"Good morning, Edward."

"G'morning, Al- Alfons." Ed was obviously still half-asleep (how could he not be; he had still been up drawing plans when Alfons had gotten up for a glass of water at 4:06 in the morning!). He meandered around the kitchen, scavenging around in the cupboards for something suitable for breakfast (which, in terms of an average person, would be around two meals' worth). Seriously, how could he possibly be that hungry all the time? It was a good thing their salaries could support their eating habits, even if only barely doing so.

Alfons, on the other hand, was dressed and ready for the day; already seated at the table, he sipped at his coffee and thumbed through a new novel he'd picked up the other day. Lately, he hadn't had time for any pleasure reading, but someone at the university had recommended it and he was determined to make time to read it. He'd always loved fiction, and this story in particular was intriguing. The characters could channel magic through certain runes, and then use said magic to do anything! If only it were real- all the setbacks they were facing on the rocket design would be solved in a snap.

The newspaper on the table next to Alfons's half-eaten breakfast was already read- because Edward seemed to believe that his roommate was a premier news source, Alfons made it his business to keep up with the times. After all, one of them was going to have to do it.

Eventually, Edward plunked down in the other chair at the table, setting down a plate laden with a mix of last night's dinner leftovers, the pastries Ms. Gracia had made them (bless her heart, she seemed determined to feed them like they were her own children), and god-knows-what else he'd discovered lurking in the back of the icebox and pantry. Alfons would never have considered eating sausage and oranges in the same bite- maybe it was an American thing?

"So what time does the royal pain in the ass need us to be in the lab today?" Alfons had become quite adept at interpreting Ed's still-horribly-accented German even when his mouth was full- which was often. Edward and the man in charge when Professor Neumayer was out of town had taken a mutual and almost immediate disliking to each other. Unfortunately, they were at a sort of stalemate, as the man couldn't possibly fire the most prodigious and bright chemist on the team, and Edward lacked the status to change anything about the vice-command's role. To compensate for this, Ed never failed to seize an opportunity to make a sarcastic comment about his so-called "leader".

"We're off for the day, thank God." As much as Alfons liked his job, he also relished in the few-and-far-between days when he had time to relax. Ed "mph"ed in reply, showing his agreement.

"So what're you going to spend the day doing? Reading the stupid 'adventure novel' Bradens recommended?" His teasing tone was much easier to make out now that his mouth wasn't chock full of potatoes.

"You'd be surprised how good it is! It talks about a whole other world where you can create anything with these magic runes and-" Edward interrupted the summary with a loud scoff.

"Like that would ever happen."

"Just think how much easier it would make our lives, though. We'd never go hungry or have problems with the rocket or anything. Everyone'd live like kings!" Ed made a kind of disapproving noise in the back of his throat but said nothing. "Oh, come on, even you have to admit it would be nice." Alfons laughed lightly but stopped quickly when he saw Ed's expression. It appeared as if Ed was trying hard to not combust in "short rant"-scale rage.

"How is that fair, then?!" Edward burst out at last. "If you don't give anything and then get something in return… it's just- there's no equivalent exchange! None! The entire fundamental structure of the universe would be undermined by a force with no foreseeable flaw! Where would the food channeled through the transmutation cir- erm, ah, rune, I mean- come from, huh? If you just bypassed the entire underlying Truth…" he said the last word like it was a bitter taste in his mouth. He was about to continue the frenzied rant when Alfons cut him off.

"Edward, calm down. It's just a story! Magical abilities like that, though… God, I don't know about you, but I'd give an arm and a leg for that kind of power."

Edward's wooden chair screeched violently against the floor as it was jerked back. He stood abruptly, slamming his hands on the table hard enough to rattle the plates. He glared, sharp invisible knives jabbing repeatedly at Alfons, but said nothing.

Eons could've passed before either of them spoke, or even moved. Alfons was terrified. What had he said to set his roommate off like this?

Ed was still leaning into his hands when suddenly there was a faint creaking sound, and Edward collapsed onto the table, his face splattering directly into his plate of previously forgotten food. Alfons scrambled up to help him.

"Ed? Are you okay? What the hell just-"

"Shit. Shit shit shit- goddamn it!" Ed picked himself up off the table, angrily wiping peas and breadcrumbs out of his eyes with his shirtsleeve. Casting another irate glance at Alfons, who was standing guiltily beside the table, he pulled up his other sleeve slowly.

Metal had ripped through the fake flesh Edward wore on his arm, making it look like there was a sharp silver spike poking out of where his elbow should be. Even without the cover removed, Alfons could tell the arm was broken- probably beyond repair, by the looks of it. Ed had mentioned once how neither his prosthetic arm nor the leg could handle much weight without bending and breaking.

… Prosthetic arm and leg.

… Oh shit.

Alfons's eyes widened as he realized what he'd been saying to Ed that had made him so mad. Though Edward had yet to divulge exactly how he'd ended up with the futuristic-looking limbs, it didn't take a genius to figure out that the memory wasn't a pleasant one.

"Crap. Edward, I-"

"Save it. I gotta go see if I can fix this damn thing. Bastard's out of town and can't make a new one until he gets home." Ah, so his father was the one who made the prosthetics. Yet another reason Ed was so touchy about them. Cradling the broken arm, Ed attempted to also pick up his plate to put in the sink (he'd finally learned some manners and basic housekeeping rules) without much success.

"I'll do the dishes- just go figure out how to fix it." Ed flashed a grim but grateful look at his roommate.

"Thanks." He nudged the door to his bedroom with his foot, opening it enough to slip inside. With a sigh, Alfons collected the dishes and scraped them before putting them into the sink and running some water over them halfheartedly. How could he have been so stupid? After Edward had finally trusted him with the knowledge about the fake arms. The few times Alfons had gathered the courage to ask about the limbs, Ed had given a detail-lacking explanation about making a mistake and paying the price. And Alfons was joking about making the same sacrifice so he wouldn't have to work anymore? His own pettiness made Alfons feel sick to his stomach.

"Uh, Alfons?" He jolted out of his stupor to realize that the sink was still running and was that Ed who'd just called his name? He turned the faucet off quickly and walked over to Edward's half-shut door.

"Ed? Do you… um… need help with your arm?" Could he have said it any more awkwardly? Alfons couldn't blame himself for being timid, though, based on Edward's previous responses to similar offers. Ed didn't reply initially, but Alfons could hear the defeated sigh after a bit.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

Suggestions? Requests? Ideas? Should I continue this? The feedback monster is hungry. Thanks for reading!