Alphonse shuddered in anticipation, standing outside of the doorway, watching as Havoc smoked his thick cigarette, his friend's gaze searching for any intruders while the others slept. One of Colonel Mustang's finest knights in the service, he saw the sword hanging at the blonde man's belt, long and thick as he protected the butchers with his life. After a month of settling in at Izumi's butcher shop, waiting for Lady Alyvia to heal so they could return to the outside world, an early winter had settled in on the small town of Dublith. It was late, and cold, as the winter dew covering the ground slowly turned to frost as he watched. "Good evening, Havoc." Alphonse finally said, stepping forward onto the thick cobblestone and walking towards the man standing guard at the gates, his boots clunking loudly.
His old friend smiled at him in between puffs of his cigarette, and Al pondered that smoking was the reason that the older knight wasn't freezing in only his uniform while he had layers of thick coats Izumi had given him. "Bit late even for you, Knight of Iron." His friend said, putting his hand on his hip with a wider smile. "What's a kid like you doing up so late?"
Though Alphonse wasn't as sensitive about his age and height as his brother was, it still felt cruel to be picked on and called a kid when he had defeated just as many soldiers in battle. He pulled his tight lipped smile on and stared at his gloves, trying not to let it affect him. Kid. He was still a kid in the eyes of this guy and the rest of the military, most likely. "M'here to relieve you for watch," He said as a whip of icy wind sent shudders down his spine. He was going to freeze out here without another jacket, but he tried to ignore that too. He was Alphonse Elric, the Knight of Iron, knighted at the age of fifteen with his brother. He would not let a bit of wind take him mind off of members of the household, still snug under their sheets and warm and—
Havoc tipped his head. "Better get some rest 'fore I freeze, huh?" He said, and Al smiled. So even Roy's strongest knight had a weakness to the freezing weather. That cheered him up more than it should have. As the man finished his cigarette and let the thinly rolled drug fall into the frosted grass, Alphonse settled into the alertness he had long forgotten. How long had it been since he had kept watch under Roy? How long had it been since they'd been back home for at least a night or two, just to sleep in their old beds at Pinako's home? Alphonse realized that, as his life grew more and more hectic, he lost track of time more than he would like. He hated not having a strategy or a plan that wasn't messed up by factors. He liked being rigorous and orderly.
He settled against the fence, trying to keep himself from falling asleep. That was another thing he missed; a good night sleep with his brother and Lady Alyvia around was almost impossible. The lady had nightmares almost every night, where she would cry out begging for her oldest brother, begging for her mother, both of which he knew were long gone. As for Ed, well, his brother snored. Whenever Al woke to Lady Alyvia's strangled cries, he would never fall back asleep easily because of his brother's obnoxious snores. It was torturous traveling with them.
And he knew his catering to Lady Alyvia's needs was getting him nowhere. She was more focused on what was going on around her—just like Ed, he might add—than falling in love and marrying someone because of their status. It was a shame that Ed was already betrothed to Winry. He knew his brother would have courted Alyvia had he not been so attached to the thought of one woman and one woman only. Maybe if Winry came along with them on their adventures his brother would be happier, more polite to everyone around him. But he wasn't sure Lady Alyvia and Winry would get along.
The sound of a door creaking open snapped him out of his thoughts and caused his hand to fly instantly to the sword haltered at his hip. His gaze watched as a shadow moved before he spotted the thick dark curls of Lady Kaitlyn, Colonel Mustang's beautiful betrothed. She was covered in thick clothing, furs on her shoulders and arms while her thin nightdress was covered by what looked like Mustang's pants. Alphonse felt his heart stop momentarily before the dull throb of never being able to have her restarted it and made him even more upset. "You should be in bed," He said softly as she stepped down the stairs cautiously, trying not to trip over the length of Mustang's uniform and walking on the cobblestones with the slight clips of her fur boots.
"I couldn't sleep," She said as she met him, tucking a curly hair been her ear, her petite hand bare in the middle of the night. Alphonse quickly shed his leather gloves and handed them to her with a shy smile. "O-oh, you didn't have to—"But he wouldn't let her resist. She could freeze to death outside in this cold weather, and he would swear on his life to protect her. He had…fallen… for her, he believed. No longer did he think Lady Alyvia was perfect (he had noticed the slight upturn of her nose and her thin lips, but also her reckless personality that clashed with his own). He had taken time out of his daily schedule when he could to learn from Lady Kaitlyn, and learn he had. He learned that she had been from an abusive father, who liked to punish her whenever he could because she had killed her mother during childbirth. He learned that she loved the color of the forests during summer and that she preferred satin over silk. He learned that she had a very loud personality when she wasn't around anyone else but him, and that she loved children more than anything. She often talked about kids with a smile on her face, but then her smile would fall when she realized that she would have to have them with Mustang.
Alphonse settled back into his post nervously. "Why couldn't you sleep?" He asked, trying to make small talk in order to get his mind off of the thoughts that he would never be able to hold her unless something happened to Roy. He noticed the distant look in her eyes, almost sad, almost scared, before it was replaced by a smile that he knew was blatantly fake. Curse her and her ability to hide how she truly felt. If there was one thing he knew, it was that hiding behind a mask was completely ridiculous, even if he still did it anyways. Hiding to protect the ones you love was the hardest part of growing up.
"Alyvia had a nightmare and was so shaken that she had trouble falling back asleep. By the time she did, however, I was already fully awake." Her curls bounced and bundled as she spoke, sliding on his gloves so that her fingers wouldn't freeze. "I suppose it's a good thing you're awake, though. At least I have a friend to talk to."
Alphonse didn't answer immediately. Of course, she could only call him her friend. An acquaintance, a pal, a companion… anything else would suggest feelings that she couldn't show because of Roy. Stupid Mustang, having a royal name even though he came from anything but. He'd gotten lucky by becoming betrothed to such a perfect woman. "Right, of course." He said with a protected smile, even though he felt like his heart had been trampled by a thousand battle horses. His shoulders slumped forward no matter what he did to stop them. He wasn't sure whether he could watch her go and get married to Mustang.
Kaitlyn must have seen something in his demeanor—the slumped shoulders, the weak answer—because she knelt in front of him ever so slightly, her thick fur boots moving the frost underneath of his feet the closer she got to him. His heart was singing with a thunderous heartbeat as he narrowed his eyes, unsure of whether to feel intimidated and scared by her sudden actions or incredibly excited that she was only inches away from his lips, inches away from his body and mid together. He wondered whether or not this was on purpose; to tease him would be an awfully cruel trick. But the blank look on her face, the slight quiver of her lips, and the way her eyes were hooded did everything in their absolute knowledge to push those thoughts of betrayal and misunderstanding away.
For a moment, he couldn't hear anything. There was no sound in the entire world other than the slow thud of his heart slamming against his chest. Her lips started moving towards his, her hand reaching out and clasping his fur jacket to pull him closer, until he felt everything in the entire world. Happiness shone from the pit of his heart as her lips delved deeper on his, tracing the outline of them with her tongue. He was kissing her. He was kissing a betrothed woman, and he was loving it. His fingers found the soft skin on her cheek, cradling it like a newborn lamb and pulling her closer.
After what seemed like an eternity of having one of the most intimate parts of their bodies explored by the other, she pulled away. Her face was littered with the same stoic misery she seemed to have whenever she was around Mustang and the others. Alphonse knew that what had happened between them was something they would never speak of again, something that never existed between them to the others. As she walked back towards the house with the depressed look on her face, Alphonse cursed under his breath at the thought of how much he had adored the entirety of it, and how much he had hurt her.