"I heard you went crying to daddy Mustang after our little interaction the other day." Stratton started, closing the door to the bathroom. Ed shuddered inwardly, finally regaining enough composure to turn off the sink.
"I didn't go crying to anybody." Ed spat, hiding his fear behind his anger. "I was too busy trying not to die from the punctured lung you gave me." Stratton chuckled, sending waves of nerves through Ed.
"I didn't do anything of the sort, Elric." Stratton held a hand to his chest, a false sense of innocence laced in his voice. "That only happened to you because you were weak." He hissed, emphasising his insult with a hard kick to Edward's ankle, sending him to his knees. Ed's heart pounded in his chest. How was he supposed to get out of this? If he fought back, he could be reprimanded, and he couldn't afford to get in trouble. He needed this job for Al.
He made to get up off of his knees, but was stopped by a thick sole digging into his back, pushing him to the ground. The impact with the hard tile sent sharp sparks of pain through the entirety of Ed's chest. His lungs felt as if they had shriveled up inside of him, curling like the edges of paper when kissed with fire, and burning as if they were being reduced to ash. For a few terrible moments, Ed was robbed of air, before choking and taking a deep breath of sweet air that pressed against his aching rib cage.
"You see, you got me into trouble, all because you were too weak to do anything about it on your own. You're powerless against me." He jeered, increasing the pressure on Ed's back, pushing him so hard into the ground Ed could feel all the blood rushing to his head. Sharp twinges of pain flared through Ed's side as several stitches popped and tore. Colonel Stratton only eased the pressure when he saw blood seeping through Ed's clothes and painting the white tile red like a crime scene. Stratton released his foot, earning a gasp of relief from Ed, followed by a serious of pained coughs.
"Whoops." He commented, sounding unphased with the fact that he had tore open Ed's incision. "Guess I should leave before I kill you, huh?" Ed gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, shaking slightly against the agonizing pain throbbing through his body. As Stratton went to leave, he stopped, swinging his leg back and kicking Ed in his side, his boot digging into the bloodied wound. He then proceeded out of the bathroom, tucking his arms behind his back as if nothing had happened. White flashed before Ed's eyes as he fell back down to the floor, pained pants and whimpers falling from between his lips. He held a hand against his side in attempts to quell the bleeding, only succeeding in bloodying his glove. The pool of blood around him grew steadily as he tried to compose himself enough to get to his knees and eventually stand. A few pained tears had escaped from his eyes, which he quickly wiped away with a gloved automail hand.
Though waves of pain still cascaded through him, he shakily got to his knees, and painstakingly stood to his feet. He had left a concerning amount of blood pooled and smeared on the floor, with more dripping from between his fingers. He just needed to get to Mustang. Get to Al. He could get to them and then he could go home. He told himself, taking shaky step after shaky step. His knees nearly buckled on the way, but he just kept repeating it in his head, pushing through the pain and the blood loss to get to the office.
He nearly collapsed in relief upon seeing the office doors in the distance, quickening his pace as best he could to reach them. A quick glance behind him revealed he had left an impressive blood trail, the crimson still dripping through his fingers. He laid his trembling fingers on the door knob, streaking the metal with red as he let it fall open.
"Ed, where have you been? You've been gone for 15 minutes!" Roy interrogated as he entered the room, though upon further investigation, the kid looked pale and pained, and seemed to be shivering. "What's wrong?" He padded over to him, a growing sense of concern in his gut. Ed lifted his hand from his side, his whole arm trembling as he showed Roy his bloodied glove. Roy's eyes widened, and before he could say anything, Ed fell against Roy's chest. "Shit! Havoc!" Roy yelled, pulling a half-conscious Ed into his arms and running over to the couch, laying him gently down on it. He was quickly surrounded by a group of worried soldiers and a suit of armour. Roy hurriedly tore off Ed's sweater, revealing his entire side caked in blood and the bandage soaked clean through.
"What happened?! Is he okay?!" Questioned Al worriedly. Havoc fell to his knees next to Roy and Ed as Fuery ran to get the first aid kit.
"He must have ripped his stitches." Roy observed as Havoc began to peel off the bandage. He cupped Ed's cheek in his hand. "Ed? Can you hear me? What happened?" He looked down at Ed, his eyes half-lidded, he blinked drowsily.
"S-Stratton." He croaked, his voice barely above a whisper. Roy cursed, his concern quickly overrun with pure, seething anger. Hadn't that asshole hurt Ed enough?
Fuery approached with the first aid kit as Havoc removed the blood-soaked bandage. Blood began to drip steadily from the wound where nearly half of Ed's stitches had been torn. Havoc hurriedly pressed pads of gauze to the incision.
