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Descent	By : ZaKai Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 14665 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Descent

Chapter Four

The Storm

Al shifted the paper wrapped box he held as he caught sight
of Ed waiting for him, just outside the market.�
They had come into the main part of Rizembool together earlier that day,
but had split up as they went off on different errands.��

�Brother!� Al shouted as he got closer to the small grocery
store.�

Ed, who had been staring blankly ahead, looked in Al�s
direction and flashed him a large, winning smile.� Al looked at the two large, brown paper sacks
and grinned back.�

�You didn�t forget the milk did you?��

Ed looked at him in mock seriousness and said in imitation
of Warrant Officer Falman,� �I�m very
sorry Alphonse, but a world wide plague has contaminated the species of bos taurus making them unable to excrete
the pale, white liquid rich in calcium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, copper,
molybdenum, manganese, cobalt��

Al laughed and shook his head.

�� thus making it impossible to acquire the item you have so
diligently made an inquiry about.�� Ed
finished with a grin and winked at his younger brother before tipping one of
the bags, showing Al that he had indeed remembered to buy the milk along with
the rest of the groceries.

A peel of thunder sounded and the two brothers looked up at
the sky.� The thick, dark clouds that had
only been a tiny speck in the distance that morning, were now gaining on them
with an almost unnatural speed.

Looks like Winry is
going to get her wish, Al thought, thinking of the conversation from almost
a week ago.

�We should return before it starts raining.� You ready to go?� Al asked.

Ed, still grinning, nodded and they turned toward the road
that would take them back to the Rockbell house.�

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

Pinako Rockbell walked across the stone front porch, an
unlit pipe jutting from her mouth, and looked north, toward town, at the
rapidly approaching rain clouds.� She
thought briefly about lighting the pipe, but almost immediately decided against
it; the wind blowing in her face making the decision for her.

There hadn�t been a large storm in Rizembool for� well not
since the one that had brought with it the Alchemist that would take the Elric
brothers as apprentices; teaching them what they needed to know to figure out
how to do the transmutation that would change their lives forever.

Pinako was sure that if Izumi had any indication that the
boys had wanted to learn more alchemy to try human transmutation, the woman
would have beat them so badly that they wouldn�t have been able to move for a
month.

But the past was the past.�
Now is what matters, and right now they were in for a lot of rain.� She frowned and again looked toward
town.�

They were in for a lot of rain alright, and most likely, two
very wet alchemists.�

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

Al smiled as he listened to Ed talk.� It was great to hear his brother laugh and
joke; something that happened far too little now.�

What am I going to do?
Al thought.� He really wanted to stay in
Rizembool.� It was peaceful and quiet,
something he hadn�t had since they had tried to transmute their mother.� He had seen the world plenty enough over the
last six years and felt perfectly happy settling down to a less eventful life.

Then there was Winry�

He wanted to be where she was, live where she lived, and
find out all the little things there were to learn about her.� When he was younger he�d had a huge crush on
her and had fought with Ed about who was going to be her boyfriend.� He sighed at the memory.�

The childish things we
do as kids... he thought to himself.

He wished he could tell her how he felt, but he always
seemed to be at a loss for what to say, and most likely she�d just laugh at him
anyway.� Winry was like that; so
outgoing, so lively, so�so�well�so not like him.

Al�s lips turned down into a frown.� He wished he was more like Winry, more like
Ed too, sometimes� Neither of them seemed to have a problem speaking their
mind, but Al often did.� He preferred to
listen rather than talk.� He�d rather
take time and think things through before making a decision.� And even though tall teen had always enjoyed competing
with Ed as a child, he preferred not to be in the spotlight.� Winry and Ed thrived in that light, but Al
felt he would wither away in it.� �

Suddenly, Al realized Ed had stopped talking and was looking
up at him with a slightly disapproving look.�

�What?� Al asked.

�You aren�t listening to me at all, are you?��

Blood rushed to Al�s cheeks.�
Making an exasperated sound, Ed looked away and shook his head.

