Damn, I'm feeling pretty good right about now! Third chapter within a span of two days, I think? My creative juices are flowing, and nothing can stop me now! OH YEAH, I feeling good! Sorry, this is a personal achievement for me. I'm very proud of myself. Anyway, sorry it took so long for those of you who check the site every hour to make sure you haven't missed anything! Just as always, if you don't like it, don't read it.

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. Damn, I'm tired of all these cold, lonely nights! I wish I had my own Ed and Al bioengineered clones to play with! Of course no one would see them... Gives a devilish grin and stalks away.
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The next morning, Ed awoke to an empty house. There was a note on the door that said Winry, Pinako, and Al had all gone into town today to get groceries for the house. "More likely to get away from his disturbed brother…" He spent the rest of the day in bed, even though he was hardly tired and aching to move. "I can't believe I did that to him," Ed said out loud to himself. "I had to let a bad dream get the better of me, and now because of it, I may have lost my brother." He wasn't sure what he was going to do. He could deny his feelings for Al and tell him it was his dream that made him do what he did, but he knew he would crumple to the floor in front of him in a month if he tried that. It's not exactly easy to just turn your emotions off at will, and even harder to keep them off. "I guess for the moment it doesn't matter. Maybe… maybe Winry can help me…" That thought made him shiver. When she got wind of this, he may not have to worry about Al, just about the destined wrench to the face. "Damn, it's going to be a long day!"
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Al and Winry stood in the near empty market, perplexed by the luck that no one else was shopping. Pinako had gone to look for some replacement tools for the others that had broken during the usual flow of customers with automail needs. Al still felt a little uneasy about the night before, but it felt good to get out of the house and away from Edward. It gave him time to clear his mind and work through what he felt and what he didn't. "Why didn't I pull away? I… I think I enjoyed it almost… But Ed's my brother! The idea…" Al shivered, because the idea brought many things to mind, and none of them were revulsion or hate. "Something the matter, Alphonse?" Winry's question brought him back to the market, and he smiled sheepishly. "No, I just didn't get much sleep last night. Brother had a nightmare and it kept me up a good bit afterwards, is all." Winry returned his smile, understanding. "I know, I heard that all the way from the other side of the house. What was it that made him so scared?"

"Losing me is why he kept screaming. What should I do…wait, I wonder…could I ask that?" "Ummm… Winry… can I ask you a question…?" Winry turned to him and saw the seriousness in his eyes. "Sure Al, what do you want to ask?" The teen just stood there for a moment, not wanting to ask her, but he knew he could trust her with this… "It's about Brother, you see… Last night, when he was having that nightmare… something," Al began to turn red from the heat of her gaze. It was so hard not to break down and confess to crimes he didn't commit under those eyes. "No, never mind. Forget I mentioned it."
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Winry let the topic drop, but she began to think to herself over what could be wrong with Alphonse. "It's not like him to hide anything, but there's a first time for everything, I suppose." Well, it did have to do with both Ed and Al, so maybe she could get something out of the former. "That will work. I'll ask Ed what's up. It can't be that bad, right?"
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"YOU DID WHAT?!?!?!" Winry's voice reverberated in the empty room twenty times over what it normally would have been. Ed cringed at under her steely gaze, not quite sure whether to look up at her or beg for mercy at her feet. "HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING!!! NO WONDER AL'S WORRIED, HE HAS NO IDEA WHY HIS BROTHER MADE A MOVE ON HIM!!!"

"Winry, calm down! If Al hears us, he'll be more upset about us talking about it!" Winry looked ready to clog him over the head with one of her wrenches (which she always seemed to carry at least one at all times…). But regardless, she made herself calm down just enough and continued in slow, steady breaths. "So, what you're telling me, is that you have feelings for your brother, right? Feelings for your B-R-O-T-H-E-R, who is your own flesh and blood, right?" "Well," Ed said, "that about sums it up. So what should I do? I mean, it felt like the thing to do, but every time I try to approach him, he finds a reason to walk away. He's avoiding me, and I'm not sure why…"

Winry sighed. No matter how old he was, Ed showed the intelligence of a toddler at times. "Listen, Ed, you can't expect him to get over this in an instant. Even I'm still trying to shake it away. I know we both had feelings for each other at times, but I don't think of you anymore that a friend. Albeit a very short friend (that remark made Ed angry, but he kept on listening), but nonetheless. I think you need to give him sometime is all. If he wants to return your feelings, then he will, no matter what." Winry got up and paced back and forth for a bit. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation. I expected something a little less…well…shocking. I thought it must be Ed hurt Al's feelings or something, and it turns out Edward is…ah never mind!" A sniffle brought Winry back to the real world, and she looked to find Ed holding back tears.

