Kyoudai [Open to Al]

[firstmetal]

Ed's room was nothing special. He only really used it to sleep in and occasionally to read when it was late and he'd been kicked out of the library. It wasn't exactly the tidiest place on earth. Ed had never really cared before. It was just a place he went to occasionally. But now that Al was here... he felt kind of embarressed about it

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[secondmetal]

Al looked around with interested eyes, taking note of the direction they traveled. But they seemed to gravitate back to Ed no matter where they roamed. His brother. He was really with Ed again. It was so hard to believe that his long search was finally over.

He shifted Balamb a little as Ed guided him to his room. When he stepped into his brother's sanctuary, he almost laughed. Yup, this was his brother all right. The books piled around, the unconcern for earthly matters like bed-making and decorating. Al itched to tidy up and make the bed, but Ed sat on it before he could do more than think about it.

Al looked around at the books, then decided that he'd better not put Balamb down just yet. Brother would be furious if Balamb treated his papers like he'd done to Colonel Mustang's. "I..." He hesitated, wondering where to start. "Are you doing okay? I mean, here in the military?"

[firstmetal]

Ed looked surprised that that was the first question. It wasn't what he'd been expecting. Not that he'd really been sure what he was expecting. How did he answer it?

"I'm fine," he said, reassuringly, gesturing for Al to take the single chair. "Mustang's a bastard, but it pays well and I get to study alchemy and travel a lot. There are some nice people."

And what more was there? He supposed he must have wanted to do something with his life when he was a kid, but if he had, he coudln't remember it. What else could he do except alchemy? And at least this way, he got room and board and research funds. And free run of the library. And he supposed that he was as happy as he could be there.

"What about you? You're in SeeD."

[secondmetal]

Al nodded. His eyes brightened as he sat in the offered chair. Balamb tried to wiggle from his grasp, but he held on tight. "Uh-huh. For a while, they had me working with one of SeeD's researchers. We were studying materia and trying to identify specific materia traits to see if we could cross-compile abilities. But recently, I've been doing missions out in the north." Al thought back happily on his time in the labs. It was actually quite fun, doing the research.

Then Al's face went serious. "There's been a bit more activity with monsters lately, and talk of strange new monsters, though I haven't seen any myself."

[firstmetal]

Ed nodded slowly at Al's news. "I know. There are rumours everywhere." Stories of nee, terrifying monsters, moving into areas that had previously been safe for people. "I was in Trabia recently and heard a few things. It's worrying."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a long moment, Ed not entirely sure what to say. Seven years was a long time.

"Are you... are you happy in SeeD?"

[secondmetal]

Had circumstances been different, the confusion on Al's face might have been different. "Bring...mother back? But she--" Suddenly things clicked in Al's mind. His confusion changed to shock. "You...you mean by alchemy? Brother, did you try to use alchemy to bring her back?"

[firstmetal]

Ed glares for a moment, feeling like a rabbit trapped in car headlights, and then turned sharply, wandering over to the deak and looking out of the window. He stared for a long moment, hands clenched on the wood of the desk until he worried it was going to splinter in his grasp.

Finally he nodded sharply. "Yeah. I did."

What more was there to say?

[secondmetal]

Al let go of Ed's hand when he stood, but remained kneeling on the floor, watching him with sad eyes. He'd learned a bit about alchemical revivals, but had not thought about doing one himself. But his brother had. And it had cost him his arm. If only he'd been there, Al thought. Maybe if he'd been there, maybe with his help, it would have worked. And Ed would not have had to suffer such a loss, and their mother...they would have their mother back.

Al looked at his brother, and any thoughts he might have had about recreating the incident left his mind. Ed looked so pained, as if something even worse had happened, if that was possible.

"It's okay, Ed." Al stood and went to his brother. He wrapped his arms around Ed and held him close. "Now that we're together, we can find a way to get your arm back to the way it was. Somehow."

[firstmetal]

Ed stiffened at the touch and refused to turn around. No matter Al's words, he didn't want to look and see accusation on his face. What he had done was against all the laws of science and nature. Against everything he had been taught about alchemy.

"It isn't okay. I fucked up," he said coolly.

He blinked in surprise at Al's nect words. His arm? He hadn;t even though about getting it back. "It's too dangerous," he said softly. "It's not like I can't do anything. I'm not crippled."