disembodied | « 005 » fifth circle. action. backdated to the 22.

[OKAY HE IS RUNNING THE HELL RIGHT OVER THERE NOW.

Dropping to his knees in front of Alphonse, he gives the armor a shake, eyes wide, hopeful and frightened at the same time. The bow is registered, but now focused on, especially when Al doesn't seem to be awake right now.]

Al! Al, wake up!!

[ There's not an immediate response. A slight shifting, a muted groan. ]

Brother?

Al! [Instant relief. Though he's a little worried, still, what it means that the light isn't returning to Al's eyes. He gives the armor another little shake, just in case.] I'm here, can you hear me!?

[ There's a sleepy sort of groan.

And then?

Then, the head shifts. It tilts up, and up, and up, then clatters noisily off to the side... ]

[...............................................

Oh.

My.

God.

Al's in the armor.

Physically. In the armor.

As in it's his body.

Holy shit.]

A... Al...

[Hesitantly, shakily, he reaches out, to grasp Al's shoulder. He's thin, like he's barely there at all, but it's- it's solid. It's real. And it's the same Al he saw in the gate.

Holy shit.]

Brother...?

[ He feels like he's slept a thousand years. Oh. Sleep. He was sleeping. He's sleepy. It's a bizarre feeling. He can feel his hand. His toes. He's shivering.

He can feel it.

He can feel it.

Oh. Oh. Oh. He can feel it! He turns to stare at his hands, flexing bony fingers, golden eyes going wide. ] It's...!

[Okay.

Okay, breathe, Edward. This is serious, you need to breathe.

For a long moment, he can do nothing but stare. Al's... Al's really...

And finally his gaze drifts down to the ribbon around the chestplate. Happy Birthday. They'd really... and after only doing one mission...!

It's a dream come true. And in one quick motion he's unclipped the armored chestplate, flinging it aside to grab Al and pull him into a hug. He could probably stand to be a little more gentle about it, but he at least has the decency not to hold him so tightly as to break those fragile little bones.

His brother... his brother is whole again...!!]

Al, I can't believe it! Just look at you!

[ He can feel it. He can feel his brother's arms around him, the rough scrape of the heavy winter fabric against his frail skin, smell the gross, musty, wintery smell of the jacket.

It kind of hurts. It's all kind of unpleasant. But that doesn't matter, because he's reaching out and gripping his brother as tightly as his malnourished body will allow. His shoulders shake slightly, there's a sob - and all at once the overwhelming joy is increased tenfold because he can cry and smile and everything is wonderful. ]

I'm back!

[Edward tries his best not to drag out the hug, though a part of him wants to hold on to Al and never let go; at the back of his mind, though, he knows that it's below freezing out here, and with the state his body is in, Al can't stay outside for too long without getting sick. So he carefully extracts himself, tugging free a few more pieces of the armor to give Al more room to move.]

Come on, let's get you out of that thing!

[He grabs his jacket next, pulling it off to wrap it around Al's shoulders, offering what little comfort he can from the frosty air. As he does so, a new addition to his body is suddenly visible.]

[ he closes the gap with his hand, offering a smile. Wait - oh. ]

Oh, your automail... [ bro.

bro.

i'm going to touch it. ]

[Edward follows his gaze, then grins even more broadly; he's suddenly reminded of just why today is doubly the best birthday ever.]

Yeah, isn't it awesome? Winry made it for my birthday!

[ THIS IS NOT YOUR ARM BROTHER and he's a little disappointed that ed hasn't been restored too, but. ]

It looks so cool. [ Speaking of cool? This is cold. ]

Haha, yeah! Not as cool as you getting your body back, though! Man, I can't believe they actually did this...!

[So excited, so excited...! But yes, it is damn cold outside, and touching metal probably isn't helping, although Al might notice that the metal itself seems to be radiating heat...

The thought doesn't occur to Edward right away, though, as he's busy brushing aside happy birthday thoughts in favor of finishing with the armor and bundling up his fragile little brother, lifting him up out of the armor as carefully as he can. If his body was normal, Al would probably have been too heavy to carry him like this, but being so frail...

Augh, that just makes him worry again. Without even glancing back at the armor that used to house Al's soul, he starts to move in the direction of their house.]

Winry's going to freak out when she sees you!

1/2

Maybe they aren't so bad. [ Winry. Winry. Oh god, he can see Winry with his own eyes again and be at her eye level and maybe even have to look up slightly and everything is beautiful. he can hug her and taste her cooking and - ]

Thats right! Brother! My journal is still in there! [ I am going to eat ALL OF THE THINGS. ]

It is? Ah- hang on- [He stops, skidding a little in the snow, and jogs back to the armor to fish out Al's little journal before he gets moving again. Sheesh, why did it have to be in the loincloth, exactly?] I bet the first on the list'll be an apple pie!

[ Because no one would steal it there. But now that he's not in the armor, he can kind of see why that'd be an awkward place. ]

Yes! I can't wait to taste it.

[He's just dying to see the look on Al's face when he eats something for the first time, so with a quiet apology for the jostling, Edward picks up the pace, trying to get back to the house as soon as possible. Winry definitely needs to see this!]

Do you remember anything? Like how they got your body back?

No. I wish I did... I just remember everything going black while I was in the cell, then waking up here.

It's pretty amazing, though! They were able to do what we couldn't in such a short time... geez.

[Friggin' cheaters. Though it's good news for them, at least.]

That's true... If only we could study the Shifts better.

It would be pretty useful if we could, yeah. You'd think they would be putting us scientists to better use than just sticking us in here.

[He can't bring himself to feel too annoyed, though. Still on that perpetual high.]

They're probably just worried that we'll outsmart them.

Haha, I don't blame them! We've solved enough mysteries to give 'em a run for their money.

[Jog jog jog-]

Hey, we're almost there! You ready to see Winry?

Yes!

[ He can't wait to see the look on her face. ]

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