Roy knew from the moment he woke up that Alphonse had made good on his promise the night before.

It was easy to tell because Ed was practically glued to his little brother's side. Even when Alphonse led him into the bathroom for a much-dreaded shower, Ed followed without complaint, one hand clamped on Al's arm as he followed him in and shut the door. They emerged the same way, Ed trembling and gasping the way he usually did after such an ordeal, but much cleaner and even more unwilling to be separated from his sibling.

When they finally came down for breakfast, Alphonse had to forcibly sit Ed down to remove him from his side. "Colonel Mustang is getting your food. I'm going to get your medicine, so stay here," he ordered, his tone gentle but firm.

Ed opened his mouth to protest, then closed it and reluctantly let go of Alphonse's arm, wrapping his shaking hand around his other arm. "I don't want the dumb pills," he said, and though his voice was weak and trembling and sweat beaded his forehead, he managed to convey his irritation well enough by slumping in his chair and scowling at nothing. There was something odd about the whole display, though. The tension in the boy's jaw, the way his hand clenched his prosthetic, and a gut feeling Roy couldn't seem to shake.

Well, maybe that was just him getting better, slowly being more like himself. It would take time.

Alphonse was well trained when it came to his brother and artfully ignored his bad mood while he went about opening bottles and collecting his medication. "They're just all the usual stuff, Brother. It's not like there are any sleep aids or anything." This time, Roy heard him add silently.

Ed didn't look at all impressed. "They all make me feel weird." He suddenly looked apprehensive, his former irritation slipping away, switched off like a light. "Winry isn't down yet, is she?" he asked carefully, turning his head as if listening for her.

"Not yet," Roy assured him, piling a plate high with an assortment of caloric foods for the abysmally thin blond. As much as it had annoyed him before, Roy missed the sulky, petulant side of Ed. It was a side he hadn't seen much of at all since his rescue and Roy found it oddly refreshing, even if he seemed a bit off somehow. But, well, it was progress, right?

Roy placed the plate in front of him. "Breakfast."

Ed made no move to find the food before him, or even acknowledge it was there. "I don't want that, either," he muttered, his mood back as quick as Roy could blink.

Roy chose not to question it. He was doing better, and Roy would continue to tell himself that until that annoying feeling in his chest went away. "You promised Alphonse that you would eat twice as much today," he reminded, placing a fork in his hand. "Eat up, shrimp."

Ed bristled, barring his teeth. "Who are you calling a shrimp, you jerk?" he demanded. Though he seemed hostile enough, Roy again wondered if he heard something forced in his tone.

"Well, as the only half-pint, shriveled up midget in the vicinity, you're the safe bet," Roy pointed out, watching with a twinge of satisfaction as Ed snarled something impolite, resituated his blanket around his shoulders, and set about searching for the plate with annoyed vehemence.

Alphonse stepped in front of Roy, holding out a juice glass filled with an assortment of colorful pills and gestured to Ed.

Roy frowned at him. Alphonse always gave him his medication. Why now did he want—

It dawned on him. The way Ed was now, relying so much on routine and consistency, little changes upset him. Winry's arrival was proof enough of that, making him terribly anxious. He was still very on edge just waiting on her to come down to breakfast. Alphonse did a lot for Ed. In fact, he did almost everything for him. With him leaving, it would all fall to Roy, and if Ed wasn't at least a little prepared for it, the adjustment would be far from smooth.

Roy accepted the glass and turned back to Ed. "Here are you meds," he announced, gently taking Ed's real hand, removing the recently-located fork and placing the glass in it.

Ed blinked, holding the glass as if Roy had just put a live animal in his hand. "Al?"

"Right here, Brother."

"I thought you were getting them?"

"I did, Brother. I'm, uh . . . I'm trying to finish this omelet for Winry," Al said, hastily retreating to the stove to crack some more eggs into a skillet.

Ed frowned. "Liar," he accused flatly. "Okay, Mustang, what is this?" he demanded suspiciously, shaking the glass from side to side. The pills clanked together innocuously, but Ed wasn't convinced.

