I would just like to thank Z. U for their reviews, because I couldn't message them about it! :3 Also, I completely agree with you about the whole RoyEd thing. Roy is too old, Ed is too young, and neither are gay... :P

Anywhos, on with the story!

This chapter is slightly longer... I went on a bit of a writing rampage :D

Enjoy! c:

I woke up in slight daze, unaware of my surroundings.

I shot open my eyes, and took in the scenery around me.

The blank white walls, the bright fluorescent lighting, the smell of disinfectant… The blonde boy curled up in the bed next to where I was sitting, faintly clutching my hand and sleeping.

He looked so… at peace. And happy, like the carefree youth he should be.

But he lost all rights to having a childhood long ago.

And here we both were, in the hospital, trying to make sense of what to do…

I gently pulled my hand away from his, trying my best not to disturb him.

Sleep seemed to be the one place he could stop caring, and escape the reality he was living.

Edward shifted ever so slightly as I tried to free my hand, and sighed in his sleep.

I stood, staring at him for a moment.

What do I do now? I know I keep asking myself that… but I just don't have any ideas.

A nurse entered just then, to check on Ed.

"Everything seems to be fine, Colonel."

She spoke softly, but cheery all the same.

"Do you think he should go on the anti-depressants?" I blurted out, without thinking.

She looked a little taken aback, but she replied with the former lightness in her voice.

"It's not really my place, sir. But… If it helps anything, I don't think it would hurt to see how he does with them. You never know until you try."

With that, she smiled and took her leave.

I sighed.

I knew that everyone here would say the same thing, that he should at least try them.

But that didn't change anything in my head…

I should listen to the doctors. They know what they're dealing with.

I don't have a clue what I'm dealing with.

But… Anti-depressants just seem so…drastic, and serious.

He was just a kid. He shouldn't have to be going through any of this…

But he was. And there had to be something done to help him.

Ed can't go on living like this.

I began to pace the room, lost in my own thoughts, when I heard a slight noise, that almost sounded like, "Roy". I turned to Ed, to see him looking back at me. He continued speaking.

"What's going to happen now?"

His voice still had traces of sleep in it, and he looked at me expectantly.

I wanted to be able to answer him, but I was at a loss for words.

I didn't know what to tell him.

I opened my mouth, to try and say something – anything at all.

But no noise came out.

I took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure."

Ed nodded, and turned to look out the window. I wasn't doing a very good job of making things better for him.

I told Ed that I would be right back, and exited the hospital to talk a little walk, clear my head.

I had just made it outside into the cool, morning air, when I saw the younger Elric sitting on the steps.

"Alphonse…? What are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing really… Just thinking."

I sat down next to him. I felt sorry for the both of them, and the situation they were in.

I couldn't say how Al must be feeling right now, I couldn't imagine what it would be like.

It's hard enough to find out that someone you care about is self-harming, but… When they're your only family left, and the one person in the world you care most about… The older brother you've looked up to all these years… I couldn't begin to fathom it.

Al sighed.

"I just… I don't understand why he didn't tell me sooner. I thought I knew everything about him, and that we were both there for each other no matter what. I… I feel as if it's my fault that he started… All those times that I left him alone to go spend time with Winry, because he was too busy researching. Researching to save my body. I've taken up his entire life, and he had given up everything for me. I don't… I don't know what to do. I'm scared. I don't want to lose the only family I have left, and… yelling at him isn't going to make things any better. In fact it probably made him feel worse…"

If he had possessed the ability to cry, I knew that Al would be.

"He clearly didn't want anyone to know. And as hard as it is to accept it, now that we know we can't very well ignore it or brush it off… Ed needs you, Al. You two have been through everything. I'm sure he wants nothing more than to just talk to his brother right now."

Of course, I didn't know that for sure. But I'm sure there was at least a small piece of Ed – no matter how small it may be, it was still there – that wanted to talk to his brother.

And it also seemed to cheer Alphonse up slightly, seeing as the suit of armour stood up and walked into the hospital.

I contemplated following, but decided against it.

This was something between two brothers, and I had no place in it.

They had to work things out, talk things over, make it okay between the two of them again.

I was just the catalyst that brought that about.

I stood, and began walking down the streets of central. I realized I hadn't eaten since yesterday, around 11 a.m., and I was starving.

