Chapter 4: Hopeful Future

Alphonse hummed to himself as he made his way back home from picking up the ingredients. The sun was still arching over the busy streets of Central, and people were flocking through the streets as per usual. Cars rattled against the pavement, and children laughed and hollered from a park a block away.

It was a pleasant neighborhood; Al was grateful that Hohenheim had chosen such a friendly place to settle down. He couldn't wait to get his body back, and explore the streets beside a newly restored Ed.

Making his way down the street, he fumbled around in the small coin bag Hohenheim had given him to pay for the needed supplies. Al slid out the silver key, and was about to walk up the steps to the house when he heard a tap on his shoulder.

Turning, Al glanced down at the woman who had been trying to get his attention. She was on the shorter side, with messy brown hair and striking amber eyes. She seemed to be in her late forties, and something about her reminded Al of his mother.

Al didn't recognize her, though he was still new to the neighborhood and didn't quite know everyone yet.

"Are you living in that house?" She asked him, her voice soft and friendly. Alphonse looked where she was pointing, and nodded.

"Yep! We just moved in, I'm Alphonse Elric. It's a pleasure to meet you! I'd shake your hand but I seem to have my arms full," Alphonse chattered joyfully.

"I'm Laura, I live in the house to your right with my daughter Erica," She smiled, but her eyes were dark with concern. "Are you living with anyone else right now?"

It was an odd question, but she seemed friendly enough so Al brushed it off.

"My dad and brother and I all live together. My brother and I used to live a good few blocks from here but our dad just got this place and it's been really nice!"

Laura nodded, bringing a hand to her mouth to chew on her nails nervously. Al wasn't sure why she seemed so uneasy, and was starting to grow concerned.

"Alphonse, I don't mean to pry but I was outside gardening earlier and I heard lots of shouting and loud noises coming from your house. Is everything alright?" She asked quietly, eyes darting up to look at Al's.

Al was caught off guard for a moment, unsure as to how to respond to the seemingly out-of-the-blue question. It made sense why she was so nervous now, though it didn't make Al feel any better to understand what she was implying. Hohenheim was strict sometimes, but he was doing his best to make up for lost time, and would never be so aggressive with him or his brother.

"Oh, yes everything is more than okay! I'm sure you just heard my brother, he has quite a temper and can get pretty rowdy sometimes. I'll be sure to let him know to keep it down now that we're not in the barracks anymore," Al reassured her, hoping she'd stop looking at him like he was a charity case. He couldn't think of any other reason there'd be such a commotion from inside their house, and knowing Ed he was probably pitching a fit at having been sent home and assigned to bedrest.

Luckily, Laura seemed to calm down at that, and her eyes retained that friendly glow to them.

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry to jump to conclusions, I just got so worried for a moment there. I'm glad you all have moved in, I'm sure it will be nice to have such a lively family living in the neighborhood," Laura chuckled, immensely relieved.

"You're alright! I'm grateful you were looking out for us! I need to bring these groceries inside so my dad and I can get started on dinner, but it was nice meeting you!" Alphonse reassured her once more. She wished him well, and returned to her garden as Al made his way to the front door. Twisting the key in, he pried open the wooden door and made his way into the kitchen, shutting the entry quietly behind him in case Ed was actually resting.

Hohenheim was seated at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee and flipping through an old alchemic journal. He turned as Al walked into the room, smiling warmly at him.

"Alphonse, were you able to find everything alright?" He asked, standing to help Al sort through the groceries. Al nodded to him, and they set about to getting the soup started.

"I talked to one of our neighbors, her name is Laura. She said she heard a lot of yelling from inside here earlier, what happened?" Al questioned innocently, hoping that Ed hadn't put up too much of a fight.

He remembered when Ed would get sick back when they were still in the barracks, and how hard it was to get him to lay down and take it easy. Al almost had to tie him to the bed a couple of times when he had the flu, just to get him to sleep through the day and let his body heal.

