A/N Sorry for the loooooong wait. I've been so busy and had no inspiration…but I plan on updating more regularly now.
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XXI.
"So let me get this straight," Ed began, sounding disbelieving. "You woke up, heard a cat meowing, and decided to follow it."
Al nodded, making himself small under Ed's hard glare. Ed didn't care how bad Al felt now. The blond had spent three hours tearing across the city of search of his brother only to return to their house, scared and upset, to find Al sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee like he'd been there the entire time.
And now, he was feeding Ed some bullshit about going after a cat at four-o-clock in the morning. Great. Just great.
Al's lower lip trembled. "If you want to blame someone for me being gone for so long, blame yourself!" he grumbled.
"Wha?" Ed stuttered. "How is it my fault?!"
"You weren't there when I woke up!" Al accused. "So after I looked for the kitty I had to look for you!"
Ed flushed, his anger dissipating completely. It's true. He had been gone, out on the search for blood…
"Where were you, Brother?" Al's voice lost all its anger and dropped to a barely audible whisper. "I was so worried about you…"
Ed felt horrible. Not only had he worried his brother, now he had yelled at him. He truly was the worst person in the world.
"I'm sorry, Al," he muttered. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. Forgive me?" he added hopefully.
Al considered him for a minute before replying, "I always do."
XXII.
Ed spent the rest of the day sulking. He wasn't mad at Al anymore, but he was mad at himself for being a horrible brother. Soon, though, he transferred his anger over to Roy because being mad at that bastard made him feel a hell of a lot better.
He was positive Roy knew something. The mysterious woman from last night had mentioned his lover. Since Al was the embodiment of innocence, it had to be Roy.
Which meant Roy was in on this…this…this sickness! The bastard.
So how could he confront him? He was sure that a fist to the face, however appealing the idea seemed, probably wouldn't get him the answers he craved.
But he had to know. He had to find out what was causing his strange appetite and find a way to stop it before Al found out.
Al…
He snuck a glance at his brother, swallowing heavily against the lump in his throat. If Al found out what he'd done, he'd hate Ed. Al loved animals, and Ed had been draining them of blood.
Definitely a strange pair, he thought. Al can never find out.
Never.
