A/N: Christmas gift for my wonderful friend (who probably will not read this until after Christmas). Prompt: Al and kittens.
Christmas does not exist in Amestris. I know. Let's just ignore that detail for this fic, okay? Okay.
Merry Christmas, and enjoy~
The distinctive plaintive mew of a cat in need was the one noise that could immediately melt Alphonse's figurative heart, and, upon hearing it, he set off right away to look for the poor animal.
It was snowing. Actually, Al realized bleakly, it was more like a blizzard. Ed was safe and (hopefully) warm back at their military-issued dormitory room, waiting for his younger brother to return. The storm was bad, though it had only recently intensified. But it had slowed Al's progress and Ed must be worrying himself saick by this point, worry that would be projected into a very stern lecture once Al returned.
The pitiful mewling sounded again, and Al wandered a few paces, trying to pinpoint the source, before kneeling down beside a tree. There, at the base of the trunk, lay a scrawny cat, curled protectively around two kittens who were pushing their little noses against their mother's stomach, trying to find milk and crying in distress when they found none, unaware that their mother was simply too tired and too weak to provide for them.
Al felt a wave of sympathy at the sight, sympathy with an undercurrent of anger directed towards whoever had abandoned these cats to the cold and unforgiving winter. For they must have had owners; Al could see a tattered collar still around the mother's neck.
He reached a hand towards the mother, but the cat immediately stood up, hackles raised, and hissed as she crouched over her offspring. Even in this state, she would protect her kittens to the end. Below her, the kittens mewed in protest as their source of warmth left them.
"There, there, it's okay," said Al quietly, moving his hand slowly closer. Being a suit of armor, Alphonse was impervious to physical pain and had no reason to fear getting hurt if attacked, but he knew it would do no good to further upset the cat.
Continuing to murmur in gentle, soothing tones, Al reached out and tentatively touched the adult cat. She flinched away, growling threateningly, but Al persisted and, after snapping at him a few times, the cat finally allowed herself to be stroked, sinking down wearily beside her kittens. Encouraged, Al moved to pick up the cats, which made the mother instantly aggressive again.
"But I can't help you if you won't let me carry you!" said Al, though he knew his upset tone would only worsen the situation. He was worried, though. Even though he could no longer feel, Alphonse knew it must be dreadfully cold. The cats wouldn't last much longer without proper food and warmth.
The mother cat finally relented and awarded Alphonse's efforts by allowing herself to be picked up, although Al knew that she must simply be too tired to resist any longer. He stowed her and her two kittens carefully inside his armor.
"I'll get you someplace warm soon," he promised them quietly before setting off at a run for the dorms. It would be a bumpy ride, but he figured the cats, clinging to his promise of warmth, wouldn't mind.
Animals and pets weren't allowed in the military dorms, he knew. Of course, it was easy to sneak the strays he found inside due to his body being a conveniently empty suit of armor, but Alphonse always felt terribly guilty about deceiving the personnel there. He figured, though, that it would be worth it to lie to the guards a little if it meant saving the cats' lives. Nevertheless, he walked quickly, avoiding conversation and contact in general, save for the occasional polite nod of his head.
Al had to brace himself before opening the door to his and Ed's room and stepping inside. Ed was sitting on the couch, and, as soon as Al entered, he leaped to his feet and launched right into the anticipated tirade.
"Alphonse, where have you been?" he demanded. "You should have been back hours ago! That's a goddamn blizzard out there, I hope you know! What if it had gotten into your armor, wiped the blood seal right off? And what the hell did you want to go Christmas shopping for, anyways? I told you, I don't need a present, nor do I want one! Well, unless it's a Philosopher's Stone, but we both know that's never gonna happen. But I digress. I swear, Alphonse, you—"
"Your aggressive overprotectiveness is heartwarming, Brother," interrupted Al amusedly. "But I'm fine, really."
"I am not overprotective!" protested Ed.
"Sure you're not," replied Al easily. "Anyways, all the stores were closed because of the storm, so I couldn't get you anything. I'm sorry."
Ed sighed. "I told you, I don't need anything for Christmas." He tapped Al's armor lightly with his fist. "Just you being here is enough."
"Brother..."
"Mew!"
"Al..." Ed's eye twitched. "What...was that?"
Moment of brotherly love officially over, thought Al. "Um. Nothing?" he suggested weakly.
