Hello again. You know what I'd appreciate? REVIEWS. I only got three so far (but that number's probably gonna change by the time I post this chapter. ;) Pleeaaase? I'd really like to know how I did. Thanks for reading, anyway! Well, on with the story.

Chapter Three: Overpacked

"Wake up, brother." Edward did not stir. Despite his going to bed early, he was still in a pretty deep sleep. Alphonse continued shaking him softly, as if he were almost afraid to wake his older brother. He did tend to be cranky in the morning, he had learned by experience.

Ed suddenly frowned and muttered something Al couldn't understand, something that sounded vaguely like, "Gimmie back my tacos, damn you..." Al shook his head and would-be smiled.

"It's time to get up, brother." He began shaking him again, this time a bit harder than before, but only slightly. Ed reached down and scratched his butt abesntmindedly. He then stirred a bit in his sheets, then screamed, "I DIDN'T EAT THE PLASTIC FRUIT IN THE BOWL! I SWEAR! I WAS FRAMED!" He was throwing a temper tantrum in his dream-like state when Al decided to shake him violently.

"Wake up, brother!" Ed shot directly upward, panting. "Wha...? Where am I? Oh...just a dream..." he mumbled, still in a dream-like voice. He smiled as he said this and lay back down, apparently not aware of what was going on. He finally came to his senses when Al attempted to wake him yet again.

"Whaaaaaat...? What is it, Al?" Al took a deep breath to cool down his frustration, and calmly explained to Ed that if he didn't get up now and get ready, he was going to miss his train.

"But the sun isn't even up yet..." Ed complained, rubbing an eye and yawning.

"Your train leaves at six, and we're a far ways away from the station."

"Damn it all..." Ed muttered under his breath. He got out of bed slowly and grabbed his clothes. As he was putting them on, Al continued to explain things.

"You can stop for breakfast on the way; there's a coffee shop between here and the station. And the Colonel suggested that you be at the station by 5:45, so we better get going." Ed nodded and grabbed the suitcases that Al had packed for him. Al took hold of one of them, wanting to be of some help. "Cheer up, brother," he said as happily as he could.

Al was very desperate to lighten his brother's grim mood. He felt sorry for Ed having to travel alone with someone he hated so much. He personally had no problem with the Colonel, but he knew how angry he made his older brother, so he tried to avoid him as well.

The walk to the train station was very quiet, Ed scowling the whole way and shuffling his feet. And over all pretty much acting like a reluctant five-year-old. Al sighed.

"You know Ed, maybe you can take this time to get to know Roy and understand where he's coming from when you two argue. You know, he may be an all right person, if you'd just give him the chance..." He was cut off by his brother.

"Don't pull that crap on me, Al. The man's a jerk; I hate him. And I like hating him. I'm not trying to be anyone's friend on this mission. I just wanna get it done with." He paused for a moment. "But why'd they choose meeee!" he groaned rather dramatically.

"You knew what you were getting into when you joined the State Alchemists, brother. You said you didn't care being a dog of the military because you just wanted to find the philosopher's stone. Well, this is a part of what you got yourself into. So don't act like it's some kind of conspiracy." Ed slumped and didn't say another word until they reached the coffee shop. What's Al doing, lecturing me? And I'm supposed to be the big brother, he thought childishly.

When they entered the small shop, sweet aromas of assorted hot drinks and fresh-baked pastries filled the blonde one's nose. His spirits lifted, Ed smiled, and he made his way over to the selection of pastries. He had his hands up against the glass as he looked over the broad selection, and a drip of drool rolled part way down his chin before he realized it and wiped it off.

"Uh, I'll have a hot chocolate with whipped cream, and one of those, and one of those, and one of those..." he was indicating almost every pastry that was in his view, "...and one of those." Alphonse watched quietly in the background, rather scared. This breakfast couldn't be too healthy, and not to mention the sugar rush...

He almost felt sorry for Roy.

Ed payed for his large meal and sat down with all of it at the nearest table, nearly spilling his hot drink. He began digging into the mess of sweets, muttering a "Good!" or "Mmm!" every once in a while. Al was sitting next to him quietly, wanting to say something, but too afraid he might get a growl or a snarl in response. He knew better than to interrupt Ed while he was eating.

