Chapter Text
The first time Edward gets sick within the military is one month in. He’s barely even adjusted to the military dorms yet, and when he wakes up with a splitting headache, it’s confusing. Nausea muddles his thoughts, and it feels almost as if he’s drowning. He barely realizes where he is when he’s ripped away from the sweet embrace of slumber. It takes him a moment to realize it’s his military dorm, where he’d been staying for the past month. It’s odd not waking up in Resembool, he’s used to seeing a night sky instead of Central City’s roads. He groggily sits up, and there’s a metal clanking noise beside him. Right, Alphonse is there too.
“Brother? Are you awake? Is it another nightmare?” Alphonse asks. Edward turns to him, and it takes him a second to process Alphonse’s question. He doesn’t want Al to worry.
“Mhm.” He lies. Nightmares weren’t abnormal for him. Since the day they tried to bring back their mother, he’d gotten nightmares non-stop.
“I’ll go fetch you a glass of water- just wait here.” Alphonse gets up, but before he can leave, Edward interrupts him.
“No, no need Al, I'm alright.” Edward says, shaking his head. Al turns back to him.
“Are you sure?” Alphonse asks, there's a hint of worry in his voice even though he tries his best to hide it.
“Yeah, it’s just a bad dream. I’m fine.” Edward says. He falls back asleep soon enough, but it’s nowhere near just a bad dream.
The next time he wakes up, it’s to Alphonse’s voice.
“Brother, we’re late, the Colonel wants you in his office.” Alphonse says. Edward barely understands what he’s saying. Maybe he is drowning. His sinuses burn and his ears seethe with pain. He doesn’t want to speak. He knows his response will sound nasally and disgusting, and Alphonse is very perceptive. Edward nods and gets up. It doesn’t take him too long to get dressed, at least considering the state he’s in. By the time he’s ready though, they’re already fifteen minutes late. Or rather, he’s fifteen minutes late. Alphonse isn’t in the military, he’s only there because Edward’s there. Edward hates that. He hates that he spends his sleepless nights in a place as depressing as Central City. Edward is fully capable of finding a way to get their bodies back on his own, but Alphonse insisted they do it together.
When they arrive at his office, Alphonse is suspicious. They had a very brief conversation on their way there, but that was all he needed to realize that Edward wasn’t feeling alright. He wasn’t going to let him go on any missions, not anytime soon. Edward was never this dispirited. Everyone else in the office noticed as well. Usually, anytime Edward was to meet with the Colonel, he’d march into the office unannounced and entitled. When Alphonse brings him in, Edward talks to Lieutenant Hawkeye first, and has her relay a message to announce his arrival before he enters.
It isn’t normal, not for Edward.
Alphonse is left outside with Lieutenant Hawkeye and the rest of Mustang’s team. He turns towards Hawkeye.
“Lieutenant- The Colonel isn’t sending brother on any missions today, is he?” Alphonse asks Hawkeye. She shakes her head.
“No, he’s only here to submit a report on the last mission.” Alphonse is relieved at first, and then he thinks back. Edward didn’t write a report, not that he knew of.
“Would the Colonel be mad if he didn’t bring a report?” Alphonse asks. Hawkeye gives him a reassuring smile.
“Colonel Mustang may be tough, but if your brother has a reason then he won't mind.” She says, pausing for a moment before turning to Alphonse once more to speak.
“I must ask though- Is Edward- Is he alright?” Hawkeye asks. It isn’t just Alphonse who notices Edward’s lack of arrogance, it’s practically the whole office. Alphonse takes a moment to respond.
“I’m not sure.”
When Edward enters Mustang’s office after being announced by Hawkeye, there's an odd and sudden confusion that hits him. He suddenly wonders how he got there. He barely understands how it took him such a short amount of time to get there, it felt as if a moment ago he was still getting dressed. He stops near the door as he processes what’s happened. Mustang notices.
“Is something the matter, Fullmetal?” Mustang asks, and Edward stares at him for a moment before shaking his head. He sits down at his usual spot. Mustang wonders where his usual spark is, where his arrogance and entitlement have gone.
“Fullmetal, you were supposed to hand in a report. Where is it?” Edward looks at him for a moment. He thinks back.
“ Shit.” He replies.
“ Language. Where is your report, Major Elric?” Mustang asks. He knows something is wrong, he can tell by the way Edward winces when his voice is raised even the smallest bit. He can tell because Edward is barely there. His eyes are glassy and he looks exhausted.
“I- I forgot to write it.” Edward averts his gaze, he’s embarrassed.
“Forgot? You had two days to- Elric, why did you even think I called you in?” Mustang asks. He stands up from his desk to sit across from Edward.
