This one isn't one of my best, because I just wanted to write a Fullmetal Alchemist sickfic with parental Roy, but I didn't quite know how to do it...I hope you enjoy it at least a little bit though!
Roy Mustang looked up from his paperwork as he heard a knock on his office door. "Come in," he called, putting down his pen, and folding his hands in his lap.
The knob on the door was turned, and someone pushed the door open. Their blond head was the first thing Roy saw. "Ah, Fullmetal," he said, recognizing their youngest state alchemist.
Edward Elric started walking over to the desk. "Colonel," he said. Roy raised an eyebrow, having expected some kind of insult or tease. "Here's my report," he continued, plopping a pile of papers down on Roy's desk.
Roy looked from the papers, to Edward, and back to the papers. Unclasping his hands, he reached out and slowly grabbed the pile. They were the standard forms every state alchemist had to fill out and hand in to their superior every time they came back from a mission. Edward had just gone on one the day before, capturing an alchemist thief in a town near by.
Glancing back up, Roy scanned Edward over quickly. He looked a little pale, a lot tired, and his voice had been quiet and scratchy when he had talked. "You feeling alright, Fullmetal?" Roy asked casually, glancing back at the report and starting to read.
"Just fine," Edward replied bluntly; his voice was still scratchy.
"Why don't you take a seat on the couch there while I read this, that way you're here if I have any questions," Roy suggested, gesturing to the sitting area in his office. Ed glanced over at it, grunted, walked over to it, and sat down.
He didn't plop down, as he normally would on a chair, he sat gently down, and leaned his head back against the backrest, and closed his eyes.
Roy read the first page of the report, which didn't take long since it was just a fill-in-the-blank forum of the state alchemist's information. When he was done the page, he glanced up, and smiled softly, seeing that Edward was sleeping soundly on the couch. Just as he had planned.
Settling his head on his fist, with his elbow propped on the desk, Roy continued reading through the report. When he was done, he put it on a stack of similar reports, waiting to be taken to the filing office at the end of the day.
Roy sighed, thinking, not for the first time, how much he hated paperwork. He glanced over at Ed, and stood up from his chair. Crossing the room until he was standing in front of the couch, Roy gently picked Ed up, his slight frame easy to carry, even with the added weight of the automail, and laid him down lengthwise on the couch, resting his head against the pillow by the arm. Then, after walking over to a closet he had in his office, and grabbing a light blanket from within, he walked back to Ed, and draped the blanket over him.
Ed's breaths were deep and even, his mouth opened slightly as he slept. His face was still pale, which worried Roy. Reaching down, the flame alchemist placed his hand gently on Edward's forehead. His brow furrowed as he felt the heat there. The poor boy was burning up. After running his hand gently through Ed's bangs once, Roy walked back to his desk, picked up another stack of papers, and started reading through it as well. Oh, paperwork, how awful it was.
He worked uninterrupted, except for the times, not too infrequent, when Ed started coughing in his sleep. Roy always glanced over at him, ready to jump up at a moments notice, but they always died down in a few seconds, and he went back to work.
Roy had just finished going through another stack of paperwork a couple hours later, and was stretching his arms above his head, when the bell went off in the building signaling the end of work hours.
He started putting things away in his desk, and putting piles of paperwork together. When he had a large stack of all that was done, he gathered it in his arms. Glancing over at Ed, who was still sleeping soundly, even through the bell, Roy stepped out from behind the desk, and quietly walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him with his foot.
He walked through the building until he got to the filing office. Putting his stack of papers down on the counter, he told the person working behind the counter who he was, what the papers were, and filled out another form. After that, he walked back up to his office.
Edward was still sleeping when he walked in. He walked over to the couch, not bothering to be quiet anymore, but still not being extremely loud. Kneeling down in front of the couch, Roy shook Edward's shoulder gently.
"Fullmetal, it's time to wake up," he said. Ed's only reaction was to turn his head to the side. "Edward, come on, you need to get up," Roy started shaking Ed's shoulder a little harder, getting a groan in response.
After a few seconds, Ed opened his eyes. It took him a few moments to realize what was happening, and even then, he didn't react the way he would have if he had been feeling well.
"Colonel?" He asked, pushing his arms beneath him, and slowly sitting up. Roy leaned back on his knees a bit, giving him time to wake up without being crowded.
