This one is shooooort. By my standards. It's part of that whole awkward-cut-issue from the last chapter, but I think it's all right? I'm happy with it nonetheless. But in return for the shorter chapter, I'll have the next one out within the next day or so! Fingers crossed that makes up for it. I'm really thrilled you all liked the last one - even with the length! - and I hope you'll enjoy this one too!


After a quick stop in the ladies' showers—which Envy griped about the whole way—Lissa felt a bit more normal, dressed in a loose blue exercise shirt and a pair of borrowed trousers, though it was driving her crazy that Ed kept avoiding her gaze like she'd snap at him or something. He'd grabbed her hand so tightly it was borderline painful, yet he couldn't make eye contact without his face turning bright red again.

"Stop, dummy," she told him quietly. Lissa extricated her hand from his and instead rubbed along his back, trying to get him to settle down. "We're okay, Ed. You don't need to keep being weird about it."

Please. Because now we have to go face Wrath, and I really need you on my side.

He finally met her gaze and smiled, a touch shyly. "Okay. Sorry, Liss."

She took his hand back and threaded her fingers between his, just shaking her head. Not now. They didn't need anything lingering now.

"Jeez, Al," Ed muttered aside to his brother, peering up at the armor, almost offended somehow. "Did you really have to bring that little girl along with us?" Ah, so that was the issue. Al still had that tiny Xingese girl in his armor.

Al huffed at him. "What else was I supposed to do?" he whispered back. "She's hurt pretty bad."

"Hey!" Envy snapped from up ahead, startling all three out of their whispered discussion. They'd paused beside an all-too familiar set of wooden doors. "Wrath'll take over babysitting you now. Right this way."

Ed scowled at him. "Wrath?"

Lissa gripped down on his hand tightly, trying to stall him from walking into that room—but he was too damn curious. "Ed—Wrath is-"

But he jolted to a stop in the doorway before she could get the words out. Lissa sucked in a sharp breath as she took in the scene before them. Inside that room…Wrath, the Führer of Amestris, sat at a round wooden table calmly sipping from a cup of tea. And across from him was Colonel Mustang, sitting ramrod straight in his own chair.

"Colonel?" Ed breathed, stunned. He started walking, almost automatically, pulling Lissa with him while Al kept pace. "What's going on?" he asked lowly.

Mustang folded his arms over his chest. "Where should I begin?" he muttered. "Fuery's been shipped south, Falman's been sent up north, and Breda's been reassigned to the west. Lieutenant Hawkeye is now a personal assistant to the Führer."

Lissa clenched her free hand into a fist. Riza. Dammit.

With this…horribly benign smile on his face, the Führer indicated the three chairs placed adjacent to Mustang's spot. "Go ahead and take a seat," he encouraged them.

Slowly, with her heart racing in her chest, Lissa sat down between Ed and Mustang, keeping her hands below the table. Her gloves were too shredded to cover up all her tattoos, and the newly-drawn circles she'd been using as well… And she didn't want to give the Führer the reminder that she, Ed, and Al could attack at any moment. Mustang didn't have his ignition gloves, but regardless… With the doors closed and Envy waiting outside, Lissa realized this could be the perfect setup for an attack. So why put himself in this position? One homunculus against four alchemists, in an enclosed space?

He…isn't afraid of us, she realized with a jolt. Not even a little.

A faint cough filtered out of Al's armor, and Lissa quickly brought her hand to her mouth, coughing into her glove a couple times for good measure. That little girl had better stay quiet, dammit!

Scrambling to cover the moment, Ed rested his automail arm on the table and asked, "Um, Führer… So what was that in the hospital that day… When you came to visit me and Lissa?" He narrowed his eyes a bit. "You really had us goin', didn't you?"

Wrath regarded him for a moment. "I don't recall lying," he mused. "I instructed you to suspect everyone. And not to meddle any further. The only thing you need to know is that you're important to us—and there's no need for you to dig any deeper. Accept the importance of your role and keep your heads down." He inclined his head. "You do that, and no harm will come to you."

