The young blonde lay across the hard train bench. It would only be a few hours till he reached the station. He sighed as he stared at the hardwood ceiling of the train. This was his last few hours on the long journey to Risembol. He had taken a carriage to get to the edge of Xing. That alone had taken him about 16 hours not including stops for the horses to rest. Xing wasn't as advanced as Amestris, but it was much more eye pleasing than the industrial look of Amestris. Once he had arrived at the edge of the beautiful country, he was escorted across the desert with a bunch of other traveling foreigners. The trek across the desert was awfully exhausting. The fact that it was nighttime didn't help the heat, and he had been tired despite sleeping threw most of the carriage ride. The trek had taken about one and a half days to get through. Once he had arrived he had to walk to the nearest city on his own. Only to be informed the next train to Risembol was not due till the next day and he had to wait. When he had traveled to Xing he had been surrounded by familiar faces on the journey, and it seemed to go faster. But now he was all alone, he was left to dwell on his own thoughts.

He looked out the window watching the scenery pass by. The open fields of green and the dirt roads to his left looked awfully like home. If only time could go faster; he had been on this damned train for 3 days. Having the train stop at every stop was also annoying. His patience was surely tested here. He had always traveled with someone; that someone usually being his brother. He found himself re- reading his notes and research multiple times. To kill time, he slept, he mingled, he played cards, and he gazed outside. Even eating his meals slowly didn't make a difference. He knew there were only a few hours left, but the suspense was killing him. His face leaned against the window as he watched the now familiar scenery quickly go past him.

"I'll be there soon Ed." Al said to himself with a slight smirk.

"I'm coming home, and you better be ready."

Edward had arrived back at Risembol a few days prior till Al's arrival. He was welcomed home with open arms. He had never been so happy to be back. His mechanic, no, his fiancé had made a feast for his arrival. They enjoyed each other's company for the past few days. But now it was time to get down to business. Al had supposedly found something that could be a use to them in the alchemic category. And he also claimed he had partially mastered Alchehistory and he was comfortable enough to teach him. He wondered what his little brother was doing right now. Ed sat back in the kitchen chair and sighed. Winry was busy with customers and Granny was out buying some more food.

His mind wondered as he wondered how much his brother had changed since they last saw. 8 months... he breathed to himself. It had been 8 whole months without seeing his brother. He thought he was going to lose his head; they were always together on adventures. Even with the occasional phone call he still felt like he had no contact with his little brother. Ed chuckled, remembering his crazy first phone call to Al.

"Al! I don't know what I've done!"

"Brother?! What's wrong are you alright?"

"I don't know I think I'm going to have a heart attack!"

'What's wrong?! Brother!"

"I think I just proposed to the devil!" Ed screamed into the phone.

And then it got quiet.

"Al? You there? Al?!"

Faint snickering could be heard from the other end of the line.

"Al! It's not funny I have no idea what I've just done! And I have to go see her every other month for auto mail!"

"Oh brother, I knew you had it in you." Al replied still laughing.

"Al. what am I going to do?! I think I PROPOSED to her! I wasn't trying to do that, I just wanted to tell her how I felt! Do I buy a ring? Do I call her back? Do I tell her it's a mistake?"

"Do you love her?"

"Well uh.." Ed's face was beet red as he stumbled over his words,

"I uh, I think so. I mean, I don't know it's all going so fast Al! I-I-I…"

"You what?"

"I'm scared Al." Ed whispered into the phone.

"Ed, after all we've been through you can't let Winry bring you down to your knees. We've been best friends since kids. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Al thought about what he had just said and took it back mentally.

"Al, even though you couldn't feel her wrench throws in your armor i'm sure you know that it hurts like hell. What if I slip up somewhere along the line and we can't be together what am I gonna do? It'll make all automail checkup appointments awkward! What if-"

Al cut him off with a laugh.

"Brother, you worry to much. If she thinks you did purpose to her you would marry her right?"

