Leggys Close Encounter

by Spastic Spastic

Edward makes a toy for Al, Leggys The Second, and Al treasures it dearly. Unfortunately for some bullies they are about to realize that Leggys The Second can also be a weapon of mass destruction when having to protect his brother. NOT Elricest. Brotherly.

Title: Leggys Close Encounter

Summary: Edward makes a toy for Al, Leggys The Second, and Al treasures it dearly. Unfortunately for some bullies they are about to realize that Leggys The Second can also be a weapon of mass destruction when having to protect his brother. NOT Elricest. Brotherly Fluff.

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.

IIIII

Al: 6, Ed: 7

Alphonse watched the frog jump on the side of the riverbank, making it's ribbit sound and he was in a trance watching it jump. Jump. Jump. Ribbit. At six years old he was enough of a youthful spirit to imitate the frog and not care who saw him. He didn't get down on all fours but he jumped, somewhat like a bunny, along the side of the river with him. To a passerby it would have been ridiculously cute.

There was no one with him though which - when he stopped a moment to ponder - he realized that he was used to his older brother being right by his side. He wondered where his brother was but then went back to playing with the frog he had dubbed "Leggys", since the frogs legs were long and strong enough to make him jump.

He was unaware of his older brother's panic. Edward had lost track when he had stopped to say hi to Winry, who had been wearing the ribbon in her hair he had gotten her for her sixth birthday. She had been going on about how auto-mail was so phenomenal, and he listened, but he had been listening too intently and Alphonse had wandered away. Neither he nor Winry noticed and by the time Winry had asked where Al was, his little brother had ran away.

Mama is going to kill me! He thought erratically. That was when he dashed off in search of his brother.

He had checked the occupied farmhouse not far away and had stepped in cow dung for his troubles. He checked in the corn field, getting lost in the maze of constant sameness, and had been yelling out Alphonse's name until his throat became dry. When he found his way out - with the help of one very angry farmer - he started to run down a stream after seeing steps in the sand that matched Al's.

"Al! Aaaal!" He shouted after seeing a small figure bent over the riverbed. "Al is that you?"

Edward saw the familiar green shirt and blonde hair, realizing that it was his little brother. Another thing that he realized was that his brother couldn't swim. Atleast he hadn't fallen in.

As though reading Edward's dreadful thoughts Al fell into the river, his arms outstretched like he were reaching for something, and spluttered as he fell into the five foot deep bank. He bobbed to the surface with his arms flailing about. Although he did not know his brother was there he automatically shouted his brother's actual name, instead of the commonly-used "brother".

"I'm coming Al!"

Edward rushed forward as fast as his tiny feet would carry him, hoping that his brother wouldn't drown before he got there. He didn't know how to swim very well but his skill in the water was better than Al's non-existent ability. Fortunately the stream was coming his direction and a moment before Al would have passed Edward shot his hand forward, grabbing for whatever he could (which was Al's foot), and pulled with all of his might.

Al came out of the dangerous water, soaking wet, with his tears mixing in with the water so his brother could not tell how hard his was crying. Gasping from the effort Edward said between breaths, "What. Was. That. All. About?"

"Leggys is dead!" He sobbed.

Waiting a moment to catch his breath Edward asked, "Who is Leggys?"

"My frog! He-He jumped into the water and drowned-ed."

"One, it's drowned. Two, he's not dead. Frogs can swim," Edward said with irritation. "And what were you thinking going into the water? You can't swim! You aren't a frog!"

"I want Leggys!" pouted Al, past the tears stage.

"You can't have a pet frog. Mama won't even let us have a dog, much less a frog."

"Frogs aren't worse than dogs." Alphonse stood, shaking out his shirt and then his pants, except they clung to his wet body. His boots sloshed as he tried to move so he took them off. "Leggys was a good frog."

"You've only known him for three minutes. I think you'll be okay without him."

