Ed stared at Al blankly and Al stared back. Mustang had left after Ed went to sleep to tell everyone about Ed's hearing. "You don't have to be sad Brother." Al said but Ed didn't react to his voice. The door opening grabbed Al's attention as he stood facing the door. Ed's eyes followed him before his sat up and turned to the door to see a doctor standing there. Ed's eyes narrowed as he looked to the doctor's lips. "I'm here to look at your ears Major Elric." Ed frowned as he caught half of what the doctor was saying. Something about his ears and his rank and name.
"What are you checking doctor..." Al paused and the doctor looked up at him. "Doctor Matthew. I'll be checking your brother's hearing to see how damaged it is. I'll tell you if the hearing damage is permanent or temporary. But it's safe to assume that his close proximity to the explosion deafened his hearing." Doctor Matthew explained and moved to Ed who glared at him.
"Matthew-checking your-hearing-damaged-permanent-assume-proximity-ex plosion." Ed glared at Matthew when he walked over to him. Matthew lifted up his clipboard and turned it to Ed who saw blank paper and a pen. 'I'm Doctor Matthew and I'll be checking your hearing to see if your deafness is permanent or temporary. I'd like your cooperation.' Ed looked up at Doctor Matthew then looked to Al before nodding.
"Well the good news is that his hearing disability is temporary. The bad news is it will anywhere from a week to a month to heal. And his hearing will be sensitive for a while afterwards." Ed was glaring at Dr. Matthew's lips as he spoke quickly. He left saying he would inform Mustang and Al bid him goodbye.
Al sat down and watched Ed who stayed sitting up to watch him. The bandages around his head and the blank look in his eyes made Al sad. Al stood up and rummaged through Ed's belongings pulling out a brush. Ed's eyes lit up and he scooted to the edge of the bed careful not to hurt his self. "You're so silly Brother." Al said softly as he kneeled down and brushed Ed's hair gently. When he finished he put Ed's hair into a low ponytail and put the brush down on the bedside table.
"Thanks Al! It was really bugging me that I couldn't brush it." Ed grinned widely at him and Al sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. Ed's smile slowly fell and he bowed his head at the silence that met his ears. His brother's voice was gone, it was like they were fighting and Al was mad at him again.
Al looked up as the door opened to reveal Mustang and Hawkeye. "You're just mad at me again... Right Al?" Ed whispered softly and Mustang felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach. Ed didn't look up but he curled his automail hand around his casted arm. "You're just mad..." Al raised his hand to Ed before letting it fall to his side. Ed couldn't hear him, it was easier to believe that Al was angry at him. To be deaf was devastating to both of them. Mustang grits his teeth and shut the door when Al put his head in his hands.
"I'll be back." Mustang muttered and left Hawkeye standing outside Ed's room listening to Al sob quietly. He walked to the phone and dialed a number he knew by heart.
"I know it's your day off tomorrow but I need you to come to the hospital." Mustang swallowed dryly bringing a shaking hand to cover his eyes. "I messed up on the mission really bad. I'll explain everything when you get here." He hung up the phone exhaling shakily and jumping at the hand on his shoulder. Hawkeye was looking up at him in concern and his guilt grew. The worst injury he got was a concussion and a wound that required a few stitches but his youngest subordinate could no longer hear. On top of that Ed had shielded his superior and younger brother getting buried under rubble, breaking his arm, getting burned, and his leg impaled. The list of injuries was extensive and it was his entire fault! It was supposed to have been Ed's day off for gate's sake!
Ed was lying on his side watching Al who had positioned his self in Ed's sights when he wouldn't lay down. Al read to his self feeling sorrow that Ed wasn't talking to him even though he was awake. He had waited three days to hear his brother's voice again. And now Ed was awake but he couldn't talk to Al because Al couldn't respond. Al was just a suit of armor with a voice. Without a voice, would Ed even know if he left? If he walked out would Ed think he had vanished? "Brother. Brother can you... Say something." But his words were unheard as Ed closed his eyes to sleep.
Ed awoke and sighed at the silence that met his ears before sitting up and looking around. "Oh, there you are Al." Ed said hiding the relief from his voice and posture. Al watched him and Ed felt uneasy. "We aren't arguing brother. You really can't hear me." Al sobbed after seeing Ed look around casually and then spot him. Ed hadn't looked concerned when he didn't see him! Al ran out of the room not wanting to see Ed and be unheard.
"AAAAAL! ALPHONSE!" Ed screamed after him but he continued to run.
Al running away from him broke Ed's heart as he screamed for his younger brother. Ed pushed his self to the edge of the bed and stood up only to collide painfully with the floor. White hot pain blinded him and stole his breath but he pushed his self to his feet. And limped out of the room searching for Al, his brother was hurting. He was hurting because of him and there wasn't a thing he could do to make it better. He couldn't fix this.
Mustang smiled in relief from where he sat on a bench outside the hospital. "I'm glad you could make it, Hughes." Hughes smiled and looked at Mustang in concern but he was waved away. "What do you need from me Roy?" Asked Hughes in slight confusion. Mustang patted the bench and Hughes sat down. Hughes watched Mustang as he leaned his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands.
