Pool Time!

[soulalchemy.livejournal.com]

Who: Alphonse Elric, Edward Elric
What: A trip down to the pool.
When: Now? Mid-afternoon, before things go splodey out on the grounds.
Where: The pool room
Rating: PG


Al glanced out another window as they headed down the stairs. He had a towel hanging over his shoulder and was running a hand along the wall as him and his brother descended down to the main level. "Hey, Brother, you're sure there's a pool, right?" he asked, turning to Ed.

"There's a map in the journals that says there is," Ed answered. "It took us a while to find the library, and look how big that place is. The pool's smaller, so it may be harder to find."

"Hmm, well, I'm sure we'll find it! It'll be nice to get some swimming in. It feels like forever since the last time we went swimming!" Al smiled at his brother, and stepped onto the main level landing.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Sure, Al," he said. He didn't particularly like swimming -- mostly because he couldn't. And although he could get wet, his automail only took so much moisture before the oil that kept it lubricated was washed out.

Poking his brother in the side, Al laughed. "Well, I'll do a few laps and then get out, ok? We don't want you to rust, now do we?"

"Why I oughta," Ed grumbled, even though he knew Al was kidding. "Swim as long as you want, Al."

"Are you sure, brother?" Al asked, looking around for the door to the pool.

Ed nodded, breathing in deeply and then pulling Al's arm. "You can smell chlorine this way," he said, leading his brother. "We must be getting close."

They took a few steps down a hallway, and came upon a door marked "Pool Room." Al pushed to door open, and let out a noise of excitement. "Hey, and look! We have the pool to our selves!"

"Yeah, probably no one else can find this place either," Ed chuckled, watching Al look gleeful. "Pretty nice, though, you won't have to worry about bumping into anyone during your laps."

Al gave his brother a quick hug, and then stepped further into the room. He quickly removed his clothing until he was wearing nothing but a pair of trunks. Then, gracefully, he dove in.

"Hey, brother, the water feels really nice!"

Ed grinned, because he liked it when Al was happy. He toed off his boots and rolled his pant legs up, sitting down on the edge of the pool and slipping his legs in. His automail looked funny when he looked at it underwater. "Yeah, the temperature's nice," he agreed.

Giving his brother another grin, Al turned, and quickly swam a lap. He swam another length of the pool and after a few more laps, he returned to his brother. He slowly tread water as he floated near Ed. Al poked Ed in the knee. "We're definitely going to get your arm and leg back, brother. I miss swimming with you!"

"I miss it too, Al," he replied. "But I don't want you to feel so bad about it..."

Al shook his head, and smiled sadly up at his brother. "It's only fair." Slowly, he climbed out of the pool, and sat by his brother on the water's edge. Al dangled his feet in the water like Ed.

"I can live with automail, you know," Ed said. "It's not the same as you having lost your body."

Wringing the water out of his hair, Al frowned. "Brother..." he protested softly.

"It's not," Ed insisted stoutly.

Al's shoulders hunched slightly, and he stared down into the water. "I still want to help you get your arm and leg back. No matter what."

"Well... let's focus on getting out of this place first," Ed said, avoiding the statement a little bit. "I think the vacation thing is getting a little... weird."

"No kidding... Like when our door got blasted in? I really hope that doesn't happen again." Al reached his arms behind himself, and began to slowly braid his hair.

"That's not the worst part about it," Ed said. "It's weird, but it seems the longer people are here, the worse they get."

"Hmm..." Al struggled with tying back his hair, and gave up. He looked over to Ed, and gave him a worried smile. "That won't happen to us, will it?"

"I hope we're not here long enough for it to happen," the alchemist growled to himself.

Al laid a hand on Ed's knee. "It'll be alright, brother. At least we didn't get separated, right?"

"Thankfully," Ed sighed, putting his arm around his brother.

Al gave his brother a peaceful smile, and then leaned his head on Ed's shoulder. His hair was still wet, and left a mark on Ed's shirt. Al quickly realized his mistake, and sat up with an embarrassed grin. He clapped his hands together, and after the glow of alchemic light died, Ed's shirt was dry again.

"Odd, we haven't had any trouble with our alchemy lately, have we?" Ed questioned, examining his shirt.

