Whoo, man has this been the week to end all weeks! I've pretty much had a single event every night for a whole week and I am pooped! Though of course, all my friends know about this all too, well, since I've been complaining about it practically every day. I just want the weekend to come, but that'll be busy too! This may be the one chance I have to write for a while… sigh… I'll try and make the most of it. So sorry if it's a little later than the others have been. I'm trying okay?! Shut up!

As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist.

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Twenty-One – The Inevitably Mushy Chapter

Ed strode into Robyn's hospital room with a bouquet of roses clutched in his hand. So they were corny. So what? It was the most romantic flower and he was going to give a whole bouquet to Robyn, dammit!

"Ed?" Robyn said as she curiously looked up from one of her mangas. "I thought you were going out to lunch with Kari and Al." She quickly closed the book and threw it to the side, as if to tell him that it couldn't ever compare to such an awesome manga character like him.

"I'd rather spend time with you," Ed said confidently as he walked up beside her bed. He heard the romantic music they always put in movies at scenes like this start in his head as he threw the roses on Robyn's nightstand carelessly.

"The truth is, Robyn," Ed paused and took a deep breath. "I love you. And I always will, even if there are whole worlds separating us." Robyn looked up at him with wide eyes, speechless. And at the swell of the imaginary music inside his head, Ed scooped Robyn up into his arms and planted his lips on hers in a full-out kiss.

Unfortunately, at least half of Robyn's wires snapped off as he picked her up off the bed.

Ed looked around in horror as the different monitors around Robyn's bed started beeping loudly and a long stream of doctors and nurse hurried into the room. He'd killed Robyn with something as simple as a kiss? No, no no nonononono. This wasn't right. No! Hell no!

Ed shook himself out of the daydream that had gone suddenly and horribly wrong. So maybe that wasn't the best way to approach Robyn, but he couldn't think of any other ways to do it. He sighed and let the cool glass of the window soak through the skin of his forehead. He had to find some way to cure her, and quickly too.

"Virus… Chemistry… DNA…" Al sat by himself in the backseat of Kari's car and listened to his brother mumble. Ed had been doing that a lot recently.

"The virus is designed specially for her DNA, so it's not contagious," Ed muttered under his breath with his chin resting in the palm of his hand. "And since it's coded to her DNA, her body thinks it's a part of her so it won't attack the virus…" Ed trailed off, and Kari turned around in her seat to look at Al as they stopped at the intersection.

"What the hell is he talking about?" she asked as Ed started mumbling softly enough so the other two wouldn't hear him as he ticked unheard thoughts off on his fingers.

"He trying to figure out a way to get rid of Robyn's virus," Al explained with a sigh.

"She's got a panel of doctors from around the world trying to help her, and he thinks a high school kid like him can beat them all to it?" Kari sighed as she drove through the green light. "Even if he really is a genius like the Ed in FMA, I doubt that's possible."

"Wait! I got it!" Ed shouted suddenly, and Kari jumped in her seat a little. He turned back to look at Al and explained excitedly, "All this time I've been trying to find a way to destroy the virus, and of course that hasn't worked because it's too simple of a solution. I got to find a way to protect Robyn's organs instead! She could live with the virus inside of her as long as it isn't able to destroy any organs!"

"And just how are you going to do that?" Kari asked skeptically, keeping her eyes focused on the road.

"I don't know yet, but at least now I know what to do!" Ed said excitedly, and Kari rolled her eyes. Then she suddenly clutched at the wheel as the car lurched a bit, and turned into a White Hen parking lot.

"Something feels funny. I'm gonna go check outside," she explained, opening her door and letting a blast of cold air blow through the car. As soon as the door closed again, Al leaned forward.

"Keep your right arm moving, Brother," he said softly. "We might be here a while, and you wouldn't want the gears to freeze up."

"Right," Ed agreed with a nod, and started rotating his wrist in a circle absently. He found his mind wandering to how Al was always so considerate, always thinking of the people around him before himself…

"Hey, Al? Could you help me with something?" he asked, and Al looked at him curiously.

"With what?" he asked, and Ed sighed, trying to think of something to say.

"Well…um…I was thinking that maybe we could get some flowers for Robyn, but I…uh…don't know what type to get," he stuttered.

"Aww," Al cooed, and Ed's cheeks turned red as he frowned slightly.

"Shut up!" he said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Keep your arm moving," Al reminded him gently, and Ed started rotating his right wrist again with a scowl. "You know Brother, it's okay if you like Robyn as more than a friend."

"What makes you think such a ridiculous thing as that?!" Ed yelled, the blush on his face deepening.

"Well, the fact that your face is as red as a tomato is a slight hint," Al said with a laugh, and Ed frowned. "It's okay either way, Brother. Really. Besides, we probably wouldn't have gotten farther than the first date even if I did have a body," Al explained. "Sometimes people can be good friends and just aren't attracted to each other romantically. It was silly of me to ask her out, really."

Ed sighed and looked up at the roof of the car. "I do like her, I just don't know-" he stopped as Kari sat back in the driver's seat.

