Blurred Vision

There were three of him, Edward thought, which didn't make a whole lot of sense. There was only one Russell. For that matter, where was he exactly? He tried to look around, but the dizziness of sitting up landed him back flat on his ass with a groan.

"Don't move."

Edward groaned again. "I can't fucking see anything."

"Ed?" The response was soft, yet concerned. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"I don't know... it's all blurry... Russell..."

Russell Tringham frowned and leaned down to check Edward over again. Sure, he was bleeding from somewhere – this was nothing new, but apparently he had a concussion too. "Can't you be careful?" He chided Edward softly.

"I was being careful... it was Envy that wasn't playing fair."

Envy. Russell could swear he'd heard Ed mention him before, although the details eluded him. Something should have clicked, but he was unsure if he was right. It was irrelevant anyway, with Edward lying here bleeding and the echoing chamber empty, he had to get him out of there.

There was a sigh and Russell helped Edward sit up, propping him up against his own chest. "Hold still."

There was a flash of light after a few chalk scuffs that made up an array. There were bandages made out of Ed's black jacket. He would hear an earful about it later, but for the time being, getting Edward ready to be moved was of the utmost importance. The long strip of cloth was taken and wrapped tightly around the older teen's head in an effort to stem the bleeding. Why did head wounds have to bleed so much anyway?

Tying it off tightly, Russell shook Ed's shoulder. "Still with me?"

"Yeah." The answer was slow. His lover was fading already.

"Shit, don't die on me here. Or I'll make sure you regret it." Russell stood up, hoisting Edward to his feet. He was a lot heavier then he looked, but he forced the weight to be supported on his back. The smaller one held his grip loosely around Russell's shoulders and tightened his legs as best as he could.

The younger teen began moving towards the exit. He managed to get the doors open and slipped out into the cool night. It wouldn't be that far to the hospital and he was sure he could manage the weight.

At least, that's what he thought, until the grasp Edward had slipped and sent them crashing to the ground. Russell cursed again, twice in one night was a phenomenon. He shifted his approach, now that Edward had lost consciousness altogether. He wrapped his arms around the smaller alchemist's torso and began dragging him towards the nearest hospital or clinic. Anywhere the young man could be treated.

Edward Elric was dreaming. It wasn't so much a dream as a memory of the evening past. He'd received a phone call from the homonculi, claiming they had Alphonse hostage. There was no way for him to verify this, as Alphonse was in Rizenbul, living with the Rockbells. It never occurred to him to phone and check, because that would be common sense.

Edward never did seem to have any.

Of course, the young blond charged out, blindly and head first into danger with a scrawled note to Russell. He ran in screaming for them to return his brother. There was Envy, waiting and smirking.

The fight was fast and furious, limbs connecting, sweat trickling down skin and passionate rage taking over. When all was said and done, Edward was down for the count, lying in a pool of his own blood. Oh. That's what happened.

Then... he dreamed of Russell for some reason. He thought the other blond might have found him. He dreamed Russell was worried and had patched him up and saved his life. Warmth filled his memory then, as though he were being embraced in the other's arms.

Edward was confused.

Russell Tringham was in a panic. It would take forever at this rate to get his lover to the clinic. In all likelihood, his attacker thought him dead, hell, he'd thought Edward was dead at first. The sense of relief that he felt when he noticed the other teen's chest rising and falling with breath, could not be replicated.

He was scared to death.

Now his lover, who stated he couldn't see when he was awake, was unconscious in his arms and being dragged to the hospital. He deserved better treatment then that, Russell thought wryly. If only he didn't weigh a million pounds.

The hour it took was the longest in Russell's life. He had to keep checking to make sure Edward was still breathing, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. He was so worried, he just had to make sure.

The doctors took one look at him and whisked him off for proper bandaging. Russell was given a seat at his bedside after another agonizing half an hour. He slumped into the chair and grasped Edward's left hand tightly. This night couldn't possibly get longer. The energy had been sucked from every inch of his body and he was exhausted.

Edward opened his eyes after a few hours. The sun had long set and the moonlight filtered in through the open curtains, illuminating the room in an ethereal light. Russell was asleep at the side of his bed, head tucked innocently on his arms, still clutching Ed's left hand for dear life. He must have given his lover a real fright. He squeezed the hand.

The response was immediate, Russell jumped up as though he'd been shocked with an electrical wire. His eyes darted around a few minutes, examining each machine, trying to find what it was that woke him in a panic.

Then he noticed Edward was awake and smiling. He smiled softly in return and kissed the hand he held onto.

Edward reached up and ran his automail fingers through Russell's bangs. "I can see you... you've never looked so good."

Russell threw himself into Edward's arms to cling to him for just awhile.