Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
He had to keep going. He couldn't take a break, couldn't stop. If he did, who knew what would become of the boy he was searching for. It may have been freezing cold and snowing – of course the Homunculi had to take Edward up north, where it was so cold you'd probably freeze to death before accomplishing much – but he wouldn't stop. Roy idly wondered if he was anywhere near Briggs, but he couldn't really tell with all the snow.
When Alphonse had burst into Roy's office, going on about how his brother was missing and that someone must have kidnapped him, Roy wasn't so sure that he was right. But – after a little investigating and asking around – Roy had figured out that the Homunculi had been in town. And that, along with the fact that Edward was missing, added up to trouble.
After finding out where it was they had dragged the boy off to, it had taken quite a lot of convincing on Roy's part to keep Edward's brother from coming along. But he knew that, in this weather, anything could happen to the boy's blood seal, and Roy knew that Edward would never forgive the Colonel for something like that. Hell, Roy wouldn't forgive himself if he let something like that happen to Alphonse. It was only when he promised to bring his brother back safe and sound that Alphonse reluctantly allowed him to go alone. Well, he could have gone without Alphonse's permission, but he thought the boy had a right to know that his brother was being searched for and by whom.
Roy just hoped Edward was alright. He didn't really know much about where he was, just that he was in the general direction he was walking in.
After finally finding the Homunculi, it had turned out that they didn't even have Edward. He had snuck off when they weren't looking. How he had managed that with only one arm, Roy would never know. The Homunculi must have been slacking to let him get away like that, though maybe that had been their plan all along. Roy had yet to figure them out.
That green-haired one – Envy, Roy thought – had been lucky that Roy hadn't burned him alive. But the Homunculus had given him valuable information, so he let him live. For now.
Roy wasn't sure if he should have followed Envy's directions, but they were the only lead he had. He had to take the chance.
And so there he was, trekking through a snow storm in his search for Edward. He was worried, even if he'd never admit it to another living soul. Edward was without an arm and in the middle of a blizzard. Not to mention the only thing he had to keep him warm was that red cape of his, along with his usual attire. That wasn't much. Roy hoped that he had found shelter from the frigid outdoor air somewhere.
It was so cold. Roy wondered if he'd ever find Edward, or – more importantly – if he'd ever find him alive. The mere thought of finding him otherwise made Roy's stomach churn. The thought of finding him lifeless, not moving, his eyes forever open and dull-
Roy shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about such things. Edward would be fine, and he would bring the boy back to his brother, just as he had promised.
Roy tilted his head down to keep his face safe from the cold and snow for a few minutes – as he had been doing on and off for some time now – and to look for anything that might aid him in his search for the boy. It was a couple of minutes before he saw them, and if he hadn't been looking down then, he might have missed them altogether.
Footprints, uneven as though the one who had made them had one foot that was heavier than the other, and clear enough to see in the swirling snow. They were Edward's footprints.
He looked in the direction they had come from, he had to be sure. They came in from his left and continued to his right. Edward must have taken a different route than him, but they more than likely came from the same place. And how many people were wandering around in a blizzard with an automail leg? Thank God they had crossed paths.
Roy picked up the pace, going as fast as the blinding snow and his mildly frozen limbs would allow, and followed the slowly disappearing footprints.
When he finally reached the end of the trail, the snow had slowed down significantly, and it would soon stop altogether. Good, Roy didn't want to have to find his way back in a blizzard. He'd had enough snow to last a lifetime.
The house that the footprints led to was small, and it looked out of place in the vast expanse of white snow. It seemed too warm and cozy for the frozen wasteland.
Roy approached the house cautiously, not sure if he should knock or just barge in. He didn't know if someone lived there or not.
He tried the doorknob. It was unlocked. Roy slowly pushed the door open, wary of any and all possible threats.
"Fullmetal?" He called out hesitantly. There was no response.
He felt a little invasive, entering someone else's house without their permission, but Roy needed to find Edward and get out of there. The place gave him a bad feeling.
The house was just one story, only so many places for Edward to be. Roy walked around the house on silent feet, listening out for any sound that would alert him as to where Edward might be.
"Fullme-" Roy stopped himself in the middle of his calling for his insubordinate when he saw blood smeared on the wall. Then he called louder, "Fullmetal!"
He ran through the house, faster now, "Fullmetal!"
"Fullmetal!"
