Author's notes: Ah… sorry this is so short… I'll post a longer one next time, promise!

To Fireena: That's a good thing! You weren't meant to see it coming! Like that frisbee. I'll try!

To Sathreal (you lazy bum XD) : Kinda, yeah. And who knows! You'll find out. And thanks!

Train Wrecked

Roy stared at the boy, back in that one place he hated the most. A hospital bed. Of course, Edward wasn't exactly aware of that – their efforts at keeping him awake had failed sometime during the ambulance ride. Bandages were wrapped around the boy's head as he lay there, unmoving, unresponsive.

The State Alchemist glanced over his shoulder when he heard a door open, curious as to why Hawkeye had shown up.

"The hospital called Central Command." She explained, moving to stand beside the stool he was seated on. "Where's Alphonse?"

"He couldn't bear to see his brother like this anymore." Roy sighed. "I'm such an ass. If I hadn't yelled at him, he wouldn't have stormed off upstairs." He felt her hand on his shoulder, offering some form of silent comfort. "I've really screwed this up, Hawkeye. I tried to save him, and look… we're back to square one." Riza had nothing to say in response. "I just… damn it, Fullmetal shouldn't be lying in some damn hospital bed with a concussion."

Hawkeye knew he was taking this rather harshly. She didn't want to pressure him any further, so she didn't speak. He felt guilty enough as it was.

"Lieutenant, I won't be at work tomorrow."

"I understand, sir. I'll do your paperwork for you."

"Thank you."

"Sir?"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Try to set things right this time."

He didn't answer.

Hawkeye left shortly after that, leaving Mustang to his thoughts. Damn it, it felt like everything he had worked for with the kid had gone out the window again. Edward was lying there again, and this time, it was his fault. He wasn't just blaming himself. He knew.

He glanced up in alarm when the boy began to stir with a wince, a hand gingerly moving to the side of his head.

"Where…?"

"Hey," Roy quickly moved to sit on the edge of Edward's hospital bed. "Hey, Fullmetal, can you hear me?"

"Colonel?" Edward opened his eyes, but, as had become the norm, left them unfocused, not looking at anything in particular. "What happened?"

"You fell down the stairs and split your head open."

"Oh." It was flat and unenthusiastic. Edward just laid there, staring at the ceiling. "Where's Al?"

"He's probably outside. Want me to go get him?"

"No… it's alright…" Edward sat up slowly, wincing as he did so, clutching his head. "Damn… it feels like I got hit by a train."

"Not this time." Roy chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Why the hell did you fall down the stairs? Do you even remember?"

"Sort of…"

"Then…"

"I couldn't see them. I missed the first step and didn't catch myself."

That wasn't right. The light should've been bright enough for the teenager to see the stairs easily!

"What do you mean, Fullmetal?" Roy demanded. "Why couldn't you see the stairs? Were you so pissed off that you weren't watching where you were going?" Edward shook his head. "Then what?" The colonel knew he was shouting now. It was frustrating – it was so hard to get an answer out of the kid sometimes.

"I can't see properly. It's… It's been like this since I woke up from that coma. I can kinda see… but it's all blurry…"

Roy was shocked. Edward… what? But then… he had been glaring at Roy like he could see just fine! And he had managed to leave the hospital on his own!

Then the colonel remembered. Edward hadn't touched a single one of the books that had been checked out for him. His eyes were never focused on one thing at a time – the glares! They weren't focused, either, he realized.

"There's more, too…" Edward interrupted, "don't… don't tell Al." He pulled his knees close to his chest. "I've lost a lot of my memories as a kid." He paused, shaking his head. "I remember Mom dying… but after that, it's all… it's a mess, if it's there at all. The only real clear memory is the Gate, and Truth…"

Roy looked away, closing his eyes. That damned pain in his chest was back… he wasn't sure whether to hug the boy or to simply offer words of consolation. In the end, his pride won out.

"I'm sure they'll come back eventually. Your sight, too."

Edward offered no response, so Roy stood with a sigh. "You trust me, right, Fullmetal?"

"I did…"

Roy felt another pang in his chest. "Sorry." He muttered. "If you want, you can stay with someone else. But you do have to stay with someone until your sight returns, at least." Again, no answer, so Roy left the room.