"UH." Ed said rather loudly.

"Lets NOT go there Al. Not yet. I mean I do like her, but dontcha think that's a little 'Jumping the gun?"

"Alright brother, just relax you don't have t-"

Al's talking was interrupted by static sounds.

"Well helloooo there Eddy." Ling said with a playful tone.

"You Bastard give Al the phone back!" The blonde shouted back into the phone.

"Al's right here, why don't you talk to me instead? Do ya miss me?"

"Of course I don't miss you! Give Al the phone back now!"

"Oh seems Al went to go do something"

"You just said he was right there!"

"Oh I did? It seems I was wrong" Ling said innocently

"Why I oughtta.."

Click

"WHY THAT STUPID LITTLE SON OF A GUN. IM GONNA GO OVER TO XING JUST TO KICK HIS ROYAL LITTLE ASS. I'M GOING TO FUCKING GET YOU LING."

Ed stared at the clock as it ticked. He sighed once more, two more hours until I see my brother he thought. He shifted in his seat as he grew impatient. Why couldn't time move faster? His little brother was sitting on some train right now, and he couldn't wait any longer. He felt a smile appear on his face. And I bet he's bored out of his mind Ed thought. He lent back in the chair a little further. He wondered if he should go wait at the station instead. He groaned at his own impatience and lent back even further. Before he realized it, the two front legs of the chair had lifted off the ground and he fell backwards.

He landed on the floor with a thump. "Goddammit!" he shouted as he rubbed the back of his head. Winry had rushed down the stairs with oil plastered on her cheeks, her eyes were wide as she ran over to him; wrench in hand.

"What in the name..." Her voice trailed off as she examined the situation. "What the hell are you doing Ed!?" She questioned, her tone was almost if she was scolding him. A frown formed on her forehead as she sighed.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you." she said with a sign of playfulness. She helped him up and examined the chair that had appeared to have a broken leg.

"My Chair!" She exclaimed as she held the chair leg in her hands. "Do you have any idea how much I paid for this Ed!?" She complained as she looked back at him with a furious glare. Edward simply brushed his shirt off and groaned.

"I'm alright, thanks for asking." He snapped back at her. He seriously wondered how he managed to propose to her. Ed simply sucked it up and sat next to her on the floor as he examined the damage.

"It's Fixable." He said simply. Half of him just wanted to clap his hands and use Alchemy to fix it. But he knew that was no longer an option. He looked back at her with a sigh.

"Edward..." She began. She knew how upset he got when he couldn't fix things like he had used to be able to. She could tell in his eyes, that he was seriously thinking about trying. It had taken him a good month to stop trying to use Alchemy. She had caught him clapping his hands various times and she couldn't help to feel bad about it. Sure, the price was definitely worth it, but she knew part of him was lost when he had lost his Alchemy.

Her eyes widened as she noticed he had started smiling. "When Al gets here, he'll fix it in no time with his Alchehistory." He replied with a bit of excitement. She couldn't help giggle at his sudden happiness.

"Okay Ed." She replied with a chuckle as got up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before going back to her customer. Ed gave up and lay down on the floor. He closed his eyes as he drifted off into deep sleep.

Al woke up with a jolt. He fell forwards and hit his head on the next bench in front of him.

"Ow..." He complained rubbing his head. He looked around to see other passengers with looks of worry in their faces. Why had they stopped? There was no intersection and the station was nowhere in sight. Before he could get up and investigate the train's door was kicked open by a bunch of men with guns. Their faces were covered with ski masks and sun glasses over the eye opening. They wore boots and camouflage pants along with black tank tops exposing their muscular bodies. Passengers shied away from them as they walked through the isle, guns in hand. Their loud boots thumping on the hardwood floor of the car.

"Listen up! As long as everyone co-operates no one will die today!" One of the men's voices boomed throughout the train car.

