Hello, here's another chapter. Thank you for those who are keeping up with this. :)

Giovanni's shining moment of glory was rudely interrupted by the doctor walking in the door. His shoulders were stiff, as they had been ever since they'd walked in yesterday to see Edward in his near catatonic state. Ed had of course tried to tell them that he was okay, but that didn't stop them from injecting him full of painkillers and other various drugs. They took his blood and said that they were going to run tests, but that never meant anything good.

"I just wanted to let you two know, that the radio has been broadcasting that the Aerugo border has been breached." The doctor's age was more prominent, and it was obvious that he wasn't having a good day, and he hadn't had a good day since he decided to become a doctor, "It's just protocol, and the military has assured us that there is nothing to worry about, but I thought you two should know."

"What does that mean?" Gio asked from his seat atop a stack of books, pointedly trying to not look at the doctor in hopes that he'd go away faster.

The doctor's eyes showed his annoyance, and that only added to the wrinkles on his forehead, "It means that the radio is using scare tactics again."

Giovanni was glad when the door closed and the doctor was behind it.

And thus, Giovanni turned back toward his work of art.

He'd transmuted a pile of books. He knew Edward would be mad at him for ruining the books, but maybe someone would be able to turn them back. The pages of the books were stacked on top of one another, creating intricate designs, flowing in and out. They created the shape of a tree, it's branches spreading out, all of the papers rolled together. He'd hardened the carbon of the paper to make them like the wood they were originally made out of, and it was grappled to the ground.

He would have left a note for Edward to find when he woke, so he wouldn't get the brunt of Ed's screaming about the books, but the transmutation had left him with no energy, and all he could do was sit. It was a miracle the doctor hadn't seen it, and for that, Gio was grateful. He prayed to all gods above that Edward stayed asleep until Gio had enough energy to get out of here.

Looking at his teacher was hard. Edward was deep in sleep, but his features were strained in an uncomfortable nightmare, something that must happen daily. His teacher was plagued with nightmares about his past and about his losses. Gio had his fair share of nightmares, but he couldn't imagine what his teacher was going through.

Giovanni jumped out of his skin when he heard a soft knock at the door, his immediate response was to look at his teacher, eyes wide in fear that Ed would awake. The blonde in the bed didn't budge, and Gio sighed in relief, turning back to the door, which had already started to open. He was close to telling that stupid doctor to leave them alone for a while, when he saw that it, in fact, wasn't the doctor.

The man's red eyes burned into Gio's, his frown set and deep on his face. HIs brows were drawn together in annoyance, his stark white hair falling down and over his shoulders. He wore military garb, something that made Gio even more unsettled. Gio frowned, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, "Who're you?"

"I've come to check up on Edward." Miles regarded the boy with a curious gaze, wondering if this was the apprentice they were speaking so much of back in Central headquarters, doubting that Edward would teach such a scrawny kid.

Miles walked past the boy, his lips pursing more when he saw the spectacle of branches and paper spread out across the room. It was messy, he'd definitely seen more sophisticated alchemical work, but there was no doubt talent in the boy, if he had truly been the one to perform the transmutation. Maybe Edward was teaching this boy, only the Elric could make a boy of this age so talented.

To say that Miles didn't like what he saw would be an understatement. He'd been warned when he talked to the doctors that Edward wasn't in good condition, he hadn't been expecting this. Apparently the surgery was successful, but there had been a minor infection. Edward was gasping for breath, his face drenched in sweat and a red sheen shining all the way down his neck.

"How long has Edward been in this condition?" Miles questioned, reaching down to softly press his palm to the blonde man's forehead, frowning deeper when the warmth practically radiated off Edward.

Gio frowned as well, looking down at his clenched hands, once again ashamed at his own inability to do anything about his teacher's current state, "When I got here this morning he was like this. Yesterday he wasn't so good, either. He's had a lot of trouble breathing."

"Have they tried bringing in an Alkahestrist?" This wasn't good at all. If this continued, they might be forced to bring that Marco man to help. He was sure Mustang could arrange that, but the only thing standing in the way of Marco healing Edward was the repercussions of trying to use the Philosophers Stone on the Elric. It wasn't a secret that Edward would rather lay tortured and sick in a bed than use the stone, Edward would probably have to be on the brink of death for the stone to be an option.

