((A one-shot about Ed and Al. Set from Ed's POV, kinda AUish. o-o Slightly Elricest if you can find it. ;3.))

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The Fallen Dove

The rain pounded hard against the windowpanes. It had been almost an hour since I yelled at him, my brother.

"Why do you have to be so stupid?" I yelled angrily at my newly restored brother, Alphonse.

"But brother…"

"No buts, Al! You know it's hopeless, I wasted all my energy just bringing you back!"

"Then you should have used it first!" He yelled, tears in his eyes.

Maybe I should have used the stone first. But then my dear brother would forever be stuck in that damn tin can.

"Damn it Al! Why can't you understand that you needed it more than I did? Why can't you understand that your need was greater than mine?" I cried out, slamming my fists onto the table. He teared up even more now.

"I would have been fine brother! I really would have." His voice trailed off to that of a whimper.

"We don't know that, Al! That suit of armor could have rejected your soul at anytime!"

The rain grew harder, hammering at the panes, rattling the glass. It knocked me from my thoughts. Damn it.

I cursed out loud. It had surprised me. The sound of my own voice sounded so foreign in the now quiet room. No Al, no nothing, it depressed me.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn brother?" Al yelled at me, I winced at the harshness of his voice.

"Because you're being stupid!" I retorted coldly.

That must have hurt him because that's when he ran out into the night.

Of course it hadn't been raining then, but it was pouring now and my brother still wasn't back.

I was beginning to worry. My brother still wasn't back yet. Okay, I was starting to worry a lot. I tried to think of a better time in our long history, but all that came up was that damn dove.

"Brother. What kind of bird is that?" The newly regenerated Al asked me, looking at a serene creature sitting on the edge of HQ. That just reminded me of that damn Mustang. Idiot didn't deserve the promotion to Fuhrer.

"A dove I think." I replied with a slight frown. It had looked sick, like it was about to die. "It's the sign of peace to some cultures. But this one looks sick." I saw the obvious look of horror on my brother's face. It broke my heart to see such a sorrowful innocence on his face. He couldn't stand to see any animal in pain, let alone an innocent one.

And just like that the dove gave out one last mournful cry and fell dead. It landed awkwardly on the ground, legs bent at a clumsy angle; it's wings out spread.

That had been the last time I saw Al cry, that and at the funeral we held for said dove. He was so innocent sometimes. It was cute.

I sighed and looked out the window once more. It was dark and rainy. A nasty night, how I wished I was cuddled up with my brother right now. Another thirty minutes had passed. I needed to go find Al. He wasn't healthy enough to be in the rain.

I grabbed my jacket and headed out into the flurry of rain. No one in their right mind would be out in such a storm so the streets of Central were empty.

No sign of my brother. I grew frantic now, calling out his name. I hope he heard me over the howl of the wind, but I doubted it.

"Al! Alphonse!" I cried out, salty tears mixing with the fresh water of the downpour. Where could he have been?

Then I saw it. A red lump, bent over. It was my brother. My heart shattered as I ran over to him. I hoped to whoever was listening that he was okay.

I shook his shoulders, but the only response I got was his head slumping back. It revealed the blood dribbling from his mouth, staining his shirt a sick, crimson color.

I wiped the blood from his mouth and cried, still shaking his shoulders.

"Al! Alphonse! Wake up! Please wake up!" I begged desperately. I wrapped my arms around his frail body and stained his already tainted shirt with my tears.

So I sat there, crying, sheltering my fallen dove from the heresy of the rain.