AN: Why is it that Roy/Ed stories seem so much better when Ed is hurt or when the story is filled with angst? Anyway, this is my second Fullmetal Alchemist story and is another RoyEd one. I'd say this is parental RoyEd, but there was moments were I was tempted to lean towards a more romantic relationship. I mostly avoided it, but there is still moments, so take it as you will and enjoy :)

Submerged

Ed stood at the edge of the dock, peering into the water. His mind was miles away, lost in deep thought. On a curving road cut into the cliff, Roy Mustang stood watching the boy. Ed had been leaving the hotel that he and Al were staying in late at night but refusing to let his brother follow him. He'd even resorted to climbing out the bathroom window after telling his younger brother that he was going for a shower. When Alphonse told Mustang about Ed's odd behaviour, the Colonel grew interested and had decided to follow the talented young alchemist. The hum of the car behind Roy was the only noise and the only movement was that of the waves crashing against the sand and the wind that rustled their hair; until Roy saw a dark shadow move behind Edward. Acting purely on instinct, Roy got in the car, and put it into gear. He felt an unexplainable need to get to Fullmetal.

The shadow turned out to be a person. The stranger stopped behind Edward, and grabbed his arms with a painfully strong hold. Edward jumped at the sudden touch and tried to pull away, but the hands held him tightly, leaving bruises on his flesh arm and surprisingly managing to hold onto the automail without difficulty. The person leaned in close to Edward, pressing his lips to the alchemist's ear.

"Hello there, shorty." The person murmured, before laughing. Ed struggled more in the creature's grasp and felt panic fill him when they moved closer to the edge of the dock. Ed managed to look over his shoulder, but couldn't recognise the man that held him. That didn't tell him anything though. It could be Envy for all he knew, but he doubted that. The man looked homeless and smelt like beer and sweat. The smell was so repulsive and strong that it took all Ed's self-control to not gag. That would have been a bad idea. He felt the man wrap a tight arm around his waist, pinning his arms to his sides. Edward tried to force his hands together but couldn't, and this man was surprisingly strong despite his appearance. The man's spare hand stroked Edward's hair, causing him to shudder at the sickening way the man did it. Ed snapped his head as far away as he could, but didn't get very far. The man slurred something that Ed couldn't make out and dragged a filthy hand down Edward's cheek. The touch would have been a loving, gentle gesture if if had been anyone else. Anyone such as Winry. Ed groaned, silently cussing himself for even thinking that. He didn't want Winry to touch him like that, they were just friends.

"Bastard! Let go of me!" Fullmetal cursed, still fighting to get free and growing more worried as the man drunkenly edged them closer to the end of the dock. In the next moment, everything seemed to happen at once, and it was almost as if Ed was watching it unfold in slow-motion. The man's eyes glinted. There was the roar of a car close-by and the bang of a door being closed. The strange man then stumbled in what Ed assumed was fright and let go off Ed, who also stumbled, falling forward to the water, and as he did, Edward felt his feet collide with those of the man that had grabbed him, throwing him even more off balance. He heard someone shout his name just before he fell face first into the water.

Breaking the surface of the icy water shocked Ed into gasping, which he instantly regretted. The freezing water slipped into his lungs and he had to force himself to keep his mouth shut. The sea water was freezing and the weight of his automail was pulling Ed under faster than he was comfortable with. He'd managed to get to the surface a couple of times but in his attempts to breathe he just started coughing, which made him flail about and he swallowed more water. The salty water burned his lungs and eyes. He shut his eyes tightly as he was once again dragged below the surface. This time he knew that he wouldn't be able to pull himself to the surface and the dock was too high for him to pull himself up onto, even if he could surface again.

His coat was aiding in the attempt to drown him. It soaked up the water around them and seemed to gain an unimaginable amount of mass. It seemed to get caught in substances that weren't there and wrapped itself round his legs. He was growing tired and was beginning to consider just giving up. He was out at night on his own, nobody knew he was out his hotel room; even if they if they did, they had no idea where he was. His attacker wouldn't come to his rescue. Under the water everything was muffled and all noise and light was distant. The stupor was beginning to take him and he was only faintly aware of what sounded like a far away gunshot. Edward stopped fighting then. What was the point in fighting anyway?

