Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Dispair and Revival ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Eternal Fire Bird 
Anime/Manga: Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.04.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.6K | Visits: 552 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.04.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.6K | Visits: 552 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.
Chapter 2
It was… bright. There was a bright light shining in his eyes and soft cotton wrapped around him. Warm tendrils were raking through his hair gently and slowly easing him from his rest. The ceiling was white, he realized, as his eyes began to focus on what was above him. The sunlight from the outside world glittered softly into the room on the light summer breeze. The cotton from the bed sheets was warm and soothing against his aching skin and the warm tendrils raking through his hair was not a summer’s breeze at all but someone’s hand. As his ears began to work, he heard a voice somewhere in the room calling to him. It was a very faint voice that grew louder as his mind began to awaken more. He was blinded for a spilt second but when he opened his eyes he met the concerned gaze of a nurse. She smiled at him and he saw her lips move before she moved out of his field of vision again.
The sound of birds chirping reached his ears and he turned his head slowly towards the window. The light summer breeze wafted across his face and he could see faintly the two birds that were hopping about on a branch outside his window. The walls were white too, he noticed dimly. Footsteps echoed across the hospital floor and his gaze turned again to see the nurse coming back with someone in a doctor’s coat. The doctor was speaking as he pulled a stethoscope from around his neck and proceeded to check his vital signs.
‘Why?’ he asked himself. ‘Why am I here?’ The doctor said something that he couldn’t catch and proceeded to explain something to him. It was amusing. This doctor thought he was capable of understanding him when he couldn’t even hear? That was absolutely laughable. His throat worked to swallow against the scratchiness of it and he felt his lips move as he tried to speak.
“Where… am I?” he asked softly. So softly he doubted that the doctor and nurse could even hear him. But when the doctor just smiled calmly down at him he was surprised.
“You’re in the military hospital in Central, Mr. Elric,” so the doctor had heard him. Central? When… how… where was Central? Military hospital? When had he joined the military?
“Mil…i…tary?” he asked softly, his brows knitted in confusion as his mind worked to puzzle everything out. The doctor looked momentarily confused before nodding slowly.
“Yes, Mr. Elric,” he said. “The military hospital in Central. Colonel Mustang brought you in with the medical team that helped to rescue you,” Colonel Mustang? Rescue?
“R…rescue?” he asked, thoroughly thrown for a loop. If this was some trick by Al or Winry he was gonna be—he stopped. Al… where was he? A sudden spike of fear lanced through him, so hot that he thought he was going to burst into flames right there in the hospital bed.
“W-where’s Al?” he asked, his voice shaky. Confusion. Worry. Sorrow…. Pity. They all raced across the doctor’s face as he took his hand in his.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Elric, but—“
“There you are, Edward Elric!!” cried a voice from the broken doorway. Edward turned his head slowly away from the doctor, thoughts of Al and his whereabouts still racing in his mind. A strongly built man with a blonde mustache and single curl of hair sticking out from his forehead, also in the same military uniform as the doctor rushed over and, had it not been for the fact that he was in the hospital and, he assumed, badly injured for he knew for a fact that this man would have scooped him into a bear hug, shoved the doctor away and took his hand looking relieved.
“How wonderful it is to see you, Edward Elric! And awake and alert I see! Marvelous! Simply relieving!” ‘Who is this guy?’ he wondered dimly before another person walked in, this time hidden behind a huge flower arrangement.
“Major Armstrong, how many times do I have to ask you NOT to startle him?” the voice was stern yet female and oddly familiar. As the arrangement was set down a woman, what is it with people and military uniforms?, with blonde hair and amber eyes was revealed to him. She looked as relieved as the Major did yet wasn’t as overly enthusiastic about it.
“It’s good to see you awake, Ed,” she said, smiling down at him serenely. Serene. Ed.
‘ED!!’ armor clanging, people laughing, metal holding, fear screeching. Pleading, begging, metal tearing. Red and cold. Red and fear. Images of years past when they had done the act forbidden. Desperation, provocation, aggravation! Pleading, fear, pain and…nothing.
“Edward!” someone shouting. A female someone, shouting his name, urging him to calm down, pleading with him to stop… whatever it was he was doing. Pinprick pain… flowing tears… words… whispered as a prayer….
“Al,” his voice was broken yet he sent the plea up to whomever would listen. “Al, come back. Where are you? I… need… you… Al,” and then… silence.
Riza Hawkeye gently laid the broken figure of Edward Elric back down upon the bed and gently tucked him back in, careful of the iv tube still in his arm. She gently wiped the stray tears from his cheeks and stepped away from the bed so the doctor could examine him again. Her heart wrenched in her throat as he moaned in his sleep and his fingers twitched as if reaching for something. A nightmare is what it appeared to be but she knew it for the something bigger. It was… a remembrance. A remembrance of pain, sorrow, guilt, disbelief, and grief. It tore her apart to watch him twitch in the doctor’s hold so she left, the major soon following after her. Their footsteps echoed down the hallway until they reached the well-kept courtyard and finally, the Major stopped following her.
