Hello lovely readers! Sorry I haven't updated much. I've been struggling a bit with school and other matters. But nevermind that! here's a little story I thought I would give y'all to hang you over if you were waiting on Ice-laden blood to be updated. Now, for anyone who's read my previous fanfictions, you know i'm not the romantic person. The relationship between Roy and Ed is strictly parental only. For those who ship these two, I advise you leave. Cuz there ain't no romance. Anyway, on to the story!

I DO NOT OWN FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS


Edward sat on his bed, leaning against the wall. In his hands he held a large, thick novel, scanning the worn pages in quick secession. His younger brother sat on the floor by the bed, deciding to read as well to pass the time. The falling sun casted its light through the open window across the floorboards of the dorm, giving off the appearance of flames upon the wood.

Just barely hours ago they had arrived back in Central, having just completed their latest mission. They had been tasked with investigating the town of Morrowind, about a 5 hour train ride from Central. Rumors had reached the military of a group of homicidal maniacs, pushing the higher-ups into executing said investigation. And of course, they just happened to choose the Fullmetal alchemist for this mission.

Much to the two brothers' relief, this group hadn't killed anyone in the town. Rather, they had chosen to take on kidnapping multiple adults and children, gathering them all in one area, and slaughtering each one mercilessly. Obviously, this plan didn't get very far. A "bloodbath dedicated to our god",as one of the group members had claimed. The very prospect of such a large degree of bloodshed disgusted Edward, and he had the group taken into custody as soon as physically possible. Thankfully, he and Alphonse had stopped the so-called "ritual" before anyone could be murdered, hense renewing his title as hero of the people.

Of course, before the group was taken away, they were given a talking on just how stupid their beliefs were by none other than the Fullmetal alchemist. Unfortunately for the group, they hadn't realized just how good Edward was at crushing other people's faith in religion, whether it be intentional or not. But, needless to say, by the end of Ed's very patronizing speech, some of the members had second thoughts.

And with that over, Edward told his brother he was done with this town and just wanted to go back to Central. Alphonse couldn't help but laugh at his brother's anxiousness. Sometimes the older brother just couldn't slow down unless he was doing something productive. Such as reading.

So, after getting some food for the ride, they caught the next train to Central. Once they got back, Ed and Al went back to the dorm. It was a rather quiet day, dark rain clouds hanging overhead. As a result, they didn't bump into anyone on their way. Nor did they hear the rumors that had been spreading around the City since the incident the night before.

Edward didn't care to check in with the Military since he was still writing his report down, and to absolutely no one but him, he found it amusing to waste the Colonels time. So, he'd wait just a little longer and turn it in the day before the deadline. Said deadline was in 3 days, so he had plenty of time to spare. As well as waste.

The sound of ringing reached Ed's ears, bringing him out of his concentration. Well, he hadn't really been concentrating anyway...the book he had didn't really have anything new to him. Setting the book down, Edward moved to get up from his bed. His brother was already getting to his feet, but stopped when Ed waved a dismissive hand.

"I'll get it Al," The older alchemist hummed, getting up and walking over the phone at the other side of the room. His uneven footsteps echoed throughout the silent room.

Picking the phone up, Ed held it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Edward? It's Hawkeye,"

Edward was slightly startled at first. Why would the Lieutenant call him? After a moment, he collected himself and responded.

"Hey Hawkeye. Why are you calling me? If Mustang has a problem with me then he should tell me face to face!"

"No, Edward. I've simply called to make sure you knew the situation."

Edward paused. Situation? What the heck happened that he didn't know about?

"Situation…?"

"Well...this is why I called. The Colonel has been hospitalized for possibly more than a week So the deadline on your report will be changed."

"WHAT!?" Edward exclaimed. Instantly, he felt his brothers soulfire eyes drilling into his back. But, he didn't really care at the moment. Despite being a total condescending idiot, Mustang was just as smart as he was skilled. What could have happened that landed him a week in the hospital!? Of course, it had to strike him too late.

