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I padded out of the hotel's bedroom, noticing my sketchbook was on the kitchen table. I turned to Ed as he approached me, hands in the pockets of his coat.

"I figured you'd want it back." he told me with a smile.

I gave him a softer one as I replied. "Just until you'd like to draw again."

He just grinned, and I found something about the expression made my heart beat a little quicker. I smiled a bit more, a soft blush rising to my face.

Al's footsteps brought my focus away. I looked towards the noise as the teen in the suit stopped walking, standing on the other side of the kitchen tile, near the front door. He lifted a hand to me in a wave.

"Hey! Good morning!"

"Good morning!" I returned cheerily. "I didn't know you two were such early risers!"

Al hesitated, allowing Ed to fill the silence.

"Not sure if you'd count 9:30 as 'early', but—"

"It's already 9:30?!" My hands found my lips, horror reaching my eyes. "I'm so sorry; why didn't you two wake me up?!"

Ed just shrugged, avoiding my gaze. "You seemed tired after last night so we let you sleep in. No big deal; most people wouldn't like strangers bangin' on their doors this hour anyway."

I relaxed, realizing he had a point. "Well," I began, "I would still like to be awake; we won't be able to spend every single day together."

Ed looked at me, realizing what I said. Part of my mind realized what I just said, too, confirming how temporary this case was. How temporary our interactions were... Our friendships.

Will I go back? I asked myself. After this is over?

My heart plunged at the idea, and soon I saw a piece of paper being offered to me. One gloved hand holding it at the top.

"Here." he said. "Order some breakfast."

Realizing the challenge, I hitched a smirk onto my face, placing my hand on his and lowering the paper a little. "I'm not letting you pay for anything I have."

He grinned. "Let's just see who gets the bill first."

My hand slipped away from his, turning to Al. "Let's go out to eat! There's some restaurants around here, right?"

"That's a great idea!" Al told me. "There's a lot of places here!"

"Great!" My smile suddenly fell. "But... Are you still doing that alchemy fast?"

Al's eyes shrunk. "Uh." He suddenly grew nervous. "Y-yeah. But that doesn't mean I can't watch you guys eat!"

"O-okay." I mean, that was a little weird, and I felt really bad, but...

"It's alright!" Ed chimed in. "I'll eat enough for the both of us, Al!" He shot me a grin. "I'll pay for the bill, too!"

"WILL YOU STOP?!"

----------------------------------------

"Did you sleep alright?"

The thought left my mouth as soon as I had it, bringing my stare to Edward. He looked back, then nodded before taking another bite of his breakfast.

"Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I?"

I blushed, looking down to my food. "Well, you were on the couch, after all." I turned to Alphonse, who sat across from me. "And you were against the wall, Alphonse. That couldn't have been very comfortable…"

Ed waved a hand, dismissing it. "We've slept in worse places." he told me. "Couches and walls are a luxury, trust me."

I laughed a little bit, seeing that slight smile come to his face again. No more than a few minutes had passed by before I suddenly stopped eating, the utensil halfway to my mouth. My eyes locked onto Edward's, watching him stare at me with his hands folded in front of his mouth.

"What?" I asked, lowering my fork a bit. I suddenly recognized the look on his face and dropped my eating utensil. The metal clattered against the rim of the plate. "D-do you want to draw me now?!"

Ed looked down at his empty plate, the expression disappearing. "No; there wouldn't be enough..."

I didn't understand what he was talking about; enough what?

I sighed. Al suddenly leaned forward from his place across the circular table, speaking to us both in a whisper.

"Hey, guys... Doesn't the person we're looking for have brown hair and a thick coat?"

"Yeah, that would match the description." Ed replied, leaning back a little to follow his brother's stare. His face suddenly grew alarmed. "T-That's him‼"

I looked behind myself, seeing someone at the counter of the shop. Brown hair, a thick coat with a collar raised enough to cover his mouth. Glasses, too. My stare went down, seeing light reflect off the pocket watch he was flashing to the employee.

"HEY!" Ed stood up, pointing to him. "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The man turned, sunglasses darkening the sight of his eyes. His eyebrows rose in alarm, and quickly he dashed off. Ed ran after him, Alphonse following. I stopped myself from going as well, remembering the bill on the table. I quickly dug into my bag and pulled out enough money. I slapped it on the table, briefly feeling accomplished before my attention went back to the direction Al and Ed ran off in.

