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Al really knew he should be hurrying home. He was already late, Ed was probably worried, and it was snowing.
Al liked the snow though, and enjoyed walking home as slow as possible to enjoy the cold weather. He, however, also knew that not everyone -animals and people alike- enjoyed the bitter cold. So when he came across a kitten in a small alleyway, he knew he couldn’t just leave it. I mean, it was a cat! He loved cats! Plus, the cat didn’t seem to be enjoying the weather. Usually when he found cats, he’d sneak them around in his armor, but with lack of said armor, (thankfully, he knew he would never miss that. No matter how many cats it let him hold.) he opted to instead pick up the small kitten (the poor thing didn’t even try to run, it just let out a small, pitiable meow) and wrap it up in his jacket. He hurried home from that point, wanting to get the kitten warmed up and fed quickly.
Al opened the door to his and Ed’s shared apartment and tried to discreetly bring the cat over to his room, but Ed poked his head out of the kitchen and immediately noticed the cat.
“…Al.”
“Yes brother?”
“Why do you have a cat?”
“What cat?” Al attempted to hide the cat further into his jacket, but it protested with a meow, and struggled its way out of Alphonse’s grip, plopping onto the floor, and looking directly at Edward.
“That one, Al.” He responded, looking from the cat to Alphonse.
“Oh,” Al let out a nervous laugh, “that one.” He looked at Ed, and when he received no response, he tried to explain himself.
“I couldn’t just leave it there! It was freezing! And the poor thing looked so hungry-“
Ed sighed and looked at the cat -who had made itself at home already, curled up in front of the fire- then back at Al, who was looking at him with hopeful eyes.
“Alright, fine. We can give it some food and get it cleaned up. But that does not mean we are keeping it.”
“Thank you brother!” Al gave him a big smile, then walked over to the cat, he knelt down next to it, and gently picked it up, it barely stirred, and lazily opened its eyes at being picked up. Al carried it over to the bathroom to get it cleaned up.
—————
About ten minutes later, the cat -which Al found out was a girl- was clean, the lack of dirt and grime revealed her fur coat colored with a soft sandy color. She was also speckled with darker brown spots. Edward walked out of the kitchen with two plates and a small bowl. He sat the bowl down in front of the cat, then sat down next to Al on the couch. He passed him a plate of food.
“What’d you give her?” Asked Al.
“Just some mashed up chicken, despite the amount of cats you bring home, we surprisingly don’t have any cat food.”
After a few silent moments of eating and watching the cat, Al looked over to Ed.
“Can we keep her?” He asked, a pleading look in his eyes.
Ed sighed, and was about to say no, but he stopped. He looked over at the cat, who had finished eating and was curled up again, Al really seemed to like her.
“You know what, screw it. Why not.” He said
Alphonse’s eyes lit up. “Really?!” He was surprised, he never thought Ed would agree, he had just figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
“Yeah, why not, but you’ve gotta take care of her.”
“I will! Thank you brother!” Alphonse then got off the couch and sat next to the cat, a smile still on his face.
Edward smiled slightly, it was nice seeing his little brother this happy.
“So what are you gonna name her?” He asked
Al pondered it for a moment.
“How about Penny?” He said.
“I like it.”
Alphonse beamed up at Edward, and Ed smiled back at him.
—————
BONUS
“Uh… Scar? What are you doing at my house?”
“I heard you got a cat.”
“Yes..? How’d you even know that?”
“Mei told me.”
Alphonse started blankly at Scar.
“Do you want to see her?”
Scar nodded.
It was definitely a strange sight to see a man who had previously tried to kill Alphonse sitting on the floor petting a cat. But, hey, at least he liked her.