AN: Okay, credit where credit is due. XD I was reading some fics by lilaclily00 (who has some really amusing stuff!), and she had one titled "Staircase". And I wondered: What would I write for the prompt of "staircase"? So, this is my "Staircase". (Yes, lots of quotation marks, dang it! XD) Oh, and this isn't humor. Sorry!
Ed sighed, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Al look over at him.
"What is it, Brother?" Al asked, voice echoing through the empty suit of armor.
"I don't know," Ed said, a bit morosely. He stared out the window of the train at the passing scenery, not really seeing it. "I just… feel so stuck. I guess. I don't know!" He shifted suddenly on his bench, turning to face his younger brother. He dropped his elbows to his knees and leaned forward, staring down at his boots, and buried his fingers in his hair.
Al was silent, still, the way he'd learned to be when he was feeding birds in the park. The rattle and rumble of the train filled the air between them. Finally, Ed spoke again.
"What if…. What if this is all pointless, in the end?" he said quietly. "If human transmutation works on equivalent exchange, one life for another should work."
"Don't say that, Brother!" Al said, unable to hide the note of helpless fear in his voice.
"Why not?" Ed asked fiercely, finally looking up to meet his brother's gaze. "We're all thinking it! We can't make a Philosopher's Stone, and I don't think we have any other options!"
"Then I'll just stay like this," Al said.
"What? No, Al. It was my fault that you lost your body in the first place, so it's my responsibility to see that you get it back."
"No," Al said stubbornly, folding his arms across his chest plate with the faint sound of metal on metal. "You're not going to kill yourself to save me. We've been over this, already!" He couldn't help that his voice rose at the end of his sentence. Just thinking about how Ed had been ready to sacrifice himself to Scar's "justice" had fear filling every corner of his armor.
Ed was quiet. "What if—"
"No."
"Maybe—"
"NO."
"Geez, Al. I'm just trying to help!"
"I don't want that kind of help," Al insisted. "Brother, we'll find a way. Somewhere, there will be something to help us. And if there isn't," he said, dropping his arms and fisting his gloves in his lap, "if there isn't, then we'll make a way!"
Ed huffed a faintly disbelieving laugh and sat back against his bench, sunlight playing over his face as he turned his head to stare out the window again.
"You want to climb a fucking mountain," he said with a sad smile. "It's impossible."
"Then I'll carve you a stupid staircase," Al said simply, "and I'll carry you to the top. I'm right here, Brother. With you."
The future didn't look any brighter, but Al's words allowed hope to pierce Ed's soul, and somehow, it didn't seem nearly as impossible as before.
AN: So, there it is. Tell me, what did you think?