A/N Hey there, everyone! I come bearing a short one-shot for your entertainment. It was inspired by this fanart: http:/luelexana(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Guarding-your-Grave-11898077 I suggest you take a look at it, though, it's a very good picture.

The italics are Edward, just so you know.

Disclaimer: I have a lot of pictures of them, but I don't actually own the Elric Brothers.

Have fun reading, everyone!

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It felt so unreal. Even after all this time, Alphonse Elric felt as if he were caught in some sort of terrible dream. He had been sitting in this one spot for so long, half-expecting to wake at any moment. He had to wake up. Life couldn't be this cruel, this unfair.

But he never did. Day after day, he never moved, never stirred. The gray sky hung over him, an occasional, scattered raindrop falling to plunk hollowly against his armor. He had long ago fallen silent. He had cried out at first, as much as he had been able to, but the hurt had never begun to fade away. He knew it never really would. It would never leave him and it would never dull with time. The headstone was sitting silently behind him, supporting him just as its occupant had done in life. Alphonse couldn't bear to turn and look at the name carved into it. How long had he been there? One day blurred into the next, no single moment standing out in his mind. Enough time had passed that he was beginning to rust through. Already his left arm had fallen away, lying abandoned in the grass at his side.

There was no end to his patience. There were times, however, when the silence around him became too heavy and overwhelming. When it became too much, when he couldn't take sitting alone any more, the voice would come to him. It was an achingly familiar voice he knew even better than his own. In truth it sometimes felt more torturous than comforting. He dreaded the moment it came to him even as he looked forward to it.

What are you doing, Al?

"Waiting,"

Waiting? For what?

"I…I don't know. I guess…I'm waiting for you, Brother."

Don't.

"But-"

Get up. You shouldn't just sit here, it isn't good for you.

"What else am I supposed to do? Without you here…" The voice was quiet. Alphonse shifted a little, the joints of his armor grinding together loudly. He ignored it.

Don't do this, okay? Don't do this to yourself, Al.

"I'm sorry, I just can't leave you by yourself."

…So…you're just going to sit there and wait for that rust to reach your blood seal? Is that it? Alphonse couldn't bring himself to answer the voice. Whether he was only talking to himself or not, he didn't want to admit it. Waiting for the rust to destroy the seal was exactly what he was doing. It frightened him to be so hopeless. I see…idiot.

"Don't call me that, idiot." He could practically see Edward in his mind, his fierce golden eyes narrowed into a scowl. "You know I miss you, right?" Alphonse asked, changing the subject. The image of his brother softened, the glare fading into a small smile.

I know. I miss you too, Al.

"No, you're only saying that because it's what I want you to say."

Maybe, maybe not. Either way you know I do. The smile began to slip away. Come on, Al. It's time to get up. You've still got your feet, right?

They were back to that again, were they? "I'm not going anywhere, Ed. I want to stay here with you." The voice in his head didn't seem to have an answer to this. "Please, don't make me leave…"

I won't...Ed's voice was soft, a note of fondness carried within it. In his mind, Alphonse watched his brother's head tip forward tiredly, his familiar golden hair falling to curtain his face. I wish you would, though. I don't like what you're doing. For a moment he was silent, then his head rose again to stare at Al. Hey, Al? I…uh…I lo…"

"Brother?" No answer came this time. A terrible, empty loneliness stole over Alphonse as he realized that the silence was because the vision had left him. "…Brother?" He called again, but no sound came save the rustling of the windblown grass around him. A weak peal of thunder rumbled in the distance. He called out one last time, his voice beginning to shake. It wouldn't do any good, he knew. Edward Elric was dead and gone.

His small voice shook with tears again, the first time he attempted to express his pain in many months, and the rain began…pelting emptily against his armored body.

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A/N Well, what did you all think? Was that really Ed he was talking to, or was he just imagining things?