THREE DAYS LATER…

"WHO YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULD RIDE ON THE BACK OF A GRASSHOPPER?" Ed ranted on again for about the thirtieth time that day.

"You! Who else!" Erika yelled.

"Breeze Witch!"

"Short stuff!"

"Klutz!"

"Semi atomic Shrimp!"

"Lava head!"

Amy sweat dropped on the improvement of their insults. "What happened to 'Hot head' and 'Shrimp'?" Amy asked.

Al sighed as stared at the two partners bicker again, and again. And Again. "I think they're a little too hyper today…" Al said.

"WE ARE NOT HYPER AL!" Erika and Ed shouted in unison. Amy and Al sweat dropped.

"Eccentric maybe?" Amy asked hopefully. Al nodded.

"Eccentric definitely." Al agreed.

As usual, Ed and Erika were nose to nose bickering. All that gathered in the entire Curtis household was shouts and constant sounds of alchemy. Sig got used to it and whenever a passing customer asks what's the noise, he always replied the same thing: "That's normal." Like anything was normal for the life they lived in.

"Girly!" Ed shouted.

Amy's eyes widened as she sweat dropped. He used the mythical g-word around Erika. Al and Amy watched hopelessly as flames erupted from Erika as a growl made its way up her throat. Amy immediately ran to her sister looping her arms around her waist in efforts to hold her back form killing Edward.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING GIRLY ELRIC! MIND SAYING THAT TO MY FACE YOU MICRSCOPIC ANT!" Erika shouted thrashing in Amy's hold.

Ed's smirk vanished at the sight of her blow up. He grew an anger mark as Al ran over to constrict Ed of his movements. "WHO YOU CALLING AN ANT SO TINY, NOT EVEN GERMS SEE HIM?" Ed ranted.

"For the last time I did not say that!" Erika shouted.

"Whatever! You still called me short!" Ed shouted back.

Erika grew an anger mark. "Would you just shut up you little bean!"

"Air head!"

"Grasshopper!"

"Hot head!"

"Shrimp!"

Once again, they were nose to nose fighting. Al and Amy let go and decided to just let them ride it out because they figured it'd be best if they just get it all out before boarding the train.

ON THE TRAIN…

"Told you it was best to let them argue before the train!" Amy cheered as she watched Erika sleep soundly.

"What are you saying Ames?" Ed asked.

"Face it brother. You two would still be fighting at this moment unless you rode it out before we even got here." Al said.

"Hey!"

"Edward, if Erika wasn't sleeping, what would you two be doing?" Amy asked. Ed opened his mouth to retaliate but after thinking for a minute, he shut it as quickly as it had opened. "Exactly."

"Not my fault I have a hot head for a partner…" Ed grumbled.

"A hot head who was nice enough to bandage up your wounds from the fight with Scar." Al reminded him.

Ed's memory flashed to the fight with Scar.

FLASHBACK…

"Judgment for what? Protecting someone I freaking care about!" Erika shouted. Ed's eyes widened as his cheeks passed on the crimson color he was beginning to hate. "He's my partner and friend. I swear on my grave that I'll be damned before I let someone like you kill him in front of me."

FLASHBACK END…

Ed sat back in his seat as he gazed out the window watching all the scenery pass by in flying colors. She actually cared about him. She couldn't use alchemy, she couldn't inflict damage on Scar, she was rendered useless just as he had planned. But, even when she knew that there wasn't any possibility she could win, she put herself in harm's way to protect him. She knew fully well that she might have died if Scar had known she was a State Alchemist. But she just stood there in front of him, ready to die if necessary.

Ed looked around and found Amy asleep leaning on Alphonse. Al sat there reading a book completely absorbed in the words printed on the pages. A light snoring was heard and Ed shifted his gaze to the girl who sat across to him. There sat Erika asleep soundly with such a peaceful and angelic expression on her face. Ed smiled and pushed a stray strand of chestnut hair away from her face.

"Idiot." Edward said. "You could've gotten killed."

