Chapter Text
“Edward, you stop picking at your food. There are plenty of hungry mouths that would be grateful to have that.”
Ed picked up his head at the sound of his grandmother’s scolding tone, not even realizing he’d been lazily pushing peas around his plate instead of eating them. His siblings were sneaking polite glances from across the dining room table, trying to seem as though they were both fully focused on their own meals while still monitoring the potential argument. It was always a coin flip whether Granny’s remarks about manners would set off the middle child’s temper or not.
“…Sorry, Granny,” Ed answered obediently, tucking his curled toes behind the rung of his chair. “I was just thinking.”
“Hm?” There was a hint of amusement in her hum, as though his answer had humored her. “Something on your mind?”
“Of course there is!” Winry answered for him, bouncing in her seat. The excitement alerted Den to the conversation, who rose from the floor with a scratch of claws on the hardwood and padded towards the table in hopes of collecting the children’s scraps.
“Out, girl,” Pinako snapped at the dog, pointing back to the living room. “You know better.”
Ed desperately wished this was a household that made it easier to sneak bites to the dog. At Nelly’s house, her father’s hound took up position under the table during supper and would snuffle enthusiastically at any little hand it thought would be willing to offer shreds of chicken, and that was so much more fun than the way Granny trained Den. Especially when it came to foods Ed wasn’t interested in finishing himself.
Den stood her ground with deep, gentle eyes, silently pleading for the chance to join the family in their nightly rituals. With a huff of annoyance, Pinako pushed away from her seat to deal with the dog, taking her by the collar and leading her to the kitchen and towards the backdoor.
“You know the rules, Denny Girl,” Pinako scolded over the clicking and clunking of Den’s mismatched paws. As soon as the two of them were out of the room, Ed took action.
“Al, I’ll give ya three cenz to eat my peas,” Ed bargained in a whisper, leaning across the table so his brother could hear.
“Ed—” Winry hissed, scandalized by her adopted siblings’ bartering.
“Let me use your frog for the hop tomorrow and I’ll consider it,” Al haggled haughtily, giving his brother a catlike smirk. In the orange light of the summer sunset, his grin seemed particularly devilish.
“Heck no!” Ed hissed, refraining from using the stronger version of the word that would land himself over his granny’s knee and resisting the urge to kick Al under the table for even suggesting such an atrocity. He’d spent weeks fishing frogs out of the creek after school in preparation for Resembool’s summer frog hop competition, and he was certain he had a winner this year. “I caught him, he’s mine!”
“Then you can eat your own peas.” Al said simply, taking such a dramatic, obnoxious bite of his own food that made Ed pale.
Ed glanced over his shoulder at the sound of the screen door squeaking open. He didn’t have very long.
“Four cenz.”
Al wasn’t budging. “Why don’t you wanna eat them? They taste fine to me.”
Ed bit his lip. “Five.” At this point he was giving up all of his savings in desperation. Money was not something that came easy to little hands, and his dreams of buying himself a new book with the few coins he’d managed to collect were quickly becoming dashed.
“How much money do you have?” Winry asked, skeptical of his offer. It wasn’t like Pinako had all the money in the world to give her grandkids, and even then, the spare coin or two that they’d managed to pick up was usually better spent on after school snacks at the village’s small market.
The screen door swung shut with another cry and a smack of the skewed wooden frame. Desperate and running out of time, Ed rose onto his toes and picked up his plate, pushing the majority of his peas onto his brother’s with his fork.
“Hey!” Al cried, before quickly shutting his mouth at the sound of their grandmother’s returning footsteps. The last thing he needed was to be roped into another one of his older brother’s shenanigans, which was unfortunately all too common. Like that time they were having a snowball fight, and Al told Ed not to throw the ice balls too close to Mr. Wilson’s window, and what did Ed do? Al still remembered the humiliating apology that wasn’t even his fault!
“I’m giving you five cenz.” Ed whispered with a sense of finality, dropping back into his chair and trying to act as though nothing had happened. “And I’ll give you one of my marbles after supper.”
“Do I get to pick?” Al asked quickly, keeping an eye on the doorway. There was a particular blue and green swirl one he’d always eyed, and this was his only chance.
Ed considered this. He had an emotional attachment to a few of his favorites, but the rest seemed worth the loss. He could always win them back, his brother wasn’t nearly as good at marbles as he was. It was much harder to cheat at marbles than cards.
“I’ll take out my favorites and you can pick from the rest,” Ed answered quickly, ducking his head and trying to look focused on his supper. Al nodded in quick agreement, sealing their deal.
“What are you boys doing?” Pinako asked, reentering the dining room and taking up her usual seat at the table.
“Talking about the festival,” Ed half-lied, shoveling up another forkful of food and forcing it into his mouth. The thought of swallowing it made him queasy, but he forced it down. It was a worthwhile sacrifice. There was a lot at stake.
The Resembool Sheep Festival only came once a year. He was certain that kids in the city must have more to look forward to, with the way the radio blared about Victory Day parades and military showcases with such gusto, but out by the border, they had the Sheep Festival, and it was Edward’s favorite day of the year. Even his birthday came second to this one special day where the whole village got together for food and drink and games and good old-fashioned competition. The aforementioned frog hop was a favorite of Ed’s, but there was always a grand selection of award-winning pies to try, and sack races to win, and a great deal of music and dancing for the village’s few eligible bachelors and bachelorettes to enjoy. Where else were they going to get to see Tommy’s dad wrestle his prized ram into submission?
So he had to eat, and he had to look normal and happy and healthy, because there was no way he was going to miss all the excitement tomorrow.
Ed’s stomach lurched as he soldiered through another mouthful of food. His granny was one of the best cooks in Resembool, maybe even the whole East Area, but even her chicken seemed torturous on an upset stomach. Ed had been sneaking little sips of water all day long to settle the ache he’d woken up with, and yet nothing was working.
Pinako studied her two grandson’s plates with a knowing frown. “Your appetite sure did come back quick, Ed.”
A chill ran down his spine. How was she so good at this? Every granny seemed to have a pair of eyes on the back of their head, but Ed could swear that his had eyes mounted to the corner of every room.
“It’s just, uh, really good, Granny! If I eat it too quickly, then I’m wasting the good flavor!” He said with false enthusiasm, trying not to let his discomfort show on his face. Again, his siblings kept a close eye on the interaction. This was much more entertaining than their previous conversation about how the crops were suffering in this year’s drought. “I’m already stuffed!”
Pinako didn’t seem to be buying it. “And now it appears that Alphonse is one who hasn’t been eating. If I’m not mistaken, weren’t you eating plenty before I left?”
The true test of loyalty— rat his brother out and give Pinako the answer she wanted, or cover Ed’s back? The decision was too much for little Alphonse. At the mention of his name, he ducked his head as if not being able to meet anyone’s stern glazes would make him invisible.