“So it’s true then,” he said softly. It was her turn to pause this time and as she looked over her shoulder to the major her throat began to clog.
“The Older Elric is here because—“
“Please,” she interrupted. “I’d rather… not think about that right now, Major.” A few moments pause, then a nod, and they were heading back to central headquarters where they knew that the Colonel was waiting for their report.
If he was where he should be, he would be doing paper work. IF he was where he should be, he would be receiving a report from Hawkeye and Armstrong on Full Metal’s condition. If he was where he should be… then he would have prevented this from ever happening. Colonel Roy Mustang, future king of the military, walked quietly down the halls of the military hospital. He knew on what floor and in what room the boy was resting for he had come to this place once a day everyday for the past two weeks. He didn’t care if he was loosing any sleep or missing any meals. His worry over the boy was growing and gnawing at him with every waking, and non-waking, hour of the day. He was pulled from his thoughts as the Elric’s doctor stepped from the room and left the door open a crack. The doctor smiled kindly and nodded to him before heading down the hall, presumably to check on another patient.
Taking in a deep breath, he stepped softly into the room and his heart gave a violent lurch as his eyes took in the image before him. Edward Elric, once strong and proud, now lay, bound to a hospital bed for his own good, an iv in his arm, bandages around almost every inch of exposed skin, his skin like ivory and cool to the touch, lay upon the fresh, white, sun warmed sheets, and slept, oblivious to any and all visitors that entered his room. His golden brows were knitted in his sleep, whether it be from nightmare, pain, or grief Roy Mustang would not know for this boy shared none of his personal life with him. Though he kept a cool exterior on the outside when speaking with others about the Elric brothers, specifically the older Elric, he was truly fearful every time they, he, stepped out of his office door and out of his sight for who knows how long.
The chair legs scrapping across the floor brought him back to himself and he stared down at the broken vision before him. He felt his body flop into the chair and his fingers curl around the pale, cool hand. He brought his lips down lightly to caress the skin of the boy’s hand and sighed softly. Maybe, maybe just this once, the boy would hear him and open his glorious sun kissed eyes and smile at him, call him a bastard, … but he knew that that would not happen for this boy… this young, fragile thing, was broken, possibly beyond repair. All because of the greedy wants and desires of the Humunculous. The skin of his forehead pressed against the skin of the back of the boy’s hand and rested there, content to just be this close to him, content to just feel this pulse underneath his finger tips. Content to just… rest here… just… for a little while….
Chapter 2
It was… bright. There was a bright light shining in his eyes and soft cotton wrapped around him. Warm tendrils were raking through his hair gently and slowly easing him from his rest. The ceiling was white, he realized, as his eyes began to focus on what was above him. The sunlight from the outside world glittered softly into the room on the light summer breeze. The cotton from the bed sheets was warm and soothing against his aching skin and the warm tendrils raking through his hair was not a summer’s breeze at all but someone’s hand. As his ears began to work, he heard a voice somewhere in the room calling to him. It was a very faint voice that grew louder as his mind began to awaken more. He was blinded for a spilt second but when he opened his eyes he met the concerned gaze of a nurse. She smiled at him and he saw her lips move before she moved out of his field of vision again.
The sound of birds chirping reached his ears and he turned his head slowly towards the window. The light summer breeze wafted across his face and he could see faintly the two birds that were hopping about on a branch outside his window. The walls were white too, he noticed dimly. Footsteps echoed across the hospital floor and his gaze turned again to see the nurse coming back with someone in a doctor’s coat. The doctor was speaking as he pulled a stethoscope from around his neck and proceeded to check his vital signs.
‘Why?’ he asked himself. ‘Why am I here?’ The doctor said something that he couldn’t catch and proceeded to explain something to him. It was amusing. This doctor thought he was capable of understanding him when he couldn’t even hear? That was absolutely laughable. His throat worked to swallow against the scratchiness of it and he felt his lips move as he tried to speak.
“Where… am I?” he asked softly. So softly he doubted that the doctor and nurse could even hear him. But when the doctor just smiled calmly down at him he was surprised.
“You’re in the military hospital in Central, Mr. Elric,” so the doctor had heard him. Central? When… how… where was Central? Military hospital? When had he joined the military?
“Mil…i…tary?” he asked softly, his brows knitted in confusion as his mind worked to puzzle everything out. The doctor looked momentarily confused before nodding slowly.
“Yes, Mr. Elric,” he said. “The military hospital in Central. Colonel Mustang brought you in with the medical team that helped to rescue you,” Colonel Mustang? Rescue?
“R…rescue?” he asked, thoroughly thrown for a loop. If this was some trick by Al or Winry he was gonna be—he stopped. Al… where was he? A sudden spike of fear lanced through him, so hot that he thought he was going to burst into flames right there in the hospital bed.
