Revolutionize
Edward Elric was bored out of his skull.
No new missions, he thought grimly. This was the one time he had ever wanted that fink of a colonel to tell him what to do. Apparently, Roy Mustang was off on a leisure trip with a few co-workers. What a slacker.
Edward hadn't seen his younger brother in days. It was bothering him, really; the fact that Alphonse had taken charge of himself and "decided to pursue a new goal"—was that what he had said? —was completely out of the ordinary.
He was used to Al being by his side, supporting him, as any brother should. He had to admit, however, that often times Al took the action of an older, more mature brother. It seemed to Ed that, looking back on his own reactions, maybe he should try to grow up a little.
…Nah.
The blazing sun blinded him as he walked along the dirt path. Fields of corn surrounded the area for miles, making it impossible to know where he was or how long the road extended. How long had he been out here? He reached into his pocket and retrieved his silver watch.
Five thirty, it read. He snapped it shut, confident he'd miss supper at the Rockbells' for the third day in a row.
Ed started back down his route. He might be late, but it'd be close enough. Winry had better not give my food to that dumb dog of hers, he thought, remembering how he himself used to eat both his own meals and Al's.
He kept walking, lifting his gloved hand over his eyes to block out the sun. There was something making its way over the hills toward him. It was coming closer now, and Ed was soon able to identify the object. A bicycle.
He lost track of the object, but kept walking towards it. The sun became a little too strong, and before he knew it, something hit him.
Ed was lying on his back when he came to, at the border of one of the corn patches. He sat up and turned to face the road again. Someone had left a copy of "The Central Times" on the ground.
"EXTRA, EXTRA!" came a voice that gradually grew softer. Edward stood, brushed off his slacks, and gave a short wave to the paperboy on the bike. He went to go get the newspaper off the ground. The headline read,
"ALPHONSE ELRIC FOLLOWS IN HIS BROTHER'S FOOTSTEPS."
Edward thrust the paper to the dirt. "What!" he shouted. Hastily retrieving it, he read the first few lines of the article and sprinted toward the Rockbells'.
His brother's footsteps! he thought angrily. The whole point of Al staying OUT of the military was to gain the benefits Edward alone did not have! He naturally began to generate new titles for the article. "ALPHONSE ELRIC FORGETS TO TELL HIS BROTHER THAT HE WAS JOINING THE MILITARY AND UNINTENTIONALLY RUINS HIS LIFE," "ALPHONSE ELRIC COULD HAVE STAYED HOME AND HELPED HIS FAMILY OUT BUT INSTEAD DITCHED THEM WITHOUT NOTICE," "ALPHONSE ELRIC CAN BE SO STUPID SOMETIMES BUT HIS BROTHER LOVES HIM ANYWAY WHICH HE DOESN'T LIKE TO ADMIT, BUT THEN HE REALIZES THAT HE HAS DONE MORE IDIOTIC THINGS THAN AL EVER WILL AND TRIES TO BE MORE INTELLIGENT IN THE FUTURE—"
Hey, wait a second!
His thoughts were interrupted abruptly. He hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings at all, and when a huge crowd gathered up in the town square and blocked his way, he came back to earth and realized where he was.
Edward did not have time for this. He shoved his way through everyone in the crowd, mumbling a quick apology to everyone he knocked over or elbowed in the nose.
Finally he came to the front of the crowd. Before him stood the person he wanted to talk to most.
But he couldn't talk without yelling.
"ARU!" he shouted, his voice cracking.
Alphonse stopped dangling what looked like a shiny new State Alchemist watch and skipped towards his brother. "Niisan!" he sang.
"Niisan, aren't you proud of me? I passed! Now I'm a State Alchemist, just like you!"
Ed couldn't breathe because he was suffocating from his brother's hug. Otherwise he would have said something.
He could see how happy Al was, but he just had to find some way to explain to him that they both couldn't be in the military. Ed certainly wasn't going to quit. As much as he hated it, the whole system, and, especially, Colonel Mustang, he was not giving up his rank.
Not even for Al.
Al let his grip on Ed go, but Ed was unprepared and collapsed to the ground.
"Niisan! Niisan, I'm so sorry—"
"It's fine. Congratulations, Al."
"Oh, big brother, I knew you'd approve! You've always been so supportive!"
No, I haven't, he thought shamefully.
Ed had always been the alpha, in charge. Al had always followed his lead, not the other way around. A sudden wave of guild washed over him. It must have been a big wave, too, because he immediately encouraged Al to follow his dreams. In a very non-formal way, of course.
"C'mon, when we get home, I can show you how to get your watch to work."
Al's face fell. Or, it would have fallen, had he a face of his own.
"Niisan, I forgot to tell you. I'm in Rizenbul for my first mission. I was just making my way through town when a crowd started up. I'm on business. I can't go home. Not now."
Grunting, Ed gave a sharp nod and turned to push his way back through the crowd. It seemed it had dispersed after Ed came along. "I'll see you when your mission's over."
"I hope we have partner-work in the future, big brother!" Al replied, and they both turned in different directions.
….
Et, voila. End of story part one. I'm certainly planning on doing another few chapters; maybe just one more will do the trick. It's not one of my best, I know, but compared to all you great writers out there nothing is good enough, is it?