Chapter Two

Pain.

It lanced through every fiber of his being, setting nerve endings alight with hellfire and chilling them in arctic ice all at once. His muscles screamed with each seize and he gasped painfully, stilling as small, delicate hands gently shook his shoulder.

Hazed amber eyes slid open, one trembling hand catching the offending appendage.

"Brother?"

His fevered gaze cleared instantly and he shot into a sitting position, ignoring his body's protests.

His heart stopped in his chest.

Where there had been cold armor for so long, there was now flesh, warm and supple under his hand. Once blank crimson eyes were now a lively bronze color, short honey brown hair falling in a messy array around a childish face.

Al.

Al had his body back.

"It worked." He whispered and his brother nodded, a small frown crossing his features.

"But your leg-" Ed cut him off, pulling him into a warm embrace.

"It worked. It worked. It worked. It worked!" The elder sobbed brokenly, the relief in his voice so overwhelming that the younger had to fight back tears.

"At what price? Brother, what did you do?"

Ed shook his head.

"Brother, please!"

Red-rimmed topaz eyes met his then looked down at the blanket covering their owner's slight frame.

"Al…look around you. Tell me where we are."

The younger boy looked around, his breath catching in his throat as he took in the familiar dark walls covered in childish scribbles, the wide window with fresh white curtains, and most importantly…the fact that his older brother looked to be no older than he had when their mother had died so long ago.

He fell back in shock, staring up at the older boy with wide eyes.

"B-Brother?"

Ed glanced at him, long golden hair falling over his shoulder and something in Al calmed at the sight. It was the only thing that had remained the same on his de-aged brother.

"We've been sent back in time by Truth…It was the only way I could get him to give you back to me."

Al's heart clenched as he heard how small his brother sounded…like he thought Al would be angry with him. The younger reached forward and hugged him tight, marveling at being able to feel the warmth of his brother's skin for the first time in years.

"How are we going to explain this to mom?" He asked changing the subject and Ed shrugged, then stiffened.

"Oh my god." He whispered and the younger alchemist pulled back to stare at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm seven." Al stared at him and nodded slowly.

"My husband is seventeen and is going to be sent to Ishval soon to fight in a war that will break him."

"You and the colonel were married?" The younger asked, hurt invading his voice and Ed blushed lightly.

"We were going to wait until after the fight with Father to tell everyone. It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision to be honest. Bradley wed us a few nights before the fight and we decided it would be better to keep it to ourselves so no one would be distracted."

Al nodded and leaned against the older boy, glancing at the other's automail leg sadly.

"How are you going to hide your leg from mom?"

"I'm gonna wear pants. She doesn't bathe me anymore at this time, so it should be relatively simple until we can figure out how to explain it to her," He ran his hand through his long gold hair, frowning at the length.

"I don't want to cut my hair…but the length will make her suspicious."

Al smiled at his brother and couldn't help but agree. Ed's hair was one of the most constant things since that time so long ago and he would hate to see it go. "We can say it was an alchemy experiment gone wrong. We both know alchemy at this time."

Ed gave him a blinding smile and stood, gathering a change of clothes and turning to leave the room.

"Go get dressed, Al. Something tells me we have a lot to prepare for."

Grinning the youngest Elric gave his brother a mock salute and raced from the room, only to bump face first into someone else. The familiar scent of cinnamon and honey flooded his nose and longing filled his heart.

He was almost afraid to look up.

A soft laugh reached his ears and a gentle hand stroked his hair. He buried his face in her stomach and tried to fight back tears.

"Alphonse, what have I told you and your brother about running in the halls?" She scolded, but the amusement in her voice was almost palpable.

The dam broke and he whimpered. "Mommy."


Trisha blinked bewildered as she gathered the sobbing form of her youngest son in her arms. She hadn't been too harsh in her reprimand and she honestly hadn't minded, so she had no clue what had caused him to cry.

For a moment, she thought Ed had been being mean to his brother again, but he had been smiling before he ran into her, so she dismissed that thought.

"Alphonse? What's wrong, sweet heart?" She asked, trying to quench the panic flaring inside of her.

He shook his head and began to cry harder, clutching her as tight as his tiny hands could. Up ahead, the bathroom door opened and Ed exited, stilling at the sight of them. Something flashed in his eyes but was hidden before she could decipher it and his face morphed into a worried frown.

"Al?" He called and Alphonse's grip on her slackened only slightly.

"Brother?"

Her oldest smiled and walked over to them, gently running his hand through his brother's hair.

"Calm down, Al. You're alright. Everything's alright." He crooned and Al began to calm, looking up with watery bronze eyes.

"Promise?" He asked and there seemed to be so much loaded in that question, a message she couldn't understand. Ed, however, did judging by the way his amber eyes flashed.

"Of course." Al nodded and rested his head on her shoulder, his eyes half lidded, before popping back open when both his and his brother's stomach growled.

Trisha giggled, startled, but continued to glance between her boys, wondering what exactly she was missing…and how Ed's hair had grown so long.


"Major Mustang, pleased to see you again."

Roy fought a twitch at the title, having become so used to being called Colonel. Still he gave his former mentor a faux smile and nodded. Behind the man, Hawkeye gave a terse smile, fingers twitching toward a gun that wasn't there.

He understood the feeling.

All the same, he listened with half an ear as his 'mentor' told things he'd known for about ten years now, the secrets of Flame Alchemy, his mind wondering to a certain foul mouthed alchemist.

Who would be seven right now if he was correct.

Holy hell, he was married to a child.

Why wasn't he freaking out?

He sighed, tuning back in as Riza's father fell silent, the women standing with her back facing him, vivid red tattoos branding her otherwise smooth skin.

"When are you being sent out to fight?" Riza asked softly, the moment they were alone.

"Three weeks from now. You?"

"Same. My father is still unaware I've enlisted." She paused, frowning at her future superior. "Roy, what the hell is happening?"

He shrugged, a frustrated scowl on his face. "I don't know but when I see Ed I'm gonna kick his ass."

She raised an eyebrow, amusement gleaming in her honeyed gaze. "Ed?"

"Yes. Every time we end up in strange situations it's his fault."

TBC…