“W-where’s Al?” he asked, his voice shaky. Confusion. Worry. Sorrow…. Pity. They all raced across the doctor’s face as he took his hand in his.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Elric, but—“
“There you are, Edward Elric!!” cried a voice from the broken doorway. Edward turned his head slowly away from the doctor, thoughts of Al and his whereabouts still racing in his mind. A strongly built man with a blonde mustache and single curl of hair sticking out from his forehead, also in the same military uniform as the doctor rushed over and, had it not been for the fact that he was in the hospital and, he assumed, badly injured for he knew for a fact that this man would have scooped him into a bear hug, shoved the doctor away and took his hand looking relieved.
“How wonderful it is to see you, Edward Elric! And awake and alert I see! Marvelous! Simply relieving!” ‘Who is this guy?’ he wondered dimly before another person walked in, this time hidden behind a huge flower arrangement.
“Major Armstrong, how many times do I have to ask you NOT to startle him?” the voice was stern yet female and oddly familiar. As the arrangement was set down a woman, what is it with people and military uniforms?, with blonde hair and amber eyes was revealed to him. She looked as relieved as the Major did yet wasn’t as overly enthusiastic about it.
“It’s good to see you awake, Ed,” she said, smiling down at him serenely. Serene. Ed.
‘ED!!’ armor clanging, people laughing, metal holding, fear screeching. Pleading, begging, metal tearing. Red and cold. Red and fear. Images of years past when they had done the act forbidden. Desperation, provocation, aggravation! Pleading, fear, pain and…nothing.
“Edward!” someone shouting. A female someone, shouting his name, urging him to calm down, pleading with him to stop… whatever it was he was doing. Pinprick pain… flowing tears… words… whispered as a prayer….
“Al,” his voice was broken yet he sent the plea up to whomever would listen. “Al, come back. Where are you? I… need… you… Al,” and then… silence.
Riza Hawkeye gently laid the broken figure of Edward Elric back down upon the bed and gently tucked him back in, careful of the iv tube still in his arm. She gently wiped the stray tears from his cheeks and stepped away from the bed so the doctor could examine him again. Her heart wrenched in her throat as he moaned in his sleep and his fingers twitched as if reaching for something. A nightmare is what it appeared to be but she knew it for the something bigger. It was… a remembrance. A remembrance of pain, sorrow, guilt, disbelief, and grief. It tore her apart to watch him twitch in the doctor’s hold so she left, the major soon following after her. Their footsteps echoed down the hallway until they reached the well-kept courtyard and finally, the Major stopped following her.
“So it’s true then,” he said softly. It was her turn to pause this time and as she looked over her shoulder to the major her throat began to clog.
“The Older Elric is here because—“
“Please,” she interrupted. “I’d rather… not think about that right now, Major.” A few moments pause, then a nod, and they were heading back to central headquarters where they knew that the Colonel was waiting for their report.
If he was where he should be, he would be doing paper work. IF he was where he should be, he would be receiving a report from Hawkeye and Armstrong on Full Metal’s condition. If he was where he should be… then he would have prevented this from ever happening. Colonel Roy Mustang, future king of the military, walked quietly down the halls of the military hospital. He knew on what floor and in what room the boy was resting for he had come to this place once a day everyday for the past two weeks. He didn’t care if he was loosing any sleep or missing any meals. His worry over the boy was growing and gnawing at him with every waking, and non-waking, hour of the day. He was pulled from his thoughts as the Elric’s doctor stepped from the room and left the door open a crack. The doctor smiled kindly and nodded to him before heading down the hall, presumably to check on another patient.
Taking in a deep breath, he stepped softly into the room and his heart gave a violent lurch as his eyes took in the image before him. Edward Elric, once strong and proud, now lay, bound to a hospital bed for his own good, an iv in his arm, bandages around almost every inch of exposed skin, his skin like ivory and cool to the touch, lay upon the fresh, white, sun warmed sheets, and slept, oblivious to any and all visitors that entered his room. His golden brows were knitted in his sleep, whether it be from nightmare, pain, or grief Roy Mustang would not know for this boy shared none of his personal life with him. Though he kept a cool exterior on the outside when speaking with others about the Elric brothers, specifically the older Elric, he was truly fearful every time they, he, stepped out of his office door and out of his sight for who knows how long.
The chair legs scrapping across the floor brought him back to himself and he stared down at the broken vision before him. He felt his body flop into the chair and his fingers curl around the pale, cool hand. He brought his lips down lightly to caress the skin of the boy’s hand and sighed softly. Maybe, maybe just this once, the boy would hear him and open his glorious sun kissed eyes and smile at him, call him a bastard, … but he knew that that would not happen for this boy… this young, fragile thing, was broken, possibly beyond repair. All because of the greedy wants and desires of the Humunculous. The skin of his forehead pressed against the skin of the back of the boy’s hand and rested there, content to just be this close to him, content to just feel this pulse underneath his finger tips. Content to just… rest here… just… for a little while….