Ed x Alfons, "Asleep"
Title: Asleep
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing: Edward Elric x Alfons Heiderich
Characters: Edward, Alfons
Genre: Romance/tragedy/supernatural
Rating: G
Words: 586
Note: Inspired by an artwork by hime1999
He always fell asleep on trains.
It was just a habit of his, perhaps…The long rides, the almost melodic hum of the engine, the slight hop of the cars as they moved across the tracks; just thinking about it was enough for his eyes to droop these days, and when he was on them, his consciousness seemed to fade as the details of the landscape did if one stared for too long through the nearest window.
Maybe it just reminded him of his time back home…the time that might as well have been a dream along the dark browns and faded lights of Reality.
Even now, he was leaning against the seat, head against his shoulder with his hands sitting in his lap. A child, grown old too fast by trial and the world around him, still kept his innocence in the blanket of sleep. It was a shame, really, seeing him sit there.
“He shouldn’t be here,” some woman would say, whispering to her friend in the corner. “He should be off in a school somewhere, or with his family-where’s his mother, I wonder? Was his family taken by the war?”
War orphan, vagabond, foreigner, homeless, student…whatever they called him, prying eyes left him alone, going back to their own devices, leaving him to sleep.
…But if they looked close enough…
They’d might have been able to see the man with blonde hair next to him, touching his hand with his face turned towards him, though it there was an apparent distance. From the look in the man’s eyes, it was as if just that distance was somehow painful.
“Hello, Edward.” He whispered in a tiny voice, unheard by even the most trained ear. “I just…came to see how you were doing. I guess I don’t have to worry about that, do I? Al’s feeding you well, isn’t he?”
The sleeping man gave no response. But without any form of fear or restraint, the stranger continued:
“Thank you for giving me flowers last time you came. They’ve wilted now, and I know that soon you’ll be giving me less of them. You’ll soon give me less and less, visit me less and less, and then you’ll even wonder why it was that you went to a grave in the first place. That’s how it always happens. People remember at first, but then over time the memories fade and fade, only to be left as just that…a memory. A distant memory, at that.” He let out a soft sigh, turning away. Blue eyes had closed, though his gaze went upward, towards the ceiling. “But…I’ll never forget you. I’ll never stop seeing you. I’ll check up on you, take care of you as well as I can like this, and watch over you. Even if you don’t believe in God or Heaven, even if you don’t believe in me…”
The man leaned forward, lips touching lips for just a moment, before he backed away, back to his previous position.
“…I’ll always be with you. I love you, Edward.”
…
For years after, Edward Elric could never understand why he woke up so suddenly, or why it was that he had started sobbing so hard, so heavily that he had curled into himself, leaning his face away from prying eyes and trying his best to stay silent despite everything.
…Or why, somehow…
He felt like there was someone next to him, holding him, stroking his hair and whispering soft, comforting things in his ear as he cried.
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing: Edward Elric x Alfons Heiderich
Characters: Edward, Alfons
Genre: Romance/tragedy/supernatural
Rating: G
Words: 586
Note: Inspired by an artwork by hime1999
He always fell asleep on trains.
It was just a habit of his, perhaps…The long rides, the almost melodic hum of the engine, the slight hop of the cars as they moved across the tracks; just thinking about it was enough for his eyes to droop these days, and when he was on them, his consciousness seemed to fade as the details of the landscape did if one stared for too long through the nearest window.
Maybe it just reminded him of his time back home…the time that might as well have been a dream along the dark browns and faded lights of Reality.
Even now, he was leaning against the seat, head against his shoulder with his hands sitting in his lap. A child, grown old too fast by trial and the world around him, still kept his innocence in the blanket of sleep. It was a shame, really, seeing him sit there.
“He shouldn’t be here,” some woman would say, whispering to her friend in the corner. “He should be off in a school somewhere, or with his family-where’s his mother, I wonder? Was his family taken by the war?”
War orphan, vagabond, foreigner, homeless, student…whatever they called him, prying eyes left him alone, going back to their own devices, leaving him to sleep.
…But if they looked close enough…
They’d might have been able to see the man with blonde hair next to him, touching his hand with his face turned towards him, though it there was an apparent distance. From the look in the man’s eyes, it was as if just that distance was somehow painful.
“Hello, Edward.” He whispered in a tiny voice, unheard by even the most trained ear. “I just…came to see how you were doing. I guess I don’t have to worry about that, do I? Al’s feeding you well, isn’t he?”
The sleeping man gave no response. But without any form of fear or restraint, the stranger continued:
“Thank you for giving me flowers last time you came. They’ve wilted now, and I know that soon you’ll be giving me less of them. You’ll soon give me less and less, visit me less and less, and then you’ll even wonder why it was that you went to a grave in the first place. That’s how it always happens. People remember at first, but then over time the memories fade and fade, only to be left as just that…a memory. A distant memory, at that.” He let out a soft sigh, turning away. Blue eyes had closed, though his gaze went upward, towards the ceiling. “But…I’ll never forget you. I’ll never stop seeing you. I’ll check up on you, take care of you as well as I can like this, and watch over you. Even if you don’t believe in God or Heaven, even if you don’t believe in me…”
The man leaned forward, lips touching lips for just a moment, before he backed away, back to his previous position.
“…I’ll always be with you. I love you, Edward.”
…
For years after, Edward Elric could never understand why he woke up so suddenly, or why it was that he had started sobbing so hard, so heavily that he had curled into himself, leaning his face away from prying eyes and trying his best to stay silent despite everything.
…Or why, somehow…
He felt like there was someone next to him, holding him, stroking his hair and whispering soft, comforting things in his ear as he cried.