Made it to chapter 3! -is embarrassed that I feel the need to congratulate myself for that-

Enjoy!

The atmosphere in Colonel Roy Mustang's outer office was peaceful. Falman and Breda were slowly making their way through paperwork, Fuery was tinkering with something on his desk, Havoc was drooling on his, and the Lieutenant seemed to have stepped out for a bit.

Ed watched them silently from the doorway for a moment, his lips twitching upward in mild amusement. It was almost enough to make him forget that all of them had been fighting and risking their lives up in Drachma merely two months ago. If he hadn't known better he'd have assumed they'd never left East City. It was almost surreal; there had been times in the fear and heat of battle when he had thought he'd never see this office again. In those moments he'd been surprised to find that he wanted to see the place again. This was the place where he'd always had to submit those endless mission reports and be antagonized by the stupid, arrogant Colonel. Funny how life and death situations can make the most unlikely places seem like home.

"Had enough excitement, huh? Back to the humdrum of paperwork?" He stepped through the open doorway, sweeping his red cloak aside to shove his hands into his pockets.

All sound in the office stopped save Havoc's light snoring as every eye snapped to the boy who just entered (save Havoc's still closed ones). Edward basked for a moment in the knowledge that he'd thoroughly surprised them.

Breda was the first to break the tension, barking out a laugh. "Finally decided to show your face, eh?" He shoved Havoc roughly on the shoulder. "Wake up, Jean, it's the chief!"

Havoc snorted and sat up, a line of drool still connecting his mouth to the desk. He wiped it absently before his eyes fell on Edward and he blinked, now fully awake and wide-eyed.

Ed chuckled and came further into the room. "Yo," he greeted the still slightly dazed Havoc. It was Fuery who spoke next.

"You're standing..."

All eyes were now on Ed's legs and the young alchemist was even further amused that it took Fuery pointing it out for them to notice.

Breda's eyes widened in understanding. "So that's where you ran off too... We kinda half figured you'd deserted."

"Seriously?" Ed scoffed. "No way you're getting rid of me that easily."

"Technically you did desert," Havoc spoke up. "Disappearing from the hospital like that without telling anyone... The boss is gonna have your head."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Automail, huh?" Breda gave a low whistle. "Your arm, too?"

"Can we see?"

"I'm sure Edward would appreciate it if you all would mind your own business and get back to work," Lieutenant Hawkeye entered through the door behind Ed, a stack of paperwork in her arms.

"Oh, come on, Hawkeye," Havoc grumbled, arms crossed. "Can't you act even a little surprised that the chief shows up with automail out of nowhere after somehow sneaking out of the hospital over a month ago missing two limbs?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure what went through your minds, but it certainly was not the first time he'd left a hospital before being officially released. Given Edward's condition at the time, Alphonse clearly had a hand in that, and in this case it was obvious what they meant to go do." The first lieutenant shifted the paperwork in her arms but did not set it down, making it clear that she had no intention of staying to chat for long. "Besides the fact that the Edward Elric I know would never settle for being an invalid the rest of his life, if he had taken no action he would have been unable to effectively complete his missions and would have been discharged from the military. That being said, though I am surprised that you are up and about so soon after surgery, Edward, I am very pleased to see that you are doing well." She gave him a nod and Ed returned it with a slight smile.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"I'm sure the Colonel will want to see you immediately," she added as she headed for said Colonel's door. "I'll let him know you're here."

Ed made to follow her. "Why don't I just go in with–"

"I'll let him know you're here."

The door to their commanding officer's inner office was opened and shut before Ed could utter a word in protest. He crossed his arms and faced the outer office, not too surprised to see that everyone was staring at him again, but what did surprise him was the look of mild awe and even respect on their faces. He frowned, wondering what that was about, when Falman spoke up for the first time since Ed had entered, a bit of genuine concern creeping into his voice.

"The surgery... Is it as horrible as they say?"

Oh.

Well, yes. It was. But he didn't want to seem like he was playing it up. He'd endure worse if it meant Al would stay safe. That was his one consolation–that he hadn't let Al come out of his medical tent to help him fight.