“Al, sweetie, I asked you a question. Look up at me and answer now.” Pinako prodded, knowing that it was all too typical of children to try to evade the adults’ important questions.
Al nervously looked up, all eyes studying him curiously. “I, uh— you see— we were just, um—”
“It’s ‘cause Ed gave him his supper!” Winry explained in the snide, know-it-all voice he had come to loathe.
“Tattletale!” Ed spat in disgust, making sure Winry knew what he thought about her bullcrap. “Don’t you ever know when to shut that big mouth of yours?” He jumped up and leaned over the table to get closer to his opponent.
“What did you say to me, you little bean sprout?” Winry stood up and slammed her hands on the table, rattling their milk glasses dangerously.
“I said you have a big, fat mouth and you never know when to shut up!”
“Edward Theophrastus!” Pinako scolded, appalled at the utter lack of table manners and respect. “You sit your hide-end back in that chair right this instant!”
Ed lowered his fist and sucked in a deep breath, slumping back into his chair. In a way he was actually relieved to have an external stop to the fight. He didn’t have the energy to challenge Winry much more anyway.
“ Honestly. You’d think I raised you kids out in the barn with how you act.”
Ed sunk into his chair with his arms crossed. There wasn’t much he could outwardly do anymore without risking punishment except be passive-aggressive. Now that the icky green vegetables were gone, Ed decided to give a try at the now-cold bread roll on his plate. That would hopefully be easier on his stomach. He took one bite, nearly regurgitating it back up if it weren’t for pinching his side under the table to distract his mind with a different pain.
“Edward,” Pinako called from across the table, leaning forward on clasped hands. “Why aren’t you eating your supper?”
“I am! I’m just full!”
“Young man, you have barely touched a lick of that meal I slaved over for you,” she scolded, brow furrowing at receiving a lie yet again. “You’re not usually my picky eater. What’s going on?”
“…I just don’t feel like it,” Ed grumbled, glaring at the chicken on his plate as if it had been the one to rat him out. Winry was gonna freakin’ pay for this one.
Pinako studied Ed wordlessly. She’d initially thought that it was just the poor lighting making Ed appear pale, but his odd behavior was churning her mind in another direction. “You’re not feeling well?”
Al quickly shoved his plate away from himself as if he expected it to attack, then wiped his hands on the dinner cloth in a panic. It was like this every time. Ed would pretend to not be sick and then take out the entire household. It seemed that every time any of them got something, it turned out to be a nasty, secret surprise from Ed.
“I feel fine!!” Ed barked, furious that his whole family would betray him like this. “I’m just not hungry! What, am I not allowed to not be hungry for once?”
“You’ve been acting weird all day…” Winry piped up, not taking her eyes off her food. “You kept sneaking off on your own and you wouldn’t tell me why.”
Pinako’s stern tone took on a worried timbre. “Tell Granny what’s the matter, Eddie Bear…”
“Nothing’s the matter. I’m fine.”
She studied him in silence, watching him uncross his arms to stuff his mouth with another heaping bite to prove his perfect health. It tasted great, but it felt like he was packing mud into his stomach.
“You would tell me if you weren’t, wouldn’t you, baby?” she asked, not taking her eyes off him. “You know we don’t play around with sickness in this house.”
Solemnly, Ed nodded, resenting being reminded of what happened to his mother. “I told you I’m fine. How many times do I have to say it for you to believe me?”
“I’ll believe you when you finish up your supper.”
“Then I will.”
“I don’t want to eat Ed’s food!” Al whined, wrinkling his nose at the poisoned plate sitting in front of him. “I’m not letting him get me sick!”
Ed could feel his grandmother’s scrutinizing gaze back on him, as if all of this were some sort of scheme he’d been plotting to ruin their peaceful meal.
“Well, I’d hate to see it go to waste,” she sighed, knowing that her hard work had been largely for nothing tonight. “Ed, take the chicken off the bone and take it out to Den. Al, you go get yourself another plate.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the two responded in unison, Edward doing so with significantly less enthusiasm.
Al pushed the plate towards his brother with a single finger as if it were a fat spider and made for the kitchen, pulling a new plate from the cupboard and refilling it.
“Did you get your stitching done, sweetpea?” Pinako asked conversationally, turning to Winry as Ed focused on stripping the meat from the chicken bone.
“Yeah, yeah!” she answered, grin widening. In his current mood, Ed had no interest in stupid girly things like sewing contests. The frog hop was way better. “I think it came out great! I’m definitely gonna win tomorrow!”
“It’s not about winning, you know that,” Pinako reminded gently. “But I’m glad you made something you’re proud of.”
“It’s not about winning, but I’m still gonna win anyway!” Winry stated confidently. She’d poured her heart and soul into that quilted toolbag she’d stitched from the old scraps and rags Pinako always gave her after they were done being put to use on more practical projects.
“Well, I’m definitely gonna win the hop tomorrow,” Ed grumbled, setting his knife aside and standing up. “And that is about winning.”
“Edward…” Pinako warned, giving him a look that he chose to ignore as he gathered up his plate. He squeezed past Al in the tight kitchen, noting the way his brother was willing to press himself as close to the counter as he could to avoid breathing the same air as him. Coward.
Trying to act unaffected, Ed picked up the dented metal bowl neatly labeled ‘DEN’ and dumped his scraps into it, dropping the emptied plate into the sink unceremoniously. It took all his strength not to cough in Al’s direction as his brother gave him all the room he could.
“You’re being a baby. I’m fine.” Ed hissed as he passed, carrying the bowl out to the back porch.
“I’m not taking any chances! I’m not letting you sabotage my health just so you can win!” Al called.
At the squeak of the screen door, Den picked her head out of her paws and looked in his direction. The sight of him cleared her of all her troubles, the excitement of seeing a beloved family member erasing the memory of being banished from the house.
“C’mere, girl!” He called, bare feet padding down the chipped wooden porch steps. The bowl was set on the gravel path and Den bounded gratefully up to him to lap it clean. The rapidly cooling evening air felt good on his face, easing some of his nausea.
See? Not sick at all.
It was true that he didn’t feel well, but that didn’t immediately equate to illness. There were so many explanations, it was so stupid of his whole family to immediately jump to him being sick. He’d been too excited about the festival to go to sleep on time, he could just be tired, or maybe that worm he’d been dared to eat in the schoolyard had upset his stomach. None of that meant sick. There was no way he was sick. He couldn’t be sick. Not today.
He reached out to offer the dog’s wiry fur a scratch while she gobbled up Al’s abandoned meal.
“They’re being stupid, don’t you think, Den? I keep telling them I’m okay and they won’t listen…”
Whatever Den thought about the situation, she didn’t answer, only continuing to gobble down the chicken with the sort of enthusiasm Ed wished he’d been able to display at supper.
If not for the mosquitoes that thrived in the summer evenings, he would’ve stayed out in the yard for as long as he could, avoiding mealtime with his family to listen to the far-off clanking of sheep bells and the wet slapping of Den’s jowls. There were only so many times he could put up with slapping bugs off his arms before the porch became even more insufferable than the dining room.
