Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 4 - Brother

When he next woke up, there was sunlight streaming in the window, and his door was propped open. The reason for the open door was made clear as Pinako and Winry wheeled in their equipment trays.

"Oh good, you're awake. I need to adjust your sockets, and then we can get you mobile again."

"Alright. Actually, I wanted to ask you to redesign the blade I put in my old arm. I'd like to keep the same basic mechanism in the new one, even if I can do Alchemy again."

"That's going to make it heavier again, Ed." Winry complained. The new model they'd made was supposed to be lightweight, and his modification would completely ruin that.

"I figured that. But... If I'm ever stuck without Alchemy again, if I end up back in that other world again, it could save my life." He shuddered at the very idea of having to go back.

"We're not going to lose you again, Ed." Winry said, determined.

"You can't know that for sure. Ow!" Pinako's adjustments to Ed's shoulder had struck a nerve.

"Oh, be quiet, you baby."

"Ed, relax a bit. We won't know anything until we talk to Al, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have done this unless he was sure it would work."

"If you don't believe it will work, it won't, so of course he was sure it would work. He still hasn't woken up?" That was worrying.

"Sit still, Ed. He should wake up any time. He was mumbling in his sleep last night."

The majority of the tension drained out of Ed's body. That was a good sign. It meant Al was still in his body, hadn't done something overly and unforgivably stupid.

"Alright, Edward, let's attach these limbs for you."

Ed was glad attaching the temporary prosthetics didn't hurt nearly as bad as the real thing. He didn't think he was up to dealing with that level of pain, just yet, though he would never tell that to anyone. Even so, it hurt bad enough that he grit his teeth and drove his fingernails deep into his palm.

As soon as he could relax his jaw, and get control over his limbs, he pushed himself into a standing position, ignoring the eye rolls of both Winry and Pinako. "I want to see Al."

Neither of his caretakers were surprised to hear it, though Winry bit her lip nervously as she led him out of his room.

"Al's... in my room." She said, a bit defensive and a bit challenging.

The look Ed shot her was briefly calculating, remembering past conversations with his brother and Winry, before it shifted to warm acceptance. "Good. I'm glad he hasn't been alone."

Winry turned a brilliant red, and gave him a shove that sent him into the wall.

Ed just laughed. "Really, Winry, I'm happy for you."

They entered Winry's room, and Ed dropped into the chair at the bedside like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Al..." Ed's left hand reached out hesitantly, almost afraid it was a dream again, one where touching his brother would cause him to wake up with his hopes shattered all over again. When his fingers finally met his brother's face, he almost sobbed. It was real. Warm.

"Al."

Knowing Ed would prefer to have his privacy, Winry and Pikano left the room, closing the door softly behind them.

He barely noticed, he couldn't look away from his brother. Seven years, and he could finally see his brother human again. He was so different, but still so much the same. It was almost strange to think of his brother as soft flesh and blood, needing food and air and water. Strange to think that he could hear his brother breathing again, with a heartbeat, instead of the rasp of metal and a bloodseal.

"I did it, Al. I got your body back. I was so afraid I'd failed."

Afraid he'd messed up and created another homunculus, afraid he'd left out some detail, forgotten some important factor. He'd been so certain his circles were right when he made them, but the time he spent alone just added doubt after doubt as memory blurred no matter how hard he tried to retain it.

Words poured out of him. Sitting there, with Al beside him, he remembered the comfort of talking to his brother. The knowledge that he would never be rejected for anything he could say or do, because they'd already been through the worst together. The roiling emotions within him had found their outlet, and Ed just let them go.

He sat in that chair for a number of hours, sunlight keeping the room bright, so caught up in the emotional outpour that Al waking up went unnoticed, and he just continued to ramble and rant. It always came back to the same point, though.

"I was just so scared, Al. Of everything. It was only worth it if you were alive. And I just kept thinking 'What if I failed? What do I do then? I can't even do Alchemy anymore.'"

"You didn't fail, brother. I'm alive."

Al's voice hit him like an anvil, and his gaze shot to his brother's face. Their gazes met, a thousand reassurances held in the momentary eye contact.

"Alphonse?"

"I'm okay, brother. And so are you."

Ed grabbed Al by both shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. "Al."

"Brother."

Their hold on each other held an air of desperation, but they nevertheless released each other after a few minutes.

"There's really no Alchemy on that side, brother?" Al asked, curious. It was strange to think of a world without a science so integral to their existence.

"No. They've got this thing called physics. It's a different type of science than Alchemy. Focuses almost purely on the external, formulas and reaction have to be caused by something, and can't be forced into occurring by an Alchemy circle. There are occasional groups that start doing something kind of like primitive Alchemy, but it's pretty taboo. I got myself into some tight spots, with that."

"That sounds terrible." Al knew it would have been worse for Ed than it would be for him. Ed was so dependent on his Alchemy, he couldn't imagine him being without it.

"It wasn't fun, that's for sure. It might have been easier if I'd stayed with Dad, but I just couldn't do it. Not after hating him for so long. I don't hate him anymore." Ed said defensively, to Al's reproachful look.

"It was tough, Al, but I survived. And you brought me back. That's all that matters." Ed didn't want to tell Al the horrors of his life on the other side, though he knew his brother had heard much of it when he was venting earlier. Some of the things he'd done to survive were things he never wanted his brother to know about.

The look Al gave him said that he knew what Ed was thinking, knew Ed was holding back. The fresh scars Ed bore, and the almost instinctive evasions he used so naturally every time the conversation strayed to a difficult area, told Al that he probably hadn't heard half the horrors that other world had held for his older brother.

Their conversation was interrupted by Winry knocking lightly on the door and poking her head in. "Al! You're awake." She said, relieved to see him sitting up and looking at her.

"Yeah. Brother and I were talking. I did it, Winry! I got brother back!"

"I can see that, I've been working on his automail all afternoon. Both of you, stop exhausting each other and go to bed. We're putting your automail on you tomorrow, Ed, and you need to be rested. And you spent the last two days asleep, Al, and don't you dare tell me you're not tired. You can keep grilling each other tomorrow."

Ed rose to follow Winry out, but was stopped by Al's hand on his arm. "Tomorrow, I'll be rested enough to make sure you tell me everything."

Ed let out an indignant squawk. "That's not fair! I'll be recovering from getting half my limbs reattached!"

Winry pulled a still protesting Ed out of the room after her, kicking the door shut on a grinning Alphonse.