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Request: "Al finds out about his brother's deflowering by the seducing and manipulative Colonel (in his mind) and sets out to defend his brother's honor, but overreacts because of course they're actually dating and Al's just blind with brotherly rage."

This can be seen as somewhat of a sequel to Gravity. It contains some hints pointing towards The Art of Breaking as well, but it's very subtle and only people who read through the entire story will spot them.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Both belongs to Arakawa Hiromu.

– Pull Away –

It was a cloudy day in Amestris. The city was permanently shrouded in a haze, the wind pulled at windows, making them clatter, much like a stray cat would at a door to a warm home. It had been like this for an entire week and the depressing weather only strengthened Alphonse's worries.

Edward had been running off by himself a lot lately and it was making the younger teen worry. A few weeks earlier, they had come back from a mission and an annoyed Edward had given a report to the Colonel. Since then, Alphonse barely saw his older brother. By now he wouldn't even bother to make food, since Edward always stayed away so long, by the time he was back the food would already have turned cold. Alphonse was now wandering the streets in search of his brother. Mainly because he was worrying. His brother wasn't telling him a thing, just saying that the Colonel was always asking for him to do something. It seemed strange how much Edward suddenly complied to what Mustang told him. Very strange.

There was little hope of finding Edward, but Alphonse tried anyway. He was just a bulk of metal, so of course he could walk around town as much as he liked without tiring out or feeling hungry. His first goal was the bar the soldiers usually frequented, but arriving there, he only found few people lining the counter and resting on chairs. Actually, it was obvious why Edward wasn't there, but it had been worth a try. Sighing, he left again and scratched his helmet of a head in thought.

"Where could he be?" the teen mumbled to himself.

Deciding to head back for the day without success, as always, Alphonse walked off with his metal head hung low. The plates of his armor body clanked against each other and created the melody to his walking away. He was headed home, already having no hope, when he heard low chuckling. Familiar low chuckling. Humming in wonder, the teen made his way towards the street where he had heard the sound. He tried to be as quiet as he could with how much noise his body made.

"Stop it," a voice mumbled softly, barely audible.

Alphonse straightened in the blink of an eye as he heard the voice. Nii-san!

"Come on, Fullmetal. No one can see us."

"I'm not one of your cheap wenches that you can just come for to–"

"It's not like that. You know that."

"I– mmmh…"

What followed were sounds that severely disturbed the still innocent Alphonse. It sounded wet and hot and inappropriate and it was unsettling the younger Elric. Just what was the Colonel doing to his brother? Against all of his senses telling him not to, for whatever deity's sake, go into that alley and look, he went and did just that. One look was enough for him to pull back sharply and run away for fear of being discovered.

The Colonel is forcing Nii-san to do stuff with him!

Back at home, Alphonse was walking up and down the kitchen like a caged animal. All kinds of questions were running through his mind, the teen wondering what exactly he had seen. What he had seen was the Colonel holding his brother's arms in a tight grip. And it had looked forced. He had seen the man moving his lips over his flushed brother's body. And that had looked forced too! No matter how he looked at it, his brother had been forced into whatever the Colonel was doing with him, Alphonse was sure of it!

The door suddenly swung open and caused Alphonse to nearly jump through the ceiling in surprise.

"Al?"

Scrambling to compose himself, forgetting that even if he was frazzled no one could see, Alphonse rushed to the entrance to greet his brother. "W-Welcome home, Nii-san!" The younger of the two laughed nervously as he turned around to go back into the kitchen, seeing how Edward was glaring weirdly at his curious behaviour. "How was your day?" Alphonse inquired from where he stood in the kitchen, hearing Edward pulling off his shoes.

"Fine!" the blonde called back loudly, albeit shakily. Now Alphonse knew why. "The Colonel Bastard gave me a butt-load of paperwork and kept me longer again. I could rip off his head sometimes!"

"I know what you mean," the younger Elric mumbled darkly as he prepared lunch for his brother.

