For Love of an Angel
Chapter Two
States of Separation
AN; For a little while, I will be following canon pretty closely, for the first FMA series anyway. So for right now, think CoS.
It was hard to be a stranger in a strange land, very hard. Sometimes, it was so hard Ed felt as if he couldn't go on, and the only think keeping him from surrendering to the darkness, to the craving for oblivion, was not knowing his brother's fate. And being in this strange place, among terrifying similar yet different faces didn't help one bit; especially his friendship with a carbon copy of what his brother would be if not for those years in Armor. The resemblance was so uncanny, Ed hated to see Alfons Heidrich with his eyes closed. It made his heart pound in his chest. Only when he could see those damnably different cornflower blue eyes could he deal with the young man with any equanimity.
Ed missed Al, with every fiber of his being. Missed him, yearned for him, yearned for the quiet love within that angelic heart. And he was so far away now. Far away in time and space with little evident hope of getting home. But All was in Amestris, and everything within Ed called out to be reunited with his brother. Somehow, somewhere, there was a way home. Somehow, somewhere, Ed would find it.
************
Ed was drunk. Very drunk. He'd seen his brother, his Angel and he was alive and well and with his body in Amestris. At first he told Alfons that he wanted to celebrate, and he did. But knowing Al was alive, just beyond his reach, made him refill his glass again and again. Noa flirted with him, but he just laughed. All he could talk about was his memories of his little brother Al. Noa kissed him, but again, he just laughed. Resentfully, she muttered something about homosexuality to Alfons and went to bed in a huff. This started the younger man to thinking. He watched Ed curiously that night. Perhaps that was why Ed never noticed the girls that were constantly throwing themselves at him. When Noa had arrived, Alfons had wondered how much Ed felt for her. Now he knew. He tingled slightly. He'd been attracted to Ed since the day they met; unlike Ed himself, Alfons knew he was homosexual. He'd had lovers before, but no one like Ed. Only since Noa had come to live with them, did Alfons learn that the reason Ed threw up a wall between them was because he looked so much like his lost little brother. Later, he gently held Ed's hair out of the way when the young man was violently ill from drink in the bathroom. He undressed his secret sweetheart and tucked him into bed. Unable to help himself, he sat on the edge and softly stroked Ed's drowsy cheek. To his delight, the befuddled young man turned his head to nuzzle Alfons hand, kissing and licking the palm moistly. Dizzy with excitement, he leaned over and kissed him. Ed quickly opened his mouth to his friend's eager tongue and moaned softly. Electrified, Alfons stripped his clothes off and crawled into bed, kissing Ed deeply. The strong flavor of mint tea that Ed had rinsed his mouth with did not quite cover the faint taste of vomit, but Alfons didn't care. Ed was kissing him back! Ed was squirming under his erotic caresses, his hands gripping the young German's back. Ed's cock was hot and hard and digging into his belly… Gasping softly, Alfons rubbed his own aching erection against Ed's steely arousal, working his inebriated friend into a sexual frenzy. It didn't take long, and suddenly Ed climaxed wildly, hot and sticky across his friend's thighs and belly.
"Al…" Ed moaned, lost in a haze of dreamy pleasure as he came, tightly holding the warm blond body over his. "Oh, Al… I love you… I've missed you so much… oh Al…"
Alfons froze above him, his penis throbbing painfully despite the words that had just shattered his heart. White faced, he lay still upon his shuddering friend until Ed finished, gave him a sloppy kiss, and fell into a contented, drink induced sleep. Unable to help himself, Alfons returned the wet affectionate kiss, then rose slowly. Ed didn't want him after all. Ed only wanted… his brother. Shocked and miserable, he gently cleaned Ed off and covered him with the blanket, then retreated into his own room. There he used the fingers of one hand to clean Ed's semen off his belly and legs, suckling them clean as he masturbated frantically, unable to see anything in his mind's eyes, but the look of Ed in passionate abandon.
The next morning, when Ed sleepily walked into the kitchen and found Alfons eating breakfast, he had no idea that the two of them had made love the night before. Ed merely thought it another of the many erotic dreams he'd had of Al since their separation. And Alfons only smiled sadly at him, and never said a word.
Back in Amestris, Al went into the snowy wilds, searching for Mustang in his self-imposed exile. The ex general, unaccustomed to visitors, had just bid farewell to Havoc and Breda the day before. When he saw that small, red-coated figure struggling through the snow, his heart faltered for a moment, and before he knew it, he was running out the door, blood racing through his veins. By the time he reached the boy, his excitement and joy faded away. It wasn't Ed. Al's young face, cheeks cherry red in the cold, looked up at him and smiled gently.
"General Mustang," he said in that soft sweet young voice, exactly the same as when he was a suit of armor save that it was no longer tinny. "Aren't you cold?"
Surprised, Mustang only then realized he'd dashed out into the snow in only his uniform. "Al… I… came to welcome you."
Al regarded the older man solemnly for a moment. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
"For what?" Mustang asked politely.
"For not being Ed."
******
Back at the outpost, Mustang let Al in, and the boy stamped the snow from his brown boots and did the same to that agonizingly familiar red coat before stepping inside. In short order, Mustang had brewed coffee for himself, and cocoa for Al.
"So what brings you to this neck of the woods, Alphonse?" Mustang asked quietly, watching the boy sip his cocoa with an almost erotic pleasure. Obviously, even after two years, Al was reveling in sensation.
