First Love Letter
Summary: The Fullmetal Alchemist receives his first love letter. But from whom?
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist (c) Hiromu Arakawa
Rate: PG-12
Warnings: Cut off bad words. I don't want to spoil the ending so I'll just warn you that there's a fan-coupling. A bit of AU but not too serious.
Author's comments: OMG finally, it's over (faints) Valentine's Contest Entry for the Silver And Gold Club in DeviantArt. Whew, I've been slaving over this for over a total of 7 hours I swear ..
"Hey, Fullmetal's got a letter!"
"No way."
"What did he do?"
"What's going on?"
So much for opening a locker. Not even the blond kid understood why there was a perfectly rectangle envelope lying on top of his rolled up uniform.
Not everyone in the Amestris Military received a letter in their lockers. Usually they only do when a confidential letter must be passed to a specific person. Is Edward Elric finally going to be fired? He didn't know. He just continued to stare at the perfectly rectangle envelope. To be fired…signified that he'll be free of the Amestris Army's clutches; he and his brother can be free. They can work in another occupation, no big deal. Or they can go back to Resembool and live on farmed agriculture like before. All this positive thinking calmed Edward's nervous heart in no time.
He picked up the envelope with a calmness that suspended an atmosphere of tension in the locker room. He was very aware of the eyes that were looking at the metal hand that picked up the letter and made an attempt to keep himself from sniggering with mischievous joy. He held it for a while, relishing the fact that everyone was standing on their toes to see him open it.
He placed a thumb under the flap.
There was not a breath.
He flipped the envelope sideways and placed his gloved hand over the top, the heads of his fellow comrades hovering over his head.
His hand stayed there, his hesitation raising the heart rate of many of his comrades.
Suddenly, he slipped into his pocket and walked away, ignoring the crash of military dogs falling on top of one another in a big mound of blue in front of his locker.
"Hey hey hey! Kid! Fullmetal!"
He walked faster.
"Hey, man! Why don't you open it!?"
"Ow ow ow! Second Lieutenant! Please get off my face!"
Edward left the confusion without a glance; he headed straight for the door…Before he was stopped by no other than Roy Mustang.
Out of all people..
"Well, well, well," chuckled the Colonel. "I come to the locker rooms and I see that a beanbag defeated an entire unit of men. Looks like the Fullmetal Alchemist isn't popular for his height today."
It took every grain of his willpower to keep the shortest soldier from strangling his major. However, he kept on walking, his struggle to maintain his anger shown in his fists and his brisk marching.
"And ohh, what have we here?" Colonel Mustang took a "small" step in front of Major Elric. "A letter! So you're finally getting the sack, eh?"
While physically Edward was outnumbered, his young but quick brain can render anyone speechless. He especially uses this advantage against Colonel Mustang, one of the only people he hated more than his father. "You'll find yourself in one when I murder you tonight. Now get the hell out of my way." He took a step, only to be blocked again by a black boot belonging to the Flame Alchemist.
"As your Colonel, I have the right to see what is in the letter."
"You also have enough right to get a kick in the-"
"Language, Fullmetal. You are to speak respectfully to your majors."
"And why should I give respect to an ice-head like you?"
Edward has 4 levels of anger. The first is just clear annoyance, the second is irritation expressed through words, the third signifies a kick from his steel leg, and fourthly earning you a full rant of rage and a ticket to heaven with his short-temper of death. Only Mustang would torture him by going up the levels painfully and slowly, amusing himself by watching Edward struggle to keep it low.
"Because, shorty rock-head," He revealed a thumb and forefinger enclosed around an envelope. "I have the letter." In a small snap of fingers the top of the envelope turned to ash, the color of Ed's face when he looked into his pocket and realized that the bastard of the century had taken it when Ed was too angry to notice a hand slip into his big loose pocket.
"What the hell! Give it back, you nosy son of a bitch!"
"'Dear Fullmetal Alchemist,'" Roy read out loud "'I am sorry for interrupting your work day but I couldn't get ahold of your home address.'" The crowd from before gathered around with eagerness. A personal letter? From who? The crowd forced Edward out of the crowd with ease, much to his discontent.
"THAT'S MY LETTER! GIVE IT BACK!!" He screamed.
"'However,'" The Colonel continued without a glance. "'I was going mad not being able to tell anyone about this so I have decided to confess in this letter. I think about you every single day and I just wanted to say that-'" The Colonel stayed quiet for a while before an evil grin appeared on his face, matching with his gleaming eyes of doom. "'I LOVE YOU.'"
