AN.: I'm sorry for the trouble with the 'Major' thing... I took it out of the chapter so that nobody would stumble over it again .. I'm really sorry...

I hope you enjoy the second chapter. Could you leave a review on the end? I would appreciate it.

Title: Simple Offer

Rating: NC17 overall (PG 13/R this chapter, even at 13 Ed can't stop swearing)

Pairing: Roy/Ed

Warnings: Spoilers for the series, Yaoi, AU

Disclaimer: I'm playing with them, I don't OWN them.

Summary: A little offer and what came out of it.

Second Time

"You know what the doctor said. You must not fall asleep.", the younger brother told him again.

Ed sat there growling and his head and arm were aching. He hadn't told Al that he thought he had a fever, too or the younger Elric would have made him stay in that backwater village. He didn't want that. Better being ill in East City than somewhere else. The short blonde sighed heavily. He hadn't forgotten the words Mustang had told him after what had happened to Nina. You can come to me when you don't have somewhere to stay. It wasn't that bad. The guy had smirked but Ed had seen something else in his obsidian eyes – honesty, maybe, but also sadness. Over a year had passed since that awful night. They were brought to the dorms and had to stay there. The older Elric couldn't fall asleep that night despite being exhausted and tired. He didn't want Al to notice and faked sleep until a warm hand had touched the back of his head and green eyes looked at him through glasses. Sad but comforting eyes. He hadn't cried in years not even at his mother's funeral but that night he cried until he had no more tears to give and the Major had stayed until Ed had fallen asleep.

The boy let out a breath of cold air. Just twenty minutes to East City and another ten minutes to the dorms. He wouldn't go to the hospital – concussion or not – and even Al couldn't make him go and his younger brother knew that. His eyes nearly dropped close as a big leather hand shook his shoulder and nearly bumped him into the window.

"AL! I'm awake, okay?", the young alchemist shrieked as his nose touched the glass of the window. He didn't need a black eye as well.

"Sorry, Nii-san. But you know what the doctor said. 'You must not - "

"I KNOW what the doc said. 'You must not fall asleep.' I KNOW, okay Al? I won't fall asleep. Not until I have a warm bed to lie in."

The armour gave a clanking sound and sat back on the bench. Something about Al's behaviour made Ed suspicious. His younger brother seemed nervous as if he had done something what Ed wouldn't like. He narrowed his eyes at his younger brother who immediately started to sweat – or showed all signs of it as armour couldn't sweat. The 13-year old narrowed his eyes further and waited for his brother to give away what he was hiding.

As the blonde was ready to climb the armour to shake his younger brother the train stopped at the station and both boys sighed heavily.

"Well, at last we're here.", said the young alchemist and stood up stretching his aching limbs being careful with his left arm and yawned.

The armour stood up as well and got Ed's suitcase and made his way over to the exit, nearly storming out. The older teen arched his eyebrow and followed his younger brother. He stopped dead as he saw the Colonel waiting on the platform – smug smile in place and arms crossed over his chest.

"Good evening, Fullmetal. Welcome back to East City."

"What is good about an evening seeing you standing there?", he muttered and walked down the stairs.

Alphonse was already out of sight and Ed had to deal with the dark-haired bastard on his own. He rolled his eyes. Really, nothing 'good' about an evening meeting him here. Why was he even here? He hadn't to report yet. They were two days early and would have been sooner in East City when Ed hadn't been injured during his assignment. Wait a minute. Could it be? Had Al called him because Al had known that Ed wouldn't go to the hospital as the doctor had instructed and only Mustang could order him to go? The blonde walked up to his commanding officer and narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not going.", he put his hands on his hips and glared at the older man who smirked in return.

"You will and we both and Hawkeye know that you will be going." The raven-haired bastard just had to emphasis this name, right?

Ed huffed and stamped past the dark-haired man. Even when he could ignore Mustang's orders to a certain degree he couldn't deny that he would listen to a certain blond lieutenant and her gun. Said lieutenant was standing in front of a military vehicle and waiting for her commanding officer and Ed. The little blonde sighed and got into the car next to his younger brother. He glared at him, huffed a low 'Traitor' at him but remained silent during the drive to the hospital.

