Feeling better?
fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood
Read on ao3!
Warnings: none!
Summary: After The Promised Day, Al is glad to have his body back. He’s glad to have his brother with him, too
Notes: just sibling fluff!! All platonic obviously.
Alphonse stared at the ceiling, listening to the noises of the nurses and doctors milling around outside his room. It was starting to get late– at least, as well as he could tell, given there wasn’t a single clock in sight.
Which was such an odd choice, really. What if the patients wanted to know how long they’d been wallowing?
In Alphonse’s case, it hadn't been too long. Not that he wasn’t used to sitting around and waiting, given how he was trapped in a suit of armor incapable of sleeping for all those years. Yes, he was very familiar with this sort of thing. The same way someone may be familiar with their nightly routine, since, after all, that was his nightly routine for quite a while. But this time was different. He could feel the sheets on his bed (rough, very thin), his hair, falling over his shoulders (still greasy, much longer than he remembered), and even the tape holding the IV in his arm (sticky, it pulled on his hairs a bit). Finally, he was back in his own body now, made from flesh, and not the cold, unfeeling metal he’d been used to all this time. As used to that as someone could get, at least. Despite the uncomfortable sheets, and the lanterns’ light boring into his skull, Alphonse was still in a very good mood. Those annoyances almost made him giddier– the fact he was bothered by these things was just another reminder that he was back in his body. And he would happily take a mild headache over feeling nothing at all, any day. Alphonse furrowed his eyebrows, distracted from his thoughts by the sound of heavy and fast footfalls from down the hall. Moments after the sound stopped, the door to Al’s room slammed open with excessive force, revealing none other than his favorite (and only) brother. “Yo! Alphonse! Uh, sorry for taking so long, I got a little held up by the lieutenant.” Edward said, grinning and walking up to Alphonse in his bed. “Don’t worry, brother, you weren’t gone for too long. And I don’t mind to wait.” Al replied happily. Edward’s smile softened a bit, and he patted Al on the head. “’S good to have my arm back, cus now I don’t have to worry about bonking ya too hard.” He used his other hand to pat the top on his brother’s head, too, as if demonstrating his point. Alphonse grimaced, holding up an arm and moving away from Ed’s hands. He muttered a soft, “quit that…”, which Ed laughed in response to, crossing his arms. Edward leaned over Al’s legs, crawling across to the other side of the bed, and ignoring Al’s complaining about being squished. Swiveling his legs to the side, he flopped down on his stomach, parallel to Al, and rested his cheek on his folded arms. “That was a little unnecessary, Ed,” Al grumbled, turning his head to look at Edward. “I found it to be very efficient,” the older boy replied smugly.
“Uh-huh,” Alphonse narrowed his eyes. “Well, I found it to be very… vexing.” Ed huffed out a laugh. “vexing?” “Yes, very vexing.” Al nodded. “Do you not know what that means?” he added on, in a mock-innocent tone. Edward scowled. “Sure I do!” “If you say so, brother.” “I do say so!” “Alright.” “Alright!” Al swallowed, trying to hold back a laugh. He glanced to the side, locking eyes with Ed, who was pouting. They stared at each other. Ed’s frown deepened. Alphonse narrowed his eyes in response, ignoring how his shoulders shook with silent laughter. “You’re not winning this staring contest,” Ed muttered, trying (and failing) to keep a smile off his face. “Sure I am,” Al replied, giggling. “Don’t copy me, you bastard,” Edward hissed, laughing under his breath. Al paused, tilting his head. “This sorta reminds me of the sleepovers we had when we were little,” he said softly. “You mean when you’d crawl on top of me while I was sleeping, waking me up in the middle of the night ‘cus you and your stuffed bear got lonely’?” “No, and I didn’t do that,” he ignored Ed’s response, deeming it unworthy of a reply. “I mean when we’d drag all the blankets over to your bed and pile them up, and sleep there for a few nights ‘til I got tired of you kicking me.” “I don’t kick in my sleep,” Ed huffed. “You do.” Edward rolled his eyes. “I don’t kick in my sleep,” he repeated. “I know what you’re talking about, though. The sleepovers, I mean. Not the kicking-“ “-cus you don’t do that. Yeah, sure,” Al interrupted. Ed huffed. “I feel like it’s been so long, though. Even before we lost our bodies, we were just too focused on getting ready for the transmutation.” Edward hummed in response. “Well, it’s getting late now, and the blankets might be a little lack-luster, but I’m perfectly fine staying here tonight.” He stretched out his legs like a cat. “Alright.” Alponse smiled. It took several minutes of Ed squirming around, after he got up and dimmed the lights down, until he finally settled beside his little brother again, under the blanket this time. “g’night, Al,” Ed said softly, reaching for one of the boy’s hands and holding it in front of his chest. “Goodnight, brother.” And Al layed in bed, feeling the rise and fall of Edward’s chest (and of his own), feeling the warmth from Ed’s hands (and from his own). Feeling his hair brushing against his face, and the scratchy sheets on the bed, and the humming from the walls, and Edward’s occasional twitch in his sleep, and- Alphonse could feel again, and it was wonderful. There, lying on a thin hospital bed, next to his brother, he felt closer to home than he had in a long time. There, under the blankets he felt like he was a kid again, back in their childhood room. There, with Ed, he truly felt like a human again. There, holding his brother’s hands, he felt a tear roll down his cheek, and smiled. Because he finally felt again, and he wouldn’t give it up for anything.
