Disclaimer: All material belongs to Hiromu Arakawa.

Pairing: Alphonse and May with a slight dash of Edward and Winry

Prompt: Comfort

Rating: K

The air was cool, the sky clear. The moon was only a sliver tonight, and though there was a myriad of stars shining over Resembool, they didn't provide enough light for Alphonse's sensitive and weak eyes. He knew it would be a matter of time before he regained his strength, and that included his eyes. He did his best not to pity himself at night, when he became virtually blind; some had come out of the Promised Day much worse off than he had, namely Colonel Mustang.

Alphonse was jolted out of his reverie when the front door creaked open, light from inside the house streaming onto the porch. A dark-haired head poked out, searching.

"Alphonse? What are you doing out here by yourself?" a high-pitched voice asked.

The blonde turned his head around towards the door, finding May and Shao May standing in the doorway.

He smiled at her. "I'm just getting some fresh air. There's a lot of people inside," he told her. There were a lot of people in there - Pinako and Winry (mostly Winry) were hosting a Welcome Home party for him and Edward at the Rockbell home, and nearly everyone they knew had been invited. Alphonse was still getting used to old human responses; he found himself having a hard time breathing amidst so many bodies in such a small space.

May seemed to deliberate for a moment before closing the door behind her and sitting next to him on the stairs, Shao May climbing from May's left shoulder to her right to be between the two of them.

"Are you okay?"

Alphonse blinked once, confused. "What? Of course I am."

May sighed, but didn't say anything else on the matter. Instead, she simply commented, "It's cold out."

The boy smiled. "I know. It's great." Feeling May stare at him, he added, "Being able to feel anything is great. I know I sound crazy."

"You're not crazy, Alphonse. I'm sure it's wonderful having your body back."

He turned to her then. "It wouldn't have happened without your help. I don't know that I ever thanked you for that."

May looked away, but Alphonse caught a glimpse of her quivering lower lip before she'd hidden her face from his view.

"May?"

Her voice caught as she answered him. "Please don't talk about that, Alphonse…" she whispered.

He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry… I guess you're still kind of sensitive to that…" he muttered. When she didn't respond, nor give any sort of indication that she'd even heard him, he reached out to take her hand in his. "I'm sorry," he told her earnestly, his eyes roaming over what part of her face he could see.

After a long beat of silence, May turned back towards him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "I'm really glad you're okay, Alphonse…" she murmured, then flung herself into his side, hiding her face in his shoulder. Alphonse only hesitated for the slightest second before pulling her against him, his arm coming around her small frame. He said nothing, merely letting her find comfort in him, in his human body, in knowing he was all right.

Edward's head suddenly whipped around, feeling something - or rather, someone - missing. A quick scan of the room proved that his younger brother was not where he should be. Ed's arm that had been looped around Winry's waist gave her a gentle squeeze before sliding away towards the front door, knowing his brother was most likely to have gone outside. Winry caught his hand briefly as he left, returning the squeeze before letting him go.

The door creaked open and Ed stuck his head out, eyes roaming over the porch until he spotted a blonde head with a smaller, dark-haired one resting against him. The two hadn't even noticed his presence.

Edward smiled, and quietly shut the door, letting them keep their moment of solitude.