"Brother!"
Al cried, watching his brother die before him. He could see the blood that stained Ed's chest, and he could see the dulling of Ed's eyes as succumbed to death.
"Brother…"
Al whispered again, not wanting to believe it was true. After all Ed had gone through…how could he give up like that? Edward had so much to live for!
Reflecting on his brother's life made Al reflect on his own. When had things ever gone right for him? It seemed since day one that he was cursed.
Al's bad luck began when their father left. Was it coincidental that he left AFTER Al was born? Could he of been the reason?
Then there was the transmutation. Al knew it was wrong…he knew it! But he couldn't stand up to his big brother, his brother who could convince him of almost anything. But the gate had no sympathy, it swallowed his body and soul whole until Ed had gotten Al's soul back and attached it to a suit of armor.
The suit of armor…what a pain it was. Al didn't blame Ed…he never blamed Ed, but how he wished to be human again. He couldn't taste, he couldn't feel, he couldn't sleep. Each and every night he would sit in the dark hoping that just this once the cold would stop and morning would come early.
It never did.
He couldn't tell Ed this though… Ed's problems were harder then his own. He knew how much the automail surgery hurt. He had watched from the distance. He knew how Ed had guilted himself over Al's condition. He heard him scream it in his sleep.
There was Winry too. Al loved her just as much as Ed did, but it was Ed who won her heart from the beginning. Where had being honest and kind gotten him anyway? A part of his heart longed to be like Ed… the sun who shined on everybody and wasn't afraid to say how he felt. Alphonse was the moon, only there to calm the sun down when it got too strong, and to balance out the day. Al didn't mind standing in Ed's shadow…just at times it was lonely and he would get wistful.
Seeing Ed dead before him though made him realize something. His life may be disappointment after disappointment but he was never in it alone. Ed was always there. Maybe he couldn't be up physically with Al all night to watch the stars, but spiritually Al knew he was always there. The memories of him and Ed on their journey would be something that Al would always hold dear. He would never forget what they went through…ever. It was time to pay him back.
So standing up, Al marched forward, knowing this was his time to make a difference. He couldn't stand behind Ed's shadow anymore. He had to make his own shadow.
"This is for you Brother."
Al clapped his hands together and as the light engulfed him he smiled.
He wasn't cursed after all.
Because for as long as he had Brother, he had enough light to guide him through anything.