Author comment:
Sorry it took so long to update! But here it is! The longest chapter in this story so far! :D

When you see text written 'like this here', it means it's a text-message. :3

Be sure to read about the next chapters at the bottom, it's important for further reading!

And now, just enjoy 3

There was a weird atmosphere the following day when they drove to Ed's dorm that Sunday noon. Winry wasn't crying like she tended to do so easily, but she was close to tears when she waved at the car when it got out of sight as it turned around the corner of the road. Pinako was driving and Ed was seated in the other front seat, guiding the way using the GPS on this phone. Al was seated behind the driver's seat, tightly squeezed between the boxes of Ed's belongings. He was brought along to help carrying them to the room. Not that grandma Pinako couldn't easily help do it, she was a tough lady after all, but Al insisted on helping, though it meant he had to sit with some of the stuff on his lap to make space for him and everything else in the car. Helping out wasn't the only reason to why he wanted to come along. He wanted to see where his brother was going to live so he would know where to go when visiting him. Which he intended to do, with or without Ed's permission. He had to make sure he was alright on his own. And maybe help him pack out if he still hadn't done that by then. Also it was an order he had gotten from Winry.

''Be sure you get to know where it is alright, and also give me details about the place when you get back home! I know he isn't going to call me and tell me about it so I'll have to hear it from you.'', is what she had said to him while he fastened his seatbelt so she could place the last box on him before closing the car door.

So he was a sorta spy and messenger for Winry, along with having stalker-ish intentions on his own it seemed. He chuckled to himself at the thought. They were all so worried about Ed, Pinako too, and he told them not to, in his usually angry way like he didn't listen to them. Al sneaked a peek at his brother in the rearview mirror of the car. Ed was resting his chin in his hand while leaning against the window. He looked like his usual calm self when travelling, just taking in the view of what they drove past. Al knew he really was going to miss him. He had already predicted that, but it was worse than he thought. He could feel it because of the weird aching in his heart. Hopefully it wouldn't get worse.

They stopped by the landlord where Ed went in to get the keys, and they were soon carrying the things inside the dorm. His apartment room, number 310, turned out to be on the second floor and they didn't find the elevator before they were more than halfway done, making Ed curse at ''whoever idiot designed the building so the elevator was hidden so well!''. It only took them a little more than one hour to get everything out of the car though, despite having used the stairs for most of it, but that was because it was all boxes. All the dorm rooms were already furnished with bed, wardrobe, bookshelf, table, working desk and chairs, so the students going to live there didn't have to bring and carry bigger furniture with them. That of course also meant that everything was used by the previous owners of the rooms.

But it all seemed alright, Al noted to himself as he had explored the surroundings when walking back and forth. The rooms had own bathroom and the common area had a large kitchen and TV-room for each floor. It was quite messy and dirty there though, not what Al had expected from what should apparently be adults, well young adults, but there could be many living here by themselves for the first time in their life, thus not having gotten used to the idea of not having their mother clean up their mess. Not that he thought Ed was going to care about the condition of the place, he wasn't exactly the tidiest person either. It seemed the dorm lifestyle would suit him.

Al got back to Ed's room and finally questioned the second bed placed in the room. He had been wondering about what it was doing there.

''Oh that, I talked to the landlord when I got the keys, apparently I was supposed to have a roommate but the person hasn't shown up yet so for now I have the room for myself. It's pretty cool, 'cause I still only pay for my half of the rent but got all the space for myself.'', Ed told with a big grin as he sat down on one of the beds. Al smiled, of course he'd choose the one by the window. His adoration of his brother was interrupted by Pinako's voice.

''Alphonse, we're heading back home.''

At that, his mood sunk fast and hit the bottom hard without mercy. Home... but without Ed. Al could feel a sting in his chest at the thought. But he followed her to the door, and so did Ed to say goodbye.

''Now Ed be sure to pack out your things during this week so you don't live in a moving-mess all year.", Pinako lectured him.

Ed didn't really seem to take it that seriously, because he just gave one of his usual uncaring replies: ''Right right, I'll pack out some things now so I have the stuff necessary for school tomorrow, and then I'll see to the rest after school if I feel like it."

Pinako sighed with a smile. That brat would never change. ''Well we better get going before the traffic gets crowded. Ed, don't forget to come visit us for a homemade meal, even if you're going to be busy with school. Winry would like that too."

''Tch, like I'd travel in train for almost 3 hours just to get something to eat. But right, I'll keep that in mind. Have a safe trip home."

While Ed an Pinako had said goodbye, Al was just standing there all quiet looking down at his feet. Pinako knew what was up and went down to the car by herself and told him to come when he had said goodbye. Those brothers were close so it was no wonder to her if the younger of them would find this situation hard. They were inseparable, and now that was going to change, so she'd let them have their little moment.

