Sooooooooo

Yeah.

Enjoy! c:

I woke up the next morning to find that Ed and I had fallen asleep on the bathroom floor.

The blonde's head rested on my shoulder, the rest of his body leaning into mine as I leaned against the wall.

My back ached from leaning against the wall all night.

Edward was still sound asleep. I shifted in my spot, adjusting the small boy's body so that he was now, for the most part, on the tiled floor. I pulled Edward into my arms, and slowly stood up.

I carried him downstairs, and laid him on one of the couches in the living room with a blanket draped over his sleeping figure.

It was about 8:30 in the morning, and I went to make myself some coffee.

After fixing myself some breakfast with the little food I had left, I took my coffee and went back into the living room, grabbing a book from the library on my way.

I sat on the couch opposite of the younger alchemist, and decided to read a bit until he woke up.

A couple hours passed until Ed woke up.

I didn't even realize he had awakened until he asked in a tired, small voice,

"What time is it?"

Glancing at my pocket watch, I answered,

"It's about 11."

Ed gave a slight nod.

I finished the page I had been reading before I went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water for Ed to take his medication with.

Ed followed me into the kitchen, and sat himself on the counter.

As usual, his look darkened at the sight of the pill bottles in my hand.

I gave him what I hoped was a slightly comforting smile, and handed him the painkillers and the water.

He took those, and then I repeated the process only with the anti-depressants this time.

After handing him the pills and fresh water, I turned to the fridge to look for something I could cook him for breakfast.

The only thing in there was milk.

I sighed, shutting the refrigerator door.

"What is it?" Ed asked.

"Looks like we've got to go to the market. The only thing in there is milk."

Ed scowled at the mention of the white liquid.

I went upstairs to get dressed, Ed doing the same.

As I shut my bedroom door behind me after changing, I looked down the hall and saw Ed braiding his long golden hair back as he walked towards the staircase.

I caught up to him, carrying some fresh bandages and disinfectant.

Ed glanced at the contents of my arms, and abruptly stopped, lowering his eyes to the ground.

He slowly held out his arm, and I gently pushed back the black sleeve, revealing his damaged wrist.

I winced a bit at the sight of it, as I applied the disinfectant and then carefully wrapped the bandages around his forearm.

Ed let out a shaky sigh before taking his arm out of my hands.

He made his way down the stairs, and I stared after him for a moment before following suit.

-Line Break-

I had decided to walk to the market, because the fresh air would do the both of us some good.

Ed shuffled along behind me, staring down at the pavement. I kept glancing behind me to ensure he was still there.

We reached the market, and I went about picking up food, while Ed trailed behind me.

After paying for the things, I had begun to walk home.

Ed had been silent the entire time, and so I failed to notice his lack of presence until I was about half way home.

I turned around to ensure he was still there, only I was met with the empty sidewalk.

My first reaction was to drop everything and begin looking for him, but I decided that I should go home to drop off the food first. I wouldn't be able to look long with my arms full, and maybe Ed had somehow gone home earlier...

Okay, so I knew that last thought was completely wrong, but I liked to think it was a possibility.

I ran back to my house, hurrying to unlock the front door and then dumped the bags of food onto the counter before racing back out of the house, not even bothering to lock the door behind me.

It was about 4 in the afternoon.

I retraced my steps back to where I had first noticed Ed missing, and then continued onto retracing those steps back to the market, asking people if they had seen him.

Most people hadn't noticed where he had gone, however one old woman had said she saw him heading towards the river.

Jumping on this lead, I quickly made my way to the bridge by the river. Ed wasn't anywhere to be seen along the street.

Upon further inspection, however, I saw that he had made his way down to the riverbank underneath the bridge.

He was sitting along the shore, tossing some rocks into the moving stream.

I crossed over to the other side of the street, before making my way down to the riverbank.

Once I was within earshot, I called out Ed's name.

He glanced up, staring at me for a moment, before returning his attention to the river.

I sighed and walked towards the boy.

Closer to him, I noticed that he had taken off his black jacket, revealing his automail arm and his bandaged arm.

I picked up his discarded jacket, and walked up behind him.

I stood there for a little while, before realizing how late it was getting and that Riza had said she would come over when she finished work. Which was in about 20 minutes.

"Come on, Ed. Let's go."

The blonde didn't make any notion of getting up, he just continued to toss stones into the water.

I sighed.

"What made you come here, of all places?"

Ed was silent for a moment, before answering.

"It reminds me of home. Of Resembool. When Al and I were younger, we used to always play by the river... and whenever Al got upset he would go to the river. I never understood why. I just knew that he did. I wanted to see what was so great about rivers when you're upset. I guess it's just a matter of getting away from everything, sitting by the water. It clears your head. Distracts you. Lets you escape from the real world for a bit."

So that was it. Here, Ed was able to ignore the reality of his situation... I guess any place away from me would let him ignore it, though. I'm kind of the constant cloud of reminder, just by being around him. The only reason he's with me is because of his self-harming. Every time he sees me, it's just another reminder that he's not okay.

I didn't reply to him. I didn't know what to say to that.

I just waited, and eventually he slowly got to his feet.

After I handed him his jacket, he made his way back up to the street.

We walked back to my house in silence.