Ed scowled at him. "Well, that's great for us, but what happens to all of the people who aren't lucky enough to be considered sacrifices?"

But Wrath just remained impassible, his tone even. "There's nothing you need to know that I haven't already told you. Is that clear, Fullmetal Alchemist?"

The title was a rebuke in and of itself. And as Lissa looked at Ed, watching his mind working behind his eyes, she felt…that she knew where he was heading. She'd seen it before, that sort of deep-set resignation behind a veneer of feigned ease.

"You chose that as my title," Ed pointed out, withdrawing his bloodstained pocket watch and holding it up in his left hand, contemplating it. "I only joined the military because I thought it might help us get our bodies back. But now? Now I know what the state alchemist program really is. You're using it as a way to recruit your sacrifices." His hand trembled faintly as he gripped down on the watch. "Well… I'm not gonna let you use me to accomplish your sick goals. I resign my title as a state alchemist!"

And with that, he tossed the watch towards Wrath, letting it clatter across the table with a heavy sense of finality.

Lissa gripped down on her own watch. Debt or no debt…this was right. They couldn't kill her, after all, not since she was a potential sacrifice… Which meant it didn't matter if she had a debt to the state hanging over her head. She'd figure it out a different way.

Wrath stared down at the watch, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly now. "The symbol of a dog…fittingly crusted with blood."

"Your plans are gonna fail," Ed told him sharply. "I swear on my own grave that I'm gonna stop you. I'll warn the other state alchemists. I'll tell them-"

But Wrath interrupted him. "It's odd… You pieced together the truth about the state alchemist program, but you didn't sense the same truth in the program that brought you and your beloved Starlight Alchemist together, Fullmetal."

Lissa's blood ran cold.

"Our youth alchemy institution is a way to keep track of any promising young alchemists we might come across, who have lost their parents and are at risk of vanishing into the system." Wrath flicked his gaze sideways to Lissa for just a moment. "Miss Caito was brought here because we sensed she might have the makings of a potential candidate, even at her young age. A theory which has become reality, given recent developments. Knowing your relationship, I'm sure you were planning on turning in your own resignation, Starlight. However, I must warn you… If you do that, then your debt, currently a monetary debt only, will become a life debt."

"What—you can't do that!" Ed snarled, gripping the edge of the table. "You guys needed her alive! Your Father said so!"

Wrath nodded smoothly. "Yes. That's true. However, we do have other acceptable candidates for sacrifice in play. Though it would be a regrettable loss of options, it would be possible to proceed without her."

Lissa choked on a ragged breath. A life debt…

Ed was seething with absolute rage, his automail creaking as he dug his fingers into the table, on the verge of breaking clean through the wood. "How dare you! Dammit, don't you dare threaten her, I'll-"

"What was that lovely young girl's name again?" Wrath mused, tapping two fingers to his temple. "Ah, yes. It's Winry Rockbell."

Lissa jolted, feeling Ed's hand suddenly land on her leg beneath the table and clench down. Winry… He was talking about Winry… Both the boys were staring at Wrath in renewed horror—and all Lissa's own fears about herself fled at the sheer mention of the sweet, innocent blonde girl. He'd dragged Winry into this.

"Your automail engineer… And you grew up in Resembool together as well, if I'm not mistaken. She's practically a family member, isn't she?" Wrath eyed Ed with a certain shadow to his gaze now, a threat in his darkening voice. "I've heard that she's made quite a name for herself with her customers in Rush Valley… Such a sweet and trusting girl." It was mocking, coming from him, the idea that somebody could be trusting enough to tell anyone those things… Trusting enough to be…used against them…

Ed slammed his automail hand down on the table. "You stay away from her! Just leave her out of this!"

Wrath tapped his finger on Ed's discarded pocket watch. "Well, now. That's up to you two, isn't it?" He slid the watch back across the table. "If you'd rather not take it, then I will simply have to cut her down. And Envy is waiting just outside to take Starlight as well, if you require any further persuasion."

