"Mustang, behind you!"
A single snap sounded, followed by a roaring flame that cast its way behind the source and around an undead, sizzling it on the spot. Ed had to brace himself in order to sustain the heat, grunting. The charred mass fell to the ground with a thud, and Roy let out a sigh, lowering his hand.
"Thanks." He murmured, moving to run a hand through his hair.
Ed smirked and slapped Roy on the back, chuckling. "Not a problem, bastard." He replied, looking left and right as the two inspected the rest of the roadway. "I think that's it." Ed claimed, moving to turn back towards Central Command. Roy nodded and led the way, already a few steps ahead of Ed.
"Now that you're here, I feel like I hardly get to use my gun, it's all flames." Ed commented, a smug look on his face. Roy rolled his eyes, adjusting his glove out of habit. "Yes, well, it's better that way isn't it? Pulling the trigger is never fun."
"Yeah, I guess so—" Ed's sentence cut off abruptly, and Roy frowned, turning around.
Ed was gone.
"Edward?!" Roy shouted, his hand immediately raising, preparing his fingers to strike at a moment's notice. He felt his chest tighten, concern quickly rising up in him. Where had he gone?
Roy glanced over to the right and noticed a small alleyway, and quickly darted towards the unlit path, his boots skidding on the uneven pavement when he arrived at the entrance. He stepped his way in, listening for any signs of Ed as he pushed forwards. "Edward?" Roy called again, doing his best to keep his voice low and calm.
Roy heard a small noise, and turned his head quickly, running towards the sound. It had come from deeper within the alley. He snapped a small flame on his fingers, providing light to the black abyss as he followed the noise, hearing it become louder. When the noise was in front of him, he skidded to a halt, seeing white and red, followed by gold and black. To his horror, there was an undead holding Ed from behind, one hand covering Ed's mouth as it bit into his left shoulder. There were tears of pain in Ed's eyes, and he let out another muffled scream at the sight of Roy, kicking his feet frantically as he tried to yank away from the undead.
Roy quickly shook himself out of the shock, and grabbed his gun with his left hand, aiming it at the head of the undead. He then decided against it, the risk too high for hitting Ed. He lowered it to the undead's exposed foot, and shot, watching in relief as the soldier released its grip on Ed's shoulder to scream. Ed took the instant to rip away, thrusting the pale, cold hand out of the way. As soon as the shot was clear, Roy shot a bullet into its head to buy time, and then snapped his fingers, the flame at his fingers diminishing, being replaced by an outburst of heat that surrounded the undead's skin. It screamed and writhed, its eye moving around frantically as it tried to comprehend the pain, curling into a defensive ball. Within seconds, the figure grew motionless, the screams dying along with the fire.
When Roy was certain it was dead, he rushed over to Ed, kneeling down. "Ed, are you okay?" He breathed, moving to inspect the wound.
"I'm..fine..let's just get out.." Ed hissed, bringing his right hand to cover the bloodied flesh. "We can..deal with it when..we get back.." He whispered, moving to stand.
Roy instantly moved to help him, hoisting him up by the waist. "Come on. There could be more." Roy told Ed quietly, doing his best to keep his voice down in case his assumptions were true. "This way. Hurry." Roy commanded, taking Ed's free hand as he began to lead him out the way he had come.
When the two ran out of the alley, they headed towards Central Command, Roy urging Ed to run as fast as he could. "Just a little further." Roy promised, his teeth clenching when he heard the snarls of undead behind them.
Ed turned his head and growled at the sight of more undead, lifting his hand off of his wound, and towards his gun. He aimed it behind him, and shot at the heads of two, watching as they both crumpled. The remaining undead was still advancing and Ed shot that one too, it falling to the ground as it screamed. The other two were beginning to get up, and Ed cursed to himself, turning his head back around. "We need to hurry." Ed hissed, his ears still ringing from the crack of the gunshots.
Roy nodded, and held Ed's hand tighter, quickening their pace. They arrived at the front stairs, and Roy quickly began to ascend them, still gripping Ed's hand. "Keep up with me, Ed!" Roy shouted behind him, hearing the sound of feet scramble behind him, relieved Ed could still keep his pace.
"Roy.." Ed croaked, his vision beginning to blur now as the wound bled out, his pace faltering slightly. He tried his best to keep up with Roy, but it was hard. He tripped on one of the stairs, and felt as his chin made contact with the concrete, yelping. He felt Roy's hand yank him, and watched as Roy stumbled, glancing behind him. "Ed!" He cried, his head raising from the blonde to the three undead that were climbing the stairs just as fast as they had been. "Come on, please, get up." Roy begged the younger alchemist, who was struggling to his feet.
"Dammit.." Ed hissed, feeling a rush of dizziness overcome him. He felt a glove grab his hand, and then his waist, and before he knew it, he was airborne. Within seconds, Roy was carrying Ed up the long stairway, sweat beginning to bead at his forehead. "They can't get in.." Roy hissed, having to exert more energy to climb with the added weight.
Ed glanced up at the blurry figure of Roy, feeling his world begin to blacken. He groaned quietly and let his head fall back, his eyes fluttering closed as he heard the sound of a man yelling.
~~
Ed awoke with a headache to greet him, along with the stench of blood. He groaned and moved a hand up to his head, feeling a soft couch underneath him. He raised his head weakly, assessing his surroundings. He let out a sigh of relief when he noticed it was the office, and coughed, shuddering at the pain it brought.
"Edward?"
Ed's eyes darted over to the disembodied voice, smiling weakly when he saw the black-haired man.
"..Hey." He croaked, feeling a warm hand press up against his cheek.
"Are you feeling alright?" Roy asked him quietly, kneeling down to face the younger man.
"Couldn't be better.." Ed wheezed, his eyes moving to the scrapes and cuts on Roy's face, along with the rips in his shirt. "What happened to you?"
"I tripped up a few times," Roy answered vaguely, giving Ed a masked face to go with the answer. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious." He added, brushing back the golden bangs of Ed. "I cleaned out the wound for you and wrapped it. You should be fine." Roy informed Ed, letting a small smile replace his mask. "The undead are gone too. Turned into ash."
"Of course they are." Ed snorted, his gaze moving to the white bandages around his shoulder. "Thank you." Ed replied, moving a hand to cup around his chin. "It's bruised, isn't it?" He murmured, watching as Roy's smile grew.
"Not too badly."
"Well, as long as it didn't break anything." Ed shrugged, wincing. "Shouldn't have done that," He spoke through gritted teeth, hissing. "Ouch."
"You need to be careful; it tore pretty deep." Roy warned, moving the hand from Ed's cheek to his bandaging, a finger coasting over the location. "I'm sorry." Roy apologized quietly, his gaze becoming dark.
"What're you sorry for?"
"I should have been more careful. I should have kept a better watch on you." Roy murmured, his eyes moving to the side, so Ed couldn't gaze into them.
"You dumbass. It wasn't your fault. It came out of nowhere, and kept me from making any noise." Ed muttered, his golden eyes rolling. "For a guy as smart as you, you sure can be stupid."
Roy's face dropped, and he sighed, ruffling the blonde's hair. "Why don't you get some rest?" He suggested, his eyes moving back to meet with Ed's. "It's rather late."
Ed let out a ragged sigh, and let his head fall back down onto the pillow, groaning. "Fine." He mumbled, the angry look on his face melting when he felt a soft peck on the cheek.
"Goodnight Ed."
"Night."