Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Equivalent Trade: When Alchemy Goes Terribly Wrong ❯ Chapter Seven ( Chapter 7 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Phoenix Hoshika 
Anime/Manga: Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Psychological / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.28.2005 | Updated On: 12.23.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 476 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Psychological / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.28.2005 | Updated On: 12.23.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 476 | Status: Completed
Equivalent Trade: When Alchemy Goes Terribly Wrong
By Phoenix Hoshika
Chapter Seven
Edward opened his eyes to see a squirrel staring down at him as it nibbled on an acorn. Giving the creature an angry glare with his odd colored eyes it scurried off. Edward moaned. How long had he been lying there and what was the strange taste in his mouth? Standing up he spit out a mouth full of grass and dirt. If anyone was around they surely would have seen the steam emanating from the top of his head and out of his ears. "AL!!!" Edward growled and took off in the direction they were headed in at top speed.
Alphonse sat in the middle of a patch of wild flowers still crying. It wasn't every day a fifteen year old boy's first kiss was stolen by a little girl. He was currently rebandaging his feet since all the running he did caused some of the wounds to break open and bleed again. After fixing his feet he sighed. Suddenly the field went silent and the little bird that was hopping around right beside him flew away. In the distance he could see the deer that was quietly grazing running away. This could only mean one thing. "Edward" Alphonse thought ducking out of the way of a swift punch and rolling so that he was at least a body's distance away from his brother, but that didn't last for long. Edward came charging at Alphonse at full speed to deliver a flying kick to the head. Alphonse caught his foot with both hands. Flipping over Edward kicked him in the chest instead, startling his brother enough for him to let go of his foot. Dropping to the ground Edward used his hands to flip himself back into a standing position only to end up dodging a series of swift kicks and punches. "Damn, even with those injuries it seems he's gotten faster."
It had been a while since they had spared and Edward was hoping that since Alphonse was back in his original body on top of the injuries to his feet that he had a chance of winning, but just as many times before when they spared it wasn't going to happen. Edward gave a small gasp when he barely missed a blow to the head, then twisted around in an attempt to punch Alphonse in the gut, but missed his target yet again. Instead Edward was the one to receive a blow to the gut and boy did it hurt. Clutching his stomach Edward came off his feet then hit the ground landing on his back with a heavy thud, the air completely knocked out of him. Alphonse chuckled to himself. When was Edward going to learn he couldn't win against him? An expression of concern soon came over his face when Edward didn't come charging at him again or declare that he gave up from his position on the ground.
"Brother?" Alphonse called running to his side. "Are you okay?" He asked looking at the crumpled mess on the ground which was his sibling. The battered figure only made pained noises. Had he over done it this time? "Brother?" Alphonse repeated kneeling on the ground next to him. Edward reached up placing a shaky hand on Alphonse's knee and pulled himself half way into a sitting position before slugging him in the stomach. Alphonse fell over and Edward with him and they both lay withering on the ground in pain.
"You just can't resist fighting dirty, can you?" Alphonse asked every word he spoke causing pain.
"Shaddup. At least you're not the one who's only living relative is child molester."
"You really think I'd do something like that?" Alphonse said sitting up, anger numbing the pain in his gut.
Edward was silent as if thinking about it.
"Ed!" Alphonse uttered becoming even angrier, his eyes welling up for another crying fit as he balled up his left fist to lay into his brother one last time.
"No, but how do you think it would have looked if Susan's grandfather saw you?" Edward said forcing himself to sit up. His hair had come undone during the fight and was hanging loose behind his shoulders. A worried look came over Alphonse's face as it turned blue, he and Edward fell back onto the ground like flowers wilting in the sun. "See what I mean?" Edward asked and Alphonse nodded his head. The old man probably would have killed him. "I don't see how you didn't see it coming." Edward said turning over on his back.
"How could I?" Alphonse asked turning on his side so that he could look over at Edward.
