L.Q: Sorry, I forgot to put a disclaimer on the last chapter, so this one counts for both.
Disclaimer: L.Q does not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Edward kept his eyes shut and his head turned into the couch. He struggled to keep his breathing even. He didn't want to see Mustang right now. He didn't want to be near Mustang right now. But Mustang was still there. He could sense his presence close to him, standing perfectly still and silent.
Why couldn't the bastard just do them both a favour and walk away?
Ed wasn't a child that needed to be coddled and encouraged every step of the way. He had two strong legs and could stand up perfectly fine on his own!
So why on earth was Mustang still here in his personal life?
"Edward."
Edward just clenched his eyes shut tighter and hoped with all his might that the next words coming out of Mustang's mouth would be 'good-bye'.
Yes, he couldn't deny that some foreign part of him would be sad, terribly sad, if Mustang left. But if it meant that he could go back to Al and do what was most important to him, then the loss of this sense of almost contentment with Mustang would be a small price to pay.
Well, it actually wasn't so small. It was only fair.
"Edward. Please look at me."
Mustang's voice held no anger or spite, only bare gentleness. It was a voice that was open and begged for trust, no matter what the consequences were. Edward was rather alarmed to hear it.
He opened his eyes and after a moment's hesitation, turned his head to face Mustang. The man's eyebrows hinted at slight worry, and his eyes held only open concern. His expression was downright pleading with him.
What the hell? How far was Mustang willing to go to keep up this little charade? Didn't he know that Edward knew he was only pretending? Why did he insist on torturing Ed with this melee of emotions? Ed didn't want to be happy, sad, and confused all at once!
Shock was the only thing that filled Edward's mind when arms suddenly enveloped him. "Get off me!" he said instinctively.
Mustang didn't listen. Edward stared off into space over Mustang's shoulder. The only thing he could focus on was Mustang. The warmth from his body seemed to surround him, and his presence was solid and reassuring.
It was wonderful, and yet so horrible.
What was his superior officer doing, hugging him? The emotions that assaulted Ed were too much for him to handle at this rate! He wanted to melt into the embrace, but he also wanted to push Mustang off of him and slug him in the face. He wanted to believe so much that Mustang truly cared about him, but he knew that he wanted no such ties with his superior.
Choked sounds suddenly came out of his mouth and he felt Mustang draw back a bit. Edward stared up at Mustang with tears pooling in his eyes. He lay there hiccupping as the tears finally spilled and ran down his face.
Dammit dammit dammit! How could this be happening?! Edward was horrified, but he couldn't stop the tears from running down his face and his breathing refused to even out. He was dying.
Even though Ed could barely see through the tears that blurred his vision, when Mustang moved out of his line of sight he felt a pang. It wasn't a feeling of victory or satisfaction. Mustang was finally leaving, but he didn't want him to!
No, he did! He wanted to be left alone, especially at a time like this!
But Edward wasn't alone. He felt Mustang hands slide underneath his back, before pushing him up into a sitting position. Soon he was leaning back against something warm, firm, and alive. Mustang's arms wrapped around Edward's torso from behind, and Ed tried desperately to stop crying.
His efforts were in vain though as another hiccup brought the tears coming forth even stronger than before and his gasping became louder.
"It's okay Edward." Mustang finally spoke, and Edward latched onto the sound of his voice like a drowning sailor. "I'm right here, and I'm not going to leave, due to me being the bastard I am."
Edward just cried and cried without even knowing why he was crying. It didn't matter though; Mustang was there and he wasn't going to leave him. The part of him that had been screaming not to be touched seemed to be washed away by his tears, and soon enough he was all tuckered out.
With his eyes closed, the last of Ed's distrust seemed to vanish into the air as he breathed out slowly. Right now, he felt strangely light, safe, and content. Ed turned onto his side and drew his legs up a bit. He snuggled into Mustang and wrapped one arm around the man, returning his embrace. Ed felt the rise and fall of his chest as Mustang took a sudden deep breath.
With the faintest hint of a smile on his face, Ed fell into a deep sleep.
Alphonse sat beneath a tree, staring up past the leaves on the branches above him and up at the late afternoon sky. Clouds drifted by lazily, with the barest hints of pink just beginning to colour the vast emptiness.
Boy did he feel lonely without his brother.
Spending time with the Hughes family and playing with Elysia was all fine and dandy, but without Edward, everything felt off. It was like a painting without colour, or a puzzle with the center piece missing.
How many times had Al put down his book with a question on his mind only to look up and find that Edward wasn't around to ask? How many times had he glanced at the clock to check how many hours were left until dinner, only to stop and remember that somebody else was feeding his brother?
