Disclaimer: Legendarily Quiet does not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
"Would you like one sugar with your tea, or two?"
"Two please."
Anna dropped some air into Al's pink plastic cup and stirred the emptiness inside it with a small spoon. She handed it to Alphonse with both hands.
"Thank you very much." Alphonse took the cup delicately and pretended to sip from it. "This tea is delicious!" He placed the cup back on its saucer and placed both of his hands on his lap.
Anna turned to her pink rabbit. "How many sugars would you like, Mr. Rabbit?" She waited for the soundless answer, and then went about fixing a cup for him as well.
Alphonse did his best to hold in a sigh. It wasn't that he didn't like the girl, no, not at all. She was as much of a darling as Elicia was. Anna was a fine little angel.
It was her mother that had Al in a twist.
The mysterious woman had introduced herself as Cassandra Bell, and Al had to say that he didn't know what to make of her. She had said that she didn't mean any harm, but how could anyone kidnap and drug a minor with no ill intentions?
And how could anyone have made such a large error while doing so?
"It's been pleasant having tea with you, Miss Anna and Mr. Rabbit, but I'm afraid I'll have to excuse myself now."
Anna gave a wave of her hand and took a sip from her cup. "We must do this again, Mr. Alphonse."
"Of course."
Alphonse stood up and gave a short bow. He left the room and wandered down the hall. He came to a door that was slightly ajar and peeked in.
"Hello Ms. Bell. Have you made any progress?"
Alphonse stepped into the room as the redhead looked up from her microscope and swivelled around in her chair to face him. She wore a white apron over her outfit and had her short hair in a ponytail.
"A little bit, Alphonse. I'm really sorry about all of this, but I promise that everything will be fine in the end."
Al wanted to believe her, he really did, but she had taken things too far to earn his trust. What gave her the right to think she could mess with his brother's life like this? Anger bubbled deep inside him, but all it really covered was his despair.
"I wish you had just left us alone," Al said softly. He couldn't help himself, even though he generally didn't like to blame anyone for anything, Ms. Bell was clearly at fault here. Even she didn't know what was going to happen to his brother!
During their talk yesterday, the woman had kept saying not to worry, and he had asked her why. Ms. Bell had said that she had only given his brother a small dose, and that the effects would be starting to wear off already.
With a sinking feeling, Al had told her that the report from the doctor said that the effects were long-lasting, and maybe even permanent. Apparently that had not been part of her plan, and now Ms. Bell was trying to create a counter to the drug she injected in Edward. The woman hadn't said what would happen to Edward if they didn't do anything, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Ed was now in very real danger.
Ms. Bell looked at Alphonse with something like regret in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. With a final comforting look, Ms. Bell turned around and went back to peering through her microscope.
Alphonse turned around and left the room without another word. He couldn't go to the military with the new information he had, for they would surely arrest Ms. Bell and then she wouldn't be able to work on a cure for Edward.
But then again, if Al learned how she made the first drug, he could bring the information to the military and professionals could work on finding a cure themselves.
But then again, there was Anna to think about.
Al sighed and sunk to the ground. He leaned against the hallway wall and rested his head on his arms. What was he supposed to do now?
Edward struggled to rise out of the depths of unconsciousness. He could hear voices around him, but it sounded as if someone had muffled the sound somehow and he couldn't make anything out. His whole body ached, and he felt as if he were spinning around. Ed cracked his eyes open and everything assaulted him all at once.
"Edward!" The suddenly clear sound brought a sharp stab of pain through his head and he brought his hand up to his head immediately, only to find that his hand didn't seem to want to move.
"Shut up Roy," he barely managed to gasp. He let his eyes fall shut on the worried face of his superior and was almost soothed by the darkness that consumed his vision.
"Edward?"
The voice was softer this time, and Ed felt a hand rest on his forehead. The gesture would've been comforting, but right now all it did was bring an even stronger wave of pain upon him.
"Don't touch me," he whispered. Talking was a challenge in itself, and Ed wished with all his might that Roy would leave him alone. He had thought that being in Roy's presence was painful before, but this pain was taking it to a whole new level.
Ed felt like he was going to die.
"Give him some space!"
Ed winced as the harsh whisper cut through his head, but Roy's hand withdrew immediately and Ed was grateful for that. He lay in total silence for a while, before he decided to risk opening his eyes again.
The white ceiling of a hospital greeted him. Ed would've groaned if it wasn't so painful to do anything. He turned his head slightly and everything started spinning as pain shot through him.
Quite frankly, he was alarmed. Edward knew that he didn't pay that much attention to his health most of the time, but he was positive that he hadn't done anything to end up feeling like this. Was he experiencing some sort of super delayed concussion or something? And why was he in so much pain? What were all the doctors in this damn hospital doing?
"Edward?"
Ed recognized the voice of Maes Hughes. It was a little bit strange not to hear the man gushing over his daughter and wife immediately upon seeing him, but it was a nice change all the same. He slowly turned his head a little bit more, wincing all the while, until he could see both men clearly.
