Warning: This chapter contains smut!

The end justifies the means. Everything in the past few months since Alphonse's body was restored has led up to this. All of the uncertainty, all of the angst, all of the denial, and all of the cautiousness in the world couldn't stop them now. Finally, years worth of unnoticed pent up frustration had finally led to this one last day. Today is the day that Alphonse Elric and his brother Edward Elric would break their final taboo.

27. cont.

A flash of thunder brightened the room, followed inevitably by a tremendous clap of thunder. The windows shook as the relentless thunderstorm battered the house. But none of that mattered to them, in fact they didn't even notice it. Not with what had just happened.

"...I...I thought I was..." Alphonse stared into the eyes of his brother, watching them grow in shock.

"...Oh my god..." Edward whispered, as he tried to grasp the situation.

"...brother...I...we..." The younger teen couldn't find the words to say. He was just as shocked as his brother.

"...Oh god...I...I..." Ed was floored, 'No...this can't be real...It must be a dream...it has to be!'

Alphonse could see the conflict on Ed's face, nervous and afraid, his mind was frantic 'What do I do...oh god I can't believe that happened...what's gonna happen between us now! I have to do something, say something...ANYTHING!'

"B-brother...just...s-stay calm. Every things okay." Al tried to comfort.

"Okay? O-KAY!...Everything is NOT Okay Al!" Al jumped at Ed's sudden outburst. "What we did...It's WRONG!" Ed quickly jumped out of the bed, backing away as if something was going to hurt him. "It's wrong Al...I'm WRONG!"

"Ed wait!" Al screamed as his brother booked out of the room, frantically running down the hallway and out the door. Al gave chase. This time the storm wasn't going to stop him. "Brother...please!"

It was brighter than Ed thought, the rising sun was beginning to illuminate the clouds. Ed didn't really care, he didn't care about anything, he just wanted to get away. Away from ever thing, away from Alphonse. 'Shit! What have I done! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, HOW COULD I NOT HAVE NOTICED?'

Some distance behind Ed was Alphonse screaming his head off, tears in his eyes. "BROTHER! STOP! PLEASE STOP!" Alphonse desperately tried to wipe them away, they were blurring his vision. "BROTH-AGH!" He slipped in some mud, splashing into a puddle on his hands and knees. "Brother...don't go..." he saw the blurred image of his brother disappearing into the distance. He couldn't hold it in anymore (Not that he was doing a great job in the first place) and began to weep.

Edward didn't know where he was going, and it didn't matter, anywhere was better than here. He didn't know how long he had been running, but at some point the rain stopped. His lungs hurt, deciding he could finally stop he flopped down onto the side of the road. He was soaked from head to toe, but he couldn't feel it. All that Edward could feel was Alphonse's lips on his. He could still feel the warmth radiating off of them. He could still feel the wetness of the kisses. He hated himself for it.

Alphonse absently wandered into his house, not even bothering to shut the door. By now the sun had risen and although the clouds blocked a fair amount of light, it was still bright enough to see well. Alphonse didn't really notice though, he wasn't thinking about any of that. He stepped into the shower, fully clothed, and turned on the water. Al couldn't feel how cold the water was, he couldn't feel anything, except his brother's tongue on his. He could feel the roughness of it. He could feel the hands running through his hair. He hated himself for letting it end.

They hated themselves equally that morning.

28.

Alphonse wandered the roads of Resembool, searching for his brother. It was noon and the rain clouds had long since vanished, leaving a few scattered remnants in their wake. He walked slowly, hands in his pockets as he scanned the country side. He figured it would be easy to spot Edward, since all he had to look for was Ed's shimmering golden trademark locks. But Ed was proving to be quite allusive at the moment. Alphonse didn't know what he was going to say to Ed once he found him, he never dealt with a situation like this before. He couldn't really be blamed though, it's not like everyone accidentally makes out with their own sibling.