Edward watched as Al only shrugged, his eyes shining as if he had lost a very dear pet. He guessed that his brother had a strange fascination with frogs now. It was odd to say the very least. He found frogs to be weird creatures, all slimy, and that noise they made was annoying in the middle of the night when he was trying to sleep.

"Still, I miss Leggys," Al sulked as they started back towards the house.

When Trisha's boys arrived, one of the soaked to the bone with an absolutely sullen look on his face, and the other looking extremely irritated, she rushed them both in and demanded to know what was wrong. As she heard the story she shook her head at Alphonse.

"Al please be more careful," She chided mildly. Tears were on the rim of her eyes but she blinked them away. "What if Ed hadn't been there for you? I . . . I don't know what I would have done if you drowned."

"Mama, I'm okay," Al said, holding out his arms for a hug. "I'm right here. Dun' cry."

As she embraced her youngest, she also grabbed her oldest and thanked him with a soft kiss on his forehead. Trisha wasn't sure what her reaction would have been if Alphonse had died and she didn't want to think about it either. The very thought of it chilled her bones.

That night Alphonse was restless in his bed. Edward, not far from his brother, said, "Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep."

"Sorry brother," he muttered. "I jus' kinda' miss . . ." He didn't finish his sentence knowing that his brother would only reprimand him for being childish. Al had just felt so happy as he had jumped by the river and he missed that feeling.

Edward felt a little sorry for Al, realizing that he wanted the frog for a pet, but pushed it in the back of his mind until morning. He had an idea on what to do for his brother, to make him smile, but it would have to wait until dawn to come to fruition.

IIIII

With a hand full of sawdust he dumped it onto the transmutation circle. He had a book beside him, opened to the correct page, and he had already done the calculations inside of his mind. Edward was becoming quite the alchemist - atleast, that's what his mom had told him - and he loved the feeling that surged through him everytime he laid his hands onto the circle. Plus it made his mother smile whenever he or Alphonse showed her their latest creation. Even if she would comment how they were like their father, which Ed despised, it was worth it to see his mother happy once and a while.

He pressed his hands onto the chalk and watched as a medium-sized plush was made, soft to the touch as if handmade, and Edward smiled. It was perfect. It was worth the draining feeling he felt from putting so much effort into it. Usually he had Al help him, since they were children after all with small bodies (although he hoped he'd grow more), but for this present he needed Al to be excluded.

IIIII

"Al!" called out Edward to his brother, who was swinging on the tire swing their mother had attached to the tree outside earlier that summer. Al's eyes darted upwards and he smiled as Ed, with one hand behind his back, ran slowly to his younger brother. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

Al looked skeptical. "This isn't 'nother dead rat, is it brother?"

"Nope."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

With that promise Al hesitantly closed his eyes, held out his hands, using his feet to steady the tire swing so he would not fall off. That was a lost cause when he saw the green, fuzzy thing in his hands, with two bulging black eyes on the top, with long bowed back legs and short front ones. He fell backwards, still clutching his prize, and laughed.

"It's just like Leggys, brother!" He announced happily. He wasn't even upset at the grass stains on his pants. Al stood up hugging his newfound friend. "Where did you find this?"

"I made it," Ed said proudly.

"Thank you brother!" Al said than stopped for a moment. With wide eyes he asked, with childhood innocence, "If I go by the river can this froggy swim too?"

With quick thinking he answered, "Er, no. Which means you have to stay away from the river so he doesn't get hurt."

Al nodded with all seriousness. Edward watched as he started to hop around, ribbiting like a normal frog, and making lower ribbits for his toy. He smiled lightly always wanting to have that image in his mind of Al's pure smile.

IIIII

Al: 7, Edward: 8

Over the following year Leggys The Second had lost an eye, and was frayed around the edges, but Al took it everywhere with him. He had it tucked under his chin as he slept and wiped off the drool in the morning. He and Leggys The Second had many adventures together, along with Edward, but the last thing anyone expected Leggys The Second to be was a weapon in the seven year olds hands.