He shifted from one foot to the other, not sure how to respond. Thankfully, he was once again saved by Hawkeye.

"The Colonel will see you now."

"Right." Ed wasted no time in getting through the door this time.

Colonel Mustang was sitting behind his desk, fingers steepled in front of his mouth. Surprisingly, he didn't say anything when Ed entered, seemingly content to see what Edward had to say for himself.

Well, Ed wasn't here to defend himself to anyone.

"How come you're back East?" He asked without preamble.

The Colonel stood from his desk. "Before we get into that, I'd like to know exactly where you've been for the past month."

"Resembool."

That seemed to surprise the man a bit, both the fact that Ed had answered so willingly and the answer itself. He raised an eyebrow. "Your hometown? Was there an old family friend there, someone you trust?"

"Not exactly. Back when me an' Al lived there, there was a weaponsmith and surgeon that was pretty well known in the area. We'd never actually met, but from what we had heard she was pretty reliable, so we went to her. Her granddaughter's living with her now, she was the one who ended up being my mechanic."

Ed had assumed that Mustang had come to the same conclusions as Hawkeye about his intentions upon leaving the hospital, and sure enough the Colonel did not seem surprised by his indirect reference to automail, or the fact that he was moving around with four fairly functional limbs.

He nodded slowly. "Are this surgeon and her granddaughter aware of your connection to the military?"

Ed shook his head. "That was the reason we bothered going so far south–no one down there associates me with the state alchemists, and we made sure not to mention it."

The Colonel nodded again, seeming to recognize the wisdom behind Ed's brash actions. If the Rockbells had known he was military, they would be suspicious that his injury was war-related, which would obviously be troublesome since state alchemists legally were not being used as weapons by the government. "Good."

Ed narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're being awfully understanding... Aren't you gonna rag on me for breaking the rules again?"

The black-haired man smirked. "Perhaps I've finally realised you're a lost cause. Now back to your question: my team has been temporarily suspended from battle for not upholding the secrecy of our operations. Not necessarily as punishment, since I think you'd agree being removed from a battlefield is neither of our definitions of punishment, but rather as a way to keep track of us while they decide how best to punish us. Namely, me."

Ed frowned. Though he wasn't blind to the Colonel's less than subtle subject change, he'd follow his lead for now. "They worried Al and his team are gonna rat us out?"

The Colonel nodded. "Something like that. Since the medical students are civilians, they should never have been let in on the fact that state alchemists such as you and I are active on the battlefield."

Ed snorted in disgust. "Yeah, better to leave them unprotected then let them know there's someone looking out for them."

"It's an arbitrary rule at this point, but a rule nonetheless. I was aware of the risks when I assigned you to that unit. Though the whole thing would have been easier to pull off if you hadn't gotten yourself blown up."

Ah, there was the bastard Ed was used to dealing with. He straightened up taller. "Well at least this time the mess I made was because I was following your orders."

Ed waited for a returning jab from the Colonel, maybe something about his incompetence, but it didn't come. Geez, what was with him today?

"You're right," he said instead, his hands splayed on the top of his desk. "You were following my orders." He sat back down while Ed stared at him. "You'll be out of commission for the remainder of your recovery. Feel free to continue your research in the city as long as it doesn't hinder your recovery, but don't leave East City without clearing it with me first. If you have no further questions, you may go, Fullmetal."

Ed wasn't sure he had heard correctly. Had the Colonel just said he was right? There was something weird going on here, something he was missing… But he knew when he was being dismissed, so he turned to go with a weak, "Right."

In the outer office it was quiet in the hushed way that suggested the occupants had been talking merely moments before Ed opened the door. The blond ignored most of them and sought out Hawkeye, figuring if anyone understood the odd behavior of their commanding officer, it would be his first Lieutenant.

He walked straight up to her, crossing his arms over his chest. His automail arm was an uncomfortable weight pressing down against his left one, but he ignored it. He was having to ignore a lot of inconveniences that arm was causing him, hoping they would all become less noticeable with time.

"The Colonel's being weird. He didn't give me hell. He hardly even seemed upset."