I moved the string of beads acting as the door as I walked through. I stopped, looking around. Nobody was stopping to stare at anything, no signs of a fight anywhere.

Then, I heard an explosion. The ground shook for a second, and my only thought was how I hoped neither Ed nor Al was injured.

I quickly bent down, digging my pen out of my bag and drawing a transmutation circle on the ground. One that sent a small part of the sidewalk I stood on upwards, giving me enough height to see the tops of the smallest buildings.

Another explosion went off, not even a block across from me. It didn't hit anything, though, seeming to have ignited in mid-air.

Ed was transmuting parts of the restaurant's flat rooftop, raising it as platforms for him to land on. He skidded back, the force of the explosion pushing him back and blowing the end of his coat out. The platforms extended with him, breaking off as soon as he passed by. He was grinning, of course, and I felt relieved when I didn't see a single scratch on him.

Al's voice caught my focus, and I saw him below us.

"Watch out!" he told Ed. "Make sure the people below are safe before you do that!"

"Like I would do that before checking!" Ed replied, smug. He looked down to Al, telling him to go make sure I was alright.

I blinked, and as if that was all Ed needed, he turned around, seeing me there. I tried to grin as he yelled at me.

"What the heck are you doing here?! Get down—"

A small bomb was suddenly in front of his face. His eyes went wide, and a massive flash of white covered my vision. The small platform below me crumbled, sweeping away every piece of stability. Distantly, I heard the sound of someone clapping once. A roar of electricity came towards me, solid ground meeting my back and stopping the fall. But the impact came much too early for it to be the actual ground.

I heard Ed calling my name. My vision was still flashing white, colors dancing in between and spotting the vision of my surroundings. I was looking up at the sky, and suddenly Ed came into view. Through my own impaired vision, I saw his eyes were shut tight. His hand was on my face, too, gently tapping and feeling the side of it.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Are you alright?" he asked me.

I moved my head away a little bit, eyes shutting. "Are YOU alright?"

I heard him grit his teeth, a growl slipping out of him. "I asked you first‼ I can't SEE anything so how am I supposed to know?!"

My vision coming back to me, I sat up and looked to Ed again. His eyes were still closed, and judging from the tension on his face, he was in pain.

"Brother?" Al's voice, shouting at us from below.

"Al?" Ed returned. "That you?"

"Y-Yeah!" The younger Elric brother spoke to me next. "Is he alright?"

I looked back to Ed. His hand was still on my face, and I didn't blame him for wanting to get some kind of reference as to where he was. My hand covered his, holding it tightly.

"Hold on, Ed," I told him, "We'll get you down."

Al made a ramp that led up to Ed's platform, allowing us to guide him down to ground level despite his grumbling protests. He kept his hand in mine as we stepped onto the road again, walking over to the sidewalk as Al deconstructed the platforms.

"How're you feeling?" I asked Ed.

The alchemist just scowled. "That was a flash bomb that went off in my face, wasn't it?"

I thought back, feeling a little guilty as I nodded. I should've stopped it, somehow... I shouldn't have even been there in the first place...

I felt Ed's hold on my hand soften a little and looked up to see his eyes were opening. His expression still clenched, in pain, but I could see those golden irises slowly being revealed again. A half-smile hooked his lips.

"Can't draw you if I can't see anything..." he said.

I almost smiled, too concerned to try and go with the mood he was attempting to lighten.

"Can you see anything?" I asked him quietly, watching his eyes open halfway.

"A little bit." he said. "Shadows, mostly. Everything looks dark."

I muted a sigh against the back of my throat. My stare turned away, and again I felt the guilt resurface.

"Sorry." I said. "If I hadn't been there..."

Ed squeezed my hand a little tighter, silencing me. I looked back, seeing his eyes completely open. But they looked unfocused, like they still weren't seeing anything...

Al jogged up to us, and I watched Ed's head perk up before I turned towards the younger Elric myself. I couldn't see Al's face, but I knew it was one of worry.

"Is it any better?" he asked.

