The door bell rang at precisely 6:30, no one in the house expecting the guests to

be on time. A man got up dressed in black slacks and white shirt, dark hair, and onyx

eyes, peering at the door with an annoyed smirk on his face. "I don't know why you

invited them, Haw—Riza," the man said. "Roy, don't be silly. They are good boys and

are in need of someone to care for them," Riza replied heading for the kitchen dressed to

cook. The door bell rang again, followed by a knock. Roy slipped quietly and quickly to

the door whispering, "We can't be surrogate parents for the kids. They have grown up far

too much." "Shut up and open the door."

"Hey there Ed, Al," Roy said, as i cheery /i as he possibly could. "Good

afternoon," Al bounced with a slight echo from the hollow armor. A rather short young

man more of a boy with a blonde braid just stared off, seemingly concentrating on an

unimportant patch on gossamer clouds that hung wearily in the sky, pout sat clearly on

his face. The metal suit lightly elbowed the boy, "yeah, yeah, hey Bastard." "Nice to see

you too," Roy stated sarcastically, "come on in." The pair entered the house as the aroma

or eastern food enticed the young one's senses, "mmmm."

"Edward, Alphonse!" Riza greeted happily, trying to wipe off some of the mess

that had accumulated on her apron, "please take a seat." Roy guided them to a dining

table, just in view of the kitchen. "You have a lovely place," Al commented politely.

"Food sure smells good," Ed grinned at the sensual aroma. "I hope you like it spicy," Roy

said with a smirk. "I've had the spicy chicken they serve at HQ. It's not bad," Ed

reassured his self. "Then your in for a real treat," Riza gleamed as she gathered a variety

of herbs, spices, and bottles, "Roy, can you get the stove?" Roy had anticipated this

request and snapped his fingers, igniting a fire on the gas stove. "I just hope you can

handle it," Roy teased at Ed. "Yeah, I'm no baby. I can handle anything," Ed gloated.

"Oh, really?" Roy quirked as he lent dangerously close to Ed. "WHAT THE HELL ARE

YOU DOING?" Ed shouted, jumping back out of the chair. "Oh, nothing" the man said,

sitting back up and shrugging off whatever thoughts may have run through his mind.

Riza had just set down a bowl and plate in front of Edward, plate of noodles, egg

roll, some mysterious bread, and the bowl, the spicy chicken covering a pile of rice. Ed's

mouth gaped slightly at the generous proportions that have been served to him, a sparkle

of drool at the corner of his mouth. But that all disappeared when a glass of milk was set

down next to the food. "Can I get water instead?" Ed whined. "Nii-San," Al said with a

bit of warning added, "you should be grateful of what was provided for you." "Yeah, but

I hate the stuff," Edward growled. "No wonder you're so short," Riza giggled. If that

comment would have come from Roy, there would be one less dinner guest at the table.

"Trust me, Fullmetal," Roy advised, picking up a pair of chopsticks, "you're gonna need

it." Ed snorted and Al just sighed at his older brother's stubbornness. Riza came up from

behind Ed, setting down a glass of water, her head and other parts just to the left of Ed's

face, sending a slight pink tone to his face when he noticed how i different /i Riza

looked without her uniform.

Roy had already begun stuffing his face, though managing to make it look

graceful. Ed took his first bit of the chicken, a little bite to it, not much more than the

food at HQ. But as he went to eat the second, the spices kicked in. Ed dropped the

chopsticks and immediately began guzzling the water. That didn't help. If anything it

made the burning worse, burning down his throat. "Damn it!" Ed shouted awkwardly

with his tongue sticking out. "Ah! Nii-San!" Al jumped. "Water! Ice! FUCK,

Something!" Ed demanded. His only response was Riza handing him the glass of milk.

Roy continued his eating, a small smile could be seen tugging at his mouth, that is if you

were not preoccupied with watching Edward jump around like a maniac with his who's

mouth and throat were on fire. Ed had no other option, he snatched the glass and, with a

slight frown before it came to his mouth, drank the ' i glorified cow puss /i '. To Ed's

surprise, and relief, the burning subsided to an easy spice that lingered on his tongue.

"Capsaicin," Riza spoke eloquently, "an acid found in peppers. Milk, a base." Ed was

dumbfounded. i There was chemistry to cooking? /i Riza picked up Edward's bowl

and took it into the kitchen, Ed followed with Al not trailing far behind. Riza had

replaced the chicken into the pan and added a little … sugar. "Wait, what are you doing?"

Ed questioned. "Making it milder for you," Riza replied in a sweet tone, matching that of

the sugar she sprinkled. "Wait," Al commented, "how does sugar make it milder? Won't

it just make it sweet too?" Riza shook her head, "cooking is part science, and part art.

You follow directions and measurements to make sure everything is in balance," she

stirred the pan and simmered it for a moment, "then you take a little experimenting,

cultivating the taste to one's preferences. And sugar is just that one ingredient," Riza

replaced the chicken back into the bowl," that makes everything a little better."

"That was wonderful," Edward said, patting his stomach, admiring the cleaned off

plate in front of him. "Hope you saved room for desert," Roy said as he went to the

kitchen, returning with a pink frosted cake in one hand, and a sharp knife in the other. Ed

had not been paying attention, it was Roy talking anyways. The boy turned to stand up,

bumping into Roy. "Damn it, Ed!" Roy bursted, catching hold of the cake, but having the

knife slip from his other hand. Now, if Roy had been on the other side of Ed, there would

have been no problem at all. But as luck would have it, the blade fell onto Edward's flesh

of his left arm, cutting him as it fell along side his forearm. "Shit," Ed clenched his teeth

as his automail hand when down to hold onto his wound. "Ed!" Al shouted, reverberating

voice full of concern. Roy had set the cake down and turned his attention to Edward.

"Damn, why weren't you paying attention?" Roy said annoyance and anger masking a

tone of guilt. "You were the one who dropped the knife," Ed stammered, fighting off

tears of pain. "I'll get you cleaned up," Roy urged, hand over Ed's blood staining his

hand along with Ed's automail and clothes. Before Al could get the chance to volunteer

his help, Riza called, "Hey, Al, why don't you help me clean up while Roy takes care of

your Brother?" Reluctantly, Al accepted the invitation, first by picking up the knife,

which had a small bit of blood from his brother on it. The same blood used that made his

anchoring seal, I might add. Roy led Ed off into the bathroom, a few drops of blood

trailing them down onto the carpet and wooden floors.

Ed breathed in through his mouth with clenched teeth, "ow, that hurts." Roy had

dipped the boy's arm in a sink full of water, blood turning it a murky pink. "The wound

looks pretty deep," Roy said solemnly. "Well, it was a sharp knife," Ed huffed. Roy did

not give Ed a second glance. "You know, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have this-ah!!!"

Ed shouted as Roy poured Rubbing Alcohol over the wound. Ed clenched his metal fist

and bit his lip to suppress any screaming. Roy let it sit for a moment, wiped it up, and

then bandaged Ed's arm. "Ed," Roy said, tone sad, "sorry." Ed looked up at Roy, eyes

meeting, another surge of pink blush flashing on Ed's face. "No, it was my fault. Thank

you for inviting us."