The train rumbled onward through the graying dusk, its gentle vibrations lulling Edward to sleep as he lay sprawled on the empty bench seat. With his head propped up on his flesh arm, he absently stared out at the darkening sky, tracing the sun's setting rays as they pooled into the approaching night in fading tendrils of reds and pinks.
Alphonse had gone with Winry to the dinner car some time before, leaving Ed to his own devices. He took the opportunity to try and sort through all of the information they had just gathered free from distraction. Just what connection did the homunculi have with the military, and what did the Fuhrer know of it? He was too busy pouring over everything that had happened in the last few days to notice that he was no longer alone.
"Does this smell like chloroform to you?"
"What? Why are you still here?"
The Xingese youth with shifty eyes sat cross legged on the seat opposite of him, holding a scrap of white cloth out for Ed to inspect. When Ed refused to take it, Ling brought the cloth to his face once more, inhaling whatever was soaked into the fabric. Ed wondered how this kid had made it to the age of fifteen without dying already. Well, actually, if it was indeed some form of ether, it could explain all of the sudden fainting, no?
"Does it smell sweet? How long have you been smelling that anyway?"
"I don't know, for a little while I guess. It does smell rather pleasant."
Before Ed could decide whether to tell him to stop sniffing unknown vapors or not, his new self-proclaimed friend lost consciousness and toppled face first onto the floor between the seats. The young alchemist sighed, more upset about the prospect of moving than having to help this kid out.
Moaning irritably, Ed sat up and then lifted himself from the seat. He had no idea how much of whatever was in the cloth Ling had inhaled, so he had no idea how long it would take for him to recover. He openly hoped that it would take a while. That way he could get some time to himself before having to deal with him again.
Gently he turned Ling over onto his back before lifting him off of the floor and laying him out on the seat. The other boy's head flopped heavily to the side, nearly hanging off of the edge of the bench. His legs were folded beneath him awkwardly, forcing his hips to arch upwards. He'd have quite the stiff neck when he came around if he left him like that, never mind the cramps he'd surely have in his legs, and frankly Edward didn't want to hear any complaining from the foreign youth.
Leaning over the seat, he gingerly began arranging Ling's limp form into a more natural position. First he unfolded his long legs and lay them straight. Next he grabbed hips and shifted the boy's weight toward the back of the seat, soon grabbing his shoulders to do the same with his top half. As he pushed Ling's head back onto the seat, Ling reached up and grabbed his wrist with surprising speed.
Ed pulled away and glared down at him. There was entirely too much fainting and sudden waking involved with this kid.
Ling regarded him from his makeshift bed with a clearly distressed expression.
"What? No bondage? No ravishing of my prone figure? I was so vulnerable, and yet you took no advantages. How disappointing."
"Why would I do anything like that? What is wrong with you? And give me that!" Ed snatched the scrap of fabric and tossed it out the train window before slamming himself back into his own seat, arms crossed and expression dark. This was going to be a long train ride.