My stomach was voicing this, and I decided to stop in at a small café to get a bite to eat and a coffee to wake me up.

Once I finished eating and paid the waitress, I slowly made my way back to the hospital.

It wasn't that I didn't want to see how things were, it's more that I still hadn't figured out what I should do.

I entered Ed's hospital room, to find him talking with a doctor and nurse.

Well, arguing would be a more accurate word.

Al was sitting beside Ed, in the chair I had previously occupied.

"I don't need them!"

"Mr. Elric, all the symptoms of depression are there. This is not healthy behaviour, and we only have your best interest at heart. Please."

Ed stared at the doctor, his eyes burning.

Neither the doctor nor Edward showed any sign of backing down.

"I'm not taking any happy pills. I'm not crazy."

The doctor sighed in frustration. The nurse just watched the situation, eyes wide, clearly unsure of what she should do.

"No one is saying you're crazy! All we're saying is that taking this medication will only benefit you. You have nothing to lose by taking these."

"I don't need medication, I'm perfectly fine!"

"Brother… Stop saying that. Just listen to them. They know what they're doing." Al's quiet voice brought about a tense silence.

All eyes were on Ed, who was just staring at his younger brother, concern written all over his face.

The blonde sighed in defeat, and slowly stuck out his hand for the pill the doctor had been trying to get him to take for, according to the nurse, the last half hour.

Ed reluctantly put the pill in his mouth before chasing it down with a glass of water. It took him a couple tries to do this though, apparently swallowing pills wasn't his thing.

The doctor then stiffly walked out of the room, followed by the nurse.

The moment the door was shut, Ed said,

"Damn that bastard…"

I smiled a little, it was good to see that Ed still remained in absolute hatred of anything to do with hospitals and doctors. A trait that was so common in his old self…

But… He was still the same person, and I couldn't really say "old self" seeing as he had been keeping this up for months without anyone noticing…

"Brother…Thanks. For listening to him."

Ed was silent for a moment, before quietly saying,

"I wasn't listening to him… I was listening to you."

It was nearing 11:30 a.m. now, and I still hadn't figured out what to do.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, breaking the brief silence in the room.

"Yeah. Like I would ever willingly eat hospital food."

"Well, then get dressed. There isn't any reason to keep you here longer. I'll take you to get some food once we're done here."

Ed glanced up at me briefly, and for a second I swore I could see gratitude in his eyes.

I left the room, to go talk to the secretary about Ed's leaving.

Once the information had been processed, Ed had showed up clad in his usual black leather pants and red coat, with Al behind him. He still had the bandage on his head, and his hair looked as if he had just thrown it back into a ponytail.

The secretary told us it was okay to leave now, and so by noon we were walking down the streets of central. This was seemingly normal, but… I couldn't shake the feeling that Ed was still holding something back.

We went into a small diner, of Ed's choosing, and sat down. I was still full from my late breakfast, and so I only ordered a cup of coffee. As for Fullmetal, well, he basically ordered the entire menu.

Once Ed had finished eating, I went up to pay at the counter, and we found ourselves once again walking the streets.

"So…Have you found out what's going to happen with me now, Colonel?"

I sighed.

When I had left Ed for him to get dressed, the doctor who had previously been in the room stopped me to talk.

He told me that he didn't think Ed should be left alone, and should be under the care of guardian for a little while if he refused to remain in the hospital for observation.

I didn't exactly know how to bring this up, and I didn't exactly want to either.

For one thing, there's no telling how Fullmetal might react. Sure, he has been incredibly different the past 24 hours, but… he was still the same Edward Elric who referred to me as Colonel Bastard as if it was my christened name.

But… It wasn't as if we had much choice in the matter. The doctor made me sign those papers stating he would be under my care, and as a Colonel if I broke those legal documents…It wouldn't be good.

But then again, how would they even know?

"The doctors told me that you shouldn't be left alone. That you should be living with a guardian for the next little while, because you refused to stay hospitalized for observation."

Ed stopped walking, to stare incredulously at me.

"And…?"

"And… They made me sign some papers stating that you would be with me."

I waited for him to yell, or do anything.

But instead, he just stared at the ground.

