Brotherhood, Childhood Enemies, family
When Edward charged into Pinako’s house with a greeting on his lips and Alphonse by his side, he found himself faced with a perfectly foreign stranger sitting inside, smiling.
“Hell, you scared me!” he cried towards the guy, to which he just laughed.
“I’m sorry.” He put his newspaper to the side and approached them, reaching out his hand in a way that made Edward wonder if it had been the right house he barged into. It was the same old-lady furniture, old-lady smell, and even the old lady’s dog, who now peeked out of the adjacent room preparing for a big warm Elric welcome, that it had always been; the only iffy thing in it all would be the blondie, who appeared way too confident in the way he carried himself as the non-owner of the place. He was about their age, seemed well-off and put together, and wore a very punchable smirk.
Edward shook his hand, and so did Al.
“Wow, you’re so much bigger than I remembered!” he said to Al. “I mean, it’s been a long time, but you”-he glanced at Edward-“didn’t change all that much, for comparison.”
Ed bristled and felt his blood boiling in his veins at the remark. Then, a realization. “Of course. How could I not have recognized you, Cyrus.”
“Cyrus!” Al echoed him, just as surprised.
“Well, it happens. I’m much more handsome and taller than I used to,” said Cyrus. “Don’t worry, it will happen to you soon, too.”
“Don’t you say?” Edward wrinkled his nose.
“What are you doing here?” Al adopted a chirping tone that he usually leaned towards when preparing himself to make up for his brother’s insolence in social settings.
“Visiting.” He shrugged as if they were to believe that. “You?”
“Visiting.” The falsity of Ed’s smile could poison a little village.
When they were children, Cyrus had lived a couple of houses from theirs, and since they were similar ages with not an overabundance of other kids around to befriend, they often hung out together: the brothers, Cyrus and his sister, and Winry. Al, younger and generally more laid back, didn’t really care much for anything other than their day-to-day activities, while the girls enjoyed spending time making flower crowns, racing and coming up with new games for the group. Edward and Cyrus, on the other hand, stood against one another in a constant battle for the title of the leader of their group, which, of course, mattered anything only to their egos, since neither Al nor, especially, the girls, would listen to their directions anyway.
“I thought I heard you!” Winry came down the stairs. Smeared with whatever she was smeared with, as usual when she was working on a new project, she hugged them tightly and ruffled Ed’s hair. “I see you already met.”
“What do you mean we already met?”
Winry took Cyrus’ arm. “Cyrus and I are getting married.”
“WHAT?!” was a shared reaction, which was then followed by two separate lines of questioning and accusations, mixed with a set of swearing, jumping, finger-pointing, and general flailing of arms.
“I’m just kidding, geez!” Windy shouted. Then, in her regular tone, “You guys have no sense of humour, at all. I’m just fixing something of his. Get a grip.”
“Well then.” Edward straightened himself, his cheeks still flushed. “What are we eating?”