A/N: So I have not had this idea for very long, but I literally cannot stop thinking about it. This is an AU where alchemy does not exist so neither do any of the elements pertaining to it. However, I will be including the Homunculus, they'll just be human, and so will Father. The setting and the technology will be the same, but, again, no alchemy. Another thing, Ed will not have automail. He's got all his limbs and Al has his body. But a huge difference is that Ed is 17 and Al is 6. This is what fuels my plot. One last thing is that Ed is tall now. The reason why he is so short in canon is, to my understanding, because of heavy automail and needing to supply nutrients to Al's body. Since none of that is the case here, genetically (please don't come at me for this. I have studied a little bit of genetics and I KNOW that height is super complicated. I'm just trying to be simple), Ed shouldn't be short, so he's not. ANYWHO, please, enjoy and leave me a review of your thoughts!
This is a crime fic, so I'm putting a general warning here. Please be mindful when reading. This will go into detail about CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES. This mainly applies to abuse, stalking, and blood. AGAIN THIS IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE LIST. If anything new comes up I will place a warning at the beginning of the chapter.
Ed's chest tightened. It felt like all the air had been sucked from his lungs and his heart was beating on overdrive. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears. His muscles were cramped from not moving. The tiny body in his arms shifted. Ed wrapped his arms tighter around the boy to keep him from making any more noise.
"Edward, why are you hiding? Father just wants us to be a family." An almost shrill voice called out through the alley.
The rain muffled the person's footsteps, but Ed knew he was close. Panic seeped through his body and the young blond hoped with his entire being that the alcove he was hiding in would keep him covered. He couldn't let that man catch him and Al. They couldn't go back. If that man found them, he wouldn't get very far. Not with his leg in the shape it was in. It throbbed, but Ed could barely feel it. The footsteps stopped and the voice was as loud as it had ever been.
"Stop playing games. You're making me angry."
Through the rising sunlight, Ed could see the soaked shoes of the very person he was trying to escape. In a few more minutes, he would be visible and it would be over. Thankfully, the man didn't stay for too long. Ed let out the breath he had been holding for what felt like hours. All he had to do was make it out of the city and into the next. The boy in his arms shifted yet again and big golden eyes slowly opened. The rain had picked up, but the two were somewhat sheltered by the cramped alley.
"Brother, when can we go home? I miss Winry and Granny," the too-small boy asked.
The boy's voice was louder than Ed liked, but it seemed like their pursuer wasn't around anymore. "You know we can't yet, Al, but I miss them, too," Ed replied. The older boy kept his arms around his little brother trying to keep the biting cold away. Ed himself couldn't stop shivering, but that didn't matter as long as Al was okay. The sun climbed higher in the sky. The rain showed no signs of letting up and Ed showed no signs of moving. Rather he didn't think he could move anymore.
A couple of towns away from this one, Ed and Al had been resting in the quaint farm that belonged to a sweet old lady who let them stay for a few days. Unfortunately for the brothers, they had been found and were forced to leave in the middle of the night. While running through the rural town with no lights, the older brother had fallen over some old farm equipment that ripped his leg opened. He had managed to get the bleeding to stop after sneaking onto a freight train, but he had nothing close to the proper materials needed to patch such a wound. Thankfully, though, it had yet to become infected.
Ed stayed on the ground and just sat there rubbing his baby brother's back in comfort. A loud growl interrupted the quiet morning air. He looked down at Al and smiled when he saw the embarrassed flush wash over the boy's thin face. "We should get some food in you. Up we go!"
"You don't have to! I'm not that hungry! Really!" Al cried as he gripped onto Ed's shoulders.
Ed frowned at his little brother's words. Guilt churned his stomach, but he squashed it down. He had to do this for Al to live a normal life. He ruffled the fluffy blond hair on his little brother's head and stood. He kept one arm around Al and used the other to steady himself as he slowly put pressure on his bad leg. Once stable, Ed braved the rain and stepped out of the alley.
That was a mistake. Before Ed could get more than a few steps into the open street, something blunt struck his back. His weak and malnourished body couldn't take the impact and he fell to the ground and Al tumbled out of his hold. The little boy cried out in pain as his head collided with the cobblestone.
