The next morning, Alphonse was sitting outside Ed's quarantine center on a crappy plastic chair as soon as the doctors would allow him in (which just so happened to be 10 am—he'd been at the hospital since 8:30). Still, it seemed his earnestness was all for naught because Edward was still fast asleep.

His brother's chest, covered in blankets, rose and fell at a semi-regular rate; it was, in Ed's unconsciousness, clear that his breathing was labored. Al guessed this was due to his sore throat—in his experience, even when inhaling through the nose, it could be quite irritating. Edward's face was also scrunched, though Alphonse couldn't deduce whether this was from physical discomfort or a dream. On the bright side, Ed's heart monitor was beeping at a steady, healthy sleeping rate, and an IV tube kept a steady stream of nutrients flowing into his brother's system. At the very least, he was being nourished properly.

Many people would have, in Al's current situation, felt bored or even uncomfortable, and left to come back later. Alphonse, on the other hand, was completely at ease merely watching his brother sleep…mainly because he had done so for many years. Some nights while Al was stuck in that suit of armor he had meditated, getting a semblance of sleep in the sense that he was unaware of the world around him, but most nights he had ended up falling into the role of guardian for Edward. Whenever Ed had a nightmare, Alphonse had been there to lay a hand on his brother, and more often than not that calmed Edward…though he wasn't aware of that fact. Still, all that practice had made Al rather content to just sit and watch and be secure in Ed's safety.

Of course, he was less than sure now. It was a little ridiculous, because 70-30 odds weren't really bad. It's just that they could have been better. Al had complete faith that the doctors working with Edward would do their utmost to cure him…but what if it didn't work?

Alphonse shook his head—it didn't do anything to think like that. Still…

He jumped as a heavy hand fell on his shoulder. Turning, Al saw Roy standing there, eyebrows raised at his extreme reaction, holding a steaming cup of coffee. Strange that he hadn't heard the Colonel come up—Alphonse must have been more absorbed in his thoughts than he thought.

"Sorry," Al apologized. "You startled me there."

"Hmm…you ought to pay more attention than that," Roy replied, taking a nonchalant sip. "I wasn't being that quiet, you should have heard me."

"I know. I was just…worrying," Alphonse confessed. Before the other man could respond to that, he queried, "Do you want to sit? I can grab another chair."

Roy shrugged. "It's fine. Worrying about what?"

"Well, at the moment I'm worried about you," Al joked. "Civilian clothes? I almost can't believe you're the Colonel." It was strange to see Roy outside of uniform, though the waistcoat and trousers the man was currently sporting were still quite dressy.

Snorting, Roy took another drink, sighing in satisfaction—or maybe that was disappointment. "No, what's really bothering you? It's Ed, isn't it."

Now it was Alphonse's turn to sigh. "Yes," he admitted begrudgingly, eyes still glued to his brother. Inside the cube, Ed seemed to be stirring slightly, shifting as much as was possible with the needles and monitors he was attached to.

"I understand."

For the second time today, Roy had caught Al by surprise. He spun around to face the older man, eyes wide. "Really!? I mean, I thought you were going to tell me the odds are in his favor and I'm being ridiculous."

"Well, both of those statements are true," Roy cautioned. "Don't get too excited. It's just that I'm being ridiculous as well. After all, I extended what was supposed to be a brief visit into a three week long venture—at least three weeks, according to that doctor. So I can't very well lecture you about not overreacting. It would be hypocritical."

Alphonse was dying to ask just why the Colonel had elected to make that decision when he was distracted by an increase in the beeping from the cube. Looking back, he saw that Ed had woken up and was in obvious distress, his hands curled and his face scrunched up. Almost immediately, two nurses rushed over to Al and Roy. "Sirs, we have to ask you to leave," one said, while the other passed them to dig in a small supply box next to the cube. "We need to get in to see Mr. Elric, and you can't be in the vicinity. Someone will let you know when it's safe to return."

Both men accepted this without a fuss, heading to the waiting room quietly—after all, having to leave Edward for a few minutes was a lot easier than catching the disease from him. Still, neither Alphonse nor Roy was entirely comfortable with what they'd just witnessed.

"What do you think was wrong?" Al fussed, sinking into an armchair like it was a lifeboat.

"He must have been in a lot of pain when he woke up," Roy replied after a moment, sitting down as well. "After all, you've had sore throats before, right?"

"Right…" Alphonse didn't see the point.

The Colonel leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees as he asked, "Don't you remember how it felt to wake up with one?"


Edward was in agony. He thrashed on the bed, unable to contain his movements even though he knew they were only making the burning in his throat worse. He wanted to scream, but managed to avoid that mistake. Swallowing was torture, but not swallowing was horrible as well. This same thing had happened yesterday, the razorblades in his throat, but the thought didn't calm him. Yes, he knew someone would be in soon, but it wasn't going to be pleasant.

Sure enough, he was right. Two men in hazmat suits came at him, orange blurs through the wetness in Ed's eyes. They forced his mouth open, and suddenly he was drinking grape juice. Getting it down felt like he was going to die, like his neck was melting from the inside out, but once it was down the rawness was a tad bit less harsh…until the men sprayed a mist (extra strength pain killers) into the back of his mouth. Edward gagged, tears falling down his cheeks. It tingled, exacerbating the fire for a moment, before finally, finally it kicked in and the pain died down to a dull aching.

Dropping back down onto the pillows from his half-seated position, Edward breathed hard through his nose, trying to get over that ordeal. He'd had to deal with that every morning since he got here, and didn't know how long that routine would last. The thought was nigh unendurable.

Shakily, he brought his hands up to wipe at his damp cheeks. Through the suffering, Ed had caught a glimpse of Al and Roy waiting for him, and when they came back he didn't want any signs of crying to be showing.


