Chapter Thirteen
Roy came home even later than he'd expected, around one in the morning. He was exhausted and he needed sleep before he had to wake up at five for work. Again. He entered his house, noticing how quiet everything was. He'd expected Ed to still be awake, doing whatever teenagers like doing so late at night, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. He turned on a light. "Ed?"
He threw his keys down on the living room couch and locked the front door. Silence. It was kind of bothering him. Ed was never silent. "Ed?" he repeated, but didn't get a reply. He hadn't actually expected one when he thought about it. He noticed that things were…clean, for once. Everything was neatly organized and where it should be. Had Ed done this?
He walked upstairs and went into his bedroom, changing out of his uniform and into some pajamas. He could hear a voice coming from the guest bedroom down the hall; Ed's voice, coming in the form of quiet cries. He sounded scared. Roy left his bedroom and went into Ed's. Cautiously, he turned on a light. The blonde was sleeping. He must be having a nightmare. Roy watched as the blonde moved around in discomfort, his breathing heavy, terrified pleas escaping his lips in between ragged, hitching gasps.
"No…stop…I can't…"
Roy crossed the room and placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, trying to gently wake him up. "Hey, Ed?" he murmured. He was obviously having a nightmare of some kind. A flashback?
Suddenly, Ed shot forward, a horrified shriek ringing through the entire house as he grasped the sheets beside him. Roy realized that he was awake now, and wrapped his arms around the scared blonde. "Roy?" Ed asked, his voice quiet, his body still shaking.
"You'll be okay. Everything will be okay now." Roy replied, feeling one of Ed's arms wrap around his neck, grasping the collar of his shirt as his breath quietly hitched one more time, and a broken sob followed. Roy ran a hand through long blonde hair. "You're safe now." He soothed. It was the only thing he felt like he could do, "You'll be okay."
Ed shook his head no, his grip tightening on Roy as he continued to cry, "Then why…does it still hurt so bad?"