"Well, we've got a flat," she sighed, and then looked over at Ed. "I don't suppose either of you would know how to change a tire?" she said hopefully.

"Not really," Ed said absently, still lost in his thoughts about Robyn.

"Shit," Kari sighed, and then opened her door again, letting in another blast of cold air. "Well come on, we'll figure it out together." Ed groaned and opened the door on his side.

"Okay," he said slowly, observing the flat tire as he rubbed his hands together. "Well, to begin with, don't we need the thing that props up the car?" Ed asked. "And the thing that will loosen these bolt thingies on the wheel."

"Nice mechanical terms there," Kari commented. "I'll try to find 'the thing that props up the car.'"

"I'll find the thing that loosens the bolt thingies," Al said.

"Then I'll get the spare tire," Ed sighed.

An hour and forty-five minute later,(1) they were back on the road again, the tire finally changed, and Ed's stomach growling angrily.

"That took forever!" Ed sighed, clutching at his empty stomach. "I'm starved! Where are we eating?"

"Well, I was thinking Portillio's before, but how about Old Country Buffet? You can start eating right away there," Kari said.

"And it's a buffet!" Ed said with an excited nod of his head. Kari laughed and turned the car right.

T-H-I-S--I-S--A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Kari pulled the car in front of the hospital and looked over at Ed. "Tell Robyn I'll be here tomorrow," she told him. "I have to go home and do my homework or my mom will kill me. At least winter break is only a week away." Ed nodded and climbed out of the car with Al behind him. He heard the car pull away as they walked into the lobby.

"Oh good, you two are here," the woman behind the lobby desk said with a relieved sigh as she looked up to see them come in.

"Why, what's wrong?" Ed asked suspiciously as he felt a prickle of worry at the edge of his mind.

"Miss Davenport had another attack," the woman said with a sigh, and then seeing Ed's worried expression, she quickly added, "Oh, don't worry, she's fine. She's just feeling a little depressed. I suggest that you go see her right away."

Ed nodded and quickly strode to the elevator, with Al right beside him. They both silently got in the elevator and walked into Robyn's room. A small lump shaped like Robyn lay curled up on the bed, the pillow pulled up over her head. Al looked between the two, and then turned to his brother.

"I'll be right back," he said mischievously, and then turned back around and walked back out the door.

"Wait! Al!" Ed called out, but Al either didn't hear him or pretended not to. Ed sighed and muttered under his breath, "I'm not good at this sort of thing." He slowly walked over and sat in the chair next to Robyn's bed, and after a moment's consideration, slowly put a hand on her back.

Robyn heaved a shaky breath under the contact as Ed slowly started to rub his hand up and down. Ed felt shivers run down the back of his spine as he ran his hand across the area on her back where a bra strap would normally be, and instead found it as smooth as any other part on her back. But that was the way hospitals did things, he kept trying to remind himself. She couldn't wear things like bras that could get in the way of wires and such.

"What's wrong, Robyn? What happened this time?" Ed asked softly, and a small croak escaped from Robyn underneath the pillow. Ed took a deep breath, surprised at what he was going to try to say. Swell of romantic music, he reminded himself. It should be fine as long as he didn't try picking her up off the bed. And Al wasn't here to make him feel even more embarrassed, so… He took another deep breath, trying to get as much oxygen as he could.

"You know Robyn, even if this disease ended up taking both your eyes, I still think you'd be the prettiest girl I've ever met," he said slowly, and then tightly closed his eyes immediately afterwards.

"The Prettiest?" Robyn hiccupped from under her pillow. "I have a hard time believing that."

"Sure you are," Ed assured her, opening his eyes again. "Even prettier than Winry," he added, which earned a small laugh from Robyn. "But don't tell her I said that," he added hastily.

"She probably break out laughing if she even heard that you gave someone a compliment," Robyn said with a hint of a laugh to her voice.

"Probably," Ed chuckled. "Now will you take the pillow off your head?"

"You won't laugh?" Robyn asked.

"No," Ed said simply, rubbing his hand in small circles on her back. Robyn's frail frame suddenly lurched beneath him as she pulled herself into a sitting position, and Ed pulled his hand away. The pillow fell into her lap as she sat up straight, and Ed saw immediately what she had lost this time. Her hair. The light from the room glinted off her shiny head as she looked down at her lap, ashamed.

"Hey," Ed said softly and grabbed both her shoulders. "You look fine. And if it bothers you, you can get a wig, right?"

"I guess," Robyn said, letting out a shaky breath. Suddenly, surprising even himself, Ed wrapped both his arms around Robyn and drew her in close to him in a tight hug.

"You know, if you want you could…um," Ed said slowly, wanting to scratch the back of his head out of habit, but also wanting to keep his hold on Robyn. "If you wanted to, you could cut my hair and have them make it into a wig for you. It would probably be a little short, but it might be cheaper…" he trailed off uncertainly.

Robyn was about to tell him no thanks, she'd rather not be a blond, when she remembered what he said earlier.

