FMA FIC: Down The Back

[sonjajade]

Title: Down the Back
Word Count: 1,392
Author: Sonja Jade
Summary: Ed and Al ‘s first night together at the hospital following the Promised Day.
Warnings: none, brotherly teasing, Ed’s mouth (nothing new lol)

***I don't own the series Fullmetal Alchemist or the characters within***

 

 

Everything was so stark and white, and the scent of rubbing alcohol and clean linen permeated the air.  There were tests: Al had forgotten how scary needles were when they were being pointed in your direction and filled with who knew what, as well as the stick and sting they left behind.  There were objectives: turn your head, raise your arms, wiggle your toes, follow my finger with your eyes.  There were questions: how do you feel physically?  How do you feel mentally?  Does it hurt if I touch you here?  How about here?  Are you tired, hungry, nauseous, dizzy, warm, cold or itchy?  Is there anything you want?

“Food,” he croaked with a smile.

“What kind of food, we’ll get you anything, Mr. Elric!” the little blonde nurse beamed.  “Sweet, salty, fried, baked, seared, grilled, boiled, mashed, tossed or steamed!  How about a steak?  Or maybe just a really big sandwich?  Or maybe something bland to start out with, like some grits or oatmeal?”

“I think I’d like some scrambled eggs.”  His doctor didn’t waste any time in barking out to the nurses to bring him three scrambled eggs and a piece of dry toast and some water, something simple and easy on the stomach. 

“Now listen, son,” the doctor advised, “you probably won’t be able to clean your plate.  Don’t let that bother you.  Eat slowly and stop as soon as you are satiated.  It’s been a long time since that belly’s had food in it, and I don’t want you bursting your guts your first day back with us.”  Al nodded, and then the doctor told him to get some rest when he was finished eating, and that he would check on him again in the morning.

It was quiet for a little while.  Ed let his brother have some time to simply feel and hear and see again, to get used to wearing his right body again.  Then out of nowhere, Alphonse sneezed.

“Are you alright?” Ed asked, scrambling from his bed to the other side of the room, checking on his little brother.

Al started laughing, a sound kinda like a rusted, squeaky hinge, and then it began to become richer and louder and bolder… and deeper than Ed ever remembered hearing it before.  Ed wore a look of complete confusion until Al spoke.  “It’s only a sneeze, brother!”  Once Ed realized the absurdity of the situation, he began to laugh too, and he gently patted Al on his shoulder as their guffaws settled down.

“I’m so glad you’re back, Al,” Ed murmured.  “I missed your face.”

They embraced each other like they were little boys again, both of them crying in relief.  Al reached up and fingered the smooth braid of Ed’s hair, never having felt it before.  Ed’s hair was shaggy when their bodies had been lost, not yet the long gold that it was now.  “Ed…  Do you think you pull my hair back like this?”

Ed nodded against his brother’s shoulder and pulled back.  “I’ll have to brush it out first.  And I’ll need something to tie it with.”  He got up and walked into the bathroom, hunting around and finally finding a hospital issue comb in a sealed plastic package like they have at hotels.  He grabbed that, and then reached up and yanked the elastic out of his own hair, held the end and tossed it to Al, asking him to transmute it into two smaller ones.  After refastening his own braid, he got to fixing Al’s mussed up coif. 

He sat behind Al, combing out the snarls starting at the bottom and working his way up.  It was a time consuming job, and it took over an hour, not counting the time he paused to allow him to eat in peace.  It was dark outside when the task of combing it was finished, and then Ed decided to simply run his fingers through it for a moment.  “No offense, but it needs to be washed.  It stinks.”

“I know.  I imagine they won’t let me do that though until I’m a little stronger.”  He closed his eyes as he felt his brother working the hunks into a braid down his back.  It was relaxing, having someone play with his hair like that.  But he also thought it was a ton of work with all the combing and all.  He briefly thought of what it would feel like if Mei’s tiny fingers braided it for him, then shoved the thought away before he could blush.

“Sometimes they give you a sponge bath if you really need one.”  Ed leaned forward, hair in hand and waggling his eyebrows.  “Bet if that blonde nurse gives it to ya, you’d really enjoy that!”

Poor Al turned as red as the jello sitting on Ed’s tray.  “Uh… can we talk about something else?”

“Awww, did I embarrass you widdle brudder??” Ed teased.  “Or did you just feel the life coming back to other places you forgot you had?”

“Ed!!”  He covered his face with his hands, wishing he could crawl under a rock.

“I know, you’re thinking about that bean sprout girl giving you a sponge bath, aren’t ya?”

“Stop it!!” Al cried, seeming to fold in on himself.

Ed tied the braid off and backed away.  “C’mon, Al.  You know I’m just teasing,” he said gently. 

“Hey, I heard about how you started reciting the periodic table when Winry got too close to you at Briggs and I didn’t say anything!!”  Suddenly Ed turned the same color Al had been.

“How’d you hear about that?  You weren’t even there!”

“Winry told me,” Al said, crossing his arms and jutting his chin defiantly in the air.  “Said she thought it was pretty lame how you couldn’t just admit how you felt about her, you had to go off on an alchemy rant to cover up your true feelings!”

“Oh right, like you’re gonna go run up to Bean Sprout and-”

“Her name is Mei!!”

“- tell her how you wanna make kissy faces with her and touch her all over and hold her close and smell her hair and see if that machine oil smell is just on her clothes or if it goes down to her skin-”  Ed stopped.  For a minute, the only sound was his breathing and Al chuckling quietly.  “Holy shit, I said it out loud, didn’t I.”

“It’s not like we all didn’t know it all along, brother.”  The bed dipped down as Ed climbed up on it.  The older Elric had the most serious look on his face as he loosely grabbed Al’s thin wrist.

“Please…  Please don’t ever tell her I said that.”
“But why?  Don’t you think she-”

“I don’t want her to find out through you.  I’ll do it.  Eventually…”  Al sighed, nodded and agreed to hold his brother’s deepest secret, so long as he also held his own.

“You ever tell Mei that I want to see what she looks like with her hair down or find out what Xingese panties look like and I’m spilling everything.”

“Deal,” Ed smiled as he touched his brother’s dirty braid.  “Y’know, your hair looks good like this.”

Al wrinkled his face into a grimace.  “Trust me, my first stop is a barber when we get released.”

“Why?” Edward whined.  “We could look like twins!”

“Exactly!  Who wants to look like you!?” Al asked with a grin.

Ed growled and then got up from his brother’s bed.  “And I was gonna share my jello with you, too!  Well you can just forget it, now!”  He took about three stomps to his own bed, then paused.  A few seconds later he stomped back, jello in hand.  “I can’t eat this red shit anyways.  Happy first dessert, Al.”

“Thanks, brother,” Al said as he watched Ed climb under the covers.  “Thanks for everything today.  Sleep well.”

“You too, Al,” Ed yawned.  “I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Me too,” Al said around a mouth full of wiggling cherry goodness.  A few minutes later and Ed was softly snoring.  Once Al finished the gelatin, he pressed the lower button on the bed and snuggled under the clean linens, yawning for the first time in years and eventually succumbed to sleep.  It was the best night’s rest they either one had had in years.

 

Comments

[sonjajade.livejournal.com]

haha thank you so much!