Sorry for the late update, dudes. The first three chapters were prewritten and this one was written from scratch. It's also much longer so it took awhile for me to put down what I wanted and since I was putting pressure on myself to update soon, this chapter may seem a little rushed and may include a few grammatical errors. Please excuse me. Anyhow, this story has only been up for a week and I already have more views here than in anything I've ever posted on Wattpad. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will post the next one as soon as I can!

Ed spent the rest of the day taking care of his superior. The cold rag helped bring down his fever to a more bearable state and the installment of Roy's portable bedroom fan, helped keep him like that when the bucket of cold water was reduced to room temperature. The younger alchemist periodically brought him some pain meds and the antibiotics that were prescribed to Ed himself to help the Colonel's obviously worse case.

Soon, the sun began to set on his day of playing nurse and with Roy laid across the couch, having fallen asleep, Edward was left nowhere to sleep except the bedroom. Slowly, he made his way upstairs and found the bedroom the raven officer slept in every night. The sheets were still unmade, hanging off the edge of the Victorian style queen from last night. The bedposts on each corner of the frame reached as high as the ceiling and connected with a wonderful wooden canopy. The walls were painted a light blue that gave off the feeling of relaxation and calm. Edward looked around, noticing how, other than his bed sheets, the room was more or less pretty tidy. No clothes on the floor, his closet was neatly lined with pressed shirts and coats, items and small knick knacks arranged perfectly where they needed to be, even the bed frame was polished and shone in the light that entered the room from the hallway. He turned to another wall in the room that held up a fairly normal sized TV, under it sat a wooden dresser (also polished) that held two picture frames affectionately positioned to face the bed. One was of a younger looking Roy with an older man and a young woman. The little boy was wearing what looked to be his father's military officer cap. The smile on the younger Roy's face made Ed feel kind of sad. It was doubtful that Roy had ever smiled like that since he joined the military.

The frame next to it held a photograph from what looked to be a birthday party. The picture seemed recent and it depicted Roy and his team all gathered around for the photo. Each officer wore a party hat and held glasses of beer while surrounding a rectangular cake. Roy sat in front of it while Breda, Fuery, Hawkeye, Grumman, Falman, and Havoc stood behind him with the goofiest smiles. Ed could recognize one more, the only other person sitting down with his arm around Mustang and a happy smile spread across his cheeks. It was none other than Maes Hughes himself. He too sported a party hat and a party blower between his lips, held in place between his teeth. He took in the sight and surmised it must've been the Colonel's birthday. It had to have been a surprise since he just couldn't see Roy organizing a party for himself. His eyes finally settled on the man of the hour who, to his surprise, also had a small but very genuine smile on his face. The sight made him break a smile as well.

Finally, after more than enough snooping, Ed decided to get some sleep and crawled into the bed. The mattress felt soft and heavenly compared to the surfaces he usually slept on and he immediately closed his eyes and sunk into the sheets. A feeling of calm washed over him that when coupled with the rooms natural feel, made him feel much sleepier. After a few minutes of lying on his back, he turned to a more comfortable position, on his stomach, and got ready to go to sleep. He could smell the older alchemist's natural scent from the sheets and while it usually went unnoticed, now it was noticeably present and only served to soothe him. What that meant, he had no idea, but when he finally drifted off to sleep, his dreams were completely turned on their head.

The next morning, Ed woke up feeling more refreshed than ever. He didn't even feel as sick anymore. Perhaps a few tablets of anti-biotics were all he needed. He shrugged it off and slowly sat up in bed, taking a moment to remember where he was. His confusion of waking up in a foreign bedroom dissipated once he realized where he was and he swung his legs over the side of the bed. If he ever went back home permanently, he would definitely look into getting a bed like this.

Finally gathering himself, Edward slipped off the bed and decided to go downstairs to check on Roy. Hopefully the poor sap was feeling better. He looked so sickly yesterday, Ed was beginning to wonder if he'd have to take him to the hospital. Ed found him sitting up and stretching his arms, recognizing his yawn. It looks like he too had just woken up.

"How are you feeling?" Ed called from the doorway.

Roy turned to look at him, his eyes lidded with the last remnants of sleep. "Better. Sort of. Mild headache, aching muscles but other than that, I'm fine." He replied.

Ed narrowed his eyes suspiciously, trying to find out if that was the whole truth. He wasn't sweating so if he had a fever, it was low. His nose and cheeks were slightly red but no more than when he first got sick. Although he didn't look as sick, he could be feeling much worse than he looks. Ed decided to shelf it for now. If he was feeling bad, better not to make him feel worse by starting an argument.

