When it Falls Apart

Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Hiromu Arakawa. I'm just borrowing them for a bit of non-profit angst.

Thanks for the feedback: Prozacfairy, Phoenix Hoshika, Shakia, Gozilla, Lawrence Hazeltoe, silent:tears:fall


"There's something wrong with Ed," that was all Denny Brosh had the chance to say before Roy was running out the door, leaving the phone dangling off the hook.

"Damn," Denny muttered when he realized that he was talking to an abandoned phone. "Sheska! You better get out front; the Colonel's on his way and he didn't bother listening to the details."

A short while later Denny heard a commotion in the main room of the library. "Ed, I'll be right back with the Colonel," Denny promised the blond boy who was curled up in the window seat with his arms wrapped around his legs.

Denny stepped out of the room, shut the door behind him then shut his eyes and counted down to from three.

"What the hell happened?" Mustang demanded angrily.

"Um, sir, I um, I think it might have been my fault."

Roy turned on the pair of blond boys with silver eyes who had been hovering nervously outside of the room where Denny had taken Ed. The younger of the pair stepped forward. "I saw Ed heading into the library so told him I was sorry about Alphonse."

"It wasn't Fletcher's fault," the older boy corrected as he pulled his younger brother back protectively. "He was just being polite and Ed freaked out."

"Who the hell are they and why were they anywhere near Edward?" Roy asked Denny.

"I figured they were kids from his hometown," Denny defended himself.

"Like Ms. Rockbell who's last visit took Edward a week to recover from?" Roy asked dangerously.

"I'm Russell Tringham…" the older boy began.

"The frauds from Zenotime," Roy realized and dismissed them as irrelevant. "Where's Edward?"

Denny stepped aside and gestured to the door.

Roy's temper drained away as soon as he saw Edward. Curled up, rocking himself like an abandoned child the boy looked tiny and fragile. The old Fullmetal would have done his best to maim Roy for thinking any such thoughts about him and the truth was in spite of all the times Roy had harassed Ed about his lack of height he'd never really noticed how small the boy was, not while Al was still alive. Things like the fact Ed had barely grown four inches since he'd arrived in Central seven years ago and that Ed only weighed more than a hundred pounds if the weight of his automail was counted in the total just hadn't seemed to register back then, not really. Now Roy couldn't seem to stop noticing.

He crouched beside Ed and put a hand on the blond's shoulder. Ed turned and threw himself at Roy; he clung to the older man desperately as sobs shook his slender frame. Roy's arms closed tightly around Ed; ever since it had hit Roy that Ed could be fragile he'd become fiercely protective of the boy. Roy hadn't worn his gloves while discussing Ross' indiscretions with her because he blamed her for Ed's nightmares and he didn't want the temptation. The whole time he'd been in Corpus he hadn't been able to stop thinking about burning the whole miserable town to the ground because no one there had lifted a finger to help them find Ed and Al or to identify the people responsible for what had happened to the brothers. But that was the sort of reaction that led to the Ishbal Massacre. They retaliated for a child killed by mistake and the Military retaliated for its fallen soldiers until the Fuehrer ordered the cycle to be broken by genocide. So Roy did it the right way and separated the ones guilty of murder from the ones guilty of apathy and left the town standing. Then he went home and tried to make Ed's world safe - for all the good it did when a child's common curtseys could apparently shatter Edward's protective cocoon.

Roy rocked Edward gently and waited for the hysterical sobs to die down.

"I don't know what's real," Edward whispered finally. "My head's all jumbled. I don't even know who you are." Even so Ed was clinging to Roy as if he were a lifeline.

"But you know you're safe here with me," Roy said. Edward nodded. "Then it doesn't matter who I am, you'll remember when you remember. You're safe. I'll make it better I promise."

"Tell me my brother is alive."

"Alphonse is in Risenbool," Roy said.

"You're lying. Where is my brother? Where's Al? Where is he? Where is my brother? Al? Al! AL!"

Roy held the hysterical boy firmly. 'It was just another nightmare,' he told himself. 'A waking nightmare but it would pass like all the others.'

Edward's shouts dissolved into incoherent screaming. He fought until he was exhausted and Roy's chest and legs were black and blue from encounters with Ed's automail. He screamed until his voice gave out.

When it was over Roy picked up the boy's limp body and carried Ed over to the couch. Roy arranged them so that Ed was curled up comfortably in his arms and started rocking him again. "It's alright. You're safe," he murmured. "You don't have to remember the bad stuff. Just forget, it's okay to forget. I've got you. I promise I won't let any of it happen again."


Note: When Ed says he doesn't know who Roy is he meant it in the sense that he can't straighten out his conflicting memories. He doesn't know if Roy's his father, the commanding officer he calls an arrogant bastard or the one he's been staying with since Al and Nina left for Rizenbool.