Arriving in the kitchen and sitting down at the table, Edward crooked an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing." Alphonse placed a plate with a sandwich in front of his brother and watched him happily digging in. For once he could see a positive side about his armor: He didn't have to put any effort into making a normal expression. If he wasn't careful though, Edward would pick up on something being wrong anyway. He was his older brother after all.

"Well, I only came by to get a snack. I still have to go back and finish that paperwork. But I promise to be back for dinner!" After he had gobbled up the last bit of his lunch and taken a few gulps of his juice, chair legs scraped against the wooden floor as Edward jumped from his seat and rushed away. "Bye!"

"Take care!" His call nearly went unheard since Edward was already out within the blink of an eye.

The older blonde hadn't always been this eager to do paperwork.

Alphonse then made a decision: He would search for proof that Colonel Roy Mustang was in some way forcing his older brother into something he didn't want.

The following days, Alphonse remained on Edward's heels and went after him as much as he could. This only worked until the State Alchemist went into Headquarters, since Alphonse going in and out everyday would seem much too suspicious, especially when he wasn't even with his brother. It was one of those calm times when the Elric brothers weren't sent into different parts of the world for a mission, so Alphonse didn't have anything to do besides sitting at home and waiting for his brother. Or following his brother.

At the moment, the teen trapped in an armor was hiding behind a corner and inconspicuously watching Edward talking to the Colonel. Well, as inconspicuously as a huge armor can get. What was unsettling Alphonse was the fact that the Colonel wasn't wearing a uniform and instead was walking around with his brother while wearing what looked like a suit jacket and a large coat over it. Neither of them was at work! It quickly became obvious to Alphonse that Edward was highly uncomfortable. He kept glancing around and shifting about nervously as if knowing he was being watched, a sheepish frown marring his face. It only made it more obvious to Alphonse how much the Colonel's actions were getting to him.

Alphonse suddenly gasped when he had to watch the Colonel glancing around, before suddenly dragging his older brother into an alley where the younger Elric couldn't see them. Peaking around the corner further and not seeing anything, Alphonse made his way to a pile of barrels and boxes and hid behind them. Now he could clearly see what was happening in the semi-darkness of the alley. And it shocked the teen.

Edward was being pushed up against a wall, hands roaming over his body, a fearful expression carved onto his features. He could only barely hold on to the Colonel as he was being ruthlessly ravished. The usually so confident Fullmetal Alchemist seemed unbelievably insecure and unresistant. It scared Alphonse.

The younger Elric could only continue watching, knowing he couldn't quite just run in between and sever the two. There must have been a reason for Edward not telling him anything, so before he could do anything, Alphonse had to find that exact reason. The teen then decided that he had to take some serious steps. Just following the two around wasn't enough. He needed more information.

Later that day, Alphonse ended up in front of Hughes' house, indecisive about wether to knock or leave. The decision was taken from him though when the wooden door opened to reveal the surprised face of Hughes' wife Gracia.

"Alphonse-kun?" she questioned in wonder, eyebrows raised. "Are you here for Maes? He just came back from work."

"Well… yes. I need to talk to him." The woman shot him a warm smile and Alphonse was beckoned inside. Ducking down to fit through the door, the teen slipped inside and headed for the living room of which he already knew the location. There he found the man he was searching for: Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. His superior and the person probably closest to the Colonel.

The man looked up from the newspaper he was reading to spot the teen in the door. "Ah, Al!" He put down the newspaper and waved the teen towards him, offering him a seat on the couch opposite to him. "What is it? Is there something you need?"

Hesitantly, Alphonse sat down and nodded curtly, the metal plates of his armor creating a clanking sound. "I would like to ask you something and I would appreciate it if you could answer me honestly."

This of course alarmed Hughes a bit, but he still nodded in confirmation with a kind quirk of his lips. "Go ahead." The way Alphonse nervously fumbled around with one of the cushions didn't escape his observing eyes and it only made his smile broaden a bit.

"You are a good friend of the Colonel, right? So… do you think Colonel Mustang would go as far as to actually blackmail someone into doing… well… inappropriate things? With him." If he could, he probably would have blushed a deep crimson because of what he was asking. He probably looked extremely uncomfortable either way.