Lissa hated that her life was being dangled in front of Ed as well—and it was perhaps that which led her to rest her own hand atop his watch, stopping him from grabbing it up for the moment. "If you need collateral," she began softly, meeting his gaze and refusing to let herself flinch, "then use me. But leave Winry alone. Don't make Edward do this."

"Hm. Such nobility." Wrath's eyes were so…cold, calculating. "Tell me, Starlight Alchemist… You're quite close with Major Alex Armstrong, are you not?"

No… Please, no…

"Something of a father figure, if I'm not mistaken. And, well…his movements are quite open to me, given that he's under my command. And after what happened in Ishval, it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone to find he'd decided to hang himself one night."

Lissa felt a tremor run through her—not of fear but of anger. "Leave Alex out of it," she hissed. "He's got nothing to do with this!"

Wrath inclined his head. "And he won't, providing you and Fullmetal are cooperative. Now remove your hand."

Slowly, trembling head to toe in absolute rage, Lissa released Ed's watch and allowed him to take it back, to stuff it angrily into his pocket. It was a trap with no way out. Winry over Ed and Al, and Alex over Lissa, and Mustang's team over him… And then the added layer of Lissa's own debt to the state, and the form it would take if she dared try to break away from the military. There was no way to get out of this. Not a single fucking way.

Wrath smiled, and Lissa wanted to punch his teeth out. "How thoughtful," he told her.

Al was the first to recover, while Lissa and Ed were still lost to their own anger. "Uh, sir… You don't have to worry about us," he hurried to cover, "b-but I have to ask… If we're going to continue to serve under your watch… Will you please allow us to keep searching for a way to get our original bodies back? Please, sir."

The homunculus sipped at his tea thoughtfully. "I don't see why not. As long as you don't interfere with our plans."

Oh, Alphonse, you sly little thing… You've covered all our future movements, haven't you?

"And what do you have in mind, Colonel?" Wrath asked, switching his attention over. "Surely you wouldn't do something so petty as to quit the military?"

Mustang brought a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Good question. I'm on a short leash here…but I still find that preferable to giving up."

Lissa gripped Ed's hand beneath the table, enraged. Giving up! As if that's the truth of what they wanted to do!

"And I still have my ambitions. Your plans don't change that." Mustang lifted his own pocket watch sort of demonstratively, his gaze steady. He'd scarcely reacted through Wrath's entire threatening speech. "So I'll hang onto this… And I'll retain my rank, too."

Wrath inclined his head. "That's fine with me. We have nothing more to discuss."

Lissa stood up from the table as the boys did, Mustang just a second behind them, her fingers curling at her side with the effort of not grabbing Ed's hand right away. But it would be better to wait, to hold her composure just a little bit longer… She didn't want to seem weak in front of Wrath, not even for a moment.

As they turned to go, Mustang paused and asked lowly, "I would like to ask you one question, sir."

Lissa tensed—but waited, wanting to hear what was so important.

"Would you, now? Go ahead," Wrath conceded.

Mustang's jaw clenched. "Are you the one who murdered General Hughes?"

Oh, damn.

Lissa turned back, stunned as Wrath told him, "No. That was not me." But if it wasn't Wrath… Then who the hell killed Hughes? That was still a mystery, still something to weigh on their heads in all this—that they had yet to figure out who killed Hughes, and why, specifically.

Mustang glanced back at him. "Then who did?"

"Colonel…" The homunculus's voice edged sharp. "I agreed to one question."

Though it must have been hard, Mustang accepted that without further argument. "We'll be leaving now," he announced, instead of whatever harsh remark was no doubt hanging around the back of his mind.

For a moment, it seemed like they were free—but then Wrath spoke up yet again.

"Oh, just one moment, Alphonse."