Roy drew his gun as the man pushed Fullmetal off the dock, and he didn't hesitate to fire. A gun wasn't his preferred weapon of choice, but his gloves were in the car, and that would take too long. The bullet hit its target in the back of his neck, ripping though muscle and nerves, severing the spinal cord. The male dropped onto the wood of the dock, bleeding profusely from the wound. Roy dropped his gun in the sand, pulling his coat and shirt off and kicking his boots off before diving in after Ed.

It didn't take Roy long to swim to Ed, but getting him out the water was a task that was more difficult that he'd first realised it would be. Roy ripped the boy's jacket off him, wrapping an arm round Edward's waist. Despite looking unconsciousness, Ed was still gripping to a semi-aware state. He wrapped an hand around Roy's neck, though it was weak and served no real purpose.

Roy finally managed to pull Ed from the water and laid him on his back in the sand, the tide flowing over the young alchemist's legs. Roy moved to Edward's side, tilting his head back to open the boy's airways. When he found that Ed had stopped breathing Roy pushed down on Ed's chest before checking his airways again and then pressing his lips to Ed's, breathing for him, only stopping to repeat the process. After a minute, Ed coughed, water spraying from his mouth. He didn't stop coughing and Roy gently sat him up so he didn't swallow the water again. Roy sat in the sand with his legs stretched out on either side of Ed, who sat leaning his back heavily against Roy's chest. The Colonel brushed wet hair from Ed's face as the alchemist's head rolled to the side. Edward's breathing was coming in heavy wheezing pants, broken up by coughing. He was shivering and Roy knew that he had to get Ed out of his wet clothes and into something warm and dry.

"Dad...?" Ed breathed, his eyes closed and his right cheek pressed against the muscles that defined Roy's chest. Roy held Edward's arms tightly as he shivered, and stared at the golden head in wonder. How could he reply to that? He wasn't Ed's father. He wasn't anyone's father and was happy to keep it that way. But his heart still thundered against his ribcage at that single word. When Edward's shivering grew too bad, Roy shifted from his position behind Ed, laying him down on the sand gently. The alchemist's eyes fluttered open briefly and then shut again, but he weakly reached a metal limb out, wrapping the chilled fingers round Roy's wrist. "Don't leave..." Ed whined quietly. "Please don't leave me." He coughed again, wincing at the apparent pain it caused him and covered his mouth. Roy pulled from Ed's grasp and quickly got his discarded coat and shirt before he moved back to Edward.

"Fullmetal. It's Roy. We need to get your wet clothes off." Roy called out to Edward softly. The boy's eyes fluttered open and this time met his gaze. Those beautiful golden eyes were full of fear and this shocked Mustang. He'd never seen fear in those eyes. Pain, and determination, but never fear.

"Colonel?" Edward croaked, watching Roy intensely. The Flame Alchemist choose to ignore the tears that glistened, unshed. in those eyes. "Damn, I thought you were..."

"Shh, Ed. You don't need to speak. but help me get these clothes off you. Can you sit up on your own?" Roy asked, his hands moving to the bottom of Ed's top, sliding it up his chest. Ed shook his head and pulled away, mumbling something about being a pervert and shut his eyes again. Roy scowled. It wasn't like he wanted to undress his subordinate. He grabbed Ed's arm, pulling him closer and forced him to sit up. Without giving Fullmetal a choice, Roy pulled the soaking top from Edward's body. Ed shivered more violently and leaned – almost subconsciously - into Roy, who was also dripping with water.

