Ed walked along to the park with Al. He was Al's legal guardian now since Ed was 18 and Al only 13. Ed flipped out his new sliver pocket watch.
"It's getting late, Al. We should head home soon." Ed informed his brother.
"It is? Too bad." Al said. "Should we head back now? So we can get to food shopping?"
"Yeah, come on." Ed said. They started walking home. When they got to the outside of the apartment building Ed threw the keys to the apartment to Al. Al caught them, but looked up at his brother curiously.
"I'm gonna go shopping now, hold down the fort." Ed laughed. Al smiled and nodded. Ed started walking down the street. Al entered the building. He headed up the stairs. Al opened the apartment door slowly and entered. He shut the door quietly behind him and sighed. This had been a rather long day, he was finally offically enrolled into a private school Ed had so kindly looked up for him. Ed didn't allow Al to come with him on missions anymore and wanted Al to make more friends since he was back to normal now. Private schools were better than the public schools they had back in Resembool, so Ed allowed Al to actually go to school. Plus, Ed was afraid he wouldn't be able to fund two personal teachers and take care of him and Al. Paying $1000 a month for Al to go to a private school was easier than 10X the price once a week. They still had a few thousand dollars left over even with paying for rent, Winry's personal teacher, the private school, and food, etc. Al had written it down on a list for Ed, to make in easier on him. It went kind of like this:
Rent: $800 a month
Private School: $1000 a month
Personal Teacher:$80000 a month
Food and Electricity: about $1600 a month
Ed gets paid:$800000 a month
Leftover: around $716600 a month
This was really just made to keep Ed on track and not to have stress overflow him. Al worried about that constantly. Al walked into the kitchen. He gasped, it was completely destroyed. Al felt something blunt hit the back of his head then it went black.
Ed pulled out the list that Al had made him. It helped a lot actually. Ed loved his brother more than anything, Ed's world revolved around two people, Al and Winry. Ed was walking home with the food. He'd bought the essentials: Butter, milk, bread, etc, etc. Ed opened the apartment door.
"Al! I'm ba-" Ed yelled, but stopped. The apartment was in ruins. Ed dropped the food. "Al!" He ran around the room looking for his little brother. "AL!" he yelled, but he was nowhere to be found. "Al...Where are you?" He said. Ed noticed a note taped to the wall.
It was a ransom. It read:
If you want you're brother back come to the back alley behind H.Q at midnight tonight with $500000 or you're brother dies. -M.O.B.O.E
"Dammit! I can't leave that kid alone for five minutes! Shit...Where am I going to get $500000 tonight? If they discover me without a ransom we'll both die..." Ed thought for a minute. "I guess I'll have to ask Colonel Shithead for a loan." Ed sighed. He looked at the clock. It said 8:52p.m. "Better get going." Ed locked the apartment door and ran to H.Q.
At H.Q.,
Ed walked in the front doors calmly.
"Hi, Ed!" Lora greeted him happily. Ed waved to her. He came here often for his paycheck, though he demanded to be paid in cash. Lora dialed Colonel Mustang's office.
"Yes?" Mustang picked up the phone.
"Ed's here." Lora told him.
"Alright." He sighed. He hung up.
"Who was that?" Hawkeye asked.
"Lora, she said Ed was here...I wonder why.." Mustang thought. Ed thought about how he would ask the Colonel. I guess I could just be blunt and ask him for $400000...I can pay him back at the end of the month... Ed opened the Colonel's doors.
"Hey, Ed." He said.
"I got something to ask you, Colonel Mustang." Ed said firmly.
"Odd, you're actually being respectful, Fullmetal." He said suspiciously. "What is it?"
"I need $400000." Ed told him. Mustang nodded as he drank some coffee.
"Bye when?" He asked.
"Now." Ed demanded. Mustang choked on his coffee.
"What? Why?" He yelled. Ed rubbed the back of his head.
"Uh..I need something I can't afford currently and I need it tonight." Ed told him nervously.
Mustang and Hawkeye looked at each other. "I can pay it back in few weeks."
"What do you need so badly?"
