Sorry, this section is LONG! This where most of the action takes place, and I like this section. So, since this section is long enough, I'll let you read what's more important.
Edward Elric awoke to a dark room and the soft, quiet breathing of someone to the right of him. He sat up and stretched his flesh arm outward and his automail one up, afraid to hit the person nearby. Searching with his left hand, he found a lamp and switched it on. Behind the dark green lampshade, the bulb dimly illuminated the room around him, forcing the shadows to hide in corners and under the furniture. The room was small and, looking around, he could make out little wallpaper trims on the walls where they met the ceiling. It looked to him like a hotel room, as there was a small kitchen-like area in a corner to his left. A door to the right and across the room was ajar, and he could very faintly make out a toilet. It must've been the bathroom. Opposite his was another bed, leaving roughly three feet between them, unoccupied. The room itself smelled faintly of lilacs and antibiotics. The night stand upon which the lamp sat also had bandages, medication and a bowl of water with a cloth half in-half out of it upon its surface. There was a single drawer on its front, which Edward decided not to open.
Next to Edward, the person grunted in their slumber, brushing their arm against his leg. He peered at the person to find it was none other than Alphonse. His hair was messy, and he had clothes on now. A loose, dark-colored shirt covered the boy's torso now. Edward couldn't see what Al had found for his lower half, but he was pretty damn certain that Al wouldn't run around half-naked. Ed now noticed that the shirt his brother wore was wrinkled. Al was sitting in a black cushion armchair, his head and arms resting on the bed next to Ed's leg. Edward wondered how long his brother had been sitting in that chair, waiting for him to awaken. He smiled and set his automail hand on the collar of his brother's shirt, trying hard not to get the cloth stuck in the joints of metal. Al moaned and his head lifted, eyes groggy as Ed pulled away his hand.
"You're awake, Brother," Al said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Yeah, how's your body holding up?" Ed asked, recalling Lust's words.
"Good. I feel fine. What about you? How's your wound?"
That's when Edward felt it again. It surged through him, sending tiny prickly-legged spiders of pain scurrying across his flesh. He winced and clamped his hand on the wound, pressing it tightly, but that only made the pain worse, turning the spiders into clumsy elephants stumbling on his nerves. He clenched his teeth but still smiled at his brother.
"I'm fine," he said. "So, just how long have I been out for?"
"Three days," Al said, moving onto the bed to sit next to his brother. You lost a lot of blood, had a fever, and your heart rate fluctuated a lot. For a while, we weren't sure you were gonna make it."
"Aw, come one, Al. You should know me better than to get done in by some little scratch."
Al smiled and laughed nervously. He then clenched his fists and focused his attention on the wrinkles in the bed sheets, tracing them with his eyes.
"Ed...Brother..." Al whispered, not able to look at his older brother. "Y-your heart did stop. W-w-we were able to get it b-beating again, but after that, it was irregular, and stopped twice after that. The doctors said that altogether so far you've lost roughly three pints of blood. I w-was s-s-so..."
Unable to finish his sentence, he thrust his face into his hands and wept. Since Edward had been admitted to the Eastern Headquarters Intensive Care Unit, (with homelike attributes for Alphonse) doctors came in twice a dat to check in on him and a nurse was always on call. Al had had to constantly check his brother's pulse to make sure his heart was still beating. When Ed's heart had stopped beating those three times, Al had frantically rushed the nurse in and watched them try desperately to get Ed's heart going again. He recalled how he had just sat in the chair watching them pump oxygen into his brother's lungs or send bursts of electricity through his body, tears streaming down his cheeks. Every time Ed's heart has ceased to function, Al had thought how he couldn't live without his brother and please, oh God please don't take him away so soon.
Ed's eyes narrowed and a small, warm smile crept onto his face. He ignored the knives of pain near his shoulder and put his automail arm around his brother's shoulder, pulling him so that his head rested on his chest. He could imagine the dear that had tormented Alphonse during his time of unconsciousness. It had to have been similar to the desperate fear that had tore at Ed those many years ago when he had helplessly watched his brother's body being torn apart by the forces of alchemy. He stroked his brother's hair with his real hand in an attempt to calm his heart wrenching sobs.
