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Fullmetal Alchemist
Curse the Rain
Chapter 1 - "Fever"

Edward sat with his back to the wall of a building, his knees drawn up against his chest, staring blankly at the muddy ground. It had started raining a few hours ago and his clothes were completely drenched, he was cold and wet, and it had gotten darker in the few minutes he'd been sitting here. Edward groaned and laid his head on his knees, wrapping his arms around his legs. He hadn't even been able to find Al after looking for him all day and now he was lost.

"I'm so stupid," he muttered, shutting his eyes tightly.

"Damn right, you are."

Edward's head shot up at the familiar tone and he was shocked to see Colonel Mustang standing infront of him, holding an umbrella to ward off the rain. Roy frowned, glaring at him. "What are you doing out here?" Edward stared up at him, unable to think of a reply when Roy grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet. "Hell, it doesn't matter." he said, practically dragging Edward down the street, "Come on, you're soaked."

--

Edward stared at the wooden table infront of him, slightly baffled as he sat in Roy's kitchen. He hadn't thought that anyone would be looking for him, but that's what Roy had said. Edward sighed and laid his head down on the table, suddenly realizing how tired he was. A hollow thud from Roy's room made him jump and he sat up, staring at the hall to his right as a string of curse words sounded through the small house.

Roy entered the kitchen a few seconds later wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt, and carrying a cracked, empty mug in his hand. Edward stared at him-it was sort of weird to see the man in anything other than a military uniform. Roy glanced at Edward, then carelessly threw the mug into the sink, it clattered loudly, but didn't break, and he sat down across the table from Edward.

Edward shifted uneasily beneath Roy's unrelenting gaze and felt his temper rising. "What?" he snapped, glaring at Roy. He was dripping wet, freezing and exhausted, the last thing he wanted right now was to be stared at.

"What were you doing out there?" Roy asked, returning Ed's glare.

"Sorry." he said shortly, "I was lost. I didn't mean to end up here."

"That's not what I'm asking." he said, "What were you sitting out there in the rain for?"

Edward looked away and muttered, "Nothing."

"It sure seemed like 'nothing' when you left H.Q. in such a hurry. You had a lot of us worried, now where've you been?" Edward didn't answer and Roy repeated his question. "Damnit, Edward, don't ignore me when I'm talking to you! Answer me!"

Edward growled and glared at him. "I was looking for Al!" he finally yelled, sounding more upset than he'd intended to. "Are you happy, now? That's where I've been!"

Roy frowned. "Looking for Al? Why?"

"He ran off, I don't know where he went." Ed said, staring down at the table.

"Why'd he run off in the first place?"

Edward frowned and laid his head on the table. "I was being a jerk," he mumbled, "I said something that upset him..."

Roy sat there for a few seconds, staring at him. "So, you've been out there in the rain, all day long? And you still haven't found him?" He paused and waited for a reply, frowning when he didn't get one. "Ed, are you listening?" he asked, standing up so he could see the boys face. Edward was slumped against the table with one arm stretched out across it, his eyes were closed and his breathing was even.

"Of course not, you're asleep." Roy muttered, sitting back down in his chair. He sat there a few minutes, watching Ed, then glanced out the window over the kitchen sink. It was already pitch black outside, but he could still see the rain was pouring. Roy sighed and got to his feet. "Well, if you're going to sleep, you're not sleeping there."

He walked around the table and put a hand on Edward's shoulder, shaking him. Edward groaned and blinked his eyes open, then saw Roy and sat up strait, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "Damnit...sorry," he muttered, standing up. "I better get going..."

He grabbed his red jacket from the back of the chair and started for the door, but Roy grabbed his arm and steered him in the other direction. "You're not going anywhere tonight, not with it raining like that. You can sleep on the couch." Edward looked out the window and frowned, but was still about to object when Roy added, "You're so small, you'd probably just drowned in a big puddle if I let you go out there."

Edward growled and glared up at him. "Damnit! I'm not that short!!" he snapped.

"Yeah, sure." Roy pulled him across the kitchen and down the small hallway, stopping infront of the bathroom and letting go of Edward's arm. "Take a shower, I'll try to find something for you to wear while you're clothes are drying." he said, waving his hand dissmisively as he walked down the hall to his room.

Edward stared at him until he'd disappeared into his room, then sighed and shook his head. "Whatever." he said, walking into the bathroom and pulling off his wet shirt.