"Edward!"
Roy's heart was in his throat. What if he was too late? What if Edward was already dead?
As he ran past a door – which he presumed was a bedroom of some sort – he heard a muffled noise, something that sounded an awful lot like a person screaming. What they were screaming though, he couldn't make out.
"Edward?" Roy tentatively asked, his hand reaching for the doorknob.
More muffled yells, and then a crash. Roy threw the door open, and he was not at all prepared for what he saw.
Edward had his back pressed flush against the wall behind him and his knees – well knee – was drawn up to his chest, his lone arm wrapped awkwardly around it so as to keep it there. His blond hair was bedraggled, no longer in its usual braid, but rather hanging freely around his face. He was breathing heavily and his automail limbs were nowhere to be found. Various cuts littered his body, though none were particularly serious, mostly superficial. That must have been where the blood had come from.
He was also lacking pants, and his tank top could barely be considered a shirt anymore. Roy noted this with a mix between disdain and anger, neither of which were directed at Edward.
This all took but mere moments to process, and after several seconds Roy turned to face the other man in the room, who was slow to process that someone had interrupted him. His belt buckle was undone, and he had no shirt. Before the man could do anything else, however, Roy was on him, punching him repeatedly in the face, blinded by his own rage.
How dare he even attempt to do something so disgusting to his son? Roy didn't even realize what he had thought until long after it was there. But, he supposed, Edward was sort of like a son to him, in a way. He was Roy's subordinate, and he had grown attached to the boy and his younger brother after knowing them for so long.
"Colonel!" Edward shouted, the trepidation in his voice confusing Roy. That is, it confused him until he saw the knife the stranger had pulled out of his pocket. Oh, how Roy wished that his gloves hadn't managed to get soaked, even within his own pockets.
Roy grabbed hold of the weapon, keeping it away from his face. The man, realizing that he would be unable to defeat Roy in a battle of strength, brought one hand away from the knife and struck Roy in the side of the head with as much force as possible – which was quite a lot apparently, as Roy's vision blurred and he saw stars.
When he raised his hand to strike Roy again – perhaps even with a knife this time – a flash of blonde flew across Roy's vision, and the man was gone. The realization that it must have been Edward briefly crossed Roy's mind before his thoughts returned to wondering why the dots flying in front of his eyes were there.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a shout, "Colonel!"
Whoever the person was, they sounded terrified. Had Roy ever heard someone so scared? No he had not. Was there another person in the room? Clearly. Did he know that voice? He thought it rang a bell.
"ROY!" The voice sounded again, and it seemed to break through Roy's delirium.
He glanced over to where the voice was coming from and saw the man holding Edward to the ground, and keeping him there against his struggles. The boy tried to kicked out at the man, but his leg was easily restrained as well as his arm.
"Roy! Wake up, Roy! Please!" Edward yelled again, scared of the man whose face was far too close for comfort.
As Roy regained his senses, he stood up and grabbed the lamp from the bedside table before running at the man and whacking him upside the head with it, succeeding in knocking him out.
As soon as the man's grip was loosened, Edward was halfway across the room, knee once again drawn to his chest and panting heavily in fear. He shook like a leaf, and Roy was certain that it wasn't because of the fact that all he was wearing was a pair of boxers and a tattered shirt. At least, not because that made him cold.
Before Roy knew what was happening, Edward was sobbing uncontrollably and tears were pouring down his face in torrents.
He'd never seen Edward so upset, he'd never even seen the boy cry before. It was somewhat disturbing to see him so broken up over something.
Roy was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. He had never had to deal with a crying child before, especially not on his own. But this was Edward, surely Roy could do something.
Roy kneeled down on his knees in front of Edward and – before he himself even knew what he was doing – he had pulled the boy into a hug.
Edward froze at the touch, not quite sure how to respond. When was the last time he had been hugged? Then he was returning the gesture, wrapping his arm tightly around Roy's middle and burying his face in his chest, almost as though he were trying to hide the fact that he was crying from the world, or just hiding from the world in general. Roy wouldn't judge him for either, given the circumstances.
"I-I-I thought yo-u were- a-and th-at he wou-would- h-he tried-d to-" Edward was sobbing so hard that he couldn't form a full sentence.
"It's okay, you're safe now. You're safe," Roy murmured softly, attempting to reassure the distraught blond.
