Morning arrived, and Ed was the first to wake, his muscles and body sore. He stretched gingerly, doing his best to rid himself of the knots in his back. The couch wasn't exactly the best place to sleep, especially when there were several wounds scattered along his back. He sat up and pushed the loose strands back using his good hand, a yawn spreading across his lips. When his eyes opened again, he sat up, and trudged over to the motionless lump that was claiming the other couch. The mass was breathing evenly. In. Out. In. Out. Ed couldn't help but notice how peaceful the older man looked when he was sleeping, the mask that he put on every day now erased from the man's face. A man who was always troubled with burdens, with heavy responsibility, now looked carefree and released from his chains as he slept. But Ed knew all too well that it would never last past sleep.
Ed wanted nothing more than to lift the limp man, and caress him into a gentle hug, (he had wanted to do this ever since they had first reunited) but Ed knew this was impossible. Their personalities didn't match Ed's thoughts, and their situation definitely didn't help either. Why did everything have to be so damn difficult? Instead, he loomed over the smudged face of his former superior, and nudged him lightly in the chest with his fingers, hoping to wake him.
Roy, in response, grunted and turned on his side, his chest away from Ed. The younger man sighed and tried again, this time bringing Roy back to his original position, wondering if a voice would snap him to. "Hey. Colonel. Wake up." He used the two hands that were wrapped around his right arm to shake him a little harder, and fortunately received a better response from the Colonel.
Two dark eyes fluttered open, dark lines of fatigue stretching under them. A few stray pieces of black hair covered parts of Roy's eyes, but quickly fell into a more natural position when he shifted his head. A large breath was drawn in from Roy's nose, and then let out slowly, a yawn following shortly. "When you said early you really meant early," Roy greeted tiredly, his eyes struggling to stay completely open as the older man made his way to a sitting position on the couch. "Any trouble?" He asked Ed, a dark aura quickly shrouding Roy's original emotion in a gaze.
Ed shook his head, a tired smile spreading across his face. "Nah. None that I heard anyways." He reported, giving Roy a once over. The majority of his body was still covered in a soft blue blanket, and Ed couldn't help but snicker at the soft and cuddly appearance it was giving Roy. "Why don't you go ahead and head for the showers? I'll be down in a little." He suggested, standing up straight once he'd finished speaking to the older man.
Roy blinked twice at the younger alchemist, processing the words that were being directed towards him. Being this tired really dulled his senses – something that he'd wished he could just get over. "If you insist." He murmured. He shifted the blue blanket that was underneath him off, and to the side, standing up off of the couch. He stretched, both arms moving above his head, as if he were reaching for something on the ceiling, and then back down to his side, with an outward sigh. "I'll be seeing you, then." Roy waved to the older Elric, and made his way to the all too familiar wooden doors, creaking one open, and then closed.
That left Ed alone in the room. He raised his head to gaze out the window, noticing dark clouds beginning to roll into the city. "Great." Ed murmured, running a hand through his now loose ponytail. "That'll make everything even harder."
It took Roy longer than normal to arrive at the showers. Before all of this had happened, the Flame Alchemist knew the halls of Central like the back of his hand. Now, however it was more difficult to remember where hallways cutoff, or which main hallways held the smaller ones. The survival instincts had pushed most of Roy's routine out of his head, making room for more important matters. The door creaked open, and Roy was presented with dozens of shower stalls, each now moldy and stained. There was one stall however that looked clean, and Roy presumed it was the stall Ed used to shower himself. Since he knew Ed would be down momentarily, he decided to take the stall next to Ed's, opening it with a creak. His nose wrinkled when he noticed the amount of scum and mold there was, but he knew it would do him no harm for such a short period of time. "I'll find something to clean it with later, I suppose."
He undressed quickly and dropped his clothes on the cleanest spot he could find on the floor, and turned the water on, somewhat surprised it still ran as he noticed the rust forming on the showerhead. He was greeted with a warm liquid beating along his back, giving off a rhythmic hum off while he dumped his head under the running water. Roy's black, moppy hair draped over his eyes, blinding him from seeing as he began to lather it with the shampoo he'd found half filled, still lying in the stall. He let a long sigh escape his lips; it was going to be a long day.
