"Brother?" Ed whipped around to look the now, oddly familar face. It was true, he hadn't noticed before but there were similarities. But, how could this be his little brother? "Al?" Edward managed to choke out.
Alfonse Elric grinned suddenly, his face lightening to house the smile. "Ed! I knew you'd be back soon!" he grabbed his older brother around the waist, hoisting him off of the ground suddenly. He spun, crushing Edward to his chest.
"What? Wait! Al? What the hell?" Edward yelled, his eyes wide and his face red with embarassment, "oi, let me down!"
Finally hearing his brother, Al let him down slowly, his smile somewhat fading, but traces were still found on his face. Ed sighed and dropped into a nearby chair, exhaling loudly. Al grabbed himself a chair and pulled it over by his brother's. "Good to see you too, Al," Edward tryed to sound happy, but even to himself, his voice sounded unconvincing. Ed examined his younger brother, inspecting every detail of this new change in appearence.
Al was 6 ft. something-or-other, Ed decided knowing his brother's hight might only put him in a worse mood. His hair was sandy blonde, not quite like Ed's own, but darker. Al's eyes were a caramel color, filled with excitement and happiness, still holding on to innocence. He was lengthy for seventeen, with long legs and arms. Al's chest was built, his arms not as developed as Edward's, but they fit well on his body type. His clothes were quite different from Ed's whose consisted of a pair of black trousers and a white button-up long sleeve white shirt. His pocket watch hung from his pocket and his automail was outdated by many years. Compared to the look of old London, Al was seemingly wearing newer clothes, more up to date. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans, a light blue tee shirt and a long white lab coat. The best description Ed could think of was someone from the past sitting with someone sitting with someone from the future. And technically it was true.
Though there was one object in perticular that caught Ed's eye. A silver earring encrested with the alchemist symbol clung to Al's right ear. The earring was looped tightly around the bottom to Al's ear, hooking to the other side. It wasn't extremely large, but it was hard for Ed not to notice.
Al caught Ed examining his earring, "this? oh it's basically the equivilant to the pocket watch. They're sort of out dated, though people like the general and higher ups still use them. The rest of us have these, they're easier to carry around." He smiled running his finger over the stud.
Ed noticed the way Al had used the word "us." He pondered for a moment before asking the question he already knew the answer to, "you're a state alchemist now?" Ed tried to keep a surprised tone in his voice.
"Yeah, I'm not really into the whole fighting thing though. They have me in the science wing," another smile reached his eyes, "I'm head of the department." Alfonse stated it proudly.
"Really?" now Ed couldn't help but be surprised and proud of his little brother. How much did I miss? Edward thought sadly.
"Can I ask something?" Al folded one arm across his chest, he used it to prop up his other arm, now holding up his head. This posture was different. It seemed more mature, almost as if the child Ed knew was gone. Al's eyes hardened slightly, then noticing his own posture, he softened, folding his hands in his lap, leaning foreward, interested.
"Sure, why not," Ed answered as he leaned back in his chair. Al's expressions made him curious to see just how much had changed.
"Where'd you get that scar?" Al didn't need to indicate where, Ed knew it was as plain as day.
"Just a silly fight in school, it's not anything," Ed brushed it off lightly.
"Really?" It didn't sound like a question. The younger Elric glanced briefly at a nearby window, "I need to get back to the lab or they'll begin to wonder if I've fallen down the shute again." Al laughed, and Edward immediately knew he was missing out on a joke. "You could come with me," he offered.
"No," Ed instantly got up, "no, I'm alright." He began to walk away when Al grabbed his arm, he held Ed there for a few seconds. "I'm not going away again any time soon, ok?" Ed didn't look at his brother, he shrugged off Al's grasp with an edge to his movements. Something was different about Al, about Central, maybe it was Ed, and everyone else had moved on. Either way, Ed didn't like it. It irritated him to a certain point. Al didn't follow him again, he would've if it was like old times, but he didn't now. It wasn't his Al, that part was clear. This new Al's presence was much more intimidating, condescending, and wrong. Wrong to Ed, it didn't matter, he'd sort things out later. Now all he wanted was to sleep, going through worm holes was tiring and things had come at Edward much too fast. He needed time to think.
(a/n) Well that's the end of this chapter, it was kind of rushed at the end, but hey, it's late and I'm beat! Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to comment!