Roy was standing a good distance away with his hands clasped together in what could only be worry. When Ed made eye contact with him the man suddenly looked abashed. "I'll get a doctor," he said suddenly, dashing out of the room.
Hughes shook his head slowly, and then approached Edward. "How are you feeling Ed? What happened?"
Even though Hughes was now standing over him, Edward was in too much pain to turn his head to look up at his face, so he just addressed the buttons lining the man's military coat.
"Head hurts," he muttered, letting his eyes fall shut again. "I feel like I was run over or something."
"Were you?"
Edward's breath caught in his throat when he realized that he did not know what the hell had happened to him, or why he was in a hospital. Again.
"You tell me," he finally decided to say.
With Roy gone, the pain in his body was slowly ebbing away, and Ed was able to turn his head to face Hughes. The man was looking at him with a serious expression, one that Edward didn't know he was capable of, seeing how he behaved most of the time.
"What do you remember?" Hughes asked.
Edward struggled to recall what had happened, but the only thing that popped into his head was the image of a sandwich.
"We went out for lunch," he said.
"Then what happened?"
Ed felt a flash of annoyance. How the hell was he supposed to know? The pain was almost completely gone now, with only a dull ache in his head. Ed tried moving again, but nothing responded.
"Look, I don't know what happened, okay?!" Edward jerked his head around and glared at the wall.
"Ed– "
Edward whipped his head back around as the door burst open and a doctor strode in, effectively cutting off Hughes. Roy came in behind the doctor and stood against the wall. The doctor came up beside Ed's beside as Hughes backed off and went to stand beside Roy.
"I'm Dr. Westwood," the greying man said. "I'm the lead doctor in your case, and I'll be taking care of you from now on."
Oh. So he was a case now was he? This man was different than the doctor who had seen him the last time, but that was okay. Edward hated all doctors equally.
He could do nothing but lie limply as the doctor checked him over. When asked where exactly he was hurting, Ed didn't say anything.
"He said his head was hurting," Hughes spoke up, "and I think he's sore all over."
Out of the corner of his eye, Ed saw Roy give him a sharp glare for trying to deny his pain. The pain in his head suddenly spiked and he let out a loud gasp.
Everyone was all over him after that.
"If you don't want to die, you'll keep that thing away from me."
Edward normally didn't threaten women but this lady was asking for it. The nurse shoved the tray she was carrying behind her back and continued edging towards him nervously.
"Just because I can't see it doesn't mean I don't know that it's there! Don't come any closer!"
Roy and Hughes had left to talk with Dr. Westwood after he had checked to make sure everything was alright. Ed couldn't even begin to understand why they didn't just talk about his condition in front of him. He wanted to know too!
That and he kind of wanted somebody to protect him from the crazy nurse that was still advancing towards him. Edward tried with all his might to even move an inch, but his body was against him. He wasn't a hundred percent sure, but he was pretty sure he had never stayed paralyzed for this long!
The nurse was beside him now and disinfected the crook of his left arm. For a fleeting second Edward wished that both his arms were made of metal, but dismissed the thought immediately. Even in his almost-panicked state, he wasn't foolish enough to even think of wishing for a thing like that.
"It'll only be a little pinch," the nurse said soothingly. Ed wasn't going to fall for it; he knew better.
"That's what they all say right before they stab me!"
The nurse didn't comment as she tied a tourniquet on his upper arm. "Can you make a fist for me?" she asked. "Oh, I guess not."
She was damn lucky he couldn't! Otherwise, his fist would've been in her stomach right about now. The nurse started feeling his arm gently, looking for a vein, and it was then that Edward started to panic.
"Come on, don't I get any say in this?" he asked desperately. "You're not allowed to do things like this without the consent of the patient!"
"It's already been approved," the nurse said simply.
That was it. Ed had been trying super duper hard to keep calm before now, but there was no other option for him to take. He really didn't want to do this, but he preferred it over getting stabbed.
"SOMEBODY HELP! THE NURSE IS TRYING TO STAB ME! SOMEBODY PLEASE SAVE ME! AAAAAAAHH!"
The nurse leaped away from him as rapid footsteps sounded down the hall. Roy appeared in the open doorway, and the relief that had surged through Edward suddenly vanished. Roy took a second to assess the situation, and then smirked. He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.
"There's no need to create such a fuss, Edward." Roy seemed to have regained his composure and was now back to full teasing mode. "After all, it's just one little needle."
"ARGHH! WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMA–"
"There we go!"
Edward tore his eyes away from Roy and looked down at his arm in horror to see the needle embedded in his flesh. He immediately changed the words of his rant.
"GET IT OUT GET IT OUT GET IT OUT GET IT OUUUTT!"
The nurse made no move to erase his obvious discomfort, and only gave him an apologetic smile.
"PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU, TAKE IT OUT! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!"
Ed shook his head from side to side in distress, but his efforts accomplished nothing. He didn't even know why he was acting like this! Sure, he always made a big deal about needles, but he never got this hysterical!
