Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Recovery

Chapter 2: Safe

Roy Mustang was not, in general, a nocturnal person. So when he was sitting in his office, almost done with his paperwork, at half past midnight, the last thing he wanted was a call to pick up his subordinate and his brother. His plan was to send someone else to do it while he went home and got some well-deserved rest, but naturally Fullmetal had found a way to foil that plan.

"Holy shit," he muttered. Riza made a disapproving noise before responding.

"Sir?"

He would pick them up himself. He needed to know what had happened. He hadn't known about this. Was Fullmetal injured? Was Alphonse healthy? There were many, many things that could go wrong. Dammit, he knew the kids had the stone, but he hadn't thought they would do the transmutation so soon! Did they even know what they were doing?

"Alphonse Elric is -" he started, but cut himself off. Anyone could be listening. Riza fixed him with her steady, unblinking stare.

"He has decided not to wear his armor anymore. They both need to be picked up," he offered her a smirk that didn't reach his eyes.

Riza blinked slowly. Once. Twice. Three times.

"That's wonderful," she said softly, smiling at him brightly, red eyes closing and brimming with tears. Hayate, laying under her desk, whined anxiously, peering up at her.

"This can wait, right?" he gestured hopefully toward his diminished pile of papers. She nodded.

"I'll drive you two home," he told her, grabbing his keys from his drawer. She had walked to work as always, but he certainly couldn't allow her to walk home at such an hour. True, she was armed, and she had Hayate, but what kind of man would he be to let his beautiful subordinate stroll around Central for just anyone to attack? And if the boys had been injured or, heaven forbid, maimed during their transmutation, he didn't want her to know just yet. No, he would drive her home, then pick up Fullmetal (1).

Ed sat silently with Alphonse on the sidewalk, his little brother in his lap, head resting against his chest. He heard shouting from a nearby apartment and Al stirred in his sleep. The blond gently stroked his long, tangled hair, crooning softly.

"Shhh, it's alright." But even as he spoke, he heard something out of place in the bushes.

Crunch. He whirled, staring behind him for a moment before breathing a sigh of relief. It was only a dog. He smiled, shifting Al slightly and reaching his automail hand towards the animal. It quivered for a moment, before bolting away, massive belly swinging beneath it.

Must be somebody's pet, since it's so fat. They'll probably find it in the morning, he thought to himself, sighing.

"Fullmetal."

He jumped, causing Al to stir again, this time grabbing a fistful of his older brother's shirt and mumbling. He stood, easily hefting the too-light boy, and scowling darkly at the man. Honestly, all that trouble not to say "Colonel Bastard" or anything else identifying, and Mustang had to go and blow his cover!

"I parked just around the corner. Let's go," he turned and walked away. That was weird. Was he actually being nice? He had really turned the car off so as not to wake Al...it was odd. Ed followed without speaking. He would explain once they were safely in the car.

Minutes later, Mustang was opening the back door and reaching for his little brother. Ed snarled.

"No!"

"Fine," he rolled his eyes, getting in the driver's seat as Ed slipped into the back, settling the younger boy next to him carefully and shutting the door. He waited until they were down another street before beginning his questions.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?"

"I said, are you alright?" he glanced in the rearview mirror. Ed was staring down at his little brother, smiling softly.

"Al's really skinny, we need to -" he started.

"Was the stone enough?"

"Yeah, yeah, it all went off without a hitch. Well, mostly. Anyway, Al's really skinny and his bones look like they'll snap in half if -"

"Fullmetal! Were you hurt?" he demanded. Ed froze, looking up at him with surprised, confused eyes.

"I'm fine," his voice went gruff as he went on alert, "Since when do you care?"

Mustang frowned, but chose to ignore the comment.

"Good. Is that the warehouse?" he slowed down as they drew near an abandoned building just off the road.

"Yeah, that's it."

"If you want his armor, go get it now. I'll bring it down once you're out."

Ed hesitated.

"You'll stay with Al?"

"I'll stay with Al."

He leapt out of the car, darting into the building and coming back just moments later with the legs of the armor, loading them into the passenger seat and running back in for the rest. Within minutes, the armor sat there and Ed stared at it for a moment. There was no longer a red glow to the eyes, he realized in an almost mournful fashion, before shaking his head. Al was human now. He shouldn't feel so attached to the armor (2). He returned to the back seat next to his brother.

Mustang stepped out and snapped his gloved fingers. Boom. The warehouse came crashing down in an explosion of flames. Moments after, there was nothing but rubble. No one would ever be able to tell what had happened there. He got back in the car and slammed the gas, taking them away from the area.

"And I was thinking he probably won't be able to walk for at least - uh, Mustang?"

"What is it?"

"I thought you were dropping us off at the dorms," he was puzzled.

"At this hour? Do you want to draw attention, Fullmetal?"

"Oh. But why are we here?" he questioned.

"You'll stay here tonight," the man told him, parking in the driveway and strolling to the door as casually as possible. Ed scowled darkly, but didn't protest. It wasn't like he could walk to Gracia's so late at night. So he pulled Al out of the car and carried him inside, placing him carefully on the couch before retrieving the armor and setting it up in the corner.

"Upstairs, first door on your left," Mustang ordered.

"Huh?" he stared at him blankly.

"I do have a guest bedroom, you know. You two will have to share a bed, but you should fit given your stature," he smirked.

"Shut up," Ed growled. Now that the adrenaline from his excitement was beginning to wear off, he was realizing just how exhausted he was. The transmutation really had taken a lot out of him, and carrying Al a mile certainly hadn't helped the situation. He hadn't noticed such things before, but now that he no longer needed to do anything, he was dead tired, and his nerves were shot. He hefted his brother into his arms, slunk up the stairs, and collapsed onto the bed. He fell asleep with his arms wrapped around Al, too tired to even remember to kick off his combat boots.

(1) I do dearly love a side dish of Royai! I dunno if this'll end up as a major pairing in this story, but there most certainly will be a few hints of it, because it's right up there with EdWin on my list of favorite pairings.

(2) I can totally see Ed talking to the empty armor once Al leaves him to get married or something. They both have a really unhealthy attachment to each other, if you think about it. But it's cuter that way! (I probably won't deal with the armor much, though, in case you were wondering.)

Parental!Roy/Ed may show up in this also, by the way. Because I absolutely adore it. But the big focus, of course, will be Brotherly!Ed/Al. And the animals are coming! Actually...they're already appearing... That's all I'm saying, I don't want to spoil it. XD But worry not, Al will get his kitten by the end of the story. -nods- Because he totally deserves one!

Thank you everybody for reviewing last chapter! Until next time!