be here. This can't be- I couldn't have-"
"All that power inside you... everything I ever wanted... it still wasn't enough. Because you aren't enough. Don't you understand? This. Me. It's all greater than you ever were, greater than you ever can be," he marched closer to her, and the alchemist found herself moving backward, panic laced in her red eyes. "You think you can stop this? You think that you can save the world? You can't even save your own father from his own mind. And now look at where he ended up."
She whimpered, tripping over her feet and landing harshly on the ground. Father's figure towered over her as he followed her crawling body, the shadow in the sky looming over him and consuming her in emptiness. Her back finally hit a large piece of stone that had fallen from a building, giving her no escape as Father hovered over her. His golden eyes pierced her soul, and brought about everything awful feeling known to mankind. She looked like a petrified child as her tears mixed with the dirt smeared onto her face, and her scratches stung as the salty liquid ran past them. She'd never felt so helpless in her life, just as she had been before Roy saved her. Before she was given a purpose, and now it was over.
She held her breath as Father's face moved closer to hers, as if he were attempting to prove his dominance over her injured form. Her entire body was rattling, and the voices in her head were getting louder. Strands of hair fell into the Homunculus' face before he spoke. His mouth moved, yet the words were inaudible until everything went black.
"You're running out of time."
(Y/n) shot up from her pillows, chest heaving up and down as she reconnected with reality. She glanced to the side and was greeted with the sight of a small window, displaying the buildings layered in a thick sheet of white due to the snow from the previous night. Her hand shakily landed on her chest as she turned to her right and saw Edward sleeping soundly on the couch, his body splayed out on the furniture as he slept on his stomach. His flesh arm rested on the arm rest, supporting his squished cheek as his bangs hid his eyes. His breaths were rhythmic, slow and steady, and (Y/n) studied his breathing pattern in order to calm herself down.
Her heart was beating miles per minute, and it took her a moment to convince herself that her dream hadn't been reality. She rarely had dreams like that since she was already so perceptive when she was conscious, but it felt far too real for her to consider it to be just a nightmare. Her chest felt heavy, like the weight of the loss of her loved ones was fresh in her mind and her body was still trying to process it. But when she looked at Ed, she couldn't deny the fact that he was lying there in front of her. He was fine.
The room Ed had rented was rather small, the only furniture inside having been a bed, sofa, and nightstand. It worked well for the situation they were in. They had only needed a few hours of rest before they got up and went to Briggs. (Y/n) and Ed found out that Winry was safe in the North Command Center, and that allowed the two teens to actually get some sleep. Unfortunately, (Y/n)'s had been plagued with vivid depictions of her fears.
She looked down at her hands and sighed, examining the ridges in her palms. Her hands were still shaking, and it took a few more deep breaths to finally gain her composure.
She was running out of time.
(Y/n) had known that much. She had so much power within her, and she really had know idea what to do with it. It felt like it was too much, if she was being honest. It felt like everyone was depending on her, and though it was likely due to the pressure she put onto herself, she couldn't help but feel like hundreds of pairs of eyes were watching her every move, waiting for her next mistake. She needed to relax, to focus on one thing at a time. Right now, it was about getting to Winry and Alphonse. After that, she would have time to worry about Gluttony, then Pride, then her father. She couldn't think about multiple things at once, or else her head would implode on itself. She needed a plan, some kind of strategy that she could efficiently pull together- where she could see where she was and where she needed to go from there.
(Y/n) glanced over at Edward again, and let out a long sigh. It had felt like he had been gone, truly gone. Like she had that chance to protect him, and it slipped through her fingers. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she failed to stop Father, nor what would happen to the people she cared about. The world was too young to end, and her country and friends as well. Father wanted the power of God so that he could conquer the world, and therefore ruin it. He'd bring about disaster after disaster, simply to prove himself superior over the human race. Innocent people would die, and (Y/n) wasn't willing to allow that. She wasn't willing to entertain the possibility that it could, if she wasn't careful.
She threw the blanket away from her legs and gently stood on the ground. She'd gone to sleep in her clothes, as well as Ed, considering that they only had the time to get in a few hours of shuteye. She was glad that she insisted they'd both shower that night, otherwise they would have been rushing to get out of the inn that morning. (Y/n) wasn't even sure why Edward preferred to take his showers in the morning, anyway. It was an especially stupid idea for him to venture out into the cold with damp hair.
(Y/n) moved to her bag across the room as silently as she could, though it was not silent enough for Edward to stay asleep. The moment the young girl brushed past him, his eyes fluttered open. He didn't move, for his mind was too clouded with sleep for him to jump up suddenly. He watched with low lidded eyes as (Y/n) walked past him again and lifted her bag onto her bed. He gazed at her softly as she rummaged through her belongings. He noticed that her entire body was slightly tense, even as she pulled out Hughes' jacket and slipped her arms through the sleeves. The sky was only beginning to lighten, though it was hard to tell due to the clouds blocking out the sun. Nevertheless, the light of day touched her face softly.
