First Date

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Al made damn sure to take as many photos of Ed and Winry sleeping in his bed as he could. Blackmail was hard to come by when living in another country; he needed to take any opportunity that was presented to him, and this was too good of an opportunity to pass.

The flash of his phone's camera caused Ed to stir, lifting the arm he had draped around Winry to cover his eyes. He let out a low grumble, though the sound was mostly lost in Winry's hair, and slowly turned to glare daggers at his brother.

"Aren't you two just precious," Al beamed, and Mei's giggling began to grow louder from the doorway.

"Eh, fuck you," Ed yawned, and tapped Winry on the shoulder lightly before pulling his other arm out from underneath her. "What time is it?"

"Nearly six," he replied, and Ed's face dropped before he started kicking back his sheets. "Don't worry, brother! I'm all set to go."

"Yeah, you are!" Ed exclaimed, snatching his prosthetic and connecting it to his thigh. "Shit, we're going to be late!"

"No," Al began, and moved to his brother's side, pausing him from standing and running to his dresser. "I mean, I'm all set. Mei's going to take me."

Edward's expression was blank. He looked over Al's shoulder, to the girl waiting for him in the doorway, and swallowed.

"Is your car reliable?" Edward asked her. "I'm not going to get a call in twenty minutes with you crying over being stranded on the side of the highway, am I?"

Mei chuckled. "My car is very reliable, thank you very much."

"Brother," Al said. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Ed's eyes locked with his brother's. Al supposed it was enough to reassure him, because he rolled his eyes as he scratched the back of his neck, and collapsed back into the bed, somehow not disturbing Winry as she continued to sleep beside him.

"Alright," he said. "Call me when you land."

"You've got it, brother," Al replied, and turned to walk out the door.

He beamed at Mei as he made his way toward her, and she bounced in place as they walked towards the living room together.

"Is it weird that I'm really excited?" Mei asked, watching Al bend down to pick up his suitcase beside the couch.

"I wouldn't say so," Al smiled. "It'll be nice to have a pretty face send me off."

Mei's cheek went red. "Well, it's not the most conventional first date, but I think it'll be one for the books."

"First date?" Al repeated, his grin growing wider by the second as he stood back up.

Mei tilted her head to side coyly as she looked up at him. "Well, you said 'what this was', it was up to me, right?"

Al nodded, and Mei took a step closer to him. "Well, that's what I want."

Al's smile was going to crack. "Okay."

Mei lifted herself to the tips of her toes, but Al still had to bend his neck down to reach her as they kissed.

Al felt lightheaded; never before had he been so enamored with another person. It was unreal, and he could tell Mei felt the same way. She sighed into his mouth, and elicited a small giggle as though she couldn't believe she was feeling as completely infatuated as she did.

"NOT IN MY HOUSE!" they heard echo from the hall. "MAKE OUT SOMEWHERE ELSE!"

A smack followed, as well as Winry's voice saying, "Good God, Ed! Keep it down!"

A small hand ran up and down Al's arm, and Mei bit her lip as she pulled away from him.

"Let's get going," she laughed, and Al nodded; locking his fingers with hers as they headed out the door.

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