Gio furrowed his brow together, shaking his head, "I don't think so. There aren't many Alkahestrists in Central, except for Mika, but he hasn't been here in a while."

Miles pulled the blanket around Edward's chest up toward the man's chin, his worry and unsettlement about the situation growing by the second, "Who is this Mika?" He glanced back over at Gio, standing up to his full height and already reaching to slip his glasses back on, "You say he's an Alkahestrist?"

"Yeah, Mika is the guy making Edward's new automail." Gio answered, his own feeling of uncertainty growing. Was it so bad that they needed and Alkahestrist? "He's studied Alkahestry for fifteen years."

Nodding, Miles strutted toward the door again, not sparing a passing glance at the boy. He was done with his observation, and he had been expecting a nice chat with Edward when he entered the room. This was the last thing he expected, and it was more unsettling then he would have liked to admit. He didn't know when, but Edward had wormed his way into Miles's heart, much like he had most of the population in Ishval.

"I'm going to call for this Mika." Miles murmured over his shoulder before closing the door with a snap, his hurried footsteps strutting down the hallway once again.

"Gio did this?" Edward mused as he sat up in bed, one leg dangling over the side, the other still a stump despite the affirmations that he'd be getting a new one in a week. Although Mika had come in a few hours ago, it hadn't been with the new leg Edward was so looking forward to.

Instead, Mika was sending alchemical and alkahestral waves through his body, healing whatever was wrong with him slowly. Of course, Mika couldn't heal it completely until he was filled in on exactly what was wrong with Ed, but he would do all he could. And for that, Edward was grateful, seeing as when Mika came in this morning he had been writhing in pain on the bed.

But to say that he wasn't expecting to wake up to a tree of book pages would be an understatement. Gio must've really taken to his weeks of training, if this was any consolation. Gio wasn't the best alchemist in the world, but he was progressing by leaps and bounds, especially for a child of thirteen. There were some slight imperfections, but that could be easily overlooked by the sheer size and magnitude of this transmutation. The mere fact that Gio even knew what kind of transmutation circle to use was amazing.

"Gio is progressing amazingly." Mika started slowly, hoping he wasn't overstepping his bounds, "You're a very good teacher, Edward. You should think of taking on other apprentices."

"Nah." Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair with a tired glare, "one is enough, believe me. This kid is going to be the only one."

"Don't be so sure." Mika mused happily, humming to himself a bit as he pressed his fingers into Edward's back, of which had a lightly inked transmutation circle on it, "I heard that by the age of ten you were at least thrice his skill."

"I never will compare myself to him." Edward laughed, not denying it to himself that he was thinking the same thing. Gio was good, but he didn't have a good enough reason to do alchemy to advance as quickly as Ed and Al had. Glancing over his shoulder to the soft blue light of a transmutation, Edward felt a warmth in his chest, and it was slightly easier to breathe afterwards, "I didn't know you knew healing Alkahestry."

"Alkahestry deals with the waves of the earth and the chi of the people on the earth. It's a heavily medical art, Ed." Mika pressed again, still hearing the slight struggle of breathing coming from Ed, "Not to mention I went over there mainly for the medical practice of Alkahestry."

"Well." Edward slumped forward tiredly, his lips forming a pout at Mika's stern and straight forward answer, "I'm glad you're good at Alchemy and Alkahestry. Why don't you teach Gio? I think that's a great idea. You take on apprentices."

"I have, many of them." Mika laughed, running a hand down the span of Edward's back, his voice still holding an edge of concern, if only for the numerous amounts of scars he saw littering the boy's back, and he couldn't ignore the large scar going around the base of Ed's right shoulder. That scar was all too familiar.

"But none as interesting as you, Edward." Mika smiled fondly, letting his hand linger a moment before reaching over to the small bowl of water to the side of the bed, dipping a spare rag into it. As he cleaned Edward's back of the transmutation circles, he mused almost in a whisper, "Your automail is nearly finished."

"Nearly? You said it would be done in a week. It's been four days." Edward tried to wriggle around to get a better look at the other in order to yell at him face to face, but Mika kept him seated.

Smirking, Mika shrugged, "I dunno, I was almost done until someone decided to get an infection worthy of Alkahestrical treatment."