His change in volume had done its job, the men in the room laughed and whistled.
"Your's truly." With that, Mustang slipped the letter back into the envelope and raised his eyebrows amusingly at Ed. The room was still buzzing with talk as everyone tried to get a look at the letter, hoping to catch a glance of the handwriting. There's no signature? Just a "Your's truly"? Who's claiming to be truly Edward's?!
By now Edward was beet red, from humiliation or anger, he had no idea. He reached beyond Level 4 but he couldn't take down 20 men! He had to get the letter back; it might end up published on the newspaper! Yes, that was how cruelly powerful the military was.
"Hey! Where's the letter!?"
"Someone took it!"
"Who has it!?"
"I want to see it!"
Ed heard the commotion and immediately ducked to get a look at the mass of hips, knowing that the thief would hide it where no one would look. He saw someone moving away from the crowd in the far right. He quickly ran around the crowd and saw Havoc, who winked at him before running out of the locker room, looking back to make sure Ed was on his heels.
"Havoc!"
He ran after him, once again leaving the blue crowd that was stepping all over Roy for the stolen letter.
He reached the end of the hallway, where the female officers were changing. He was about to stop, when a folded letter was shoved right into his face.
"No one will find us here." Havoc handed Ed the letter, who quickly read it with a pit of dread in his stomach. So it was true, the bastard wasn't lying. In a few minutes, Central will know that someone in the city has a crush on him.
He never hated Valentine's Day more than ever.
"Damn it!" He cursed. He stuffed the letter in his pocket, pacing as he did so. "Damn it, damn it, damn it.."
"Hey, kid. Let me guess, is this your first love letter?" Havoc grinned.
Edward answered with an annoyed blush.
"Ah, I knew it." Havoc placed a hand on Ed's head to stop him from pacing. "I'm not that experienced with love letters (unlike Roy..) but if I were in your shoes I would get the hell outta here and head home."
"You'll let me?" Edward asked with uncertainty.
"Yep." Havoc looked around before spinning Ed around and giving him a push. "Now go, we don't want you to be caught."
Ed nodded thanks, and ran off. As he ran, he heard a female scream and the sound of a slap. He remembered that Havoc was the unluckiest man when it came to relationships with girls. He chuckled, and for a moment he lost his view and crashed head on with someone.
He looked up and immediately recognized Lieutenant Hawkeye.
"Oh, Edward. Colonel Mustang is searching for you."
"Yeah? Well, I want to be in his presence every single day of the week and it's so much fun to be around him." He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "You already know, right?"
She coughed and helped Edward stand up. "Please do not worry, he should be in his office occupied with other things than his absent subordinate." She clears her throat, clearly not fully comfortable with covering someone up against her boss' orders.
He smiled. "Thanks, Lieutenant." He ran off again, this time careful to keep his eyes on the carpet before him.
He kept on running until he found the main staircase. It was late morning but not everyone was present since it was Saturday. Thank goodness for that. He was about to step down when a hand on his shoulder caused him to jump a mile. Someone very unexpected was wishing to speak to him.
"I see that my hounds are after you." Fuhrer Bradley laughed loudly, placing his hands on his hips. "Ahh, youth is full of excitement and adventure! Well, take care on your way out!" With that, a man with 'King' for a first name left a blank-faced Edward on the top of the staircase.
"May I suggest," said the Fuhrer with a serious tone as he stopped 5 steps down from Edward. "That you take the emergency staircase?" He turned around and gave Edward a gleam that freaked him out. omg, what the hell. He just gave me the Eye! "Uhh, y-yeah. Thanks for the advice, Fuhrer." He hastily bowed and dashed off, leaving a very amused leader of the government on the staircase.
He stopped in the middle of the hallway, still a little surprised with the strange encounter. It was too coincidental to be an accident. Did he…? Then, he realized that he didn't know where the emergency exits were. He looked around for a blueprint of the floor, when he spotted a white map around the corner. He ran up to it, skimming through the map and looking for the emergency sign indicating the fire exits.
He forgot to scan the area.
"OH, EDWARD ELRIC!!!"
Before Edward could react, a giant pair of arms scooped him up and crushed his bones in an embrace. "Oh, I heard that you received your first love confession! How remarkable! At such a young age, at such a young age!"
Edward felt his lungs squash against each other and all air escaped from him. He thrashed about, trying to free himself as his face turned more and more purple.