"He's been shot twice in the stomach, and stabbed once in the chest area. As I was told, the Colonel was ambushed by two of our own men during a rainstorm last night."

Through Riza's stoic voice, Edward heard a sliver of well hidden concern. However, she wasn't the only one concerned now. A coward had been too afraid to face Mustang, and had decided to attack when he was most vulnerable.

"Is...he alright?"

"He's doing alright Edward. We've taken the two men into custody and they're currently being interviewed."

With those words, Edward relaxed a bit. Why had he even been worried in the first place? That much arrogance and self-entitlement couldn't be killed so easily.

"So...Everything's alright now?"

"Yes, it's alright now. We know the men we caught were the only ones who orchestrated the ambush."

"Oh...well thanks Hawkeye. I'll talk to you later," Edward replied, receiving a goodbye from Riza and hanging up the phone. Now...he just had to explain to his brother what happened.

Behind him, Alphonse continued to stare at his brother, wondering why Ed suddenly shouted out of nowhere. Edward turned to face Al, sighing softly. He walked over to the bed, taking a seat.

"What happened brother?" Al asked, unable to push his curiosity aside.

"Mustang's been hospitalized. He was ambushed last night during a rainstorm, so he couldn't really defend himself," Edward shrugged, hiding his worry behind an exasperated tone.

"What!? Is the Colonel alright!?" Alphonse asked quickly, standing up. Edward put both hands up, knowing full well just how much his brother worried.

"He's fine! He's just gonna be stuck in the hospital for a while…" Edward answered. Alphonse seemed to relax a bit, sitting down on the bed besides Edward.

They sat in silence for a bit, both mulling over the matter in their minds.

Though he would rather take apart his own arm before ever admitting it, Ed was worried about his commanding officer. Two bullet wounds and a knife wound weren't exactly the easiest the thing to deal with, not to mention they hurt like heck. Plus, Edward knew what it was like to be stuck in the hospital for quite a while. The place got a bit...well lonely at night. The silence was enough to make anyone go insane.

He remembered all those times Al would stay with him, bringing books. But Mustang wasn't as lucky as to have someone with him like he did. The team would visit him as much as they could, but each of them had work to do. Especially Hawkeye now that he couldn't go back to work for a while.

Edward couldn't help but feel like he should do something. He didn't have to work at the moment, in fact, he had a lot of free time on his hands...Now hold on a second! Mustang would be just fine! He wouldn't get lonely that easily. Right?

Ugh! It would bother him for the rest of his life if he didn't do anything though! He already had a million and one things on his mind and he didn't another.

With a heavy sigh, Edward stood up and began to get dressed.

"Where are you going brother?" Al asked, despite the fact he had a feeling he already knew.

"I'm going out to grab something," Edward replied, donning his signature coat. He halted in front of the door, hand still outstretched to seize the door knob. He turned to face his brother. "Maybe..you should visit Hawkeye. With all that's gone on, I bet she'd enjoy some company outside of work."

Alphonse nodded in return, standing up. He liked the idea of seeing Hawkeye and talking with her, whether it be about their latest mission or simply how the other was doing. Edward smiled, grasping the doorknob and opening the door for him and his brother. Al, having no need to get dressed in any sort of way, simply stood up and followed his brother out.

"Say hi to Black Hayate for me, will yah?" Edward asked as he and Alphonse walked down the hallway, the younger brother's hollow footsteps becoming much more prominent in the silence.

"Okay Brother," Alphonse chuckled,"I will."

Once the two made it outside, they parted their separate ways. Al knew where Hawkeyes dorm was, as he had been there a couple times. Ed knew perfectly well where he was going. Besides, he had been there far more times than considered normal.


Mustang stared at the ceiling above him as he lied down in the hospital bed, tracing each of the dimmed lights with his eyes. He let out a quiet sigh of boredom, raising a hand to rub his eyes. He had attempted to sit up earlier, but failed miserably when he lost his breath to the searing pain in his chest and stomach. Sitting up was now out of the picture, and he didn't want to go to sleep.

