"So how did you get here then? If your world is in a different universe?"

Edward shrugged from his spot on the narrow bed.

"I honestly have no real idea. A couple a theories, but nothing concrete. What about you, how did you come to be here?"

"Dunno, I suspect it's something to do with this watch, though. I found it- Hey!"

Edward shot up on his bed to snatch the old pocket watch from the girl sitting beside him.

"This is mine, from…before."

She stared silently at him as he ran his fingers shakily across the inscription on the inside of the watch.

"Where did you find it?"

"It was just…sitting there. On my nightstand when I got back to my hotel room with my sister. I fell asleep studying it, I think. I-"

What ever else she was going say was cut off. Her lips kept moving but no sound was coming out, and even as Edward watched she faded away until all he had to remind him that she was real was the watch he had been awarded when he became a State Alchemist. His fist clenched around the warm metal, and he squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden onslaught of nostalgic tears.

'Alphonse.'

"But it wasn't just a dream!"

"Of course it was, Kody!"

Edward's recent companion glared at her twin sister.

"Then where's the watch?"

"What watch?"

"The watch I found a couple hours ago!"

"Oh, well, you must have dropped it, or something."

"My God, Amelie, you are so obnoxious!"

"Well, at least I'm grounded in the real world, Miakoda!"

Miakoda opened her mouth to respond when Amy's startled gasp cut her off. Twisting her body to see behind her, she locked eyes with a dumbstruck Edward Elric.

"Edward!"

Miakoda spun around and clambered over one of the narrow hotel beds before throwing her arms around Edward's neck and laughing. Edward staggered under and clasped his arms around Miakoda's waist, turning to land on the bed so they wouldn't get hurt, a blush staining his ears and cheeks.

Miakoda scooted up to straddle Edward, grinning over his shoulder at her sister.

"Told you he wasn't a dream."

Amy's mouth was still open in shock. Edward shifted Miakoda off of his lap, blush deepening.

"Hello."

He looked awkward and out of place. Amy decided to ignore her twin and just go back to sleep. Yes, sleep. Sleep would make this all make sense right?

Edward looked worried as he stared at Amy's retreating back.

"Was it something I said?"

Miakoda rolled her eyes with a mocking grin.

"Yes, Edward, my twin takes immediate offense to the word 'hello'."

Edward rolled his eyes at her and gave her a light shove.

"So, how did you pull me here?"

Kody gave him a serious look.

"But you see, I don't think I did. I think the watch is doing it. When we fall asleep."

"How did you know I'd fallen asleep?"

"Lucky guess. Anyways, when you fall asleep with it, you come to me. And when I fall asleep with it, I go to you. Any guesses why?"

Edward studied the watch in silence for several moments before lifting his head to lock eyes with Kody, dead serious.

"No, but I do know one thing."

"What's that?"

"That your twin is gonna have a hell of a time sleeping with us talking like this, so we're all gonna be really crabby until we can figure this out."

Kody burst out laughing. Amy bolted up in her bed to glare at her. Then, seeing Edward still there, Amy went pale, laid down, and covered her head with the sheet.

Kody's snickering continued. Edward cracked a smile and spread out on the bed.

"Hey!"

Kody accompanied the complaint with a light shove to Edward's side.

"That's my bed!"

"Not anymore!"

Edward's eyes were shining with laughter for the first time in who-knows-how-long. At least, it was the first time Kody had ever seen them lit up at all besides when he told her about Ametris. She grinned.

"Wanna bet?"

Kody snatched the watch from Edward's hand. He sat up, yelling soundlessly at her, all the while fading away while Kody waved her fingers at him cheekily. She then set the watch, shining now, Edward must have polished it, on the nightstand beside her bed, clicked off the lamp, and watch it glimmer in the starlight from the large window until she drifted into a dreamless slumber.

"-and another thing!"

Edward exhaled heavily as he solidified in his own room, Kody gone, voice returned. He glanced around in bewilderment. Shouldn't she be here? Wasn't it going to be an endless cycle of insomnia until a solution was found or homicide committed? Not that Edward minded, thank you very much. He was just curious as to why she wasn't-

"Unless, she didn't fall asleep holding the watch and that's what brings us together!"

Edward smiled in pleased amusement.

"Well, I'll be damned."

He went about his nighttime routine, having not meant to sleep before as he'd polished and contemplated his State Alchemist watch. And his last thought, before he drifted off into a sleep filled with homunculi, Alphonse, and home, was that Mustang and Winry would really have loved meeting that girl. And Teacher, too. Yeah, Teacher, too.