Pinako was out of sight, but Al still hadn't moved a muscle or said a word. Ed thought he was probably just starting to get clingy, so he broke the silence with a cheerful smile: ''Aww Al, it's not like we're never going to see each other! I'll come visit in the weekends sometimes." He chuckled and gave Al's shoulder a soft nudge. Still no reaction. Ed frowned, irritated.

''Hey come on, what is it? Is it me living by myself you're worried about again? I already told you there's no need to, I'll do fine on my own, and so can you. It's not like we're each other's oxygen or something!''

Now Al finally spoke up, though in a hushed voice, like it was embarrassing to say what he was going to say: ''I-I know... But.. Brother.. I'm just...''

''What?''

''I'm just really going to miss you!", Al looked up at Ed, clearly sad and embarrassed. This whole speaking-about-your-feelings thing really wasn't an Elric thing to do.

It did seem to have an effect on the older blonde though, 'cause his brows lifted and eyes grew wider and a slight blush appeared on his cheeks. It was as if he hadn't realised just how much Al was going to miss him and how much he was going to miss him back, not until now at least, because next thing he knew, he was hugging Al in a tight embrace.

Al's heart skipped a beat, and his face turned red and hot. He didn't expect this from his ever-so-tough-acting brother, but he was happy about it and put his arms around Ed's waist. It felt good. He could feel his warmth and his strong arms around him. His brother's long hair tickled his face but he didn't mind. It smelled nice, he was using a fresh citrus shampoo, Al noted. Then he heard Ed's soft voice beside his ear.

''Hey, it's alright... I.. I'll miss you too. A lot. But we still have school to see to you know. But if we can find time, we can visit each other alright?" Al nodded against Ed's shoulder. They stood like that a little while longer, forgetting about the hallway they were standing in, the situation becoming more and more awkward, as other people living there gave them weird looks as they walked past the scenario, but neither of the Elrics really wanted to let go of the other. That was until Ed decided to break the little bubble of happiness and return back to the hallway. He let go of Al and began searching his hoodie pocket for something.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot...''

Al missed the warmth of the embrace already, but got the thought interrupted when Ed put a key in his hand.

''The landlord gave me an extra key, but I don't really need it myself, so I thought maybe you'd want it? T-to keep it safe I mean? Y-you're also allowed to come visit me whenever you feel like it.. If you want to that is...''

Ed was looking away, scratching the back of his head and neck in an embarrassed manner. The blush had spread from his cheeks to his ears. Al was surprised at first, but then he gave a big smile.

''Sure! I will!"

Happy to see the positive reaction, Ed smiled back at his cute baby brother who was beaming with happiness. The sight made him chuckle, it was simply too adorable.

''Hehe.. Right, then that's a deal. So... See you Al. Maybe even soon?''

''You bet! Sooner than you know brother."

Al held the key tight to his chest, as if could it give him the courage he needed to wave goodbye to Ed in the doorway and go back down to the car where Pinako was waiting. It was hard to go, but at least now he knew he was going to see him again soon.

Al almost couldn't contain his excitement. He felt so special for being given that extra key, and Ed even allowed him, all willingly, to come visit him! He bounced down the stairs and out to the small parking lot where Pinako stood smoking her pipe, leaning against the car. She lifted her gaze and noticed his bright smile.

''You seem surprisingly cheerful compared to how tough I thought it'd be on you. And yet it took you so long to let him go."

Al didn't know what to reply, but he didn't need to, cause she was already getting in the car. ''Are you coming Al?"

''Uh, yeah!" He gave a quick glance back at the dorm building before they drove out of the parking lot. He was definitely going to visit as soon as possible.

With nothing to do while driving, besides giving a few guiding instructions every now and then on which direction they should take, he thought he'd make a proper plan with Ed about visiting him. Can't just waltz in whenever I feel like it just because I have the key, that'd be too intrusive after all. Already sitting with his phone he closed the map-app and started texting his brother.

'Hey, do you think you've settled down by next weekend?'

Some minutes passed before the phone's screen lit up. Ed had probably started unpacking and lost his phone somewhere in the mess. Al looked at the message.

'Why? Coming over?'

Okay he was busy unpacking alright, since he didn't bother to write longer sentences than that. Or maybe he was just being lazy. It wasn't always easy to tell when it was Ed.

'Well I intended to? And if you aren't, I'll come over to help you unpack the last stuff.'

Al checked the map for Pinako while he waited for a reply. Then a new message appearred.

'Fine. When?'

Al opened a transportation-app on his phone to search for a train. Shold he even come over Friday or Saturday? Maybe the latter, then he got all day free for the long travel.

'Depends on how early you can wake up on a Saturday?'

'Just come whenever.'

Well that wasn't much of an useful answer, but then he'd just decide for himself.