So, here he was, trying to entertain himself somehow. It had only been a few hours, but he already found himself missing the company of his friends. Throughout the day, they had visited him multiple times. But now night had fallen, the room had become utterly silent. Some time during his staring at the ceiling he realized just how paranoid he'd become. In a few minutes, he had most likely memorized every sound that had reached his ears.

Perhaps he was merely annoyed at how easily he had been taken down. Stupid weather was never on his side…

The clicking of the door to his room opening and closing caught his attention for a moment, but he simply returned to staring at the ceiling. It was most likely another nurse or something coming to check on him. However, the sound of boots clicking against the tiled floor proved him wrong. None of the nurses, nor doctors that he had met wore boots.

"Yo," A familiar, young voice greeted. Mustang glanced over in surprise to find none other than Edward elric.

"Fullmetal? What are you doing here?" Mustang inquired.

"Just making sure your karma hadn't finally caught up to you," Ed responded, shrugging.

Mustang watched Edward for a few seconds, wondering what the real reason could have been. But, knowing Edward, he wasn't going to get another answer. Now that Ed was here, he supposed he should try to sit up again, shifting his position a bit. Unfortunately, this attempt only ended like the last 4. As soon as he pushed himself his wounds spiked, sending white-hot pain cascading through his upper body. A painful grunt slipped past his lips, causing Mustang to fall back onto his back, growling in frustration.

"Mustang?" Edward asked, cocking his head to one side in question. Mustang seemed to hesitate, pondering on whether he should ask for help.

"...I can't sit up," The man replied slowly.

"You shouldn't even be sitting up!' Ed retorted, crossing his arms. Mustang shot the younger alchemist a glare.

"I've been laying down for hours Fullmetal, I just want to sit up for a few minutes. I honestly thought you of all people would understand that," Roy fired back.

Edward paused, meeting Mustang's annoyed gaze. This dang idiot knew exactly which card to pull to get what he wanted. The young alchemist grumbled quietly, stepping forward and stretching out his left hand.

"Give me your hand."

Mustang silently obliged, holding up his right hand to Edward. Ed grasped Roys hand, sliding one arm behind the Colonels back, and pulling him up in one smooth motion. Though Mustang's wounds still hurt, it was something he could manage without much difficulty.

Once Roy was sitting up, Edward released his hand. The young man sat down on the side of the bed besides his superior, watching the Colonel.

"Better?" Ed asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yeah...Thanks," Mustang responded.

Edward nodded, turning his attention to the floor. He felt kind of awkward, but was glad he could have been of some assistance at least.

The Colonel watched his subordinate with a skeptical expression. Despite his earlier statement, the Kid had literally come to check on him. Whether it was of his own accord, or not, Roy was actually kinda thankful for it. But that still didn't make much sense. Ed despised hospitals and avoided anything that had to do with them. So why was he here?

"So...uh...Are you doing okay?" The younger alchemist inquired softly, clearly a bit uncomfortable. Mustang glanced up in surprise, collecting his bearings. He was right! This kid had come just to check on him!

"Fine, I guess. So...How did Morrowind turn out?" Mustang replied, trying to change the subject.

"Ugh. Turns out the rumors were right. This group was kidnapping a bunch of people and planned on killing them all at once. Apparently it was some ritual offering to their god. But anyway, me and Al managed to stop them before anyone got hurt and the group were taken into custody," Edward explained, brushing his bangs out of his face.

"Just what I thought," Mustang shrugged.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence passed before Edward shifted so he was facing Mustang, arms folded. Roy instantly sat up straight, meeting his subordinate's eyes. The moment he saw Eds expression, he knew he was about to get yelled at for some reason. Usually, the times he had been yelled at was because he was quote on quote, "Being reckless", but with Edward...you just couldn't tell. Sometimes it was about his height, other times it was merely just insult after insult. It didn't matter what anyone believed. Kids were complicated, and this one was by far no exception.