'Where are you brother.' Alphonse asked himself. He had already checked the river and the small patch of woods near their house with no success. 'Think Alphonse, where would Ed go to hide from me? I don't think he'd go to Winry's house, she would probably notice something was wrong. Then where...' he paused to search the area, then he spotted it, '...the train station!'. Alphonse left the dirt road, cutting through all the rolling hills, running as hard as he could. Somehow he knew that was where Ed would be. 'Why didn't I think of it before!'

A short while later a very exhausted Alphonse made his way up the steps of the boarding platform. It wasn't hard to spot Ed. Just as Al had thought, his hair glistened in the sun light. Angrily stomping over to the bench Ed was sitting on, Alphonse smacked his brother fiercly on the head, "What do you think your doing!"

"Ow! What the...oh, it's you."

"Of course it's me, who else would it be? Scar!" Alphonse fumed.

Edward almost wished it had been scar, he'd be easier to deal with at the moment. Alphonse noticed the train ticket Ed was clinging to and quickly snatched it away. "Hey, give that back Alphonse." Edward complained.

Alphonse easily held Ed back, swatting away his reaching hands, and read the ticket. "...Central! Your going to Central!"

"..." Ed gave up trying to reclaim his stolen item. Instead he sat back down on the bench and pouted. "Yes Alphonse, I'm going to Central." Alphonse smacked Ed again. "Ow, would you quit doing that!"

"You deserve it! What where you going to do in Central, with nothing but the soaking wet cloths your wearing. And after buying this ticket you probably have like what, ten cenz in your pocket!"

'Damn Alphonse and his rational thinking!', "I don't know! Okay, I don't know what I was going to do. I just needed to..." Edward paused.

"To what? Huh? What did you need to do?"

"...I needed to get away! Alright!"

"Away from what?"

"From YOU!"

The lady in the ticket booth, who was the only other person on the platform, was staring at them. Obviously confused as to what was going on.

Alphonse glared at his brother, anger set in his face. "Your coming home with me." He demanded forcefully.

"No Al, I'm not going back..."

"I WASN'T ASKING YOU!" Alphonse ripped the ticket in two and threw it down to the ground. He unmercifully grabbed Ed by the collar of his shirt and began dragging him in the direction of their house.

"NO AL! Let...go!" Ed struggled furiously, batting at Alphonse's grip.

"That's it!" Alphonse shoved Edward down to the ground hard. "FINE! RUN AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS! GO AHEAD, I'M NOT GOING TO STOP YOU!" he grabbed a random amount of money from his pocket, and flung it to the ground, "HERE, GO BUY ANOTHER TICKET AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Edward starred in shock and disbelief. "Alpho..."

"SHUT UP! Your not my brother! My brother NEVER ran away from his problems." At that Alphonse twirled around and stomped away. Edward watched him go, shocked.

He watched until Alphonse disappeared behind a hill, but he didn't move from his position for a long time. Eventually the train pulled in, unloading a few passengers. Edward looked at the train, then at the hill Alphonse disappeared over. He got up and walked over to the ticket booth, "Lemme' get another ticket to Central please." He mumbled.

The ticket lady watched him for a moment, then sighed and gave him said ticket. Using the money Alphonse had threw at him he bought the ticket and walked over to the train, just as the whistle blew.

"All aboard!" A tall man with a gray mustache yelled from the entrance of one of the cars. He looked around, there was only a small blond boy standing on the platform. "Hey son, you gettin' on. Trains gonna leave soon." Edward stared up at the man. "Well son, you gonna get on or what?"

The train left Resembool on schedule that afternoon.

29.

Alphonse could see the smoke stacks from the train climbing into the air from his front door. "Stupid, Idiot brother." He mumbled to himself. He was angry, and sad at the same time. He regretted yelling at Edward, it probably wasn't the right thing to do, but he couldn't help himself. All the frustration, anxiety, uncertainty, and just plain emotions between him and his brother had gotten to him.