"That rogue state Alchemist I was charged with capturing is dead and I killed him." Hughes stayed silent. "I pulled Fullmetal from his first day off since he joined the military and pulled him and his brother onto the mission. We surrounded him in a building scheduled for demolition. It was a trap." Hughes frowned, Ed was thirteen and half years old and for Mustang to interrupt his first day off was cruel but if Mustang pulled him onto a mission then it was necessary.
"I was hit hard on the head and knocked out. When I came to I saw him standing above us and snapped my fingers... I passed out after Fullmetal transmuted the area around me and his brother. I heard him scream... Yesterday he woke up for the first time in three days after being buried under the rubble." Mustang swallowed heavily and looked at Hughes with guilt swimming in his eyes. "He can't hear Maes. He can't hear and he doesn't blame me. He told Al that they were just fighting that's why he was silent." Hughes sat back and watched Mustang, his glasses reflecting the light and obscuring his eyes from view.
"He's scared and upset, Roy. This has probably never happened to him before. He doesn't want to believe that this is happening to him." Hughes said. Mustang sighed. "He has always been able to accept the truth before this."
"But this is harder for him. With Al in that armor, all he had was his brother's voice to comfort him. Without his hearing, there is nothing left for him to know that Al is there. It scares him. You want me to teach them sign language, that's why you called me isn't it." He stated and Mustang nodded. Hughes smiled clapping his shoulder. Mustang smiled relieved and both got up heading to Ed's room.
"What happened?! Where's Fullmetal?!" Mustang asked seeing the blanket on the floor and a few spots of blood. Had someone broken in and taken him? Hughes's hand on his shoulder had him calming down slightly.
"Al! Alphonse! Answer me!" Ed screamed as he ran despite the pain he was in. It didn't matter, Al was hurting more than he was! Al needed him to fix this! But Al was nowhere to be found and he couldn't hear him even if he was calling back to Ed. It was hard, very hard but he stopped running and sat down pulling his knees to his chest. He put his hands over his ears and stared at his knees. There was blood covering his right knee, he had pulled the stitches on his thigh and set his self up for a longer stay.
Al sighed as he sat down on the bench inside the park. It wasn't his Brother's fault, he shouldn't be angry or hurt. It was probably harder on his poor Brother. Ed never could stand the silence. Especially because he was always making noise, the creak of his armor or the turning of pages late at night. Ed didn't need him making things worse with his feelings. But were his feelings which could not be heard, acknowledged? Did they truly exist if he couldn't express them?
Feelings that weren't heard didn't exist, his voice was his only way of communicating. Without that he didn't exist, not to his Brother. If he didn't come back would Ed think he vanished into thin air? No, he couldn't leave his precious older Brother. They made a promise to never leave each other behind.
Al walked back to hospital frowning when he saw that he had been gone long enough for the sun to reach high up into the sky. He had been gone all morning! He jogged to the back entrance and froze when he saw Ed sitting on the floor bare foot and bleeding from his thigh. His knees pulled to his chest and his hands over his ears as he stared at his knees. Ed looked up and used the wall to push his self to his feet. "Al! Where were you?!" Ed shouted face crumpling as his eyes watered; he grabbed Al's hand when Al ran to his side. "You weren't supposed to leave me! Everyone else can but not you!" Ed sobbed and Al felt his heart breaking. His Brother was suffering so much right now and he had hurt him by running off.
Ed's shout caught Mustang and Hughes' attention and both looked out the window to see Ed leaning his face into Al's chest and hitting him with his automail hand as he sobbed. Al wrapped his arms around Ed and held him as he sobbed and his legs gave out. "Shit! He's bleeding!" Mustang screamed and ducked back into the hospital to get a doctor and a wheel chair. Ed and Al looked up and Hughes grinned down at them waving his hand. Ed rubbed the tears from his eyes and waved back in confusion.
Ed was set into a wheelchair and pushed by Al while Mustang hung back watching as Ed dried his tears and looked down at his lap sadly. "Don't ever leave me again Alphonse." "I won't I promise Brother." Al said even though Ed couldn't hear him talking, he squeezed the handles of the wheelchair at the silence and continued on to Ed's room.
Hughes grabbed Mustang's shoulder and nodded as they followed the two brothers back to Ed's room. After his wound was stitched again and Ed fighting to get away from the needle Ed lay on his side watching Hughes and Mustang through half lidded eyes.
"Hi Ed! I heard you were in the hospital so I came to visit." Hughes said slowly smiling and Al watched Ed's eyes focus solely on Hughes lips. "You better not show me pictures." Ed grumbled. And Hughes grinned taking out photos but he put them away and sat down on the edge of the bed facing Ed.
"Do you know what sign language is?" Hughes asked slowly and hope blossomed in Al at that. They both knew but never learned it because they found no reason to learn it and no teachers to teach it.
"You know sign language?" Ed asked and Hughes nodded his head. Ed pushed his self up, Hughes helping him when he hissed in pain. Ed looked up at him then at Al and then back at Hughes. "Will you teach us?" Hughes smiled gently and nodded. Ed smiled widely and turned to Al. "We'll learn together so you can talk to me again."