Shortly after Roy left, Edward's chest pains began to get worse. He lightly touched his left to the flesh, only to feel his heart racing and skipping beats. His eyes widened in fear and the pain grew worse, but he refrained from crying out, because he didn't want to wake Al. Instead, he shifted in his bed. However, that was a bad idea, because the movement resulted in his brother rolling over, his eyes quietly fluttering open. Ed stopped moving around when he noticed Al was awake, but he had already seen his nii-san's struggle against pain.
"You ok?" Al asked quietly.
"I-I'm fine," Ed rasped between quickened breaths.
"Please don't lie to me, Nii-san," Al pleaded, sitting up in bed.
Ed sighed. Maybe Al should know the truth, but he might get angry with him. But if he didn't tell him, he'd feel like he was lying to Al, and the pain of realizing that truth hurt more than his chest did.
"Al...my chest hurts. I have to tell you why. Now. I-I've been sick...for a couple years now and..."
Al slapped his cheek so hard that not only was his head forced away, but he felt it vibrate through his body. When he finally looked back at his brother, there were tears in his young eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me, Nii-san? Why!" Al asked angrily, but there was an immense amount of fear in his voice too. He must have thought that it was the sickness their mother had had.
"I didn't want you to insist to put the search on hold, just because of me," he said quietly.
"But...what if you...?" Al asked fearfully.
"I won't. I promise."
"But Mom–"
"I know. But I won't. Trust me."
"Promise me...that you'll get better."
Ed nodded, the pain beginning to subside a little. "I promise."
"Now, Nii-san, please rest now, ok? You need to rest."
"I've been resting for three days. I think that's long enough. Besides, you know I can't just sit here and do nothing. I get fidgety," Edward said with a weak laugh.
"Getting fidgety is better than dying," the younger Elric pointed out.
"Ok, ok. I give. I'll rest, just for you. But you have to promise to sleep too, ok?"
"But what if––?"
"If anything happens, I'm sure a nurse will know. Relax. I feel much better now. No worries, ok?"
"Ok," Al said with a small nod.
Then the two slipped quietly under the covers and fell asleep, holding one-another's hands, just as the did when they were kids.
The next time Ed opened his eyes, it was daylight, and his left hand had fallen asleep, which was still holding Al's hand. His chest was still sore, but not too much, and his hair had magically escaped his braid. He focused his on Alphonse, who was still sound asleep. Then he slowly rolled onto, so that he could still clasp his brother's hand and looked to the side, only to find Lieutenant Maria Ross sitting in the chair Roy had previously moved next to his bed. He nearly jumped in surprise and screamed, but retained his composure and gave her a half death-glare, telling her he wasn't happy with her intrusion.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, letting annoyance seep into his tone.
"Colonel Mustang asked me to keep watch on you," she replied simply.
"Did he now?"
"Yes."
"And how long have I sleeping for?"
"Four days."
"Four days! Are you serious?"
"Quite. You and Alphonse have been asleep for four days since Colonel Mustang left," Ross confirmed.
"Four days, eh?" Ed said with a sigh. "How's Al been doing over that time frame? I'm sure nurses have been checking up on him."
"His body is stabilizing, so I think it's safe to say he's doing fine."
"Good. I was pretty worried about him, especially when Mustang said he wasn't doing so good. I never would have known; he always acts like everything's ok."
"Just like his brother," Ross said with a nod.
"I guess that's true. He seems to try to get into as much trouble as me sometimes."
"It's because he looks up to you."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. But that doesn't mean that he should get himself in trouble, too."
"Maybe you shouldn't either," Maria said sternly.
"Can't help it. Trouble practically stalks me."
"Because you go looking for it."
"I do not," Ed retorted.
"Please! Searching for the Philosopher's Stone practically turns you into a beacon that says, 'Hey, come get me, I have lots of information leading to the location and/or the production of a Philosopher's Stone!'"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"Listen to me, Edward. Now that Alphonse has a human body, you have to be extra careful. Before, he was virtually immortal; there was no heart to pierce, no blood to lose. But now it's all there, and he's as fragile as any other person."
"Yeah. You're right. So that's why I've decided that we're going to stop searching and finally go home," Ed said quietly.
"What do you mean, Nii-san?" Al's voice asked suddenly.
"Oh, so you're awake," Maria said.
Both boys sat up in their beds, letting go of one another's hands. Al looked at his elder brother, while Ed focused on the blanket that covered his lower half.
"...Nii-san?"
"It's over. Our search is over. You've got your body back. Now you need to be able to enjoy it. The best way to do that is to go back to Resembool. We can go live with Auntie Pinako and Winry. You'll be able to taste new foods and feel the water of the river against your skin. I'll even let you have a cat. It'll be a great experience for you," Edward said with a smile.
"Really! I can have a cat! Yay! ...But your arm. And your leg..."
"That's not important. Besides, I've gotten used to the automail. And there's no reason to put you at risk anymore."
"I don't care about the risk!" Al said with a controlling tone. "You've done so much to get my body back, you even became what you hated; a dog of the military. Now you're saying that everything you've sacrificed is ok now, because I've got my body back? You're saying I can't sacrifice just as much to get your normal body back? I won't buy that!"
"Al. Stop it. Listen to yourself. Think of the risks. If something went wrong, it could end up like before. And last time I checked, we don't carry a suit of armor in our suitcase. And then we'd be right back to where we started. And what good would that do?" Ed asked with a sympathetic smile.
"But...look at everything you've done for me! I should at least be able to try to help you. It's the least I can do to repay you!"
"Al, do you hear what you're saying?" Ed asked, grabbing his brother's shoulders gently. "Repay me? Come on, I'm your brother. Just your being alive and with me is payment enough. And how could I ask for anything from you? You've given me anything I could ever ask for."
"N-Nii-san..."
Tears quietly came to Al's eyes and he thrust himself into his brother, throwing his arms around Edward and crying over his flesh shoulder. This action put some strain on the blonde-haired alchemist, but he ignored the pain and put his own arms around his younger brother. A warm smile crept onto his boyish features.
"Y-you're so stupid, N-Nii-san," Al stammered between sobs. "You'll d-do anything for m-me, no matter what price you have to pay."
"Everything I do is for you, Al," Ed said quietly. "All I want is for you to be happy and safe. I'll do anything it takes to ensure it. I don't care about the cost to me."
"That's s-so stupid. You can't just throw everything away f-for me. You have to be able to enjoy life too, Nii-san. Please, be happy and take care of yourself."
"Al..."
"Nii-san. You want me to be happy, right?" Al said suddenly.
"Of course, Al. I could never want anything else."
"You know what would make me happy? If you got your sickness treated and you took better care of yourself, and enjoyed yourself, too."
"Al...I..."
"Promise me. Promise me you'll take better care of yourself."
Ed sighed and shifted his eyes to Maria, who sat rigidly, trying to look stern, but he could tell that she was about twenty seconds away from hugging them both.
He smiled, shut his eyes and nodded. Alphonse didn't reply in any way, so he ran his flesh hand through his brother's hair to get his attention.
"Ok, Al. I promise," he whispered.
Alphonse nodded and sniffled, a small smile creeping onto his tear-streaked face.
