Title: Strawberry Alphonse

Pairings: AlHeiderichxEdward

Genre: Fluffy...? One-shot.

Rating: PG15

Word count: 1686

Summary: Heiderich makes Ed a strawberry mousse to his birthday, but he enjoys more the strawberry mousse flavoured Alphonse.

Warnings: This fic is YAOI, which means two men making out. If you don't like it, please don't read.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author Notes: It was written for my friend C-chan, as a response to a challenge: "Write a story with the words 'strawberry shortcake' on it."

-------

Alphonse entered his apartment quickly, closing the door after him and throwing his bag along with his coat on the couch on his way to the kitchen. It was unlike himself to throw things around, but today he was late. He glanced at the clock, sighing when he saw he still had time. He put a smaller bag he brought with him on the sink and took out its contents hurriedly. It had been very difficult for him to find strawberries, but fortunately they hadn't been as expensive as he had thought. Even so, it had taken more time than he had hoped to buy all the items he needed, and he was running out of time. Edward would be home soon.

He had known only the day before that it was Edward's birthday. It had been by accident even, when his friend had been telling him one of his fantastic stories. This one hadn't been as unbelievable as normal, thought, and had left Edward melancholic for the rest of the day. He didn't like seeing his best friend, the one for whom he had fallen, sad as he was, so he thought about imitating the story Edward had told. He had mentioned eating strawberry shortcakes with his brother in his birthday, but as Alphonse didn't know how to make a shortcake, he opted instead in making a strawberry mousse.

So, he had rushed as much as he could his cooking, doing his best to hide it from Edward with the Landlady's help, and he hoped today that Edward would get home only when he finished.

----------------

Edward groaned, closing the door after himself and throwing his bag on the floor near the door. It had been an horrible day for him, and on top of it, it was the third birthday he had spent away from his beloved little brother. He missed him so much... Without bothering to take his coat off, he sat down on the coach and started complaining to himself under his breath. Before a whole sentence left his mouth, though, he looked down at his side, stunned. Alphonse's things, thrown mercilessly beside him, a sight he had never wanted to see again. He instantly felt worried and more tired, standing up again to search for his friend.

"Alphonse?" he called, walking to their rooms, dreading to find him upset, crying with his face on his pillow like he had the last time his bag was thrown on the living room floor.

"I'm here, Edward!" he heard his friend's voice coming from the kitchen, sighing in relief that it had sounded only a bit tired, not upset at all.

Edward walked towards the kitchen, getting stunned for the second time in the last minutes when he looked inside. Alphonse was there with his clothes and hands covered in flour, and a delicious looking mousse sat on the table, strawberries arranged gracefully over it. He had no idea Alphonse really knew how to cook, at least sweets and such. He blinked out of his stupor when his friend sighed.

"You came home early... I didn't have the time to finish the cake," he announced sadly.

"Cake...?" Edward asked surprised, only now seeing the cake just taken out off the oven near the sink. When he saw the strawberries besides it his brain clicked and only then he remembered what he had told him the day before.

"Yes, cake. You already made me miss two of your birthdays since we met, do you think I will miss this one as well?" Alphonse sounded like he was scolding his friend, but the smile on his face lessened the tone. Edward weakly smiled at him, trying to decide if he should be happy or depressed about the surprise that reminded him of his brother.

"I don't care for birthday parties like you, Alphonse..." he commented weakly, walking near the table and looking down at the mousse with a blank look.

"It's not a party. It's only you and me and a small cake. I would try to make a strawberry shortcake for you if you had told me this story before, but as I didn't have a recipe nor the time to find one... I hope you don't mind I made a strawberry mousse and a chocolate cake instead?" Edward gulped and continued staring speechless at the sweet, feeling himself warming up from inside out at his friend's act. When Alphonse saw he wasn't going to answer him, he added, "I promise I will learn how to make it for the next year. It's not like you gave me much time..."

"Thank you." Edward murmured before his friend could finish his sentence. Alphonse smiled warmly at him, feeling his heart beating happily at the rare compliment. "...it looks delicious." Edward added, and Alphonse felt his cheeks warming up.

"Thanks... Do you want to eat it now? Or would you rather have it after dinner?" Alphonse asked softly, and Edward looked up at the clock.

