He was dead, or at the very least he thought he was. All sensation had left him in a sweeping blanket of darkness. He felt neither motivated, nor obligated to move. That was, until an ever persistent voice pierced through the illusion of nothingness.
Roy Mustang groaned pitifully as his deadened senses came back to life all at once. They brought with them the reminder of just how lousy he felt. "Nngh..."
"I need you to wake up, sir." Riza coaxed calmly. She adjusted a porcelain bowl in her hands, "I've brought you some breakfast."
"…Can't I just go back to sleep? I'm too tired to eat, lieutenant." Roy wanted to argue, but he knew it would be a pointless effort. So instead, he blinked his ebony eyes open groggily. "Whad tibe is id, lietedadt?"
"Eight- thirty, sir." His first lieutenant stated easily, waiting for him to get his bearings before she dared to pass him the bowl.
Roy felt irritation spreading across his chest, "I dod't suppose you could have led be sleep for adother hour?" He murmured dryly as he dragged himself up into a sitting position.
"My apologies, colonel, but I'm not in the practice of being late to my shifts." Hawkeye deadpanned.
Mustang's brow furrowed in confusion. "Shift? What's she…" His thoughts trailed off as he noticed what she was wearing. She was no longer dressed in the civilian clothing she'd shown up in yesterday. His adjutant was in full uniform, the blue fabric smooth and pristine.
Roy could feel his eyes begin to water as he scrutinized her so intently, "B-But whe-heeeeen…HUPT'CHUUU! Hukt'CHUU!" A harsh double caught him by surprise and he planted his nose in the folds of his increasingly sorry pajama sleeve.
"Gesundheit, sir." Riza interjected without skipping a beat.
Her superior offered a wet sniffle and perplexed gaze, "Nngh… well? Whed did you have tibe to… you doh."
"After your fever broke, you were sleeping rather soundly, sir. Seeing as the dry-cleaning was supposed to be ready, I made a quick errand of picking it up a little over an hour ago. I've hung your uniform back up in your closet, sir, but I must request that you leave it there until you're well." Riza explained easily, extending the bowl and a spoon down to him.
Roy took them carefully, making little more than a non-committal grunt at her words. He gazed down into the lumpy substance within the bowl. As he stirred the warm mixture experimentally, it clumped to the reflective surface of the spoon. "This isd't soub." He realized.
"No, sir. It's oatmeal." Hawkeye stated calmly, "It should be mild enough for your stomach… I figured you might appreciate a bit of variety."
"Heh…HUKT'chuu!" the colonel managed to catch the sneeze with his wrist. He offered a weary grin as he recovered, "Doesd't really madder… by taste buds are off adyway."
She smiled faintly, "In any case, it should sustain you until lunch time, sir. I'll be back around that time to check on you." The lieutenant reasoned, crossing her arms patiently.
Roy slowly swallowed a spoonful of the warm oatmeal. It tasted faintly of cinnamon. He supposed he could handle a few more mouthfuls.
"In case I wasn't clear, I thought I'd resume my duties at Eastern Command today, sir. Your absence is bound to have spawned plenty of paperwork." Hawkeye continued calmly.
"Mmnph." Roy offered a grunt of acknowledgment. He couldn't say he was envious of his subordinates.
"By the way, how are you feeling today, sir?" Hawkeye inquired calmly as she watched him.
The flame alchemist took another sluggish mouthful as he adopted a thoughtful expression. "Like I've beed rud over by ad arborerd truck a'd left to maridate id a puddle of muddy water." He replied, straight-faced.
Riza smirked slightly, "How very specific, sir. It's nice to see your sense of humor is still intact."
Roy smiled back tiredly. "You doh, you really dod't have to cobe back to check on be, lieutedadt." He found himself saying, "I'b probably jusd going to cadch up od sobe resd dow that the dard fever is gode."
"Take your medicine when you're through with the oatmeal, sir." The lieutenant cut in abruptly, "I've already placed it on your bedside table next to that cup of water." She gestured with a nod of her head.
Roy blinked and glanced to the nightstand where, sure enough, the lieutenant had left two tablets of aspirin and a carefully measured dose of cough syrup.
