The Lightest Touch
Chapter One
Obligatory Warnings: Elricest, yaoi, borderline shota, lime
Themes: Fluff, WAFF, Action/Adventure, shounen-ai, softcore, pre-Ishbal, armor!Al Elric-centric. Paired Ed/Al and some hints of Al/Martel.
Description: The Elric brothers are presented with another (seemingly insignificant) lead on the Philosopher's Stone. Prepared for disappointment, they head out to investigate. However, they remain unprepared for whatever else this journey might have in store for them...
Notes: Gosh, it's been so long since I've written fanfiction!! It's really amazing to be able to dip back into it again! Watching Fullmetal Alchemist was really like meeting a new best friend for me, and at the risk of sounding cheesy, I can honestly say that not a moment of the series kept me sitting still. I bit my lip through Edward's pain, smiled through their happiness, laughed at the military's antics, and squealed at every other quote. xD What touched me most of all was the devotion of those two brothers. LESSTHANTHREE I've just fallen in love with the whole idea. Yes, this is ELRICEST. It starts out very platonic, but gradually gets very, very incestuous and even a little lime-y. If this bothers you, please put on your big kid pants and click the back key. :) The entire story is EXTREMELY fluffy, but with not-so-subtle undertones of incest. Okay, blatant incest! Hey, I come by it honest! ...Wow this is long. You even read this? Haha.
"Are we that desperate, Nii-san?"
Somehow, when his brother was the one asking it, the question seemed far, far less infuriating to Ed. Typically, Al would have just had a giant stone fist hit him in the rear within the time it took to clap. …Or longer. The time it took to clap and the time it took to actually perform a transmutation –analyzing, decomposing, rearranging, and creating- weren't as close as most bystanders seemed to think.
"Al, do you want to get your body back?"
An equally infuriating question, at least to Alphonse. It was Ed's response every time, over the now four years they'd been searching, and yet as much as Al stood up to Ed with every comeback his, literally, empty head could think of, he couldn't deny it. They did have a cause to pursue, and the tiniest hint of their goal could mean a world of difference for the brothers. Insignificant or not, their current lead was in fact that. A lead.
"Nii-san, I just…"
"I'm as afraid of disappointment as you are, Al. Trick is not to get your hopes up. In times like these, optimism is a set-up for disappointment."
Ed sifted his bag on his shoulder nonchalantly as the two of them strode onward.
"That's not a terribly positive outlook, Nii-san. Though, I guess, when it comes to following leads this small, a positive outlook is only as good as the outcome…" Which, it turned out, was often a terribly disappointing one. But somehow even their failures seemed to give them hope. Maybe it was Al's optimism and strength in the face of defeat. Or maybe it was just knowing that they'd eliminated one more possibility. After all, how many possibilities were out there…? Not many, now that both the Ishbalan and conventional methods seemed to both involve the sacrifices of many, many lives.
Ed, however, only lurched at the word "small", looked stunned for a minute, and then kept up his pace with Alphonse. Al knew their meeting with Russell, who had impersonated Edward and was a head above him, was always fresh in his brother's mind. Well… Ed's height had always been fresh in his mind, but leave it to a boy his age with a good eight inches on him and his name as a mask to make his brother more sensitive than ever to certain adjectives. Were it not for Ed knowing that Al wouldn't dare remark about his height, he'd probably be minus a few metal appendages for saying the word.
They had only one goal now – to get to Ishbal and get to the bottom of what happened. The memory of the two brothers' recent fight over their goal was still fresh in both their minds, but when a lead on the Stone had come up, seemingly out of nowhere, that happened to be nearby… Well, admitting he couldn't risk the chance of losing potentially valuable clues, Ed and Al had agreed to investigate before continuing to Ishbal. It was a risky choice, but a necessary one. …Not to mention that Martel was a tad peeved at being left behind. But if there were some way, without the needless slaughter… It was worth looking into.
