Alphonse didn't think he'd ever get over this 'waking up' thing. Ever since that first morning after his brother had won him back from the gateway, the whole awakening experience had been such a tremendous joy that he looked forward to going to sleep at night.

It was always a little scary at first. He'd see that blurry morning image as he opened his eyes, and for a split second his heart was seized with terror at the thought that maybe it was all a dream. Maybe he just had another lapse and imagined he'd gotten his body back, and he'd look around to see his brother and friends standing worriedly around the disassembled suit of empty armor that was Alphonse Elric.

But the moment consciousness fully took hold and sensations began flooding to his brain, that horrifying notion melted away in such a warm and profound euphoria that it was like the past five years had never happened.

First he took in a deep, greedy breath through his nose to smell the morning air, then another through the mouth to taste it—and yes, he felt as though he actually could taste it. Next he began to shift and stretch his limbs, just to feel the soft touch of cotton against his skin and the wonderful soreness in his muscles. He rolled over to press his face against the pillow and squirmed in delight at the tickle on his cheeks. From there the tickling worked its way from his face down to his stomach, and of all the sensations he'd reveled in so far, nothing compared to the gleeful buzzing in his belly when he started to chuckle. He pressed a hand to his chest to feel his racing heart, the warmth overtook him, and his chuckle transformed into a hearty laugh. He laughed so hard and so long that he started to cry, but he made no effort to wipe the tears that trailed down his face. He cherished every aspect of every sensation he could claim as his own. Each one was a blessing for which he was eternally grateful.

At last his nirvana simmered down and he remembered the person to whom he was so grateful. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and happily greeted, "Good morning, Big Brother."

He half-expected to hear a snide remark about the goofy little routine he'd just danced through, and he was ready to apologize and laugh it off, but no response came.

"Big Brother?"

He looked over at his brother's bed and it was empty. Empty and unmade, like he left it every morning. With a smile and a roll of his eyes, Al pulled himself over the right side of the bed and kicked on his slippers.

Once he set foot outside his room, he was almost knocked off his feet by the smell. All of a sudden he was back in his childhood, an eager little boy bouncing in his seat while his mother meticulously went about her baking. The smell was all around him, infusing the atmosphere with a cozy warmth that wrapped around him like a blanket.

Apple pie.

The heart he still wasn't used to having did a somersault inside his chest, and it took all his will power to keep from running down the stairs. He made each step carefully, one at a time, and clung to the rail lest he trip and tumble down. He had to remember that his skull was no longer made of solid metal.

Just before he reached the bottom of the staircase, he heard voices coming from the kitchen. First Winry's voice, sternly warning, "Be careful, Ed! Its really hot."

"I know its hot," his brother replied. "Its been in the oven for almost an hour."

Al supported himself against the wall and eased around a corner. The image that greeted him as it slid into view was like a scene from his dearest fantasies. Big Brother and Winry were standing together in the center of a messy kitchen, hair drawn back in matching golden ponytails, huddled around the open oven. The crust-covered fruit of their labor let off a trail of aromatic steam as it slid out of the oven in Brother's hands. He looked down at the pie and smiled, then looked up at Winry, who smiled back. They both looked so happy.

Alphonse almost considered sneaking back up to his room, loath to intrude on such a beautiful moment, but it was already too late. Brother spotted him.

"Al! You're up early," he greeted with a broad smile.

"S-Sorry..."

"No, that's good! Now I don't have to go up there myself and drag you down."

"Why can't you even be sweet without being rude?" Winry rebuked, following behind as he walked over to the table and set the pie down. He traded his potholders for the knife Winry handed him and looked over at Alphonse as he motioned to make the first cut.

"Hungry?" he asked.

Al felt tears pooling in his eyes and his face melting into what must have been quite the silly grin, judging by the way Big Brother chuckled just before Winry elbowed him right in his new arm.

Al pulled up a chair and sat down at the table. His eyes doubled in size at the sight of the plate that slid in front of him, loaded up with the biggest slice of hot apple pie he'd ever seen.

He looked up at his brother, who smiled and handed him a fork. He took it slowly, making an effort to touch his brother's hand as he did so. His right hand. A living symbol of what the two of them meant to each other.

Alphonse returned the smile, then clapped his hands over his fork and said, "Here goes."

Anticipation charged through his body as he spooned up the first morsel of his long-craved dessert and blew on it gently. All he needed was to burn his tongue on his first taste of apple pie in over five years. He opened his mouth wide, took that first bite and then... a feeling came over him that words couldn't even describe.

Was it weightlessness? Freedom? Relief? Disbelief?

The warmth, the sweetness, the sharp contrasts in flavor. It was like tasting love.

Before he even finished chewing, tears started rolling down his cheeks.

"Al, are you okay?" his brother asked.

Al shook his head and did his best to smile in leu of a response. His mouth was still full, and he was at a loss for words besides. Finally he swallowed, then looked up with a sparkle in his teary eyes and said, "It's amazing. Thank you, Winry."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Ed shouted. "Why do you just assume she made it?"

Al looked up at his indignant older sibling and muttered in surprise, "Huh? You mean you made this?"

Big Brother clammed up a bit, backing off the defensive just enough to cross his arms and grudgingly admit, "Well... she helped."

Winry crossed her arms and shot him a frustrated glare, but it melted away within seconds to be replaced with a grin and a roll of her kind blue eyes.

For about the millionth time that morning Alphonse smiled, barely even aware that he was still crying. He looked down at his pie and took another bite, chewing it slowly as he rained tears all over the rest of the slice. A moment later he swallowed, and like a broken record softly muttered, "It really is amazing."

To the surprise of Brother and Winry, he pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. He was a little wobbly on his feet, but he managed to hobble over to his brother, and there he let himself collapse. His brother caught him by the waist as Al threw his arms around his neck and leaned against his chest. Alphonse could hear a racing heartbeat through a flour-dusted shirt that would soon be soaked with tears.

"Thank you... Big Brother," he whispered fondly.

His brother said nothing at first, but after a moment he squeezed Al a bit tighter. He didn't completely succeed in masking the emotion in his voice when he earnestly replied, "It was the least I could do."

Author's Notes:

-This story was the result of a long-dormant inspiration finally coming to fruition. I always loved the part where Al tells Ed he wants to eat apple pie when he he gets his body back, and I immediately thought it would be a good base for a sweet brotherly love fanfic, but I never had any ideas for what I could do with it... until I finally got to the end, and Ed's sacrifice of his alchemy gave me just the angle I needed. ^-^

- The toughest part about writing this was that I knew I'd have to describe the actual process of making an apple pie and, well... Let's just say next to my cooking skills, Ed looks like a culinary prodigy. DX Thankfully the answer wasn't far. I asked my mom to make a pie crust with me, and then I pretty much just wrote down that experience, substituting my mom for Winry and myself for Ed. ^^'

-I'll admit, I struggled a bit over whether it was OOC to portray Ed as a kitchen dunce. As Winry so astutely observed, alchemists are supposed to be knowledgeable about that sort of thing. But I decided to bank on the idea that there's a difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. Cooking is more art than science, and since Ed is so logically minded, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to imagine him as being a little out of his depth when it comes down to the artistic aspect of baking. Plus, I tried to encourage suspension of disbelief by having lots of things go wrong that were completely beyond Ed's control.