Who:Ed and Roy What:Ed visits Roy and drops off some things When:A day or so after he's woken up more Where:Roy's room Warnings:None for once?
That horse though, it hadn’t crumbled under Ed’s heavy weight. He was actually excited about the opportunity to ride one again. He hadn’t since he was a kid and he liked horses. It’d brightened his outlook a little on having to visit the hospital where Roy, Riza and York were. He still didn’t like it, but a horse ride helped. He quelled his excitement though, the situation he was going into wasn’t a happy one. Roy had been injured pretty badly to be holed up in the creepy hospital. Roy was his superior, and he’d been taken down by the guy who he’d just officially met. Levi and the starving horse. The guy who’s eyes looked like death itself.
He was quiet as he entered the hospital, heading straight for Roy’s room. He worried about him. He’d see York later, York wasn’t the one who was beaten to hell. Ed wondered if he did the right thing in not punching Levi for what he’d done to Roy, something had been off about that guy.
It didn’t take Ed long before he reached the room Roy was held in and peered inside. It was hard to see Roy like this. He always had seemed invincible to Ed.
---
He’d woken up the day before from his forced “slumber” (York had, evidently, decided to knock him out rather than let him thrash around in his dreams, given the movement wouldn’t help the General’s knee heal at all). But being awake, that meant that Roy was alive. Beaten, yes. Bruised, yes. Broken in places, of course. But alive. But the many faces of Roy Mustang took precedence over bodily injury, so that even though he was covered in cuts and bruises (on his face, down his chest and abdomen) and was swathed in bandages to keep his ribs from doing whatever the hell they wanted to do, he looked alive.
It didn’t matter how hurt he was, the General had a role to play. And as the evident “leader” of their haphazard little community, it was his job not to succumb to weakness. Leaders couldn’t look weak, they didn’t need to help their people realize their own frailty. Leaders needed to help their people be strong and to give direction when there was none.
It was why, despite the immense amount of pain radiating across his body, the General was sitting up and doing things. He’d held a meeting with several of the group just the day before to hash out plans for the man who’d beaten him and their response to future incidences. Since then, he’d had several books brought to him, his own notebooks with his own alchemical work on the pages, and had spent several hours both last night and this morning working on things.
Roy Mustang hated feeling useless. Marco, genius boy that he was, had given Roy an out when he’d asked for help with his alchemy. It had revived the spirit inside the General and reminded him that he had a part to play still.
He was reading a book when the blonde stepped through the door. Roy glanced at him.
He cooled his expression, closing the book and setting it in his lap. What did Ed want? “Yes, Major?” Roy asked him, managing to somehow keep the edge of pain out of his tone.
*** Most people were easy when sick, they wanted things or needed things-but Roy? He was unsure how to approach the situation just yet so he was a little on the cautious side with him. Roy was sitting up. He raised an eyebrow at that, after what he’d heard he wondered if he should be. I came to see you Those words floated around in his head, but they sounded sort of wrong with how confidently he was sitting there. He wasn’t dying so Ed stepped inside finally.
“How are you?” Would Roy even tell him? He didn’t know, but he wanted to know. Even if it was hard. “I brought you some things. I thought you might be bored, or hungry. The food here sucks. I made soup.” He gave a faint smile. Food in hospitals was hard. Chewing it could be a challenge. Unlike York’s cooking, Ed’s was actually edible. He could follow recipes to the tee. It was just like studying alchemy, he just didn’t cook often.
---
How are you.
That was a loaded question. Roy would, ordinarily, have snapped a sharp reply that made both of them immediately defensive. He’d have smirked about it, goaded Ed into running away, and then been smug in his isolation in the moments following after.
But Roy took a measured breath, quirked a brow and still didn’t say anything other than, “I’m fine.” Strong, see? Hurting, yes. In pain and worried that he’d never again walk uninhibited because of the rash actions of one uncontrolled individual he’d never even met. But holding it together, because falling apart would do no one any good.
He hadn’t cried about it, he’d just asked for the assessment and listened in silence as he mentally cataloged the corresponding pains with the injuries he’d received. Then they'd all discussed what to do about it.
He was fine.
Roy watched Ed for several moments before he nodded, that motion even sending little waves of protest through his core. Ed had wanted to come see him, to bring him things.
