Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Future Memories ❯ Questions ( Chapter 7 )

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Future Memories

 

Chapter Seven

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Questions

 

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Alphonse opened his eyes, sat up, and looked around. He had been lying curled up to that man who told really funny stories. He looked over and saw that his older brother was snuggled close to the man on the other side.

 

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, the sandy haired boy thought briefly about waking his brother up. After all, he didn't want to be awake by himself, but decided against it because his brother got kind of grouchy in the mornings and then they'd probably wake the dark haired man up.

 

When Alphonse slid out of bed, the man in the blue uniform shifted slightly and Edward unconsciously snuggled more fully into the older man's arms.

 

Slipping out of the room him and his brother shared, Alphonse padded down the hall and peaked into his mother's room. She was still asleep. The six year old crept softly across the floor until he reached the bed. He really wanted to hug her because she had been so sad last night. After a few minutes of internal debate, he finally decided against it. He would let her sleep for now. Quietly exiting the room, Alphonse padded softly downstairs.

 

When he walked past the study, the sandy haired boy stopped and looked into the room. The other man and the boy who looked like his brother were lying on the floor asleep.

 

He thought they must be really cold since they were huddled up so closely together. After a moment of thought, the small boy retrieved a blanket from a closet and crept silently into the room.

 

The child looked at the two sleeping people for a moment, then carefully laid the blanket over them as best as he could. He stepped back and looked skeptically at his work. They weren't covered very well, but he didn't want to wake them up so he left it how it was.

 

Alphonse padded out of the study and looked into the kitchen. He was hungry, but he supposed he'd have to wait until his mother got up to make breakfast.

 

Sighing heavily, the boy let himself outside.

 

Everyone was still asleep…

 

How boring…

 

But then, it was early.

 

After shutting the door, Alphonse turned around and stepped out onto the step, but only got a few small paces before he tripped over something. He cried out in pain as his knees and hands hit the cement hard.

 

He turned over onto his rear and whimpered softly at his scraped hands and knees. Alphonse tried hard not to cry, his brother was always telling him what a crybaby he was, but he couldn't help it.

 

Alphonse sniffled loudly as big tears formed in his eyes, then he pulled his knees close to his chest and began sobbing quietly.

 

He wanted his mom.

 

He wanted someone to hug him, and kiss his hands and knees, and make it all better.

 

A moment later the little boy heard the door open and close softly. He hugged his knees harder and tried to be even quieter, but it only made him cry more.

 

“Hey… What's all this about?” A voice that sounded like his brother's, only deeper, asked.

 

Alphonse looked up to see two golden eyes staring down at him in concern. The child's voice hitched as he said, “I tripped over that book…”

 

The teenager frowned, then scooped the crying boy into his arms before sitting down on the cement.

 

“I'm sorry Al…” The blond teen said softly. “I forgot and left it there last night. Forgive me?” Alphonse nodded and let himself be hugged tightly by the older boy.

 

When Alphonse was finally able to stop crying, he looked up at the teenager and said, “Did I wake you up?” After he asked the question, Alphonse was sure he'd start crying again. He'd tried really hard to not wake them.

 

“No. I was already awake.”

 

“Really?” He asked, glad that he hadn't been the one to disturb them.

 

“Really. It was really nice of you to get us a blanket… You're always just too nice…” The older boy got a faraway look in his eyes for a moment, then glanced back down at Alphonse with a sad expression. The teenager ran a finger along the boy's cheeks and said softly, “It's been too long. You know that? I'd forgotten… I didn't realize it, but I'd forgotten… This is how you're supposed to be Al, this is how you're supposed to look…”

 

The sandy haired boy felt a bit confused at the other boy's ramblings. He reached up his own hand and touched the blond teen's chin. “You really do look like brother, even though he says you don't…”

 

The teenager smiled and said, “Why do you think that is?”

 

The small boy dropped his hand back down and thought hard. “The two soldiers look the same too.”

 

The older boy nodded again, but said nothing.

 

Sighing, the child thought about all he knew. He knew that the man who told him and his brother stories, the Major, came to the house before the older man and the blond teenager. That's what his mom had said. He also knew that his brother had been messing around with some array that he wasn't supposed to, like always… Then something went wrong and the Major had gone to where Ed was and then… and then the two new people came…

 

There was a lot here that Alphonse wasn't understanding, and when a conclusion came to his mind he tried to dismiss it because it didn't make any sense, but when it wouldn't go away he said, “You look the same because… because you are the same… right?”

 

The blond teenager nodded with a grin. “You really are smart, aren't you?”

 

Alphonse flushed with pride, then said, “But I don't understand… are you the same as brother, or are you brother…only older…?”

 

“I am him. Just older. I… the Colonel and I are from the future. Eight years into the future.”

 

Alphonse thought about this for a moment before reaching back up and touching the older boy's face. “You're my brother… You're Edward?”

