A/N: This is just a little AlWin drabble I thought up in English class. We were talking about Arthur Miller's idea of the "flawed" hero, and I (geekily) thought of the whole conversation in terms of Ed. Then I began thinking about why I had always felt that EdWin didn't really work out, and so the idea for this was born.
All his life, it seemed that he had stolen the spotlight, Ed thinks one night. No matter what he did, it always seemed that his little brother ended up second best. Even if Al had won their childhood fights, or if genetics had chosen to bestow upon him that simple, but oh-so-coveted thing called height, it seemed that Al had always been second to his older brother.
When their human transmutation had failed, it was Al who paid the most, even if it had all been Ed's idea. And when they both took the State Alchemist Exam, it was Ed who passed, even if Al had done better. When they were growing up, it was Al who wore the hand-me-down clothes. When they were young, Ed was the one their mother had always called "my little man."
So, when Ed began to notice the extra amount of excitement Al summoned when they went to visit Winry, he forced himself to step back. He wasn't sure if he loved their best friend or not-- maybe he did, he just didn't know, but this time, he set all of that aside. For Al. Because, after all these years, he had cost Al so much. His little brother had borne it all without complaint. He never even blamed Ed for what happened, even when Ed knew that, if the roles had been reversed, he would have hated himself. Al was the better person; he loved unconditionally, and he had managed to remain free from the flaws and sorrows and sins of the past years. He deserved the love of someone equally good and pure and whole.
Maybe he could never make up for what he had taken from his brother; he didn't know. But if Winry was the price he had to pay for those years that he had retained his own body while his brother lived in a suit of armor, so be it. He was willing to pay. It would be worth it, because Al was his brother, and, after all, it was only Equivalent Exchange.
A/N: So this turned out differently than I expected. What do you think? I'm not sure if I like it or not. Review!!
P.S. If you really like AlWin, then you should check out the fic "Colours" by agrajagthetesty. It's an awesome set of AlWin drabbles. They're really good :) (a lot better than mine...)
Mage of Dragons