�I�m sorry brother, I�I just had something on my mind��

Ed shrugged his shoulders and the two of them walked in
silence for a time before Ed asked, �So, what�s in the box?��

Al looked at the box he was carrying.� �Oh, um�nothing really�� It wasn�t that Al didn�t want to tell Ed what
was in the box�not�precisely�it was just that he couldn�t see this conversation
ending well.

�What do you mean, �nothing really�?��

He cringed slightly at Ed�s tone of voice, a tone that
bordered on anger.� Al might be taller
than his older brother by quite a bit, but he was also much more passive than
him.� Ed had an aggressiveness that Al
could never match. �Even when he fought,
Al didn�t have the same fire that Ed did.��
�

�It�s just something for Winry�� he said, letting his voice
trail off.

To that, Ed said nothing.�
Al looked at him and frowned.�
There was an obvious look of displeasure on his brother�s face now.�

�It�s just that ratchet set she kept saying she wanted,� he
explained quickly, wanting desperately not to get into another argument with
Ed.� �It�s really not anything, but I
just thought I�d get it for her since she�s done so much for us and all��

Since I want to make
her smile... I want her to smile because of me...

Al searched his brother�s face for any change, but there was
none.� At least he isn�t yelling or arguing with me... Al thought, although
whether that was good or bad he couldn�t be sure.

A drop of rain hit the back of his neck, then another on his
forehead.� Quickly, Al tucked the box
under his shirt to provide it some protection.�
He quickened his step, but slowed when he realized he was leaving Ed
behind.� His brother hadn�t even changed
his pace.

�Maybe we should hurry�?� Al suggested, a bit timidly.�

�Hurry if you want,� Ed said calmly enough, but Al could
hear the anger under the calm.

Al had no idea exactly why
Ed was mad.� Was it such a bad thing that
he bought something for Winry?� He sighed
as the rain became a slow drizzle, and slowed his pace to match Ed�s, hoping he
could salvage what was left of the day� even if it meant getting soaked in the
process.

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

In one of the rooms on the second story of the Rockbell home,
Ed stood looking glumly out the window at the premature darkness beyond.� Normally there would still be a little light
left in the sky this time of day, but the sinister storm clouds hid the
remaining light behind their black exterior.�
A strong wind blasted the pouring rain against the window, making the
glass shake slightly.� Behind him a candle
flickered dimly in the otherwise dark room; the power having gone out hours
before.

He pulled his long red coat tightly around himself.� The room had a slight chill to it.� He supposed he could go downstairs to warm
himself at the large fireplace that dominated the living area, but�

He rested his forehead on the cool glass of the window and
closed his eyes.� From where he was
standing, he could hear Al and Winry�s voices as they argued about some game
they were playing.� He could almost see
it happening in his mind.� Pinako might
be down there too, smoking her pipe and sitting in that rocking chair she
favored��

Part of him wanted to join them; part of him wanted to stay
in the chilly room, stay there and not come out.� He felt so useless right now,
so�well�un-needed.� Not only that,
but�sad�depressed�angry�hurt�lonely�

Ed forced his eyes open and pushed angrily away from the
window.� It was stupid, all of it.� He didn�t know why he was feeling the way he
was; he certainly didn�t seem to have any reason to feel the way he was��

Ed balled his right hand, his automail one, into a fist and stared
at it with a doleful look.� When he had
woken in the hospital, he had been dismayed to see the automail, but had tried
to cover it by focusing on the fact that Al was so much taller than him in the
flesh, even so, he couldn�t fool himself�and he didn�t fool Al.

