Chapter 17: Sarah

After some time in silence, Alphonse and Sarah sat down while they waited, though neither of them really spoke. Suddenly, Alphonse looked at Sarah.

"Hey... I just realized something." Alphonse said. Sarah tilted her head as she looked towards Alphonse who started talking without warning. "Well, how to put it... Have either of us really come to grips with what our reality is?" Alphonse asked. Sarah went into contemplation for a moment.

"That's... A good question..." Sarah said lightly as she thought for a moment longer.

"We live in a different time than what we can remember. This time we won a battle indirectly, but what happens if we have to win directly? Can either of us kill something if the time comes?" Alphonse asked with deep contemplation.

"I... I'm not sure... I know that just thinking about it too hard is difficult, so I'm not sure about actually doing it, but when we first met, I was fully prepared, but that's because I didn't fully understand the implications of it." Sarah said.

"Yeah, kinda forgot about that for a while... But I agree. I know I can spare with someone, but... Actually fighting them? I've told you before, but... I don't think I can actually fight someone in an all-out fight..." Alphonse said. "remember the festival? When the sect war started? My body froze and I couldn't move it. It doesn't matter how many times you spar with others, it will never amount to much in a real fight if you can't move." Alphonse said with a solemn tone.

"I suppose... We should probably work our way up. Start with small things like hunting rabbits maybe? This way, we can get used to killing things and we can start to fix your freezing problem." Sarah offered a potential solution.

"Possible... It's a good solution to this issue, just a bit time-consuming. Though, I guess there aren't any exploits in real life, so we will just have to do that for now." Alphonse said.

{Have you forgotten about me?} Prism asked rhetorically.

'No, you're a cheat, that's different from an exploit.' Alphonse responded to Prism.

{Yes, I suppose you're right.} Prism said with a slight giggle.

"Hey. Sarah. What exactly... Do you find so interesting about me?" Alphonse asked. 'I don't know why, but I want to ask this... My judgment says this could end badly, but I want to know why someone would be interested in me for anything other than my ability to do martial arts.' Alphonse thought to himself.

"Why do you ask?" Sarah asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

"I just... I guess I don't understand why you wanted to keep talking to me back then, even when I just hid from the world and pushed everyone and everything away... Even now, I don't really understand why someone would willingly choose someone like me to spend any kind of time with unless it was to get something out of it." Alphonse said.

Sarah sighed. "I can't really get mad at you for asking something like that given everything that's happened in your past." Sarah said, though her annoyance was still visible. "At the very least, I think you know how much I like you, or I would hope so since I asked you out. Remember when I was teaching you to read?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, what does that have to-" Alphonse started but was swiftly interrupted.

"I'm getting there." Sarah said to Alphonse as she drew her legs closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Back then, I still had a bit of a grudge, but I knew it was wrong. Of course, I overcame it. but back then, what I realized I saw was a person who went through more than me and still decided to continue. I admire your strength. If it was me and all that happened to me... I can't imagine what would've happened." Sarah said with a slight shiver.

"You always decided to hide your emotions and the fact that you can means a lot to me, though I would prefer if you didn't hide them from me... You see, in this life and my last, I was always told I'm over-expressive, so to me, that was amazing. And that's just the initial things." Sarah said.

"You continued to amaze me in so many ways. The way you're always thinking in terms of what would be most efficient or the best route, I wish I could do that, but it's just not my primary way of thought. I think what's most amazing to me is the amount you're willing to give for those you care about... I won't into too much detail on the last one, but I think you know what I'm talking about. Alphonse. I want you to know, there is so much more to you than your ability to focus and train. So much more than you realize. So, when you ask why I keep coming back, I'm wondering why I wouldn't, and most of all, why would someone so amazing be willing to go out with me, even if only for one date." Sarah said with a light smile.

"I see..." Alphonse said. Alphonse cracked a light smile. "I guess we both don't realize how amazing we find each other then..." Alphonse said with a slight chuckle.

"Really? If you don't mind..." Sarah started.

"Sure." Alphonse said with a smile. "You may wear your emotions on your sleeve, but to me, that's quite brave. The reason I hide my own emotions is that I'm scared. I'm scared that people will leave me. I'm afraid of how people will think of me and constantly second guess myself. That's why I see you as brave when you let your emotions out like that." Alphonse said.

"And that was just my initial observation when we first started talking a somewhat decent amount. And, although at times you can seem a little clumsy or illogical, I know that you always have useful insight and see variables that I don't. Plus, there is more than just logical intelligence. I really admire the fact that you can understand other people and the way you're able to just connect with them. I'm not even sure if you realize that you can just instantly connect with a lot of people that you meet." Alphonse continued on his train of thought.

"If I'm being honest... I think you're more intelligent than me in most areas. You always seem to understand your own emotions as well as others and you always seem to know when you should and shouldn't say something. You've caught me on that quite a few times. I'm lucky to have someone like you in my life. I truly admire your bravery and strength." Alphonse wrapped up his statement.

Sarah giggled a little. "I guess we really are our worse critics, aren't we?" Sarah asked.

"I suppose so." Alphonse said with a light smile. "Today's been quite reflective..." Alphonse mumbled.

Suddenly, Sarah leaned over onto Alphonse's should. "I'm gonna stay here a while, okay?" Sarah asked though she seems to have already decided.

"Yeah." Alphonse said lightly.