New York
1952
Ed jumped to his left and got hit with Al's right hand. "Shit!" Ed exclaimed as he hit the ground and forced himself up. "When did you get so good? I can't even get a punch in." Ed asked after being blocked.
Al chuckled and said, "You never could because you were always so short. Besides, I trained with sensei after you left. You remember her old saying, 'In order to train the mind, you must first train the body.'"
"Yeah, I know. HEY! Who are you calling so short that he would get eaten if sitting on a grain of rice?!" Ed said as he tried and failed to block Al's side kick.
"Brother! I didn't say that!" Al said, trying to redeem himself. He blocked one of Ed's fakes and got nailed in the stomach.
"Come on Al, I'm tired. Besides, our train arrives in half an hour anyway." Ed said, wiping sweat off his forehead. He had never seen a train station so forsaken. He picked up his bag and went over to a bench.
Al sat down beside him, hoping they were in the right station. There were a few vendors that said they didn't mind if they sparred a little and were quite interested in the young boys' fighting. They gave a little applause as they sat down and went back to reading or whatever they were doing before.
Ed stretched his legs out and told Al to wake him when the train arrived. Al said okay and sat wondering what he should do. He looked down at the floor and found a piece of chalk that a child must've been playing with. There was already graffiti in spray paint everywhere, what would a little chalk hurt? Al climbed off the bench and sat on his knees.
He rolled the piece of chalk in his hand uneasily. He knew what was about to happen. Nothing. Ed had described over and over that alchemy didn't work on this side of the gate and that it was futile to try. Instead, they should concentrate their energy on adapting to their surroundings and finding a way to fit into the new world. It was hard to see all the familiar faces of their friends and not think about home, even just a little.
He started with a simple circle and slowly put different designs in it. A bead of blood fell down Al's arm and onto the array. He must've hurt himself when they were sparring. Al sat looking at the long forgotten transmutation circle. He had unintentionally created the one they had used when they tried to bring their mom back to life. He squinted at the memories of his body in the gate. He would never tell his brother, but he remembers sitting in the gate for those years. He saw the faces of all who died and passed through, looking at him, not quite dead.
He looked at the dirty clock on the wall to check how long until the train came. 10 minutes. He knew that he should wake up his brother now, recognizing that his brother would take 5 minutes to actually acknowledge him and 5 more minutes to get his lazy ass off the bench. He looks at his brother, his chest rising and falling as he breathes. Breaths assuring that he is still alive and reminds him that they're together again. That they're both alive.
Placing his hands just above the array, he prays a silent prayer. He himself had stopped believing a while ago, just as his brother had, but maybe, with a little help- He placed his hand on the circle wanting to do something, anything, to get hope back. A little transmutation would be sufficient, even if it just moved a stone. He knew that if he were at home, that complicated of an array would do much more than move a stone. He thought he saw a faint light appear as the early train screeched into the train station but convinced himself that it was just the lights of the train.
They boarded the train just as the doors were closing. As usual, Ed took forever to wake up. When the train had left, one of the vendors who had watched Al draw went over to the bench. He looked down at a complicated circle and a small statue of the guy that had been sleeping on the bench.

Ed somehow managed to fall asleep again on the train. They were only going to Queens where they had found a cheap room that suited both of them. Ed worked in a restaurant where he could keep up to date with the latest information on the war. He wanted to make sure that no one else would try to open the gate. Any time he heard anything about Germany claiming to have a "special weapon" he became immediately interested. Al worked down the street selling papers, as he was not old enough to have a full-time job but also worked helping unload ships that came into the harbor.
Al looked out at the bleak city. It started to drizzle lightly and many passengers had their windows up creating a refreshing mist that hit Al in the face. He had forgotten how much he missed the rain. The warm spring air made him not mind the rain. He thought it was quite serene. Al tried to calm his mind. He wondered that if he could find a way to do alchemy, if he could just open the gate… he wanted to go home. He wanted to see Winry, transmute…for God's sake he just wanted to go home.
A small tear formed in his eye. He finally realized that every time he thought about this, he was just kidding himself. He wasn't sure that he could handle another failure so he thought about a plan that would work, no matter what. He would either be home, or he'd be dead. Either way, it was better than being here. This world was so sad, so poverty stricken, losing sight of what it meant to actually live life for what it was worth. He sat thinking the entire way home. Before their stop, he had half of a plan and a full mind of hope and will.