Alphonse had learned to schedule his day around Ed's needs, but without his brother around, he was at a loss on what do to with himself. It was like his responsibilities had just been stripped away from him, leaving him with nothing. To put it quite frankly, he missed Edward, even though it had only been two days since he had last seen his brother.
He wasn't a state alchemist, so the national state libraries were not open to him, and he wasn't really allowed to be at the military headquarters without Edward. Yes, he was technically helping with the mystery involving his brother, but two days had passed and they had made virtually no progress.
Alphonse stared ahead at the old house in front of him. Mr. Hughes had told him to just relax and take it easy, but he couldn't do that when his brother was in such a state! Continuing to look for the Philosophers to restore their bodies was also out of the question right now.
The only thing for him to do was to help his brother get better as soon as possible, and if that meant going after a crazy woman on his own, so be it.
Al made his decision and stood up, strolling towards the house. He was sure the kidnapper wasn't there anymore, but maybe he would be able to find some clues in the house.
Mr. Hughes' investigation team had already thoroughly searched the house, but Al hadn't been allowed to come with them. Maybe he could find something that everyone else had missed.
The floorboards creaked beneath his feet, but the weak light from the window illuminated a very well kept house. It looked as if it was just waiting for a family or an old couple to return home after a long day.
Alphonse began to search through the house. He opened drawers and combed through the bookshelves. He looked behind paintings and tapped the walls, but he didn't find anything!
There were no syringes, ropes, documents, or even maps! The house didn't seem to be the woman's home or even her base of operations, but the house was certainly not abandoned. At the very least, somebody visited this house regularly to dust it and water the potted plants, which looked very healthy.
Or maybe the house had only been dusted shortly before Ed was brought there and the potted plants were new.
The case with Edward had too many unknowns and barely any information. No one even knew the woman's name, and she didn't go by an alias.
Alphonse sighed and sunk to the ground in defeat. He leaned his body against the wall in the hallway and stared blankly at the wall in front of him.
There really was nothing he could do. Maybe there was nothing anyone could do. The person who knew the most (and the least) was Edward, but he couldn't tell them anything. From what he had gathered on his calls with the colonel, Ed wasn't acting any different from his usual self and still hadn't remembered what happened to him, so there were no hints on what the chemical was doing to him, aside from the effect of Edward becoming paralyzed.
But then again, what would the colonel know? He was good at reading people, but he really didn't know Edward all that well. Al knew his brother better than anyone else, and would probably know right away if something was different with Edward's behaviour.
Al alone had seen every face that Edward had. Everyone else only saw the brave face he put on when he faced the world. But Al had seen him at his worst, back then and now. There were times when his walls came crashing down, and even when he tried to hide his weak side, Al knew.
He knew about the panicked yells and laboured breathing that could be heard in the middle of the night. He noticed the stress and weariness that appeared on his brother's face when they came back from another failed lead and Ed thought nobody was watching.
Ed was strong, stronger than Al could ever hope to be, but sometimes his shield cracked and flashes of the turmoil inside of him rose to the surface before they were quickly pushed back down.
Al desperately wanted his body back more than anything, if only to ease Edward of the pain and guilt that seemed to shadow his eyes every time he looked at Al in his hollow encasement.
It pained Al to know that when it came down to it, he was the one responsible for Ed's daily suffering.
But even though he was the reason that Ed had to be so strong every day, Al couldn't help but miss his brother's presence beside him. His brother was the one thing that tied him to the world, that shared experiences with him and assured him of his own existence. Without the beacon of hope that was Edward, Al had nothing to hold on to.
Ed needed Al, and Al needed Ed. Now that he thought about it, they were all they ever needed, really. Even though he longed for more and he knew he longed for more, he had all the family he needed to go on.
And that would always be enough for him.
L.Q: Hmm, I don't know if I like Alphonse's thoughts right now; they may be a bit out of character for him. Well, at least this chapter is slightly longer than the last one! And by slightly longer, I mean, like, two paragraphs longer. Don't worry though, today is the last day of jazz band (woohoo! No more pain!), so the coming chapters should – but might not – be longer.
Lest: Oh well, at least this is something. I still can't believe Ed cried though. WHY?
L.Q: I dunno; I'm not Ed! Seriously though, it was just too much for the kid. But I fear I may have made him go crazy . . .
Lest: That's okay!
L.Q: I would like to thank everyone very much for the reviews, favourites, and follows! I just CAN'T BELIEVE that I have this many! The only thing that kept me going in jazz band was the thought of going home to read more lovely reviews. I could just float away right now.
Lest: Till next time!