Moral Compass
Moral Compass
By: Skeren Dreamera
Rated: PG at most
Notes: This is set towards the end of the series. I played with a few things around then, so there are almost certainly spoilers, though I’m not sure for what episode. I’m not sure if I want to give this more parts or not yet though. On to the decidedly devious Alphonse!
Tidbit: Alphonse had debated a long time before choosing to do things this way.
Alphonse rolled over in bed, eyes opening as he tried to figure out what woke him. Sleep was precious now that he had it again and he’d quickly made his brother’s sleep habits look positively normal. He slept far more now than his brother ever had.
Thus failing to explain why he was awake.
Shoving himself into an upright position, gray eyes scanned the room, seeing nothing out of place, and nothing that shouldn’t be there. It was only when he was about to give up and go back to sleep that he realized what had disturbed him. Kimbley wasn’t in the room. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, as he made sure to keep the man’s medication at a high enough dose to keep him docile, but the morning before he’d run out of supplies. That meant that his charge would be more aware of himself then normal after nearly a day without.
Alphonse let that concept sink in, turning over why that would be a bad thing for only a moment before he got to his feet, his mind finally starting to work properly. In the two months he’d been in charge of the older, barely healed alchemist, he’d been drugging him. He didn’t know how he’d react to him without it, and he sincerely hoped that the man wasn’t able to focus enough yet to use his alchemy. He wasn’t eager to get blown up, and the fact that the man had already tried that once didn’t help his case in the least.
That didn’t mean, however, that he regretted not turning him in once they’d realized he was still alive. He’d been the only person left in the city, right where they’d left him, breathing shallow and uneven. They’d already used the stone, and it had been Alphonse that had realized that there was some life in the man. And all of those things added together to having him fearing for his life at four in the morning. It half made him wonder if the good deed had been worth it.
Hearing noise from the direction of the living room, Alphonse moved out of the bedroom and down the hall. He wasn’t sure what he expected to find, but having to dodge thrown projectiles hadn’t crossed his mind as a method of retaliation. The loud crash as the lamp slammed into the wall made him glad that his brother wasn’t home.
“Kimbley…” He trailed off as he realized that the gold eyes of the elder were very intently focused on him. He had always watched him, following his movements with sharp attention, but it had been a very long time since any level of awareness or anger had been present in that gaze.
“Why?” The dark haired man rose from the floor, nearly not making it as some hard shivers ran over his frame, but it didn’t stop him from prowling towards the blond teen.
“Why what exactly?” Alphonse backed away a couple steps as the man put his hands together, never breaking gazes with him. Even if the man might not be capable of using his alchemy at the moment, he didn’t wish to test the theory out.
“You know what. This. Why did you feel the need to do this?” It was just a hiss, and the older alchemist lunged forward, only narrowly missing the other, and even then the lack was mostly due to a sudden pain in his side where his wound had been. It distracted him just long enough that the blonde had managed to duck away.
Seeing that the shakes and his wounds were slowing him down, Alphonse tackled him, intent on getting him pinned until he could do something about this. The man was hindered from his attempts to get the other off his back by a particularly violent set of shakes, that being all it took to give the blond the chance to grab his wrists and pin them to the floor.
Alphonse listened to the harsh breathing under him for a long moment, and it occurred to him to wonder why the man would be reacting so badly to only one day without. “It was either turning you in or keeping them from realizing you survived.”
Growling in the back of his throat, Kimbley yanked at his hands, clearly displeased, but a wave of dizziness made him close his eyes to try to ward it off. That didn’t stop him from trying to get loose though. “Not that, this.”
Alphonse leaned on the hands in his grip when a particularly harsh jerk almost got the man loose. This was the longest conversation they’d had since he ended up being his caretaker. “I couldn’t trust you without them. I really thought about it, but it was what I needed to do.”
Kimbley fisted his hands, trying to hang onto consciousness as another wave of dizziness almost knocked him out. He had that sneaking suspicion that he wouldn’t become aware again for even longer than before if he let go. As it was, the last few months were little more than a hazy blur. “Would have been better to die.”
Alphonse sighed softly, leaning closer to catch the almost inaudible words as the man struggled for just a little harder to stay awake. “It’s not that bad. You’ll see that it’s not that bad.”
“It is.” Kimbley had to let go awareness at that point, but the absolute malice in his tone hadn’t been stopped by the lack of volume.
“No, it isn’t.” Alphonse lifted his hand cautiously, and when no movement met his actions, he ran his fingers through the loose mane of black that his captive had.
Thinking back over the extremity of the reaction he’d just seen to the withdrawal of the drug for even the short span of time, he decided that he’d try something else. Maybe, if he took him gradually off the control, he could fix the physical problems he’d caused, and with luck, he’d be able to trust the man. He just had to do this correctly. If he did, then he wouldn’t have to worry about the man trying to kill him when it was all said and done.