"I never meant to mess things up like this… I didn't think my actions would affect anyone but me… But all that's happened since… since the secret surfaced, has proved me wrong. Not only did I force you to let Scar escape, but then you had to spend all of yesterday trying to deal with me, and now…now you're being forced into having me around 24/7… I'm sorry… I'm sorry I'm such a burden."

Al and I both stared at the older Elric.

Something told me that both Al and I didn't expect this reaction.

"Edward… You're not a burden."

He remained staring at the ground.

I placed a hand on his back, and gently pushed him forward, to continue walking.

The three of us just walked around for a little while, until Al said,

"Well… Winry's supposed to be getting of a train soon, and Brother and I said we would meet her… But, I'll go, considering the…change of circumstances. I'll call you later, Ed."

As Alphonse said these words, he hugged his older brother, before leaving.

I glanced at my watch.

It was around 6 p.m.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Although, my ribs are starting to hurt again…"

I realized then that walking around with several broken ribs mustn't be very comfortable at all.

We began to head back to my place, and once there, Ed's eyes widened at the sight of my house.

It wasn't all that grand, but considering Ed came from the tiny country town of Resembool and hasn't had a real home in years, I could understand why he seemed so…in awe of it.

We walked up the steps, and as I unlocked the front door, Ed was taking in all of his surroundings.

As I opened the door and flicked on the lights, Ed wandered in, and seemed to be lost in his own wonder.

I laughed a little at the young boy's reaction.

Finally he spoke, after taking in the staircase in the centre, with the library branching off to one side and the kitchen to the other.

"This…is your house?"

"Yes, Edward. This is my house."

I hung the keys on the hook by the door, and took off my jacket.

"Come on, I'll show you where you can stay."

I led him up the stairs, and had to pause as he stopped in his tracks when he reached the top of the staircase.

I then rolled my eyes and continued to lead him through a couple halls, pointing out the bathrooms and things like that.

We arrived at his room, which was only a few doors down from mine, in case something happened. (Not my thinking, the doctors.)

"I don't think I could escape this place, even if I wanted to…I don't even know if I can find my way back to the stairs again."

I smiled at Ed, and left him in the room while I went to get him a glass of water for him to take the painkillers with.

Ed scowled when he saw me take out the pills.

"Relax, these are just the painkillers."

He still didn't look happy about it though.

I handed him the water and the pill, and he stared at the pill with disgust before placing it in his mouth and chugging the whole glass of water in one go.

"Thirsty?" I asked, not bothering to suppress the amusement in my voice.

Ed gave me an annoyed look, and said,

"No. If I don't do that, the pill won't go down."

My eyebrows raised slightly, and I just shook my head.

"Well, let me know if you need anything then, I guess…"

As I made to leave, Ed's voice stopped me.

"Do you think you could show me the library?"

"Of course."

I led the young alchemist to the library, and once there he was instantly absorbed in the bookshelves. He had selected a couple of ones that he had deemed interesting, and instead of going to the table or couches, he went to the centre of the floor and lay down. He surrounded himself with the books.

It was good to see him doing something productive. He seemed to not mind being here as much as I thought he would, in fact he almost seemed happy about it.

But that could be the anti-depressants he was forced to take.

Either way, he wasn't so empty and hollow looking right now. And that was good.

I headed over to the kitchen to begin cooking dinner.

-Line Break-

We had finished dinner, and Ed had gone back to the library, when the phone rang.

"Colonel Mustang."

"Hello, Colonel…I was wondering if I could talk to Ed?"

Al's shy voice came through the receiver.

"Sure." I told Ed that Al was on the phone, and he picked up the line that was in the library.

I cleaned up the dishes, hearing little snippets of conversation from the library.

I then decided to give Ed a little bit more privacy, and went upstairs to my study.

Time escaped me, and I realized that it was almost midnight now.

I quickly got up and went to check on Ed. I saw a light on in the library at the bottom of the stairs, and I went down to see what he was up to.

The sight I was met with…wasn't a pleasant one.

Ed was lying on the couch, his left wrist hanging off the side, seemingly in a daze.

I ran over to him, and as I kneeled beside him I noticed he held a letter opener in his right hand – the one that I had kept in the desk over by the window.

I took a shaky breath, and dared myself to look at the boy's wrist.

He had taken off the bandages from the hospital, and there were fresh cuts residing there.

The blood had dripped down into his hand, creating a small pool in his palm, every so often dripping to the floor.