"Uh...Can I just have the money?" Ed asked. He was getting impatient. It was almost 10. Hawkeye noticed Ed peering at the clock constantly. She bent down to Mustang's ear.
"I think he really needs this, you should give it to him now and hound him later." Hawkeye whispered to him. Mustang nodded. He pulled some money out his wallet. Ed walked to Mustang and took the money.
"Thanks." Ed said and left. He hurried to the post office to buy an envelope. He stuffed the cash inside and waited for midnight to roll around. Then he hurried to H.Q. He hid in the alley behind it. Ed waited for them. Ed sat on the ground in the dark space. He heard footsteps approaching him. He stood ready to fight. There were three guys. Two of them held a gun and the third held a knife to Al's throat.
"Al!" Ed yelled. Al looked to see his brother. Al's face was covered with bruises and a few scratches. Ed was pissed. "What did you do?" He yelled at them.
"Hand over the money and you get you're brother." One said. Ed held out he envelope. They took it and threw Al into Ed. Ed swung his brother behind him then transmuted spikes onto his right fist. Ed ran at the guy's with guns first. They turned and shot, but missed both times. Ed grabbed the barrel of one and crushed it easily with his right hand. He let go then took his right fist and struck the newly unarmed guy across the face. He fell onto the ground and held his bleeding face. Ed rammed his right fist into the other gunned man's stomach and twisted his fist. Finally Ed ran toward the guy with the knife. He slammed his right foot into the guy's crotch. Ed turned back to the first guy and ripped the envelope out of his hand. He turned to Al. He was unconscious on the ground.
"Al!" He yelled and ran to him. Ed checked him out. He had a large bump on the back of his head and forehead along with a bunch of cuts and bruises on his face. Ed smiled as a wave of relief swept over him. He picked his younger brother up and threw onto his back. He carried Al inside H.Q. Ed planned on returning to money immediately before Mustang could hound him about anything.
Inside H.Q.,
Lora wasn't at the front desk anymore. He read a sigh posted there. It said: Be back in a jiff! Ed laughed. He opened the front door the Mustang's office slowly. Everyone looked up at Ed. A few of them gasped at Al's unconscious body. Ed walked up to Mustang and threw the envelope at him.
"What...?" Mustang muttered. "Is that, Alphonse?"
"Turns out I didn't need it." Ed laughed. He left with Al still on his back. Ed walked home like this.
At the apartment,
Ed opened the apartment door. He took Al into the bathroom and set him on the floor gently. He grabbed some scissors out of the drawer and cut off Al's shirt. Nothing there. He grabbed some disinfectant from the space under the sink and some cotton balls. Ed dipped the cotton balls in the disinfectant and dabbed it gently on Al's face. Ed sighed.
"How did you get yourself beat up this badly?" He murmured. Once he finished he put a band-aid on each of the large cuts. He smiled at his younger brother who resembled him so much, yet not. His dark-blond hair was dirty and his golden-brown eyes remained closed as he slept. His face was young. Like a thirteen year old's should be. Ed picked him back up and took him to his room. It was actually the only room not destroyed. Ed set him gently in his bed and pulled the blankets up to his neck. Ed ran silently to the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer. He ran back to Al's room and set it on his forehead. Ed smiled and headed into the main room. He started cleaning. Once he was finished he headed to the kitchen to clean that room, then the bathroom, then his own room. That was all the rooms in their small apartment: the main room, kitchen, bathroom, Ed's room, and Al's room and a small closet, but it's just a closet. Ed walked to the front door and locked it. He locked all the windows even though they were on the fourth floor then turned off all the lights. Ed headed to his room and tore off his shirt (not literally). He fell into his bed then.
"That silly boy almost died because I left him alone..." Ed told himself. He fell asleep, though, a few minutes later.
That morning,
Ed opened his eyes sleepily. He took out his sliver pocket-watch. It said it was about 6:30 a.m. Ed sighed.
"Time to report..I guess." He mumbled Ed sat up. Then he remembered last night. He burst into Al's room. Al had rolled over and the ice pack laid on the floor. Ed sighed with relief. "Good." He said. It was Friday, but he decided he would let Al stay home.