"Dammit, Alphonse, how many times do I have to tell you? You can't just pick up every forsaken stray off the road!" screeched Ed. "Cats aren't even allowed in the dorms!"
"I know, I know," said Al, his voice adopting a pleading pitch, "but it was a blizzard and there was this mommy cat and her two kittens and they were so adorable but it's so bad out there and they would have died, Brother!"
Ed hesitated briefly, then snorted and said, "Fine, you can take care of them."
"Thank you, Brother!" Al cried, relieved that his guilt-trip pleading had worked.
"But as soon as the storm dies down," Ed added quickly, "you're letting them go again."
"But—"
"You know we can't keep any pets!" he said sharply, turning away as if that ended the conversation.
Alphonse would have liked to argue, but he knew his brother was right. Besides that, the cats needed tending to first. He let them out of his armor.
"I'm going to take a shower," announced Ed, stomping to the bathroom as Al set the cats on the couch.
"Okay, Brother."
As the cats cautiously sniffed around their new surroundings, Alphonse went to get the cats something to eat. Soon, they were curled up on the couch fast asleep, full and content.
Ed chose that moment to reenter the room, having finished his shower. He stared at the sofa for a long time. Then, without turning, he said, very slowly, "Alphonse...what are these cats doing on the couch?"
"Sleeping."
"Yes," said Ed tightly. "I can see that."
"Then why did you ask?" questioned Al evasively, though he knew full well what Ed had meant by his first query.
"I mean," his brother enunciated carefully, "why are they sleeping on my couch and not on the floor?"
"Because the floor is hard, cold, and uncomfortable. These cats need some place soft, warm and comfortable."
Ed grinned sardonically. "Soft, comfortable? Those are the last words I would use to describe this stupid sofa. But it's still mine." He crouched beside the couch and inspected the cats critically. "Hm? Hey, the mother has a collar, Al. We need to return her to her proper owner."
"No!" cried Al immediately. "They abandoned her and her kittens! They don't deserve to own any pet."
"Don't be unreasonable, Al," sighed Ed exasperatedly. "What if she ran away?"
"In this weather?" retorted Al disbelievingly. "No, Brother. The truth of the matter is someone wasn't ready to handle kittens, so they just left her to fend for herself."
"Right. Whatever." Ed rolled his eyes, as if the reason the cats were abandoned was no concern of his. "I think I'll go to the library or something."
"It's really bad out there," Al warned, but Ed was already out the door.
He returned less than five minutes later in a positively foul mood. "We're snowed in," he informed Al, looking annoyed. "Great. Just great. Even if the train lines aren't down due to the storms, we're freaking snowed in. And less than a week until Christmas, too. Wonderful. Winter wonderland, isn't it?" he said sarcastically. "I'm going to hit the books and make do with what we do have."
"I'll help you," offered Al, sparing the cats one more glance. He felt bad about leaving Ed for so long. His brother must have been struggling to find a new lead in between worrying about him the past few hours.
"'Kay," agreed Ed easily, handing him a book. "Here, try this."
Al looked it over dubiously. It was a thick, untitled tome, and leafing through it revealed that it was an old text about biological alchemy. He must have read a dozen other books on the topic of biological alchemy, but this one looked distinctly more promising. "Okay," he agreed, and moved to sit on the couch.
A few minutes later, Ed plopped down on the floor beside him, leaning his back against the couch. In his hands was a handwritten journal and several stacks of paper, along with a pen.
"What's that?" asked Al curiously.
"One of That Bastard's research journals," grumbled Ed. "I cam't decipher his notes for the life of me, though."
"I thought you'd burned them all," remarked Al cautiously, knowing full well who his brother was referring to.
"Most of them," corrected Ed absently, flicking through the pages. "But I noticed that this and a couple of the others seem to deal with Human Transmutation. It's just a hunch, though," he added. "I can't make heads or tails of the notes." He frowned. "That's enough talking, though. Get reading, Al."
"Yes, Brother," said Al, mentally rolling his eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes at me."
"I don't even have eyes!" Al protested, although he wondered how Ed could possibly know what he was thinking. "Well, not really, anyways."
"It doesn't matter. I can hear it in your tone."
"Whatever."
"You did it again."
"Oh, I give up!" said Ed, discouraged, several hours later. "I need a break."
"You should get some sleep, Brother," advised Al.
"Oh, right. Sleep. I'd forgotten about that," mused Ed.
"How can you forget to sleep?" asked Al exasperatedly.
"I don't know, I just do," said Ed, shrugging carelessly.