Roy forced Ed to sit up straight and paused for a moment. Ed groaned and looked up his commanding officer, shaking violently. There were those terrified eyes again. He opened his mouth to say something but Roy shushed him by pressing a finger to Edward's lips. Ed looked up at him, shaking in Mustang's arms. As Roy looked down at his subordinate, he couldn't help but notice the trails of water that ran down Edward's surprisingly toned chest. He shook the image from his mind and pulled his own dry shirt over Ed's torso. Roy then stood and pulled Fullmetal to his feet, but he had to hold Edward up. If he didn't, he had no doubts that Fullmetal would collapse into the sand. Awkwardly, and ignoring both their embarrassment for the sake of making sure Ed got warmed up, he fumbled about one handedly to undo Fullmetal's trousers. Ed didn't move when the material dropped into the sand, but Roy felt him tense and saw his cheeks redden. Edward's head was bowed and he seemed unable to look his commanding offier in the eye. It was clear that he was too tired to even argue with Roy's actions and that worried the colonel greatly. Roy slipped his long black coat onto Edward, fastening it up the front. It reached Ed's mid calf and helped to ease some of his embarrassment.

Edward leaned against Roy, shaking still and he raised his hands to clutch Roy's bare shoulders. The colonel wrapped a strong arm round his subordinate and glanced up at his car. He looked down at the shaking male in his arms and let out a small sigh. Turning his back to Ed, Roy crouched slightly and without speaking, Edward caught his meaning and climbed onto Roy's back. He wrapped his legs round his commanding officer's hips and put his arms round his neck. Edward leaned his head down onto his arms, touching it to Roy's in a search for comfort and shut his eyes. Roy held the boy's legs to make sure that Edward didn't fall.

Roy managed to force his cold legs to get them to the car. He opened the back door and gently put Edward down in the seat before he pulled a blanket from the boot of the car. He wrapped it around Ed's shoulders and his subordinate clung to it tightly, opening his eyes to watch Mustang silently. Roy fished his phone and ignition gloves from the front of the car and turned the heating up when he was there. He offered Fullmetal a small smile and then closed the doors to keep the chill out. He walked a few paces away from the car and then slipped the gloves on. With a snap and a controlled ability over the fire, Roy quickly dried and warmed himself in the heat of his alchemy. He let the flames die out before phoning Riza.

"Lieutenant! Yes, I know that it's late, and I'm sorry if I woke you. I need you to get a doctor down to docks and on your way let Alphonse know that I've found his brother. Ed almost drowned and I need to have him checked." Roy paused, half-heartedly listening to Riza lecture him about diving in after a drowning victim and about how he could have ended up drowning too, but most of his attention was focused on the silhouette of Edward in the back of his car. "Riza." Roy mumbled, shocking her into silence. "Just hurry will you. He was under for quite a while." And with Hawkeye's promise to get them help, Roy returned to the car. He slid the gloves off, and placed them and his phone in the driver's seat before he slid in next to Edward. He was still shivering but it had died down to less violent movements now. Roy pulled Fullmetal close, embracing him and going against most of his personal boundaries. But this wasn't a normal night, proven by Ed's acceptance of the embrace. Fullmetal curled up until all that was out the blanket was his head, and he leaned against Roy, who had his arms round Edward.

"I'm sorry that I called you Dad, Colonel." Edward mumbled, embarrassed. Roy shook his head, and looked down at Ed. The boy was glaring at the window, unable to make eye contact and most likely annoyed at himself.

"It's okay Edward. You didn't mean anything by it. You were in shock and scared. Its understandable." Roy said. He meant it as well, but he still felt his heart flutter at the memory of Ed calling out to him, scared and calling for his father.

"I'd call you a bastard but you did risk your life to save me." Ed mumbled, still not looking up at Roy. "You could have been pulled down with me because of my automail, you know that right?" Ed looked up when he felt Roy nod, shocked.

"I know Edward, but it was a risk that I took. I don't regret my choice. You are my subordinate and years ago I vowed to protect those under my command." Roy said, offering Ed a smile. The boy returned his smile and then looked away.