Lissa gritted her teeth and rounded on him, protectiveness rising in her like a damn tide of lava. What did he possibly want with Al? Unless… Unless he'd…

Wrath moved, so quickly he blurred before her eyes, drawing his sword and plunging it into the side of Al's armor. Lissa swallowed back the shriek that tightened her throat—so he'd noticed earlier, when that little Xingese girl coughed! Fuck!

But… When Wrath pulled his sword back out, there was no blood, no sign of…anything at all.

"I-is that all?" Al stammered.

"That's all," the homunculus agreed, sheathing his sword. "You are now dismissed."

It took every ounce of Lissa's self-control not to stare down into Al's armor as they left, as Mustang pulled the doors closed behind them. Only once they had a barrier between them and the Führer did she grab onto Ed's wrist and breathe out heavily. "She slid down, right?" she hissed.

Al nodded weakly and tapped the side of his leg.

"Oh, hey, Colonel!" Ed was already on the move, his mind already a hundred steps past headquarters, racing forward as always. "Help us out, have you got any change?" he asked, holding out his hand expectantly.

Mustang gave him an exasperated look—yet he dug in his pocket anyway. "You want my money now?" he grumbled.

"Just give it!" Ed complained, snatching the few coins from Mustang's hand and counting them in his palm. "Ugh, jeez, that all you got? Really?"

"It's apparently more than you've got!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever. See ya."

Mustang stared at the boys as they started to take off down the hall, just utterly baffled. Honestly, Lissa was a bit confused, though she didn't voice it.

"Sorry, Colonel!" Al called over his shoulder. "We'll explain everything later!"

Ed peered back at Lissa for a moment. "Liss, c'mon!"

She glanced uncertainly at Mustang, who she still hadn't apologized to—but he rested his hand on her shoulder and gave her a faint smile. "Go on, Lissa. Everything's all right. I'll talk to you later," he told her gently.

Lissa swallowed hard—he was rarely so kind to her outright—but accepted the gesture anyway and ran after the boys, leaving Mustang there in the hall.

Upon reflection, racing straight out of that meeting and calling Winry was…maybe not the best plan. Lissa only realized that after Ed had already gotten her on the phone, and by that point she just didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. So she stood there, leaning against Al's armor to keep an eye on the Xingese girl's breathing, her eyes closed against the sun.

It should be raining, on a day like this. Not beautiful and sunny.

"How's she doing?" Al asked her quietly.

Lissa focused for a moment, sensing the faint disturbances in the air, trying to separate out the girl's breathing. "She's…breathing too rapidly. We need to get her to a doctor soon, I'm starting to get worried about her condition."

He sighed and nodded. "We'll take her to Dr. Knox after this."

Ed hung up the phone and turned to them, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "I think she's still safe for now," he announced, weary.

Something nudged at the back of her mind, something both familiar and skin-crawling. Lissa turned and stuck both arms out, glaring as the homunculus approached—she'd sensed him too late to call him out. "What do you want?" she demanded.

Greed smirked at her. "Y'know, it's that kind of desperate worry they're gonna manipulate you with," he pointed out, seeming a bit…exasperated.

"Ling?" Ed yelped, startled by his appearance.

The homunculus rolled his eyes. "No, it's Greed. Still."

Ed glared at him and moved beside Lissa, both standing between him and Al. "What the hell are you doing here?" he snapped.

Greed reached into his pocket and pulled out a dirty white strip of cloth, which he held out at Ed. "Your pal asked me to bring this to you," he explained, with a faint shrug.

"Ling did?" Eager now, Ed snatched the cloth and flipped it over to see the other side, where a handful of characters had been drawn—likely in blood. "What does it say?" he asked, scowling. "It's in some other language."

Greed tipped his head. "Yeah, it is. But he just wants you to deliver it to some girl."