"You don't have to stay up with me," said Al.
"It's not that!" said Ed quickly—perhaps, thought Al, a little too quickly. "I just have more important things to do and I kind of just...forget."
"Your ability to ignore your body's basic needs never ceases to astound me, Brother."
"Ugh, you're annoying," muttered Ed. "Fine, I'm going to sleep, then. When I wake up, I want them out," he said, indicating the cats with a jerk of his thumb before tromping off to the bed.
Al made a noise akin to sighing as he stared at the cats. It wasn't right for Ed to be taking his irritation out on the poor innocent animals. They hadn't done anything to him! Al looked at them forlornly now, sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of the frozen fate that awaited them. It wasn't fair! What right did Al have to dangle this promise of food and comfort in front of them and then just snatch it away?
"Brother's mean," whispered Al miserably. But even as he said it, he knew that Ed was right. Realistically, they simply couldn't keep the cats. It didn't stop him from blocking out his brother's words and wishing that he could, though.
"They're still here."
"Yes."
"I've woken up."
"Yes."
"I said that they needed to be gone by the time I woke up."
"Yes," said Al again, with increasing nervousness.
"Then why, pray tell, are they. Still. Here?" asked Ed angrily.
"I-it's still snowing pretty badly," said Al. "You said before that I could take care of them until the storm died down."
"Huh!" Ed snorted derisively. "Fine, but don't let them bother me, or I'm kicking them out of here faster than you can say 'Equivalent Exchange.'"
"Okay!" chirped Al. Keeping the cats out of Ed's way would be easy enough. They'd woken up earlier and eaten a bit, then fell asleep again soon after, curled about around each other on the couch.
Grumbling under his breath, Ed stalked over to the dorm's kitchenette to make himself some breakfast. Al watched him until he was out of sight, then turned his gaze to look fondly at the two cats.
Wait. Two? There were supposed to be three! Where did the second kitten go? Al looked around the room frantically. She wasn't in the room. The bathroom door was closed shut, and a quick sweep of the main room with his eyes revealed nothing. That just left...
"The kitchen!" groaned Al, standing up and hurrying to the kitchenette. So much for keeping the cats out of Ed's hair.
When Al peeked into the room, though, he was amazed to see Ed kneeling on the ground, holding a huge mug of coffee in his automail hand and scratching the kitten behind the ears with his flesh hand. He must have heard Al's clanking footsteps, though, for he suddenly cuffed the kitten irritably.
"What are you doing here?" he growled. "Damn cat."
"Brother!" cried Al, rushing into the kitchen and scooping up the kitten. "You'll hurt her!"
Ed took a long drink from his mug. "So what?" he asked at length.
"So, don't do that. It's not nice."
"Yeah? Well, I'm not nice," said Ed, almost sneeringly.
Al sighed and, seeing no reason to continue arguing, left the conversation at that and carried the kitten back to the sofa. "It's okay, I won't let Brother hurt you anymore," he promised. "Why don't you be a good kitty and go back to sleep with your brother and mom—"
The couch was empty.
The couch was empty.
"Oh, no," whispered Al. Not daring to put the kitten he was holding down—for fear she would go bother Ed again—he set off in search of the other two cats. Since Al didn't see them in the kitchen, that meant that must still be somewhere in this room. Under the bed, maybe? He walked there and knelt down to look, but he didn't see anything under the bed, except a lot of dust.
"Alphonse..."
Al turned reflexively to the sound of his brother's voice and saw him standing on the opposite side of the room by the desk where he worked. "Hi, Brother."
"There is a cat messing up my research notes," Ed explained calmly.
"Oh, is there?" asked Al nervously. "Um..."
"And another rubbing against my leg."
"Really? Wow, the cats all love you, Brother!" he exclaimed.
"That's nothing to be cheerful about," griped Ed. "Get them away, would you?"
"Yes, Brother." Al hurried to pick up the other kitten (rubbing against Ed's bare leg) and the mother (making a nest out of Ed's notes). "I'm sorry if they bothered you."
"And so you should be. But, whatever," said Ed dismissively. "Just remember..."
"I know, I know. Let them go as soon as the storm lets up. I remember," he said, just a bit of impatience tinting his voice. Did Ed think he had forgotten?
"Good," Ed replied shortly, sitting down at the desk and slurping down his coffee. He spun the desk chair so that he faced his brother. "Did you find out anything interesting?" he asked.