"You're a man of your word, Mustang." Ed said around a yawn. He shut his eyes and curled in closer to Roy. "And here I thought that your ideals were selfish and that you only cared about yourself." Edward chuckled slightly.

"Of course I'm a man of my word!" Roy scoffed. "What kind of leader would I be if I couldn't keep my promises?" Roy dropped an arm to his side, but kept one around Ed's shoulders. The car was heating up now and Fullmetal wasn't shivering as much. "Ed, what did that man say to you?"

In Roy's arms, Edward tensed up. The memory of that man's perverted touch brought a sickly nauseous feeling. He balled his hands into fists and glared at the seat in front of him. Roy didn't push Fullmetal for answers straight away. Mustang looked away from Ed, peering out into the darkness that surrounded the car to the body on the dock. The black water reflected the bright moon.

"I don't know what he said. He was drunk and I couldn't make it out." Ed mumbled, looking out the opposite window. Roy glanced at him, glad to see that he'd stopped shivering now. "He..." Ed paused, as if the words were difficult to say. He swallowed, looking up at the road that left the docks behind. Edward lifted a hand to touch his jaw. "I think he was just a pervert, Colonel."

Roy watched him in silence for a moment, catching sight of headlights on the road further up. It must be Hawkeye with the doctor. Roy looked down at Ed again, smirking slightly. "He probably thought that you were a little girl from behind." Roy replied, unable to help himself. Fullmetal looked up at him, furious.

"Who are you calling a little girl, you selfish bastard!" Edward screamed, pulling away from Roy, only just managing to stop himself from hitting his superior. Roy chuckled and opened the door, slipping out the car and ultimately away from Edward. As Mustang moved, Edward suddenly remembered how close they had been sitting and blushed, casting his eyes down. He then turned to Roy and watched as the colonel flagged down an approaching car. Ed turned to see who was in the car but couldn't see past the bright headlights in the darkness. He opened the other back door and got out. The blanket still wrapped tightly round his shoulders, he placed his left hand over the top of the door, as if to steady himself. The car stopped and as it did the doors opened. Edward was still unable to see past the light but he heard the clang of metal and Alphonse shout his name before his younger brother ran over.

"Brother! Are you okay? The lieutenant said you almost drowned." Alphonse cried, stopping at Edward. Ed offered his brother a smile and nodded.

"I'm okay, Al. Don't worry."

Hawkeye walked over to Roy, saluting him and only lowering her hand when he returned the gesture. She turned to the doctor that she had brought with her. Roy didn't know the doctor, but he respectfully shook the man's hand. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang. That is Edward, I want you to check that he'll be okay." The doctor nodded and turned to Ed, who was looking at him over the roof of the car.

"Yes, of course. I would like to check you over as well Colonel." The doctor said, looking back to Roy. The colonel nodded. He would have argued but with his lieutenant standing by him, it was extremely unlikely that he'd escape a check-up.

"Very well. Doctor, Fullmetal, I'll drive to the hospital. Lieutenant, take Alphonse back to the hotel, I'll drop Edward off after." Roy then turned towards the car, closing the still open door that he stood by. The doctor moved to the passenger seat when Edward sat back in the back seat. Edward closed the door, but rolled down the window.

"Go with Lieutenant Hawkeye, Al. I'll be back soon." Ed rapped his knuckles against Al's chestplate, offering his younger brother a grin. Al nodded, and Ed rolled the window up as Mustang pulled the car away.

.:.:.:.

Ed opened the door and climbed out the car. He pulled the blanket off his shoulders and tossed it over the back seat. Edward looked up at the hotel, staying by the door of the car. He then turned to look at Mustang, who was watching him over his shoulder. When their gazes met, both soldiers looked away; Mustang turned to look at the road; Ed back to the hotel.

"Thank you, Colonel. The doctor told me that I would have died if you hadn't gotten me out when you did." Ed then closed the door and walked up the steps to the hotel. He heard the car drive away as he opened the door and paused to watch Mustang leave with a small smile on his lips.

"Thank you, Roy."