Back to Back and Side to Side
A/N: First of all, the title is taken from elecktrum's Narnian series. This will be at least a two-shot with both brother and sister bonding with maybe some others in here too. I'm not entirely sure XD Also, please R&R! I can't improve if I don't know what to fix!
Chapter One: Back to Back
Edmund always watched his big brother. After they'd come through the Door in the Air, he'd watched his reaction carefully and had been shocked to find him lashing out at everything. It had been ten months since they'd left Narnia and Peter wasn't getting better, and Edmund was determined to find out what was eating at his big brother. A folded piece of paper rested in the pocket of his trousers, so he wouldn't forget anything he wanted to mention.
The two had slept in separate rooms for the past three months, ever since the two had come home from school. Edmund had moved into the guest room after Peter had screamed at him to get out. Edmund had, reluctantly, and it'd stayed that way ever since. He quietly closed the door to his room and padded up the stairs, hopping over the squeaky step. Hopefully after this, they would sleep in the same room again, and after one of Edmund's nightmares, he would be able to curl up next to Peter and just feel the love and protection chase away the terrors. He sighed softly as he approached the door, which was closed firmly against prying eyes as it was so often these days. What did he do in there anyway? Edmund knew Peter didn't have that great a work ethic.
He turned the doorknob and entered the room, eyes widening as her looked around the room, taking in the sight of the paintings and writings on the walls. The room was very nearly wallpapered with them, and the ones he could see were gorgeous. An image of a lion shaking his golden mane and another of Caspian were within arms reach and Peter's voice broke through his reverie. "Get out, Edmund." His voice was rough and raspy like he'd been screaming or.. crying. Edmund's eyes widened as they locked with Peter's red-rimmed ones. Aslan's mane, he wasn't taking this well.. Was there something Peter hadn't told them?
"No, Pete." He shook his head and made his way over to Peter's bed, which didn't look like it'd been slept in at all. "Pete, have you been sleeping at all? Don't think I haven't heard you pacing into the wee hours of the morning." The bags under Peter's eyes were heavily defined and he looked exhausted. "I want you to talk to me. What did Aslan say to you and Susan?" He asked, kneeling in front of Peter, gripping his wrist.
Peter got a faraway look in his eye and he sighed, locking eyes with his younger brother. "We can never go back, Eddie." His voice broke and a single tear slipped down his cheek. Edmund reached up and wiped it away, kissing his forehead lightly. "It's going to be okay, Peter, I promise."
"There's no need for magnificence in England." He murmured, looking away from Edmund, shamefaced. He was supposed to be the strong one, and now he couldn't even handle this.. He didn't deserve to go back to Narnia. "Lucy can be valiant, you can be just, and Susan can be gentle, but who wants magnificence? If I open a door for a girl, she tells me I'm pathetic and all I wanted was to be polite."
He ran a hand over his face. "I bring myself up to full height and I intimidate those around me, and that's not what I want at all! I'm bored at school because I've learned it all already! What am I talking about, you know this already, you got us into all the same classes even though mine are too advanced for your age. I don't know what to do anymore, Edmund! I have dreams of Narnia, and how can I move on if Narnia haunts my dreams?" He sounded nearly hysterical. Edmund pulled him into a tight hug and rested his chin on Peter's head.
"You may not be able to go back to Narnia, but you always have me. Back to back and side to side, right?"
He felt Peter nod under his chin. "Back to back and side to side."