The reminder to take them seemed simple enough, but Roy knew its duel meaning. What Riza was really saying was, "I'm coming back to check on you whether you like it or not, end of discussion." And while he was her superior, Roy did not feel inclined to argue.
"Yes, lieutedadt. Thadk you." Mustang nodded slightly, bringing another spoonful up to his mouth.
Hawkeye nodded curtly, "Even though your fever broke last night, we should still keep an eye on your temperature. It's not unheard of for a fever to return, sir."
The colonel smirked wryly, "Yes, lieutedadt. I'b well aware."
"And please don't overdo it, sir." She tacked on in a mildly plaintiff tone.
"I doh… I doh." Roy sighed, lips curling upward once more as a cough forced its way up his throat. He managed to stomach half of the bowl's contents before he simply couldn't handle any more, and elected to go ahead and take the medicine.
Riza waited silently as he downed the medication, ready to whisk away his dishes the moment he was through. It was one of the last kind gestures she could offer before leaving, she decided.
The lieutenant scraped the uneaten oatmeal into the waste bin and gave the colonel's dishes a quick rinse in his kitchen sink. She didn't have the time to wash them presently, but she'd get to them later.
Walking back through Mustang's living room and up the hall, Riza could feel her superior's eyes focus on her as she stepped into his field of vision. She paused at his doorway and turned to face him. "Sir?" she questioned.
Roy had leaned back against his pillow; almost, though not quite, lying down. "Leavi'g dow, I assube?" He inquired. Mustang swallowed thickly, "Ughhh…disgusting." he thought to himself disdainfully.
Riza smiled slightly, "Yes, sir." She saluted him, "I'll be back around noon."
The colonel offered her a tired salute in turn, "Righd…Heh…HUPT'chuu! ...I'll see you thed." He resisted the urge to scrub furiously at his nose; the annoying tingling that had prompted his prior sneeze still seemed to be lingering in his nostrils.
Hawkeye nodded and turned on her heel, deciding to spare Mustang a pitying look as his features quivered slightly. Instead, she headed for the door.
"HUKT'CHOOOOOW!" the sneeze echoed mere seconds later.
"Gesundheit, colonel!" Hawkeye called back to her superior. And with a soft click of the lock, she left the apartment.
To the lieutenant's good fortune, she made it to Eastern Command with six minutes to spare. Of course, this extra span of time was largely eaten up by a bombardment of questions brought on by Mustang's other subordinates. They were all surprised to see her show up, and all wanted to know how Roy was doing. Breda wanted to know if he was eating well enough, Havoc wanted to know how the colonel's fever was— the list went on.
Riza fielded each of the questions to the best of her ability, giving short, but efficient answers. By the time she'd satisfied their worried curiosity, she was starting her shift two minutes late.
"Ah, well." She sighed to herself as she sat behind her desk, "They deserve to know about how the colonel's doing. Besides, I doubt starting a couple minutes late will keep me from getting my job done."
The lieutenant sifted through a large stack of paperwork, locating the forms that were the most urgent and moving them to the top. "So, bring me up to speed." Riza said calmly as she set one of the crisp sheets in the center of her desk.
"Not much to report, lieutenant." Falman spoke up, "Things are just what you'd expect— there's been an increased flow of paperwork, with higher-ups occasionally checking in on the details of the colonel's absence."
"And of course, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes called the office yesterday morning. He wanted to know if we'd heard anything more on the colonel." Fuery put in, adjusting his glasses habitually.
Riza nodded, "The lieutenant colonel paid Colonel Mustang a visit last night. He brought along some soup his wife had made."
"Sounds like the lieutenant colonel, alright." Havoc mused, clearing his throat thoughtfully, "How long after I left did he show up?"
"A couple hours." Hawkeye stated simply. It seemed she hadn't missed anything important, and yet something inexplicable was bothering her. Sudden realization dawned on her, "The Elric brothers didn't show up at all yesterday?"
"Not once." Breda confirmed with a simple shrug, "Though I heard over lunch that they spent some time investigating Shou Tucker's estate."
"In search of missed clues to the theft from the other day?" Riza speculated.
"That'd be my guess." Breda replied calmly, turning back to his own paperwork.
Hawkeye nodded gratefully, returning her full attention to filling out the forms on her desk.