"My dear boy!" sobbed a gleaming pair of muscles. "Getting your first love at such a beautiful age! Oh, Love blossoming in the spring of youth! I am moved!"
"M-Major!" Ed gasped. "Y-You're killing me!"
He let go, Ed's nearly lifeless body collapsing on the carpet. He groaned and got on his knees, gasping.
"Dammit, Armstrong! What the hell were you trying to do!?" He choked out.
"My dear Edward, I heard of your affair and now I find that you're still here!" Alex Louis Armstrong had, once again, ignored his criticism. "Do you not know that soldiers here wag their tails and chase after gossip as soon as they smell one?"
He lifted Ed to his feet and with all seriousness, grasped Ed's shaky shoulders and looked at him straight into his eyes.
"Mark my words, Edward Elric. This isn't a place for you to be in now. Dogs in this place will bite you in the…ah, the you-know-where." He winked and spun the smallest State Alchemist towards the Emergency Staircase, which conveniently stood right beside the map.
"Good luck!" He gave a small push. Ed found himself in mid-air, hovering over dangerously sharp-edged stairs.
"Oh, fu-"
And down he went, his small body taking in cuts and bruises that left him literally dead by the time he reached the landing on the second floor. Man, Winry won't be happy that his body was found with scratches on his automail.
"What was that!?" A click. A sound of footsteps. Ed felt too dead to care.
"Mother, I'm coming.." He whimpered.
"Oh! Look at what I found!" Someone lifted him up and patted him down. "Looks like the bean sprout tripped over his own feet."
Like a snap of fingers, Ed was all alive again.
"WHO CALLED ME-!"
"Woah, woah, woah! I bring you back to life and this is how you thank me?" A familiar voice laughed.
"…Hughes?"
"That's me!" Beamed the square-glasses man.
"…Am I dead?"
"No, silly! Do I look dead to you?" He laughed. "You're sure a mess, what happened to you?"
"Ugh, I got bruises now.." Ed ignored his question and tried to get past Hughes.
"So you're trying to run away, huh?"
"I'm not running away," Edward turned his head around to face Hughes annoyingly. "I'm doing the smart thing and I'm calling in absent."
"Sure you are." Hughes grinned. "You never fail to amuse me, Fullmetal Alchemist."
"Yeah, whatever." He started down the stairs.
"Oh, Ed. You can't go down there."
"Why not?" Ed kept on walking.
"Cuz the door's locked down there, they're doing maintenance on the first floor. Something about Black Hayate doing something irresponsible or something."
Ed grunted and went back up, letting Hughes put an arm around him and lead him to the door.
"Cheer up, things could get worse than this."
He snorted, brushing off Hughes' arm and nodding a small thanks in his direction.
"Don't mention it, just lucky coincidence that I was going to go upstairs too." Hughes smiled.
He watched Ed straighten up and put his hand around the doorknob.
"Don't forget to say hi to Gracia and Elysia for me on your way!" Hughes called out to Ed as he stepped out to the hallway. "Elysia's grown a centimeter over the past month! A centimeter! My cute little daughter! She grew up so much! It feels like she was born only a d-" Ed silenced his squealing by shutting the door, muttering something about promising to never be a father in his life.
He looked around and remembering the map from upstairs, made his way towards the other side of the building where another staircase was waiting for him.
He turned around a corner, when suddenly a big bundle of yellow fur jumped on top of him and licked his face viciously, like a child licking an ice cream.
"AAGGHH!!"
"Al!" A small voice shouted.
Al!?
"Alexander! When are you going to learn your name!?" Laughed the same voice. The dog finally pulled away from his face, and Ed quickly doubled over and spat spit out from his mouth.
"Nina?" Ed exclaimed, surprised.
"Ed oniichan!" Squealed the little girl in pigtails, just as surprised as the older boy.
"What…what…" Ed shook his head, a little dazed from the ambush.
"Daddy let me come to the office today and I brought Alexander along! Don't tell, but I'm going to call him 'Al' like Al oniichan." She grinned, oblivious of Edward's bedraggled state.
"Oh..oh, uhh. Ok." Ed clutched his head, the blue and red dots wouldn't go away.
"Aren't you working today?" She asked innocently.
"Work…oh, I needa get home. Right." He got up and looked down at the wide-eyed 4 year old, not understanding but still curious about the situation.
"Why?" She asked.