"You're the one always spouting all that garbage about true love and romance and whining about how you want a girlfriend." Edward said sweating bullets, the subject made him immensely uncomfortable.
Alphonse only gave a weary sigh that sounded more like a whine. "I guess in reality I'm just as dense as you are." Alphonse admitted.
"What was that!?" Edward said jerking upward then grabbing his stomach in pain as he shriveled back down to the ground.
"Did I say that out loud?" Alphonse questioned knowing full well that he did and had meant to do so.
After a moment of licking the wounds inflicted on each other during the battle royal they called a sparing session the Elrics continued on their journey to the next town. Unfortunately for Alphonse Edward passed out only a quarter of the way away from the small town of Baskin, which was still a good long distance to travel by foot. People gave Alphonse strange looks as he walked into town carrying Edward on his back, but no one dared approach him. Maybe it was just how people behaved in this town keeping to themselves, minding their own or was it the angry looking frown on Alphonse's face? Either way it didn't matter. Perhaps Alphonse would have been more self conscious if he was paying attention, but he was too focused on finding an inn or hotel or someplace to rest for the time being. Edward seemed to have gained weight since the last time Alphonse found himself carrying him and coupled with the energy spent during their spar plus hiking through the great expanse of rolling hills and lush green fields that lay between Farmland and Baskin he was ready to lay down and not get up until dawn. It was moments like these when Alphonse found himself slightly missing his armored prison, for that body never became tired nor did it need to eat.
The sun had already gone down and the sky was in twilight by the time Alphonse found an inn. He had tried asking some of the locals where one was, but people either stared at him as they walked away or pretended not to hear him; the people in Baskin for the most part were just plain rude. The old man at the receptionist desk eyed the siblings curiously as Alphonse approached him. "One room, please." Alphonse politely requested pushing Edward back up on his back.
The old man continued eyeing them and this made Alphonse nervous. Was he going to deny them entry? "Is she going to be alright?" The old man finally asked even though he could care less about Edward's condition, he was actually more curious as to why two kids were wondering around so far from home. The old man could tell just by looking at them they weren't from around there; it was something about Alphonse's demeanor and the way he spoke plus the biggest clue of all people in the next town just a few miles away, never came to the hotel. Everyone practically knew or was related to someone in the other town so there was no need to stay in a hotel when you had a friend or family member's home to sleep in.
"How many nights?" The old receptionist asked before Alphonse could answer his first question.
"Just one." Alphonse answered and the old man handed them a key, though not before giving them a grim look. "What was that about?" Alphonse wondered as he made his way to their room. After fumbling with the lock for a minute Alphonse pushed the door open and once inside gently kicked it closed with his heel. Placing Edward in the twin bed closest to the door Alphonse collapsed on the one across from it.
The next day Alphonse just laid in bed looking up at the ceiling. His stomach was growling so loud it was causing his ears to ring. They hadn't eaten dinner the day before and it was now going on eleven o'clock in the morning. Edward was the only who could get them any food. Being a State Alchemist Edward usually just charged all their travel expenses to the military, of course it came out of his salary, but since the money just sat in an account piling up until he broke his automail again or ended up in a slump this usually wasn't a problem. Rolling over Alphonse looked at Edward then turned back to the wall. How could he still be asleep? Wouldn't the hunger pains have awaken him by now? Alphonse didn't bother trying to wake him up. Edward could have gun shoved in his face and still not budge. Perhaps if he whispered the word pipsqueak or shorty into his ear that would arouse him, however, Alphonse wasn't interested in having the stuffing beaten out of him by a half conscious Edward. Closing his eyes Alphonse let the growling of his stomach lull him back to sleep.
