Hey Guys! .3 here. I've finally decided to come out with another story, and this one is not a one-shot, two-shot, or even three-shot. It's gonna be a story. w00t! This story is a request by one of my reviewers and I must thank them for it as the plot idea has come easily to me. :D

Just to reiterate, I am rating this story M as the contents will be dealing with some harsh themes; some of which I try to go into detail about. So uh, if you have a hard time reading that, you might not want to start this story. It won't be so bad in the later half of the story though!

Also, this story will have lots of brotherly fluff as well as parental!Roy/Ed stuff. Yay!

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. If I did, well... I'd be pretty happy that I no longer had to study so ridiculously hard to learn Japanese xD

Chapter 1

Ed woke with a start, beads of sweat cascading his forehead. Another nightmare had reared its ugly head, this time in the form of a demonic Al accosting him with threats of never forgiving him again for killing their mom and turning his once precious body into an apathetic suit of armor. On top of that he could faintly hears cries of "why" in the background of the dream, his sleeping self instantaneously recognizing them to be Nina with the voice of her chimera self, and his mother, though slightly less human.

A glance out the window told Ed that it was still the middle of the night. A sigh of relief escaped his lips to know that he didn't have to leave the confines of his room just yet. The air was beginning to turn cold, which made his ports all the more achy. Not to mention, once winter hit, they tended to be constantly cold, unless he meandered into a particularly warm room for a decent amount of time. The military dorms could hardly be considered particularly warm, however, as the temperature seemed to be set at a constant seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit. Warm but an undertone of cold in the air.

"Ed?" Came a metallic voice in the darkness, "you alright?" Tired, golden eyes turned towards the voice, barely able to make out a shape in the blackness. The moon must've had a bad dream too, if it's hiding behind clouds, Ed mused,

"Yeah, Al, I'm fine." Unexpectedly, Ed's voice cracked, as if it hadn't been used in decades.

"Brother…" Alphonse began, his voice relaying his worry in that one simple word.

"Don't worry about it, Al. It was just a dream."

"Yeah, but it seems to be occurring more often, lately."

"I told you, Al. It's nothing to worry about." Alphonse made a noise of exasperation, and Ed tensed up for a talk that they couldn't seem to get over.

"Brother, you should talk about it! I know that mission-"

"Alphonse, just let it rest!" Ed snapped, laying back down against the bed, turning to face the wall it was set against, thus blocking out his brother - a silent indication that the conversation was over.

The mission they'd returned from just a week previous was one that hit closer to home then Ed led Alphonse to believe. A perfect picture of blame from one brother to the other. A lavish fight, precious items stolen, a gun pulled, though no one seriously injured. When awake, Ed couldn't block out the sounds of the one brother yelling at the other, blaming him for past mistakes. When asleep, those yells turned into Alphonse, accusing Ed of purposely damaging the both of them. Ed couldn't bare the reality of those words.

Edward inwardly laughed at himself. He claimed to no longer be a kid, yet five years had passed and he still couldn't stop his heart from clenching in pain at the mere thought of Alphonse hating him. What kind of adult was he, if he couldn't handle the mere idea of something that was yet to be proven?

The rest of the night, Ed tossed and turned, sleep evading him ever so gleefully. When the sun peaked over the horizon, barely giving itself light (whether because of the rainy day this turned out to be or just that it was early in the morning, he didn't give it much thought,) Ed could no longer stand to lay in the bed a moment longer. If luck was on his side, the Colonel would be in the office, with another mission for the brother's to take.

Throwing feet over the edge of the bed, Ed quickly put clothes on, before his resolve to simply mope around the dorm became too enticing.

"Brother, where are you going? The sun has barely come up."

"I'm going to see if Colonel Bastard has another mission for us to take. Or maybe any leads on the philosopher's stone." Alphonse sighed, knowing when his brother got an idea in his head, he could hardly be talked out of it.

"Ed, you should wait a few more days. Get some sleep. You could use it. Maybe go to a doctor and get some sleeping pills or something."

"Like hell I'm going to go see a doctor, Al. You know that. Besides, I don't need any pills."

"Being in denial doesn't mean you don't need it any less," Al retorted.

"Whatever, Alphonse. I'll be back soon. Hopefully with a mission to take." Ed rolled his eyes, irritation on the surface of them. It didn't happen often, but sometimes Ed wished his brother would butt out of his emotional hardships. He didn't need to be treated like a baby. Except, as always, once Ed shut the door just a little bit harder than he meant, guilt bubbled to the surface. His irritation wasn't really directed towards Alphonse, he just happened to be a good outlet at that moment. With another sigh that Ed felt he'd given for the umpteenth time that night, he walked towards the exit of the dorms, massaging the bridge of his nose.

