A/N: i think that in the FMA universe, fuery found black hayate a little later than this but for here, riza has black hayate okay?

~*~ALPHONSE~*~

Brother paces along the floor in front of the Colonel's door, waiting for his arrival. Mr. Hughes called us early in the morning and told us that the Colonel would be dismissed this afternoon and so we have gotten everything ready for his return to his house. Brother just gets impatient and has been a little out of sorts as of late. He's been reading Mr. Tucker's personal research and it has taken a big toll on him. At one point, I heard him throw up from how bad it was.

I hear a car door slam and Brother stops pacing. He is nervous about having to care for the Colonel. He's not good with that sort of thing…

"Well, Al…" he says softly, looking at me in discomfort.

I can't smile but I hope the vibe I give off is one of comfort.

The door opens and Mr. Hughes sticks his head in first.

"You boys in there?"

"Yes, sir." I say, standing. "Do you need help?"

"No, I'm fine, Alphonse."

He backs into the house, pulling the Colonel in a wheelchair. Colonel Mustang looks around his house a little and then his eyes settle on Brother. His eyes wander toward the bulging midsection that the Colonel has but quickly looks back up. The Colonel is staring at Ed in a venomous way and I look at Mr. Hughes.

"Can he walk?" I ask.

"He'll need help up the steps but other than that, he can do things on his own. Do not let him try and go up and down those steps by himself." He says, looking at Colonel Mustang with a stern look. "I'll ask these boys if you have."

The Colonel gives a quirky smile to Mr. Hughes as he looks at us.

"May I talk to you boys outside for a moment? Roy, I'm sure they stocked up on food so see if you can find something."

The Colonel seems to ignore him and we walk outside with Mr. Hughes.

"What was with that cold stare?" Ed asks, looking at Mr. Hughes. "I thought he was going to use his Flame Alchemy with his eyes for a moment there."

"Roy knows that the condition of his team has probably made it all around headquarters one way or another. His situation especially is degrading to him. He is very touchy in both figurative and literal. He doesn't like to be touched unless he feels he needs it. I don't think Al will be a problem, but more you, Ed."

"Me?"

"He doesn't like it when flesh touches him and he's mad that I'm not taking care of him."

"See, I told you it would be better…"

"I believe it will be better with you. If not, then I will take him in."

Brother and I look at each other and Ed sighs.

"Will he stare at me all the time like that? I mean, I can't help looking at it sometimes…"

"Just try and keep your eyes where they should be and everything should be fine. Just don't touch him without permission and things should be alright."

Ed nods and then looks at me. "Speaking of, would you mind going to the store and getting some food for us? We ate the last of the Colonel's stuff this morning."

"Oh right, I forgot. I'll get on that."

I run off toward the market for Brother.

~*~EDWARD~*~

Hughes rustles my hair and smiles. "You'll be fine, Ed. I know you will. Don't let him intimidate you. He's pretty much the same except he's less about talk and more about making people uncomfortable."

"He doesn't talk?"

"He can but I don't think he talks much. The doctors say he strained his vocal chords from yelling so often in the lab when things happened that he needs to rest his voice."

"I see… Lt. Colonel, will he be alright with us?"

Hughes kneels down, making me feel like an ant on the ground, but looks up into my eyes.

"Edward, I trust his life in your hands. You and Al can do it. I know you can and like I said, if you need help or something, just call."

I nod and he salutes, leaving me to deal with that ill bastard. Like he wasn't enough when he was well… I sigh and open the door. I find the Colonel trying to grab something from one of the cabinets, stretching as well as he can. I walk over to him and push him down. He turns to me with a menacing look and I throw my hands up in surrender.

"Sorry… What is it you're trying to get?"

He looks up at the cabinets and sighs, pointing. He's pointing at the coffee pot.

"You want some coffee? But it's in the middle of the afternoon…"

He just stares at me and I grumble, getting it down and showing him that there's nothing in it.

"We don't drink coffee."

He motions for a pad and pen and I get him one.

You realize you're still my subordinate, right?

I lift an eyebrow. "I saved your sorry ass and you're pulling rank on me already? How low, Colonel…"

Not in the mood, Fullmetal. he shows with an angry glare.

"What? Pregnancy not your forte?"

The Colonel looks down a little and I realize I was too brusque. This is why I shouldn't handle people…

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that. I'm sure it's not easy for you… Just tell me what you want?"

The Colonel slowly writes on the paper.

I just want coffee…

I nod. "Alright…"

I find the coffee grinds and then look at the pot. I look at the Colonel, who is eyeing me with a playful look because the bastard knows I can't make coffee.

"You're a jerk." I say, handing the coffee grinds to him.

He smirks and slowly gets up from the wheelchair. I tense, ready to grab him if he starts to fall but he steadies himself and walks slowly over to the sink to fill the pot and makes his own coffee.

"Are you allowed to walk around?" He nods. "What's it like?"