XoXo… Ed's POV …XoXo

Evans shifted in her sleep and rested her head on the window. Again, the lock of hair fell on her face. I sighed and ran my hand through my bangs. After all we went through, I'm surprised if she would ever stop attracting trouble. It all started with me saving her from an ambush of thugs. She gave me a place to stay and some food, and on top of that a job. I saved her from being captured, and I helped her put out the Chief of Police. We forgot each other, then were assigned as partners. A psycho maniac is our arch enemy and homunculi are after us. I sweat dropped. She sure knows how to get me tangled up in something I didn't sign up for.

XoXo… Regular POV …XoXo

"El…ric?" Erika mumbled.

"I'm here. What is it?" Ed asked.

Erika sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily. She looked over at Edward and blinked to get the rest of the sleep away from her.

"How long have I been out?" Erika asked.

"For about an hour." Ed replied. Erika yawned. "Look. If you're still sleepy. Go back to sleep."

"Heck no! Not after seeing that!" Erika said pointing at her younger sister who was sleeping on Al's lap. Luckily, there was a sweater underneath her head so she wouldn't bang her head against the metal. "Are you oblivious to their love now Elric?"

"They've got crushes. I can say that." Ed said as he leaned back.

"And so the princess falls in love with the suit of armor which has a boy's soul attached to it. And they shall live happily, ever, after. The end!" Erika cheered and broke out into a grin.

"What are you talking about princess?" Ed asked.

"Oh, you know what I mean!" Erika said. "Great. My little sister has a boyfriend before me. Next thing I know, she'll get married once he gets his body back."

"Wait. You've never had a boyfriend before?" Ed asked.

"I have, but he's a jerk." Erika hissed.

"If he's such a jerk, then why'd you go out with him?" Ed asked.

"He wasn't a jerk before. That is, until he cheated on me." Erika said as she rested her head on the palm of her hand.

"He cheated on you?" Ed asked. "With who?"

"A girl named Emalia. A nice suburban girl who lives on the far side of Ashwell." Erika replied lazily.

"So he cheated on you because…" Ed trailed off motioning for her to finish her story.

"I really don't know. I mean, I was a good girlfriend and all. I made him lunch, I gave him time to spend with his friends, I wasn't clingy, I didn't come crying every five minutes about something." Erika said. "He was just a jerk who stringed me on just to hook up with some other girl."

"How'd she look like?" Ed asked. Erika glanced over at him and gave him the 'really?' look. Ed shrugged. "I just wanna know."

Erika rolled her eyes and sighed. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked to the side. "She's your typical girl. Black eyes, dirty blond hair, and one of my old friends." Erika said. "I think I have a picture of her somewhere…" Erika said digging through her duffle bag.

She went past her clothes section and went to her three journals. The one Winry had given her, her song book, and her photo album. She picked up the leather bound book and skimmed through it. She soon came upon a picture in which a young girl with dirty blond hair and black eyes sat on the grass smiling towards the camera. She was wearing a white tank top and had a navy blue skirt. Erika plopped into the seat next to Edward and leaned next to him.

"Here she is. Emalia Richards." Erika said pointing to her picture.

"That's her?"

"That's her. The one Jay left me for." Erika said lazily and a glare. "I mean she's a cool girl. I just can't believe she forgave him for cheating on her."

"I don't get it. I mean you're way prettier than her so…" Ed stopped himself at the realization of his words.

He glanced in his partner's direction to find her smirking at his embarrassment and the new information she could make fun of him with. Ed's cheeks flushed as heat rose to his face engulfing him in total embarrassment. Butterflies filled his stomach for a reason he couldn't put his finger on as he began to speed up his heart rate. Erika's smirk grew in size as she saw the reaction from her partner.

"So…" Erika drawled out. "You think I'm pretty?"

"U-Uh…Um…" Ed mumbled stumbling over his words. "I-I…W-What I mean is…I-I didn't…"

"Sister?" Amy asked sitting up. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah. I'm here Ames. Need something?" Erika asked shifting her attention to her baby sister who just woke up.

"I think the train stopped." Amy said.

"We're already at Central?" Erika asked. "Guess we have to give the full report to Colonel Flame Head now. Great. Way to ruin a good mood." Erika said as she jumped off the train seat. She grabbed her duffle bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Well? Are you coming?"

"Uh…" Ed said as she tossed him his suit case. He caught it and then nodded. "Coming."

BN: Fluffiness for all y'all. Well, please don't forget to review! Well, until next chap! =:D