Disclaimer: L.Q does not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
"Yo, Roy! Can you believe what my darling little Elysia did this morning? She helped her mommy wash the dishes! She was up to her elbows in soap suds and looked so adorable with that perfect little grin on her face! She posed so nicely for the camera too! And after that – "
"Hughes!"
Roy pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation and let out a sigh through the phone. "Spare me the details Maes, I feel like I'm in over my head here with Edward. Do you have any leads?"
Maes got serious immediately. "No, and worse, Alphonse has gone missing. He said that he would only be out for a short while, but he has been out all day and Elysia misses the perfect gentleman she used to have tea with!"
Roy glanced out the window. Night had fallen long ago, and he could understand why Maes would be worried about Alphonse being out at this time, but the boy could take care of himself.
"Alphonse is very capable Maes, and you have to remember that he doesn't need to sleep. It would only bore him to be stuck inside your house all night long."
"But he's only twelve! And he promised to be back in time for dinner! You know how responsible Al is, he would have at least called if he was going to be late!"
"Well, what do you want me to do about it? Tell Edward?"
Roy already had his own problems with the older brother; he didn't need to be worrying about the younger one too!
Maes seemed to sense his stress, for he calmed down considerably. "It's okay, don't worry about it Roy. I'll look for Alphonse in the morning if he isn't home by then." Maes' voice had gone from whining to somewhat soothing. "So, tell me about Edward. How have things been going?"
"I honestly don't know." Roy leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and used one hand to support his head. "Yesterday and the day before he seemed to be fine, but today he literally ran away from me! He collapsed outside and I had to carry him back home. When I confronted him he started acting very self-degrading and when I tried to reassure him he called me a liar. Then he just broke down and started crying!"
Roy's eyes widened as he heard Maes' laughter echo through the phone. "That's completely natural Roy; he is a teenager after all! I have a parenting book you can borrow that covers – "
"He fell asleep afterwards and when he woke up he didn't remember anything!"
Maes' laughter died down and silence ensued on both ends. "How much did he forget?" Maes asked.
"I don't know," Roy replied. "He acted as if nothing happened and I didn't want to bring it up, so I didn't do anything."
"Dammit Roy!" Maes' sharp tone cut through the phone like a whip, startling Roy into sitting up straight. "How can you expect to make any progress with Ed if you don't talk to him?! You've been leaving him to stew about everything on his own, and we have no idea how the drug is making him think right now!"
Roy could only sit there dumbfounded as Maes ranted at him. "You need to support him and get to the bottom of this, not just let everything slide by! This is the reason he's with you in the first place; so you can be there for him!"
Roy flinched as if he had been struck. Hadn't he been there for Ed all along? Was being there for someone more than just feeding them, amusing them, and spending time with them? Did supporting someone mean pushing them hard enough so that their burdens fell off, so that you could pick them up and shoulder them as well?
Oh gosh, he really was an uncaring bastard.
"Roy? Roy, are you listening to me?"
Roy was jolted out of his thoughts. "I'm listening Maes, and I heard you loud and clear." He clenched his fist in determination. "Don't worry, I promise that I'll get to the bottom of this."
Roy could almost see Maes' approving grin on the other end of the line. "Just don't forget Roy, you can't expect him to tell you everything without you opening up as well."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Nothing, nothing at all!" Maes' teasing tone was back, and Roy got the feeling that the conversation was coming to an end.
"Alright then, take care. If Alphonse shows up tomorrow, be sure to bring him by the office. I think Ed needs to see his brother again."
"Will do! I'll be sure to bring my pictures by the office as well! Bye Roy!" Maes quickly hung up, ensuring that he got the last word in the conversation.
Roy leaned back on the couch and rubbed his tired eyes. It would be a long day at work tomorrow.
"Wake up!"
Ed groaned as he was hit with a pillow repeatedly. Why couldn't the bastard wake him up in a normal way? He cracked open his eyelids and glanced at the clock.
"Roy, it's seven-thirty. Come back in three hours from now," he mumbled, snuggling deeper into his covers.
"I like to arrive at work on time, unlike you. You need to get up now, if you don't want to be rushed."
Ed waved his hand in a go-away-don't-bother-me gesture and turned so that his back was to Mustang. "Just come back later and rush me, I don't care."
"You should!"
Ed snapped his eyes open as the covers were pulled off him. His warm body was now exposed to the cold air and he curled in on himself, trying in vain to stay warm. He looked over his shoulder to shoot Mustang a hateful glare. Roy just chuckled in the face of his suffering and edged away, holding the blanket protectively in his arms.
"Fine! I'll get up!"
Ed grumbled to himself as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Roy didn't return the covers to his bed until Edward was out the bedroom door. Ed looked back over his shoulder on the way to the washroom to see Roy making his bed . . . what a neat freak.
Ed lay on the couch in Mustang's inner office, bored out of his mind. The only sound in the office was the scratch of Mustang's pen against the paper (kudos to Mustang for actually doing his paperwork for once) and the lack of activity was finally getting to him.