1 hour and 30 minutes later…
Edward woke up feeling a pain in is stomach. Groggily he walked into the small bathroom adjoined to the room consisting of only a toilet and a sink; the showers were further down the hall. Coming a little more out his sleep induced haze after splashing his face with water Edward suddenly became aware of a wet sensation between his legs. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Did he wet himself in his sleep? Edward quickly brought his hands to his behind to find it dry and the front wasn't wet either. Pulling down his pants he looked and something that should never ever be any a boy's box shorts, a red stain of blood. Biting his lower lip to keep a scream from escaping Edward grabbed a white wash cloth and stuffed it in his underwear and after washing his hands he immediately punched the mirror hanging over the face bowl shattering it. Edward had become completely unglued by the discovery. Only a few seconds before utterly breaking down Edward had told himself that he would handle the situation calmly and quietly so that no one would know about it, but Edward had never been one for subtlety and currently this was too much for him to handle.
"Ed?" Alphonse uttered, the shattering of the glass startling him out of sleep. Climbing out of bed Alphonse tripped hitting the floor. While he slept he had tossed and turned wrapping himself up in the sheets unknowingly. Hurriedly, Alphonse untangled himself from the bedding, scrambling back to his feet, and over to the bathroom door. "Brother?" He called again, but still received no answer.
Carefully Alphonse pushed the bathroom door open not knowing what to expect. Seeing blood on the floor Alphonse pushed the door open completely to find Edward balled up on the floor surrounded by broken glass holding his left hand, the source of the blood on the floor, it had been cut it pretty badly when he punched the mirror. Using alchemy Alphonse first cleared the shattered glass, restoring the mirror to its original state so that no further harm came to his sibling from the jagged pieces of glass laying around. Then grabbing a towel he wrapped Edward's bleeding hand in it along with some water he had transmuted into ice.
Edward seemed to be in state of shock, no matter what Alphonse did or said he wouldn't move from that spot on the floor or give any kind of response. If it weren't for the nearly inaudible sobbing Alphonse would have assumed he was unconscious. When Alphonse finally decided to just pick him up Edward recoiled even more making it difficult for his brother to remove him from the bathroom floor.
Placing Edward on the near the window. Alphonse sat down beside him. "Brother, please tell me what's wrong." Alphonse pleaded placing a hand on Edward's shoulder who turned red and rolled over curling up against the wall. He couldn't bring himself to say it because he couldn't bring himself to accept it and besides that it was embarrassing as hell. What words could he possibly use that would make it any less embarrassing? Alphonse was at a loss on what to do. He hadn't seen Edward in such a depressed state since nearly a month ago when they had first came out of the catacombs.
"Oh!"Alphonse thought as it suddenly occurred to him why his brother was so upset. "Brother, I'm going to borrow you watch for a little while." Alphonse said, but Edward gave no response. Walking over to the bed his brother lay in the night before Alphonse took the watch from its position beside the pillow and left the room.
When Alphonse returned he found Edward kneeling on the bathroom floor, he had just finished cleaning up the blood from his little 'accident' and was now drying up the water with one of the extra towels he acquired from housekeeping.
"Brother…" Alphonse said nervously as he reached down to hand Edward a small paper bag.
"What's this?" Edward wondered out loud, in a sad voice. Looking down into the bag his eyes fill with tears and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment when saw what it contained. "Thanks." Edward said holding his head low so that his face wasn't visible.
"Are you going to be okay?" Alphonse asked feeling the downward shift in his brother's slightly uplifted spirits.
"Yeah, I think so." Edward replied standing up, keeping his face lowered.
"Okay." Alphonse said wearily as he closed the bathroom door behind himself as he exited. Once alone in the tiny room Edward let the tears flow silently as he removed the contents of the paper bag. Pulling off his pants and hanging them on the door knob Edward removed the blood stained draws and wash cloth and sat them on fire.
"Ed?" Alphonse called worriedly from the other side of the door when he saw the smoke coming from underneath the bathroom door.