For the span of an hour, the only sound that seemed to resonate throughout the room was the scratch of pen on paper. Mustang's men were working their hardest to get the paperwork under control and out of the way. They were making fairly steady progress, when the relative silence was instantaneously shattered.
"Brother!" A voice called from somewhere down the hall, "Wipe your boots; you're going to track mud all over the place!" Clanking footfalls echoed after the voice.
"Relax, Al. That's why places like these have cleaning crews, isn't it?" a sharper voice countered.
An exasperated sigh, "Brother…"
Havoc, Fuery, Falman, and Breda glanced up in unison. There was no mistaking those voices.
Riza shook her head to herself in faint amusement, "Well. There are the Elric brothers."
Edward blinked as he stepped into the workplace. All of Mustang's subordinates seemed to have locked onto him in an instant, "Geez. What's up around here?" he wondered to himself.
He and Alphonse were dropping by to inform the colonel that they were heading to Central in order to do some extensive research. While they'd spent time in Central's libraries before, small trickles of new information led them to pay the capital city a visit at least every few months.
Casting a glance at the colonel's office, Ed rolled his eyes slightly. Perhaps the reason all of Mustang's subordinates were watching him, was that the colonel was in a foul mood. He supposed he had best get an idea of just how ill his mood was, so that he knew what buttons not to press.
"To Lieutenant Hawkeye first, then." The young alchemist decided silently. He plodded towards her with Al in tow, planting his automail hand casually on the edge of her desk.
"Good morning, Edward; Alphonse." Hawkeye nodded to them calmly, "Is there something the matter?"
"Good morning, lieutenant!" Alphonse chirped back cheerily.
Ed took note of the thick stack of uncompleted paperwork on the lieutenant's desk. He couldn't help but wonder if most of it was supposed to be Mustang's responsibility. "Is the colonel in today? It looks like you've got twice your normal workload, lieutenant."
"As a matter of fact, he's not. He won't be returning to work for at least a few more days." Hawkeye stated, "Though I can give him a message for you if it's something important." She tacked on.
"Is something wrong with the colonel? His cold didn't get worse, did it?" Alphonse asked, sudden worry seeping into his ever gentle tone.
Edward raised his eyebrows incredulously, "Don't tell me Mustang's taking a week off from work over a sniffle. Geez. We do as he asks, and try to keep him up to date on our comings and goings, and he's not even here." He sighed plaintively.
"Actually, kid, the chief's been more or less quarantined." Havoc called over.
"Quarantined?!" Ed repeated, jerking around in surprise.
"Yes. It seems that the colonel's 'sniffle', as you put it, is actually a case of influenza." Riza explained, stepping out from behind her desk. There was an unmistakable sting to her tone, which, as far as Edward was concerned, was more than justified.
Ed's mouth suddenly felt very dry and he stood there making shapes with his lips as if searching for the right words. He'd really screwed up by making fun of the colonel this time. He remembered all too easily how callous he'd been towards Mustang just two short days ago. Though to be fair, he hadn't known the idiot colonel was that sick.
Alphonse recovered from the surprising news first, "Poor Colonel… I hope he feels better soon… I've heard influenza is pretty awful to deal with." He spoke in a soft, sad tone.
"I'll be sure to let him know you said that. I'll be checking on him during lunch hour, and I'm sure he'll appreciate the thought." Riza said mildly, offering the younger Elric a gentle smile.
"And… how is the colonel?" Edward asked quietly, sobered by his own ignorance.
The lieutenant turned to him, still smiling faintly, "He's doing a bit better than he was. His fever broke last night, so he should have an easier time of it resting than he was initially."
"I see." Ed nodded slightly, expression unreadable.
Alphonse glanced from his brother to the lieutenant, "It's a shame we don't know where the colonel lives. If we did, we could stop in and tell him to get better before we left for the train station this afternoon." He said, optimism bubbling in his metallic voice.
Edward offered only silence in response. Either he was still somewhat shocked, or there were gears turning in his head that even he didn't fully comprehend.
"It's probably best you two don't." Hawkeye said gently, placing a palm on Alphonse's shoulder, "Influenza is known to be highly contagious."
"Yeah… I guess that could be bad if Brother got sick." Al nodded slowly.