 

His brother's double nodded and said, “Remember I said my name is Ed, right?”

 

The sandy haired boy nodded with a grin, all thoughts of his scrapes gone. “Should I call you `brother' then?”

 

The older version of his brother smiled and said, “If you want, but it might be easier if you just call me `Ed'. That way no one gets confused.”

 

Alphonse considered this for a moment, then nodded.

 

It was then that the smile slipped from Ed's face and he said, “Al… I'm sorry.”

 

The boy's forehead crinkled in confusion. “For what?”

 

The teenager sighed deeply. “I just am. For… well… for everything. If I… well, the younger me ever tries to get you to do something really stupid… just… just don't. Okay?”

 

“But bro… Ed, you… brother always tries to get me to do stupid things.”

 

The blond shook his head. “I mean something really stupid. Something with alchemy. Something…forbidden.”

 

Alphonse looked at his older brother and nodded, even though he wasn't sure what the teenager was talking about.

 

At that moment, the little boy's stomach growled loudly. Ed grinned and asked, “Hungry?”

 

Alphonse nodded enthusiastically, but stopped when he remembered… “Mom is still sleeping.” He said with a remorseful frown.

 

“Oh… right…” The blond teenager mumbled, then smiled at the child. “Well, why don't I make breakfast? Mom deserves a break don't you think?”

 

Alphonse nodded hesitantly. “Yeah… but…”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Well… I don't know… can you really cook?” The sandy haired boy asked doubtfully.

 

Ed grinned, “Of course I can. I mean, it's not nearly as good as mom's cooking, but it's not bad.” Alphonse looked at his older brother dubiously. He just couldn't believe it. “Oh come on Al. Cooking isn't really that hard. It's like doing alchemy, only with food. Besides, with all the trav…”

 

Alphonse's eyebrows knitted together in confusion when the teenager stopped talking, and his face went serious. Ed looked away for a moment, then looked back down at Alphonse with a small smile and said softly, “Yeah… I can cook. Let's go inside and you can help me, okay?”

 

Ed took Alphonse's hand when they stood up and as they walked to the door the teen snatched up the book before leading the boy into the house.

 

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

 

The sound of shrieking and laughter came from downstairs pulling Trisha away from the world of dreams and into the one of reality.

 

Reality?

 

She wasn't so sure.

 

After all, how real was it that her oldest son, who just happened to be seven years old, was also fifteen and in her house?

 

How real was it that some random military man shows up at her house just when her son plays around with the wrong array and brings the future version of this military man, who just happens to be the man who brings her son into the military… who just happens to be…

 

To be having…

 

…with her son…

 

Tears formed in her eyes and she hugged her pillow tightly.

 

Her little boy… a dog.

 

…a dog of the military…

 

And in love with the man that brought him to that.

 

In love.

 

“I love him mom!” The teenager's words echoed in her mind.

 

Him.

 

He loved him.

 

She'd always thought her boys would grow up and fight over the Rockbell girl…

 

`Him' had never even entered her mind.

 

Especially not a `him' who was… what? How many years older? Ten? Fifteen? She didn't even know.

 

In her mind she pictured the younger of the two men beside her seven year old boy. The anger from the night before bubbled warmly beneath the surface of her pain, and she had to push that image away, and replace it with the one of the older man and the teenager who her little boy would become.

 

Fifteen.

 

He was fifteen.

 

Of course it wasn't uncommon in Rizembool for people his age to get married, but they usually got married to people close to their own age, and of the opposite sex…

 

How long had this been going on?

 

Love just doesn't happen overnight.

 

When did he become a State Alchemist?

 

How did it happen?

 

Why had she let it happen?

 

“Oh well… He's doing okay… I mean, I just saw him right before I was brought here…” Ed's words from the night before suddenly slammed into her brain.

 

If he'd just saw Alphonse… and Ed was in the military… did that mean…

 

Fear flashed through her and she put a hand over her mouth.

 

Ed had seemed rather reluctant to talk about his younger brother…

 

“No…” She breathed. No, not him too, not my sweet Alphonse...

 

Trisha couldn't bear the thought of both of her little boys at the state's mercy. It was bad enough that her little Edward was… but… Alphonse was so gentle, and so…

 

The smell of bacon frying met her nose and she suddenly realized how long she had spent in bed. Her boys were probably starving right about now, but then someone was cooking something, so the children would be fed…

 

Sighing, Trisha forced herself out of bed. She couldn't stay there all day, no matter how much she wanted to. No matter how much she didn't want to face them. There were just too many things that needed to be done.

 

Wiping the tears away from her eyes, Trisha changed out of her slept in clothes from yesterday and tried to think of what she was going to do next.

 

She had so many questions…

 

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Okay, well, not as exciting as the last chapter, but I hope it was still enjoyable.

 

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