The train horn blared overhead; waking me from my nap. I managed a few blinks, staring at the blur in front of me. The moving blur-oh, no- that's not a blur anymore. The train is moving. I scratched the back of my head for a moment and felt my heart jump when I realized what I just said. THE TRAIN IS MOVING!
"No! Hold that TRAIN!" I bellowed, lifting myself from the ground as my backpack managed to wrap around my shoulder, whacking me in the back of the head. I knew I shouldn't have fallen asleep! I watched as the platform came closer to an end while I ran, my hands clasping together and bending my body to hit them against the cement. The spark of alchemy ignited, creating a curved cement pathway to the train's caboose as I ran across it. One hand giving the conductor and apologetic wave as I managed to jump the rail on the caboose, feet planting on solid ground. "I'm so sorry!" I yelled, putting my hand against my mouth and cupping to amplify my voice. I watched the realization and frustration on his face as I moved farther away.
I shoved my hair to the back of my head, pulling it into a fast braid as I maneuvered to the door and pushed it open with my hip. "I should really just get a car at this point. It's just more economically viable with all this travelling-" I pulled my bag from my shoulder, flinging it to the right of me as I moved into the frame of the car- "But then there's gas and insurance. and registration. Too bad you can't just transmute them." I blinked at the muffled screech when My bag landed, looking to my right. There was golden hair and red cloth squirming below it.
"What the HELL is in here? A ton of books?" The voice was male, probably around sixteen-oh hey as old as me-oh, no, I just hit him with my bag. I stared as his hand grabbed the bag, putting it between him and some armor next to him as he held his nose. Oh. there's blood.
"Oh, dear God I've broken your nose! Here, hold on! I have bandages!" I could feel the rush of adrenaline hit me as I moved to sit next to him, pulling the six books and throwing them onto his lap as I searched for my med kit. I could hear his faint "OOF" sound when they landed in his lap and clenched my teeth for a minute. I just assaulted him with books again.
"What the hell there really were books in there? Seriously?" His voice was ridden with disbelief as he moved a few of them to the floor.
"I am SO sorry. I just don't think about-not important!" I turned toward him as I pulled out my med kit, "It's okay I'm a doctor!" I reached my hand out towards him, and his head pulled back.
"Really?"
I snorted, "No, not really." The expression he gave me at that moment was tricky. I want to say disappointment, but also doubtful and annoyed. "I'm sorry, it just seemed like the thing to say."
"YEAH IF YOU'RE A DOCTOR!" There was that screeching yell once again. It gave every sign he was more annoyed than angry. I did manage to get his nose to stop bleeding, though.
"Okay, okay. Sorry. I got caught up in the moment. Sorry. Hold that." I grabbed his right hand, pulling it to his nose and placing his fingers on both sides on the gauze. "It'll stop hurting in a little bit." I gave an exasperated sigh, finally managing to look at him-but froze for a long second when he looked back at me. Whatever this was, my heart stopped because of it. His eyes were a golden hue, hair as yellow as the sun. He had a young face, around sixteen, but his eyes had a hint of something far older. He had seen more than you would think. I could tell. "Wowzah" I whispered quietly, feeling my body stiffen slightly. He was handsome. I could feel the heat rush to my cheeks when his cheeks flushed a slight pink.
"What's wowzah mean?" Said a smaller voice; maybe fifteen. I stared across the seat for a long minute, looking at the empty seat across from the golden-haired boy and myself. I know I heard it. The metal shifting behind me surprised me, and I pulled my body away from the armor, pushing against the side of the seat opposite of it. "The armor... spoke?"
The familiar grunt made me shift uncomfortably, realizing there was flesh, not seat beneath me. There was that heat in my cheeks. I could see him glance at me from the side of his face, his body stiffening as he grunted. "That's my brother. Can you please-"
"Oh god! Sorry!" I shifted myself off him, listening to the books thudding beneath us.
I stood up, moving myself a good two feet from the two. "So, this car was definitely not empty."
"Ya think?" I heard the golden haired one mutter under his breath, watching his eyes shift to me for a moment, then look away when I caught his gaze. His cheeks flushed again.
"Sorry. No one ever wants the back. I didn't realize a guy and a soul attached to a suit of armor would be in here." "not something you see everyday" I muttered quietly under my breath.
"Wait, you could tell that?" The golden-haired guy seemed genuinely surprised at that. I rubbed the back of my head, giving a faint laugh. "I mean, yeah." I lifted a finger to the books on the ground, pointing towards them. "Those are alchemy books, you know. I don't think I would be a decent Alchemist if I couldn't."
"Most people assume I'm just wearing this for-err-fun?" The younger one said, his voice was more boy-like than his brothers.
