Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Guardian ❯ Guardian Pt. 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Guardian Part Three.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. I do however, own Ed's Gatekeeper vision and form.

 

 

 

 

 

Roy Mustang signed his name to the last piece of paperwork from his inbox. He stretched and sighed in relief as his back cracked. Locking his office door, he proceeded to make his way towards the base showers. There was no harm in utilizing them before he went home.

 

The lights being on in the locker room was unexpected. As was Fullmetal sitting on a bench, back to the door, cursing in a variety of languages and dialects. The teenager was applying some sort of salve to his left leg, just above the automail. As Mustang stepped closer, he was able to make out the younger man's words. “helvetes djävlar! Shitgoddamnmotherfuckingsonofabitchgoddamnassrammingcocksuckingholymotherof godshitshitshit... motherfuckermotherfuckermotherfucker!Lamerdedieucondamnerlamère baisantlefilsd'unechiennedieucondamnerâneenfoncelecoqsuçantlam 32;resaintedemerdede merdedemerdededieu...labaisedemèredebaisedemèredebaisedemère ! " Ed's left hand clamped down on his thigh as the leg spasmed briefly, his body shuddering in pain.

 

The teen suddenly turned, gold eyes pinning his commanding officer where he stood. “What do you need, sir?” Roy was startled by his subordinate's tone. Never had Edward addressed him so respectfully, nor in such a soft tone.

 

“You might want to stand up straight, Fullmetal, or people might miss you're there and trip over you." Roy smirked, waiting for the inevitable explosion; growing concerned when it didn't occur. “Fullmetal?” he questioned, reaching out to grab the gold-haired teeen's right shoulder.

 

With a pained yelp, Ed jerked away. “Don't touch me. You'll just make it worse.”

 

“You're injured.” It was a flat statement, though Mustang's concern was clear in his voice.

 

“No. Not from my last mission anyway. It's just the automail. I'm fine, Colonel; you don't need to worry about me.” The teen scooped more of the pungent salve from the glass jar in front of him and began applying it to his shoulder.

 

“Explain.” A pause. “Please.” Ed went still at the second word; before slowly continuing his ministrations.

 

“Automail is basically an extremely advanced prosthetic. It connects to living nerves, and the limb moves just like a real one, but there's a lot more to it. All I have left on this arm is the shoulder really. That's the only good thing about what we did. The amputation was pretty clean. I don't know all the details of how it works, but automail requires very major surgery. There's a reason not many people choose to have it. Because it puts a lot of stress on your body for one, and because the pain never completely goes away. It means living with extreme levels of pain the rest of your life, and major surgery every 5 years or so to make sure there are no complications. There's also the necessary support to take into consideration. I lost some bone and muscle in order to attach everything properly.” Ed carefully did not look at Mustang during his explanation. “Not even Al know the full extent of what Auntie and Winry have to do each time. It's one of the reasons Winry gets so upset when I damage the automail.”

 

“And that salve? Something Miss Rockbell gave you to help the pain?”

 

“No, I found this in Xing. The healers there call it Tiger Balm. It… helps.” There was a long silence before Ed spoke again, turning to look at the older man. “If its not… too much trouble, could you put some around the port on my back? I can't reach it, and the balm doesn't react well to Alchemy.”

 

Roy was silent as he picked up the small jar, removing his gloves and gently applying the salve to the teen's scarred back. They wouldn't speak of this to anyone, and wouldn't even acknowledge its occurrence come morning; but every so often, when Mustang was working late, and the pain was particularly bad, Ed would slip in to his office, and the unlikely ritual would occur.

 

AN: Oh, this one was a pain to write, but definitely worth it.