(no subject)
“C’mon, brother.”
Alphonse’s encouraging words fell to deaf ears. From the corner table they were sitting at, Edward leer glances at the taller, also blond soldier who was shamelessly flirting with a waitress.
“Go and talk to him.”
The scene of his crush paying attention to someone else took away all of the 18-year-old’s confidence. Taking a tiny bite of the apple he was having for a snack, the young man shook his head, while his psyche screamed the opposite.
“He is busy.”
A dark shadow casted before Alphonse’s eyes
“Brother-“
“You’re a nutcase, Al,” the boy snorted, a faint smile crossing his face. “No teenager in his right mind should try to hook their brother up with a guy twice his age.”
“Well, he is a better choice than Mustang is.”
He should have guessed, Edward couldn’t help shaking his head again but this time in a different manner. This time, the simple head manoeuvre reflected the pride over what a thoughtful young man he had been able to raise. Despite everything they had gone through, Alphonse had managed to preserve his childlike faith and admiration for his older, more hot-headed sibling. Edward knew he wasn’t perfect, not even close to something so unrealistic, but only the acknowledgement that Alphonse accepted and supported him in any situation what-so-ever was enough to fill his heart with hope that there was still one thing he hadn’t messed up.
Would his mother be proud of her boy?
“I’ve been doing some research about love, asked advice from different people,” Alphonse started the conversation again, lifting his elbows on the table and crossing his hands.
“What did they say?” The older boy found himself interested and took another bite of his fruit.
“Seems like ‘charm’ methods differ when talking about different cultures. According to May-Chang, Xingians put a high value on material but here, in Amestris, it is the moment of realization that matters.”
“There is this one situation that works every time; life saving. Put yourself in danger and Jean will save you. For instance, you can pretend you’ve twisted your ankle and make Jean help you home. ”
“That’s so crazy, it just might work! Havoc isn’t the brightest crayon in the box.”
“He probably wouldn’t suspect anything.”
“And when he does, he’ll already be around my little finger and wouldn’t dare to take revenge. But I think I need something better than a dislocated joint.”
“Well, there are millions of possibilities. You can pretend drowning when you’re helping him by the swimming hall.”
“I wouldn’t need to pretend there.”
“You can also try going to the free way and-“
A muffled noise interrupted Alphonse’s lecturing as his brother dropped the apple he had been eating and stood up, his hands around his throat.
“Brother!” The younger one hurried to his choking brother and tried to help him by clapping him in the back. At first, Alphonse thought it was all an act they had been discussing but when his eyes caught Edward’s that were big as plates and the face that was turning blue, the boy knew it was an emergency.
“Help, he is choking!”¨
He didn’t know first aid. Edward, as well as other Military members, had participated in a course. Alphonse had always had an intention and will to take one too, but when not having the physical restrictions, he couldn’t make it fit his schedule. Now, as he watched helplessly his brother’s struggling, he cursed himself for putting a higher value on his studies. Knowledge on how to save a life was far more important than some course on advanced mathematics.
Suddenly, he was pushed away by a big figure that caught his brother by the middle and began to thrust the fragile body inwards. With tears of panic in his eyes, Alphonse watched how his brother seemed to become more conscious as the needed help arrived. The whole coffee house had now fixed their eyes on the Second Lieutenant who was trying to save the young alchemist.
Finally there was the awaited noise as Edward retched the piece of an apple onto the floor and spit some stomach contents onto it. The old air was replaced by fresh, oxygen filled gas combination and Havoc laid the heavily panting man onto the floor, carefully avoiding the acid liquid.
“You there, kid?” The man moved some locks from the sweaty forehead, casting a proper look into the boy’s eyes. Edward didn’t speak but nevertheless responded by nodding his head frantically and mouthing a silent thank you over and over again.
Alphonse eyed the situation, reading their facial expressions and body language and tried to find hints on Havoc’s feelings. The man was relieved, anyone could tell that much, but we needed more. Havoc had just saved his brother’s life; this had to be the ‘swooming’ moment. This was where it would all begin from. Maybe not today but soon; his theory couldn’t be wrong.
Once Edward had recovered enough to stand up on his own, Jean offered them a ride back to the dorms and refused to take no for an answer. In the back of the car, after making sure his brother was conscious enough to have a conversation, Alphonse whispered:
“There were too many people out there, Brother. He couldn’t start kissing you right there and then but if something like this happens again he is sure to take the bait - my theory is perfect.”
“One more word and you won’t have the brain cells to form theries.”