When we got there, Riza was already there and apparently had no trouble letting herself in.

Entering the front door, we were greeted with the scent of roasted chicken.

I never knew Riza was so into cooking.

Just then, I realized Ed hadn't had anything to eat yet today.

He made his way into the kitchen, and I followed behind him.

"There you guys are! I wondered where you had gone." Riza said, cheerfully.

"I hope you don't mind, I decided to make dinner..."

I laughed.

"Of course I don't mind. I hate cooking."

Riza smiled, and returned to her cooking food.

Ed had seated himself on the counter, again.

Soon, Riza had finished cooking. She had made some fried rice along with chicken.

We ate dinner, all seated at various places in the kitchen, Ed perched on the counter. I don't know what it was with him and counters. He just seemed to sit on them. Normally, this would probably piss me off, but I honestly didn't care.

Ed was silent for the most part, but it wasn't the same type of silence as it was last night.

He contributed to the conversation every now and again, ever so slightly.

When we finished, I gathered up everybody's plates and placed them in the sink. I would wash them later.

Riza had struck up a conversation with Ed in regards to his hair.

It was a fairly odd conversation. I didn't pay much attention to it, but Ed seemed to have loosened up a bit after this and was now more smiley and social than he had been earlier.

Ed had gone into the library, and was now reading on the floor.

I turned to Riza.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make him all...happy again."

She laughed.

"Just talk to him, Roy. That's all it takes. Talk to him, about anything at all, just make him feel like a normal kid again."

"You make it sound so simple."

"That's because it is. He really isn't that hard to talk to, so long as you keep him distracted. I'm not saying to act as if his problem isn't real, just... Ignore it for a little while, make him feel okay again. Keep him busy. That kind of thing."

I nodded.

"So, where did you go earlier? I noticed the groceries on the counter, but where did you go after that?"

"Ed had taken it upon himself to go to the river."

"You mean he just left?"

"Yeah, when we were walking back. I should've paid more attention, but at least it wasn't a bad thing. He just went to the river to clear his head."

Riza nodded.

"Get him outside more. Keeping him cooped up in here all the time is going to make him stir crazy, and he'll only be able to think about what's wrong if he's constantly surrounded by the same things."

"How do you know so much?"

"I don't. It's just...intuition."

She smirked, before making her way into the library and leaned against the door frame.

I joined her, and watched as Ed read.

It was kind of amusing, the way his eyes sped along the page. He also switched between slightly sticking his tongue out, or biting his lower lip, in concentration. It was such a familiar sight, only now it held more weight after all that happened.

Ed actually seemed normal as he was reading.

-Line Break-

I hadn't realized how late it had gotten until Riza had decided to take her leave.

Ed absentmindedly called out a goodbye, still absorbed in the books.

I walked her to the door, and thanked her for dinner and for coming over again, before saying goodbye myself.

She left.

I made my way back into the library, Ed still reading on the floor.

He was almost finished the book by now.

Once he finished, he closed it and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Good book?" I asked, amusement in my voice.

"You could say that." He replied.

A silence enveloped us.

"Can... Can I ask you something?" Ed asked.

"Of course."

Ed seemed to struggle with the words.

"Do...Have...Do you think...," He sighed in frustration, "Nevermind. It's not important."

Ed stood up and went upstairs before I could say anything.

I blinked in confusion.

I made my way upstairs and knocked on his door.

After getting no answer, I knocked a little louder this time.

Still no answer. I decided to just open the door anyways.

Slowly opening the door, I glanced in.

Ed was sitting on the window sill, looking out at the night.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" I said.

"Yeah."

"So...are you going to tell me what happened downstairs? Why did you change your mind about talking to me?"

"Because. It's not important, like I said."

"Edward..."

I made my way over to him, and sat across from him on the sill.

He stared out the window.

"Edward. I know I may not always know what to say, or have all the answers, but I can promise you that I will always listen, and that I care. That's all I can offer you, and I just wish you would let yourself open up more. I know it's still too soon, but I really think you should try talking to Winry and Al about all this. If anyone's going to be understanding, it's them."

"I know." He sounded annoyed.

"Shutting yourself off and becoming despondent isn't going to help you get any better."

"I know." The annoyed tone had become even more exaggerated.

I had no idea where to go from here.

"I'm not going to pour my soul out to you, so would you do me a favour and leave?" His tone was biting.

It stung. I was trying help, but clearly he didn't want me around. In as even a voice as I could manage, I said,

"If that's what you want."

"Obviously it is." His tone was still biting, and he sounded pissed.

I looked at him for a moment.

He was staring out the window, a hard look in his eyes. His body language was defensive - his legs drawn up to his chest, his arms crossed over them. He wore a detached expression.

I didn't know if I should let him be alone, but nonetheless I left him to his own devices.

Shutting the door behind me, I leaned against the wood.

How do you help someone get better when it doesn't even seem like they want help, that they don't want to get better?

Yay for a slightly longer chapter than the past couple! :D

So, updates might begin to take a little longer because I haven't been feeling the greatest lately, and also sometimes it's almost a chore to write. And writing should be enjoyable (for the most part, not a chore) and so I might take a little longer. But again, still expect an update at least once a week if not every couple of days, unless I get way too busy.

Let me know what you think! Review! c:

-HazelEyes8D