"Oh, I just stubbed my toe on the stairs when I went to check on your brother. I didn't realize I had been quite that loud," Hohenheim chuckled, though it seemed strained. "It sure hurt though!"

Al laughed with him, easily understanding the situation.

"That's one thing I don't miss, that's for sure. I was just worried Ed had been grumpy about being on bedrest for the day," Al added. "How is he doing?"

"Your brother will be just fine; when I went to check on him earlier, he was sound asleep, even after my toe incident," Hohenheim stated absentmindedly as he chopped and measured the vegetables they'd been setting out.

Al nodded to him, but was a bit confused. Ed was never that easy to put down, not even when he had a 103-degree fever and could barely walk. Either Ed was more tired than he was letting on, or something else was up.

Turning on the stove and sliding a pot out from underneath the sink, Al started pouring the prepared vegetables into the steadily warming dish.

"Dad, do you mind finishing up here? I wanted to go check on Ed, make sure he's still getting the rest he needs. I know he can be kind of grumpy about following orders, especially orders to sit and do nothing. That's something he really hates," Al asked.

Hohenheim seemed to tense up slightly, but Alphonse didn't think much of it.

"Of course Alphonse, I'll call you down when the soup is ready and you can bring some up to your brother."

Al nodded cheerfully and strode towards the stairs, eager to talk to his brother and get some of the missing details about what all had happened today, and why Ed was so keen on pushing Al away.

Ed groaned as he rolled over in bed, trying to shut his eyes and get some rest. His body ached, and he was exhausted, but every time he closed his eyes to sleep Hoenheim's glaring golden eyes burned into his brain, and he was jolted awake.

Sighing with frustration, Ed continued to roll around the bed, determined to find a position so comfortable he wouldn't have any choice but to fall asleep.

Easier said than done, of course, as his stomach and chest throbbed from where Hoenheim had decked him, and his cheek was still red and felt swollen, though Ed knew it probably wasn't.

Ed had just shut his eyes to try and sleep again after a good few hours of failed attempts, when he heard the clanking of Al's footsteps on the stairs. Ed sucked in a quick breath, panic flooding through his mind.

Al couldn't see him hurting like this, he'd only get concerned and ask questions that Ed couldn't answer.

Ed grit his teeth and forced his breathing as slow as possible, turning so that his sore cheek was facing the bedspread and Al wouldn't see it.

The door creaked open slowly, as Al cautiously peered inside. Once his soul-fire eyes found Ed's silhouette in the slightly dark room, he made his way inside, sitting on the floor beside the bed.

"I guess Dad was right after all, you really are resting," Al spoke aloud to himself. He was relieved to see Ed sleeping, and taking care of himself.

Ed bit his tongue, his throat feeling choked up as he strained to keep his breaths from coming any faster.

"I'm worried about you, brother," Alphonse said with a sigh as he glanced down at his permanently gloved hands.

"I know there's something you're not telling me; I know you keep pushing me away and aren't being completely honest with me. There's something bothering you, and I wish you could tell me what it was. I just…I just want to help," Al sniffled, the closest thing to crying he could manage.

"I don't know why you refuse to call Hohenheim dad, and I don't know why you're keeping things from me. It's not like you to leave without telling me where you were going, or invite me along. I…I don't know if it's something I did but I wish you could be more open with me. Maybe…maybe if you let me help, you wouldn't end up getting sent home from work sick and tired," Al sighed, standing slowly as to not disturb his brother.

"Please take care of yourself Ed…" He whispered softly, moving to pull the blanket that had been forgotten off the floor and draping it over Ed. "I'm always here for you, please, just let me be there and help."

Feeling a little more relaxed after getting his thoughts out, even though Ed wasn't awake to hear and respond, Al left the room and closed the door behind him gently. Maybe he'd try telling Ed some of the same things, once the soup was done and Ed was up for eating.

