"Roy, go check on Ed; He's not answering my calls."
Roy glanced at Riza over his paperwork. "Maybe he's asleep?"
"I don't care." she said, using her assassin voice. "Go. Check. On. Him. Now."
Roy was out the door by 'on' (Riza's scary when she uses one-word sentences).
He drove to Ed's apartment, climbed the stairs, and knocked. No response. Good. That means he probably is asleep. He drew a quick transmutation circle, and unlocked the door. Gotta love that alchemy stuff, right?
As soon as he walked in, he had to fight not to roll his eyes and sigh. Ed was at his table, using paperwork as a pillow. This looks oddly familiar. He walked over, to insect further. Looked like a combination of old reports and new notes. Evaluations. And Ed, hunched over, still in his uniform. Great.
Rather than risk waking him, Roy sighed, picking up the still much smaller alchemist and carried him to his room. He had set Ed on his bed and was undoing his jacket when Ed regained a bit of consciousness and grabbed his wrist in a firm grip. He sat up, trying to glare at Roy with hazy bloodshot eyes. His face was red, his fever obvious.
"What are you doing?" Ed asked, his voice a bit lost sounding.
"It's not good for you to sleep in your uniform." Roy pulled his hand away and continued.
"But why are you here? How did you get in?" Ed demanded.
"The door. Orders from Ms. Riza to make sure you were okay. Which you weren't, obviously, since you were asleep on your evaluation."
"I'm fine." Ed said.
"Of course."
Roy pulled the jacket off, which caused Ed inadvertently to lean forward. He lost his balance, and to avoid falling off the bed held onto Roy's neck. Roy set the jacket on the bed, then again picked Ed up to place him at the head of the bed.
Not expecting that, Ed ended up gripping Roy neck a bit tighter, his eyes a bit more focused and nervous.
"I can move myself." He said defensively.
Roy just smirked, laying a cool hand against Ed's forehead again. "Hm. Your fever's gotten worse, you should have gone to bed."
Ed glared weakly, saying, "No, you're just so damn cold."
Roy nodded, turning about, without response to Ed. He left the room, hoping Ed would stay put, and glanced in a few doors, until he found the bathroom.
Okay, aspirin, cool compress--
The medication was easy, the compress a bit difficult-- Ed seemed to have difficulty with laundry-- and finally, he filled a shallow bowl with cool water. He turned and re-entered Ed's room.
He was now under the blanketing, but glared at Roy as he came. "I thought you could find the door on your own, but I guess not."
It was said without malice or anger, just slight annoyance. Roy sat down on the edge of the bed, handing Ed two aspirin, which Ed took dry.
"Lay down." Roy said firmly. "You need some actual sleep."
Ed laid back, a sense of gentle exhaustion covering him. He shivered as Roy laid the damp cloth across his eyes. His breathing deepened as he drifted into sleep.
Roy quietly stood and went into the living room, picking up the phone.
"Hey. I'm going to stay with Ed for a bit...No, he's just being stubborn, it's probably just a virus or something...Yes, I know I'll have to catch up in my paperwork, I'm staying just the same..."
Roy suddenly blushed at Riza's closing remark. "Seems like you're enthused to be with him, so I'll go ahead and clear your schedule. Bye."
He stared at the phone before replacing it in the cradle. Enthused? He just shook his head, turning to check Ed.
He was down, but awake as his hand was rubbing his temples, the cloth sitting near the bowel on the bedside table. Roy disappeared for a moment, returning with a chair and a glass of water.
"Thanks." Ed said quietly, taking it without question.
Roy sat and watched him drink it slowly, noticing how shallow his breathing was. As Ed laid back to continue sleeping, he glanced over at Roy.
"Are you going to stay?" He sounded as if the fever was talking, soft and insistent.
"A while, yes." Roy replied, drawing a simple transmutation circle to re-cool the water, pressing the cloth to Ed's forehead. "Just try and sleep."
Ed smiled softly. "Thank you. I'm glad."
That's unusual. He shook his head slightly. Ed was going to sleep. That was all that matter, he needed the rest. He sat back in his chair, closing his eyes, trying to remember what he'd been working on earlier.
Naaaaha!! Come on people!! Instead of just adding me to your alerts (thanks btw -) send me a review!! If You Get My Drift gets maaaaajoooor brownie points for being the first and only reviewer. Here's to you, buddy! I would have given up on this story if you hadn't reviewed. Happy Halloween everyone!