Alphonse blinked groggily as the light from the window of the room streamed in. He let out a little whimper at the realization of interrupted sleep as he turned and nuzzled his face further into his pillow. He sighed and squirmed further into the warmth of the bed. Warmth provided from his own body. Body heat; he had a body again. No matter how long ago his soul and body had finally reconnected, the thought and feeling of finally having his body back always sent shivers down his spine and him into a flurrying swirl of bliss.

It was good to be alive.

He shifted slightly at hearing his brother's snoring from the connected room. Edward was the reason he was alive. Alphonse sighed again and mentally thanked his brother. Ed got his body back. On their journeys, though Alphonse would never doubt his brother, at the back of his head, he was always afraid that ever getting his body back was unattainable. There was only so much two damaged alchemists could do. Only so much two boys could do.

But Ed always pulls through on his promises, Al mused, undeniably when his eyes shone with raw determination and pig-headedness. And they were always fueled by the support of the friends they had acquired on their journeys.

He blinked slowly and stared at her face with a small pout. She was lying on her side, facing him. He and Ed had met her as they passed through a little town called Cinthiel. They were caught in the rain, and her family had insisted they stay for the night; a warm meal, a warm bed. Of course, at that time, Alphonse could not indulge in their kind offerings, him being just an armor suit. At least Edward was taken care of and both of them were no longer caught in the unrelenting pelting of the rain.

His eyes sleepily trailed the curve of her cheek, the light from the window casting a mysterious glow on her young, innocent face. She was just a year younger than he, but she always made him feel so old with her delicate frame, and yet make him feel so childish with the depth of her eyes. At first, when they had met, Al could not help but think that she was just a little girl, protected by the strong bond of her family. She was so slight, so quiet and so naively sweet. He was immediately enamored. Ed had joked that he had a crush on her as he slipped into the bed of the guest room. Al had denied, she was much younger, he had thought. She looked much younger.

Her eyelashes casted long, thin shadows over her cheek. Alphonse got bored watching his brother snore and left the guestroom as quietly as he could and sat in the living room of the small house in Cinthiel. He had felt particularly lonely that night, not that all nights being unable to sleep were not lonely; but a tidal wave had swooped in and washed him up. His calculative mind was drained, but there was no way he could rest. So he sighed and waited, wishing every few minutes that the Sun would rise faster so that he would have someone to talk to, or to at least be able to play with the cat that laid slumbering peacefully across the living room.

After an hour of staring at the cat, he heard a door creak open and the soft padding of footsteps down the stairs. She stood at the bottom of the step, shocked. He explained that because he was trapped in the suit, he was unable to sleep. She nodded as she moved to sit next to him.

"You must feel lonely a lot, huh?" She murmured against the sleeve of her pajama top. He nodded, not quite looking at her. "I'm a little insomniac, so sometimes I don't get to sleep at night too. I feel lonely then, so I can imagine how lonely you must feel to experience it every night."

"Yes," his hollow voice resounding in the armor. He took a glance at the girl out of the corner of his eye. She did not look quite as fragile under the ethereal glow of the moon. She turned to him and asked if he could keep her company until she felt tired enough to drift off. In her eyes, she was offering to stay up with him so that both of them would not be too lonely. So that he would not feel lonesome. Others would not consider her eyelashes anything notable, they were long, but they were not dense in number, nor did they curl, and that they did nothing in enhancing he eyes. But Al would remember the night he talked to her long into the night and how the mirth and sheer wisdom made her eyes far more beautiful than any other's.

Alphonse looked away when she started to stir, probably due to his scrutiny. He yawned and decided it'd be best if he caught some shut eye before all of them had to get up and start a new day. Ever since he got his body back, he always felt incredibly lazy. He now understood how his brother could be so willing to indulge in sleep, after forgetting long ago how his mother would have to drag both of them out of bed early in the morning for school with annoyed amusement in her warm smile.

She had fallen asleep on his knee that night in her living room, having listen to Al ramble off for about five minutes. Being the gentleman that he was, he had carried her to her room on the second floor with no complaint and shielding her as the Sun started to make its appearance known with the bright rays that shone through almost all the windows. It would do no good to have the Sun wake her now, after being so dead tired in the night. After putting her down snuggly in her bed, he took a moment to observe her room. He had never been in a girl's room. Winry's room did not count, since her room was a part-time workshop. He had always wondered how Winry was able to sleep with the smell of grease permeating the air.

Her walls were painted beautifully by herself, he presumed by the last unpainted wall and the arsenal of brushes on her desk. She only had four pictures on said desk, one of her dead parents, one of her Uncle, Aunt and their children, one of her cousins and her siblings and one of when her sister, brother and she were much younger. Then Al realized that she actually was not as young as he had originally thought she was, seeing as she was four in the picture and that it was ten years ago, considering how her sister was a baby then, and a bubbly ten-year old now.

"Five's my favourite number," she whispered, knowing that he would be able to hear her. Alphonse jumped and stuttered as he turned to face her, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you, I'll leave right away."

Her smile told him that she had more to say, so he lingered for a bit, shifting uncomfortably under her scrutiny, "Five's my favourite number," she repeated, "So when you and your brother finish all this Gate and alchemy nonsense, please send a picture of both of you. Looking healthy and alive."

He could only nod as he timidly left her room, and left her house a few hours later with his brother.

"Good morning."

Al was snapped out of his flashback by the sleepy voice of the person he was just thinking about. Her eyes were squinted in a slight glare, but she was smiling. Al laughed softly, "Good morning to you too."

In the other room, Ed stirred. Al was sure Winry had kicked him, which stopped the snoring. The four of them were on a little vacation around the country. It was suppose to be just the three of them, Ed, Winry and him, but when they passed through Cinthiel, Ed insisted that she come along with them, knowing that Al was missing her dearly. Winry was not too sure about accepting another girl into the group of three, but she had warmed up to her eventually. It was hard not to with her sweet smile and quick wit.

He recalled the first lieutenant- or rather the Major saying, "No matter what you've been through, you two are still kids. Will you all be alright on your own?"

Ed only grinned cockily at her and said that he would take care of all of them. The General snorted at him and remarked that Ed had too much ego for such a small stature. Al chuckled at the memory of restraining his brother from killing the man for the thousandth time.

"What are you laughing about?" Al shook his head, "Brother and his antics. When we get back to Central, I want you to meet everyone."

"Everyone?" she queried. Alphonse smiled, "The General, Major, Captain, everyone."

Before she could voice her doubts, Al hugged her tighter and dug his nose into her hair, "They'll love you. Elysia and Black Hayate especially."

"Yeah?"

He chuckled and kissed her crown of her head, "Definitely."

She yawned into his chest and wriggled further into the blankets and his arms, drifting off quickly.

"Yeah, they'll love you. Of course, not as much as I do," he murmured shyly. She shifted and planted a small warm kiss on his strong jaw line, "Thank you."

Yeah. This is all actually quite meaningless, because... well, I didn't really like the idea of Alphonse and May hooking up together. xD Al is adorable, and so is May, but she too young? She's like 9, and Al is 15 or something. Mm, just another AlOC fanfiction because, Al deserves someone. He's so sweet. :)

Thank you for reading!