Hi guys! Back at you with another story! Jesus, I can't believe I started this in October! Time flies, doesn't it? Except for when I'm in school. Then it goes nowhere. Anyways! I finally got a gaming laptop! Yay! I can't wait to see if it'll play my games now. No expectations or whatever, don't want to get disappointed. Anyways, long story short, I'll probably be able to update a lot more at my house now. Maybe. If I don't slack off...oh yeah! This is a suggestion by Jane. I'm sorry it took so long to update! Now, onto the story!
Summary: Edward and Alphonse stay at Roy's house in order to "protect" the Elric's from Scar. Turns out, Roy is sick and can't really do a lot of protecting. It's okay though, Alphonse knows how to handle a sick person.
Idea Came From: Jane, who suggested it
Timeline: a little after Ed and Al encounter Scar
Rated: T for cursing and mentions of Trisha's death
Warnings: None
Notes: review replies at the end
Story 22: Caring For You
Ed grumbles angrily to himself as he walks beside Al down the street, Mustang in front of them. The fact that they are ordered to simply walk the streets of Eastern City drives Ed crazy, seeing as they could perfectly handle Scar on their own. That is, until Alphonse reminded him of how they had almost been killed, to which Ed had shut up after that. That doesn't mean he can't grumble quietly to himself, though.
"Would you be quiet already?" Mustang grumbles, hands stuffed in his pockets. He sniffles afterwards and Al raises an eyebrow. Ed completely ignores this detail.
"Why? So you can do the same thing? I would rather hear myself complain than you," Ed snaps, crossing his arms defiantly.
"No, because I have a headache. Now shut the hell up."
Ed pauses, raising his own eyebrow. Roy had never been so quick to snap at Edward like that. It would take an immense amount of pestering and arguing to get him to explode, and even then he wouldn't really curse, seeing as it wasn't professional or whatever.
"Are you okay, sir?" Al asks cautiously, glancing at his brother. "You seem on edge today."
"Yes, I'm fine, nothing I can't handle." Roy replies almost too quickly, taking his hand out of his pocket. He flicks his hand casually, glancing over his shoulder at them. "Now don't be slacking behind, I'll leave you."
"I'd rather get left behind than follow you around all day," Ed mutters as he stuffs his own hands into his pockets.
They walk the rest of the way to Roy's house in relative silence. Once there the boys instantly head up to the guest bedroom to drop of their things while Roy heads to the couch after locking the door.
"You think he's okay?" Al asks as they set their bags down.
"Who, the Colonel?" Ed asks, raising an eyebrow as he rolls his shoulder. "Who cares? The only reason we're here in the first place is for him to be our body guard, or whatever. I could care less if he's okay or not."
"Don't be that way," Al sighs, shaking his head. He knows his brother good enough to see that he is lying. Of course Edward cares, he's just too prideful to admit it out loud, and probably to himself. "I'll go see if we can do anything for him."
"You're wasting your time," Ed calls after his brother as Al leaves the room and heads back into the living room. He can see Roy sitting on the couch, leaning back with an arm thrown over his face. His breathing is somewhat uneven and his face-from what Al can see-is pale, his cheeks flushed.
"Sir?" Al asks, causing Roy to jump. He pulls his arm away from his face, trying to act casual. Al notes the tired look in Roy's black eyes and the bags under his eyes. "Are you-do you need anything?"
"No, I'm good." Roy replies hastily, nodding. "You boys hungry?"
"You sure? You look sick." Al mumbles as Roy slowly stands, looking way older than what he actually is. He rubs his neck with a grimace. "I'll have to check and make sure I have enough food, especially with how much of a pig Fullmetal is."
"Hey!" Ed shouts from the bedroom. Al chuckles lightly, shaking his head before he looks back to Roy.
"I don't think you're okay. You're pale and it looks like you're running a fever."
"I'm fine, really, Alphonse." Roy smiles as he walks over, ruffling Al's hair. "Now, what do you guys want for dinner?"
By the time dinner is cooked and make, Roy is completely out of energy. He opts out of eating, saying that he's going to bed early while the boys can eat whatever they want. Not specifying the dinner, which is steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans.