“Yeah, I imagine you do know how boring hospitals are, you spend so much time in them,” he snarked, but he said it without vehemence. He also didn’t laugh, laughing hurt too much, so he just smirked a little. Even his face didn’t want him doing that. It pulled on the split skin in places with freshly growing scabs.
“What did you bring?”
It would make Ed feel better, it would make him stop looking at Roy like something was wrong or out of place or about to fall apart, so long as Roy acted normally.
*** Normal was good. Normal was getting Ed to relax even if Roy was stuck in a bed looking like hell. He was fine. And not being sarcastic. Ed retained his own sarcastic reply and instead just moved over with that bag over his shoulder to sit next to Roy instead. It’d only been a few days since Roy told him Al was gone, but Ed was functioning too. He took example from Roy even if he didn’t say it. The man was still so together even if he looked like he was in pain.
That quip ordinarily might have caused a snappish response from the blonde, but the tone didn’t match anything he needed to be defensive about, he even smirked slightly. “So funny, you’d think all this time in here you’d work on better jokes.” What was that, humor from the normally serious Elric? Yeah, sometimes he could have it okay.
“A couple books mainly, and this.” He hadn’t brought a ton of things, he figured that would just overwhelm him-but he had brought him one of the notebooks Al had given him. He liked that notebook, but he wanted Roy to have it. If he’d wanted to write or take notes or whatever it was Roy did in his notebooks.
---
“Well, to be fair, I got kicked in the head a couple of times so I think my crappy jokes are expected. What’s your excuse?”
Look at that, banter without anger or resentment.
Roy Mustang was an excellent bullshitter.
He watched Ed. All alchemists were alike, weren’t they? Books, notebooks, the internal desire to reach for the impossible, to run with the idea that science had no limits and that if they just reached a little further all would be revealed. Roy lived for that world of science and discovery, he just rarely got to dabble in it back in Amestris. The further up the ranks he climbed the less he had time to do things just because he liked doing them.
Of course, he was Roy Mustang, so he usually did things just because he wanted to. Or, seemingly so. He was a clever, manipulative bastard at the best of times and his actions usually had an intent that would be revealed far far down the line. There was always a plan and that plan worked toward the ultimate one.
But looking at the books the boy brought, Roy’s expression softened just a little, “Thank you,” he said. Bruised and half broken, the man could damned well still read, and unless York was intending to tie him flat to the bed, he’d read sitting the hell up.
*** Ed thought this was going to be harder, but it wasn’t. Roy was still Roy, that much hadn’t changed. He could still hear the changes in tone even if it was hard for him to physically show it and Ed stopped walking on eggshells. Roy wasn’t going to fall apart. He was still the strongest person Ed knew. “Ah, the head. That explains why you don’t see how hilarious my jokes really are.” He waved it off with a bit of a smirk before digging into the bag he’d brought.
If you wanted to get on the good side of an alchemist who was laid up, you didn’t bring them chocolate and soft things, you brought books. Materials to use and feel useful with. These were things he wanted when he found himself stuck in hospital and at the core he assumed Roy might too. He’d brought four books, things he thought Roy might be more interested in than he was dealing with sunlight. Solar energy, that sort of thing. The man had already mastered fire, but maybe something solar might be interesting. He’d put thought into it in any case. There were also a couple advanced chemistry books. Five books in total.
He looked over at him, a little surprised by that and nodded. A faint smile touching his lips. That almost warm expression wasn’t something he was used to, but enjoyed seeing on him. He nodded to the thanks. “When you’re feeling better maybe you can work on something together. I don’t really have any ideas yet, but...something.” He wanted to spend time with Roy, but apparently Roy didn’t know it. Roy wasn’t a mind reader, so Ed finally just decided to say it. What better way to get to know him then find something they both liked?
---
It was a little peripheral to Roy’s interests. He didn’t really dabble in light and energy, but Marco did. He’d see if the boy found the books useful. Roy just accepted them anyway, fingering through the pages of the chemistry book with interest because, yes, he was an alchemist. He did also make alchemy lamps, but they didn’t draw on solar energy. It would make them useless at night. Maybe a new design would let them store energy… hm, maybe Ed wasn't that far off when he brought these.
