A Brother's Comfort
Chapter II- Comfort
Ed moved his head back and forth in as he slept. "NO!", he shouted. "No ,Al!" "Alphonse!" "Brother", said Al as he stood up and moved closer so that he was right bedside the bed. "No, Al…please….don't go!" Ed pleaded. "Ed, wake up!" "You're dreaming" , said Al. "I'm right here!" Ed woke with a start and sat up. "Brother", said Al. "Are you alright?" At first, Ed just looked up at Alphonse without saying a word as he tried to calm himself down. But, after a few minutes, he is finally able to speak. "Al?", Ed asked nervously. "Is it really you?" "Yeah", said Al. "It's really me." Ed let out a sigh of relief and gave his beloved younger brother a small smile. "Brother?", asked the younger Elric. "What's wrong?" Ed didn't want to explain the awful nightmare that he'd just had, so he just shook his head, (his headache was gone now) and he looked away to avoid making eye contact with his brother again. His had been replaced by expression that was a combination of pain and fear. Ignoring the pain in his joints from the Automail, Ed brought his legs toward his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and then he buried his face in between them. "Ed?", asked Al. "Are you okay?" "Al…", said Ed hesitantly. "…It was awful." "What happened in your dream, Big Brother?", asked Al in concern. Ed squeezed his eyes shut and took a shaky breath. Because of how terrifying his nightmare had been, Ed wasn't sure if he could tell Al, but he'd try. After a few minutes, Ed explained his whole nightmare to Al. Once Ed was done, Al felt bad for his big brother and wanted to comfort him. "It's alright, Brother", said Al comfortingly. "It was just a nightmare, and I'm still here with you." "Al", said Ed softly. "Yes Ed?" replied the younger Elric sibling. "I'm scared. I don't ever want to lose you, Al", said Ed quietly. "Don't worry, Ed", said Al reassuringly. "I'm not going to leave you". Ed silently cursed his nightmare and the fever when his eyes started to water. Then, he dried his eyes (with his left hand), opened them, and looked up at Al. Al knew his brother better than anyone, and so he knew that the fever was what had brought on both the nightmare and the fear. Suddenly, he got an idea. Deciding to act on it, he grabbed the blanket off of his brother's bed and put it over one of his arms. Then, to Ed's surprise, Al reached over and (very carefully) picked him up as well. Before the older Elric could even ask his sibling what he was doing, Al turned around, sat down against the bed, and put the blanket in his lap. After that, Al (carefully) set his brother down on top of the blanket. At first, Ed didn't know how to react to this, but then he relaxed and laid back. Then, very gently, Al laid the back of his right hand on his brother's feverish head. The cool metal felt good on Ed's skin, and he let out a small sight of contentment. A little while later, Ed yawned and his eyelids started to droop. Ed wasn't sure he really wanted to go back to sleep, so he blinked and shook his head a bit. Alphonse couldn't help but notice this as he looked down at Ed. Al felt bad for his older brother because he knew he wasn't feeling well. H also knew that Ed was always so concerned about him. "Brother", said Al softly. "It's late." "You should try and go back to sleep". Ed just looked up at Al. "Don't worry brother", said Al. "Just go back to sleep". "It'll be okay." Ed readjusted himself slightly in his younger brother's lap, and yawned again. "Alright, Al", said Ed sleepily. "Good night." "Good night, Big Brother", replied Al. As Edward's eyelids began to droop again, he remembered one more thing he wanted to tell Al before going back to sleep. "Hey, Al", said Ed. "Yes, Big Brother?" replied Alphonse. "I love you", said Ed. As soon as he heard that, Al wished that he could smile. "I love you, too, Big Brother" replied Al. Ed smiled up at Al before finally going back to sleep. As soon as Al was sure that his brother had actually gone back to sleep, he gently took his hand off his brother's head. Ed flinched slightly, but he didn't wake up. For a while, Al just sat on the floor watching his beloved older brother sleep in his lap. At first, Al just listened silently as Ed's breathing became more relaxed and even. Then, Alphonse decided to pick Ed up again and put him back into his bed, so that he could get a good night's sleep. But, as Al began to move, Ed opened his eyes a bit and sat up. ("Oh no!" thought Al. "I woke him up!") "Al," said Ed sleepily. "Yes, Brother?", said Al softly. "Don't…leave..", said Ed mumbled. "Huh?" replied Alphonse in surprise. Instead of answering his brother verbally, Ed leaned into Al and wrapped his arms as far as they would go around Al's chest plate, hugging him. "Brother?", said Al. When Ed didn't respond, Al looked down at him. Then, he realized why Ed hadn't given him a response. Ed's eyes were closed, and he had gone back into a deeper sleep once more. ("He was really asleep when he did that?", thought Al incuriously). "Don't worry, Ed", whispered Al. "I promise I won't leave you." When Al saw that Ed was smiling in his sleep, he knew that somehow, his message had gotten through to his brother. "Good night, Big Brother", whispered Alphonse. He then proceeded to put his arms around his brother, giving him a gentle hug back. Edward was able to sleep peacefully for the rest of the night, because the love and comfort he received from his younger brother were enough to keep the feverish dreams away for the rest of the night.
The End.
(A/N: First off, I just wanted to thank everyone who has favorited and reviewed my fanfic. I love both the Elric brothers, and so I wanted to write about them. I will write more of these in the future. I also wanted to apologize for taking so long to get this put up, I've just been pretty busy lately. By the way, the part of the fanfic were Ed hugged Al in his sleep was based off of a scene in chapter 4: Battle on the Train from the first volume of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. Thanks again.- all things animated)