The city was enjoying the long awaited peace, which had come at the end of Bradley's reign. Festivals and markets had flourished and people were out and about enjoying the uncommonly long period of fine weather. Alphonse Elric was one of those relaxed civilians, making his way through the markets after taking a break from his thesis and leaving his elder brother cooped up in the library. The same atmosphere could almost be seen in the central headquarters of the Amestrisian military. Soldiers were leisurely making their way around the complex and most of the higher-ranking officers had already escaped the confines of the building and were enjoying long lunch breaks. Edward Elric was in the library skimming through books trying to find something that would catch his interest, for once reading simply to enjoy the pursuit of knowledge.

The entire city had finally unwound from the pressure of Bradley's strict rule and was in a state of peace and relaxation.

That's why the explosion had come as such a surprise.

Edward charged through the rubble with reckless abandon, desperate to get to Alphonse. The thick, heavy air was so oppressive, Edward felt as if it would stop him in his tracks and he faltered. Shaking his head, Edward lengthened his stride and continued to the murmur of voices he could hear coming from around the corner. As he moved close, the smell of blood was unmistakable and Edward's mind blanked out as it was consumed by a hot rage. If there was so much as a scratch of Alphonse, nothing would be able to satisfy Edward's rage until he had the one responsible bled out at his feet. No one could hurt Edward's brother and get away with it.

Almost skidding around the corner, Edward could only see blue. Military officers had swarmed the area, moving quickly to deal with the situation. So many civilians had been injured in the explosion and the soldiers were attempting to restore order.

In the back of his mind, Edward knew the soldiers were necessary. The explosion that had rocked the business district of Central was a blatant attack against Amestris, and the military needed to determine the origins of the blast as well as administer the wounded civilians. But in Edward's desperation, the soldiers were only proving to be an obstacle. They were standing between him and his little brother. Furious at the sight, Edward pushed his way through the crowd, snarling at any soldier who dared to even look his way.

The scent of alchemy lingered in the air and Edward tracked it like a dog. Knowing that if he followed it, Alphonse would be there. Edward strained to see the telltale flash of alchemy, as Alphonse would of course be helping with the investigation and cleanup; Alphonse was definitely the most altruistic of the brothers.

Edward felt his foot slip from under him before he hastily righted himself. Taking a moment to glare downward, Edward couldn't stop himself from cringing at the puddle of blood responsible for his slip. It was lucky the soldiers had Alphonse helping them; he'd be better at helping find survivors in the rubble than any of the other useless military members. Edward followed the trail of blood with sharp eyes, with the hope that the one responsible for it was already safe and getting treatment. It was a lot of blood to lose. He'd only managed to get a glimpse at the light brown, almost blond hair before a gloved hand covered his eyes and an arm pulled him back against a solid chest.

"What the –" Edward struggled.

"Edward. Calm down." A smooth voice ordered.

Edward felt himself pause as he registered his commanding officer's voice.

"Colonel, let go. Al's-"

"Edward." Mustang cut him off. Edward couldn't shake the thought that Mustang's voice seemed to be gentler.

"I thought I saw him. The kid over there had the same colour hair. Funny huh? But it wasn't Alphonse. Al's somewhere helping your useless military right."

Mustang's chest seemed to jerk back from Edward's back, as if something unpleasant had happened.

"Al's safe right. He's not hurt. He can't get hurt." Edward was aware he was babbling but Mustang's silence on the matter was only adding to his unease.

"So where is he? I'll go help him out."

"…"

"Mustang. Where is he?"

"Fullmetal – Edward…Alphonse is – "

"He's with Armstrong isn't he? All the alchemist's are clearing the mess together right?"

"…"

"Right?"

Mustang swallowed thickly and his hand covering Edward's eyes seemed to convulse.

"Musta-"

"Edward. Alphonse is gone."

"Gone? Gone home right? You guys've been working him all day and finally human enough to give him a break?"

"I'm sorry Ed."

"He's probably making dinner for us. I can help here for a bit but I'm going home too okay."

Edward could swear Mustang was shaking. Was it cold or something?

"Edward, Alphonse was in the city center today when the explosion happened." Even Mustang's voice was shaking.

Edward wrenched the hand away from his eyes and took in the hair, the head, the shoulders, arms, torsowaistlegsBODY that he didn't let himself see the first time. His vision tunneled before the hand clapped over his eyes again.

It was too late. He couldn't un-see what he had seen.

Edward wasn't sure what happened. He felt the ground under him, so it was a safe bet that his legs had given out. He felt arms tugging him, dragging him away from the wet ground that Edward distantly remembered was wet with blood. A warm presence was on the ground next to him, grabbing Edward and pulling him close. Edward twisted, wanting to comprehend the sight that had brought him to his knees, but a hand stopped him and pulled his head against a firm shoulder. "Edward."

"No!" Edward denied harshly even as his body gave in and began to shake.

Mustang's hand kept Edward's head pressed against his shoulder, while his other arm gathered the young man in. Holding onto Edward for the boy's comfort and his own, Mustang squeezed his eyes shut as if to block the pain and wished he could just pretend nothing had changed. He felt Edward's body start to shake as the shock set in and began rubbing his hand against the teenager's back in an automatic attempt to provide comfort. Minutes passed before the smaller body froze.

"Alphonse?" Edward was pleading.

"I'm sorry." Mustang whispered…and something inside Roy broke as he watched Edward shatter before him.

Edward had lost his brother, but Roy knew he had lost them both.

Author's Notes: It's great to see how good I am at studying...procrastination led to me clearing out my harddrive, which led me to this drabble/fic-let thing. Figured I should post something to prove I'm still alive :)

I wrote this before the end of the manga, so definitely set in an AU where Edward's still got alchemy and the Elric boys stayed in Central