Sorry guys for taking so long to update this. I really wanted to get one chapter out for Christmas, but then I'd have to post 2 or three chapters a day, and That's ust a pain in the neck to do, so some will be out late. Sorry.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. No, unlike the title may suggest it has nothing to do with the gate. No alchemy in this FF guys.

Thanks to all those who have reviewed! Now, Onto the chapter!

Edward sat on the couch with a notebook and a pencil, trying to figure out a rather difficult math problem. The past 3 days that they had been there, he had taken to finding math books that were lying around from when Maes was a kid, as it was the same house he grew up in, and try the math problems inside. He rewrote the problems on paper to do later so he wouldn't get caught with the book, and never let anyone know this, though he knew Al knew about it.

"Hey, kiddo, what are you doing?" a now-familiar voice asked, putting on hand on the older Elric's shoulder and causing him to jump out of the way.

"Nothing," he hissed through clenched teeth as he closed up his notebook.

"Sorry, Edward, didn't mean to scare you. Say, why don't the two of us go for a walk? We can talk for a bit, and I can get to know you," Maes smiled, but the blond didn't return his enthusiasm.

He looked out the window and saw a light dusting of snow. He shivered, 'if it's cold enough for snow to stay, it's plenty cold enough to freeze my automail, and who knows how long this freak would want to stay out in the cold,' he thought bitterly.

"Come on, Ed, get your coat, Gracia asked me to get some food for dinner, and I'd sure like your company," Hughes coaxed.

"Then ask Al if you want company, it's too cold out," Edward sat in a chair away from the man who was now on the couch, and continued his written out math problems.

"He's helping Gracia, come on, Ed, please?"

"...And you promise it's not very cold, and it won't take long?" Edward finally said with a sigh.

"Yup! We'll be there and back before you know it!"

"And you'll leave me alone if I go?"

"Can't promise that one, but I suppose it would depend on your definition,"

The blond sighed as he closed his notebook again, "Come on, I don't see it getting any warmer out," he muttered, walking to the room he stayed in to get his coat, placing the notebook on the bed.

"Alright! Let's go!" Maes declared excitedly.

As they walked, Ed realized that it wasn't too cold and they made it there without his automail getting too cold. Unfortunately, it seemed that in the time it took for Maes to find a vegetable and meat for supper and get through the check-out line, it got colder and the wind picked up, so when they left with their groceries, the cold cut through Edward like a knife and he started shivering right away, and no matter what he did he couldn't get warm.

"You alright, Edward?" Maes asked as the boys shivering got worse.

Edward could only nod, his teeth were chattering so bad that had he tried to say anything he probably would have only bit off his own tongue, so nodding was safest.

"It's not that cold is it?" asked Maes, unaware of the metal that was leeching heat from the smaller boy.

'You aren't the one with automail,' the boy thought bitterly.

Maes kept an eye on the shivering boy as the walked the rest of the way home, and as they walked inside, Al looked at his brother, and actually glared at Maes. He was shocked, he'd been thinking it was impossible for the boy to glare at anyone, and yet, he was sure it was a glare he'd received from the bronze haired boy.

"Brother? Are you gonna be alright?" he asked.

Edward swallowed, he knew he'd have to talk to assure his brother, "Y-y-yeah, Al, I-I-I'll be f-f-fine,"

"Brother why'd you go out there? You know what happens when you get it too cold!" Al cried out.

"D-d-don't blame me f-for this, Al," Edward yelled.

"He's right, Alphonse, I kinda pestered him into joining me," Maes said guiltily, much to Edwards surprise. He'd been expecting the man to have said it wasn't his fault, that Ed had wanted to come, the last thing he expected was for the man to actually admit he'd pestered him into coming.

"Oh...Sorry, Brother...," Al looked down guiltily.

"S'alright, Al...I should have known better," Edward brought his knees to his chest to try and warm his leg, as well as his arm, knowing that if he didn't warm those up, he'd never be able to get warm. He shivered violently though, and it didn't seem to be helping.

"Uh, Brother, maybe you should-"

"NO!" Edward cut off his brother, "They don't need to know, so forget it!" the boy got up and walked to his room.

"What was that about?" asked Gracia.

Alphonse shook his head, trying not to cry, "I can't say...It's not my concern," he said the words as though reciting from a textbook.

"Is that what your brother told you?" Gracia sat down next to Al, who nodded slightly, "can't you tell us why he's so cold? It would help us a lot, so we could help him,"

"B-but he'll be alright, won't he? He doesn't want me to tell anyone," tears fell from the small boys eyes.

"I don't know, Alphonse. Does this happen a lot?"

"Only when his arm and leg get really cold, then-" Alphonse looked up frantically as he realized what he had just said.

"Why does it happen, Al?" Maes asked, but the boy shook his head.

