Full Metal Alchemist, "Empty Nest 1: Awakening," Danny/Al, PG-13
Okay, kiddies, it’s chapter one of Empty Nest! I’m going to call it PG-13 for excessive fluff. All original stuff, Danny Broche and Alphonse Elric falling in love with each other so sweetly it hurts.
Millions of thanks go out to SailorMac who listened to me bitch and whine about this chapter, then beta’d for me. She’s just too damn cool.
Empty Nest in its entirety:
Prologue: Prodigal Sons
[Chapter 1: Awakening]
Chapter 1.5: A Matter of Pride
Chapter 2: True Test
Chapter 3: Amestris Pie
Chapter 4: Waiting
Chapter 5: Allowance
Chapter 6: Change
Chapter 7: Truce
Chapter 8: Out Alone
Chapter 9: Growing Pains
Chapter 10: Resentment
Chapter 11: Back to Normal
Chapter 12: Perspective
Chapter 13: Understanding
Chapter 14: Distraction
Chapter 15: Silence
Chapter 16: Choose
Chapter 17: Bonds
Chapter 18: Healing
Chapter 19: Nesting
Chapter 20: The Morning After
Chapter 21: Reaction
Chapter 22: Aftershocks
Chapter 23: Goodbye
Chapter 24: Memory
Epilogue: Family
Empty Nest
Chapter One
Awakening
by Mistress Quickly
Sergeant Daniel Alexander Broche snapped to attention, standing behind the ever-severe Maria Ross on the front porch of the famous Flame Alchemist’s house, of all places, eager as always to make a good impression on the famous General who had ordered him out on a special assignment. Nevermind that no-one ever actually clarified for Danny what his special assignments were. He was reporting for duty, as expected, his uniform crisp and as spotless as he could manage, standing at sharp attention beside one of his closest friends.
Roy smiled at them from the door, his daughter perched on one of his arms, tugging his hair. “Ah, Second Lieutenant Ross, Sergeant Broche. Come in, come in.”
Danny dropped his salute and waited, nodding to Maria for her to precede him, then followed the woman into the house, stopping just inside the doorway. Standing in the hall, wrapped in coats and scarves and looking utterly mothered, were Fletcher Tringham and Alphonse Elric, Riza Mustang standing behind them, arms crossed over her chest.
“These two would like to go to the library for research time,” said Roy, bouncing his daughter lightly in his arms. “Please escort them and make sure they don’t run into any trouble. I don’t imagine there’s anyone left who would like to hurt them, but just in case, you know.”
“Yes, sir,” said Maria, saluting.
“Sir!” said Danny, saluting as well. He stepped aside, allowing Fletcher and Al to pass, then saluted his commanding officers, once again, and followed his charges out, Maria close behind him.
The moment the door to the Mustang’s house closed, Al and Fletcher both dissolved into breathless giggles, Al’s hand slipping into Fletcher’s and squeezing.
“I can’t believe Roy called you two out to keep an eye on us,” he said, looking over his shoulder at Danny and Maria. “He really is becoming an overprotective father.”
“General Mustang has always been very concerned with your safety, Alphonse,” said Maria. “It makes sense that he would call on myself and Sergeant Broche. We’ve undertaken this assignment before.”
Al stopped and dropped Fletcher’s hand. “You’ve gotten stuck babysitting us before?” he said.
“Hey!” said Danny. “We’re not babysitters, we’re bodyguards, and yes, we’ve done it before. Guarded you and your brother when that Ishbalan assassin was after you.”
Fletcher leant close to his friend. “Scar,” he said.
“Oh,” said Al. “You two were our bodyguards? That kind of makes sense, actually.” He smiled at Danny, melting the man with the sweetness of the look. “Thank you for taking care of Brother, Back Then. I’m sure he was a pain about it.”
“Not especially,” said Maria. “You two were just very good at slipping past us, considering you were a loud-mouthed teenager and a seven-foot suit of armor.”
Al grinned. “We used to pull that on my mom, all the time. Well, not as a teenager and a suit of armor, obviously, but we used to sneak out of doing chores and-well, in Brother’s case, drinking milk-even when she thought she’d trapped us.”
“Thanks for the warning,” said Danny.
“My pleasure,” said Al.
They walked to the car in silence, Al and Fletcher settling together in the backseat while Maria slid into the driver’s seat. Danny tugged his seatbelt across his chest, then looked in the side mirror of his door, only barely suppressing the jump of surprise when he found Al staring back at him.
“Thank you,” said the boy, smiling in a way that, once again, gave Danny the distinct feeling of melting, “for taking care of us. The more time we get to prepare, the more likely we are to pass the Exam.”
Danny smiled at the boy’s reflection, the bright eyes, the soft curve of lips in a smile. “It’s my pleasure,” he said.
And really, it was.
~*~*~*~
Fletcher was sucking on a chocolate-covered coffee bean, a delicacy his older brother had concocted and sent him. Lips pursed around the bean, head bent over his book, he looked a bit like a little old woman trying to read a map, a comparison that had Danny chewing the inside of his lip, trying not to laugh. Beside Fletcher, Al was yawning, struggling with a text that looked as if it had to weigh nearly as much as the boy himself, his long hair loose and scraggly about his face and shoulders.
“Alphonse?” said Danny, “would you like me to get you a cup of coffee or something?”
Al blinked at him, blearily. “No, thank you,” he said, the smile he offered the older man only a shadow of his usual expression. “I really can’t stand the taste of coffee.”
“Tea, then?” said Maria. “Green tea has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.”
“That would be kind of nice, actually,” said Al. He stood and stretched. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
Danny stood as well. “I’ll go with you,” he said. He squeezed Maria’s shoulder as he passed, following Al out of the study area. The woman had developed an almost-comical mothering sense towards the younger Tringham, years ago when she bodily dragged Danny off duty to save the boy and Russel from the Fuhrer’s insanity. Ever since their newest assignment of guarding Al and Fletcher, she’d taken Fletcher as her personal assignment, an arrangement that Danny found he didn’t mind in the least.
Alphonse Elric was a fascinating young man to be around.
When they stepped out into the dazzling light of the overcast Tuesday afternoon, Al shielded his eyes with his hand, stumbling a little as his eyes adjusted. Danny caught him, holding the boy’s arm until Al could see properly, blinking around at the world he’d been ignoring.
“It’s snowing,” he said.
“Yeah,” said Danny. “Has been for a few hours, I’d say.”
Al nudged the snow collected on the grass with the toe of his boot. “Wow,” he said. “I really hate being trapped in that library all the time. It’s so echo-y and big and ...” he sighed. “I feel like a ghost in there.”
Danny reached over and gave the boy’s upper arm a squeeze. “Not much longer, now,” he said. “Just a little more than a month, right?