Edward wasn't the only one to give out an exasperated sigh in irritation. If Alphonse could wince, he definitely would have done so after the small slam of the door announced Ed's departure.

Sometimes, Alphonse just couldn't understand why his brother was so stubborn. Both of them had been through a traumatic event at an unquestionably young age, the only difference being that Alphonse was unable to sleep, thereby nullifying the effects of a nightmare, and bags under his eyes; of which Edward was currently displaying at an increasingly noticeable rate.

If he could frown, there would be a big one on his face. The last mission they had been on really wasn't that rough of a mission. In fact, it happened to be one of the easier ones, though rather annoying due to the brothers being unable to quit fighting in each other's presence. The only reason Alphonse figured that the mission was responsible for Ed's lack of sleep was because Ed had had more frequent nightmares since their return, and that had been almost an entire week ago.

Alphonse was sure he'd be a nail biter if he'd had his body back, with all the worry his brother put him through. He paced the bedroom, light giving surface to the dull brown colors of the walls and floor. To call Colonel Mustang, or not to call Colonel Mustang. If anyone could get Edward to do something he didn't want to do, it was the Colonel; and that was only if he was lucky enough to get ahold of the Colonel. It wasn't even a guarantee that the man was in his office.

Metal clinked as Al paced, then came to complete silence as Al stood in front of the phone, making an internal decision once and for all. He picked up the phone, heard the dial tone, made the necessary comments to get through to the Colonel, silently praying that he was in the office at this unruly hour, and to his relief, wasn't disappointed.

"Colonel Mustang, speaking." The voice answered, stoically.

"Hey Colonel, it's Alphonse."

"Good morning, Alphonse. To what, pray tell, do I have the pleasure of hearing from you this early hour?" Either the Colonel had had a good night, or he'd helped himself to one too many glasses of alcohol, which meant he'd probably not slept himself. In any case, Alphonse geared himself up before asking for the Colonel's help, knowing full well that Ed would be none too pleased with him for this gesture.

In no time at all, Edward found himself standing at the doors that led to Mustang's office, suddenly unsure of himself. He couldn't decide if he really wanted to take on another mission so quickly; but then thoughts of Al smiling gave him enough energy to muster up the courage to open the door. No one else was in the office, so it the likelihood of Colonel Mustang being his office were nill to none.

"Well, look who decided to show up at this short hour," A voice rang in the air. Rats, now Ed really had to… wait, did he just…?

"Who are you calling so short he could fit in a mouse hole!?" Ed growled angrily, miffed that the bastard Colonel could make a jab at him so early in the morning. Seriously, his lack of height was not his fault! Ed nearly smacked himself in the head for internally calling himself short. He did not want to give the bastard any other reason to make fun of him.

"Look, just give me a mission and I'll be on my way." Ed had walked quickly to Mustang's desk, hand held out expectantly. The bastard Colonel, however, stared at him inquisitively. Ed shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Are you going to give me a mission or not, Bastard?" He demanded, sick of waiting, even if it had lasted less than a minute.

"You look tired, Fullmetal." The Colonel finally spoke up once again. He glanced out the window, at the sun barely peeking out from the cloudy sky. "Why don't you take a nap on my couch over there." He gestured his head towards the uncomfortable looking couch behind Edward. Irritation flared through Ed's veins. He did not come all the way here just to fake a nap on the Bastard's couch!

"Just give me a damn mission, Bastard." Edward grumbled, indignantly, not wanting to deal with his smugness so early in the morning.

"My my, someone's testy this morning. Seems like a small dose of sleep is just what you need."

"Don't call me short, you bastard!"

"Seems someone has a tiny vocabulary today,"

"Shut up!" Ed snarled, frankly tired of making the effort to dish out insult after insult, as was their thing. All Ed wanted was to take another mission to get the last one out of his head. He needed someone else to replace his haunted nightmares. Or maybe they were daymares? He wasn't quite sure.

After that last display, however, Mustang studiously looked Edward over, with a brow furrowed. The effort making Ed far more uncomfortable than he'd want to admit.

"I'm not going to give you another mission, Ed." Mustang finally responded. Indigenous, Edward clenched his fists.

"What the hell, Mustang?"

"You look like you could use some rest Fullmetal. Go home. Come back when you don't look like a bitty old man, ready to keel over."