"I'm okay." Edward responded as he made use of the bag's contents. Never had Edward imagined himself wearing women's underwear least of all needing to make use of feminine hygiene products. Looking at the last thing he had pulled from the bag he frowned. At arms length Edward held a pink bra between his thumb and index finger as if holding something dirty. Remembering Edward complaining about his chest on several different occasions Alphonse picked up the article of clothing along with the matching panties after stopping by the local drug store. The clerk at the register, along with a few other people in the store at the time, gave him a dirty looks as he placed the items on the counter but said nothing to him.
"I might as well put it on too since I'm already wearing girl pants." Edward thought letting out a heavy sigh before taking off his shirt.
Alphonse lay on the bed closest to the door dangling Edward's gold pocket watch above his face. Hearing the bathroom door open Alphonse sat up. Edward closed the door then sat down on the other bed with a huff.
"Hey, how did you know it would fit?" Edward asked not caring to make eye contact with his brother.
"I could just tell." Alphonse answered.
"Is that so?" Edward said peering at him through narrowed eyes. Edward would never admit it but the bra fit too comfortably for it to be a lucky guess and was wondering if his brother hadn't measured him while he was asleep or something.
"I could just tell by looking." Alphonse said catching the look his brother was giving him and knowing exactly what he was thinking.
"That's even more disturbing." Edward said lying down and turning his back to him.
Alphonse sweat dropped. Was really it that strange he made an accurate guess? "Brother, aren't you hungry?" Alphonse asked as he watched Edward recoil again.
"No." He answered in a low tone.
"Brother you have to eat something." Alphonse said concerned. Edward was never one to skip a meal even when he was feeling particularly depressed and considering how long it had been since they had last ate this sudden change in appetite definitely worried him.
"I just don't feel like eating right now."
"Okay." Alphonse said reluctantly as he stood up and left the room alone.
Edward hadn't budged from his position on the bed one centimeter since his brother left in search of food. It was bad enough he was bleeding uncontrollably, but on top of it his gut was hurting as if someone had stabbed him in it. Before he today he would get through each day just telling himself it was only how he looked on the out side that there was no way that thing had completely turned him into a woman. He told himself that as many times as it took to make it through each day, but now he could no longer deny truth; that he was indeed completely a woman through and through just as if he were born that way. Edward was going to start crying again when he heard the door open and quickly sucked it in.
"What are you doing back so early?" He asked sounding almost angry. It was only fifteen minutes since Alphonse had left the room and if he had gone to have a meal at local pub or someplace there was no way he would have made it back there so quickly.
"I bought something for us to eat from the deli a few buildings down." Alphonse said opening the large bag of food and pulling out a sandwich. "Brother, please eat something." He said walking over to the bed in which his sibling lay.
Groaning Edward turned over and sat up. "Fine." He said snatching the sandwich from Alphonse's hand and taking a bite. Alphonse sat down next to him smiling. "What?" Edward asked with a mouth full of food when he saw his brother staring at him out the corner of his eye.
"Uh-um, nothing!" Alphonse said opening the bag and sticking whatever he grabbed into his mouth and continued to do so until he was full. Edward had given him quiet a scare and he didn't know what he would do if his 'brother' refused to eat.
"You know," Edward swallowed before continuing. "I'm just going to have to deal with it for now." Edward said as he ate. "My goal was to get you back into your body and you are. I should be happy, but I can't live in this body for the rest of my life. I wasn't born this way and I don't want to stay this way. I'll find a way to go back to my original body as well, but when I do I don't want you anywhere around, because if I fail I don't want you getting caught up in it."
"We were supposed to be restored together. I can't stand to see you in such pain, so even if I have to sacrifice myself I will gladly do so if it meant you would no longer have to live in such pain."
~To Be Continued~
~*~*~*~
Author's Note:
Do you hate Ed?
