Edward Elric Oneshot (Secret Santa for Emily!)

[Galaxy]

I knooow this is terribly late and I'm mucho sorry. ;n; My wrist has been sprained for the past week or two, and it's only just begun to get better, which is why I haven't been able to type this up until now. BUT I really do hope you like this, Emily, and sorry I'm terrible at titles. xD

(NOTE I did message Emily to make sure she knew there would be a delay, just so people don't think I'm a jerk or nothin'~)

AND NOW I present the nameless Edward Elric oneshot for Emily~ o3o

~~~~~~

The train was quiet. Most of its passengers were sleeping or reading, keeping to themselves and far too polite to stare at the two odd gentlemen seated a fair distance away from most of them. One of them looked to be something out of a science fiction story; Huge metal armor, making quite a few of the passengers wonder just what his reason was for this. Was he an actor? Was it a personal choice? They didn’t know, and were honestly a bit confused by it. What reason could one have for wearing something so dramatic on a train?

One thing that surprised them just as much, though, was that he kept calling someone ‘big brother’. They couldn’t get a glimpse of this ‘big brother’, as the man in the metal suit was blocking their sight. WHo could be the big brother to such a big man? Perhaps it was the same person that was sneezing and coughing, and griping up a storm.

This person was Edward Elric, and he had his chin placed in the palm of his metal hand as he stared out the window of the train car, seeing the land go by as the sun was beginning to set. He sniffed and gave his nose a quick itch, nearly groaning at the sound of his younger brother’s quick whimper. “Al, for the last time...”

“I know, I know, you said you weren’t sick...” murmured Alphonse timidly, knowing how irritatable his brother was when he had a cold. “I just...Ngh, sorry. I’m just concerned is all, Ed...”

The oldest Elric looked up to his brother, watching him a moment before managing to give him a smile. “Hey, Al, I’m fine. Really. Quit worrying.”

“B-But you’ve just been sneezing a lot since we were out in the rain the other day...I think we should go to a doctor when we get to the next town.”

Ed chuckled a bit, about to say that it was just a cold, before having to remind himself that he didn’t have a cold. He gave Alphonse a shrug and leaned back against the train seat, looking back out the window. “Nah, Al, really, I’m okay. And that’s that, understand?”

Alphonse watched him timidly, wanting desperately to say something in rebuttal. He was always worrying about his older brother, but never wanted to mention it to Ed. He knew that his own worry would only increase that of his brothers’, and Ed had enough on his plate already. “O-...Okay, Ed...”

The Fullmetal nodded, crossing his arms and leaning against the train car’s wall, watching the landscape once again and ignoring the itch that had settled in his nose days ago. He gave it a quick rub, only stirring up the tickle further. Ed let out a long sigh, his nose crinkling with a feeling. It was one thing sneezing in front of his worrier of a brother, but he really...really hated doing it in front of people. He knew that the other passengers in the train car had to be looking at them---they usually did. Al was quite a spectacle. Most people would watch him and wonder just what he was doing in that armor, what could possibly be his purpose, and were too curious (or nosy, Ed always thought irritably) to care about seeming like they were watching the two of them.

“IhHKSH!” Ed sneezed suddenly, bringing his sleeve quickly to his face. He groaned a bit, the sneeze giving him a headache. He sniffed and sank back into his seat, nose itching fiercely and crinkling with tickling. He hitched briefly, feeling another sneeze building and his blue eyes sliding shut. He sniffed quickly, rubbing at his nose and trying to get the irritation to go away. But this only stirred it up further, making him shudder with the feeling of the budding sneeze. “Hih...”

Edward swallowed hard, fighting the tickle as desperately as he could. He gave his nose a twitch, and this eased the tickle only barely before another shuddering sigh escaped him, his eyes closed in the concentration of trying to clear himself of the impending sneeze.

Alphonse watched him worriedly, wanting to say something but fearing that Ed would be put off by it. So he watched, watched his brother’s nostrils twitch, his brow crease, his chest begin to heave slightly with uneven breaths...

“...Ed?”

“IhSHHuu!!” Ed sneezed quickly, bringing his sleeve before his face and jerking hard with the force. Another sneeze came, and another, shaking his frame with the strong sneezes that didn’t seem to fit his size. “IhhihSHH! ShiUHH!! Huh-- UHhshheUWW! ShuWW!! Hihhihhh...”

Alphonse watched the fit insue from his brother, and knew that the others in the train had to have heard him as well. He could hear a few people grumble about being woken up, and could almost feel the eyes of people boring into his back. He knew that Ed couldn’t help it, but he felt himself get a bit embarrassed, though this was definitely outweighted by the worry he head for his big brother.

“E-Ed...” murmured Alphonse, going to their luggage next to him and rummaging around intil he found Ed’s spare handkerchief, the spare to the one that he was clearly unable to get, what with his frame shaken and blinded by sneezes.

“IhhSHH!! HihhKSHH!” Ed continued sneezing into his sleeve, hair falling into his face and feeling the worst headache forming behind his eyes. He barely got a break from the sneezes to see Al offering the handkerchief. He took it clumsily, breaths still hitching from the break of the fit before pressing the cloth to his face and released a much stronger sneeze than the previous. “IHHHSHH’UWW!!”

Ed remained hunched over, hands trembling a bit and keeping the cloth pressed to his face for a long moment. The train was quiet, and Al was quiet in watching his big brother timidly.

“...Gesundheit,” Al told him quietly after a long minute.

Ed paused before looking up to Al, knowing that he must have looked awful. He had seen in the mirror how pale he was, how there were dark circles under his eyes and how terribly red his nose was. The oldest Elric swallowed, his throat aching fiercely before giving his nose a strong blow into the cloth. He sniffed and pocketed it, leaning back against the window and looking out the window of the train, the sun finally having set.

“...Maybe we could get some medicine when we get to town...” murmured Ed, sniffing and giving his nose a swipe with his wrist. And before Alphonse could say anything, he hurriedly added in “But I’m not taking a break. We’ve got work to do, Al...”

Alphonse was about to protest before sighing a bit, knowing that he was lucky enough to get Ed to want to take medication. “Sure, Ed. Just get some sleep, alright? I’ll wake you when we get into town.”

The older Elric didn’t object to this, immediately closing his eyes and dozing off, leaving only his brother, delighted massively with the little victory of Edward admitting he was sick. It wasn’t a big victory--in fact, it wasn’t a victory at all-- but it still made him happy nontheless.

[Emily]

; A ; It's okay I understand! And this is was so so sooooo worth the wait 8D And the sneezing on a train and attracting attention thing is just awesome and it made me all happy and fuzzy inside with the brotherly love going on = w =

And Al is adorable

leaving only his brother, delighted massively with the little victory of Edward admitting he was sick. It wasn’t a big victory--in fact, it wasn’t a victory at all-- but it still made him happy nontheless.

Thank yooou! And I hope your wrist heals soon!

[42686]

ADORABLE!!! :3

[a red nine]

Aww, FMA stuff is always really cute. It was a nice little snapshot into their traveling, and Al's attentiveness was also sweet. These kinds of small moments can be just as entertaining as a full-plot sometimes. I hope you decide to write more!

[Blessing Queen]

Great fic!Thanks for sharing!