A/N: Hey ya'll. Thanks for reading and such. I really hope you like it and review. I love reviews. Let me know if you want more

~PT

If You Can't Handle the Heat, Get out of the Kitchen

*Hmpf*

Edward landed on his back on the stark white hospital floor. He dazedly stared up at the ceiling as he felt the nerves in his shoulder and back seize up with agony. His brow furrowed as he waited for the pain to ease. The young state alchemist couldn't believe what he had seen in the past twenty-four hours. The philosopher stone had been in his grasp… but he couldn't make a move. It would have meant losing what little honor he had left. In the split second that he had thought of completing the act of creating a philosophers stone, he had seen all of his victims. All of the hardened criminals of the state, staring with pale faces and widened eyes at their would-be executioner. Ed had hated himself at that moment.

He would have done it. For Al.

Now Al was angry at him, he had left after accusing his older brother of fabricating his soul. He thought he wasn't real.

Ed felt tears burn the back of his eyes.

Before any of them could make an appearance he slowly shoved himself off the floor. His automail arm lay useless and his back shot through with twinges of pain. Winry had left with the promise of getting another part before she could begin the reconstruction. Ed brought his workout to a close by completing the abdominal crunch he had been attempting. Just then the door opened and the colonel strode in. Colonel Mustang the Flame Alchemist was indeed very tall, and when Ed was sitting on the floor like this he seemed as tall as Major Armstrong.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Edward scrambled backwards, then tried to stand up. His automail leg seemed to give out and he fell forward. One large hand pushed against his chest so that he flopped onto his back on the small hospital bed.

"W-What are you doing here?" Ed stuttered staring up through his mussed hair.

"What are YOU doing here, Fullmetal? I leave you alone for a week and you're in the hospital again?"

The man ran a gloved hand through his black hair, effectively mussing his own bangs.

Ed struggled to move from his awkward position on his back until the Colonel helped with a hesitant hand on his back.

"You didn't know? That's not exactly my fault, Colonel."

Mustang just looked at him with a tired expression on his face before he slowly reached for Ed. Warily the young alchemist stared at the proffered hand before pushing up until his regular fingers grabbed those longer ones. The colonel helped Edward back into bed and pulled the covers over his legs a little roughly.

"You are under my direction and therefore I have a right to know what is going on."

Before Ed could complain that he had not had the time to call the Colonel and he had thought that the Major or Maria would have told him, Mustang sat abruptly on the bed right next to his hip.

The blonde shifted in surprise.

The tall man looked at him with this odd expression until Edward kicked him a little with his automail leg. The motion caused something to press into his nerves up by his stump and Edward cried out in pain, hunching over. The Colonel jumped up then seeing that Edward was clutching his leg he pulled back the covers and sat down with his leg in his hands. He pushed the younger man's hands away and began to rub right where flesh met metal. At first Edward tensed up even more, his eyes screwed tight, but then he gradually relaxed into the gently ministrations of the other man. He leaned back against the wall and gave a little whimper. When he opened his eyes, he found Mustang still massaging his leg and looking away from his body and avoiding his eyes. The man's hands suddenly gave off more heat and the warmth soothed his muscles even more.

Edward shifted and the flame alchemist's eyes snapped up and he let go of his leg. The metal part was still in his lap but he didn't move it and neither did Ed.

"Tell me what happened."

Edward thought about refusing but the weird look on the Colonel's face stopped him. He caved and began telling the lite version of what happened at laboratory five. When he got to the part about the philosophers stone he stopped and looked out the window. He couldn't say anything.

Mustang cleared his throat but Ed just shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Where did Al disappear to?" Came the gentle subject change.

"He… uh. He's mad because he thinks he isn't a real soul and that I fabricated him." Ed shut his eyes more tightly.

"Have you contacted-"

At that moment the door burst open and Winry whirled in excited about some section of wire she got for half price. She dumped her equipment on the floor and turned to look at the boy she left on the bed half an hour earlier. Ed saw her eyes which were full of sparkles go from excitement to surprise to confusion. It was amusing. Then he realized that she was probably wondering why his leg was in the Colonel's lap. He quickly shoved his leg out of the other man's vicinity kicking him in the ribs on the way. Mustang grunted and doubled over.

"Hello Sir, are you one of Ed's military supervisors?"