Of course the Elric brothers were liked around the town, even if Ed was known for his temper, and Al known for his shy kindness. Al had always been a pushover so Ed didn't want him to go outside without him. It was one of those over-protective big brother things that Al had gotten used to.

One place they always tried to avoid was not far from Winry's, down a few houses, where an abandoned barn was. It was used as a hang out by the older children - the rough ones, who had no problem with telling other kids to beat it - that were not so kind to the smaller Elric's. Especially the younger one, Al, who was easy to pick on since he never fought back.

So when Edward, Alphonse, and Leggys The Second found themselves passing the barn to go buy some fruits from a family friend, they tried to do it quickly. Unfortunately they were seen by a pair of keen teenagers who were bent on making little kids crumble.

"Pansy's! Haven't seen you in a while," said Noel very loudly, since he was deaf in one ear.

Ed and Al stopped in their tracks as the three teens blocked their way. Al hid his special toy behind his back knowing that they were not beyond destroying his favorite animal.

"Do you boys have time to play for a while?" asked Rebecca, her short hair spiked in all directions, as though she had not brushed it in days. "I wanna' play 'Steal the brat's money' today."

Edward shoved the money that had been sticking slightly out of his pocket further down as if that would help. "Just move out of the way," He said bravely.

"You want to make trouble, telling us to move like that?" Eric snapped, his hand pushing Ed's shoulder roughly. He didn't loose his balance but was far enough not to protect Al who Noel was harassing by pulling on his hair.

"Leave him alone!" said Ed protectively but his words were to no avail. He was towered by Eric, who had a smug grin, and in a split second he was pushed to the ground and kicked in the stomach. When Eric reached down to steal the money Edward kicked him in his pimply face, a victory for him, until Rebecca came into the picture with a thick stick, hitting Ed's neck with it. "Ow!"

"Reach for the money!" Rebecca commanded.

The teenage boy regained his balance and said gruffly, "He's gonna pay first for that kick in the face. You think you're tough, huh? I'm gonna' hang you by your ankles, naked from a tree!"

Edward struggled from under Rebecca's vice grip on his shoulders. His legs were still useful and he connected with Eric's arm but he could not keep it up for long. His eyes darted to where Noel was teasing Alphonse, holding his precious frog in the air, making the seven year old jump to an unreachable height. He could see the unshed tears in his little brother's eyes at the ordeal of loosing Leggys The Second. Over the year he had become so attached to that thing.

"Give 'im back!" Al shouted, trying to reach for his toy. Then he opted for another strategy. "I'll kick you!"

"Oh I'm so scared," said Noel sarcastically. "What are you going to do? Kick me in my ankle? You're so small you couldn't even reach my thigh with your stump of a leg!"

Al whipped his leg out but Noel jumped back, hitting Al with his own toy, successfully knocking the boy to the ground. Edward - who was shirtless since Eric as adamant on keeping his word about the tree thing - finally kicked Eric very hard in the face. He didn't have time to see the damage he had done. Although he never wanted to hit a girl, he only pushed her away since she was rather small, and jumped up.

He rushed towards Noel with a newfound passion, headbutted him in the stomach, and they locked arms and legs as they rolled onto the ground trying to hit eachother worse than the other one had.

"Brother!" shouted Al. He wasn't sure about what to do. The other two had retreated for a moment, satisfied with watching them fight, and he knew that his brother was loosing. And quickly too. Then he saw a glimmer of hope. Leggys The Second was only a few feet away, and although he wasn't the best alchemist in the family, he knew what to do.

Taking a stick he drew a quick transmutation circle. Rebecca and Eric stood by, confused by the weird drawing he was making in the sand, and were then frightened when he put the doll on there, touched the circle, and blue light flashed as the transmutation was completed.

From the outside Leggys The Second looked harmless. A few bumps in his stomach but nothing bizarre about that. But what the others didn't know is that he was now an implement of combat.

