HAPPY (late) THANKSGIVING! Now on with the story.
Edward wished that the words would just flow out, spill out, and leave him alone. He was deaf not mute, so why wouldn't the words come out, why wouldn't they form? It wasn't like he was afraid of the thoughts in his mind. He was probably more afraid of the ones not in his mind. Not that that is something he would admit even to himself.
"I- uhh..." Words finally began to form, well maybe and kind of. They weren't really words just stutterings, the beginnings of a sentence that just didn't want to be made. Edward wasn't able to hear the stuttering, but he knew that the words just weren't coming out quite right.
A comforting gauntlet came to rest on Edward's shoulder. He shrugged it off, trying not to feel guilty about pushing his little brother, who, not only, was just trying to help but also didn't deserve it in the slightest, away.
"I -um- well... W- what exactly do you want to know?"
Mustang the words ' All of it ' then proceeded to write down:
-Anything that you can remember.-
Edward inhaled deeply causing a small coughing fit.
"I..." Edward really didn't want to talk, it didn't feel right. It was just wrong, all wrong. He had never in his life known, or imagined, that such a change as this would be so... wrong?
Yes, he had had his right arm and left leg robbed from him, but that was equivalent exchange, right? His left leg for that creature that they made as children, which technically they still were, and his right arm for his little brother's soul. But where was the equivalent exchange in the loss of his hearing? He had tried to help. Was the interruption of that man's revenge plan wrong? That man was the reason for a number of deaths, so how could it be wrong?
Mustang furrowed his brow at Edward's long pause. He reached forward, placing his hand on Edward's shoulder, ready for it to be shrugged of just as he had with his little brother. Just as suspected, Edward pushed Roy's attempt at a comforting gesture away. Both Roy and Edward met each other's gazes. Strong, worried black eyes met confused gold ones, and they just locked onto each other not letting go.
"Fullmetal," Roy broke the silence between them. "are you alright?"
A moment of confusion showed on Edward's face as if he were attempting to decipher a complex code.
"Y- yeah, I'm fine." Edward answered, somewhat as if he were asking it as a question.
"Fullmetal, are you reading my lips?" Mustang asked quickly.
Edward's face showed Mustang that he had lost the boy. Roy stopped, slowed down, and spoke more clearly this time.
"Edward, are you reading my lips?"
Edward took a moment to process the words.
"Yes?" He answered, seemingly not sure as whether that was the right answer or not.
"Well, that really clears things up, thanks Fullmetal." Mustang muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.
Edward stopped and turned away from Mustang, looking genuinely upset. He scooted to the edge of the bed, as far away as he could be while still on the hospital bed.
"Fullmetal, is something wrong?" Mustang asked reaching towards the kid. Edward jumped back, away from Mustang's extended hand. Being, already, on the edge of the bed, Edward had nowhere to go but down. Edward toppled of the edge of the bed, eyes widening at the unexpected change. He let out an involuntary squeak, very unlike Edward, as his backside collided with the hard hospital tiles.
Edward shied away from the Colonel as he muttered something. It felt unnatural not being able to hear him. Mustang could easily mutter something horrible and awful, and Edward would never know. Muttering was to hard to read, and Edward was having a hard enough time trying to read Mustang's lips when he was speaking clearly.
'But, of course he's not saying something horrible or awful. Al would have stopped him, right?'
Edward stopped to consider.
'I wouldn't blame him If he didn't stop Mustang from saying something. I already broke my promise.'
Edward lost himself in his thoughts, not even noticing Mustang's hand until it was too late. He jumped back forgetting that he was already on the edge of the bed. Gravity did its part, and Edward toppled over the edge landing hard on his backside. Edward assumed he made a surprised sound but he wasn't completely sure. Once the surprise died down the pain came rushing in to replace it. Broken ribs screaming in agony. The gash in his side almost feeling like it was ripped open again. The burns, well, they burned. His concussion sent waves of pain through his head. And the inside of his ears ached, feeling jostled and pained.
Through gritted teeth and tightly shut eyes, Edward cried out against the pain.
'Stop! I don't want it to hurt anymore!'
Mustang scrambled around the bed toward the pained child. He tripped over himself as he reached the kid. He kept repeating the words 'I'm sorry' as he tried to comfort the boy. Edward showed no reaction to the words.
'Of course, you idiot, he's deaf. He can't hear you.' Roy ignored that fact and remained apologizing.
Mustang reached out and touched the boy's flesh arm, recieving a hiss of pain and frustration. He had, unintentionally, touched the forgotten burns.
"Don't worry, Fullmetal. I'm going to go get the doctor." Roy knew Edward couldn't hear him, but he said it anyway. "Alphonse, come here and stay with your brother, while I fetch the doctor."
Roy rushed out the door searching the halls for a doctor. He was slightly annoyed that be couldn't find one. This was a hospital, wasn't it? So why wasn't there a single available doctor?
A nurse came shuffling down the hall, a clipboard in hand. Mustang ran up to her.
"I need a doctor now. It's important!" The woman seemed a bit surprised by the demand.
"U- uh, yeah- yeah I'll go get Doctor Frued f- for you." she stuttered out, before running off to get the doctor. Either that or she was running away from the creepy man who had run up to her. Roy really hoped it was the latter.
Minutes later, a tall blonde man dressed in scrubs and a white coat stroad up.
"Were you the one in need of medical assistance?" The man asked, coming to a stop infront if Roy.
"Doctor Frued?" Roy questioned.
"Correct." Frued answered, his voice dull and lifeless. "What room?" He asked like he was trying, not very hard, to be patient with Roy.
"Room 141," Roy answered pointing down the hall. "He fell off the bed and is in pain now."
"I know where the room is. Just let me get to the patient." Doctor Frued said impatiently.
They entered the room finding Alphonse helping his whimpering brother back onto the hospital bed. "It's okay, Ed. See? The Colonel found a doctor." No response. Just continued whimpers.
"Now, boy, stop crying and tell me where of hurts." Frued stood right by the bed now. "Son, I said tell me where it hurts and... kid?"
Roy took a step forward. "He can't hear." Mustang frowned. "He's deaf."
"That would have been helpful information," The doctor scowled.
Mustang had come to the conclusion that he did not like that doctor.
Frued gripped Edward's shoulder and shook gently. "Come on, kid."
Edward was not pleased at the uncomfortable pain his shoulder emitted, when this strange man, he didn't know, touched him. It was already bad enough that he had jostled all his wounds, when falling from the bed, but now there was a strange man -probably a doctor- being not as gentle as he probably thought he was being.
Edward wished that he could just hiss at the man and tell him to stop, but his voice refused to work. It was much to heavy and thick to cooperate.
A/N: I hoped you enjoyed. I, honestly, think it sucks a lot (I rewrote it three times), but whatever. It didn't seem like you guys liked the last chapter very much so I will have to try better next time. forgive me? I didn't have Wi-Fi all week that is why it is late. By the way, if anyone has any ideas they would like me to add to my story feel free to give me your ideas. I'll try to add them in. And I will give you the credit for the idea. I do have the story almost all planned out, but it doesn't hurt to add some other things. I already have the last chapter written, but nothing in between then and now.
Thank you for reading!
-IME/UNAU
P.S. With the coming holiday season, I will probably not have as much time so I may not have many updates. I, unfortunately will be traveling around New Year's and before Christmas a little. I will try hard to get them out, though.