Revelations [PRP: ED]

[Alphonse Elric]

((I actually wanted Al to stay in bed for the first post at least XD so yeah))

Dim sunlight filtered into the younger Elric’s room through curtains that looked somewhat worse for the wear, it hadn’t been so much about having new ones at the time than it had been about gaining a little privacy, but now Alphonse was beginning to wish that he had purchased something a little longer lasting material wise. Alphonse groaned loudly as the sun settled on his face, growing in intensity for a moment before fading completely as clouds moved across the sky outside. Morning already? This just wasn’t fair...it felt as though he had only been asleep for an hour or two at the most, quite honestly he didn’t want to get up, didn’t want to leave the confines of his bed...it was warm for one...and damn it he was still tired. Another groan left the younger boy’s lips as the sun returned and he hurriedly buried his head under his pillow, letting himself remain in darkness.

There were perhaps more reasons that he didn’t wish to rise from his bed rather than simply tiredness (although that had quite a lot to do with it) he’d spent over half the evening thinking after he’d gone to bed, leaving Edward in the hallway. There had been sounds for a while, movement, before everything in the flat had fallen still, and the sounds of the storm outside faded, and he had sat quietly in his bed, towel draped over his shoulders, letting his thoughts surround him before he had finally fallen asleep at some ungodly hour. Maybe he really had only been asleep for an hour or two...he remembered hearing the clock in the living room toll three...but he didn’t remember much after that other than tossing his towel to the floor.

Last night...or rather that morning, hell...had he really come home at half past twelve? What had he been thinking? It didn’t matter anymore, and even as the younger boy tried to fall back to sleep, he found his thoughts betrayed his tiredness and he sighed deeply, pressing his face into the mattress. Things just didn’t want to go right did they? Even waking was becoming an unwelcome moment in the day, especially when he felt this exhausted, it was funny really, that he should begin to hate the day when once he had enjoyed watching a sunrise if he could catch one, but not anymore. Frankly today, he just wanted to stay in bed until he actually needed to get up for some reason, or until Edward wondered where he was and came to check on him...which he didn’t think was likely to happen.

“Can’t hide from the day I suppose...” Alphonse thought as he shifted, removing the pillow from his head as he squinted somewhat at the light in the room as he sat up before ruffling his hair a little, releasing a yawn as he stretched his arms above his head. Grey eyes regarded the room before them tiredly and Alphonse puffed up his cheeks as he regarded the mess of wet clothes he’d left strewn about his bedroom floor the night before. “Why didn’t I just put them in the hamper...” he said quietly with a frown before flopping back onto his pillow, staring at the ceiling before managing a small smile. “Well...at least it’s not raining anymore”.

[Edward Elric]

It isn’t real, I know this nightmare.

Holes glowing a ghostly red, mock-ups, fakes, masquerading as eyes, they look at Ed and he can’t smile at the statue pretending to be his brother until he speaks and it sounds like Al. But it says words Al would never say things Ed hopes Al doesn’t think.

“You couldn’t save mom, you couldn’t bring her back, you’ll never bring me back either, will you, Edward?”

It sounds like Al…

“Will you, Edward?”

“Will you, Fullmetal?”

That isn’t Al; Alphonse would never call him that…that is, “Colonel!” Ed cries out, reaches to find and loses the sound of that familiar voice as it disappears in the wailing screams of a woman. Piteous sobs, that call his name filling his ears like the rush of an explosion and almost as deafening. In the cacophony he knows he recognizes it, but can’t tell if it’s Winry or Rose.


Make it stop.

The civilians are armed. Rampant they run, firing at will, a face-off against military men. Men with bigger guns and a larger target. No one cares what they’re hitting, or who, only that the shouts are swept away by gunfire.

All Ed can do is watch, his legs are leaden, held to the floor by some unknown force and he can’t blink or look away, it’s too horrible. A woman, obviously young, is hit by a not-so-stray shot and as she falls, her face twisted into a ghastly silent scream her hands land together above her head as though she’s reaching for something. Reaching for someone to save her, a god that never comes. And in the last moments of twisted agony she looks not herself but Edward recognizes Gracia Hughes.

His mouth was dry again, feeling like during the night someone had stuffed it full of cotton and his throat rasped as he dragged in cool air. But his face was damp with sweat and he couldn’t tell it from the tears. Edward heaved for a few moments, pushing back fresh streams of tears and trying to still his million-mile-an-hour heart, the image of Mrs. Hughes was a new horror burned into his mind.