"How did you get so injured!? I mean, I know it was raining but you're smarter than that! You're not exactly the worst at hand to hand combat either..!" Edward demanded, unintentionally complementing the man in the process. At first, Mustang had leaned back slightly, throwing up both hands to defend himself. However, once he comprehended the question, he sat dumbfounded.

"I...Uh…," Mustang stuttered, trying to find the right words. "Alright, alright. I was just driving home during the storm when someone ran in front of my car. I managed to stop before I hit them and got out of the car. A man wearing one of the Amestrian military uniforms stopped me and started rambling on about drug dealers. I didn't understand, but I believed he was one of my men. So, I tried to reason with him. But of course, I just happened to realize too late he had a gun. Either his aim was terrible, or the rain just destortied him, but the first two times he shot he completely missed any of the area near my heart. At that point, adrenaline kicked in and I punched him in the face. He dropped his gun, I reached for mine, and next thing I know there's a knife sticking out of my chest. I turn around and see another man backing away from me. I shot him in the side and hit his head with the butt of my gun and...I don't really remember the rest."

Mustang relayed the incident the best he could recall. Edward nodded slightly in understanding, shoulders slumping. So that's how they managed to injure Roy…

"Oh. Thanks for telling me," Edward replied, thinking quietly.

"Were...Were you worried about me?" Mustang leaned forward, a slight smug smile appearing on his lips. Edward scoffed.

"Worried? Why would I have any reason to be worried about you? It's not like you're in critical condition or anything!" Edward shot back quickly.

Roy raised one eyebrow, fixing his subordinate with a suspicious expression. Edward swallowed nervously, suddenly finding it hard to think of a lie, more or less enforce it. He quickly turned his attention the other direction, feeling Mustangs eyes remain trained on him.

Edward drummed his automail fingers against his leg, trying to find some way out of this. Unfortunately, for being a child prodigy, he couldn't think of a dang thing. Finally, he groaned in annoyance.

"Fine. Maybe I was...a little worried. I mean, I just came back from a mission and the first thing I'm told is you've been hospitalized. You're not the easiest person to beat in a fight so of course I was gonna wonder how bad it was. Think about it, if you died, I would have to be transferred to work under another Colonel and I doubt he or she would let me swear, more or less get away without saying 'sir'. The team would be split and Hawkeye would be lieutenant to someone else and...ugh. Everything would just fall apart. As much as I hate you sometimes, I don't want anything to change," Edward stuttered, fidgeting anxiously.

Mustang managed to keep his astonishment hidden. Edward Elric of all people just admitted that he was worried about him. The stubborn, british kid that took any opportunity to insult or mock him. He was beginning to wonder what would happen if he did die. In all truth and honesty, he preferred how things were as well. Of course, he still had plans to become president.

While Mustang was busy comprehending things, Edward was silently freaking out. He had never been good with emotions, and he didn't think he ever would be. Though his younger brother was usually shown to worry too much over meaningless things, Edward was actually the worst of the two at times. He had a habit of overthinking things, especially when it came to the people he cared about. And now, here he was, admitting it to Mustang.

Edward jerked his head up in surprise when he heard Roy burst into laughter.

"H..Hey! It's not funny, alright!? Why are you laughing!?" Edward growled, his complexion turning bright red out of embarrassment.

The Colonel continued to laugh for a minute more, both arms wrapped around his stomach. It took quite some time, and his wounds weren't very happy about it, but Mustang managed to control himself. He reached up and brushed a tear from his cheek, sighing in content.

"Sorry Kid...I wouldn't have it any other way either," Roy chuckled, smiling. Edward still didn't understand what Roy found so funny, but wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

Nevertheless, the young alchemist was kinda happy with the reaction. He didn't know what he expected, but at least he knew Mustang felt the same way in a sense. The man wasn't really that bad once you got to know him.