He looked up when Ed mentioned he was working on something.. oh, nope. Not what he said at all. Roy thought he heard wrong. The boy had not once ever asked Roy Mustang for help with his alchemy. The transmutation he’d performed in Knowhere had been his design and Roy had bullied his way into being his backup, into checking the work so that Ed Elric didn’t kill himself on accident.
But this?
An outright ‘work with me’ was entirely different.
God, what did he want? Mustang didn’t know. He couldn’t say for sure, it made playing this part particularly difficult. Anything could be the wrong thing to say. For instance, asking why the hell he'd want to do that.
Roy stared at him for a moment, his fingers still clutching the chemistry book, “Sure, Ed,” he said. “Whatever you want.” Social contract fulfilled? No problem, Roy split his energy between people all the time. Ed Elric built up, not broken down.
*** Sure Ed, whatever you want That line ought to have made him suspicious, but he felt too good to be suspicious with him for acting so nice. Though it was a little odd, Roy hadn’t even called him an idiot once during this visit but maybe it was the hospital having that effect on him. Who knew, Ed just knew not to rock the boat just now. Roy seemed to be trying, so Ed smiled at his response. Something genuine. He would try too. Not saying anything that would make them both defensive or angry, not doing anything that would ruin this. He wanted to spend more time with Roy but he realized he’d never actually just told him.
The blonde put his hands in the bag again, pulling out the small container of soup, he didn’t figure the man would be super hungry but it was a chicken soup. Who knew, he went for a medium size of it and set it by the bedside. “It’s chicken soup, figured it might be easiest to eat rather than anything heavy,” Ed hadn’t even wanted to eat in the hospital, so if he had to it was light things like rice or ice to chew on and various things if he had to eat.
He wanted to tell Roy he met that guy, but maybe not now. Loaded topics were avoided for now. “Want anything else?” He hadn’t even asked for these things, Ed knew that but he wanted to help him. If he even put out the slightest idea that there was something he wanted or needed Ed would get it for him. Roy had always been there for him, he wanted to be there for Roy. ---
Soup. Eh. Roy was a picky eater when he wasn't in pain. Hawkeye often had to push him into eating, he rarely finished a whole meal on his own terms. In fact, if she didn't sit there and watch him eat, he honestly wouldn't touch whatever food was sitting in front of him at all. Roy didn't have the energy or the desire for it at the best of times. So he nodded, “Maybe later.”
He wasn't hungry.
Did he want anything else? Sure. To stop hurting. For Maes to be alive. To die. A lot of things but only one of those listed was readily doable right now.
Roy leaned back on his mound of pillows, holding his breath as he went.
“No,” he said, “I'm good. You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine.” Because it had just occurred to him what this was. Even if he didn't understand why.
*** The blonde alchemist nodded. This wasn’t the ideal way to spend time with Roy, but the man couldn’t go anywhere so it was one way. Yeah, he was never hungry in these hospitals either so he didn’t really take offense to Roy not eating. Nor did he shove it down his throat or anything weird like that. If he wanted it that was fine, if not whatever. He’d been productive, it felt good. Maybe he would look into getting some kind of job later too. He couldn’t just wait around for York to get home all day. York had the hospital, Ed needed to find something of his own. He didn’t like being in the hospital, it was still creepy to him.
“I know. It’ll be fine.” Ed repeated those words, whether it was for himself or for Roy was unclear. The man looked okay but people didn’t come to a hospital to rest. “Riza will be here soon, when she’s back I’ll go deliver the rest of this stuff. “ York would probably need some clothes by now, clean things for between shifts. And food. He doubted the Spartan had eaten anything either.
The younger man watched him lay back before turning his attention to a book he’d been picking at. He just wanted to stay a little longer. --
Ed sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that. Poor kid. Roy often wished Ed doubted himself a little less, that he’d finally decide he believed in something and stick to his convictions for once. It made him easy to manipulate because he was so easily swayed. But that was neither here nor there in the moment, so Roy just watched him.
Ed was right, anyway. Everything would be fine. Roy wasn’t going to fall apart, Ed still needed him to be okay, so Roy would be. For a little while anyway.
He’d get as many people through this as possible, and then if they ever got home… well, then Roy’s ultimate plans would come into fruition. He had to hold on for just a little longer, then nothing would hurt anymore.
In silence, Roy picked up his own book, dragging his notebook closer so he could go back to scrawling out his thoughts for Marco’s project.