A/N - I apologise for the rushed update last time... It's rushed a little this time too, but I have to thank my lovely reviewers! I'm nothing without you! This drabble left me feeling a little depressed, but when you're dealing with the Elric brothers, it's odd.

Thanks to - Su-chan, as always -salutes- and my reviewers! chocolatelova, ElasticBobaTurtle, lazy fat kitsune, unexpection and dyingstar-elipsis...Thanks so much, guys!

Snapshots, Sketches and Scribbles

Matters of the Heart

Edward can tell his brother is nervous. The younger Elric has been unusually agitated lately; unable to sit still for too long, obviously distracted by something his over-active mind has conjured into mental being.

So he waits until Alphonse is ready to voice his thoughts. He doesn't look it, but Edward can be remarkably patient when it suits his purpose. His silence is rewarded at last, halfway through another train ride when Alphonse prods him into awareness with a timid finger and asks, "Brother, remember that fight we had?"

Amber eyes blink, uncomprehending.

"You know, the one you told me about, when you said you wanted to marry Winry, and I said no, because I wanted to marry Winry and -"

"S'matter?" Edward interrupted, his voice slightly slurred at the edges. "You miss Winry? You wanna go home 'n visit her?"

"Um, no…"

Edward watches Alphonse twiddle his thumbs, jiggle his knee and gaze, unseeing at the scenery rushing by. It's almost funny.

"Al?"

"Who won the fight?"

"Huh...?"

"Who won, Brother? Me or you?"

"... I can't remember... I think it was me. But when I went to tell her, she said I was stupid and that she'd rather marry Den."

"Oh. Really?"

Edward straightens from his slouch, frowning slightly at his younger brother. "It was so long ago. I honestly can't remember the details. What's wrong, Al? I thought we cleared up all this about having fake memories. I mean, it's normal to forget things -"

"It's not that."

If suits of armour possessed sweat glands, Edward is pretty sure Alphonse's would have been working extra hard at the moment.

"Al, what's wrong?"

"Brother... How much do you like Winry?"

"She's my best friend. She can be a bit grouchy sometimes when it comes to issues with automail but otherwise she's nice and -"

"No, I mean, how much do you like Winry, Brother?"

The sheer force of the actual question being asked strikes Edward hard enough to render him speechless. "I-I..." He scrabbles for words no longer present in coherent structure and they escape too, leaving him with nothing to defend himself.

He should have seen this coming - Should have spotted it a bloody mile off with sirens blaring, a giant orange banner and big green lettering.

Slow doesn't even start to describe how Edward's feeling. With a great deal of internal struggle he finally recovers his voice. "Al… You have a crush on Winry." The fact, now voiced, sits between the brothers, grinning eerily at them and Edward is almost convinced that suits of armour can blush.

"Yeah," Alphonse whispers.

The pause stretches for eternity and beyond.

"So... Do you like Winry, Brother?"

The hawk-like gaze seems capable of cutting into the steel being that looks like he'll commence shaking and falling apart at any moment now. Consideration paces behind Edward's impassive mask like a caged beast and the blond boy pushes the last pieces of the puzzle together. What difference would it make if he said yes?

"No. Not in that way."

And for a terrifying second, he's afraid that Alphonse really is going to fall apart.

There's an odd sound, starting somewhere beneath Alphonse's breastplate and travelling up to his helmet, and suddenly, Edward realises that his brother is giggling.

"Oh, Edward! I'm so happy! I thought you liked her too, and then it'd be all weird because we'll both be fighting over her..."

But it isall weird, Al. Don't you see?

He'd be smiling now, Edward is sure of it. The thought makes him smile too: A shaky thing, all trembling and weak.

"So if you don't like Winry, who do you like?"

A low burst of mirthless laughter escapes from parted lips as the elder Elric leans back, clasping his gloved hands behind his head and closing his eyes. He's afraid of Alphonse seeing the truth in them. "I don't like anyone, Al."

He will never like anyone for as long as he lives, because as far as he's aware, he will only ever love, and he will only ever love one person.

His heart is too full of Alphonse to make room for anyone else.