"I-I-I can't tell you...I said too much already," Al started breathing weakly. Unable to get sufficient air into his lungs, he began to panic.

"Al, where's your inhaler?" Gracia asked calmly.

"W-with Ed," the fact that he used his brothers nickname alerted the couple and Maes rushed to the boy's room to get Al's inhaler.

Maes knocked on the door, "Ed, come on, open this door! Your brother needs help!"

Almost immediately the door was flung open, and Edward was standing there, dressed in his preferred black outfit, sweater open revealing a black tank top, and his right hand had his glove while his left clutched the inhaler tightly.

"What did you do?" he snarled, but he didn't wait for a reply, just ran into the living room and helped his brother who smiled gratefully afterwards for the help.

Edward leaned against the couch and shut his eyes in relief. He stayed in that position until he felt several eyes watching him. He glared at them in frustration, "Al, what the hell is going on?" he demanded. The only response he got was his brother pointing, first at his wrist, and then his shoulder.

Edward looked at his wrist and saw that his sweater had ridden up to his forearm revealing the glinting silver of his automail, and the collar of his sweater had slipped down, which showed the scars and the attachment of his automail. He looked back up at the people staring at him before getting up and running back to his room and locking the door.

Edward leaned up against the door while his brother knocked on it, trying desperately to get his brother to let him in. The door was locked, though, and no one could get in unless Edward opened the door first.

"Please, Brother, I'm sorry, I didn't think...I couldn't..."

"It's not like you can control it, Al," Edward muttered bitterly.

"Brother, why won't you come out? You can trust them, they're nice,"

"I don't care how nice you think they are, they don't care about us, Al! They're just gonna dump us off at some orphanage, so quit getting so attached to them!" Edward shouted at his brother through the door.

"Brother, why are you being so rude? They let us stay here, and you can't be nice for five minutes! You can't trust them enough so they can help you, why can't you stop being so stubborn?"

"Shut it, Al! No one asked you!" Ed snarled.

There was the hurried sound of footsteps leaving the door as Al ran off. Edward threw open the door just in time to see his brother turn back.

"Al, wait...I'm sorry," the blond reached out a shaking hand towards his brother.

Al wiped his eyes on his sleeve, "I hate you, Brother!" he shouted, "I hate you!" and with that, the younger Elric turned the corner into the living room.

Edward slowly sunk to his knees at what his brother said, his words echoing in his ears. He shook even worse than before, but this time it had nothing to do with the cold.

"Edward? Are you alright?" a female voice asked.

Edward looked around sadly, "M'fine," he muttered, looking back down at the ground.

Gracia sat down next to him, "you don't look fine...And your arm didn't really look like it was fine,"

"It's...It's fine," Edward spoke softly.

"Edward, it's alright. Your brother still loves you," she whispered.

The boy shook his blond head, "he said he hates me, I messed up everything, and now he hates me,"

"He doesn't hate you, he's just worried, that's all,"

Edward shook his head again, more furiously than before, "Al never says anything he doesn't mean. He's not like other kids who throw around the word 'hate' lightly. If he says he hates something, he means it...A-and now..." the boy got to his feet and turned to go into his room, and he shut the door quietly behind him.

Gracia stood up and brushed off her skirt, 'better not push him,' she thought as she got ready to prepare dinner, 'poor thing, he's bound to break down sooner or later,'

When dinner was finally ready, she called the boys to the table. They both sat on opposite sides of the table, and it seemed that Alphonse was still rather angry at his older brother, and Edward as a result became more silent than before, and made sure to avoid anyones eyes.

After dinner Ed left to go back to his room and Al stayed to help Gracia with the dishes.

"Ms. Gracia?" Al asked tentatively.

"Yes, Alphonse?" she had given up trying to get Al to just call her Gracia, and the fact that he called her 'Ms. Gracia' was an amazing accomplishment.

"Why do you think Brother dislikes people so much?"

"I don't know Al, that might be something you'll need to ask him yourself," Gracia replied honestly, noting the fact that the boy didn't say hate, as many other people would have. She began to see where Ed would think he was hated by his brother, if he never used the word.

"I have, but he always yells at me if I do...I don't like it when he's mad...Lately though...He's been getting more and more angry with me," Al looked down at the cup he was drying.

"How so?"

"Well, I asked him how dad was going to find us if we are so far from home, and he told me to forget about him, 'cause he was nothing but a-" Alphonse stopped abruptly before uttering out the curses Edward had used to label their father, but having heard many of the older boys choice words at times, Gracia could guess that it wasn't very kind.

"He might just miss him like you do, but has a different way of showing it, that's all," Gracia suggested.

"Maybe," Al yawned.

"Do you want to go to bed, Alphonse?" Gracia asked him, and the boy nodded tiredly.

"Then off you go, I can finish these," and the boy folded the towel and thanked her before walking to his own room.

So there it is, chapter 7. Hope you liked it and please review!