If there is one thing you are certain about, it is that you hate trains.

Your back aches from the less-than-comfortable seats, your shoulders are tense, and your neck is sore. If you are ever sent out on another trip like this one, you will make sure to deny— the pain from riding Amestris' economically reasonable trains is not worth whatever pay you are getting.

With an uncomfortably rigid stature, you leave the train station and begin your journey home. The sun has begun to dip behind the horizon, painting the sky various shades of pink and orange and blue. Along the way, you encounter Alphonse by the apple tree.

You blink.

He stares down at the grass, his armor clinking with movement as he fiddles with the green strands. He seems... unusually down.

(You wish he had a face. You wish you could read his expression again, as you would when you were kids.)

You call his name and he sits up in surprise. He waves at you, and you wave back, approaching him under the apple tree.

"{{user}}," he greets you. There is no change in his voice, but he drags his words out longer. You begin to fidget with your shirt. "You're back from work?"