Once the door closed Ed let out the choked breaths he'd been holding back. Scrambling out of the bed and over to the bathroom, he shut the door behind him quietly, locking it. His stomach screamed with every movement but Ed was too panicked to care, desperately needing to hide away.

Ed all but collapsed in front of the porcelain bowl, gripping the edges sternly as he let out a choked sob. Tears fell freely from his face; be it from the exhaustion, Al's words, or what he was going through, Ed didn't know or care.

He thought he'd been doing an ok job keeping things to himself, but between Riza and Roy's concerned glances, and Al realizing Ed was pushing him away, all Ed could hear was the resonant sound of failure echoing through his skull.

Hohenheim was right, he really had fucked everything up. And if he wasn't careful, if Al, Hawkeye, and Mustang found out about what was going on, there was a good chance they'd get hurt too. Or, they wouldn't believe him, and he'd get hurt more. With a whine, Ed realized the latter was much more plausible.

Snot and tears bled together in a steady stream that coated Ed's cheeks and chin, as he struggled to take in a solid breath between the harsh cries. With every sob his stomach clenched tighter and tighter, and soon the emotional turmoil Ed felt from Al's confessed words was tossed aside as the tears became a product of the immense pain he was in.

His mouth started to water slightly, and Ed had barely three seconds of warning before he was crouched over the bowl, losing the meager amount of food he'd managed to put down that day. Mustang's generous lunch was soon gone, as his stomach angrily purged everything from within it.

Once his stomach seemed content, Ed hastily wiped his mouth with a rag from the bathtub sitting a few feet across the room from the toilet. His tears had dried up, and his breathing was slowly making its way back to a normal rate. Standing on shaky legs, he made his way over to the sink and rinsed his mouth from the foul taste.

Daring to glance up at himself, Ed would have been more shocked if he wasn't so worn out. His skin was slightly paler than usual, but his reddened eyes from crying only made it seem even more drastic. His hair was dull, a result of him not having showered for the past couple days out of fear that he'd get yelled at for wasting water. Amidst the raw redness were dark circles that resided nearly permanently under Ed's pale golden eyes, lacking any kind of emotion.

A sharp knock on the bathroom door startled Ed from his thoughts and he nearly fell, if it weren't for the vice-like grip he held on the sink with his automail hand.

"Ed? I brought up your dinner."

Edward's blood ran cold as Hohenheim's voice echoed through the room. He hadn't heard the door open, hadn't heard his footsteps to warn Ed of his presence.

"I-I'll eat it later," Ed managed to choke out.

"I'd really like it if you came out, I want to talk with you," Hohenheim's voice was softer than it had been in months, and Ed was frozen in confusion.

Was this a trick?

A façade put up so that Ed would let his guard down?

Ed wasn't sure, but he also wasn't sure what would happen if he refused Hohenheim's request. Not daring to think of the possibility, Ed quickly unlocked the door and nervously stepped out into the room.

Hohenheim was holding a small tray, with a bowl of deliciously smelling soup and a slice of soft bread.

"Have a seat Edward," Hohenheim smiled at him – it would have been a pleasant sight if it didn't deeply concern Ed, making his stomach clench with nausea once more.

Ed took a seat on the bed, his eyes never leaving Hohenheim's, who pulled a chair out from under Ed's desk and sat down in it, placing the tray on the bedside table.

"Ed…I, I'm so sorry," Hohenheim muttered, eyes peering out from under the glasses to meet Ed's.

"I don't know what came over me. I guess I've just been stressed with moving and trying to do things right for you boys after so many years. I…I never meant to hurt you, I…I didn't mean to…to hit you. I lost control, I'm so incredibly sorry," Hohenheim pleaded, his voice shaking.

Ed's eyes widened in shock; this was the last thing he expected from Hohenheim, and it was months late anyways.

"Are, are you being serious?" Ed scoffed, hesitant to readily take his "father's" apology.

Hohenheim seemed hurt by that question, and hung his head.

"Of course I'm being serious," He said. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you, I promise it will never happen again."