The nature of Alphonse's question obviously startled Hughes, but the teen couldn't see since he kept his head lowered. The man shrugged a bit and released a huff of breath as he pondered how to answer that question. "Um… Well, I've known Roy for a long time now and I can't imagine him doing something like that." He shrugged again as he stroked over the back of his head, leaning forward. "If anything, he wouldn't go further than using things against people, but actually demanding something like that… I really can't imagine it."

"And if I had proof?" Alphonse blurted out heatedly before he could stop it. He immediately clamped a hand over his own mouth, tensing up as he saw the genuine surprise on the man's face. He was about to apologize, but was cut off.

"I think I know what this is about." The expression on the man's face was unreadable. It was a mix of apprehension, worry and a seriousness rarely seen on Hughes' face. He suddenly seemed like an entirely different person. "All you need to know is that there is absolutely no reason to worry."

And even though he was smiling, Alphonse couldn't quite trust that expression that seemed oh so twisted.

Once he was out of the Hughes household, Alphonse all but ran back. He was fleeing, pondering wether or not to trust Hughes. His mind was telling him that of course he should trust the man that had done him and his brother so much good in the past. But then deep down, in the pit of his non-existent stomach, he somehow felt as if Hughes was just part of the game the Colonel was playing with Edward. It was starting to infuriate Alphonse that no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to help his brother or even get any intel on what exactly was happening.

Crest-fallen, he made his way home, especially seeing how the sky was beginning to darken after a long time of him just walking around thinking. When he got home, he was greeted by the sound of his brother cursing colorfully.

"Goddamn spoon!" the blonde yelled from the kitchen, followed by the sound of metal hitting the floor. "Are you trying to chop off my arm?"

"Nii-san?" Even though Alphonse couldn't have been called quiet when he had entered, Edward still nearly jumped a mile high in surprise.

"A-Al." Chuckling sheepishly, Edward scratched the back of his head as he turned back to the frying pan on the stove that seemed dangerously close to breaking out into flames. "I'm… trying to cook."

Staring at his brother for a moment longer, Alphonse stepped closer. "I can see that." Before the fires of hell could swallow both of them, the younger teen placed a lid on the pan, just in the moment a small fire licked along its surface. "You should leave that to me."

"I'm an alchemist, Al. I should be able to cook up a decent meal."

"Obviously, you aren't," Alphonse dead-panned, emptying the contents of the pan, that looked like the carrots he had bought a while ago, into the trash bin and washing it off to use it for actual cooking. "Say, haven't you been spending a lot of time with the Colonel recently?"

Edward was glancing around Alphonse's massive body to see what exactly he was doing with those vegetables. The question only slowly simmered through to the part of his brain not responsible for thinking about what kind of food he was to eat soon. "Oh. Um…" He straightened up to open the window and let the stink of burned plastic and several other things leave the kitchen, then sat down with his younger brother's large back facing him. "Um… I guess," he mumbled after a while. "Not like I like it."

I knew it! "So the Colonel is forcing you to stay longer? I wonder why."

The older Elric didn't seem to catch the hint of sarcasm in his brother's voice. How should he have? He wasn't used to Alphonse speaking like that at all. "There's somehow a lot of paperwork lately. Something about a few Colonels having been arrested a while ago for treason or something. I think they were trying to get Cretans into Amestris."

"Why's that?" He sounded curious allright, but all that Alphonse was doing was trying to keep the conversation going to maybe get some informations out of his brother.

"Looks like they wanted to help the Cretans attack Amestris from the inside, though I'm not sure why. The Colonel Bastard probably knows more about it, but he won't tell me anything."

In Alphonse's mind, the way Edward referred to his superior almost seemed endearing, even fond. The younger hummed in response to what his brother had said. "So why is this causing so much paperwork?" Being as alert as he was, the teen immediately noticed how it took his brother a bit too long to answer, so he turned to see Edward seemingly lost in thought with a far-away look in his amber eyes. "Nii-san?"