'Alright. I can be at the dorms around 12:30 PM, then you won't be forced to get up early.'

'Youre too kind. Can you find way?'

'Nah I just don't want to get up too early myself either. The trip takes 2 and a half hour by train! And yes, I got my phone to show the way.'

'Sorry i forgot. Ok deal.'

It wasn't exactly an exciting conversation, but Al knew his brother wasn't good at written conversations or phone calls. He simply preferred to talk eye-to-eye. It might have something to do with his lack of ability to sense other's emotions. There wasn't a bigger likely risk of misinterpreting people when he was able to read their body language. Also he wouldn't come out as such a big douche as he might sometimes sound like to others who didn't knew him. But Al knew him well enough to not get offended by his short and rather emotionless messages. Winry hated them and would always try to make Ed use emoticons, but he refused because he found them ridiculous. At some point Al must've fallen asleep while being lost in thoughts, because he suddenly noticed that they were back home.

Winry waited them with dinner, excited to hear about Ed's dorm. She was questioning Al about everything; how it went, what the place looked like, about the condition of the room and if Ed needed something fixed. To Al, it seemed that the time went by pretty quickly that evening, and he was soon heading off to his room. He felt tired. Not so much exhausted by the bit of physical work he had done today, but more from feeling like an emotional wreck. He closed the door behind him, and threw himself flat on his stomach and face onto his bed. When he couldn't hold his breath anylonger, he lifted his head from the pillow with a gasp, and turned to lay on his left side, looking out in the room he no longer shared with his brother.

It felt terribly empty.

Ed's side of the room, the side towards the outer wall, was all tidy. No clothes laying around, the bed was made, and no crumpled sketches were scattered around the usually filled trash can. His desk and shelf was cleared of all his belongings; laptop, books, art tools, paintings and other stuff he'd have laying around, like the old pocket watch he had for some reason unknown to Al. The thing that hit Al the most was the window sill where Ed would sit at this time of the day. But there was no blonde sitting there with his amber eyes gazing out the window to look at the remainings of the sunset. And the happiness Al had felt earlier, when he and Ed had made the deal about him visiting next weekend, it was nowhere to be found anymore. He realised that this week of school would only go by way too slowly. And with that thought, he decided to go to bed early so the days would go by faster.

The room was big, and despite being filled with beds with tons of other sleeping kids, Alphonse felt alone. Lost. Forgotten. He could only feel the darkness around him creeping closer, and hear the uncomfortable creaks and mysterious noises the building made in the quiet night. Logic would tell one that this would be normal for an old house and that it was obviously normal to feel a little uncomfortable when sleeping in a new place, but the small boy was close to tears.

For some reason, he didn't knew why, he and Edward had gotten separated at the orphanage and they had been put into different sleeping halls. He had no idea where his brother was, and he felt all alone in the world. Sure the adults seemed nice and he was told he was supposed to sleep and live here until other things where confirmed, but to a boy who had recently lost his mother, this situation was terrifying. Being only 4 years old, he didn't quite understand what was going to happen to him and his brother, and it scared him.

Suddenly he heard footsteps in the hallway outside the room. Every muscle in his body froze, and he kept listening to the steps as they came closer. They stopped. Then he heard the clack of a door being opened and a thin cone of light from the hallway shone into the sleeping hall. Al's heart stopped. Whoever it was, walked into the room, quietly, almost sneakingly. Like any scared kid, Alphonse pulled the duvet over his head to hide himself. He was shaking, and tried to hold his breath so he wouldn't be heard. The person walked slowly, looking at the labels with children names at the bedposts. The light footsteps stopped by Alphonse's bed. He panicked, and tears started forming in his eyes. He wanted to scream for help, but he was too scared. And who could he even rely on? He knew no one here. He knew his mother was gone, he knew what dead meant, she couldn't help him anymore.

''Brother.. Brother please...'', Al whispered, soundlessly, too afraid to make a sound. All he wanted right now was his brother. The only one he could rely on to come and save him. A hand began tugging the duvet off of him, and Al screamed and yelled in fear, lashing out at the person, who was taken by surprise and got hit so he stumbled backwards. Al lifted his pillow over his head with the intention of ineffectively throwing it at the intruder, and finally looked at the person.

''Al what's wrong?''

A wide-eyed and perplexed Ed stood before him, rubbing his arm that had gotten hit by Al. Al slowly let go of the pillow as the tears began to run in streams down his cheeks. He couldn't control them anymore.

''B-bro-ther.. I- w-was so.. so scared!'', he hiccuped in between his crying. Ed climbed onto the bed and hugged his little brother, soothing him the best he could.

''Hey hey it's okay, I'm here now. I won't let us get separated again.''

