I've decided to type out my maniacal rants at the END of my future chapters. Since you guys don't have to scroll a lot to get to the story or so that you can just start the story quicker :3

Thanks to all the people who've read and favorites and reviewed! I love you all almost as much as Ed loves alchemy :3

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist or anything remotely like it or associated with it. If I did, Roy and Riza would be an official canon couple, not just the prey to my imagination and other fan fictions.

Chapter 2: insert title here

The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. Nature seemed to sing the joy powered by a hundred suns and a thousand loves.

Yeah… no.

Today was one of the few cloudy days California ever experienced, the air drained dry. People were bustling in and out of the popular hotel's entryway framed in roses and lights, covered by a maroon canopy. The building consisted of natural brown colored bricks, the kind you would imagine in the streets of Paris or something. The windows were European styled as well with white trim and balconies with adorable little potted plants on the ledges.

One sighed, one squealed, and one's jaw seemed to drop to the street.

"Oh my GOSH! It seems like a building straight out of a fairy tale!"

"There's no WAY we're staying in some fruit palace like this!"

"But brother, it makes Winry so happy."

Ed glared at his brother for not supporting him on this, causing him to avoid his gaze with an awkward head turn and focus on the passing crowds. Since Al refused to acknowledge his death rays, Ed decided to glace at Winry's reaction.

"Ahh~ we HAVE to stay here!" she squeaked through the hand clamped over her mouth. Her eyes were sparkling in a feminine way never witnessed by either brother. "I feel like a princess!"

"Mmm..." Without much to say, Edward weighed the pros and cons of staying here

It would sure make Win happy… but I might wake up with rose petals on my pillow. I bet they've got some good food… but I bet it's super expensive and fancy…I bet the room is pricey too-

His train of thought stopped with a car horn nearby.

"Hey, I drove you kids all the way here! Don't tell me you're going to skip out and not pay me!"

Al and Ed turned, Winry oblivious to the world. Their cab driver had unloaded all their luggage and was impatiently waiting with his money jar held out.

"Oh, we're so sorry sir!" Alphonse exclaimed while digging into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet stuffed with 20 dollar bills and 10 dollar bills. He handed the taxi driver $100. "… It's not much but, would you take this? Is this enough?"

"…" Not sure how to respond to this, the driver just stood there staring at the money that was obscenely too much for one 10 mile cab drive. "Uh… it's… this is fine." The driver dashed over to the driver's seat and slammed the door. He jerked to a start suddenly, then just as suddenly slammed the brakes. With a last minute thought, and craned his neck out the cracked window, yelled a rushed "Thank you, sir," then drove off just as suddenly, earning himself a few honks from nearby cars.

"Well, that sure was weird,' Al muttered.

"Hey Al, how much money did you give him?" Winry asked, the car horns bringing her out of her dreams and fancies.

"Uh… I think I gave him a hundred or so."

Silence.

"…Al, you do realize that the currency translates different here, right? Like, 100 cens is equal to 1 dollar?" Ed ventured.

"Oh really?" Al asked. Then, suddenly realizing what he was saying- "WAIT, WHAT?"

"Ed, you should've told him on the plane when you were explaining everything else!" Winry shouted.

"I DID tell you guys about the currency! How else would YOU know about it, huh?" Ed yelled just as loud back.

"I can't believe… I just gave him an equivalent of 10,000 cens…" Al muttered, a cloud of depression starting to gather around him.

A shout of, "Hey you kids! No loitering in front of the hotel! Get out of here!" was the icing on the cake.

"WHAT?"

"YES!"

"waaaaah…"

LOL AT POOR ALPHONSE! He's so pitiful right now XD

I understand that if you were to ACTUALLY convert the money, that would mean Alphonse was trying to pay for a 10 mile cab ride with what he though was the equivalent of one dollar. Try thinking about it really hard and you'll understand what I'm talking about. -_-

This chapter was epic short because I'm working on the original chapter 2, but I had a computer a didn't know what to do, so BAM. I felt guilty because I'm always aggravated when other people don't update, so I was imagining all of you wanting to kick my knees D: not a happy thought ._.

I only update whenever I feel like it or am, like today, bored on a computer.

Anyway, I've actually seen a few requests, so I'll probably deal with them in the next chapter :3

Review and all that stuffs :D

Oh, and I changed my screen name -w-