Some girl… Wait! "He wants us to take it to Lan Fan?" Lissa asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Is this some kinda trick?" Ed growled, suspicious. "Cuz if you follow us and try to kill her…"

Looking affronted, Greed told them, "I've got more class than that, all right? And as a rule of thumb, I don't fight women." He eyed Lissa and smirked. "Unless they really twist my arm. And another rule of mine is to never tell a lie, but hey… It's your call." With that, he gave them a little wave and headed off down the cobbled pathway, just…just leaving them there.

"Hey, wait!" Ed called. "Ling!"

"It's still Greed, kid!"

Ed sighed roughly and gripped the cloth in his hand. "Dammit. Well… We know Ling's in there now, at least."

"What kind of writing is that?" Al wondered, lifting the end of the cloth curiously.

Lissa waved a hand. "It's Xingese script. Something about the Philosopher's Stone, I think. I didn't see all of it."

"You…" Ed stared at her in utter bewilderment. "You can read Xingese, Lissa?"

She froze, her heart pounding in her chest. If he'd asked her that before, she would've said no… But the script on that strip of cloth had meant something to her. "I… I'd say no, honestly… I didn't think I'd even seen Xingese writing before today, but…" Lissa gingerly took the cloth, sliding it through Ed's fingers, and held it out. Some part of her mind was…making sense of the symbols, though they almost…wavered before her eyes, like sand sliding through her fingers… Everything was…spinning…

Lissa blinked as the world shifted back into focus, startled to find herself on the ground, her upper half in Ed's arms with his anxious face staring down at her. "Sorry," she mumbled, pushing upright. "I—got dizzy, I guess."

Al clutched at the cloth now gripped in his hands. "You said something weird, before you passed out, Lissa," he murmured.

Ed's jaw tightened. "Al—don't-"

"What, you don't want to tell her?" Al retorted sharply. "Brother thought you might have said something in Xingese."

"Al!"

"I won't lie to her," Al told him fiercely, shaking his head.

Lissa reached out and touched Ed's cheek lightly, getting him to look at her. "You don't need to protect me," she murmured. "Not like that, okay? Just…" She looked up at Al, meeting his glowing gaze, and nodded firmly. He'd seen her heal down in Father's chamber—and Ed hadn't. He understood more at the moment. "Ed… I need to talk to you about something. Okay? Al, why don't you take that little girl on to Dr. Knox's place, we'll catch up."

Ed grimaced ruefully. "I…probably need to clean up some of the mess we made fighting Scar here in the city, actually."

"Then I'll help you," Lissa asserted.

There's what Fu said…about my alchemy… And then the fact that I seem to be able to feel the Dragon's Pulse, though I didn't know what it was to begin with… And now this… Reading and maybe speaking Xingese… What the hell is happening to me?

"Al…" She looked up at him thoughtfully. "Can you…replicate whatever I said? If Lan Fan or that little girl can understand what I said, it…it might help me figure all this out."

Al nodded firmly. "I'll do my best, big sister."

Ignoring Ed's bewilderment at the title, Lissa smiled up at Al gratefully. "Thanks, little brother."

They parted ways then, Lissa allowing Ed to support her as they walked—she was still just a bit unsteady from whatever happened earlier, and besides… She was happy to be close to him, after everything. And though it was surprising, maybe, for Al to go off like that…she sensed he wouldn't have been so comfortable if she hadn't been around.

"So…" Ed bumped her hip lightly with his own. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Lissa chewed at the inside of her lip as she considered how to phrase it all. "Well… I…"

Something came over him before she could speak, though. "I gotta admit…right now I kind of feel like you're gonna…break up with me or something," he mumbled, a bit uncomfortably. "Which sounds stupid, but…"

She leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. "I mean, that'd be hard to do, since we never officially decided that we're anything… But that's not it at all, Ed. I promise. No, I…" Lissa cast her gaze up towards the sky for a moment. "Something weird happened to me today. Down in that room, when our alchemy sort of—turned off. You and Al couldn't use it at all, but we know Scar and that little girl still had full control over theirs. The thing is…" She shook her head faintly. "It doesn't make any sense to me. I was trying to use alchemy like normal, doing all the stuff I usually do, but…I healed myself, Ed. And you, once."