"Now sounds good. It's still four in the afternoon, too early for dinner..." Edward said, then looked at the cake, adding, "I could help you finish the cake for after the dinner..."

"Very well... I will start a fire for us in the living room then. It's too cold for us to eat here," Alphonse walked towards the living room and Edward followed him, taking his coat off on his way.

"Let me start the fire. Get the mousse and the utensils so we can eat here instead," he said, getting Alphonse's coat and hanging it up with his near the door. Alphonse nodded and went to clean their small center table as Edward arranged some wood in the fireplace.

Alphonse took his bag from the couch and put it over a chair, going back to the kitchen to get a cover for the table, and bowls and spoons for them to eat with. As Edward sat down on the couch, with the fire already warming up the room, Alphonse came with the mousse plate, putting it down beside the bowls on their center table. Edward served both of them, then tried the sweet. Smiling, he ate a spoonful of it before addressing his friend.

"Mm... It's as delicious as it looks!" he said, his smile growing at the deep blush his words caused on Alphonse. Edward knew he loved compliments.

"Thank you... Happy birthday, Edward," Alphonse said with a smile, and Edward nodded at him, eating.

"I didn't know you knew how to make sweets as well. It's not very common for men to do those..." Edward commented, and Alphonse smiled.

"It's true. I think my mother wanted to have a daughter instead of me. She taught me almost everything she knew when I was little." Alphonse said with a wistful smile, looking down at his bowl.

"You're lucky! I almost starved when I started living by myself!" Alphonse chuckled a little, but his chuckle grew into a full laugher once he looked up at his friend. "What? Me starving isn't all that funny!"

"You've got mousse all over your face, Edward. You eat like a child," Alphonse kept laughing, and Edward frowned at the "child" comment.

"Why, thank you, mama!" he muttered, licking his lips twice to get rid of the sweet around them. Alphonse stopped laughing then, gulping at Edward's actions. Edward smirked, thinking it had been the "mama" that had stopped his laugher. He blinked, surprised, when he realized Alphonse was blushing and staring at his lips. He licked them again, slowly, and noticed Alphonse held his breath.

"Alphonse...?" he tried, feeling his heart beat accelerating. Alphonse slowly looked up at his eyes, still seeming a bit... stunned?Edward pondered what to say. "... You have mousse on your face as well..." he stated. Alphonse gulped and licked his lips slowly, without breaking their eye contact. "No..." Edward said softly, "It's here," he reached his hand to rest softly on Alphonse's cheek and very slowly passed his thumb under his lower lip, as if to take away a little of the mousse. Alphonse's eyes rolled closed during the movement, his breath catching a little.

Once Edward stopped, he observed Alphonse intently, feeling his own breath lose it's steady rhythm. Alphonse opened his eyes a minute after, his eyes a little clouded, but very expressive. Edward leaned towards him slowly, very slowly, and licked his lower lip, as if to take away the inexistent sweet. Alphonse whimpered.

"Is... that ok...?" he asked breathlessly, and all Alphonse could do was whimper again and close his eyes. Not knowing how he should take it, he took it as a no, and sat back down on his place, withdrawing his hand. Alphonse took in a deep breath and looked at him, blushing.

"Y... yes..." he murmured a little desperately, reaching for his bowl and smearing a little of the mousse over his lips to get the message across Edward. Edward took a deep breath and leaned down again, faster, catching Alphonse's lips between his and gently licking the strawberry sweet away from them. Alphonse closed his eyes, whimpering again, but this time holding Edward's shirt so he wouldn't back away. Once Alphonse's lips were clean enough, Edward closed his eyes and pushed his tongue gently between his lips, and Alphonse answered by opening them and hugging Edward closer to himself. Edward leaned more over Alphonse, hugging him back with his metal arm and kissing him a little more desperately, caressing his face with his flesh hand.

They broke up for air some minutes later, looking at each other less dazed, but with unconcealed feelings in their eyes. Edward took in a trembling breath, wanting to break the silence between them somehow, but nothing knowing how. Alphonse took this dilemma from him.

"...You realize we are all dirty with mousse right now...?" he said breathlessly. Edward blinked and looked down, seeing both their bowls on the ground, then chuckled weakly. Alphonse smiled with him, then pulled him down to another kiss, at which Edward complied happily. They could clean the floor and themselves later...