Shower Shock.

Ed observed his pocketwatch with little interest. He let out an exasperated sigh before cramming it back into his pocket. "So, what did Mustang want?" Teresa chirped, twirling around excitedly. She held the chocolate-colored teddy bear to her chest. Ed let out a second sigh, then fixed his attention on Teresa. "I had to file a stupid report on why you're travelling with me," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "He said to take good care of you." Teresa let out a kind of mustered laugh. "Oh, that Mustang! What'd I tell you? He's a sap! A sap I say!" She twirled around again. Al could only rub the top of his helmet. "What, did you give her chocolates, too?" Ed joked, watching Al. He knew his brother had a soft spot for Teresa since they were kids. Ed ran into Teresa. He turned to look at her, and then slouched. He couldn't help but chuckle. Her hands and face were plastered against a window. The store was a hunting store, and, of course...Teresa had her eyes fixed on one of the largest rifles Ed had ever seen. "Wooow!" she purred, her eyes getting large. "Isn't it beautiful? I'd love to shoot one of those, find out what kind of bullets it uses and construct an entire suit of armor based on that material..." Her eyes travelled toward the price. She screamed. "Looks like I can't afford that," she pouted. She shrugged and turned to Ed. "So, what? We're heading back to Winry's?"

Ed shook his head. "We can't," he told her. "Not only will she kill me for not telling her we left, but we don't have time. Tomorrow morning we have to head to the library for research, and then we have another meeting. You can head back--" Teresa smacked him on the side of the head. "You can't convince me," she roared. "I've already made up my mind." Ed rubbed his throbbing crown. "So we're heading back to the hotel." he finished, kind of glaring at Teresa. "Good," Teresa said, holding up a finger. "I really have to wash up." She tugged on her blonde hair with a grimace. Then she sniffed the air. "And you should, too." Ed leered at her. "Thanks." The three adolescents continued their way down the street. "Terrie?" Ed asked. She glanced over her shoulder at him. "What?" Ed grinned. "When's your birthday?" She growled at him, angered that he didn't remember despite their age-old friendship and at his incredulous arrogance. "December, you lunkhead," she responded heatedly.

"I'll go get some food, brother." Al said, hurrying out the door of the hotel room. Ed nodded, then watched as Teresa pulled her hair out of her ponytail and untie her bandana. She tugged off her plaid blouse, noted Ed's staring, and, with a playful growl, she tossed it on his face. Both of them laughed. "I'll be out in a minute, Ed," Teresa said, closing the door behind her as she entered the bathroom. "Hold on." Ed nodded, pulling the shirt from his face and then turning over onto his side. He listened to the sound of his breathing. Then he began fiddling with a loose string on the bed quilt, until he heard the water from the shower running. He listened to that for a while, before his consciousness slipped away and he fell asleep.

He opened his eyes. The room around him was dark, enveloped in a thick cloud of smoke-like substance. He saw Al, the armor resting limply in the corner of the room. The sound of running water echoed from the bathroom, in which a fading violet glow came from inside. Intrigued, and worried, he sat up. He yanked the covers from his frame and stood, a wrenching pain surging through his body. He grunted, but went on anyway. He limped to the door, watching the glow. It wouldn't go away. Perspiration dripped down his forehead and drenched his palms. But he couldn't feel it. The only thing he had felt was the pain when he stood. His breaths clouded in front of him through the darkness. Faint moonlight seeped in from the windows. He felt the knob. Hesitantly, he turned it. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He could feel the muscles in his throat move. He pulled the entire door open. He felt flushed as he watched Teresa pull her hair over one shoulder. As he observed her body, his eyes stopped at the back of her neck. He stepped closer, and his heart stopped. A tattoo of Oruboros was what covered her neck. She turned to look at him; her eyes were red. She smirked, lurched at him, revealing her thick, animalistic chissels. Ed stepped backward and he tried to scream, but no sound came out. He tried again, feeling something constrict around his throat. He tried a third time. Then he awakened, drenched in sweat, sitting up on the bed in the hotel room. The sun was still up. Al hadn't come back.

"Al? Al? Where are you?" he called, attempting to catch his breath. Their was a stinging pain in his lungs. He couldn't hear the water running anymore, and he was almost certain she had just started. "Terrie?" he called. There was no answer. "Terrie?" Still nothing. He stepped off the bed, expecting an electrical pain. But there was nothing. He ambled toward the door of the bathroom. He reached for it. The knob was drenched in beads of cold water. He turned the knob slowly; it opened easily. His eyes travelled to the shower. Teresa was still bathing. Instantly, he turned red, then covered his mouth to keep him from screaming. Her back was to him, and she was massaging her scalp. Foam appeared from between her fingers. Ed tried to reach for the door, but he was frozen in place. He couldn't move. Try as he might, he failed. And another part of Ed demanded that he stay. His heart began to pound. Teresa pulled her hair away from her back. Ed expected a tattoo on her neck, but what he saw instead shocked him. In the center of her shoulderblade was a transmutation circle unlike any Ed has ever seen before. His mouth parted to let out a shocked cry, now realizing what it meant, but Al beat him to it.

