They brought him back to HQ. Ed was too embarrassed and shocked to put up a fight, so he let Mustang and Hawkeye stir him to a car and just about hold his hand all the way into the building. He surprised himself by not flinching away from every gentle hand, but he supposed the relief and gratefulness must have taken away the fear, for now. Thinking about it was starting to bring it back, though, so he cut that line of thinking off and took a sip from his lukewarm coffee.
Mustangs's guys had left a few minutes ago, their workday finally over. The only (visible) people left in the room were Hawkeye, the colonel and Hughes, and the last two had disappeared into the coronel's personal workroom. Hawkeye was sitting in the corner closer to the exit, cleaning her gun and probably waiting for Mustang to leave.
Finally, his coffee cooled to undrinkable, disgusting temperature, and Ed put it on the closest horizontal surface. Sighed, trying not to picture the conversation going on behind the closed door.
"Hey, Edward…"
He looked up. The lieutenant was looking at him now, her eyes as sharp and attentive as ever, but there was a softness there. Ed realized it wasn't the first time he saw it directed at him. It made him feel strangely unsettled, knowing how much she cared. When people cared, he hurt them. That was just a fact.
"Are you alright? Really?"
Ed thought about it for a second. He was never alright, not really. That word has lost it's meaning to him a few years back. But for the moment he was safe. Al was safe. That's what matters, right? Why would she care about all the other nonsense? He nodded and tried to smile at her. He wasn't sure how successful that was, but she seemed satisfied. One of the reasons Hawkeye was one of his favorite people here. She had a way of… believing in people, having faith, letting them do their thing. A rare fucking talent.
That reminded him, suddenly, of an issue he was having. Suddenly feeling shy, he approached her, trying not to freak too much. He rarely spoke to people these days, unless he had to, so he had no idea how to behave around them. Well, the nice ones, anyway. (Teacher and Winry totally didn't count, they were monsters in disguise).
"Lieutenant, I was wondering… If you have, say… something-of-a-mother-figure," he spit out in one breath, trying not to blush, "What would be a good thing to give them? Like, a thank-you present?"
Ed wanted to fall through the floor and disappear. Truth, what a dumbass he was. She's a military officer, why would she care about… By the time he gathered the courage to look up again, the lieutenant's face, initially surprised, was already turning thoughtful, so it was too late to take the words back.
"That's a difficult question. To be honest, I have no idea. I never really had someone like that. But I'd say if you are choosing a gift for someone you love, you'll want to make it mean something. I guess something that will bring back good memories you've had with her, or something you know she enjoys, something you can enjoy together."
What did teacher like to do, aside from beating up little boys? Cooking, and reading and, and… What else? 'Come on, you're not gonna her even more knives or books, she'll just throw them at your stupid head…'
Suddenly an idea came, and Ed smiled. Teacher was rough, and harsh, and all that… but she cared. No doubt about that. As much, if not more, then they cared about her. She cared about them as if they were her sons. It was about time he acknowledged it. What would a mother want to get from her sons? Well, a visit would be a good start. Then she can be sure they were safe, for the time being. She'll also get to do something she enjoys – beating him senseless, that is. He also had an idea of how to bring back some good memories, but that will have to wait for next time. Mount Briggs was a bit too much of a detour to take… Never say never, though.
Coming out of his thoughts, he caught the lieutenants eye. She was smiling at him in a way he's never seen before.
He blushed.