The white building where the hospital was situated in wasn't as big as the main hospital in Central but still big enough for Ed to feel uncomfortable. He had stuffed his hands in his pants' pockets and walked scowling through the entrance hall to the reception. The colonel told the young nurse Ed's name. She blushed, nodded and told them where to go while the teen rolled his eyes and walked after Mustang to get to the examination room they were told. Everything smelled of antiseptics and illness and – death. The blonde didn't like this smell and he had to control himself not to vomit on the hospital floor.

The colonel entered a small room on one of the floors and go into one of the chairs standing there. The teen followed but remained standing and starred at Roy as if the man was something new the teen never had seen before. The dark-haired man arched and eyebrow.

"Something wrong, Fullmetal?"

"Why are you sitting there? It's not you who gets an examination, right? I mean – I'm here, okay? Do you think I'll fuck off while you're driving wherever you're driving after you pretend to work?"

"Actually, I do think that you would 'fuck off' while I'm driving home." He glared at the teen who snorted. "But I noticed that there is more to your condition than you're telling Al."

Ed looked down and bit his bottom lip. This guy will make sure that he will have to stay here. Suddenly the room started to rotate and the young alchemist swayed before he felt himself falling. Just a moment later he opened his eyes again and looked into a blue chest that smelled remarkably like Mustang. He looked up and saw that Roy's mask had slipped from his face. His eyes showed his concern and his arms were cradling the teen's body protectively.

"And you told me to leave you alone.", muttered the older man and stood up dragging the teen with him.

The older man helped Ed onto the examination table so that he wouldn't fall again. He felt so tired and closed his eyes. Two hands were cupping his cheeks and he looked up again.

"Not going to sleep." The dark-haired man sat on the table next to the teen and looked him directly into his eyes. "Look at me until the doctor comes but don't. Go. To Sleep."

"Al told ya, didn't he?" His tongue felt heavy in his own mouth and he sounded like one of the many drunken homeless they had seen on their journeys. The colonel just nodded and his eyes never left the blonde's face.

Minutes later – what felt like hours to Ed – a doctor came in and Roy slipped from the examination table to take a seat next to the end were Ed's head was lying. The dark-haired man restrained the urge to stroke over the teen's head. He had been able to feel Ed's fever under his palms and was impressed that the blonde could still walk. The doctor examined him and sighed heavily. He scribbled something on his chart and rubbed his eyes.

"With the concussion, the hairline fracture in his underarm and the bronchitis he will have to stay here. For at least -', the doctor looked at the calendar hanging next to the door,' a week. Maybe two."

Roy nodded and looked at Ed who was starring at the doctor.

"I see. You said he had a hairline fracture in his underarm – how do you know that without x-raying him?"

The man looked up and scratched his nose with the pen he was holding.

"We called the doctor who first examined the -', he looked at his chart, arched an eyebrow, looked at Ed and than back at Roy, 'Major before he came here. He told us about the hairline fracture and the concussion. But it seems the bronchitis is a side effect from the journey to East City."

Roy nodded again and looked at Ed who was still starring at the doctor as if the man would wondrously say that everything had been a bad dream and that Ed would wake up any minute now in a warm soft bed in his dorm room. The colonel nudged his shoulder and the teen turned his gaze to the older man. He whimpered and got Roy's collar in his right hand.

"Don't make me stay here. You know I hate hospitals." His golden eyes even got bigger with every minute pleading.

Roy laid his own hand over the automail and tried to free his collar. "You're ill, E- Fullmetal and I'm not going to let you stay on your own in the dorms while your brother can't feel your fever."

The grip got firmer and Ed knew one thing what could help him out of this – Roy's offer.

"What about you?"

The colonel arched an eyebrow and looked questionably at the teen.

"What about me? I have nothing to do with this. Even I have to listen to medical orders."