No, not really, I just like Alphonse more, I think. He's a sweet heart, way more graceful than his brother, plus he's so darn adorable! (Kind of like those stray cats he keeps picking up) I can't help but go "awe" and neither can you, just admit it! So, yeah he is always going to be the star in my stories. LOL, I kind of liked the idea of Arakawasensei renaming her manga "Armor Alchemist"
By Phoenix Hoshika
Chapter Seven
Edward opened his eyes to see a squirrel staring down at him as it nibbled on an acorn. Giving the creature an angry glare with his odd colored eyes it scurried off. Edward moaned. How long had he been lying there and what was the strange taste in his mouth? Standing up he spit out a mouth full of grass and dirt. If anyone was around they surely would have seen the steam emanating from the top of his head and out of his ears. "AL!!!" Edward growled and took off in the direction they were headed in at top speed.
Alphonse sat in the middle of a patch of wild flowers still crying. It wasn't every day a fifteen year old boy's first kiss was stolen by a little girl. He was currently rebandaging his feet since all the running he did caused some of the wounds to break open and bleed again. After fixing his feet he sighed. Suddenly the field went silent and the little bird that was hopping around right beside him flew away. In the distance he could see the deer that was quietly grazing running away. This could only mean one thing. "Edward" Alphonse thought ducking out of the way of a swift punch and rolling so that he was at least a body's distance away from his brother, but that didn't last for long. Edward came charging at Alphonse at full speed to deliver a flying kick to the head. Alphonse caught his foot with both hands. Flipping over Edward kicked him in the chest instead, startling his brother enough for him to let go of his foot. Dropping to the ground Edward used his hands to flip himself back into a standing position only to end up dodging a series of swift kicks and punches. "Damn, even with those injuries it seems he's gotten faster."
It had been a while since they had spared and Edward was hoping that since Alphonse was back in his original body on top of the injuries to his feet that he had a chance of winning, but just as many times before when they spared it wasn't going to happen. Edward gave a small gasp when he barely missed a blow to the head, then twisted around in an attempt to punch Alphonse in the gut, but missed his target yet again. Instead Edward was the one to receive a blow to the gut and boy did it hurt. Clutching his stomach Edward came off his feet then hit the ground landing on his back with a heavy thud, the air completely knocked out of him. Alphonse chuckled to himself. When was Edward going to learn he couldn't win against him? An expression of concern soon came over his face when Edward didn't come charging at him again or declare that he gave up from his position on the ground.
"Brother?" Alphonse called running to his side. "Are you okay?" He asked looking at the crumpled mess on the ground which was his sibling. The battered figure only made pained noises. Had he over done it this time? "Brother?" Alphonse repeated kneeling on the ground next to him. Edward reached up placing a shaky hand on Alphonse's knee and pulled himself half way into a sitting position before slugging him in the stomach. Alphonse fell over and Edward with him and they both lay withering on the ground in pain.
"You just can't resist fighting dirty, can you?" Alphonse asked every word he spoke causing pain.
"Shaddup. At least you're not the one who's only living relative is child molester."
"You really think I'd do something like that?" Alphonse said sitting up, anger numbing the pain in his gut.
Edward was silent as if thinking about it.
"Ed!" Alphonse uttered becoming even angrier, his eyes welling up for another crying fit as he balled up his left fist to lay into his brother one last time.
"No, but how do you think it would have looked if Susan's grandfather saw you?" Edward said forcing himself to sit up. His hair had come undone during the fight and was hanging loose behind his shoulders. A worried look came over Alphonse's face as it turned blue, he and Edward fell back onto the ground like flowers wilting in the sun. "See what I mean?" Edward asked and Alphonse nodded his head. The old man probably would have killed him. "I don't see how you didn't see it coming." Edward said turning over on his back.
"How could I?" Alphonse asked turning on his side so that he could look over at Edward.
"You're the one always spouting all that garbage about true love and romance and whining about how you want a girlfriend." Edward said sweating bullets, the subject made him immensely uncomfortable.