Ed took a minute to look him over, scrutinizing his every move. He seemed genuine, and for the first time in years Ed felt a pang of pity for the man. Maybe he really hadn't meant to say those things to him, or to hurt him like he had.

Ed was still hesitant to forgive him, especially after everything he'd done and said, but if this was the first step towards a new future Ed was willing to give it a chance.

"Ok," he muttered. "Thanks for the soup."

Hohenheim startled, and nodded quickly before standing up. "Get some rest Edward," He muttered, before heading out the door.

Releasing the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, Ed gently picked up the tray and began to eat the meal. The soup was delicious, and paired with a hopeful chance for the future, it warmed Ed's body and left him feeling content. It was nice to have a warm homemade meal, especially after losing everything he'd eaten earlier.

Once Ed had eaten as much as possible within a single sitting, he ended up grabbing a few books from the bookshelf in the corner of the room and lazily picked through them. In truth, Ed just wanted Alphonse to come back up so they could talk.

Ed supposed he could have gone downstairs himself to seek his younger brother out, but after Hohenheim's odd apology, Ed didn't want to do anything to possibly anger the man who had finally shown him a tad bit of kindness.

Alphonse must have thought Ed wasn't wanting to be bothered, because once the soup was cold and the sun had dipped below the horizon, he still had yet to make any kind of a reappearance.

Ed tried to convince himself it was because Al was busy, or because Al thought he was still sleeping and resting. Yet some small part of his brain sneered at him, haunting him with the possibility that Al shared many of Hohenheim's earlier taunts.

Did Al also blame him for their mother's second death?

Did Al blame him for putting him into a metal body?

While these sparks of ideas were always resting dully amongst the dried-up embers in his mind, the painful words Hohenheim had screamed at him earlier only jostled the burnt mess and urged the flames to start up again.

Ed grit his teeth and shook his head, turning to face the small window in the room. He could barely make out a few lone stars; the light from the streets of Central making it hard to see much else.

Hohenheim had to have told Al to let him rest, and Ed found himself aching for the ever-watching soul that usually resided in the corner of the room during the long nights. It made Ed feel comforted, and protected, especially after all that had been happening with Hohenheim.

Not that it mattered anymore, Ed supposed. Considering Hohenheim's earlier apology, which was only adding to the uneasiness festering inside the small alchemist.

Ed desperately wanted to believe his words to be true, and his apology to be genuine. However, he still had a hard time trusting the man, and wasn't ready to let himself be emotionally vulnerable all over again, especially if it turned out to be a poor excuse for what he had done.

Sighing and clutching at his still-sore stomach, Ed closed his eyes and drifted off into an uneasy and dreamless sleep.

Morning came with few problems, but when Ed blinked his weary eyes at the pale ceiling, he found himself wincing sharply.

His cheek burned, and the pain only spread to his temple giving him a nauseating headache. Rolling over to make his way out of bed, Ed let out a sharp whine as his stomach screamed with the strain. Ed grit his teeth and slowly pulled his shirt up, eyes widening at the dark splotch that covered his midsection. It was about the size of Ed's hand, and an angry redness bordered the purple-black marking. It stung when Ed placed a gentle hand to it, and Ed's hands were shaking by the time he managed to pull his shirt back down. Every small movement only seemed to agitate it more.

Hohenheim hadn't held back, that much was for sure.

Not only that, but he really packed one hell of a punch.

A few tears made themselves at home in Ed's eyes before he hastily blinked them away. He had already cried more than he should have, considering he'd been in much worse situations before this one.

Ed stared up at the ceiling, mentally preparing himself for his next move. He hadn't changed clothes from the day before, too physically and emotionally drained to do much after the "incident", as he was referring to it in his head.

He needed to get up and change clothes, so that he could head down to headquarters and pick up the case file he'd accidentally left in Mustang's office the other day. He was supposed to fix the drainage system today, and he wasn't keen on spending another day cooped up in bed, being useless.