Al held onto his brother for dear life, and cried with no end to the tears, not caring why or how Ed had found him. He was just so relieved. Fact was that Ed had sneaked out of his sleeping hall when the adults weren't around, to go search for Al, and though he couldn't read all that well yet, he had recognised his brother's name and their surname at the name-label on the bed. The other kids in the room had woken up due to the commotion. Some of the younger ones were crying because their sleep had been interrupted by screaming and yelling, others just sat up to curiously watch the scenario, while a few ran out to get an adult.

Ever since a young age, the Elric brothers were known for causing trouble and being inseparable.

Next day of school was moving slowly, just as Al had expected. It was just the first week of school after the Christmas holiday and Al already looked like someone who had had enough. He was making his way through the cantina with his tray of food to find a table, and he just wanted the day to end. Not that Al didn't like learning, but the only thing that went through his head was "Please let it be weekend soon please let it be weekend soon!". It was driving him nuts, and something as simple as falling asleep last night hadn't been easy. In fact, he felt like he couldn't at all, and he had only gotten a bit of uneasy rest. The room felt empty and too quiet when Ed wasn't there, and Al didn't like it one bit. The night had seemed endless, and he felt dead inside. He hadn't felt like this in years, but the horrible feeling of being lonely was back, and he couldn't do much about it. When he was younger he would usually have this feeling when Ed was away on school-trips for more than one day, and he had to sleep in their room by himself. Sometimes Winry would sympathise with him and let him sleep on a mattress in her room, but he really felt like he was too old for that by now!

"Goddammit Alphonse, you're turning 17 in four months! You're not supposed to be so damn scared of being alone! Besides, you've known for weeks that Ed was going to move out! It's not like it comes as a surprise."

Al muttered a curse at himself, it really was too much. What was he afraid of anyways? He knew he wasn't alone and he wasn't forgotten, but still... That feeling. And it was whenever he and Ed were separated. He let out a deep sigh.

"Heh... I really must have a brother complex..."

It was no wonder to him actually, because he knew all too well just what occurrence that had caused it. But he tried not to think of it too much. What happened at the orphanage back then was a bad memory, and he tried not to let it affect him too much. It was in the past. It should just be forgotten. But he couldn't quite forget how he felt that night, and that was why he was so attached to his brother. That was his and everyone else's theory. Also the fact that all family they had left was each other. No one knew about their dad, he had been gone for years ever since the brothers were just 2 and 3 years old. It was just Edward and Alphonse against the world.

Alphonse smiled to himself. They had always taken care of each other. His brother was always there for him. He remembered how a very young but stubborn 5 year old Edward had insisted to get a bed next to Al's after the incident at the orphanage, because he wanted to make sure Al wasn't going to be scared again. And when they were adopted into the Rockbell family by grandma Pinako, Ed slept in the same bed as Al the first many weeks. Ever since then they had shared room together. It also saved space and money since they didn't have to move to a bigger house to get an extra room, so nobody was complaining. But it sure had affected the brothers to be very close, not that a close brotherly bond was a bad thing, but now, as they had gotten older and had to live separate lives, it was hard to let go. But they had been through worse, so they could manage that too... Right?

Al poked his food with his fork. He really didn't feel like eating anything, which was weird for someone who appreciated, what other's might just take for granted, the taste of food. He didn't even care what it was. Not today. Something sauce with pasta and vegetables... He just wanted the week to be over as soon as it had started, and he couldn't care less about what happened during it. The negative thoughts were interrupted by loud laughing, and, though stating he didn't care about anything today, he lifted his head to see where it came from.

Oh... The Mustang guy. And it wasn't a very rare sight, seeing him surrounded by several girls from all different years of the school, as he sat down at a table nearby. The girls were giggling and flirting, and some almost fighting each other to get to sit next to him. Al had seen this scenario plenty of times, and he never really cared about it. He was always being the neutral one while he would try to make Ed calm down so he didn't pick a fight with ''the annoying bastard''. But seeing him right now made him make a sour expression and he looked back down at his food. Roy really was too much. Not only was he being overly confident and flirty with all those girls, but he was also bold enough to make a move on Edward! Why would he even do that? Was he just joking around back then too? Even so, it still wasn't alright to force yourself on someone like that, and especially not someone close to Al. The thought of Roy kissing Ed made him even more angry.

''Something wrong with the cantina food that I need to report to the school council, or are you just having a bad day, Elric?''

Al looked up again. There stood Roy with a stupidly confident smirk on his stupid face. Al gave him an annoyed look. Why and when did he come over to his table? This wasn't really the best time he decided to be talkative on. But Al was too kind to say that, so he tried to answer as polite as he could.

''Nothing's wrong, I'm just not really hungry that's all.'' He managed to give a fake smile with the reply.

''Good, but be sure to tell me if there is anything you think needs to be changed at the school. I'm not School President for nothing you know.'' Roy laughed proudly.

