⁰² video (𝗎𝗇: 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽)

[alkahestic]

[ once the festival is over, as elrics tend to do, they've turned a corner of the room into a research space for the time being, surrounded by books as they read on the couch. although things started productively enough, after some time leaning against his brother reading, ed slips down to stretch out facing the back of the sofa where he's eventually fallen asleep, long hair loose down his back and draped over the cushions to the floor - whatever book he's been reading forgotten in favor of getting more comfortable.

al, meanwhile, is sitting up with a frown on his features. his fingers card through his brother's hair in a slow, affectionate gesture, one that denotes just how close the two brothers are. at one point, he reaches over to grab his brother's slowly falling book and sets it aside before addressing the feed. ]

So many people have forgotten things. It's strange; I thought things were settled when that god was put to sleep. I think it's affected my brother too.

[ he pauses to card his fingers through his brother's hair again. ] He's been acting a bit differently, but don't tell him.

Anyway, how many people have lost memories? I've seen at least three people on the network so far. Anyone else? Maybe if we figure out who's affected, we can find a solution...

[ ooc: post is also open for floor 6 people and visitors! ]

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[alkahestic]

That's it. Ed doesn't bring up the murder, the horror of having killed his own brother. And suddenly Al tenses. He doesn't want to make Ed remember. He doesn't want his brother to recall that moment, especially since he hadn't been there for it to happen. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, clearly unsure what to say next. But eventually, deciding he doesn't want to lose this he has with his brother now, he flops forward against his brother and buries his face in Ed's shirt. He'd give anything to take away the memory forever if it meant he could keep Ed from remembering, from tensing up in his proximity, from going back to the paranoid and hard-edged Ed he'd been when Al had first arrived.

"I guess I was wrong. I just thought maybe... But I'm being dumb," he says with a shrug, fingers clasping at Ed's shirt.

[alchemyfreak]

He notices all of this as it goes down, his habit of watching people had become so ingrained he barely notices that he does it anymore. The way Al tenses, opens and closes his mouth as if there was more to say but he couldn't find the words. When Al moves forward, burying his face against Ed's chest he settles his arms over his brother's shoulders loosely.

"You're not being dumb, Al." He reassures quietly, but the memory of the beach still lingered in his mind. He remembers talking to Al on the beach too, here not in Purg - which left him with a strange unsettled feeling. He couldn't remember that conversation either, but it couldn't be what his brother was talking about if it happened here rather than in Purg. None of it made sense.

As far as he was concerned, right now, if his brother didn't want to tell him whatever he suspected he wasn't going to ask. Whatever it was had to be more traumatizing than any of the memories he'd conjured, Al was clearly holding back. Maybe to spare him but at the moment it was Alphonse's feelings Ed was worried about, if he didn't want to talk about it he wasn't going to pry. Not now at least, there would be time for it later.

Quietly, as if reluctant to throw away the chance to dismiss this whole conversation Ed adds softly, "There are some conversations I don't fully remember... I remember having them but- not what was said. I guess I could be affected somehow." Even if years ago he'd been the one to assure Al that sometimes memories just worked like that, there was something about these conversations that felt almost tampered with, like he should remember them but something was blocking the memory.

[alkahestic]

Al remembers when he'd questioned his own memories, how it had made him wonder if he was real at all. Barry the Chopper had done a number on his head that night, and Al was glad he was past it. But he still knew what it was like to have missing memories. Those of the time after they'd tried to bring back their mother had been missing for two years and though he now had them back, it was still a bit strange trying to mesh all the memories together. He wondered if maybe Ed felt the same way. That sense of unease that came with not having the full story. It made Al want to explain everything, but even he didn't know all the details of what happened in Purg.

Burying himself a little further against his brother and clutching at his shirt, he shakes his head. If his brother is affected, he'd do what he can to help, but hopefully not have to describe what was forgotten.

"It doesn't matter, Brother. As long as we don't forget each other, it's fine. Maybe those memories aren't as important as we thought..."

[alchemyfreak]

It was kind of odd the way this situation almost mirrored their past. Before it had been Ed who had the answers about Al's memories but he was holding back for his own reasons, afraid to know the truth. Now, Alphonse knew what was missing for Ed but couldn't tell him.

For his own part, Edward wouldn't even mind except that Al had put so much weight on it. The worst thing that ever happened between them, and it happened in Purg, which meant it wasn't even really part of their lives on their own world. He's not sure if that's a relief or even more stressful, to know that something happened between them that never needed to and wouldn't have if he hadn't been brought to that place.

"You're right, Al." His fingers idly thread through his brother's hair as Alphonse leans closer. "As long as we have each other we can take on anything." He doesn't comment on the rest, if it was so traumatizing he was sure it was important to remember. The worst thing that happened to them, something important enough that he'd told Al about it as soon as he got here, and he couldn't remember anything about it. "I wouldn't worry about it... If they are, they'll come back eventually."

[alkahestic]

The touch to his hair is comforting. This is the version of his brother he doesn't want to lose and desperately wants to stay. But he feels guilty about withholding the truth. It's not right, even though they've kept secrets from each other in the past. He's always felt guilty when it came down to keeping things from Ed, but in this case he knows his guilt will fade. It's for the best, he tells himself and nuzzles more against his brother.

What he doesn't tell his brother is that he hopes the memories don't come back. If they do, it might mean a distant Ed again, something Al would hate to see. They've both come so far, been through so much that to have to experience the pain again makes something hard and bitter raise in his throat. He swallows it down, determined not to let it get to him.

"Maybe..." he whispers, closing his eyes. "I don't care if they don't."

[alchemyfreak]

He is concerned about why Al is withholding the information, but Ed figures that the truth will come out eventually, and when it does he'll understand why his brother is reluctant to tell him whatever happened.

His grip on his brother tightens as Al nuzzles closer, as if to reassure him. There is a stab of hurt at the thought that Alphonse wishes for these memories to stay gone so badly. He doesn't exactly understand why Al wouldn't want him to know, but at the same time he does get that he's concerned about the level of pain they caused. The last thing Ed wants is for whatever this was to come between them, but he couldn't help feeling guilty for wishing - despite Al's words - that he did know.

"I guess we'll see, won't we?" He shifts, leaning back slightly to tilt his head, trying to meet Al's gaze as he speaks again. "Either way, whatever it is won't change anything between us, right?" He doesn't know what it is, but he's determined to keep his word on that.

[alkahestic]

Looking up into his brother's eyes, there's a glint of determination in his own. Let memories come between them? He remembers the fight he'd had with Ed when he thought that his memories had been fake as well as the face Ed had made when he'd left the hospital. There's no way he'd allow that to happen again. He didn't want to see Ed broken like that, didn't want to make his brother think they'd ever part. So he nods fervently and makes a noise in the back of his throat.

"Right. I won't let it, Brother. I promise," he assures Ed and he's just as determined to keep his word on that as Ed is on his part.

[alchemyfreak]

He feels a mix of emotions at the determination in his brother's gaze. Al, who knew what he'd forgotten was going to take on the burden of not letting whatever the memory was come between them. Even though it was Ed who had forgotten, and by that logic, Ed who might change once he remembered. He didn't like that idea, but he couldn't argue the point knowing that he had no idea what it was that could possibly come between them.

"Me too, Al." He'd just have to deal with whatever that meant when the time came.