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Here's the next part of Hidden Costs. During editing, I ended up adding more, so that little bit I put up will not be until next chapter. *glares* I can't believe this thing has multiple chapters.
Hidden Costs, part two
Al wasn't sure how long he had sat there, staring at the book in his hands. It had been hard, but he had resisted the urge to read the rest of the journal. Instead, he had reread that marked entry that made something ache. Strangely enough, that was the closest Al had comes to a physical reaction since he had lost his body.
He hated it.
That ache, something that was purely mental, reminded him of what his brother was going through. Did it hurt to be trapped in the body of a child, Al wondered? What could they do to let Niisan grow again?
If it wasn't for the fact that he knew his brother would throw a fit, and then dismiss the idea right away, Al would have suggested that they only work on returning Ed his life. Al would gladly stay in the suit if it meant Ed would stay alive.
Of course, Al would have happily sat through an older brother lecture if it meant he knew where Ed was.
The knock on the door made him jump. He picked up the journal, which he had dropped, and then sat it down on Ed's bed gently. Moving over to the door, he cracked it open, hoping it was Ed, even though he knew better. Ed had a key.
"Robert?" Al asked, slightly surprised to see the other alchemist. While he normally dropped by to visit when they were all in town, he also normally waited until the boys had wandered down to the common rooms. And he and Ed returned the courtesy.
The dark haired man perked up. "Ah, so you are here. I hadn't seen you yet. You've got a phone call from a Lt. Col. Hughes."
"Oh. Thank you."
As Al stepped out of the room and shut the door firmly behind him, Robert laughed and skipped out of the way.
"Not a problem, Al. You and that mad scientist brother of yours should stop by soon. You won't believe some of the things I saw on my last trip."
Al promised to visit soon as he made his way to the phone that the floor shared. Suddenly the nickname Niisan had picked up was more appropriate than ever, Al thought. He picked up the phone, hoping for news on his brother.
"Hello?"
"Ah, Al-kun. It's so good to hear your voice, especially since you and your brother never come to visit me or my most beautiful and loving family."
Oh, no. He had to head this off fast, or he would never hear the end of it. "Can I help you, Hughes-san?"
A moment of silence, and Al wished he had lips so he could bit them. Another moment of quiet and he began to wonder if the connection had broken. It wouldn't have been the first time something like that had happened. Ed typically did a happy dance when the disconnection happened when he was being ordered to Roy's office.
Then there was the whisper of someone shifting and Hughes spoke up once more. "Alphonse, do you know how to to get to Tucker's house from the dorms?"
Tucker. The name made Al's thoughts darken. While he had never been as violent as Ed over Nina, the thought of what had happened to her made Al angry. Why would Hughes...?
That thought stopped almost at once. "Yes, I can get there. Will you be waiting, Hughes-san?"
"Right out front." In Hughes voice, Al swore he could hear a little of the same anger he felt. Of course, Hughes had a little girl himself, one he would kill to protect. To know someone had done something like that to a very similar child would push quite a few of the officer's buttons.
"Thank you. I'll be over as soon as possible."
Al made sure he was very careful when he hung up the phone. Colonel Mustang had threatened to start taking it out of Ed's pay if they broke something else they couldn't fix.
Just as carefully, Al started towards one of the few places he never wanted to see again.
The home of Shou and Nina Tucker.
Anger wasn't as physical as it used to be, though he could react against someone while mad. But the things in a human body that made anger last, the racing pulse and pounding heart, didn't exist in his armor shell. When he got mad, Al knew it was a much more mental anger. That knowledge helped him keep calm many times when, if he had a flesh and blood form, he would have strangled his brother.
Like now.
The streets were nearly empty as Al stalked along, which was just as well. Al rarely hurt people on purpose, but he didn't want to do it by accident either. And as he walked toward the place he had been called, Al knew he was getting more agitated.
How dare Niisan not tell him this? Al hated it when his brother tried to hide things. One would have thought the idiot had learned his lesson last time about keeping secrets, but no, he had a bigger one he still hid.
Al wondered how many other secrets his brother was hiding.
It was the reminder of the last time this had happened that made Al pause and collect himself. He still remembered the blood that had ran from Ed's mouth when Al had shoved him away on the roof not so long ago. And Winry had told him how Ed had almost followed him off the edge of the roof.
Now Al looked at the last few years in a new light. Somehow, what he knew now
made a few more things make sense. Like Niisan's reckless diving into danger.
Like it didn't matter if he lived or died as long as he got the information he needed.
Al was going to kill him.
Moving faster than before, he covered the last few blocks quickly until he caught sight of a familiar figure. Then he began to slow once more. Doubt crept into his mind.
What if Hughes hadn't called him about Niisan? What if it was something else altogether? Or what if they called him because something had happened and...?
Al shook himself. The physical shake didn't really do much, but the mental one made him snap out of the descending cycle of paranoia. If Hughes had called Al for anything besides Ed, he would have said so. Surly someone as close to Roy-san as Hughes had to have heard about this afternoon. And if there was babble about family involved, Hughes couldn't be calling about something too bad.
Besides, wasn't the military suppose to come in person for things like that?
Everything had to be all right, Al told himself as he forced himself forward. Everything had to be fine.
TBC...
I think this now puts HC into a AUish setting, as I'm not sure if they ever went to Central after Al had his mini-break down, nor am I sure when Roy and his group had gone back to the area by then. So just assume that anything that doesn't quite click with the series is okay.
Also, the keyboard I'm using to type this on is just a bit different from my normal one, and if there are typos, just let me know. I think I caught most of them, but I'm more than willing to fix those I did miss.
