You shifted uncomfortably, watching the setting sun from the balcony. Looking down at your (f/c) dress for what seemed like the hundredth time, your mind filled with doubt once again.

"Winry, I'm not so sure about this anymore. You know that Alphonse is the only guy I've ever loved, whether I have the courage to actually tell him so or not. I don't feel comfortable going on a date with someone I don't know, I don't want to feel like I'm just using them," you said to your blonde friend.

"Oh come on, you were the one who suggested to Ed to ask me out. I merely suggested we make it a double date."

"I didn't sign up for that when I told him to ask you out!" You hastily responded.

"Welp, I promised Ed that you'd go with the person he's bringing along. Don't worry, he's a really nice guy. And he's tall," Winry cooed.

"Yeah, but," you trailed off.

"For Pete's sake, (Y/n), shut it and woman up!" Winry shouted, walking back off the balcony before you could protest further.

Sighing in defeat, you turned back to look at the horizon. Your thoughts drifted to figuring out who the person you were being forced on a date with could be.

'Both Winry and Edward know him, apparently. I don't see why he wouldn't be at least close to my age. Tall. Well, I know she's not talking about Ed,' you chuckled to yourself. 'I'm not sure Winry and Ed know any guys that I don't, so I probably know them. Or at least, I know of them.'

An idea suddenly floated into your head.

'No, surely they won't have done that. Then again, Winry can be pretty devious. But would she really try something like that? Would she really plan something like that with Edward?'

"U-um, excuse me miss," a familiar, slightly echoey voice said from behind you, making you tense.

Before you turned around, one last thought crossed your mind.

'Screw you, Winry.'

***

"Brother, I don't want to go on a double date. You know (Y/n)'s the only girl I'd want to go out with," Alphonse said, fiddling with the black bow tie on his neck.

"Well in that case, you should get some experience on a proper date before you ask her out," Edward said, adjusting his own bow tie as he gazed into a mirror.

"But I don't want to go on one with some girl I don't know," Al protested.

"Well then you should have asked (Y/n) so you could be going with her."

"I never asked to be going on this double date!"

"Well it's too late to back out now, Winry and your date are expecting us already, so let's go," Ed said, making his way towards the bedroom's door.

"We're already in her house, there's no need to be hasty," Al mumbled quietly.

After walking into the other room, Al saw Winry and his brother already talking. When she noticed Alphonse, Winry paused to talk to him for a few seconds.

"Your date's out on the balcony, Al. Go say hi," she said, before returning to her conversation with Edward.

A bit nervous, Alphonse walked to the second floor and out onto the balcony. He saw a girl with (h/l), (h/c) hair, a (s/c) complexion, and a (f/c) dress looking out over the countryside. Hesitantly moving forward, he tried to introduce himself.

"U-um, excuse me miss," he stuttered.

The girl turned around, and he immediately recognized the curious (e/c) gaze of the girl he had fallen for.

"A-Alphonse?"

***

If you ever got your hands on Winry if this surprise date didn't turn out well...

"A-Alphonse?" You stuttered out. You were surprised you hadn't realized what Winry had been planning sooner.

"(Y-Y/n)?" Al said, sounding equally surprised.

"Y-you're my date?"

"And you're m-mine?"

Awkward silence preceded the questions. Clearly, neither of you had been expecting this. Both of you were avoiding eye contact, looking instead at the ground.

"Are you two ready to go?" Ed's voice broke through the silence, snapping both of you back to reality. Winry stood smiling next to him, hand holding onto his.

"Y-yeah," you said quietly, moving forward and going past the pair. As you passed, you shot Winry an 'I know exactly what you're up to and I'm a bit pissed off about it,' look.

She gave a closed-eyed smile as she caught your facial expression's meaning.

You all made your way to a park, bringing a picnic dinner along. The entire way, Edward and Winry walked arm in arm together a short distance ahead of you. Occasionally, they shot glances back at you and Alphonse, giggling and looking back forward whenever they noticed one of you had caught them looking.

"I feel like a third wheel," you said quietly so only Alphonse could hear.

He laughed nervously, clinking a little as he looked at you.

"Yeah, me too. I'm just glad we aren't going to a restaurant. It would be even more awkward if I had to pretend to eat something on this date."

"S-so it really is a date then?" You asked, a thin layer of pink on your face.

"N-not unless you want it to be! I-I mean, if you want it to be a d-date, then it's a date, but I don't want to pressure you for it to be one," he started rambling, pink tinting gray metal.

You grinned, imagining that the double date idea wasn't Winry's alone.

"Alphonse, I'd be happy to have it be a date," you cut off his rambling.

He stopped abruptly, and you stopped next to him.

"Y-you'd be okay with that?"

"Of course I would, you're adorkable," you quickly started walking again, not wanting him to see that your pink face had darkened to more of a red color.

Once you had arrived at the park, a blanket was set down on the grassy ground under a tree. The sky was a brilliant reddish color, soon to be followed by darker colors, you were certain.

Similar to the walk there, Edward and Winry sat a short distance away from you both. They were laughing and talking and, just like the journey there, were casting glances occasionally over at the pair of you.