Alphonse only gave a weary sigh that sounded more like a whine. "I guess in reality I'm just as dense as you are." Alphonse admitted.
"What was that!?" Edward said jerking upward then grabbing his stomach in pain as he shriveled back down to the ground.
"Did I say that out loud?" Alphonse questioned knowing full well that he did and had meant to do so.
After a moment of licking the wounds inflicted on each other during the battle royal they called a sparing session the Elrics continued on their journey to the next town. Unfortunately for Alphonse Edward passed out only a quarter of the way away from the small town of Baskin, which was still a good long distance to travel by foot. People gave Alphonse strange looks as he walked into town carrying Edward on his back, but no one dared approach him. Maybe it was just how people behaved in this town keeping to themselves, minding their own or was it the angry looking frown on Alphonse's face? Either way it didn't matter. Perhaps Alphonse would have been more self conscious if he was paying attention, but he was too focused on finding an inn or hotel or someplace to rest for the time being. Edward seemed to have gained weight since the last time Alphonse found himself carrying him and coupled with the energy spent during their spar plus hiking through the great expanse of rolling hills and lush green fields that lay between Farmland and Baskin he was ready to lay down and not get up until dawn. It was moments like these when Alphonse found himself slightly missing his armored prison, for that body never became tired nor did it need to eat.
The sun had already gone down and the sky was in twilight by the time Alphonse found an inn. He had tried asking some of the locals where one was, but people either stared at him as they walked away or pretended not to hear him; the people in Baskin for the most part were just plain rude. The old man at the receptionist desk eyed the siblings curiously as Alphonse approached him. "One room, please." Alphonse politely requested pushing Edward back up on his back.
The old man continued eyeing them and this made Alphonse nervous. Was he going to deny them entry? "Is she going to be alright?" The old man finally asked even though he could care less about Edward's condition, he was actually more curious as to why two kids were wondering around so far from home. The old man could tell just by looking at them they weren't from around there; it was something about Alphonse's demeanor and the way he spoke plus the biggest clue of all people in the next town just a few miles away, never came to the hotel. Everyone practically knew or was related to someone in the other town so there was no need to stay in a hotel when you had a friend or family member's home to sleep in.
"How many nights?" The old receptionist asked before Alphonse could answer his first question.
"Just one." Alphonse answered and the old man handed them a key, though not before giving them a grim look. "What was that about?" Alphonse wondered as he made his way to their room. After fumbling with the lock for a minute Alphonse pushed the door open and once inside gently kicked it closed with his heel. Placing Edward in the twin bed closest to the door Alphonse collapsed on the one across from it.
The next day Alphonse just laid in bed looking up at the ceiling. His stomach was growling so loud it was causing his ears to ring. They hadn't eaten dinner the day before and it was now going on eleven o'clock in the morning. Edward was the only who could get them any food. Being a State Alchemist Edward usually just charged all their travel expenses to the military, of course it came out of his salary, but since the money just sat in an account piling up until he broke his automail again or ended up in a slump this usually wasn't a problem. Rolling over Alphonse looked at Edward then turned back to the wall. How could he still be asleep? Wouldn't the hunger pains have awaken him by now? Alphonse didn't bother trying to wake him up. Edward could have gun shoved in his face and still not budge. Perhaps if he whispered the word pipsqueak or shorty into his ear that would arouse him, however, Alphonse wasn't interested in having the stuffing beaten out of him by a half conscious Edward. Closing his eyes Alphonse let the growling of his stomach lull him back to sleep.