"After last night..How can I make him go to school?" Ed asked himself. He walked into the kitchen and looked into the fridge. He took out a carton of eggs. "Oh, yeah. That's right I have to go shopping again for food tonight." Ed said as he pulled a pan out of a cupboard under the counter. He took out an extra stick of butter out the fridge and rubbed it on the pan. He turned the stove on set the pan on it. Ed walked into the main room then and grabbed a book from a nearby bookshelf. He walked back to the kitchen and started reading it. It was an advanced alchemy book. He'd read it before, but Al hadn't and he still wanted to learn more about alchemy in his free time so Ed bought more and more alchemy books for him. Ed put the book down and glanced at the pan. It seemed ready to have eggs thrown onto it. Ed playfully cooked eggs for Al while he slept. Then he made some for himself. Ed set the eggs on a plate and put them on the other end of the table where Al usually sat. Whoever woke up first in the morning would wake the other up at 6:30, but today Ed decided there was no need since Al wouldn't be going to school today. When Ed finished his food he washed the dishes and started reading again in the great room. He laid on the couch and waited for Al to wake. He didn't like leaving for work before Al woke up and nobody really cared unless he wasn't there by 10:00 which was late for Ed who usually got there by 8:00a.m. It didn't really matter when Ed got there. Ed read the book laying down, upside-down, on his head, on the floor, etc, etc. Finally he finished it at 8:00a.m (Ed's a rather fast reader). He sighed. "Ha, kid must be tired!" Ed laughed. He smiled and checked in on his brother again. Still sleeping. Ed sat on the end of Al's bed and watched him sleep. Ed's long blond hair was tied back, unlike his brother's which he got cut once every six months, and Ed's deep golden eyes were kind and friendly like his brother's but also tough and strong. This trait was unlike his brother's which were also forgiving and concerned. Ed smiled. He stood and walked up next to his brother. "I think as a treat today, I'll take you to work with me..." Ed told him. Al's face stayed relaxed and asleep. Ed rubbed his brother's head. He left the room silently. Ed walked into the bathroom. He took off his outer shirt and grabbed a jar of polishing oil out of the drawer next to the sink. He put some on a dry cloth nearby and rubbed his arm down with it. He smiled at how nice his arm looked, then he put it back and threw the cloth into a laundry basket outside the bathroom. He put his shirt back on and walked into his room. He grabbed his wallet and looked to see how much money was in there. About $2000. Ed shoved his wallet into his pocket and looked for a pen and paper. He wrote a note for Al. It said:
Al, I've gone to purchase some items of interest, stay here, DO NOT GO ANYWHERE. I'll be back soon. -Brother
"Should be fine." He said and tacked it onto the inside of the front door. He left and headed off to a local bookstore.
Ed opened the front door and a bell jingled. He headed straight to the alchemy section of the store. He looked for a book that Al hadn't read yet, it was kind of like a scavenger hunt. He finally found three that looked like they may hold interest for him. Ed held onto those. They were expensive,(about $100 a piece) but he'd do anything for his younger brother. Ed walked up casually to the cashier. He purchased the books and left. Ed looked at one and started reading it. It was one he had read, but never bothered to buy. Ed had read most of the alchemy books in that place, because he had so much free time, but Al hadn't because of school, so the books Ed bought from there were usually ones he had already read. Ed unlocked the front door and entered the apartment. It looked the same as it had before. The note he'd posted was still on the door. He took it down and crumpled it up. He threw it on the floor carelessly. Ed walked into Al's room. He was still asleep. Ed set the books beside Al's bed and left quietly. Ed laid on the couch in the main room. He was officially bored. "Ugh..." He said. Maybe I should call Winry...No, she'd be in school right now...Rose? Nah, she has a baby to take care of...Teacher? Ha! What would I say? I'm so bored... Ed thought. He got up and grabbed another book from the bookshelf. He started reading it. I've read this book...He didn't care though, he was doing something. Ed finished it at 11:00. He threw it on the floor noisily. He sat there for a minute. "Bored again..." He said blankly. Suddenly the phone rang. "Yay! Something to do!" Ed said happily as he skipped to the phone. He picked it up. "Hello?"
