A/N: This little ficlet was written in response to a request for a Russell/Al fic at the fic on demand LJ community.
Russell stared down at the face of Alphonse Elric. It was strange to see how much his body had changed, from that of a hulking giant to a 10-year-old boy, but the fierce determination and boundless optimism remained the same.
"You don't remember anything at all?" Russell asked, astonished that anyone could so thoroughly forget four years of their life.
"Nothing," Al said sadly. "I only found you because you keep trying to impersonate my brother. I've lost all that time with my nii-san, and all the skill I acquired along the way. But I know he's still alive, no matter what anyone else says. Please won't you help me?"
Russell stood there silently for several minutes while Al fidgeted nervously. "Fine, I will teach you what I know," Russell said with a sigh.
Deep down, he knew it would only cause trouble to teach the boy alchemy, but so far, no one had agreed to mentor him, and he was bound to get into trouble experimenting on his own. He and Ed's experimentation is what had started the whole, epic mess.
But as Al rushed forward to embrace him, Russell couldn't help the flood of brotherly affection he felt. The boy reminded him so much of his own brother, so full of innocence and enthusiasm.
Besides, what better way to mimic Edward Elric than to have his actual brother by his side?
