AN: Passion Beneath The Cherry Blossoms is a FMA fanfic told only from the point of view of Roy Mustang. This is a primarily Roy/Ed fic. That means there is Yaoi in here. Possible sex scenes at a later date. Thanks for the reviews!
As quickly as sleep had come, it left. Just as the first glimpses of white sunlight began to reveal themselves on the horizon, a loud thud sounded from just outside the peace of the bedroom, awakening me from my slumber. Still half-asleep, I felt the cloth of the bedspread, searching for my petite lover.
Unable to trace him with my hands, I opened my eyes somewhat painstakingly against the maturing sunlight. Edward was nowhere to be found.
Remembering the noise that had awakened me, I jerked myself out of bed. What if Edward had been hurt? Or worse, what if he had hurt himself?
I flung open the door. Sure enough, Edward was lying on the linoleum tiles. It seemed like a cruel parody of last night's events. This time, a stainless steel kitchen knife had fallen to the floor as if to incriminate him. Blood seeped from his marble wrist once again.
"EDWARD!" I cried. I lurched toward him, ignoring the puddle of blood on the floor. "How could you do this to me?" I pleaded with him, "WHY? How could you do this to yourself?"
He didn't respond. Slowly, his eyelids began to conceal his amber orbs. His pale body shuddered in pain. My eyes flew to his wrist. These new slices were deeper than the last. Edward had gone too far. I kneeled over him, grasping his shoulders, "Edward! Speak to me!"
Finally, he managed to whisper a single sentence. His voice was hoarse. "Roy... Please, forgive… me."
"Edward! Stay with me!" I called to him, but there was no answer. He was still beneath me. "Shit!" I lifted him, cradling him in my arms as I rushed out the door. It seemed like a reflection of the first time he'd cut, like it wasn't real. It couldn't be real. My Edward…
When I ran into the emergency ward of the hospital, it was the first time I had ever been glad to live in the military sector of the city. Our status as state alchemists had rewarded Edward and I an apartment less than a block away from the hospital.
But I wondered if that would be enough. Had too much time already passed? I worried as they pulled Edward, my bleeding Edward, out from my arms and away. Before I could blink, they had him on a stretcher. One of the doctors performed some kind of alchemy on his wounded arm while another stuck an IV into it, avoiding the place of injury.
My voice was small. "Is he going to be okay?" I tried to get the attention of a stern-looking doctor as he rushed by with the stretcher. I was ignored. I raced after the group of doctors down the hallway only to watch them disappear into an emergency ward.
At the door, a tight-lipped nurse stood blocking the entrance. "Are you a family member of Edward Elric?" she asked. I was surprised she knew his name. Then again, most State Alchemists were well known, to the point where most civilians could recognize them off the streets.
"Yes, I am." I didn't hesitate in my answer. It was a lie, of course, but she couldn't possibly know that.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait outside. It's against hospital policy to be in the room while patients are being treated with risk of fatality. However, once the doctors are finished, you're welcome to visit him."
Reluctantly, I retreated to the waiting room. Edward's life was out of my grasp. He could have been dying right then, alone, scared, and bleeding with no familiar face at his side. I no longer had any control over whether he lived or died. All I could do is wait.
I sunk into the cheap, cushioned, table-chairs of the waiting room, a stack of aged magazines piled beside me. In a feeble attempt to keep my mind off of Edward's imminent danger, I began to flip through a celebrity magazine decorated with the faces of movie stars. But no matter how many stories I glanced at, Edward would reenter my head, bursting through my thoughts like a water balloon on a needle.
Sighing, I gave up on attempting to distract myself. I felt guilty, as if I were sweeping my problems and despair under a rug. Edward could have been dying, and I was reading about pop stars. What kind of lover was I?
I slumped back in my seat. This was horrible… awful… What was wrong? What was Edward not telling me? I racked my mind, trying to think of anything I'd said or done that could be the cause.
I bolted straight up in my seat.
No… It couldn't be that… could it?
I bit my bottom lip, remembering something that had happened only the day before. "Roy... I'm sorry, but I can't walk home with you today, I'm busy," Edward had said. And at first, I'd believed him. But he had lied.
Edward never had an appointment across town. He didn't have any reason to get away from me other than to go to a bar and drink himself almost to death and then…
My mind broke away there, not wanting to think about it anymore.
"Sir?"
My eyes flicked up to the face of the nurse who addressed me. She had the most concerned look on her face. I gasped. "Edward, is he okay?"
"He's stable," she told me. "And when he wakes up, we'll help him."
"Help him?" I asked. My voice was small.
"Sir," the nurse looked uncomfortable. "Mr. Elric, um… He cut himself very deeply. We're thinking it was a suicide attempt."
"What?" I stared at her in horror. I had thought… It had to have been an accident. Edward wasn't… He wasn't…
"We're going to have to help him. Mr. Elric is most likely suffering from a severe depression. He needs help."
I nodded, though the meaning of her words never reached me.
"But he's stable now, so you can see him if you want."
I got to my feet. "Take me to him."
AN: R&R! Read and Review! What will happen next chapter? Who knows?