Blinking, Al turned to his brother. "You're right! That's kinda weird. Maybe it was just a side affect of arriving here?"

"I hope that's all it was," he replied. "You know what's funny, though? Even though people here have never heard of alchemy, the library is full of books about it. But none of them I've ever seen before. You'd think with all the books we read when we were kids, we'd come across one or two familiar ones, but nothing."

"Yeah, maybe they're like the alchemy of Xing? I wonder if any of the people outside the castle know about it. Maybe we'll have to take a trip out there soon." Al went back to trying to braid his hair, pulling an odd face as he reached back.

"Oh here," Ed said, shaking his head exasperatedly, "I'll do it."

Giving another embarrassed smile, Al turned to let Ed braid his hair. "Sorry, brother. I thought maybe I could get it this time..."

"It's no problem. You know I can't get my own when I try."

Al laughed, and leaned back further into Ed's touch. "I should just let you do it all the time, brother. It's nice when you braid my hair."

Ed patiently combed the loose strands into three separate sections, taking extra care not to pull too hard with his automail fingers.

A soft, relaxed sigh escaped Al as Ed combed through his hair. "Thanks for coming with me down to the pool, brother," he murmured, and rolled his shoulders.

"You're welcome," Ed smiled. "It's good that you're enjoying it. We can come back whenever you want, okay?"

"Yeah!" Al laughed, his voice reverberating off the walls. He reached behind himself again, and found his hair finished. Then, Al turned back to his brother, and gave him a hug.

Ed hugged Al back tightly. "You smell like chlorine," he chuckled after a moment.

"You smell like... like you," Al replied, a grin on his lips. "Which is a lot better than chlorine." He relaxed into the embrace and buried his nose in Ed's hair.

"Machine oil," Ed grumbled, "That's what Winry used to say."

"Not quite. Maybe a little of the oil but something else too. I like it," Al murmured.

Ed relaxed as well, leaning into Al's embrace. "That feels good, Al..."

"Mmm, brother," Al said softly, and slipped his arms further around Ed. His fingers gently kneaded Ed's back, coaxing tense muscles to relax.

Ed sighed, fingers flexing. "Mmm..."

"You shouldn't let your muscles get so tense, brother. Winry-chan get's angry with you for that..." Al said, and continued massaging Ed's back. He turned, pulling his feat out of the water to better face Ed, and let his fingers move to the sensitive skin near the ports of Ed's automail.

"Winry's not around," Ed mumbled defensively, but he sighed when Al rubbed his limbs where the automail connected. It was a spot of frequent aches, which his brother knew, and appreciated the comfort.

Al gave his brother a soft smile. "I'm here," he continued. "And I want to make sure you take good care of yourself."

"I've got you around for that," Ed smiled.

"Brother," Al pressed, fingers moving across Ed's chest, kneading through the fabric of his shirt. He sighed softly, and looked up at Ed, giving him a half grin.

Ed gave a lopsided grin. "Yes?"

"Don't avoid the subject." For some reason, Al's voice had become soft, and he hadn't realized it. A light dusting of crimson burned it's way to his cheeks. "The first moment you feel tense, let me know. We can't let it get this bad again."

"It's this place, that's all," Ed said grudgingly. "Even as big as this castle is, it still feels like a prison to me."

"Well, then we'll just have to find more time for massages, ok? Not arguments." Al finished his gentle massage and pulled his hands away. The soft coloring in his cheeks still remained, but he ignored it. Instead, he tried to appear stern.

"No arguments," Ed agreed, "More massages. Got it. Maybe next time... not in the pool room, huh?"

Smiling again, Al nodded. Then, he stood, and held his hands out of Ed. "Why don't we head back to our room now? And I can give you another massage!"

Ed gave a slow smile. "Oh really?"

Laughing softly, Al nodded. "Yeah, so hurry up, slow poke!" He bent down and grabbed his towl, wrapping it around himself, and then picked up his clothes. "It's cold sitting out here without my clothes and being all wet!"

Ed shrugged off his coat and put it around his brother's shoulders. "You should have said something sooner then!"

Al grinned and grabbed his brother's hand. "C'mon!" he said, and pulled him out into the hall.