Ed sat up and stretched his arms above his head. He couldn't believe that he had had to wake up early for this. A growl from his stomach cut through the silence, and Mustang looked up from his paperwork with a raised eyebrow.
"You ate breakfast this morning, and it's still two hours until lunchtime," he stated.
"That's correct, but it doesn't mean anything." Edward stood up and grabbed his red coat off the back of the couch. "I'm going out to get something to eat," he said. "I'll see you later."
"Don't be silly. You know I can't allow you to do that, Fullmetal."
Edward inwardly sighed. He knew that Mustang was supposed to watch him, but this was just too much. This was his fourth day with Mustang, and he really wanted a break. Heck, he just wanted to be with Al.
"I'll be fine, Mustang." He threw a smirk over his shoulder and continued on towards the door. "Don't worry yourself; you've never been one to care, anyways."
"Dammit Fullmetal; stop saying that I don't care!" Mustang stood up and slapped an open palm down on his desk. He winced inwardly as a stinging pain shot through his hand.
Now that Maes had enlightened him, he was shocked and disgusted with himself for having not seen it earlier. All the offhand comments thrown at him about him not caring and about him being a bastard, why hadn't he noticed them and caught them?
Well, that was all going to change. Starting right now.
Ed looked like a deer caught in headlights. He stood frozen in the middle of the office, with conflicting emotions flitting across his face. Shock and confusion became dominant as Mustang reached for his military coat and put it on.
Roy composed himself and smoothed down the front of his coat. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to take a short break and grab a quick bite."
Edward rolled his eyes and turned away with a strange expression on his face. He somehow looked pleased, disgusted, and angry all at once. "You'll do anything to shirk your paperwork!"
"I'm not shirking my paperwork; I'm spending time with you."
Roy winced and inwardly held his breath. That had been a bit too much, even for him, and he didn't know how Ed would take it.
"Like you don't spend enough time with me already! You're just acting downright creepy, you know that?"
"I know." Roy strode across the office and slung an arm around Ed's shoulders, pulling him into his side. He observed with a critical eye as the boy turned crimson and hurriedly pushed him away.
"Keep your hands off me!"
Roy could see it now. What he had previously mistaken for anger was embarrassment. He really wasn't doing any harm by touching the boy. Heck, maybe Ed even liked being comforted and was just too ashamed to admit it!
Still . . . Roy knew that it wouldn't be wise to push his luck; Ed was giving him that strange look again.
Edward focused on eating his sandwich, intent on ignoring the man walking beside him on the sidewalk. The man who supposedly cared. Ed twitched as Roy crunched the lettuce in his sandwich; couldn't the man chew any quieter? Ed resisted the urge to stop and glare at him.
The feelings had almost been too much when Roy had oh-so-casually draped an arm around his shoulders. Seriously, what was Roy's problem? Didn't he know how much he was torturing him? It was just getting worse and worse, and Roy certainly wasn't helping. Ed knew what he had to do. He had to set some boundaries, pound it into Mustang's fat head that he needed space.
But why was it so difficult for him to do so?
Edward had never had a problem with letting people know when something displeased him before. In fact, Al had often had to hold him back from tearing the offending person apart when he got too carried away.
Why was it so hard to tell Roy this one simple thing?
Edward finished off his own sandwich and tossed the wrapping in a nearby garbage can. Mustang was only halfway through his own sandwich, and yet he had been able to make those annoying crunching sounds the whole time Ed had been eating his!
"Edward, what's bothering you?" Roy had stopped eating his sandwich and was staring at Ed intently.
Ed didn't hesitate to reply. "You," he said. "You are bothering me."
"What am I doing that bothers you?"
Edward turned his head away and quickened his pace. He did not want to have this talk with Mustang. Even though it was the perfect opportunity, he couldn't bring himself to vent out his feelings. Not to Roy.
"I'm waiting for an answer, Edward."
Ed started as Mustang grabbed his arm and forced him to slow down. The contact caused everything to explode inside of him at full force. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch the bastard and flail his arms and take off running down the street. And he would've done just that had Mustang not spun him around and held him in place by his shoulders. It was just too much; Ed was trapped and couldn't take it anymore.
"Please, Roy," he begged. He was willing Roy to get the message, but Roy wasn't backing off. Ed's head was suddenly spinning and his thoughts were whirling. It was like his warring thoughts from the past few days had decided to get physical.
His vision went black as his knees buckled and he fell right into Mustang's arms.
Lest: What's Mustang's problem?! Can't he see that he's hurting Ed?!
L.Q: . . . Since when did you care?
Lest: Don't be like Edward! I always cared!
L.Q: Well, what do you know; you learn something new every day.
Lest: Whatever. Anyways, wasn't there something you wanted to say?
L.Q: Oh yeah! This story has over ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS! WOOHOO! IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE!
Lest: *smiles and throws confetti in the air*
L.Q: Thank you so much guys! All I can say is wow . . . just wow. You people are amazing. Thank you so much to everyone who has ever reviewed this story, and to the people who are going to review.
Lest: Yup, you make her day every day.