Author's Notes: Hello there. You've stumbled upon my first fanfiction; as such, I know it will not be very good. I hope that with your help, I can become a better writer like everyone else on this wonderful site.

In order to make my writing more adequate, feel free to flame, praise, or say whatever it is you feel in any comments. I will not take offense to anyone saying I am a bad writer, because you must know better than I. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist, though I wish I did.

Thank you Tragedy, for encouraging me, and for being my best friend.

This fic is starting with a rating of K; it will definitely change if I decide to continue. The title also might change.

Although the summary and the like are only explaining this one chapter, I hope to change it if anyone wants me to continue.

As this is my first fanfic, the characters will most likely be OOC. Please tell me. If I do not get some facts, grammar, or tenses right, please inform me.

I do not think it necessary to explain how thought and speech works.

Now that I'm done rambling, onto the story:

A Slight Alteration- Chapter 1

Though it had been about a month since they had been reunited, Alphonse Elric couldn't help but continually gaze at the form that was his older brother. The last time he had laid eyes upon him before now, he had been quite preoccupied with trying to stop an insane woman from killing everyone from their home world. He hadn't had the time to get a good glimpse at the person he hadn't seen for so long but yearned to watch intently for hours.

Now, while it was pitch black outside on an early Saturday morning during early summer and the silence was only filled with his brother's light breathing, he could take all the time he needed to stare at the person whom he had missed so much and seen so little. It was only too convenient that the moon cast a sort of ethereal glow on his sibling's face through the window in their bedroom, giving him a perfect perspective from his bed adjacent to his sibling's.

The apartment the two had recently chosen was small, but filled their needs all the same. The younger Elric couldn't help but wonder, however, why his brother Edward had suggested they leave Munich altogether and head for the States. Therefore, since Alphonse didn't want to disagree with his brother so soon after finding him, up they had gone, to the United States of America. Edward had insisted that he pack up everything that they either might need or had of even a little value, while he went and made a plan as to how the two would sneak out of Germany. For even though the Führer had been thrown into prison for his crimes just as the two brothers had found each other, any left-over followers that were not jailed along with their leader were still roaming free, continuing the work Hitler hadn't had the chance to finish.

Alphonse knew that if they had requested to leave by telling any officials, they might never have made it out in one piece; the groups of Nazis controlling their town and any surrounding towns nearby at the time weren't the type to be cheerful about letting any residents escape from their clutches.

They hadn't even gotten the chance to say goodbye to all their friends; Edward had wanted to leave a quickly as possible before the upcoming war everyone knew was approaching rained down upon them. Alphonse was saddened by the fact that he had not been given the opportunity to explain to Officer Hughes and all of Edward's friends why he and his older brother were leaving; they had just whisked off without saying a word to anyone except Noa. Thinking about her brought out the thoughts that flitted through his mind when he saw the look on his brother's face, when he found out his friend wouldn't be a companion on their escapade.

Though it hadn't looked like a longing kind of stare, Alphonse wondered if his brother had harbored any feelings for the gypsy, whom he had spent so much of his time with when he and Alphonse were separated.

'Come to think of it, the only people Brother has shown any interest in are Noa, and maybe Winry…' he thought. 'Brother needs to get out more.' He laughed a little to himself, then sobered immediately at the thought of their reasons for leaving in the first place.

Though the war was still raging on in and around Germany, Alphonse didn't think they had been in any actual danger. He had only heard that the forces attacking folk went for the Jewish and the gypsies, and treated those with blond hair and blue eyes with respect and admiration. Though neither he nor his brother had blue eyes, he assumed the golden hair he and his brother both sported were good enough. He felt another pang of regret for Noa, so far away now. Edward had seemed saddened to leave her, and had offered to take her with them, but she had decided to stay in Germany, for reasons of her own. Still, he noticed the slight change his brother underwent after they had lost sight of Munich and Germany for good.

Upon arriving in the States, and Alphonse still wasn't sure how they even managed the trip with the savings they had, he had noticed that the stressing look in his sibling's eyes had almost entirely disappeared, or perhaps covered up?, and he seemed even a tad cheerful. This was a leap and a bound above what Edward had been like before; a smile was rare upon the face of the older Elric when the two had occupied their small home in Munich. It was apparent that the older Elric had sensed something the younger did not in Germany and wanted to get away as soon as possible.

Now, because Alphonse had seen the slightly desperate look on his older brother's face and glint in his eyes, here they were, in Connecticut, sharing a three-room apartment and 'thriving', as his brother put it, in this new lifestyle. Though Alphonse wouldn't exactly call living in a slightly cramped apartment and neither of them yet working thriving, he did agree that it felt nice to be here.

'As long as I'm with Brother, it doesn't matter in the slightest where we are,' Alphonse thought to himself. 'We could be residing in a box, and I wouldn't mind if I get to spend all my time with him.'

Alphonse sighed softly in a contented sort of way and glanced again at the figure lying on the bed so close to his own. Lifting his head up from the pillow it rested on and tilting it to the side at an angle, the younger Elric was able to get a very good view of Edward's face. He silently thanked the moon for shining so nicely down on his peaceful-looking brother's body.

