Home A Full Metal Alchemist Fanfiction by Kittyling The third of October, year eleven. Don't forget. He could still feel the flames, sometimes, surfacing in dreams more often than not of late. It seemed strange to him that his memories of that day were perhaps more vivid than those of any other; his mother's death, the attempted resurrection--they were all clear in his mind, but none so much as that burning, burning away the past and the present and leaving only the future, their house nothing but a spot of land and a place to start anew. The words etched in his pocketwatch were a silent reminder of that day, of their mission--of his mission. He remembered the night of their mother's death, Alphonse trembling alone in his bed, unable to sleep. The warmth of his brother as he'd crawled underneath the covers with him, clinging to each other for comfort, was the only tangible thing he could find at a time when the world suddenly seemed far larger and more threatening than before. They were orphans, and while the Rockbells were more than willing to support them, Edward and Alphonse were the only two members of their family left alive. Edward had sworn to get his brother's body back, to feel that warmth again; and he would reach that goal, even if it cost him his life. "Brother?" The sound of that voice startled him out of his reverie, and Edward snapped the silver pocketwatch shut, replacing it on the nightstand next to his bed as he turned over to look at his brother. Alphonse was regarding him intently--or at least as intently as a suit of armor could manage--from the other twin bed across the room, tugging the goose down comforter up so that his feet could be seen, nearly sticking out over the edge of the bed. Edward blinked a little, brushing unruly strands of blond hair out of his eyes. Alphonse was obviously waiting for a response. "Yeah?" Alphonse turned his gaze towards the ceiling, making a small noise as if in thought before he spoke. "What do you think 'home' is, brother?" A pale eyebrow quirked at that, Edward's mouth twitching as he tucked one arm under his pillow, the automail hand fiddling with a loose strand in one of the blankets on the bed. "Al. Do you really always have to think of these things in the middle of the night?" Alphonse recoiled just slightly at that, turning to look at Edward again. "Please?" Edward rolled back over onto his back, pursing his lips and staring up at the ceiling, silent in thought. The trees swaying outside the window cast pale shadows on the wall where the moonlight hit it, and his gaze lingered on that for a moment. After everything that had happened, all of the things they'd been through and those yet to come... "I think...it's wherever you are." He could practically feel Alphonse's smile though he couldn't see it, and a small noise of contentment came from the other boy; and that's what he was, not a soul trapped in armor, but a boy. Alphonse's voice was quieter, a soft hesitation to it. "I love you, brother." Edward smiled, turning to look at Alphonse as he murmured. "I love you, too." return to splash page