Brother

Summary: Dean Winchester could relate to Edward Elric, maybe more than anyone, definitely more than most. FMA/SPN crossover. Rated T for language. One-shot.

Author's Note: Takes place post-season 3 of Supernatural

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot.

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"Why do you need to get back so bad?" Dean asked the blond young man that had fallen out of the Gate about half an hour ago.

"It's my younger brother. He's all alone and probably in danger," the kid responded forlornly.

This was something that Dean could understand. "How old's your brother?"

"Fifteen."

"I'm sure he's fine. I mean, how bad could it be?"

Edward rounded on him furiously, "You have no idea, so why don't you just shut up!"

"Whoa, take it easy kid. Look, we can ask my brother to try and find a way back for you. He's pretty smart. While we're getting there, you want to tell me what's up with your brother?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"No, really. In this world, the way things work here, you wouldn't understand. Science… is different here. You have physics, we have… something else."

"Well, if you keep the physics out of it, I might be able to understand. I've seen some pretty crazy stuff."

"Look, I just need to get back. I have to protect him."

"What about your parents?"

"We haven't seen dear old dad since we were kids."

Dean could hear the poorly concealed anger in his voice. Out of curiosity he continued, "What about your mom?"

"She died a long time ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Not as much as I am. That's why I have to get back. We're all each other has."

"What are you protecting him from?"

"Why do you keep asking so many damn questions?" Edward snapped, his voice rising.

"Look, hey, no need to be snarky about it. I'm just trying to help you. My brother and I have been through some pretty awful stuff. I know what it can be like."

"You know what it's like?"

Dean, missing the angry disbelief in the kid's voice, continued "Well, probably not exact—"

"You know what it's like to fuck up so bad your brother almost dies? Well, I fucked up! I fucked up so bad that Al did almost die! We were just kids, and all we wanted was to see our mom again. So we did it, or tried anyway; a human transmutation, raising the dead, whatever you want to call it. But what's dead should stay dead. What we created, it wasn't human. The price was way too high. And it was completely my fault! So now I have to fix it. I would do anything for my brother. I have to save him, and I can't stop trying until I do, even if I'm going to Hell for it," his voice was ragged by the end, even though he had started off shouting.

Dean could see that the kid was almost crying, but didn't call him on it. He did understand, probably better than most people.

"I think we should go find my brother, so you can get back." He went to place a hand on the kid's shoulder. It made a small clanking noise. Dean pulled his hand back in surprise. "What the—"

Edward removed his gloves and pushed up his sleeve. "Automail. The Gate took my brother and my leg." He rapped on his leg, it also clanked. "I sacrificed my right arm to transmute his soul into a suit of armor. He doesn't have a body anymore. He can't eat, or sleep, or dream. I have to find a way to get his body back."

"From what it sounds like, you're not going to be able to do that without paying a mighty high toll."

Edward shrugged, "Equivalent exchange. Everything comes at a price."

"How old are you, kid?"

"Sixteen, and I'm not a kid."

"No. You're not."

They had arrived back at the motel. Dean opened the door to let them in.

They were greeted with, "Where the hell have you been, Dean? There's been some pretty weird shit going down in the past few hours."

"Yeah, I know. I was there."

"Who's this?" Sam asked noticing Edward.

"My name's Edward Elric."

"He needs our help, Sam. Well specifically your help, since I suck at physics."

"I was a pre-law major; I don't know much about physics either, Dean."

"Let me worry about the science stuff, I just need help with the type of lore you guys deal with."

Sam turned back to Edward, "What exactly are you trying to accomplish? I'm a bit fuzzy on the details."

"That 'pretty weird shit' you were talking about, there's a Gate between our two worlds. I was doing… something, and I made a mistake, ending up here."

"So you're going to want to open up this gate-thing to get back through?"

"That's the plan."

Sam and Dean looked at each other, with expressions of "this-plan-is-never-going-to-work" and "what-are-you-going-to-do," respectively.

