Disclaimer: I would NEVER own the characters of FMA, they belong to their rightful creators.

Big brother Ed

Edward Elric laid in bed, eyes focused on the ceiling overhead as he restlessly tossed and turned with the edges of the blankets tightly gripped in both of his hands -the right automail one and the left flesh and bones one.

He and his little brother, Alphonse, had been staying in the Tucker residence for about a week already and were both studying on as much as they could on alchemy and the sciences of it; they had to do as much work as they could if Ed wished to restore his right and left leg and get Al's soul back to his own body instead of being bound to a hunk of armoury.

After a certain incident when the two Elric brothers were mere children, they had tried to bring their mother back from the grave yet it cost them dearly. Ed and Al were now trying to do whatever they could to push ahead and unlock the secrets of alchemy, they had long since relented on the idea of bringing their mother back.

Edward gave a long moan as he flopped on to his tummy and resting his head on his arms. He even gave a quick glance to his right to look at the bed his little brother was supposed to be occupying but it was empty, just like the last time he had checked on it fifteen minutes ago.

He stared at the empty single bed so hard as if doing so would just make Al just suddenly teleport into the room and lay down on the bed.

Edward gave another long moan as he moved to readjust his position in bed once again and he lain down on his side and closed his eyes so he could try and drift off, but he was quickly out of bed when a sudden blinding flash smashed through the night atmosphere and left a sinister crashing sound behind.

Thunder and lightning...

"Greaaaaat, it looks like I'm not sleeping tonight..." The fullmetal alchemist grumbled as he rubbed at his temples irritably.

He had been trying to get some rest all this time but he hadn't been able to get a wink of it. Edward hated suffering from insomnia since it meant that in the morning his brain would be pudding and he would be suffering from fatigue also, it greatly annoyed him and he hated suffering with it even more whence he recalled that he always had nightmares whence he slept most of the time.

The young alchemist gingerly rubbed at his automail arm to try and ease the stiffness from the joints but he stopped what he was doing when he heard a sudden noise.

It sounded like sniffling.

And it came from the door.

Eyes widening, Edward quickly whirled on his feet to turn to meet the gaze of the intruder and even got into a defensive stance but he was shocked at who he found peeking meekly from behind the door.

It was a little girl who was about four or five years of age, she had dark brown hair which were originally tied up into small braids but had been long and flowing at the moment. She wore a pink nighty with a hem that reached down to her ankles and she looked restless, but more so frightened. The Elric brothers identified this little girl as the daughter of Shaou Tucker, the sewing life alchemist.

"N-Nina...?"

The brown-haired girl, now identified as Nina, sniffled again as she looked up at Ed with sad big eyes. Nina's distress was obvious despite it being dark and being viewed from behind a door.

Ed sighed and asked her, keeping his voice hushed and in check "What's the matter, are you hurt?"

Nina shook her head and whimpered, and retreated further behind the door as if frightened by something. Ed sighed and shook his head. He knew that this meant only one thing: a nightmare. He had seen the same symptoms with Alphonse when they were younger and he could swear that his big brother instincts started to gnaw upon seeing this scene.

It didn't take too long to consider what he had to do and he called to her quietly.

"Come on in..."

Nina reluctantly embarked into the room with her small body shaking like a maraca. As she made her way across the bedroom and made a beeline for the bed, it became apparent that she had dark rings beneath her eyes and her long hazel brown hair was all messy. She clutched a teddy bear that she dragged along behind her as her sweet innocent eyes were drowned with fright and fear as she stumbled her way over towards the older Elric brother.

The floorboards creaked softly in response to her bare feet making contact with the floor.

It didn't take long before she stood at the left side of Edward's bed and she choked back a sob. She rubbed her eyes tiredly with one fist, that indicating that she had woken up recently and the initial guess that she had a nightmare was probably spot on.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Ed asked a touch too bluntly.

Nina seemed shocked by the question at first and her grip on her teddy bear tightened. This shock quickly wore off and she exploded into tears, breaking down as her tiny body convulsed and wracked with sobs.

Edward froze and panicked upon seeing the little girl's eyes tear up. He hadn't meant to make Nina cry! His golden eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he was so stunned that he almost lost his balance and fell right off the bed. He felt a pang of guilt hit him right in his heart.

"Ah! D-Don't cry!"