The blonde rolled his eyes. And here he thought Mustang had a bit of understanding.

"I mean your offer. I'm staying with you in your fucking house and you can check on my fucking fever every fucking time you want.", he licked his lips and loosened the grip on the collar but didn't let it go yet.

He could see the colonel thinking about what the teen had just said. When- If he would take care of Ed while he is ill he wouldn't have to go to the office. He looked at the teen and licked his lips. It wasn't so bad the last time and Ed being ill would be even easier than Ed having nightmares – at least he hoped it would be this way. He nodded shortly and the blonde let go of his collar. The older man straightened and looked at the doctor who had watched the agreement silently.

Roy cleared his throat shoot a glance at Ed and asked, "What if I would take him home with me and check on his fever and concussion? Would that be alright with you?"

The teen and his commanding officer were waiting for the answer. The doctor tipped with his pen against his chin. He shrugged and made a note on his chart.

"Well, if you would take him home it would be fine by me. You will have to check on his concussion every hour tonight. We will have to splint his arm just to make sure the hairline fracture is healing perfectly AND you will have to take his medicine with you and make sure that he is taking it. I will see if I can check on him at least every second day."

The smile that slipped on Ed's face nearly cracked his face. The colonel hadn't seen the young alchemist that happy and he had never seen him this happy when it had concerned the colonel bastard himself. Roy cleared his throat and agreed to do as he was told. The doctor left shortly to come back with a nurse and the stuff for making a small cast on Ed's left underarm. It didn't take long.

As they left the lieutenant and Al were still waiting on the parking area for them. Mustang told her what the doctor had said and that he couldn't deny the teen to come home with him and that he, as Ed's commanding officer and guardian, would have to take care of the young blonde. He ended his speech with the words that he was very sorry that he wouldn't be able to come to the office for at least a week and that he would do everything to make it up to his office stuff. The lieutenant just nodded and smiled a very creepy smile and told her commanding officer that when he couldn't make it to the office while taking care of his youngest office member she would make sure that he wouldn't be behind schedule. The colonel whimpered but hadn't have to say anything further.

The house in East City was different from the one Roy had been living in in Central. It was a bit bigger and the Guest room was down the hall instead of opposite the master bedroom on the first floor. That made things a bit difficult as the colonel had to check on the concussion and fever every hour. The couch wasn't too comfortable to sleep on and the guest room was too small to get even a cot in there next to the bed. The dark-haired man sighed heavily as the three of them were standing in the entrance hall. He took Ed's coat and hung it next to his own. The blonde was still giving his little brother glares for calling the older man but refused to call him 'traitor' in every second sentence. Edward walked into the living room with a -for normal people- giant fire place and glanced at the colonel and rolled his eyes. He sat on the couch and leaned his head on the backrest.

"So tell me, Colonel, where is the guest room so I can lie down and sleep. I'm tired as hell and the cast is heavy.", to confirm his tiredness the teen yawned and stretched by arching his back from the backrest and flopping back down.

The raven-haired man had to blink several times before he could think clear enough to answer the teen.

"You're not sleeping in the guest room. You'll sleep in my bed so I don't have to walk too long to check on you."

Again those big golden eyes like that first time when he had offered his own place for the brothers. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Ed was about to talk as the older man raised his hand to stop the teen.

"I'm not going to argue with you over this. You said I should take you here so you wouldn't have to stay in the hospital. Now you have to listen to me for once or ', Ed was glaring at him, his golden eyes filled with as much hatred as he could muster at this moment, 'you will have to go back to the hospital."

The teen huffed and crossed his arms, as good as the cast would allow, over his chest. He scowled but didn't say anything. He didn't want to go back into the hospital. The smell always made him think of the time his mother had been ill.

"Okay. So where's your damn room? I am tired, you know."

Roy just smirked at this behaviour. This was the Ed he knew so well. He motioned for both brothers to follow him upstairs. The master bedroom was a lot more comfortable as the guest room and even bigger than the one in Central. Ed looked around growled and sat on the edge of the bed. Oversized like the rest of the house was everything he could think of. He pushed the comforter back and was about to lie down as the colonel interrupted him.