Well maybe you could go away, that would be a nice change right now. Al chose not to say his thought out loud. Instead he tried to end the conversation in a friendly manner: ''Right, I'll keep that in mind.''. But Roy didn't seem to get it, 'cause he went on.

''Good. By the way, it's rare to see you on your own, what did you do to your hotheaded brother? I haven't seen him today.''

I don't want to hear that from you. How dare you even notice if he's here or not.

''He's not attending this school anymore.''

''Oh that's news to me. How come?''

Why would YOU want to know?

''He applied for the art school he wanted to go to, and got in because someone else dropped out before Christmas.''

''So he's just skipping the last half year of High School?''

''He had the talent to start right away they just didn't have space for more students before now.''

''Doesn't surprise me, his grades have always been exceptional. Many have wondered why he didn't run for School President or at least Class president.''

''He doesn't want to misuse his talents on getting power.'' Unlike someone else.

''His choice. I'm going to miss his temper tantrums... Well I got to go back to the ladies. Wish him good luck with that from me alright?''

''Right, I will...''

Roy walked back to his table where the girls were waiting for him. ''Hahaha did you miss me already?'' If possible, Alphonse's death-glare would have killed Mustang before he even got to sit down.

Al sighed. What was wrong with him? It wasn't like him to be rude or even have rude intentions towards others. And certainly not someone he didn't even knew that well personally. Because fact was that Roy and Alphonse didn't really talk that much to each other. Of course they were both there when Roy was annoying Ed and Al had to calm him down, and had to apology for his brother's rude behaviour towards the School President himself. Though Roy was the one who started it! Well most of the time that is. But even so, Alphonse really had no reason whatsoever to directly hate the guy. Sure Roy could be arrogant and annoyingly provocative, but he was nice and loyal to his friends, and he was a good student. He had some of the best grades in school, like Ed, and was even chosen for School President for the second time in a row during his four years of High School. But he was also a pervert. He promised the males of the school to introduce the school council to school uniforms if he was chosen, and with that make all the female students wear tiny miniskirts as part of the school's dressing rules. He had gotten many votes from that statement, and probably won because of it, but the dressing rules had never been approved by the principal.

Roy Mustang was the king of the school, loved by the girls, admired by many male students and envied by even more who all wanted their girlfriends back. At least he had his ''babysitter'' to keep him a bit under control so his job as President wasn't just all fun and flirtation. Riza Hawkeye was the well known assistant of Roy, even better known as his ''babysitter'', and was there to keep him focused on the more serious stuff and hard work that was needed for the job beside being outgoing and popular. She was a kind girl, but rumours said that she wouldn't hesitate to nearly kill you if you tried anything inappropriate or against the rules. One would be stupid to try and mess with her. As they say, behind every great man is a great woman.

The school bell rang, and Al woke up from his trance. He had been keeping an eye on Roy during the entire lunch break, and his mood had gotten worse than it already was. Roy and his group of girls were leaving, and Al stood up and took his tray to go throw out the untouched food. A girl stumbled into him as she tried to catch up with someone and the tray dropped out of his hands, hit his chest and fell down to hit the floor where the food splashed onto his pants and shoes. Clothes ruined from top to toe. Really?! Alphonse groaned to himself.

''I'm so sorry! Let me help clean that up!'', the girl apologised, sincerely sorry about the accident, and ran to get tissues from the cantina desk. Al wasn't really in the mood to be friendly, but he tried.

''No it's alright, I'll just do it myself. We only need one of us being late for class.'', he said when she got back, as he kneeled down and picked up the fork to scrape the food back on the tray.

This day just couldn't get any worse!

''Hey I thought you were right behind us, what's going on here?''

Al wanted to hit himself for that thought.

''It was my fault Roy, I tried to catch up with you guys but accidentally ran into him.'', the girl said to Roy who came over to them. How Al hated himself for even thinking it couldn't get worse.

''I see. You and the others just hurry back to class, I'll help out here. As School President I can come up with a valid excuse for being late so don't worry about it.'', Roy took the tissues and winked at the girl who blushed and mumbled a thankyouRoyyouarethebest before running over to the group that waited in the doorway of the cafeteria. Roy kneeled down in front of Alphonse and dried the rest off the floor that hadn't been possible to scrape up. Al picked up the pieces of the broken plate. He didn't say a word. But Roy did.

''Unusually quiet isn't it? I guess it's because Edward isn't here to spice things up.''

''Yeah guess so...'' Urgh, the guy just had to pour salt in the wounds Alphonse had from missing Ed.

''I was thinking it would be boring without him around to clean up after, since he was always causing some kind of trouble.''

Al didn't answer to that, so Roy just took the tray from him and went to throw the mess out into the nearest trash can. Al didn't move from his position on the floor. Roy came back and offered him a hand with a laugh:

''Guess I'll just begin to clean up after you instead. This is a good start. If you're just a bit like your brother then I won't be missing him too much.''

