Breaking Sunshine

Breaking Sunshine

"Hey... you okay?"

Ashley looked up, her eyes widening momentarily as she gasped. She stared into the big, curious eyes of a boy. He wore a red coat and a black outfit beneath it, his blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail. His eyes were orange, like big daisies or tiny suns.

Behind him was a big suit of armor. Ashley rather liked the look of it and found it to be a rather neat little suit. She turned her attention to the sky, gazing at the heavy, gray clouds that were pouring down like there was no tomorrow.

She shrugged and looked down with her hollow eyes and dejected face. She was cold, and barely wearing more than rags. She wrapped her arms around her chest, hugging herself.

"It doesn't matter," she said blankly. "You're an alchemist, a State Alchemist. You're rich and famous, and in the military. Why would you help? Even if I needed help, why would a military dog give it to me?"

The boy frowned. He grabbed Ashley by her shoulders and jerked her to her feet, staring at her with hard eyes. She glared right back, a forlorness in her face that was masked only by her anger and slight fear.

Suddenly, the boy grinned. He held out his hand, declaring, "I'm Edward Elric, the youngest State Alchemist! How are you!"

Ashley stared at him skeptically. Who was this guy? Who did he think he was?

The suit of armor reached out a hand around 'Edward.' A little boy's voice came out, saying, "Hi, miss. I'm Alphonse, Edward's younger brother."

Ashley only shook Alphonse's hand. She didn't drop her wary face, though, and switched the look from Alphonse to Edward.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

Alphonse stepped around Edward and in front of Ashley. Ashley could tell he was smiling at her, but she didn't know how she could. The boy pointed down the road, a few blocks away. "We have a room at an inn," he said. "You can come and stay with us."

"As long as you're not a serial killer," Edward warned, pointing a finger in Ashley's face.

She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I... I guess," she mumbled. "You're not gonna kill me or anything, right?"

Alphonse shook his head. "Of course not! In fact, we have another nice girl there, Winry Rockbell. She's our friend. She'll make sure we don't do anything, even though we won't."

Ashley cocked an eyebrow but didn't argue. When the boys turned and started walking, she walked with them. She stayed on Alphonse's left, putting him between herself and Edward. She looked up at the skies and stared, wondering why it was raining. Was the sky sad?

Alphonse suddenly pointed into the air, startling Ashley. "Look," he whispered in awe.

The girl did look and she realized that a tiny hole in the clouds was opening up. She smiled a little as the rain slowly came to a stop. She giggled a little when Alphonse said, "Guess the sky couldn't cry with your bright smile. Maybe it was sad because you were!"

He gasped and said to Edward dramatically, "Ed! She controls the sky!"

Ed decided to play along for the heck of it. He slapped his hands to his cheeks. "Oh no! Does that mean if we tick her off, it'll start thundering?"

Alphonse jumped around Ed, putting him in the middle. "Try it, brother, we need to prove this theory!"

Edward glared at Al and then turned to Ashley, giving her the most charming smile he could muster. "Hey, babe, how's it--"

KKKKKRACKABOOM!

Edward gave a squeal of terror and leapt into the air, knocking Al's helmet off and jumping into the suit. His voice echoed as he screamed, "HOLY CRAP, AL, SHE'S A FREAKING GODDESS OR SOMETHING!"

Ashley laughed. Finally, when they reached the inn, she could barely breathe. When she heard Edward's babyish whimper from the suit, "Alphonse, I'm scared, I don't wanna get out, don't let her eat me," she laughed even harder.

Suddenly, she heard a girl yell, "EDWAAAARD!"

She ducked just in time to dodge a giant wrench flying through the air. She spun around to see a girl, no older than fifteen, swagger out to Alphonse and shout, "Edward, where's my chocolate? You KNOW it's needed for ME, and ME only! ESPECIALLY for this month! I can't believe you would--!"

She froze when she noticed Ashley. Nervously, she waved, saying weakly, "Oh, hi."

Ed popped his head out of Alphonse's armor, asking in a whimpering voice, "Are you girls going to kill me and dump my body in a murky river so no one ever finds me?"

"I like this idea," Ashley said, nodding.

Winry laughed. "Then I like you," she said.