I turned to Edward, waiting for his answer.

He grinned again, the same small one as before. "Nothin' I can't handle! I'll be back in no time, Al, just you wait!"

Al wasn't buying the optimism. "So... You still can't see?"

Ed's smile dropped. I felt his hold on my hand tighten. "Um... Well... Not—not really. Not yet, anyway."

I wanted to say something, tell him how it should be coming back any time now. But I wasn't sure; I had no idea. The bomb had been right in front of him...

The tiniest of raindrops landed against my hair. I glanced up, enough to see the grey clouds above us, as Ed looked up as well. But I knew his sight was much different than mine.

I heard a quiet grin stretch his mouth.

"This just isn't my day, is it?"

Before either Al or I could respond, Ed turned, carefully walking along the sidewalk. He pulled me with him, not letting go of my hand as he spoke.

"C'mon, Al. We should get you out of the rain before you rust."

Al nodded quickly. "Uh-right!"

I heard his footsteps behind us, the canopies from the shops we passed by serving as temporary umbrellas. One of these sun visors must have gotten too full with the quickly pouring rain, because as soon as we reached the edge, a massive slush of rain fell, dumping onto Ed. He just sighed, doing nothing to dry himself off.

"Guess we're heading back to the hotel." he said. "Not much we can do in this weather, I guess."

Not much we can do without your sight. I wanted to say.

I looked to him again, now drenched and blind. I reached my other hand out, the one that wasn't holding his, and playfully shuffled my fingers through the front of his hair.

"I wish I knew how to warm you up! You only had to clap your hands to get the water off me!"

Ed grinned a little. "It's not too hard to do! Just converting the water molecules into steam—pretty simple stuff, actually."

"I think there was a fireplace in our room." Al said. "That's always an option."

"Huh? Oh yeah." Ed grinned a bit wider, and I noticed the blush running along his face. "That'd work."

I smiled, almost fascinated with his optimism. He wasn't letting himself get down about what happened...

Or he's just not showing it.

"There's something we can do for your sight, right?" I asked, trying to match his go-lucky attitude.

When both Ed and Al went quiet, my mood fell once again.

"Maybe." Ed replied softly. "Let's just hope it takes some time for my eyes to heal again, yeah?"

"Yeah." I answered with a nod.

I wasn't sure how vision impairment and flash bombs worked, but I was pretty sure the effects from that close... No; what was I saying? There had to be a way. His sight would be restored, in time.

Ed's hand held mine a little tighter, a softness in the gesture despite it being his metal hand. I smiled even though he couldn't see it. I hoped one day soon, he'd be able to...

"At least my automail's not broken!" Ed exclaimed. "Winry would kill me!"

Al gave something close to a chuckle, I just stared at Ed.

"She gets really angry when you break it?"

Ed nodded. His other hand rose to the back of his head, as if feeling a wound I couldn't see. "You wouldn't believe how many wrenches I've been hit with over the years. She throws them like javelins sometimes; always hits the mark, too, no matter how far away I am!"

I smiled a little bit, ignoring the feeling I got in my gut. He was still trying to keep the mood light, even after all this... I had to admire that strength.

"Sounds like you go there a lot." I told him.

He turned to me, eyebrows raised in surprise. His eyes didn't glance exactly at me, instead staring somewhere off to the side before he shrugged, turning ahead of himself again.

"It's actually been a while. Haven't really been doing much fighting lately."

I wanted to ask what they had been doing, but my attention was taken as I saw we were approaching the hotel. I held Ed's hand a little tighter.

"Let's get you warmed up."

----------------------------------------

"It's getting better."

I looked over my shoulder at Edward, momentarily stopping my tending of the fire. I smiled, wondering if his sight really was improving as my focus went back to the fireplace.

"That's good." I said.

"I can see the red of the fire." Ed continued from his place on the couch. "But everything else is still pretty dark."

I nodded. Putting the poker down, I got to my feet again, watching Ed's head turn at the sound of my footsteps as I made my way towards him. I sat down beside him, resisting the urge to hold his hand again. I kept my hands together in my lap, looking down at them as I spoke.

"I'm glad it's getting better." I said. A weak smile played upon my lips. "I was getting so worried."

