A/N: A little thing I thought of and wanted to type it out. It isn't anything grand or huge, just a little idea I thought about since Ed always seemed to have nightmares.
one-shot only. Please read and review.

He had the eyes of a boy, yet the heart of a man. "Or perhaps," Riza considered when she saw the young man like this, "It's the other way around." Either way, the reality was mingled. He was not fully a man who shouldered his burdens away from everyone else. In some ways, perhaps horrific though they were, he was still a child. Trapped in his memories. Both of the Elric boys were, after all, still children. It was something Riza struggled with as she saw Ed now. He was caught up again in a round of little sleep, his guild waving over him like the rain of denial. Still, unlike that of a mere child, he understood what had happened.

He just blamed himself.

Loss was inevitable in the military. Being stupid, nosing around into matters that didn't concern you, well, you just didn't do it. These boys, this boy particularly, had a fondness for shoving his metal middle finger into the face of the military. All of her boys, the men she cared for did that, she assumed. Roy, his idiocy was endearing, his heart purely gold. He had the eyes of the future, and there were often times she sought his comfort, when she herself could find none. Roy would take her on the nights she sought sensual peace in her arms. She would give her body to that man whenever he wished, because she too, wished the same.

Riza knew it was only a matter of time before one of the Elric boys would seek comfort of their own. Al, he was better at hiding things, he found ways to sequester his pent up emotions, often just sitting motionless. Ed was flesh, his tears would stain his cheeks. They were tangible, wet and real. He, unlike his brother could not hide behind the metal that forged them into the young men that they were.

"Perhaps it is fitting," Riza assumed, "that the younger brother is stronger." Ed was the one who carried the weight of both of them, regardless of Al's own determination. It was no doubt that Ed would crack eventually. She just didn't think it would end up being in the corner of his room, after several nights of refusing to go to bed. The first time it had happened he was very young. He had just passed the exam, his childlike fear gripped him, and she saw the quivering little boy, who'd lost his mother.

The nights like that night, the nights like tonight, would come and go like the ocean tides.

"Let me deal with him." She'd told his companions, who watched on wordlessly. "Al, go with Winry." She didn't want anyone around, anyone to witness her own understanding. When the door clicked shut, she turned her gaze away, locking the deadbolt with an unsavory click. His whimpering held him in place, and her eyes softened as she realized, for not the first time, that Ed was still very much a child. She could not count the ways. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up, half carrying him to the bed as he dragged his feet, even as she managed to get him to sit down, his eyes seemed so blank in their vastness, his eyes still raining in guilt. "You need rest, Edward." She told him softly as she pushed him gently unto the mattress.

His cold metal hand caught her before she had the chance to move away from him, even a little. "Don't leave." He shuttered out.

There was something she believed in, as insignificant as the army made it seem. The warmth of another, you could not replace it. This boy had most of the gentleness in life ripped away from him. Taken before he was ready to let go. Life was cruel like that, but she knew well of the coldness in his heart. She released herself from his grasp as she sighed, unbuttoning her military jacket. She was familiar with this routine by now. What boy his age wouldn't need reassurance? Riza shook her head inwardly at that, they all did. All of her boys needed it.

Roy needed a woman strong enough to stand by him.
Al needed someone gentle, to guide him, especially after brotherly fights.
Havoc, being the womanizing idiot that he could be, needed someone to keep him in line.
Fury merely needed a friend.
Edward...

He needed her. Perhaps it was because he was not yet old enough to seek a woman his own age. Perhaps it was he fear that kept him from clinging onto Winry, or even that dark haired girl, Lan Fan. He did seek a woman though, and that woman was her. As she slipped out of most of her attire, he didn't look at her with the same eyes Roy did. He didn't wait to ravish her, or even gaze upon her with the intent to touch her in such ways. Merely he looked on, waiting for his warmth, waiting for her unconditional love. "Don't you ever get sick of this?" He asked defeated as he put his arm of metal over his eyes. The cold likely burning his skin, his actions making her see the shame he felt.

"Whatever it takes." She told him, the only things covering her were panties, and the dark shirt she always kept under her uniform. Though, she did remove her bra expertly, pulling out of the shirt without exposing herself. "There are times that you have to admit you're weak. That you have to give into your desires, as inappropriate as they may be." Yes, that was the word for this, now wasn't it? Inappropriate, the way it was now, as she slipped under the covers. Inappropriate that a grown woman, such as herself, would stay with a boy his age, and sleep near him, even entwining the boy in her arms. "People need each other, Edward. Sometimes, you can't do it alone."

Ed was calm as she held him, and for one night, even if it was only for that night, he would sleep well. His mother wouldn't plague him. His guilt wouldn't chase him. For just a few hours he would fall into the depth of darkness that was dreamless, nothing to haunt him, and nothing to hurt him. He didn't say anything as he began to drift off, and she smiled her sad little wane. Damning fate, as she wondered how a boy like him could lose a person so precious.

He needed solace, craved it to the point of hysteria on the worst of nights. "Anything to get by." A motto she often chanted rang in her ears and somehow the sickening thoughts of situation melted away from her, just like it always seemed to do. One day soon, she knew well enough, Edward would seek a woman his own age. He would want something passionate and lustful. Right now though, he just wanted a woman to hold him, to nurture him. Right now, he just wanted a mother.

"What kind of woman would I be," she reminded herself harshly, as if she were scolding Roy about how young the boys were once again, "if I denied this child simply that..."