“C’mon, let’s go back in, girl,” Ed told the dog, who was looking up at him with dark eyes filled with hope, thinking perhaps this magical little boy could conjure more chicken from thin air. “Before Granny starts wondering what happened to us.”
Den matched him up the steps paw for foot, following her master’s boy closely to the kitchen door and squeezing herself through it the second he had it open more than two inches. She lumbered joyously into the kitchen, grinning with her tongue lolled out as if she could not believe her luck at being allowed back in so soon.
“You could’ve left her in the yard, Ed,” Pinako said, bringing the rest of the dishes in from the dining room and setting them into the sink to begin the night’s washing.
“Not my fault. She followed me.” Ed said, trying to un-dirty the bottoms of his feet on the woven mat before his granny noticed he’d been out barefoot.
“Are you sure you don’t want to eat anything else, baby? Not even my famous apple pie?” Pinako decided to give Ed one last chance to prove that he was actually well and healthy, and judging from the look of disgust on his face, her plan was working.
“Yeah. I’m not hungry.” He explained, trying to sound as normal as he could. “May I please be excused?”
Pinako sighed heavily, turning off the faucet and wiping her hands on her apron. “Come here, baby.”
This was it. It was all over. Ed knew what that tone of voice meant. It was the telltale sign of an order to come closer so that his personal space could be violated to get a vague read on his temperature. This was most definitely not because he was getting sick, but even Ed could tell that his skin felt a tad too warm for normal, and surely a doctor like Granny was bound to notice. She’d definitely get the wrong idea!
“What for!” Ed challenged, opting to play dumb. If he could stall his action for as long as he could, maybe one of his siblings’ antics would cause a distraction. Hopefully, Winry would break a plant vase and create a scene of chaos that would allow Ed to escape.
“Let me feel your head, pumpkin. Something’s not right and I know it.”
Seeing how Ed was in a defiant mood, Pinako started approaching the anxious boy. Ed tried to book it down the hall when Pinako seized his arm, pulling him to a stern halt.
“If there’s nothing wrong like you say, then this shouldn’t be an issue, right?” Pinako reasoned, studying the boy in front of her. Her grandson could use a bath at the very least, ripped clothes dingy with dirt and sweat stains from hours of playing in the hot summer sun.
“I told you! I’m fine! I don’t have a fever or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking!”
“Now you hush that. Let me be the judge, alright?” With practiced hands, Pinako felt Ed’s forehead and cupped his chubby cheeks. Ed’s heart dropped in dread when he realized how abnormally cold her hands felt on his skin.
“Just as I suspected. You’re running quite the temperature there.” Pinako gave Ed’s shoulder a loving squeeze, pursing her lips in a worried frown. Ed hated it when people gave him that concerned, pitying look.
“No, it’s just ‘cause I was outside and it’s hot! I promise!”
“You’re shivering, baby.” Pinako pointed out. ‘Baby’ was fast becoming Ed’s least favorite word. Though it was meant to be affectionate, it seemed entirely insulting for a boy who was already eight years old. “Now you go on up straight to bed, you hear me? And don’t go around Al and Winry either. I don’t need them coming down with whatever it is you have.”
“I don’t have anything! It’s summer. You can’t get sick in the summer! Come on, everyone knows that!!”
“Don’t make me bust out the thermometer, boy. You know where the only one we have goes.”
Not that thermometer! Ed had no idea why Pinako insisted on only keeping that one around. They were way too old for that. Who cares if it was more accurate? There was no way that Ed was subjecting himself to such inhumane cruelty.
“You know what? Fine! I’m gonna go to bed, but not because you told me to! It’s my choice! Don’t forget that, you wrinkled, ole’ raisin!”
With that, Ed stomped up the stairs, making sure to slam the door so that everyone in the house could hear. As he flopped onto the bed he could hear his siblings’ voices carry up the stairs, asking what Ed was yelling about and if he was alright. He heard his grandma tell Winry not to bother him and tell Al that he’d be sleeping with her tonight so he wouldn’t have to share a bed with his brother, all before the dreaded question came.
You don’t think he’s gonna miss the festival, is he?
Ed pounded a fist into his pillow. Of course he wasn’t gonna miss it! He was fine! This was all so, so stupid! His face felt warm, his eyes prickling with uncomfortable heat and wetness, but pursed his lips tightly and willed it back. How could they even bring up something like that? Didn’t they know how that would make him feel? They were such jerks!
Ed crawled back off the bed with a small sniffle and tried to focus on getting ready to sleep, despite the orangey sunlight that still filled every room of his grandmother’s home. He wasn’t sick, he was just tired and not feeling very well. There was a huge difference between the two. If he went to bed early like he was told, he would absolutely feel better in the morning and Granny would feel dumb as a rock for ever thinking he could be ill. He brushed through the tangles and twigs that were always caught in his hair, changed into his nightshirt, and crept to the bathroom as quietly as he could to wash his face and brush his teeth. He brushed slowly, listening to the sounds of conversation downstairs. Winry was still tittering about her sewing project, most likely showing it off to Granny with great pride. He channeled his annoyance into a wad of toothpaste and saliva and spat it towards the drain, resenting the rest of the family’s excitement.
The image of her being able to bring home that precious blue ribbon while he wasn’t able to so much as watch the egg and spoon race was enough to break his heart.
He dropped his toothbrush into the chipped, floral-print mug on the countertop and padded lightly towards the stairs, embarrassed over having slammed the door without actually being able to stay in his room.
“Granny?” Ed called tepidly down the stairs, his small hand curled around the banister.
The conversation going on in their parlor came to a soft pause before he heard Pinako call back, “Yes, Edward?”
He summoned all his will to reply, unable to hide the whiny tone in his voice. “Could you come here?”
Ed heard Winry ask a worried “Is he okay?” and Pinako’s hushed response. There was the sound of the old sofa squeaking as she pushed herself off the cushions. She appeared at the bottom of the stairs with a worried look.
“Are you alright, Eddie Bear?”
Ed nodded with another sniffle, sitting down on the top step with one hand still gripping the banister. He didn’t quite know what he wanted to say, but even without words, his grandma knew to meet him at the top of the stairs and place a cool, gentle hand on his head. Sure enough, the temperature was the same.
“Can you tell me what’s wrong?” She asked softly, combing through his golden hair with a sympathetic touch.
“…My stomach doesn’t feel good.”
She hummed in understanding, although not surprised. “Anything else?”
“…Head hurts…” Ed said, resting his head against her hip as she petted him like a wounded puppy.
“You poor thing…” Pinako tutted gently. “…And how’s your heart?”
‘How’s your heart’ was the time-honored Dr. Rockbell way of asking about emotional wellness, and was something both comforting and embarrassing in its familiarity. Sniffles and broken bones were easy to diagnose, but it was the wounds of the soul that only grandmothers knew how to treat.