Edward blinked lazily as his eyes dragged to her hands. Even in his sleep induced state, he noticed the smallest tremble in her fingers. It could have been the cool temperature, but he doubted that was the case considering that her hands were the only things shaking.
Scrunching his eyes and brows, the Fullmetal Alchemist sat up slowly on the couch and rubbed his eyes. He carded his hands through his blonde hair, grimacing when his fingers got caught in tangles caused by the ponytail he'd forgotten to take out before he passed out hours prior. He pulled the band from his locks and frowned when a few tangles remained.
(Y/n) heard the sound of shuffling, and turned around to see Edward fooling around with his hair. He looked up at her mid movement and softened his hardened expression. She smiled at him gently.
"Hi," she greeted, her voice terribly quiet.
"Hey," he mumbled. He looked down at her hands, which she had hastily pulled her transmutation gloves over. "Did you sleep at all?"
"Yeah," she shrugged, turning back around to pull out her toothbrush. "You?"
"I guess you could say that," he groaned mid sentence as he let his hands fall loudly into his lap. "I'm about to shave my damn head."
(Y/n) laughed. "What's the matter?"
"I fell asleep with my tie in, and I guess it was too loose because now I can't get out this one tangle," he fumed.
"Looks like you woke up in a great mood," the Mustang teased, and Edward glared at her back. "Did you bring a brush?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna get it," he sighed, standing up from the couch and stretching his arms out. When he found it buried deep inside his bag, he was about to head into the bathroom when he stopped himself in the doorway. He glanced down at the brush in his hand and turned over his shoulder to see that (Y/n) was zipping her bag up. Clearly she was rattled by something, or else she would have been more talkative than she was being. The tense posture and the trembling hands gave away that her sleep was not as peaceful as it should have been, and Edward tried to figure out what he could do to help her.
(Y/n) turned around to place her bag on the floor by her bed when she was met with Edward standing stiffly before her. She furrowed her brows and rose to stand properly. His gaze was cast to the floor, and he took a deep breath before shoving his brush into her face. (Y/n) blinked and looked up at his nervous expression.
"You can brush it, if you want. I don't care," he murmured. (Y/n) took the brush gently out of his hand and gave him a confused look. "Do you want to or not?"
She should have known that he would have figured out that she had a nightmare. Edward was annoyingly observant, especially when it came to her and Alphonse, so she didn't even question the matter further.
(Y/n) told him to sit on her bed, and he did so with no complaints. He had a stubborn pout on his face, due to the fact that he hadn't gotten the amount of sleep that his body needed and that he was unfamiliar with someone else managing his hair. The Fullmetal Alchemist took pride in taking care of himself. He had to learn how to grow up and take care of his little brother at a young age, therefore he had to learn self care at a young age too. Much like (Y/n), he strived to be independent and made it clear that he didn't need help from others, unless it was absolutely crucial. So to allow (Y/n) to maintain his hair for him was definitely new, and he'd have to get used to it before he allowed it more than he already was. She caught him by surprise when he tied his hair into a ponytail for her the first time, but now that he was consciously allowing her to help him, he felt weird. He knew that if there was anyone he trusted to touch his hair, it was (Y/n). Even so, it would take him some time before he got used to her doing things for him that he usually did for himself.
Ed's back hunched involuntarily as (Y/n) climbed onto the bed behind him as he faced the foot of the furniture. Her hands came around either side of his neck to lift the hair off his shoulders, and he instantly tensed at the feeling of her gloves ghosting over his skin. (Y/n) noticed and bit back a smile before she actually began brushing his hair. She was gentle, afraid of hurting him or doing something wrong. The tangle he had been talking about didn't take long to get rid of thanks to the thin bristles that threaded through his hair. He winced slightly when his hair was finally detangled, and he had to tell (Y/n) to be quiet before she even had the chance to utter the beginnings of an apology.
When she was done, she placed the brush down beside her. Before she could even register what she was doing, fingers moved to card through his hair softly. If Edward's posture could get any worse than it already was, his entire body would remain permanently stiffened. He was too tired to argue with her, and too understanding to tell her to stop. He knew that this was bringing her some kind of comfort, and he would punch himself with his right arm before he told (Y/n) to stop. He wasn't sure why his hair fascinated her so much, but he wasn't necessarily interested in asking. He just let her be and loosened his shoulders as she delicately stroked his hair.
