chapter 3

You and Al's laughter rings through the night streets as Ed chases the two of you down the street angrily. Before long, both of you turn around in perfect synchrony and put your hands up. Ed skids to a stop.

All of you were breathing heavily, though you were the first one to suggest to start walking down to Noah's caravan. You ended up on the very left, Ed in the middle, and Al at the very right.

"Hey, do you guys ever wonder what's beyond the stars?" You ask, looking up.

Ed and Al follow your gaze. "Well, theoretically speaking, there's more space and stars and planets."

You laugh.

"I don't think that's what she means, Brother." Al smiles.

"That's true." You start. "But what's really beyond that? The universe must exist to some extent, right? I just can't imagine something that goes on forever, stretching out in all directions, even if it's something as simple as a line. It's so... Eye-opening."

No one answers. Walking side by side, you suddenly feel content, as if you had finally found two people who you could trust, who you could keep as brothers.

You look back down ahead of you and continue walking. Something behind you catches your attention somehow. You couldn't see anything, but something, no, somewas there. You pretend not to notice anything.

Your senses scream at you to dodge downwards. You suddenly lunge sideways, sending Ed toppling sideways and onto the ground right as a loud gunshot sounded and a bullet whistles past your face.

You find yourself pinning Ed down at the shoulders, and you were staring straight into his dark golden eyes, reflecting the stars. Your gaze flickers around his face and you see him blushing, already.

"Your eyes look like they hold the universe," you whisper your thoughts out loud. You turn around, stance mode on, but no one was there. They simply disappeared.

Suddenly, from the alleyways at your left, you hear the click of a gun switching safety mode off. You push Al, who was behind you, down, and cover him with your body as another bullet went above your heads.

"Guys, run!" You yell. You grab Al, who was under you, and carry him bridal style as Ed follows after you.

After you were sure you lost your attacker, you placed Al back down, who looked annoyed. You smile sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I was panicked, okay?"

"I know, but I can still run, (Y/N)."

You look away.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"It's alright."

You take a backwards glance at Ed, who was looking more annoyed than Al was. You turn around to fully face Ed, and he shifts his gaze from the street to you.

"Ed-"

"I've been thinking, (Y/N). Who would want to attack us?"

You set your chin in your right palm, propping up your arm with your left arm. "Hmm. I actually don't know..."

"I haven't done anything so bad as for someone to want to kill me... Right?" Ed says, before pausing. "But you have, (Y/N)."

You gesture to yourself. "Me!? But I-"

You remember all the fights you'd had and never lost. "Right. I have."

You look down at the ground, exasperated. "What now? I only met you two yesterday, so it won't be so hard to say bye, right?"

Even though you tried to sound normal, the thought of leaving the two people who have ever regarded you as someone who isn't an outcast sent shivers down your spine.

Ed's eyes widen. "No, (Y/N), you can't do that! You can do alchemy, and I... I..."

You peer at Ed curiously.

"There's something important I need to figure out, and you're our first clue."

The fact that Ed was only your friend because you were a clue to his goal kind of hurt, but you push the feeling down and start thinking.

"Why don't we rent a hotel for today?" You suggest, looking up at the moon. "It getting quite dark outside."

~

"Woah, (Y/N), this is so luxurious! I'm glad you can do alchemy!" Al praises you.

In the end, you didn't have enough money to pay for any room, so you were forced to do alchemy. Sacrificing a few graphite pencils from your suitcase, you transmuted them into diamonds by rearranging their carbon atoms' formation and paid for your hotel room. For that, you were given a huge suite room and free food and free meals.

Ed went around the room inspecting everything, and you followed him. There were three rooms, two bathrooms, a mini kitchen and a big living room. You were impressed.

It was late, so the buffet dinner was closed, but there was always the minibar that provided food. Setting your suitcase down in your room of choice, you collapse on the bed and close your eyes. The coolness of the linens seep into you, refreshing you.

You hear a knock on your door and your eyes pop open. You slide down to the ground, leaning against the side of the bed. "Come in," you sing.

The door creaks open and Ed takes a step in. "Hey..."

You ignore his greeting and close your eyes again. You see the moment when you were staring into Ed's golden eyes, which reflected the stars. It set you on the edge and your chest expanded with a nervous feeling. You say something completely contrary to what you were imagining.

"Close the door," you bark. You wait until the click of the door before opening one of your eyes. Ed stands at the door, a dust of red on his cheeks, scratching the back of his neck. You giggle.

"What...?" Ed says suspiciously. "What are you thinking about...?"

You giggle more. "Oh, nothing, shorty. Tell me again, why are you here?"

Ed has one of his cute mini angry-moments. "Who do you think you're talking to!? I'm the great Edward Elric, capable of many things and-"

"Yet not capable of being tall." You tease him. Ed growls at you in frustration. You pat the spot of the ground next to you. "Come sit down and tell me why you're here."

Ed shuffles forwards, waves of anger rolling off of him. He sits down where your hand was moments ago.

"I just wanted to talk, but had to pick a fight with me."

You smile. "So... What did you want to talk about?"

Ed looks at you, hesitating. "What'll our plans be? We can't just stay here forever."

You prop your chin into your hands. "That friend of yours... Noah, isn't it? Well... You guys travel with her, so I'm sure you'll have to work something out with her. After all, I a stranger you only met yesterday."

"Yeah... I guess you're right."

"After that, it'll be up to you and whatever Noah says. You can choose to leave without me, or you can stay with me for a while and leave when I'm ready."

Ed nods. You feel like something's off. "This isn't what you came here to talk about, was it?" You ask.

Ed looks up, making a surprised sound. You stare into his golden eyes, and you see so much more than you thought would be there. You saw sadness, desperation, and so much truth. , you think.

Ed turns to away. "Hey... Have you ever happened to see... The Truth?"

"The Truth?"

"Yeah."

You think about it.

You shake your head. "Nope."

Ed presses his lips together. "I see."

You notice the tension in his form. "Why, something wrong?"

Ed stares at the ground for a second, before shaking his head. "Nope," he gets up from his seated position shaking off his rigidity, "well then, I'll get going now. See ya!" Ed makes one of those adorable smiling faces and puts his hand up, waving to you.

"Wait." You grab his hand just as he takes one step away and pull yourself up. Ed turns his head towards you, his face tinted pink.

"If there's something wrong, tell me, all right? I want to be able to help."

"...Kay."

You let go of his hand and he leaves your room.

********

Urggg. I feel like this is turning more into an Al x Reader than an Ed x Reader. Sorry T_T

Omg when I type sorry it suggests the word shorty xD

Since it's summer, I'll update maybe every two or three days. Anyways, if you liked this part, don't forget to comment, vote, share, and, of course, ENJOY!!

~Sky-chan

Word count: 1375 words