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Fullmetal Alchemist
Curse the Rain
Chapter 2 - "Unstable"

"Damnit." Roy glared around the room, a ball bat clasped tightly in his right hand. "I'll kill the little bastard when I find him." He walked over to his bed and looked underneath it, standing up again when he only found lost socks and a shirt. Someone knocked on the door, but he ignored it and walked to his closet. "I just have to find him first...."

He was so distracted with his search that he didn't hear the door open. Maes Hughes opened the door and looked around the living room for Roy. At least I didn't have to kick another door in. He shut the door and walked into the kitchen, setting a stack of papers on the table, and then headed down the small hallway. Where the hell's he at? he thought, then stopped in front of Roy's bedroom door and watched him dig through his closet.

"What's the bat for?" Maes asked.

Roy yelped, and took a quick step back, glaring around the closet door at his friend. "Damnit, Maes! Don't do that!" he said in a hushed voice, "You could at least knock before you come in."

"I did, but you didn't hear me, so I let myself in." Maes said with a shrug, then gestured at the ball bat. "What are you going after with that?"

He stared at the bat in his hand. "A spider." he said, narrowing his eyes when Maes started laughing. "It isn't funny! The thing's bigger than my fist."

"And you're going to use a bat on it?"

Roy lightly tapped the end of the bat against the floor, seeming unsure of his method, now that it was being mocked. "Yeah..."

Maes shook his head and snapped his fingers, asking, "Why don't you just fry it?" He laughed when Roy didn't reply. "Lost your gloves again, didn't you?"

"They're not lost...just...misplaced." he said after thinking for a second. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I brought the paper work you didn't fill out! And managed to get an extension on it, but you've only got another day. When you didn't show up today, Hawkeye told me to bring it to you," He smirked, and then added cheerfully, "and she sounded pretty angry, too."

Roy stared at him with the expression of a deer caught in headlights. "I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon." he said, paranoia kicking in when he heard the First Lieutenant's name and 'angry' in the same sentence. That meant she would either maul him when he got back or glare at him all day until he wished she'd mauled him and gotten it over with, and neither one of those was too appealing.

Maes waved his hand, grinning from ear to ear. "Ah, don't worry about it, she won't kill you over it." He paused, then asked, "Why didn't you come in today, anyway?"

"Well, I....." Roy trailed off, staring at something at Maes' feet, his eyes wide.

Maes frowned and looked down, his eyes getting wide as well when he saw the huge spider at his feet. "Wow." he muttered nervously, his eyes never leaving the spider as he took a few steps back. "That thing is the size of my fist."

"I told you!" Roy whispered, tightening the grip on his bat. He paused and waved the bat at Maes. "Well....kill it...."

Maes shot him a glare. "What am I killing it for? You've got the bat, you kill it!"

"Yeah, but you're closer than I am."

Maes cleared the distance between them in three quick strides, then clapped Roy on the back. "Not anymore! Have at it!" he said, backing up a step when the spider came after them.

Roy yelped, staring at the spider and holding the bat out at arms length in front of him. He was just about to kill the spider when a black boot suddenly slammed down on it, squishing his prey. Edward stood where the spider had been, still wearing Roy's blue pajamas, his face was pale and his amber eyes were only half-open as he stared passively down at the shoe on his foot.

Roy frowned and carelessly threw the bat into his closet. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked Ed.

Edward looked up at him, his expression didn't change. "It's sad when two grown men can't kill a little spider." he murmured, kicking off his shoe at Roy and staggering out of the room.

Maes and Roy looked at each other, concerned, then followed him out of the room. Roy walked up behind Edward and grabbed his arm. "Just wait a second," he said, turning Edward around and putting his hand against the boy's forehead.

Edward sighed and leaned his head into Roy's hand. "You're hand's cold...." he mumbled, closing his eyes.

Roy frowned, but didn't remove his hand. "Your fever hasn't gone down at all," he said, his eyes narrowing. "You've been like this all day, if you don't take something for it I'll drag you to the hospital and let them give you something."