"Where am I?" Ed asked, rubbing his eyes with his left hand.
"We're in my office, Ed," Roy replied gently, "but we need to get you home now." He lifted the blanket off Ed. "Come on, time to get up."
Ed swung his legs off the side of the couch and stood up, but swayed a bit as he did. Roy reached forward quickly and grabbed his left arm, steadying him. After a few seconds, Ed seemed to get his bearings more, and Roy let go.
"I fell asleep here?" Ed asked, still not fully aware, it seemed. "Why didn't you wake me?"
"You were sick, Ed, and needed to sleep. Come on, I'll bring you home."
Ed nodded slowly, and started walking towards the door. Roy followed him all the way out of the building. There weren't many people left, since most of them had left a few minutes ago when the bell rang, but the few that were left watched as the two alchemist's left, one seeming to be in a trance, and the other following along worriedly.
When they got outside, Ed stopped and held his hand up against his eyes, and groaned. The light must have been making his headache worse, Roy thought.
"Ed," Roy said, "Al will be in your apartment with you, right?" He wanted to make sure that someone was there with Ed, since he didn't think the boy should be left alone in his condition.
"No," Ed murmured. "He's in another town for a few days, chasing down a possible lead to get our bodies back."
"You're alone?" Roy asked, slightly shocked. Although, it made sense, since he knew that Al would never have let Ed go to work when he was this sick.
Making a quick decision, the flame Alchemist took Ed's arm and lead him over to where his car was, opened the passenger seat, made sure Ed got in, and closed the door. Then he walked around the car and got in the driver's seat.
"Where are we going?" Ed asked, seeming to be a little more aware now.
"I'm taking you to my apartment," Roy replied, starting the engine of the car. "You're sick, and you shouldn't be at home alone." To his surprise, Ed didn't resist. The blond's small spurt of energy gone, he put his seatbelt on slowly, and leaned his head against the window. Roy took that as an agreement.
As he drove the familiar streets to his house, Roy glanced at Ed occasionally. The boy kept his head against the glass, and his eyes were closed, but Roy knew that he wasn't asleep. His breathing was too irregular for that, and he had seen him open his eyes occasionally.
After about ten minutes of driving, Roy pulled up outside of an apartment building, and parked the car. Ed raised his head and opened his eyes blearily.
"We're here, Ed," Roy said, taking his seatbelt off, before opening his door and getting out.
He walked around to the other side of the car, where Ed was just getting out as well. He stumbled a bit as he stepped out, but managed to steady himself without Roy's help.
Roy walked towards the door, making sure that Ed was following him. He went up a flight of stairs, and his door was the second on the left. Ed stopped behind him, as he took the keys out of his pocket and opened the door. Gesturing for Ed to go in, Roy held the door open, and then walked in himself.
"You can lie down on the couch, Ed," he said, putting his jacket on the hook. He turned around to see that Ed was taking his own cloak off, and he grabbed that and put it on a hook too.
Seeing Ed still standing in the doorway, his brows furrowed, Roy took his arm gently, and led him over to the living room. "Come on, Ed, sit down." The young alchemist obeyed. "Take your boots off," Roy said as he walked into the kitchen. He came back after a minute, carrying a glass of water. Ed had one boot off, and the other unlaced. His eyes were closed, and he was leaning back against the couch, his brows furrowed in pain.
Putting the glass on the short coffee table in the middle of the living room, Roy crouched down and tugged the other boot off. Picking up the glass again, he tapped Ed's knee, causing the blonde to raise his head.
"Here," Roy said, handing Ed the glass. The sick boy took it and raised it to his lips, and managed to drink half of it before he gave it back to Roy.
"Lay down and get some sleep, Ed," Roy got up and put the glass back down on the table. Ed nodded, and started to lay down on the couch. Roy grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and lay it across him, just as he had done in the office.
Ed closed his eyes, and breathed out heavily. "Thank you," he murmured, just before he fell asleep.
Roy smiled, knowing what he was thanking him for, even if he hadn't said. He was thanking him for caring, and for helping, when Edward had been in need of help, but hadn't asked for it.
The flame alchemist ran his hand through the boy's hair again, then walked over to one of the other chairs in the room, and sat down. Neither Edward nor Alphonse had ever had a real father, but Roy didn't mind stepping in.