'He looks so…innocent, just lying there on the bed,' he thought. 'Why can't he be this relaxed during the daytime hours as well?' For though Edward seemed to be attempting to lessen the haunted look in which he knew was lurking in his own eyes, it was a losing battle to try to hide the grimace he shot at his surroundings when he though Alphonse wasn't looking. The younger Elric hoped his brother was having some good dreams, for he certainly deserved them after all he had been through. He found himself thinking that he was luckier than his brother at the moment.

'At least I was spared some of the burdens our adventures brought about. It was Brother who did a lot of the fighting…who held the larger burden upon his shoulders from those we lost during our journey.'

He sighed again and rolled onto his side so he was facing his brother's bed. It had been like this every night since they had been reunited. Alphonse would stay awake most of the night thinking about nothing and everything, and taking in his brother's physical features from the view on his bed.

Thinking about the latter at the moment, he said to himself again for what must have been the twelfth time, 'He looks so much older… so mature now; nothing like what he looked like when we tried to bring Mom back, or even a few years ago. He must feel a little better now as well. Looks like Brother actually grew two more inches.' He grinned, knowing that their friends back home would still call him short.

'And the best thing is, I'm actually a couple inches taller than him myself!' He was now almost laughing, though restrained himself, as he didn't want to wake Edward up and bring about the questions. He knew his brother would end up asking him if he was alright, why he wasn't sleeping, and if he needed something; the usual late-night interview. Edward seemed to forget that while he was gone, Alphonse was able to take care of himself pretty well, and he didn't need help now.

Though, he knew his brother was just trying to play the role he hadn't been able to fill previously, that didn't stop him from being a tiny bit annoyed from all the hovering. It was new for his brother to be able to see him eat and sleep; Alphonse figured Ed just wanted to help out, so he let his brother carry on his antics.

He jumped a little from a small sound coming from Ed's general direction, and looked hurriedly over at him to find the source. He waited a minute, holding his breath in case he heard something again. Not hearing anything but his brother's slight sped up breathing, he shrugged off the noise as nothing, though lay still all the same.

'Funny, I really thought I heard something…' he thought. 'It must have been my imagination.'

As soon as that thought went through his head, however, he heard something. This time, as he was unconsciously waiting for it, Alphonse was able to determine that the sound in fact came from his older brother. Lifting himself gently from the bed, trying not to make the springs creak, he cautiously stared at his brother's sleeping form, only to see a restless Edward turning on his own bed. Beads of sweat were present on the older Elric's forehead and cheeks, and his golden hair was matted and sticking to his face on the sides. Every couple of seconds he would let out a small whimper and toss his head from side to side.

Alphonse recognized the nightmare his brother was having for what it was, though it seemed a little more intense than what might be considered normal. He slowly walked over to him, reaching out a hand to smooth the hair off of Ed's face and sit down next to him as a source of comfort. He couldn't help but notice that his brother's blanket was now on the floor, though he hadn't seen his brother kick it off the bed in the first place.

He was able to get a good look at his brother's slightly trembling form, and to him it looked as though Edward had a large cramp in his right leg. His automail leg seemed to be bent at an odd angle, almost as if it were twisted. His flesh arm and fist were clenched so tightly it looked as if his brother were trying to break his own fingers. The automail arm Ed sported was turned so the palm of his hand was facing the ceiling. All in all, it looked to Alphonse as though his brother was in no small amount of pain, but from what, Alphonse didn't know.

'Is this all from the dream he's having? Or will Brother be like this when he wakes up?' He wondered worriedly if something was wrong with Edward. If so, there was no way he'd let him out of this house until he told him everything that was hurting or strange.

'If Brother can hover over me all the time, I should be able to convince him to stay in bed today.' A thought occurred to him. 'What…what if he's really hurt? What if…what if something is seriously wrong with his body?!'

He knew he was slightly overreacting, but he couldn't help but be worried about his brother's well-being. 'This is similar to how I felt when I was in the armor…worried about Brother's health because there wasn't really anything I could to do help him. Well, this is different; I have a body of my own, and helping him is the highest priority!'

He nodded to himself, and glanced at his older brother's face, as if looking for reassurance from him as well. Alphonse thought that Edward might calm down a little from a hug. He laughed a little to himself, picturing the look that would pass across his brother's face if he were to suddenly hug him during the day-time hours…or even better, in public. He would have to try that sometime, as the reaction would most likely be quite funny.

Suddenly feeling tired, he walked around to the other side of Edward's bed where there was more room and hesitantly sat down, once again trying not to cause the bed springs to protest.

'I really should try and get some new mattresses soon. These aren't exactly the most comfortable…'

He lay back on the older Elric's pillow and wrapped his arms around his brother's midriff, hoping his brother would be still, hoping Edward would feel the reassuring touch in his nightmare and calm down. At once, Ed seemed a little better, but still looked to be in pain, which struck Alphonse as odd.

Feeling sleep dragging him down, Alphonse looked again at Ed's wincing face, and wished his brother would feel better soon. He thought about all the things he could do to make Edward feel better later in the day, a mental list forming the more he thought about it. Hopefully something he did would help with Edward's pain. As it was most likely early in the morning now, and he wanted to be able to help his brother, he let sleep overtake him easily, and dreamt of the innocent days when he and his brother would play tag and go exploring with Winry. Yes…those were…..the good old days….

"Goodnight, Brother," he whispered.