Disarray: a collection of short stories

Fullmetal alchmemist: missing

Vignette: count 999

Alphonse opened his eyes slowly, grey orbs adjusting to the sunlight streaming through the window. The young boys eyes wandered the room sleepily, still weary from his long nights studying endless stacks of alchemy books for answers. The bed of his temporary room mate was, once again he noted, empty and the room strangely still. He sat up curiously.
Again he'd awoken to a missing Wrath, though the boy had been there when Al fell asleep. The young Elric, being the lighthearted one he was, shrugged it off as just another one of his roommates mysterious habits. He had always felt a strangeness from the raven haired sin. He knew he was a homunculus; Winry had told him when he arrived.
Regardless he just got out of bed and made his way to kitchen to grab breakfast, pulling his long dirty-blonde hair up in a messy ponytail and shrugging on one of his brothers beloved red coats. It kept his lost brother close, though he couldn't remember him past the transmutation. He had been offered numerous stories about their travels together by the Rockbelles and others who claimed to be friends, though their faces like the stories, were just voids in a 4 year memory gap. It was...bewildering to say the least for the child. But he kept smiling, always making other people grin when he brought up how he was planning to get Ed back someday.
As he chewed on a slice of Winry's famous apple pie, he let his mind wander to think about where Wrath disappeared to every night. He always reappeared, not saying much and refusing to eat breakfast despite Winry's attempts. He sat by himself not doing anything, whether in the field with Den, or on the porch, but at night he disappeared.
It was an odd thing to wonder about, Al knew. But who wouldn't be curious about someone they lived with that they knew hardly anything about?
Al finished his favorite slice of pie and strolled back to the dining table where stacks of ancient texts waited loyally for his return. He sighed, before sitting down and opening the old tomes. Tonight, he vowed, he would finish studying earlier and stay up to see where Wrath was sneaking off to.
-----

That night Al finished his studies atleast an hour early. He got funny looks from Winry when he determinedly went to bed early. Shortly after, the Elric lay feigning sleep and heard the familiar metallic limping steps of Wrath to his cot across the room. Al hoped he was faking well enough, and was relieved when he heard Wrath lay down across the room and Winry bid goodnight before leaving.
And now the waiting began, the boy thought as he prepared to stay awake.

The wait seemed like forever, the clock ticking in the corner, the silence filling Alphonse's ears like cotton. He could barely stand it after the clock hands had reached 3 am. 'How much longer is he going to wait?' He thought, when a sudden realization hit. 'Does he know I'm awake?' He wanted to turn over a little and take one hidden glance to his roommates cot across the room. But he refused, biting his lip and trying to level his breathing.

A metallic creak was heard, making the blondes' ears prick into alertness. His eyes cracked open slightly, and sure enough, much to his relief he could see Wrath's reflection on the face of the clock in front of him as the homunculus rose from his bed and stepped quiet as a cat towards the door. Al watched through one eye as the sins magenta eyes glowed slightly, reflecting like a cats as they scanned the room again, making Al question whether he should really follow the creature in the dead of night. But the Raven-haired boy didn't seem to notice the Elric and soon slipped out of the room like a shadow. 

Al waited a few minutes before he too made the catlike escape from his room, slipping down the halls using his small child frame to his advantage to stay hidden. He peeked out of the window on the door where wrath had exited, but to his dismay the porch was empty. Al opened the door and slid onto the porch, looking everywhere. The massive yard was empty. There was no way the  boy could move that fast, even being a homunculus.

"you're terrible at pretending to sleep, Elric..." The slightly raspy and cracked voice, worn from not being used, mused somewhat accusingly from above him. Al jumped, startled snapping his head upward to see a pair of sharp purple eyes watching him from atop the roof. Al kept his courage though, and tried to look less tiny and scared, being looked at like some little mouse in front of a cat. "I- I was......"
Wrath simply blinked slowly. "You're following me. Why?" He mumbled.
Al stiffened "I wanted to know where you went. I was worried, and a little nosey I guess.." He admitted quietly. The first part caught Wrath's attention, and he gave his peer a confused look, before he visibly relaxed and became less harsh. "Can't sleep, what's the point of laying there all night...that's all," he said dryly. Al tilted his head
"How come?"
Wrath didn't bother to look down at the other boy "just don't... You understand?"
Al was silent, just sat down on the porch. Wrath tilted his head and his brow furrowed. "What are you doing?"
Al didn't smile, just answered "keeping you company."
Wrath was taken aback, biting back a sneer, "why.."
"Cause you look really lonely."
Wrath didn't speak, just looked down at the Elric, utterly confused and shocked. Al smiled up at him, "that's okay, isn't it..?"
For once in his life, Wrath didn't glare or sneer, he just sat speechless before managing to sigh, and nodded silently answering Alphonse.
Al visibly brightened "good, i didn't want you to be alone,"

/-----------------
Disclaimer; I wish I did but I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist... This was, for those who can't tell, pre-movie and I tried my best to talk about how Alphonse was dealing with the really messed up new life of confusion he had to live. It was shorter than I wanted, so the ending seems weirdly short.