A/N: I got SO depressed and this just popped in me head. I don't think this is my best, cause I wrote all this in one sitting... Oh, and don't ask about the listening recommendation. Just what I was listening to when I wrote it.
Summary: Post-movie. Is it so wrong that we love each other in this way? Why can no one else understand us for who we are?
Pairings: Ed/Al
Warnings: Angst, angst, angst, angst, and... oh yeah! Angst!
Recommended listening: The Alchemist by Enigma
The Strength of Our Bond
One-Shot
"Ed?"
Soft golden eyes turned from the book they were currently absorbing to rest on a figure standing in the doorway. The teenager's ponytail swished with the notion and the bangs fluttered slightly in the cool breeze coming in from the night wind outside. A gloved hand shut the book. "Something wrong, Al?"
Ed already knew something was wrong with his brother. The way he was standing meant he was nervous and anxious about something, his hands were unconsciously wringing, the twined golden eyes wouldn't meet his and his brother had untied his hair, something he rarely did, even at night. Ed knew something was wrong.
"Can I talk to you?"
Ed managed a small smile at his brother's innocence. Even after all they had worked hard for; his brother was still curious and anxious as ever. Ed nodded. "Of course."
He gestured his brother to come sit with him in the small library study they had constructed. Shelves filled with books upon books surrounded them, filled with knowledge they had only begun to understand. Even after going beyond the gates multiple times, there were still unanswered questions that they held within their minds.
Al unsteadily walked over and stood in front of Ed, who held out his hand, took his brother's, and let the teenager half sit in the chair (it was almost big enough for the two of them) and half sit in his lap as if he were ten years old again. Ed enjoyed the moments they had in the quiet study, just sitting together, sometimes in silence, sometimes talking the night away about things they tried to understand and blew out of proportion when they didn't. These nights were fun, but somewhat sad.
Resting his chin on Al's shoulder, Ed closed his eyes for a moment and asked, "So what's up? You seem worried."
"I... I just wanna ask you something," Al muttered, turning his head away.
"You can ask me anything, Al," Ed said, smiling slightly. "What's up?"
"Well, we... I mean... is this wrong?" Al asked, turning away again to hide his red face.
"Is what wrong?" Ed asked, bringing his up to look at his brother's face, using a free hand to tilt the other's face, forcing Al to look at him. His gold eyes searched the slightly darker, slightly browner ones of his brother's.
"What we have... what we do, is it wrong?"
Ed raised an eyebrow before he let out a small chuckle. "Who have you been talking to?" He leaned over and buried his face in Al's hair, taking in the sweet scent of strawberries.
Al colored again at the notion and meekly answered in a quiet voice. "Winry."
Ed frowned. Winry was known for her attitude and habit of throwing wrenches, sure, but how had she found out? Moreover, what had she said to Al to make him so down on this? There was nothing wrong with it.
Taking Ed's silence as a bad thing, Al decided to explain. "She found out... ya know, about us... before we ended up here... and she said it was wrong."
"Why would she say something like that?" Ed asked, his frown switching to an expression of confusion. Sure, Winry might've felt down for not having one of them as her boyfriend as she had tried so hard to do, but criticizing them? That was something new. She had always accepted them for who they were, no family and all.
"She said it was wrong for two brothers to love each other like we do...and... she said we'd go to... to Hell for it... She started ranting and cursing and Aunt Pinako had to come out and take her inside..." Al found his voice to be shaky. Was he truly this shaken up over Winry's shouting?
Ed frowned again. Winry must've shouted a lot. Al was shaking in his loose embrace and the fact that his brother didn't seem to notice the trembling was concerning. Ed tightened the embrace, pulling Al to rest his back against his chest and resting his chin back on the quivering shoulder.
"She doesn't understand," Ed murmured, closing his eyes before he opened them again, using his hand to turn Al's head again so he could face his brother square in the eyes. "Al, trust me when I say this. There is no Hell."
"But—"
Ed silenced Al with a finger to his lips, not breaking the gentle gaze. "There's no God or Devil or Heaven or Hell. There's just the Gate; that passable Gate that can lead anywhere and nowhere at the same time. Winry doesn't understand that because she hasn't seen what we have, learned what we have, experienced everything we have. What we have between us is something few understand and most don't want to accept."
"Then why...?"
"Who knows?" Ed emphasized his words with a small shrug. "It's probably just the nature of this world. Winry's just one of those people who don't broaden their minds for answers to questions we can see."
"I guess..." Al looked down to the floor, his hands unconsciously fiddling together in a messy pattern with no end.
Ed forced a smile on his face and leaned in, placing a gentle kiss to Al's cheek while one of his hands came down to stop Al's hand fiddling. "Come on, don't look so depressed," Ed said close to his brother's ear. His voice was gentle and coaxing, soft and sweet.
That was one of the many things Al liked about Ed. While his older brother may act like an idiot some of the time, other times he was dead serious and even more so gentle and tender, especially towards him. Al leaned back into the embrace, sharing the chair with Ed and resting his head on Ed's shoulder. He caught the smile on Ed's face and returned it. Al closed his eyes and thought about what Ed had told him.
There was only that Gate. There was nothing beyond it but stars and places that were still all connected and separated at the same time. There was no Heaven tying into it and certainly no Hell. How could he have even thought for a second that Winry was right? What he felt now was being in safe hands, the hands that held him in a strong embrace. These were the same hands that had transmuted so many things, endured so much and yet they were not hard and rigid with those experiences. They were still gentle and calm, as if they had never suffered anything at all.
"Brother?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm cold."
Ed let out a small chuckle and reached back, bringing his long brown coat over the chair, wrapping it around his younger brother and halfway across himself. He felt Al shift a few times, moving so that he was comfortable, and then lay his head on Ed's chest. The elder brother smiled and picked up the book again. His free hand buried itself in Al's long hair and began to stroke it soothingly.
Al let out a small yawn. It was late, after all. He had been bottling it up all day and now that he had finally told Ed about it (and gotten an answer that was better than he had hoped), he felt extremely tired. How was it he could have transmuted many things without tiring and yet get tired after being yelled at by someone who didn't understand? It didn't make any rational sense. But Al was too sleepy to dwell on it.
Ed knew Al was already asleep, exhausted with the day. Ed tangled his fingers through the soft hair. He was silent now, not wanting to disturb the sleeping figure in his arms. He knew that Al needed the sleep.
Ed closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, feeling oddly tired himself; the hand holding the book loosened, but Ed barely registered the soft thump it made when it hit the floor on its spine.
Ed felt his eyes drift off and his hand stopped stroking Al's hair. And that's how he fell asleep with his younger brother, curled up in the chair they shared, under his thick brown coat, connected with an invisible force that kept them together; that invisible force strengthened them and had been their strength since they began their journey. It still kept them together now, the care and love they had always had for one another, stronger than friendship, stronger than brotherhood.
Hopefully one day, Winry would understand that, too, no matter how far away she was in the other world.
It doesn't matter who or what you are and it doesn't matter who you love. Gender has no meaning in love. It is a silly word meant to describe the two opposites in the human race and has no meaning in a true, trusting relationship. Few believe this. Most shun it because they are afraid to look at the reality of the world. These are the kinds of people who will never understand.