Edward's lips clamped shut, choosing to ignore the other's statement in leu of the work of art in front of him. He knew that Gio would go places by his determination alone, but the boy would definitely be doing all that he said he would if he kept going at this pace.

"Where'd he run off to, anyway?" Edward asked, his shoulders slumped in boredom and fatigue, a certain feeling of isolation seeping into him. Mika definitely helped the feeling, his presence was enough to make Edward's mood lift, but Gio was gone and Mustang hadn't come to visit him in quite a while.

Mika smirked, drying Ed's back with a few wipes of a dry towel. Stuffing his equipment back in his bag, he stood swiftly, patting down his pants and shirt of dust, "Calm down Edward, Mustang will be back to visit you soon enough."

The blush that spread over Ed's face was enough to rival the sun, "Hey!" He whipped around, his eyes wide and aghast, "That's not who I was talking about! Mustang is a very busy guy, I don't expect him to visit me every second! Don't you have a leg to work on?"

Ed's ability to blatantly shift the subject never failed to make Mika smile, and as he walked past the kid, placing a hand on his head like one would do a child, much like Ed had done to Gio, he felt a warmth in his heart that he hadn't in quite a while. Maybe that's just who Edward was; a boy who had a knack of getting into people's hearts. You didn't have to spend much time with Edward to get to liking him, there were many people all over the country that would vouch for that.

When that Miles character had called for Mika, the man was worried, though he stood still and stoic just like the good soldier he was. But Mika knew that this was one of the many people that had grown to love Edward. Love was a tough thing when it came to Edward Elric, because there were many people that he would fall into that category with. They wanted to protect him, keep him from harm, keep that glorious and glowing smile on that face and keep that spark in his eye. Be it because of the past Edward held, his hardships and his downfalls or his boyish jubilance and carefree attitude, there were many that would protect him.

So, Mika smiled and continued out the door, hoping that he could leave before he fell too much into the world that was Edward Elric.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Could you NOT do that, please!" Edward squirmed on his back as the doctor continued to poke and prod at his chest, making him writhe in pain as every stab of the man's fingers hit a sensitive spot, "You could, you know, try and not hit every broken bone in my chest."

The doctor smirked, sending Ed a glance over his glasses, "I'll make sure to take that into consideration, seeing as I'm not the one with the medical degree."

"Well, apparently not if you don't know whats broken and what isn't!"

"Edward." Gio leaned on the end of Edward's bed, his brows raised in amusement as he watched his teacher sprawled out on the bed, uncovered and only wearing a mere pair of boxers, "You should just listen to him. He's a doctor."

Edward sent a seething glare down at the boy at the foot of the bed, his eyes alight with fire, letting both of them know that if Edward were in good health, he would probably smack Gio upside the head, "You! Don't even speak! I still haven't decided what your punishment is going to be for your transmutation!"

Gio winced violently, looking away and down at the ground. He spared one, maybe two glances at his teacher, his hands tightening over the metal of the bedpost, "But I thought it was pretty good..."

"It was amazing, but that doesn't matter now." Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair, wincing with a pained grunt as the doctor didn't take his advice and jabbed another sore spot. He understood that this was protocol and that if he died of a massive infection then the hospital would be at fault, but that didn't mean it had to hurt so goddamn bad.

The doctor stood slowly, smirking in amusement at the glare he was being sent by Edward, raising a single brow as he held his hands up defensively, "Good thing you're on bed rest, or I might need the medical attention."

"I'm glad we have an understanding." Edward mused, letting his glare down in leu of a soft smirk.

The doctor smiled again, "But, it looks like your breaks have healed nicely due to Mr. Orken's help. We could really use a man like that on our staff."

Edward sat up, no longer feeling a shortness of breath or a restriction in his lungs, but there was still a slight burn when he took a deep breath, and if he moved around too much, he'd get winded easily, and his chest would badly ache, "Does this mean I can leave?"

"Unfortunately, no." The doctor shook his head and his smile held a more grim note, but he still kept the air about him chipper, "Mr. Orken has suggested to us that we keep you in the hospital until he's finished with your leg, and I'm inclined to agree."

"You could be inclined to let me out of here." Edward crossed his arms, trying with all his might to not let the pout he so wanted to show come on his face, but his shoulders did hold a particular disappointed edge.