(Y/n)'s eyes were dazed as she watched the rhythmic movement, her fingers lifting to the top of his scalp to calmly drag through the blonde locks until she met the tips, then repeating the cycles. She was suddenly overcome with a feeling of sadness as she gazed at the back of Ed's head, longingly. Her dream had felt so real, she was beginning to question if the figure sitting before her was even Edward. She couldn't imagine losing him, how it would feel. In her eyes, his family's life was in her hands. She tried to drill Edward's words into her head, telling her that she wasn't going to go through this alone. And as grateful as she was for the reassurance, she couldn't help but constantly feel that responsibility weighing her down. She couldn't lose him. She wouldn't lose him. She didn't know what she would do if she failed.
"(Y/n)," Edward cleared his throat once he realized that his eyelids were lulling and his breathing was slowly down. He honestly wished he could go back to sleep, but he knew that the upcoming events of the day would not allow that. (Y/n) wasn't making it any easier for him.
"Your hair is really pretty," she murmured, and Ed's face lit ablaze.
That was enough.
"(Y/n)," he called her again, turning around to grab her wrist. She furrowed her brows and looked up at the boy as his left hand gripped her wrist tightly.
"Sorry," she exhaled. Edward kept his gaze on her as he let go of her wrist. Her hands fell into her lap. She figured that Edward would want to know what was wrong without having to ask. He had made it pretty clear that he didn't like constantly asking her what was wrong when she could easily tell him instead. "It was just a stupid dream."
"Something tells me it wasn't stupid. Especially if it's got you so out of it," Edward said softly, tugging his hair tie off of his wrist and dropping it into (Y/n)'s lowered palms. She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she fiddled with the tie, then looked back up to see Edward wordlessly turn back around.
"Braid it?"
"Sure."
(Y/n) separated his hair into three sections and exhaled softly. "It was the Promised Day," she started as she worked. Edward listened closely. "And I woke up in the middle of Central City, and everyone was gone. The city was destroyed, and I couldn't find anyone. Father won, and you were... you were-"
"You don't have to say it."
"Thank you," she muttered as she braided. "I'm just scared, s'all. And I guess- I feel like I'm always saying that, and I don't want you to think I'm ignoring everything that you told me. But I just can't help but be scared."
Edward was silent for a moment as (Y/n) finished his hair. "I'm scared, too, (Y/n). I have been since the day I lost my mom."
(Y/n) sensed the blue surrounding his aura, and she frowned as she tied the end of his braid and lowered her hands.
"You never told me that."
"It's not something I really like to admit. Besides, it's unnecessary for me to randomly tell you that I'm always scared. I thought you'd... y'know... know, so..."
"Some things are easier to sense than others," she said. "Fear is normal, anyway, Ed. You don't need to pretend to be brave all the time."
"Hard habit to break, trust me," he said as he got up and made his way into the bathroom to look at his hair. "I grew up with a baby brother, remember? My job is to pretend to be brave."
"Well, you and I both know that Al is too smart for that."
"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm sorry you had to dream about something like that."
"It's fine, really," (Y/n) said as she grabbed her toothbrush and walked into the bathroom to stand beside Ed. He gave her an odd look before continuing to inspect his hair. "You know, you really do have pretty hair."
"Stop that," Ed growled as he left to get his own toothbrush. (Y/n)'s snickered.
"What? You do! It's really soft too, what kind of moisturizer do you use?"
"Shut up!"
After the two brushed their teeth and did what they needed to do before they started the did, (Y/n) was sitting on the couch as Ed threw on his coat when she felt a shiver run down her spine. She shot up instantly, eyes wide. It wasn't a necessarily nasty shiver, it was more so like a heads up for an unexpected encounter that was not meant to pose as a danger, but could if she wasn't careful.
She stood up from the couch and darted over to her bed, jumping on it and leaning over to look out the window. When she saw nothing alarming, she turned around and headed for the door. (Y/n) told Edward to stay where he was when he called her and asked what was wrong, and when he stubbornly refused, the two of them headed out of the inn.
(Y/n) was ahead of Edward as she ran forward and looked around the uncrowded street. A few people walked about, enjoying the fresh morning air. Some kids played in the street, throwing handfuls of snow above their heads and watching it fall back down over them. She grunted and turned around to look for any suspicious figure, and just when she glanced at a diner serving breakfast, she saw a man disappear behind the building.
She rushed over to the area to get a better look, ignoring Edward calling her name from behind. She ran into the space between the restaurant and a shop next to it, her boot scrunching loudly in the snow. The figure in front to her stopped midway, and turned slightly over his shoulder to look at the young girl. (Y/n)'s mouth fell agape as she took a step back, yet she remained within the thin space with the man who was practically a stranger now.
"Scar?"