He ran at Noel who had pinned Edward to the ground, and was shouting loudly how he was going to drag him home black and blue, but he never stood a chance against Al. When Noel saw that Edward was looking behind him, he looked back in curiosity, and was met with a large green flash before it collided with his face. Not only did the force knock him away but it also tore the fuzzy fabric stomach of Leggys The Second apart, rocks rocketing out of the toy, with a few smacking Noel along his back.

"What the hell was that?" shouted Noel, which was more like a scream to those around him.

"The kid is crazy!" Rebecca said, her hand pointing towards Al. "I don't know what he just did? Magic? What was that?"

"That was Leggys The Second!" proudly Al exclaimed. He looked over the three frightened bullies with dark, grey eyes unlike Ed had never seen. "Don't mess with brother again or you'll really be sorry!"

The three teenagers decided that it would be wise to escape until they could make another plan to get back at the Elric's. Edward retrieved his dirt shirt, put it back on, and saw that Al looked disappointed at Leggys wound. No longer was he large and fluffy; instead he was thin and light.

"I'm sorry about Leggys The Second, Al," said Ed.

"I'm tired, brother," said Al. He rubbed his eye sleepily.

"Well you usually don't do transmutation's like that by yourself," Ed explained. He ruffled his kid brother's hair lovingly. "Thanks for saving me back there."

"Leggys The Second did, not me."

"But you were the force behind. I think Leggys is proud of you. Aren't you Leggys?" He said to the broken plush toy.

"He can't hear you. He's dead," Al said sadly, in all of his seven year old naïveté.

"He won't be dead for long. Mom can fix him."

Al's grey eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yup! Now let's go get her fruit and go home so we can revive him."

IIIII

Hours Later

With the actual frogs outside ribbiting, his only company in the dark of the night, Al could not fall back asleep. Nightmares plagued him but he wasn't sure why. He had nothing to be afraid of! He had Leggys The Second who was all stitched up and fluffy again. And he had his brother . . .

He looked over to Edward who was sleeping peacefully. Al bit his lower lip wondering if he could do what he had done as children and crawl into bed with his brother. Well they were still children, but he was supposed to be older now, and break that tendency of sleeping in the same bed. The fact that the dream had been loosing his brother - which was unbearable to him - made his need for comfort from Edward all the more intense.

Alphonse dragged himself slowly to Edward's bed and slipped in on the side that Ed was not occupying. He clutched Leggys The Second to his chest, feeling more comfortable in his brother's bed than in his own. He felt the bed shift and his brother was staring at him through half-lidded eyes.

"Nightmare . . . ?" Ed questioned sleepily.

Al only nodded.

"Got Leggys?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you in my bed?" It wasn't asked in a discouraging manner, it was asked out of curiosity. Edward knew from the expression on his younger brother's face that it would not be right to push him out of bed. He had wanted to break Al's habit of doing it, since they were older, but something in Al's eyes begged him not to send him away.

"Leggys can't talk. He can't tell me that everything will be alright."

"Al . . . you know that everything will be fine," Edward said just above a whisper. He rubbed the grogginess out of his eyes and saw that Al was not yet convinced. "What was the nightmare about?"

He muttered, " . . . You . . . You died."

Edward knew what to do next. "Come here," He said with arms outstretched. His brother climbed into his arms letting a few tears trail down his cheeks.

"I-It was so real."

"I'm not going anywhere, got it? I wouldn't leave you."

Al nodded into his brother's shoulder. "I wouldn't leave you either, brother."

"You better not. I'd give anything up to keep you here with me."

Comforted by his brother's truthful words, and the toy in it's rightful place underneath his chin, his breathing slowed until he was asleep. Only when Al's face showed solace did Ed allow himself to go to sleep, his own words ringing in his ears.

"I'd give anything up to keep you here with me."

IIIII

I had to write some brotherly fluff. My plot bunnies demanded it.

And I know that Al loves cats, but I wanted something different, so I chose a frog.

Reviews make me right more Elric brotherly fluff!