“I can’t take it, anymore,” he gasped, swiping his wrist over the back of his eyes. It wasn’t fair that coming to the point where he could no longer handle it made him want to reach out, but while those fucking dreams weren’t good for anything seeing Al in the armour again reminded him of something.

They had never, would never have, gotten through what they had alone. Neither of them, and as much as Ed wanted to protect Alphonse he knew Al would understand that he couldn’t do it alone anymore. And even if Al hated him for keeping such things to himself, or for what he had done to Al during the course of it all, Edward had to tell him. Because alone, he would never get through it.

Besides, he had made a promise and if nothing else Al deserved to know what had come between them before he made the decision to leave Edward, or not.

[Alphonse Elric]

((I actually had to go and research whether they had baked beans in 1925 XD Also I'm realising this is more lighthearted than Ed...is that bad? XD))

It was at the point where Alphonse found himself beginning to note each and every small crack in the plaster on the ceiling that he decided that enough was enough and slowly slid out of bed and onto his knees, almost taking the covers with him in his somewhat lazy attempt to avoid standing for a moment. This was perhaps going to be the most difficult morning, the one where the after effects of a storm would show, though whether that would be Edward or himself he didn’t know. If he had been thinking properly last night he probably wouldn’t have made the lamest promise in the world, it wasn’t that he hadn’t meant what he had said either, he realised that even if he thought he was doing some good by trying to get Edward to tell him what was wrong, it seemed to be having the opposite effect, it felt as though the more he pushed, the worse things got, and perhaps that was why he had chosen to make that promise…even if he regretted it a little.

Finally managing to rise from his position on the floor despite the protest his legs were giving. The younger Elric yawned widely before stretching his arms out in front of him, flexing his fingers before letting his arms swing back to his sides. Grey eyes glanced to the floor, once again regarding the mess of clothes before he rolled his eyes and proceeded to pick them all up, it was only going to bother him later, and whilst he would much rather have left them, it was perhaps a good idea to do it now whilst he actually felt at least somewhat motivated. Quick flip of the lid of the hamper, clothes in, lid closed, simple and easy, and yet he couldn’t be bothered before, funny really how the simplest of things seemed like the hardest chore when you were tired.

A sudden rumbling sound from his stomach made Alphonse frown as he made his way out of his room and into the hallway, he’d hardly eaten anything the day before and he was paying for it…oh well, there were worse things than not eating…no, there really were. The younger boy shook his head as he made his way into the living room and through to the kitchen, stopping at the sink briefly if only to rub his eyes before he began to rummage through the cupboard. There were a few tins, beans…not really something he considered breakfast food, then there was the bread, good by itself but considering they didn’t actually have any butter. Alphonse sighed and closed the cupboard door, leaning back against the kitchen counter, well…this was a great start to the morning.

[Edward Elric]

After the previous night’s storm and the quick change in pressure Edward’s joints hurt, and the ports of his automail were even worse. As he moved the skin pulled taught and felt as dry as his mouth; deep inside the muscles screamed and writhed, begging for him to be still. Of course, the pain from his automail was nothing new, he’d lived with it for so long no matter how bad the pain seemed he could ignore it. Or at least he could push it to the back of his mind and make it less important.

Slowly, Edward swung his protesting limbs over the side of the bed to dig his toes into the thin carpet. He glanced across the room where the chip he had put in the wall just a day or so before with a pen stared him in the face; it looked like an open maw laughing at some cruel joke, laughing at Edward. And he supposed in his state he was a cruel, pathetic joke. But that wasn’t enough to stint his resolve or even budge his decision, more it was a cementing factor.

It couldn’t go on like that, for him or for Alphonse and the only one that could try to fix it was himself. He didn’t want that stretch of space between them to continue to grow, he only hoped it was elastic and they could bounce back.

He blew dust motes out of his face, swiped a hand over his brow and took a deep steadying breath before he managed to stand. He never felt rested anymore, while he slept soundly enough to dream, those dreams were more like a waking nightmare and about as restful as a war. Among other things, always feeling tired was maddening.