Half way through his fourth pastry, Ed groaned and clutched his stomach. "Oooohhhh... Hey Al, you wanna finish this for me, buddy?" He lifted his half-eaten sweet bun to Al's face and waved it there.

"Brother."

"Oh yeah. Man, I can't let it go to waste." He looked around, and, not coming up with anything better, wrapped it up in a napkin and shoved it in his pocket. "Maybe Roy'll eat it. Remind me to food poison it or something." He snickered.

They arrived at the train station about five minutes late, because of Ed's having to stop and go to the restroom on the way. Too much breakfast. The station was crowded with people, mostly families. This slightly depressed Ed and Al, but they had learned to get used to the fact that they were all they had. They were bumped into by many people, all in a hurry, most of them seemingly businessmen. Ed peered around through the mass of people.

"I don't see the Colonel. Could this be used as an excuse to skip out on the mission?" He put on a mock-thoughtful look, only to be answered by an "Ahem." from his brother. The kid really needed to learn to lighten up.

"But really, Al, where do you think he could be? He's probably somewhere real obvious, we just have to look harder." He glanced at his train ticket. "We should wait by the platform for him. He's probably there already."

It took them quite a while to find their train number, mostly due to the fact that Ed could barely see over the heads of all the tall people crowding everywhere. But Al finally pointed it out, and they pushed past the hordes of busy people to the platform.

No sign of Roy.

"5:45, sharp," said Ed in a deepened mock-Roy voice. "Geez, he can't even show up when he tells us to. And what gives him the right to decide everything, anyway? We're partners, aren't we?"

"I think it's better that he arranges everything, brother," Al said calmly with a little giggle. Ed glared at him and was about to reply, when they were interruped by a familiar shouting voice.

"SHIT." Ed glanced around quickly.

"Al, didn't that sound like...Roy?"

"I think so, brother. Let's go...I think the sound came from this direction." He pointed to where he heard the shout come from, and they pushed past people to find it. Small Edward was tossed this way and that in the middle of the crowd, while Al just plowed right through. And it was he who first saw what caused the shout.

Al had never been one to laugh at other peoples' expenses, but this... He burst out laughing, causing the panicked Ed to give him a wierd look. But then he looked to where his brother was looking.

A wide assortment of shirts, pants, socks and multicolored underpants littered the ground around an extremely frustrated State Alchemist. Beside him lay a suitcase that seemed to have burst open. Roy had tried to fit a lot in his suitcases...

Ed joined his brother in his shrieks of laughter, getting disgusted looks by the passerbys. Apparently they didn't share the same hatred for Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang. The Colonel looked up at the hysterical Elrics and glared.

"Just shut up and help me pick this shit UP," he demanded through clenched teeth. Roy was in too bad a mood and too tired to deal with this. Ed and Al walked over and grabbed handfuls of Roy's belongings, and once all three of them had armfuls of it, Ed asked, "And you expect us to do...what with these, exactly? You're not gonna try to fit it all back in your suitcase, are you?"

"What else is there to do, shrimp?" Roy remarked coldly. "You have an extra suitcase?"

"Well make yours into a bigger one, Einstein." Roy sighed, trying to seem annoyed with the older Elric, but anyone could tell that he was ashamed that he had not thought of that in the first place. He threw the clothes he was holding on the ground and took a piece of chalk out of his pocket (which he carried around conveniently, just in case.) He then drew a basic transmutation circle on the ground before them. Soon, there was a flash of light, and...tah dah! Bigger suitcase. Ed and Al instantly dropped the clothes they were holding and sat down at a nearby bench while Roy repacked.

The Colonel then walked over to the older Elric and gestured with his hand. "Well, let's get moving, shrimp! We're gonna miss our train!" Ed cringed as he heard the word "shrimp", but took what his brother said to heart and tried to exercise some tolerance. He bid good bye to his brother and followed Roy onto the train.

Hope you liked it. And once again, I stress, review. It makes me feel special inside. Kay?