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Because I have bossy minions, I now have the HoS verion of Quest, the start of an alternate beginning of HoS. Needs beta'd,and is part one of at least two. *grumbles* On a side note, I have Images finished, and sitting on my comp. This will be the first time I've actually completed a multi part fic.
Let me know any mistakes I make.
He wondered if he had forgotten anything.
Al was human. He was flesh and blood yet again, able to feel and taste. He once again was able to do all the things that he had been unable to do when he had been nothing but a soul in unfeeling armor.
And Al was now attacking the world in his own way. Everything he had been denied before had to be experienced now.
Some of it, he came to Ed for. Going out to eat, sparring, running until he was out of breath, those were things Al did with Ed. When he had come home, it was one of Ed’s greatest pleasures to be able to do those things with his brother.
But Ed had been gone an awful long time. And so he wasn’t the only one Al had gone to.
It had surprised Ed when he had first walked in on Roy and Al. That surprise had ended in running, threats of bloodshed, actual bloodshed, and Al sitting on Ed.
Not that he could blame Al. He had once seen the attraction that Mustang held, and had acted on it. And he couldn’t blame Mustang either, since the older man was sure Ed had been dead.
Admiring the sharp edge, he remembered when they had been told they could rest now. That they didn’t have to wander as they had. That the quest was over.
Ed had managed to keep active. There had been his promise to Masuta, after all.
But then it turned out that Masuta had more in common with his alter than first thought. At least Hawkeye had seemed to think so. It surprised Ed to find out that the two were starting the first tentative motions of dating. He could never imagine her finding someone other than Mustang, or imagine Masuta getting over his skittishness around women. Not that Ed could blame him. He still remembered the crush he had had on the woman when he was younger.
That had brought his plans to send Masuta home to a crashing halt after a late night visit from his friend and a soft request to stop the research.
As the blade moved through the skin, he bit his lip. It was amazing how sensitive flesh could be.
Ed wondered if he was going mad. He should have been happy. Al was restored, and he had even found someone to be with. Ed was home, his friend was alive, and his beloved little brother was flesh yet again. He should be ecstatic.
Instead, he felt more discontent every day. It was easy to put up a false front, to smile around everyone. But every day he did that, he felt a little more strangled inside.
He knew he should talk to someone. Anyone. But he couldn’t. The few people that he trusted that much had found others to occupy their time. Not all of it, but enough that Ed’s unhappiness was disguisable.
If there was one thing Ed would never do, it would be to destroy his brother’s happiness. He had worked too hard to Al’s life back for his little brother, and Al deserved the chance to live it without having to worry about Ed.
But that couldn’t still the growing feeling that sat in Ed’s chest, cold and hard and unnamed.
It hadn’t taken long for Ed to feel the need to scream. Not just now and then, but all the time. He wanted to howl out that nameless feeling.
Instead, he felt like he was bleeding to death inside.
The blood was slick and dark as it slid down his arm. He had traced the vein all the way up to the elbow, and then across the wrist for good measure.
He did hate doing a job half-assed.
It had felt so much better after he had decided what to do. In some distant corner of his mind, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Al’s screamed that this was a horrid bad idea.
But, for the first time since Masuta had decided to stay, Ed had felt close to normal. He had a goal, something to work towards.
First had been the research. He wanted to do this right and get it done with the first time. The long years it had taken to restore Al left a bitter taste in his mouth when it came to drawn out quests.
The research was the hard part. Even though Al had all but moved in with Roy, it was hard to hide what he was searching for. And he knew that if Al found out, there would be fights and other distractions, and Al would end up bogged down. And then Ed would have been screwing up Al’s life yet again.
He would not do that.
Another complication was Masuta. He still shared quarters with Ed and Al, but was home more frequently. He still found this world fascinating, even having spent several years here already. And that fascination always seemed to focus on alchemy, so he would come to Ed for questions. Since that could happen at random times, Ed had to be even sneakier about his research. If Masuta found out, Al and the others would find out, and it would just be a hassle.
It hadn’t really taken long to decide what course of action to take. After deciding that, Ed went over his checklist a few more times.
In the end, it all came down to his family. His brother had a life now, had love, and was really happy. Ed had come to understand over the years that he was a jinx to those he loved. An odd attitude for a scientist, but look at the evidence he had been able to gather. So this really was the best time to do this. He had to, before he cursed his brother yet again.
Nor was Al the only one at risk. Ed had gotten to be good friends with Hawkeye after she and Masuta started seeing each other, not the mention the two dark haired men that Ed cared for almost as much as his brother. He had loved both of them, in his own way. And he couldn’t forget the friends all of them had, people he came in contact with all the time, and who had done their best to make him feel welcomed.
He had to do something to protect all of them.
He stared in fascination as the blood stained his clothing. The rate his arm had turned red was also highly distracting. He hadn’t even noticed his vision graying out until a voice called his name. When he had looked at the place the door had been before he had transmuted it, he saw nothing but a grey haze.
