A/N: Yay! I was able to get it done earlier than I thought!Shorter and less eventful than I had hoped it to be, and probably not worth the week's wait,but there just wasn't a whole lot more I could put down for it. Iswear I'll make up for it in the next few chapters, I just couldn't resist this for some reason.The next chapter should be back in Munich with Ed, and I'll probably start alternating more between Amestris and Germany...I just need to come up with some more events for Munich. I've got plenty for Amestris, and something for the next Munich, but I'll come up with some more, don't worry!

Disclaimer: Still don't own FMA...but if I did, I'd make this entire fic a movie or episode or something! Unfortunately, I can't do that...

Chapter 4: Changes

Winry had been waiting at the train station for half an hour already, on the off chance that it came ahead of schedule. Of course, it wouldn't, if only because she had come early. She looked up at the clock above the bench she was sitting on and sighed. There were only ten minutes left until the scheduled arrival and she looked out at the deserted tracks, straining her eyes and ears for any sign of the train bearing her best friend.

It had been almost a year since Winry had seen Al, and she was looking forward to his visit. She hadn't been able to see him for his birthday since plenty of customers requested that she, rather than Dominique, work on their automails. She was amazed she'd gotten the time to get out and pick him up at the train station, but she had managed to convince a few of her more friendly customers to allow her instructor to help them so that she might have some time to spend with Al. She didn't know how long he'd be staying, but hopefully it would be for a while. He would be busy trying to find out things about his brother, of course. He wouldn't give up either. It was only a matter of time before he went off to Central to find the people his brother had worked with.

Winry frowned and looked up at the clear, blue sky. She'd tell him if she could, but as the two boys had always kept her in the dark about what they did, that wasn't going to work. She knew that Al thought everyone was trying to hide everything from him, but the truth was that no one he had encountered so far had the knowledge give satisfactory answers. Ed was the only one who could do that...And he was gone. The next closest person was Mustang, but she was almost convinced they had managed to hide things from him as well, and he wouldn't be able to give Al the full details either.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the welcoming sound of a train in the distance. She looked back up at the clock and smiled. 'Of course. Right on time.' She sat and watched as the train came into view, puffing smoke into the sky, and slowed to a stop in front of the station. Barely able to contain her excitement, Winry jumped to her feet and scanned the windows for any sign of her visitor. 'Aha!'

She had spotted Al's face turn from his window, and she raced to it, grinning as she did so. She stopped and watched him gather his things, still smiling, and just as he began to stand up, she rapped on the window with her knuckles.

---

Al found himself, once again, staring at the picture of him and his brother. Almost as though his brother would jump out of it if he stared at it hard enough. He didn't even notice that the train had stopped until Izumi came up to him and shook him lightly on the shoulder, bringing him out of his dream world where he had his brother back, he was the right age, and the two of them lived with Winry and Pinako just like they used to...

He glanced out of the window before putting the picture up in the suitcase sitting in the seat across from him. He grabbed a few other things he had taken out and stuffed them back into the suitcase as well. He didn't need that much and he'd probably just be travelling after this visit anyways, so there was no need to bring any more than he needed. He had helped out Izumi and Sig with their store, and earned some money for that. He'd been saving it for this so he didn't think expenses would be a problem. At least he hoped they wouldn't be.

With all his things finally packed back up, he picked up the suitcase and stood up. As he did so, he heard a tapping noise on the window. Al smiled when he turned around to see a familiar face beaming at him through the glass. He set the suitcase back down and opened the window the rest of the way.

"Hello, Winr--ugh!" Before he could finish the name, she had thrown her arms around his neck and half dragged him out of the window. When she kissed him on the cheek, he could feel himself start to turn red. 'No, Alphonse', he told himself. 'She's an adult now, you're just a teenager.' Unfortunately, this little reminder didn't make the burning feeling on his cheeks go away, but she ended up squeezing his neck tighter, enabling him to blame it on the fact that he could barely breathe. "W-Winry!" he managed to choke out, and she let go of him, beaming at his still slightly pink face.

"Al," Izumi called for him. "Quickly before the train leaves." Al grabbed his suitcase and waved at Winry before following his Sensei's voice. He couldn't help but lightly touch the spot on his cheek that Winry had kissed, and he grinned. 'For a welcoming like that I should go off more often,' he thought. 'No, that's horrible,' he chided himself as he stepped off the train and onto the platform.

He smiled as he noticed her waiting for him by a bench and started toward her. She hadn't really changed that much from the last time he'd seen her. Well, so maybe she did look more womanish than she had before, but that was about it. That and the fact that she clipped her hair up in the back now rather than put it in a ponytail. She hadn't changed much...just became an adult without him...

His face fell at this thought, but only momentarily. He forced his earlier smile back onto his face, only letting it fall again when Winry looked him up and down and narrowed her eyes at him. "Al," she said in a low voice that suggested danger. He froze in fear at the tone in her voice and the dark look on her face. Ah crap! He knew what was coming! It was how he had dressed! He was bringing back painful memories! She was going to kill him because--

"You're almost as tall as me now! You sure grew!" Her voice was now cheery and she had moved closer, using her hand to emphasize her point.

Al let out the breath he had been holding and looked up with a smile. "Yeah, almost." He noticed that the top of his head reached her eyes before she said, "I wonder what Ed would say if he saw you now. When he was sixteen, he just barely reached my shoulders, and you're only thirteen and almost as tall as me!" She giggled, and Al looked up at her in surprise. Winry never mentioned his big brother. And she definately never laughed about it afterwards. Maybe she had changed more than he thought.

He watched her even after she had left, giving him a small smile before she went to help Izumi with her bags, and more than likely start to talk about the automail maintenance she had done for Wrath.

"Al," Winry started as the three of them headed off down the road in the direction of the place they would be staying, "You'll have to tell me all about how your training has gone, and I'll tell you about mine!" At the look on her face Al knew exactly what she meant. She had promised to train and work harder to make the best automail. He had promised to come back safe and sound after his training and bring back his brother. He smiled and nodded his head. Sure, he still wasn't sure about what to do to bring Ed back, but he was pretty sure she hadn't been able to make the best automail this world has ever seen yet either, so, for the time being, neither of them was behind on their promise to the other. Even so, he hoped that that would change soon. He really wanted to fulfill his promise soon...

Sorry to anyone who may find the Al/Winry thing insulting (I once read a fic where the author didn't mind to throw in their hatred of the pairing...-shrugs-), and if any of you are reading this thing, I'll just let you know not to worry, it's not going to turn anything more,as far as I know there won't be any pairings. I just had to put that in there! And sorry for not putting a whole lot of dialogue in these so far, but I promise that people will start talking more after this chapter!

Hmmm...that elevator thing must have worked or something! Lol. I need to come up with more 'random attempts to get reviews' of the day! Sadly, I don't have another one prepared. Ah well...on to the reviewers! And more reviews will be welcomed as well:)

Moonglitter2: Thank you so much! I hopethat this one doesn't dissapoint you!

FMA Junkie: Wow! I'm glad to hear that you like it so much! Thank you!

Whoosh: Yeah, I've always thought he dressed up as Ed to get information. It just makes more sense to me. -shrugs- Anyways, thanks for the review!

Krylancelo: What happens was that Al was brought back, but he lost the 4yrs he spent as armor, and came back as a ten year old boy. hehe, and cool name, I had to make sure that I spelt it right:) Thanks for the review and I'm glad that you like it!