The doctor placed a hand on Ed's shoulder, squeezing reassuringly, smiling, "The only reason we're keeping you here is because of the warning sent out, okay?"

This peaked Edward's attention, making him sit up and lean closer, his brows twitching down in interest, "Warning? What warning?"

"Oh, I thought Giovanni might've told you already." The doctor sent a particular look at the boy, raising an eyebrow, before looking back toward Edward, "The Aerugo border was breached not two days ago. There is rumored insurgents from Aerugo to be infiltrating Central, and while the military has assured us that everything is under control, they've put a curfew in order and telling everyone to stay inside until the situation is taken care of."

A bolt of shock went through Edward, and as much as he would have liked to deny it, his mind immediately went to Mustang. The man had mentioned that he was stationed at Aerugo, and that they had been having some trouble. Was that why the man hadn't been visiting? Soon following the shock at the news, Ed's chest constricted in concern.

"What about the military at the border?" Edward quickly questioned, sitting up in the bed despite the ache it caused his chest, leaning forward, his hands clenching at the blanket covering his legs, "Has anyone been injured?"

"Not that we know of." The doctor's eyes were wide at Edward's blatant worry, "No one has been injured as of yet, and the military is trying to keep it that way."

These words did little to ease Edward's worry, but he knew that Mustang could take care of himself, and there was little that worrying in a hospital bed could do. Ed barely gave the doctor a passing smile as he walked out, announcing that he'd be back later to do another check up. Edward stared at his hands, trying to think of anything but the news he just heard of. Gulping, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a small hand on his.

"Teacher, it's okay." Giovanni clenched Edward's hand in his own, looking deep into Edward's golden eyes, "Mustang is okay. They said that no one was hurt."

Ed smiled softly, a certain edge of his concern falling off his shoulders at the small show of comfort. Reaching up to gently tousle Gio's hair, he smiled wider, drawing his hand back, "Yeah. Thanks, Gio." He took a deep breath, letting his hand fall onto Gio's, looking back into that small child's eyes, "And, I have to apologize."

Gio tilted his head to the side.

"I never should have yelled at you for your transmutation." Edward smiled again, his brows drawing together, many emotions conflicting in his mind, "It was an amazing transmutation, Gio. You're progressing very quickly. I'm proud of you."

Gio gaped, his mouth wagging open like a fish, his cheeks flaming with a astonished blush, eyes wide and disbelieving. It wasn't just because of the praise (though that was a considerable part), it was the smile on Edward's face, like Gio had truly done something praise-worthy. The smile lit up his eyes, making Edward look almost radiant against the clear blue backdrop of the sky. His hair was flowing down from its constraining braid, and it fell loosely over his shoulders, random tendrils falling in front of his face making the ethereal beauty grow, the pure shine that was coming from Edward enough to make Gio's eyes water.

"I am sorry about the books, though." Giovanni dipped his head a bit, but his smile was breaking through regardless of his words.

Edward smirked, rolling his eyes, "You saw Mika fix them. It's okay." He took a deep breath, clenching his hand tighter around the small boy's, "But you do know what this means, Gio?"

Gio didn't even have time to make the confused face Edward knew was coming before he answered his own question:

"Things are going to be much harder from now on."

Edward cradled the phone in his hands, pressing closer to the wall as he glanced over his shoulder, glaring slightly at the various other patients that walked past him in the halls. The only phone on his floor was located in the middle of a busy waiting room hallway, and he couldn't believe the amount of time that it actually took for him to actually get ahold of a phone, and even longer to try and talk the operator into connecting him to central. He only had to mention that he was Edward Elric and he had a fast track, making him wonder if he should start mentioning his name more often.

"Brigadier General Armstrong speaking." The deep voice of his friend met him, making him smile, but his worry broke through that in an instant, making him grip the phone tighter.

"Alex, it's Edward." He spoke, almost pleased when Armstrong jubilantly greeted him, almost starting on a tangent of excitement at talking with his friend. Edward shook his head, "I'm sorry, Alex. I'm not calling for pleasantries, I need to ask you something."

"Oh?" Armstrong mused, his voice growing more serious as he heard the tone of voice Edward used, his brows drawing together in concern, "What's the matter, Edward?"

