Unfiltered (Edward Elric x Reader)

30 - Dread

What the hell just happened? You thought to yourself, feeling like a puddle of jello melting into the floor. You smacked your reddened cheeks to straighten yourself out. Get a grip!

-

After brushing your teeth and washing your face with ice-cold water to calm your nerves, you decided to head down to the kitchen where Pinako was planning what to make for breakfast.

"Good morning Granny," you loosely tied back your hair before washing your hands, wordlessly offering assistance.

"Good morning dear, you hungry?" She pulled eggs from the fridge.

"Starving," you said dramatically.

As you prepared to help with breakfast you felt a gentle hand fall on the small of your waist. The intention was to make you aware of the presence behind you without scaring you, but it made your heart jump up to your throat, and you swore your knees would give out. You looked over your shoulder with big eyes to see Edward who had changed into black pants and a long sleeve shirt.

"You startled me," you turned your attention back to the task at hand, hiding your pink cheeks.

"Sorry," he kept his hand at your waist as he stepped next to you, then he rolled up his sleeves. "How can I help?"

"Help?" You hummed suspiciously. "Are you feeling alright?" You teased.

"Just shut up and tell me what to do," he shot a glare at you.

"Alright," you handed him a knife and apples. "Cut these up."

He looked at them for a moment, thinking of the best course of action. Then something came to mind, and he started cutting and carving naturally.

"Is that-?"

"Mom used to cut them like this for me and Al," he said as he carefully carved the skin to make the slices look like bunnies.

That's... really sweet. You thought to yourself with a smile. You made use of him, and he didn't complain a single time.

The three of you made breakfast and ate it in peace, but as the time went on the air grew tense. There was a dark cloud hanging over his head, and you grew more and more worried.

"I overheard what Hohenheim said, last night," he finally said to Pinako. His eyes told her the answer to her question of 'what did you hear' before she could even ask.

"I see," she sipped her coffee.

"So I need your help today, I'm going to dig it up," he didn't seem as hesitant now as he did earlier in the morning. He had time to mentally prepare.

"Are you sure you can handle that Ed?" She questioned.

"No, but I need to do it," he rubbed his hands through his hair in a stressed motion. "It'll tell me what I need to do next."

"Alright then, we should go now before the weather gets worse," she looked out the window and saw grey clouds covering the sky.

You stood and made your way behind his chair, taking the hair tie out of his hair to fix it into a neat braid. Having his hair played with always calmed him down a little, so you ran your fingers through it for longer than necessary.

"I'm gonna get changed," you announced before heading up the stairs.

Edward stood from his seat, stretching his arms over his head with a dissatisfied groan. "I'll get the shovels."

•

The three of you made your way up the hill, apprehensive about the near future. Edward's condition went from bad to worse within moments; a deadly combination of the poor weather taking a toll on his stumps and the overwhelming dread of digging up his 'mother's' remains.

By the time you reached the top, you knew he was in no shape to go through with this. "Ed," you put a hand on his shoulder gently. "Let's hold off for now, we can come back."

"No," he shook his head. "I'm just aching from the weather. So let's just hurry and do this before it starts to rain."

It was sickening. Watching him beat himself down the more he dug, bearing the pain that got worse over time. He pushed himself until he was throwing up, and each time you were there to rub his back and hold his hair.

Pinako couldn't bear seeing him in this state and begged him to stop. As much as she teased him on the regular, he was a precious grandson in her heart. She wanted nothing but to protect those Elric boys the best she could.

Still, he stubbornly persisted.

You admired his strength and his will to move forward. You didn't know and he would never admit it, but it was your ambition that kept him going in the times he wanted to give up.

His digging came to a brief halt, his breathing ragged and dry. His eyes met yours, and he felt motivated all over again. "Almost there, just a little more," he said to himself, but you could see the nausea stir in his eyes as he realized the power behind those words. He was so close to learning the truth of that night.

Suddenly, your shovels both hit a hard place; a bone, by the sound of it. It made a chill run up your spine. He tossed his shovel behind him and dropped to his knees, desperately digging with his hands until he spotted a clump of hair. "Shit..." he whispered, running to a bucket that filled up with rainwater to wash the dirt off.

He sat silent for a minute, staring at the unfamiliar hair. "Mom's hair was a light chestnut color..." he turned to you and Pinako who stood anxiously. "This is black," he was breathless and vulnerable.

It was a side of him you rarely saw, and you never wished to see it again.

You shared a knowing look with the older woman and she handed you your shovel that you didn't realize you dropped, then grabbed Edwards for herself. The two of you started digging, and it didn't take long to uncover several bones.

"These bones are much too long to be human. And this pelvis, I'm pretty sure it's male," Pinako examined. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid this isn't your mother Ed," her delivery of the devastating news was very blunt, but there was no other way.

"Ed," you sat on your knees beside him and placed a hand on his back. He was silently staring at the bones for a moment and processing the information.

"Really..." he huffed out a breathy laugh, and within seconds he was laughing uncontrollably. "Then that's it. The undeniable truth," he looked up to the crying sky. "It really is impossible to bring someone back from the dead. How fucked up is this?"

"Edward, get a hold of yourself," Pinako said to him with a worried expression, knowing his sanity was slipping from him.

"I'm okay Granny..." he dropped his head with a defeated sigh. "Ever since I made that thing it's haunted me." He lifted his head, his eyes filled with determination. "Now I have hope," he stood with her help and looked you in the eye. "(Y/n) I. I know it's a lot to ask, but will you still help me?"

The desperation in his voice made your heartache.

"I'm not going anywhere Ed," you reassured him. "I promised you. We're going to get your bodies back, even if we have to crawl through hell to do it."