“Just a little more than a month,” said Al, nodding. When Danny let go of his upper arm, his arm dropping to his side, Al looked down. He hesitated, then gently reached over and took Danny’s hand in his own. “Thank you,” he said, “for coming with me. It’s been ages since I walked in the daylight and talked to someone.”
He squeezed once, then let go, cheeks pink in the cold wind, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his coat, while Danny walked beside him, silent and faintly smiling.
~*~*~*~
Three and a half weeks later, they’d protected Al and Fletcher from little more than the dust-rabbits living in the archives and watched helplessly as the boys fought off the fatigue of studying. They’d ferried the boys home to the General’s house together every night, Maria driving while Danny watched the boys cuddle together in the backseat, Fletcher’s head pillowed on Al’s lap.
Now, trying not to shiver in the chill of the library, watching the clock on the wall mark the passage of time, far past midnight, Danny was more impressed than ever by Al’s capacity for learning, even more so than he’d been Before, watching the boy argue Alchemical theory with the famous Full Metal Alchemist. He was watching Al struggle to stay awake, watched the boy scribble notes in his notebook, frowning at the text on the table, Fletcher shifting in his sleep, sighing and curling into a ball as best he could in the hard wooden library chair, his head pillowed on the book he’d been studying. Al glanced at his friend, then up at Danny, and smiled.
“No stamina,” he said, quietly, tugging his sweater over his head and draping it over the younger boy’s shoulders. “Russel’s been bugging him for weeks now to go get his eyes checked, but Fletcher insists he doesn’t need glasses.”
“Ah,” said Danny. “That’s no good. He’ll be able to study better with glasses, if he needs them. When I was still in high school, I loved reading, but after I enlisted, reading gave me a headache. Found out about a year and a half later that I needed reading glasses, and I’ve been able to read as much as I like, ever since.”
Al tugged the tie out of his ponytail and began finger-combing the long strands. “What kind of stuff do you like to read?” he said around the tie clamped between his teeth.
Danny blushed. “I really like historical fiction,” he said. “Don Quixote is my absolute favorite story of all time. And Ishbalan folktales, I really like those.”
Al tied his hair in a ponytail, his hands blindly working in a way that hypnotized Danny. “Ooh, really?” he said. “Brother reads a lot of Ishbalan literature. He’d probably love you forever if you’d sit down with him over coffee and discuss it. Russel can’t stand it-says it puts him to sleep-and I’m too busy studying to read other stuff, so Brother has no-one to talk to about it.” He sighed and turned the page of the book in front of him. “This Exam has taken away all my time for fun stuff.”
“It’ll pay off in the end though, right?” said Danny, aching at the sight of Al’s sad expression. He’d never even considered studying Alchemy himself, had never really thought about the Exam as anything more than a day marked with small grey letters on the calendar the Military provided for the officers living in the dorms.
Al nodded. “IF I pass,” he said. “Roy said I passed the last time I took it, but I wasn’t Certified, so I don’t know if he was just saying that to make me feel better or not.”
“You passed,” said Maria, rising and stretching. “But you couldn’t be Certified without a physical examination, which you could not have passed, Back Then. The General knew that and protected your secret by discouraging you from continuing.” She made her way around the table and placed her hands on Fletcher’s back, gently shaking the boy awake.
“Al?” said Fletcher, groggily.
“Hey,” said Al, reaching over to squeeze his friend’s hand. “You fell asleep again, Fletch.”
Fletcher yawned and blinked at him, then at Danny, looking very much still asleep. Maria patted his back.
“Come on,” she said. “I’ll take you back to the General’s house. You’ll learn better if you get a proper night’s sleep.”
“No, I’m fine,” said Fletcher, shaking himself. “I need to study.”
Al gave the boy’s hand another squeeze. “Get some sleep, Fletcher,” he said. “You look awful.”
“You’re still studying,” said Fletcher.
“Not much longer,” said Al. “And anyway, you were up before me this morning, remember? I slept in a good hour and a half past when you woke up.”
Fletcher yawned and shivered, then nodded and stood, rubbing his eyes. “Okay,” he said. “Just a few hours, maybe.”
“That’s all you need,” said Al. He stood and hugged Fletcher tightly. “See you tomorrow, Fletch,” he said.
“Goodnight, Al,” said Fletcher. He set Al’s sweater on the table, then gathered his notes and followed Maria out of the room, waving to Danny just before the door closed behind him. Danny waved back, then relaxed into his chair, watching Al tug his sweater back on, shivering in the chill of the library.
“You should probably get some sleep, too,” he said.
Al nodded. “I will,” he said. “Just let me finish this chapter, and we’ll go.”
“Take your time,” said Danny. “I’ve got nowhere else to be.” And nowhere else I’d rather be than here, watching you study, he added mentally. Al was lovely when he was concentrating, lower lip caught between his teeth, bronze eyes focused on the page in front of him, brows furrowed, his bangs falling in his eyes.
Danny watched over him, silent and still, wondering just a little at the flutter he felt in his chest at the notion of being alone with the younger Elric, at the pang of jealousy he felt every time he watched Al hug Fletcher or hold the boy’s hand.
He wrote it off as sleep deprivation, crossing his arms over his chest as Al struggled to stay awake, scribbling notes into his notebook in the low light of Central Library.
~*~*~*~
Three hours later, Danny was struggling to hold Al and Al’s bag steady while keying into the front door of his dorm block. The boy had passed out over his book half an hour before, and when he’d begun shivering and refused to wake, even when Danny shook him, saying his name, the man had decided it was time for Al to give it up and go home. And since his dorm, only four blocks away, seemed a much better option than the General’s house, which was a good ten-minute drive away, they were there, Al asleep in Danny’s arms, Danny wishing he’d focused more on strengthening his arms in his daily exercises.
Two doors away from his room, he felt Al’s bag start to slip from his shoulder and gave up trying to blindly find the key to his room amidst all the keys on his keychain, opting instead to cradle Al closer, adjusting the bag just as it began to fall. Arms full, he kicked lightly at his door, praying that Akil would be there and wake. Al was small, not much bigger than his brother, but he was by no means light, and Danny was fairly certain he’d drop the boy or spill the papers Al kept so painfully well-organized, were he to go for his key.
He kicked the door again, harder, and called Akil’s name, the hand holding Al’s upper body stroking the boy’s arm, gently. He heard a thud inside the room and sent a silent prayer of thanks to his God, his arms beginning to ache as his roommate unlocked and opened the door.
Akil’s eyes bugged. “Whoa, what happened to him? Is he drunk?”
“No,” said Danny, easing into the room, taking care not to bump Al’s feet on the doorjamb. “He’s just exhausted, been studying for the State Alchemists’ Exam for a couple weeks straight now. He passed out in the library, so I brought him here. Better than sleeping on one of those tables.”