Hawkeye turned her head only slightly away from her work. "I would have thought you'd be happier about that."

Ed just gave her a hard stare. After a few moments she turned to fully face him, her demeanor slightly softening but still professional. She seemed to understand that he was requesting an explanation from her, because she started, "With what happened in Drachma, you gave us all quite a scare. There were times, out on the field in that medical tent and even later in the hospital, where we weren't sure you would pull through."

Ed blinked at her. When she said 'us all,' was she meaning to include the Colonel? He gave Mustang a scare? Ed had known on a vaguely theoretical level that the Colonel cared about his subordinates, but he never really thought that courtesy extended to him.

Hawkeye seemed to guess his thoughts. "In a way the Colonel feels responsible. He is in no way to blame for what happened, of course, but you were under his orders when it happened." She shifted her body more towards her desk to show that was all she had to say on the matter and that she was getting back to work. "If I were you I would be grateful he isn't pressing the matter of your unofficial exit from the hospital and leave it at that."

Ed deflated a bit and was suddenly aware that the other occupants of the office were watching the two of them. A quick glare around the room took care of that. He nodded jerkily at the blonde woman in front of him. "I'll see you later, Lieutenant."

Ed was sitting on the edge of his bed, carefully following the oiling procedure Winry had instructed him in multiple times, when Al got home from class. The younger wandered into the room the two of them shared, sitting cross-legged on his own bed and watching in interest. Ed wondered if he minded the fact that the apartment that typically had a newly-sterilized scent from whatever recent biological project or experiment Al had been working on now smelled primarily of machine oil. He knew Al would never complain even if it did bother him, though.

Ed told him about his conversation with the Colonel that morning. Al took it calmly but with a tinge of remorse, having suspected that his team had landed Colonel Mustang's in trouble. Of course, it was no use telling him that it wasn't their fault at all, that involving himself and his team with the medical students had been the Colonel's decision. Al already knew that, so they passed a few minutes in companionable silence as he watched his older brother do his maintenance in mild fascination.

"What happened there?"

Ed glanced up and realized Al was looking at the broken skin on the lower palm of his left hand. It wasn't bleeding anymore but it was still pretty scraped up. "I tripped," he answered, a bit embarrassed. Having a steel left leg certainly threw off his normal stride, and he still hadn't managed to adjust very well. "Don't worry, I got it all cleaned up earlier."

Al hummed in acknowledgement. Ed focused back on lubricating the joint of his knee.

"Speaking of cleaning up blood," Al spoke up again, "Did you run into any problems with your… condition, at the Rockbells? I forgot to ask the last time I went over there, to pick you up."

The older blond made a face. "You make it sound like I'm pregnant." When Al only waited for him to continue, he shook his head, remembering his and Al's worry that Winry and Granny would see the evidence of his greatest mistake. "It only happened once when I was with Granny–never when Winry was around, thankfully. I tried to pass it off as bronchitis, but I don't think the old lady bought it since I hadn't been coughing a bunch before. But she seemed more concerned and disapproving than suspicious. Maybe she thought I was doing cocaine or something." Al snorted lightly. "The other time that I told you about," Ed continued, "No one was home, so I was able to clean up before anyone noticed."

Al nodded but didn't say anything. Ed glanced up from his automail, eyeing his brother. He was biting his lip, looking troubled about something, but before Ed could say anything about it he brightened and swung his legs off the end of the bed. "I'm gonna go to the market. Need anything in particular?"

Ed considered asking him what he had been thinking about, since it seemed like more than just Al's usual concern for his brother's well-being, but he figured if it was really important Al would tell him eventually. He shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. I think I'll head to the library."

Al frowned. "You've already read every book in East's library."

"Do you have a better idea of how to spend my time while I'm stuck in this city?" His voice tightened towards the end of his question as a sliver of pain shot down from his shoulder into his automail arm. He knew logically that arm couldn't feel anything, but sometimes it still felt like there was an actual limb with nerves attached there. Winry had explained that that was a normal phenomenon for amputees, but it didn't make it any less disturbing when it happened. He did his best not to wince and glared weakly up at Al. "Maybe there's something I missed."

