Disclaimer:

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of Arakawa's characters or ideas. The only thing I claim is my original character Anita and the plot of this story.

Summary

When Al accidentally uses alchemy in German restaurant, he is pegged as a "Miracle Man." Most people adore him, but there is one group who want to use Al's ability to open The Gate and set their prophet free. Al refuses to help them, knowing that nothing good can come from The Gate. But the Elric brothers soon learn that nothing will keep this group from their beloved prophet.

March 3, 1925

"Al, why are we here?" Ed sighed, leaning on the arm of the worn leather chair he was sitting in and looking out of the window at the pouring rain. He and his younger brother, Alphonse, had decided to wait out the storm in their hotel. They were sitting in a secluded corner away from the busy front desk and crowded area at the other end of the room that served as a cafeteria. He could still taste the day old bagels he ate. It was what he got for sleeping in, but at least he didn't have to wash it down with milk.

"You were looking for inspiration for your new book," came Al's muffled reply. He was lying far back in a chair identical to his brother's with his feet propped up on a footstool and his tan coat draped over him like a blanket. With the rain had come cold and, being near a large window, it seeped in to greet the brothers with promises that they would be late for their train to Munich.

"Oh, yeah. If I had known that listening to Heiderich's advice to become a novelist would have me going to all these backwater towns with nothing but a backpack and a few hundred dollars, I would have never done it." Ed ranted. His expression and tone made it seem that he was angry, but Al knew he wasn't. Alfons Heiderich had been Edward's first friend in this new world.

"You took his advice to help pay for college because you won't let me get a job," Al pointed out. He sat up, letting his coat fall to the floor, and seemed to look across the room before getting up and walking towards the cafeteria. He picked something up from under a chair and brought it back, studying it intently.

"What'cha got there?" Ed asked as his brother returned, flipping through the pages. Al held it up to show him. It was a copy of his only published novel, "The Truth of Alchemy." It was a thick book, 648 pages thick, and had a black cover with a picture of a red stone under the title. He assumed that it was the cover artist's interpretation of the philosopher's stone. He didn't really care what was on the cover, he just hoped that he would make enough money off of it to keep him and Al afloat while he went to college studying engineering. He held out his hand for the book and Al gave it to him and picked up his coat in one movement.

"It's nice to know at least one person's reading it," he mused as he looked at the inside of the back cover. He saw himself sitting tall in a chair, hands folded in his lap with a frown of seriousness on his face. "I really should have made an effort to at least smile," he thought, "people probably think that I'm some kind of strict college professor who would jump at the chance to smack some kid's knuckles with a ruler."

"Hello," Al said. Ed looked up, wondering who he could be talking to. No one had bothered them since this morning when the room service lady barged into their room before Al had a chance to finish dressing. Ed smirked at the fleeting thought.

A young woman in a dark trench coat and conservative heels was standing near them looking very interested in shaking the water from her umbrella. After a few seconds she stopped suddenly and folded her hands behind her back, smiling weakly. Al grinned back warmly.

"I hate to bother you, but have either of you seen a book lying around? I misplaced it this morning and thought it might still be here." Ed looked at the book in his hands and held it out to her.

"Is this it?" he asked, holding it out. She nodded and reached for the book. Ed snatched her hand and she gasped and briefly tried to pull away before realizing that Ed wasn't going to let go.

"Brother!" Al scolded. She relaxed and allowed Ed to shake her hand. He let go and gave her the book, smiling apologetically.

"My name's Edward Elric .I couldn't help myself. I've never actually met someone who's read my book. What's your name?" She blushed deeply and pushed a stray bit of her long dark hair behind her ear.

"Anita Fairchild. I haven't read all of it, I'm only to the part where the alchemist, Edgar, and Albert, his suit of armor, investigate laboratory 5. I would have read it all, but I lost it." she shrugged, then started gesturing wildly, "I've never read anything so creative, I just got sucked in. The only reason I put it down was because I had to ea-" she was interrupted by a low growling noise. Ed smirked at his younger brother, who had his arms folded over his stomach to muffle the noise.

"Did you eat breakfast?" Ed asked him. Al smiled sheepishly and shook his head.

"I didn't think I could stomach those stale bagels after the room service, I'm starving," Ed threw his head back and laughed loudly, earning a confused look from Anita.