"My, my, what a scene. We could have avoided all of this if you just listened and came back."
Ed cursed himself. It was too good to be true. He let his guard down and now he would pay for it. He had no chance in his current state, but Al could still escape. He shakily lifted himself up and for the first time in his life he prayed. Ed prayed that Al would understand that he needed to run, to get out of the area. He prayed that he would make it out alive. Ed felt his arms give out under his body weight. The rain pounded against his skin as he lay there glaring at the black-haired man crouching over his body.
Al made himself as small as possible. He didn't want the mean man to find him. His small hands shook with fear, but Ed needed help. He had to help his brother! Al panicked. Everything Ed told him to do in an emergency rushed through his mind, but he didn't know what to do first. His eyes scanned the area for a phone. He had to call for help. Al wanted to scream when couldn't find anything, but his young eyes caught onto a rusted sign down the road. 'East City Welcomes You!' it read. An idea popped into his head and Al wasted no time in thinking on it. He rose to feet and took off silently apologizing for leaving his brother.
The streets were still fairly empty and Al saw no one he thought could help him. His eyes burned as tears streamed down his face and mixed with the rain. The young boy came to a stop when he saw the large open courtyard of Eastern Command. With a burst of energy, Al took off. Men in blue uniforms spotted the area, but none of them seemed to see him. He was intimidated and scared, but his brother needed him. Al ran up to the nearest man who was smoking a cigarette. His blond hair was styled in an undercut and he looked bored as he gazed at the sky from under the awning he stood under.
"Please help my brother!" Al cried as he grabbed the soldier's pant leg.
The soldier made a confused sound and peered down. Al looked at him with terrified eyes. The boy's clothes were dripping wet and he was visibly shaking. The soldier flicked away his cigarette and dropped into a squat grabbing the boy by the shoulders. "What happened to you?"
"Please, sir, please help my brother!" Tears were waterfalling down Al's cheeks. "He's gonna take brother away!" Desperate, the boy started stamping his feet. Ed didn't have time to spare. For all Al knew, Ed was probably gone now.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Kid, you gotta calm down," the soldier urged.
Al wailed. He shouldn't have left his brother. If the man was going to take Ed, he should have stayed so he could get taken, too. Now, he wasn't sure if he'd ever find his brother if Ed was gone. Al ripped himself out of the soldier's grip and sprinted out of the Command Center courtyard. Relief washed over him as the sounds of a running man filled his ears. The soldier called after him, but Al wouldn't stop. Unfortunately, for the small boy, the soldier caught him in a few strides and scooped him up. The man's uniform was already soaked from the heavy rain, but he was immensely warmer than his brother had been.
"C'mon, kid, where do you need to go?" the soldier sighed. Al hurriedly recited the most he could remember about where he and his brother had hidden in the strange city. Hopefully, this man would get to Ed before it was too late.
"Do you have to be so difficult?"
"Go to hell, Percy." Ed hissed. Most of his hair had fallen out of the hair tie and was now plastered to the street. The man who had chased him, Percy, loomed over him. Weakly, Ed lifted his head to throw a glare. "You and your old man can rot there."
Percy gave a low chuckle as he dropped low to the ground. He hugged his knees close to his chest and traced a finger over Ed's exposed leg. Ed winced as Percy's finger got dangerously close to the crusty wound. On reflex, Ed pulled his leg away from the man, but, Percy wasn't having it.
"Why can't you just stay still?!" Percy demanded as he wrapped his hand around Ed's leg and squeezed.
White-hot pain burned Ed's leg. The immobilized young man let a roar of agony rip from his throat. He felt new, warm blood seep from the gaping wound. "What the fuck is your problem?" he ground out. His vision was getting spotty now.
"You're much tamer when you can't move. Come now, Edward, it's time to go home," Percy replied with a level tone.
Panic took over Ed. There wasn't much he could do, but he wasn't going to go down quietly. Ed knew Percy was not a physically strong man, and while Ed knew he didn't weigh much at the moment, deadweight was awful to lug around. Percy moved to get a better hold of Ed's body before attempting to heave the blond up. He didn't make much progress. Frustrated, he straightened up, brought his knee back, and kicked Ed in the side.