Several hours later, with a revised plan, Sam and Edward were pouring over books and hastily scratching notes, muttering to both themselves and occasionally each other. Dean looked on from a chair near the motel window. He knew Sam was a nerd, but he had never seen him with someone equally academic. He was good at it, the research thing, Dean realized, and so was Edward.

"I think that's as good as it's going to get, theoretically," Sam said. "But it's never going to be near powerful enough to open that Gate."

"What if we have an amplifier?" Edward suggested.

"We'd need a pretty massive amplifier. I mean, sure, we probably have some of the raw materials, but it could take months to synthesize something like that into a working device."

"What about this?" Edward unclipped something from his belt-loop and tossed it to Sam who caught it easily. "State Alchemists use it in transmutations."

"Transmuwhatsits?" Dean interrupted. He had obviously missed the background story.

Sam responded, "Transmutations. Making something from something else, like in the old lore on Alchemists, except that it actually works in Ed's world."

"Right. So are you a State Alchemist?"

Edward snorted and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I am, since I was twelve. A glorified 'Dog of the Military.'"

"Hold on a minute here. You're a soldier, like in the military?" Sam asked incredulously.

Dean leaned forward in his chair, "You've been in the military since you were twelve?"

"Without military clearance, you don't have access to a lot of information regarding alchemy. Information that we needed if we were ever going to get our bodies back . So yeah, I joined the military when I was twelve. Like I said, I'll do whatever it takes to save my brother."

Edward was staring right at Dean; his gaze piercing, almost challenging. Dean looked back steadily. He thought about what he learned about Edward over the past hours. Thought about his own life and Sam's. He could relate to the kid, maybe more than anyone, definitely more than most.

Next to him, Sam was muttering about how "twelve is too young. Hell, sixteen is too young to be in the military." Dean agreed with him, but he would have done the exact same thing had he been in Ed's position. And while maybe they hadn't been first-hand witnesses of political atrocities growing up, by the time they were twelve and sixteen, their nightmares were plagued by just as many specters of destruction and the dying.

"Doesn't matter, I'm in now and I wouldn't go back anyway."

"Wouldn't you?"

Edward shrugged, "Can't change the past; might as well move forward. Look ahead for answers and don't dwell on things you can't change."

With that, Ed headed out the door. The Winchesters followed with the gear they would need for the ritual.

The ritual itself didn't take long, maybe about fifteen minutes. It took longer for the Gate to open after the process had finished. Edward was standing in front of it, with a serious look on his face. It wasn't dark, just concentrated and very determined.

"I want to shoot myself for askin' this of a kid, but how can you be okay with that?"

Edward turned halfway to look at Dean with one eye. He shrugged. "My mistake, I'll pay for it. I've had a long time to get used to it. Besides my loss is not worth mourning, for the gain it will bring."

Sam was looking at them, knowing that he didn't know what they were talking about. But he didn't pry; he knew that what they were talking about was between them.

"Even if you don't have to pay the price you're anticipating, there are still things worse than you can even imagine," Dean said grimly. He never talked about his time in Hell with anyone, but he felt a certain kinship with Edward Elric and didn't want this kid to go through what he did.

Something in his voice must have given away that he was speaking from experience, because Edward turned to regard him fully. He cocked his head to the side. "It looks as though as it worked out in the end."

"We are so far from the end."

The Gate finally opened and Ed turned to gather his bag, and walked toward the portal. He threw his bag in before turning to face Dean once again. "Well, then," he said, "move forward. You've got a good strong pair of legs, Dean. Just get up and use them." It wasn't patronizing the way he said it, and no one took it as such. With that, Edward Elric turned and stepped through into his world and was gone.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Sam asked.

Dean didn't answer.

"He seems optimistic enough."

Dean didn't say "Yeah" and he didn't smile sadly. He looked at Sam with honesty and said, "That's not optimism, Sammy. That's the expression of a boy who has truly accepted and is fully prepared to die to save his brother."

Dean looked away back to where Ed had just been standing. He's sure Sam was processing this, horrified. He needed to say something though, needed to tell Sam.

"I'm so sorry I can never be that for you."

Sam shook his head violently; Dean thought he was crying.

"I'm glad you didn't have to be."

~FIN

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