That was it for Al. He slapped Roy's hand away rather hard and stood up, the anger twitching in him.

''What would you even know about missing him?! You were always just messing around with him like he was your personal toy! Don't ever speak about my brother like you actually care for him!''

Al yelled, and then ran out of the cafeteria as fast as he could. The blood in his veins was pumping fast, and he felt boiling hot. Stupid asshole, as if he cared for Ed the same way he did. No way in hell. No one did! And still he acted like that, gotten on the nerves of Ed for all those years just for the fun of it, and had even gone and taken Ed's first kiss against his will! He would never forgive that! He was so pissed, and didn't even notice where he was running to before a breeze of cold air hit him when he forcefully pushed a door open.

He had run up to the school roof.

Maybe it wasn't so bad an idea. The cold air could help him cool down. Ed used to go here too when he needed to get calm before going back to class. Alphonse walked over to the edge and held onto the wire fence, resting his forehead against it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Calm down Alphonse. You're getting worked up over something small here, it's not like brother has taken any damage from being around Roy. You're just missing Ed and having a bad day. Letting your frustrations out on Roy isn't right to do. You should go apologise to him. Right, that's what you should do. In the next break you're gonna go find him and say you're sorry. I can do this!

At that, he opened his eyes and got to look down at himself. The sight reminded him that his clothes were stained all over. He should get them washed soon if there should be a chance of getting it off, and decided to go home for the day. He could always apology tomorrow.

But next day Al's own mind decided to work against him. Every time he saw Mustang, or the guy tried to talk to him, Al would give him nasty looks and run away to get him out of sight. He couldn't face him. He got angry every time he saw him in the hallways or the cantina, anywhere at the school grounds actually. And Wednesday went by the same way. Al couldn't concentrate on his classes and the new subjects they were starting on, because when he didn't try to avoid Roy, he was thinking about how annoying he was and how much he hated him for ever being near Edward.

He was in the middle of a German lesson and, as in the previous lessons, he couldn't stop the thoughts. And there was no help to get. What was he going to say? I'm angry at this guy because he kissed my brother and I wanted that kiss myself! Wait what?! Alphonse couldn't believe his own thought just now. He asked to go to the toilet and hurried out there when given permission to do so, after being forced to say the sentence in broken German because he couldn't wrap his mind around the language at that moment.

When he got to the bathroom, he turned on the cold tap and splashed the water in his face. He stared at his own horrified expression in the mirror. A few droplets fell from his bangs. What was that thought just now? His own mind was beginning to freak him out. One thing was that he was being angry at Roy and overly possessive over his brother. But to think that it was because he was jealous? That was unthinkable. And yet, here he was, thinking about just that.

''You're being crazy Alphonse, you're just missing brother too much and Roy accidentally pushed a button in you that made you think weird things.''

It was plain stupid. Okay, having someone forcing themselves on your sibling was a valid enough excuse to be angry at the person, but this was just a kiss and Ed didn't seem to be bothered much by it besides finding the situation awkward back when it happened. But for Al to get so worked up about it, when it happened three years ago? That was not normal protective sibling thoughts?! Or was it? That all depended on if he was actually in fact jealous. And he didn't know. Or maybe he wasn't being honest with himself. He had been surprised and maybe a bit saddened when Ed had confirmed the rumour of him and Roy kissing. He had kinda hoped it wasn't true. And he had even kissed him himself. His cheeks flushed at the thought of the kiss they had shared last weekend. He remembered the tension from that moment, but how soft and warm it had felt too. Even though he didn't get much response on it, obviously because Ed was too surprised, the kiss was nice. He actually wouldn't mind sharing another.

''What the he-!''

Al stopped his own outburst by putting a hand over his mouth. Why would he think that? That was his brother he wanted to kiss more here! His brother! Al was freaking out for real now, and walked back and forth in the bathroom while pulling his hair in frustration. No no no no! He was freaking out for many reasons. How he had kissed his brother without letting it bother him that they were siblings. Plus he had forced himself on him which made him just as bad as Roy. He also felt guilty of how he thought it felt nice. Sure, it was his first kiss, that's always an amazing experience right? But still, it was his brother! And he wasn't supposed to want to kiss him more!? Sure you would want that if you liked the person, but he wasn't supposed to like his own brother in THAT kind of way. But that would explain why Ed was the most treasured person in his life.

''Aaarrrggh! Stoopp iiit!''

Al yelled at his own mind. It was debating with itself, and it wasn't really taking the side of the ethical conclusion. The side he hoped it would be. But not the one he wanted it to be?