"Edward? Hey, don't be sad…" She pulled him in close, and he accepted her shoulder. "We'll work through it, you know, and then everything will be alright. It's just going to take some time, that's all." He accepted all her words as he silently wept into her shoulder. She held him close and smoothed his hair down, trying to comfort the boy who might have alienated his own brother.
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Al sat on the porch, staring into the sunset and pondering over his thoughts. "What should I do? I don't hate Brother, that much is certain, but do I like him like that? And if I do, does he hate me for shunning him?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know, and the younger boy sank further into his thoughts. "Why…why did I not back away? Why didn't I just tell him that it couldn't be like that? AAAHHHH! Nothing makes sense anymore!!!" Al left his thoughts alone for a bit, and sat as the sun faded into the horizon. Purple, yellow, and red decorated the sky, giving the impression of fire streaking across the tops of the hills. "It's times like these that you really appreciate the beauty of nature."

"Al, can I talk to you?"

Ed's voice barely scraped his consciousness, but he turned to find his brother waiting in a blanket. Al sighed, knowing that the moment was coming, got up and pulled a chair over to sit in. Ed's face looked flushed, and his eyes were red and puffy. "Has he been…crying? Brother never cries!" Ed pulled up a chair as well settled into it, moving around so as to get comfortable. Finally finding the perfect spot, he put on his patented let's-do-this-even-though-I-don't-want-to face (often used around a certain brigadier general jackass), and started out. "Listen Al, about last night, I'm sorry… I guess I let my emotions get…" Al never really heard the rest of what he said though. He had lost himself in the straight yellow blonde hair that seemed to catch the sunlight just right in the fading light. "So…beautiful… I mean..." Al tried to push the thought away, to listen to his brother, but it just wouldn't stay gone. And it wasn't just his hair, either. What exposed flesh on his brother's chest caught the light and seemed to add to the beauty that already surrounded him, and Al thought about how he would have looked like without the blanket. His insides churned like hot fire, and his thoughts became hot and slippery, almost hard to grasp and hold.

"And I just thought that you should know… Al, are you even listening to me?" Al jumped back from the sudden shock back into reality so hard, that he pushed the chair back and fell out of it. "Al, are you alright?!" He hurried over to his younger brother's side. His eyes were closed. "Al, are you alright?! Speak to me!! Al, are you…" Ed tried to finish his sentence, but found that his mouth was blocked by an obstruction; Al's mouth. He had brought his hand around his head and pushed Ed toward him. Their lips met, and nothing else seemed to matter anymore. Tongues intertwined, new to their use, but eager to try. Ed brought his hand up to Al's face, and felt the smooth skin of the younger teen's face. "Just like fresh spun silk…" A sigh of contentment rolled away from Al. Everything did indeed stand still, and their kiss lasted until the light that had been was no longer visible. They finally parted, and Edward gave his brother a bewildered look. "Al, where did that come from?"

Alphonse blushed, apparently not quite sure where it came from himself. "Well, I was just thinking how beautiful your hair looked in the sun, and how your skin seemed to glow. I just thought… I could keep some of it with me…" His blush deepened, and he brought his gaze up to meet his brother's. "Ed, I didn't know how to say it earlier…but I… I…" Al was cut off from finishing his sentence when Ed pressed their lips together again. The moment seemed to stretch on again, and finally they parted. Al sighed a happy sigh, and said, "I love you, Brother…" Ed looked deep into those silver-grey orbs, and found himself lost inside them as he had wanted so many times before.

Their hands met in the dark expanse of the night, and Ed noticed how Al's eyes twinkled in the starlight. He pulled him close, not wanting to miss a moment, and said, "I love you too, Al. Don't ever leave me again." And before either of them knew it, they were both lost in another time-defying kiss.
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From the second story window, Pinako looked upon the scene. She sighed, not really sure what to think, except that she still cared for the two, no matter what they decided. She looked to her right and said, "I told you there was something different about those two, Winry!" Winry wheeled around, pretending not to have been at the window spying on the brothers' moment. "Shhhh! If they find out that we're watching them, they'll never talk to me again!" A raised voice came from the porch, almost as if to answer some unknown worry. "Come on, Brother. We should go somewhere else. We don't want to draw too big an audience, don't you think?"
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Ah, so refreshing to finally have that done and over! And to think, it's only 3 in the morning! WOOT!!! Go me! Anyway, as always, please read and review, I love getting critical comments from fans and just hearing if you enjoyed it. And if you did enjoy it, I have a favor: Would you please start to spread word of this story? It's kinda disheartening when you only see 4 reviews (nothing against all who did, but I'm just saying!) when I get on. And if you need anything, you'll know where to find me.