"I'm hiding out and…"
Dark anger suddenly flashed in Mustang's eye, and he reached for the phone near the table. "Who's bothering you? Tell me and I'll have them picked up immediately."
Al laughed, so much like Ed that Mustang's heart squeezed painfully. "Oh, please don't do that, sir. It's the State that I'm hiding from."
Mustang looked blank. "Come again?" Then his eyes narrowed. "What have you been up to, Alphonse Elric? I thought it was Ed who was the trouble maker, not you."
Al grinned, holding up his hand placatingly. "I've done nothing wrong save refuse to enlist in the alchemy program time and again. They just wont take no for an answer."
"Ah," Mustang's face cleared. "That's right. They want you to be the Soul Alchemist." He coughed delicately. "I've heard. In fact, should you wander my way, I'm under orders to do all that I can to convince you to join us."
Al was amused. "The Soul Alchemist? They've named me already? I thought only the Fuhrer did that after you were accepted into the program."
Mustang shrugged. "You don't even have to take the tests or the assessments. I can certify you this very moment if you like. They want you pretty badly."
Al belatedly tugged off his gloves, laying them carefully back to back lest the alchemic symbols on the palms touch and accidentally transmute something. "But I'm only 13, this time around, anyway."
"Ed was 12, younger than you," Mustang reminded the boy gently.
"But I'm not Ed. I don't have near his power and talent, and certainly none of his skill."
"Don't play games, Alphonse. Not with me." Mustang looked at the boy shrewdly. "Everyone's heard of Alphonse Elric, Fullmetal's brother. The Elric surname has become synonymous with alchemic power and skill. Even out here I've heard whispers and rumors about you. You've become as much as a legend as your brother."
The boy flushed with embarrassment, and looked away. He truly didn't feel that he was anywhere near Ed's caliber. "You know how rumors are; they grow in the telling."
"I've read the reports as well. They don't embellish. Why, they wanted to give you Ed's title. They wanted you to become the next Fullmetal Alchemist, seeing as you were a suit of armor for four years." He held up one hand calmly when Al's big expressive eyes flashed with anger. "Relax, Al. I may not be a general anymore, but my name still counts for something. I keep renewing Ed's licenses, every year, so they can't declare him dead, and like yourself, he will never have to do another assessment again either, thus, his title is not available."
"Thank you, sir," Al whispered stricken. "He's not dead…"
"I know, Al. I know."
"General…"
"It's corporal now."
"Whatever…" Al waved his hands almost impatiently. "I didn't just come here to seek refuge with you. I came because… I've seen him, general. I've seen Ed. He's alive."
Mustang froze. "Al…"
"I have! Listen…" And Al told him all about Liore and sending a portion of his soul through the gate. He told him of meeting Ed and the possibility of opening the gate again to bring Ed home. They talked, long into the night, even after exhausting all possible avenues to said gate, moving on to reminisce about Ed and the past.
********
It was midmorning when Mustang woke. He listened at Al's door and heard nothing, so he went out to chop some more firewood for the day. Coming back in with an armful of wood, he placed them on the rack next to the fireplace, and heard muffled moans coming through Al's closed door. Thinking the boy was having a nightmare, he opened it just a crack and peeked inside. If Al was anything like Ed, one didn't wake an Elric from a nightmare with impunity. It could be unhealthy. But he was stunned by what he saw, his feet riveted to the floor as he witnessed Al masturbating on the bed.
Sunlight flooded in through the window, puddling in golden rays around the lithe young body in the bed. Al was lying on his back, completely naked. His head was thrown back, loose hair falling in a honeyed tangle around his shoulders and pillows. His throat was exposed and every inch of his body gleamed in a fine coat of sweat. His quivering legs were spread wide, knees slightly bent, toes curled tightly into the blanket, belly taut and ridged with effort. But what stole Roy's breath and drove every drop of blood from his brain to his groin was the way Al gripped his hard and swollen penis, the loose fist sliding slowly up and down his length as his hips rocked and thrust. And the sounds Al made! Roy thought he might faint to hear the soft pants and moans that escaped from the younger man's throat.
Mustang's breathing was hitched and uneven as he leaned closer to the crack in the door, drinking in the mind shattering sights and sounds of that sleek and honeyed angel in erotic abandon. Al gave a soft gasp, his hand tightening around his cock, pumping more firmly and more quickly. Al's head fell forward and Roy saw how flushed Al's face was, eyes half closed and glazed with passion, his pink mouth parting and he licked his lips in blind pleasure. Al's free hand moved caressingly across his chest, to lightly pinch one roused pink peak. Al gasped again, and his hand moved even faster, working himself hard. The hand left his chest to clench the blanket tightly. His hips jerked, lifted. God, he was so close. Then he spoke for the first time, his voice husky and growly. "Ah… N… Niisan… I love you…"
Shocked and numbed by what he'd seen and heard, Mustang finally found the power to back away, and leave the boy to his privacy. Al might not remember everything that transpired since that fateful day in Resenbool so long ago, but it was clear to see that he remembered a passion for his older brother.
*********
Mustang would always remember that interlude, back in the deep snow and ice of the Northern front, when a young man visited him and revealed unknowing a deep dark secret; for not long after that, Al left him to his frozen regrets, and monsters began to crawl from the earth. An invasion through a Gate that Al had watched a friend die to open, for love of his brother. There was the heart break of Al's tears when Ed returned once more, and then tried to leave him anew. And then it was Mustangs turn to cry; Watching both boys vanish into a strange world, fearing he would never, ever see either of them again.