Akil closed the door and arched an eyebrow at his roommate, who was balancing one foot on the bottom rung on the ladder on their bunk-beds, obviously trying to figure out how to climb up with Al in his arms. “Just put him in my bed, man,” he said.
Danny gave him a grateful look over his shoulder, then settled Al onto the bottom bunk, which was still fairly neat even though Akil had been in it, only moments before, not the tangled war-zone of cotton that Danny’s became after ten minutes of Danny occupying it. He settled on the edge of the bed and set the boy’s bag carefully on the floor, then began untying Al’s boots, easing them off, arranging the sleeping boy under the covers. Al murmured softly in his sleep, then rolled over, curled up like a kitten.
“Since when are we adopting stray Alchemists, Dan?” said Akil, leaning against the bunk ladder and watching his roommate tend to the sleeping boy. “I mean, that time you sneaked a kitten in was bad enough, but this ...”
“He’s not a ‘stray Alchemist,’ Akil,” said Danny. “This is Alphonse Elric. I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on him, favor to General Mustang, but I really just couldn’t carry him all the way back to the General’s house, and I’m not a very good driver after dark. I figured he could sleep here until he had some of his strength back.”
Akil gawked. “That,” he said, “is the Full Metal Alchemist’s brother?”
“Yeah,” said Danny.
“Man, you get all the good assignments,” whined Akil. “First, you get to bodyguard both of them. Now, you get to spend all day with the younger one. Do you know what I got assigned to do today?”
Danny shook his head.
“I spent my day doing paperwork,” said Akil. “That, and helping some super-scary girl do a demonstration on Automail in Central Hospital. She looks like she’s young enough to be my daughter, but she’s some sort of surgeon or something. I just hope I never lose a leg or something, because the thought of some kid wielding a scalpel over me is-”
“You’re working with Winry?” said Danny. “Alphonse mentioned that she was going to be doing a workshop in Central, just yesterday. That’s cool.”
Akil snorted. “Yeah, she’s pretty funny. But still ... look at you. Calling the Full Metal Alchemist’s baby brother ‘Alphonse’ like you’re his best friend.” He sighed. “I never get any cool jobs.”
Danny chuckled. “Thanks for letting him stay here, Akil.”
“No problem,” said Akil, rolling his eyes. “I’ll get my bedroll and take floor.”
Danny shook his head. “No, let me take floor. He and his brother used to sneak away from me all the time. I’d rather be where he’ll step on me in case he decides to leave in the middle of the night. You can take my bed.”
“If he wants to sneak out in the middle of the night,” said Akil, glancing at the glowing 3:00 of Danny’s alarm clock, “he’s missed it by a few hours.” He yawned. “Not my worry, though. Have fun sleeping in the floor.”
Danny nodded and stood. He pulled his field-supply bedroll out of the closet and unrolled it, then stripped out of his uniform, hanging it carefully on its hook before pulling on a worn pair of flannel pajama pants and an old t-shirt. He flopped onto his bedroll and sighed, watching Al’s body rise and fall in a gentle rhythm of sleep, listening to Akil’s buzzing snore.
Within minutes, he was asleep.
~*~*~*~
Half an hour later, Danny awoke to the sound of crying and Akil cursing, growling explicit orders for Danny to “wake up, your stray is upset.” Danny sat up and rubbed his eyes, tugging on the chain of the lamp by the bed, flooding the room in warm light.
Standing in the middle of the room, trembling, tears streaking his cheeks, was Al, his bronze eyes wide and unfocused, hands worrying the sides of his pants. Danny stood and padded over to the boy, reaching out and brushing Al’s long hair back, tucking it behind the boy’s ear.
“Alphonse,” he said, “it’s okay. Do you know where you are?”
Al blinked up at him. “Danny?” he said, tears rolling copiously down his cheeks. “What are you doing here? Where’s Fletcher?”
“Shh,” said Danny, pulling the boy close. “You’re in my dorm room, Alphonse. You passed out in the library, and I couldn’t carry you back to the General’s house. Maria took Fletcher back hours ago. He’s safe.”
Al melted against him, the grip his hands had had on the sides of his pants loosening. “I h-had a n-nightmare,” he said, softly. “Dreamed that B-brother was gone again, that he’d taken Russel w-with him.”
Danny heard movement and looked up, giving his roommate a grateful look as Akil handed him the box of tissues from the bedside table. “It was just a dream, Alphonse,” said Danny, gently. “Your brother’s fine, and so is Russel. I promise. You’ll get to see them next week when you sit the Exam, right? Not too much longer, now.”
Al sniffled and crossed his arms behind Danny’s back, pressing himself fully against the man and trembling. “Brother isn’t coming,” he said, so quietly that Danny wasn’t entirely certain he’d heard him. “He doesn’t want me to take the Exam, so he isn’t coming to see us Test.”
“Oh,” said Danny. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.”
For a few long moments, he stood still in the middle of the room, holding Al close and rubbing his back, listening to the boy cry. Only when Al began to calm down did he loosen his hold, offering the boy a tissue.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you back to bed. You’re just exhausted, Alphonse. You’ve been working too hard.”
Al nodded and blew his nose. “Okay,” he said. He looked up at Akil, who was watching him from Danny’s bed. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“Not a problem,” said Akil. “Pixie Stick down there wakes me up all the time, babbling in his sleep.”
Al sniffled, then laughed weakly. “Pixie Stick?” he said.
Akil nodded. “He’s sickeningly sweet to everyone, so the joke in boot camp was that if you cut him open, all you’d get is sugar. Somewhere along the line, someone compared him to a pixie stick, and it stuck.”
“That’s where that name came from?” said Danny. “Huh. I wondered.”
“Yeah,” said Akil. “Why, where’d you think we got it?”
Danny blushed. “Doesn’t matter,” he said. He guided Al back to bed, tucked the boy in. When he turned to return to his bedroll, Al stopped him, gripping Danny’s wrist hard.
“Will you sleep with me?” he said. “Fletcher and I usually sleep together.”
Danny swallowed hard around the powerful surge of jealousy that pushed into his throat at the thought of Al curled around Fletcher, kissing the boy and giggling as they snuggled. “Sure, Alphonse,” he said. He watched the boy scoot closer to the wall, making plenty of room, and slid into bed, stretching to turn out the bedside lamp before settling into the cool sheets. When Al curled around his side, Danny held his breath, willing his cock to behave itself, praying it wouldn’t be too noticeable, stiffening under his briefs, nudged against Al’s thigh.
In the bunk above him, he heard his roommate chuckling. “Sleep well, Pixie Stick,” said Akil.
