It's Not Alchemy, It's Chemistry* (Elricest)

Teen Angst™ 2: Return of the Edgelord, Edward Elric

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Winry wiped her forehead as she re-entered the room, normally this time. "Okay, as long as everything's sterilized, we can move to the operating room..."

Al nodded as he was pushed on the bed to a room next door. The creamy white body was in a sealed metal cylinder, which somewhat reminded him of his old body in his armor.

"Now, I'm going to give you a small dose of this medicine to put you asleep... Alright, Al? Look, it's even cherry flavored!" Winry giggled, trying to at least slightly lighten to mood.

"Thank you, Winry. Thank you... For everything you've done."

"Al..." She lightly pecked Al's cheek, but immediately wiped it with a clorox from the disinfectants drawer. "Don't worry, okay? You won't feel a thing..." She picked her words cautiously, careful not to insinuate that there was a risk. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

The patient's lips curved up at the corners. He closed his eyes and nodded. "I want my brother to be happy. And he won't be happy until he sees me happy. And I can't be happy if all I am to him is a walking trigger warning. I'm worried for his mental state. And if his well-being is worth risking my life over, then that is a risk I'm willing to take."

Winry felt something form in her eye, but she cursed it. "No tears in the operating room, Winry! You'll get things infected!" She smiled to herself and sighed. "Alrighty then. Just take this tablet, and in about fifteen minutes, I'm going to check on you. Now I want you to remember this. If you feel a poke on your right side, raise your right arm. If you feel a poke on your left side, raise your left arm. If you're knocked out cold, then... don't do anything. This will gauge your consciousness for me, okay?"

Al nodded. After taking the tablet (which wasn't as nice-tasting as he expected), his vision began to blur and haze around his peripherals.

Final thoughts? He wondered to himself. I'm so thankful that I have such wonderful people who care about me. Pinako, Winry, Edward...

Everything went black.

. . . . . . . . .

Winry's operating skills were not unlike her parents. She worked quickly and efficiently, which was an extremely important skill to have in terms of preventing anything from spreading. It was certainly hard to not become emotional while making working. Every time she looked down, memories of backyard cartwheels, stew for dinner, one brother telling another to drink his milk, and adventuring in the woods flooded her mind. She constantly told herself to stay strong, not only for her operation's sake, but the family's as well.

Ed shuffled nervously upstairs. Even if it was just Pinako, being in the same room as another person was definitely more reassuring than experiencing the pain alone.

He was now on his third cup of green tea. Pinako mentioned that it would help calm his nerves, but it didn't seem to work very well.

It is often said that the mind of an optimist prepares itself for the worst ahead of time and hopes for the best. Edward felt anything but optimistic. "Sick to his stomach" was probably a more accurate term. My little brother... He didn't care anymore about looking tough. His head hit the kitchen table flat on. All I have left... I just want to see him smile... Eyes were now stinging again. I want him to smile at the world with open eyes... I want him to taste Winry's apple pie, feel the grass between his toes again, I want him to start a family like he used to dream about... If I could've just... gone back in time, to change everything...

I just want to tell him that everything is alright now.

And so he sat anxiously in wait.

"You're awful close to your brother, no?" Pinako inquired, removing Ed from his intrusive thoughts.

"Of course." He replied. That was common sense to him.

"No, you're not normal brothers. You two... You're weird."

"How so?" Ed normally would have slammed his fists on the table by now, but he didn't have the energy nor mental stability to do so.

"The way you two interact with one another. You have a strange relationship. If one of you is in pain, the other takes some sort of role to make you feel better. And that's nice, but not normal for brothers." She took a puff of her pipe.

"Am I supposed to just say, 'Hey Al, by the way, hope you don't die in that operation.'?" Golden eyes were fixed on the table's surface.

"No, no. But you act like you would give the Earth, Moon, and Sun to the other two times over, just because you could." She took another puff. "It's... Endearing, but strange."

Ed slowly shook his head, eyes still tracing the fine grain of the wooden table. "I don't think we've ever been normal, to tell the truth."

His mind suddenly found itself thinking about how he had kissed Alphonse earlier. It occured to him that... Other brothers didn't really do that. He thought about the way he held Al's neck and face, stroked his rigid yet soft skin, brushed dirty blonde wisps from his forehead. He found himself embracing the boy in the backyard when he fell and scraped his knee, emulating hugs and kisses their mother's gave their father when he left, even though Al was only stepping out to pick mint for tea. This epiphany was one like no other to Edward. I think, I...

"I love him."

"Of course you do. He's your brother."

Ed nodded, but mentally shook his head at the woman. No, no. Not that way, Pinako. I... love him.

And it pains me so much to say it, because he may never hear it from me again.

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