"It's ok, Al. I'm feeling just fine. Don't worry. I survived, and I always will. I'll never leave your side. I promise," Ed crooned to his younger sibling. It was then that his chest started to hurt a bit when he breathed in.
Al sniffled, his gaze once again to the wrinkle in the bed. His eyes were dull with so many emotions racing through him. He didn't know what to say now. His mother once told him she would never leave him, but she got sick and died. Al knew all too well how easily people could die. Right then, he felt very lonely. His shoulder, which was being held by Ed, was shaken and he looked at his brother again, the tears streaking a silent chorus down his young cheeks.
"You should use that bed over there and get some real sleep," Ed whispered, inclining his head towards the bed opposite his.
Reluctantly, he nodded. During Ed's three days of unconsciousness, Al had stayed awake, watching over him, checking his pulse, whispering to him. He remembered that it was around twelve-thirty in the morning when he had propped his head on a hand, using the other to draw designs on his brother's leg, whispering stories of their mother as Ed slept. He glanced at the clock. It now read one forty-six A.M. Al rose and trudged to the other bed and removed the covers, slipping into in, looking at Ed before laying down.
"Sure you'll be alright?" Al asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry. Get some rest, you deserve it," Ed replied, breathing in slow, shallow breaths.
Still concerned, but too tired to keep his eyes open another minute more, Al nodded and lay down, pulling the covers up to his neck. Within seconds, Ed could hear his brother's heavy breathing as he drifted into sleep. Tears came to his eyes again. How long had it been since he had heard his brother breathing? He couldn't really be sure. Time passed without him, and he barely regarded it. He only knew time in the sense of how long it took to restore Al's body. He remembered the morning before he and Al had gotten the stone. The sun was rising and the clock in the hotel room said four eighteen A.M. Ed's mental clock had said one thousand nine hundred and six days, seven hours and twenty minutes since he had cursed Al by putting him in that suit. Now how would he keep track of time? He supposed he would have to learn what year it was and get accustomed to using a calender again. Damn, nothing could be simple anymore, could it?
Ed's stomach let of a low, deep growl. He sighed and decided the couldn't think on an empty stomach. In a way, so many thing would change now, though. He'd have to buy new clothes for Al. Not only that, but he wouldn't be the only one eating now. He was rather frightened, imagining how much Al would eat. He ate quite a bit on his own, racking up a rather high bill. Now he'd have to pay for two. He smiled, picturing a pile of plates on one side of each boy, stacked ten feet high.
Searching in the three foot refrigerator, the first thing Ed saw was a gallon of milk with a card in front of it. He sighed and picked the card up with his flesh hand and holding open the door with his butt. Instantly, he frowned. The front of the card was painted with the Colonel's infamous array in red. Opening the card, Ed read what the man had written, regretting it immediately.
Fullmetal, here's some milk. Drink it and you'll get better faster. You might even get taller, Hagane-no-chibi! Roy
"Obsessed bastard," Ed muttered, throwing the card on the floor.
Turning his attention back to the fridge, Ed found some orange juice and a ham sandwich. There was a card in front of that, too.
I thought this would be your first stop. Hope I made this right!
Al
Ed laughed to himself. Even under stress, Al thought of everything. He could always keep his cool. Amazing.
He took the little meal out and quietly shut the door of the fridge. When he turned around around, he saw that there was a small table for two, which he sat at, setting down the juice and sandwich. He looked around the room. Being that the the lamp was dim and the sun wasn't up yet, the room was relatively dark. Ed didn't mind though. In the dark, he could see just how bright the future would be, or at least, how he hoped it would be.
After a few minutes, he looked back to the plate in front of him and, realizing the sandwich remained untouched, picked it up and looked it over. How could anyone make a sandwich wrong? Al must've meant that he wanted to make it the way their mother had.
Smiling at Al's attempt to mimic their mother, Ed took a bite of the sandwich. Not bad. Everything seemed to taste as it did those many years ago. But tastes were so hard to remember, so he couldn't really be too sure. Right now, he knew that it was a damn good sandwich.
He finished it quickly, licking his left fingers free of crumbs. He was still hungry, though. So he got up and shuffled to the refrigerator, wincing each time his bare automail foot clanked against the linoleum floor. He kept thinking he was going to wake Al up, but his brother didn't stir. Over the years of being stuck in that suit, he must've gotten used to the sound the metal made as it moved to the point where he ignored it.