A warm hand suddenly covered his eyes and held his head still. "Calm down, Edward," Roy said. Even though Edward couldn't see his face, he could recognize the concern hidden in Roy's tone.
Huh, his freaking out must've been freaking out Roy.
Edward stopped yelling and tried his best not to focus on the needle in his arm, piercing through his skin, stabbing his vein and sucking the precious blood out of him . . . ugh!
"Please tell me it's almost done!"
"It's almost done, Edward."
"Liar!"
"From the way things are looking right now, I'd say he will be paralyzed permanently."
Roy stiffened as Hughes stifled a gasp beside him. How could he have allowed Edward's condition to come to this?
"I can send him home with you today, but you'll have to change your lifestyle a bit in order to accommodate for his disability."
No. No, no, no, no, no! Edward didn't have a disability – even with automail, he was one of the most capable people Roy knew!
"Are you sure this is permanent? Edward has been falling over paralyzed from time to time, but it always goes away eventually."
Roy struggled to keep his cool as he questioned the doctor. There had to be a logical explanation for this. There was no way that Edward could be paralyzed for life. Edward deserved better, much better!
"Well, there was only a small trace of the drug in the blood sample that was taken a few days ago. It's become stronger since then and now it's widespread. To be quite frank, I don't know why this hasn't been monitored."
Roy opened his mouth, about to make an angry retort, but the hand Maes put on his shoulder stopped him and all the fight went out of him.
"Thank-you, Dr. Westwood. The colonel will be taking Edward home today," Maes said.
The doctor nodded and swept out of the office. Roy slumped down in his chair and put his head in his hands. He really was useless. He was a state alchemist in the military and held the rank of a colonel; he had loyal subordinates who would follow him without question and connections that could get him almost anything he wanted, and yet here he was, with no power to do anything as Edward suffered right before his eyes.
"We'll make this right Roy, you'll see." Maes gave his shoulder a firm squeeze, but Roy didn't feel comforted at all. "Edward needs support now more than ever, and it's up to you to give him that support now that Alphonse can't."
How could Roy give Edward any support at all when the kid was always trying to put distance between them? Alphonse was the only one that Edward would open up to right now.
"Just bring Alphonse over," Roy mumbled between his fingers. "I'm trying, but every time I get close to Edward he gets really irritated and a bit agitated."
"I can't bring Alphonse over; he's still missing."
Roy's head snapped up to look at Maes' somber face. "I can tell that Al really wants to be with his brother, especially because of what's going on," Maes continued, "but since he can't, Al has taken it upon himself to do some investigations on his own."
That certainly sounded like something the younger Elric would do. The devotion the two brothers had for one another was astounding, really.
"I think that Alphonse may have succeeded in his investigations."
Roy's stomach gave an uncomfortable churn. How could something good be so terribly bad? If Alphonse had been captured by the woman, Edward was not going to be happy . . .
"Don't tell Edward." Roy didn't need his charge to be worrying himself sick over his brother right now. And there was nothing Edward could do to help either.
Maes gave Roy an unreadable look, but didn't question him. ". . . It's all up to you then."
Edward couldn't believe his luck. Of course he had known before that he didn't have any luck, but now he finally realized that he did have some. It was just his luck that the luck he had happened to be bad.
"Cheer up Edward, remember, it could always be worse."
Roy's obviously fake jovial voice grated against Edward's ears as he was wheeled down the hallway. Ed scowled and glared down at the straps holding him in place. "How could this be any worse? I can't freaking move!"
"You could be dead."
Well, that was true. Everything would be worse if he was dead, because then Al would be all alone in the big wide cruel world. He would have failed his promise to his last remaining family member, making him the worst big brother in the whole world–
"Or you could be naked."
What the hell? Edward attempted to twist around to look at Roy, but the most he could do was turn his head to stare either to the left or to the right. Eventually he just his head fall back and rolled his eyes up to see Roy smiling down at him.
Ed suddenly didn't feel very safe in the man's presence. Roy wasn't demanding any answers from him though, and was acting as casual as one could be in this situation. Roy's easy-going demeanour had calmed the pain in his head considerably, and now Ed felt like he could almost relax.
"I bet you'd just love to see that, wouldn't you?"
"No, I have eyes for beautiful women only, Edward."
"I hope so."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Edward chuckled lightly as Roy lifted a hand and bopped him over the head. He didn't fail to notice that this contact didn't bother his head at all. Instead, warmth blossomed in his chest, and it felt completely natural.
Edward pushed all of his doubts to the back of his head and gave in to the moment.
L.Q: Seems like it's been forever since I last posted.
Lest: It's only been just over a week though, right?
L.Q: Maybe. All this time I've just been reading fanfiction and Otomen manga instead of writing, and I have to say that . . . I regret nothing.
Lest: You better try harder for the next chapter!
L.Q: Hey! I actually worked really hard on this one; I had to make some big decisions.
Lest: Tell us what you think! (Review, review, review!)
L.Q: Till next time!