Disclaimer: … Already stated in the first chapter…
A/N: Sorry this update took so damn long but I've just been so busy lately!
Chapter Three: Consumption Of The Light
She shifted to her left side again, only to come to the conclusion that this position wasn't comfortable either and she grumbled frustratingly as she then slid onto her back beneath her white sheets. She had been this restless for almost an hour and a half and she gave a growl as she tried to untangle herself from the sheets that had clung to her after her relentless rolling and shifting of positions.
"Tsk… Damn it all…" she gave a swift thrust beneath the sheets of her leg in her attempt to untangle herself in the sheets' cling. Normally, she was well-tempered and didn't get so irritable, but as her attempts of sleep were to no avail, she felt her good nature dwindle. After a few kicks and thrashing about, she had her sheets strewn all around the floor and hanging over the side of the bed. It was too hot… And all the wrestling she was doing with herself and sheets only made her more irritable and hot. She looked down at herself and knew the unbearable temperature was not caused by her clothing for she wore a loose fitting, white and lacy cotton nightgown that tied in the back and showed bare shoulders and stopped at mid-shin.
With one push of her palms against the mattress beneath her, she inclined herself enough to untie the string that drew back the extra fabric to reveal a thin waist beneath the material. She threw her legs over the side of her bed and walked over to her vanity mirror where she stared at herself in the mirror, using the moonlight as the only means as to see her silhouette. She looked herself over, observing herself and turning her head from side to side. Her brown hair was pinned up, but several strands of chestnut brown hair fell around her face and framed the sides of her face from her constant rolling and thrashing in the white sheets.
She looked down at her bare feet and curled her toes from the chill of the wooden floor. She took one last glance at herself before making her way to her balcony window where white and lacey curtains hung above the window's frame. Next to the window was a white, glass door that led to a balcony that hung above a back garden. A set of balconies were set hanging at each room along her side of the house. She liked going out on the balcony on night's like this, but she refrained from doing so because of the possible noise the lock on the door would emit if she tried to unlock it.
She folded her arms on the window sill and stared out over the garden in admiration. Fireflies hovered near the ground, some huddled in clusters and other hovering on their own, creating a reflection of the cloudless night sky that hung above her. A breeze blew the branches and hanging vines of a willow tree and Brooke wished she could feel that breeze… To hell with it.
She grasped the lock on the door and pushed her lips together in unwelcome anticipation of the loud click that sounded as she flicked the lock. She froze and listened for any movement at the disturbing sound and when she didn't hear any, she slowly opened the door, feeling the night's cool air cling to her face as her night gown waved and whipped around her legs along with the strands that had fallen around her face. She closed the door behind her and closed her eyes to relish in the feeling of the night. On her left side of the balcony, was a wicker chair and a small iron table big enough to set a coffee mug on; she usually came out here on mornings or nights like this one and sat in the chair and drank tea. On either side of her were balconies for the surrounding rooms with different set of furniture such as her own.
She made a movement to walk over to railing of the balcony's edge until someone called her name over to her left that caused her to jump so badly, she ran into the closed door with a reverberating thud on the glass trying to escape the startling voice. Whomever had called at her snickered and she turned swiftly to the voice and found Al sitting on wooden bench on the balcony to the right of her, looking over at her with a stature that suggested he was worried at her abrupt attempt to get away.
"I see you're happy at your accomplishment?" she said sarcastically and she heard him fluster with several "no" 's as she folded her arms over her chest in partial anger of embarrassment and in a attempt to cover herself from the slightly revealing material. She quickly sat in the chair so to obscure anything else that could be seen if possible. "What are you doing out here so late?" she asked, a wisp of red crossing her cheeks, and she took a moment to thank the darkness. Al seemed to struggle with a answer and finally looked down with a look of defeat,
"I-I couldn't sleep… " she looked at him over the space that separated them with a quizzical stare before she asked in concern,
"You haven't eaten anything since I've met you… Is that why you can't sleep? I can make something for you if you want." she offered, a warm smile on her face. Al's armor squeaked especially loud as he lifted his gaze from the ground and rose his hands in a declining gesture.
"No, really it's fine." he said in a assuring tone, though she wasn't too sure as she dropped the subject and stared out into the distance. Al did the same, feeling contrite that he couldn't take Brooke's offer and Brooke took this chance to think him over a moment- Why was he still wearing that armor? Surely that could be some of the problem of his restlessness? And why hadn't he eaten anything? Ed had said that that was just "how Al was," but…
"Why are you out here so late? Don't you have chores to do in the morning?" Al suddenly asked, jostling her out of her contemplative thoughts. She yawned,
"Yes, I do, but I just couldn't rest… " she said while smiling.