Knowing that he was referring to the book Al had read last night, he replied, "Not much. There was a part about limb transplants, but, um..."
"We sort of don't have limbs to transplant," Ed finished.
"Yes. That."
"Goddammit," muttered Ed. "We know we need the Philosopher's Stone to amplify our alchemy, but then what?" He slouched in his seat dejectedly.
"Maybe there isn't a way," ventured Al softly. "You know, to get our bodies back."
Ed sat up so fast he nearly spilled his coffee. "Don't say that, you idiot!" he said angrily. "Don't ever say that. I swore to you that I'd get your body back and, dammit, I will, Al! I will!"
Al could see that Ed was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince his younger brother. 'Haven't you done enough already?' Al wanted to ask, but he already knew the response he would get. Inclining his head slightly, he conceded, "You're right, Brother. ...sorry."
Ed looked surprised. "For what?"
"For, you know, doubting that we could ever reach our goal."
Ed snorted and spun the chair again so that Al couldn't see his face. He muttered something that might have been, 'You think I don't feel like that every day?' but it was too indistinct to be certain.
"Okay, Al," he said abruptly. "Let's take a break. No talking about researching, our quest, the Stone, or anything until..." He paused, thinking. "Until the day after Christmas."
Al perked up. "What? Really?"
Ed peered at him over the back of his chair in annoyance. "Don't believe me?"
"Well—it's just that you're always going on about how we can't waste any time," Al pointed out. "Even if we're snowed in, I'd have thought you would want to research with the books we do have with us."
Ed waved the comment aside. "A break will do us good," he said simply.
"Okay," Al agreed readily. He certainly wouldn't protest against a break. Al had a suspicion that Ed wanted to let him forget about their problems, if only for a few days, and he was grateful for it. "You want to play with kittens?" he offered.
A scowl. "No. I think I'll read a book."
"You haven't read a non-alchemy related book since you were four or five."
"Your point?" Ed asked. "No time like the present to start again!" he declared.
"Do you even have any storybooks?" The ensuing silence provided Al with a sufficient response. "Exactly."
"Shuddup." Ed set down his mug and spun around a few times in his chair. "Then let's spar."
If Al had eyebrows, he would be raising one of them right now. He hoped Ed realized this as well. "In the dorms?" he queried.
"Good point..." Ed went silent again, staring contemplatively at the wall. Then he reached for the phone. "Okay, then I'm going to bother the Colonel."
Al grabbed Ed's arm to stop him. "Brother! He has work to do."
Ed grinned. "All the better. If I distract him enough, maybe the Lieutenant will kill him for not doing his paperwork."
"That wouldn't be very nice," Al replied. "Anyways, you shouldn't relieve your boredom by making trouble for Colonel Mustang." But Ed's idea had given him one now, and he continued, "Let's call home instead."
Ed glared at him, as he always did whenever Al said that they had a home. Al had learned to shrug it off. No matter what Ed said, Resembool was still their home. The fact that their house was no longer standing made no difference.
"We haven't spoken to Winry and Grandma Pinako in a long time," Al added persuasively. "I'm sure they must be worried about us."
"Huh. We never bothered to call them before, so why should we now?"
Al shrugged. "I thought it'd be nice to talk to them again..." You never knew what could happen, after all. Whenever he talked to someone, it could be the last time he ever spoke to them. But this time he kept his pessimistic thought to himself.
"Eh, call them if you want, then," said Ed. "I don't really care."
"Okay," said Al. "What are you going to do?"
"Dunno," said Ed. "Guess I'll sleep or something."
"You've been sleeping," Al felt the need to mention.
"I don't care," said Ed stubbornly. "I haven't had time to do whatever I want in so long that I don't know what to do with myself now."
Al shifted from foot to foot. "I'm sorry, Brother," he said. "You can keep researching if you want."
Ed shook his head and replied, "Nah, a promise is a promise, right? Christmas day is in a few days anyways. I can survive until then."
"Well, if you're sure..."
"I'm sure," Ed affirmed. "Don't worry about it."
Shrugging, Al reached for the phone and dialed the number of the Rockbell residence. Ed spun on his chair a few times—he really had a bad habit of doing that, Al thought, and then wondered if he ever got dizzy. Then Ed stood up, holding Al's shoulder to steady himself, and leaned in close to listen as the phone was answered. Al wished now that he was capable of facial expressions, so he could give Ed a disapproving look for eavesdropping, but he didn't push his brother away.