I heard a grin hook onto Ed's mouth before feeling his arms drape around the back of the couch. Near the edge. He crossed his legs also, one ankle on top of his knee.

"You never have to worry about me. I'm pretty much indestructible!"

A small, irritated groan came from behind us. I looked over my shoulder, seeing Al sitting at the table with narrowed eyes. Ed showed a bit of surprise, grin wavering.

"Oh, hey, Al. Sorry, didn't know you were there. I'm so used to seeing you all the time!"

A joke. He was making jokes. I nearly sighed, wondering how long this was going to take, for him to actually show something else. But maybe he couldn't; maybe because Al was here...

Do I want to even see it? Memories shot back into me, opening a wound that began bleeding in an emotion I hadn't felt in a long time.

Ed called my name. I snapped out of my own thoughts, turning to look into his unfocused eyes.

"You okay?" he asked me.

How did he KNOW?

"Y-yeah!" I squeaked. "Perfectly alright. What made you think otherwise?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I just felt like there was something wrong."

"Other senses improve when another is lost." Al said. "Maybe you're just getting better at..." His words trailed off, the exact phrase for what it was leaving him.

Ed caught on, nodding a little bit. "Yeah, maybe." His expression grew worried. "I'd still really like to see normally, if I could..."

I held my hands a little tighter, my own worry consuming me. If only I hadn't distracted him...

"Hey, Al." Interested perked Ed's expression. "We paid for that breakfast, right?"

"Uh..." Al began nervously, his eyes shrinking. "Well..."

"I covered it." I told them. "It's alright."

Ed groaned between his clenched teeth, hand automatically finding the wallet in his coat pocket. With clumsy motions, he dug through it, fingers slipping every now and then. Despite my protests, he held more than enough money out. I wasn't about to take it.

"You told me whoever gets the bill first!" I said. "Your words!"

He blinked, and then seemingly out of habit his stare dropped towards the money in his hand. A sheepish grin came to him.

"Shot myself in the foot on that one." he muttered, putting the money back and pocketing the wallet again. "I'll cover it next time."

I huffed an agreement, silently hoping that he'd be able to see by then.

We all sat in silence for a few moments before I noticed Ed's face. His eyes were still open, a growing irritation rising between his brows. His hands clenched, and a moment later he was shouting, squirming a little beside me.

"WHY WON'T MY SIGHT COME BACK?! WE CAN'T SIT AROUND LIKE THIS! THAT GUY WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!"

I kept my hand by my mouth, somewhat scared at the outburst but mostly trying to think of what to say. Al and I couldn't go after him on our own, probably because Ed wouldn't let us. And we also couldn't risk anyone getting even more hurt...

"We did get our suspect, though." Al said. "Now it's just a matter of time before we catch him."

"Yeah but he could be cities away by the time we do that." One foot landed against the coffee table, the other one crossing on top of it. "Especially at this pace..."

When neither of us answered, Ed sighed. His voice was soft as he spoke again.

"Sorry, Al... I'm slowing us down again..."

I looked to his younger brother, watching his head lower to the floor.

"It's alright." Al's voice was just as quiet, even with the suit's echoing.

Slowing down what? I wanted to ask. But I felt as if it was something that didn't concern me. Or perhaps it was just this case... Yeah that was probably it.

The longer I sat on the couch in this silence, the more I started to think. But my mind just kept going back to the memory of seeing Ed with the flash bomb in front of his face. Seeing his face in pain as he tried to find out if I was alright... I forced myself away from the thoughts.

"Do you two want any tea?" I asked, standing up.

Ed's eyebrow lifted in my direction, his hand remaining across his stomach.

"Yeah, sure." His voice sounded dull and the sound of it moved the smile away from my lips.

I forced myself away from sulking, smiling again as I turned to Al.

"Al? What about you?"

The younger Elric looked up. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. I noticed Ed turn in his direction, surprised, as I went towards the kitchen, still trying to keep the mood light.

"Two teas, coming right up!"

I kept my thoughts to myself while I boiled the kettle of water, still trying to figure out a cure for Ed's blindness. But his sight did seem to be coming back; outside, he couldn't see very much, and now he could see the light of the fire. So that counted for something... Didn't it?

I could only hope I was right…