Al was startled when Ed stopped suddenly. Startled, but not for the first time. His feet stopped him inches behind Ed. They'd had so many (often heavily embarrassing and public) instances where Ed's impulsive movements sent the two of them into one heaving, writhing tangle of arms, legs, metal and foul language until some bystander thought to help them up, Al seemed to just automatically stop when his brother did.
"Al. I thought there was a town here."
"Hm? Oh! Yeah. We were going to stop and rest for the night!"
"Yeah, glad you remember." The twinge of sarcasm and irritation in Ed's voice was a well-understood warning that Ed's "short" temper was reaching its peak.
"But… I don't see anything around here, Nii-san."
As if to confirm this, Al turned his head, glowing eyes scanning the landscape. The empty grasslands and moors were a welcome relief from the sandy wastelands they'd previously gone over. It was a rare warm, dry day, and the empty moors that had once been sodden – like quicksand for Al's heavy body – were now little more than caked dirt and vegetation.
"I sure hope it rains soon…" Al though alound, peering down at an already-drying patch of reed-like plant life near his foot. "This place looks like it thrives on water. The animals living here will all dry up, too."
Whereas normally Ed would become irate should Al's concern for the natural world pop up, particularly where they had a more pressing issue at hand, his brother merely nodded. "Hai. Looks like storm clouds in the distance."
"Ah. But it's getting dark. They could be any clouds."
"Guess we'll just hope for the best then, eh Al?"
"Hey! I thought optimism was a set-up for disappointment."
Ed's grin could've lit the entire sky enough to tell.
"But… This map." Ed's gloved finger scrolled down the crumpled parchment. "I can't have read it wrong. We should be in the middle of a hat shop!"
Glancing down at the map and going over it carefully as Ed had, Al was as perplexed as his brother. "We should be, but… Oh! Didn't we get this map way back in Xenotime? That place was so deteriorated at the time… Maybe they didn't have a reliable map?" Al suggested. It wasn't much, but it was a possibility. They knew all too well that times could change and entire cities could disappear like they where never built. And though Xenotime was home to the best goldsmiths, their mapmaking may not have been up to par….
"Ee, sou desu! Look! This map was written over fifty years ago… In a place like this, the townspeople must have realized there wasn't much profit to be made and moved on."
Well, they had that figured out… So they wouldn't have a place to stay on their way to what was probably another useless lead on the Philosopher's Stone. Al could see what Ed meant, though, he'd like to think he was handling it a bit better than his brother…
"Shimatta!" Ed's disappointment wasn't something he was apt to hide.
"Nii-san, why don't we spend the night here? Izumi-sensei…"
Half way through the sentence, Al knew he'd said the wrong thing.
"I don't care what Sensei put us through! I want a bed! I want a roof! Food! Hara heta!"
It was all Alphose could do to sigh. His brother wasn't picky, or greedy… The bare essentials were few and far between for them sometimes. But for his brother to let his temper get the best of him every time…
"Baka Nii-san! You could transmute a roof over your head!"
"That's not the point…" Ed muttered, averting Al's gaze.
"Oh! Didn't you bring food?" Al began furiously groping around in his own bags, trying to find anything edible. If he had to lift Ed's spirits, the thought of food other than marsh toad, medium rare, was sure to do it.
"Hai! I saved some of the snacks I nitched from the Taisan!" Ed proclaimed, proudly displaying a package of sweets.
Al didn't know which made Ed happier – having food, or having stolen it from Taisan Mustang. Either way, Ed seemed like he was going to survive the night without too much complaint. It wasn't as though this were a new routine for them… Despite his own mechanical form, Al could never forget to stop and rest for his brother's sake. Edward was often one to push himself far beyond his limit, and it was Alphonse who always forced him to rest. In some ways, Al was more aware of his own metal-encased humanity than Ed was of his. Viewed as a genius – unstoppable, inhuman – to some, he himself hardly seemed aware that he could and would always overdo it for the sake of perseverance. But Alphonse loved his brother, and it was that concern that had forced Edward to stop putting himself last.
"Hey, Al! You think I could sleep in you tonight?"