"Is this the Elric resident?" A woman asked.
"Is that you Hawkeye?" Ed asked.
"Edward?" Hawkeye asked.
"Yup."
"Why are you late?"
"I don't recall having to be there at a specific time"
"You don't I was just seeing if you were alright. You're usually here by 8."
"Yeah, I'm just waiting for Al the wake up..."
"Al?"
"Yeah. He's fine, though, so don't worry."
"Alright. Be here soon." Hawkeye told him.
"Sure." Ed said and hung up. He sighed. "Sorry, Al. Time to wake up." Ed walked into Al's room and sat on his bed heavily. Al turned his head toward Ed. "Wake up, Al."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm up." He mumbled sleepily. Al looked out the window. "I'm late!" He said and got up quickly. He pulled off his pants and looked through his drawers for a clean uniform."You don't have to go to school today, Al." Ed told him. Al looked at Ed curiously.
"Is it a holiday?"
"No, It's...just that I'm sorry...about last night...and I wanted to make it up to you." Ed said sadly. He blamed himself for what happened to Al. Al looked at Ed, confused.
"It's not your fault, brother." Al told him.
"It is and I'm going to make it up to you," Ed pointed at the books on the floor "I bought you some books you haven't read." Al looked over the covers of them happily.
"And I'm offering you the option to stay here or come to work with me today." Ed said apologetically. Al looked at his brother with a sympathetic look in his eyes.
"I'm defiantly coming with you. I'm not going to let you be a jerk to anyone anymore." Al laughed. Ed smiled at his brother.
"Get dressed! I have to leave soon!" Ed yelled at him. Al jumped and got dressed quickly. "Now go eat the breakfast I slaved over the stove to make for you!" He ordered. Al looked at his brother disbelievingly.
"You made breakfast?" Al asked. He laughed. Ed pouted.
"I did! Now go eat it!" Ed yelled at him. Al walked into the kitchen laughed, but he did eat the eggs Ed cooked for him. When Al finished he put the dishes in the sink and began washing them. Ed grabbed Al wrist.
"We have to go!" Ed said and dragged Al out the door.
"What's the hurry, brother?" Al asked once they were out on the street. Ed let go of his brother.
"None. I was just being impatient." Ed said. "Come on slow poke, lets go already!"
"Alright, I'm coming!" Al said as he followed Ed.
Ed and Al walked side-by-side down the street. Ed was sadly only an inch taller than Al. What made it even sadder was that Ed was six years older than him. Al noticed one of his teachers from the private school. Al's teachers were only harsh around students, so Ed never really got to see any of the teachers being jerks. Al was afraid of his teacher, so he hid behind Ed childishly. Ed stopped walking and turned halfway to his brother.
"What's got you so scared?" Ed asked him. He still tried to look at his brother. Al pointed ahead of them at his teacher. Ed looked at her. "You're afraid of her?" Ed laughed.
"Hello, Mr. Elric." The woman said as she stopped to chat with him.
"Hello, Mrs. Jeanson." He greeted her and smiled. Mrs. Jeanson noticed Al cowered behind Ed.
"Is that Alphonse?" She asked.
"Yeah, I figured since we didn't get home 'till about 1a.m last night and he's been going to school on time and frequently I would let him stay home today." Ed explained.
"Your his guardian Mr. Elric. You shouldn't be so loose." Mrs. Jeanson said firmly. Then walked away briskly. She didn't know that Ed and Al were brothers. Which was strange she hadn't figured it out yet since they looked so much alike. Nobody in the school except Al's friends knew that Ed was a State Alchemist. None of Al's friends had met Ed though, or really believed he was a State Alchemist. Ed scoffed.
"What a bitch. I was just letting you have a break from school." Ed said angrily.
"Now you know why I don't like her." Al sighed. They headed for Central H.Q again.
At H.Q finally,
Ed opened the doors and waved to Lora, she waved back at the two boys.
"Ed." She said.
"Yeah?"