No no no no! This wasn't real, he was making himself think he had something for his brother, and it was just NOT happening! Why would he even jump to such a conclusion, it was ridiculous. His brother complex was getting out of hand. He had to confirm that it was in fact just his overly-attached-little-brother feelings running wild. Would he be disgusted if he kissed him again while consciously thinking about the fact that they were brothers? Or would he like any kiss as long as it felt good? Maybe that was the reason. He simply liked the feeling of kissing and wanted more of that. If he tried to kiss someone else, it didn't matter who, would it be the same nice feeling? Al had calmed himself down by the new conclusion. And he was going to test if his theory was correct. That is, if he had someone to test it on. Which he hadn't. He couldn't just force himself on someone to use them as test subject, he felt it would be wrong, but he had to find out somehow.

Still with his plan in mind the following day he got surprised by his luck. He had gotten a letter from a girl from his own class year that told him to meet her at the school roof because she wanted to tell him something she had been gathering the courage to tell. That was possibly a love confession.

He had gotten those kind of letters and confessions four times before, but had always declined because he wasn't really interested in dating. Or dating them that was. He was interested in dating, but only if he actually liked the person back before then. As a romantic, he thought that you weren't just growing to love someone you started dating if you weren't really in love with them before that. He believed in soul mates and love at first sight. Naive of him, but it was what he wished for in his love life.

He barely knew this girl, so normally he would tell her he wasn't interested, but he could always agree to start dating so he could test his theory on her even though that meant playing unfair towards her feelings. He knew it wouldn't be kind of him, but he was so focused on confirming his theory that nothing else mattered. The thought of having a thing for his brother scared him. If that was the case, then what was he going to do with those feelings? So he was determined to prove himself wrong on that, and as soon as school was over, he went to the roof.

He opened the door and walked out. She wasn't here yet. Well maybe he was a bit early, he had hurried after all. But not long after, he heard the door open and close and he turned around.

Roy stood leaned against the door, his arms crossed and with a sour expression written all over his features. He was blocking the only way down. Al couldn't escape but he really didn't want this conversation right now when he had other plans.

''W-what are you doing here? Move away from the door, I'm supposed to meet someone here.''

''Sorry to trick you like this, but I'm the one you're supposed to meet. I'm the one who told the girl to make you meet up here.''

Damn it. Al had been so obsessed with his plan that he hadn't seen this coming. Of course Roy could make any girl do anything for him.

''Why? What do you want?'' He kind of already knew that, but he wasn't thinking straight anymore, he just wanted to get it over with.

''Me? I'm the one who should be asking. What do YOU want? Why did you freak out this Monday at the cafeteria and what is it with you stalking me without wanting to talk to me all week?!''

''I-I haven't been stalking you! I was trying to apologies for my behaviour but I couldn't face you so I tried to avoid you!'' Saying things as they were would just be easiest, so he went with the truth. But Roy wasn't satisfied with the answer.

''Okay, but then why did you behave like that?''

Al froze. What was he supposed to say? He was mad at him for being near his brother? For kissing him? That would just make him question even more.

''Because..! Because I was angry at you for always pissing off my brother.''

Roy looked at him without saying anything. Was he buying it?

''Fine, I'm sorry about that, I never intended to hurt him, or you for that matter. I was just fooling around.''

''Were you just fooling around too when you kissed him?'' Al didn't get to stop himself before he had blurted the comment out. He wished Roy would let it go with no further notice.

''... What are you talking about?''

Oh so now he was being in denial?! Or maybe he had really forgotten because he cared so little about it. Al could feel his body temperature heat up, he wasn't going to stay and talk about this.

''Forget it. I'm done here.'' He walked to the door to push Roy aside as he opened it, but Roy wasn't finished yet. He grabbed Al's wrist before he could escape.

''Hey you better stay here when I'm talking to you. What was that about? Are you talking about that stupid kiss from our first High School year? It's just a rumour.''

The guy was too much, Al couldn't believe him and the anger was slowly rising in him as he spoke with a stern and cold voice; ''Oh so you do remember it. Tell me, why did you do it? I know it happened because brother confirmed it.''

''It was just for fun okay! If he haven't gotten over it yet, he should come get an apology from me himself, instead of letting his little brother do it for him!''

''I'M the one asking for an apology!'' Al yanked his wrist free and stared angrily at him. I'm the one who want an apology, you took something I wanted! ''And I'm going to make you pay for that!''

Before Roy could answer, Al grabbed his shirt and was kissing him the best he could. He had decided to test his theory on Roy. All he needed was to kiss someone and see if he enjoyed it, no matter the person. If kissing a person he disliked could feel great, then he didn't have to worry about the possible feelings for his brother. And this way he wouldn't feel guilty about playing unfair towards the test subject, this would just be payback to Roy for having kissed Ed. Now they could call it equal exchange.