Enjoy. Don't kill me, Envy.
Hidden Costs, part two
Al wasn't sure how long he had sat there, staring at the book in his hands. It had been hard, but he had resisted the urge to read the rest of the journal. Instead, he had reread that marked entry that made something ache. Strangely enough, that was the closest Al had comes to a physical reaction since he had lost his body.
He hated it.
That ache, something that was purely mental, reminded him of what his brother was going through. Did it hurt to be trapped in the body of a child, Al wondered? What could they do to let Niisan grow again?
If it wasn't for the fact that he knew his brother would throw a fit, and then dismiss the idea right away, Al would have suggested that they only work on returning Ed his life. Al would gladly stay in the suit if it meant Ed would stay alive.
Of course, Al would have happily sat through an older brother lecture if it meant he knew where Ed was.
The knock on the door made him jump. He picked up the journal, which he had dropped, and then sat it down on Ed's bed gently. Moving over to the door, he cracked it open, hoping it was Ed, even though he knew better. Ed had a key.
"Robert?" Al asked, slightly surprised to see the other alchemist. While he normally dropped by to visit when they were all in town, he also normally waited until the boys had wandered down to the common rooms. And he and Ed returned the courtesy.
The dark haired man perked up. "Ah, so you are here. I hadn't seen you yet. You've got a phone call from a Lt. Col. Hughes."
"Oh. Thank you."
As Al stepped out of the room and shut the door firmly behind him, Robert laughed and skipped out of the way.
"Not a problem, Al. You and that mad scientist brother of yours should stop by soon. You won't believe some of the things I saw on my last trip."
Al promised to visit soon as he made his way to the phone that the floor shared. Suddenly the nickname Niisan had picked up was more appropriate than ever, Al thought. He picked up the phone, hoping for news on his brother.
"Hello?"
"Ah, Al-kun. It's so good to hear your voice, especially since you and your brother never come to visit me or my most beautiful and loving family."
Oh, no. He had to head this off fast, or he would never hear the end of it. "Can I help you, Hughes-san?"
A moment of silence, and Al wished he had lips so he could bit them. Another moment of quiet and he began to wonder if the connection had broken. It wouldn't have been the first time something like that had happened. Ed typically did a happy dance when the disconnection happened when he was being ordered to Roy's office.
Then there was the whisper of someone shifting and Hughes spoke up once more. "Alphonse, do you know how to to get to Tucker's house from the dorms?"
Tucker. The name made Al's thoughts darken. While he had never been as violent as Ed over Nina, the thought of what had happened to her made Al angry. Why would Hughes...?
That thought stopped almost at once. "Yes, I can get there. Will you be waiting, Hughes-san?"
"Right out front." In Hughes voice, Al swore he could hear a little of the same anger he felt. Of course, Hughes had a little girl himself, one he would kill to protect. To know someone had done something like that to a very similar child would push quite a few of the officer's buttons.
"Thank you. I'll be over as soon as possible."
Al made sure he was very careful when he hung up the phone. Colonel Mustang had threatened to start taking it out of Ed's pay if they broke something else they couldn't fix.
Just as carefully, Al started towards one of the few places he never wanted to see again.
The home of Shou and Nina Tucker.
Anger wasn't as physical as it used to be, though he could react against someone while mad. But the things in a human body that made anger last, the racing pulse and pounding heart, didn't exist in his armor shell. When he got mad, Al knew it was a much more mental anger. That knowledge helped him keep calm many times when, if he had a flesh and blood form, he would have strangled his brother.
Like now.
The streets were nearly empty as Al stalked along, which was just as well. Al rarely hurt people on purpose, but he didn't want to do it by accident either. And as he walked toward the place he had been called, Al knew he was getting more agitated.
How dare Niisan not tell him this? Al hated it when his brother tried to hide things. One would have thought the idiot had learned his lesson last time about keeping secrets, but no, he had a bigger one he still hid.
Al wondered how many other secrets his brother was hiding.
It was the reminder of the last time this had happened that made Al pause and collect himself. He still remembered the blood that had ran from Ed's mouth when Al had shoved him away on the roof not so long ago. And Winry had told him how Ed had almost followed him off the edge of the roof.
Now Al looked at the last few years in a new light. Somehow, what he knew now
made a few more things make sense. Like Niisan's reckless diving into danger.
Like it didn't matter if he lived or died as long as he got the information he needed.
Al was going to kill him.
Moving faster than before, he covered the last few blocks quickly until he caught sight of a familiar figure. Then he began to slow once more. Doubt crept into his mind.
What if Hughes hadn't called him about Niisan? What if it was something else altogether? Or what if they called him because something had happened and...?
Al shook himself. The physical shake didn't really do much, but the mental one made him snap out of the descending cycle of paranoia. If Hughes had called Al for anything besides Ed, he would have said so. Surly someone as close to Roy-san as Hughes had to have heard about this afternoon. And if there was babble about family involved, Hughes couldn't be calling about something too bad.
Besides, wasn't the military suppose to come in person for things like that?
Everything had to be all right, Al told himself as he forced himself forward. Everything had to be fine.
TBC...
I think this now puts HC into a AUish setting, as I'm not sure if they ever went to Central after Al had his mini-break down, nor am I sure when Roy and his group had gone back to the area by then. So just assume that anything that doesn't quite click with the series is okay.
Also, the keyboard I'm using to type this on is just a bit different from my normal one, and if there are typos, just let me know. I think I caught most of them, but I'm more than willing to fix those I did miss.
Enjoy. Don't kill me, Envy.