Grumbling to himself Ed sat up, pausing to allow his body time to adjust to the new positions. Once he deemed himself ready, he swung his legs across the mattress and stood up in one fluid motion. The food from yesterday seemed to do wonders, and his legs strongly supported his body.

His muscles didn't ache nearly as much from the lack of food, and there weren't any black spots in his vision when he stood up.

Food really helps, huh?

However, while Ed's automail was singing his praises, his stomach cramped with such intensity it left him doubled over, gripping the nightstand and gasping for breath. He knew nothing was broken, but Ed would be dammed if his ribs didn't have some kind of internal bruising to match the outer discoloration.

"Ed? I brought up some breakfast for you, how are you feeling?"

Alphonse opened the door and stepped in, expecting to see Ed still in bed refusing to wake up any earlier than necessary. Especially considering he wasn't feeling great the other day.

What he wasn't expecting was to see Ed already up, clutching his stomach with white knuckles and mouth gaping, but not really intaking any air. Al hurriedly set the tray on the floor and made his way over to his brother.

"Ed? What's wrong? What happened?"

Leather-gloved hands were gently placed on Ed's back and shoulders, helping support him and keep him upright. Ed merely grunted in response as he tossed his head back towards the bed.

Al took the sign, and helped maneuver his older brother so that he was sitting up on the edge of the bed, one hand still grasping the fabric in front of his stomach with such an intensity, Al thought for sure he'd rip it right off.

"Brother what happened?" Al asked again, now that Ed seemed to catch his breath.

"My stomach just hurts a bit Al," Ed sighed wearily. "Must have been the lunch the Colonel gave me, I've half a mind to think he poisoned it intentionally," he chuckled, not wanting to worry Al more than he needed to.

He hadn't planned on letting Al see him like that, and he couldn't say it wasn't embarrassing.

"I highly doubt the Colonel poisoned you, he wants you to come into work," Al laughed, though he was still deeply concerned. Reaching out a hand to gently grasp the knuckles that were gripping the clothing, Al attempted to pry them away.

"Maybe you hit something when you passed out, let me check and see if you need to get it looked at," Al muttered soothingly, reaching an arm out to lift up Ed's shirt.

Ed wasn't paying attention, and suddenly Al's arm coming out of nowhere caused his heart to drop. He flinched away quickly, burying his face under his bangs and tensing up.

Al paused and lowered his arm, concern only continuing to fester inside his soul.

"Ed? It's ok, it's just me," Al started, "I was just going to look and make sure your stomach was ok…"

Ed felt his face heat up and he bit his lip to keep from panicking too much.

"Sorry Al, wasn't paying attention. You just spooked me is all," He whispered quickly. "My stomach's fine, just really sore."

"But-"

"Al, it's ok. Really," Ed insisted, raising his face so that his eyes met his brother's.

It was easy to forget about the bruise on his face, considering how much of his attention was spent focusing on the burning in his abdomen.

"What happened to your face?" Al shrieked, kneeling down to get a better look.

Ed gaped for a moment, before swatting Al's hands away.

"Nothing, I just hit it when I passed out yesterday and the bruise showed up this morning. Stop looking at me like I'm going to break," Ed snapped.

"But brother, that looks really painful," Al's voice quivered with worry. Ed's mind jumped back to the whispered confessions his brother had told him the other day.

"I'm ok Al, I promise. It looks worse than it is, I can barely even feel it," Ed said softly. It wasn't a complete lie; it really didn't hurt all that bad.

Al seemed to sit on his words for a moment before accepting Ed's half-truth.

"If you say so brother, but you really need to be more careful! I've been really worried about you," Al admitted.

Ed sighed, running a hand through his bangs.

"I'm sorry to worry you Al, I'm just tired. Colonel Bastard doesn't have much real work for us to do, and I'm tired of ending up with dead ends on every lead we manage to get our hands on. I've just been really stressed, between work and the move, I promise I'm ok I'm just tired," Ed muttered. It was mostly true, though there were definitely some significant things left out.