"Shouldn't you're brother be in school?"
"I was just giving him a break today. He's been going non-stop." Ed said happily. Lora looked at Ed kindly. She knew Ed was a kind boy, most other people didn't, most other people (except Ed's closest friends and the people he saw everyday) didn't even know Ed had a younger brother. Lora called Mustang and warned him Ed was here. Ed opened Mustang's door and entered. Al followed him. Al smiled at Fury and the others.
"Hey, Fullmetal." Mustang greeted Ed.
"Hey, Colonel Shithead, what's up?" Ed remarked. Mustang looked over at Al.
"Shouldn't Alphonse be in school?"
"I gave him a break today." Ed explained for the third that day. Hawkeye looked suspiciously at the boys. She noticed Al was bruised on his face and had a few band-aids on his face as well.
"Did you get abused or something by Ed last night, Al?" Fury joked.
"No!" Al laughed.
"What happened then?" Mustang asked. Ed rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Nothing, he just got beat up at school for being nice." Ed laughed. Nobody was convinced, Al wouldn't have been able to be beat up at school, he's fought criminals and won without a scratch so being beaten up by a kid was out the question.
"I don't think that's what happened." Hawkeye intervened. "Why did you ask the Colonel for money last night, Ed?"
"You actually got that money? Why did you do that? You could've kicked their asses easy, brother!" Al yelled. Everyone stared at Ed, waiting for an answer.
"I returned the money later that night so whats the problem?" Ed asked.
"The problem is that something happened to you two last night and you won't tell us." Hawkeye said briskly.
"Why are you reluctant to tell them, brother? It happened right behind this building." Al added. Ed put a hand on his hip.
"Because it's none of their damn business." Ed said.
"If it involves one of you getting hurt then it is." Mustang said loudly. Ed had been broken. He sighed then spilled it.
"Last night, when I left Al alone at the apartment he was kidnapped and they asked for a ransom they said if I didn't get the ransom to them they would murder Al. I thought that if I showed without the ransom and ended up getting my ass kicked they would kill us both, but Al's fine and I got the money back to you, so it's alright." Ed said quickly. They were shocked. Ed doubting his own skills? Asking for stuff? Al kidnapped? This was all very confusing for them.
"Al got kidnapped?" Mustang asked.
"You weren't arrogant for a second enough to think you could kick their asses easy?" Al asked. Truthfully he was proud of his brother for not being cocky for a little while. They all laughed at that last remark. Ed didn't though. Al being kidnapped...it still lingered in his mind. What if he gets kidnapped again and I don't make it? Ed thought. Al noticed his brother wearing a depressed look on his face as Ed imagined him not making it in time to save Al from his death. I'm going to make it up to him.
"Where do you want to go, Al?" Ed asked him suddenly. Everyone jumped at Ed's sudden joyfulness. Al looked at his brother curiously.
"I don't know..." Al said. He didn't really care either as long as he was with Ed.
"Let's go buy you some more alchemy books." Ed said and left the room. Al stood there, confused. They were all confused, except Hawkeye who had already figured out what was going on. Ed peeked his head in and looked at Al. "You coming?" He asked. Al nodded happily and ran after his brother. Hawkeye sighed. They all looked at her.
"Poor Ed." She said.
"What?" Mustang asked.
"Edward feels guilty about Al being kidnapped and is trying to make it up to him." Hawkeye explained. Mustang looked at Hawkeye.
"I guess your 'woman's intuition' shows again." Mustang said proudly.
"What should we do?" Fury asked.
"Well, if so, Ed will just keep letting Al follow him and do whatever he wants. Don't you think we should stop that?" Havoc asked.
"Probably." Mustang said. "Move out!" Mustang's party headed out the door and to the local alchemy bookstore. Hawkeye sighed as she followed them. Mustang's all about protecting Edward and Alphonse. That was his goal. Though, Mustang is an idiot, so he usually needs Hawkeye to set him straight. This time they had nothing to do though, so Hawkeye let them go on with this.
At the alchemy bookstore,
Ed and Al entered the bookstore Ed had gone into earlier that day.