Ed was making his way down to the showers, painfully removing the hairband from his ratty hair as he neared the door that led to the shower room. Once it was ripped out of his hair, he opened the door, the faint sound of running water instantly becoming louder. Ed frowned when he noticed that his former superior wasn't in the clean shower stall, and wrinkled his nose, moving towards the older man. "Why're you using that stall? It's all dirty." He commented as he began to undress himself, flinching when the rough fabric of the shirt ran over the wound on his back, the pain searing despite the bandages tightly securing it.
Roy opened his eyes and brushed the wet hair out of his face when he heard the familiar voice. "I knew you were coming down, and I wanted to enjoy my shower." He explained as he began to rinse his black hair of the white suds. "And I knew if I had been in your shower stall and taking my time you would've yelled at me, asking me 'why I was taking so damn long'". A smirk swept across Roy's face as he watched the younger alchemist grow flustered, the big mouth of his beginning to open in defense, but Roy cut him off. "There's no reason to get defensive, now is there Fullmetal?" Roy asked innocently, watching as the mouth closed slowly. "I was simply doing a favor for you."
Ed swallowed his retort and tore his eyes away from his former superior, muttering quietly under his breath. He opened the stall next to Roy's and turned the rusty handle, the squeak producing warm water out of the shower head. He then began to slip off his pants, throwing them in the same place he had his shirt. He then slid his underwear off and did the same, before he clothes the stall, and moved under the water, using his hands (his right one mostly) to wet his hair enough so the shampoo could do its work.
Roy kept his eyes on the younger man while he was undressing, the divider preventing him from seeing anything crucial. He wasn't only impressed with his physique - even though he had matured greatly in the four months that they had been separated – but also with how much he'd been through. All of the scars and smudges on Ed each told a story. It was like reading a book. You could interpret the information given all you wanted, but only the writer knew the true meaning behind them. In this case, Roy was the interpreter. His eyes devoured Ed's injuries in and processed them as well as he could, but some were too complex even for Roy to understand. He let his eyes drift away from the touches of death, and back the wall opposite of them, focusing on the water running down his back. He reached for the soap distractedly, and wrapped his fingers around it when he'd located the bar, lathering his body up and down with the soap.
Ed was now washing his hair, the color lightening at least by two shades as all of the dirt and grime was stripped. He then began to clean his body of the dirt, wincing when he coasted over his wounds. He had been unaware that Roy was watching him, too focused on his own cleanliness to notice. When he ran the soap over his burn wound he bit his lip, releasing a soft grunt from his mouth. He tried to keep it quiet so Roy wouldn't notice, but then again, this was the Colonel he was talking about.
Roy didn't bother looking over, already certain of the source of the noise. "I advise you avoid contact with the burn as much as possible, Fullmetal." He said evenly, moving lower as he bathed himself, the warm water erasing his earlier tracks. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I wasn't thinking, that's all." Came a response, in which Roy released a sigh afterwards. "Of course you weren't." He muttered, and let the rest of the suds wash down the drain as he set the soap back down on the stand.
Ed cast a glance over to the other man, and then back to his own self as he finished peeling the dirt off of his body. He felt nice and clean now, despite the several wounds painting his body, and turned the water off when the soap was gone. Roy did the same, both valves squeaking their resistance at the same time. Ed was the first to open his stall, showing no visible embarrassment whatsoever as he openly knelt down and grabbed his underwear, sliding it back onto his body, his shirt and pants following. Roy only smirked as he did the same, underwear first, then shirt, then pants. Once the two were clothed, Roy ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head. "Is it storming outside? I've got the biggest headache." Roy asked the younger man, scowling at the irritable throbbing inside of his skull.
Ed nodded, using the hair tie he had previously removed from his hair to bind it again in a high, wet ponytail. "Yeah. There were some clouds rolling in when I was up there earlier. Looks like your alchemy won't help us today." Ed added, a smug look appearing across Ed's face. An unamused look spread across the older man's face at the reference, and placed a hand on Ed's head, shoving him backwards. "Very funny, Fullmetal." He muttered quietly, doing his best to keep his hair from drying in an obscure style, running his hand over it towards his face.
Ed stumbled back when Roy shoved him backwards, a grin on his face. "What's the matter, bastard? Can't take a joke?"