Mustang stood and answered with a tight voice, "I am his direct Superior Ma'am. I assume you are his mechanic?"

With that she lit up again and began to babble on about parts and other things neither of them understood.

Mustang went over to the window and sat in the generic chair placed next to the bed and watched as Winry rolled Ed over onto his stomach rather roughly, the young alchemist tensing in pain. Ed's face was pushed into the pillow, his metal arm twisted weirdly for the blonde girl to work on. Ed's eyes fluttered every time the girl shifted. His hair seemed to be falling out of its braid and his blonde bangs were falling across his cheek. Ed stuck his tongue out childishly and quirked eyebrow when he noticed the elder man staring at him oddly. The Colonel leaned forward and was no doubt about to make a remark regarding the immature gesture when Edward cried out and thrashed on the bed. Almost immediately he felt a large hand cover his shoulder blades and press slowly until Edward was firmly restrained. His shoulders shuddered and blood seeped from his mouth onto the pillow.

"Fullmetal? What's wrong?" Mustang asked kneeling by his face and grasping his jaw, trying to view his eyes. At that moment a nurse came in and bustled Mustang out of the way, clucking and glaring at Winry.

"You should be more careful young lady. You shouldn't connect them all at once!"

The older woman hurriedly got a couple cotton swabs and stuffed them in Ed's mouth then stuck a needle in his flesh arm. As soon as the nurse left the young man spat out the now bloody cottons and then winced as he plucked the needle out.

"God, Winry. Don't do that ever again."

Blood dripped down his chin as he said this and then he wiggled himself out from under the girl's knee. The small blonde's lip quivered and she began to babble mechanical nonsense again. She left in a whirlwind of promises to get some food and more parts. Edward looked towards the Colonel who was halfway out of his chair staring at the IV needle lying on the floor.

"You ok there, Colonel?" Ed smirked and then spat out some more blood and wiped his chin with his flesh hand.

"Are you alright? What was that?" Edward paused as he tried to turn over and when he struggled, Mustang shifted forward to help him.

"Winry connected all my nerves to their wires within my automail arm at the same time. It's a painful process when it's one by one and it is excruciating when it's all at once." Ed stuck out his tongue and said, " Wand wit sweems wike ah bith ma tung."

Suddenly the tall man burst out laughing. Edward glanced at him peevishly while he giggled and guffawed like a crazy ape until he finally calmed down.

"You're too much Fullmetal," mustang rubbed his face with one gloved hand and looked seriously at the boy, "You play everything off like it's no big deal, don't you. Are you playing this laboratory five business off like its nothing?"

Edward regarded the Colonel. His jaw rested on his fist and his eyes peered intently through dark lashes. His hair was sticking up on one side and his military issued blazer was unbuttoned by one.

"No," the small boy said laying his head back on the wall.

"Then why can't you tell me about it?"

Edward swallowed hard, tasting more blood.

"Please go away."

When Edward heard nothing he cracked an eye open, peeking at the other man. He brought his head up in indignation when he saw the relaxed I'm-not-leaving position the tall man was in.

"Fine," Edward gingerly rolled onto his good side. Letting the shoulder connected to the metal relax and hoping it would not pinch, he closed his eyes, feeling exhausted but knowing he wasn't going to sleep. He listened to the Colonel shift in the chair behind him and the sigh he gave.

His eyes still stayed closed when a long time later the bed dipped behind him. He felt a hand on his head, and he tried to breathe slowly, feigning sleep. Mustang was slowly threading his hand through his hair, gently pulling the strands from their loose braid and taking the hair tie with him. Despite himself, Edward enjoyed the feeling of the man's fingers on his scalp.

"You can't fool me, Edward," came a soft murmur. At first he froze, thinking he knew he was awake. But then the Colonel continued, "I know that you're trying to be strong, but why can't you trust me to help you?" Edward kept his eyes shut tight but his heart seemed to pound in his ears. He felt those gloved fingers brush across his cheek and then the bed lifted; sharp clicks on the tile and the door creaked open and then shut. He opened his eyes and slowly moved onto his back, blinking in confusion.

"What the hell?" He said to the now empty room.

Roy Mustang left the room quietly, shutting the door and almost ran into Major Armstrong.

Before the major could say anything Roy held up a hand, showing he wasn't mad at the man.