"Our mom used to say that she didn't want us to run into any trees because our hair wouldn't let us see where we were going. So she used to always cut our hair when it got too long, and…I haven't really been able to find as good of a barber since. Okay?"

And now here he was, offering to let her cut his hair. He didn't even let Al cut his hair. She would be the first one to cut it since his mom had died. Robyn pulled away from him slightly and looked into his eyes.

"Thanks Sunshine," she said softly. "That'd be nice."

T-H-I-S--I-S--A--D-I-V-I-D-I-N-G--L-I-N-E

Ed sat in the chair next to Robyn's bed, his head rested in his palm and his eyes treating to shut sleepily. After Robyn felt better from Ed's reassurances that she looked fine, she had finally fallen asleep.

Ed opened his eyes to slits and looked over at her. She was still asleep now, curled up on the edge of her bed and leaving the other half wide open. It looked all too tempting to Ed. He glanced over at the clock, wondering how much time he had left.

It was only four o'clock now. He glanced back at the bed longingly. It wasn't like she was even using that half. The long days had been taking their toll on him. School, Robyn and researching her disease was making it so he definitely wasn't getting the recommended eight hours of sleep, and Ed was normally used to getting even more than that.

"What could it hurt?" he muttered under his breath. "I'll just wake up before her and get out before she knows anything changed." And with that, he tentatively perched on the edge of the bed, and was asleep in moments.

When Robyn woke up, she could feel a nice soft fabric pressed against her cheek, but it wasn't the fabric of the sheets the hospital provided that she had grown so accustomed to. Had they changed the sheets? Well, whatever it was, it was nice, she decided as she ran her fingers over the piece by her cheek.

But then she suddenly realized that it probably wasn't sheets, considering that she could feel a hand resting on her hip.

And a rather heavy hand at that.

Robyn dared herself to open her eyes and found herself directly under a mess of familiar golden hair. She tried to figure out what had happened to get them in this position.

She could last remember falling asleep in her bed with Ed in the chair next to her. So somehow he had then fallen asleep next to her. Then, sensing the heat from his body, she must have naturally moved over to rest on his chest. And then Ed had gone to peel back the shirt covering his stomach like he always did when he was sleeping, only this time, his hand had been stopped by her hip.

Robyn sighed and snuggled deeper into his chest. Never min how it had happened, it still felt nice. He was all warm and cozy, and his navy blue hoodie was so soft. Robyn closed her eyes again and clutched a handful of fabric in her hand.

She suddenly felt Ed shift beneath her in an attempt to get up, and she quickly tried to keep him down as well as she could without moving. His hand rose off her hip in an effort to sit up, but Robyn focused all her energy on keeping him down, and soon she felt his muscles relax beneath her.

"Crap," Ed muttered, his automail hand falling back down and wrapping around her shoulders. "How am I supposed to get up now with out waking you up?" he mused as he started to absently stroke her bare head with his gloved hand.

"Please don't get up," Robyn said softly, and Ed down at her in surprise. His eyes met with Robyn's and then he smiled and held her tighter.

"Okay," he said softly, and then silence swept over the room.

"Ed, do you really want me to cut your hair?" Robyn asked finally, breaking the stillness.

"If you want to, go ahead," Ed told her softly.

"But do you really want me to cut you hair?" Robyn persisted. Ed reached down and gently tilted her head up to look at him.

"Listen Robyn," he said sternly. "My hair can grow back, no matter how badly you may cut it. It doesn't matter whether it gets cut or not, okay?" But Robyn could tell by the tone of his voice that it did matter, even if only a little. She sighed and snuggled back into his chest.

"Okay," she murmured into his shirt, and then silence fell over the room again.

"Ed?" Robyn said softly, after a moment's pause.

"Mmm-hmm?"

"I love you."

She felt Ed jerk at these words, and even though she wasn't looking at him, she could still feel him turn to look at her.

"What?" he asked, with a slightly surprised tone to his voice. Not angry, she noted, just surprised.

"I love you," she repeated softly, still feeling his eyes staring at the top of her head.

A moment of silence passed between them before Robyn finally felt Ed's chest heave with the words, "I love you too."

"You're not saying that just because I said it, are you?" Robyn asked uncertainly, and Ed let out a huge sigh.

"Do you really think I would say that if I didn't mean that?" he asked, his automail now rubbing her shoulder gently. "Really, is that the sort of thing I do?" he asked, and was rewarded with a laugh from Robyn. "I've been thinking it for a while. I just haven't had the guts to say it, okay?" he added seriously, and Robyn sighed.

"Okay," she said slowly.

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Yes I know. VEEERY sappy. And kinda weird ending, while I'm at it. But I had to put it in at some point, and I did warn you with the chapter title. But HAH! It's over five pages! Nyah. So don't get mad at me. If I hadn't put in the naptime scene it would have been the average length instead. Al is very accepting though, isn't he? Maybe it's because Ed hasn't really like girls before Robyn. And now I'm turning it into Great Gatsby! Gah! That's it, I'm going to bed. G'night.