Applications of Alchemy

Starbrigid

1. sunlight

"Stupid shitty colonel!" Ed was yelling. "I don't want to see him! I don't want to!"

"Um, brother?" Al whispered.

Ed, ignorant of what Al was trying to communicate to him, raged on. "Avoid him? No, I would never do that! I just hear Aquroya is nice this time of year… and after all the Philosopher's Stone could be anywhere… so…"

"Brother…" Al hissed.

"Gah! I just can't tell him! I know just what he'll be like, that's all. Like- like- like- 'So, Fullmetal, I see you've wasted even more of the military's time and money. What a surprise! Ah, with someone of your youth and inexperience, it's pretty much inevitable…" Ed finished, shook for a second, then sunk to the ground, moaning.

"Brother?" said Al, grimacing.

"I hate him! Just the thought of his smug face! 'Well, I suppose you can't be blamed for not knowing the Philosopher's Stone was a fake. After all, someone of your... ahem... dubious stature… you might not have even be able to see it. You know, just between you and me, Fullmetal, just a piece of advice, but we might want to invest in some platform shoes…"

"Brother!" Al yelled, and Ed finally looked up.

"Huh?" Ed registered the sound of laughter and whirled around. Their doubles stood there, and the little brother was quiet, but the older possessed no such reservations. Russel, still in the same stupid white shirt, was the one laughing. Laughing, that was, at Ed.

"I'll kill you!" Ed howled, and launched himself at Russel. Unfortunately, the taller boy side stepped him easily, shrugging nonchalantly and chuckling still. Al winced, and Fletcher took a hesitant step forward.

Ed's vision had literally gone red with fury. Another incoherent scream, and he'd gotten a fistful of Russel's perfect blonde hair in his grasp. Ed shoved the boy to his knees, growling.

"Brother!" Al and Fletcher yelled in unison, then looked at each other, panicked.

"Beg!" Ed commanded, Russel flailing in his automail grip. "Beg for your life, you miserable worm-"

The next thing Ed knew, Al had pulled him off Russel and was holding him back. "Stop it!" He heard one of them cry. Fletcher ran to Russel's side and helped him up.

"Let me at him, Al!" Ed growled, puffed up with self-righteous indignation. He turned back towards his prey, eyes glowing. "How dare you show your face before wonderful me, you spineless, slimy, second-rate impersonating bastard!"

Fletcher looked up at Russel, touched his arm worriedly, but Russel shook him off, unruffled. "Aw, man. Is this what I get for coming to say goodbye?"

"Don't leave without goodbye," Fletcher echoed quietly, his soft gaze appealing Al.

Al nodded in assent, and would have smiled reassuringly if he could. "Of course not." He looked pointedly down at Ed, who was still squirming in his grasp, however futilely.

"Fine!" Ed said, and pushed Al off. He looked considering for a second, then unexpectedly had matched Russel's grin with an equally huge one. "Come on, idiot!" he said. "Let's go! I want to be somewhere I can beat your face in without my brother seeing the carnage!"

"Sure," Russel deadpanned, smirking, and they walked off. They found a place behind some trees to talk, leaving their little brothers at the train station.

The sun was strikingly bright that day, not yet having reached its magnificent midday glory, but still showering Xenotime with its fiery shine, unobstructed by the deep blue, cloudless sky. The sunlight made the air warm, the wet grass glistening. The city looked gold from this distance, stretching out across the horizon just barely in view, everything so much so that just looking up dazzled Ed with the light's brilliance. Xenotime could have been Rizenbul, the green fields before him morphing into home when he closed his eyes. The squirrels circling the massive redwood trees could have been Rizenbul's, unperturbed by the whistling morning wind.

"It's a great day," Russel said, voice softer than before.

"Yeah," said Ed, relaxing a little. "You guys really love nature, don't you?"

"Yeah," Russel agreed. "You should think about it sometime." There were things his father had given him that he still intended to keep. "We were raised to respect life and the order of things. That's probably something you could stand to learn about." Russel didn't know how Ed felt about the world, but he couldn't resist, anyway. It was a shame he didn't, though.

"You too," Ed said. "Doesn't the Philosopher's Stone go against the order of the world?"

