Ed thought he'd never seen so many cats in his life. He scowled at the large... what did you call a group of cats? A flock? A herd? Whatever you called it, it was outside his window. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, turning to frown at Al. "This is your fault, you know."

Al pouted a bit, ducking his head. "But... she needed a home!"

'Yeah,' Ed thought, 'but why did it have to be ours?' "I know you wanted to help her out, but now there's a whole... herd of tomcats out there, yowling their stupid heads off."

Cocking his head at Ed, Al blinked cutely. Ed loved the way Al looked when he was confused. "I don't think you call it a herd when it's cats, niisan."

Pursing his lips, Ed shook his head. "I don't care what it's called. They're making way too much noise, and I don't think our new neighbors appreciate it." Ed turned to look back out the window, wincing and waving as one of the neighborhood women walked by, scowling at him from the sidewalk. "We're trying to blend in, you know. This is Germany, and we already stick out-"

"But only one of them is mine, niisan!" Al said, picking up the little female cat and cuddling it to his chest. "They just want..." he blushed, trailing off.

"Yeah, I know, it's mating season." Ed rolled his eyes. "You'd think there's no other female cats around! Go away, bother someone else!" Ed yelled at them, eliciting a few hisses from the other side of the glass.

"Niisan, it's not their fault!" Al said, pouting more, nuzzling his face into the cat's fur. "She is a very very pretty cat."

Ed scowled, sitting on the sofa and shaking his head. "I guess all we can do is ride it out. They'll get bored of this in a few hours," he mumbled, hoping he was right. He wasn't sure how long cats stayed in heat... was it a day? More? Oh god, he hoped it wasn't more.

"Can't I just let her out? Maybe one of them is her boyfriend! Maybe-" Al began, looking hopeful.

"They're not her boyfriends! They're just perverts trying to get a little! Anyway, we're NOT having kittens. No way." Ed folded his arms, trying to look firm.

"But niisan, kittiens are so-"

"Noisy, messy, loud, and expensive!" Ed finished for him, nodding his head firmly. "Anyway, look at how many there are! Wouldn't you be scared if that many guys were coming after you?!"

Al blushed and ducked his head, then nodded. "Niisan is scary enough on his own," Al mumbled, and Ed could swear he could see a small grin on Al's face.

"What was that?!" Ed asked, glaring at his brother.

"Nothing, niisan!" Al smiled at him and cuddled his cat again, who lay limp in his arms, purring loudly. Ed didn't know how he did it, the stupid thing HATED him.

"At least she's not pregnant. We can wait out a few yowling tomcats, I guess," Ed mumbled, waving sheepishly at another neighbor who walked by, frowning at their house in disgust.

One week later, the cat's stomach had swollen in an obvious sign of pregnancy, and Al had smiled innocently when Ed asked if he'd let her out. "Of course not, niisan! She must have snuck out when I wasn't looking!" Ed never did believe him.