"I heard..." Edward gulped, pressing his forehead against the wall, trying once again to ignore the murmur of the crowds behind him, "I heard of the breach at the border of Aerugo. Mustang was down there, I heard. I know no one was hurt, but..."

Armstrong sighed heavily, and despite the uproar Central was in, he couldn't help but let his lips curve into a smile, "Yes, Mustang was down there during the time of the breach."

Edward's heard beat a little bit faster and it felt as though his breath was stuck in his chest.

"But Mustang was not harmed. He's only angry that he allowed any infiltrators through his station." Armstrong turned away from the phone for a moment to speak to another person in his office, before he turned back to his conversation with Ed, "But I'm afraid I must go, Edward. We're still trying to find the Aerugian spies, but it's been a difficult task to say the least. We don't know what they want, why they would possibly breach our border, and what they could gain out of it."

"Are they going to talk to the Aerugian Leader?" Edward asked, wracking his brain again and again for possible reasons that the other countries might want to break into Amestris, but his mind was too muddled with thoughts of Mustang and the warmth and happiness the information of the other man's well-being brought him.

Armstrong sighed, nodding even though he knew Edward couldn't see him, "We have arranged for a meeting. The Fuhrer has pulled Mustang from his duty on the border, seeing as they've already gotten through. They don't blame Mustang, but the Fuhrer has still assigned him to patrol on the streets."

Edward nodded, his brows set in determination, "Alex...do you have any idea of what they could want? What possible use they could have for this breach? What could be so important that they couldn't just get a passport and come in legally?"

"I don't know, Edward. It isn't like a breach like this hasn't happened before..."

"Then why is this time so important?" Edward asked again, his voice growing more powerful and his words coming quicker and quicker as all his thoughts were put into words, the thought's he'd been having for quite a while now. He knew the military, and they wouldn't be having this much of an uproar for a few Aerugian insurgents. There had probably been thousands of people that got through the border by one tactic or the next, and the military had never made this much of a fuss.

Edward scowled, his hands fisting tighter around the phone, "Why is the military focusing so much on these lowly Aerugian insurgents? They've never made this much of a deal about border breach before, Alex. I know something's up."

Armstrong's voice tightened like he was going to say more, but his breath caught in his throat, and he stopped himself, "Never mind, Edward. I'll come visit you before the end of the month, fill you in on more information. Goodbye."

"Wait, Alex!" Edward yelled, knowing that there was more to be said, but something was keeping Armstrong from saying it. Letting out a deep breath, Edward sighed and looked at the phone in his hand, before gently letting it come to rest in it's cradle. He was hoping that by some strange twist of fate, talking to Armstrong would allow him to be connected to Mustang, He just needed to know that Mustang was okay, but Armstrong's condolences were enough.

Sighing, Edward hopped around from where he was leaning against the wall, his brows drawing together again in annoyance from his obvious lack of leg. He still couldn't believe that Mika hadn't brought the leg in yet, and it was obvious that something was holding the man back. Mika had been acting differently ever since Miles came to visit Edward, right before Mika had to use his alkahestry to heal him.

There was something that everyone knew, but no one was telling him, and Edward was pissed. He was tired of being out of the loop all the time. Everyone, for his whole life, felt the need to keep things from him and hide the truth, but in the end, it always backfired and blew up in their faces.

"Teacher?" Gio sighed as he leaned against the wheelchair he'd been pushing for Edward, "What was that talk about?"

"Nothing, really." Edward sighed, hobbling back over to his chair before slumping into it, glad to get off his foot, "Just calling Brigadier General Armstrong about Major General Mustang's whereabouts."

Gio murmured again under his breath, turning and pushing Edward down the hall with little trouble. His teacher had been making him learn various physical work-outs, after he learned how tired Gio was after the book transmutation. Edward had then proceeded to go on a rant about if you're that tired after a transmutation, then where are you going to be in an emergency? Gio shook his head affectionately just thinking about it.

"I don't get the military, teacher. Why can't you just call people by their first names?" Gio questioned, turning and twisting down teach hall to get to their room, "Seems like a waste of time to sit there and say those long titles."

"We already had the talk about respect, didn't we?" Edward leaned against his uninjured hand, sighing, still in the back of his mind thinking about his and Armstrong's chat, "Just keep going and don't worry about that kind of stuff."