"Edward…" My voice was shaking.

Hell, I was shaking.

I didn't even know if he could hear me. He was still breathing, but…something about him told me he wasn't entirely here.

"Edward…talk to me…"

I took the letter opener out of his hand, and set it down beside me.

He was unresponsive.

How could I let this happen?

He was fine earlier. He was absolutely fine.

Or…Was he?

I was not equipped to deal with this.

But I had to.

I had taken to gently shaking his shoulder to try and get his attention.

After what seemed an eternity of me shaking him, repeating his name, he slowly slid his gaze to meet mine.

I felt the breath gush out of my lungs as he finally showed some signs of consciousness.

"Colonel…Why are you crying?"

I hadn't even realized I was, but sure enough, as I reached up to touch my face my fingers met damp skin, littered with tears.

I didn't answer his question.

"What happened?!" I demanded, the emotion raw in my voice.

Ed dropped my gaze, and took to staring at the moonlight on the carpet.

"Nothing."

"Obviously something happened, Ed. You don't just cut yourself for no reason…"

"Well, nothing happened."

I didn't know what to say. Was he bullshitting me right now, or did absolutely nothing actually happen?

I decided to drop the subject, for now.

I stood up, and went to the bathroom to get a damp cloth, disinfectant, and bandages.

I gently wiped at the blood on the boys wrist, careful not to apply too much pressure.

Nevertheless, he would wince every now and then.

After I had cleaned up his arm, I wasn't sure of what to do.

"Come on, you should get some rest."

I motioned for him to follow me upstairs.

He made no sign of moving. He didn't even show any signs of hearing me.

I walked over to Ed, and carefully picked him up.

At first, he cringed at my touch and tried to stop me, but eventually he gave up and let his head fall against my chest. I carried him up the stairs, and into his room.

I pulled back the covers before gently placing him in the bed.

"Goodnight, Edward."

He was staring blankly into space, showing no signs of sleep. But at least he was in a bed now, and hopefully safe.

I sighed, and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind me.

I went back to the library to try and clean up.

I took one look at the now bloodstained couch, the letter opener, and the small puddle of blood on the floor, and I lost it.

I slammed my fists against the wall, letting out a frustrated yell.

If I had just paid more attention to him, like I was supposed to, this wouldn't have happened.

I slowly broke down, feeling the tears escape my eyes despite my best efforts.

I made my over the couch.

I picked up the damp cloth from earlier, and began to wipe up the blood off of the floor.

The carpet was a burgundy colour, but the blood had left a slightly darker circle on it.

I picked up the letter opener, and wiped the blood clean off it.

The couch… the couch would be a lot more work, which could be done in the morning, so for now I just dabbed at the majority of the blood before giving up entirely.

I've known all along that I wasn't sure how to deal with him…

But this brought it to a whole new level.

If he wanted to continue on hurting himself, how was I supposed to stop him?

Being around him all the time would only piss him off, but right now…

Right now that seemed the best option. At least for tomorrow, that's how I would handle it…

My head began hurting with the mere thought of dealing with all of this tomorrow.

Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.

I knew I should probably try to figure out a plan of approach, but my mind wouldn't allow me.

Whatever. It seemed that procrastination and improvising had become my way of dealing with this.

And look how well that turned out…

I trudged back up the stairs, and as I passed Ed's room, I heard a faint sound.

The faint sound of someone crying.

I leaned against the wall.

He was crying himself to sleep.

How often did he do that?

I'm not sure how long I stood outside his door, contemplating whether or not to go in there and check on him.

But the sound had stopped, and I slowly went over to my room and, being too exhausted to put on any real pajamas, I stripped down to my boxers and collapsed onto my bed.

Sleep quickly overtook me.

Alrighty, so, the updates have been coming fairly fast so far... and I can't gurantee they will continue this fast, but I can promise there will be an update once a week, (at least :3)

And thanks to anyone who reviewed, favourited, followed, and most importantly... those who took the time to read my story.

Seriously, I love all you guys. c:

Thanks for reading!

Also, if any of you are EdWin fans, you might want to check out my other story that I'm currently working on, called Nothing Can... Don't mind me, I'm just not-so-subtly self advertising. :P

Annnd don't forget to let me know what ya think! Review! :3

I love hearing your thoughts. c:

- HazelEyes8D