It was quickly turning black, but, before everything faded, he could have sworn he saw a strange light. Blue and bright.
Then he saw nothing.
Let me know any mistakes I make.
He wondered if he had forgotten anything.
Al was human. He was flesh and blood yet again, able to feel and taste. He once again was able to do all the things that he had been unable to do when he had been nothing but a soul in unfeeling armor.
And Al was now attacking the world in his own way. Everything he had been denied before had to be experienced now.
Some of it, he came to Ed for. Going out to eat, sparring, running until he was out of breath, those were things Al did with Ed. When he had come home, it was one of Ed’s greatest pleasures to be able to do those things with his brother.
But Ed had been gone an awful long time. And so he wasn’t the only one Al had gone to.
It had surprised Ed when he had first walked in on Roy and Al. That surprise had ended in running, threats of bloodshed, actual bloodshed, and Al sitting on Ed.
Not that he could blame Al. He had once seen the attraction that Mustang held, and had acted on it. And he couldn’t blame Mustang either, since the older man was sure Ed had been dead.
Admiring the sharp edge, he remembered when they had been told they could rest now. That they didn’t have to wander as they had. That the quest was over.
Ed had managed to keep active. There had been his promise to Masuta, after all.
But then it turned out that Masuta had more in common with his alter than first thought. At least Hawkeye had seemed to think so. It surprised Ed to find out that the two were starting the first tentative motions of dating. He could never imagine her finding someone other than Mustang, or imagine Masuta getting over his skittishness around women. Not that Ed could blame him. He still remembered the crush he had had on the woman when he was younger.
That had brought his plans to send Masuta home to a crashing halt after a late night visit from his friend and a soft request to stop the research.
As the blade moved through the skin, he bit his lip. It was amazing how sensitive flesh could be.
Ed wondered if he was going mad. He should have been happy. Al was restored, and he had even found someone to be with. Ed was home, his friend was alive, and his beloved little brother was flesh yet again. He should be ecstatic.
Instead, he felt more discontent every day. It was easy to put up a false front, to smile around everyone. But every day he did that, he felt a little more strangled inside.
He knew he should talk to someone. Anyone. But he couldn’t. The few people that he trusted that much had found others to occupy their time. Not all of it, but enough that Ed’s unhappiness was disguisable.
If there was one thing Ed would never do, it would be to destroy his brother’s happiness. He had worked too hard to Al’s life back for his little brother, and Al deserved the chance to live it without having to worry about Ed.
But that couldn’t still the growing feeling that sat in Ed’s chest, cold and hard and unnamed.
It hadn’t taken long for Ed to feel the need to scream. Not just now and then, but all the time. He wanted to howl out that nameless feeling.
Instead, he felt like he was bleeding to death inside.
The blood was slick and dark as it slid down his arm. He had traced the vein all the way up to the elbow, and then across the wrist for good measure.
He did hate doing a job half-assed.
It had felt so much better after he had decided what to do. In some distant corner of his mind, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Al’s screamed that this was a horrid bad idea.
But, for the first time since Masuta had decided to stay, Ed had felt close to normal. He had a goal, something to work towards.
First had been the research. He wanted to do this right and get it done with the first time. The long years it had taken to restore Al left a bitter taste in his mouth when it came to drawn out quests.
The research was the hard part. Even though Al had all but moved in with Roy, it was hard to hide what he was searching for. And he knew that if Al found out, there would be fights and other distractions, and Al would end up bogged down. And then Ed would have been screwing up Al’s life yet again.
He would not do that.
Another complication was Masuta. He still shared quarters with Ed and Al, but was home more frequently. He still found this world fascinating, even having spent several years here already. And that fascination always seemed to focus on alchemy, so he would come to Ed for questions. Since that could happen at random times, Ed had to be even sneakier about his research. If Masuta found out, Al and the others would find out, and it would just be a hassle.
It hadn’t really taken long to decide what course of action to take. After deciding that, Ed went over his checklist a few more times.
In the end, it all came down to his family. His brother had a life now, had love, and was really happy. Ed had come to understand over the years that he was a jinx to those he loved. An odd attitude for a scientist, but look at the evidence he had been able to gather. So this really was the best time to do this. He had to, before he cursed his brother yet again.
Nor was Al the only one at risk. Ed had gotten to be good friends with Hawkeye after she and Masuta started seeing each other, not the mention the two dark haired men that Ed cared for almost as much as his brother. He had loved both of them, in his own way. And he couldn’t forget the friends all of them had, people he came in contact with all the time, and who had done their best to make him feel welcomed.
He had to do something to protect all of them.
He stared in fascination as the blood stained his clothing. The rate his arm had turned red was also highly distracting. He hadn’t even noticed his vision graying out until a voice called his name. When he had looked at the place the door had been before he had transmuted it, he saw nothing but a grey haze.
It was quickly turning black, but, before everything faded, he could have sworn he saw a strange light. Blue and bright.
Then he saw nothing.