Edward looked down at his night shirt, a white tank-top and light blue shorts and thought about getting dressed but after a few moments he forewent the trouble, it wasn’t as if Alphonse had never seen him in his night clothes before. With a last glance at the chunk his pen had taken out of the wall he reached into his bedside drawer and grabbed the journal he had been writing in at the time and tucked it under his arm. It was like evidence in a criminal case, like proof he felt he had to have by his side to testify to Alphonse.

In the kitchen, Alphonse’s back was too him and he didn’t want to startle his brother, besides if he was going to pour the shit of his mind out to Al, he at least deserved a greeting. “’ Morning, Al.” He said tactfully and after a couple seconds of silence he added, quietly, almost regretfully, “I’m sorry…about last night.”

[Alphonse Elric]

It was funny the way the mind worked really, how at the strangest of moments, thoughts could so easily turn to things from the past, pleasant memories you tried to forget if only to cope when they were so far away. Alphonse sighed and stared at the kitchen sink, watching the water drip from the faucet in a steady rhythm which was both hypnotic and annoying. Lately he’d been thinking about home a lot more than usual, whilst he did occasionally drift into his thoughts anyway, remembering Risembool, remembering Winry and granny Pinako, it seemed of late, that home was really all he could think about. He’d told himself time and time again that things would have been better in Amestris, Edward would have been different, and Winry would have smacked him in the head with a wrench by now for withholding what was playing on his mind and Alphonse found himself smiling at that thought. Winry wasn’t the one to be violent usually, and yet she’d had no problems ‘disciplining’ Ed when he’d needed it…if she was here…if they were there…but he knew full well he was on his own in all of this, always alone.

The younger Elric frowned and reached over to the sink, turning the tap to try and still the water….still, everything was so still, eerily quiet, it wasn’t that he wasn’t used to the silence, no, as much as it was often suffocating and somewhat maddening he unfortunately had become used to it…but something was different about it today, and Alphonse closed his eyes, lowering his head slightly. “Morning, Al.” The younger boy jumped slightly, shoulders stiffening for a moment before he calmed…he hadn’t even heard his brothers footsteps…he hadn’t heard anything…and now his name, a greeting…had he zoned out? He would have turned, would have greeted his brother in a similar manner, but something told him to stop, something told him to wait…and for good reason it seemed. “I’m sorry…about last night.” Alphonse’s frown deepened and he drew in a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Hadn’t the apologies been said? Hadn’t they both said the last on the subject? No…it wasn’t over it seemed, not that the younger boy didn’t appreciate the apology that resounded in the air…honestly…he was more than thankful for it.

Alphonse turned slowly, his frown brushed away and replaced with a smile as he looked upon his brother. “It’s ok, just forget about it” he said in an obviously forced cheery tone before turning back to the counter. “I hope you didn’t want breakfast though ‘cos there’s noth-“. The younger boy trailed off, body going a little stiff as he turned back around to look at his brother once more, this time letting his gaze fall on the journal he had tucked under his arm. He’d seen that before…when he’d gone into his room to apologise to him…when he’d shouted at him…why was he carrying it around with him? Maybe it wasn’t just the journal that had caught his interest, maybe it was the fact that Edward looked so…well, tired, not that he didn’t always look that way lately…or maybe he’d seen something else, and it was that something that was bothering him as he met Edward’s eyes and frowned once more. “…Is something wrong?” he asked, searching his brother’s features for an answer, a clue, something…anything.

[Edward Elric]

Edward was growing fidgety, he had convinced himself it was done deal, sold and sealed, but as he waited for a response from Alphonse his resolve was slowly dissolving like a quick-play of a canyon forming. He’d thought it, over and over…and over again, what he would say and he had yet to come up with anything suitable. From the outside peering in he would seem nothing more than an idiot, a child still having nightmares and going to Alphonse was like a child that had decided to crawl in bed and sleep with his mother so she could protect him from the monsters under the bed. But…no.

He had to stop that sort of thinking before it ruined him, ruined he fact that he had worked himself so far, was even clutching his ‘evidence’ under his arm like a life buoy. Truth was, his lifeline was Al, that one last connection to the rest of the world, the only one keeping him sane. The only reason he had to try. And for Al at least, he had to try.

Ed cringed away from Al’s tone of voice, he sounded like the overly cheery woman checking food at the grocery store that had been on her feet for eight hours and was exhausted and sick of dealing with people but she was paid to be polite. Forced and wrong. Al shouldn’t have to force himself to sound cheerful; every morning shouldn’t be a chore for either of them.