"Don't call me short, old man!" Ed huffed, angrily. What did a person have to do to get nightmares replaced? Ed was doomed right from the very beginning. "Why do you care, anyway. It's not like I've never come back looking like death rolled over."

"Not that it's any of your business, Fullmetal, but a little birdie told me that you've not been sleeping. If you don't sleep, you get less cautious on a mission. If you're less cautious, you make mistakes. Goodness knows I could use less mistakes from you. I don't need any more reports of damaged buildings and street vendors complaining that their merchandise has been defiled and smashed to smithereens. Get some rest, Fullmetal."

"So, you talked to Alphonse." Ed muttered, completely missing "small" jab. Mulling it over, Edward finally came to the conclusion that it was a mistake to seek out the bastard Colonel.

"It's not the sleeping I'm having troubles with," Ed muttered to himself, before turning on his heel, "whatever, Bastard." He replied louder, completely missing the furrowed brow of his slightly tipsy commander.

The whole way back to the dorm, however, Ed stewed over the revelation that his brother had called his commanding officer over something so petty. He couldn't believe that Alphonse had made such a presumption that the Bastard would care about their well-being. All Ed was to the Colonel was a pawn to get him further ahead in his path to Fuhrer. Nothing more, nothing less.

When Ed finally made it back to their dorm room, he was at the boiling point in his irritation. The second he opened the door, Ed couldn't help but open his mouth.

"Why'd you call the Bastard!" He demanded, "It's not as if he could do anything to help me except give us a mission." Alphonse, closing the alchemy book he was reading on the couch, faced his brother with practiced ease, knowing full well he'd be shaking if he had his body back.

"You need to sleep, brother. And not the kind of sleep you've been having the last few days. I mean restful sleep! How can we get our bodies back if you can't focus? You'll just end up making more mistakes and who knows what that could do?"

Edward flinched, though hardly visible to the naked eye, but the jab at his inability to get their bodies back stung Ed. More so than he was willing to admit. It was almost like Alphonse was saying he was incapable of keeping his promise. As if he really did blame him for their current predicament and no hope of fixing it.

"So you called Mustang because you think I can't do what I promised, otherwise?"

"No, that's not it, brother!" Alphonse, countered, incensed, "I think that you're not going to be able to sleep unless you do something to make sure you can. Like seeing a doctor about sleeping pills. You need something, brother!"

The more that Edward listened to his brother, the more he couldn't help but feel not only irritation, but fear. Fear that his brother would reject him. But fear was overridden by an overabundance of self-doubt and hate. If Edward hated himself, how could he expect anything less from his brother. Except the very idea of that kind of ill intent from his blood brother hurt more than Ed could bare to think about, and with thoughts already spilling with the abundant noise that his brother blamed him, Ed could only lash out. Even if he didn't really mean it.

"Shut up, Al!" Ed nearly yelled. For the second time that morning, he'd lost his ability to control his inward thoughts, though this time, the words were directed at someone who never deserved them. Ed stared at Alphonse in shock, and Alphonse did the same. Neither said anything for a minute, before Edward spun on his heel, red coat flapping loudly, "I'm going out for a bit," Edward hastily quipped, agitated with himself, though the words were taken in a different context. Before Edward closed the door entirely, he heard Al reply,

"Fine. You do that." His words were equally as irritated.

Ed barely restrained himself from slamming the door behind him. Maybe it had just been the dream that infuriated him so damn much, but the need to go some place to think without the underwhelming stare of his brother crushed his chest to a great degree.

Hands thrust in his pockets, Edward slowly made his way through the streets of City Central, hardly taking notice of his surroundings. People evaded him, some cursing his inability to watch out for other pedestrians, all the while droplets began to drizzle from the sky. With a sigh of resignation, Ed found a remote tavern nearby with which to shelter himself from the rain. Being so early in the morning, no other place was open.

The ding of the bell rang as he entered, the putrid smell of alcohol immediately assaulting his nose. Eyes adjusted to the dimness of the tavern, a grimace plainly seen as Ed walked towards the bar counter, raising skeptical glances from the barman.

"We don't serve alcohol to minors," The barman griped, serving a drink to the one other customer sitting at the counter.

"Yeah, yeah," Ed mumbled, "just a water, thanks." Hands clasped, Ed tried to make himself invisible to everyone around him. He did not feel the desire to talk to anyone this morning, least of all anyone from his team. Even with it so early in the morning, Ed wouldn't put it past any of them to grab a drink before heading off to work. With the tavern being so close to headquarters, he also wouldn't be surprised to see one of them wander in this particular place.