"You come out here a lot, don't you?" she stared at him, blinking a few times at the question, "You seem content." he added. She nodded, looking back at the scenery below her,
"I love it out here, especially just as night begins during the spring time; it's not too hot at night so you can enjoy the night's air. " she said in a sort of dazed expression.
"Oh… y-yeah…" Al sighed, not sharing that same feeling of the ability to feel the breezes of night as one passed through her hair and bare shoulders. She sagged in the chair that she sat in and took in a deep breath, beginning to relax and suddenly her bed looked too far away.
A knock on the glass door behind her flustered her and she swung her head so quickly behind her that her neck popped in several places. She grabbed at the back of her neck as she stared at a horrified looking Jake behind the glass; his head resting against the glass and his breath fogging up the glass.
"Jacob? What the matter?" she asked as she opened the door and kneeled down in front of him. He looked down at the ground in a sorrowful way until Brooke used his proper name besides "Jake", then he looked at her. "Hm? What's wrong?" she asked again as he looked down at the ground again,
"I… dream… again…" he mumbled, his lips barely moving.
"What? Speak up."
"I had that dream again…" she sagged her shoulders in realization. This had become a sort of routine for quite a while. Jake, no matter how mischievous and a pain in the butt he could be, was sensitive and gullible. He had been having nightmares shortly after he turned ten, and, at first, she had poked fun at his softness to the hallucinations at his age until she realized that they seriously scared him to trembles. She'd hoped that after he had turned eleven this year, he'd get over them…
"Okay then," she said softly and turned back to Al, "I'm going to tend to him for the night… Goodnight, Al." she said as she took Jake's hand in a motherly way and led him inside.
"Goodnight." Al called back before she closed the door and locked it again with a loud click. This click woke the eldest Elric and he opened the door to the balcony after noticing him there and stared at him. He hadn't even bothered to take off his day clothes and still wore his black jacket and pants along with his white gloves, but his shoes and socks were gone, revealing his auto-mail toes.
"What're you doin' out here?" he asked sleepily.
"Just enjoying the night's breezes…"
oooooooooo
Brooke lay in her bed, Jake curled next to her as she raked her fingernails through his light brown hair comfortingly. She glanced down at Jake, noticing he was trying to resist falling asleep as sleep had almost consumed her a moment ago.
"You know, Jake," she whispered, continuing to rake through his hair, "these dreams are just that; dreams. They're not real… Go back to sleep." she said as she felt her eyes droop.
"But…" he shifted beside her and she gave a irritable grunt as his knee hit her side.
"Jake, nothing's going to get you." she tried to reason, but he shook his head somewhere near her shoulder.
"But they're real! I can feel them." he said in defense and Brooke furrowed her brows in confusion at the meaning of his words.
"What are you talking about; you can feel them?" she asked incredulously.
"I can't tell… I mean, I don't know how to explain."
"Go to sleep, Jacob." she rolled over, her face turned to him to comfort him, if possible, any more.
"But-"
"Jacob…"
"But the dark will eat the light again!" he whimpered, digging his forehead into her chest. His words and behavior worried her deep down.
"It hurts, Brooke," he lifted his head and placed his hand to his chest and over his heart, "here." She looked at him worriedly, then she scooted closer to him and hugged him in a motherly manner. He began to relax…
She was always comforting him like she was his mother, and it always comforted him no matter what. She felt his breaths become even after a while and she, herself felt sleep claim her.
ooooooo
Edward hadn't been asleep for what seemed like thirty minutes before muffled whimpers echoed down the hall and eventually broke into full blown yells and screams of horror.
"BROOKE!… M-MOM!" it was Jake's voice, and they were slurred as if he had just awaken. Ed immediately, fearing that possibly something had happened to either Brooke or Katherine, bolted up, and threw his sheets off. Being in this state of shock after just being asleep just a few seconds ago caused Ed's senses to be all out of sorts and disheveled and he realized this after her groggily jolted out of bed, tripped over the sheets and ran into the closed bedroom door of his room before opening it harshly.
Jake was no longer screaming, but was emitting muffled whimpers as another voice spoke softly from Brooke's room. He ran down the hall, succeeding in running into the wall in the hall a moment as he made a turn from his room. The hall was dark, and only the large window at the end of the hall near the stairs gave off any source of light from the moon. He reached her door and, wrenched it open just as Al, Bryce, and Katherine joined him in the hall.
Brooke turned abruptly toward her open door, Jake clinging to her in fear of the "hallucinations" that plagued him in his sleep. Through the darkness, Ed could see their silhouette as Brooke turned back to a trembling Jake. Ed wondered why he'd be in her room but quickly distinguished the question as Bryce brushed past him and kneeled down near the bed, Katherine grabbing at her robe as she joined her husband near the bed.
