ironysoul | (no subject)

Adjusting to life in Xing wasn't the most difficult thing Al had ever done. But it wasn't the easiest, either. There had been a very definite "settling in" period. Adjusting to a new culture, a new country. Without money. That had been exciting. But now, he had the backing of two major clans. The Emperor himself. And he was currently the only alchemist in Xing.

At first he hadn't liked it. He wanted to learn Alkahestry, and all the other alkahests wanted to learn was Alchemy. But now that they were settled, he'd found a good balance. Learning and teaching... in fact, he was something of a local celebrity.

But they'd worked it out now. And he really loved Xing. He loved being important, but just another person. Not an Elric. No relation to the Fullmetal Alchemist.

He was browsing in the marketplace, carefully considering fresh fruit and vegetables. They ate in the inn, mostly, but Chimera ate. A lot. And if Al didn't do the shopping, the stuff they ate wasn't very good for them. So here he was, hunting for healthy chimera snacks. And that was when the ruckus began.

Al looked up, shielding his eyes against the desert sun, and squinted at the next stall over. There was a lot of yelling in Xingese, high and fast-paced, and a tiny woman, even shorter than Al, seemed to be going wild.

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Rearrange furniture? Oh, wow was he asking for it. Al grinned back with the same cheerful good nature, and he was still grinning when Edmund's rump hit the dirt a few minutes later.

He was planning to offer Edmund a hand up. But Edmund made it clear he didn't need any such thing, recovering and coming after Al with admirable enthusiasm. Unfortunately for Edmund, Al saw the attack coming and dodged back. He could have taken the hit and rolled, but since he'd come back to his body, he'd found he tired easily. It was better, safer, to avoid more than engage. It didn't wear him out as quickly.

But he couldn't duck Edmund forever. Eventually the other boy was going to get a hit in, and he was quick. Powerful. A few good hits would lay Al out.

Obviously, he couldn't let that happen. Which meant he had to hit Edmund first.

A surge of energy not entirely from his competitive nature filled Edmund as Al proved to be a formidable opponent. What a thrill it was to have a challenge again! He sprang up and on to his feet, pushing forward but still knocked about from the unexpected fall. Al was good, and moreover, he seemed a keen observer, which made any attack half as effective, when it could be easily seen and dodged.

Edmund kept his movements fast, deciding on his next steps and blows with instinctive momentum. It was better to use the natural power of his body than to fight against it and waste any advantage it might offer him. Al had proved he could take more, so Edmund gave him more, pressing him hard, a keen light in his eyes.

He blocked, stepped to the side to sneak in an opening he saw in Al's defense...BAM! Al's fist connected with his chest. "Ooph!" All the breath got knocked clean out of Edmund's lungs. He staggered back, eyes wide. "Why you...!" Edmund inhaled breath and launched himself at Al, a rushing leap with both hands extended to grab onto Al's shoulders and haul him down to the ground with Edmund on top of him. He just hoped Al wasn't expecting such an aggressive counterattack.

(Was his subconscious trying to maneuver into such a position for prurient reasons? Surely not! Pure as the newly driven snow, Edmund was...)

Well, Al certainly wasn't expecting that! He was quick, but not quite quick enough -- Edmund's hands connected with his hips, not his shoulders, as he caught Al and slammed him to the ground.

The bright side was, Al's arms were still free. The downside being that Edmund had his legs, his much weaker and more fragile legs, totally pinned. Al wasn't as scrawny and incapable as he looked. He could take a hit, even to the lower half of his body, and keep fighting. But eventually his strength would run out, and if Edmund still had him pinned when that happened, this.... well, it wasn't going to end well. For Al.

He could always feign an injury, that worked on Ed every time (and had worked a few times with the Chimeras, until they caught on that their beloved Alphonse was a rotten cheater) but he didn't want to just yet. Better to save that for a time when he was truly desperate.

So instead, he got creative, and tried to push up from the ground with his arms, his knees bent between them. He might not be able to kick with the force he'd once had, but his upper body was still strong. Very strong. And if he could use his legs as a platform, and push his whole body, he might be able to unbalance Edmund enough to get out from under him.

(Surely Edmund wouldn't mind a reversal of position, pure and innocent as he was.)

Faking an injury, if he did it convincingly (and there was a good chance of that), would absolutely work on Edmund if push came to shove (in many sense of the term). He wouldn't be able to resist the chance to take care of Al instead of knock him around. But, well, as long as he was really all right...

Nope, no letting up! Edmund was way too thrilled to be both winning this fight and physically close to his adorable host. Now that he was on top of him, he had no plans on going anywhere soon, no matter how the blond wriggled beneath him, and wasn't that pretty swell, almost--

"Argh!" And that was the cry of pain wrenched from him as Al's knee somehow found his groin. Edmund cringed and shrank back, clutching piteously and thus relinquishing his pinning stance. He really should have been more protective. He was off his game. But he would never admit that he'd been distracted by pretty golden eyes and some wiggly hips. "Al! That was a low blow!" Even if it was mostly his own fault for not moving his lower half out of the way in time. Maybe he'd been doing the opposite, in fact.

And there, Al had an opponent who was quite at his mercy to have their positions reversed and be under Al if he wished. (That didn't sound like such a bad thing either, come to think of it...)

Al cringed. As eagerly as he'd pursued sensation after coming back to his body, a good knee in the balls was one he remembered from childhood -- and had no desire to experience again, even accidentally. What he couldn't figure out was how Edmund had ended up in that position, because it was basic knowledge, wasn't it? If you were pinning someone they'd go for your weak spots, and you had to be ready for it, to protect them. Al certainly wasn't letting Edmund's extremities anywhere near his own. What on earth had Edmund been trying to do, grinding into Al like that?

Well... Regardless... "Sorry! I wasn't trying for it!" Al gave him a sheepish grin, but kept him very firmly pinned, hands going halfway between Edmund's wrists and elbows to prevent him from getting any traction. He gave a shrug that was thoroughly unapologetic.

"Whatever wins, though!"

Edmund gave him a watery smile from his pinned and smarting position. "Sure, Al, sure." Al seemed like a very innocent fellow, but you never could tell with those types. In any case, Al had won pretty soundly, and Edmund was willing to cede the point.

"Very well. Next time I'll guard the goods better." He winced and rubbed his thighs together. At least the pain was helping him from getting too excited about the way Al was holding onto his arms, keeping him fixed in place. Otherwise, he'd be enjoying this way too much.

"Congratulations. You had a very lucky break." He managed a little smirk and tipped his head back to watch Al above him. Dark curls cascaded in a tumble over his forehead. "I was a bit...distracted this time." There, Edmund admitted it. He'd flirted. What was Al going to do about it?

What was Al going to do about it? Why, absolutely nothing!

In fact, Edmund's flirtations missed the mark entirely. Al, who was honestly and sincerely sorry about that little knee-genitals mix up, brightened and rolled off Edmund lightly, his whole manner alight with enthusiasm.

"Really? That's great! Were you thinking about the riddle?"

What else could Edmund possibly find distracting right now? Oh -- well, maybe the fact that he'd been wrenched from his home, pulled across dimensions to a strange world. Al winced, offering him a hand up. He liked Edmund. He hoped he hadn't put his foot in it.