It was more of a command than an offering. He was pretty intimidating, Al had to admit. As the taller one kept on walking down the aisle, his comrade stayed in the center. The taller one made his way to the last car and entered without a hitch. Al looked around, examining his options. One vs one He thought as he glanced over at the masked man. He slowly slid towards the edge of the bench looking over at the small child who sat across the aisle. The child was pressed up against her mother the furthest away from the isle. Al simply smiled and winked at the girl as he got up.

"Ey! What do you think you're doing?" One of the men howled.

"Stretching my legs, it's been certainly a long train ride." Al smiled and started stretching casually.

The man knew he was messing with him. Letting out a hasty growl he flung himself at the blond, gun loaded in hand. Of course the blond heard his thick footsteps approaching and took the initiative to make his move. Finishing the circle he had made on his bench he clapped his hand and slapped them onto the bench causing the wood to bend out of its original form. Light blue sparks crackled in the air as the wood molded itself into a fist and went straight towards the masked man. The man was clearly not expecting that to happen and flew backwards from the impact of a hard fist hitting him in the stomach. Before the masked man could even open his eyes the blonde had already knocked him out.

Al stood back for a moment wondering if he had hit too hard. He bent down and grabbed the gun from the man, placing it in the back of his pants for later. The entire car was silent and he felt pairs of eyes staring at him from behind. Standing up straight and stretching his back he turned to the civilians. A smile was plastered on his face as he waved to them awkwardly. He wasn't much for the spotlight.

"Uh, Hiya." He said with a smile.

"Our hero!" the little girl he had seen across from him exclaimed. Beside from the girl's outburst no one else spoke, numerous eyes burning through his soul. He decided it was time to find out what the holdup was and awkwardly left the car. He still felt the gaze of multiple people resting on the back of his head.

Closing the door behind him he looked around seeing the train completely stopped in the middle of nowhere. He could tell that they were getting close to Risembol since everything was open fields. 'Smells like home.' he decided as he took a deep breath. Looking into the window of the next car he knew there would be more armed men ahead. Going in through the door would surely get me shot, he decided. Maybe I should make more of a grand entrance, he thought with a grin in his face.

Yeah, that sounds nice.

Ed woke up with a sore face. He had fallen asleep right where he had fallen out of the chair. He stared at the dark hardwood floor for a moment, memorized. A blanket was placed on him but it didn't make difference, he still felt cold. He leaned on his arm left and rubbed his eyes as he looked around. /Still in the dining room/ he thought as he sat up and looked around. He crossed his legs and picked up a note on the ground which was deliberately put there next to a glass of water and a pill.

For when you awake knuckle head.

~Winry

He sighed and put the note back. My head sure does hurt now... he thought looking at the pill. Swallowing the pill, he got up and sat in one of the other chairs. He rested his head on his arm as leaned against the table. "1 more hour until pick up Al." he breathed.

"Oh lookie here, sleeping beauty has finally awoken." Pianko interrupted

Ed snorted and looked out the window. "Thanks for waking me up granny."

"You're the idiot, who wanted to sleep on the floor, don't blame me." She replied taking another puff of her pipe.

"Whatever." He groaned.

"You better freshen up your attitude; Al wouldn't appreciate a grumpy brother when he gets back." She chimed and walked out the room.

"Well I wouldn't be grumpy if you'd just wake me up ya old hag!" He yelled and dropped his head onto the table. Thus worsening his headache; enough for Ed to simply wrap his arms around his head and whimper.

Winry's words echoed in his head "What are am I going to do with you."

Yeah, what am I going to do with myself, he agreed silently.

The clock ticked slowly, its hands teasing Ed. He couldn't wait for his brother anymore. Getting up and pushing in his chair, he walked out the door with his jacket. It's better to wait for him there than sitting around doing nothing he thought as he began his trek to the long awaited station. This really does bring back memories... he sighed trying not to be sentimental. He knew that this trip was important, but how long would Al be visiting?

Ed kicked a rock along the dirt road while he walked.

Maybe I should get some flowers.