�Al...�

He looked away from the automail and made his decision.� He was going to go down there. �Al would want him to; he wouldn�t want him to
stay cooped up in this room�� Ed sighed
and made his way toward the door.� He
still hadn�t made things right with Al from earlier and he felt guilty.� Al was his brother, his only family� Al had
suffered so much because of him.� He
needed to make things right with Al.� Nodding
to himself, he opened the door.� Yes,
that�s what he was going to do� He was going to make things right with Al�

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

�Wha�?� Hey, wait a
minute!��

�Nope, nope, nope,� Winry said in a musical way as she began
turning the black pieces over to white.(1)�
�You should be more observant.�

Al frowned at how many of his pieces she had just won.� He had
been paying attention!� Really�� Okay, well�maybe not.� What was really on his mind was his older
brother.� Ed had this way about him.� When he was mad he stayed away from you until
he cooled down, then he just acted like things never happened�well�that wasn�t
exactly it, but it was close.�

It wasn�t that Ed never
apologized, because he did.� It just had
to be very major for him to do so.�
Something major like�oh�doing something that caused you to lose your body
then attaching your soul to a piece of armor.�
Ed had apologized then, and
many times after that, but over regular things, regular arguments�well, that
just wasn�t Ed�s style.

Al leaned on the small, wooden table with one elbow, cradled
his head in one hand, placed one of his pieces on the board and idly thought of
checking to see if Ed was alright.� He�d
been upstairs for quite a while now�

He scowled at the board when Winry took yet more of his
pieces and was about to add something more to their friendly bantering over the
game when footsteps from the hall met his ears.�
Al looked up in time to see Ed walk into the room and lean against the
door frame.

Al stared at his older brother, but Ed didn�t meet his
gaze.� Instead, he looked at the game
board with a small smirk and shook his head.�
The scowl Al had previously directed at the game was now directed at Ed
as he waited for some quip about Al�s lack of gaming skills.

�You should play me next, Winry.� Your win won�t come so easy,� Ed said in a
cheerful voice, although Al thought it sounded forced.�

�Who says this win is coming easy, huh Ed?� Winry said, and Al
cast a grateful smile in her direction.�
She was lying and they all knew it, but it was the thought that
counted.� �Anyway, I�m just getting
warmed up.� I�m saving my real wrath for
you.�� Had his blonde friend been a few
years younger, the last part would have been accompanied by a stuck out tongue.

�Yeah, whatever,� Ed grumbled with an exaggerated roll of
the eyes and a grin.� �Come on Al, you
aren�t going to let this girl beat
you, are you?��

Al watched Winry glare at his brother before saying with a
shrug, �Well, you know, I�m just trying to be a gentleman.�� At that remark, Winry�s head snapped around
and she scowled at him in mock anger� At least, Al hoped it was mock anger�

He glanced at Ed and saw a smug look of approval, but his
attention was drawn back to the board as Winry slammed down another game piece
and he involuntarily cringed.� She really
was angry.� Al was happy that Ed seemed to be in a better
mood, but he felt guilty that it seemed to be coming at Winry�s expense.�

Al sighed and glumly placed a piece on the board.� The game was almost over and it was obvious
he was going to lose.� Winry put her last
piece on the board and flipped over the pieces she had won then said, �Ha!� How about that?�� She looked at Ed.� �This girl
can beat you too!��

�Sure.� You keep
telling that to yourself long after we�re gone.�
Maybe if you�re lucky we�ll bring you back a souvenir; perhaps a book
titled �How to Lose With Grace� would be good.�
What do you think Al?�

Al looked away from Ed�s eyes and down at the board.� He really did want to stay in Rizembool, but
how could he make his brother understand?�
He could feel their eyes on him and he wished that he could just
disappear.�

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

Ed felt a pain in his chest when he saw his brother�s
reaction.�

Al didn�t want to leave�

Sadness and disappointment threatened to overwhelm him and
he thought he would cry.� Didn�t his
brother know how he felt?� Didn�t he
care?� He pushed the painful feelings
aside and let anger take their place.

It was easier to be mad because it didn�t hurt as much.�

He felt the urge to lash out as the anger turned to white
hot fury waiting for Al to respond.

Why doesn�t he say
SOMETHING?� He thought angrily.� Why
does he always have to act this way?� Why
doesn�t he just say what�s on his mind?�

Ed felt like he was going to explode any minute�

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

The sandy haired alchemist fought the urge to look up, but
failed miserably.� He slowly brought his
head up and glanced briefly at Winry before turning to look at his
brother.� Ed had a dark look on his face,
and Al thought that perhaps Ed knew exactly what was going on in his mind.

