Roy stepped off the platform that linked the station to the train, rubbing his back as it stretched in protest. "Honestly who even designed the seats on that train?" He grumbled to himself. A familiar hand reached his shoulder, laying there in a comfortable grasp that signaled sympathy.

"I don't know Roy, but at least it's something to sit on." Roy turned around and found himself staring right into a set of grey eyes. He calmly took her hand off his shoulder and held it gently in his own.

"You know, I'm still pretty confused about why your father sent me here, Riza." He said with questioning tone. "I'm not sure what learning the essentials of Flame alchemy have to do with visiting a small town." Riza caught the tone in his voice and smiled quietly to herself, looking away from Mustang.

"My father has an acquaintance here. Not sure what he looks like, but I can ask around." Riza said. She suddenly gave a small 'oh!' and she pointed farther down from where they were standing. "Roy look." She said in a soft tone. Roy followed the direction she was pointing at, not sure what she was intent on. She lifted her hand a fraction of where it was.

"That baby over there. He's looking at you." Roy glanced up higher to see what she was talking about. At a woman's shoulder, the infant that Riza had pointed out was draping one of his arms casually over it, his golden eyes scanning Roy's face. Roy stared back in awe.

Never before had he seen an eye color like that. As he was staring at his eyes, he also noticed that the boy's hair wasn't all that similar to any other person he had met. The style didn't matter to him, but the color... it could be said that it was almost straw-spun-gold. The staring contest was broken when the infant moved his arm a bit, closer to the woman's neck, presumably his mother.

Roy supplied some hasty laughter to wash away the shock. "Really now?" He asked Riza. He turned back to the young child and waved at him with a smile. "Hey little guy!" The boy's eyes seemed to grow wider as he realized that he was being spoken to, then his eyes lowered into an uninterested stare and he raised his arm to form some gesture.

He flipped Roy off.

The mother glanced at her son after he lowered his arm, speaking in a small tone in which Roy or Riza couldn't hear what she said. The boy's uninterested gaze filled with joy as he let out a squeal of laughter. The mother turned to the man behind her, also speaking to him in a quiet tone. In his shock, Roy failed to notice the man's golden hair, as they walked away from the station.

The two young adults stood on the platform in shock.

"Did...did he just?"

"He did, Roy."

After asking around for a couple of minutes for a man named Hoenheim, Roy and Riza were finally at the front door of and averaged sized house, fairly secluded from the nearest neighbor. Roy knocked on the door, hoping to understand the exact purpose of that visit when he heard something scratching against the door.

"No Al, that's not good." Said a muffled voice from the inside. A coo was heard from the other side before the door opened to reveal the woman from the station, holding a baby younger than the one he'd seen before. "Yes?"

Roy shook his head. "I'm looking for Hoenheim? I'm a pupil of Berthold Hawkeye." The door opened wider and she moved aside.

"Oh, yes. Please come in." She said. She ushered both of them through the door, showing them into the kitchen where they could wait. She walked out, holding her cooing baby in her arms.

"Hoenheim dear. You have visitors." Riza and Roy turned to each other when they heard rustling.

"Here, go play with your brother." The side door opened and the man Roy could only deem as "Hoenheim" stepped into the kitchen, holding a small box. He sat down, placing the box as close to Roy as possible, gesturing for him to take it. Roy leaned forward, gabbing the box and sliding towards himself, stopping midway when he spotted to figures leaning through the kitchen doorway.

Both the baby he saw in the doorway and the boy he saw at the station were staring inside with an unknown form of curiosity Mustang didn't know. The oldest boy looked around the kitchen and caught Roy's eyes, his own widening in a blush. He grabbed "Al" as he was called and ran out of the doorway, practically dragging his squealing brother all the way.

"Their names are Edward and Alphonse." Hoenheim said. Roy looked up his master's acquaintance and chuckled nervously. "Yeah I've seen him at the station." He opened the box with nimble fingers and pulled out the objects inside. He could absolutely say he was confused to find that his hand came back up with a set of white gloves. Looking inside, Roy found more gloves, all the same, ghastly white.

"They're a special type." Hoenheim supplied. "You add the circle onto the surface. You'll find out the rest."

Roy stared back in surprise. "That's all you have to tell me? But-"

"You'll understand when the time comes. I'm sure of it."

Roy stared down at the white gloves inside the box, and placed the ones in his hands inside as well. All three occupants stood up from their seats, walking towards the front door. As Hoeinheim opened the front door to his house, Roy stopped and faced the man his master had been so eager for him to meet.

"You know, earlier at the station, Edward flipped me off."

Hoenheim lips twitched into a smile, growing larger and larger until he began laughing entirely. "Did he then? Well I must apologize for my son's behavior. You see, he likes to people watch. Picking up habits from people here and then."

"So he makes rude gestures to people he doesn't like?" Riza asked. Hoenhiem shook his head.

"No, he's misinterpreted that for a welcoming gesture. With the whole uninterested face and all."

With that, Mustang smirked and turned towards the door walking out with Riza by his side. After purchasing their tickets for the ride back home, the two young adults boarded the train with a sense of ease. Riza turned to look at Roy.

"So, was this trip worth it?"

"I guess." Roy said. His memory flashed back to when Ed had flipped him off, and then when he had run away.

"It's good to know I had someone welcome me into Resembool."