Al stood silently, listening intently as he pressed his ear up against the kitchen door. Edward and Winry's voices had taken on their usual loudness. Fighting of course, Al thought, rolling his eyes. Normally, Al would've also shown a small smile, amused by their immaturity. But this time, he wasn't listening mischievously just to monitor his brother's progress with Winry.
He heard his brother's laugh ring through the room. Usually this would've been reassuring, but there was something very wrong. Al could feel it. Ever since his brother began asking strange questions, not even recognizing him, Al had begun to notice other differences. Edward had looked more or less the same, but there was something about his face… perhaps his eyes. Yeah. Al had noticed that his brother's golden eyes were somehow different. They appeared more dull than usual. Not their color necessarily, but beneath that superficial level. He loved how his older brother always had a motivated and enthusiastic expression, but this morning that detail was missing. His eyes lacked that spirit.
The thing that worried Al most, however, was the tone he'd heard Edward using while talking to Winry. Alphonse knew that voice well after all their years growing up together. His brother was hiding something beneath those artificial words.
If everything were normal, his brother would be blunt about it. Though he certainly could be comforting and sensitive at times, Ed didn't speak in such a high, reassuring pitch unless there actually was something wrong. While Winry had thought this was suspicious, she'd managed to convince herself to trust Edward, because why shouldn't she? It didn't make sense for anything to be wrong. The war was over, and he'd been sleeping safely in their kitchen all night. Al, on the other hand, knew his brother better than that after all the time they'd spent together, and could tell that something was off.
Also, experience had showed him that the world wasn't always what it seemed. Much of their journey had been centered on things beyond their comprehension, and that taught him to question the situation without accepting a reality based solely upon what made sense.
While Al was lost thought, Edward's laughing had quieted. Winry's voice could once again be heard.
"You're such an idiot! I don't know why I bothered worrying!" she said furiously, after Edward had finally calmed down enough for her to speak.
"Aww, come on Winry! The face you made was just different from usual, that's all. It caught me off guard." He couldn't help but continue chuckling. Her expression had been adorable, blushing but also surprised and almost frightened at the same time.
"Hmph," she glared at him. "Well excuse me and my face!" As a habit she reached to her hip, where her wrench usually would've been in her pocket on the rare occasion it wasn't already in her hand. Unfortunately, or fortunately for Edward, she'd left it up in her room earlier that morning.
"You're face is fine." Edward said, now smiling more gently. As Winry noticed this change, she felt her cheeks heat up. What is going on with me?! I'm acting even more weird around him than usual! As she pondered why, the events from earlier that morning flooded her mind and only worsened the fiery blush. She turned away, not wanting him to see. In doing so, however, the clock came into view and she gasped.
"Crap! How is it so late already?!" she exclaimed in frustration. "I have to go help Granny with a tricky maintenance appointment, and I bet she's already left without me!" Indeed, her grandmother had slipped out when the two had been arguing. She'd assumed, of course, that it was just their normal routine and that trying to interrupt was pointless.
Winry began to rush out of the kitchen, but then paused for a moment and looked back at Edward with troubled blue eyes. She soon collected herself though. He's fine, calm down… you're worrying over nothing. "I'll be back in a bit, ok?" with a bright smile she ran down the hall to her workshop, grabbed a bag of her tools, and was out the door.
As soon as he heard the front door latch shut, Al walked back into the kitchen. He found Edward staring after Winry, his cheeks slightly flushed.
Upon hearing Al enter the room, Edward looked up and pasted a smile on his face, trying to seem as normal as he could. Unlike with Winry, he didn't feel as comfortable with this Alphonse… perhaps it was the age difference between him and Edward's actual brother? But also something else... There was a tension between the two of them. The trust and bond each had with his brother was absent, and they both could sense it. Nonetheless, Edward was going to continue with his plan. He'd just have to convince Al that he'd been sleepy and hadn't felt very well…
"Heh, sorry about that earlier Al." He said with an apologetic chuckle. "I was half-asleep and got confused by the dream I'd had."