Ed and Al exchanged glances; Ed looking to Al for any answers he could give him if any, before Al spoke,
"Jake had a nightmare while I was outside and Brooke said she was going to help him back to bed." Ed raised a brow at him.
"When did you speak to her?" Ed asked in confusion.
"Earlier… Before you came outside to see me. I was talking to her and Jake came out saying he had a bad dream. It sounded as if he always had them" Ed turned his gaze back at the family within Brooke's room as Jake had finally let go of her, tears streaming down his face. Jake hid his face once he noticed Ed's staring out of possible embarrassment at showing his tears. Bryce, who was kneeling just enough to be staring at Jake in the face, ruffled his hair and talked to him in hushed whispers as Brooke was released from Jake's grasp. She gave the brothers framing her bedroom door a furtive glance before folding her arms in front of her chest and walking toward them, avoiding their eyes in case questions arose.
Ed didn't watch her as she made her way toward them, but was more focused on the family huddled around her bed trying to calm Jake. Only when she stopped right in front of him did he look at her. It was then that he realized just how short he was compared to her. He was a year older than her and yet she was a eyelash shorter. Girls, he knew, were supposedly shorter than guys, but him… well, being "vertically challenged" for even a guy… Her being almost as tall as him was, he guessed, to be expected.
She looked at them and smiled,
"He'll be okay." she turned to the room and gave her younger brother a worried stare. She had had bad dreams before, but his… he almost seemed to believe they were real and that worried her.
Ed stared at her turned face that was framed with fallen strands of her hair and then back at Jake, who had calmed now, and was being persuaded to go back to his room to sleep but to no avail. Bryce checked him over, asking him questions in a soft tone and would ask more elaborate questions on random answers from Jake.
"What did you see this time?" Bryce asked and Jake cringed as he recalled the nightmare. He hesitated as he noticed Ed and Al's curious stares. Bryce followed his son's gaze to the door and glanced at Brooke before coughing to reach her attention. Brooke nodded and closed the door behind her, leaving Ed, Al and her in the hall. She continued to avoid the subject as much as possible. A long silence settled between them and Ed jammed his gloved fists into his pockets, not sure if he should go back to his room or…
He took in a sharp breath and narrowed his eyes as he realized his auto-mail toes were sticking out from beneath his pant's. He slowly and hesitantly brought his gaze up to meet Brooke's and, to his relief, she hadn't noticed for she had been staring at the closed door with a distant look.
"Well…" he said uneasily, scratching the back of his head. Brooke looked up at him, "if everything's fine, Al and I are going back to bed. Unless Al wants to stay…?" Ed focused his attention on Al, hoping to get a quick answer so he could leave before she found out his reminder of a mistake.
"Oh, I'll be fine, it's Jake I'm a little worried about." she gave the door another furtive glance before turning to them and shaking her head, "Don't let me keep you." she smiled politely. Ed nodded and turned on his heel, trying not to seem too eager to leave, whilst he arouse her suspicions on his behavior.
" 'Night." he said over her shoulder and picked up his pace as he heard Al's steps follow after him after saying "goodnight". When Al reached their room, he found Ed putting on socks hastily before laying back down in his bed. He only dawned on him now that Ed's auto-mail had been out and noticeable to anyone that had.
"Are we going to tell them?" Al asked innocently to Ed's back. He heard Ed give a tired grunt as he turned to face Al who stood by the closed door, the moonlight through the glass door that led to the balcony shining dully off his armor. It took Ed a moment to finally answer and Al had expected a reply along the lines of his words,
"We have no reason to for now… No reason to drop our problems on them. Besides, we'll be leaving after all this is over." Al gave a sigh which sounded like a wind blowing through a hollow tube and walked around to his bed and lay down, Ed's gaze staring at the side of his armored helmet. Ed didn't want to tell this family anything that they really didn't need to know unless necessary.
It brought up a question, though: Did Bryce, if he had known who the brothers were, know of the brothers' situation? Ed hadn't been the military until a little over four years ago, so Bryce hadn't been in the ranks then, so-
No, I need to stop that. Ed thought harshly at himself, I'm really starting to piss myself off. Since when did I become so judgmental? He hadn't come to a conclusion to that question for he had fallen asleep shortly after, without anymore sudden awakenings. He made a mental note to contact Mustang the next morning.
A/N: Well, sorry for such the long wait on this chapter, but I had complications. I'm working on a illustrative cover page for this story and my other fic, "Will You?", but it will have to be posted in my live journal. I'll tell you guys when it's done… I think I already posted the link to it on my profile… yeah, I did. Anyway, I'm off to work on chapter ten on "Will You?" and chapter four for this story!
XHer Ink StainX