The spoon that had been dangling from the absent-minded teen's lips suddenly dropped from his mouth, loudly clattering onto the tabletop. "What? Oh!" He hastily scrambled for the spoon laying on the floor and quickly straightened up again once he had it in his hand. "Um… I think that's because it's important to find as many documents as possible regarding this case, so we can prevent something like this from happening again. It's a huge blow to us when our own people turn on us and nearly get through with what they're planning without us knowing about it."

It seemed logical enough. But who was to tell if there wasn't more to the Colonel keeping Edward for so long each day? Alphonse had a pretty clear idea of the reason in his head. "Is that why you've been so distracted lately?"

"I-I guess."

Trying not to be too obvious, Alphonse glanced at his brother behind him again and caught the blush briefly dusting over his cheeks. Before he could ask his next question, he was interrupted.

"I'm not hungry," Edward mumbled tiredly. "I'm going out for a walk. Good night, Al." Bonelessly he got up from his chair and trudged towards the front door.

Only now Alphonse noticed that he was limping.

He was almost sprawled over the man's desk, papers having been carelessly shoved to the ground. Cold lips wandered over every speck of his skin they could reach, eliciting small gasps from him. The feel of gloved hands slipping beneath his shirt, their slick texture, sent tingles down his spine.

"Bastard. Stop that."

Low chuckles came from the man currently in front of Edward, his smirk not diminishing a bit. "How could I, when you're making those noises?" Mustang's mouth briefly hovered over Edward's, but the teen turned his head away before he could press a kiss to the blonde's lips, as always. Groaning in exasperation, the man pulled away and let himself fall into his chair. "What's wrong? You never let me–"

"I can't do this." The Fullmetal Alchemist was still trying to catch his breath and will his flush to die down. His head was lowered, so he didn't see the man getting up again. He could only hear him and soon after felt teeth lightly digging into the juncture between his neck and shoulder, a wet tongue lapping out to trail over his heated skin. Edward couldn't stop the small moan from leaving his mouth and didn't resist as hands roughly gripped his upper arms to pull him closer. Breaking the contact, the teen tried to push the Colonel away, but couldn't muster up the strength to do so. He was pushed down until his back lay flat on the desk and Mustang was almost lying on top of him. His shirt was pushed up again and smooth gloved hands glided over his skin. "C-Come on, bastard. Stop." Again, the teen pushed against the man's broad chest, but had to admit that it was impossible with their current position to overpower the man without using alchemy. Suddenly, he started to struggle vehemently with a loud hiss as teeth painfully clamped down into his skin and drew blood. "Get off!"

Mustang pushed himself of the teen and started to walk up and down his own office like a caged tiger in an uproar. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" he almost yelled, frustration clearly lining his features. "For how long are you planning to go on like this, huh?" He walked back to his desk in order to stand in front of the panting blonde sitting on his desk. "You never let me kiss you."

Something like regret or fear crossed Edward's features as he avoided his superior's gaze. "I just…"

"Didn't we have a deal?"

"Don't call it like that," Edward mumbled heatedly in response. He carefully left the table and slowly strolled towards the window, arms crossed as he gazed out at the night sky above the sleeping Amestris. "I can't explain what's wrong. It's… everything. Me and you, Al, that we have to hide all the time. It's too much. I… don't want this." He jumped in surprise when arms suddenly circled around him and pressed him against a firm body. Warm breath wafted over his neck and quickly lulled him into a dazed state.

"You said differently just a while ago."

"I only did because you–" The hand stroking his head silenced him within a split second. Edward didn't quite know what to make of the sudden change of actions, the Colonel going from trying to coax him into treating him like a child.

After he removed his hand, the Flame Alchemist placed a kiss on the crown of blond hair. He let his lips linger on the other's head for a while, then pulled away to leave the teen by himself. "Remember what I told you back then."

The Colonel left his superior to be alone in his office.

"Nii-san! I'll ask you something and it would be best if you answered me truthfully!" Alphonse stood with his gleaming red eyes gazing straight-forward, his posture confident. Then he slumped together a bit. "No, I can't say it like that." He looked at his mirror image glaring back at him. For hours he had been trying to rehearse a way to confront his brother, since he was sure things would only turn out for the worst if he didn't do anything fast.