"Honestly, I have better things to do than poison you, Fullmetal," Roy sighed. Obviously Alphonse was on to something. Ed was distrustful of him generally, even before he lost his sight. If Roy were being honest with himself, that hurt a bit. To think all of his sacrifices and efforts for the brothers' sake proved nothing to the eldest boy.

"Brother, take your medicine," Alphonse admonished, scattering some chopped vegetables in the cooking eggs. "Winry will want to run a performance check on your automail when she gets down, and Doctor Silas is coming this evening and he won't be happy if you skip your antibiotics."

Ed glared sightlessly at the glass before him, his gaze off a few inches, but he finally sighed, setting the cup down before him. He located his glass of juice and pulled it closer to him, then went back to the pills, tossing the lot of them into his mouth and following with a few swallows of juice. "Everyone happy now?" he asked, sinking back in his seat.

"Thrilled," Roy assured him.

"What are we thrilled about?" a sleepy, feminine voice asked.

Ed jumped a mile, his glass of juice leaping from his hand and smashing against the floor, bright shards scattering across the tile. The sound only alarmed Ed further, sending him scrambling to his feet, right into the sharp mess.

Roy got to him too late. Ed cried out as glass bit into his bare foot, and Roy barely managed to sweep him up off the floor in time to save him from the worst of it. The boy's eyes dilated and Edward flailed around, fighting his grip with desperate intensity, and it took Roy all of three seconds to realize Ed didn't know where he was anymore.

"Stop, no more!" he cried, bucking in Roy's arms like a live wire. Tears started to roll down his face as he twisted, and Roy had to dump him on the tile away from the mess to keep him from falling. "No more, please! I don't know! I DON'T KNOW WHERE!"he screamed, and Roy's blood chilled in his veins.

"Fullmetal, stop this!" Roy hissed, but it was to no avail. Ed continued to struggle, and it was all Roy could do to keep from being punched or kicked by an automail limb. He sprawled on top of him, pinning him down with his body weight as Ed smeared his blood across the floor and sobbed. Roy fumbled for the automail failsafe, but his angle was all wrong and he couldn't get his hand behind the boy's shoulder without getting his fingers crushed against the floor.

"I don't know . . . I don't know," he whimpered over and over again, and Roy winced. He sounded so scared . . . so beaten, like wherever he was, he had resigned himself to the pain. Did he think he was back in Drachma, being tortured for information with no escape, no hope of rescue?

Had Ed given up on him coming?

"Brother!" Alphonse cried, collapsing near his face. "Brother, can you hear me?"

Ed's struggling slowed, and the terror and desperation on his features abated somewhat to reveal a pained confusion. "Al?" he blinked, then sudden clarity shined through his blank gaze and he was back, but not like before. There was no insolence, no sullen, irritable attitude about being pinned on the ground by the 'stupid Colonel.' Just a scared, abused child afraid of the dark and his own haunting memories. "Al, where are you?" he asked with a trembling voice, twisting beneath Roy and when he found he couldn't move, the panic returned.

"I'm right here, Brother! It's okay!" Al assured him, gripping his arm gently. Ed latched on, trying to wrest his way from underneath Roy as he did.

"Edward, hold still!" Roy hissed again, and Ed flinched, but the fear didn't leave his eyes.

"Mustang?" he asked, eyes widening, then he flailed all the more. "Get off! Why does it hurt?! What happened? Get away!"

"Fullmetal, stop that this instant!" Roy snapped, and Ed froze, eyes widened in shock.

"Now, Fullmetal," Roy growled in his ear. "I'm going to get up, and you're going to hold absolutely still until I've had a look and made sure you're alright. Do you understand?"

Ed gave a mute nod and Roy slowly eased himself off of the blond, keeping careful track of his facial expressions as he did. The kid seemed shaken, but not dangerously so. Aside from keeping him calm, Roy's biggest concern was his injury. There was blood all over his kitchen floor, and the boy's foot was still bleeding generously.

