Loneliness.

It wasn't something Alphonse had been acquainted with on a large scale. Every direction he turned stood a familiar face. His mother, brother, the Rockbells, neighbors; never had he experienced a lack of someone to talk to, to hang out with, and to reassure him that he was not alone. Even during individual past times like reading, his brother would typically be in the same room reading alongside him. This was something he took for granted, something that most kids did. In his mind, he couldn't grasp the concept of a reality that didn't involve him being surrounded by the people familiar and dear to him. It just wasn't thought of.

Until Alphonse had a reason to.

After his talk with Ana, Al began wondering about her life, why she was alone, why she couldn't go home to her family, why they couldn't come with her, and various other things of the like. He couldn't wrap his inexperienced mind around it.

He talked to his brother about it. The older boy just shrugged and stated that stuff happened, like how their dad had left them and never came back. Suffice it to say, the subject remained a sore spot for the elder Elric brother. It wouldn't do to send Ed into a sulking state, so Al dropped it and left things at that.

He talked to his mother about it. That conversation went much better than the last one, leaving a greater impression on the child. Al repeated what Ed had said.

"Stuff does happen," she smiled fondly at her other son's phrasing. "Sometimes it's good, but it can also be bad." Things happened that were beyond controlling. Things happened that couldn't be explained. Things happened that were by your own doing. Things happened that you had to accept were a part of the world.

The central idea that Alphonse took away from the discussion was that anything could happen. His mother tried to encourage him and tell him that this could be a very good thing, meaning that happiness could come his way. This also meant that tragedies could befall him just as easily, and that's what had Al worried. He fretted that one day things could change, that he could lose his mother and brother, his family, his friends, his home, and be left alone.

He was scared that he could end up like Ana.

Oddly enough, he never told his mother this. There was never anything he couldn't tell his mother, that he refrained from telling her, and yet he found himself wanting to tell Ana these fears.

They sat on the river bank once more, tossing small rocks at the water's surface in many failed attempts to skip the stones. None of their previous conversation's weight clung to the girl, leaving the playful, funny girl he'd originally befriended. It unbalanced little Alphonse to the point that his questions curled in on themselves, deciding that they were better off staying inside.

Had she forgotten what they'd talked about? Was she happy now? Did it not bother her? Was she thinking about it?

Ana snorted at the most recent failed attempt of skipping rocks. Sighing and shaking her head, she plucked up another stone from their dwindling arsenal to hold it close to her face so that she could stare at it with narrowed eyes. "It can't be because I'm that bad. These rocks must be defected or hate me… Or both."

Al watched her, watched the way she inspected the gray surface of the stone, and surprised himself by blurting, "Are you happy?"

Anything involving stone skipping was quickly forgotten.

Ana looked at him, the hand that'd been holding up the rock slowly descending to her lap. Her mouth hung open in an 'o' and her gaze slid to the side to watch the water's edge. She didn't respond for the longest time. When she did, her facial expression never changed.

"Why are you asking?"

A queasy wave of discouragement crashed into Alphonse. He felt like he'd done something bad and was about to get scolded for it. He never should have said anything. Why did he have to go and say something? Now he would get in trouble. Nothing was wrong with his question per se, but the anxiety told him otherwise.

Averting his eyes to the grass he had begun to fiddle with nervously, he babbled, "The…the other day you—you were sad. B-but now you don't act like it. Are you not…sad anymore?"

She took the questions better than expected, shrugging nonchalantly like they were normal things people asked her every day. Leaning back on her elbows, Ana was content to watch the rippling surface of the river as she answered the boy. "I'm sad…about a lot of things. But it doesn't mean I can't be happy about things too."

Alphonse nodded hesitantly. While he understood, he wasn't sure if there was something more about what she said that he should be figuring out. He was young, inexperienced, and never had a reason to stay sad for very long. He had never experienced an event bad enough that he couldn't move past it. He wondered if that meant that, whatever her troubles, things weren't that bad for Ana if she could sit here skipping stones and joking.

In the end, he simply asked, "Which is more? Are you sad or happy?"

Ana pursed her lips in serious concentration. Each of her words was thought over well before she spoke them. "To be honest, I have more reasons to be sad than happy… It's…hard. You don't even know how hard, and I hope you never do. But I still can find things to be happy about, and I can still smile. As long as I'm able to do that, I know I'll be fine no matter how hard it gets."

Al looked up at her in awe. She was sad…and yet she could smile. He never saw her crying, unlike how Al got every time he became upset. Ana was… Ana was strong, like the heroes he'd heard in tales who could overcome any obstacle thrown their way.

No longer did he worry about voicing his questions. He let his curiosity run free.

"What makes you happy?" he asked with that same shine in his eyes that kids got when speaking to someone they idolized. And it was true. Ana had quickly become someone he wanted to be like, to impress, to spend time with, and to talk to. Many of the things she said held weight and meant something to him, and he'd remember them for years to come.

"Oh, that's easy," Ana grinned. She reached out and poked the tip of his nose. "You."

His face scrunched up at the contact and quickly reddened, yet he smiled brightly all the same.

"Really?" he stammered, wanting confirmation.

Brown eyes rolled skyward, her head tilting side-to-side in thought as Ana hummed, "Mmmm, no, yes, maybe? Who's to say?"

"Anaaa!" Al whined, causing the girl to burst into laughter.

"Awww, don't pout!" she cooed, grinning from ear to ear. "If you do that, I'll have to make you smile!"

That was all the warning Al received before his sides and neck were poked and prodded and tickled. The child positively shrieked, he giggled so hard.

This too was something that Al quickly learned to like about Ana. Not only did she find the will to smile most days, she excelled in finding ways to make him smile as well.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be like Ana after all.

Sorry for the wait, my furry friends. Distractions galore, plus one accidental spillage of some water on my poor Ronald (my laptop) nearly gave me a heart attack. He's still alive, but I some of the keys were fried (I'M SORRY BABY!) and I ended up getting a wireless keyboard instead of paying a large chunk of my savings just to fix a few keys. This wireless keyboard isn't too bad, but I'm still getting used to it.

So, I'm hoping that I'm getting Al's character right in this. 14-15 year old Alphonse I'm used to. Six year old, I am not. Young children in general are odd for me to write because of their inexperience and youthful minds. Al though, he's a little genius like his brother, but he's still a kid. As such, I think that he would really look up to someone like Ana, who's older but not quite in the adult category and is fun and seems to be strong and independent; she's someone he can aspire to be like basically. So that's why in this chapter I put it out there how Al is beginning to idolize Ana, if just a bit. I didn't want it to seem too unbelievable or rushed, but little kids do that, ya know?

Oh, and sorry (but not really) for the cheesy bits at the end. Blame Ana. I think she can be rather cheesy sometimes.

Ana: Uh-huh, or you just want to be cheesy.

LeFay: *pushes Ana's face away* Shut up, just let me have my cute fluffiness!

Ana: No you just didn't. *whips out battle axe* You don't push me away and live.

LeFay: Oh dear...

Ana: *chop chop*

LeFay: X_X