So Alphonse thought, but now he found himself in a situation he hadn't seen coming, when Roy suddenly leaned in and kissed him back. For some reason unknown to Al, Roy had wrapped his arms around him and was kissing him back, and by mistake Al opened his mouth to protest, which Roy took advantage of, and his clearly experienced tongue was now exploring the inside of Al's mouth. Al felt his knees weaken and he couldn't think. He didn't know if he was actually kissing Roy back anymore or if he was just standing there awkwardly, but he felt Roy's lips on his own, and the kiss was getting messier as he didn't knew what to do. Roy's lips were colder compared to Ed's and he was far more experienced than Al himself. It felt good, Roy was a good kisser, but this wasn't what Al wanted. He got his mind back together and tried to push himself out of Roy's arms. Roy let go of him and the kiss was finally broken, leaving Al huffing for air. What was that about? He looked questioning at Roy with big eyes. Roy didn't look angry anymore, in fact his smirk gave Al a feeling of that he was in trouble. And he was.

''Hey, if you were jealous why didn't you say so? And you could also just have told me you had a crush on me instead of kissing me. I could've done better if you hadn't taken me by surprise you know.''

It seemed Roy had turned his flirting-mode on, and it was directed towards Al. He had no idea how to react to this side of Roy. He had never experienced it this close, let alone being used on himself. Actually no one had ever flirted with him. Roy kept speaking, still wearing that confident smirk of his.

''What is it, are you lost for words? Was it that good?''

The comment had Al's face turn crimson red, and he began to stammer.

''N-n-no t-that's not it! I.. I mean-! Why did you kiss back?!''

Roy blinked, but kept his cool. It was scary how confident he was all of sudden. ''Well I'm not one to turn someone down by not reacting. Besides, you could become a really great kisser if you practised some more.''

''W-w-wha-at?!'' Al's head was all hot and he felt dizzy.

''I mean it, it wasn't bad, though I can see now that you're new to it but the confidence will come with experience too. So how about it?''

Roy stepped forwards towards Al who stepped backwards, but his back met the wall, and Roy put an arm beside his head and began to slowly lean in on him. Was he serious? His question was confirmed when Roy kissed him again, pressing him against the wall. Breaking the kiss, Roy's dark blue eyes looked into Al's hazel, pinning the blonde frozen in place. His whole face was burning up, the red blush on his face being so clearly visible that he only felt it even more embarrassing. What was going on?!

''What is it Alphonse, you look shy all of sudden. Not what you had expected?''

''N-not really-''

''Hey don't worry, just because you're a guy doesn't mean I would turn you down just like that. Most people don't know, but I'm actually bi-curious. And luckily for you I don't have an official girlfriend at the moment, so I don't mind doing this at all. Especially not when you're being such a cutie, how come I never saw that earlier?'' Roy held Al's head up by his chin to look better at his blushing face.

Al couldn't believe the words he heard, he was confused about the situation because the tables had turned so quickly. This had gotten out of hand, Al was no longer in control, and he knew he just had to escape. In an act of panic more than a thought-through plan, he took hold of Roy and made a martial arts move that made the guy fall straight on his back, and then he yanked the door open and sprinted down the stairs. He continued the fast pace without looking back, running all the way home and didn't stop before he found himself safely at home in his room.

His heart was racing, it felt like it was going to burst out through his ribcage, and he gasped for air, trying to catch his breath. He leaned against the closed door, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor where he took his hands to his head. This was messed up.

What had been an experiment to try prove that he wasn't in love with his brother, had turned out to make Roy seriously think that Al had been secretly in love with him for years! And his theory had also failed him. The kisses did feel good, but it felt so wrong that he felt disgusted by it, just thinking about it now made him shiver. The opposite of how he felt when he had kissed Ed. It didn't feel wrong. It just felt good.

Al didn't know what to do with this newfound information, but one thing was he sure of;

It would be awkward facing Ed this upcoming weekend.

End of chapter 4.

Again, sorry about the late update, but I hope you enjoyed it.
Leave me a comment on your favourite part, or maybe one where you thought "no way?!" or "WTF?!". xD

IMPORTANT INFO FOR FURTHER READING!
vvvvvv READ THIS! vvvvvv

The chapters from now on will have mature themes in them! Such as descriptions of masturbation, make out scenes, and eventually sex scenes.

If you don't enjoy reading those kind of things, I suggest you either;

1) don't read any further on the story, (I hope you enjoyed it so far then. :'C )

or

2) read on but scroll past the smutty parts when they get to it. (I'd prefer the latter option, I just want people to keep enjoying the story) 3

I was going to make both a teen-rated and a mature/R-rated version of the chapters, but it's too much work so I simply go with what was the idea from the start; to write and upload the mature chapters.

I hope you'll all keep reading my fanfic, and look forward to the next chapters. :)

They will be hot. ;) (well hopefully I can write them hot)