“Goodnight, Akil,” said Danny. He wrapped his arms around his charge and closed his eyes, listening to Al’s breathing slowly even out and deepen, listening to Akil’s breathing turn into the buzz of snoring. He stroked Al’s long hair, trying to empty his mind well enough to drift to sleep, but by the time the sun was beginning to rise outside the window and the alarm was beeping shrilly, he’d not managed a moment of sleep.
Watching Al stretch, long limbs tangling in the sheets, watching the boy sit up, looking refreshed and happy and beautiful, Danny found that he didn’t mind the lost sleep.
I’m falling for you, Alphonse Elric, he thought, when the boy hugged him before slipping out of bed to greet Akil and thank the man for letting him sleep in his bed. No denying it. I’m falling for you hard.
He ignored Akil’s cheeky wink, blushing furiously as he changed back into his uniform, painfully aware of Al so nearby, even with the boy’s nose buried in the book he’d brought back with them from the library. Dressed and determined to school back the blush he felt forming when Al smiled at him, to ignore the jolt of electricity he felt when the boy stretched, long hair hanging loose and wavy down his back, Danny followed Al out of the dorm, rolling his eyes at Akil’s jibe about him getting all the good assignments.
The task of guarding Al had just gotten much, much more difficult.
~*~*~*~
Five days away from the exam, Fletcher began to complain of a stomachache, offering very little resistance when Maria offered to take him to her house for chicken soup and toast, which she said never failed to make her husband feel better when he was sick. Al had hugged his friend and whispered for him to feel better soon, then had gone back to his own studying, lasting only a few minutes before closing his books and stacking his notes.
“I’m going to call my brother,” he said. “Russel will want to know that his brother’s sick, and I haven’t talked to them in ... two weeks, now?”
“Something like that,” said Danny. “And you really ought to have a break.” He swallowed hard around the nerves he felt bunching in his throat. “Um, then after you call your brother, would you, um, like to go out with me for lunch? Something hot instead of the stuff they’ve got in the snack-room here?”
Al smiled at him, thoroughly melting the man. “I’d love to,” he said.
They walked down the echoing stairs that led from the archives to the main floor of the library, past the other hopefuls who were frantically studying, to the small office where the public phone was kept. Danny leant against the wall, nodding to Al as the boy slipped inside and pulled the door closed. He was nervous and excited and utterly pleased with himself for working up the courage to ask the boy out. It wasn’t an official date, of course, but it was more than nothing, and above all else, it was an excuse to be around Al when the boy wasn’t studying or sleeping, and that was more than enough for-
Only a few minutes later, the door to the small office swung open, and Al bolted from inside, one hand over his mouth, the other clenched in a tight fist, hanging rigid by his hip. Danny pushed off the wall and followed the boy, jogging to keep up, even with his longer legs. He followed Al into the men’s restroom, out of breath, and found the boy slumped over one of the sinks, crying.
“Alphonse?” he said, gently. “Are you okay?”
The boy shook his head, shuddering and hiccupping, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. Danny stepped forward, tentatively wrapping his arms around Al, remembering just how violent Edward was, sometimes, when Maria tried to hug him. But Al was nothing like his older brother, melting into Danny’s arms, crying until the front of the man’s uniform was thoroughly damp, arms tightly wrapped around Danny’s chest.
“My b-brother,” he sobbed, “still w-won’t come to C-central for the Exam.” He sniffled, shuddering in Danny’s arms. “And ... he s-said that he ... d-doesn’t want me to c-call him again unless I c-come to my senses and f-forget about this ‘s-stupid C-certification thing.’”
Danny hugged Al more tightly, heart breaking for the boy. An only child, he couldn’t really empathize with the pain of sibling rejection, but he knew just how close Al was with his brother, knew what it felt like to be betrayed by friends, to be burned by unkind words spoken by people he trusted.
“Shh, Alphonse, sweetheart, it’s okay,” he whispered, pressing his lips into Al’s soft bronze hair. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it. Really. Shh, it’s okay.”
Al didn’t say anything, crying into Danny’s uniform until his sobs weakened to hiccups, hiccups eventually becoming sniffles. When he stepped back, wiping tears from his cheeks, his eyes widened, a look of horror filling them.
“I’m so sorry! I got snot all over you,” he said, voice rough from crying.
Danny looked down at the sodden mess of his uniform and chuckled. “Believe it or not, I’ve had worse on my uniform before, Alphonse.”
“Really?” said Al, tugging a paper towel out of the dispenser over the sink and blowing his nose.
“Yeah,” said Danny. “Last time my roommate got the flu. I was sitting on the side of his bed, spoon-feeding him, when he realized he was going to be sick. First, he tipped the bowl of chicken soup onto me, then didn’t quite make it out of bed before ... Well, anyway, it was gross.”
Al sniffled and tossed the wadded paper towel into the trash. “Winry said that Brother threw up on her when she attached his arm the first time,” he said, softly. “Said she’d have thrashed him for it, had he not been in such pain.” Sighing heavily, he clapped his hands and touched his palms to Danny’s chest, pale purple light flashing around the wet mess on the blue fabric. Danny jumped and yelped in surprise, nearly pulling away from Al’s hands and the light began to dim.
“Holy shit,” he said. “You can do that without a Circle?”
Al nodded. “Anyone who’s been to the Gate can do it. We sacrifice something in exchange for the Gate’s power.”
Danny touched the dry, clean front of his uniform, blinking owlishly at it. “Wow,” he said. “I didn’t know that. What did you sacrifice?”
He knew immediately that it was a stupid question, watching Al’s lower lip quiver, watching tears tumble down the boy’s cheeks. “I gave up four years with my brother, in exchange for my body,” said Al. “And now ...”
Danny tugged the boy close again. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Don’t worry about your brother, Alphonse. He loves you more than anything. This will blow over, I swear.”
“How can you possibly know that?” whispered Al.
“Because I can remember those four years,” said Danny. “I watched your brother interact with you. I’ve never seen anyone who loved another person as much as your brother loves you. Maria used to tease me for getting all weepy over how close you two were.”
Al looked up at him, eyes wide and bright with tears. “You ... yeah, you were our guardians back then, weren’t you?” He gripped Danny’s upper arms tightly. “Will you tell me about him, Danny? Please? Tell me what it was like Back Then? Everything you can remember?”
Danny pulled one hand free and brushed the loose strands of Al’s hair back behind the boy’s ear. “It would be my pleasure, Alphonse,” he said, fighting the urge to lean closer and kiss the boy, at least on the nose.
Al blushed. “Please,” he said, “call me Al.”
“Al,” said Danny. “Want to go for lunch now? I can answer your questions while we eat.”
“Okay,” said Al, his smile fainter than usual, his beautiful eyes swollen from crying. “That sounds really good.” And then, as though without thinking, he slipped his hand into Danny’s, lacing their fingers, not merely clasping the man’s hand as Danny had seen him do countless times with Fletcher.
