A/N Hey, sorry I took so long to update, I have been quite busy lately. This chapter was at first uninspired, but after rewriting it a couple times, I think it turned out ok. And after rereading the last chapter a couple times, I realized, hey… that was super sad. Anyhow, here you go.

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA

"Roy, where's Ed?" Riza asked at the end of the day. He hadn't returned, and no one knew where he was.

"Hmm? Oh, I said sorry for calling him short when his brother had died and he just started crying and ran off, he's probably in his dorm room," he replied.

"Augh, men," Riza sighed, "you shouldn't have mentioned Al's death, Ed's really hurt right now and all you can think to do is bring it back up?"

"Guess I never really thought about it that way, but he'll be okay, right?" Roy replied. He had barely mentioned Alphonse, what was he supposed to do?

"Well, here," Riza replied, her expression darkened, "take this to him. He'll… appreciate it." She handed him a medium sized package wrapped in plain paper and tied at the top with twine. And without another word she walked out of the room.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

"Fullmetal? I'm coming in," Roy said through the door, as he opened it and walked in.

"I'm in the shower, give me a minute," Ed replied from the bathroom. Roy sat down on his bed, and waited several minutes before Ed came out. He had his black pants and undershirt on, but they seemed loose. Ed wasn't smiling; he hadn't truly smiled for days now.

"I was supposed to give this to you," Roy said as Ed sat down beside him. Roy had long held a soft spot for Ed, and it was hard to see him like this. Ed took it hesitantly, unwrapping it carefully so as not to rip any of the parchment. It was a large wooden box, gleaming in the dim light coming in from the window. Ed opened it, and stared the contents. Then he shut it gently and passed it back to Roy.

"What is it?" asked Roy cautiously.

"…Take a look for yourself." Ed didn't smile. His face was gloomy and worn, darkened by rings under his eyes you could only really notice in such dim light. Roy eased open the box, lifting the lid. Inside were hundreds, perhaps thousands of pieces of shattered steel. The remnants of a certain suit of armor.

"What'll you do with it?" Roy asked after a long silence.

"I'm going back to Resemble, our old home," Ed replied, staring at the floor, "the Rockbells have agreed to help me hold a funeral there. We're going to bury him next to mom." This comment only served to replenish the pity Roy felt, as it reminded him of Ed's lack of any family whatsoever now. He was truly alone in the world.

"Ed," Roy said, "I… don't know what to say."

"…Yes, no one seems to," Ed replied, "no one knows what to say anymore." His voice choked, the loneliness and sadness echoing throughout his entire being, clear as day. He tried to say something, but was unable to. His body shook, and Roy knew he was fighting back tears.

Roy did the only thing he could think of at that moment and put his arm around Ed's shoulder, hugging him. Ed leaned into him, tears finally claiming his cheeks as he let go of all restraint and began to cry wholeheartedly, his tears soaking Roy's uniform. He sobbed, reliving everything that had happened that night. Outside it rained, thunder ringing throughout the air.

Ed couldn't stop the tears, and Roy simply sat next to him, holding him close in an attempt to comfort him. Finally when Ed had few tears left to cry, he got hold of himself and managed to cry them silently. Roy left a few minutes later, not having the slightest idea of what he should have done. In his opinion, there was little he could have done; in fact there was little that he could really do to help him now.

Back in Ed's room, he pulled on his coat and washed the tears off of his face. He was headed to the kitchen. He found it fairly easy to purge and binge several times a day now, simply walking out of the room or saying he needed to use the bathroom both worked fine. Almost no one was in the cafeteria when he went, they were busy with work and the cooks couldn't care less, they were already feverishly cooking the next meal.

Ed walked to the kitchen, all of the feelings he had now were jumbled up, so many and all so confusing he could barely tell one from the other. But with eating he felt full, almost warm and loved again. He could control it; it was the only thing he could control anymore. Without a second thought, or even an ounce of regret he stuffed his face. He could control it, right?

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Ed, aren't you hungry? You've barely eaten any lunch at all," Riza asked. Ed had very little food on his plate; only taking small sips of soup or water every so often.