"What are you doing?"

The boy glanced over his shoulder at his commanding officer and shrugged.

"I'm going to bed. Told ya I'm tired.", he looked at Roy with his brows knitted and a small pout on his lips.

"No."

"What do you mean 'No.'? I'm lying down. You wanted me to sleep in your bed so what is it now?"

"Yes I told you to sleep in my bed but NOT in your pants. They are – dusty. And that is definitely an understatement."

The teen rolled his eyes, opened his belt and pushed the pants down until they were lying on the ground. Roy looked amassed as the teen crawled back onto the bed and lay under the sheets.

"Better? Or should I take a bath just to lie here in your fucking bed?"

"No. You shouldn't take a bath in your condition but don't you have something to pull over? Pyjamas perhaps? It's not that warm in here."

The teen rolled his eyes then arched his eyebrow.

"I'm normally sleeping in my underwear and when we have to sleep in the open or on the train I leave my pants on. No need for pyjamas when you're on the road. Right, Al?"

The colonel had forgotten about the younger Elric standing in the bedroom as well. He turned around and the younger teen nodded his head.

"He doesn't have pyjamas."

The older man sighed and walked to the closet. He couldn't let Ed sleep in his underwear. The bronchitis hasn't appeared fully yet but sleeping in just his underwear wouldn't help matters. He opened the closet doors and rummaged through different boxes. Both brothers were looking curiously to him until the dark-haired officer pulled something out of the closet and stood up. He turned around and threw the clothes at the blonde. It was an old long-sleeved shirt and some pants. He eyed them wearily and looked up at the older man.

"Why are you throwing your rags at me?"

"Those aren't rags but your new sleeping clothes. They may be too big for you but those are the smallest clothes I have in here and you're not just sleeping in your underwear."

The blonde huffed but got into the shirt and pants. They were way too big for him. Damn abnormal seized bastard. He scowled at the man and got under the sheets pulling them up until only his hair was still visible.

"Good night, Fullmetal. See you in an hour."

Ed didn't answer and the colonel and Al left the bedroom. The older man showed the younger Elric the way to his study. He knew how much those boys loved books. He told the boy that he had new books and that he could read as much as he liked. Alphonse thanked him and pulled a book out of one of the shelves that sounded interesting to him. Roy left him alone and walked back upstairs. He walked over to the small teen who was already snoring under the sheets. He sat next to him and stroked over the small part of the teen's head that was visible.

"You always worry us. Do you know that? I will have to call Hughes to tell him you're ill. I already got a wigging by him because you were so sad after what had happened to Tucker's daughter. I could stop him to get you out of the army because you have goal to reach. He will support you two. He told me as much. And – I will, too." He smiled softly down and laid his hand on the teen's forehead. "Your fever isn't high as it had been before. I just hope this so-called bronchitis won't brake out." He sighed and sat up stretching his tired limbs. "But knowing you I won't be that lucky."

He stood up and got into his sleeping pants and a loose T-Shirt. He got to the the other side of the bed and lay down facing the young blonde. He sighed again. Got his alarm clock and set it for an hour later.

"I just hope you appreciate what I'm doing for you, brat."

He laid down and closed his eyes for sleep to come.

To be honest – it wasn't that bad. The first night went on without any problems. Ed had been grumpy every time he was woken by Roy but remained calm and friendly. It just started to be stressful when Ed started to cough. The boy didn't just cough like any normal kid on this planet. No – he was barking and his whole body was shaking every time he coughed. More than once the colonel thought about bringing him to the hospital just so he could sleep. But this wasn't fair for the boy. So the dark-haired man stood up, helped Ed to sit up and come through the coughing fit. And to top all that he didn't even complain about the paperwork Hawkeye or somebody else of his office stuff was bringing him.

Two weeks later and Ed was healthy again. Despite himself Roy had thought it wasn't bad like that first time. But something had changed and he didn't know if he wanted that change at all...

AN: Thanks for reading