Roy only rolled his eyes, giving Ed a playful look. "You're hopeless," he muttered, his eyes moving up towards his bangs as he inspected their angle, furrowing his eyebrows to get a better view. Once he was confident in their position, he lifted his feet off the ground, nearing the doorway of the shower room. "Are you coming?" He called back to his former subordinate, who nodded and followed after him, quickly falling in line with his pace.
Once the two returned to Roy's former office, Ed returned to his couch, grabbing the roll of bandages. He gently unwrapped the now wet bandages and began to roll a new set of white protective material onto his arm, the muscle and bone a nauseating sight for Roy. Once he was done, he grabbed the rifle next to his "bed" and strap, fastening it onto his chest. He then grabbed his two knives and pistol and placed them in their correct locations, sighing. "Do you need some artillery? Like I said there's a ton down in the weaponry." Ed explained, his eyes casting back up to the blue gaze of Roy, who in return, nodded.
"I suppose so, since my alchemy won't be of any use today." He replied, a small but firm smile escaping his lips. "Will you lead the way?" Roy asked, side-stepping as he allowed room for Ed to pass him and approach the double doors.
"Sure thing, Colonel." Ed grinned, pushing past the older man. He wrapped his fingers around the door handle and pulled against it, the door creaking in resistance. He pushed it to the side when it was open enough, allowing time for Roy to take it and pass through.
"You know, you can call me Roy." The older man stated, his eyes on the back of the blonde's head. "I'm not your commanding officer anymore."
Ed turned his head back around to face Roy, leading the two down a large hallway. "Yeah, but I've always called you Colonel, haven't I?" Ed countered, smiling. "But if you prefer Roy, then I'll stick with that." He added, shrugging.
"Call me whatever you'd like." Roy decided, his stern eyes softening when the two's eyes met.
"Okay then, bastard!"
"Correction," Roy began, an unamused look on his face, "Call me whatever you'd like, within reason."
A light chuckle rumbled through Ed, the laugh sounding awkward, as if it hadn't been used in a long time. "Alright, alright."
The young alchemist led the two down another dark hallway, followed by a set of stairs. As they descended, Ed couldn't help but wrinkle his nose in disgust at the several rats that were feeding on the decaying corpses of past soldiers. "Sorry for the mess," Ed apologized, stepping over a blue-eyed soldier, "I don't come down here daily so I didn't clear a path."
Roy eyed the decaying bodies with an upturned chin, frowning. "No worries," He responded, mimicking Ed's actions as he avoided trampling the corpses. "I wouldn't have expected you to do something like that." He finished, knowing from experience that corpses were never fun to move; their limp and broken bodies dragged awkwardly on the ground, while their dead, glazed eyes stared back at him, asking him silently why he was doing this to them. It was a memory he cared not to relive for long and pushed it back quickly.
Ed hopped off the last step, and creaked open a door, pulling out the gun from his holster. When the door swung open, he held the gun in a readied position, close to his chest. When there was no movement, he let his muscles relax, and sheathed his weapon. "Alright, come on in." He called back to Roy, who was resting still on the last step. He hopped down and entered the room, narrowing his eyes when Ed flipped on the light. There, were hundreds, if not thousands of weaponry, ranging from simple handguns to rifles and bullets for tanks.
Roy looked impressed; he'd never been given the opportunity to enter the artillery storage when he worked at Central. His eyes drifted over to the blonde when he grabbed a few stacks of bullet casings tucking them into his arm.
"You sure did pick the prime location to hide," Roy complimented, his gaze sweeping from Ed to the entire room, marveling at the enormous room as Ed grabbed more artillery.
"Yeah, I've got food, shelter, running water, and weapons." Ed responded, grinning cheesily as he grabbed a hand gun from a rack and threw it to Roy, who caught it loosely, instinctively loading it and holding it so the barrel was pointed up. "The only problem I see is that because Central's so big, the undead could find a way in and be undetected."
"Yeah, that happens occasionally. But it's definitely better than being out in the streets all the time, too." Ed admitted, scratching his head with his free hand, scuffing his boots against the pavement as he neared the entrance. "You got everything? Feel free to grab whatever." Ed told Roy, watching as the man shook his head, and joined Ed at the entrance.
"I'm content with this," He murmured, motioning to the handgun.
"Alright. Then let's get outta here." Ed responded, allowing his former superior to exit first before he swung the door closed behind him, jogging up the stairs to catch up with Roy.