Ed coughed upon the impact and his body curled in on its own. He refused to let his fragile defense brake and he refused to get taken back. Ed took every single one of Percy's kicks. The only thing keeping the blond awake was willpower. He knew Percy had a nasty attitude, and he knew how that was also Percy's biggest insecurity. If he could just get the black-haired man to reach his limit, he would break down for a moment and Ed could relax.
Percy reeled his leg back and was set for the kick that Ed knew would hurt the most, but it never came. Instead, a gunshot rang out and Ed watched as the other man froze and slowly turned. Whatever Percy had seen sent him running. Ed was too exhausted to bring his head back up. He let every single muscle relax and he groaned in pain. He would have to profusely thank whoever shot that gun because they were literally a lifesaver. His breaths were coming in labored huffs and the next thing he knew he was seeing black.
"Hey, you need to let the doctor's check you out,"
Whoever was speaking wasn't recognizable to Ed. He snuggled deeper into the bed letting the warm blanket encase his aching body. Bed? The last time Ed checked, he wasn't in a bed and he most definitely was not warm. Alphonse! He forced his heavy eyelids open and gazed around the blurry room. Everything was white except for the shapeless blobs crouching in front of a chair. Ed blinked his eyes a few times trying to clear his vision.
"C'mon, little guy, you're brother is just fine. He's sleeping. We need to take care of you now,"
No response. Ed watched as the two men in blue, soldiers, argue with a little boy who refused to speak. That little boy was his brother! He ignored his body's protests and struggled to sit. "Al!"
Al snapped his head over to the bed where Ed lay and bounded over easily evading the grabby hands of the soldiers.
"Al, come here," The last time Ed had cried was when their mom passed two summers ago, but he was ready to sob. He reached out wanting to engulf the boy in a hug, but the IV lines prevented him from moving so far. Al, though, climbed onto the too-small bed and attached himself to Ed's waist. The older boy brought his hands to Al's head and forced the younger boy to look at him. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"
Al shook his head and insisted he was fine, but Ed couldn't believe him. Before he got the chance to pester the small boy further, the two soldiers approached. The blond one reeked of smoke and it almost made Ed retch. The black-haired one looked like he wore too much cologne, but because the other man smelled like a human cigarette, Ed couldn't confirm that one.
"Colonel Roy Mustang. This is Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc. He's the one who helped you." The black-haired soldier introduced. Jean tilted his head in hello.
"Mr. Havoc says Mr. Mustang can help us. Brother, we could go home!" Al said from under Ed's arms.
Ed wanted to laugh. But not for good reasons. He had spent the better part of two years telling Al they would go home as soon as that man stopped chasing them, but both of them knew they had no home to return to. Not since that wretched man set it on fire. Now that the opportunity to go back home presented itself, it was useless. Pain inched across his face as he recalled the memories of his childhood home being reduced to ashes.
"He's right. If you want to press charges against the man who did this, we can turn this into an official case." Roy explained. "Before we do anything, though, it has been brought to my attention that you are a minor. You need your parents or guardians to sign off."
This time Ed really did laugh. "We don't have any. It's just been us since 1914."
"And how do I know you're not just two rebellious kids who ran away from home?" Roy challenged. The look that passed over the older brother's face made the Colonel almost grateful that the boy was bedridden.
"I don't have to explain myself to you. If you're not going to help, get the fuck out."
"You have to explain yourself if you want a case, Edward."
It sounded so simple coming from the Colonel. Ed wished he could just reveal everything that man did. He wanted to go back to Risembool and see Granny and Winry. He wanted to lay flowers on his mom's grave and tell her he was back. He wanted to move on, but he couldn't. "It wouldn't help a damn thing."
Roy was getting irritated. He was a soldier, not a police officer. It was not his job to be here and deal with an uncooperative teenager. He was only here because Jean asked him. "You're going to stop being so cryptic with me, boy. I am an important man and I have many things to do. So I'm going to tell you one more time. Explain yourself."
Edward's gaze hardened. "You can't charge someone who doesn't exist."