When he reached the refrigerator again and looked inside, he saw a rather large bowl of soup behind where the sandwich sat previously. As with the sandwich, there was a card in front of the soup.
I know you'd still be hungry! I hope this doesn't taste as bad as it looks! o'
Al
What was he talking about? To Edward, the soup looked delicious. He took the bowl out and shut the fridge door and brought the bowl over to the stove, turned it on and began to heat it up. Taking a closer look as he stirred it, he discovered it was a beef stew. The smell of it made Ed's mouth water. When it was heated, he brought it over to the table and sat down.
Hungrily, he lifted a spoonful and threw it into his mouth. Swallowing quickly, he smiled. When had Al become such a good cook? He didn't have the slightest idea. Maybe he read recipe books when Ed slept. Well, either way, Al was one hell of a cook. Ed was in the middle of these thoughts when he brought the spoon to his mouth and nothing came from it. Dazed, he looked at the bowl to find he'd finished the stew already.
"Really good stew, Al," Ed mumbled to the bowl.
"You really think so?" Al's voice asked behind him.
Ed jumped and turned to his brother with a 'why are you up?' look.
"I couldn't sleep," Al shrugged, an innocent smile appearing on his face.
"Yeah, it was real good. You're a natural chef," Ed said smiling after a minute.
"You think so?" Al asked, jumping a little in excitement. "Sometimes when I couldn't sleep or when I couldn't make sense of one of the alchemy books, I'd flip through some recipe books."
"Heh, I figured as much. Anyways, any reason why you can't sleep?"
"I don't know. Guess I'm just too worried about you."
"Alright, alright." Ed got up from his chair and walked to his bed, spinning it and pushing it against Al's. "My bed'll be right next to yours, like when we were kids, ok?"
Al laughed and nodded. Ed could be so thoughtful, when he wanted to be. He walked to the bed and jumped in as Ed slipped under the covers of his bed.
"Do you mind if the light stays on?" Ed asked his brother.
"Actually, yes. I'm sorry," Al apologized meekly while Ed got up and turned off the lamp and got back in the back.
"No problem. Now get some sleep, ok?"
"Ok, I'll try. Promise to stay alive, ok?" Al whimpered childishly.
"I promise," Ed laughed.
Then it was silent. Edward sat alone in the dark, staring at the wall opposite him. After five minutes or so, he heard Al's steady breathing, signaling that he had fallen asleep. Ed sighed deeply. Honestly, he had to pee. The night before they'd gotten the Stone, Ed had little to eat or drink, due to the fact that he had spent a lot of the time trying to get information. The morning of that day, he had had a light breakfast and a cup of coffee, to keep him awake. Throughout the day, leading up to the point of finding the professor dead and the Stone sitting casually on his desk, Ed had drank water. Now that he thought of it, from the coffee, water, liquid waste from food and whatnot, he had to have been holding at least forty fluid ounces, if not more. Not only that, but he had held it for more than three days. He was surprised he hadn't saturated the bed while unconscious. Now, his bladder threatened to burst all over the bed and it ached from being overfull.
Slowly and reluctantly, Ed got out of bed and crept into the bathroom, leaving the light off and the door open. Since he didn't want to wake Al, he had to rely on the fact that his eyes had adjusted to the dark by now.
It was then that he became fully aware that he was dressed only in his boxers. The linoleum floor of the bathroom was cold against the bare flesh of this right foot. Quickly and as quietly as he could, he did his business and got back into his bed. Instead of laying down, he remained sitting and leaning against the wall. Next to him, Al's breathing became slightly labored.
"Mom," Al moaned.
Ed smiled and placed an affectionate hand on his brother's head. Then came the sound of the door creaking open, and Ed turned his attention to it apprehensively. From the door emerged two figures, whispering to one another. The taller of the two, a male in build and voice, brought a chair next to his bed and sat down. The other, with a feminine voice, took hold of his left wrist and started to check his pulse.
"You're awake. That's good news," said Roy Mustang's voice in the chair next to him.
"Yeah. Apparently, I almost didn't make it," Ed whispered.
