Despite the fact that I imagine that Almei spend a lot of time traveling together, I couldn't decide on a scene pertaining to it that I could actually write in a decent amount of time. Nevertheless, I somehow managed to get this thing out, even though i feel like it's not close to being my best work, doesn't have that great of an ending, and barely pertains to the prompt.
Disclaimer: Still don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.
The day it was announced that the desert rail would be open to transport passengers between Xing and Amestris, Alphonse and May each bought tickets to the West.
"Are you looking forward to going home?" asked May as they loaded their luggage on the racks overhead.
"Yeah! This is the longest I've been away from Brother my entire life, and it'll be good to see Winry again." Al smiled at the thought of his family. "Thanks again for agreeing to come with me."
"Well, I figured that after facing down Marauders in the plains of the far Eastern countries, a little trip to a country we were already familiar with wouldn't be too hard," May teased.
Al laughed. "I suppose not!" The Marauders were a reference to their last trip beyond Xing's boarders. A gang of nomadic raiders had attacked them in their sleep, and it had only been due to May's quixk thinking and Al's fighting and Alchemy skills that they had managed to get away unscathed.
May turned away, looking troubled. "I hate to spring this in you, but I have another reason for coming along." She pulled a letter out of her pocket. "Ling asked me to deliver this formal letter to the Fuhrer personally. I hope you don't mind, since it'll be a little out of the way."
Alphonse, on the other hand, looked ecstatic. "No problem! That just gives me an excuse to visit the Hughes and my other friends in Central. In fact, I could try to talk to General Mustang while we're in Ishval. He used to work directly under Grumman and would probably be able to introduce us! Or I could just ask Brother who else we know in Central Command."
"Huh." May blinked. "Is there any chance that Ling is aware of how well connected you and your brother are?"
Alphonse considered that for a few moments. "Well, he did meet Mustang when we were going after Gluttony, and if he has any memories of his time as Greed he should remember something about the big names in the military, and who knows what Ed told him when they were traveling together before the Promised Day."
"That explains it." May looked annoyed. "When I mentioned that I was traveling with you, he suddenly asked me to deliver this really important document and slyly hinted that I should be sure to make friends."
Al laughed at that. "Well, I do have several people I can introduce you to. Might already recognize some of them. Last I heard Dr. Marco was still practicing medicine in the hospital in Central."
"It'll be good to see him again," May admitted.
"We'll have to stop by Mrs. Hughes's place while we're there as well. Her Quiche is the absolute best!"
The corner of May's lip twitched. "Oh? Is it as good as those dumplings I made you in the Chang clan main house?"
Alphonse seemed to seriously consider that. "I suppose, but in a different way. Do you remember that spicy curry we had past the Southern border? It's like trying to compare between the dumplings and that."
"I'm just playing with you, Al," May assured him. "Is there any other foods we need to make sure to have while we're there?"
"Well, there's Winry's apple pie, we can't forget about that. If you don't mind going out of our way we could head down south to Dublith and have some of Teacher's seasoned steaks." Al was smiling, reminiscing about the foods of his home country.
"That might be a good idea. I've never really gotten a chance to meet your old Alchemy instructor," May admitted.
"Yeah! And there's also a kind of Flatbread they serve down there that's covered in tomato sauce and cheese."
May pursed her lips. "I don't know about that. It sounds kind of weird."
"Come on May, weren't you the one who convinced me to eat that weird fish pieces?"
"I still don't understand how you could have lived your life without eating tuna." May shook her head in amusement at the memory.
"Hey, Amestris is a completely landlocked country! The only reason why I've eaten fish at all was because of the lake my brother and I fished in as kids!"
"I guess that makes sense." May considered for a few minutes. "I guess if I want to consider myself a world traveler, I better get used to weird food."
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