"Okay, teacher." Gio smiled, "Whatever you say."

"Damn right, whatever I say." Edward laughed jubilantly as he was pushed into his hospital room, the stiff and sterile atmosphere making his smile fade, and his mood worsen. It hadn't been long before even the courtyard in the hospital was too cramped for him, making him want to escape and go running. The doctor said that he was to be here only three more days, but that was four days ago.

"Teacher, it's okay." Gio sat on a pile of books as Edward wormed his way back onto the bed, sighing as he laid across the blankets. Gio rubbed his knees nervously, glancing up and out the window to the side of Edward's bed, "I'm sure there's a good reason why they're keeping you here. You can't exactly leave anyway, you haven't gotten your leg from Mika yet."

"Which is making me wonder why he's taking such a goddamn long time!" Edward squirmed around again in his anger, waving his arms about and flailing, his body's energy being stored up and needing a way to get out, "I can't do anything in here! I can't be myself. I need to be out, walking from city to city, seeing the people and doing things, I can't just sit on my ass and do nothing. This is like torture, I'm losing my damn mind in here!"

Giovanni sighed, standing up once again amongst Edward's ranting, walking over slowly, weaving in and out the various stacks of books. He could tell that his teacher was under a great amount of stress, various reasons making Edward restless and uneasy. Gio was sure the situation with Edward's brother wasn't good, he'd heard random snippets of conversation from others, and what he could put together was that Ed's brother was an asshole, and that was that. Not to mention Edward's leg, the hospital stay, worry over Mustang, and the impending thought of invaders from Aerugo. There was a lot to stress about.

"You worry about a lot of things, teacher." Giovanni jumped up onto the bed, twisting around to get comfortable, once again reminding him that he was only thirteen years old and he was in no position to be giving people life advice. But he thought that maybe this time could be an exception, "But it's okay. You just gotta think that you're gonna be okay in the end."

Edward glanced down at the boy, his shoulders drooping at Gio's words, watching as the boy shifted and thought over what he was going to say.

Gio shifted toward his teacher, leaning against the other in a sort of pseudo-hug, hoping that it was appreciated from Edward's side, "I've been through a lot, too. Not anywhere near what you've been through, but I just gotta keep thinking that everything is going to be okay."

Edward smiled, looking back up and away from the boy, his brows drawing together lightly. As he reached up to place his arm around Gio, slowly returning the hug the boy had been trying to initiate, he agreed in a way. No one got anywhere by bashing themselves into depression, and he usually wasn't a person to do such a thing.

Letting his arm drop, Edward reached up and tousled his hair, running his fingers through his own blonde hair, sighing, "I'm getting so crazy in here."

There was a soft lull of silence, of which Giovanni was desperately struggling for something to say or do so that he could console his teacher in some way.

"Teacher, how long have you known Mustang?" Giovanni's question was sudden, but Ed couldn't say he wasn't expecting it. He knew that it was probably a solid question in Gio's mind, how he'd become so close to a high ranking military official.

Laughing to himself at the memory of his and Mustang's first meeting, he shook his head, "when I was twelve, can you believe it? Nearly eight years ago, seems like such a long time."

"I heard you'd been in the military." Gio nodded, the obvious realization that Ed too had been twelve once shocking him. To Giovanni, Edward was a constant source of higher power. It was amazing to him that Edward had ever been that young, yet, he must've been smarter and stronger than all other pre-teens.

Ed nodded, remembering back, back on all the time that had passed, the life he'd lived, all that had happened to take him to the position he was in at this moment, "Went with my brother to meet him."

Ed heard his own comment even before he said it but he couldn't keep the words from coming out of his mouth. He could practically hear the questions forming in Gio's mind as the boy stared at him. The kid was too damn curious for his own good, he should have known by now to filter his words.

But it was a simple question that shocked him:

"Why are you and your brother not together anymore?"

He deserved an answer, one that Ed was afraid to give. He really hadn't admitted to anyone other than himself of what happened, no one knew what had transpired those two years ago. Edward sighed, realizing that that wasn't quite the truth. He'd told Roy what had happened, and that was purely due to his emotional state at the time. Roy had been the first person he'd run to when he and Al had the fight, and he'd nearly spewed everything out to the then-Colonel Mustang.