"You healed me?" He almost tripped on an uneven spot on the pavement as he looked at her, completely stunned. "I didn't even notice… When the hell did that happen? And how?"

"When Envy had us pinned. It was just a couple scratches at first, nothing major, but…" Lissa twisted her fingers into the back of the suit jacket he'd snagged on his way out of headquarters. "Before I went to fight Greed with you, right there at the end… I got pinned underneath some debris, when Scar destroyed the whole damn floor, and it re-broke my ribs. Alphonse got me out, but I was in bad shape—until I…" She swallowed hard. "I healed my own broken ribs, Ed."

"But that…" Ed let out a breath through his teeth. "That shouldn't be possible, right? I mean, you've never used healing alchemy before, and with our alchemy turned off in the first place…" His fingers pressed into her hip, just a little tighter. "Damn, Liss. But… Shit, remember what old man Fu said, out in Xerxes? He thought you might have Xingese ancestry."

She nodded reluctantly. "He said my alchemy was strange too. And Ling and Lan Fan both confirmed that they feel the same thing from the homunculi that I do—not to mention Ling basically insisted I'm feeling what they call the Dragon's Pulse. And now…"

Ed twisted his mouth up and nodded too. "Now you might've read Xingese. But… Your parents weren't Xingese, were they?"

"No. Their names were Richard and Miranda, and those are Amestrian names. Plus Caito isn't a Xingese name anyway." Lissa resisted the urge to bury her face against his collarbone. It was just…so overwhelming, and made infinitely worse by the fact that not only were her parents dead, but she had so few memories of them as well. She had nothing to go on, no information lurking at the back of her mind… "Dammit. I wish I could've asked Ling more…"

He pulled her into him. "We'll talk to Lan Fan soon, okay? She might be able to help. And Al said he was gonna try to find out whatever you said, too, so maybe that'll sort of…point us in a direction, at least."

Lissa finally gave in and turned to him, pausing there against the nearest building and curling into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder and just…allowing herself to get lost in him for a moment. Ed pulled her in tight without any hesitation, one arm around her waist and the other hand resting on the back of her head, his thumb stroking softly, soothing her. They stood like that for a few minutes, not needing to speak or do anything but be together.

"I thought I'd lost you," she admitted softly, when the words burned too much at the back of her throat.

He nodded, his arms tightening around her. "I know. I'm so sorry, Liss… It must have been…terrifying, to be left behind like that…"

Lissa sighed and pressed her lips to the side of his neck. "It was. But I… I didn't care about myself half as much as I cared about Alphonse. Ed, you can't do that to him again… To…us…" She blinked against the sudden wetness at her eyelashes. "I'd look after him, you have to know that, but… He needs you…"

"I'm sorry," Ed whispered again, like he didn't know what else to say.

She lifted up and met his eyes, shaking her head softly. "Don't apologize anymore. Just…stay. Al needs you, and I…" Lissa felt her face grow warm, but she didn't look away. "I need you too, Ed."

He rested his hand along the side of her neck, his thumb stroking invisible lines across her jaw, and she leaned into his touch as he pulled her in and kissed her. Lissa didn't think she'd ever get tired of that, of how soft and sweet his lips were against hers…how they seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces, not an inch of space between them…

When Ed pulled back, Lissa curbed the desire to drag him back in, mindful that they were in public, aware he was still unsettled… And so was she, in truth… So she restrained herself and merely brushed her lips against his cheek. "We should go," she pointed out softly.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, nodding. "Just…" He sighed and lifted her hair out of her face, so he could see her better, and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Liss… Thank you. For taking care of Al. He's had to go through so much already, and I just… I can't tell you how much that means to me…"

She smiled at that. "I told you, he's like my little brother too. It just…seemed like the right thing, to be his big sister when you weren't there."

"So that's why you're calling each other that now," Ed mused, grinning. "I was wondering."

