A/N: When I got this prompt I thought: Awesome! I can go explore and talk about one of my favorite AlMay things: the fact that Al has to share May with Ling and I get to do all the angsty stuff!! I think I've known for a while that I actually wasn't going to do that considering A) I've talked about it in every story and B) I just got back from Disney and currently harbor zero angst in my teen body. So, I went with the cliché thing that most people go over: The AlMay wedding. A most talked about subject in the fandom that that I've always skirted around, mentioning but never really explaining. I also talk often about Al conforming to the Xingese culture...but wouldn't May bend a little too? So, May and Al explore each other's traditions throughout their wedding, and yes, their wedding night.
Warning: This is not a lemon, just a fluff.
Title: Tradition
Rating: T for insinuations.
I'd never thought I'd be here. That ten year old girl staring at the boy in the suit of armor, did she really believe she had a shot? I guess I always believed it, knew it deep down. That was just the nature of my naivety, I suppose. But standing here, in the Amestrian gown of white--not purple and pink to symbolize the Chang clan--here in a corridor of a church in the capitol city of Amestris: Central.
This was the only place we could get married. Al had lived with me for years, but we'd always skirted around Ling's hold on me, knowing deep down we could never be married, never be permitted to have children. We were supposed to be content with chaste kisses and glances, secret letters containing so much love my heart would break every time the Amestrian friend of Al's would sneak through my gate once a month, allowing me to read of his latest adventure in Central. Of those, and how much he missed and cared for me.
Until we begged and pleaded. Begged, and begged, until Ling had agreed. A gift for friends, as long as I would still bare his children. I hastily agreed, and knowing that nothing would come between me and my clan, Al reluctantly did so as well.
So here we were, Winry clutching my arm in her Amestrian blue dress, smiled down at me.
"How do I look?" I whispered, not looking at her.
She smiled, "Like the kind of girl Al always dreamed of," she whispered, squeezing my wrist. She took her place in front of me, my father coming to stand by me. Of course he'd taken some convincing. He wouldn't let Al into the house after he found out he was more than my student--more of a lover. It was my mother who had come to my aid.
"Let the girl live, darling," she had crowed. "She's in love, and it won't happen every dynasty. It won't interfere with the clan's chances of favoritism--you know how odd the Yao clan is, and he's given his blessing--"
"But--"
"She's in love, dear."
"Papa?" I asked softly. "I do love him, very, very much."
My mother stood beside him, clutching his arm. "Were we so different?"
I zoned back into life as I heard the piano start, and I noticed the processional moving in front of me. The crowd sighed as Elicia Hughes stepped out, a teenager now, poured petals down the row. Winry stepped out in front of me--one of two bridesmaids and Maid of Honor--followed by Riza Hawkeye, who'd only agreed to be a bridesmaid because Al had asked Roy to be up there with him, and there needed to be an equal amount (and we were all trying to set them up, but that's beside the point).
I walked down the isle to the monotonous song, reminding myself every so often to breathe in and out, and looking up, my heart stopped.
Al's usually tussled hair was slicked to the side, looking ever so adorably perfect in his tuxedo.
His eyes followed me as he broke out into his signature smile, breaking my heart as he did so. I felt water begin to collect behind my eyes, but I pushed it away. I couldn't cry--not yet.
My father took my hands, placing them into Al's hands.
Our vows were exchanged, so softly, it was almost as if they were just for each other to hear, and in a way, they were.
I was barely paying attention when the Unionist Minister said, "You may now kiss the bride." because my hands were already on Al's lapels, grasping him tightly to me as I forced our lips roughly together. He laughed against my lips as Ed whooped behind him, Winry giggling and no doubt rolling her eyes behind me.
"May--" Al mumbled, "There's more to weddings than the kissing part," he sighed, pushing me away. I put my hands on my hips. "Well, that's all I recall signing up for."
I kissed him again, and the preacher started dismissing the audience to the banquet hall across the street.
Pictures for the families, bridesmaids, and groomsmen commenced quickly. When it was Roy and Riza's turn, they both flushed, Riza glaring and Roy smirked as he was forced to put his hands on her hips. That was definitely hanging on my wall.
We all ran across the street, Al yelling at me to let him carry me, but I was sprinting through traffic, the big white dress pulled up to my hips, my lacy pantalets visible to all the motor vehicles that drove by.
We went through all the traditions, eating as a group the way Amestrians do, before Al and I went to cut the cake. I cut his slice as Winry had explained to me, and popped it on his plate. He raised his eyebrows as he cut my piece, before holding it for me to eat. I leaned forward, before he slammed it into my face. I leaned back and sputtered as our crowd cheered.