Nodding to himself, deciding that he would find the right words eventually, Alphonse left the security of his home and headed for Headquarters. He arrived there after having tried to buy time by taking several detours. After taking a deep breath, he faced the guards, then was let inside and slowly headed for the Colonel's office. On his way there, he tried to find the words he had hoped would come easily once the time was there. But he couldn't find them. And he was already in front of Mustang's office. Sighing again, he knocked, before being beckoned inside from whoever was there. As he entered, he didn't see the small blush on Hawkeye's face.

Meanwhile, Edward was once again sprawled on his superior's desk, only this time, he was moaning loudly and cursing under his husky breath. Teeth scraped over his neck and wandered upwards to his cheek. He felt Mustang's slick tongue trailing over the shell of his ear, making him gasp and mewl. A few strands of hair had loosened from his braid and were now sticking to his face covered in a sheen of sweat. A guttural moan passed his lips at a particular hard thrust of the Colonel's hips.

Neither of them heard the soft knock at the door or the call of a worried Hawkeye.

"Nii-san?"

Edward gasped, but not from pleasure. He shot up from where he lay on the desk and turned around as best as he could from his position to see his brother standing in the door. His innocent little brother that would have had shock-widened eyes if he had had a real body. But Edward still knew what emotions were running through his mind. "A-Al…" Dread flowed rapidly through his system as Alphonse back away a little. "Wait! Let me explain everything first!" There was no need for him to give the Colonel a sign, since the man pulled away on his own to close his pants. As Edward tried to get off the desk, the man helped him to get down safely and supported him as the blonde pulled up and closed his pants. Having had his back turned to his brother, Edward turned around to face Alphonse with fear clearly plastered on his face.

Alphonse was sure it was the result of Edward's secret having been discovered.

Somehow, he was right.

The older Elric wobbled towards the couches in the middle of the room and sat down beckoning his brother towards him. And the longer it took for Alphonse to decide if he wanted to go or not, the more Edward felt like crying. "Al, please."

Lowering his head, Alphonse nodded after a moment of thought. With heavy steps he made his way towards his brother and sat down on the couch opposite to him. He waited with something of an expecting look, though to Edward it looked utterly disappointed.

For a long time, all Edward did was fiddling around with the fabric of the gloves on his hands. He couldn't look his younger brother in the eye, but desperately tried to find a way to start explaining everything. Knowing the Colonel was standing somewhere behind him, he suddenly wished the man was right next to him. "A few weeks ago…" He almost faltered as he imagined what Alphonse was probably thinking at the indication that it had been going on for so long. "A few weeks ago, I realised that I felt…" The blonde lowered his voice so Mustang wouldn't hear, "a-attracted to…" The blonde gulped and seemed much like someone who was trying to tell a parent about a bad grade, "th-the Colonel." A blush, so rich in color too bright to be healthy, spread over Edward's face in the blink of an eye. He dropped his face into his hands that were propped up on his knees. "I was really confused, but… things turned out okay, I guess. Well… in the end, I somehow got together with… him. And I'm actually–"

"I can't believe that!"

Edward's face shot up to see the tension in his little brother, amber eyes wide. "Wh–"

"I saw you two before! You didn't look happy at all, Nii-san! You never did! And you've been so distracted lately! At first I thought you were sick, but then I…" Those red gleaming eyes narrowed a bit. "I followed you."

"You what?" Edward yelled, straightening up to stand in a second. He regretted this action when a seething pain shot up and down his back and immobilized him for a moment. Both Alphonse and Mustang seemed ready to help the State Alchemist, but Edward waved them off with a shaky smile. "I'm fine." After sitting back down again, Edward refocused his attention on his brother. "It probably looked weird to you."

"How…" Shaking his head, Alphonse seemed about ready to either leave or jump his brother. "Why did you always look so scared?"