"I think the Ishbalites have it wrong," Russel said. "I think that alchemy is a part of nature, too, and it's not just evil. Its merits depend on its use, just like everything. If their God created us, he created the possibility of these powers. And-" he shook his head. "Oh, I don't know. You do whatever the hell you want with your power, Ed. I'm just someone you fought."

"Yeah," Ed said, "and we didn't even get to finish that."

"Then let's see who's really better sometime," Russel said, and held out a hand. "Shake on it?"

Ed eyed the other boy's hand suspiciously, then reached over and grabbed it with his right hand, his automail one. He squeezed Russel's hand. Russel squeezed back. Ed squeezed back harder. There was a few seconds where they just stared each other down, then-

"Ow. Ow. Shit," Russel groaned, wrenching his hand back. He shook it out, wincing.

"Ha ha!" Ed crowed. "Victory!"

"What are you, two?" Russel muttered.

Ed grinned at him, the full, un-self-conscious force of his charisma pushing through. "Same goes to you," he said playfully. "Baby."

Grass squished under Russel's boots as he shifted his weight, shaking his head disbelievingly/admiringly. "God, Ed, you are psychotic." he declared.

"Thanks," said Ed, gold eyes bright. "And I guess I could have had somebody worse impersonating me."

Russel reached out and touched Ed's arm, the one that was automail under his coat and shirt. "You two will visit sometime, won't you?"

"Of course," Ed said confidently, seeming almost exhilarated. "And if you ever do anything this stupid ever again, I'll kick your sorry ass back into shape."

"You could try." Smirk.

"Asshole."

"Yeah."

Ed's face was maybe a foot from Russel's, cheeks red. Russel pushed Ed's sleeve away and touched the metal beneath it, confirming a suspicion he'd had. "Damn, you're burning up," he marveled.

"Trains are cool," Ed said, and made a face. "Hey, it wasn't my choice to get automail. It has drawbacks, so-" His turned good-serious suddenly. "From now on, choose your own path, okay?"

"I will," Russel said, and smiled. "We'll do great things, just wait."

Ed blinked, his arms, previously held limp at his sides, flying upwards. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"Just saying goodbye," Russel said, and pushed Ed back against the redwood's trunk. "Shorty."

"What- mmf," went Ed, and Russel kissed him. He didn't know what to do with his hands, so he just let them tangle in Ed's long gold hair as his lips fit against Ed's, the summer sun beating down on his back giving him blessing enough.

Neither of them had ever kissed anybody before, so no one involved really had any clue what to do. The whole kissing thing would probably have gone a lot better if they did, but that being a moot point, Russel was rather pleased with what they managed. Ed was shocked and frozen under him at first, but then shifted a little, just experimentally, and proceeded to prove himself gifted at this, just like everything else. There was movement and then tongue, and Ed started tracing circles in Russel's mouth, probably goddamn transmutation circles, and his teeth somehow ended up stabbing Russel somewhere lamentably tender, but he was forgiven for his characteristic enthusiasm in pulling Russel down and getting his rival just as heated up as he was.

I could get used to this whole kissing business, Russel thought, since it's so nice and melty and stuff, and leaned further down. (Is melty a real word?) An image of Ed charging at him with a transmuted blade flashed in his head, though it felt like an earthquake shiver up his spine, and he wondered where all of Ed's spirit came from, all that confidence and mischief and determination, but he could practically taste it, feel it in the mismatched shoulders clenched in his hands, and knew even if he still couldn't understand it, he'd miss it.

The Fullmetal Alchemist really was incredible, even though Russel would never tell him that.

A train whistle startled Russel and declared it time to start running. There was a red freckle on the bridge of Ed's nose that clearly demanded kissing, so he took another second before backing off. Ed opened his eyes slowly, and grinned.

"Hey, Ed," Russel said. "Bye. And by the way, I'm actually younger than you. I'm 14."

Not waiting for the outraged shriek he knew would follow his first jab, he completed his one-two punch. "And you're right, you really could use some platform boots."

He darted away into the tall trees, legs pumping jubilantly and his throat laughing again, and hoped, if Ed actually caught up to him, Al would stop his brother before the ritual impalement, guillotining, and bath in hydrochloric acid he was sure awaited him.

Nothing could beat summer.