1 hour and 30 minutes later…
Edward woke up feeling a pain in is stomach. Groggily he walked into the small bathroom adjoined to the room consisting of only a toilet and a sink; the showers were further down the hall. Coming a little more out his sleep induced haze after splashing his face with water Edward suddenly became aware of a wet sensation between his legs. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Did he wet himself in his sleep? Edward quickly brought his hands to his behind to find it dry and the front wasn't wet either. Pulling down his pants he looked and something that should never ever be any a boy's box shorts, a red stain of blood. Biting his lower lip to keep a scream from escaping Edward grabbed a white wash cloth and stuffed it in his underwear and after washing his hands he immediately punched the mirror hanging over the face bowl shattering it. Edward had become completely unglued by the discovery. Only a few seconds before utterly breaking down Edward had told himself that he would handle the situation calmly and quietly so that no one would know about it, but Edward had never been one for subtlety and currently this was too much for him to handle.
"Ed?" Alphonse uttered, the shattering of the glass startling him out of sleep. Climbing out of bed Alphonse tripped hitting the floor. While he slept he had tossed and turned wrapping himself up in the sheets unknowingly. Hurriedly, Alphonse untangled himself from the bedding, scrambling back to his feet, and over to the bathroom door. "Brother?" He called again, but still received no answer.
Carefully Alphonse pushed the bathroom door open not knowing what to expect. Seeing blood on the floor Alphonse pushed the door open completely to find Edward balled up on the floor surrounded by broken glass holding his left hand, the source of the blood on the floor, it had been cut it pretty badly when he punched the mirror. Using alchemy Alphonse first cleared the shattered glass, restoring the mirror to its original state so that no further harm came to his sibling from the jagged pieces of glass laying around. Then grabbing a towel he wrapped Edward's bleeding hand in it along with some water he had transmuted into ice.
Edward seemed to be in state of shock, no matter what Alphonse did or said he wouldn't move from that spot on the floor or give any kind of response. If it weren't for the nearly inaudible sobbing Alphonse would have assumed he was unconscious. When Alphonse finally decided to just pick him up Edward recoiled even more making it difficult for his brother to remove him from the bathroom floor.
Placing Edward on the near the window. Alphonse sat down beside him. "Brother, please tell me what's wrong." Alphonse pleaded placing a hand on Edward's shoulder who turned red and rolled over curling up against the wall. He couldn't bring himself to say it because he couldn't bring himself to accept it and besides that it was embarrassing as hell. What words could he possibly use that would make it any less embarrassing? Alphonse was at a loss on what to do. He hadn't seen Edward in such a depressed state since nearly a month ago when they had first came out of the catacombs.
"Oh!"Alphonse thought as it suddenly occurred to him why his brother was so upset. "Brother, I'm going to borrow you watch for a little while." Alphonse said, but Edward gave no response. Walking over to the bed his brother lay in the night before Alphonse took the watch from its position beside the pillow and left the room.
When Alphonse returned he found Edward kneeling on the bathroom floor, he had just finished cleaning up the blood from his little 'accident' and was now drying up the water with one of the extra towels he acquired from housekeeping.
"Brother…" Alphonse said nervously as he reached down to hand Edward a small paper bag.
"What's this?" Edward wondered out loud, in a sad voice. Looking down into the bag his eyes fill with tears and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment when saw what it contained. "Thanks." Edward said holding his head low so that his face wasn't visible.
"Are you going to be okay?" Alphonse asked feeling the downward shift in his brother's slightly uplifted spirits.
"Yeah, I think so." Edward replied standing up, keeping his face lowered.
"Okay." Alphonse said wearily as he closed the bathroom door behind himself as he exited. Once alone in the tiny room Edward let the tears flow silently as he removed the contents of the paper bag. Pulling off his pants and hanging them on the door knob Edward removed the blood stained draws and wash cloth and sat them on fire.
"Ed?" Alphonse called worriedly from the other side of the door when he saw the smoke coming from underneath the bathroom door.
"I'm okay." Edward responded as he made use of the bag's contents. Never had Edward imagined himself wearing women's underwear least of all needing to make use of feminine hygiene products. Looking at the last thing he had pulled from the bag he frowned. At arms length Edward held a pink bra between his thumb and index finger as if holding something dirty. Remembering Edward complaining about his chest on several different occasions Alphonse picked up the article of clothing along with the matching panties after stopping by the local drug store. The clerk at the register, along with a few other people in the store at the time, gave him a dirty looks as he placed the items on the counter but said nothing to him.
