Chapter Text
The first time Alphonse met Toffee, he was walking back from the store.
Edward was napping on the couch in Mustang’s office, and rather unfortunately, the team had run out of coffee. With nothing to do while his brother slept like the dead, he decided to volunteer his help.
The trip was a short distance from Central Command, and he easily travelled across the bustling streets of Amestris’ capitol. Receiving a few strange looks along the way, but nothing he wasn’t familiar as a giant suit of armor operated by a human soul. He easily purchased the coffee, and began his trek back.
As Alphonse leisurely walked through the city in direction of the military offices, he heard a faint meow coming from an alleyway.
“Mrrow?” purred a tiny, calico kitten.
Al, a cat lover at heart, instantly dropped the bag of coffee grounds he was carrying and rushed over to see the kitten. He took his large, leather-gloved hand and began scratching the top of her head, at the spot between her ears. The kitten began to purr and nuzzle her face against his hand.
“What’s your name, little girl?” Alphonse asked the kitten.
The armored boy had a habit of naming a few of the common strays he saw around Central Command. The ones he saw most often were Daisy, a white-haired feisty ragdoll, and Rusty, an orange tabby who would do anything for a treat.
He’s tried adopting them both at least seven times, but Edward wasn’t fond of the idea.
He could already hear the little Edward-sounding voice in his head telling him that they didn’t have the means to adopt a cat. Al knew that if he named this little kitten, he’d never be able to let her go. So reluctantly, he pulled his leather hand away, her little head chasing the comforting hand that was patting her head.
He briskly turned around and crouched down to grab the dropped bag of coffee grounds, his armor creaking along the way. But as he was about to grab the bag, he saw a quick little zip of white, orange and black.
It was the kitten. She was stubbornly sitting right on the bag, trying to demand more pets out of Alphonse. The boy giggled slightly, enamored by this cat’s cuteness. He obliged her demands, and began once again petting the little kitten. She purred continuously, and Al felt the hole he was digging under himself grow deeper. If he stayed with this kitten any longer, he knew he couldn't resist the urge to bring her back.
Sighing, he picked the little kitten up by her scruff, and gently placed her on the ground nearby. He got up, picked up the coffee, and briskly continued his walk back to the military base. He didn’t dare turn around, to not succumb to the kitten’s manipulations again.
He continued his pace for a few minutes, thinking about what he and brother would do once he woke up from his nap. Maybe they would finish that book they had started? Or maybe it was another long night of research into the Stone. Suddenly, Alphonse heard a faint meow from behind him. Right behind him, staring up at him with her big green eyes, was the kitten. As he stopped, she began to rub her face against his metal leg.
The second he saw her, Al knew he was a goner.
“What are you doing here, kitty?” Alphonse said, putting on the higher pitched voice he used while talking to animals.
He scooped the kitten up into his palms, her tiny body fitting perfectly inside his large hands. As he marveled at her tiny form for the next few minutes, petting her with one hand as she sat on the other, she curled up into a ball, and fell right asleep in his palm.
Alphonse felt his weak resolve crumble, and knew that it was once again time to pretend to not have a small animal hidden inside his chest cavity.
“You need a name, don't you, kitty? How about Toffee? I like Toffee.” Alphonse couldn't deny that the name was partially inspired by the coffee grounds he was currently carrying in the crook of his elbow.
Alphonse put the bag on the ground, and began to unbuckle his chest cavity. Once it was successfully opened, he gently placed Toffee’s sleeping form inside. He reattached his chestplate quietly, careful not to wake the scrawny kitten resting inside.
He walked as evenly as he could, careful to not wake the resting cat inside. Before Al knew it, he was already back in Mustang’s office, handing the coffee over to his brother’s superior officer.
“I got your coffee, Colonel!” Al said, his voice peppered with cheer. His success with Toffee was infectious, and his spirits were pretty high.
“Thank you, Alphonse” responded Hawkeye warmly, in place of Colonel Mustang, who was filling out paperwork. This would be a rare occurrence, if Lieutenant Hawkeye wasn’t currently pointing a firearm at his skull.
“I’ll bring it to the breakroom!” the armored boy continued with a lightness in his tone. “I should be waking up brother right now, anyway.”
“Thanks, Alphonse!” Second Lieutenant Breda threw his way.
He left the office behind, closing the door as he heard Colonel Mustang sigh loudly at his mountain of paperwork. He walked two rooms over, and quietly opened the door to the breakroom. There, he saw his brother, splayed out on the couch, hair coming out of his braid at unnatural angles, snoring softly. He had a hand on his stomach and his shirt slightly pushed up, a sleeping position his brother had all but mastered over the years.
“Hey! Brother!” Al suddenly shouted at him.
Ever the heavy sleeper, Edward let out a particularly loud snore in response.
Alphonse put down the bag of coffee grounds on a nearby counter, and walked towards Edward on the couch. Before he could begin to pester his brother awake, a loud meow came out of his armor.
At this sound, Edward shot up like a rocket and let out a light startled noise. After stretching a little, and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Edward looked straight at him.
“Al.” Edward chided, knowing what was inside his brother’s armor. It was a song and dance they had performed dozens of times, but Alphonse wasn’t going to go down easy.
“Brother.” Al responded curtly.
Edward narrowed his eyes at this, not appreciating his brother’s unwarranted sass.
“You know you can’t keep it as much as I do. With how much travelling we do, our lack of house, and the times where I go without food for days, we couldn’t possibly provide for a stray cat.”
“But brother! Look at her!” Al said, unbuckling his chestplate. He brandished out the small kitten, who let out a little mew in response.
“Al! No kitten! We’ve been over this millions of times!” his brother scolded.
“But… brother” he whined, dragging out the R sound.
Toffee seemed to agree with his statement, as she rubbed her face into his thumb, and began rolling around in his open palm.
“Alright. Fine. You win. You can keep her…”
Al leaned in eagerly, awaiting what his brother had to say next.
“…if you can find a house we can travel out of, that’s constantly stocked with food and big enough for a small kitten.” Edward finished
Alphonse groaned in response to this. He should’ve known his brother was baiting him. No such house existed! He sighed and began petting the little feline.
“C’mon Al. We'll leave her outside. We can transmute a little shelter for it, or something” Ed said, empathising with his little brother.
“Okay, brother,” Alphonse sighed.