“ I- I don’t know- Alphonse woke me up saying we were late-” Edward stops himself when he feels something start to drip from his nose. He hates admitting that he’s sick. He hates people fussing over him and caring for him. But he figures it's ten times worse to drip mucus all over Mustang’s couch. He places the back of his hand to his nose and looks around the room. It tastes metallic when it drips into his mouth. Oh - He’s bleeding. He hazily hears Roy mutter a curse. Roy must have seen it because before he can get up to get tissues from his desk, Mustang’s already brought him the whole box. He takes one out of the box and blows his nose, but it burns. His eyes burn, his ears burn, his skin burns . Edward stifles a whine when the pain lingers, and Mustang’s quick to get up and place the back of his hand to his forehead before Edward can make up an excuse. Edward doesn’t make an effort to hold back a whine when Roy does so. He moves back and away from Roy’s hand, and nudges it away from him with the hand that isn’t holding a tissue to his nose.
“Elric. Do you want to tell me why you came into the office today instead of calling in sick?” Roy asks. He isn’t mad. Edward fully expected him to be mad. He doesn't answer. Roy sighs.
“Kid, you’ve got a high fever you can’t report in like this.” Edward glares at him for calling him a kid, and the tissue is still pressed to his nose. When he lifts it, it's red. He presses it right back against his nose in hopes that Mustang wouldn’t see it.
“Don’t even try to hide that, I’ve already seen it. Let's just get you to the infirmary, alright? Forget about the report, it’s alright.” Mustang says, getting up and expecting Edward to follow behind him. Edward’s eyes widen, and he panics at the notion. Anything but that.
“I- No-! I don’t need to go, I'm okay-” Edward objects. He tries to wipe away the remaining blood from his nose, but it keeps pouring out.
“Edward-” Roy starts to say, and Edward stands up. He stands up way too quickly for the fact that he’s sick and his nose is spilling blood. He sways for a moment, and he nearly falls, but before Roy can catch him, he catches himself against his desk. Roy helps him support himself and get back on his feet.
“No-! Stop that- I’ll just go back to the dorms- I’ll come back with the report later today I promise-” Edward pushes his hands away as soon as he’s stable again. Roy only readies himself to catch him again if he should fall.
“You think I care about the report? If you want to go back to the dorm that’s alright with me. But you will go to rest. Alright?” Roy suggests.
“I’m not fucking weak-! I’ll write my fucking report here and turn it in now. I’m not sick and I don’t need to rest-!” Edward tries to leave his office, but it takes a single step for a spell of nausea to hit him, and he’s back where he started. Roy has to support him as Edward struggles to stay upright. Edward gives in and leans against his shoulder as he keeps him upright. It isn’t too bad. He feels safe.
They share a moment of silence, Edward realizes that he isn’t as energized as he thought. In his fit of rage, nothing seemed important but the fact that Mustang was sending him to the infirmary. Now, calmed down, he remembers the pounding pain in his ears and the burn in his sinuses. He’d dropped the tissue sometime while he was yelling, causing blood to spill all over his face and possibly the floor and Roy’s pristine uniform. He’ll apologize later. He’s exhausted.
“Sit down, I’ll get you a tissue.” Roy says. Edward whines when Roy walks him over to the couch and leaves him alone. He misses Roy, which is weird because he’s right there. Before he can use his hand again to stop any remaining blood, Roy hands him another tissue and takes the seat beside him. Edward wipes away the blood from his lips and chin before pressing the tissue against his nose and tilting his head forward.
“Sorry- Ed.” Roy says. First, Edward’s confused as to what he means for a moment. He should be the one saying sorry. Then, he realizes he called him Ed. Winry calls him Ed. Pinako calls him Ed. His mom used to call him Ed. He hates that his words make him want to cry. He hates that he wants to rest his head against Roy’s shoulder again. He hates that Roy cares.
“I’m sorry- for yelling. And swearing.” Edward says. His voice is quiet, hushed. It’s really not normal considering his voice is usually two times as loud as the average person’s.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s alright. I’m still sending you home though. I’ll get Havoc to walk you, is that alright?” Roy suggests. Edward nods, and then reconsiders.
“You don’t need to send Havoc, Alphonse can take me back.” Edward says, shaking his head.
“Alright. If I told you to relay a message to him for me, would you?” Roy asks.
“Probably not.” Edward replies. Roy chuckles, it brings a slight smile to Edward’s exhausted expression.
“I’ll have to ask Alphonse directly then.” Roy says.
“Ask him what?” Edward asks.
“To look after you.” Roy replies. Edward shakes his head.
“He has other things to do.” He says. Roy wants to ask what things, but he’s entirely positive his answer will either involve research or cats.
“What would you think about resting here? I’ll dim the lights and you can sleep this off, and I’ll be able to make sure you’re not dying.” Roy suggests.
“I’m not dying.”
“Is that a yes or a no?”
“Fine.” Edward agrees. Roy pats his shoulder kindly before standing up.
“I’m gonna go talk to your brother. Stay put and yell if you need anything.” Roy says.
Edward doesn’t hate it. Because after Roy talks to Al, he brings him a blanket, a glass of water, and fever reducers. He dims the lights like he said he would, and it doesn’t take long for him to fall asleep on Mustang’s couch.