When he spoke, it was in a soft, trembling voice. “…You don’t think I’m sick, do you?”
“…If you’re not warm in the morning, you can still go with Winry and Al,” Pinako replied, managing to both answer and dodge the question in a single sentence. “But if you are, then we’ll have to figure something else out.”
“But what if I really, truly feel better? There’s no way I’ll wake up feeling like this tomorrow, right?” Ed asked, desperately seeking to hear what he wanted to hear, but even Pinako couldn’t give him this satisfaction if it wasn’t true.
“You want something to settle your stomach?” Pinako offered, knowing that if Ed was actively admitting to something being wrong, it must be way worse than he was letting on. Ed took after his father in many ways, and unfortunately, this was one of them. “If you take something tonight, it might make you feel better.”
There wasn’t a single magical potion in the medicine cabinet that could cure Ed immediately, Pinako knew, but anything to settle his nerves— and hopefully his stomach.
Ed nodded, feeling too bad to worry about how it would taste.
“Alright, sweetie. You go back to bed and I’ll bring you everything, okay?”
“Okay, Granny...” Ed said, trusting that she knew best before going to slump back under the covers. In a few minutes, Pinako came in with a bottle of tonic for upset stomachs and a glass of water.
“Sit up for me.” She said, the mattress dipping under her weight as she took up her traditional seat at the edge of the bed. Ed did as he was told and propped himself up on a shaky elbow, emotionally prepared to take whatever she had to give him if it meant he’d have a clean bill of health in the morning. “That’s a good boy.”
Pinako measured out a spoonful and held it out to Ed. “Now I know it won’t taste good, but you have to—”
Her stern, rehearsed lecture was surprisingly cut off by Ed finishing the dose in one swallow, taking the entire spoon into his mouth almost greedily. Though he’d slurped it down so eagerly, she could tell by his expression that it was nothing but vile to him. She would have been happy for the obedience if it didn’t mean that he was only complying because he felt so horrible. Seeking relief after the bitter slime of his granny’s medicine, Ed reached out for the water and took a few slow sips. He wanted to gulp it down to rid his mouth of the bitter taste, but there was no guarantee that everything would stay in his stomach where it belonged if he did that.
Ed swallowed thickly, feeling saliva pool in his mouth. He regretted taking it so quickly.
“My stomach hurts really bad now…” He could feel his midsection trying to reject all of his hard work onto his blankets.
“Do you need to go to the bathroom?” Pinako asked, ready to scoop Ed up like a trembling lamb if it meant getting him in front of a toilet in time.
Ed responded with a shake of his head. There was no way he’d need to do something absurd like that. If he threw up, there was no way he’d be cleared for the festival in the morning.
“…Do you want me to bring the basin over for you?” She asked nervously, watching Ed’s face drain two shades of color.
For a moment, he tried to say no, but a sudden lurch in his stomach had him frantically nodding with a hand clamped over his mouth. Wasting no time, Pinako grabbed the ceramic basin off the washstand and nudged him to sit up so she could put it in his lap. Ed sniffled as he stared into the bottom, willing himself not to puke up everything he’d forced himself to eat.
Pinako massaged gentle circles into his back, whispering into his ear, “It’s okay if you need to be sick. You’ll feel better once you get it out of your system, don’t you think?”
“I don’t—” He belched tearfully, ashamed at how weak and wet his voice sounded. “— wanna be sick!”
“No one wants to be sick, dear. But sometimes we can’t control everything that happens in life.” Pinako gathered up as many blond strands of Ed’s medium-length hair as she could hold back.
Ed spit into the basin, allowing himself to indulge in one gag - just one - and even that made him feel slightly better. Nothing came up thankfully, sealing his promise to himself that he was not actually sick.
“…Water.” Ed requested with a small hiccup, clinging onto the hope that it would somehow settle his stomach for good.
“Of course. Drink it slowly, now.” Pinako held the glass to Ed’s lips so he could take a small, uncharacteristically delicate sip that made her miss the energetic boy she knew and loved. Just a few hours ago she had been watching Ed chasing Al in an intense game of tag out in the front yard. Hindsight told her that Ed had been running slower than normal, but at the time it had seemed perfectly natural for the two of them. Al’s longer legs always gave him an advantage in such games.
By some grace of the gods above, the nausea finally passed. It was most likely the medicine just doing its job, but Ed still celebrated the small victory by triumphantly pushing the basin away.
“Not gonna throw up,” He said firmly, holding up the mostly empty dish for Granny to see. “Not sick. See?”
Pinako wasn’t convinced that Ed was completely nausea-free, so she transferred the basin from his lap to the floor next to his bed.
“We’ll keep that there tonight just in case. Fair deal?”
“Yes, Granny,” Ed replied, the medicine already making his head feel warm and drowsy.
“I’m going to go get Al and Winry ready for bed. Are you gonna be alright in here by yourself, baby?” she asked, cupping his plush cheek in a smooth, cool hand. He sleepily nodded in response, eyelids heavy. “You let me know if you need anything else.” She made sure Ed knew that was an order so he wouldn’t try to tough it out on his own again. “I’m right down the hall, you can wake me whenever you need to.”
“Okay, Granny…” Ed murmured, droning her name tiredly as if it was her fussing that was exhausting him and not the medicine.
“Yes, Granny, okay, Granny... You sound like a broken record.” Pinako teased, smoothing out the covers over her middle grandchild. “You get some rest, pumpkin. See if you feel better in the morning.”
“I will,” he muttered, his attitude still managing to cut through the medicinal fog. “I will feel better.”
Gently, she placed a goodnight kiss on his warm, rosy forehead. Beneath her lips, she could feel his skin was already beginning to dampen with sweat.
“Whatever you say, Eddie Bear.”
Notes:
Thank you for reading! Come back next week for Chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Nauseated
Notes:
Here we are at chapter 2! Get ready, this one is much longer and more graphic. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it. <3
~ Strawberry_Sparkle
Chapter Text
The feeling of early morning sunlight warming his freckled face pulled him from his peaceful slumber. It took a few sleepy moments to remember what made today so special, but as soon as he did, he was wide awake. One quick scan of the covers showed no signs of midnight puke piled on his lap, something he was undeniably grateful for.
Ed sat up tentatively to assess how he felt. His insides still felt weirdly shaky and his body was wrapped in an uncomfortable warmth, but that was easily explained away by how excited he was. He wasn’t immediately reaching for the basin to throw up, and that was all that mattered.
Ha! Ed could only imagine the looks on everyone’s faces when he bounced down the stairs perfectly healthy. They would surely bend over backward apologizing to him for creating such an unnecessary fuss. Yesterday was nothing more than a weird fluke, probably from dehydration or a poor night’s sleep.
The smell of bacon frying and his family’s muffled conversations filled the air. Being the last one up wasn’t too out of the ordinary for him, but given the others’ paranoia, he needed to be up soon before they got any more false ideas. He quickly brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face to look at least somewhat presentable before rushing down the stairs.