"Seriously brother, I think we should keep an eye on him," Al says as Ed practically inhales his food. "I mean, he looks pretty sick."
"Al," Ed says as he lowers his fork, sighing. "You shouldn't worry about him like you do. He doesn't do that for us-"
"But he does, brother. He worries about us all the time," Al whispers quietly as he stares down at his food. "He made us dinner, he's keeping us safe from potential harm, he picks out missions that he thinks relates to the Philosopher's Stone, he does so much for us."
Ed is silent for a long time, sipping quietly at his water. He sighs and lowers the cup. "Alright, alright, you win. But don't you think for one second that I'm going to help you! You're the one worrying so that means you have to take care of it."
Al smiles and takes a bite of steak. Ed looks away, lifting his plate to once more inhale his food.
After dinner Al heads to Roy's room while Edward is stuck with the dishes. There hadn't been any leftover food since Ed had eaten what was left. Much to Al's annoyance, since he had told Edward to leave some food for when Roy was feeling up to it.
Oh well, they could make something else. Steak probably wouldn't be the best if Roy is sick anyways.
Al lightly knocks on Roy's closed, bedroom door. There is silence for a long while before the door is opened to show Roy standing there, black hair messy, cheeks red with fever, and dark circles under his eyes. He is wearing light blue pajama pants and a white t-shirt.
"Alphonse?" He asks, raising an eyebrow, though it looks like it takes a great bit of effort.
"Um, I was just...I'm just checking on you," Al says almost meekly. "You've gotten worse."
"It's fine, just a cold," Roy says, sounding congested. He sniffles, rubbing his nose with a finger. "Go to bed, it's late."
"Not really, it's only nine."
"So?"
Al shakes his head. "Just...go lay down, okay? I'll be back with a thermometer."
"You don't have to do this," Roy says but a pointed look from Alphonse shuts him up. Living with Edward for as long as Alphonse has probably comes with a few perks, like making someone stubborn do something they don't want to. Though, Roy guesses with Ed it's probably worse since Edward is younger than Roy, and probably has a lot more energy. Give or take.
"I don't mind. You do so much for us, this is the least I could do for you," Al says, eyes softening. "Besides, I'm pretty used to caring for sick people by now. So go lay down and I'll be in with a thermometer."
"Okay..." Roy sighs, smiling lightly. Al nods with satisfaction as Roy turns and walks towards his bed, leaving the door open. Al then heads into the bathroom and searches around for the med-kit. It doesn't take all that long, seeing as it is under the counter.
He picks out the thermometer and heads back into Roy's room. He can hear the sink still on in the kitchen so he guesses that Edward isn't done with washing the dishes yet. Which is okay with Al, the less trouble from Ed, the better it would be to get Roy to lay down and relax.
Edward seemed to have a knack for stressing Roy out.
Al enters the dark room, though he turns on a lamp on the nightstand. Roy flinches away from the bright light, squinting. Al sits on the bed beside Roy, holding the thermometer out towards him.
"Here, put this under your tongue."
Roy sighs and takes it, putting the thermometer under his tongue as instructed. Al waits patiently, eyes casually roaming the room to get a feel. It isn't anything spectacular. Roy has a king sized bed with a black dresser off to the right, the window above it, though there are black curtains drawn closed. The walls are a soft blue and the carpet is a gray blue.
The thermometer beeps and Al takes it from Roy's mouth. He looks over the temperature, frowning. "99.4, so not too bad, but not something that should be left alone."
"Alphonse, I'm okay, really. I'm sure I'll be fine in the morning," Roy tries again as Al stands from the bed, setting the thermometer beside the lamp on the nightstand.
"No, I'm helping you." Al says as he locks eyes with Roy. "You can't deal with this all by yourself. When people are sick they are vulnerable, they don't feel good, trust me I know it all. Well, sort of. Just...just let me help you."
Roy stays silent for a moment, taking in Al's almost pleading expression. He sighs and glances away, feeling awkward. He hates feeling weak, sick, but he can't do anything about it. "Fine, whatever. Just...don't kill me."
"Don't worry, I won't," Al chuckles with a smile before heading out of the room. He walks into the kitchen where Ed is drying his hands on a towel, looking mildly annoyed.