"That's right. You scared the hell out of Al. He kept crying and begging you not to die. It was really sad. Fullmetal, he was really worried about you."
"Ok, your pulse is fine," the woman said. "Now your breathing.'
Next thing Edward knew, the cold surface of a stethoscope was pressing against his chest. Reflexively, he gasped and shivered. The woman ignored him and listened for a minute or two, gave a thumbs-up and left.
"I know he was worried," Ed sighed. "I tried not to lose consciousness or make him worry but..."
"Fullmetal, you couldn't help it. You were injured protecting the most important person in your life. It's to be expected when you lose that much blood. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."
"I know, but I can't but think that I cause Al so much trouble."
"Don't be stupid. Al's your brother and he loves you. No matter what, he'll stay by your side. He doesn't care how dangerous it is. He cares about you, Fullmetal," Roy said sternly.
"I know that he cares about me. But he shouldn't have to feel obligated to stay with me. He...he should enjoy his life, the way he wants to. He shouldn't have to recklessly put himself in danger 'cause of me."
Ed's head was forced away from Roy as pain surged through his cheek. The sound of flesh connecting with flesh rang throughout the room. The sound seemed to drum Ed's ears so loudly he was surprised Al didn't wake up.
Slowly, Ed raised his flesh hand to the spot on his cheek that throbbed, his eyes growing wider the closer it got to the tender spot. He cautiously turned to face Roy, who was slowly putting his hand back down.
Roy's entire shadowed form was trembling fiercely. His face was stricken as though he was as shocked at what he had done as Ed was. His breathing was fractured, escaping from his lungs in short bursts. His eyes were pained, as though he was struggling not to scream. Hitting Edward was a course of action the older man would have preferred not to take.
"I-I'm sorry Fullmetal," Roy breathed out. "But I couldn't let you continue talking like that. Al loves you so much, and he'll do anything for you. He doesn't give a damn if it's dangerous! You're the only one he can trust, the only one he can confide in. You saved his life when you put him in that suit of armor. You think you cursed him then, but if you didn't put him in that suit, you'd be all alone; Alphonse would be dead."
A small gasp escaped Edward and his eyes widened a little more. Yes, that was true, wasn't it? If Ed had been more afraid of pain, or had not acted when he did, Al would indeed be dead, wouldn't he? His eyes narrowed and he gave a weak and sad smile.
"Thanks Roy, I needed someone to knock some sense into me."
Roy winked and raised an arm, placing his other hand on his upper arm and grinned.
"Anytime. Hey, if you want, I'll knock some more sense into you," he teased.
"Nah, that's ok. I'm bound to get a pounding from Al when I get better. And no doubt Winry's heard about this already, so she'll rush out here with her Wrench of Doom."
For a moment, both men were quiet, contemplating. Then they looked at each other again and laughed hysterically.
"Where did she get that wrench anyways?" Roy asked after the laughing ceased.
"I bought it for her a few years back. See, there was this shop and she needed more parts for her and Auntie's automail shop. She saw the wrench and fell in love with it. Since I don't get to see her too often anymore, I bought it for her. You know, sort of as an apology for not being there. Auntie Pinako says she always had that wrench with her, that she even sleeps with it. Kind of silly when I think about it."
"How so?"
"How many people do you know that sleep with a wrench?"
"Not many. But that's not important. From what I understand, Winry is like a sister to you boys."
"Yeah," Ed replied quietly, focusing his attention on the creases in his bed sheets. "We've known each other as long as I can remember. She and Auntie Pinako became our family after..." He paused, shutting his eyes tight at the still-painful memory. "...After Mom died."
"Well, since she's so close to you, she holds that wrench dear to her. You can't exactly blame her for trying to keep you boys close in any way she can," Roy said quietly.
"I guess so," Edward murmured.
"M-moth...er..." Al mumbled as he rolled onto his side.
"And how's Alphonse doing?" Mustang inquired.
"Well, I've been out of it for three days, so I can't exactly say for sure, but his body seems to be holding up pretty well, so that's a good thing."
"One of the nurses seem to think otherwise," Roy commented.
"What do you mean?" Ed asked, inclining his head to the older man with a hint of worry in his voice.
"When we brought you here, we were also worried about Alphonse, so we had to let the doctors in on the situa–"
"You told them!" the blonde-haired chibi nearly screamed.