"Yeah yeah...sure. I think I should get going now. Al's gonna freak out if I'm not back soon," Edward smiled, moving to stand up. He stopped when he felt something bump against his foot. He looked down, finding a white bag. Oh yeah...he had stopped by one of the shops in central to grab a few things. He had just completely forgotten about it when he set it on the floor.

Ed reached down, picking up the bag and turning to Mustang. Much to the Colonels surprise, as well as confusion, his subordinate held the bag out to him. Edward kept his eyes averted as Roy gently took the bag from him, shifting through its contents. After a moment, the man looked up at the younger alchemist, ebony eyes wide in disbelief.

"You...bought me snacks?" Roy stammered. Edward slowly nodded, busying himself with unscrewing and re-screwing a small screw in his automail hand.

"With your own money..?"

"Mhmm."

"Of your own accord?"

"Yeah?"

"For..me."

"Don't make me spell it out idiot."

"I won't, I won't. It's not that I don't appreciate it..just...why?" Roy asked, confusion clouding his features.

"Well...yah know...It gets boring when you're stuck in a hospital for a while and..," Edward trailed off, not really sure what to say. The one time he actually did something nice for the Colonel and he couldn't even explain himself…

He looked over to see Mustang smiling. Not one of his smug, annoying grins that he would flash every time he got the higher advantage against someone. A real, genuine smile. One Edward wasn't quite familiar with. Once he thought about it, he realized he had never seen the man smile in such a way in the two years he had been in the military under his command.

"...um...Don't read too much into it!" the younger alchemist sputtered quickly, surprised that his words even sounded somewhat legible. Roy shook his head, smile remaining on his features.

"For your sake, I won't. Oh...and, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, earning Edwards attention.

"Huh?" Edward replied, watching his commanding officer curiously.

Mustang held out his hand, further confusing Edward. The young man stepped forward, taking Roy's hand out of pure bewilderment. Whatever he expected, it was nowhere near what came next.

The Colonel pulled his subordinate into a hug, resting his chin on Eds shoulder. For a moment, Edward sat stunned, unable to think, nor move. However, he quickly recovered and wrapped both arms around his superior, mindful of his wounds. Letting his eyes fall shut, Ed buried his face into Mustangs shoulder.

"Thank you," Roy muttered softly.

"You're welcome old man," Edward returned just as quietly, smiling.

For longer than Roy cared to admit, he simply held the kid. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure why he hugged him in the first place. It just felt like the right thing to do. But he knew he didn't regret it. The kid had, for once in the years he had known him, done something nice for him out of his own accord. No strings attached. They'd both probably would act as if it never happened, nor would they ever bring it up again.

But that was simply how it worked between them. For now, Roy just wanted to enjoy it as long as he could.

After a minute or two, Mustang took a deep breath, tightening his grip around Edward for a brief second before pulling away. Edward cleared his throat, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking away out of embarrassment. Embarrassment at the fact that he didn't want the moment to end. He couldn't remember the last time someone willingly hugged him. And...as much as he loathed to admit it...it felt nice.

Unfortunately, there was most likely never going to be another moment like this between them. And that was okay. It was enough to simply know they could depend on one another should something ever go wrong again.

Edward cleared his throat once more, turning to Roy.

"I should probably get going now…" Edward chuckled softly, shrugging.

"Yeah...you should," Mustang responded, hiding the disappointment in his tone.

And with that, the two said their goodbyes. Edward turned, walking over to the door of the room, opening the door. Without looking back, he slipped out of the room and quietly shut the door behind him.

Mustang watched his subordinate leave, a small smile present on his features. He sighed, looking down at the bag of snacks in his lap. Perhaps everything would be alright after all.


Annnnnnd that's it. MUWAHAHAHAHAHA! I've switched the roles. get ready for ParentalEdRoy! ANYway, Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this, and I hope I didn't disappoint. Huge thanks to Mc-squishy for being so awesome, as well as a inspiration to me. If you're looking for more parentalRoyEd, i suggest you go check her stories out.