FMA: Gilded (Value)
Twenty-second chapter of Gilded! First chapter can be found here, with links to later parts.
Title: Gilded
Prompt: Value
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (manga/Brotherhood)
Word Count: 401.
Rating: G
Summary: In which Alphonse has unnecessary worries.
Warnings: SPOILERS through to the end of the manga/Brotherhood. I've been advised by evil_little_dog to warn for "incessant cuteness" as well. :)
Author's Notes: This is yet another of those chapters that takes place in a hospital in Central. I hope you're not getting tired of them, because there's still one more left in this series.
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and all associated characters, settings, etc., belong to Hiromu Arakawa-san. The only profit I make from this work of fiction is my own satisfaction and, possibly, the enjoyment of others.
“I don’t have any clothes!”
Ed choked on his sandwich. After a few seconds of coughing, beating on his chest, and hasty swallowing, he glanced up through watering eyes to see his brother giving him an open-mouthed look of horror. “What?” he croaked, still coughing slightly.
“I don’t have any clothes, Brother,” Al repeated, biting his lip. Clearly he found the thought very distressing.
The same could not be said for Ed. He stared into Al’s dismayed face, taking in the way his fingers plucked worriedly at the covers of his hospital bed, and couldn’t hold in his laughter. In fact, he laughed so hard he fell over, sprawling across his own bed.
“Brother!” Al reproached, as he had so often before. He seemed on the verge of a sulk. “It really isn’t funny.”
“Yes - it - is,” Ed replied between slowly fading guffaws. He stared up at the ceiling of their shared room, a grin widening his mouth. “After everything that’s happened, you’re worried about clothes?”
“I can’t wear this gown forever, you know.” Al plucked at it, clearly trying to sound pragmatic; Ed, however, could easily hear the pout beneath his words.
“Pfft. I can buy you a whole wardrobe if you want it.”
“Really? But, Brother, that’s all the money you’ve saved since you got your State license.”
“So?” Ed yawned. “What better thing to spend it on?”
“I can’t take all your money like that.”
“Alphonse.” Ed rolled over, and the look he fixed on his brother was utterly serious. “You really think I could’ve managed all these years without you? As far as I’m concerned, half that money’s yours anyway. Besides,” the wicked gleam returned to his eyes, “I don’t know if you realize just how much money I’ve got in the bank. We only ever used it for necessities, and the government’s never really skimped its State Alchemists.”
“…How much money do you have, Brother?” Al asked slowly.
Ed snickered. “Let’s just say that even with only half, you could very easily travel to Xing. Several times. And you’d still have a tidy little bit left over.” Al’s eyes widened again, and Ed couldn’t resist adding, “Which is pretty convenient for you, right?”
“Yeah… oh - Brother!” Al protested, catching on. He heaved a pillow at Ed’s laughing face, and then the only sounds from the Elrics’ hospital room were those of a very fierce pillow fight.
TBC ( Part 23 - Want)