He stepped into his house, quietly closing the door behind him. 'Did brother really go? Did he really leave me here...alone?' The thought scared him, and he regretted giving Ed the money. Without thinking he found his way to Edward's room, and stood there in his doorway. The room smelled like him, and Al could almost feel his presence in it. He stepped in slowly, hesitantly, as if it was forbidden. He ran his fingers along Ed's dresser, softly touching various items Ed had placed on it. Wandering over to the closet, he opened it's door and looked inside. As he scanned it's contents, something familiar caught his eye. he reached deep into the darkness and pulled it out. "I didn't know he still had this."

The red coat was bigger than he remembered, considering he was a seven foot tall suit of armor last time he saw it. He laid it on Edwards bed, admiring it. The insignia on the back bringing memories of teacher to his mind. Although it was a bit tarnished and ripped in some places, it was still in fairly good condition. Al cautiously pulled the coat on, he had never felt the material before. It was surprisingly soft, and heavy. It fit a bit snugly, but it looked good, he thought, as he looked into Ed's tall door mirror. The coat was saturated with Ed's smell. Alphonse had grown to love that smell since he got his body back, and he couldn't describe it. It was just...

"Edward!" Al jumped noticing his brother standing in the door way, watching him. "...I...I thought you left." He was blushing furiously.

"...I didn't." Ed replied softly. "...What are you doing?"

Al grinned sheepishly, "Uh...well...I was looking around and...I...uh...yeah." He ended lamely.

"...Oh..." Ed walked over and softly pulled off the jacket, setting it back in its place inside his closet. He gently shut the door and stared at himself in the mirror.

"...Um...brother?"

"Don't call me that...I'm not your brother...remember." Ed said coldly.

Al scowled, hating himself for saying that. "Look, brother...I'm sorry...I was just really angry and...I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me." Edward turned around, looking right into Alphonse's face. 'His eye's...has he been crying? Oh great! Good going Alphonse, look what you've done to him.' Al scolded himself.

Ed said nothing, he just looked at his brother for a while. Alphonse didn't know what to say, 'I'm sorry' didn't quite cut it. After a long moment of silence Edward finally spoke up. "I'm going to take a shower." Voice raw and husky.

Al watched him exit the room silently, then listened as he padded down the hallway to the bathroom. "Damn it!" He said quietly as he kicked the bed, frustrated with himself. "Why did I say that! Ugh, I just messed things up even more now!" Al tried to yell at himself as quietly as he could, so that Ed couldn't hear him.

Al quickly left the room, shutting himself into his own. He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, face stern. 'Well ceiling, It's me again. Brother and I are having problems with each other again. So now I look to you for answers, please use your wisdom to tell me what to say to him.' The ceiling stared back.

After a while he noticed that a large amount of time had passed since Ed stepped into the shower. Worried, Al padded over to the bathroom door, knocking nervously. "B-brother? Hey...are you alright?" There was no reply. Al suddenly thought of something terrible. 'He wouldn't do something like that...right?'

Deciding to take no chances, he slammed into the door breaking the lock sending the door flying open. Inspecting the room, Al found that the water wasn't running, and the bathtub was full. He rushed over to the tub, his worst fears realized. Ed lay under the water, eyes closed. "BROTHER!" Al shrieked as he frantically grabbed Edward's shoulders and hauled him out of the water. He tumbled backwards, landing them both on the bathroom floor.

"Ack! A-alphonse! What the hell are you doing!" Ed yelled.

"Your...your okay!" Al replied.

"Of course I'm okay, what the hell were you thinking!" Ed fumed.

"I...well I thought..."

Ed glared at him for a moment. "Wait a minute...did you think I was trying to drown myself! Al you idiot! Why the HELL would I do that!"

"Well It sure looked like you were!" Al defended.

"I was just taking a bath! I always stick my head under the water...it's relaxing!" Ed pouted.

The two sat there for a while on the bathroom floor, the both of them silent. Ed noticed Al's face was getting very flustered. "What?" Ed looked down. 'CRAP, I'M NAKED!' He hurridly jumped back into the bathtub. "Get out Al!"