Vaguely, underneath the recesses of his mind, Ed heard the bell crinkle as more people made their presence.

"Here you go, son," a water was placed in front of Ed, as the barman distractedly turned his attention to the newcomers. Unfortunately for Ed, he felt a plop of air next to him when a person sat next to him. Consciously, Ed veered his body away from the contact, his 'bubble' invaded and feeling too emotionally tired to say anything aloud.

"What's a kid doing in a tavern this early in the morning?" The person who invaded his bubble spoke.

"Who are you calling so little he'd be mistaken for a toddler!" Edward sniped at the person, hardly aware of the femininity of the voice.

"Relax, kid, I meant no harm by it." The soft laugh to her voice caused Ed to blink, turn to look at her, then immediately back away at the closeness of her face. Suspicious at her intentions, Ed moved slid farther away to a more comfortable distance.

"Yeah, well, what I do is none of your business." He took a sip of his water once again; she hummed in what sounded like amusement, causing his irritation to spike just a tich more. It was just as well, that someone annoying would be there at that time in the morning to grate on his ears, as Ed felt that he somehow always had bad luck following him. Not when it comes to Al, though he thought with conviction. Everything bad could happen to him, as long as Al stayed out of that dubious picture. Unfortunately for Ed, he had no idea just how accurate his thoughts would become.

"You know," The lady next to him began, taking a sip of her half-drunk glass of alcoholic beverage petitely. Ed glanced warily at her, feeling a sense of dread shiver up his spine. He looked over his shoulder around the tavern, suddenly self-conscious at being stuck in the ale house with a woman getting herself drunk so early in the morning. He was accosted by the sight of an empty lobby and a barman seemingly nowhere to be found. "it's damn unlucky for a boy such as yourself to be tethered to the military like a dog."

Her voice, though in its natural state probably very alluring to an adult male, held no power over the young alchemist. Ed could feel anger beginning to bubble beneath the surface of his already crappy morning.

"Yeah? And what does someone like yourself even know about my situation anyway?" His fingers tightened around the empty water glass, "you know what? Nevermind. It doesn't matter what you think." Ed made to get up off the barstool, when a hand shot out and forcefully made him stay down. Her fingernails dug into his skin, and Ed silently wished she was grabbing at his automail arm instead. If only that her nails would break.

"Sorry, but I can't let you go." The woman looked at him, a long strand of chocolate brown hair flitting over her eyes.

"What makes you think you can keep me here?" Ed admonished lowly.

"What makes you think I would be unable to?" She countered, the pupils in her green eyes dilated a little too much. Ed sighed aloud, exasperated that so much effort was needed to be used at such a damn early time in the morning. He really just wanted to stew in his thoughts without an incident for once, as the last few days had easily been brewing into his more darker thoughts.

"Lady, you should probably let me go, otherwise things could get ugly." Her smile in response was a little too creepy for Ed's liking.

"Is that a promise?" She bit back, in equally as threatening a tone. Ed really had no time for the woman, as the pounding of rain was now at full force. Al would most likely be worrying too much about him if he didn't return anytime soon.

Ed made to stand once more, ripping his arm from her grasp, feeling small scrapes in his skin from her overly long nails. Smoothly hiding the wince from his steadily becoming enemy, Ed turned his back on her once again, his coat swishing loudly in the all-too-quiet tavern. It was then that Ed noticed that his earlier observation had been incorrect. There were still a few people in the tavern; however, they had been obscured by the darkness of the room, the lighting and lack of windows helping to cover their discrete movements.

Walking swiftly, Ed's heart pounded as it normally did every time he was about to be in a fight that seemed more than it looked on the surface. Shady men lurking about a tavern when one woman was threatening him definitely counted as 'something about to happen worthy of caution' in his book.

A knife shot passed Edward's head, sticking solidly into the exit of the tavern, efficiently stopping him in his tracks. He really should write a book solely on how to make predictions. Listening to his instincts never failed him. However, getting him out of trouble in time was an altogether different story.

Paused in his tracks, Edward slowly turned around, unable to hide the clenching of his fists. Out of the peripheral of his vision, Ed could see the shady men slowly stand, an almost eerie laugh escaping their lips. He could only hear the menacing sound due to the lack of noise elsewhere in the tavern. Where the hell was the barman? Not to mention, Ed couldn't figure out how he missed all the customer's making their way out the door to begin with. Unless of course, he'd walked into a hellhole right from the start. Dread puddled the pit of his stomach. Ed had only been awake for maybe three hours and already the rainy day was long and tiring.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you get." With a quick clap of his hands, Ed swiftly transmuted his automail arm to have a small dagger protruding off the top, standing defensively towards his enemies. Right as an almost twisted, hungry grin shone off the woman's features, the barman's voice could be heard.