After a moment Al nodded. "Alright. I'll probably stop by there on my way home."

Ed grunted and put away his oil before the boys parted ways.

Al brought the melon in his hands up to his nose and sniffed. He couldn't smell anything. A friendly old woman had told him once while he was out shopping that if a melon smelled like a melon, then it was ripe. He wondered idly if his mother had had any special tricks for buying produce. Maybe grocery shopping would be easier if he could remember. Maybe it would be more painful, too.

He put the melon back and tried another one.

"Ah, Alphonse. I thought you might be in town."

Al flinched in surprise, nearly dropping his melon. When he recovered it he glanced over to see Colonel Mustang, looking mildly amused.

"Good afternoon, sir!" Al blinked at the man. He was dressed in a black coat over a steel grey button-down and dark pants, and Alphonse couldn't remember him ever looking so...civilian. He was now inspecting a bin of fresh strawberries and Al had to smile a bit at the sight of the powerful Colonel doing something as domestic as grocery shopping.

Mustang nodded his head in response to his greeting. "How is your class going?"

"It's–" he stopped before the automatic response of 'going well' could get past his lips, and sighed. "Painfully slow, actually."

The Colonel chuckled as he put some strawberries in a sack. "Not enough intellectual fodder to satisfy an Elric genius, hm?"

Al shrugged, neither accepting the casually thrown in complement nor rejecting it. "I asked the professor if he could use his connections in Xing to get us some more books, but he seems reluctant. I think I might just drop it. I've learned more on my own and with the help of one of the other students than I have from the professor. The other student, she's from Xing too, and she's basically an expert, I'm not sure why she's even taking–" He stopped himself short and grimaced. "Sorry, you didn't ask about all that."

Mustang smiled patiently. "There isn't much literature in Amestris dealing with Alkahestry specifically, but if you don't mind trying a slightly different approach, I'm still keeping an eye out for any biological alchemical research."

Al grinned gratefully. He was willing to try almost any approach. "Thank you, sir."

A few paces away from the produce stands, there was a restaurant with outdoor seating that the Colonel seemed to be eyeing. "While we're both here," he said, nodding his head toward one of the tables. "There was something I've been meaning to talk with you about. That is, if you can spare a minute."

"O-of course, sir," Al replied, following the Colonel over to one of the tables. A waiter was upon them in an instant, and the Colonel ordered them both coffee, more as permission to sit at the table than any real desire for a drink, Al supposed.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes has been continuing the investigation up north to find who was responsible for the attack on your brother and the two Drachman soldiers," Mustang began without preamble. Al sat up a little straighter in his seat. "From what you and the few doctors who saw him have described to Investigations, combined with the nature of the attack, we have a fairly good guess of who it was."

Al figured the doctors must have gotten a better look than he had, because he hadn't been able to tell Investigations much at all. All he could remember clearly was a lazily cruel voice and spotless white shoes amidst the sea of red. He swallowed hard. "Who?"

"Solf J. Kimblee." Colonel Mustang ground out the name as if it tasted bitter in his mouth. "Besides the purely physical descriptions, Kimblee has a...distinctive type of combat alchemy involving localized explosions."

That certainly did match up with what happened to his brother. Al stared at the tabletop. "An alchemist did this?" He glanced back up at the Colonel, remembering his tone as he'd said the man's name. "You seem to know him, sir. He's military?"

Mustang nodded. "A state alchemist."

"Not for long, right? His alchemy should be enough for Mr. Hughes to get him in jail."

Mustang leaned back in his chair, looking irritated. "The problem is, even if Investigations proves it was him, they can't exactly charge him with anything since the bomb killed one of the Drachmans and severely injured the other. It did what it should have been doing, it hurt the enemy. As far as the law is concerned, your brother is just unfortunate collateral damage."

"So why was there ever an investigation in the first place?" Al asked, unable to keep his growing anger from seeping into the question.

