Title: Goodnight, Moon (draft)
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing: um...I have no clue XD;; I'm so messed up. Probably Roy/Al for now. But it'll soon become Ed/Al --Roy
Rating: For now, proabably PG-13, just to be safe.

A small folded up, somewhat yellowed sheet of paper was pressed under two fingers that were turning white at the tips from the pressure put on them. They slid the paper across red oak, making the slightest of sounds over the desk's surface.

"I'd like you to please find this person for me," the boy requested. His voice was shaky, and he licked at his parched lips. He wasn't too sure why he was asking for this, either. Either way, it would most likely break apart his very way of life, but...he had to find out. He had to.

The slip of paper was unfolded, and almond-shaped eyes skimmed over the name scribbled, crossed out, and scribbled again on the paper (indecisive like the boy who delivered it).

"Is this a joke, Alphonse?" the man asked, looking up.

"Please, Fuhrer Mustang," Alphonse's tone was an inflection above begging. "I need...I need to know. Otherwise, what do you think...I remembered all this...remembered you for?"

Those words hit like an actual, physical blow, but Roy made an effort to not show it. The only thing that showed any traces of the brutality delivered to him was a mere twitch of his eyebrows.

"Understood," Roy answered, placing the paper into his chest pocket. "I'll see if I can't bug Scheiska for the old records." He then pondered for another brief minute, his fingers up to his lips, then he looked up again. "Why do you need to know?"

What answered him was the biggest smile Roy's ever seen Alphonse give since he came to Central City months ago.

Goodnight, Moon

There's a nail on the door

Roy's fingers twitched above the doorknob to his house even before he laid his hand on it. He glared at the door just inches in front of his face, at the spot leveled with his eyes. There, clear as day, was a five-inch nail hammered into the door from the other side of the door and fused with alchemy to make it even harder to get out. Al was in one of his "moods" again.

Only months ago, Al, in his restored body, came to Central City looking for Roy. Roy had heard from letters from Scheiska about his condition, and had figured that Central was going to be the last place Alphonse would step into. But sure enough, he was there, standing in the rain in front of the government building, no one recognizing him without his armour, and him not recognizing enough people to ask for help.

When asked about what he wanted, Alphonse only answered without truly answering the question: "I regained some memories" and proceeded to look distant for almost a whole of five minutes. Roy was patient here, and waited. Then, when he inquired about Al's training in Dublith, he only answered "Sensei decided that I've learned enough," which was still vague on his terms.

Al had requested that he'd be able to use his brother's name as a National Alchemist to go into some records and research for his goal to see his brother again. Roy had been reluctant at first, since it really didn't take a genius to figure out that Al, in all of his good-nature, was not Edward Elric. But he couldn't say no to something that bound Al so strongly, so he allowed it.

But it seemed like with every step he took closer to what he was looking for, he was losing something. He would get into memory lapses, mood swings, and sometimes they would get so bad that...well...

...it resulted in a nail in the door.

And there's glass on the lawn.

Roy also noted that there had been shards of glass on the walkway up to his mansion door. He had wanted to lie to himself that it was just the neighbour's children, but with the nail on the door, it must've been Alphonse. He sometimes wondered exactly what Alphonse saw, and what he was hiding, in those glass-like eyes. They sometimes just stared off after reading for a while. At first Roy thought that it was merely to rest his eyes, but then the gray-green eyes would almost become foggy, distant. And though he didn't want to admit it, Roy had also seen a gradual change in the way Alphonse was expressing himself--or lack thereof. When he first arrived, Al was a bundle of nerves--upset, but still had expression. But now he resembled something like a doll that had only the occassional expression to show whatever was on his mind. When he went into his memory lapses and moods, it would get so bad that he would lose all function of his facial muscle and only twitch his brows slightly as he screamed.

Tacks on the floor
And the TV is on.

After several attempts at merely yanking the door open, Roy finally let the results sink in and drew an array on the door to get the nail out. He entered his own home (which he was locked out of for a complete half hour) to find the TV on. He didn't mind that so much, at least he had told Alphonse to do that, since there were times when Roy would be gone for more than a whole workday, and there was something to keep Alphonse occupied other than reading (though both were bad for his eyes). He pulled his boots off at the foyer and looked about. There were some tacks scattered by the television, but only a few. Thinking that it was safe, Roy decided to go and see if Al had eaten yet. He walked to the living room, where a ladder lead up to a loft above--the place where he "kept" Alphonse. There were tacks scattered in a circle around the ladder--like the way a stubborn child would "parent-proof" his room.

Ignoring them, Roy climbed up the ladder and looked a Alphonse, who was sprawled on the floor of the loft, his face half-smothered in red cloth--the red cloak his brother always wore. The moonlight seeped through the skylight above, colouring the loft a strangely eerie blue colour, dyeing the cloth almost a deep purple. Books were scattered about the loft, proof that Alphonse had most likely fallen asleep halfway through studying and researching.

I always sleep with my guns
When you're gone.

"Alphonse?" Roy whispered, scooting over carefully. He noted a small gun in Alphonse's hand and reached to pull it out. The fingers resisted only for the first half second, then it released, twitched, and curled back into a sleepy clutch. The boy, however, did not stir.

"Alphonse," Roy tried again, louder. The boy stirred, but only to bury his face deeper into the cloak.

"Al," Roy whispered, this time, close to Al's ear--with a slight curl of his tongue at the "l" sound. Moss-coloured eyes flew open immediately, and Roy almost (ALMOST) felt a tinge of jealousy when he saw the pure, child-like expectation that flashed across Al's features. That feeling was quickly replaced with a hint of guilt when disappointment (and a bit of resentment?) melted onto Alphonse's face.

"Oh."

...do they even have TVs in this universe? Cuz Al and Ed mentioned seeing a "movie" when they were little in issue 5 of the manga...