Disclaimer: I do not own FMA: Brotherhood. This chapter has not been changed (except her thoughts) due to its originality of its creator, AnimeAvarice. The credit for this story and the first three chapters goes to her.
Chapter 1: Packing for Central
"Chris." A girl with light blonde hair and blue eyes poked a boy, sound asleep on his desk. "Chris." she poked him again, and got only more snoozing. Fed up, she yelled at the top of her lungs, "CHRISTOPHER MAES ELRIC, WAKE UP OR I'LL TURN YOU INTO A WALRUS!" "Ahhhhh!" Chris woke up with a jump and toppled out of his chair. "Erin! What are you doing?!" he turned and glared at his sister. His dark blond hair hung in his face over golden, smoldering eyes. "Hmph! You were the one sleeping in class." Erin loomed over her brother. He stood up to return her glare, but at 4'9, he wasn't very intimidating. "Hey, guys?" A kid with straight black hair and golden eyes walked over. "What's up, Alex?" Alex shifted shyly, not wanting to get involved with the siblings argument. "Our folks are gonna be mad if we're late again..." Suddenly, Chris whirled around and blasted out the door, the other two following him. "Chris! What's going on?" Erin called from behind him. Turning his head, Chris replied, "I forgot! Dad's gonna take us to Central first thing tomorrow!" The other two grinned. "It'll be great to see everyone again!" said Alex. "Yeah! It's been way too long since we saw Elicia and Salim!" laughed Erin.
Coming up the path, the Elric house broke across the horizon. In front of it were two men, both with dark blond hair, though one slightly darker than the other, and matching golden eyes. To the right of them were two women, one with light blond hair and blue eyes, the other with black hair in two long braids and black eyes. Chris waved as the adults came into sight. Panting, the three reached the front of the house. "We're still going, right dad?" asked Chris. The taller man smiled. "You bet we are!" The two laughed identically. The blond woman shook her head. "Honestly Edward. You two couldn't be more alike if you tried." Edward smiled, "Oh, you mean like you and Erin? You know what they say: like parent, like child." Winry smiled. Beside them, Mei ruffled Alex's black hair. "You're a mix of us two, Alex." she said, referring to his black hair and gold eyes. "Yeah, Alex looks like a bumblebee." said Chris, to which they all laughed.
As the sun began to set, Alphonse, Mei and Alex waved goodbye to Edward's family and set off down the street. Turning to his own kids, Edward said, "You two had better pack now. We leave first thing tomorrow." And with that, the siblings went dashing into the house and shoving up the stairs. Winry smiled. "They remind me of you." Ed laughed. "Nah, the way I see it, their both gear-heads, just like their mom."