Replacement

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Alphonse came to Central for his brother, first and foremost. He needed comfort and stability, and he'd be damned if he didn't give the one person who was always there for him the very same treatment. However, when he walked into the apartment and caught sight of Ed and Winry, huddled together quietly on the couch, he got an inkling that, maybe, he wasn't as needed as he may have thought.

Had this occurred a few years prior, it would have bothered him. Edward was his brother, even more so his best friend. Their love for one another knew no bounds; the prosthetic he wore was proof of it, but they were older now, and their lives were veering off in new directions.

Alphonse took noticed of how Winry's tiniest gestures of comfort affected Ed. When his tears were turning angry as he told him everything about Nina's death, her touch soothed him. When his face turned ghostly and he saw the light in his eyes begin to dim as they did when their mother passed, the sound of her voice brought him back. She affected him in ways that he never could.

He thought he'd be upset over being replaced as Edward's emotional rock, but Al felt strangely at peace with it. Now, he just needed to find someone to replace Ed as his.

He glanced down at his phone while he, Ed and Winry were watching a movie (or mindlessly staring at the tv in an attempt to lift their spirits after the funeral), and saw a text from Mei light up the screen.

"You should invite her over," Winry told him, no doubt reading the message over his shoulder.

Ed scowled playfully at her. "Who said you could invite people to my apartment?"

"Please," Winry exasperated, rolling her eyes as she lightly shoved Ed with her shoulder. "Seriously, we can get pizza and have a movie night!"

"I hope you're paying," Ed commented, and she nudged him harder with her elbow. "Eh, it's fine with me. Pizza sounds pretty awesome."

Al glanced at the couple beside him, then back to his screen. "Okay, I will."

Maybe, he thought, as he received her excited confirmation that she'd come as fast as she could, they just helped him find his brother's replacement.

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Author's Note: The Elric brothers' love for each other is so important to me, but I feel like their dependence on one another shifted to the lovely ladies of their lives as they grew older and made their own families. That doesn't mean they still don't rely on each other, though.