Crossposted to calm_bomber
By: Skeren Dreamera
Rated: PG at most
Notes: This is set towards the end of the series. I played with a few things around then, so there are almost certainly spoilers, though I’m not sure for what episode. I’m not sure if I want to give this more parts or not yet though. On to the decidedly devious Alphonse!
Tidbit: Alphonse had debated a long time before choosing to do things this way.
Alphonse rolled over in bed, eyes opening as he tried to figure out what woke him. Sleep was precious now that he had it again and he’d quickly made his brother’s sleep habits look positively normal. He slept far more now than his brother ever had.
Thus failing to explain why he was awake.
Shoving himself into an upright position, gray eyes scanned the room, seeing nothing out of place, and nothing that shouldn’t be there. It was only when he was about to give up and go back to sleep that he realized what had disturbed him. Kimbley wasn’t in the room. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, as he made sure to keep the man’s medication at a high enough dose to keep him docile, but the morning before he’d run out of supplies. That meant that his charge would be more aware of himself then normal after nearly a day without.
Alphonse let that concept sink in, turning over why that would be a bad thing for only a moment before he got to his feet, his mind finally starting to work properly. In the two months he’d been in charge of the older, barely healed alchemist, he’d been drugging him. He didn’t know how he’d react to him without it, and he sincerely hoped that the man wasn’t able to focus enough yet to use his alchemy. He wasn’t eager to get blown up, and the fact that the man had already tried that once didn’t help his case in the least.
That didn’t mean, however, that he regretted not turning him in once they’d realized he was still alive. He’d been the only person left in the city, right where they’d left him, breathing shallow and uneven. They’d already used the stone, and it had been Alphonse that had realized that there was some life in the man. And all of those things added together to having him fearing for his life at four in the morning. It half made him wonder if the good deed had been worth it.
Hearing noise from the direction of the living room, Alphonse moved out of the bedroom and down the hall. He wasn’t sure what he expected to find, but having to dodge thrown projectiles hadn’t crossed his mind as a method of retaliation. The loud crash as the lamp slammed into the wall made him glad that his brother wasn’t home.
“Kimbley…” He trailed off as he realized that the gold eyes of the elder were very intently focused on him. He had always watched him, following his movements with sharp attention, but it had been a very long time since any level of awareness or anger had been present in that gaze.
“Why?” The dark haired man rose from the floor, nearly not making it as some hard shivers ran over his frame, but it didn’t stop him from prowling towards the blond teen.
“Why what exactly?” Alphonse backed away a couple steps as the man put his hands together, never breaking gazes with him. Even if the man might not be capable of using his alchemy at the moment, he didn’t wish to test the theory out.
“You know what. This. Why did you feel the need to do this?” It was just a hiss, and the older alchemist lunged forward, only narrowly missing the other, and even then the lack was mostly due to a sudden pain in his side where his wound had been. It distracted him just long enough that the blonde had managed to duck away.
Seeing that the shakes and his wounds were slowing him down, Alphonse tackled him, intent on getting him pinned until he could do something about this. The man was hindered from his attempts to get the other off his back by a particularly violent set of shakes, that being all it took to give the blond the chance to grab his wrists and pin them to the floor.
Alphonse listened to the harsh breathing under him for a long moment, and it occurred to him to wonder why the man would be reacting so badly to only one day without. “It was either turning you in or keeping them from realizing you survived.”
Growling in the back of his throat, Kimbley yanked at his hands, clearly displeased, but a wave of dizziness made him close his eyes to try to ward it off. That didn’t stop him from trying to get loose though. “Not that, this.”
Alphonse leaned on the hands in his grip when a particularly harsh jerk almost got the man loose. This was the longest conversation they’d had since he ended up being his caretaker. “I couldn’t trust you without them. I really thought about it, but it was what I needed to do.”
Kimbley fisted his hands, trying to hang onto consciousness as another wave of dizziness almost knocked him out. He had that sneaking suspicion that he wouldn’t become aware again for even longer than before if he let go. As it was, the last few months were little more than a hazy blur. “Would have been better to die.”
Alphonse sighed softly, leaning closer to catch the almost inaudible words as the man struggled for just a little harder to stay awake. “It’s not that bad. You’ll see that it’s not that bad.”
“It is.” Kimbley had to let go awareness at that point, but the absolute malice in his tone hadn’t been stopped by the lack of volume.
“No, it isn’t.” Alphonse lifted his hand cautiously, and when no movement met his actions, he ran his fingers through the loose mane of black that his captive had.
Thinking back over the extremity of the reaction he’d just seen to the withdrawal of the drug for even the short span of time, he decided that he’d try something else. Maybe, if he took him gradually off the control, he could fix the physical problems he’d caused, and with luck, he’d be able to trust the man. He just had to do this correctly. If he did, then he wouldn’t have to worry about the man trying to kill him when it was all said and done.
Crossposted to calm_bomber