"Brother! I'm ba--BROTHER!"

Dammit! Ed thought, watching Teresa turn around. Her eyes went wide and she let out a shrill, ear-piercing scream. She grabbed what was nearest--which, fortunately for Ed, was a bottle filled with shampoo--and threw it at him. With the force of the throw, Ed was sent backward. Al slammed the door to the bathroom shut, seemingly glaring at his brother through the armor. Ed could hear Teresa's cry perfectly: "YOU PERVERT!"

"How could you do that to me, Ed?" Teresa demanded softly. Her eyes watered. She clutched the teddy bear to her chest. She turned away, placing a hand on her face. Al sat next to her, watching Ed's every move. He was disgusted with the way Ed just wrapped his arms around his legs, staring into nothing through the corner of his eyes. He knew, however, that Ed was listening to the sound of Teresa's gentle sobs. Ed's eyes travelled to her. He closed his eyes temporarily, wrinkles appearing on his forehead as an angry expression formed over his face. He clenched his fists tightly and let out a scream. "I have feelings for her too, Al!" he shrieked, his eyes snapping open. He glared hatefully at his brother across from him. Both Teresa and Al were shocked and let out soft cries. Teresa turned to watch him, tears still streaming down her face. "I LOVE HER TOO, AL!" He buried his face in his hands and sobbed loudly in them. He looked back up at them. "I've always loved her! It kills me to know that her heart belongs to you, Al!" His shoulders shook violently as he let out another cry. "But that wasn't it...that's not why I watched her bathe," he told them, looking away. "I wanted to make sure of something--" Teresa balled her hand into a fist. "You always want to make sure of something, Ed!" she screamed. "I don't know what you wanted to make sure of when you forcefully kissed me--but I'm shocked you'd take it this far!"

She hugged her bear. "This is unlike you, brother," Al said softly. "You've never been this way. And, Winry--" Ed grabbed the pillow at his side and threw it at Al. "Shut up, Al!" he shrieked. "You know I don't have feelings like that for Winry! I've told you millions of times!" Teresa stood up. She glared down at Ed. "You never cease to amaze me, Ed. You know how Winry feels about you," More tears dripped down her cheeks. "Did you see what you wanted to see? Did you finally get what you wanted?" She slapped him. She watched as beads of his sadness snaked down his face. He said nothing. "Teresa..." She turned to Al, then sat back down. She dug her face in her hands and began weeping convulsively. Al put his hand on her back.

Ed then turned to her, and in a gritty, spiteful tone, said: "Why didn't you tell me?"

Teresa gazed up at him. "Why didn't you tell me you were a State Alchemist?" Al let out a soft cry. "Terrie?" Teresa glanced hellward. She looked serious now. "How do you know I'm a State Alchemist?" she asked. Ed nodded toward her plaid blouse. "Don't give me that crap," he barked. "Get your watch out of your pocket!" And she did reach in, and pulled out a silver pocketwatch with the military's insignia engraved on it. She tossed it to Ed, whom caught it and popped it open. It read on the inside: "Failure," and it was etched in blood. "I joined the military for one reason," she said. "I wanted to get that Philosopher's Stone. With it, I knew I could restore my family. And as I learned from Winry about you and Al, I could restore you two back to your original bodies..." Ed scowled. "Don't lie to me," Ed growled. "Tell us what else you want to restore." Teresa grimaced. "There is nothing else."

Ed snatched her right hand. He held it up in front of her. "Brother, don't hurt her..." Ed yanked at the glove. "Please don't..." she said softly. But Ed kept going. He pulled off the entire thing. Al cried out in shock. It was meant to be flesh. Fair-toned, pure and perfect flesh, with blemishless nails and shapely fingers. But it wasn't. It was metal. All metal, up to her wrist. She pulled it away from Ed, closing her other hand around it. She looked shamefully at the floor. "I couldn't keep it in the condition it was in," she said. "Eight bullet holes and ruined nerves. It was going to shrivel..." She bit her lip. "The only one who knew was Pinako. I made her promise not to tell any of you. I was afraid you would abandon me as a friend, and that Al wouldn't love me anymore." Al put his hand in the air. "That's not true, I never would have done that!" he cried. "I mean, you love me, right? And I'm all metal..."

Her eyes gleamed sadly. "The only thing that will settle this is if I leave," she murmured. "I'll leave this afternoon."