"Edward. Wake up." There came a gentle prod to his ribcage, and Edward Elric let out a lazy groan.

"Go away, Al." He wriggled farther underneath the covers. "I'm beat. I wanna sleep longer."

Alfons Heiderich drew away from the bedside, unsure of what he could do to fully wake the blonde alchemist. He suppressed a sigh.

Edward was like this every morning – an impossible ball of flesh and metal parts that curled up and refused to heed any pleas for consciousness. Ed claimed it was because people in Munich didn't know how to "sleep in," but Alfons knew otherwise. There was something bothering the shorter boy, and Al was unable to do a thing about it. The knowledge of his own inadequacy made him feel helpless.

"Edward, please," he tried again. "Get out of bed, will you? We have things to do today."

Edward let out something between a grumble and a growl as he rolled over, still dazed. "Go bother Winry instead, Al."

Alfons straightened, a bit stricken. "Winry?" Perhaps Edward was talking in his sleep.

It was as if Al's baffled question had penetrated the Elric boy's mind at last. Ed's eyes snapped open and he sat up. He was frowning, aware of what he'd said while lying down. He carefully avoided Al's stare as he slouched over the covers and laid a hand across his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Alfons," Edward murmured after a while. "I keep forgetting where I am."

Al breathed a sigh of relief. Edward had realized his mistake. "It's all right. You were talking about your home, right?" He smiled. "Sometimes I forget things, too. I forget that you're not really one of us, so I get worried when you start talking like you aren't really here."

Ed's golden eyes looked glassy as he stared at the blanket, silent and unmoving.

"Although, you could be one of us, Ed. You wouldn't have to try hard. We all like you here." Alfons received no answer. "The only reason you feel left out is because you're purposely putting distance between yourself and the rest of the world."

"The rest of your world, you mean."

For a moment, Alfons felt a bolt of something hostile flow through him. It didn't last long. Hostility didn't suit his personality, and besides, all he really wanted to do was get Edward out of bed. He was allowing himself to be distracted by his deeper feelings – the part of him that desperately wanted Edward to pay attention, to react to what was around him for once, to acknowledge what was real. He wanted Edward to react to him, the human being that came into his bedroom every morning to rouse him from his slumbering fantasies that could never be.

Alfons was leaning over the bed before he could stop himself. "Ed," he said, reaching out a hand that nestled in the silken strands of golden hair, "Why can't you just listen to me for once? I want you to sta—" But he stopped.

Edward had met his gaze with shock the moment Al had touched him. The Elric boy faltered, unnerved, and drew away with an uneasy hint of pink in his cheeks. Then he swallowed once.

"Wh-what's with you, Alfons?"

Al let him go, straining to keep his features from clouding with unhappiness as Ed forced a carefree smile onto his face.

"I'm telling you, Al, everything's fine. Can't a guy catch a break and sleep in?" He tossed the covers off and swung his feet over the edge of the mattress. "I mean, what if while I'm sleeping I'm dreaming up answers of how to get myself home? You'd have spoiled it!" This time, the grin was genuine, but Alfons Heiderich didn't share a shred of Ed's enthusiasm.

"This is what I mean, Ed," he said.

Edward's limbs tensed in irritation, and his voice came out harsher than Alfons expected. "Look, Al. I understand what you're saying. But I won't stop trying to get back. I have to make it work; I have to get there. I haven't got any other choice."

Alfons opened his mouth to snap a reply, but he thought better of it. Instead, he shook his head in awe. "No one calls me 'Al' but you," he said with a trace of amusement.

"Sorry," Ed said automatically. "It's what I call—"

"Your brother Alphonse. I know."

Ed shifted uncomfortably. The metal of his automail clanked, tainting the silence with a weight that neither boy should have had to bare. Alfons bit his lower lip. Nothing in the world was fair at all.

"We should do something about that arm and leg of yours," he said when Ed stood up and began searching for his clothes. Alfons pulled open the window drapes before tossing the alchemist his socks.

"What's wrong with them?" Edward asked, but all hints of irritation were gone. Now he sounded curious. That was more like Ed.