"Hi, Winry!" he said happily into the phone. "It's me, Alphonse."
"Hey, Al!" came Winry's voice through the receiver. "How have you been? Don't tell me that idiot broke his automail again!"
"What!" cried Ed indignantly, standing upright and nearly losing his balance on the rolling chair. Al caught him before he could fall, and Ed quickly moved in to listen again.
"Ed, are you eavesdropping?" Winry asked sharply. "That's rude, you know."
"No, no," Al lied quickly. "Ed's just...reading a book, that's all."
"Oh?" The suspicious had completely left Winry's tone and she sounded very interested now. "An actual storybook?"
"Yep," Al replied. "I think he likes it." He smothered a snicker. Ed was staring at him incredulously, but, not wanting to reveal that he was eavesdropping, had to hold his tongue as well. Al was glad he had seized this opportunity to messwith his older brother.
"What book is he reading?"
Oops. Ed flashed a triumphant grin at Al, who racked his brain frantically for an answer. "Um. The Outsiders," he replied.
"By Hinton? I loved that book!" Winry exclaimed. "What part is he on?"
Al gulped, but before he could reply, Winry swept on enthusiastically.
"The ending was so sad, I bawled my eyes out! Alphonse Elric, if Ed cries, you had better tell me!"
"Er...sure, but..."
"Oh, right. I'm sure you didn't call to discuss that," Winry said. "So, what's up?"
"Nothing, really," Al replied, relieved that the conversation had turned away from the book. "It's a storm here in East City. Brother and I are stuck in the dorms, so I thought I'd call and say hi. How are things over there?"
Ed rolled his eyes, apparently bored with the turn in conversation, and took one of the kittens from Al before walking over to the couch. Al looked at his brother curiously for a moment before returning his attention to the phone.
"Everything is going great over here!" Winry was saying. "I'm making a special new model of automail for one of our regulars for Christmas." Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "But don't tell Ed or he'll get jealous."
Al chuckled. "I won't tell him," he promised. "Who's it for?"
"A very special customer," Winry told him ambiguously. "Is it that bad up there?"
"Pretty bad," admitted Al. "I'm actually surprised the phone lines haven't been knocked down yet."
"Hmm... Well, I'll send something to you for Christmas, trains permitting," said Winry. "What would you—"
"Winry!" came a faint voice that still carried through the phone. "Stop gabbing and get back to work!"
"Whoops, that's Granny calling me. Hold on!" she said, the last part being a yell directed towards Pinako. "What would you like for Christmas, Al?"
"Mm..." Al looked thoughtfully at the two cats he was still holding, then set them down. As they scampered off, he replied, "I don't know. Surprise me."
"Okay!" said Winry cheerfully. "I gotta go now. Bye, Al!"
"Bye."
She hung up, and Alphonse returned the phone to its cradle. He stood staring silently for a moment, wondering if perhaps he and Ed should send Winry something as well, but was jolted out of his thoughts by Ed's outraged screech.
"These cats are freaking molesting me, Alphonse!"
Al laughed and walked over to the couch. The kittens were clambering all over Ed's lap and the mother had planted her paws on his chest as she stretched up to sniff at his face. Poor Ed was leaning back as far as he could, which wasn't very far because the back of the couch quickly halted his progress.
"They're not molesting you, Brother," said Al, very amused by the sight. "They sure do like you, though. Are you secretly a cat person?"
"No!" Ed refuted adamantly. "I am a dog person. Dogs are awesome."
It was a lie, Al was sure, because he had seen Ed begging their mom to keep the stray cats he'd found when they were younger.
"Well, I like cats," said Al. "Cats are smart, and nice."
"Cats are evil," Ed retorted. "And you can train dogs to do cool tricks."
"Because they're dumb and only learn by repetition!"
"You know, I think this is the stupidest argument we've ever had," remarked Ed.
Al pondered that for a moment, then said, "There was that time we argued about the juice. You said you had 1.3 millimeters more than me."
"Oh, yeah, that one was pretty silly," Ed agreed, grinning. "I was right, by the way. You did get more than me."
"Nuh-uh. Mom measured it perfectly," argued Al.
"Nope, I was right. Don't deny it."
"Kitty, attack him," Al ordered.
It might have just been a coincidence, but at that moment, the mother cat licked Ed on the nose.