The tall teen looked down again and said, �Brother� I�.� but
never got a chance to finish before Ed walked up to the table and turned it
over, sending the game pieces flying.� He
sat, too stunned to say anything.�

Winry, however, stood up and yelled, �What do you think
you�re doing Ed?�

�Shut up,� Ed said in a low tone.

�No!� I won�t!� I want to know� Winry began, but stopped when
Ed whirled around and pushed her hard against the wall near the fireplace.�

�I said, shut the fuck up you skanky whore!�

That broke Al�s momentary paralysis, and anger filled
him.� �Ed!(2)� Stop it!��
He made to get out of his chair but Ed turned back and pushed Al back
with such force that the chair beneath him broke.� Before he could register the broken wood
under him, Ed was on him, grabbing his shirt.�
Al pushed the small, but heavy alchemist with his own body weight and
they rolled on the floor, first Al on top then Ed again��

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

Winry stared in shock and disbelief at what was
happening.� Her back ached from where she
had connected with the wall, but that seemed hazy in the fog of what Ed had
said and the fact that he had actually acted out so violently against her.�

�I said, shut the fuck
up you skanky whore.��

The words seemed to tumble over and over in her mind.� How could he say something like that?� They were friends, had been friends their
whole life�

But Al had stood in her defense, in defense of her honor,
and had once again become the target of Ed�s fury.�

Tears began to flow freely down her cheeks as she watched
the two brothers who had always been so close, now fighting with a wild
ferocity that made her feel sick.� She
watched helplessly as they rolled across the floor, each trying to gain the
advantage of being on the top.� When Al
had a momentary advantage, he punched Ed hard in the face, once, then
again.�

�Stop it you guys!� she screamed through her tears.

This caused Al to hesitate, and that was all Ed needed.� He slipped his legs out from under his
brother and kicked Al hard with them, sending the taller teen tumbling
backward.� Ed was instantly on his feet
and Winry shrieked when the short state alchemist savagely kicked Al in the
side with his boot covered automail foot.�
A loud crack sounded and Al let out a scream of pain.��

Suddenly a short figure appeared near her side, panting
heavily.� Pinako looked shocked at what
has happening. �Edward!� Stop that this
instant!� she yelled, but it had no more effect than Winry�s plea.

Ed stood over his brother, a look of crazed hysteria in his
eyes.� When Al forced himself on his
hands and knees, another brutal kicked, aimed at his stomach, knocked him back
down again.� Ed fell to his knees and
rolled his brother over, automail arm raised and ready to punch, then stopped.

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

Al watched the world spin through a haze of pain as Ed
turned him over onto his back.� His
breath came in ragged, agonized gasps.�
He watched in a daze as Ed raised his fist, ready to strike.� Al moved his gaze to his brother�s face, and
when his eyes connected with the gold ones he had known since childhood,
something happened.

Ed stopped.

In the silence, blood dripped from Ed�s nose onto Al�s face
and the wet splattering sounds of the red liquid were loud in his ears.� Sanity slowly returned to his older brother
and tears began filling his eyes, making the gold orbs shimmer like a mirage.

�Brother�� Al said painfully; it sounded almost like a plea
in his ears.

Ed�s breathing became erratic.� He gritted his teeth together and squeezed
his eyes shut, one of them already starting to bruise and swell from where Al
had hit him.� Two fat tears dropped onto
Al�s face.� His hand dropped and for a
moment nothing happened, then Ed drew in a sharp breath and screamed.� And suddenly he was on his feet, running
toward the door.� When he got there, Ed
yanked it open, and fled into the storm.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1- Al and Winry are playing Reversi (I actually had this
game growing up and it was called Othello, but it seems that Reversi is a more
common name for it)

2 � I�ve noticed in the English Version, Al tends to call Ed
by his name when he�s mad at, irritated with, or scolding Ed.� I like it, so I�m going to use it in this
story.

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Descent