After twenty long minutes, the same nurse who had ushered them out of the area stepped into the waiting room. "You're welcome back in, now. And don't worry, it's perfectly safe—the whole room was bathed in a sterilizing mist, so you won't be infected."

Al leaped up at the words, but Roy remained seated, waving him on. "Go ahead, I'll join you in a few minutes. Gives you time to do mushy brotherly things," he teased.

Nodding appreciatively, Alphonse sped into the containment room and up to the cube. Edward, now much more relaxed than when he had woken up, waved right back, smiling. Al breathed a sigh of relief, coming up close to the glass. "Morning, Brother. Are you alright? I saw you before…"

Shrugging, Ed pointed at his throat. "I'm sorry," Al murmured. "That must have been bad."

Another shrug, then Edward pointed at Al before drawing a question mark in the air. How are you doing?

"I'm fine, I guess. Worried about you, obviously. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you," Alphonse added. "May called this morning. She sends her best wishes."

Eyes lighting up at the name of Al's girlfriend, Ed waggled his eyebrows suggestively. As he always did whenever May was mentioned. Alphonse rolled his eyes. "Don't you think it's time to grow up a little? I mean, you're engaged and I don't do that."

As soon as he'd spoken, Al wanted to take the words back, remembering how tense the air had been between Ed and Winry yesterday. His brother's face fell, and he lowered his head to stare at the blankets.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I know things are a little touchy right now…" Alphonse said gently, pressing a hand to the glass between them. "Can I help?"

Before he was even finished speaking, Edward was shaking his head. He raised both hands, slashing them through the air. No. New topic. Without pausing, Ed then mouthed, "Roy?"

"He's in the waiting room," Al explained, but again, Edward was already shaking his head.

"Roy," he mouthed again, this time continuing, "Why call?"

Oh! Ed wanted to know why Alphonse had called Roy in at all. That was funny—Al had thought it was obvious. "Well, you were hurt and I felt like I should call someone. I tried Teacher first, but she didn't answer—I think she must be on another nature retreat. So I called Roy. I mean, he's kind of like a father figure, so it made sense."

Inside the cube, Edward was now making gagging motions. "Father figure?" he mouthed, followed by an exaggerated "ew" look that had Al almost doubled over in laughter. Once he recovered, he asked, "What, you don't see him like that?"

Ed was still for a moment, evidently musing. Finally, slowly, he shaped the words in stilted, silent sentences. "No. No dad. Mentor maybe. Mostly coworker. Acquaintance."

That was fascinating. Alphonse had always assumed they both viewed the Colonel in the same manner. "Huh. Really? I dunno he always seemed like another guardian to me."

This time, Al heard the footsteps, so he expected Roy's voice coming from behind him. "You better get that out of your head right now. I'm not cut out for kids, even if they are adults now."

Inside the cube, Ed was grinning, and his shoulders shook with the effort of suppressing laughter. He settled for sticking his tongue out at Alphonse. I told you he wasn't a father figure.

"So," Roy went on, "now that we've gotten that straightened out: anything we can do for you, Ed?" He instantly regretted this question when Ed mimed spinning and dancing awkwardly from his stationary position on the bed. "Other than making fools of ourselves," he amended.

Grinning, Edward mouthed, "I'm bored. Entertain."

"Ah, that's usually your job, Brother…" Alphonse mused, placing a hand on the back of his neck. "This will be much easier when you can talk, then we can at least hold up a conversation. We spoke so much when you visited in Xing there's no stories for me to tell you now…"

Nodding with understanding, Ed turned his gaze to Roy, causing the older man to gulp. Even dull with fever and general illness, Edward's strange golden eyes still held a mesmerizing quality. Framed by dark lashes, they drew Roy in and kept him prisoner there. They were eyes that demanded an answer.

Shit.

"I suppose I have a story," Roy sighed, placing his head in his hand. "But both of you have to swear to never repeat it."

Alphonse agreed with a quiet sound, Ed with robust nodding. "I made a bet with Havoc," Roy began. "He was complaining about how it was easier for me to fix up buildings back east with my alchemy, and I was certain he was just lazy, so I told him if I could do more than him in a day not using alchemy he had to wear a skirt to work the next day." Struggling for a moment in the face of the brothers giving him twin, knowing grins, Roy forced himself to continue, muttering, "And the conditions were the same for me. And I lost."

In the cube, Edward was laughing silently but hysterically, tears streaming down his cheeks (whether from pain or amusement, Roy couldn't tell) and a hand slapping at his blanket-covered knee. Alphonse's mirth was only slightly less boisterous, and much louder. Placing his hand over his face once more, Roy waited until the room was quiet once more before daring to look at either Elric. When he did, Al had mostly calmed down, the only sign of his lingering glee a slight twitching in the corner of his mouth. Ed, on the other hand, was still wearing a shit eating grin that made Roy question his decision to use that story. Still, it had definitely entertained Edward, so at least he'd done his job well.

"You're not to tell a soul," he reminded them sternly, focusing the brunt of his glare on Ed.

The other man nodded earnestly, leaning forward to get his response across. "I bet you looked sexy."

Roy was not a blushing person. But at that comment, heat flared into his face. While Edward had always been quick-witted and sarcastic, the removal of their superior-subordinate dynamic had evidently opened the channels for even more inappropriate teasing. To be fair, Al seemed just as shocked by his brother's words, so it wasn't like he was over reacting. That was just beyond what he'd expected, and it made him uncomfortably warm.

Smirking again at Roy's face, Ed waved his hand in dismissal. "Just kidding." He then leaned forward, head cocked to the side.

He didn't need to do anything else; Roy knew what he was asking intuitively.

So, any other stories?