Ed looked floored. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to figure out how his brother could have possibly found out about what he'd thought he'd been hiding so well.

Obviously, the fact that he was baffled as to what to do next amused his younger sibling endlessly, a look of satisfaction gracing Al's gentle features and making him look ages older. It was somewhat disconcerting.

"B-but…you…I…," Edward managed, desperately trying to find the words that would save his skin.

The younger Elric shook his head in pity, not believing a word that was—or rather, wasn't—coming from his brother's mouth. A small part of him actually considered dropping the subject, or at the very least, saving it for another time when his sibling was better equipped to defend himself. However, the still-childish part of him that loved to see his older brother squirm would have none of it. A mischievous grin formed across his lips, completing the expression of triumph that had settled upon his face and causing the now-completely confounded older alchemist's nerve to promptly drop through the floor.

Anyone who walked in would find the situation highly entertaining.

Ed, however, wasn't entirely convinced. He crossed his arms, resorting to the only defense he believed he had left, which was, of course, denial.

"Listen, I don't know what you think you know, Al, but there is nothing for me to pretend about. Nothing at all! I don't know what makes you think that I would feel anything remotely resembling affection of any kind for that arrogant bastard!" he shouted defiantly.

Al tried to hold back the laugh that was threatening to burst from his throat as he made a slight attempt to keep his brother from doing that which he did so well: making a complete idiot out of himself by letting his mouth run away with him.

Too late.

"Affection?" the younger Elric chuckle-coughed. "Who said anything about affection? For all you know, I could have been talking about respect, or some kind of fondness." He finally stopped laughing and settled for just smiling sympathetically at his sibling.

Once again, Edward was dumbfounded. The only two things he could think of were, number one: when had Al gotten so much smarter than him? And two: what was he supposed to say to something like that? No words came to him that sounded anything less than guilty. He might as well wave a white flag in self-defense to keep himself from doing anything more damaging.

Suddenly, the proverbial light came on. That was it. He could just tell Al that sure, he had something for their commanding officer. He didn't have to go into details or anything. For all Al knew, it was just a small crush, a passing phase of sorts…instead of the full-blown, mind-boggling, heart-wrenching infatuation that it really was.

Ed sighed, trying to sound defeated. He shrugged, leaning against the side of the bed and drawing his flesh knee to his chest. He tried to look as if deep in thought, when he really had everything he wanted to say already on the tip of his tongue. He took a deep breath, and began his verbal tap dance around the truth.

"Well damnit…I don't know what to say, Al," he said softly, starting out slow to make it appear as if he was struggling for words. "I mean, you're right. You are totally right. I just…" He cast his eyes to the ground, tracing an array on the floor next to him with his automail hand. He frowned deeply, knowing that this, plus what he was going to say next, was going to be the very thing that got him out of the tough spot he'd managed to get himself into.

Mental note, more yelling, less spacing out, at least around Mustang, Ed thought to himself. His frown deepened at the thought of the older man. Stupid bastard, getting me into this mess. I swear, next time I see him, I am going to—

"Brother?" Al asked quietly, urging Edward to continue.

The older blond sighed, knowing that it was time to deliver the ending blow. He hated having to do this to his own brother, but it was the only thing he could do, at least until he had things better figured out.

"Al, you don't…you don't hate me, do you?" he asked quietly, biting his lower lip for better effect.

Alphonse's eyes widened in surprise. "Brother, you haven't asked me that since…" He thought back to when his soul was still incased within the suit of armor. Edward had looked at him so guiltily it had nearly torn him in two. He still couldn't believe that he'd actually considered that his brother would do something like fabricate his memories. He should have had more faith in Edward than that. Even after all they'd been through, he still felt guilty about thinking that his brother had done something like that.

He looked back up at Edward, who had that same look of guilt on his face. He swallowed hard, unsure of what to say. His brother had done horrible things before, but that hadn't changed the way Al felt about him. He would always love his big brother, no matter what. Why would Ed think that he'd change his mind now? Just because he happened to have feelings for the colonel?

Al shook his head, partially in response, but mostly out of pity. "Brother…Edward," he said, using his first name to further emphasize the importance of what he was going to say. He waited until his brother's head snapped up at the use of his name to continue. "No matter what you do, no matter how many buildings you blow up, or villages you get us thrown out of, or angry mobs you get to chase us…no matter how bad things get, I could never hate you. I wouldn't care if you attached my soul to another suit of armor—hell, you could even attach my soul to a coffee can for all I care. I could never, ever hate you."

