It does not occur to Alfons until a week or so later, that Edward seems to have developed a knack for bumping into things. The pieces don't connect until the night he catches Ed in the den, reading as usual, face mere inches from the pages. Alfons is used to Edward reading this way when evening begins to set in and he is too distracted to turn on the lamp, but now, the lamp is on and Edward is right beside it. He doesn't comment on the phenomenon immediately, knowing how easily ruffled Ed gets, but still frets when he catches Ed squinting, despite his close proximity to the book.
He catches him again, a few nights later. This time, Edward squeezes his eyes shut tightly a few times, rubs at his eyes with the heel of his palm and shakes his head before going back to his reading…only to repeat the process all over again Alfons thinks, and decided that something needs to be done, and before the summer ends and their budget tightens up with the need for more fuel and the heightened rent.
"Edward," he starts, tone dangling precariously halfway between timid and annoyed, (he's not sure which he should be) and he reaches over, grabbing the edge of Ed's book and pulling it away.
"Hey!" Edward glares up at him and tries to take his book back, but Alfons doesn't allow him to, returning Edward's fierce glare with an unimpressed expression of his own and a few seconds later, the older boy relents. "What is it?" he grouses irritably.
"You're squinting again." Alfons taps the pages of the book Edward was reading with two fingers.
"So?"
"So, the lighting isn't even bad in here, you don't have any excuses." Alfons continues. He knows that if he wants to get Edward to do something he doesn't want to, he's going to have to back him into a corner first.
"…Soooo…..?" Edward stares at his brother's alter blankly, and it is obvious that he can't tell what point Alfons is trying to make.
"So," Alfons leans over, pressing his weight down on top of the smaller boy, "that mean, tomorrow I am taking you to see a doctor."
Edward avoids the kiss that Alfons tries to give him and squirms beneath the boy. "What? Why?"
"Because you need glasses," he says, pinning Edward down and refusing to release him. Edward struggles a bit more until he is panting with the effort and goes slack and Alfons takes the temporary lapse in movement to steal a kiss. "And I'm not going to argue about it with you. I want you to promise me you'll go."
Edward snarls and stubbornly rubs at the spot where Alfons' lips had touched his skin as if he's a school child brushing away cooties. "You're a jerk; you know that Alfons?"
Alfons smiles and dutifully presses another kiss to Ed's cheek, much to Edward's annoyance. "Yes, and you know you love me, despite my almighty jerkiness."
This time Edward succeeds in unseating his lover and Alfons abruptly finds himself making friends with the floor, and Edward shows him no sympathy when he complains of the bruises he'll have.
When the mail comes in a week later, there is a dubious package mixed in amongst the bills. Edward regards it with disdain, but Alfons finds him before he can hide it away somewhere and bullies him into opening it.
"Well," Alfons encourages when the packaging falls away and the fragile frames with specialized glass set within them rest in Edward's palm, "put them on."
Edward complies, hesitantly, and settles the glasses on his face. He scowls, momentarily, clearly unimpressed, but then, he actually takes the time to look and he adopts a startled expression. He blinks, surprise still there, and his eyes grow wide behind the layer of glass. Alfons laughs.
"See Ed?" He steps closer to the older boy and presses up against him, nuzzling Ed's chin with the top of his head.
"Yeah! I can!" Ed's incredulous tone gives his lover more cause to chuckle and Alfons wraps around the shorter boy, who is still blinking amazedly. Al gives him another moment to look, breath stolen by the brilliance of Edward's smile. It is rare, for Edward to smiles like this, or at all, more often than not.
Edward is still homesick, Alfons knows. He misses his brother desperately, though he tries not to let on. Alfons has lain awake, more than once, watching his lover toss and turn and cry out for a boy that shares his name, but is not him. And though it hurts, burns through his chest, Alfons too, knows the desolation and despair of losing a sibling, and no matter what he feels, he cannot bring himself to hold a grudge against Edward. He just tries all the harder to turn their apartment into a place Edward can call home.
Alfons is surprised, the morning he awakens and realizes that the parts of him that aren't in direct contact with Edward are cold. He slips from the bed and investigates the world that lies outside the window. There's not much to see, dirty streets and monochromatic buildings; but a short distance down the road is a small park, and Alfons can see that the trees that grow there have begun to shed their leaves.
How fall has managed to sneak up on them, he doesn't know, but he is sad to see the summer go. They are always happier when it's warm. Edward doesn't ache so much and Alfons doesn't cough as often and neither of them are worrying about freezing to death. But he thinks, maybe this year, things will be better. Alfons silently thanks Pandora for allowing the world to maintain an illusion of hope.
Edward stirs and admonishes for Alfons to come back to bed, but it is already midmorning and they haves slept in far too late already. He crosses to the bed and smirks as he grips the blankets. He tugs them away deftly and Edward squeals against the cold, curling into himself. "Alfons!"
"It's time to get up, lazy." He moves to the other side of the bed and ducks down, fishing Edward's prosthetics out from underneath. He stands up, only to realize that while he wasn't looking, Edward has stolen back the covers. Alfons dumps the limbs unceremoniously on top of Edward and confiscates the blankets again. "I'm going to get in the shower. You'd better be up by the time I get back."
Edward grumbles and Alfons yanks the pillow from underneath Ed's head for extra insurance. He leaves the room, heading for the shower with Edward at his back, snarling and yowling like a wildcat.
The bathroom door blocks out Edward's vocalized displeasure and it only takes Alfons a few seconds to undress. He turns the spigot and steps under the spray. He scrubs at his hair blissfully, enjoying his hot water while he can. He notes, sadly, that soon they will have to switch to taking lukewarm showers to save on heat. So, while the luxury is his, he takes his time, but takes care to leave enough hot water for Edward to draw a bath when it is his turn.
By the time he leaves the bathroom in a cloud of steam with nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips, Edward has managed to drag himself out of bed. He is nowhere to be seen, however. He sniffs the air, some foreign odor curling around his nostrils and he hears noises drifting in from the kitchen. Edward has done him one better than getting out of bed, Alfons realizes. Edward is cooking breakfast.
It is with a warm feeling in his heart that Alfons dresses himself and makes his way to the tiny apartment kitchen on the first day of fall. The room greets him with the wafting smell of fried eggs and toast; Edward is just pulling them off the stove. The boy ushers Alfons over to the table and makes him sit down and presents him with a plate of food and a peck on the lips.
Alfons blinks at him momentarily, but Edward does not stop to watch. He putters around the kitchen, humming to himself for another moment or so before he returns to the table with a plate of his own. For once, he takes the time to chew his food before sucking it down his throat, and he pauses, several times, to stare fondly at Alfons as he eats.
"What?" the younger boy demands after the fourth time he catches Ed doing this. He has a forkful of eggs halfway between his plate and his mouth, but they never reach their intended destination. Alfons sets the fork down and waits for Ed's reply instead.
Ed smiles and pushes his glasses up on his nose. "Don't tell me you forgot what today is?" Edward begins to laugh, just a bit.
"Apparently, I have." Alfons retorts, absolutely bewildered as to what special occasion he could have forgotten. He sincerely hopes it wasn't anything too important.
"Oh my God!" Edward giggles childishly and makes a funny snorting sound with his nose. "You forgot your own birthday!"