The waiter chose that moment to bring them their coffee, and Mustang thanked him and took a long sip, waiting until he had gone to respond. Al unclenched his fists and cupped his cold hands on the steaming cup, trying to relax, but the next words out of the Colonel's mouth made that nearly impossible.

"We're not entirely sure it was simply an accident that your brother was caught up in the line of fire."

Al froze. Not an accident? But that meant…

"You think the attack was targeted at my brother?"

"Not at Fullmetal necessarily…" Frown lines were beginning to pucker Mustang's brow, and he rubbed at them in vexation. "It's possible, yes. But Hughes and I both fought alongside Kimblee during Ishval, and he…" The bitterness was back in his voice, along with a dark gleam in his eyes that Al wouldn't mind never seeing again. "All I'm saying is, Kimblee's the type of person who doesn't much care whose blood is being spilled, as long as someone's bleeding."

Al suppressed a shudder. Someone like that was a state alchemist? Someone like that was the reason his brother was now disabled?

Al tried to take slow, steady breaths to keep a rein on his anger. It wouldn't do any good to blow up at the Colonel.

"Where is Kimblee now?"

"He's still in Drachma. Investigations is doing its best to keep an eye on him to make sure that this 'unfortunate' incident doesn't 'coincidentally' have a repeat." Al wasn't looking at him, but it was obvious from Mustang's voice how he felt on the subject. It was somewhat morbidly fascinating to witness the Colonel not hiding behind the cool facade he donned at work in the presence of other military personnel, actually allowing himself to get worked up about something for once.

"Thank you for telling me, sir," Al said tightly, his temple resting on his clenched fist.

The Colonel nodded and stood rather abruptly. "I should let you finish what you were doing," he said, and after another short nod Al was alone with his still-untouched coffee. He stared into it for a moment before sighing and taking a drink.

It had been far too long since Edward had been in a library. The minute he stepped inside he could feel his muscles, which had been tightly wound for months from the strain of recovery, and before that the tension of war, begin to relax. He walked up to the nearest shelf of alchemy-related books and took books off the shelf at random, figuring since he'd read them already he'd be just as likely to get something out of one of them as any other.

Settling into a chair at a table near the wall surrounded by a stack of books felt as natural as breathing, and Edward soon lost himself in the pages. So when he had finished one book and was reaching for the next, he was surprised to see a message notification light flashing on his phone. He opened it, thinking Al must need something, certainly not expecting to read the question that shone innocently on his screen.

4:29 PM: What's your favorite color?

It was from Winry. She had never initiated texting him before. He blinked at the question for a moment before typing back an intelligent response.

4:58 PM: what?

4:59 PM: Your favorite color!

5:01 PM: uhh red I guess

5:01 PM: Mine's green. Your turn.

5:03 PM: my turn for what?

5:04 PM: Asking a question. As a sort of getting-to-know-you type thing.

5:07 PM: good grief...

5:08 PM: Hey, business is slow. Indulge me.

5:12 PM: I'm still not convinced you actually run a business...

5:12 PM: JUST ASK A QUESTION

5:16 PM: okay, okay! geez...

5:19 PM: Keep in mind that whatever question you ask me, you'll have to answer it, too.

5:20 PM: now there are rules?

5:22 PM: ok let's see... got any weird phobias?

The other chair at his table was suddenly occupied by Jean Havoc, who plopped down without ceremony and stretched himself out lazily, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He jerked his chin at Ed in greeting.

Ed stared at him for a moment. "Are you lost?"

Havoc glared without any real venom. "Ha, ha. Is it so hard to believe that I came here to read just like anyone else?"

Ed didn't think that required a response, especially considering the fact that Havoc didn't have a book with him. Sure enough, after a few moments, Havoc relented, leaning forward heavily on the table.

"Alright, fine. I'm hiding. Who knew Second Lieutenant Catalina had a boyfriend?" He shot Ed a slightly traumatized look. "Especially one who's so… menacing?"

Ed turned back to his phone, losing his already questionable interest in the conversation. "Certainly not me."

5:28 PM: Wow, that was like a thousand times more personal than what I asked you.

5:34 PM: really? so you do have one?

5:40 PM: If you must know, I'm afraid of palm trees.