"Where is Hughes? I'm assuming this is his doing?"

The major scratched the back of his neck, "He is surprisingly in his office, Sir."

Abruptly Roy turned from the large man and made his way through the hospital. Unfortunately Ed had been placed on the top floor of the best hospital and though the Flame Alchemist appreciated that his subordinate would get the best floor, he wasn't keen on elevators and so he had taken seven flights of stairs to get to the top. Sighing, he began the trek down, meeting Armstrong's two lackeys on the way. They both freaked out, rightly so, when they saw him they fell back against each other, their mouths flapping comically. Roy just tipped his hand to them on his way by.

Finally out of the too-clean-smelling environment, Roy raised his hand and Havoc sped up to the curb with his black car. Getting in and closing his eyes he muttered, "Hughes' office." Then he gripped the seat with his gloved fingers as his cigarette smoking second lieutenant slammed his foot on the accelerator and effectively causing Roy to smack his head against the ceiling and yell, "In one piece, Havoc!"

He strode into Hughes' office still a bit tense from his forced dance with the devil and found the man with his feet up on his desk talking Sheska's ear off and throwing pictures of his daughter at her face. Her eyes were glazed over and she seemed rather limp. He grabbed her arm and gently pushed her into the hall.

"Oh Roy, you're just in time to see all of these new pictures of Elysia that I just got from my wife! Look-"

He stopped as soon as he saw Roy's outstretched fingers set in the snapping position. He quickly gathered the photos and held them to his chest to protect them from any accidental spark and looked warily at his long-time friend.

"Is this about Ed?"

Roy smirked a little at the sudden change in tone and demeanor that the man exhibited.

The smirk vanished though when he remembered his purpose. "Hughes. You cannot keep these kinds of things from me."

The bespectacled man brought a hand to his temple and lightly rested his head upon the digits. They both regarded each other slowly.

Then Maes rubbed a hand over his face, "Roy. You know why I did it."

"You still need to keep me informed. I am his direct commanding officer, and I need to know about all things that concern him."

Not in the least intimidated by the tone Roy had, Maes leaned forward, "Is that wise? Should you be the one to know about it? I didn't tell you immediately because you would have exhibited… indecent behavior befitting a Colonel towards one of his subordinates."

Before Roy could interrupt angrily, Hughes held up a hand to stop him, "Roy. I'm not saying anything about it being good or bad, what I'm saying is that the military is not going to view it lightly. You are in the direct lime light and you need to keep your slate clean."

Stubbornly, Roy folded his arms across his chest, "Then you should have told me."

"You would have left the office, ignoring the very important meeting planned for the afternoon, made a scene when Hawkeye detained you, and smashed people around at the hospital to get into that room."

"I should have been there, Maes."This time Roy's voice was more of a pleading whine then commanding or argumentative.

Hughes nodded, his face creasing with concern, "You wouldn't be able to contain yourself. I promise. He was messed up pretty bad from what happened in there."

Roy's head snapped up, "He told you?"

Seeing the indignation in the other man's eyes, Hughes had to chuckle a little, "No. His brother Al was able to tell me some of what happened before he jumped ship. Something is wrong with those two."

Roy thought for a few moments before asking, "What were his wounds?"

Maes grimaced before shuffling a few folders around and reading, "Several lacerations to his chest and abdomen, three stab wounds in his flesh above his automail, and two deep cuts on his right thigh, I believe."

"His automail is broken too."

Hughes looked at him in mild surprise, "So you have been there. What did you do?"

Roy gestured helplessly, "What could I do? I asked him what happened and he refused to tell me. He fell asleep and I left."

Hughes brought his feet off of his desk and leaned in so that Roy knew he had something serious to say, "Maybe you need to get it out of your system? Take an early day and head to the bar-"

"That's not going to work."

Hughes sighed, "I know." Then after a couple beats, "You love him."

Speechless, Roy spluttered.

"You still haven't figured that out? Roy, Listen to me. Whatever you end up doing, just be careful."

Roy stared at him still trying to comprehend what his friend was saying and then he got up abruptly, "Of course I will. Thank you, Maes." Giving a small smile, he left without another backwards glance.

He made his way back to his own spacious office and lit the fire in the grate with a flick of his wrist before collapsing into the nearest chair. He knew that Hawkeye would be out of the office on an errand until it was about time for the office to close up for the day so he left his paperwork on the desk, forgotten.