"Sometimes I don't understand couples. They ask people on double dates and then treat the other couple like third wheels," you mumbled.

"Maybe they just wanted to just to get us together," Alphonse said after a few seconds of silent comprehension.

"Wh-what? W-Why would they want to do that?" You stuttered.

'Smooth, (Y/n). Real smooth.'

"Well, Ed said that I could use this to get experience so I could ask out the girl I like."

You were in the middle of taking a bite of a sandwich, but stopped suddenly as he said this.

"B-but, he didn't tell me that," he trailed off.

You hastily swallowed your food so you could speak.

"What? What didn't he tell you?"

"N-nevermind, it's nothing. I-I wouldn't want to have an audience while I'm telling you anyway," he said, glancing towards his older brother.

You followed his gaze in time to see Edward and Winry both hastily look away, attempting (and failing) to be nonchalant.

Looks like you weren't the only one who wasn't very discreet today.

***

On the walk back home, on which you noticed a pattern developing of where the two blondes would be in comparison to you and Alphonse, the sky had grown to a dark blueish-purple color, lined with stars.

The couple ahead of you seemed to lose interest in you two, eyes upward and hands pointing every once in a while. Al's eyes were upward, as well.

Yours, on the other hand, were not looking skyward at the moment. They were focused on one spot to the side of you.

Al's hand, swaying slightly, hung by his side, completely open and available for holding.

His words echoed in your head as you contemplated what to do.

'B-but, he didn't tell me that...'

Your eyes stayed focused on his hand.

'Please, please be what he was going to say have been 'He didn't tell me that my date was the girl I liked,'' you thought.

You hastily took hold of Al's hand and closed your fingers around it. You leaned you head slightly against his arm, creating a few clinks that made him turn to see what caused them.

You kept your eyes skyward now, but you could feel your face burning several degrees warmer than it usually did.

After a moment, Al's hand tightened a little around your grip. You smiled a little, looking up at his face now.

"Um, Alphonse, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now," you said, not paying attention to see if Edward and Winry were watching or not. You didn't really care at the moment, but there was always the possibility that they'd ruin the moment.

"I-I have something I've been meaning to tell you, too. W-would you mind if I went first?" He asked, barely above a whisper.

You nodded silently, smiling.

"W-well, when brother told me I was going on this date without telling me who my date was, I didn't want to go at first. I told him there was only one girl that I wanted to go on a date with, the one that I, the one I've fallen in love with. What he didn't tell me," he paused, taking a deep breath, even though it wasn't physically necessary. "What he didn't tell me, was that my date was the girl I loved."

Even though you were expecting similar words to what he had said, your face still rose in temperature again.

"I've just been to scared to tell you, with my condition and," he trailed off.

"Alphonse, I've been waiting to hear those words for a very, very long time now," you said, moving the hand not holding Al's and pulling his helmet down to your level. Without giving him time to react, you kissed him were his mouth would have been. The cold feel of the metal against your mouth didn't bother you in the slightest.

(A/N-Insert Frozen joke here.)

You stayed like that for several seconds, just letting it soak in. All your unsaid words seemed to express themselves in the simple act of putting your lips to his metallic face.

Pulling back, your (e/c) orbs opened to reveal a surprised Alphonse. Red glowing eyes were widened slightly.

"I felt the exact same way about this date when Winry forced me to come on it. I really didn't want come if it was anyone other than you. But, I'm really glad that it was you that I got to go out with. Even if it was as Team-Third-Wheel," you chuckled.

Al laughed with relief.

"I was so worried you would feel otherwise. It's such a relief to know the feeling's mutual."

"Now that that's all sorted out, do you want to stay up and look at the stars together when we get back to the house?" You asked, holding his hand once again.

"I can't exactly say I'm too tired, can I?"

You chuckled, both of you walking forward together, arms now swaying in rhythm.

Before you knew it, a suppressed squeal became audible ahead of you. When you and Alphonse looked, Winry was beaming at you, while Ed simply smirked at you two.

"They're lucky this date worked out. If it hadn't, Winry would have had to make sure to lock her bedroom door at night. And probably the windows too."

"You don't mean that, do you?" Al asked, slightly worried, slightly amused.

"Course not. But that doesn't mean I can't pretend to threaten her," you smirked.

Laughter echoed from him, a beautiful, lovely sound to you. A comfortable silence settled on the two of you after that.

After walking in silence for a few minutes, Alphonse piped up.

"I-I love you, (Y/n)," he said.

You looked at him, smiling and saying the words back that you've longed to say to him for so long.

"I love you too, Alphonse." 

(A/N- HEY LOOK I'M NOT DEAD! I just haven't been posting on here because I've been working on my ongoing Alphonse x Reader based on Beauty and the Beast (Two chapters left in that, by the way). And then I already have an idea for a different Alphonse x Reader, but I'm going to try to get at least a few chapters typed up before I post anything on here. That's all for now, thanks for reading! <3

PS. I officially want a T-shirt that says 'Team-Third-Wheel' on it now.)