Greetings friends. This is not what I had planned to write. Not in the least. I wanted to write something about Ed, Edd and Eddy, but ended up back at FMA, and all angsty too. I blame My Chemical Romance, first time listening to them in a very long time, and the drama just kind of took over my brain. I will write EEnE eventually, just not now.
Takes place first anime, after the movie.
Don't own FMA or MCR, song is The Ghost of You.
Home
Never coming home… never coming home…
Alphonse Elric sat in the small apartment he now shared with his brother. They wouldn't be staying long though, already planning a new adventure. Going off to find the man with the bomb. Traveling this strange new world. It would be fun, and best of all, they'd be doing it together.
A frown set itself on the teen's face. He was so glad to get his brother back after all those years of searching. He really was. That didn't mean he couldn't be at least a little upset about everything he'd had to give up in order to though. Everyone he'd ever known, he'd never see any of them ever again.
At the end of the world, or the last thing I see…
No wait, that was wrong. He would see them again, it just wouldn't be them. It'd be this dimension's version of them. Same face, similar personality, wrong person. He'd seen the corpse of the alternate him, which was probably one of the most disturbing things in his life, as well as a few others. People he hadn't remembered until coming to this world, when finally that huge gap in his memory had been filled.
Not that that brought any comfort now. Those memories just serving as ammo whenever he spotted one of those doppelgangers. They'd ignore him, smile at him, but always with no look of recognition. He wondered if that's how the people he'd forgotten felt, or those who knew the fake him. That Alfonse Heidrich fellow.
You are, never coming home… never coming home…
That other him. He'd been a friend of Ed's, but died in an attempt to get him back to his world. Ed had told him, talked about him quite a bit. It almost made Al laugh, almost. Was that what they needed to give up in order to see each other again? The life of a new friend? From what had happened apparently yes. An eye for an eye, a life for a life. Equivalent exchange, as they say.
When they went to the funeral, Al had received quite a bit of stares. He didn't mind though, just tried to block them out instead. Tried to block everything out, actually, and pretend he wasn't even there. Pretend he was at a different funeral instead.
For all the ghost that are never gonna catch me…
He wondered if Wrath even got a funeral. He never really was alive to begin with, in the traditional sense of the word. A homunculus. The enemy. Al remembered everything about him now. How he'd stolen his brother's limbs, how he tried to kill them both, how he tried to kill Izumi. A regular monster in the form of a child.
There was something people didn't realize though, in the years he allowed the embodiment of sin travel with him. He'd known all of this. Wrath had told him, and he hadn't cared then. He didn't care now, either. Things had changed, and now whenever he thought of the emotionally worn out excuse for a boy he only saw a friend who'd managed to give him the information he'd needed and die helping him go though with those plans.
And all the things that you never ever told me…
It was a lot more then anyone else had told him during those two years about his life. He knew they were trying to protect him, but that didn't stop him from wanting to know. He didn't need anyone to tell him now though. He remembered himself.
None of those memories soothed him though. Any one that was happy, and fun, and made him smile just reminded him what he'd had to give up, and the others… Well, they wouldn't sooth anyone.
And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me…
Of course, he didn't talk about any of this with Ed. It wasn't that he blamed his brother for everything that happened. Not in the least. He'd made the decision to come, and it was a decision he was going to stick to. He couldn't talk to Ed about any of this though, because he would blame himself, and no matter what Al said he wouldn't be able to convince the stubborn blonde otherwise. He just loved to blame himself, that one.
Never coming home… never coming home…
Looking at the clock, Ed would probably be home from work in about an hour. They needed all the money they could get, with the economy the way it is and about to travel no less. Ed wouldn't let him work though. Saying they were going to leave soon anyway, it wouldn't be worth it to just get one then leave. It made sense, but didn't make Al feel any less useless.
Maybe he should go for a walk. It was still early, and he was still trying to get used to this world. The city, the language. Ed was teaching him, but he'd only been here two weeks, he could barely understand anything. It was pretty stuffy in the building though, maybe a walk would do him good.
And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar me…
Stepping outside, Al pulled his brown coat a bit tighter around him. Everything here was brown. It was strange, but Al didn't complain. After he came, Ed made him cut his hair, which he didn't mind either. He didn't need to dress up as his brother anymore, he found the real thing.
Al tried not to make eye contact with anybody. He didn't want someone to try their hand at a conversation with him only for Al to pitifully explain that he couldn't understand them. There were some people that he avoided more then others. The doubles. There were a few he saw often, double Hughes, who Ed actually talked to on a regular basis, double Gracia, the woman who actually owned the building they stayed at, double Rose, double Bradley, double Tucker…
For all the ghost that are never gonna…
Turning a corner, Al was lost in thought, not paying attention where he was going, fell backwards as he collided with something. Still on the ground but dusting himself off, the blonde spat out a quick apology.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," he mumbled, forgetting that the person he ran into probably didn't understand a word he'd just said. Looking up, he froze.
His hair was shorter, and his clothes covered much more of his body then normal, but it was definitely him. No, no it wasn't. It was double him. Just like all the others.
At the top of my lungs in my arms, he dies…
The fake Wrath stared at him, a look on concentration and confusion on his face before finally answering.
"It… is fine? I do not… speak lots English, sorry," the black haired German boy said as he stood up, offering a hand towards Al. His right hand. A flesh hand. Al shook his head as he accepted the hand, standing up as well.
"It's alright. Abschied," the blonde said, hoping he got the word for goodbye that Ed had told him right. He guessed he did, as the boy smiled at him before continuing his way down the sidewalk.
He dies…
Continuing down his way, it wasn't long before Al decided it was probably time he head back. Ed would be returning soon, and it was best he was there to greet him. He'd have to tell Ed that he ran into the other Wrath too. He wondered if Ed had ever saw him before or not, and decided he'd ask when he returned.
Reaching the apartment he smiled at Gracia, but neither attempted any sort of conversation. She knew he was still only learning German, and for that Al was grateful. Heading upstairs, the blonde didn't do much while he waited for his brother to return. Organized a few things, but mostly just sat and stared out the window.
Finally, he heard the front door open, and his brother enter. Standing up, Al went to see him. Ask about his day, if anything interesting had happened, pushing any thoughts about the world he left behind out of his head. The people he'd abandoned, those who'd died to get him here, the constant reminders.
Never coming home… never coming home…
"Welcome home, brother. How was your day?"
Yeah, not quite sure what came over me. Never wrote a real songfic before. Written song inspired fics, but never one with the lyrics strung through like this. Well, I hope you liked it. A little bit of angst time for Movie Al. There's no way he could have absolutely no regrets after everything that happened, or at least a little homesickness.
Well, if you enjoyed this, please review. (In a singsong voice) It makes me happy~