"Lieutenant." Edward spoke up suddenly, surprising himself a little, "Where does the colonel live, exactly?"
Alphonse's eyes seemed to widen slightly, "Brother?"
It seemed that all of Team Mustang was watching the exchange intently now. Any ruse of attempting to return to their paperwork seemed to have been forgotten.
Riza arched an eyebrow at their audience of four, before turning her focus back to Edward. "You and your brother have a lot on your plate already. I would think you wouldn't want to risk getting sick." She said, tone calm, but still mildly gentle.
As tough as he liked to act, Edward and his brother both had hearts of gold. They were only children, and yet they'd been shouldered with a terrible burden. They searched day after day for the philosopher's stone, looking desperately for clues to return them to their original bodies. They had so many reasons to be self-centered, to only care about their goal. Nevertheless, they cared about everyone around them— often more than themselves.
Riza smiled inwardly. It was just who those boys were. She shouldn't have been surprised, then, by the sudden flash of determination in Edward's eyes, or the way his mouth twisted up into a devious smirk.
"Don't you worry about me, lieutenant. I'm about as resilient as they come." Ed offered a short chuckle, "Besides, there's some important info I need to pass off to him before Al and I head out."
Confusion flitted through Alphonse's mind, but he thought better of speaking up.
Hawkeye regarded the Fullmetal alchemist a moment. "And there it is. The rationale behind what would otherwise be an act of kindness."
"Well? We don't have a lot of time to kill before we have to catch that train, you know." Edward grumbled, trying his very best to seem impatient rather than anxious.
Riza forced back another smile. There was no point arguing with the boy. His mind was already made up, so she might as well play along with his game. "Alright." She said at last, "If the information is really that important, then I won't stop you." She retrieved a scrap of paper from the side of her desk, "I'll jot down his street address for you, but I can't promise you that he'll answer the door."
"Right." Ed offered a sheepish grin, watching as the lieutenant moved her pen in swift strokes across the tiny scrap.
"There you are, Edward." She said momentarily, extending the sensitive information towards him.
"Thanks, lieutenant." He nodded gratefully, making a few quick strides toward the hall, "Come on, Al."
"Have a good day, Lieutenant Hawkeye!" the younger Elric called back into the workroom, waving hurriedly as he clanked after Edward.
"Travel safely, you two." Riza replied calmly, offering a brief salute before the Elric brothers disappeared from view.
"Um, lieutenant?" Fuery spoke up the moment he was sure the boys were well out of ear shot, "Was it really the best idea to let them go? I mean, even with the threat of contracting influenza aside, shouldn't we have asked them to file a report on whatever they'd discovered?
"It's alright, Kain." Riza assured calmly, "Those boys have proved time and time again that they can take care of themselves."
"Yes, but…" Fuery frowned.
"And try not to worry about lost information." Hawkeye added calmly as she sat back down behind her desk, "They're going straight to the colonel now, and he should be back to work before they return from Central. I'm sure that before long, he'll have them file a full report on their findings."
Alphonse chased after his brother, catching up when he was halfway up the hall, "Do you really have something important to report to the colonel?" he asked quietly.
Edward smirked faintly, "Between you and me?"
Alphonse could feel his suspicions increasing, "Yeah…"
"I lied." Ed said simply, "Now, come on. Who else is going to give the colonel his daily dose of aggravation?"
Al could feel laughter bubbling within him. "Alright. Alright, but go easy on him." He chided playfully. He got the feeling Ed didn't really intend to give Mustang much trouble, if any.
It took a bit of wandering around East city, but ultimately the two brothers managed to find the address.
Edward peered up at Mustang's apartment with sudden hesitance. Should he and Al really even be here?
"Brother?" Alphonse questioned softly at his older sibling's pause.
"Well. No turning back now." Ed decided. He raised his left hand and knocked loudly. He thought of yelling in to further increase the likelihood of Mustang hearing him, but realized he'd rather not give the colonel reason not to open the door.
"In fact, I'm probably the last person the colonel wants to see right now." He told himself, somehow finding a trace of satisfaction in that thought.
They waited for several long minutes in complete silence. Was the colonel asleep? Or was he simply ignoring them? It was hard to tell. Ed tapped his automail foot subconsciously as the minutes drug on.