"Eww, gross!" yelled Ed, standing up swiftly. The adult cat leaped deftly off of Ed's lap, but the kittens, confused and startled by the abrupt movement, dug their claws into Ed's leg, trying not to fall. "Oww! Call them off, Al!"
"You know what you're supposed to sa-ay," sang out Al.
Ed gave him a look of wounded pride, then relented and said, "Fine, fine, mercy, dammit, mercy!"
Mentally grinning, Al reached over and pulled the kittens from where they were clinging for dear life to Ed's leg. "Honestly, Brother, they're just kittens. Their claws aren't even that sharp."
"Says you," muttered Ed, dropping back down onto the couch. "You can't even feel them. Anyways, I'm bored. Let's play a game or something."
"Sure," said Al easily. "Let's play 'sic the cats on Ed.'"
"How about no? Let's play the Periodic Table Game."
"But that's way too easy," complained Al. "We must have played it a million times by now on train rides, I could do it without thinking."
"Alphabet order this time," suggested Ed.
"Too easy," sighed Al. "But fine. Actinium."
"Aluminum."
"Americium."
"Antimony."
"Argon."
"Arsenic."
Three days later, it was Christmas, and Al just knew that he would have to part with the cats today. It was a depressing thought. He looked at them now, curled up at the foot of Ed's bed (Ed would have a fit about it when he woke up.) and sighed. He had been able to own a cat—three of them at that—for a short, bittersweet amount of time, and now he would be abandoning them. Like the cats' previous owner did. The hypocrisy of the situation was enough to make Al cringe.
"G'morning," muttered Ed as he woke up, stretching and yawning.
"Good morning, Brother," said Al, his voice subdued. "Merry Christmas."
"Oh, yeah. Merry Christmas." He nudged the cats lightly with his foot. "Get these cats away."
Al felt a pang of fear and sadness. He wasn't ready to part with them just yet. "But—but I..." He trailed off.
Ed blinked stupidly at his brother for a moment, then his expression cleared. "No, I meant get them off of my bed."
"Oh, right. I knew that," said Al, feeling silly but relieved. "Does that mean...?"
"No," said Ed, crushing Al's hopes. "You can't keep them. How's the weather?"
"I think it finally cleared up last night," said Al quietly. He knew it had. He'd gone out to check, just to be sure. A thick layer of snow covered the ground, but it was no longer a blizzard. Actually, the storm itself had weakened a couple of days ago, but they had still been snowed in.
"Good," Ed grunted, getting up from the bed. "You can let them go after breakfast." He padded off to the bathroom before Al could answer.
Al stroked the heads of the cats, wishing he could actually feel their soft fur beneath his hand. But, of course, he could only experience the strangest, detached sensation that told him he was touching something. In that moment, Al felt very empty and lonely, more so than usual. He walked absently after Ed as he emerged from the bathroom and tromped off to the kitchenette to fix himself a cup of coffee.
As Ed grabbed his mug from a cupboard, Al got food for the cats. They sat in silence, Ed drinking his coffee and Al watching the cats with a quiet fondness.
The moment when they were done eating and Ed was done getting his caffeine fix came far too quickly. Wordlessly, Al picked up the two kittens while Ed scooped up the mother cat, and they walked outside into the now lightly falling snow. Not quite willing to let the cats go quite yet, Al hovered outside, still holding the kittens, relieved when Ed indulged him and stood beside him silently.
"You know what I want for Christmas, Brother?" Al asked after a moment.
"Not a cat, I hope."
"...Maybe."
Ed sighed and looked at the cat nestled comfortably in his arms. "Listen, Al. A pet isn't for Christmas. A pet is for life."
"I know that," murmured Al sullenly.
"Then you know why you can't have a cat. Can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me that we have the time and means for that kind of commitment right now?"
Al didn't need to answer. They both knew that they did not.
"One thing at a time, Al," said Ed, more gently now. "Right now, there's only one thing we should focus on. There's only one thing we should worry about and commit ourselves to."
"Right." He spoke in a small voice, so out of place compared to his menacing metal body.
Ed touched Al's arm, looking sad for his brother but not regretful as set down the cat he was holding, and Al reluctantly followed suit.
"We've done enough for them. They can fend for themselves," Ed said firmly. He turned away from the cats, who huddled together and stared after him and Al sadly. "And...when we get our bodies back, Al, I'll get you a kitten, okay?"
"Really?" asked Al in what could best be described as hopeful disbelief.
"Yeah." Ed gave him a small smile. "Our very first Christmas together."