"I mean, that's kind of a weird assumption to make. Why would someone walk around with a suit of armor on, especially in summer? That'd be a metal death trap. It'd take-what- an hour to become completely dehydrated? And there's the metal factor. They would roast so quickly. I mean, I guess they did it way back in the day. It's not completely far off. But still. That must be iron. That's be way too hot for a person to withstand this day in age. Maybe if it was Aluminum it would be slightly less hot, I suppose." My finger fell onto my lips, my brows furrowing as I sat down on the seat across from them. "But to even get your body that way, it would require Human tran-yeah. Interesting, since your arm and leg are missing. Ah. alright. No further questions."
I stared up from the ground, staring at the two. The golden haired one had a more blanked out expression. His lip was curled slightly on one side in a grin, but he looked absolutely confused. "You didn't ask us...anything?"
"Oh, right. It's not my business anyways." I laughed nervously, kneeling to the ground to grab the books from my bag. "Everyone's got their own stuff. I don't want to be nosy. I picked up each book, stacking them into my arms. I blinked when a gloved white hand reached one out to me. I met his gaze, and his expression looked genuinely courteous, his eyes slightly closed from a smile.
"I'm not sure how you managed to figure out all of that from such a brief interaction, though."
I tilted my head to the side, smiling. "You seem like you would know exactly how."
"She's right. You do it the same way, Ed." The younger brother chimed in, and I looked from him to Ed.
"Ah, so it's Ed."
"Edward Elric. I'm the Full Metal Alchemist." His thumb crooked back towards himself. It indicated that this was a major thing, but I couldn't tell you who or what that meant. I don't keep track of that. "Oh, that's erm, that's cool." I glanced at the younger brother, who giggled quietly.
"I'm Alphonse. His younger brother!"
"FULL. Metal. Alchemist" I heard Ed say once more, and I looked back at him. I couldn't tell whether he thought I hadn't heard him or he was expecting better recognition.
"I feel like I should know what that means." I replied, shoving my books back into my backpack. It was as if he was shot when I said that. The thumb slowly fell, his lips twisting into a brief frown.
"It's his State Alchemist title."
"Oh! I see! Congratulations!" Whew. Awkward. "I'm really sorry I don't recognize it. I stay out of military business, for the most part." If they knew about what I've done, I would be in jail. "Well, it was really nice to meet you guys. I don't want to be a bother anymore. Sorry for hurting-your face." My hand made this strange motion around my face, trying to indicate his own face. "It's a very nice face. I'm sure it will he-" wait, did I just say that-oh god. "I mean, not like that. I just mean your hand-no, um, I'm just going to-" I felt for the handle behind me, locking in on the knob and pulling it open. "Bye!" It was almost like a sign as the train stopped, the horn blaring for a moment as I ran down the aisle. That was one of my top three most embarrassing moments of my life.
"Brother?" Alphonse said, watching as Ed stared at the door, hints of a smile on his lips. "Edward?" He said again, slightly louder. He watched Ed jump slightly, looking over to him.
"What?"
"Do you want to go find her?"
"Why would I do that, Al? That's ridiculous."
"I don't know, because you like her." Alphonse said, matter-of-fact. He watched his brother stiffen as he looked over at him, standing up.
"That is ridiculous. That woman is completely random and weird."
"Then why are you blushing?"
Edward stammered for a minute, shaking his head. "Shut up Al." He started to move his foot, but stopped short when his shoe kicked against something. He stared down, looking at a book on Alchemy. It was older, disheveled. Open and shut many times before. He bent down, picking it up and flipping it open. The front had a small picture, showing two other children, and the unmistakable red hair of the girl he had just met in between them.
"What's that?"
"She forgot one. It looks like she has siblings. He flipped the picture over, staring at the back.
"Why weren't they with her? She doesn't look like-"
"They're dead." Edward stared at the writing on the back of the photo. "We should return this to her."
"But Mustang will kill you if we don't show up in Central." Alphonse said, the realization soon washing over him as his brother lowered his head, his eyes giving a mischievous look as he peered over.
"Well, only if we don't show up."
"Oh brother."
"Yeah?" I leaned on the edge of the desk, staring at the older man in front of me with a heaved sigh.
"Okay. We have shared rooms left, so you 'll have someone room with you if needed. Do you have a preference?"
"Well, as long as they don't murder me in my sleep, not really." I chuckled to myself as he slid me a key, obviously not amused by my joke. Fine, fine.
"Good. This one is already occupied. How long are you planning to stay?"
"A few nights. The next train is in a few days for Central."
"Alright. Make sure you stop by Jean and Claudia's."
I turned away from the desk, waving my hand slightly. "I know, I know. They've mailed me like eight letters complaining about how I never visit."
"Really, though. You don't"
"Bah, says you." I replied, shifting the weight of the bag on my shoulder. This was, technically, my hometown. I had lived here with my two siblings for years. One was a blood sibling; the other, technically, we found hiding in an alleyway. His mother had passed, and he had no family. I walked towards the end of the hall, turning the key in the lock and opening the door.
"You!" The vaguely familiar screech yelled, an auto mail hand grabbing my wrist and yanking me into the room, causing me to nearly trip over myself.