"Maybe we should try knocking again?" Alphonse suggested.
Edward blinked, but nodded, "Yeah, probably." He raised his fist to knock once more, when the door creaked open, and he drew back all at once.
There, leaning in the doorway, was not the smug colonel that he reported to. No. This man's black hair was mussed and oily. His face was lined with fatigue and his nose shown a pinkish hue. A blanket draped lopsidedly across his shoulders, barely camouflaging the fact that he was in his pajamas. Furthermore, he really seemed to be depending on the doorframe to stay upright.
In short, the man before him looked a complete and utter mess, and Edward wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
Roy crossed his arms as he regarded the golden haired teen and living suit of armor that had somehow materialized on his front stoop. He decided to address the elephant in the room, or rather, on his doorstep. "Fullbetal? Whad are you a'd your brother doi'g here? A'd bore ibportadtly," he coughed, "How did you ged by address?"
"Lieutenant Hawkeye gave it to us!" Alphonse piped up, "We came by to see how you were doing."
The colonel arched an eyebrow, nostrils flaring slightly as the cool morning breeze brushed past him. "If th-thad's all, th-thed I'b… ehhhhh… fffffide….hehhh." Roy grimaced, "Darn it. Not now!"
Edward smirked slightly as the flame alchemist struggled to keep his nose in check. "Really? Because you seem far from fine, colonel." He let a mild taunt seep into his tone, "How about inviting us in before you fall over?"
"Heh…Ehhhhh….HUPT'chuu! HUPT'chuuu! Huukt'chUU!" Roy pitched forward with each sneeze, very nearly losing his balance as he tried to cover his spray. "Ughhh…" he sniffled, gripping the doorframe tightly as he willed the stars to clear from his vision.
"Bless you, colonel." Alphonse chirped politely, concern lacing his tone, "Is there anything we can help you with?"
"Yes, please let us know." Ed added with a mischievous smile.
"Condescending little shrimp." Roy murmured to himself. While he was sure that Alphonse's intentions were pure, he got the feeling Edward was just here to poke fun at him. "Why did you have to give them my address, lieutenant?" he whined inwardly, daring to release his firm grip on the doorway in favor of rubbing his temples.
"Do you have a headache? Maybe you should sit down." Alphonse spurted almost immediately.
Roy blinked rapidly, glancing from younger brother to older. Ed's smug expression stared him back in the face. "I'b fide." He repeated stubbornly, eyes narrowing slightly before he heaved a weighty sigh. "If you're goi'g to cobe id, thed let's keeb this visit brief…shall we?" a cough, "Id case you haved't heard, I'b codtagious."
"Relax, colonel." Ed said as he stepped inside, "I already told you two days ago; I have no intention of catching what you've got."
Roy only grunted in response, waiting until Alphonse had walked in to shut the door. He permitted himself to lean against the surface a moment as he collected himself. He just had to get through this little visit, and then he could sleep as much as he liked. There was no way that Fullmetal was going to ruin his day.
"Huh. You keep your place pretty clean." Edward commented.
Roy shot the boy a questioning look, "Whad's thad supposed to mead?"
"I guess Brother figured since you've been sick, you might not have had the chance to tidy up." Alphonse explained.
"Well…" Roy said flatly, "I try to keeb by apartbedt id livable co'dition." He felt no need to inform them that Hawkeye had recently 'picked up after him.' It was embarrassing enough having to entertain them whilst he felt like this.
As he stepped away from the door, the colonel could feel his weakness catching up to him. His stride was a stagger at best, and he cursed his predicament. While his pride screamed for him to lead the Elrics into his living room, to put on the façade of a normal conversation, his body was reminding him that he wouldn't have the energy to make it back to bed once they'd left. He had to listen to his body.
"Colonel, do you need a hand?" Alphonse asked sympathetically as he watched Mustang stumble about.
Roy became acutely aware of both Elrics' eyes on him, but chose to ignore them as he stubbornly made his way back to his room. At the very least, he could do that without their help. He fought off the urge to collapse into the blankets as he got back into bed. It seemed his last, sorry attempt to appease his pride was by pretending to be a bit stronger than he actually felt.