Al was so taken aback that he couldn't bring himself to answer.
"I know it sounds strange, but considering all the false leads we've gotten… Well, I'd just like to be as close to you as I can." Edward gave him a quick, meaningful smile, and it was all Al could do to nod.
"Ah. Someday we'll feel each other again, Nii-san."
Al completed this statement by gently cupping a leather-clad gauntlet under Ed's chin to meet his gaze. Still smiling, Ed rested his own palm on top. It was too awkward for them to intertwine their hands anymore than this… With both of Ed's being small and incapable compared to Al's hulking, clumsy gauntlets.
Al couldn't help but let his thumb stroke over his brother's features. All of that skin! Perfect tan skin covering him so beautifully… His brother was so soft, so warm… and yet he was nothing more than solid matter to Al's touch. He softly stroked over his brother's lips, startling him. It was his mouth that Al found most fascinating. His lips, though chapped, were so soft! He could do so much with that mouth of his –often more than Al would have liked- whereas Al only had a giant, jagged decoration more likely to intimidate than to appeal.
"When that day comes, believe me, you're going to have to work on carrying me," Ed joked. Al had to laugh, too. One of the greatest advantages of his metallic form was his ability to carry his brother on his back with ease. Though it was uncomfortable, it was useful. Al rarely grew tired, so it worked out perfectly that he could let Ed rest (usually, though, his brother snored so loudly that Al had to wonder how he could regain his energy) on his back while he journeyed on. The only problem was that it was often very uncomfortable for Ed, as would be expected. He never said much about it, but Al knew.
"Nii-san, believe me, it'll be the first thing I do," Al responded.
"Iei. First you'll insist on cuddling with me for a minimal five hours."
"And you'd have a problem with that?" Alphonse combated.
"Iei. Not at all." Slowly Ed lowered their still-together hands and rested his head as close to his brother's "chest" as his short stature would allow. "I can already hear your heartbeat, Al. And someday, we'll both feel it."
Alphonse was taken aback. "That's illogical, Nii-san. I'm just a suit of armor; I have no need for a circulatory system. How can you hear something that's not there?"
Ed only smiled. "Your soul has a heart, Al. And when it's my blood connecting that soul to your armor… Believe me, it's hard not to hear."
"Nii-san… That's sweet of you to say."
It would have been a tender moment, where it not for Ed then seemingly exploding with the force of a gigantic yawn.
"Ah. Best get to rest, Al."
"Hai. Climb in." Al hastily knelt down and removed his helmet. The last thing Ed did was smile before disappearing into the darkness of his brother's body.
"We'll get going first thing when we wake up," Ed instructed. "If we get a move on, we'll get there in good time to look around. If it turns out to be another bum, we might be able to turn back before dark."
"Isn't that optimism, Nii-san?" Al joked once more.
"Shut up, Al," Ed grumbled, the slightest hint of humor in his tone.
"Love you, Nii-san," Al whispered. No matter what the day had brought or how exhausted they were, it was always a ritual for them. It seemed the other couldn't rest without that seemingly unnecessary confirmation.
"Love you, too, Al."
I know my writing skills aren't up to par, but please leave me a few! I love feedback, good or bad! I apologize if the all-too-common integration of Japanese confused anyone... Here are a couple translations for the tougher ones since I'm feeling nice. :
Ee, sou desu - You are right; that's right
Shimatta - Several different translations. Depending on the context, it's usually "Oh no!" or, more commonly in FMA, "Damn it!", or, less commonly, "Oh, shit!" It's probably safe to translate as "Damn it!"
Hara Heta - Exaggeration of hunger, often used humorously or in a whiny tone. Equivalent to "I'm starving!"
Taisan - Colonel. To follow traditional language, I'm pretty sure it should come AFTER his name, but I don't care to confuse the non-Wapanese readers more than I have to. xD
I know this chapter was very simple, short, and sweet, so sorry if you guys were expecting Al to ravish his brother on Roy's desk. xD Remember! Review Me continuing! yay!