He turns but I look away quickly because I didn't mean to say it out loud for him to hear me. I mess with my sleeves to distract myself from him but when I look up I see that he is looking at me still.

"I didn't mean to say it out loud. I was just wondering…"

"Weird." I look up and he smiles softly. "Weird…"

The Colonel's coffee gets done and he pours himself a cup, smelling it deeply. He walks to the table and sits down slowly, starting to write on the paper I gave him. I sit across from him, watching him as he writes and drinks sips of his coffee. If he didn't look so worn and the setting was different, I would swear that I was in his office watching him work with a pile of papers on one side and his cup on the other.

He looks up and scoots the paper over to me, pulling the cup to his other hand so he could lift it with both hands. I look at what he's written down.

This is my house so please don't think you're the boss of me. I may be in this strange mess but I'm still your superior. Coffee should be brewed every morning since I won't be going into work for a while until my condition improves and I want to help you get Fuery back to normal. My brain is fine.

I look at him and he is looking at me in that cool manner he always has that makes me just want to smack him in the head. I almost feel good about that because that means he's okay… anything is better than that blank stare he had at the hospital.

"Brother, Colonel, I'm home!" Al says from the front door.

I go and help him bring in groceries.

~*~RIZA~*~

I get discharged from the hospital a couple days after the Colonel does and get a phone call that I am to report to Central Headquarters as soon as possible. My uniform doesn't fit and neither do most of my other clothes so I plan on wearing the Colonel's spare that he keeps whenever he stays at work overnight and doesn't go home, sleeping in the closet. I convince the hospital to let me wear the top and bottoms they gave me as I hail a cab.

Once at Headquarters, I quickly go to our office but find Havoc there.

"Lieutenant…" he says, saluting me.

"Havoc…" I say with a salute back. "I need to um… borrow the Colonel's uniform…"

"Have at it. Were you asked to come here too?"

"Yes… You?"

"Yeah…"

"How's Fuery?"

"He's doing well. He is pretty quiet most of the time. Him and Black Hayate play a lot together."

"That's good."

Havoc was taking care of my dog for me until I got out of the hospital. Funny how Sergeant Fuery was the one to find Black Hayate and now is his best friend… I slip into the Colonel's uniform and find that it is a perfect fit for my size now. A little big in places but presentable enough to go in front of the Fuhrer. I walk out and Havoc follows me toward the Fuhrer's office.

I knock on the door and we hear someone beckon us in. The Fuhrer looks up and smiles at us.

"Thank you both for coming on such short notice. Please, have a seat."

We take the two seats in front of his desk and he steeples his hands.

"I heard that Colonel Mustang has made a good recovery and has been discharged to go home."

"Yes sir, he left the hospital about two days before me." I say. "The Elric brothers will be taking care of him until he is back to normal."

"I see, I see… And you will be taking care of this Sergeant Kain Fuery that has been turned into a chimera, I see?" he says, looking at some papers and then me.

"Yes sir. The Elrics believe they can fix him if they get a better view of Tucker's personal research into his chimera projects. They also feel that Sergeant Fuery is still there as a person but is emotionally and mentally mixed up with the dog, or whatever it is, that he was fused with. If he is with people that he knows rather than in a cage like an animal, they feel that it will keep what little of Fuery is there to digress and lose him for good. He was a good soldier, sir…"

"So I see from his file. Telecommunications… And Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda is on the mend as well?" he says, looking at Havoc.

Havoc scratches his neck. "Not really, sir. His mental state is fragile. He's afraid of dogs and he was made to watch when Fuery was turned. He is scarred but Tucker did it that way to make it harder to find him. He needed everyone to be incapacitated but Breda was made to escape; Tucker had to have someone find us to show the military the 'work' he had done. Breda is his trophy, so to speak and so… yeah…"

"I see…" he says with a nod. He stands up then and Havoc and I follow. "Thank you for coming in and speaking with me. Lieutenant Havoc, correct?"

"Yes sir?"

"You and Lieutenant Breda are very close friends, yes?"

"Yes sir."

"Whenever the doctors say that he can be released, I want him in your care. Like with this little Sergeant Fuery, the mental faculties of Lieutenant Breda seem like they may improve if with people he trusts. You are his friend of many years…"

"Yes sir!"

"You're both dismissed."

We get up and leave the room.

I look at Havoc and he sighs, grabbing for a cigarette.

"Back to your old habits?"

"I realize why I need them now… You want to come get Black Hayate and Fuery?"

"Yes that will be good. I'm sure Black Hayate has missed me."

"I dunno, Hawkeye, he's been living the high life just being a dog instead of some whatever it is that you try to make him."

I glare at him. "Did you de-train my dog?"

"No! No, never… he's just been happy."

I narrow my eyes at him. "I'm not a good owner?"

"No!"

I smirk at his uncomfortableness and we go to his house to go get Black Hayate and Fuery.