He sighed and blinked the dots away. When he was ready to answer he said, "Tell you what," He bent his knees to eye level with her. "I'll keep the secret about you calling Alexander 'Al' and you don't tell anyone where I'm going. Not even to your dad, ok?"
"Okay!" She beamed.
"All right. I gotta go but I'll see you soon, Nina." With a smile, he got up and walked towards his destination.
"Did you hear that? Ed oniichan asked me to keep a secret!" a very pleased Nina whispered excitedly to her best friend. Alexander cocked his head to the side and continued to pant at her unknowingly.
Ed smiled even more, his chest lightening up a little from the cute reaction. He found the staircase and descended it, this time opening the First Floor door with a few cautious glances.
Finally, this nightmare will be over soon. I just need to reach…
"What is everyone running around for, Miss Ross?" Ed froze in his tracks.
"It's not 'what', it's 'who'. Apparently, Edward Elric got a love letter this morning and no one knows who it's from!"
"Edward…You mean the Fullmetal Alchemist?"
"Who else would it be, Scieszka?" A male voice answered. "I can't believe little Junior's gotten a letter! Man, so lucky…I sent a letter today but I was rejected…"
An identifiable cough was heard, and Ed knew who those three people were and relaxed a little. Surely they won't betray him?
Still, he carefully tip toed towards the wall on the other side. He wasn't sure who to trust anymore.
"They're starting to search for him on the second floor so they'll come down here soon. I suggest that you go to Major Hughes' office while you still have the chance."
"Thank you, Miss Ross. Well, I'll see you around then!"
He quickly hid behind the corner of the wall and watched her open the door to the staircase. She seemed to know that that was the best route up the building. Smart move. Ed thought. He continued to stare at the door for a while. His body was battered and bruised, and he was mentally shaken and spiritually exhausted. What a day.
He turned around when suddenly…
"Edward?"
He cursed; he scrambled to get up and made a dash for the door.
"Edward! Wait!"
He couldn't wait. He already spent nearly an hour trying to get out of the place and no one was going to stop him this time. He clapped his hands together and held his palms out before him and transmuted a doorway on the wall. He got out, looking around to recognize the area.
"Ed!"
He took a right, not caring which way he was going. He didn't even stop to take a breath of the freshly polluted cold air of Central. He didn't have time.
Damndamndamndamndamn…
He turned at an alleyway and hid behind a trashcan, trying to sustain his heavy breathing. He peeked through a crack between the trashcan and the wall, his eyes having difficulties adjusting to the sudden bright sunlight.
But he was out. The worst of his little adventure was over.
He let out a huge sigh and shivered. He leaned his head against the frozen wall, proud that he had gotten out of the building. But someone saw him; they were bound to tell the rest that he was out of the building. He had to leave as soon as possible, the rest of the city would find out and they'll come searching for him and find him.
He reluctantly got up and was about to step out when he stopped. He looked down at himself and knew that the first thing they'll recognize was his big red coat. With a reluctant sigh, he took it off and tucked it under his arm, hoping people will think it was a package wrapped in a red cloth. His trembling fingers unhooked the chain of his watch from his belt and put it into his pocket. He tied his hair up in a ponytail instead of a braid and did other check ups here and there to make sure, at least, that some features that will be used to identify him were replaced.
His goosebumps reminded him that he couldn't keep on stalling. He cleared his throat with nervousness and stepped out, keeping a steady pace to keep him from suspicious glances. For once he was glad he was short, the streets were crowded with early shoppers and no one noticed him walking in between them.
He walked towards his house while keeping his eyes to the ground. At least here he won't bump into someone every 5 minutes…
"Ed? Hey, Ed! Over here!"
Ed stiffened. Did the rumours spread already?
He kept his eyes to the ground but a pair of white boots greeted him. "Hey, what's the long face?" the person giggled.
He looked up and met the face of friendly and kind Rose. Her face was a little flushed, and her hair a little messy. But she looked very alive, very happy.
"Hey Ed!" She beamed.
"Wow, Rose!" Ed exclaimed, again surprised by an unexpected meeting. "What brings you here?" The sun shined on him and for the first time, things seemed to be looking up.
"Oh, this and that. I'm trying to rescue the beggars on the streets around here."
Ed let out a laugh. "Still the same old Rose I met. I'm glad to see you again." He smiled back. Oh, yes. Definitely getting better.