Al observed his "brother." He really did look the same physically, but that just made everything more obvious. He saw how Edward ran his fingers through his hair, stopping at the back of his head in a casual way, but subtly twining his fingers and fidgeting with discomfort. He also didn't keep proper eye contact. While he didn't look away, Edward was blinking too often as he smiled, another sign Al knew to mean that his brother was avoiding something.
And also… Edward was holding his right arm strangely. It was a minute detail, but Al could see it. Since getting his arm back, Ed had begun to use it normally and grow accustomed to it. Now it was like he'd started all over again and wasn't used to having flesh rather than automail.
"So you're ok now, brother…?" Al asked hesitantly… suspiciously.
"Yep!" Edward said with perhaps too much enthusiasm. "In fact, I think I'll go back upstairs and change before Winry and Granny get back." He made his way to the door and turned into the hallway, approaching the steps.
Al followed closely behind.
"So brother, you remember everything now?" Al asked as they reached the stairs and began climbing. Edward laughed, trying to cover up his nervousness and seem natural.
"Of course, I was just confused for a bit that's all," he said confidently. Crap, I don't know about the past in this world!
"Like I said," Ed finally spoke up after collecting himself. "You won't be able to pull this off." That didn't mean Ed wasn't bitter and nervous about the fact that Winry had seemed fooled. But Alphonse wouldn't make the same mistake… Ed believed in his brother.
"Ok, good," Al continued, executing his plan. "Because I wanted to talk to you about… Xiao Mei for a minute."
"Wha—" after a split second of confusion, Ed silenced his thoughts, carefully trying to control his mind. Edward had sensed the other soul's reaction though, and grew alarmed.
Xiao Mei… who the hell is that?! Wait! They mentioned her before, right? She's from… Xing… and wait! Yeah, she's the one Al likes right? Back when he mentioned her before, he got that look on his face. Edward felt more prepared now. "Mhm, what about her?" He replied to Al as they reached the top of the steps and turned into the hallway. Honestly, Edward didn't know which room was his, since they hadn't had official rooms before, but hoped he'd recognize it when he got there…
"Well, I kind of wanted to know… what do you think of her?" Al asked, feigning an embarrassed tone.
Yes! I knew it! "I think you two would be perfect together." Edward said, grinning mischievously. That is, until Ed burst out laughing inside his head.
It had been all Ed could do not to laugh upon hearing Edward draw all of the wrong conclusions in his thoughts. His younger brother never ceased to impress him, but this was hilarious and brilliant. "Xiao Mei is a panda, you idiot!" Ed exclaimed, trying to catch his breath. "The one Al likes is May. Not Xiao Mei! May Chang."
Before Edward could fully process his grave mistake, Alphonse turned shoved him up against the wall. He roughly pressed an arm against his brother's chest, holding him in place. Both Ed and Edward were speechless, gold eyes wide and mouths slightly open with surprise.
Ed had never seen this expression on Al's face before. Partly because Al only regained his human body recently, but also because this was completely out of character for him. And Edward was equally dumbfounded. While his Alphonse had been human for years, he was gentle and practically never lost his temper.
"Who are you, and where is my brother?!" Al hissed menacingly.
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Ok no time for much because I'm literally about to run off to class this was last minute but I did it! Pardon any errors, I didn't have time to edit as much (at all) because I wanted to get the chapter out on time! I'll come back and edit later though! :)
As usual, thank you all so very much for your reviews and follows and favorites. I read every review, though I don't reply because that'd just feel like I'm stalking and bothering you, but I love them all thank you! -.-
One note, I know Al is a bit OC, but not really! Keep in mind that this is post-brotherhood, and that in brotherhood Al is pretty mature and grown up. And when his brother's safety is at stake, he can be pretty badass and clever.
Oh oh and also, I'm so so so sorry for making you hate Edward! I promise he won't act like such an idiot for too long, ok? He's just caught up in the moment, which is somewhat understandable I guess. But I mean, he's been trapped in another world for years so now this opportunity that he never expected, and the fact that it's all happening so fast, has kind of messed with his common sense... but yeah, you'll see!
Anyway, got to go, and I'll try to get another chapter out soon! Thank you for reading! :D
~ Night Rain