Edward groaned and smacked Roy's hand away. "I'm fine." he snapped, taking a step back so he could glare up at Roy. "And even if I'm not, I can't lay around. I gotta find Al."

"I already told you, you're not going anywhere."

"You can't stop me from leaving!"

"Watch me." Roy said, grabbing Edward around the waist and picking him up.

He dragged Edward down the hall, despite Ed's efforts to get away, then pushed him into the bathroom, pulling the door shut before Edward could get out. He kept his hand firmly on the doorknob, holding it shut as Edward banged against the door and tried to get it open.

"Damnit, Mustang, open the door!" He banged his fist against it, closing his eyes and wincing when the noise made his head hurt. He was quiet for a few minutes, then tiredly leaned his head against the door and groaned, "Please?"

Roy glared at the door, glancing at Maes when he walked over, then said, "I'll let you out if you'll lay back down and take it easy." Edward remained silent and Roy jiggled the door handle. "I'm serious, I'll leave you in there."

Edward sighed. "Fine!" he yelled, "You win! Now open the damn door!"

"I thought so." Roy muttered, opening the door.

Ed glared at him, putting a hand to his head and stomping past Roy and Maes into the living room. They watched him lay down on the couch, then Maes looked at Roy and quietly asked, "So...that's why you weren't there today?"

Roy sighed and nodded, heading into the kitchen. "Yeah, I couldn't leave him here alone." he said, sitting down at the table. "I probably wouldn't have known he was sick if I hadn't gone in there this morning to wake him up. He didn't even mention it last night."

Maes sat down across the table from Roy and crossed his arms on the table. "Please, tell me you gave him something to bring down his fever."

"I tried to. Why?"

Maes scratched the back of his head. "Well, because your cure for every illness is to sleep it off." he said, "And what do you mean by 'tried to'? Did his system reject it, or something?"

Roy frowned. "Hell no. He lashed out at me, saying he didn't need it because he wasn't sick." He glared at the couch Edward was asleep on and muttered, "I swear, if he kicks me one more time I'll suffocate him."

"Calm down, Roy." Maes said, smiling, "It's not his fault. How'd he get sick, anyway?"

"The stupid pipsqueak was out in the rain all day yesterday, looking for Al."

Maes frowned. "What happened?"

"I have no idea." Roy said, shrugging. "All Ed said was that he'd done something to upset him and he ran off."

"That's weird, they never argue."

"I know, that's what worries me. That and Ed doesn't seem to care about his own health with Al gone."

Maes sighed and nodded. "He's worried about his little brother, but he should still try to get better." he said, standing up and stretching. "Well, I better get back. I just stopped by to-"

He was interrupted when Edward started coughing violently, startling both of them. Edward was curled up on the couch with his eyes shut tightly, one hand covering his mouth, the other wrapped around his stomach. When his fit subsided, he moaned and slowly relaxed again, letting his hand slide to the floor as sweat beaded down the side of his face.

Roy got to his feet and walked into the living room with Maes right behind him. "Don't tell me you're coughing again," he said, leaning over and pressing the back of his hand to Edward's face-he was still burning up.

Edward groaned in response and weakly pushed Roy's hand away, covering his head with his arm. "Leave me alone..." he said, his breathing labored.

Maes looked down at Edward. "Was he coughing like that earlier?" Roy nodded and he frowned. "He's not just got the cold, Roy. Something else is wrong." he said, both of them getting more worried when another coughing fit racked Edward's small form. "If his fever hasn't gone down any since this morning, maybe you should take him to the doctor."

"I plan on it." Roy said, sliding an arm behind Edward's back and one under his knees, picking him up and heading for the door. He only tightened his grip when Edward made a feeble attempt to get away. "Damnit, Ed, don't even start. You're going to the hospital whether you want to or not!"

Edward didn't object, mostly because he barely had the strength to move, and didn't complain, either. He'd already passed out by the time Roy had carried him down the steps in front of his house. The last thought that ran through his mind was: I hope Al's okay....

~ t s u d z u k u ~