But Al paused amidst a comment on breakfast –Ed’s nerves had his stomach roiling, much too anxious to be hungry- and his tone changed to genuine concern. Ed wondered how Al could still be worried about him, he really did have a heart of gold…and Ed felt guilty again for stooping to forcing his troubles on his brother. “…Is something wrong?”

Ed wiped his bangs out of his face and while he couldn’t put it together in his head, there were no words that strung together properly to portray how sorry he was for everything, including what he was about to do, nonetheless he had made up his mind and he wasn’t about to talk himself out of it, not again.

He took a deep breath, swallowed the lump in his throat, and began: “Yes, Al, there is something wrong.” Continue, continue, continue. “I…I need to talk to you about something…about, well, about what’s been going on with me. I’ve…I’ve had enough time.”

[Alphonse Elric]

The silence that had once enveloped the room had dissipated so suddenly when Alphonse had realised that something was wrong. Now every little sound in the kitchen was deafening, the constant drip, drip, drip of the faucet, the creak of the floorboards as the sun warmed the wood, even the sound of his own breathing sounded ten times louder than it should have been. This somehow felt like a confrontation, but one that lacked the usual essence of what one was considered to be, there was no violence, no anger, simply....a strange sense of calm, and yet there was anxiety. Waiting was perhaps the hardest part, and Alphonse clenched his fists tightly as he stared at his brother, awaiting that answer he sought to his question.

“Yes, Al, there is something wrong.” It hadn’t been hard to figure that part out for himself in all honesty, and after all, lately there was always something wrong, that one thing, the thing that Edward never spoke of. "I…I need to talk to you about something…about, well, about what’s been going on with me. I’ve…I’ve had enough time.” Alphonse felt as though his heart had skipped a beat as Edward spoke and he drew a sharp breath, eyes growing a little wider before he looked at the floor for a moment. He...he wanted to tell him? Time...the time he’d said he’d needed...he’d given him that time...but...was it enough? Was he truly ok with this? The younger Elric wasn’t entirely sure why he was almost second guessing everything, trying to find some logical explanation as to why his brother had chosen now.

Alphonse tried to convince himself that he was still asleep, that this was all some part of his imagination trying to give him what he wanted, what he needed...but it wasn’t a dream, he was wide awake, that much he knew...and yet he was confused by all of this. No...no he couldn’t confused, not now, not when Edward was ready to open up to him, he’d wanted this for so long, and now it was happening, time to listen...time to be strong for Ed. “...Alright” he said somewhat quietly, staring at his brother in disbelief before he swallowed, deciding that the answer he had given was not enough. “Tell me...I’m listening”. This was the moment of truth it seemed, and yet he felt nervous, unsure...now that he was actually to be faced with the truth of everything...did he really want to know? Whilst he admitted he wanted to help Edward, wanted to do what he could...he was a little apprehensive about what would be said.

[Edward Elric]

“I know it seems weird,” Ed started in a valiant attempt to keep things moving. He couldn’t stop, couldn’t let too many moments of uncomfortable silence pass him by and give him time to rethink, to stop and take back what he had already said. There wouldn’t be another time, for him, for Al, for them as brothers, it had to be now. “But I don’t think I should wait any longer.”

And so it would be.

With a bangs-shaded glance at Al, like extending the olive branch, Ed made his way to the kitchen table. He sort of wished for coffee, something to sooth his nerves and wash the sleep from his veins. But that would be just another stall, more time to think it through, time he didn’t need or want. He pulled out one the wooden chairs before him and sank into it. He didn’t let himself get comfortable though and remained perched a little awkwardly on edge, as though he was subconsciously relaying how he felt about the situation. It was almost unbearably uncomfortable for him, probably for Al, too.

Before him Ed lay out his journal. He debated whether or not to open it to the first page. He had reread the first page many times, then he had still been thinking about coming out with it immediately and bringing Alphonse in for moral support. Upon looking back the progression of his thoughts were obvious, his slip from normality, his contemplation and execution of ‘protecting’ Al, and the toll that decision had taken on both of them. Finally, he decided against it. Al didn’t need to, probably didn’t even want to, see the things Ed had written, he could explain it just as well and that’s where he was running into his brick wall.

How to explain it?