The blonde moved into the kitchen to start cooking breakfast for the second time since he'd been there when Roy called after him. "How'd you like my bed?"

Ed stopped in front of the fridge and turned to look back at him, staring at him like he'd just accused him of trespassing. "You were on the couch. I won't sleep on the floor like a dog. And by the way, it was very comfortable." He continued on and set a pan on the stove, turning it on while he gathered the ingredients for some pancakes. While he stood there now playing chef, Roy slowly stood up and silently made his way upstairs. He walked the familiar path to his bedroom and looked inside.

"Wow, you move a lot in your sleep. ." He muttered to himself. He couldn't really reason why he felt the need to check his room but for some reason he did, and boy was he glad he did. The bed was a mess, pillows were on the floor, the sheets were pulled back from their respective corners, the covers were in a bunch and it for once, he felt like not making his bed. Still though, Roy walked over anyway to fix the monstrosity, taking his time while he allowed his mind to wander. He started to think of Edward sleeping in here, realizing once again that Ed had slept here pretty much in the nude. There was no way of telling if he slept with his robe on or not but he had to convince himself that he did or his face would be warmer than the fever.

After making his bed and taking a few minutes to calm himself, the Colonel made his way back downstairs, trying to keep himself composed. Ed noticed his strange behavior and narrowed his eyes a little at him. "Where were you? I was talking to myself for ten minutes before realizing I was talking to empty air."

Roy grinned a little at that, shaking his head. "Well, I went to go fix my bed, only to find it in more of a mess than its ever been. Know anything about that?"

Ed scoffed a little and shook his head. "Not a clue. Why don't you get on with finding the culprit while I sit here and enjoy my superb cooking."

Apparently Ed had already served one plate and he was working on the stacks for the second one. Somehow, the younger male had pancakes fluffier than most pillows. Edward's eggs were pretty good but his pancakes looked delicious. When Ed served the other plate, it was immediately picked up by the raven who then proceeded to drown the fluffy clouds in syrup. Roy cut the stack of pancakes and took one bite, letting out a groan of pleasure at the exquisite taste.

Ed giggled a little, much to his own surprise, and sat down on the opposite side of the table, digging into his own stack. "They're Al's recipe. He's learning how to cook so when we get his body back, he can experience these foods again."

Roy let out an approving grunt and continued to eat his breakfast. "Well Fullmetal," he said, speech muffled by the food in his mouth as he completely abandoned table manners, "You really will make an excellent housewife." He grinned at him again, seeing a vein pop in his temple. "You called the doctor the other day didn't you? What did he say?" Roy asked, cutting off the barrage of insults that was sure to come from the temperamental teen.

Ed took a moment to replace his insults and finally responded, ". .He said he'd come over this afternoon. Something about flash floods on his end." He shrugged a little, not forgetting Roy's earlier comment but deciding he'd bring it up in a later argument. The blonde alchemist proceeded to dig into his pancakes once again. Roy nodded softly and checked the wall clock. It was ten in the morning so they could begin to expect him around maybe two o'clock. Roy decided he'd better go shower after breakfast since he was to be the patient.

Suddenly a loud buzzing noise startled both men and Roy recognized it as the dryer. During the night, Roy had woken up to the sound of a quieter buzz and ended up putting Ed's clothes to dry so he wouldn't have to wait any longer in nothing but his coat. "Your clothes are done drying, go on up and change, I'll clean up in here."

Ed stood up from the table and left his own empty plate, walking upstairs to finally change into a clean change of clothes; walking around almost nude was more than a little embarrassing. The young alchemist pulled his clothes from the dryer and went into the bathroom to change, taking the time to fix his appearance in the mirror. He hadn't noticed his hair was more than a little messy, strands sticking up in odd directions and tangled due to all the movement he was prone to in his sleep.

The next few hours passed by in no time after Roy and Ed had found some actual good movies to watch. Before they knew it, they were being interrupted by a knock on the door. Ed was the one to stand up and answer it while Roy put their film on pause. He let the doctor in as soon as he recognized his tote bag and led the older man into the living area.

"Roy Mustang! It's been awhile my friend." The doctor announced. He was a portly man with a full head of gray hair and a beard to match. On the bridge of his nose rested a pair of spectacles that covered up the light wrinkles that had begun to form under his eyes.

Roy stood up to greet his long time physician, shaking his hand gratefully for coming all the way out here to tend to him. "How was the drive?" He asked politely, gesturing for him to sit down. Roy did so as well after the doctor found his seat and set down his tote bag.

"Oh it was just fine! I'm surprised the storm didn't reach you all the way out here." Roy looked up at Ed and introduced him. "Fullmetal, this Dr. Bradley. He's been our family's physician for years. Dr., this is my subordinate, Edward Elric, also known as the Fullmetal alchemist."