He grimaced when he realized just how wet his clothes were after ringing them out in the shower. Jeez, no wonder they felt so heavy, there's a gallon of water here! he thought, laying his shirt over his jacket on the counter. He kicked off his boots and was undoing his belt when Roy appeared in the doorway and tossed a pair of blue pajamas at him. Ed caught them, surprised, then frowned and held up the pants-they were way too big.

"You sure I can fit in these?" he asked, looking at Roy.

He shrugged. "So they're alittle long. Atleast, now, you won't drip water all over my house." He started walking back down the hall, then called over his shoulder, "Besides, it's not my fault you're so short. If you can't fit into 'em it's your fault!"

"Asshole!" Ed yelled, clenching his fists and glaring at the door.

"Watch it! I could put you out in the rain and let you drowned in a puddle, pipsqueak!" Roy yelled back, laughing until the phone rang, then he muttered curses before answering the phone.

Edward growled and kicked the door shut with his heel, putting the pajamas on the counter, away from his wet clothes. He sighed and reached into the shower, turning the hot water on and taking off his pants and boxers. He laid them over the rest of his clothes, let his hair down, then got in the shower. The warm water made him feel better, to some extent-he still felt bad about what happened with Al.

"Hope he's okay," Ed mumbled, running a hand through his wet hair and frowning. It'd been about a day or two since he'd washed it thoroughly. "Damnit..."

He washed his hair twice, just to make sure it was clean, then washed everything else. When he was done, he stood there with his head against the wall in the shower, enjoying the hot water until his head started hurting. Edward groaned and put a hand to his head, then cursed under his breath, turning off the water. His face was flushed as he got out, but he dismissed it because he'd stayed in the shower for so long and grabbed a towel.

When he was finally dry, he grabbed the pajamas off the counter and pulled the pants on. Like he'd thought, they were way too big, and he had to tie the front string in a knot to keep them from falling down, though he still couldn't see his feet, even after he'd pulled them all the way through the pant legs. "Damnit, as if I don't feel short enough, Mustang." Edward grumbled, pulling his arms through the sleeves of the blue, button up shirt.

He buttoned the shirt up, not really caring that it hung down to his knees, then sat up on the counter and had to roll the pants of the pajamas up two or three times before he could see his feet. "Curse my short stature..." he muttered, hopping down from the counter, after he'd braided his hair again, and pushing up the sleeves of the shirt so he could open the bathroom door.

The first thing he heard when he stepped out into the hallway was Roy's voice. Is he still on the phone? Ed wondered, walking into the kitchen. Sure enough, Roy was sitting backwards in a chair, holding the phone. He hadn't even noticed Edward yet and was staring blankly at the wall infront of him, nodding. "Yeah, I'm sure." he said, annoyed. "I know I did that paper work, but if you'll shut up about it, I'll look for it. Hold on."

Roy pulled the phone away from his ear and leaned forward against the back of the chair, covering the mouth of the phone with one hand as he lazily kicked at the floor. Edward stared at him and frowned. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Roy looked up at him and waved the phone. "Looking for paper work." He glanced around the kitchen, smirking. "And, apparently, it isn't here." He brought the phone back to his ear and said, "Yeah, I looked, but it's not here."

"Oh, come on! You didn't even look!" the person on the other line snapped. Edward recognized the annoying voice as Maes Hughes. "You're probably just sitting there at the kitchen table, staring at the wall! You haven't even seen that paper work, and if you have, you've lost it."

"I didn't loose it...it's probably somewhere in my office." Roy said, though he didn't sound too convincing.

"Great! It's in your office and you're at home. That's supposed to be on the Fuhrer's desk first thing in the morning, Roy! I'll bet you haven't filled any of it out, have you?"

Roy scratched the back of his head. "No, I haven't." He paused for a second and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Hey, if you're so worried about it, why don't you just fill it all out for me?"

"Because you're supposed to fill it out! That's why it's you're paper work and not mine! I'm not doing anymore of your work, besides I can't even get into your office because the door's locked."

"So? If you kick it just below the doorknob it flies open whether it's locked or not."

"How do you know?"

"Because, I've locked myself out before," Roy grinned, "Got mad, and kicked it in!"

Edward sighed and put his hands on his head, staring at Roy through bleary eyes. His small headache had slowly turned into a dull throbbing; it felt like his head was going to split open. He felt slightly feverish, too, but didn't say anything about it as he started for the living room. He glanced at Roy as he walked by and said, "You're a useless Colonel, Mustang."

Roy glared at him and started to say something, but Hughes distracted him and he turned his attention back to the phone. Edward walked into the living room and flopped down onto the couch, quickly falling into a fever induced sleep.

~ t s u d z u k u ~