She blushed a little and shifted her feet, trying to hide her smile with her pink bangs. "I hope you don't mind but I need to get going." She timidly hooked her hair behind her ear and began to step away from him.
"Yeah, sure thing. I need to go too." He also took a step forward. "Hey, if you need anything just go to Winry Rockbell, she's the automail mechanic here."
"What about you?"
"Oh, uh…I might go out of town soon."
"Aw, really? Too bad. Well, I'll be here for a week or something so hopefully I'll be seeing you?"
"Yeah. Sure thing." She gave a quick smile before turning around just as hastily.
"Hey, Rose?"
"Yeah?" She spun around.
"How long were you here?"
"I came yesterday, why?"
"…Just wondering."
"Okay?"
"See ya."
"Um, ok." She shrugged a goodbye as Ed turned around and walked briskly down the street, thoughts running through his head.
"EDWARD!!"
Wince. He can recognize that voice from anywhere.
"Is this for real!? Is the Fullmetal Alchemist, named like that thanks to my amazing craftsmanship, trying to run away from a stupid rumour, huh!?" He felt a shadow colder than the winter air loom over him from behind. His entire body stiffened, bracing itself for a blow.
"Well?" A pair of hands grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, meeting face to face with Winry Rockbell. She was fuming, her hot breath making clouds in the air. The automail mechanic, being Edward's friend for as long as he can remember, was one of the only people who can yell at him without being yelled back even more viciously. She placed her hands on her hips and pouted at Edward.
"I had a nice stream of customers and then I see you flirting with Rose and that just pissed me off so bad!" She scoffed. "What's worse is that Mr. Timbermann, THE Mr. Timbermann who only spends his lifetime reading and taking care of his old dog, pointed at YOU and said, 'I came because I wanted to ask if you sent a love letter to that guy.' Guess what? TURNS OUT THAT THEY DIDN'T COME FOR AUTOMAIL REPAIRS BUT TO ASK ME IF I SENT THAT. SHRIMP. A. LOVE LETTER!" She screeched.
Edward, his icy insides kindling to fire yelled back, "I'M NOT A MICROSCOPIC-"
"DID I SAY THAT YOU CAN TALK!?!?" She bellowed. He flinched. "This is all your fault! I thought it was my lucky day today! On one of my favourite days of the year and it turns out that your idiocy made me famous! Out of all things! ARGH!" She stomped her feet before stopping to catch her breath. She looked back at the Mechanics Shop and bit her lips. "I'm such an idiot…" She muttered.
"What?" He asked.
"Come on," she sighed. "It's cold out here, and dangerous. Don't you know how fast good news spreads around here?" He flashed an annoyed glance at her. How many times did he hear that? "I'll let you go through the back door but for the last time, ok? Oh, and your teacher's here."
"Wait, wha-"
He felt his face smash in and he found himself skidding across the icy road and crashing on the brick wall on the other side. Once again, he died and hundreds of witnesses stared at the attacker.
"Oops, I thought it was a stray dog," growled Izumi Curtis. "But it was my stupid apprentice. Ah, well. What's the difference?"
A pair of muscles, again, picked his broken and bleeding body from the ground and brought him over to his teacher. "Izumi, I think he died." A rough voice belonging to her husband said.
"Who cares, bring him in." Ed felt his entire body shiver as he entered the warm walls of the oil-smelling shop. "Take him to the back."
He was dumped in the storage room, this time he didn't even try to get up. He had died twice, beaten himself up once, got literally squeezed to death and just now he was hurtled at a wall from five meters. At least he didn't get the wrench.
"You forgot your package." A red bundle fell on top of him. As soon as it touched his black jacket, his mechanical arm was wrenched upwards, along with his body.
He yelped in surprise. "Poor little puppy got sore by the evil doers of the military! Oh, poor puppy. He shouldn't have gone there in the first place!" He was thrown to the wall. Man, was he tired of being thrown about. He got to his feet and confronted his teacher.
"It wasn't my fault!" She slowly inched towards him, arms folded and her nostrils flaring like a bull. "I wasn't the one who planted the letter in my locker! Okay, like the entire city is after me and I didn't get caught but I still got beaten from head to toe and I'm tired and I feel like shi-"
"Don't tell me things I already know, idiot. You should be glad we decided to come for a visit, who knew that you would be needing our help for such a stupid occurrence like this!"
"Wait, I didn't ask for-"
"Don't give me that. I came all the way from my lovely home, ran for an hour to get here, all for something as stupid as this. Now, we need to dress you over. That shouldn't be too hard." She grabbed a beige tablecloth from behind him and in five seconds, wrapped him with expert hands of a meat wrapper.