"Nothing," Al laughed. "In fact, I think they're amazing. I've never seen prosthetic limbs like that." He watched as Ed's lips curved upward, nostalgic and amused. "But you said yourself that you had to do your own modifications on that hand, and your mechanic never got to work on it before you came here. And what if something else breaks or wears down? People in Munich don't know how to handle that kind of strange machinery."

Ed tugged at his collar until it was loosened to his taste, then looked at Alfons. "You think it's smarter to let the doctors in your world do something about my limbs?"

Alfons couldn't hide his excitement any longer. "Not the doctors, Ed. Let me do it."

"You?" Ed looked skeptical as he drew on his boots. "You specialize in rockets, Alfons."

"I'm an engineer! I can manipulate mechanical devices just as well as anyone else can. I've studied. Let me modify your arm at least, so that you can use it here like you said you once used it with alchemy!"

Edward paused, flesh and blood fingers hovering at the sleeve cuff that covered his metal wrist. "You mean using it like a weapon?" He looked pensive.

"Sure. Why not?" Then Alfons winked, rejuvenated by the prospects of manipulating his talents for the sake of the boy that so captivated him. "You never know when you might need such a weapon."

Ed was mystified. "I'm not so sure a weapon is what I need right now. But I just can't figure you out, Alfons. One minute you're telling me to forget my world and live in yours, and the next, you're aiming to help me stay connected to my world by offering to arm me to the teeth like I'm still in the military." He emitted a half-hearted chuckle. "What's your game?"

"No game," Al promised him, seizing his arm and leading the shorter boy to the door. "It's science, that's all. And I want to help you." He lowered his voice. "Ed, if giving you back things that you had in your world will make you more alive in ours, then I want to do it. Let me. Please." His heart pounded furiously.

"Al…" But Ed allowed himself to be led down the stairway and over the threshold.

They crossed the dusty cobblestone street, weaving between people and carts loaded with fruit and daily goods. Munich was always full of bustling citizens, and though they complained about the war, the prices, the world in and of itself – they always found something to be cheerful about. Alfons tried hard not to laugh out loud. He loved the place he lived in.

Edward tugged lightly at the sleeve that Alfons still clutched. "Are we going to the workshop?" he asked, but he didn't sound as if he needed an answer. "Al, c-could you stop holding on to me?"

The alchemist looked away with a flush as plain as day before shooting a grudging glare at his own feet.

"No," Alfons replied, and Edward whirled. "I don't want to lose you in the crowd."

But Al had to let go anyway - to duck the fist that came swinging in his direction.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO PEA-SIZED THAT YOU CAN'T FIND HIM IN A GIANT MOB OF GERMANS?!"

It was a typical reaction of Ed's, when he thought about it. Alfons burst out laughing, dodging behind the pole of a striped awning and fighting to avoid collision with the irate Elric. Edward fumed while startled citizens stared, and the action heightened Al's hysteria. He clutched his stomach and his vision glittered through tears of mirth.

At once Alfons Heiderich's laughter was cut short. A wracking cough overtook him, and his chest heaved and shuddered with the violence of the attack. He threw a hand over his mouth, but the motion wouldn't stifle the force of the air that tore from his lungs.

Edward froze and blinked in anxiety. "Al? Al!" He rushed forward to take hold of Al's shoulders.

Alfons staggered, but managed to keep his balance as he answered. "I'm all right," he said. He tossed Edward a weak smile and swallowed the blood that had risen to the back of his throat. "I promise."

Ed released him with a well-concealed tremble even as he sagged in relief. "Heh. You sure you didn't swallow a frog or something?" There was deep worry lodged behind his golden eyes despite the teasing words.

"It happens all the time. I'll be okay," Alfons reassured him. "Come on, let's get to the workshop."

A/N: I seem to be in an FMA mood. I felt that Alfons Heiderich was a compelling character that didn't get the attention he deserved when he popped up in the movie. I wanted some expansion on his inner feelings toward Edward, who showed up in his world as if from a dream. It must have been strange to Heiderich, don't you think? I'm writing this to try to fill in the blanks that the movie left open. Hopefully I'll be quick at updating this time.