He followed the boy out of the restroom, down the hall, and out of the library, squeezing the warm hand in his, heart beating faster as Al led him into the cold wind.
Millions of thanks go out to SailorMac who listened to me bitch and whine about this chapter, then beta’d for me. She’s just too damn cool.
Empty Nest in its entirety:
Prologue: Prodigal Sons
[Chapter 1: Awakening]
Chapter 1.5: A Matter of Pride
Chapter 2: True Test
Chapter 3: Amestris Pie
Chapter 4: Waiting
Chapter 5: Allowance
Chapter 6: Change
Chapter 7: Truce
Chapter 8: Out Alone
Chapter 9: Growing Pains
Chapter 10: Resentment
Chapter 11: Back to Normal
Chapter 12: Perspective
Chapter 13: Understanding
Chapter 14: Distraction
Chapter 15: Silence
Chapter 16: Choose
Chapter 17: Bonds
Chapter 18: Healing
Chapter 19: Nesting
Chapter 20: The Morning After
Chapter 21: Reaction
Chapter 22: Aftershocks
Chapter 23: Goodbye
Chapter 24: Memory
Epilogue: Family
Empty Nest
Chapter One
Awakening
by Mistress Quickly
Sergeant Daniel Alexander Broche snapped to attention, standing behind the ever-severe Maria Ross on the front porch of the famous Flame Alchemist’s house, of all places, eager as always to make a good impression on the famous General who had ordered him out on a special assignment. Nevermind that no-one ever actually clarified for Danny what his special assignments were. He was reporting for duty, as expected, his uniform crisp and as spotless as he could manage, standing at sharp attention beside one of his closest friends.
Roy smiled at them from the door, his daughter perched on one of his arms, tugging his hair. “Ah, Second Lieutenant Ross, Sergeant Broche. Come in, come in.”
Danny dropped his salute and waited, nodding to Maria for her to precede him, then followed the woman into the house, stopping just inside the doorway. Standing in the hall, wrapped in coats and scarves and looking utterly mothered, were Fletcher Tringham and Alphonse Elric, Riza Mustang standing behind them, arms crossed over her chest.
“These two would like to go to the library for research time,” said Roy, bouncing his daughter lightly in his arms. “Please escort them and make sure they don’t run into any trouble. I don’t imagine there’s anyone left who would like to hurt them, but just in case, you know.”
“Yes, sir,” said Maria, saluting.
“Sir!” said Danny, saluting as well. He stepped aside, allowing Fletcher and Al to pass, then saluted his commanding officers, once again, and followed his charges out, Maria close behind him.
The moment the door to the Mustang’s house closed, Al and Fletcher both dissolved into breathless giggles, Al’s hand slipping into Fletcher’s and squeezing.
“I can’t believe Roy called you two out to keep an eye on us,” he said, looking over his shoulder at Danny and Maria. “He really is becoming an overprotective father.”
“General Mustang has always been very concerned with your safety, Alphonse,” said Maria. “It makes sense that he would call on myself and Sergeant Broche. We’ve undertaken this assignment before.”
Al stopped and dropped Fletcher’s hand. “You’ve gotten stuck babysitting us before?” he said.
“Hey!” said Danny. “We’re not babysitters, we’re bodyguards, and yes, we’ve done it before. Guarded you and your brother when that Ishbalan assassin was after you.”
Fletcher leant close to his friend. “Scar,” he said.
“Oh,” said Al. “You two were our bodyguards? That kind of makes sense, actually.” He smiled at Danny, melting the man with the sweetness of the look. “Thank you for taking care of Brother, Back Then. I’m sure he was a pain about it.”
“Not especially,” said Maria. “You two were just very good at slipping past us, considering you were a loud-mouthed teenager and a seven-foot suit of armor.”
Al grinned. “We used to pull that on my mom, all the time. Well, not as a teenager and a suit of armor, obviously, but we used to sneak out of doing chores and-well, in Brother’s case, drinking milk-even when she thought she’d trapped us.”
“Thanks for the warning,” said Danny.
“My pleasure,” said Al.
They walked to the car in silence, Al and Fletcher settling together in the backseat while Maria slid into the driver’s seat. Danny tugged his seatbelt across his chest, then looked in the side mirror of his door, only barely suppressing the jump of surprise when he found Al staring back at him.
“Thank you,” said the boy, smiling in a way that, once again, gave Danny the distinct feeling of melting, “for taking care of us. The more time we get to prepare, the more likely we are to pass the Exam.”
Danny smiled at the boy’s reflection, the bright eyes, the soft curve of lips in a smile. “It’s my pleasure,” he said.
And really, it was.
~*~*~*~
Fletcher was sucking on a chocolate-covered coffee bean, a delicacy his older brother had concocted and sent him. Lips pursed around the bean, head bent over his book, he looked a bit like a little old woman trying to read a map, a comparison that had Danny chewing the inside of his lip, trying not to laugh. Beside Fletcher, Al was yawning, struggling with a text that looked as if it had to weigh nearly as much as the boy himself, his long hair loose and scraggly about his face and shoulders.
“Alphonse?” said Danny, “would you like me to get you a cup of coffee or something?”
Al blinked at him, blearily. “No, thank you,” he said, the smile he offered the older man only a shadow of his usual expression. “I really can’t stand the taste of coffee.”
“Tea, then?” said Maria. “Green tea has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.”
“That would be kind of nice, actually,” said Al. He stood and stretched. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
Danny stood as well. “I’ll go with you,” he said. He squeezed Maria’s shoulder as he passed, following Al out of the study area. The woman had developed an almost-comical mothering sense towards the younger Tringham, years ago when she bodily dragged Danny off duty to save the boy and Russel from the Fuhrer’s insanity. Ever since their newest assignment of guarding Al and Fletcher, she’d taken Fletcher as her personal assignment, an arrangement that Danny found he didn’t mind in the least.
Alphonse Elric was a fascinating young man to be around.
When they stepped out into the dazzling light of the overcast Tuesday afternoon, Al shielded his eyes with his hand, stumbling a little as his eyes adjusted. Danny caught him, holding the boy’s arm until Al could see properly, blinking around at the world he’d been ignoring.
“It’s snowing,” he said.
“Yeah,” said Danny. “Has been for a few hours, I’d say.”
Al nudged the snow collected on the grass with the toe of his boot. “Wow,” he said. “I really hate being trapped in that library all the time. It’s so echo-y and big and ...” he sighed. “I feel like a ghost in there.”
Danny reached over and gave the boy’s upper arm a squeeze. “Not much longer, now,” he said. “Just a little more than a month, right?
“Just a little more than a month,” said Al, nodding. When Danny let go of his upper arm, his arm dropping to his side, Al looked down. He hesitated, then gently reached over and took Danny’s hand in his own. “Thank you,” he said, “for coming with me. It’s been ages since I walked in the daylight and talked to someone.”