"Gmph!?" He let out in surprise.
"Stop whining, or else you will be a real slab of meat if you make a single sound." Edward shut up at once. He learned a long time ago to never doubt her words.
"Perfect. Darling!" She called out in a sweet voice.
"Ready?"
"It's ready." She cooed, handing over the Ed-parcel over to him like she was handing him a handbag.
"Sorry Winry, go on with your business."
"Uhh, thanks. See you around, Ed." He shifted around in what little space, before receiving a mind-knocking blow on his head.
Half an hour later, he was dumped back onto the ground. Cold, hard ground. Big hands untied the cloth from his body and he blinked at the sunshine. He grunted and placed his palm on his forehead.
"Are we…?"
Izumi said nothing, and helped her dazed ex-student sit up. As she did so, she said, "That better be the last time, kiddo. I won't answer your pleas for help next time. Take care of yourself." With a concluding nod, she got up and walked away.
Ed sat there for a while, gazing after their backs while fingering the bump on the back of his head. Then, he realized that he was sitting on the front steps of his house and all consciousness came back to him and he jumped up, almost falling over with cramps. He searched for his keys and hurriedly inserted it into the keyhole.
He took a deep breath and turned the key.
--
Alphonse Elric hummed as he neatly folded his polo t-shirt onto a pile next to another. One for Ed, one for Al. He smiled down at his hard work and glanced for the millionth time at the overhanging clock on the wall of the kitchen sink. Two hours and eighteen minutes since Edward had gone to work.
He looked down at the ironing board and reached for the corners, ready to lift it up and put it back in the cupboard. The sound of jingling keys startled him and his hands froze over the board. A click. A creak. A bang. Footsteps. Al relaxed and continued his humming and lifted the ironing board off the table.
The footsteps were getting closer now, and faster too. He walked over to the cabinet and calmly set it inside. A clank of metal against a wooden doorframe and the sudden silence after closing the closet door with a click. All going according to plan. He opened his mouth to say the very words Alphonse had recited to himself over and over again the night before.
He couldn't contain his smile. "How was your day today, Brother? Was it boring?"
"Boring? Nah, it was the best day ever, dear little brother." Breathed a fuming voice. "I got squeezed to death, killed myself down a flight of stairs, froze my ass off, got murdered, stored, packaged, and dumped." He growled, his heavy breathing marking how furious Edward Elric was.
"It. Was. The. Most. FUN. DAY. EVER." Alphonse was literally able to feel the heat of fury radiating from Ed.
"That's nice to hear."
"NICE TO HEAR!?" Boomed the older Elric. Al was spun around and faced Edward, who was standing so close to him their noses were nearly touching. "YOU PUT THAT LETTER IN THERE," He continued to smile up at him, using his trademark puppy eyes to prove that he was guiltily innocent of such a devilish scheme. "YOU TOLD ROY THE BASTARD SO HE CAN COINCIDENTALLY COME INTO THE LOCKER ROOM, CALLED TEACHER AND-"
He was cut off by a kiss. A simple, innocent kiss. Edward's trembling arms, that only a moment ago were squeezing Al's arms, were losing energy fast. That kiss alone was enough to weaken his knees and make his arms go numb and fall on either side of his hips. Enough to melt the muscles on Edward's face and force him to succumb to the kiss. The kiss, though not physically, slid over his eye lids and caused them to flutter. He slightly opened his mouth and inhaled deeply, all queasiness in his insides untangled and gone with his brother's breath. He gave in. He slid his hands around Al's waist and held him tight and kissed him back softly.
Al gently pulled away from Ed's lips and met Ed's glazed eyes. "You look so exhausted, Brother. Come on, let's get you to bed."
Ed moaned, fatigue flooding his veins and poisoning his mind to a stupor.
"I'll carry you." Al smiled.
He nodded with half-closed eyes and let his head fall on the younger sibling's shoulder. Quietly, Al picked him up and lead him upstairs to the bedroom. He laid Ed down on the mattress, and pulled over the sheets that were readily folded aside since morning.
"Sleep, Niisan. You're gonna need a lot of energy for tonight." Al giggled softly as he tucked his worn out brother in.
"…I'm gonna kill you…tomorrow." He muttered.
Alphonse smiled more broadly.
"Happy Valentine's day, Brother."