He found Alphonse sitting in the waiting room, silent as ever. The State Alchemist sighed, tapping on the armor. "Hey, your brother's awake. You should probably go see him."

"Oh, right." Alphonse stood. "Thanks."

"Yeah. I'm headed home… call me if you need anything."

Roy left the hospital and drove himself home. When he pulled into the drive in, he shut the car off. He didn't want to move. Edward was back in that hospital, and it was his fault. He should've realized that there was something more wrong with the boy. How could he not notice that Edward was partially blind? The kid was damn good at hiding it…

He sighed, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. Odds are, Edward would call someone else to pick him up from the hospital tomorrow. Roy had lost his chance. He'd go into work tomorrow – there was no point in staying home alone.

Roy cleaned up the mess left in the house to distract himself. Then he finished off his pizza, putting the rest in the fridge – it would probably be his breakfast for the next few days.

As he had found himself doing more and more often lately, he found himself pondering the latest events as he lay awake that night, staring at the ceiling. Edward didn't trust him – and he couldn't blame the kid. Odds were, Edward would probably make his life more of a hell at work, too. Roy had blown his chance. Blown it out the window. Blew it up, too, apparently.

"Damn it." He cursed to the ceiling. How the hell had he let this happen? Sure, Edward was infuriating at times, but that was no excuse. He was a teenager, after all. It was to be expected. "Damn it, Mustang. You've really fucked up this time."

Hawkeye didn't ask any questions when her commanding officer showed up to work the next day and started signing paperwork without saying anything. She went about her own work, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

It was about ten when the phone shrilled into life, prompting the colonel to answer it.

"Colonel Mustang."

"There's a call from Edward Elric, sir."

What was Edward doing calling him? Maybe he was looking for Hawkeye or something – it was the same office, after all. He felt his heart sink. Edward would probably mutter a few insults and demand to talk to the lieutenant.

"Sir?"

Roy realized that he hadn't answered, and quickly uttered a response. "Sorry, um… patch it through."

"Hey, you lazy bastard of a colonel. The doctors are just itching to kick me out, you gunna come get me?"

"What…?"

Well that wasn't what Roy had expected.

"Are you going to come pick me up or are you going to make an invalid walk to Central Command?"

"Push your luck and I just might, Fullmetal."

"Surely you jest. Even you aren't that heartless, Flame."

Roy knew that Edward was dishing the shit back now – he never referred to the Colonel by his second name. So, 'Flame' decided to keep dishing it out.

"Oh I don't know, after your fall, it might do you good to take a little walk."

He was quick to pull the phone away from his ear when Edward began to scream into the phone. He heard Hawkeye sigh.

"My, my," he remarked when the teen had finished, "what a temper! I might just have to have you court-martialed for insubordination."

"Yeah, yeah, you useless Colonel. What could you do?"

"Don't test me, Fullmetal."

"I'll test you whenever the hell I want."

"Half an hour, Fullmetal."

"Got it."

Roy hung up the phone and stood, pulling his coat off the back of his chair. "Lieutenant, is your offer still standing?"

"Of course, sir." She responded, standing.

"Then I might just take the rest of the day off."

"Understood."

Roy wasn't surprised when he walked into Edward's hospital room to find the boy already dressed and moving around. Edward was never one for sitting still.

"Decided to show up, huh?" The teen huffed, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, well, I decided to give a damn this time. Come on, there's some left over pizza in the fridge you can have later for lunch."

"What about your paperwork?" Edward sounded genuinely concerned. Roy wasn't used to the kid talking to him like that, so it took him a moment to respond.

"Hawkeye's taking care of it for me."

"Pushing all your work onto someone else. You are a lazy bastard." Edward limped past the dark-haired alchemist, a smug look on his face. "Come on, then. I'm hungry, damn it!"

"You're always hungry, Fullmetal." Roy sighed. It was true enough – but he supposed it was because Edward was just a teen. A fact they often forgot, because of how much the boy strived to act like an adult, how often he insisted to be treated like one.

Mustang had forgotten that Edward was still just a child under that tough façade. He shook his head.

"Come on, Fullmetal, let's go find the ramps."

"HEY! I can walk down stairs just fine, thank you!"

Roy gave him a look that clearly stated 'oh really now?'

"Damn it! Mustang!" Edward exclaimed as he was – gently – pushed in the right direction. Alphonse sighed.

"Brother…"