Al scampered out of the bathroom quickly, shutting the door behind him. Ed's face felt incredibly hot. Ed thought about his karma, considering he had once seen Alphonse naked he figured Al deserved to see him naked. The entire ordeal shook Ed up a bit, and he quickly finished his shower and returned to his room.

Although Ed didn't know it yet, he had developed a phobia of taking baths that day.

30.

Ed sat in his room, too afraid to go anywhere else in the house for fear he might run into Alphonse. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation they needed to have, but he knew it was inevitable. His stomach growled painfully, he hadn't eaten all day. Since it wasn't quite dinner time yet, and it was past lunch, he knew sneaking out his window and going to Winry's house was pointless. But if he went to the kitchen and made something to eat, Alphonse might corner him. He debated wether it was worth risking it, or if he should just wait till dinner time and sneak over to Winry's. Edward wanted to wait till dinner, but his stomach didn't agree with that idea. As always his stomach won.

He quietly opened the door to his room and peaked his head out the doorway. looking side to side, Alphonse was nowhere to be seen. Ed had no idea where Al could be in the house, so he had to be quiet. With the grace of a ninja, Ed made his way to the kitchen noiselessly. Fortunately Al wasn't wandering the house either, 'He must be in his room. Alright time to eat!'

Ed opened the refrigerator door and peeked his head inside. 'Hmm, not much in here.' There was lettuce, a half empty bottle of milk(Ed scowled at that one), some cheese, a bottle of ketchup, aaaand lettuce. 'Well, looks like I'm having a cheese, lettuce, and ketchup sandwitch.' Ed grabbed said ingredients and closed the door.

"Ah!" He didn't even hear Al come into the kitchen, let alone walk behind the refrigerator door. "Jeez Al, trying to give me a heart attack!" Ed complained.

Al snatched Ed's ingredients and placed them back into the refrigerator. He looked at Edward, brow furrowed, "We need to talk."

Ed took a deep breath. Al had cornered him, just as he feared. "Okay, but can we at least eat something I'm starve..."

"No, now! I've waited long enough." Al said forcefully. "Sit down."

Ed obeyed, angrily crossing his arms and taking a seat at the kitchen table. Alphonse did the same, sitting at the opposite end looking Ed straight in the eye. Al watched him for a while, gathering his thoughts.

"What's going to happen now." It was the question that had bothered him since morning.

Ed sighed, "What do you mean, nothings going to happen."

"What? So your just going to ignore this."

"Well I was, until you brought it up."

"Don't get smart with me! This is serious!"

Ed scowled.

"Look brother," Alphonse sighed, "I know this is hard for you. But it wasn't any easier for me either. I sat in bed for almost an entire day over this, don't you remember that!"

Ed remained silent.

"I know what happened this morning...well...it wasn't expected and...ugh, I don't know where I'm going with this." His mind was in overdrive. There was a million things he wanted to say, but none of them came out.

They both looked away, unable to keep each other's gaze any longer.

"It's wrong..." Ed mumbled quietly, after a long moment of silence.

"What?"

"It's wrong." He repeated louder.

Al scowled. "...why..."

Ed looked into Al's face. "...why? Why is it wrong! Al you my BROTHER! How can't this be wrong!"

Al reconnected their eye's, both ablaze. "Who says it's wrong! Huh, who!"

"Everyone Al...society...It's a TABOO!"

"That never stopped us from trying to bring mother back!"

"..." Ed tensed, Al was right. "...That was different, we were young and stupid."

"Nothing stopped us from using the Philosopher's stone either! We weren't young and stupid then!" Al's eyes were flaming with his passion over the subject.

"That was different too..."

"No it wasn't! The stone was made of thousands of human souls, and even though we knew that, we used it anyway."

"That doesn't count..."

"So loving each other does!"

Ed had never seen Alphonse this intense before. He took a deep breath, "Al, it's wrong okay. I am not going to let you lose your innocence on my account. Your young and in time you'll realize..."

"I AM NOT A DAMN CHILD!" Al yelled as he abruptly stood up, knocking his chair to the ground with a loud thud. "I am not...a damn child."