“I don’t...” Ed trailed off again, starting to become annoyed with himself. He had never before had trouble expressing himself. Actually, the words had always come easy, while maybe not always the most eloquent or elegant he had managed and now he felt tongue tied beyond reason. “Ah, fuck!” He drummed his fingers against the table-top. “I’m sorry, Al. I dunno how to…how to go about saying all of this shit. What’s been going on is kind of…well, saying it out loud it just sounds stupid.” It was funny though, the more he talked even if he wasn’t really saying anything the better he felt. It was like the words had been built up inside him an inexpressible pressure, but now…that was changing.

Finally.

[Alphonse Elric]

((With the thing about his voice betraying his age, I mean like his voice is breaking, you know the whole "young boy and puberty" thing XD though I think you'd probably get what I meant, ignore me XD))

“I know it seems weird,” What exactly did he think seemed weird? The fact that he was actually going to tell him what was going on for a change? Yeah, that did seem weird, and he still wasn’t sure if he believed it fully. He half expected his brother to snatch any words that managed to slip from his lips back, tell him to forget everything and that would be that, but for once it seemed that his brother was genuine…even if the younger boy was finding that somewhat difficult to believe. “I don’t think I should wait any longer.” So now Edward was the one who was tired of waiting? Even if this was the moment that Alphonse had been hoping for in the months that had been leading up to it…somehow he didn’t feel quite as relieved as he should have been. Edward was talking to him, trying to open up to him…and yet he felt numb, cold…unsure what to say let alone what to think.

The glance his brother cast him from beneath a veil of hair made Alphonse frown somewhat as he watched him make his way to the kitchen table, wanting to move himself but finding his feet seemingly glued to the floor. What was he supposed to do? Just listen? That seemed the obvious thing to do, but then the obvious thing was often the wrong thing…he was reading too much into this, his mind a muddled mess of thoughts and his stomach beginning to feel as though he had swallowed at least ten butterflies. “Snap out of it!” he told himself, angry that he was being weak in a moment where he needed to be strong. Edward needed him right now, needed him to listen, and needed him to know what had been going on these past few months, and he would listen, he would hang on every word…even if he wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to be thinking by the end of it.

Grey eyes fell on the book that Edward lay on the table before him, still closed, but it obviously had some sort of meaning to him…something to do with all of this, and the younger boy found his gaze lingering on that journal for a long time. It had been at the foot of Edward’s bed when he had come in the day before, he hadn’t deemed it important at the time, probably just something his brother had been writing in…writing in? Wait? Had he been writing everything down in that journal? “I don’t...” Alphonse was brought from his thoughts by his brother’s voice and he focussed his attention on him once more. “Ah, fuck!” The younger boy grew noticeably tense as Edward swore and began drumming his fingers on the table in what Alphonse could only assume was irritation. “I’m sorry, Al. I dunno how to…how to go about saying all of this shit. What’s been going on is kind of…well, saying it out loud it just sounds stupid.” He didn’t care if it sounded stupid, it could be the most craziest thing in the world and he wouldn’t have cared in that moment…he just wanted to know…that was all.

“…don’t do that” It ended up being just above a whisper, his voice failing him as it showed his age, not a man…but trying so hard to act like one. “Don’t tell me it’s stupid…none of this is stupid, none of it has been stupid”. Even if his legs felt leaden the younger boy managed to move slowly, approaching the table, looking down at his brother before kneeling on the floor. He wouldn’t look down on him, no, he would look up at him, in the same manner that he had always looked up to him. “Please….don’t stop now brother” he said trying to hide the emotion he knew would so easily play on his face if he let it. That was one of his downfalls perhaps, that he was easy to read, easy now, sometimes he wished he could have that armoured face to hide behind, the one that showed no emotion, that was always stony in its expression…but he was human now…only human.

[Edward Elric]

Edward’s fingers were trembling and he could hear each shaky breath he took catch in his scratchy, dry throat as though it were playing about him in stereo. He closed his eyes, envisioned a long empty road, train tracks across vast desert and nothing before him; it was the same road he’d dreamt of back home, in Amestris trying to retrieve Alphonse’s body, a horrid endless trail leading him nowhere until that night in the city beneath Central it had come to a stop in that old church-like building.

