Fullmetal Alchemist LN 1 24

“But you’re still doing it anyway! That makes it even worse!
”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Alphonse could tell from watching Fletcher now and last night that living a lie
was hard for him. His older brother, Russell, had a face that revealed little, and
he had been so busy picking on Edward that he had given no indication of his
feelings on the matter, but Fletcher was different. Every move he made
revealed his inner turmoil.
“You disagree with your brother, don’t you?”
Fletcher sighed, unable to answer. He was tired of all the lying.
“If you can apologize to me, why can’t you just tell your brother how you
feel? It’s cowardly not to confront him.”
“I know it is, but …” Fletcher’s head drooped. “If I turn against him, he won’t
have anyone. He’ll be all alone.”
Alphonse didn’t know what to say.
“There’ll be no one left on his side! I mean, it’s probably our fault because of
all the lies, but we’re on our own. What would he do if I left him here?”
“He could leave with you!”
Fletcher shook his head. “If that was all it took, I would have confronted him
before all the lying started.” A black spot appeared on the ground at the boy’s
feet. A tear, quickly swallowed by the dusty soil. “I can’t leave—not by myself. I
have to stick by my brother.” Fletcher wiped the tears from his eyes with the
back of his hand. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this. You’re the victim here, and
I’m the one who’s crying. I must be nuts.”
“If I felt all on my own, living a lie every day, I’d lose it too.” Alphonse didn’t
think Fletcher deserved his sympathy, but it was hard to be cold to him. “I know
how you feel,” Alphonse said kindly. “I’m a younger brother too. I know you feel
like you’ve got to do what he says, be loyal, and not question him. But there are
some things in life that are more important than that.”
Alphonse put his hand on Fletcher’s shoulder. “If you two are all alone in the
world, that means if your brother’s doing something wrong, you’re the only one
who can stop him—even if you have to fight with him. If you don’t, who will? If
you can’t pull him back by yourself, then you’ll have to ask for help, but
somehow, you’ve got to stop him before he goes too far! You can’t just hope
this will blow over by itself, and you can’t rely on someone else to take care of it
for you.”
Fletcher remained silent.
“That’s just my opinion, of course,” mumbled Alphonse, suddenly self-
conscious. He knew he was right, but he was afraid he had been too harsh.
Fletcher stared at the ground for a while, then raised his eyes to Alphonse.
“You must get along well with your brother.”
Fletcher’s face seemed a little brighter than before, underneath the streaks
his tears had left on his cheeks. Although he hadn’t really acknowledged
Alphonse’s words, Alphonse was glad that Fletcher had cheered up a little at
least. A few minutes ago, Alphonse thought he was going to collapse on the
spot.
“We get along all right, but that doesn’t mean we don’t fight,” Alphonse told
him, trying to sound encouraging.
“Really? Actually, my brother and I haven’t fought in a while. You know, he
didn’t tell Mr. Mugear that he lost to your brother last night. He tries to act all
cool, but really he’s a sore loser. He’d never tell anyone if he got hurt in a fight
or had trouble with his research. He pretends he doesn’t care. But I’ve seen his
face when he thinks no one is watching. That’s why I’ve got to buy his medicine
for him.”
The boys caught each other’s eye and laughed. Fletcher pulled one of the
packets of powdered syrup out of his bag and handed it to Alphonse. “This is
supposed to be good to drink when you use the salve. It really works.” He
placed the packet in Alphonse’s hand.
“I can’t … ” Alphonse began.
“It’s a fair trade … ”
Leaving Alphonse to ponder his words, Fletcher turned and walked away
down the street.

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“But you’re still doing it anyway! That makes it even worse!

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