Edward woke up wheezing. He brought a hand up to his mouth, and felt the wetness on his cheeks. He groaned, anger at himself urging the tears to continue to fall.

It wasn't until Ed realized he was on the edge of the bed, about to fall off, that he remembered where he was.

Oh no. This wasn't happening. He'd been afraid this was going to happen, please let this be a dream.

Edward's breathing only became more and more labored as he began to panic. It was just a nightmare, just memories, he would be fine, he had to be fine right now. Ed gave up on stifling his gasps, instead trying to not shake the bed, curling in on himself to suppress any shivers. But life had a way of being an ass to him sometimes, and it wasn't enough.

"Ed?" came the bleary whisper from the other side of the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yep," he whispered. The low volume controlled the tremors in his voice…mostly. "Totally fine. Go back to sleep."

But Roy was just as stubborn as he was, maybe even worse, and Edward felt the man roll over to face him—please no, please—and then turn him around forcibly. Ed looked away from the prying eyes of his superior, glad for his long hair. It let him hide his face, muffle his noises.

"Edward, really, what is it?"

How to get Roy off his back? "I'm just really distraught, you know, having to sleep with you."

The man smacked his arm, more gently than he normally would have. "I don't know why you ever try lying, you're shit at it. Don't make me order you to tell me what's wrong."

"It wouldn't be the first time I disobeyed an order," Ed sniffed.

Roy shifted closer, and Edward's heart went into overdrive with nerves. The man was going to see him crying, that couldn't happen, he'd never live it down—

"Why are you crying?" Roy asked softly, pushing Ed's hair out of his face. Trying to pretend he hadn't just been caught, Edward shook it back down and he repeated the motion.

And here came the bad part. It was never when Ed first woke up, it was a few minutes later that the tears really began to fall. He gave in, hiccupping his restrained sobs. "I just—hic—have these nightmares—hic—sometimes. It's no big—hic—deal."

"Just like Alphonse?" Roy asked. Edward was pretty sure he felt the man's hand on his arm through the blankets, and he squirmed, trying to shake him off.

"Yeah, only lucky for you—hic—I don't kick. Otherwise, no children—hic—for you."

"You just cry."

Ed shook his head, more embarrassed than he could ever remember being. "It'll stop soon. You won't even know if you scoot back over there where you belong. Don't—hic—goddammit—let me disturb you."

Roy smiled at him dryly. "You know, somehow I doubt I'll be able to ignore you pretending you're not crying and cursing all night." The grin faded. "Does this happen often?"

Edward didn't want to answer. Yes, it happened all the time. The bags in his eyes weren't just from constant work. But Roy's eyes were boring into him, and maybe the man would be less inclined to tell everyone if he knew how bad it was.

He sniffed. Why did his optimism come at such pointless times? "Yeah," he whispered, hugging his blankets. "It happens a lot. Pretty much every night."

Roy's eyes widened and he ran fingers through his hair. "That's why you didn't want to come."

Cue flashback. Roy inviting Ed to come on the road trip with them, him trying to avoid it until Roy threatened to tie him up and drag him along. Edward winced.

"Why didn't you tell me?" the man asked.

Ed snorted, wiping away the water on his face, more or less under control now. At least he wasn't asking what the nightmares were about—then again, Roy could probably guess. "Because it's bad enough being the shortest one on the team, almost the youngest, the one everyone thinks is funny when he's pissed. I didn't need to give you any more ammunition, alright?"

Roy did just about the last thing he expected—he hugged Edward. "I wouldn't have made fun of you. I'm not that much of a jackass."

"No," Ed gasped, trying to get away. His arms were pinned, his face filled with chest and he was this close to using it as a pillow—nope, he had to stop this. "Get off me, you fucking pervert."

"I don't think I will," Roy remarked casually. "You make a rather perfect body pillow."

"I'll scream rape," Edward threatened, feeling dizzy. He was never this close to anyone, the blankets radiating Roy's body heat back at him, the smell of the man—not dirty, but not precisely clean, definitely not designer aftershave or cologne or whatever but just about as pleasant—and Roy's limbs surrounding him. If he had believed in a god, Ed would have been cursing him for his general size in that moment. He was way too easy to envelope and overwhelm.

Roy sighed, removing one arm from around him to cover Edward's mouth lightly. "No, you won't."

Ed glared, or tried to glare—he wasn't sure how effective he was being, if his facial muscles were obeying his command. "You're making me dizzy!" he complained, muffled by the hand. It was too much, too comfortable but too strange, and the safest option by far was to get out of the Colonel-cage.

Roy laughed. "This is where I should put in a line from that shitty, sparkly vampire novel. Lucky for you, I'm feeling merciful."

"Just wait until everyone hears you read that book," Edward threatened darkly.

"Hush up and go to sleep. Weren't you the one who was trying not to disturb me?" Roy shifted slightly, sighing as he allowed his head to rest on Ed's pillow.

"You're not serious," Edward mumbled. "You're not going to do this all night."

Roy pretended to already be asleep, snoring obnoxiously. Ed hit him and he laughed. "Hey, having me here might help with the nightmares."

"Careful, I think your ego's going to pop. What makes you say that?"

"I'm pretty magic that way."

Ed snickered. "I can just see you, fluttering around like some fairy, sprinkling dust on all the little kiddies to make them sleep."

"Damn," Roy muttered. "You've figured out my secret identity."

Edward paused, vaguely alarmed to find himself drifting towards unconsciousness. "Get off me. If Al wakes up and sees you assaulting me like this he's going to kick your ass."

Roy groaned. "Really trying to sleep here, Shorty." He lifted a hand, pulled Ed in closer, suffocating him with presence. "I wake up early. I'll move before he gets up." The man chuckled. "No one will know what I've done."

Edward wanted to argue, but he couldn't think of what to say, and besides, he was so comfortable. Besides, he reflected, if Roy told anyone he'd be incriminating himself as well at this point…

Ed woke up to see the sun shining through the gap in the curtains. Judging from the angle and hue—fucking hell he was a nerd for knowing this—the sun was just now rising. Edward felt the bed shift, and realize Roy had removed his arms from around him, scooted away—but not nearly as far away as he had been at first.

Surprisingly comforted by the man's lingering presence, the fact that Roy was really only a foot and a half away, Edward fell back into a peaceful sleep.

So I'm changing the genre to Romance/Humor. Maybe I'm the only one, but I think this is fairly hysterical.

Please review, let me know what you think~