"What happened?" he whispered, gasping for breath. He curled on his side and Roy resisted the urge to bark at him for disobeying.

Ed's hand reached for his foot, but Roy intercepted it, holding it at bay and taking the bare foot in his other hand. As he examined it, Ed pulled his hand back and held his throat.

The damage didn't look substantial; there was a small shard embedded in the ball of his foot, and despite all the blood, it wasn't terribly deep. "Alphonse, will you go get the medical kit?"

"Someone tell me what happened, please," Ed begged, his automail hand tightening around Roy's own almost painfully while the other still held his throat. His tone broke Roy's heart. It wasn't at all the same one he had used just moments ago, muttering and bickering under his breath. It wasn't like Ed at all. "Why does it hurt?"

Alphonse gave Roy a meaningful look, then hurried off to find the kit, brushing past a shocked Winry still frozen at the mouth of the kitchen. Roy stifled his irrational annoyance at the girl for causing this, for hurting Ed, no matter how unintentional. "You just dropped your glass and stepped on it, that's all. It's nothing to worry about, we'll get it patched up," Roy assured him gently, fingers sweeping back Ed's damp hair from his forehead before he caught himself and withdrew his hand.

Ed leaned into the lost touch before he seemed to remember himself as well. With an obvious force of will, he let go of Roy's other hand and curled in tighter on himself. His trembling became more pronounced as he held himself against the cold floor. "Winry?" he asked.

It took the girl a couple of tries, but she got the words out. "Yes, Ed?" she stammered, stepping forward.

"Can you . . . will you wait upstairs, please?" he asked. His voice was tight, like a dam waiting to burst, and Roy was confused by that. Wasn't the worst of it over? He was back now, and everything was supposed to be fine . . .

"Oh . . . okay," Winry murmured, clearly just as surprised as Roy was by the request. She turned and padded from the room.

Ed listened to her go, then slowly opened his eyes. Roy found them glistening with unshed tears. His mouth moved up and down a few times before anything came out. "I'm . . . I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm s-sorry, M-mustang," he whimpered, and suddenly tears were spilling down his face. "I didn't mean . . . I didn't mean to break it, I'm t-trying. I promise I'm trying, Colonel. I'm sorry . . ."

Roy blinked. All of this for a cup? "Ed . . . it's a silly glass. I'll just fix it with alchemy," he promised gently, placing what he hoped was a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

If anything, though, Ed's despair increased. He curled in on himself tighter, arms crossed as if holding himself together. "I b-bit you, too . . . and now it's infected."

Roy was quickly finding himself overwhelmed. Where was all of this coming from? Roy had thought he was getting to be more like himself, but obviously he was mistaken, his head refusing to believe what his gut was telling him. Maybe Al's announcement of his departure was upsetting him, shattering what little progress he had made in light of such stress, or maybe it had all been some sort of act to begin with. "How do you know that?"

"It d-doesn't smell clean." Ed tried to pull the blanket up over himself, but it was caught around his legs and it wouldn't budge, so he gave up on it and hid his face behind a limp metal hand. "I'm sorry, I'm trying, I promise I am . . ."

"Ed, stop that," Roy murmured gently, and though he wasn't sure if the action would be met with appreciation or violence, he put a hand underneath the boy and carefully sat him up. Ed responded numbly, body moving where directed as if in a daze. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Ed's lip quivered, then he bit down on it. His flesh hand reached out, wrapping around the hand Roy had placed around his metal bicep, almost desperately. "I don't—"

"I mean it," Roy said, his own voice coming out tight, and Ed flinched. Roy ignored it, though. This was all his fault, and Ed had no business blaming himself for it. Every hurt, every scar was Roy's fault. Roy had sent him into the lion's den, without a second thought for his safety, and he had come back like this, this shadow of a human being. Nothing was the same. Edward Elric didn't curl up on the floor and cry over a broken glass. Edward Elric didn't jump when someone made an unexpected noise, or flinch away from his little brother's touch. It wasn't fair that Ed blamed himself when the fault so clearly lied on Roy's shoulders. "It's not your fault, it's . . . it's. . ."