Al and Winry immediately looked up from their breakfast plates, neither actually having seen Ed since he was sent to bed early last night. Ed seemed happier now and less worried, with the same look of determination in his golden eyes.
“Ah, I thought you were going to sleep the daylight away. I was just about to come upstairs and check on you.” Pinako said, wiping her hands on a dishtowel and turning to face Ed. “How are you feeling this morning?” She started reaching an instinctive hand out towards his head, but Ed swatted it away.
“I’m perfectly fine! I feel so much better now. Are those chocolate chips?” Ed peered up at the stove, the smell of the cooking flipping his stomach a bit. He figured he was just too excited to be hungry. That happened sometimes.
“They’re blueberries, but are you sure you don’t want something a little easier on your stomach? I can fix you some dry toast instead.” Pinako said with that same concerned frown she wore last night. Although Ed was forcing some pep into his step and seemed more energetic than last night, he still looked too pale to be perfectly healthy. She knew him too well to be fooled by such a stubborn performance.
Ed stuck his tongue out in disgust. First the disappointment of it being fruit and not delicious chocolate, then the prospect of having to endure such a bland meal when the rest of his family was having dessert first thing in the morning?
“I want your pancakes and bacon! I don’t need nothing else because I feel perfect.”
“It’s anything else, Ed. The new school year can’t come soon enough. Now sit down and I’ll fix your plate when it’s ready.”
Ed took his seat at the table, rolling his eyes in annoyance when Al and Winry both inched away from him like he had the plague.
“Sorry Brother. I’m not taking any chances.”
“Yeah, you were pretty sick yesterday.” Winry agreed.
“Well, that was last night! Today’s a whole new day! You guys are huge boneheads.”
“Be nice, Edward. Here. Don’t eat too fast or you will be sick.” Pinako said, placing a plate of the smaller pancakes and shorter slices of bacon she made. She didn’t completely trust that Ed was as well as he claimed to be.
Despite her warning, Ed started gobbling up the food with manners that rivaled Den. The sooner he was done with breakfast, the sooner they could leave for the festival. This was one of the only chances during the year that Ed could get cotton candy and he didn’t want them to run out. He’d heard the awful rumors of that happening.
“How’d you sleep last night, Eddie Baby? You didn’t wake me up.” Pinako asked, the way her voice rose an octave pulling a few giggles from the other two.
“I slept just fine, because I am just fine.” Ed was so irritated at having to repeat this fact over and over again. “What about Al and Winry, hm? I don’t see you shoving your wrinkled hand on their foreheads to check their temperatures.”
“Because they weren’t the ones feeling sick, and even if they were, they would tell me without putting up a fight.”
The two were pleased to be seen as the “good” kids. They always seemed to make everything a competition, getting sick no exception.
“Whatever. Bring me some more bacon, old hag.”
“You better ask nicely boy. Don’t think I won’t wash that dirty mouth of yours with a bar of soap just ‘cause you were running a fever last night.”
Ed changed his tune quickly. “Can I have some more bacon please ?”
“Certainly.” Pinako gave Ed only one more slice, feeling as though he was pushing himself too hard too soon. Ed quickly finished his food and dumped his plate in the sink before going back upstairs to get dressed.
But as soon as he was pulling the shirt over his head, Ed’s stomach started to not feel not so good again. He could feel himself growing hot and clammy against his best wishes. No no no, this can’t be happening! Ed sat back down on his bed, eyeing the basin nervously. If he threw up now, then all his hard work would be wasted and he’d be stuck at home instead of having fun at the festival! He refused to let his stupid, traitorous body ruin what he had been looking forward to for so long.
“Ugh…” Ed buried his head in his hands, feeling tears pooling in his eyes. It wasn’t fair! He’d done everything he was supposed to do to feel better. He’d taken disgusting medicine, gone to bed early instead of playing cards with Al and Winry, and yet it still wasn’t good enough. Whatever happened to those equivalent exchange laws he’d read so much about?
Ed would have kicked the bedpost in frustration if he didn’t fear that the slightest movement would send him puking everywhere. His breakfast, while wonderfully cooked, was sitting in the base of his stomach like a stone being thrown around in a muddy river.
Maybe he just needed to distract himself. Yeah, that would fix it.
Bending over to tie his shoes was all it took for gravity to work its magic, his stomach contents nearly pouring onto the laces.
Time was a blur as he flung himself out of the room and made a beeline down the hall, having to push Al away from approaching the bathroom door.
“Get out of the way, Al!”
“Hey! No fair! I was here first! You gotta wait your turn!”
Al only received a door slamming shut in his face, which he most certainly did not appreciate.
“Just ‘cause you’re older doesn’t mean you get to go first!” He yelled, banging on the door. Ed was always doing this, using his age to his benefit to take the bigger piece of pie or insist that he be allowed to stay up later than Al.
“Do not come in here!” Ed managed to croak out between the telltale sounds of retching and splashing. Behind him, he could hear the old bathroom door creak on its weary hinges, his brother offering him a nervous look through the crack in the entryway. Between his bouts of sickness, Ed could hear a shocked gasp.
“Brother! What’s wrong? Are you sick? Are you okay? What – ”
“ Get out! I told you not to come in!!” Ed managed to croak out between painful heaves that sent him rocking back and forth. At least he had made it in the toilet, which felt like a miracle given how nauseous he’d suddenly felt.
“Brother…?” Al backed up away from the scene worriedly, unsure of what to do. Ed was normally the one to jump to action to solve the problem, and Al found himself unable to do much more than stare.
“I…I’m getting Granny…” Al found himself saying, thinking of the only real source of help around. This was something way too grown-up for him to solve on his own. He needed an adult.
“ No! You have to promise me you won’t tell her! Won’t you do that for me? Come on, Al!”
Ed swallowed the bile-soaked saliva that filled his acid-torched mouth, gasping to catch his breath. He wasn’t sure how he could still feel so nauseous even after emptying his stomach. Surely he hadn’t eaten so much for breakfast that warranted puking up his intestines. He didn’t think he could ever eat pancakes and bacon ever again.
“But why not?” Al didn’t understand and Ed knew why. Granny always said to come get her if any of them felt sick. It was what she was there for.
“You just can’t tell her! It’ll be our little secret. Okay, Al? Pinky swear?”
Unlike last night, Al couldn’t bring himself to agree to such a thing. His brother was in a lot of pain, and it would be wrong to keep his mouth shut too. Not to mention that Al would get in trouble for lying to Pinako too and potentially have to miss the festival too. It wasn’t worth the risk.
Al shook his head slowly, eyes wide. “Nuh-uh. I gotta tell her.”
“No! You can’t— Al! Get back here! Al!!”