Ed stared in shock, "Al...I..."

Alphonse walked over to Ed, grabbing him by the collar and thrusting him into the wall, holding him there. Their noses were nearly touching, as Alphonse spoke. "Why are you so afraid of this? You want this just as bad as I do yet your afraid. Why?" Alphonse pleaded, letting go of Edward and resting his head on his brother's shoulder.

"Al...we can't..."

Alphonse slowly rose his head, bringing their faces only inches apart. "Brother...I...I want to kiss you."

Edward's eye's grew wide as he gulped loudly, "No Al. Please...don't..." Ed pleaded feebly.

"Please brother...let me kiss you...forget what society thinks...I don't care...please...just kiss me..." he pressed into Edward, squeezing their bodies together almost painfully.

"...A-al...I w-won't..." Edward squeaked. The urge to fulfill his brother's wish was immense. He wanted it so bad, 'No...I can't...'

"Edward please!" Al begged, tugging on Ed's shirt desperately. "...kiss me..." he moved his mouth closer, feeling Ed's breath coming harder and faster. "...just...let me..." He whispered, lips only millimeters apart.

"Hello! Anybody home!" Winry yelled as she stepped in through the front door.

"Oh god, Winry!" Ed whispered, Alphonse immediately backed away just before she stepped into the kitchen.

"Oh, there you two are...what are you going?" She questioned.

Alphonse was trying desperately to hide his heavy breathing while Edward put a sheepish smile on his face.

"Oh hi Winry, how are you today." Edward asked, more enthusiastically than he wanted.

"Uh, fine I guess...is everything alright?"

"Yeah just fine. Every things just fine."

"Why wouldn't it be fine?" Alphonse added.

Winry stared at the two, puzzled. "Um...okay. Well I just came...to see if you two were gonna come to dinner at my place tonight. You two didn't come in for work today so I thought maybe something important had come up."

'Work! I forgot all about it! She must've been at the shop alone all day long!' Ed mentally kicked himself. "Oh yeah, sorry about that Winry something...unexpected happened." He glanced over at Alphonse, "But It's okay now. Sure we'll come eat at your place." He smiled.

Winry's face brightened a little, "Okay."

Edward and Winry talked about automail as they ate, while Alphonse remained quiet. Winry tried to provoke some conversation out of him, but it didn't work.

She never questioned what it was that caused them to miss work, she was just happy to have some company that night.

31.

Edward shut the front door once they were both in the house, locking it behind Alphonse. The two walked into the living room, and awkwardly stood there. Trying desperately to avoid each other's stare.

"So..." Alphonse said.

"So..." Edward replied.

Silence.

Al worked up the courage and asked his question once again, "...so, what do we do now?"

Edward's brow furrowed. "...I told you earlier...nothing."

'Ugh, when is he going to give it up!' Alphonse frowned, "Brother you know we can't ignore this...not now."

"Alphonse I'm tired," Ed complained, "It's been a long day, I'm going to bed. We can talk about this tomorrow." Ed started for his bedroom but was abruptly cut off when Alphonse stepped in front of him.

Alphonse was close again, only inches from his face, "...earlier...you wanted too...you wanted too kiss me...I could feel it..."

Edward stared blankly into his eyes. That was it, Ed was tired and frustrated, "...Okay Alphonse! Your right, I wanted to kiss you, okay! Are you happy now! You've won, I'm a sick pervert who wants his own brother! Is that what you wanted me too say?"

Alphonse looked puzzled, "...then what does that make me?"

"...what do you mean?"

"If wanting to kiss your brother makes you a sick pervert, then that means I am too doesn't it." Alphonse's tone was surprisingly neutral.

"No...that's not what I meant..."

"Then we're not sick perverts?"

"NO! That's not what I meant either."

"So then your a sick pervert, but I'm not?"

"Ugh! Your putting words in my mouth!" Alphonse took a small step closer. "Al? What are you doing?" Edward took a step back, and Al took another step closer. "Alphonse...stop it."