The little girl continued to cry nevertheless, her rivers of tears quickly upgrading into waterfalls as she softly wailed. Her throat was raw and she hugged her plushie so tight that her embrace was forcing all the stuffing in the teddy to go up into the head and making the poor toy's cute button eyes wide.

Ed frowned and tapped his chin thoughtfully. He knew he wouldn't get any sleep as far as he was concerned and he knew that Nina was beyond terrified but still, she needed to get some rest. It was late and Ed learned that children needed to reserve their energy so they could have a good childhood; the Elrics didn't want to have poor Mr. Tucker deal with a lethargic child who had become ridden with fatigue.

Hmm, maybe a distraction would help...

Edward smiled gently and pointed at the teddy held in Nina's grip "Hey, whose this?"

Nina blinked with the tears continuously flowing as they streamed down her face and she looked down at the plush toy that the older boy was referring to. Upon maintaining a shred of her calmer composure, she murmured her reply, "B-Buttons..."

Ed's friendly (albeit tired) smile spread "Well, Buttons looks like a nice bear. Is he friends with Alexander?"

When her dog friend was mentioned, Nina smiled a bit and her eyes lit up like little lights in the dark. The white retriever wasn't by her side like normal and that told Ed that the girl had decided to be selfless and bravely go it alone; although it seemed that her courage quickly fled and abandoned her.

But Edward had to wonder why HE was the one she was coming to. Out of all the people Nina was coming to because of fear, why did she pick him? Wasn't it normal for the father to comfort their kids when they get scared? Although, knowing Nina, it wasn't crazy to assume that she was well aware that her father was working so much and realised that he needed peace and quiet and didn't wish to disturb him.

Ed opened his mouth to say more but thunder suddenly bellowed with a cymbal from the world outside and caused Nina to let out a terrified shriek as her hands automatically flew to her face in an attempt to cover her eyes. Her posture became even more hardened when another round of lightning flashed and pierced through the pitch blackness of the room, it left Ed and herself momentarily confused as they blinked the little colourful dots out of their vision.

A funeral pall hung over the room and all became deathly silent.

It was like that for three and a half seconds before something did happen.

Nina was a bit shocked and caught off-guard when she felt two arms grip her underarms as she was assumedly hoisted up into the air before she found that her face was buried into a nice warm yet firm surface which she assumed was Ed's body.

One reluctant glance up confirmed this and she quickly realised that Ed was holding her close and her face was being buried against his thin yet strong chest.

Edward held the girl close to him as he slowly let the small child's posture adapt to the bed they were now sat on and he breathed softly so she could hear the sound of his own heart beating, hoping that the sound would lull her to sleep for something. He had remembered his and Al's mother doing the same thing during the times when they got scared and needed some form of comfort.

He thought that maybe the same thing would work on the small girl...

The girl let out a little whimpered gasp when she felt a gentle yet firm hand rub along her back in a soothing manner. One quick look away from the alchemist's thin chest shown that Ed was using his iron automail arm to stroke her back whilst he cuddled her against his thin chest, using the appropriate amount of strength to hold her against him yet allow some room for her to move or even scoot away if needed, but not too much as to make her suffocate or anything.

Nina sniffled as she clung on tightly to Ed, eyes brimmed with tears.

Another short period of silence hung in the air, neither Ed nor Nina said anything for a minute or so as they soaked in the calming atmosphere. Finally Nina spoke again, although her sweet little voice was a bit less shaky and sob-laced.

"E-Ed?"

Ed instantly looked down at the girl and peeled her off from his chest before he seated her on a little spot beside her, his golden pools shimmered with confusion despite the darkness. He tilted his head to one side and he kept his dulcet voice as light as possible.

"Yes?"

Nina shifted in her spot on the blanket and was silent for a moment, as if thinking of how to ask her apparent question, and she looked the fullmetal alchemist dead in the eye. "C-Can you be m-my big brother?"

That question made the Fullmetal alchemist's heart swell. He never told this to anybody, not even Al, but he had always wanted a little sister. Now, he was aware that most boys would go nuts if they had a sister and would instantly hate them for awhile but Ed found that if he had a little sister and a little brother then things between him, Alphonse and his mother would have been more fun.

Now this little girl whom he'd known for two weeks wanted him to be her big brother...