Ed’s weak cries were too late. Even though they weren’t supposed to run inside, the younger Elric was already booking it down the stairs. Ed would have gotten up and tackled Al to the ground if it weren’t for his stomach betraying him, forcing him to throw his head back into the porcelain bowl.
Ed hadn’t been this sick since that horrible bout of measles two winters ago. He was sobbing now, hands gripping the sides of the toilet as he vomited violently. There was a river of snot running down his upper lip that no amount of sniffling could dam. Soon he heard the familiar bum-bum-bum of footsteps down the hall and before he could even argue, Pinako was entering the bathroom.
“...Oh baby…” Her knees ached as she knelt down next to the ill boy, although she was able to hide her wince to get Ed taken care of. Ed felt a gentle hand rubbing his back, the other holding his hair again.
“What did that stupid traitor tell you!” Ed said in a rough, hoarse voice that was like razor blades on his throat. He could barely get the words out before his syllables were swallowed by a fit of coughing.
“That ‘stupid traitor’ told me you were throwing up, sweetpea. That’s all.” Pinako massaged gentle circles into his trembling shoulders. She couldn’t say she was surprised about any of this.
“Just leave me alone—”
“Afraid I can’t do that. What kind of grandmother would I be to leave my grandbaby all alone when he’s sick?”
“I am not sick! Al is just being a jerk! Winry too! They’re both horrible, terrible, dirty jerks!” Ed hiccupped, pawing at his eyes in a poor attempt to hide the tears. Great! Now’d have to beat up both of his siblings. First Winry betrayed him, and now his own flesh and blood? He couldn’t trust anyone! Granny oughta wash their mouths out since they never know when to keep them shut!
“They’re not trying to be mean, honey. They’re just worried about you is all.”
“Th-there’s no need to be! That’s…they’re – ” Ed choked on his words, too worked up to get anymore understandable language out.
“Hush now. Save your breath. You’ve pushed yourself far enough.”
Ed’s dry heaves were starting to die down, so Pinako flushed the toilet and wet a washcloth at the sink. She started wiping all the bodily fluids from his scowling face. His expression conjured the image of a stubborn infant being cleaned after a particularly messy spoon-feeding. When the whole ordeal was over, Ed was left with a pounding headache and red, tear-stained cheeks that tugged at Pinako’s heartstrings. Before he could even begin to put on whatever performance he had in mind, Pinako spoke up.
“You know what I’m about to say, don’t you, Pumpkin?”
Ed protests were caught up in sputtered coughs as Pinako continued.
“I’m sorry, but no festival for you today.” Pinako said sympathetically, crossing her arms in anticipation of his inevitable tantrum.
“Ten minutes! I’ll — I’ll rest for ten minutes and then I’ll go!”
“Sweetie, you don’t get over a bug in ten minutes. You’re not going anywhere today.”
“Half an hour! One hour! I can nap for an hour and then I’ll be good to go!” Ed’s voice cracked as he spoke. This was the most disappointing thing he’d ever endured. The highlight of his summer was being ripped away from him!
“I’m so sorry this is happening, honey. I know you’re disappointed, but there’s always next year, right?”
“I-I’ll rest until lunch and then I’ll eat your world class, amazing, perfect, cure-all stew, and then I’ll go!!”
“Your flattery is not going to work this time, Eddie Bear. My decision is not up for negotiation.”
“You said I should get it out of my system! Well, it’s out now! I can go now!!”
Pinako placed a firm hand on Ed’s forehead, the thought of pulling out that thermometer becoming increasingly tempting. “That would be true if it was something like food poisoning, but you still have a temperature. I’m afraid whatever’s going in you is still in you.”
“Th-then give me some more of that fever medicine! Then it’ll go back down! Bathe me in ice water for all I care! But no matter what, I am not missing today!”
“And turn my favorite middle grandbaby into a human ice cube? I think not.”
“You’re not even trying to be fair! I’m giving you all of these perfectly fair deals and you’re not even budging!”
“That’s because there’s nothing to negotiate, dear. You’re sick and you’re going back to bed. That’s final.”
“No! No!! No!!!” Ed stomped his foot against the tile, vision blurring unshed tears. “It’s not final! I’m not going back to bed and you can’t make me!”
“Edward Elric, that is enough.” It was rare for Pinako to raise her voice against him and it showed on his face, his bleary eyes wide at her sudden volume. “You’re not going to get your way by throwing tantrums. Go back to your room now.” She shooed him away firmly, turning her attention on the two more healthy of her grandchildren who were not-so-subtly eavesdropping through the door. “You two go on and get ready. I’ll stay behind with Ed.”
“You’re not gonna come with us?” Winry asked, ready to start begging and whining for Pinako to come too. The festival only came once a year, it wasn’t fair that Granny had to miss it too just because Ed had gotten himself sick.
“Did you really think I would leave him to fend for himself?” Pinako said, watching Ed stomp his way to his room and slam the door behind him. She knew his anger was for show, a demand of his masculine bravado to draw attention away from his tears, but it didn’t make it less annoying that he chose to take his frustration out on their house.
“But we’ll miss you!” Al called back, brows knitted together in a look of genuine worry. All three of them were always attached to her at the hip. “Can’t you come with us? Brother’ll be fine here by himself!”
“I don’t want to hear that from you too, Alphonse. Edward can’t be alone right now and I'm telling that to all of you.” She raised her voice high enough that Ed could hear it in his room as well.
“But he’ll be asleep pretty much all day, right?” Winry started pulling on Granny’s sleeve, looking up with big, begging eyes. “Oh, please come with us!”
“Yeah, it won’t be as much fun without you!” Al imitated what Winry was doing, earning a stern flick to his forehead.
“Both of you, off. You two are being so selfish right now. Your brother’s in his room sick and miserable, and all you can think about is how it will affect your fun? You oughta be ashamed of yourselves,” Pinako shooed them away as well before she ended up taking her annoyances out on them. As much as she loved them, the three children were often more trying than they could know. “Now you go get your shoes on. I don’t want to hear anymore complaints, understand?”
Two pairs of big, worrying eyes were fixed on her, looking as though they could not have possibly foreseen such disappointments in their tiny lives. Slowly, they nodded in resigned understanding.
“Yes ma'am.” They answered in unison, scurrying off to avoid any more of Pinako’s politeness lectures. Somehow her disappointment was always worse than her anger.
As they made for the stairs, they passed the door to Ed and Al’s room and shared a glance. Winry shook her head quickly, but Al chose to ignore her and knocked.
From behind the door, they could hear the weak, blubbering voice of their sibling. “Go away, Granny!”
“It’s us. Can we come in?” Al said softly, prying open the door just wide enough for them to poke their heads in. The last thing they needed was a scolding for getting too close.
“What do you jerks want? This is all your fault!” Ed was curled up on his side, shaking under the blankets. Not his most intimidating look, and yet Al and Winry were still taken aback by his furious short fuse.
“It’s not our fault you got sick, Brother. We just wanted to say that we’re sorry and hope you feel better.” Al felt so out of place being the one to comfort his big brother instead. Usually, it was the other way around.