"I might as well put it on too since I'm already wearing girl pants." Edward thought letting out a heavy sigh before taking off his shirt.
Alphonse lay on the bed closest to the door dangling Edward's gold pocket watch above his face. Hearing the bathroom door open Alphonse sat up. Edward closed the door then sat down on the other bed with a huff.
"Hey, how did you know it would fit?" Edward asked not caring to make eye contact with his brother.
"I could just tell." Alphonse answered.
"Is that so?" Edward said peering at him through narrowed eyes. Edward would never admit it but the bra fit too comfortably for it to be a lucky guess and was wondering if his brother hadn't measured him while he was asleep or something.
"I could just tell by looking." Alphonse said catching the look his brother was giving him and knowing exactly what he was thinking.
"That's even more disturbing." Edward said lying down and turning his back to him.
Alphonse sweat dropped. Was really it that strange he made an accurate guess? "Brother, aren't you hungry?" Alphonse asked as he watched Edward recoil again.
"No." He answered in a low tone.
"Brother you have to eat something." Alphonse said concerned. Edward was never one to skip a meal even when he was feeling particularly depressed and considering how long it had been since they had last ate this sudden change in appetite definitely worried him.
"I just don't feel like eating right now."
"Okay." Alphonse said reluctantly as he stood up and left the room alone.
Edward hadn't budged from his position on the bed one centimeter since his brother left in search of food. It was bad enough he was bleeding uncontrollably, but on top of it his gut was hurting as if someone had stabbed him in it. Before he today he would get through each day just telling himself it was only how he looked on the out side that there was no way that thing had completely turned him into a woman. He told himself that as many times as it took to make it through each day, but now he could no longer deny truth; that he was indeed completely a woman through and through just as if he were born that way. Edward was going to start crying again when he heard the door open and quickly sucked it in.
"What are you doing back so early?" He asked sounding almost angry. It was only fifteen minutes since Alphonse had left the room and if he had gone to have a meal at local pub or someplace there was no way he would have made it back there so quickly.
"I bought something for us to eat from the deli a few buildings down." Alphonse said opening the large bag of food and pulling out a sandwich. "Brother, please eat something." He said walking over to the bed in which his sibling lay.
Groaning Edward turned over and sat up. "Fine." He said snatching the sandwich from Alphonse's hand and taking a bite. Alphonse sat down next to him smiling. "What?" Edward asked with a mouth full of food when he saw his brother staring at him out the corner of his eye.
"Uh-um, nothing!" Alphonse said opening the bag and sticking whatever he grabbed into his mouth and continued to do so until he was full. Edward had given him quiet a scare and he didn't know what he would do if his 'brother' refused to eat.
"You know," Edward swallowed before continuing. "I'm just going to have to deal with it for now." Edward said as he ate. "My goal was to get you back into your body and you are. I should be happy, but I can't live in this body for the rest of my life. I wasn't born this way and I don't want to stay this way. I'll find a way to go back to my original body as well, but when I do I don't want you anywhere around, because if I fail I don't want you getting caught up in it."
"We were supposed to be restored together. I can't stand to see you in such pain, so even if I have to sacrifice myself I will gladly do so if it meant you would no longer have to live in such pain."
~To Be Continued~
~*~*~*~
Author's Note:
Do you hate Ed?
No, not really, I just like Alphonse more, I think. He's a sweet heart, way more graceful than his brother, plus he's so darn adorable! (Kind of like those stray cats he keeps picking up) I can't help but go "awe" and neither can you, just admit it! So, yeah he is always going to be the star in my stories. LOL, I kind of liked the idea of Arakawasensei renaming her manga "Armor Alchemist"