"Oh, I'm fine, just not hungry right now. I had… a big breakfast," Ed replied, gritting his teeth. 'It isn't really a lie,' he thought, trying to reason with his feelings of betrayal, 'I ate more than I could bare this morning.' Ed got up and walked away, his stomach grumbling discomfortingly. He couldn't begin really eating in front of everyone. If he started he wouldn't be able to stop himself, not until his body could no longer take it and forced back out everything he had eaten. He wanted to eat so badly… but his stomach hurt, cramps wracking throughout it. Ed could wait; just tell them he needed a bit of alone time. Yes, alone time. That wasn't a lie either, just not the whole truth. He did need alone time after all… alone time in his closet with the chips. And dip. And sandwiches, burritos, sushi, and anything else he could sneak from the kitchen.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Scar can kill me for all I care, I've already bought my ticket and I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Ed, Scar's still on the loose and he's still trying to track you down. If you must go back to Resemble you'll have to take an escort," Hawkeye objected.

"What? I'm going back and you can't stop me," Ed yelled back, his temper raging.

"I'll take him," Mustang interjected finally. And all was silent with either disbelief or incredulity. "I'll go with and keep an eye on him, and then he can have the burial, is everyone happy?"

Ed's heart skipped a beat, why would Mustang offer to do this for him? He could just have easily ignored the argument, but he offered his time to help Ed out.

"That way I'll get a break from work," Roy continued nonchalantly, "why do you look so surprised Ed? I'm not that cold hearted."

'Should have known,' Ed thought, a deep resentment burning in his chest. But he was happy Roy was coming with, smiling at the thought. '…Why am I so happy the man who's made my life miserable is coming with? Oh well, who cares, at least I'm going home for a while. Yes, home at last.'

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Ed finished packing early the next morning, he didn't have long until his cab arrived and took him to the train station. He managed to fit in a couple morning binges, before leaving with Roy.

Ed looked up into Roy's deep black eyes, looking down a moment later. Maybe Roy did care, and wasn't here just to torment him and avoid work. Ed's stomach lurched, even as it was empty. Ed coughed, covering his mouth so that Roy couldn't smell his putrid breath.

His throat burned, and Ed felt something come out of his mouth, liquid and quick. Ed looked at his hand; it was covered in deep velvety blood. Ed gasped, quickly making it sound like a sneeze so as not to attract Roy's attention. He pulled off his now red gloves, stuffing them in his pockets quickly, and felt more blood filling his mouth with a disgusting metallic taste.

"Ed, you look pale, sure you're okay for this long of a trip?" Roy asked, looking over as Ed struggled not to cough up more blood. Ed swallowed down the last of the blood and looked up, meeting Roy's gaze.

"I'll be fine, I'm just, just tired," Ed said shakily, feigning a yawn. Luckily for Ed, they had just arrived at the train station, and Roy wouldn't have any more time to interrogate him. Grabbing their luggage, Roy and Ed boarded the train, and seated themselves after finding some empty seats in the back.

Roy studied Ed, he did look slightly sickly. But that may have just been the after effects of Al's death; things like these took their toll. He also seemed distant, calm in an odd way as he settled down in his seat. He had been like that a lot recently, most likely denial or something of the sort. Or maybe not.

"I, need to go to the bathroom," Ed said, getting up and walking to the lavatory. Once inside he pulled out his gloves and washed them in the freezing sink water. Luckily the blood was still wet and pretty much all of came out. Ed washed the remainder of the blood out of his mouth, his throat stung. But the stinging would go away, it always did. Ed's pockets had spots of blood on the insides from his gloves, but that could be washed later. For now, Ed had to focus on not losing control of his eating. As long as he didn't feel too emotional he could stay calm. That would be hard, but he could probably pull it off. Hopefully.

A/N I would keep going, but I'm too tired, I need to go to sleep. Oh well, this chapter is quite long anyways, so I feel no guilt. R&R, I'll update when I once again find the muse. Sigh, I'm sorry, I'm not very good at romance, but I'm trying, it's hard! Thanks for all the reviews, they keep me writing! Damn, I have tons of homework…