The confession was on his lips, but he stopped. The condemning words refused to come out, their bitterness choking him. Coward. He took a deep breath. "Everything's fine, Ed," he said instead. "I told you we'd get through this, and I meant it. There's no reason to apologize."

Ed opened his mouth to reply, but Alphonse's heavy steps echoed down the stairs and their conversation was halted as the younger brother hurried in with the kit. He glanced concernedly over Ed and almost hesitantly handed the box over to Roy.

"Thank you, Alphonse." Roy opened the box and pulled out some antiseptic, forceps and bandages and got to work on Ed's foot. The blond didn't seem too terribly unsettled by the pain this time, only offering the occasional wince or hiss as Roy dug out the glass. He was careful to make sure he left none behind, then cleansed the wound and wrapped it up. "There, all done," he announced, then turned his weary gaze to the floor. The kitchen was a mess. "Alphonse, why don't you take Ed to the couch? He can eat in there."

"Okay. Come on, Brother," Al said, gingerly scooping Ed up in his huge arms. Ed didn't protest, curling himself against the suit of armor like clutching a teddy bear.

Ed didn't let go the rest of the day, no matter how many times Alphonse tried to encourage him to. Roy watched as he endured his tune up with muted interest, one hand holding on to Al with unwavering resolve as he went through Winry's various exercises. The brazen attitude he had displayed at breakfast seemed to have died in light of the morning's incident and Ed was subdued the rest of the day, as if he didn't have the energy to pretend anymore.

Roy hated it.

The only thing that seemed to draw any sort of emotion from him was Winry's departure.

She stood at the door, one suitcase in her hands and the other heavy in Roy's as she looked at Ed with watery eyes. Ed stared ahead, his mouth a hard line and he looked like he desperately wanted to say something, but no words were forthcoming. "Winry . . ." he finally said, but nothing followed.

Winry gave a weak smile. "Sorry it was such a short trip, but I promised Granny I wouldn't stay long. We're backed up enough as it is, and we have a surgery scheduled tomorrow."

Ed's grip tightened around Alphonse's forearm. "It's okay," he said, voice thin and shaking almost as much as he was. "Thanks for coming on such short notice."

Silence stretched on and Ed started to look uncertain. Roy cleared his throat, making everyone jump. "Well, I guess we should get going," he said, winding his scarf securely around his throat.

Before Roy could make a move to intercept, Winry shot forward, dropping her suitcase and pulling Ed in a tight embrace. Ed stiffened in surprise, but it quickly gave way to understanding and he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, holding her close with a desperation that rivaled his hold on Alphonse. "Promise me you'll get better, Ed," she commanded softly into his shoulder.

It took Ed far too long to respond. "I promise," he finally whispered.

She sniffled. "I'll come visit you again soon, okay?" she said. Ed nodded against her and she stepped back. Her face was wet with tears, but her gaze soon hardened into something more determined. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, got it alchemy freak?"

Ed's lip quirked into the barest hint of a smile, and Roy was surprised to find that, though muted and suppressed by bitter reality, there was the faintest trace of true humor in it. "Whatever you say, gearhead."

She smiled, but it only twitched on her lips for a moment before falling flat in the wake of a sob as she snatched up her suitcase and turned heel, flying out the door with the breath of winter in her wake.

Ed blinked after her a moment, then the strong façade melted away and he took a shuddering breath, curling forward and brushing his bangs from his face. Then he tugged on Al's arm, and with an anxious glance between his brother and Roy, Al led a limping Edward back to the sofa.

Roy sighed and followed Winry to the car.

XxXxXxX

Alphonse was reading to him, some text about fire and its alchemical properties he had found on Mustang's shelves, but Ed was much too distracted by his own thoughts to pay it much mind.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do it. He couldn't, and trying just made it that much more pronounced.