Ed took another step, then Al took another step. Then Ed, Then Al. Ed, Al. Until finally, Ed's back was against the wall with Alphonse dangerously close.

Alphonse stared determinedly into Ed's eyes, piercing into his soul. "Kiss me."

"No."

"Kiss me!"

"No!"

Alphonse placed each of his hands against the wall on each side of Ed's head, blocking him in. "..."

"I want to kiss you, so so badly. But I am not going to force it on you. So please...let go! Just let go of your fears and kiss me...please." Al pleaded once more.

"...Alphonse, I told you already. This is wrong..."

"I know you don't believe that brother, I can see it in your eyes."

Edward ducked under Alphonse's arms and headed for his room. "Good night Al." He said weakly.

"Brother!" Alphonse followed, cutting him off once again at his doorway. "Aren't you tired of it...all the restless nights wishing there was someone next to you...wishing you could hold them and...kiss them..." Alphonse gently wrapped his arms around Ed's neck bringing the two close again, "...because I am...so please, kiss me..."

"...No Al..." Edward wriggled free and quickly walked past his brother into the darkness of his room. "...I won't do this, I won't-Agh!"

Alphonse tackled Edward from behind, landing neatly on his bed. He quickly turned Ed over and wrapped him in his arms, constricting him. He tried desperately to free himself, but Alphonse only tightened his grip harder. "I'm not letting go brother! Not until you let go of your fears."

"I'm not afraid!" Edward struggled.

"Then why are you shaking so much?"

"..." He immediately stopped his struggling.

"...I know your afraid of this brother," Al whispered in a pleading voice, "but nothing bad is going to happen. I won't let it...I love you too much." Al said nothing more, he just lay his head against Ed's chest and listened to his heartbeat.

Edward shut his eye's tightly. He couldn't do it anymore, he had broken. "...I...I love you too Al..." Ed whispered.

"..." Al raised his head to look up into his brother's eyes. There were tears forming in the corners of them, and Alphonse knew he had succeeded. Slowly he let go of Edward, and raised himself up so that their faces were level. "...then...kiss me..."

Edward starred at him for a moment, then slowly wrapped his arms around Alphonse's neck. "...Okay...Al..."

His heart pounding, Ed gently raised his head as Alphonse lowered his. Their lips connected softly, but affectionately. Waves of heat radiated off of them soothingly running down their bodies making them shudder. Alphonse deepened the kiss, taking as much of Edward in as he could. Edward did the same, licking and sucking Al's lips. They wanted to taste each other, too feel each other in ways they were never meant too.

Edward moaned deeply as Alphonse thrust his hips against Edward's. Edward lustfully ran his hands up and down Al's back, scratching needfully. Alphonse thrust again, harder, as his tounge explored Edward's mouth, then his jaw, and then his neck.

"Alphonse!" Edward sighed. He slowly reached down, sticking his hands in between them and down Al's pants.

"..Ah! Bro-ther..." He gasped as Edward wrapped his hand around him.

Edward fiercly nipped Alphonse's neck, leaving a line of bite marks. Alphonse's hips thrust rhythmically into Edwards hand. Al could feel it deep inside him, the growing pleasure as he neared his climax. He thrust harder, moaning deeply as he passionately sucked on Edward's tongue. Edward pumped faster as he licked Alphonse's lips.

"Brother!" Alphonse moaned, it was coming.

"Al!" Almost there.

"EDWARD!"

Alphonse's world exploded, his senses going haywire. Incredible waves of pleasure shook his body as he released into his brother's hand. He flopped down on top of Edward panting, his body tingling.

Alphonse lay there, catching his breath. After a moment he gingerly raised his head to look Edward in the face, "...thank you...brother..." He whispered

Edward gave him a questioning look, "For what?" he whispered back.

"...for making my dreams come true..."

Ed smiled softly 'Maybe this won't be so bad.', "Your such a sap Al."

Al slept in Ed's bed that night, although they didn't do much sleeping.

So that's it the end of Taboo, what did you think? This was my first Elricest fic so I hope you all liked it, thanks for reading!