"Alphonse!" I screamed.
He laughed. "May, it's what you do at an Amestrian Wed--"
He couldn't finished before his cake was smashed into his whole face. He wiped his hand over his face, frosting everywhere. "Guess I deserved that," he chuckled, before reaching for me. "And my lovely wife deserves this!"
He kissed me all over, making sure to nuzzle my cheek, spreading the frosting. We cleaned each other up after we were done, Al reaching down to kiss the frosting off my nose, making me smile lightly.
We danced for a while, before things got even weirder. He told me to sit in a chair while a crowd of men gathered around us, women still watching from the table. Winry gave me a thumbs up, but before I knew it, Al was pushing up my skirt, yanking down my garter with his teeth. He winked at me before I yelped, trying to shove my skirt back down. He flung the garter with his teeth before coming up to fiercely kiss me. He didn't have to tell me between kisses before I whispered, "You Amestrians sure are weird."
"I didn't need to do it with my teeth, was the funny thing," he laughed. "Just a sudden burst of boldness."
He told me I had to throw the boquet at the women, not looking. It ended up with Riza, who wasn't even in the crowd to catch it. She glared at it as it sat in front of her, a disgruntled Roy Mustang sitting next to her. Winry gasped as she laughed.
"What was the point of that?" I asked her.
"Supposedly, whoever catches it, it means they'll be married next."
I smiled. "I really hope so."
"Hey, hey!" we all looked up to the short golden-haired man at the front of the room, clanging his knife against a Champaign glass. "I'm the best man, and it's my time right now, so everyone quiet and find a seat!"
I found my seat next to Al at the head of the room.
Ed smiled down at his younger brother. "Well, Al, ya did it. A Prince."
The whole crowd laughed, and a chuckled lightly, knowing my parents probably wouldn't be laughing, unless they knew how unbelievably ignorant Edward was.
"Al, I just wanna let you know, being your older brother was the best. Though, I do have to say, I miss the days when we were bachelors, eh? I mean, we didn't do anything really...I went off to Central...and you found a girlfriend--That's beside the point," he said as the crowd laughed again. "Look, I just wanna let you know that we're all so happy for you. I mean, my kids are finally happy I'm going to let them call that Xingese girl that's always on your arm 'Auntie May'. My beautiful wife and I, we couldn't be happier. Getting a younger sister is great too, and I'll know you'll take good care of him May." Edward raised his glass as I pretended I was crying, letting myself nuzzle closer to Al. "Welcome to our family, Princess. Congrats, Al. To the married couple!"
"To the married couple," the audience reiterated.
A few more dances, and suddenly couples were thinning until they were almost nonexistent. Ed and Winry held each other close, happy to be rid of the kids for the night. Riza leaned sleepily on Roy's shoulder as he nursed a whiskey, his dress jacket hanging around her shoulders.
"Ready to go?" Al whispered in my ear. I nodded gently.
"I though you'd never ask."
Al and I left that night to a less crowded part of Central, but a little more expensive. A hotel towering above us was our end destination. Al lifted me over the thresh hold, me still in my wedding dress. I suddenly didn't know what to say when I saw the bed, decorated with the common sighs of Xingese fertility.
"I, er, I looked up some of the Xingese Wedding night traditions, and I read about the 'Moving the Bed' ceremony. I know it's normally done with friends and family, and about three days before the wedding, and I know you have to have kids sleep on it and all that stuff, but I just could do this...I got a new bed and asked the hotel staff to help me put it in. I covered it with the roses and the blossoms and dates and all that, and I figured we could shift it, like you do in the traditions--"
I kissed Al. "Thank you," I whispered against his lips, but I left his side for the window. I threw it open, the wind blowing back stray strands of hair out of my 'something old and something blue' hair pins.
"You know, you aren't the only one that did research," I said coyly. "I talked to Winry about a lot of this day, and I'm still really confused but..." I turned around, "Men normally...they traditionally take their wife on the first night, don't they?"
Al colored. "If you don't want to--"
"I never said that," I whispered, leaning against the window frame, turning away from him again. "In Xing, the bride doesn't spend the night with her husband in the room. She sleeps alone, and in the morning, goes to pray. She is accepted in her husband's house the next morning as a family member. She then goes two weeks later back to her own home, being accepted among her family as a guest." I giggled. "We're lucky if we get to sleep together in the first month."
I didn't say anything before I moved my hair away, bringing it toward my face, exposing the back of my dress and all of it's tiny buttons to Alphonse.