"It is. Like I said…I'd look after him, he's my family too, I mean—with everything between us, he's kind of our little brother, our responsibility—but it's…" Lissa frowned at him. "That can't be some—reassurance that you can go be reckless, okay?"

Ed laughed, a bit reluctantly, and kissed her forehead. "It won't be. Promise." He stepped back and offered her his hand, quirking a sweet smile when she took it. "C'mon. We've got a city to fix."

The clothes she'd borrowed—stolen—from Central HQ weren't too bad, upon reflection, so Lissa lay them out and transmuted them to her own size while Ed was still in the shower, figuring she might as well keep them now that she had them. At first she she'd been surprised he felt the need to shower again, considering they'd done that earlier, but he'd made some vague mention of a sea of blood inside Gluttony and she hadn't really wanted to ask any further questions.

While fixing up Central, she and Ed had discussed at length what happened in Father's lair. Their general consensus was that Xingese alkahestry must function differently than Amestrian alchemy, which was why their transmutations worked—and, if their suspicions about Lissa's ancestry were correct, it would explain why she could suddenly heal.

Not that she could do it anymore, though. Since the normal alchemy had been turned back on, Lissa could only use her normal set of skills.

She set aside her newly-transmuted clothes and got to work on her next project—Ed's tattered red cloak. He'd want it back, she knew, even though it had been completely shredded by Scar when they fought him. Was that really just…yesterday? So much happened… It feels like days and days have passed.

Lissa sighed and set the cloak out, next to the extra red fabric she had on hand. Usually Ed handled this himself, but she didn't think he'd begrudge her doing it this time. He was exhausted, bitterly exhausted, to the point where she was listening hard in case he just sat down in the shower and fell asleep. It wouldn't surprise her. The little she'd heard about his time in Gluttony's stomach told her it had been a horrific experience. Not to mention he'd come out of that and straight into another fight… She was worried about her-

My…what? What do I even call him?

She smothered a little giggle at the idea of calling Ed her boyfriend. It felt…almost juvenile, though she didn't have a better word for it. How silly, when that title seemed so impermanent and she couldn't picture her life without him. Though he was the one who'd brought the term breaking up into it earlier, admittedly.

Maybe I'll ask him. Ooh, but he'd never let me live that down, would he? Besides, it might offend his pride if I have to ask him to stick an official title on it, he's so stupidly chivalrous he probably would have to ask me himself. Dummy.

There was a dull thump in the bathroom, followed by Ed's pained whine a moment later. Lissa tucked his repaired cloak into her backpack and crossed to the door, knocking on it softly. "Ed? You okay?"

"M'fine…"

She smirked to herself. "Did you fall?"

"…No…"

Lissa hid a laugh and leaned into the doorframe. "You know, you can ask me for help if you need it… I did already see you naked, so it's nothing I haven't seen before at this point."

"Not how I pictured that happening, to be honest."

She did laugh then, blushing just a bit at the memory. That image was permanently seared into her brain now. "Me either. But seriously, Ed, do you need help? Because if you're just sitting in the shower right now…" She shook her head faintly. "You don't need to be embarrassed to ask for my help, y'know."

"Yeah, I do," he mumbled distantly. "S'not like you didn't just go through hell too, Liss. How exactly is it fair of me to ask for help?"

"I didn't fight the giant lizard monster."

He paused for a moment. "Okay, I'll give you that." The water shut off, and Lissa stood there waiting, listening to the faintest sounds of movement from inside. "I…all right, fine," Ed muttered. "I managed to cover myself up at least, so I don't scar you twice, but… I… I do need help."

Lissa smiled to herself and stepped right in. Ed was sitting in the shower, his head tilted back against the tiles, with a towel wrapped around his waist slowly getting soaked by the water pooled at the bottom of the stall. "See how stupid this is?" he whined. "There's no way you aren't completely embarrassed of me."