"Not everything. But they had to at least why a naked fourteen year-old was carrying in a bleeding teenage. Don't worry, we didn't say anything about human transmutation or the Stone. We told them that due to a recent and difficult event, circumstances required a periodical check-up on Alphonse's physical status."
"That better have been it," Edward warned with a glare.
"Anyway, I visited here yesterday and a nurse told me that Alphonse complained of a slight breathing difficulty and chest pain. Investigation of this problem has revealed that his heart and lungs are... rather slow at adapting to the change of being in a body of flesh and blood."
"Is he going to be ok?" the golden-eyed boy asked, his voice now hinting panic.
"As long as he doesn't undergo too much stress, he should be fine after a few days," the Colonel said. For added reassurance, he rested a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Instead of answering, Edward merely cast his gaze upon his sleeping sibling and gave a sorrowful smile. Roy couldn't help but smile as well. Here was this boy, who'd been on death's doorstep several times in the part few days, and all he was worried about was his brother. The older man couldn't imagine the pain the older Elric must be in at the moment, but he was sure it must be quite a lot. Yet he seemed to ignore this pain so that he could care for his brother.
"Well, as long as he'll be ok," Edward said quietly.
"I'm sure he will. He's a strong boy," Roy replied. "Oh, have you eaten yet?"
"Yeah. Al made me a sandwich and some stew. He's a pretty good cook, you know? Best stew I've had in years."
"Did you drink the milk?"
"Hell no. I would never willingly drink that stuff. It tastes like vomit," Edward scoffed.
"Fullmetal–"
"I have a name, Mustang, and it sure as hell ain't 'Fullmetal.'"
"Edward," Roy said as though it was painful to say his name. "Milk won't only make you taller, but–"
"Who are you calling so small he needs Miracle Grow if he ever wants to be seen!" Edward interrupted, fuming.
"Quite finished?" Roy asked, annoyed. When Edward looked at him with confused eyes, he continued. "It has vitamins and such that will help you heal faster."
"I don't care. That stuff is horrible."
"So plug your nose."
"Screw you. I don't have to take orders from you!"
"Well, if it was during military hours and you were on duty, you would. And although I should, I won't order you to do so. I'm not ordering you, Edward. I'm merely asking that you take better care of yourself."
"And why the hell do you care?"
A long silence followed the boy's question. Edward quietly played with Alphonse's hair while he waited for an answer, and Roy watched him. It was amazing how the bond between brothers could calm a raging microbe.
"It doesn't matter why I care. Everyone needs someone to care for them," Roy said finally.
"I've got Al," Ed retorted.
"There's no law saying there can only one person to care for you."
"I don't need a milk-obsessed pyro to worry about me. It's bad enough that Al is always worried. I wish he didn't worry so much. Especially now that he's got his body back. He should be worrying about himself, not me."
"I agree with you to a certain degree, Edward," Roy said, putting a thoughtful hand to his chin.
"You...you do?" Edward asked with disbelief. He turned his head so that he faced the man in the early morning darkness.
"Well, sure. I mean, he's your brother, so of course he's going to worry about you. It's only natural. But the stress could indeed strain his newly reformed body. Then again, Edward, too much stress in any situation is bad. It's not healthy to stress all the time, and it's bound to bring about illness. But you should know that, isn't that right, Edward?"
A small, awkward silence followed. Edward gazed at the Colonel with a haunted look in his golden hues. To his horror, the man's hair, skin and clothing all disappeared into the shadows, yet his eyes, which were usually the darkest and most profound part of the man, seemed to shine brilliantly with accusation.
"You know exactly what I mean, Edward," Roy incriminated quietly. "I bet Al doesn't even know you're sick, does he?"
The young Elric just looked at his left leg, studying the metal that twisted around itself to form the unfeeling limb.
"You were prepared to give up everything, even your life, so that Alphonse could have a body. Isn't that right?"
The blonde-haired boy nodded.
"Not only that," Roy went on. "But over these past years, you've utterly forgotten your health, put yourself aside so that you could focus on getting that stone. Isn't that right!"
"...yes," Edward said painfully.
"Why! Do you realize that you could die die because you carelessly put your health on hold!"