"I'm not surprised, you were in your underwear and she just barged in and started making the bed!" Ed finally managed to choke out through the laughter. Anita, understanding, started to giggle quietly. Al blushed from a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Ed calmed down, but still had a wide grin plastered on his face as he leaned back in his chair with his arms hanging over the sides.

"It's okay Al, I don't think she noticed you. Do you want to join us for lunch?" Ed asked, sitting up and facing Anita. She took a step back, surprised at the invitation.

"I can't, I don't have any money, and it would just be a burden for you," she looked down and rocked back and forth as she said this. Ed rolled his eyes and made a lazy shooing motion at her.

"What? You think I can't afford lunch for one fan of my writing? Authors aren't poor you know," Al gave him a look that said, "Yes, they are." Ed chose not to notice it and continued, "C'mon, It's my treat." Anita smiled widely.

"I guess if it's okay with you. Where do you want to go?"

"What do you think of apple pie?" Ed suggested, facing his little brother. Al beamed excitedly.

45 minutes later

"So do you live out here?" Ed asked, stabbing a fork deep into a generous helping of apple pie. It was lunch hour, so the restaurant was nothing short of crowded. The only spot available was a booth next to the large windows in the front wall of the establishment that gave a panoramic view of the street outside. Al was huddled in his coat, the rain still pelted the window on his right, chilling it to a cool fifty degrees. He kept switching the fork from hand to hand, tucking the one not in use into his sleeve to keep it warm. Ed and Anita sat opposite each other at the ends of the booth in an unconscious effort to seek warmth.

"No, I'm just passing through. I'm on my way to Munich, but my train doesn't leave 'til this evening." both brothers looked up at this.

"What a coincidence. We're on our way to Munich too, but the storm caused us to miss our train." Ed pulled two train tickets out of his coat pocket and checked his watch. "With the way the storm's going, we probably won't leave until tomorrow morning. Al, remind me to try and call the train station when we get back to the hotel." Al nodded and finished off his lunch. He pushed around the few crumbs left around in the leftover filling before deciding it wasn't worth the fight to get it on his fork and eat it. He flipped up his collar to better cover his neck and pulled his hands into his sleeves.

"What business do you have in Munich?" Anita asked, looking slightly entertained by Al's behavior.

"We live there. Brother and I rent an apartment. It's not the nicest place, but it's a roof over our heads. The only bad thing is that our landlord won't let us have pets," Al said. Ed looked at him strangely.

"Yeah, it's not just her that won't let you have pets. I won't either because you don't just bring home kittens anymore. On a rainy day like this, you'll bring home just about anything that moves. Remember when you brought home that snake and asked the Ms. Hoover if you could keep it? You scared her so bad that she almost kicked us out." Al glared, but Ed just waved it off. "Anita, what's in Munich for you?"

"I just got a new job there at the hospital, I'm not doing anything in particular yet, I'm just going to work wherever they need me," she said. Ed nodded and ate the last bit of his pie. The conversation died off and after a few minutes Anita pulled out her book and began reading.

"Tell me, what's your favorite part so far?" Ed asked in an attempt to get the conversation rolling again. He wasn't going to tell anybody, but he also secretly wanted to hear praise for his hard work that was hopefully going to get him through this year of college. Anita looked toward the ceiling as she thought.

"Hmm, I guess it would have to be the part where Wendy is kidnapped by Bernie the Chopper. It was so suspenseful. My heart was racing and I kept asking myself, 'Will Edgar be able to save her in time?' I was really scared." Ed could only smile. "I was really scared too. If only she knew that she reading an autobiography instead of a science fiction novel." He realized that Al had been quieter than usual and turned to see him drawing a small transmutation circle in the remains of his pie.

"You okay, Al? You're really quiet today." Al nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Talking about the book just reminds me of when we were kids." A waitress placed the bill on their table as she walked past. Al picked up his plate with both hands to pass it to the end of the table but stopped mid pass when a small blue glow rose from the transmutation circle he had drawn. People nearby turned at the crackling sound of the alchemic energy and watched in awe as a tiny piece of apple pie formed from the crumbs. Al dropped the plate to the table as if it had burned him and stared at it in shock. A short stocky man in the booth behind him clapped him on the back.

"My God, boy! I believe you've just performed a miracle!" he declared.

Author's Note:

This is the first chapter of my first fanfic so I would love to know what you think. I hope that you enjoyed reading this and will come back to read the next chapters. - Unnerved