"Done playing nurse?" Ed asks, leaning against the counter with crossed arms. His eyes follow Alphonse as he takes a bowl from the cupboard.
"No, he has a fever." Al replies as he turns on the warm water. He holds his hand under the water for a few moments, adjusting the water to perfection almost without even trying. It all is just natural to him, in a sense. "It isn't all that bad, but I still need to bring it down."
"Do what you gotta do," Ed sighs, shaking his head. "I'll be in the bedroom if you need help with anything."
"Thanks, brother." Al smiles as he fills the bowl. Ed shoots a toothy smile at Al before he leaves the kitchen, braid swishing behind him as he does so.
Al heads back to Roy's room a few minutes later with a bowl full of cold water and a wet rag to put on Roy's forehead. When he enters the room Roy opens his eyes, trying to shy away from the lamp.
The teen sets the bowl onto the nightstand and wrings out the rag. He sits on the bed and gently places the rag over Roy's forehead, nimble fingers working quickly and accurately.
"What did you mean before, when you said that you...you know, what people are like when they're sick, or whatever." Roy finally asks, breaking the somewhat awkward silence.
"Hm? Oh," Al chuckles, sitting back with his hands cupped into his lap. "I was talking about my brother."
"Fullmetal?"
"Yeah. He gets sick way too often for his own good," Al replies, smiling. "Especially when we were kids, he would get sick if someone coughed across the room. Though, it wasn't the extreme sick that should be worried about, just the regular cough, sniffle, cold, those sorts of things. Though, I guess there have been a couple times when it was bad, like throwing up or something."
"Huh, I didn't know Fullmetal had such a bad immune system," Roy chuckles with amusement. "What about you? I thought you would be the one with a horrible immune system, no offense."
"No, it's fine. A lot of people thing that, seeing as Edward is the person he is." Al smiles softly, a sad look crossing his face. "My immune system is actually top notch. We would joke that he got it from mom's side, seeing as...you know, she would get sick easily as well. It still scares me when he gets sick each time because...because I'm scared that it'll be what mom had..."
"Alphonse," Roy says, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "Edward is too stubborn to let something like a sickness take him. I mean, he's had so many close calls with death already. He must be doing something right if he's lived each time. I'm sure that he won't die from getting sick."
Al can't help but feel his eyes mist over with tears. He smiles and nods his head lightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just can't help it, you know? I just...every time he gets sick I always think about mom and...you know."
"I feel the same way about Ishaval," Roy says, shifting to get more comfortable. Al flips the rag on Roy's forehead. "Whenever I think about it, I always see my team in the form of Ishvalans. I'm scared that I could possibly kill them in the future."
"But you won't," Al quickly says, locking eyes with Roy once more. "I mean, it isn't your fault for what you did in Ishval. You were given orders and you had to follow them. A dog of the military, right?"
"Yeah."
They fall into a comfortable silence after that. Al stays by Roy's side long into the night, even after the man had fallen asleep. And when Edward wakes up in the morning to check on his brother-and Roy, he guesses-he sees his little brother sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed with Roy's arm draped over the bed, the back of his hand pressed against Al's shoulder. Al has a soft smile on his face and Roy looks peaceful, rag still on his forehead.
"You idiots," Ed sighs with a soft smile on his face. He takes the rag on Roy's head, gets it wet once more, wrings it out, and places it back on his forehead. "Thanks, Roy. For taking care of him for me."
As Ed walks towards the door, he hears Roy shift on the bed and say with a groggy voice, "you're welcome, Ed."
That's it! I don't really have much to say, except that I'm sorry I haven't been updating daily. I'm trying though! I'll try to get right back on updating regularly, though, again, I can't make any promises. I'm trying, guys! Anyways, onto the reviews!
Patsy Koala- thank you! And I'm glad you liked the chapter, it means a lot.
Lady Jessica Mustang- you're welcome! I'm glad you liked it! And thanks, I'm feeling a lot better now. I'll try to get that suggestion out as soon as I can!
That's all, folks! Thank you so much for supporting me and being patient and sticking with me. It means so much! I honestly can't express how grateful I am for you all! And, with that said, don't forget to leave suggestions for what you want me to write in the future. Thanks for reading, and have a nice day/night!