"Amestris is funny," I breathed, his fingers brushed down my back, making quick work of it. "But whose to say I didn't like it?"
My dress fell to the floor. Al turned me around gingerly, his eyes only for my face, touching it gently as he kissed my forehead.
"I like this country's traditions."
Warning: This is not a lemon, just a fluff.
Title: Tradition
Rating: T for insinuations.
I'd never thought I'd be here. That ten year old girl staring at the boy in the suit of armor, did she really believe she had a shot? I guess I always believed it, knew it deep down. That was just the nature of my naivety, I suppose. But standing here, in the Amestrian gown of white--not purple and pink to symbolize the Chang clan--here in a corridor of a church in the capitol city of Amestris: Central.
This was the only place we could get married. Al had lived with me for years, but we'd always skirted around Ling's hold on me, knowing deep down we could never be married, never be permitted to have children. We were supposed to be content with chaste kisses and glances, secret letters containing so much love my heart would break every time the Amestrian friend of Al's would sneak through my gate once a month, allowing me to read of his latest adventure in Central. Of those, and how much he missed and cared for me.
Until we begged and pleaded. Begged, and begged, until Ling had agreed. A gift for friends, as long as I would still bare his children. I hastily agreed, and knowing that nothing would come between me and my clan, Al reluctantly did so as well.
So here we were, Winry clutching my arm in her Amestrian blue dress, smiled down at me.
"How do I look?" I whispered, not looking at her.
She smiled, "Like the kind of girl Al always dreamed of," she whispered, squeezing my wrist. She took her place in front of me, my father coming to stand by me. Of course he'd taken some convincing. He wouldn't let Al into the house after he found out he was more than my student--more of a lover. It was my mother who had come to my aid.
"Let the girl live, darling," she had crowed. "She's in love, and it won't happen every dynasty. It won't interfere with the clan's chances of favoritism--you know how odd the Yao clan is, and he's given his blessing--"
"But--"
"She's in love, dear."
"Papa?" I asked softly. "I do love him, very, very much."
My mother stood beside him, clutching his arm. "Were we so different?"
I zoned back into life as I heard the piano start, and I noticed the processional moving in front of me. The crowd sighed as Elicia Hughes stepped out, a teenager now, poured petals down the row. Winry stepped out in front of me--one of two bridesmaids and Maid of Honor--followed by Riza Hawkeye, who'd only agreed to be a bridesmaid because Al had asked Roy to be up there with him, and there needed to be an equal amount (and we were all trying to set them up, but that's beside the point).
I walked down the isle to the monotonous song, reminding myself every so often to breathe in and out, and looking up, my heart stopped.
Al's usually tussled hair was slicked to the side, looking ever so adorably perfect in his tuxedo.
His eyes followed me as he broke out into his signature smile, breaking my heart as he did so. I felt water begin to collect behind my eyes, but I pushed it away. I couldn't cry--not yet.
My father took my hands, placing them into Al's hands.
Our vows were exchanged, so softly, it was almost as if they were just for each other to hear, and in a way, they were.
I was barely paying attention when the Unionist Minister said, "You may now kiss the bride." because my hands were already on Al's lapels, grasping him tightly to me as I forced our lips roughly together. He laughed against my lips as Ed whooped behind him, Winry giggling and no doubt rolling her eyes behind me.
"May--" Al mumbled, "There's more to weddings than the kissing part," he sighed, pushing me away. I put my hands on my hips. "Well, that's all I recall signing up for."
I kissed him again, and the preacher started dismissing the audience to the banquet hall across the street.
Pictures for the families, bridesmaids, and groomsmen commenced quickly. When it was Roy and Riza's turn, they both flushed, Riza glaring and Roy smirked as he was forced to put his hands on her hips. That was definitely hanging on my wall.
We all ran across the street, Al yelling at me to let him carry me, but I was sprinting through traffic, the big white dress pulled up to my hips, my lacy pantalets visible to all the motor vehicles that drove by.
We went through all the traditions, eating as a group the way Amestrians do, before Al and I went to cut the cake. I cut his slice as Winry had explained to me, and popped it on his plate. He raised his eyebrows as he cut my piece, before holding it for me to eat. I leaned forward, before he slammed it into my face. I leaned back and sputtered as our crowd cheered.
"Alphonse!" I screamed.
He laughed. "May, it's what you do at an Amestrian Wed--"
He couldn't finished before his cake was smashed into his whole face. He wiped his hand over his face, frosting everywhere. "Guess I deserved that," he chuckled, before reaching for me. "And my lovely wife deserves this!"