Edward stared at him in awe. "Alphonse…" he said softly, his eyes drifting down to the floor as he smiled softly.

The smaller teen shook his head. "No. No more talk of me hating you. I don't care who you love, just as long as you're happy."

Ed felt warmth spread through him at his brother's words. "Al, you don't know how that makes me feel…" He paused, the words finally having sunk in. "Wait, love? What makes you think that I love Roy?"

Al glanced up at him, a smirk forming across his lips. "Why Brother, I don't think I ever implied that you did. And since when did you call Colonel Mustang by his first name instead of an obscenity?"

Edward cursed himself mentally. The more he talked, the more trouble he seemed to get himself into. Sometimes he wondered how he and Al were even related. Al was always so quiet and patient, and he…well, he had a tendency to run off at the mouth a little too often. Perhaps it would be wise if he didn't say much else. Still, in being silent, he was practically playing into his brother's hands.

"I just—" he began quietly.

Al shook his head firmly. "No, don't worry about it. It's all right, Brother. Like, I told you, you don't have to pretend anymore."

"H-how long…?" Ed asked shakily.

"I've known for awhile now," the younger alchemist admitted, bowing his head, ashamed.

"Yes, I assumed that," Edward said, giving up on any attempts to try and convince his brother what he knew was a lie. "But I mean…how long?"

Alphonse thought carefully, trying to calculate the time in his head. He finally settled on a relatively accurate number. "About four months, perhaps five."

"Five months?" the older teen asked in disbelief. "You knew about this for five months, and you've managed to keep quiet about it?"

Al's brow furrowed and irritation began to flare inside of him as his usually-enduring patience started thinning. "Keep quiet about it? You say that as if I run around running my mouth all the time! Trust me, it wasn't easy keeping your secret. I don't know what was harder, keeping it, or finding out about it in the first place!" He shook his head in frustration. "I mean, I didn't think too much of it when you were talking in your sleep, but then it really started to bother me after you started spacing out on me all the time. I actually asked Noa to help me because I was so worried about you."

Edward's eyes widened. He didn't know if he was more bothered by the fact that his brother had gone behind his back to find out something he wanted to keep secret, or if his silence about said secret had forced his brother to go to Noa. He'd known from the moment he relayed the story of how the Thule society had used him and their father to open the Gate and how Noa had taken his knowledge of alchemy while he was sleeping…he'd known how Alphonse had felt towards her. The look on his face had said it all.

You hurt my brother. I don't trust you.

He frowned, lines deepening in his face, making him appear much older, if only for a moment.

"Brother?" Al asked quietly, a look of concern on his face. He was looking at Ed as if in a kind of panicked apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what I was saying. I wasn't—"

The older blond shook his head in argument. "No Al, you're right. You haven't ever given me any reason to think you'd do something like that. It was wrong of me to act like you would. I'm the one who should be sorry. I am sorry. For as long as you've kept this secret from me, I've kept my own secrets that much longer."

"You trust me, don't you, Brother?" Alphonse asked quietly.

Edward almost laughed in disbelief. Almost. "Of course I do! It's just…some things…aren't meant to be shared with others. You know?"

The younger Elric nodded in understanding. Yes, he could understand why his brother wouldn't want to talk about what he felt for a certain dark-haired man for several reasons; fear of rejection would probably top that list. Of course, he would never reject his brother, not ever. But other people…that was another thing all together.

Some people would never understand.

But Alphonse wasn't "some people." He understood that sometimes love had this odd way of winding around a person, causing them to gravitate to other, often less likely individuals. His poor brother had fallen prey to such a thing.

He offered a small smile of reassurance to his older, now-concerned sibling. "Don't worry, Brother. It's going to be all right, just like you said. Let's just get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow, so we'll need to be rested."

A look of relief crossed Edward's face. He was never so grateful for an excuse to end a conversation.

He nodded in agreement. "Good idea, Al." Glancing back over at his younger brother, he smiled in gratitude for the suggestion. "We can talk some more tomorrow."

As Al watched Edward climb into bed and settle into sleep, he smiled softly. That smile turned into a small frown as he thought of what he must do next.

"Yes…we can talk tomorrow, but not before I take care of something first," he murmured into his pillow, turning to face the wall. As much as it would feel like treason to him, Alphonse knew that he had to do something to help ease his brother's confusion.

You can't hide forever, Brother.