"Brother, do you blame yourself for me being kidnapped?" Al asked him. Ed looked at one of the books he was holding. He showed it to Al.
"You've read this right?" He asked. Al sighed and sat on the floor. He didn't enjoy his brother spoiling him.
"Why don't we go do something that doesn't involve you spoiling me." Al suggested. Ed took a few books to the cashier and purchased them. He held out a hand to Al.
"Come on. We're leaving." He said. This seemed normal enough. Al stood up and they started walking for the apartment. Once they were there Ed set the books up on the bookshelf of stuff Al hadn't read. It was significantly smaller than the giant bookshelf in Ed's room that had all their alchemy books that they've both read on it. It was in Ed's room purely because Al usually didn't read the same book twice and Ed did.
"Brother?" Al said sadly.
"Yeah?" Ed replied.
"Would you stop this? It wasn't your fault." Al said. Ed just kept organizing the books.
Mustang let his men search the bookstore for them. Havoc ran up to Mustang.
"Not here, sir!" He reported. Mustang though seriously for a minute.
"To their apartment!" Mustang said. They walked down the street towards Ed and Al's apartment.
Back at the apartment again,
Al walked up to his brother and grabbed his shoulder to support himself. Ed turned.
"Yeah?" He asked. Al looked sick. "What wrong, Al?"
"I don't feel so well..." Al muttered. Ed was concerned. He took Al's hand and led him out of the apartment. Al stopped and sat on the ground outside of the apartment building.
"Are you okay, Al?" Ed asked. Al walked over to a nearby trashcan and vomited into it. "Al!" Ed yelled. Al sat back down on the ground. Ed's eyes narrowed. He picked Al up and put him on his back. He carried Al to the hospital from there.
"Brother, Why do you feel like you're the one to blame?" Al asked.
"Because I left you alone at the apartment when I should have had you come with me." Ed replied devotedly.
"It's alright. Neither of us knew that the apartment would be robbed. It's not your fault."
"Yes it is! Now just up or you'll end up puking on me." Ed said.
"Alright." He agreed. Al covered his mouth quickly.
"You better not vomit on me!" Ed yelled. Al smiled and nodded.
At the hospital,
Ed and Al waited in, of course, the waiting room. Ed had already told the receptionist that his brother had been vomiting, but since in wasn't all that concerning, they brushed it off and told them to wait. Al was sitting in the chair silently holding his stomach while Ed was leaning his head against the wall blaming himself for all this.
"Brother." Al said.
"What?" Ed asked. He didn't look up.
"None of this is your fault." Al told him. Ed didn't respond. A doctor finally came out.
"Alphonse?" He asked. Ed and Al stood. Al walked toward the doctor with Ed following closely. The doctor led Ed and Al into a room and they did a few simple tests on Al, the ones you'd get normally if you went to the doctors. Al sat in a chair while Ed stood staring at a chart nearby. The doctor turned to them.
"You have a little food poisoning is all. Some undercooked eggs I suppose." He said. Al glared at Ed, who was pretending he didn't hear anything.
"Oops..." Ed muttered. Al just turned back to the doctor angrily.
"We'll need to give you just a poke." He said happily. Sweat started dripping down Ed's forehead. Al just nodded sadly. Ed slowly made his was as far away from Al as possible. That was the one this Ed was afraid of other than losing close friends, shots. Al smiled at the nurse, she smiled back as she poked Al with the shot in his right arm. Al turned to Ed when it was done.
"This reminds me of that time we went to Aquroya." Al said. "You remember, you got food poisoning too and you had to get a shot, but you totally freaked out and threatened to turn us all into fish!" Al laughed. Ed glared at him.
"Shut up!" Ed yelled. Al still laughed quietly. Ed and Al left then. They walked to the apartment happily, as everything was back to normal. Ed and Al were laughing when they entered the apartment, but stopped when they saw everything in ruins again.
"Ah!" Al screamed "We've been robbed again!" Ed walked in and started picking stuff up angrily and Al helped. Ed walked into his room to see if anything was missing. He saw several people in there. Six to be exact. They all wore blue uniforms.