He squeezed once, then let go, cheeks pink in the cold wind, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his coat, while Danny walked beside him, silent and faintly smiling.
~*~*~*~
Three and a half weeks later, they’d protected Al and Fletcher from little more than the dust-rabbits living in the archives and watched helplessly as the boys fought off the fatigue of studying. They’d ferried the boys home to the General’s house together every night, Maria driving while Danny watched the boys cuddle together in the backseat, Fletcher’s head pillowed on Al’s lap.
Now, trying not to shiver in the chill of the library, watching the clock on the wall mark the passage of time, far past midnight, Danny was more impressed than ever by Al’s capacity for learning, even more so than he’d been Before, watching the boy argue Alchemical theory with the famous Full Metal Alchemist. He was watching Al struggle to stay awake, watched the boy scribble notes in his notebook, frowning at the text on the table, Fletcher shifting in his sleep, sighing and curling into a ball as best he could in the hard wooden library chair, his head pillowed on the book he’d been studying. Al glanced at his friend, then up at Danny, and smiled.
“No stamina,” he said, quietly, tugging his sweater over his head and draping it over the younger boy’s shoulders. “Russel’s been bugging him for weeks now to go get his eyes checked, but Fletcher insists he doesn’t need glasses.”
“Ah,” said Danny. “That’s no good. He’ll be able to study better with glasses, if he needs them. When I was still in high school, I loved reading, but after I enlisted, reading gave me a headache. Found out about a year and a half later that I needed reading glasses, and I’ve been able to read as much as I like, ever since.”
Al tugged the tie out of his ponytail and began finger-combing the long strands. “What kind of stuff do you like to read?” he said around the tie clamped between his teeth.
Danny blushed. “I really like historical fiction,” he said. “Don Quixote is my absolute favorite story of all time. And Ishbalan folktales, I really like those.”
Al tied his hair in a ponytail, his hands blindly working in a way that hypnotized Danny. “Ooh, really?” he said. “Brother reads a lot of Ishbalan literature. He’d probably love you forever if you’d sit down with him over coffee and discuss it. Russel can’t stand it-says it puts him to sleep-and I’m too busy studying to read other stuff, so Brother has no-one to talk to about it.” He sighed and turned the page of the book in front of him. “This Exam has taken away all my time for fun stuff.”
“It’ll pay off in the end though, right?” said Danny, aching at the sight of Al’s sad expression. He’d never even considered studying Alchemy himself, had never really thought about the Exam as anything more than a day marked with small grey letters on the calendar the Military provided for the officers living in the dorms.
Al nodded. “IF I pass,” he said. “Roy said I passed the last time I took it, but I wasn’t Certified, so I don’t know if he was just saying that to make me feel better or not.”
“You passed,” said Maria, rising and stretching. “But you couldn’t be Certified without a physical examination, which you could not have passed, Back Then. The General knew that and protected your secret by discouraging you from continuing.” She made her way around the table and placed her hands on Fletcher’s back, gently shaking the boy awake.
“Al?” said Fletcher, groggily.
“Hey,” said Al, reaching over to squeeze his friend’s hand. “You fell asleep again, Fletch.”
Fletcher yawned and blinked at him, then at Danny, looking very much still asleep. Maria patted his back.
“Come on,” she said. “I’ll take you back to the General’s house. You’ll learn better if you get a proper night’s sleep.”
“No, I’m fine,” said Fletcher, shaking himself. “I need to study.”
Al gave the boy’s hand another squeeze. “Get some sleep, Fletcher,” he said. “You look awful.”
“You’re still studying,” said Fletcher.
“Not much longer,” said Al. “And anyway, you were up before me this morning, remember? I slept in a good hour and a half past when you woke up.”
Fletcher yawned and shivered, then nodded and stood, rubbing his eyes. “Okay,” he said. “Just a few hours, maybe.”
“That’s all you need,” said Al. He stood and hugged Fletcher tightly. “See you tomorrow, Fletch,” he said.
“Goodnight, Al,” said Fletcher. He set Al’s sweater on the table, then gathered his notes and followed Maria out of the room, waving to Danny just before the door closed behind him. Danny waved back, then relaxed into his chair, watching Al tug his sweater back on, shivering in the chill of the library.
“You should probably get some sleep, too,” he said.
Al nodded. “I will,” he said. “Just let me finish this chapter, and we’ll go.”
“Take your time,” said Danny. “I’ve got nowhere else to be.” And nowhere else I’d rather be than here, watching you study, he added mentally. Al was lovely when he was concentrating, lower lip caught between his teeth, bronze eyes focused on the page in front of him, brows furrowed, his bangs falling in his eyes.
Danny watched over him, silent and still, wondering just a little at the flutter he felt in his chest at the notion of being alone with the younger Elric, at the pang of jealousy he felt every time he watched Al hug Fletcher or hold the boy’s hand.
He wrote it off as sleep deprivation, crossing his arms over his chest as Al struggled to stay awake, scribbling notes into his notebook in the low light of Central Library.
~*~*~*~
Three hours later, Danny was struggling to hold Al and Al’s bag steady while keying into the front door of his dorm block. The boy had passed out over his book half an hour before, and when he’d begun shivering and refused to wake, even when Danny shook him, saying his name, the man had decided it was time for Al to give it up and go home. And since his dorm, only four blocks away, seemed a much better option than the General’s house, which was a good ten-minute drive away, they were there, Al asleep in Danny’s arms, Danny wishing he’d focused more on strengthening his arms in his daily exercises.
Two doors away from his room, he felt Al’s bag start to slip from his shoulder and gave up trying to blindly find the key to his room amidst all the keys on his keychain, opting instead to cradle Al closer, adjusting the bag just as it began to fall. Arms full, he kicked lightly at his door, praying that Akil would be there and wake. Al was small, not much bigger than his brother, but he was by no means light, and Danny was fairly certain he’d drop the boy or spill the papers Al kept so painfully well-organized, were he to go for his key.
He kicked the door again, harder, and called Akil’s name, the hand holding Al’s upper body stroking the boy’s arm, gently. He heard a thud inside the room and sent a silent prayer of thanks to his God, his arms beginning to ache as his roommate unlocked and opened the door.
Akil’s eyes bugged. “Whoa, what happened to him? Is he drunk?”
“No,” said Danny, easing into the room, taking care not to bump Al’s feet on the doorjamb. “He’s just exhausted, been studying for the State Alchemists’ Exam for a couple weeks straight now. He passed out in the library, so I brought him here. Better than sleeping on one of those tables.”
Akil closed the door and arched an eyebrow at his roommate, who was balancing one foot on the bottom rung on the ladder on their bunk-beds, obviously trying to figure out how to climb up with Al in his arms. “Just put him in my bed, man,” he said.
