Ed grimaced as he sat up in bed. Judging by the fogginess in his head and the golden light of a sunset flooding through the window, he had to have been asleep for a while. Ed could hear birds chirping through the cracked window, and the quiet sounds of someone cooking in his kitchen. A quick glance around the room told Ed that he still hadn't been left alone. Now, not only was he being watched by an overprotective soldier, he was being watched by two overprotective soldiers, one of them notorious for taking no bullshit and being very persuasive. (Of course, pistols were usually involved. Ed straightened up in his seat, watching silently as Roy stirred a pot of what seemed to be some kind of soup and Riza continued to read her book in the corner. The amount of time passed could be confirmed by how much of the novel Riza had read while he was asleep. He smirked tiredly. He really wished he could be doing something more productive, but he secretly enjoyed the way the two took extra care when watching over Edward. They didn't have to take care of him so much, but they did anyway, and it made Ed feel full and warm with love. It was a bittersweet reminder of when he had been sick as a child, the way his mother would never take her eyes off of him, watching him like a hawk and being there to comfort him if he needed.

He stretched lightly, gingerly moving his his muscles that had become gooey with sleep, being careful of his left side. Every slight movement pulled painfully on his raw skin. It throbbed angrily underneath the layers of bandages. Ed clenched his jaw against the stinging feeling encasing his arm. Riza looked up from her novel to Ed, smiling when he eyes fell upon him.

"Oh, Edward. You're awake." She observed, her voice soft and quiet like silk.

Roy stopped stirring the steaming pot on the stove to turn around and scan over Ed's body, eyes squinted as if checking to see if he was okay.

"How are you feeling?" Riza asked, a motherly edge to her voice as her stern dark eyes softened to a chocolate brown. Ed paused a moment, taking a second to think about how to respond.

"I'm fine." He lied. In reality it felt like he had just taken a nap on a bed of hot coals, and his whole arm felt nearly as bad as it had the day it happened. Ed held back a shudder at the memory, the way he could barely form coherent sentences through the agonizing pain filling his body and mind. He longed for some of those fancy hospital medications that made him feel warm and fuzzy, even if it meant a few needles involved. Riza narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.

"Are you sure, Ed? You're looking a little pale." She continued, marking the spot in her novel with a bookmark before standing from her chair and walking over to sit on the edge of Ed's bed.

"Yeah, m'fine." He assured her drowsily, eyes bobbing shut as he tried to ignore the searing pain spreading over his blistered skin. Riza gently laid the back of her hand against Ed's cheek, and he was too exhausted to back away.

"Ed, you're burning up." She frowned.

Roy's eyebrows furrowed as he turned off the sink from where he had been washing dishes. He wandered into the room, wiping his hands absentmindedly on a dishcloth, worry evident in his charcoal gaze. He tossed the towel on the counter and put his hands on either side of Ed's face, eyes widening.

"Are you in pain, Ed?" Roy asked, cupping Ed's cheek in his hand. Ed paused for a moment, he could practically feel the gears in his head turning as he tried to think of a response through the haze of pain and sleepiness.

"... No." Ed hesitated, looking away. He decided against telling them how much pain he was in, especially Roy. Ed knew that the man already felt extremely guilty that Ed had gotten hurt, even though Ed had made it clear that he didn't blame him. He didn't want to make either of them worry needlessly, so he lied, though the way he held his arm close to his body and scrunched up his nose in discomfort was not convincing.

"Sure, Ed." Roy agreed sarcastically, piling pillows behind Ed's back and pushing him gently on his automail shoulder to sit back. He gingerly lifted Ed's bandaged arm, Ed grunted and winced as Roy muttered soft apologies. He laid his arm down softly on a pillow, the soft cotton bandages coming to rest on the baby blue pillow case. "I'm gonna get you some medicine that the doctor gave you. Just relax." Roy padded over to the empty bed next to him that was usually Al's and dug through his suit case, pulling out a few documents and a pair of pants before his hands settled on a small bottle of brown pills, he gave them an experimental shake before depositing two into his hand. He folded his fingers over the medicine and pulled a clean glass from the sink, filling it full with water from the tap. He sat on the edge of the bed next to Ed, placing the pills in his automail hand. Ed popped the pills into his mouth, his eyes half-lidded and glazed over with pain and sleep. Roy passed the glass of water to him, which Ed gratefully accepted, swallowing down the medicine and draining the glass. He slipped his eyes shut and snuggled against the mountain of pillows behind him. Roy stood from the bed, placing the glass on the counter in case Ed wanted more water later. He fished through Ed's freezer, pulling out a bag of frozen peas and wrapping them in a small towel. He gently placed the frozen vegetables onto Ed's hand. Ed's eyes shot open and he started at the touch, but he quickly relaxed into it, his eyes slipping shut with relief. Roy was glad to be of some help.

