They were on their way to Munich after just nearly diffusing the problem of the uranium bomb. The brothers had decided to take a break, and try to live a life for themselves. Noah had left them a few days before only uttering words of eventual future meetings.

Now only a few hours away from their destination, Ed was starting to get worked up again. He was never sure why he did it to himself. He finally the chance to relax, and he decided to ignore it like usual. Next to him Alphonse was snoring lightly. Pulling out his watch, which bitterly reminding him of his old one, Ed realized how late it was and attempted to join his sibling in slumber. He told himself that he would only close his eyes for a little while, but that was all it took for him to drift into dreamland.

A few hours later, the Elric brothers were violently jolted awake by the halt of forward motion. Quietly rousing, they cautiously made their way off the wagon they had unceremoniously, and unknown to the driver, hitched a ride on. Once they were out of hearing range, Alphonse spoke.

"Brother, where should we stay tonight? I mean, it's a little too late to check into a-"his pleas were cut off by his ever stubborn brother.

"Al, don't worry about it, I'll make it happen. I don't care if everywhere is closed. We'll find a place to stay. I have a plan…" Edward boldly stated this fact barely registering that he had no such thing.

Burdened by lack of sleep, the two brothers wandered down the lonely main street of the desolate town. When asked about his daring plan, Edward only shrugged his shoulders, signalling to his brother that he had never had one in the first place. Sighing, Alphonse could only follow Edward as they continued onwards.

Eventually, Edward managed to find one open Inn on the outskirts of the town. Well, it wasn't exactly open before Edward pounded on the door. Although his brash behaviour and demanding demeanour were the qualities that provided them with a room for the night, Alphonse couldn't help but wonder how Edward was related to him. Calmly following his fatigue stricken brother up the stairs, Alphonse couldn't help but analyze his appearance. Edward had shadows under his eyes that had been there long before the long night they had just had.

As they got ready for bed, Alphonse continued to watch his brother carefully. Edward pulled off his gloves, and then began to remove his coat. This process continued, and while Edward took off his shirt, Alphonse couldn't help but make a small, involuntary gasp at the sight of his brother's torso. Yes, Edward's skin was marled with countless scars and bruises from years of a battle hardened life, but Alphonse was more concerned with the fact that he could see this harshly abused being stretched further than it could manage. It was a well known fact between the two of them that they had little money to spare, but there at least was always enough food to eat. Thinking back, Alphonse couldn't remember a time when his brother had skipped a meal, so refusing to eat couldn't be the issue.

Still lost in thought, Alphonse was roused by Edward's inquisitive voice. "Alphonse, what's the matter with you? Don't you want to sleep at all tonight?"

This being said, Alphonse replied quickly with a soft, "Yes, goodnight brother." Not wanting to arouse suspicion, Alphonse quickly lay down and pretended to sleep, avoiding any further conversation.

This however only managed to make Edward frown, but all thoughts of confusion were lost as he once again let his mind drift into unconsciousness.