Danny gave him a grateful look over his shoulder, then settled Al onto the bottom bunk, which was still fairly neat even though Akil had been in it, only moments before, not the tangled war-zone of cotton that Danny’s became after ten minutes of Danny occupying it. He settled on the edge of the bed and set the boy’s bag carefully on the floor, then began untying Al’s boots, easing them off, arranging the sleeping boy under the covers. Al murmured softly in his sleep, then rolled over, curled up like a kitten.
“Since when are we adopting stray Alchemists, Dan?” said Akil, leaning against the bunk ladder and watching his roommate tend to the sleeping boy. “I mean, that time you sneaked a kitten in was bad enough, but this ...”
“He’s not a ‘stray Alchemist,’ Akil,” said Danny. “This is Alphonse Elric. I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on him, favor to General Mustang, but I really just couldn’t carry him all the way back to the General’s house, and I’m not a very good driver after dark. I figured he could sleep here until he had some of his strength back.”
Akil gawked. “That,” he said, “is the Full Metal Alchemist’s brother?”
“Yeah,” said Danny.
“Man, you get all the good assignments,” whined Akil. “First, you get to bodyguard both of them. Now, you get to spend all day with the younger one. Do you know what I got assigned to do today?”
Danny shook his head.
“I spent my day doing paperwork,” said Akil. “That, and helping some super-scary girl do a demonstration on Automail in Central Hospital. She looks like she’s young enough to be my daughter, but she’s some sort of surgeon or something. I just hope I never lose a leg or something, because the thought of some kid wielding a scalpel over me is-”
“You’re working with Winry?” said Danny. “Alphonse mentioned that she was going to be doing a workshop in Central, just yesterday. That’s cool.”
Akil snorted. “Yeah, she’s pretty funny. But still ... look at you. Calling the Full Metal Alchemist’s baby brother ‘Alphonse’ like you’re his best friend.” He sighed. “I never get any cool jobs.”
Danny chuckled. “Thanks for letting him stay here, Akil.”
“No problem,” said Akil, rolling his eyes. “I’ll get my bedroll and take floor.”
Danny shook his head. “No, let me take floor. He and his brother used to sneak away from me all the time. I’d rather be where he’ll step on me in case he decides to leave in the middle of the night. You can take my bed.”
“If he wants to sneak out in the middle of the night,” said Akil, glancing at the glowing 3:00 of Danny’s alarm clock, “he’s missed it by a few hours.” He yawned. “Not my worry, though. Have fun sleeping in the floor.”
Danny nodded and stood. He pulled his field-supply bedroll out of the closet and unrolled it, then stripped out of his uniform, hanging it carefully on its hook before pulling on a worn pair of flannel pajama pants and an old t-shirt. He flopped onto his bedroll and sighed, watching Al’s body rise and fall in a gentle rhythm of sleep, listening to Akil’s buzzing snore.
Within minutes, he was asleep.
~*~*~*~
Half an hour later, Danny awoke to the sound of crying and Akil cursing, growling explicit orders for Danny to “wake up, your stray is upset.” Danny sat up and rubbed his eyes, tugging on the chain of the lamp by the bed, flooding the room in warm light.
Standing in the middle of the room, trembling, tears streaking his cheeks, was Al, his bronze eyes wide and unfocused, hands worrying the sides of his pants. Danny stood and padded over to the boy, reaching out and brushing Al’s long hair back, tucking it behind the boy’s ear.
“Alphonse,” he said, “it’s okay. Do you know where you are?”
Al blinked up at him. “Danny?” he said, tears rolling copiously down his cheeks. “What are you doing here? Where’s Fletcher?”
“Shh,” said Danny, pulling the boy close. “You’re in my dorm room, Alphonse. You passed out in the library, and I couldn’t carry you back to the General’s house. Maria took Fletcher back hours ago. He’s safe.”
Al melted against him, the grip his hands had had on the sides of his pants loosening. “I h-had a n-nightmare,” he said, softly. “Dreamed that B-brother was gone again, that he’d taken Russel w-with him.”
Danny heard movement and looked up, giving his roommate a grateful look as Akil handed him the box of tissues from the bedside table. “It was just a dream, Alphonse,” said Danny, gently. “Your brother’s fine, and so is Russel. I promise. You’ll get to see them next week when you sit the Exam, right? Not too much longer, now.”
Al sniffled and crossed his arms behind Danny’s back, pressing himself fully against the man and trembling. “Brother isn’t coming,” he said, so quietly that Danny wasn’t entirely certain he’d heard him. “He doesn’t want me to take the Exam, so he isn’t coming to see us Test.”
“Oh,” said Danny. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.”
For a few long moments, he stood still in the middle of the room, holding Al close and rubbing his back, listening to the boy cry. Only when Al began to calm down did he loosen his hold, offering the boy a tissue.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you back to bed. You’re just exhausted, Alphonse. You’ve been working too hard.”
Al nodded and blew his nose. “Okay,” he said. He looked up at Akil, who was watching him from Danny’s bed. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“Not a problem,” said Akil. “Pixie Stick down there wakes me up all the time, babbling in his sleep.”
Al sniffled, then laughed weakly. “Pixie Stick?” he said.
Akil nodded. “He’s sickeningly sweet to everyone, so the joke in boot camp was that if you cut him open, all you’d get is sugar. Somewhere along the line, someone compared him to a pixie stick, and it stuck.”
“That’s where that name came from?” said Danny. “Huh. I wondered.”
“Yeah,” said Akil. “Why, where’d you think we got it?”
Danny blushed. “Doesn’t matter,” he said. He guided Al back to bed, tucked the boy in. When he turned to return to his bedroll, Al stopped him, gripping Danny’s wrist hard.
“Will you sleep with me?” he said. “Fletcher and I usually sleep together.”
Danny swallowed hard around the powerful surge of jealousy that pushed into his throat at the thought of Al curled around Fletcher, kissing the boy and giggling as they snuggled. “Sure, Alphonse,” he said. He watched the boy scoot closer to the wall, making plenty of room, and slid into bed, stretching to turn out the bedside lamp before settling into the cool sheets. When Al curled around his side, Danny held his breath, willing his cock to behave itself, praying it wouldn’t be too noticeable, stiffening under his briefs, nudged against Al’s thigh.
In the bunk above him, he heard his roommate chuckling. “Sleep well, Pixie Stick,” said Akil.
“Goodnight, Akil,” said Danny. He wrapped his arms around his charge and closed his eyes, listening to Al’s breathing slowly even out and deepen, listening to Akil’s breathing turn into the buzz of snoring. He stroked Al’s long hair, trying to empty his mind well enough to drift to sleep, but by the time the sun was beginning to rise outside the window and the alarm was beeping shrilly, he’d not managed a moment of sleep.