Amber eyes widened just a fraction, before narrowing again. "I must have looked that way to you, huh?" Surprisingly, the corners of Edward's lips pulled into a small, cold smile. That smile remaining on his face and even widening, the blonde rubbed over his face. "Guess I'll really have to do some explaining." Seeming to relax, the teen leaned back into the couch and placed his arms on the backrest of the piece of furniture. "It was kinda hard in the beginning," he almost murmured as he rubbed his eye. "All the secrets. I tried my best not to lie to anyone, but with time it even became a habit. I always…" Tensing up a little, Edward glanced back at Mustang and sent him a look.

Mustang nodded and walked towards his subordinate. He leaned down, placed a hand on the blonde's head and pressed his lips against Edward's temple. Then he straightened up and left.

Once the door was closed, Edward seemed to relax again. "There was a point where I couldn't trust the Colonel. I still had this image of him being a lady killer in my head and I was starting to wonder if I was just another lay to him. The first time I let him kiss me was also the last time, cause after that, I just couldn't let him. I wasn't sure if I should trust him or not, so we made a deal. I told him that if he stayed with me for three months without laying a finger on me or anyone else, I'd trust him."

"But–"

"I know!" Edward quickly cut in, another blush reddening his cheeks. "He kinda ignored the no-touching-part and after a few weeks tried to seduce me all the time. After a while, I gave in to him, but never let him kiss me. And even though he keeps coming on to me… I can't tell him to stop." Feeling as if he had said everything of importance, Edward stayed silent and waited for a response from Alphonse. But nothing came and he was starting to become nervous again. Very nervous. Nervous to the point where he was mutilating his own lip. To the point where–

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The sound of hurt in his brother's voice alarmed Edward and only made him all the more nervous. "I…" Yes. Why hadn't he told Alphonse? Until that point, he hadn't known himself. "I was scared."

Alphonse's armor clanked loudly as he jolted to straightly look at the other. "But… what of?"

"Of how you would react, I guess." Edward then pushed himself off of the couch and instead sat down beside the teen trapped in armor. "I thought you would be… disappointed. I'm the older brother and the older brother is supposed to be something of an idol and an idol isn't supposed to be…" He trailed off, lowering his head with a tiny, bitter laugh.

"What?"

Shaking his head, Edward felt like crying again. "Different," he whispered in a small voice. "I felt horrible when I realised that I was… different. I always thought I would marry a girl someday and have my own family, that I would be the older brother you deserve, but… I can't. I can't because I–"

"What are you talking about, Nii-san?"

In his surprise, Edward snapped his head to the side to look at his brother, revealing the tears beginning to collect in his eyes.

"I could never be disappointed in you!"

And that was all the words it took to relieve Edward of his burden, to let a single tear slide down his face, to make his smile broaden into a genuine one. "How could I forget?" he beamed, lightly punching the other's arm. "Looks like I'm not as smart as I thought." He sent a questioning look towards Alphonse and grinned brilliantly as the other nodded with a small laugh. Immediately he was off the couch and headed outside, although he was still limping. He all but threw open the large door and knocked the one after that open with just as much eagerness.

The people walking along the corridor sent him confused and startled looks and some even let the documents in their hands drop to the ground as the teen rushed past them. Heavy boots trampled over the floor, the sound loudly echoing from the walls.

"Hey, Colonel Bastard!"

The raven-haired man turned with a surprised raise of his eyebrows, only to find a teen in the process of jumping at him. He had to let go of the documents and files in his hands in order to be able to catch the blonde. "Fullmetal, what are you–" The man then found himself being pulled down by his navy-blue coat, before lips clumsily pressing onto his. It took him by surprise and he nearly stumbled. He took a hold of his subordinate's shoulders to push him away, seeing how people were already looking at them weirdly, but soon he couldn't seek out the will do to so. Arms wrapped even more tightly around his neck and Mustang let his hands rest on Edward's waist.

A smile spread on the Flame Alchemist's face as he noticed that his back wasn't hurting. The last time they had kissed, he had had to bend his back oh so much. Now there were barely four inches between them.

And neither dared to pull away.