Ed sniffled, covering his wet face with the blankets so that he wouldn’t have to be seen in such a lowly state.
“We’ll bring you back some cotton candy, okay?” Winry offered, knowing that Ed had been talking about it all week.
Though their offer was well-intentioned, the thought of cotton candy made his stomach flop. He didn’t want sweets, he wanted to not be sick anymore.
“I don’t want candy.”
Al and Winry exchanged a concerned look. Ed was always shoving them out of the way to get the blue cotton candy before they ran out. “What about a souvenir instead, Brother? We could win you a stuffed bear or a goldfish or—”
“I don’t want any of that! You’re just rubbing it in that you guys get to go and I gotta stay here!” Ed’s volume took them by surprise, which got Pinako’s attention as well. She approached her well-intentioned grandkids and placed a hand on each shoulder to move them aside.
“You two get away from there,” Pinako’s voice warned. “I don’t want you catching whatever he’s got. Shoes on— now. Get.”
Once they’d been hurried away from Ed’s door, it didn’t take the two of them long to get ready, Al tugging on his boots while Winry searched the parlor for her favorite sunhat. The basket Pinako had packed them all for the day was entrusted to the two of them with the added instruction to share any of the leftovers with their friends, since the sandwiches certainly wouldn’t keep in the hot afternoon sun. As soon as their soles hit the grass, the children seemed to forget entirely about their missing playmate in favor of racing each other down the long gravel path that led to the edge of the Rockbell property. It was a relief that the kids were old enough to be out on their own during the day, she didn’t think she could’ve handled three crying children who were stuck inside during a celebration. She barely had the heart to check in on the one who was actually suffering.
With a heavy sigh, Pinako entered the room. It was a small and simple space, with long-faded wallpaper, scuffed floorboards, and only one bed for both brothers to share, but her boys always found a way to mess it up again. Cleanliness was vital to Pinako, but even the most brutal of timeouts couldn’t keep all the socks in the hamper or toys in their respective bin. She approached the bed currently being used, although, to the untrained eye, it looked like a bunch of pillows hiding under a blanket.
She collected the few stray toys she passed on the way to the bed, watching the covers for signs of movement as she deposited the owner’s playthings in the chipped wooden toy box that had been in the room longer than both Elric boys had been alive, its once bright colors now having faded away to dull, uninteresting hues. Even with the sounds of someone walking around his room, Edward did not stir.
“You know, if you tried to throw a fit like that in front of your grandaddy, he wouldn’t have cared how sick you were,” she reminded tersely, reaching out to stroke the blanket lump that she knew contained her grandson somewhere. “He would’ve whupped your backside right there in the hall if you stomped like that at him.”
It took a while for the lump to reply, only the occasional sniffle letting her know that he hadn’t suffocated under his quilt, as much as he wanted to.
“…I don’t care...”
“And he would’ve given you another one for that. Come on out, baby. I think we need to get a little more medicine in you.” Pinako knew that Ed tended to get overly emotional with fevers, and his oversensitivity to every little thing not going his way was more indicative than a thermometer or hand could ever be.
“What’s the point? It’s not like you’re letting me go anyway…” The only reason that Ed had even agreed to take such yucky medicine last night was the prospect of going. Why make that sacrifice if it wouldn’t be worthwhile anymore?
“Because I hate seeing my little Eddie Bear in such a state,” she explained, hoping the sentient pile of blankets her grandbaby had become would agree with her. “So, do you think you could take it for Granny?”
Finally, the lump stirred, a pair of watery eyes and a mass of messy bedhead emerging from the pile of blankets. He didn’t feel like complying. He felt like making sure Pinako knew how upset he was.
“I hate you! You’re so mean and I hate you! You’re the worst granny and doctor in the whole wide world!”
“Yes, yes. I’m such a mean, awful grandmother for caring about you and your wellbeing, aren’t I? Making sure you don’t go out and catch your death.” she replied, reaching both hands under the blankets to hook them under his arms and extract him from his quilted cave. He fussed in her arms but ultimately allowed himself to be sat upright on the bed with arms crossed. “C’mon, baby, let’s not be like this. I know you’re upset, but I’m trying to make you better, alright?”
“It doesn’t matter…” Ed grumbled wetly, uncrossing his arms to wipe his red, puffy eyes on the backs of his hands.
“Well, it matters to me,” she answered, reaching for the tonic bottle that’d been left on the nightstand. At the sight of it, Edward’s freckled nose wrinkled in disgust. The viscous brown sludge had to be at room temperature now. It wasn’t fair! He always insisted that he was old enough for pills but Pinako didn’t trust him to not panic and choke.
“None of that, now. You’re too old to still be making faces over your medicine.”
It was like this every time, which is why last night came as a huge surprise to Pinako. She was no stranger to cramming a spoon into his mouth and plugging his nose to get him to swallow and be rewarded with a gasp for air. She hoped this wouldn’t turn into one of those times, but judging from the defiant pout sitting on Ed’s face, she was ready to roll up her sleeves and dive right in. Ed was tiny, but he could still put up quite the fight if he wanted to.
“It’s still gross.”
“And you’ll still take it,” she said, measuring out a spoonful. “You did this so well for me last night, let’s not undo that today. Say ‘ah’ for me, baby.”
Ed glared back at her with tight, pouting lips. She returned it with a look of her own.
“Say ‘ah.’”
Unenthusiastically, he complied with a small, “Ahh,” so that Pinako could violate his mouth with the dark spoonful. She went through her characteristic routine of holding his jaw to make sure he actually swallowed it without spitting it back out behind the bed when she wasn’t looking— something he was always quick to remind her only happened once, but it was a moment neither of them would forget.
The second the liquid hit his tongue it was like it had coated every inch of his mouth and throat in sticky bitterness. Every muscle in his body cringed at once, his expression screwing up as if turning his face inside out would rid him of the wretched flavor.
“The faster you swallow it, the faster you can wash it down.”
Although he gagged dramatically, he managed to get every drop of the stuff down. It burned through his throat and felt heavy in his stomach, leaving his whole face tingly and warm in its wake. The taste and heat both brought tears that didn’t hesitate to wash his overly warm face. He’d only been able to manage the awful taste last night from the naive hopes that it’d make him well today.
“This isn’t what I’m supposed to be tasting. I’m supposed to be eating yummy cotton candy and popcorn and ice cream. Not taking yucky medicine that makes my stomach hurt worse!” Ed’s whining ended with him using his sleeve to wipe his mouth, earning a scolding look from Pinako.
“I’m sorry, sweetie.” She reached out and brushed a few stray hairs out of his face, her fingers instantly warming up. “You really are hot. I want to get a read on your temperature. Will you be alright here for a minute while I grab the thermometer?”