5:46 PM: you're serious?

5:47 PM: I'm serious.

5:49 PM: ... can I ask why?

5:50 PM: THEY'RE JUST TOO TALL MAN

5:50 PM: they're not actually that tall when you consider the whole spectrum of tree varieties...

5:52 PM: I don't care about your logic I'm just scared of them okay

5:52 PM: You have to answer the question now.

5:53 PM: don't have any. guess I'm not a freak like you

5:53 PM: Ugh. I get to ask you two questions now since you just did

5:55 PM: What do you do in your free time?

5:55 PM: I work out

5:57 PM: You work out.

5:57 PM: yes?

5:58 PM: That is the most Phony Macho Boy Trying To Impress A Girl answer I've ever heard.

6:00 PM: I'm just answering the question!

6:01 PM: Do you do anything else?

6:01 PM: is that your second question?

6:03 PM: ...No.

6:03 PM: so now you have to say what you do in your spare time

6:04 PM: I bake, I guess.

6:05 PM: Okay, Mr. Macho, do you have a girlfriend? Someone you're keeping in shape for with all that working out?

6:05 PM: I don't

6:06 PM: and that's cool. about baking I mean. my mom used to bake a lot

6:07 PM: now you answer

6:07 PM: Currently do not have a girlfriend. Will keep you updated.

6:08 PM: so I guess it would be pointless to try breaking out my charm?

6:08 PM: though I guess it might not be a complete waste of time since that patient of yours you like so much is a guy

6:09 PM: You have charm?

6:10 PM: not really no

6:10 PM: Haha. Your turn to ask a question.

6:12 PM: have you ever actually encountered a palm tree?

6:35 PM: Yes! There's this thing called the beach.

6:36 PM: you must have taken too long to text back. the chief got bored and went back to his book. he's so out of it now he hasn't even noticed i'm using his phone.

6:39 PM: The chief?

6:39 PM: Who is this?

6:40 PM: chief is what i've taken to calling fullmetal, i guess cause he outranks me or something. we have the same commanding officer

6:40 PM: Commanding officer? Wait, he's in the military?!

6:40 PM: Is 'fullmetal' another nickname?

6:42 PM: wait, did you not realize who you were texting?

6:47 PM: I thought he was 17. Was he lying?

6:47 PM: no, no he is 17

6:48 PM: great, he's gonna kill me

6:50 PM: And he outranks you? How old are you?

6:52 PM: that's not important

6:52 PM: how do you know the chief and not know he's military?

6:53 PM: …That's not important.

6:54 PM: Are you guys fighting in the war?

6:55 PM: i'm not currently. and the chief's not, cause ya know, the alchemist ban.

7:00 PM: wait. WAIT. You called him… Are we talking about the FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST?

7:02 PM: so you have heard of him.

7:03 PM: maybe i should just stop talking

7:03 PM: Don't you dare.

7:04 PM: You're telling me I've been texting the Fullmetal Alchemist all this time. You're telling me the state alchemist whose title I've seen in newspapers is SEVENTEEN and I've been TEXTING HIM.

7:06 PM: is someone feeling a little starstruck? man i wish girls would react like that when i tell them my name. but nooo i don't have a fancy title to throw around.

7:06 PM: the chief has all the luck and he doesn't even use it to his advantage

7:07 PM: This is insane.

7:07 PM: I know the People's Alchemist's favorite color. Did you know his favorite color is red?

7:08 PM: um yeah, I could've guessed

7:08 PM: Is he still reading?

7:09 PM: yeah. i'm actually surprised you managed to distract him from his book for so long. it was kinda funny to watch, actually. pretty sure he forgot i was even here. he was like, giggling

7:10 PM: Giggling?

7:29 PM: I'm gonna kill that bastard

7:36 PM: Is it you again?

7:37 PM: for the record I have never giggled in my life. I was laughing at you because you're scared of palm trees.

7:38 PM: Let's talk about something more important here, like the fact that you failed to mention that you're a FAMOUS STATE ALCHEMIST

7:40 PM: I mean you never asked

7:40 PM: Oh my gosh.

