[[ Do I dare ramp up the angst? :O ]] "Kill me."
It's been cloudy all day, so the rain wasn't so unexpected in a way. The first drop of the condensed moisture fell to his forehead, traveling down his brows and hung precariously over his golden lashes. Slowly, he rolled his eyes towards the rain drop, careful to not blink so it wouldn't have to like the tear he was determined to not shed tonight.
You are being a child, he told himself, reaching up to wipe the moisture away with a sigh. There was just too much on his mind.
When he arrived at the door steps of the place he called home for the last two months, the rain had turned from a little drizzle to a full blown storm. He must admit to be somewhat anxious. A part of him was happy that his suffering would finally end, that he can give back this name that doesn't belong to him and start anew. The other part of him was terrified to be once again, nameless. But this had to be done. "Al...?" He called out, his wet hand slippery against the door knob. The blonde who claimed to be his brother rushed out to greet him, gasping at his wretched state.
"Didn't you have an umbrella, brother?" Alphonse's brows furrowed slightly as he rooted in the closets for a towel. "You should have waited the rain out somewhere." He chided, ever brotherly.
"I am sorry..." He apologized, but not for the fact he was splattering water all over the floor.
Alphonse came towards him with a towel and tossed it over his head. He closed his eyes as the other boy dried his hair quickly, murmuring something about getting a cold. Despite of himself, he felt warmth in his heart. It started from the center and spread, making the cold so much less unbearable. That's when his eyes snapped open again in alarm. That was close, he nearly got pulled under again. "I can't get attached," he whispered to himself over and over again.
"Hm?" Alphonse lifted the towel. "Did you say something, big brother?"
He smiled weakly and shook his head. This boy's love didn't belong to him because, he wasn't really his brother Edward Elric. "Here, a present." He pulled a somewhat soggy brown paper bag from where it was kept under his red cloak. Inside of it was a miniature apple pie, a little deformed. "It's a little squished- Don't eat it if you don't want to!" The words came out of his mouth though he didn't intend for them to. Why did he say that? Of course he needed Alphonse to eat the poison filled dessert. Otherwise, how would he kill him and prove once and for all he wasn't who everyone thought he was?
"It looks fine to me!" Alphonse was smiling, blissfully ignorant as always. "Dinner's ready, go change."
He nodded as he went upstairs to the room he called his for longer than necessary. He imagined Alphonse's face seconds before his death. Would the boy's eyes be filled with shock? Yes, perhaps even anger. Please let there be a lot of anger and none of the sadness he couldn't stand seeing. Not Edward sat on his bed, gathering his courage as he buttoned his shirt up. His hands were shaking, he noticed, though he was no longer cold. "I have to do it," he told himself in an attempt to stop his hands from quivering so.
The voice startled him. He looked around, looking for its source.
Don't take my little brother
He cringed. Where was that voice coming from? Where was it coming from? It took him a few more seconds of frantic searching before he realized it was from his own brain. The words echoed through his skull with a persistence that frightened him. What startled him more was how right it felt. These words...Felt like something he would say. Would have said.
"AL!" He sprint down the stairs. "AL, DON'T EAT IT. IT WILL KILL YOU. IT WILL POISON YOU!" He was in the kitchen in less than a minute and panting to catch his breath. Alphonse turned around with confusion on his face.
"What are you talking about, brother?" The other boy asked, putting a hand to his forehead. "Are you alright? You seem a little...Strange today."
He started breathing again. It was all fine. Alphonse didn't eat any of that, he'll be okay. "I was wrong, Alphonse. I did terrible things. I can't take it back and I don't know what to do." Edward breathed, latching on to his brother's arm, glad that at least he was spared from his madness. He will go to the military tomorrow and confess to everything. He will put himself somewhere so he could have time to think and everyone around him would be safe. Yes, that's what he'll do. Edward gave Alphonse a tight hug, his eyes casually scanning the dinner Alphonse was going to bring out.
The miniature pie sat on a square dish, one of its slices missing.
