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Once
by Edmondia DantesDisclaimer: FMA is not mine.
AN: Requested by Hales 731, with the prompt "hair."
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Once upon a time, they were two little boys.
Once upon a time, they were two little sinners.
Once upon a time, they were two lost boys.
Once upon a time, he couldn't stop the screaming, and once upon a time, he couldn't stop the crying. Twice and thrice more, and by the time one was human again, both were lost and alone.
Once upon another time, they found each other again.
Now upon a time, they sit together in the dusky stillness of a humid afternoon and run lazy fingers through each other's hair: Edward has almost never braided his own, but Alphonse's fingers are deft and sure, and if the sensation is vastly different from the memory-touch of huge leather gauntlets, always too gentle, the warmth of skin touching skin is like a blessing that neither one of them deserve.
Once upon a time, Pinako and Winry tried to convince Alphonse to cut his hair short, but he had refused, although he left off braiding it because the sight always made Winry cry. Now, things are different, but he won't cut it even for Edward, and that's okay, because Edward loves it, always tugging at it to get his attention, to coax him into a fight or playing.
Once and now upon a time, even though they know it's strange, they do not make a secret of their habitual tendency to preen one another. Alphonse has always loved the color and feel of Edward's hair, bright as summer sunshine, like their father's, but Edward hates it for that same reason. Alphonse has always thought that his own hair looks like a muddied version of his brother's, but Edward loves the richness of its color, the only memory of their mother that is real and unsullied enough to touch.
Once upon a time, they could touch, but not really, and even though they're a world away from home, they're not lonely anymore.
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