Edward could feel his emotions going haywire as tears overflowed and then flowed down his cheeks, a great big smile swept over his lips as his heart became warm inside his chest. He could hardly control himself as he furled his arms around the young girl and tightly hugged her and she returned the it by throwing her pudgy little arms around his neck, minding his (normally platted) long blonde hair, and she burrowed her little face into his chest.

Then the young state alchemist actually started to feel a sudden drowsiness take over. His thoughts started to become a sluggishly thick fog, his eyelids were drooping over his brilliant golden pools, his body and head to sway back and fourth in a slight rock; without much more thought or debate, Edward decided to surrender to slumber as he lay down on the soft mattress of the bed with Nina still clinging to him, and he cradled her protectively against his chest.

With his automail arm, he reached down and gripped the blankets and then pulled it back over the top of the both of them, being careful not to smother his little bed guest as he let Nina curl up into a little ball on top of his chest that rose and fell with every single calming breath he took -it didn't take even a minute longer before both of them were snoozing away, Ed was snoring quite loudly with his mouth hung open and it was so loud that it was possible that he could wake the dead.

He hadn't even stirred when Alphonse came in with Alexander trotting alongside him about an hour later.

The younger Elric brother dressed in armor footsteps were heavy as he plodded into the room, but being sure to be quiet as to not disturb his big brother. He had to reach out aimlessly as he stumbled around the bedroom, finding his way through the darkness of both the room and the night. He knew that he should have known his way around by now but it was still a bit difficult.

Just because he didn't have a soul didn't mean that he was excluded from the physically impossible such as seeing in the dark...

Alphonse sighed quietly. Last time he had seen Ed, just before he went on his late-evening walk, he was quite restless and was almost as restless as he was every single night and he couldn't help but glance over to check on him. His helmet/head turned when he cast a single curious look and almost froze when he leaned in to look closer at the alchemist whom rested in the bed on the left side of the Tuckers guest room.

Alphonse could have sworn that he almost feel the faintest recollection of his heart swelling in his chest at what he witnessed.

Ed lay on his back with a protective arm furled unconsciously around the little ball that snuggled up against his chest. He kept snoring away, though; the blankets were covering the both of them but the sheets had become wrinkled and rather untidy -bless their hearts, the two of them were dead to the world.

If the younger Elric brother was capable of doing so, he would've smiled warmly at the sight before him.

Al glanced down at the white retriever stood beside him, the big dog wagged his tail in response, and then he looked over at the bedroom window and saw how it was still raining hard outside with the occasional threat of a bellowing thunder, and then back to the adorable scene before him. After pondering on the fact that Nina was more than likely afraid of such weather, being so young and all, and Ed having an obvious soft spot for her he could easily imagine what had happened.

Al suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to do something alas he feared that he would wake up either of them, but then he couldn't resist and this was a golden opportunity for him not to take advantage of.

He also wished to try and fix a little something and improve both Ed and Nina's peaceful sleep.

The soul trapped in armor crept (or kept his heavy metal steps as quiet as he could) over to his brother's bed and proceeded to gently grab at the blankets and then tuck it gingerly around his older brother and the little girl whom he loved to play with, almost holding his breath when Nina started to become disturbed and shift around in her subconscious state. She quickly settled down, though, and snuggled even closer to Edward and Edward's lips curled upwards as he held Nina even tighter.

Al exhaled a sigh of relief.

He was afraid for a second that he'd almost awoken the both of them and ruined the cute scene.

Then he reached down and petted Alexander's head, his metal hand brushing the fur along the mutt's shaggy head. The white Labrador gave a content moan in reply to the delightful strokes as he gave a yawn and sunk down to the floor to lay down beside the bed, curl up on the carpet and then happily join Nina and Ed in the bliss of sweet slumber.

Internally smiling gently at the two in the bed, Al whispered to them as softly as possible.

"Goodnight, brother. Goodnight, Nina. Sleep well..."

A/N: HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERES ANOTHER ONE-SHOT!

This is my second one-shot for Fullmetal alchemist and I am happy with how it turned out. In the episode "Alchemists anguish", I always wondered when Nina started to call Ed her big brother and then this scenario popped into my head; this fic had been stored away in my other fanfics and when I recently found it I decided to finish it recently.

This is the finished version.

-Chloemcg