N/A: It's my first AlxMei and I hope it's not OOC. I think my grammar has improved since the last time I wrote a fanfiction in English, but it may have a lot of grammar mistakes as always. Anyway, I hope you can enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Xoxo :)
Surprises
His visit to Xing was full of them.
Al knew crossing the desert was hard, but he thought he was in a good shape. It was a surprise that he needed to stop so many times, trying to pull himself together and make his way east. When he finally saw a sign of civilization, he almost jumped with the enthusiasm.
Xing was bigger than he imagined, too. In fact, Xing was way too big. He spent two days looking for the Emperor's Palace. Ling was really happy to see Al. He treated the Elric brother and his bodyguards as part of the royalty. Al asked where they could find Mei, and Ling headed him to the Chang clan's area.
The Chang clan wasn't that big, so Al thought he would find Mei really fast. But he was surprised again. Mei seemed to be nowhere to be found. When Al finally found her, he was sure that she would take him as her Alkahestry student.
She said no.
"Why?" Al asked baffled.
"I've tried to teach you once, remember? And it was bad enough for me." Mei answered with a smile. "Plus, you don't need to worry. I can introduce you to a very skilled Alkahestry master that will love to teach you."
"But I came here to be your student, Mei."
"I thought you came to learn Alkahestry, Alphonse. And I'm not your best option as teacher."
He didn't contest her. As she promised, Mei introduced him to a good teacher and Al started his Alkahestry classes. His teacher's house was pretty close to Mei's, so Al began to visit her every day after the training.
Mei had changed a lot. She had grown (she reached his elbow now), but it wasn't the main change. She looked much older now, so Al decided to ask her how old she was (he didn't know at this point).
"I am thirteen years old." She replied with grin. Al was shocked.
"But- but- you were ten when we first meet?"
"Yes. What's wrong with that?"
"You just…" He tried to explain himself. "You looked like a little child."
"I was a little child." Mei smiled. "In fact, I still think I am."
"You're a young woman now." Al said smiling back, trying to be nice. Mei blushed – he found it cute.
Mei had also changed her behavior around him. She was still kind and loving as always, but there was nothing further than that. She was a good friend, and that's all. "Maybe it's because she's all grown up now. She looks more mature and she probably got over her crush on me.", Al thought to himself.
So he was really surprised when he caught himself thinking about her. He couldn't think about one single day without talking to her, drinking tea at her living room and listening to her stories about Xing or Xiao Mei.
The time went by fast. Alphonse became really happy when he started to understand Alkahestry. All this energy was lying under his feet all this time and he couldn't sense it. Now, everything was clear. He could feel the way the Earth pulsed. He couldn't wait for more lessons.
One time, he trained for so long that he left his teacher's house in the middle of the night. Al went to Mei's house, thinking that she was already sleeping. He was glad to see that she was still awake. Mei was staring out her window, looking at the moon with a smile upon her face.
His heart began to flip-flop inside his chest.
"What's wrong with me?", he thought. Since he recovered his body, he never felt such a… strange feeling. His heart raced and his face warmed just to see her. Of course, she looked beautiful with her hair dancing freely around her face and her eyes shining with the moon light, but there was something wrong with him. He wanted so much to call her name but still couldn't make a sound.
Mei turned her gaze to him and blinked. "Alphonse, is that you?"
She couldn't see his face in the dark. Al tried hard to answer in a good tone.
"Y-yes, Mei. I just left my teacher's house and well… I thought about visiting you."
"Oh", she smiled a bit. "Ok so. Just a second, I will open the door for you."
She disappeared inside the house, and Alphonse sighed. His heart was almost normal speed now. The door clicked and Mei was there, waiting for him to come in, her hair tied in a provisory bun.
"I know it's late, but do you want some tea?"
"I love your tea." He replied. Mei smiled.
"Common, I will make you some so." She said taking his hand and leading Al to the kitchen. He sat at the table and watched while she was making the tea.
"So how's your training going?" She asked while boiling the water.
"Good. I think I finally understand the chi thing."
"Sounds great." They stood in silence for a minute or two. "Well, what are you going to do now?" Mei asked putting the teapot on the table. She served them and then took a sit next to him.
"I'm glad you asked." He said smiling. "I want to travel to the other oriental countries. I want to study their sciences and their costumes too."
Mei just drank her tea for a moment, thinking. "But it's too early, don't you think?"
"It's been two years since I started to learn Alkahestry."
"And you just understood the 'chi thing' now." She made quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "You should study Alkahestry at least one more year."
"I don't have the time." Al replied. "I want to visit all these countries, but I still want to go home soon. I miss my hometown and my brother."
"You stay one more year, then you go home and stay there for a couple of months. When you think you're ready, you come back here and travel to other oriental countries."
Mei always made things look easier than they were. "I will think about it, Mei."
She smiled at him and Al's heart skipped a beat. "Not again", he thought to himself, "I can't be like that every time she smiles." He felt his face burn.
"Is there something wrong?" Mei asked in a worried tone. Al shook his head.
"Not at all." He replied. An idea crossed his mind, and he cleared his throat. "Err… Mei?"
"Yes, Alphonse?"
"Would you come with us?" She looked confused, so he tried to explain it better. "I mean, I want you to come along with Zampano, Jerso and me. I'm thinking about traveling to other countries before going home, and I thought… I thought you could be my teacher during the trip. So I can learn Alkahestry and travel too."
"But Al", Mei looked a little surprised. "I don't think you could understand my lessons."
