aftercare

[duke_of_illusions]

Barma wakes up an hour or so later, yawning.

Reaching to check on Al right away.

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[al_truism]

It doesn't occur to him at first. His mind is so scattered that his senses are dulled. He stays on the floor and tries to rationalize it out. Maybe there's an emergency. A fight he's breaking up.

Some urgent business he's been called away for.

Al stays where he is, until the smells starts making him cough, and his throat feels dry.

It slowly begins to dawn on him.

"Rufus?" he whispers into the silence. "Dodo-?"

[duke_of_illusions]

Orange light. Crackling. Beams groaning, the tell tale popping- and the air above him starts to fill up with smoke. The door won't give.

[al_truism]

Al begins to cough, tearing up and staying low.

He goes to the window, looks out-

[duke_of_illusions]

Crowds are gathered on the grass outside. Barma is nowhere to be seen among them.

The sound of the flames are getting closer.

[al_truism]

Al moves to the door, sets a hand to it, feeling, and touches the knob lightly.

"Rufus-"

It's a raspy whisper at first.

[duke_of_illusions]

It's hot to the touch. Everything is foggy with smoke, now.

[al_truism]

Al doesn't bother transmuting it open. He coughs again, goes to the bed and pulls away the pillowcases. He dumps the contents of his water glass over them, rolls them up and shoves them into the crevices around the door.

He goes to the window again, scanning the crowd. He might have missed him, somehow-

[duke_of_illusions]

His arms fold about him, from behind.

"You didn't think I'd leave you, did I?"

[al_truism]

Al's heart gives a strong, unsteady flutter, and he melts back into Barma's arms.

He's shaking with the adrenaline.

[duke_of_illusions]

All of it melts. He lays him down on the bed, they've been here all along. The room is open and cool, and smells of violets and their cucumber soup.

"I have you, it's all right, I have you."

[al_truism]

Al curls up into him and immediately has to hold back tears. Unsuccessfully.

[duke_of_illusions]

"Cry it out, darling."

Hand stroking down his back.

[al_truism]

Al does, in soft, wracking sobs that sound painful with how breathless they are. Finally, when Al begins to calm down, Barma will get a fist walloping him in the ribs. Graceless and not at full power, but enough to ache and possibly make him wheeze on the next breath.

"Don't- don't ever do that to me again-"

[duke_of_illusions]

"Ow!"

Wheezing, reaching out an arm to him.

"Alphonse, you can be upset, but you can't misbehave."

[al_truism]

Al pulls away from him immediately, backing away from his touch.

[duke_of_illusions]

"Al, look at me."

Calm, almost silent.

"It's over, and if you didn't enjoy the ride I'll never do it again, all right? I promise."

[al_truism]

"You made me think you'd left me there."

He grips the sheets, spitting out the words. He's angry, pained, looking like he's about to cry.

"You told me we'd stopped playing and then you left me there."

[duke_of_illusions]

"Breathe. I was never more than two feet away from you. I'd never let anything happen to you, and I'm sorry."

Very gentle.

[al_truism]

"You can't leave-"

He whispers, and his voice breaks.

It wasn't the fire. It wasn't the danger. It was the thought of Barma leaving him behind. Of being forgotten.

Again.

[duke_of_illusions]

"Never."

Crossing to him, fast.

"You will never, ever, ever be left."

[al_truism]

Alphonse ducks his head against him, shivering hard. The tears are silent now.

[duke_of_illusions]

Barma wraps him up tight in his arms, hanging on. Whisking the world away.

The woods, as he'd described them. Lovely, tall, autumnal, with the dawn light filtering through the leaves, the crackle of ferns around their feet, the rough beat of a bird's wings in the air.

[al_truism]

Al doesn't bother looking up. He just grips Barma's shirt and tries to fight back all the fear, all the old pain he thought he'd numbed out and learned to simply accept.

It was one thing to have someone disappear. It was quite another to believe, even for a moment, that someone he loved would deliberately abandon him.

Gradually, he stops shaking, but he doesn't open his eyes.

[duke_of_illusions]

"You felt it, you survived it, you're still here."

Licking his bottom lip.

[al_truism]

Al slowly opens his eyes, though it takes a few seconds to focus on him.

"I'm still mad," he whispers, but doesn't protest the touching.