"Because I had to! I had to fix everything I did wrong! I had to do and still have to do anything I can to make sure Al is safe and happy!" Edward snapped. "I don't care what happens to me, as long as Al is fine...that's good enough for me..."
"But if you're dead or terribly ill, you can't protect Al. Did you ever think of that?"
"Of course I did! Any sane person would consider the idea. But I figured that if I died, at least I'd go down knowing I did everything I could to make things right."
"But you can still try and make things right and take care of yourself!"
And then another silence. He was right. It was possible to do that, yes, but Edward had never considered that option. But now that he thought about it, it seemed...selfish to even consider putting himself before his brother. He slowly shook his head.
"Al comes first," he whispered.
"I know that he's important to you, Edward," Roy said, placing a warm hand on the young alchemist's flesh shoulder. To his surprise, it was cold as ice. "But you can't make him happy if you're dead. Consider it this way; if you died because you were so busy taking care of Alphonse, he would think of it as his fault. To him, it would be like he hindered you, prevented you from taking care of yourself because you were so occupied with fretting over him. Or if you had sacrificed yourself so that he could have his body back. Every time he would look in the mirror or at his flesh, he'd see you dying."
"What's the point?" Edward whispered shakily.
"You're everything to him, Ed. Just as he is to you. But he's also young, naive, and may not be able to deal with the loss of the only family he has left. He might try to...follow you Edward," Roy said darkly.
Roy did not expect what happened next. Suddenly, the young Elric thrust himself into the older man's chest, pressing against his black coat and sobbing. The chibi's hands moved to Roy's pant legs, where they balled up tight, seizing the cloth in them. For a while, the man with the haunting dark eyes could only stare in disbelief at the top of the boy's blonde head. Then he heard low mumbling and felt the vibrating thought his chest.
"What did I do wrong? Where did I become so blind? Oh Al! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for all the hell I've put you through. You must hate me by now. I'm so sorry."
Roy remained silent, but carefully put his arms around the distraught teen. Terrible shudders racked his young body, so fierce that Roy was afraid the small frame might shatter. Roy wondered how it was possible that someone his age could be tormented by such thoughts. He was still a child. No, he supposed that wasn't correct. True, Edward had the body of a teenager, but he was already a grown man, mentally. He must've grown up on that night, as soon as he sacrificed his arm to save his younger brother. And even more so when he decided to dedicate himself to finding the Philosopher's Stone to bring Alphonse's body back. In essence, Edward Elric had skipped at least ten years of life when he gave himself these responsibilities.
"Al...so sorry. Please forgive me...I tried... I really did...to make everything ok...Al" Edward murmured between sobs.
"Ed, it's ok. You have nothing to be sorry for. Al doesn't blame you. No one does. It's ok. I know how you feel. But listen to me. Everything's ok now, and you and Al can go home and live your lives away from all this turmoil," Roy said, reassuringly stoking the boy's soft golden hair.
Edward could not think of anything else to say. Was what Roy just said really true? Could they really just go back to Resembool and forget everything? No, that was impossible. There was no way he could forget those horrible sins he committed. Not ever.
"Edward, are you going to be ok?" Roy asked quietly.
Edward slowly nodded, his breathing becoming steadier, the tears gradually ceasing. Roy carefully pulled the blonde-haired chibi from him and looked at him.
"You sure?" Roy asked sternly.
Edward nodded again.
"Yeah, I'll be ok. It's just..." Elric whispered, pausing to place a hand to his chest.
"What?" Roy asked with worry invading his tone.
"My chest, it hurts. Like...like it's in a vice," Ed commented with confusion.
"Probably too much strain. You should rest."
"I guess so."
"Alright," Roy said, standing. "Now I expect a full recovery, and that includes getting your illness treated. And one more thing; after you're clear to leave the hospital, you will take a vacation. I'm authorizing a two month leave. And I want you enjoy yourself."
"Uh...ok," Ed said, bewildered. Roy was...being nice to him. Maybe a sign of the Apocalypse.
"And enjoying yourself does not include destruction. I don't want to see any reports about you getting in trouble. Is that understood?"
"...Sure," Ed replied cautiously.
"Good. See you in two months then."
And with that, Roy walked out the door, shutting it behind him.