"R-Roy, he almost- he almost-"
"But he didn't. Look, you're getting yourself all worked up. I would never let something like that happen to you, ever. You don't have to worry about that. I'll always be here in time," Roy assured the boy, pulling away from the hug and wiping away the tears under his eyes.
"You promise?" Edward's voice was so uncharacteristically soft, Roy feared he would have missed what had been said if there had been any noise in the room other than that of the boy's uneven breathing.
"I promise, Edward," Roy pledged, and he meant it. He would never allow something like this to happen again. He was angry at himself for not being there to stop it from going this far.
"Okay," Edward said, and Roy knew that meant the boy trusted him to keep the promise he had made. Roy would make sure never to betray that trust.
"I-I'm sorry. He almost killed you. I-if I hadn't be-en stupid enough to come inside, then-"
"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about. How could you have known? You were cold, and you were missing your arm. You needed help and you trusted that he would help you. I never thought I'd see the day where Edward Elric was too trusting." Roy's comment earned a slight chuckle from Edward, albeit a weak one.
"Yeah," Edward mumbled. A moment of silence that was neither comfortable nor awkward passed between them before Edward spoke up.
"C-can we go home now?" He asked feebly, scrubbing away any and all remaining traces of tears from his face.
"Yes, we can." Roy glanced around the room, quickly locating Edward's pants and signature red jacket, and then handing the items of clothing to him. Edward's face turned a bright shade of red before he swiftly slipped them on. Roy pretended not to notice.
"Here." Roy handed Edward his own outer coat – figuring his thin jacket probably wouldn't be quite enough protection against the freezing cold outside – and the boy took it gratefully and wrapped it around himself.
"Roy, I, uh, I don't think I can walk," Edward admittedly hesitantly. He decided not to comment on the fact that the boy was now referring to him by his first name.
"I didn't expect that you'd be able to," Roy replied, "Here, hop on my back and I'll carry you."
"Are you sure you can't just act as a crutch or something?" Edward asked.
"Just get on, Fullmetal. Before I change my mind," Roy ordered, and Edward begrudgingly obliged.
After leaving the house and walking in the direction he had come from for just over ten minutes, Roy commented nonchalantly, "You know, you're very light for a fifteen-year-old. It's probably because you don't drink your milk, shortie."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE HAS TO JUMP UP THE STAIRS ONE AT A TIME?!" Edward yelled in Roy's ear, and – though it was another thing that he would never admit to – Roy was glad that Edward was still the same.
"Hey, don't deafen me, Fullmetal."
"I don't need you to bug me about not drinking milk, too! Winry's already been on my back about it si-ince we were kids, I-I don't need you annoying me about it too!" The stutters were promptly unmentioned, and the two fell silent.
It wasn't long before Edward's head was settled between Roy's shoulder blades and Roy heard soft snores coming from him. A small smile turned the corners of Roy's mouth slightly upward. The boy had tired himself out. Good, he probably needed the sleep.
Roy just wanted to get Edward home, and maybe to a doctor. Most of the wounds hadn't appeared deep, but Roy wanted to be sure. He'd also have to call up Edward's automail mechanic and explain to her that the boy in question was now down an arm and a leg. Roy would make the call, he didn't want the girl yelling at Edward over the phone and trying to ask him what had happened. Roy was sure Edward wouldn't want to talk about it.
Thank God it had stopped snowing, or else Roy would've had quite the journey ahead of him. While it was still quite a ways away to the nearest mode of transportation, at least he wouldn't have to trek through another blizzard. He was so sick of the snow.
Soon – very soon – both he and Edward would be back where they belonged, and then the boy and his brother could set out on another probably-fruitless expedition to find the Philosopher's Stone, only to turn up another lead and start all over again with renewed hope. Those boys never seemed to run out of hope, no matter what was thrown their way. Roy liked that about the two.
He just hoped that this experience would be like all the others, something both Elrics would be able to bounce back from, especially the boy resting on his back. Though, if their earlier conversation was anything to go by, Roy was almost certain that he would be just fine. At least, he sure hoped so.
Hi guys! Hope you enjoyed this little one-shot! I might turn it into a two-shot, which was the original idea, but I'm having a lack of inspiration for it. Or, rather, the words aren't coming out right. If you guys think you might like a second part, leave a review requesting one. I might post one anyway, but requests would make me more inspired to do so. Tell me what you thought!