His brows furrowed as if he were angry with something, yet it was clear that it wasn't her he was angry with. It was likely because he had gotten caught, being forced to face the child that he, too, had tried to eliminate. (Y/n) was confused. She itched to transmute her sword, but her senses were telling her not to. It was similar to what happened when she saw Greed for the first time after the incident in Rush Valley. He had once posed a danger to her, and now it didn't feel like he was out to harm her or her friend any longer. Still, despite her intuition telling her that Scar meant no harm, she remembered everything he did so vividly. His raw strength, the way he tired her out before she even got to do anything. The way he hovered over her and her best friend, giving them a chance to speak their last words as if he was being generous.
She had so many questions.
His hair was a bit longer, but the mohawk still remained. The snowy tips meshed well with the snow on the ground. He wore a heavy, wool coat rather than the tan cloak she had last seen him in. She could see the remnants of the scar she inflicted on his palm when he turned to face her fully, and wounds that were healing nicely on his face that hadn't been there before. The man looked tired, his stoic yet grumpy expression only making him appear more like an exhausted old man. He was annoyed, (Y/n) could sense that much. He looked like he had seen something he wished he hadn't, and it didn't matter how long ago he had been exposed to it. It was clearly still fresh in his mind.
(Y/n) narrowed her brows and drew her gloved hands together, transmuting her sword in case something were to happen. Scar watched almost patiently, as if he had expected her to do much more than this when he first saw her. It was strange. From what (Y/n) remembered, he was normally quiet, but he would have been launching at her by now, right? He'd be stretching his large hands out to her in an attempt to grasp her face, and use his alchemy to fry her brain. He would have done something, made some kind of move. But instead, he just watched her. Not only that, but it seemed that he had been running from her rather than seeking her out to destroy her. What the hell happened to this vengeance driven Ishvalan man?
The (e/c) eyed girl held her weapon tightly within her grasp, giving the white haired man's body a once over. He wasn't wearing sunglasses, therefore she could see his vermillion eyes glaring back at her as well as feel them.
"What the hell are you doing here? Why aren't you trying to fight me?" she asked, hoping to get some kind of answer. He didn't look like he was going to respond anytime soon, and the sound of feet stomping into the snow from behind the young girl caught her off guard. She knew it was Edward, but that's not what she was worried about. She was worried about how he was about to react to the sight of the man, who almost stripped the hope away from them permanently, standing in front of his best friend.
(Y/n) could feel Ed's automail hand wrap around her arm and hastily pull her back, and her eyes widened at the sudden movement. She turned to look at the boy, and saw his golden eyes blazing with anger and befuddlement.
"Ed, wait-"
The Elric clapped his hands together and transmuted a metal spear, and in a swift moment, he was holding the blade to the Ishvalan's neck. His legs were spread in a fighting stance, his right knee bent forward and his left foot planted behind him. He glowered up at the man from below his chin, and a cool breeze blew his bangs about his face. Scar only looked down at him after a few seconds, suddenly looking angrier than he had before.
"Edward, hold on."
"The hell do you mean, 'hold on'?! You remember what this jackass did to us?" Ed barked, and (Y/n) jumped slightly at the volume of his voice.
Scar's nose flared as he inhaled and exhaled slowly. The blade of Ed's spare remained centimeters away from his tattooed neck, yet he made to move dodge or move around it. "I do not plan on killing you," he started, his voice just as bone chilling as the alchemist remembered. "but I will if I have to."
"You don't plan on killing us?" (Y/n) scoffed, throwing her hands up on the air. "I'm sorry, did you not make it terribly clear to us that you wanted us dead that last time we met? By trying to kill us?"
Scar looked up at her past the stray hair on Ed's head that stood tall. "Ask your friend. She knows I'm not here to bring your life to an end. If you trust her, then you'll know I speak the truth," he spoke to Edward without breaking eye contact with the Mustang he had previously despised.
Ed was conflicted. He clenched his jaw and turned over his shoulder slightly to look at (Y/n). She didn't say anything for a moment, battling with herself and questioning if she should really trust what her mind was telling her. She didn't want to trust it, nor Scar. He'd almost ruined their lives, and now his father was mirroring his lifestyle. She didn't like him, not one bit. When she looked at his face, she saw Roy Mustang. And if she didn't have a reason to hate the man before, she did now.
That did not change the fact that he was being honest. The feeling she got reminded her of what he had done and what he was capable of doing to her, as well as the grudge he held specifically against her for being raised by the Flame Alchemist. There were so many reasons why he should have posed a threat right now, but he didn't. And as (Y/n) lowered her hands, as well as her weapon, Edward realized that there truly was no more time for mortal enemies.
Not when the country was on the brink of destruction in only nine days.