Drained

Edward Elric was mad.

No scratch that.

He was pissed for having to wake up so goddamn early just because of that Colonel Bastard. The sun hadn't even risen, and there he was trudging through the streets of Central. Alphonse on the other hand was trying his best to catch up with his fuming brother.

The young alchemist had a meeting scheduled with no other than Mustang himself. It felt as if the raven haired man planned this meeting to be extra early just to aggravate Ed further. The look on the blonde's face proved that it had worked. Edward was in no mood to deal with any of Mustang's shit at this hour.

Not only was he running on four hours of sleep, but his throat felt extremely raw and agitated. He was barely able to speak a single sentence without breaking into a coughing fit. That's why he chose to curse Roy more in his head than out loud. It was all Mustang's fault that he was outside when he could still be curled up in his bed back in their dorm.

"I wonder what Mustang wants brother." Al spoke up quietly once they reached the office. Ed grunted in response and then swung the door open at full force. This made Colonel Roy Mustang and Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye well aware of the Elric brothers' presence. Right away Edward made his way over to the couch in the room and slumped down onto it. "Up bright and early I see?" Roy had a smirk on his face that Edward wanted to wipe right off. The man was being smug. He knew well enough that the brothers weren't up early just for the fun of it. This just pissed Ed off even more.

Unfortunately Ed's throat felt like it couldn't take any of his own smart mouthed comebacks. He just chose to give Mustang a peeved off look instead. The man raised a brow at his subordinate's lack of response. Usually the short alchemist would be stomping his feet and causing a commotion for all of Amestris to hear. This was definitely puzzling.

"What would you like from us Colonel Mustang?" Alphonse asked in a polite manner. He wanted to just get down to the point so that unnecessary fights wouldn't occur. "Well since you asked, I would like that report Fullmetal. And I want it neat. I won't take any chicken scratch from you." Roy Mustang folded his arms on top of his desk which meant business. By the look on Edward's face, it was clear that he hadn't finished the report yet...or even neatly in the least.

"Fullmetal? Your report."

Edward Elric flinched, annoyed with the tone that Mustang was using. Just what was so important about some dumb report anyways? The blonde opened his mouth to answer but immediately shut it and turned his gaze towards the ground. He put on his best moody facial expression and continued to avoid the man's gaze.

Roy was quite bothered by his subordinate's actions. If Edward wanted to be in the military than he should be fully capable to fill out reports when necessary. But if the Colonel wanted immediate attention, then he had to resort to a few things that involved a certain alchemist's largest insecurity.

"Come on Fullmetal, don't get short with me."

By the way Edward clenched his fists tightly, he could tell that it had gotten to him. "You should seriously think about knocking before entering as well Fullmetal. I couldn't even see you from my desk." There Colonel Mustang went again with the lame short jokes. Lame or not, they seemed to take a toll on the blonde in question.

"Come on, hand in your report to the Colonel." Alphonse tried to reason with his brother who looked ready to bust a vein. The boy in the suit of armor knew well enough of Ed's condition at the moment. It would be best for him to just do as he's told and save the trouble. But Edward was obviously thinking differently.

"I mean if you can reach the top of the desk then by all means." Roy added in with a noticeable smirk upon his face. Teasing the Fullmetal Alchemist really was amusing to the black haired man. It almost relieved him from the constant stress of paper work after paper work. In all honestly, it was the boy's reactions that made it priceless. One mention of the word short, and he just lashes out in a fit of rage.

But that last comment Roy made caused Edward to get up onto his feet. His teeth were clenched together so fiercely that he looked like a feral animal. He stomped over to Mustang and slammed his hands down on his desk so hard, it shook. The outraged alchemist opened his mouth and lashed out, screaming insults and some not-so-nice-words.

Or so that's what Edward planned to do.

Once he opened his mouth to chew Mustang out, nothing came out. The only sounds that he made were hoarse and strangled. It was quite embarrassing to say the least. Showing his weakness to the Colonel made him want to disappear forever. It was his damn throat's fault that this happened. And his freshly new headache didn't make matters any better either.

Letting out the last of his violent coughs, Edward's composure drooped drastically. Roy took note of the boy's appearance and his smirk faltered. The kid didn't look alright at all. Just what did the Elric boy do this time? "Brother!" Alphonse scrambled over to Edward and checked him all over. "Ed didn't I tell you to lay off your voice for a while? I mean, you're probably developing laryngitis or something."

Edward gave his brother a look which probably meant 'Yeah, yeah.' It was clear that the young alchemist was not amused in the result of a lost voice. Now how was he supposed to give the Colonel bastard a piece of his mind? "Let me have a look Fullmetal." Roy's voice instantaneously made Ed make a face. No way in hell was he going to let that excuse of a Colonel get even a few inches near him.

Seeing the obvious stubbornness of his own sibling, Al decided to step in. "I think it would be a good idea for him to see. Just let him have a look brother." His metallic voice rang out from the suit of armor. Even though he wasn't at all okay with this, Edward reluctantly agreed to it and made his way over to Roy.

The Colonel bent down to Ed's level and motioned for him to open his mouth. Edward sighed silently and followed the man's orders for once. Looking around his mouth Roy noted a few things. "It's definitely swollen, pretty raw even. You sure you got this checked out?" Edward snapped his mouth closed when Roy finished the check up. "Um we haven't visited a Doctor yet. Brother insisted that it was nothing to worry about." Al said slightly regretting not getting this checked up on. It has been going on for quite some time. Maybe it really was serious...

"I'm sure it can't be a big deal. Fullmetal strains his voice on a day to day basis with his tantrums. It's a wonder how this doesn't happen more often."

Edward hit Roy with his right arm after that comment of his. No one was asking for his thoughts on the subject. "That's enough Fullmetal." Roy growled at his subordinate. For someone so small, he sure does pack a punch...especially with that automail. Mustang fought the urge to sooth the tender spot.

Edward stuck his tongue out a little in a childish manner. It was really the only way he could display how he was feeling at the moment. It also somehow bothered Roy as well which was a bonus. "Boys will be boys..." Hawkeye rolled her eyes at the two giving each other the evil eye. Alphonse awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. Sometimes his own brother could be embarrassing.

Embarrassing or not, Edward really needed to start caring for his body. If he got his proper rest and didn't 'raise his voice' so much, maybe he wouldn't be in this position. "As fun as this was, I think we should be heading back now. I'll make sure brother hands in his report as soon as he gets better!" Alphonse said grabbing everyone's attention.

But before they left Mustang's office, Ed had another idea. He snatched the nearest piece of paper and black ink pen. He began to scribble a few choice words down before setting the pen aside. "Oh good idea brother! Now you can still communicate with us without straining your voice!"

Alphonse stopped himself from praising his sibling once he caught a glimpse of that sinister look spread across his face. Edward marched over to Roy's desk and slapped the paper on top of it. Feeling satisfied, Edward made his way out of the office with Al in tow.

Once the Elric brothers left, Roy picked up the slip of paper and read the content. It was a bit hard to make out some of the words but when he did, he immediately slammed his fists down in pure anger. That kid had some nerve. "Sir, If you don't mind me asking, what did it say?" Riza questioned as she saw the Colonel clearly outraged.

"I'd rather not say. But I will not allow those kinds of words be used under my roof."

And then he proceeded to burn the paper to ashes.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave me some feedback! I'd love that so much! :)