"Better, Ed?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Ed didn't bother to open his eyes as he nodded dazedly. Roy smiled, placing a gentle hand on Ed's head and rubbing his hair playfully. He stood from the bed so as to let Ed rest, and wandered back into the kitchen to tend to his pot of stew. Roy had asked Ed what his favorite food was, which he was sure Ed didn't remember as he had been pretty heavily medicated when he answered. Ed had giddily told Roy that his favorite food was stew, that his mother used to make it for him when he was a kid. Roy just hoped his mediocre cooking skills would be enough to make an enjoyable dinner, it was the least he could do for Ed. He stirred the pot with the ladle that he had found in one of Ed's sparse drawers, the pot being the only one the two brothers owned. Luckily, it had been the perfect size. Carrots, potatoes and turnip all danced around in the broth. Roy dipped a spoon into the stew and took an experimental taste. It wasn't bad if he did say so himself, but it did seem to be missing something.

"Riza, could you come here?" Roy called, watching as she replaced her bookmark and walked over to him.

"Yes, sir?" She asked, raising a brow. Roy smirked and took a spoonful of stew and held it to her mouth.

"Could you taste this? I feel like it's missing something." Riza's face flushed lightly as Roy spooned the stew into her mouth. She held her hand over her mouth politely as she chewed, looking up to the ceiling in thought. She hummed indecisively.

"Hm. I think it might need a bit more salt, but it's really good, sir." She decided. Roy smiled and thanked her with a nod as he shook salt into the pot.

"Riza, we're not at work and we've known each other since we were kids. You can call me Roy, you know." He chuckled with a cheeky grin. Riza smiled and looked down at the floor sheepishly.

"Okay, Roy."

She shuffled back over to her chair, picking up her book from the coffee table and continuing from where she left off. Roy turned around to look at Ed and see whether or not he was feeling well enough to eat. The kid hadn't eaten much aside from jello in the hospital, and he hadn't eaten anything yet today, and Roy wanted to make sure that he had enough food in him to heal. Ed was leaning back against the triangle of pillows Roy had piled behind him, blinking drowsily as he looked unseeing into the distance. The pills and peas seemed to ease his pain a little, but the poor kid looked far from comfortable. And it was all Roy's fault.

Roy shook the thought away and padded over to Ed, crouching beside him. Ed's glossy eyes shifted from their spot on the wall to look at Roy. Roy smiled warmly at him.

"Hey, kid. I know you probably don't feel so great right now, but you've got to get something to eat. I made stew, I heard you liked it." Ed's eyes immediately brightened at the mention of stew, and Roy smirked in accomplishment. "You can stay here, I'll bring you some, okay?" Ed nodded lazily. Roy pushed off of his knees and returned to the stove, turning the burner down to low and spooning stew into a small white bowl. He placed it on a small wooden cutting board and laid it gently on Ed's lap. Ed looked down at it, blinking quickly as if to focus his eyes. He took the spoon from Roy with his automail hand. Roy waited anxiously as Ed took the first bite, and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when Ed seemed to enjoy his cooking.

"Is it good?" He asked hopefully. Ed nodded, humming in affirmation as he took another bite. Roy then filled two more bowls, handing one to Riza before sitting on the bed and digging into his own. Roy couldn't help but be impressed with himself, he never usually cooked much aside from the occasional dinner for himself, but he had made a pretty good stew.

He watched intently as Ed sloppily ate the stew, the medication and his pain making his movements slow and deliberate. His hand shook slightly as he held the spoon in front of his mouth, blowing on the hot stew to cool it before nearly missing his mouth as he ate it. Roy smirked. When the kid wasn't raging and screaming at him, he could be kind of cute.

Just a little.