Stealing himself, Edward reopened his eyes and cast his gaze around the kitchen, the road he’d been envisioning ended here. In this very kitchen. He couldn’t continue to float through life, hurting the one person in this fucked up world that knew him, gave a damn about him, loved him; despite it all.

Beside him, there was movement and Ed looked to see Alphonse kneeling next to the table, staring up at him with endlessly patient eyes, telling him not to stop, no matter how ridiculous he thought it was. That was alright, he didn’t plan on stopping. Having come this far, this close, it was one more step before he toppled off of the edge, he just had to hope they could still take the hit. “Please…don’t stop now, brother.” Ed breathed deep, nodded, and took the step.

“Dreams, Al, that’s what all of this shit has been about, dreams.” Ed started, the words tumbling from his lips in tripping and stumbling masses; desperate to be spoken and, having begun, unwilling to be stemmed. “Dreams about Amestris, about home, about the people there…Everyone and everything.” He curled his hand around his journal pulling it to him a bit. “Only, they aren’t normal dreams…and they aren’t good dreams. Fuck, there about as far from a good dream as you can get. They’re horrific…and realistic. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen…” he swallowed, his voice cracked and he tore his stinging eyes from Al’s to continue. “How many times I’ve seen the people I…the people we care about die, brutally and unforgettably, I close my eyes lately…and it’s all I can see.”

There, Edward stopped. The way Alphonse reacted to everything he said was pivotal to how he would take the rest of it. Would he yell about the stupidity of Ed's reasons? Would he laugh or commiserate? Ed figured the latter…but one could never know and as it had spilled from his throat, Ed felt more and more ridiculous but…somehow, he felt justified in his slow madness. He could never forgive himself for the things he’d done to Alphonse, but if Al could forgive him maybe…Maybe, Al would be willing to help him through his festering insanity.

Anxiously, Ed turned his focus back to Al, watching every little change in his facial expression, expecting the worst and desperately hoping for the best.

[Alphonse Elric]

Edward seemed hesitant, and Alphonse waited patiently for his brother to start speaking again, chewing on his bottom lip a little as he wondered exactly what he would tell him. It was ok to be somewhat anxious perhaps…but he was curious too, though right now the anxiety was winning over and he found himself dealing with a level of nausea as his heart rate quickened. As Edward took a breath, Alphonse shifted somewhat allowing his legs some relief from the uncomfortable fuzzy sensation that was beginning to run through them, an unfortunate side effect of kneeling, made somewhat worse by the fact that he was kneeling on a cold hard floor, but he ignored the discomfort as his brother began to speak.

“Dreams, Al, that’s what all of this shit has been about, dreams.” Dreams? Alphonse couldn’t help the look of confusion that was so obviously playing on his face. “Dreams about Amestris, about home, about the people there…Everyone and everything.” Dreams about home? Was that…was that what had been going on all along? The younger Elric had questions already flowing through his mind, but it seemed there was more to this than just your average home-sick kind of dream. “Only, they aren’t normal dreams…and they aren’t good dreams. Fuck, there about as far from a good dream as you can get. They’re horrific…and realistic. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen…” The confusion instantly changed to concern as Edward seemed to have difficulty with the subject matter and looked away from him, and Alphonse willed him to continue mentally…get it all out. “How many times I’ve seen the people I…the people we care about die, brutally and unforgettably, I close my eyes lately…and it’s all I can see.” Wait…die? The younger Elric’s eyes widened considerably and his jaw dropped slightly, trying to say something but found his ability to speak had left him.

Why? Why hadn’t he just…why hadn’t he just told him? Why had he kept silent about all of this, if he was suffering…Alphonse swallowed uncomfortably and looked at the floor for a moment, returning to his habit of chewing his lip as his hands clenched into fists. That repeated word in his head why why hadn’t Ed told him, he shouldn’t have kept something like that a secret…maybe he could have helped, maybe he could have done something…anything…they always helped each other, why did Ed think he had to handle this all by himself? Alphonse’s fists unclenched and he looked back up at his brother, who now seemed to be watching him intently, and he tried to hide the confusion he was feeling as best he could…Ed didn’t need him asking questions, he didn’t need him thinking of the reasoning behind any of it, what he needed, was support, and Alphonse wasn’t going to miss a chance to give that to him. “…brother” he said quietly before rising from the floor somewhat, only to move forward and hug him, tightly, and warmly, doing his best to offer any comfort that he could…even if it was small.