The flame alchemist sighed to himself as Edward and Alphonse appeared at his doorway. He supposed it wasn't so bad that they were here. At the very least, it meant that they cared about him on some level. That in itself was something.
And as he slowly conversed with the boys, it truly clicked in his mind. It wasn't just Alphonse that had been concerned to hear that he was sick. Edward hadn't just shown up to satisfy his brother's needs. No, that wasn't it at all.
"Fullmetal was genuinely worried about me." Roy realized with a tired smirk, "I guess the kid's not quite as much of a jerk as he likes to let on." He mused. Now that he thought about it, the kid's taunts seemed a bit tamer than usual. Perhaps all he was truly aiming for, was to bring out Roy's usual, snarky self…
"Anyway," Edward was saying, "We should probably get going soon. The train comes into the station in thirty minutes, and I'd hate for us to miss it because of you."
Roy coughed slightly, smirk widening a fraction, "Alrighd. Have a dice trib, Fullbetal. Hobefully I'll see you shortly, and thed you cad give be a codcise report on whad you fi'd."
Edward's eyes widened in surprise as his color heightened. He rose to the bait all at once with a shriek of, "Stop implying I'm short! I swear, if you weren't sick, I'd pound you flat!" he threatened, automail fist clenched.
Roy wore a look of satisfaction, "Thed I suppose I've lucked oud."
"Tch! Don't flatter yourself. Next time Al and I are in East city, you're fair game." Ed countered, perhaps a glimmer of relief in his golden eyes. It was good to hear Mustang taunting him, as crazy as that sounded. It just didn't feel so unnatural, like everything else about the current situation.
"True." Mustang coughed, "Though I wouldn't bed anythi'g od your short-terb mebory."
"Why, you!" Ed raged, "Do you want me to punch you in the face?!" he snapped angrily. Though he didn't go off any further than that. Instead, he stormed out of the room grumbling to himself.
Alphonse glanced to the colonel apologetically, "Sorry, colonel. I guess that last one was a bit too much."
"Good luck id Cedtral…hehhh...ehhhhh... HUPT'chuu!" Roy paused to sniffle, "You'll deed id."
"Come on, Al!" Edward called impatiently from somewhere near the entryway.
Alphonse glanced from the door to the colonel uncertainly.
Roy offered him a weary smile and dismissive wave of his hand, "Go od, dow. You two deed to catch a train, rebember?"
With a quick nod, the younger Elric disappeared from the room, footfalls carrying him out to his brother, "Get well soon, colonel!"
Shuffling and a none-too-gentle click gave way to perfect silence. Finally, he was alone. With a sigh that seemed to emanate from his core, Roy Mustang buried his face in his pillow and allowed himself to doze, at last getting some restful sleep.
Author's Note:
And so, dear readers, ends the story 'Fevered Flame Alchemist.' I had a lot of fun writing this story. In fact, I'm actually a bit sad to see it end. Although, I typed the last portion of this chapter late at night, so I'm not sure what I'll think of it in the morning. *nervous laugh* As you may have noticed, this last chapter is significantly longer than the others. *laughs* I thought in passing to split it up into two chapters, but decided ultimately I wanted it to be one, last, mega chapter. I'm going to miss sneezy, miserable Roy. Torturing him has been so much fun! =(
On a side note, I had a strong temptation to make Havoc's throat-clearing line precede a few coughs during Edward's office visit, but ultimately decided not to. As much as I wanted to hint at Havoc catching ill, (Seriously, the guy needs more fanfic love.) I didn't know if anyone would be interested in a short sequel. What's more, I wasn't sure if I'd have the inspiration to write it, or if it would end up making this fic too similar to 'For the Sake of Friendship' and 'Lean on Moi.'
Then, of course, there's a part of me that wants to write a short fanfic as a prequel to this one in which the 'long-expired' bottle of ear infection medication comes into play…
Ah well, you never know what the future may hold. =) Hopefully I'll have updates to 'Face it We're Family' coming soon! Thanks everyone who has reviewed this story thus far and all of you that intend to review now/ in the future. Your reviews always inspire me and make me smile. In fact, sometimes they make my very day! =D
Until next fic, I bid you all adieu.