The room was dark and silent as Ed quietly peeked his head through the door. The blond let out a sigh of happiness at the sight of the covers slowly moving with the breathing of the sleeping figure in the bed. Even after all these years, Ed couldn't help but smile at the knowledge that his brother finally had a real flesh and blood, food eating, sleep needing, emotion showing body.

Ed would have been content with standing there watching his brother's sleeping form all night; but a light, comforting, hand landing on his shoulder reminded him of the current situation.

"Edward," the deep voice rumbled quietly behind the blond's ear, "As glad as I am to see you so happy, you know as well as I do that Al would not appreciate the knowledge of you watching him while he sleeps. He's going to be here for another two weeks before he needs to return to Xing, that's plenty of time for you to get tired of looking at him during the day time."

The young man nodded his head in understanding, afraid to ruin the moment with words. He turned and wrapped his arms around the waist of the taller man. Laying his head on the older man's shoulder as strong arms returned the embrace, he breathed in the familiar smell as a wave of peacefulness washed over him. All he wanted to do was stay in that perfect moment, right then and there, forever.

"Come," The taller man said simply, before untangling him from the shorter man's embrace. He grabbed Ed's hand firmly in his and led him away from the room, away from his brother.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

"Are you excited that you'll be heading back to Xing to see May soon?" Ed asks his younger brother, lightly bumping their shoulders together in a joking way.

At the mention of the young Xing woman, Al's eyes light up, "Oh yeah, definitely, as much as I love seeing you and visiting Amestris, I have to say that I do miss my wife."

A knowing smile flits across Ed's face, a look more often than not present these days, "I'm glad that you two are happy together. Admittedly I was worried at first, her being a Xinese princess and you being a country boy, but I guess it does help you by being the younger brother of the hero of Amestris."

Al shoves Ed's shoulder as the older laughs while stumbling. He looks back to see his younger brother's face glowing with happiness. Their attention is suddenly drawn away from each other when a scream from nearby could be heard, followed by the ringing sound of a gunshot.

Only sparing a second to share a knowing glance, the brothers take off running in the direction of the sound of ensuing chaos. Upon arriving at the scene, Ed and Al are greeted with the sight of a young child crying while being held hostage by a man with a gun. Without even wasting a moment to think, Ed ran forward to the front edge of the crowd surround the man, watching his moves, waiting for the moment to strike.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ed noticed Al slipping through the crowd of people, making his way to an angle opposite of Ed's.

"I'm tired of living like this, I want the Furher out here right now!" The man screamed, shaking the gun dangerously towards the young child who cried out in fear.

Having felt an inkling of recognition towards the man, Ed finally placed it as one of the corrupt officers who had been put on trial after Mustang had become Furher. The man hadn't received as much of a punishment as some other people had, but he still lost all of his military benefits.

The man's eyes scan over the crowd, analyzing, before pausing on Ed.

"Well, if it isn't Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, the Furher's whore!"

Ed's blood boiled at the last name, but he didn't let the anger show on his face. He simply took a single step forward, away from the crowd, to let everyone see him.

A murmur runs through the crowd at the sight of the hero of Amestris. The movement of Ed stepping forward caught the attention of the young child being held hostage, instantly calming him down. The young child watched hopefully, having heard the stories of the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Let the child go and I will personally set up a meeting for you with my husband," Ed shot back, trying to keep his voice unyielding but gentle.

The gunman let out a hysterical laugh, then shook the kid and gun, drawing a cry from the child and a gasp from the crowd behind Ed.

"Now why would I do such a crazy thing as that? Do you really expect me to believe that when I let this child go you won't just arrest me and throw me in some ditch never to be heard from again?"

Thinking quickly, Edward made a snap decision, "I swear on my title as the hero of Amestris, in front of all these people, that you will have a chance to speak to the Furher if you release the child and peacefully come with me!"

After a moment's hesitation, the gunman's grip loosens enough for the kid to wiggle out of his grasp and run past Ed into the crowd. The sound of a mother exclaiming in joy and crying confirmed that the child was all right.

Taking only a moment to ponder his options, Ed decided to go with his gut.

Ed ran forward, knowing without needing to look that Al was doing the same from the other side. Barely five paces away from the gun man, Ed watches as if in slow motion as the gun is turned on him. Simultaneously, Ed hears the ring of the gun shot alongside the sound of a familiar voice shouting. A flash of white hot pain courses through Ed's chest before all his sense went numb and everything faded into black.

So this is just something I'm messing around with currently, I don't really know if I will continue it's pursuit. This will just be as a way to feel out what people think of it. Please review and let me know your thoughts, thanks!