"I lost my alchemy." Edward's voice was tight and tired, his head leaned back against the headboard, his brows drawn together as he remembered the particularly painful memory, "I was in a bad mood, they should have expected it...

"Ed?" Alphonse leaned forward in front of his brother, his brows raised in question as he tried to catch his brother's irritated scowl, "What's the matter?"

"What's the matter?" Ed scoffed as he wiggled his legs around, pursing his lips together and looking off to the side, the large open planes of Risembool looking none-too-comforting from his point of view. He'd met up with Alphonse again no more than two weeks ago, and he was still restless. Traveling over the Western country for the better part of two years had instilled a sense of urgency in him, so staying at the Rockbell house for so long left him antsy and uncomfortable.

"Yeah, what's the matter?" Alphonse scoffed back and squatted for a minute, before dropping down next to the other, the wind ruffling his hair and calming him, but not offering the same condolence for his angry elder brother.

Edward sighed again, reaching up and running a hand through his hair, before rolling his shoulder and turning away, "You heard what she said."

"Yeah, I did." Alphonse didn't deny it. He couldn't say he was particularly displeased with Ed and Winry's fight, seeing as it had clarified many things for him. It was no secret that he'd been pining for her for a while now, and seeing that he now didn't have his brother to fight against anymore, he could have the free space to come out with his affections.

So, he lied, "She really shouldn't have said that."

Edward knew Alphonse was lying, he could always tell it from Al's voice. With their years together when Al was just a tin can, Ed had grown to be a master at reading Al's voice, seeing as he didn't have anything else of his brother to read. He could tell every ounce of sarcasm, anger, sadness, and even annoyance.

And now, all he could hear was the complete and utter lie in Al's voice.

"You loved that she said it." Edward scoffed, letting his anger get the better of him, something he was more than used to happening, "You agreed with every word."

"Now, that's not true, Edward." Alphonse rolled his eyes, already annoyed with his brother's behavior, trying not to let his small edge of triumph show through his voice. He lolled his head to look at his brother, "I do wish you still had your alchemy. More than anything."

"No, you don't, she doesn't either." Edward sighed and brought his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly as he fraught over everything in his mind, his teeth gnawing together painfully, "She said she was happy I lost my alchemy, can you believe that? You agree with her."

"For the last time, I do not!" Alphonse didn't even believe himself this time, looking over at his brother and only feeling a slight twinge of guilt at the look the older Elric was sporting. He couldn't blame Edward for being so upset about the argument with Winry, but he thought that maybe his brother would have gotten over it by now.

Edward was over it, he truly was. The past was in the past, and he could do nothing to change it, but how was he supposed to forget it when it was shoved in his face on a daily basis? Edward sighed, "All I said..."

"Why are you so selfish?" Alphonse said suddenly, his anger spiking at the thought of Winry, the thought of her pain, the thought of his brother and how he couldn't get over the past, "Why do you do this to yourself?"

Edward gaped at his brother, being able to count on one hand the number of times his brother raised his voice. This wasn't the time, this definitely wasn't the time, especially when Al was in a mood to side with Winry, "Not now, Al, let's talk about this later."

"No!" Alphonse shot to his feet, his glare centered on Edward and his withdrawn position, feeling no more guilt for his brother, "You're just jealous! Jealous, that for once in our lives, I'm better than you! And you can't stand it!"

It felt as though the air was violently drawn from his lungs, and his vision hazed over. He expected those words from others, from anyone, but not his brother. His own brother.

"...and I don't remember how long we screamed at each other." Edward sighed, frowning deeply and only sending a sparse glance at Giovanni, rolling his eyes, "And we haven't spoken since."

Giovanni had never felt such anger before. It was strange for such an emotion to be in his chest like this, and it was so foreign to him that he couldn't quite place it at first. His teacher was in such pain, and there was no one there for him when he was in his worst time.

"Well, good, he's an asshole." Giovanni blushed deeper, his lips pursing together as he tried to form the words to comfort his teacher yet again, but was unable to come up with anything more civilized than that. It was the truth, at least he was offering Edward that much.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks so." Edward laughed to himself, shifting so that his head was propped down on the headboard, sighing and feeling sick to his stomach.

Well, we finally figure out what happened between the brothers! Thank you for reading, I hope you leave a review.