Alrighty, soooo I haven't entirely decided exactly where I'm going with this, but I have a vague idea of all that :P

Anywhoooos, on with theeeee storyyyy,

Enjoy! c:

After a little while, I had to move Ed to the bed, because I still had to try to clean the couch.

I carefully picked up the boy and gently placed him on the bed before leaving him to his sleep.

I walked down the stairs and into the library, and with the sunlight cast into the room, the blood on the couch was much more vibrant.

Taking a deep breath, I had closed my eyes before forcing myself to walk over to the couch.

I sprayed some stain remover onto the couch, and began to work on cleaning it when a knock on the door stole my attention.

Having no idea who it was, I walked over the door and pulled it open to reveal Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.

"Lieutenant?"

"Good afternoon, Colonel. May I come inside?"

Her tone was polite, and I opened the door wider for her to step inside.

Once I had shut the door, I turned to find that she was already making her way up the stairs.

"Lieutenant, where are you going?"

"You can cut the formalities, Roy. I'm going to go check on Ed."

By the use of my first name, I knew something was bothering her.

I considered following her, but remembered that the couch still wasn't clean…and decided to go work on that until she returned.

"That isn't going to work."

Startled at the voice behind me, I turned around.

"It isn't…?"

Riza shook her head.

"Blood stains. If you want to have any hopes of getting rid of it, you should've tried cleaning it when it was fresh. You left it too long."

I sighed and threw down the rag.

"What's this all about, anyway?" I inquired.

"I'm worried about him too, you know. But I also knew that you were in way over your head taking this on."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here right now." I slid down to the floor, my back resting against the couch.

Hawkeye sat down beside me.

"I'm here to try and help. First things first, you need to make sure he's never left alone for too long. Don't hover, just subtly try to keep him company. Second, don't keep sharp items out in the open. It will either tempt him to self-harm, or the items will be readily at his disposable. Like this letter opener…"

She picked up the discarded opener from the night before, examining it.

I took a shaky breath. The sight of it brought the images from last night swirling into my brain… The blood dripping, Ed's expressionless face…

"Roy…?"

I had been so lost in thought that I didn't notice Riza staring at me, face full of concern.

"I'm fine…"

I stood up then, and got some pillows from the opposite couch.

Taking these pillows, I set them on the other couch, conveniently covering the dark stain.

"That will have to do for now, I guess."

I ran a worried hand through my hair.

"You're under a lot of stress, I can tell."

The Lieutenants voice was soft and gentle, much unlike her usual tone.

"Don't worry about work for the time being. I can get you the time off…"

I hadn't realized I had been crying until Riza's hand had gently wiped my cheek.

"Thanks…"

I pulled her into a hug, which shocked her for a moment before she returned the embrace.

The sound of automail clinking on the stairs broke the hug, and I watched as Riza immediately went out to see Ed.

The boy seemed confused at first at the sight of her, before he smiled slightly at her.

"Good afternoon, Ed."

"Afternoon…" He mumbled.

"Are you hungry?"

Ed gave the Lieutenant a look before saying,

"Do you really have to ask?"

She laughed as she made her way into my kitchen, and it wasn't long until the sound of clanging of cupboards and pans was heard.

Ed had paused at the bottom of the stairs, still visibly confused.

"Why is she here?"

I gave a small laugh.

"Ask her, she just showed up not too long ago."

I saw Ed's eyes wandering into the library, locking on the now pillowed couch.

A look of guilt crossed his features.

"Don't worry about it."

Ed nodded and slowly walked into the library, grabbing one of the discarded books from last night. After that, he made his way into the kitchen.

Knowing that Riza would be there with him, I went upstairs to take a shower.

-Line Break-

I had just gotten dressed when the phone rang.

"Colonel Mustang."

"Hey, Colonel… It's Winry. I was just wondering… Could Al and I come over, to see Ed?"

The worry in her voice was clearly evident.

"Of course. You're welcome to come over whenever."

"Thanks, Colonel."

The line went dead.

I set the phone down, and went downstairs.

The sound of laughter was ringing from the kitchen.

I entered to see Ed sitting on the counter holding a plate of food, and Riza was trying to flip pancakes inside the pan, but missed every time. The floor was now littered with pancake batter.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confusion clearly in my voice.

"What does it look like?" Riza playfully asked.

I had never seen her like this. She was…smiling, and laughing, and ultimately carefree.

It was almost as if she was a different person than when she was at work.

I shook my head at her and, carefully manoeuvring through the batter, poured myself a cup of coffee.

Ed seemed to genuinely be smiling right now. It was so good to see him laughing after what's been going on.

After Ed finished eating, he had gone upstairs to get dressed.

I set to helping to Riza clean up the mess she had made, and once that was finished there was another knocking on the door.

I went to the door, and opened it to find a worried girl and a suit of armour.

"Come on in." I opened the door wider to allow them through.

"How has he been?" Winry asked anxiously.

"He…" I was going to say he's been fine, but faltered. Instead, I said,

"See for yourself. But, if you guys don't mind, could you try not to bring up anything about it? You are free to talk to him about what happened, obviously, but… he seems to be in a genuinely good mood right now. And it would be nice if that lasted a little while longer."

Both nodded in agreement.

Riza had come out of the kitchen and was now talking with them, and I realized I hadn't given Ed any of his medication today.

I took a deep breath, grabbed a glass of water, and made my way up to the boys room.

I knocked softly, and moments later Ed opened the door now dressed in his usual black pants and tank top, his long golden hair braided back.

At the sight of the pills in my hand, his expression immediately darkened.

I silently held out the medication for him to take. He stared at my hand for a moment, before grudgingly taking them into his own. I watched as he put one pill in his mouth, and gave him the water. He swallowed, and then repeated the process.

I took the empty glass from his outstretched hand.

"Al and Winry are here."

His eyes widened.

"Why?"

"Because they care about you. Now come downstairs."

Ed seemed to consider it for a moment, before he put on his black jacket and followed me out.

So, the next chapter will obviouslyyyyyy involve some good ol' brotherly...time. Plus Winry. XD

OH, before I forget, I WAS SO EXCITED TO SEE THAT THIS WAS ADDED TO A COMMUNITY. LIKE ASDFKLASJDFL

Sorry :P None of my stories have ever been put into a community before, so seeing that... I freaked out. :D

Thank you for reading!

Feedback is encouraged, I love knowing what you all think! c:

- HazelEyes8D