Ed was awoken at the sound of Al getting up and walking across the floor. The rays of light emitted from the orange morning sun sifted through the slightly open window. A cool breeze occasionally drifted through, tickling the bare skin of Ed's left arm. The air was still pleasantly warm for November, however. Ed pushed the covers away from him and stretched with a deep yawn. He set up and glanced out the window. Below, the bustling streets of a small Eastern city sprawled out before him. This was just one of the many pit stops they had made on the way back to Resembool. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, they knew they would have to make it back home, or otherwise face the malicious wrath of Winry. Ed smiled at the thought of Winry's face. It had been months since they had last contacted each other, and even longer since they had met in person. Ed regretted these long stretches without her, but he knew that she understood his reasoning for keeping few personal connections.
"Good morning, brother," Al said. He was quietly rummaging through the books and notes in their suitcase.
"Morning, Al," Ed responded. He got up and his automail limbs creaked and groaned in protest of resumed movement. He knew that Winry would be upset at his general disregard for standard maintenance procedures. He was more focused on keeping Al's armor from rusting up than he was on his own well-being. Ed flexed the automail, its various gears and belts popping loudly. He ambled over to Al. "What're you up to at this time of morning?" he asked.
"I'm looking for our alchehestrey notes… I had an idea. I thought maybe we could find some flesh regeneration concepts in them. I was thinking all night that if we could find the correct equation, we might be able to regenerate your flesh through alchehestrey!" Al said excitedly.
"Al, even if we did discover this equation, it still wouldn't make up for the fact that our flesh is still on the other side of the Portal. Science has proven that it would have to be our own flesh regenerating, which means we still have to regain it from The Truth. Plus, our skills rely on Amestrian alchemy, not Xingese alchehestrey. We would never have the talent to pull it off correctly," Ed responded.
"Oh…." Al said, clearly let down that his plan would not work.
"I'm not saying that studying alchehestrey wouldn't be genuinely helpful, but it simply won't work to that extent," Ed continued.
"I thought it was a pretty good idea…." Al said morosely.
"Aw, c'mon, Al! Think about it. Thanksgiving is but a mere two days away! It won't be long before we get to see Winry and Granny again. You should look forward to it!" Ed said with a cheerful tone.
Al perked up. "Home…." he muttered.
"That's right! The old shop, Den… all those wonderful things we've missed so dearly!" Ed exclaimed.
"Could we go and see mother's grave…?" Al asked cautiously.
"Of course, Al. Anything you want," Ed said with a smile. "But! You have to promise me one thing. Do NOT mention any of our hardships until after we leave Resembool, okay?"
"Okay, brother," Al said with a hint of joy in his voice.
"In fact, let's make a resolve. No more stops, no more hotels. Let's ride straight from one train to the next until we reach Resembool," Ed boldly stated.
"Are you sure about that?" Al questioned.
"Absolutely! I've already asked the train attendant, and he said the express tickets would get us to Resembool the night before Thanksgiving," Ed responded.
Al stood up and hugged Ed. "Then it's a deal, brother," Al said happily. Ed chuckled. "Do you think that we should tell Winry that we're coming home?" Al asked.
"Nah, I think we'll just let it be a surprise…."