"I didn't realize you were so stressed about everything brother, you should have told me earlier. You know I'm always here for you," Al placed a soft hand on Ed's shoulder.

Ed smiled up at him wearily, "Thanks Al."

"Of course Ed! That's what brothers are for!" Al walked back to the doorway and picked the tray up off the floor, setting it down on the nightstand.

"I brought you breakfast, though it might be a little cold now. Do you think you're going to go in to work today?" Al asked, watching carefully as Ed moved slowly, positioning himself so that he could eat without getting up.

"Ohf course," Ed grumbled through big bites, "Muhstahng would kill mhe ihf I didn't showh."

"Don't talk with food in your mouth," Al chastised. "And if you aren't feeling well Mustang would understand, I'm pretty sure Hawkeye said she didn't want you back unless you were feeling better."

Ed swallowed and tossed a pointed look at Al. "I'm fine. Besides, the sooner these damned drains get fixed the sooner we can be out looking for new leads."

And the sooner I can put some distance between Hohenheim and myself while I figure out what's going to happen between us after yesterday's weird turn of events.

"If you say so brother, but please let me walk with you this time! We're mostly done around here; I know Dad wouldn't mind me tagging along with you."

Ed nearly scoffed at the sentence, but opted to simply nod instead.

"Sure Al."

"And if you get tired again, you can ride on my back! Or if your stomach starts hurting, we can go home early," Al rattled on as Ed finished his meal.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Ed rolled his eyes and stood up to get dressed. He knew Al meant well, but that didn't mean it didn't get overbearing from time to time.

Making his way over to the dresser with relative ease, Ed was able to change clothes quickly while Al was still rambling off about their day, keeping him from seeing the awful discoloration.

"As much as I love to hear you talk, we need to get going," Ed grumbled as he slipped on his signature red coat. Al simply nodded, extending a hand to Ed as he stepped into the doorframe.

Ed grinned up at him, happier than he had been in a while. Sure his stomach hurt, and his cheek was all busted, but his stomach was full, Hohenheim hadn't bothered them yet, and he would get to have Al tag along all day. It was shaping up to be a promising day.

Ed reached for Al's outstretched hand when his stomach seized up again, yelling at him for the straining movement. Ed nearly tripped as he latched onto Al's hand tightly for support, another moving to grasp his shirt.

"Brother? What happened?"

Al's panicked voice broke through any thoughts that had started to creep in.

"Just my stomach, it still hurts a little if I move too fast," Ed groaned, fighting the urge to get rid of the breakfast he had just eaten.

"Are you sure you don't want to call in? I know Hawkeye would understand and Colonel-"

'I'm fine Al, just need to take things a little slow," Ed huffed. He slowly stood, relief flooding his bones as his stomach seemed to be appeased for the time being. "I'm sure it'll fade as the day goes on, it's just a little fresh right now," He added.

Al seemed hesitant, but didn't argue and instead opted to put an arm around Ed's shoulders.

Normally Ed would shy away from the contact, not wanting to be seen as weak or dependent. However, just for today, he figured he could make an exception.

The two brothers made their way down the stairs and out the door, walking along the sidewalk towards Central. The sun was shining brightly, a stark contrast to the rains they'd been having, and the weather was pleasant.

Ed may not have been looking forward to doing minor construction work, but he was content things were seeming to look up, and that he had Al to lean on (literally). Bright golden eyes took on the day with eagerness and hope for the near future, as Ed and Al walked along the path.

However, another set of golden eyes peered at the two brothers from under glasses, cold hatred brewing inside their depths as the owner scowled with displeasure.

The future they saw ahead was the stark opposite of the other, and Ed would be all the oblivious.

A/N: Thank you for being so patient with me! I haven't had as much time to write as I thought I would :(

This chapter is still kind of slow, but I promise I'm just trying to set stuff up for the really exciting stuff that's coming soon (next chapter soon :) )