The rain was freezing. Useless. Useless. Each raindrop confirmed it as they beat down on his head. He was on the ground, scrambling backwards, away from the assailant. His gloves. His gloves were soaked. There was no way he could create a spark with those sodden gloves. That didn't stop Mustang from holding one hand out in front of him, as if it would work. It was a bluff. He knew it wouldn't work. The man with the gun would figure it out soon. Mustang was sure of that.
Edward was half dead, automail arm in pieces that lay scattered on the cobblestone alleyway. There was blood in his hair; his golden eyes were wide and unfocused. Something was off, he could tell. One minute he was staring at the gray stone wall and then he was faced with something blue. Vaguely, he recognized it as the back of a military officer's jacket.
Mustang put himself between the man with the gun and Edward. Hawkeye would have killed him if she knew, but he couldn't sit back and watch this man take Edward's life.
In that moment, he wasn't a prodigy. He wasn't a State Alchemist. He wasn't the Fullmetal Alchemist.
He was a child. Mustang saw it. And he would be damned if he'd didn't do something. He held one hand out in front; his bluff. The other was pushing Edward behind his back. It was a futile attempt at shielding him, but at this point, Mustang figured Edward would have a better chance surviving if he wasn't shot point blank.
The man raised the gun.
"You won't take him." Mustang growled. "Not while I'm here."
Rain might make him useless as an alchemist, but he wasn't about to let that stop him from protecting Edward.
The BANG was deafening. Mustang gaped as the man slumped forward, revealing Hawkeye at the alleyway's entrance. He let out a shaky breath, then turned around and propped up Edward. "Fullmetal, eyes on me!" He shouted. Edward's eyes began slipping closed. "Fullmetal! Damn it, Edward!" That got a response. "Colonel?" The boy, damn it, he was just a kid, he shouldn't be surrounded by merchants of death all the time. Edward's eyes focused for a moment. "Colonel. You came back for me." His words were slow, thanks to the head injury, but they were filled with an emotion that Mustang couldn't place right now, but he felt it and that hurt worse than any physical wound. "Yes Edward. You're safe." He affirmed quietly.
Edward's eyes shone with relief. Mustang felt the hint of a sad smile tug at his features. It quickly turned to shock when Edward rested his forehead against his chest. "Safe." Edward repeated, using his good hand to grab Mustang's jacket in a vice grip.
Mustang's features twisted in pain and he gingerly folded an arm around the boy. He took a moment to close his eyes and get a grip on the dead weight inside his chest, to wrestle it down back into its place.
He knew Hawkeye was watching, and once the moment was over, he lifted his gaze to hers. "Hawkeye, we're going to need a perimeter. His automail arm is in pieces."
If she noticed the shaky quality to his voice, she didn't mention it.
"Yes sir."