The sweet rhythm of his brother's voice suddenly slowed, then stopped altogether. "Brother?" Al asked, metal body shifting on the couch beside him.

Ed curled up tighter against his side, unwilling and unable to lose contact with his little brother. That would happen on its own soon enough. "I'm fine," he murmured. "Just keep reading."

Al made a sighing sound and went back to the book, and though Ed tried to focus on his brother's voice, a voice he was going to miss terribly, his mind refused to cooperate, spiraling down a dark train of thought.

Alphonse was leaving in another day, and he would be here, all alone. All alone with Mustang, and then there would be no hiding anything.

If Alphonse wasn't here to help him, Ed would have to do everything himself. There was no way he could let Mustang do it, help him with showers and finding his clothes and reading to him in a vain attempt to keep his mind from wondering . . . there was no way the man would stick around through that, let Edward stay with him when he was such an inconvenience. Where would he go when Mustang got tired of him? If he didn't become more independent, and soon, there was no way Mustang would put up with it.

He had tried to act normal that morning. He had tried hard, saying all the right things, being annoyed at the right times, even losing contact with Alphonse, but something always went wrong. It had scared him so badly . . . to have someone suddenly there behind him, when he didn't hear them, had no way to see who it was, if they were there to help or hurt him. He knew he was safe in Mustang's house, and it was just Winry, just her sweet, beautiful voice, but that was all it took to send him into a panic. Then he broke Mustang's stuff and hurt himself more, and Mustang had to once again try to comfort him, bandage his cut like he was some accident-prone toddler.

He had apologized, tried to make Mustang understand how hard he was trying, that he wasn't trying to be a pathetic invalid that couldn't even drink his juice without making a mess of things.

He had told himself he trusted Mustang. He wanted to believe it, needed it, but when faced with the cold facts, his scientific mind only saw one logical answer, the only likely conclusion.

One way or another, he would end up alone.

Alphonse leaving was just the first step. Mustang wouldn't put up with it forever, no matter what he said. Of course, he had to say those things; he had to promise Ed that he took care of his own, and surely he would for a while. But this was a night that would never end, and even the strongest wavered eventually. Mustang had never been patient with him before, and Ed was surprised he had managed not to snap for this long.

And now, in that endless night, his only source of light was leaving for Xing. The bitter sense of despair and abandonment was enough to drown him. He knew Alphonse was only trying to help, to find a way to make it better, but if he lost Al, he'd lose everything. The only thing redeeming about his pathetic existence was that he had his little brother, and now he was losing that, too.

"Brother!" Al said, in a tone that hinted he'd said it more than once.

"What?"

"I asked if you wanted to get changed before the Colonel and Doctor Silas get here."

He didn't want to. He didn't want Silas or the Colonel here. He didn't want to move from this spot, to do anything that would bring him closer to separating from his brother. The thought of it was enough to make him want to just quit, to stop trying at all and end the isolation.

He managed a small, tight smile. "Sure, Al."

XxXxXxX

So there's some sort of weird formatting going on on right now . . . don't know what that's about, but if I take this down and re-post it forty times, that's why -_-

At the risk of sounding repetitive, I felt that last bit was necessary, because though Ed decided to trust Mustang, Alphonse leaving sort of ruined all of that progress, so we all need to know we're almost back to square one again, especially when Mustang insists on playing it cool and keeping all of his little secrets xD

Therapy. They all need therapy.

Aaaaanyways, I am terribly slow. I apologize (again xD). Computer problems persist. I wrote this chapter on three different computers :'D The fun never ends, I tell you. So, if anything seems weird or rushed, let's blame that xD

Since I won't be updating before Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving! Or if you're not in America, Happy Thursday! :D I'm reasonably caught up on responding to reviews, but thank you all so much for your continued support! You guys make me happy happy xD *flails around* If you have time, please drop a review, and I'll see you next time!

God Bless,

-RainFlame