"Shit. What is wrong with that man?!" Havoc hissed, soaking up stray blood and peering underneath the gauze to try and see the damage. "Half of the stitches are torn. What the hell did he do to you, kid?" He seethed, pressing more bandages against his side. Ed smirked the best he could given his condition.
"He stepped on me." He admitted, his voice quiet and weak.
"He stepped on you?!" Roy shrieked, clenching his fists. Fury radiated from everyone in the room, but especially from Roy. "When I get my hands on that bastard he'll need his face reconstructed."
Ed's breath hitched in his throat with a whimper as Havoc pressed against his side.
"I'm sorry, kid. I know it hurts." He frowned, sympathy evident on his face. The bloodflow had slowed, so he removed the soaked gauze, revealing the large wound. Everyone looked on, gritting their teeth and wincing in sympathy. Havoc held back the urge to gag upon seeing the glinting metal of the plate screwed into Ed's ribs. He placed a new piece of gauze over it, exhaling heavily through his nose. "Ed, this needs to be restitched. I know you hate hospitals..." Havoc started, being cut off by a desperate look from Ed upon mentioning the hospital.
"No. I won't go. I just got out, if I go back they'll make me stay." He pleaded, shaking his head nervously. Havoc's frown deepened. "Please."
Havoc sighed and rubbed his face.
"I can stitch it, but it's going to be torture, kid." He cautioned, hoping Ed would save himself any more unnecessary pain and just go to the hospital. Ed shook his head.
"I don't care. I can't go back there." He shuddered, leaning his head back onto the arm of the couch. Havoc sighed in defeat.
"Okay, fine. Colonel, could you hold this?" He requested, pointing to the gauze against Ed's side. Roy nodded, sliding his hand over the bandages and holding pressure while Havoc washed and gloved his hands. He returned a minute later, his hands wrapped in white latex, holding a small suture kit. He sat again in his spot next to Ed, uncertainty settled in his gut. The air was quiet and thick with tension.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, threading the needle. Ed nodded, looking content with his decision. "Okay, brace yourself." He cautioned, piercing the needle into Ed's skin. Ed bit his lip and closed his eyes, but didn't break the silence in the room. Al reached over and grabbed Ed's flesh hand, squeezing in reassuringly. Ed opened his eyes at the touch, smiling warmly at his brother.
With practiced hands, Havoc deftly tied the first stitch in the wound. Everyone watched anxiously, all worrying for their youngest coworker, and all silently planning the murder of Colonel Stratton.
As he stitched, Ed didn't utter a peep, though his scrunched-up face and the way he shook slightly was enough to know that he was in pain. 15 minutes and 20 neat stitches later, it was over. Havoc wiped away any blood from Ed's side before replacing the bandage. Ed looked relieved that it was over, his head leaning back into the couch as his body went slack.
"All done, kiddo. You did really good." Havoc assured him, actually looking a bit shocked with the kid's lack of reaction. Ed didn't respond, instead letting his eyes slip closed with a deep breath.
"Oh, by the way," He started, voice cracking and quiet. "You might want to get someone to clean up the bathroom before someone calls the police." He smirked weakly.
They all smiled faintly upon seeing that Ed still had enough energy to be at least a sliver of his normal self.
Roy shrugged off his jacket and laid it over a half asleep Ed. He unconsciously curled into the new warmth, humming softly in satisfaction. Roy smiled at the sight, turning to Alphonse.
"I think he's out for the night." He stated, even though it was only 3pm. "Poor kid's exhausted, I'll help you get him back to the dorms." Roy offered, gently scooping Ed into his arms. Ed burrowed his head into Roy's neck, exhaling softly, sounding peaceful.
"That's very nice of you, thank you Colonel." Al replied in a whisper, bowing slightly to Roy. Roy just nodded with a smile in acknowledgement.
The whole way through the hallways to the dorms was filled with other soldiers aw-ing and cooing at the small bundle in Roy's arms. Roy thanked God that the kid was asleep, he couldn't go ripping his stitches again.
Al opened the dorm room door for Roy, showing him inside and over to Ed's bed. He pulled back the covers, allowing Roy to gently set Ed down on top of the mattress. Ed groaned a little at the loss of his heat source, but quickly settled down when he was covered up with blankets. Roy and Al spent a few moments just standing around, looking down at Ed with love.
"Oh, Colonel, Ed's still wearing your jacket." Al observed, pointing to the blue collar that jutted out from beneath the comforter. Roy smiled warmly.
"You know Al, why don't you boys keep it."