He kissed me all over, making sure to nuzzle my cheek, spreading the frosting. We cleaned each other up after we were done, Al reaching down to kiss the frosting off my nose, making me smile lightly.
We danced for a while, before things got even weirder. He told me to sit in a chair while a crowd of men gathered around us, women still watching from the table. Winry gave me a thumbs up, but before I knew it, Al was pushing up my skirt, yanking down my garter with his teeth. He winked at me before I yelped, trying to shove my skirt back down. He flung the garter with his teeth before coming up to fiercely kiss me. He didn't have to tell me between kisses before I whispered, "You Amestrians sure are weird."
"I didn't need to do it with my teeth, was the funny thing," he laughed. "Just a sudden burst of boldness."
He told me I had to throw the boquet at the women, not looking. It ended up with Riza, who wasn't even in the crowd to catch it. She glared at it as it sat in front of her, a disgruntled Roy Mustang sitting next to her. Winry gasped as she laughed.
"What was the point of that?" I asked her.
"Supposedly, whoever catches it, it means they'll be married next."
I smiled. "I really hope so."
"Hey, hey!" we all looked up to the short golden-haired man at the front of the room, clanging his knife against a Champaign glass. "I'm the best man, and it's my time right now, so everyone quiet and find a seat!"
I found my seat next to Al at the head of the room.
Ed smiled down at his younger brother. "Well, Al, ya did it. A Prince."
The whole crowd laughed, and a chuckled lightly, knowing my parents probably wouldn't be laughing, unless they knew how unbelievably ignorant Edward was.
"Al, I just wanna let you know, being your older brother was the best. Though, I do have to say, I miss the days when we were bachelors, eh? I mean, we didn't do anything really...I went off to Central...and you found a girlfriend--That's beside the point," he said as the crowd laughed again. "Look, I just wanna let you know that we're all so happy for you. I mean, my kids are finally happy I'm going to let them call that Xingese girl that's always on your arm 'Auntie May'. My beautiful wife and I, we couldn't be happier. Getting a younger sister is great too, and I'll know you'll take good care of him May." Edward raised his glass as I pretended I was crying, letting myself nuzzle closer to Al. "Welcome to our family, Princess. Congrats, Al. To the married couple!"
"To the married couple," the audience reiterated.
A few more dances, and suddenly couples were thinning until they were almost nonexistent. Ed and Winry held each other close, happy to be rid of the kids for the night. Riza leaned sleepily on Roy's shoulder as he nursed a whiskey, his dress jacket hanging around her shoulders.
"Ready to go?" Al whispered in my ear. I nodded gently.
"I though you'd never ask."
Al and I left that night to a less crowded part of Central, but a little more expensive. A hotel towering above us was our end destination. Al lifted me over the thresh hold, me still in my wedding dress. I suddenly didn't know what to say when I saw the bed, decorated with the common sighs of Xingese fertility.
"I, er, I looked up some of the Xingese Wedding night traditions, and I read about the 'Moving the Bed' ceremony. I know it's normally done with friends and family, and about three days before the wedding, and I know you have to have kids sleep on it and all that stuff, but I just could do this...I got a new bed and asked the hotel staff to help me put it in. I covered it with the roses and the blossoms and dates and all that, and I figured we could shift it, like you do in the traditions--"
I kissed Al. "Thank you," I whispered against his lips, but I left his side for the window. I threw it open, the wind blowing back stray strands of hair out of my 'something old and something blue' hair pins.
"You know, you aren't the only one that did research," I said coyly. "I talked to Winry about a lot of this day, and I'm still really confused but..." I turned around, "Men normally...they traditionally take their wife on the first night, don't they?"
Al colored. "If you don't want to--"
"I never said that," I whispered, leaning against the window frame, turning away from him again. "In Xing, the bride doesn't spend the night with her husband in the room. She sleeps alone, and in the morning, goes to pray. She is accepted in her husband's house the next morning as a family member. She then goes two weeks later back to her own home, being accepted among her family as a guest." I giggled. "We're lucky if we get to sleep together in the first month."
I didn't say anything before I moved my hair away, bringing it toward my face, exposing the back of my dress and all of it's tiny buttons to Alphonse.
"Amestris is funny," I breathed, his fingers brushed down my back, making quick work of it. "But whose to say I didn't like it?"
My dress fell to the floor. Al turned me around gingerly, his eyes only for my face, touching it gently as he kissed my forehead.
"I like this country's traditions."
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