"Not in my tavern! If yer gonna fight, take it outside!" Surprised, Edward blinked, the woman shrugged, and the shady men waiting to pounce on Ed paused in their movements to give each other a look. The moment was gone in an instant, and quickly, Ed made a run for it. Thrusting the door open (not even noticing the slam of the door as he bolted) Ed transmuted a wall to block the other's from his path.

Unfortunately, the woman was far more nimble than he thought, and she expertly climbed over the high wall, hardly missing a beat. Ed ran as fast as possible, the rain making it impossible to see far in front of himself.

"What the hell do you want, Lady!?" He screamed, not caring if his question was heard by the person herself. In a way, Ed was relieved that it was raining. First, because on days like today, the citizens of Amestris kept to their homes, safe and warm. Second, because if his visibility was poor, than the lady chasing him had to be having just as tough a time. Which meant it was time to put his surroundings to use and get lost in the city.

Taking a left, Ed quickly transmuted a wall to hide his entrance, feeling more than hopeful that he'd lost the crazy woman. He smirked to himself, realizing that the bastard Mustang would have to praise him for not destroying the town when he could have easily done so.

"Geez, that Lady can run," Ed proclaimed to the walls of Amestris homes, huffing to catch his breath. Slowing his pace to a minute walk, Ed looked around, curious.

"Now where am I?" It only just dawned on Ed right then that he'd run into an alleyway. With the rain falling as thick as it was, he couldn't be sure whether he'd walked himself into a dead end or not and opted to just wait until he deemed the timing right that the woman was long gone.

When several minutes passed by with no sound apart from the hash blur of rain, Ed approached the wall he'd created, hands in the pockets of his coat. Squinting his eyes as if to see through the wall, Ed contemplated the positives and negatives of his actions. The crazy lady could still be there, waiting to attack him unawares; or she could have given up the chase, whatever the cause had been for. In fact, the more Edward thought about it, the more absurd the whole situation seemed. The fact that the woman was a citizen of Amestris who didn't seem to use alchemy didn't help, either. He felt far less willing to use his alchemy on her because of it.

Dropping chin to chest, Ed sighed. His limbs ached where metal met flesh; he was freezing cold, and the idea of a nap seemed like the greatest idea right that moment. Not to mention Ed was beginning to worry about Alphonse worrying for him. His brother was always worrying for him whenever he left on his own. Especially after they fought. If anything, Alphonse would be just as worried about their fight as he was over the ridiculous sleep problem. It was more than Ed deserved, to have someone worry about him, but he was still grateful for the security those thoughts provided.

After what seemed like hours (though it was more like minutes) Edward decided to say 'to hell with it' and the clap of his hands was a small sound in the pouring rain, even to Ed's ears. Placing hands on the ground once again, Ed took down the alleyway wall, eyes alert in case he was jumped.

His caution was unnecessary when the fallen wall revealed no one on the other side. A couple people passing by the alley jumped in surprise, nearly losing their umbrella's, but otherwise the coast was clear.

With a satisfied smirk, Edward appeared out of the the alley, looking both directions of the sidewalk to make sure he really wasn't being followed. He had managed to walk only a few steps towards central when a hand grabbed his damp hood, pulling him back towards the wall of a small convenience store. His head slammed against the wall, creating spots in front of his eyes. If he thought to rub the back of his head, he was sure he'd feel the warmth of his blood.

"I told you I can't let you go," A silky voice whispered in his ear. A form slithered their way in front of him, pinning him to the wall by the neck, keeping his hands separated. Dammit Ed screamed in his head, trying to focus his eyes on the close form. How was it possible for a woman to be stronger than him?

It was as his eyes gave a blurry focus, that Edward realized how screwed he actually was. The crazy woman from earlier (who, for some reason, had no idea what the meaning of "boundaries" meant) had her other hand near his face, lazily maneuvering a skinny bottle of nail polish between her fingers. When Ed's eyes widened and glance at the pierced skin of his arm, she smirked when she saw he understood just what she had done.

Well there you have it! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I know a lot hasn't happened so far, but don't worry, the next chapter will have more in it. xD Anyway, please review! They always make my day and super glad people enjoy what I'm writing.

Rock on, my fellow writers! Until next time \m/(o.o)

Ja ne