Watching Al stretch, long limbs tangling in the sheets, watching the boy sit up, looking refreshed and happy and beautiful, Danny found that he didn’t mind the lost sleep.
I’m falling for you, Alphonse Elric, he thought, when the boy hugged him before slipping out of bed to greet Akil and thank the man for letting him sleep in his bed. No denying it. I’m falling for you hard.
He ignored Akil’s cheeky wink, blushing furiously as he changed back into his uniform, painfully aware of Al so nearby, even with the boy’s nose buried in the book he’d brought back with them from the library. Dressed and determined to school back the blush he felt forming when Al smiled at him, to ignore the jolt of electricity he felt when the boy stretched, long hair hanging loose and wavy down his back, Danny followed Al out of the dorm, rolling his eyes at Akil’s jibe about him getting all the good assignments.
The task of guarding Al had just gotten much, much more difficult.
~*~*~*~
Five days away from the exam, Fletcher began to complain of a stomachache, offering very little resistance when Maria offered to take him to her house for chicken soup and toast, which she said never failed to make her husband feel better when he was sick. Al had hugged his friend and whispered for him to feel better soon, then had gone back to his own studying, lasting only a few minutes before closing his books and stacking his notes.
“I’m going to call my brother,” he said. “Russel will want to know that his brother’s sick, and I haven’t talked to them in ... two weeks, now?”
“Something like that,” said Danny. “And you really ought to have a break.” He swallowed hard around the nerves he felt bunching in his throat. “Um, then after you call your brother, would you, um, like to go out with me for lunch? Something hot instead of the stuff they’ve got in the snack-room here?”
Al smiled at him, thoroughly melting the man. “I’d love to,” he said.
They walked down the echoing stairs that led from the archives to the main floor of the library, past the other hopefuls who were frantically studying, to the small office where the public phone was kept. Danny leant against the wall, nodding to Al as the boy slipped inside and pulled the door closed. He was nervous and excited and utterly pleased with himself for working up the courage to ask the boy out. It wasn’t an official date, of course, but it was more than nothing, and above all else, it was an excuse to be around Al when the boy wasn’t studying or sleeping, and that was more than enough for-
Only a few minutes later, the door to the small office swung open, and Al bolted from inside, one hand over his mouth, the other clenched in a tight fist, hanging rigid by his hip. Danny pushed off the wall and followed the boy, jogging to keep up, even with his longer legs. He followed Al into the men’s restroom, out of breath, and found the boy slumped over one of the sinks, crying.
“Alphonse?” he said, gently. “Are you okay?”
The boy shook his head, shuddering and hiccupping, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. Danny stepped forward, tentatively wrapping his arms around Al, remembering just how violent Edward was, sometimes, when Maria tried to hug him. But Al was nothing like his older brother, melting into Danny’s arms, crying until the front of the man’s uniform was thoroughly damp, arms tightly wrapped around Danny’s chest.
“My b-brother,” he sobbed, “still w-won’t come to C-central for the Exam.” He sniffled, shuddering in Danny’s arms. “And ... he s-said that he ... d-doesn’t want me to c-call him again unless I c-come to my senses and f-forget about this ‘s-stupid C-certification thing.’”
Danny hugged Al more tightly, heart breaking for the boy. An only child, he couldn’t really empathize with the pain of sibling rejection, but he knew just how close Al was with his brother, knew what it felt like to be betrayed by friends, to be burned by unkind words spoken by people he trusted.
“Shh, Alphonse, sweetheart, it’s okay,” he whispered, pressing his lips into Al’s soft bronze hair. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it. Really. Shh, it’s okay.”
Al didn’t say anything, crying into Danny’s uniform until his sobs weakened to hiccups, hiccups eventually becoming sniffles. When he stepped back, wiping tears from his cheeks, his eyes widened, a look of horror filling them.
“I’m so sorry! I got snot all over you,” he said, voice rough from crying.
Danny looked down at the sodden mess of his uniform and chuckled. “Believe it or not, I’ve had worse on my uniform before, Alphonse.”
“Really?” said Al, tugging a paper towel out of the dispenser over the sink and blowing his nose.
“Yeah,” said Danny. “Last time my roommate got the flu. I was sitting on the side of his bed, spoon-feeding him, when he realized he was going to be sick. First, he tipped the bowl of chicken soup onto me, then didn’t quite make it out of bed before ... Well, anyway, it was gross.”
Al sniffled and tossed the wadded paper towel into the trash. “Winry said that Brother threw up on her when she attached his arm the first time,” he said, softly. “Said she’d have thrashed him for it, had he not been in such pain.” Sighing heavily, he clapped his hands and touched his palms to Danny’s chest, pale purple light flashing around the wet mess on the blue fabric. Danny jumped and yelped in surprise, nearly pulling away from Al’s hands and the light began to dim.
“Holy shit,” he said. “You can do that without a Circle?”
Al nodded. “Anyone who’s been to the Gate can do it. We sacrifice something in exchange for the Gate’s power.”
Danny touched the dry, clean front of his uniform, blinking owlishly at it. “Wow,” he said. “I didn’t know that. What did you sacrifice?”
He knew immediately that it was a stupid question, watching Al’s lower lip quiver, watching tears tumble down the boy’s cheeks. “I gave up four years with my brother, in exchange for my body,” said Al. “And now ...”
Danny tugged the boy close again. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Don’t worry about your brother, Alphonse. He loves you more than anything. This will blow over, I swear.”
“How can you possibly know that?” whispered Al.
“Because I can remember those four years,” said Danny. “I watched your brother interact with you. I’ve never seen anyone who loved another person as much as your brother loves you. Maria used to tease me for getting all weepy over how close you two were.”
Al looked up at him, eyes wide and bright with tears. “You ... yeah, you were our guardians back then, weren’t you?” He gripped Danny’s upper arms tightly. “Will you tell me about him, Danny? Please? Tell me what it was like Back Then? Everything you can remember?”
Danny pulled one hand free and brushed the loose strands of Al’s hair back behind the boy’s ear. “It would be my pleasure, Alphonse,” he said, fighting the urge to lean closer and kiss the boy, at least on the nose.
Al blushed. “Please,” he said, “call me Al.”
“Al,” said Danny. “Want to go for lunch now? I can answer your questions while we eat.”
“Okay,” said Al, his smile fainter than usual, his beautiful eyes swollen from crying. “That sounds really good.” And then, as though without thinking, he slipped his hand into Danny’s, lacing their fingers, not merely clasping the man’s hand as Danny had seen him do countless times with Fletcher.
He followed the boy out of the restroom, down the hall, and out of the library, squeezing the warm hand in his, heart beating faster as Al led him into the cold wind.