"I can feel it now." He said. "I can feel the power emanated by the Earth. I think I'm ready to be your student."
Mei sighed. "Let me think about it."
"Please."
He could tell she was pondering about it. Mei was tapping her fingers on the table, biting her bottom lip. It made him stare at her lips, whose were beautiful too – they were cherry pink and looked really soft and… tasty.
"You can't think about her like this!", he reprehend himself. "She's just a kid. You've seen her when she was ten! You're like her father! Ok, ok, not her father, but still…"
"I'll do it."
"Hmm?"
"I'll go with you." Mei said, serious. Al couldn't help but smile.
"Really?" She nodded. "And are you going to teach me too?"
Mei smiled. "Of course. But you better know that it's not going to be easy."
She was right. For the next two years, they travelled all the orient together, and Mei was more rigorous than Al could guess. But every single lesson was worth it. Al never thought learning Alkahestry would be so funny – or even that he would love so much all those oriental countries.
Even thought he was surprised a lot of times, falling in love with Mei Chang was the biggest surprise.
At first, Al thought that everything was just a lack of his puberty: the way he wanted so bad to kiss her or the way her smile made his face warm and her touch sent shivers through his body. But then, at some point, he understood that those strange feelings he felt around Mei were probably love.
So now he was sure he was in love with her. Ok, but what next? She'd probably got over her crush on him a long time ago, and it was just a crush. He couldn't just go on and tell her. And he couldn't keep it inside any longer too.
"Oh look!" Mei exclaimed pointing at something. "It's so beautiful." She said with a smile. "Alphonse! Is there something wrong?" She asked when he didn't say anything.
"Hmm?" Al woke up from his daydreams. "Sorry, Mei. What did you say?"
Zampano, Jerso and Xiao Mei were lying under a tree, asleep. Mei and Al were under a tree too, and she had been pointing at the sunrise.
"Never mind. Are you sure everything is alright?"
"Yes…" Al leaned back against the tree. "Mei… Can I ask you a question?"
"What is it?" She said coming closer.
"What can I do if… I mean…" Al rubbed his neck, nervous. "What would you do if your best friend told you that he fell in love with you?"
"Your best friend did that?" Mei said with a confused look. "That Winry bleach-blonde girl? But- but- but Edward loves her, right? Oh my gosh, you're probably so confuse and- I'm so sorry for upsetting you before! I should have-"
"Mei!" Al cried out. Mei stopped talking. "It's not like that! Winry didn't say anything like that to me."
"Oh." Mei blushed. "Sorry. So… what happened?"
"I… kind of…" Al blushed too. He was blushing even before saying anything. "I think I like someone."
"I see. Is she your best friend?"
"Well, yes." He was redder than a tomato. Mei made a face.
"Geez, it's complicated." She said. "You could tell her, but I'm pretty sure Winry loves Ed. I'm sorry Al. Besides, you're too far from home now to try to-"
"Mei!" Al cried out again. "It is not Winry!"
"But I thought she was your best friend."
"And she is."
"So why it's not-"
"It's you."
A breath of spring passed by and played with Mei's hair. "Me?" She repeated, blushing lightly. Alphonse was staring at her, his eyes wide and his face totally red.
"Y-yes." He murmured, trembling.
"Al, I…" Mei looked away. "I don't know what to say."
"I'm- I'm sorry, Mei." He said, getting up.
"Wait, where are you going?" Mei grabbed his hand before he could actually get up and he sat down again. "Why are you sorry? There's nothing to be sorry for."
"I know but…" Al sighed. "It's the first time I say something like this to a girl."
"How cute." Mei said, smiling. "You're blushing."
She took his hand in hers small ones. "Alphonse." His heart raced when he heard she say his name like that. "Do you really mean it?"
He had no escape. "Yes. I love you, Mei."
She stared at him for several seconds before smiling. "I can tell you're being honest. But seriously, I would never figure it out myself. You're always so sweet- I thought it was just the way you are. How long have you been…?"
"Two years, I guess." He replied. Mei was baffled.
"Two years?" She asked. "You've been liking me all this time and kept it in secret? What about the hours I spent trying to figure out how you feel? What about the nights I couldn't sleep wondering if you felt the same?"
"The… same?" Al repeated. Mei nodded.
"I love you too, you silly Alphonse."
"But…" He murmured. "But I thought you were over me yet."
"Didn't you think that maybe I was just hiding what I felt because I was afraid of being rejected?" She said in a reproachful tone.
"How could I know?"
"How could I know that you liked me? Plus, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't fall in love with me if I acted like I was totally into you-"
"Mei?" He called.
"What?"
"You talk too much."
He kissed her. He had no idea of where did all this confidence come from, but he grabbed her in his arms and kissed her without her permission. Thankfully, Mei didn't push him away. She kissed him back, hugging him tightly.
"Now I guess I'll need to stop teaching you, Al."
"Why?"
"It's just inappropriate for a teacher to have an affair with her student."
Al stuck out his tongue. "Hilarious, Miss Chang."
"Mrs. Elric, please." She corrected, and he laughed.
"Okay, Mrs. Elric. I'm thinking about going back to Resembool soon. I guess you're coming too?"
"Oh, I can think about it." Mei smirked, and Al kissed her cheek. "You got me. But my panda is also coming."
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Alphonse's visit to Xing was full of surprises. But Mei Chang was the biggest one by far.
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I hope you liked it! Please review, it makes my day.