The blonde took the hand that the doctor had offered him and gave a half smile. "Nice to meet you." He said slightly unenthused.

"A pleasure." Bradley responded in a very grandfather-like tone.

After a few minutes of acquaintance, Dr. Bradley began to pull out his tools to examine Roy. He checked his vitals while Ed explained Roy's symptoms from the other day and was already finding out the most accurate diagnosis. He was sure it was pneumonia, however when he checked his blood pressure, it was clear that's was caused Roy's faintness and lightheadedness. He'd done a few more tests to make sure and when he was satisfied, he smiled down at him. "Roy-boy, it seems this fever is really dehydrating you. It was enough to lower your blood pressure which caused your dizzy spell. I'm going to give you some medicine to help with your symptoms but it's all in how you take care of yourself. Drink anything rich in electrolytes and you should be fine."

Dr. Bradley wrapped his stethoscope around his neck and began to put his instruments away. Roy nodded softly at his diagnosis and went into the fridge to grab a sports drink for good measure. He was relieved it wasn't something more serious.

"Well, thank you Doctor, for coming out here." Roy added.

"Nonsense boy, we're practically family! There's no need to thank me." He chuckled heartily, zipping up his equipment.

"Oh, please, stay for lunch. That way I won't feel like I wasted your time with such a trivial visit." Roy insisted.

Bradley laughed and accepted the offer graciously. "Very well, my boy. Lucky for you, I haven't eaten since breakfast well over four hours ago."

The Colonel gave him a very warm smile and went into the kitchen to start making lunch. Ed sat back down on the couch and pulled the blanket over his shoulders as he resumed the movie, Dr. Bradley taking a seat on a recliner across from the TV.

"So, Edward, just how old are you? You seem a bit young to be a state alchemist."

"And yet, I'm willing to bet my IQ is higher than yours, old man." Ed hated to be treated like a child. "In fact, I'm sure I know more about medicine than you do."

Dr. Bradley immediately gathered that this boy definitely had a short temper. "Oh? So then why phone me at all? I'm sure you could've deduced that he was malnourished and needed fluids." He challenged.

"Because if it had been pneumonia, which it very well could've been, I wouldn't have been able to prescribe the proper medicine without a license and being sick myself, I couldn't very well just go out get him some over-the-counter stuff, though doubtless it'd do very much."

The doctor nodded softly, sitting back in the recliner with an impressed expression. "Very well, young man. Now tell, why are you staying here? From what Roy has told me before, you two never really got along. How is it that you can stay in the same room with him without the usual arguments?"

Ed had no answer to that question, having just noticed that they were actually getting along a little better. For the most part. "Don't ask me. It's a scientific phenomena yet to be explained." He shrugged and turned up the volume on the movie to get across the message that he did not want answer anymore questions.

The food took a little longer than usual to get done since Roy wasn't very kitchen savvy and his skills in the actual action were less than average. Still, the mediocre meal was very welcome by all three acquaintances due to their empty stomachs and they supped greedily, occasionally engaging in small talk.

After their meal, Roy once again thanked his long time friend and bid him a good drive back home before he came back into the living area. Ed had a particular scowl on his features that immediately expressed his feelings towards the portly man that had just left. He was not a fan. The colonel laughed lightly and could only assume what impression he must've made to earn him a scowl like that.

"I'm guessing you don't like the good doctor very much?"

"Bastard doesn't know who he's dealing with." That sentence alone confirmed the doctor's mistake in calling Ed something he didn't like.

The aggravated teen began to walk out of the room, intent on trying to calm himself down. He turned back to the older alchemist and in a moment of sincerity that was rare for someone so temperamental, he muttered quietly, a light cherry tint on his golden cheeks. "I'm glad you're alright."

The words caught him off guard, leaving him speechless. Ed didn't wait for a response and simply walked outside to watch the setting sun duck behind the horizon. It took the colonel a few moments to come back to reality and when he did, he looked outside the window to make sure Edward hadn't run off.

Again, he was caught by something else. What he saw outside completely changed the perspective in which he saw his young subordinate. His back was to the apartment but even then, he knew what he was witnessing. He saw the silhouette of a woman, her long, beautiful blonde hair flowing in the wind, a red 'dress' that he now knew to be a coat, and the glint of metal on her left arm turned out to be automail. He'd never seen the face of the woman in his dream before but now he knew, unmistakably, that she was no woman. Edward had been that silhouette of beauty that captivated him the moment he laid eyes on it. Edward was his subconscious desire. Roy had no idea what to do with this knowledge.

How do I even proceed with someone like him?