7:41 PM: How long have you been in the military?

7:42 PM: around 5 years

7:43 PM: 5 years? You're telling me you joined the military when you were 12?!

7:45 PM: yeah

7:48 PM: If you don't mind me asking, why?

7:58 PM: I'll tell you, okay? only not right now

8:00 PM: Okay.

The wind was harsh as he left the library, whipping the hair that hadn't made it into Ed's ponytail across his face. He was shivering even through his coat. It didn't help that his automail amplified the chill. He fairly hobbled down the sidewalk with his head down and his hands shoved in his pockets, feeling ancient and more than a little irritated.

He'd exploded at Havoc enough to get them both kicked out of the library, but that still hadn't been able to work out all of his annoyance. It wasn't that he really minded that Winry knew who he was, and he was grateful that she didn't seem to connect the title Fullmetal with the name Edward Elric like he'd been worried she would, but his position in the military had still brought up questions that he wasn't up to talking about. He kicked a rock with the toe of his boot, and it ended up hitting the shoe of a girl walking in front of him. She turned around. Great. Ed kept his head down.

No luck. The girl slowed her pace, clearly meaning to walk alongside him.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Was it that obvious? Ed realized he was limping pretty heavily. He just needed to get out of this cold and rest a bit. He finally raised his head a centimeter and looked sideways at her. Short, dark hair framed the caramel-colored skin of her face, and she looked back at him with clear brown eyes. She was taller than him. Only very slightly, but it was enough to add just that much more to his irritation.

"'m fine," he grunted, turning his eyes back to the street in front of him. "Should you be out alone this late?"

"It's not that late," she answered. "Why, are you going to hurt me?"

Her tone impelled him to take another glance at her and he was a bit startled by the look in her eyes. She wasn't concerned for him, or even wary of him. She was flirting.

He wasn't as oblivious as some of the men in the military seemed to think he was about that sort of thing, but that didn't mean he was interested. It's not that she wasn't pretty, she definitely was, but Ed couldn't say he felt any sort of attraction towards her. He honestly couldn't say he'd ever felt that sort of attraction towards anyone.

Stupid girl. He may be feeling rough right now, but he was still capable of tearing her limb from limb if he actually did want to hurt her. He was suddenly angry at her for taking her own safety so lightly. Maybe he was wrong about her ability to defend herself, but he doubted it. He wanted to tell her off, but the cold was seeping through his ports into his bones and he felt suddenly drained.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked again, but this time there was genuine concern and an undertone of alarm in the question.

Ed was starting to feel alarmed himself. He knew what that sudden exhaustion meant, and his eyes started frantically scanning the street for an escape. Maybe if he picked up the pace he'd have time to duck into that alley up ahead and hope that the girl would be mistrustful enough not to follow him.

But it was so hard to walk even a fraction faster than his current sluggish pace. He was too slow, and the alley was still several yards ahead of them when he felt himself doubling over, his eyes squeezed shut as a gush of red spilled from his lips to splatter onto the pavement.

The girl's horrified shriek was sharp in his ear as he stumbled into the wall, leaning heavily on his left arm. She wasn't running away, though, like he'd half hoped she would, and he definitely didn't want her to think she should take him somewhere. He fumbled for the phone in his pocket, but his vision was too spotty for him to see the screen clearly. Seeing little other choice, he held the phone out weakly to the girl freaking out next to him.

"Call Al," he mumbled. "He's on speed dial."

The girl's shaking hands hesitantly took the phone as Ed let himself slide down to huddle against the wall and wait for this horrible weakness to pass.

Oop. There will be more Winry in the next chapter, don't worry. I have a friend who's afraid of palm trees. Poor Win. At least our Palm Tree Baby isn't (likely) going to make an appearance.

Special thanks to Alheli (no need to be nervous about something that happens in a flashback! ;) his survival was guaranteed. and thanks for the comment about the girls' friendship!), Yveltal45 (thanks for your continued support!), Legendarily Quiet, Fire From Above, TheMistOfThePast, and Seddiepokeeverlark95!

Don't forget to review!