Unbuttoning his jacket and laying it across the table in front of him he sighed. Was he in love with the young state alchemist?

If he was then he was in deep shit. There was no way that this feeling, whatever it may be, was going to just disappear. Roy flicked his fingers lightly and a spark lit at his fingertips. He let it glow along one tip to the next before he squashed it in a tight fist. He sat playing this game for who knows how long. The sky darkened outside the window panes and the dim light grew longer on the floor. He finally snapped out of his daze and dragged his hands roughly over his face. It was almost closing time; he could leave a little early.

Just as he was almost out the door, Lieutenant Hawkeye came through it, knocking it into the surprised Colonel.

With one glance the Lieutenant summed up the day's office events and then settled her hardened gaze on her commanding officer.

"L-lieutenant Hawkeye, I thought that you would be out for the rest of the evening…" He finished lamely.

"I see that. Do you plan to take this entire stack of paperwork home and finish it before tomorrow Colonel?" She asked icily with a nod to the unattended pages left on the desk.

Roy dropped his things in a hurry and moved over to the desk where he shuffled the entire stack into his bag unceremoniously, muttering, "Of course I was."

"I have an errand for you as well."

This made him stop his motions and look at her oddly, when did the lieutenant give the colonel errands? Before he could muster up a proper question he noted the twinkle in her eyes. He gathered his things once more and met her at the door. She handed him a manila envelope addressed to Edward Elric.

"I have a feeling you might stop by the hospital again so I thought you might have a reason too," Hawkeye smirked and then turned to leave without another word.

Let that be the second time the colonel has been speechless today. He shook his head but gave a wry grin before locking his office and leaving for the hospital.

He took the stairs up to Ed's floor, again cursing his wariness of elevators. Once on the floor he kept his eyes neutral when asking the young nurse at the station if Edward was allowed any visitors. Upon being addressed, she straightened her back and pushed out her chest a little saying, "Of course," while batting her eyes. The colonel inwardly grimaced but he smiled at her and she escorted him to the room saying, "He has been reading for the past few hours." She giggled and then walked back to the nursing station slowly. He spared her no glance and pushed the door open. Edward was lying on his back on the bed with a book in one hand. He was reading fastidiously but when he heard the door click shut he turned his gaze to the newcomer. When he saw it was the colonel he dropped the book and tried to quickly sit up. The result was the small alchemist sitting on the floor and the book lying open on top of his head.

Roy laughed and picked the book off Ed's gold hair and flipped it over to look at the title.

"A formal history of Alchemical Fire," He read of the title with amusement and wonder, "What are you reading this for?"

Looking back at the older Elric, he realized that he was still trying to get himself off the floor. Roy quickly dropped his things and gently helped Ed up. With one hand rubbing his back, Ed ruefully grinned, "My arm must not be working quite one hundred percent yet."

Roy stood for a moment with his gloved hands holding Ed's torso and arm, before letting go and letting Edward sit down on the mussed sheets once more. He placed the book in his hands before turning around to gather his things again. He moved them to the bedside chair on the other side of the room and took his coat off.

He looked up when Ed cleared his throat, "So, any reason why you are getting comfy in my hospital room?"

Roy smiled. Always blunt.

He wordlessly handed the manila envelope to the boy and then grabbed his work folders and opened up the first one.

After a few moments of the sound of papers being shuffled, Ed blew out a breath and then murmured curiously, "So this still doesn't explain why you are getting comfy."

Roy glanced up and to Ed's obvious surprise, smiled a little, "I thought you could use some company, and if I take this paperwork home I'll have a scotch and forget about it."

Edward stared at him for a moment until the colonel gave him a smirk.

He gingerly laid back and said, "I'm reading about flame alchemy now. I wanted to know more about it."

Roy got up and reached across Edward to the table on the other side of the bed, his buttons just brushing Edward's clothes, and grabbed the book which he then deposited in the boy's lap.

"I'm sure I could tell you more than that book, but it's a good start."

Excitedly, Edward asked if the colonel would tell him more about his type of alchemy which he replied, "If I have time, yes."

Edward smiled and picked up his book. The two sat together not saying a word, Edward in his scholarly world and Roy thinking of the blonde not two feet from him, while he scribbled on missives he hardly read.