"Except I'm not," she told him gently. Lissa crossed to him and opened the shower door, kneeling at the entrance and smiling. "Ed, you're exhausted. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Here, give me your hand, okay?" He did so, his face reddening at the gesture, but she just pulled him to his feet and wrapped her arm across his back, tugging his own arm over her shoulders and helping him step out of the shower. She could feel just how damn tired he was by how much of his weight he actually rested on her, so Lissa made the executive decision to walk him out of the bathroom and have him sit down on the edge of the bed, while she went about grabbing some clothes for him.

"Liss, you don't have to do all that," Ed told her, wrinkling his nose as she handed him his usual loose trousers and t-shirt, plus a pair of boxers, for sleeping. "This has gotta be super weird for you."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?" Lissa pointedly turned away so he could change, though her heart was fluttering in her chest, stupid hormones painfully aware of what he was doing just behind her. "Why does it have to be weird?"

"Because…" Ed's hand tugged lightly on the back of her shirt, and she turned to see he'd gotten dressed and was beginning to rake his fingers through his damp hair. "I dunno. All this, between us, it's still…pretty new. And, I mean, I wouldn't blame you for being…uncomfortable. Especially after today, you know?"

Lissa sighed and crossed her arms at him. "I think you're getting me confused with somebody else. I grew up in a military-run facility, I'm not some…stupid flighty girl who can't handle herself."

That made Ed grin up at her, through his wet bangs. "I know you're not. That still doesn't mean it wouldn't be unsettling, though. Especially all at once."

She wrinkled her nose. "What part of me makes you think I'd be…unsettled?" Lissa rolled her eyes at the way he was talking about all this. "Seriously, Ed. I like to think I have a little more confidence than that." Trying to lighten him up, she smirked and asked, "What, is my confidence intimidating or something?"

Ed gave her a surprisingly genuine smile, though. "No. I love your confidence. I just…don't want there to be anything weird between us, that's all."

Lissa nodded slowly, watching him continue to drag his fingers through his hair—then she sighed and pointed a finger at him. "Stop doing that. You're hurting yourself and you aren't even paying any attention to it, are you?"

"I…didn't notice," he admitted, dropping his hands and wincing.

She grabbed a hairbrush from her backpack and settled onto the bed behind him, sliding her legs to either side of him and beginning to carefully work the brush through. "Dummy," she murmured, making him laugh softly. "Is it weird that I like your hair?" Lissa asked. Then she wrinkled her nose, embarrassed she'd asked it aloud—she'd really meant to keep it inside her head, safely tucked away where he couldn't hear it.

Too late now, though.

Ed traced his fingers along her leg softly, almost absently. "I don't think so. Usually I don't really like people touching my hair, but…" She saw the corner of his lips quirk up. "I've never minded with you."

"Lucky for me, then." Lissa finished and set the brush aside—but rather than moving back, she wrapped her arms around Ed's middle and pulled him back against her, resting her chin on his shoulder and curling him tight into her arms. "Talk to me," she murmured. "Tell me what happened, Ed… I know it's weighing on you."

He cringed and ducked his head. "You don't wanna know."

Lissa sighed, realizing he'd need more security than this, more than just the simple question. So she kissed his cheek and got up, leaving him to watch as she put the hairbrush away, turned off the lights, and climbed back into the bed. She figured she'd test his mindset, so she left space for him there and flipped the blankets back, opened her arms…and waited.

It didn't take long. Ed crawled up after her and lay right in the space she'd created, twining his arms around her waist and letting her envelop him in her arms. Lissa smiled as she pressed her lips to his forehead, so relieved he'd come to her.

"I won't force you to do anything," Lissa began slowly, trying to phrase this carefully. "I'd never do that to you, Ed. But…I know you suffered something awful in there, and if…if I can help at all, then I want to. Even if all I can do is listen and be here for you. All you do is take care of other people… So… It's okay to let me take care of you for once."

Ed looked up at her a moment, forehead creased, gaze fraught with distress… Then he tucked his head beneath her chin…and began to talk.