A/N: it's me! This is the sequel to White, for I had two people asking for me to continue it. I couldn't think of a way to turn it into a full fledged fic, so I just wrote a second one-shot to continue it. I hope you like!
Summary: Sequel to White. Ed gets a transfer notice to the East and tells Al he can't come. Too bad Al's so stubborn when he wants something....Elricest.
Word count: 1,400 (even! Yay!)
Ignorance
Ever since then. Ever since then.....on that day. Ever since then on that day, life had gotten so much harder. Or is it easier? I guess it depends on how you look at it.
Ever since I gave in to the pressure and told Al I loved him and he replied so wholeheartedly and I rejected him, he's been keeping contact to the lowest level possible. He still talks to me plenty, but anything that may draw thoughts to our attraction is quickly swept under the rug. Al did have a point though, I never did give myself anything I wanted. But that's because my mind's always been focused solely on what'll make Al happy, in the long run at least.
God, why do I love him?
His pure sweet innocence disappeared and switched to ignorance about a week ago when I received the letter from the military stating I was going to be stationed in the East instead of at Central. It went into action three weeks from now. But it wasn't even the letter that had made this sudden turn in character. It was me denying his request to come with me. He was temptation personified to me. He hadn't said anything to me since that letter though. Not a single one. It made me feel.....rejected? Alone? Something along those lines. It made me realize just how much I needed Al....but if he couldn't come with me then I needed to get used to it. Hopefully I'd find someone nice out in the East and settle down or something like that, forget my attraction to my little brother. Sure, I'd keep contact, I had too. But the attraction couldn't remain.
Despite him not talking to me, though, we still ate dinner together. The dinner he made for me while I was at work. The dinner that proved he still cared but was mad. At me. I made him mad... Our dinners were now extremely silent though, for he didn't talk and I wasn't one for starting conversations. This was another one of really quiet and uncomfortable dinners.
"Look, Al..." I start trying to find words to defend myself and my decision and hopefully get him to talk to me again. He talked to anyone but me. Winry, the bastard Colonel, Hawkeye, anyone, just not me. "Al, there's a reason I don't want you to come along." I say and pause, hoping he'd reply.
He looks at me but says nothing. My attempts aren't graced with words. Even if his eyes told me to explain, if he didn't say anything, it didn't count.
I sigh and continue. "You....you're a distraction to me. Sure I don't work at home, but while at work I can only think of you. Imagine you cooking dinner and smiling at me when I get home welcoming me back. Imagine your smiling face, all of your happy expressions. And I know, I just know, that I want you and only you. But that's only right now. It can't be healthy to like your own brother. That's why there're laws against it. It's not right. It wrong on so many levels, no matter how much I love you or you me, it's still wrong. I don't want you coming with me, so hopefully I can move on and find someone else someone that I can be with without feeling awkward at going out in public with them just because we're related. I messed up your life once. I don't want to do it again." My shoulders sag and I stare down at the table.
"So it's all my fault now?" He asks quietly, and I could tell he was mad. Mad enough to voice it all now. Damn, I was going to get it, but I deserved it. "Everything's my fault? I can't go because I distract you? Maybe that's because you're too weak to ignore your own temptations. And for the record, I asked you to accept me way back when you first admitted it. Maybe if you took your chance then you wouldn't be having this problem. This shouldn't be my fault. You said you had an explanation. A reason I couldn't go with you. But it doesn't help your case any if your reason is because I'm me. I can't help it if you think about me. I can't force you to stop-I can only offer probable solutions that you won't take 'cause it'd 'taint' me. Dammit Brother! I am only one year younger than you. I'm not as pure and innocent as you like to think. I helped you open that gate all those years ago because I wanted to! And for the record, you didn't mess up my life, you made sure I actually had one." Most of the rant was said in a quiet trembling anger, but at the "Dammit Brother!" he raised his voice and it stayed that way for the rest of it. I kept my head bowed as I heard him stomp off and slam a door behind him. I sigh heavily and push away from the table going back to the door and putting on my coat I was going to take a walk. I didn't care that it was literally freezing and I could, very well, get minor frostbite where the automail connected to my body, I needed fresh air. I'd be back soon to try again.
.~.~.~.
I walk back into our place half an hour later, sighing at the sudden burst of heat versus the cold I was just out in.
"You don't want to let go." It was a simple accusation, but it surprised me 'cause I didn't expect Al to be sitting on the couch looking at a picture with a small book next to him.
"What do you mean?" I ask slightly confused and curious as to what he had with him on the couch.
"You kept the picture," he says showing the picture he was looking at to me. It was a simple one, really. It was just him smiling contentedly at the camera with snow falling all around him. It was simple and, to me anyways, portrayed a simple beauty. "You said you lost it and when you found it you would throw it away. But you kept it." His eyes were level and blank not showing anything as he set the picture down on the end table and picked up the book. My eyes widened slightly as realization dawned.
"You read my journal." It wasn't a question.
"Just a couple of entries, that's all I needed." He opens it to a page and starts to read. "I don't want to leave Al, I really don't. I want to be with him, any moment that I can, I want to spend with him. But, you're not supposed to love your own brother. It's so wrong and dirty and grotesque......right? please tell me I'm not just making this all up as a means to makes me more disgusted at myself." He looks up at me. "You don't want to let me go." He says simply, face still showing not emotion before he cracks a small smile. "Besides, those who'd care, their opinions shouldn't bother you. I know they wouldn't bother me. So long's I was with you, I'd be happy. I'd be happy all the time so long's you accepted me. The only difference between hp we were before to being together would be the intimate touches and kisses. Everything else'd be the same-we cared for each other enough. Come on brother let me go."
My automail fist had clenched at my side as he used my own written words against me. He made total and complete sense.
"Brother," He says gently, "This is one thing it's okay to be greedy with. You shouldn't have to sacrifice happiness, no matter how temporary or wrong it may be. Only look at that in hind sight, then ask yourself if it was worth it. What's the worse that can happen with us?"
He wasn't supposed to make this much sense, he wasn't supposed to use logic. Dammit, he shouldn't be this convincing and smart! My hand relaxes from the fist and I look up at him, expression blank. "Ok," I reply.
"Ok, to which part?"
"All of it. You can come, and I love you." Maybe this wasn't so bad...
A/N: Rawr! I didn't want Ed to give in at the end, I really didn't. but since after I write them, the characters kinda pop in my head.....he convinced me to. DX I'm sorry. Well....i shouldn't be. You readers probably like it this way, huh? Neways review!
Your loving Author
~Evelynn