Ed backed up. This day just kept getting worse and worse! He couldn’t stand that stupid, awful, no-good thermometer. The sensation of it being inside was worse than needles, and that was coming from the same boy that crumbled apart over so much as a simple finger prick. In fact, he would much prefer that instead than endure this humiliating process.
“No— Not that one! You don’t need to!! Really, I’m fine!”
“Now I think I’ve heard enough no, no, no from you today, young man,” Pinako said tersely, meeting with wide eyes with a stern look of her own. “I’ve already told you we don’t play around with sickness in this house, especially fevers. I can’t tell if your fever is getting better or worse if I don’t keep track of it, so you’re just going to have to put up with it this time.”
With his right to argue stripped from him, Ed flopped against his mattress with a groan. It seemed God himself was out to punish him, though he had no idea what he could’ve done to deserve such heinous treatment from his own family. Backstabbers. Each and every one of them was a backstabber.
“I know you won’t like it, Eddie Bear, but it’s for your best interest.”
“My best interest is going to the festival…” Edward grumbled into his pillow, golden eyes locked on the spot where Al usually laid beside him. It wasn’t fair. If he had to be here, then his brother should be here too.
“Your best interest is hushing up,” She said, though her stern words lacked any real malice. She rose from his bedside and pulled the covers back into place, smoothing them out over him even as he scowled. “And letting your Granny take care of you today.”
He detested her attitude sometimes. “I’m not a baby.”
“Hush,” was the only response she saw fit to give him as she patted his chest over the layered quilts. Once she could confirm that he was safely tucked in, she turned for the door. “Stay put, I’ll be back with your thermometer.”
Though he remained obediently hushed, he made sure she could see his anger on his face with a tightly scrunched pout. His granny had long grown used to the ugly little faces he made when he wasn’t getting what he wanted, which frustratingly meant they had very little effect on the woman. It was one of the many reasons Edward hated grown-ups.
First the sickness, then the festival, and now the thermometer. It was as though the entire world was conspiring to upset him. Even the birds seemed to be having more fun than him, twittering merrily outside his window as if they too were celebrating the brilliantly sunny day. He wished there was a kind of alchemy that could change the weather— if it rained, they’d definitely postpone the festivities until he was better. Maybe if it started pouring right now, Al and Winry would both get soaked on their way home and they’d end up with colds. Then they’d be too sick for the sheep festival and Ed would get to go all by himself!
He sat upright to focus his glare on the clouds outside his window, hoping maybe he could intimidate them into turning gray, but they remained stubbornly fluffy and bright.
“Bastards...” Ed grumbled, disappointed that he had not managed to create a new branch of alchemical study while lying in bed with a stomach bug.
“What was that, young man?” Pinako’s voice came from the doorway, causing Ed to stiffen up against his mattress. That was the other reason he hated grown-ups.
“I wasn’t talking to you, wrinkly old hag, it’s none of your business what I said.” He muttered, sun-kissed cheeks glowing a faint pink.
“Just because you’re not feeling well doesn’t mean your Granny won’t wash your disrespectful mouth out, boy,” she reminded, sitting back down on his mattress and giving him a stern look.
“Your stupid soap is probably what got me sick in the first place…”
“Then you should stop that cursing, or you’re going to end up missing a lot more than one festival. I don’t even know where you’re hearing those words.”
Ed turned back to the window pointedly. “Alchemists don’t share their sources with people they don’t trust.”
“Well, this little alchemist needs to come get his temperature taken.”
Ed had been hoping maybe she’d forget about that.
“I said I feel fine. I don’t need my temperature taken.”
“Well, maybe you should do a little more research on that, Mister Alchemist,” Pinako said, hooking her hands under his arms, lifting him out from under the covers, and sitting him beside her. “I could bring you some of your auntie and uncle’s medical books to read until your fever breaks, see if maybe we have a better understanding of our health afterwards.”
“But those are boring.”
“Then maybe little alchemists should trust their doctors to know what’s best for them.” She patted the soft white apron draped across her thigh, a gesture Ed only associated with worse case scenarios. “Come on, pumpkin. Up and over. We’ll get this done quickly so you can get back laying down.”
“What’s in it for me?”
Pinako paused her shaking of the mercury in the small thermometer and gave him a look. “Don’t be difficult, Edward.”
She gave his arm a tug and he rolled his eyes, awkwardly crawling across her thigh and dropping onto it with a huff.
“This is stupid.”
He felt her cool hand leave a less-than-affectionate pat over the seat of his shorts. “I wouldn’t go running your mouth when you’re already on my knee, boy.”
The fever had left his skin feeling like it was being poked and prodded by a hundred tiny needles, so a spanking would be absolutely brutal.
“But I’m sick! You can’t hit a sick person! That’s just mean.”
Ed figured that if he had to be stuck inside on such a beautiful day, he might as well use it to his benefit. Maybe this would be the one day he could get away with not being on his best behavior.
“If you’re well enough to act up, you’re well enough to take a lickin’.”
Damn it. Why did grown-ups always have a comeback for everything?
“Then I’m well enough to go with Al…” he grumbled, trying to settle his weight more comfortably across her lap. These double standards were getting on his last nerves.
“People who ‘feel well’ don’t spit up their breakfast ten minutes after eating it. They also don’t miss family cards to go to bed early. We could go back and forth all day.”
His breath hitched at the feeling of his shorts being tugged away from his hips, freckles disappearing in a haze of scarlet. Already feeling a hot burst of shame boiling in his guts, he fisted the folds of her skirt and pushed his face into them, hiding his blush from view. It wasn’t so bad not having Al around for this part.
“Just close your eyes and think of something else,” She said with the calm confidence of a woman who had been working in the medical field for decades upon decades. Ed couldn’t imagine what it must be like for kids who had to take house calls from strangers instead of having their grandma around to take care of every sniffle and cough. “Think of that stew you were raving about so much earlier… I see a steaming bowl in your near future if you behave yourself…”
That got Ed’s attention.
“I don’t know if I can keep it down though…” he replied skeptically, trying out his best adult voice. “‘Wouldn’t want to waste rations…”
“Don’t you know who you’re talking to? You act like you’re the first uneasy stomach I’ve cooked for,” she assured confidently. “And don’t you go worrying about things like that. I know how to keep a kitchen. Not a single one of us has ever gone hungry and we’re not starting now.”
“...You’d make it just for me?” Ed asked, turning his head to see her expression to see if she was actually being serious. “I don’t have to share it?”
“Al and Winry don’t even have to know about it.” She said with a wink.
Everyone knew how much work Pinako put into her stew. Her secret was letting the ingredients marinate for hours, then boil for a lot longer than they needed to. While it was a lot of work, it made him feel special that she was making it only for him.
With that small boost of enthusiasm, he obediently squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his grip on the skirt of her dress. He had to assume his fever must be worse than he thought based on how cold the air hitting his bare thighs was. His thin white briefs didn’t feel very protective either, but it was still loathsome to feel them be pulled down to meet his shorts. It reminded him of all those times he’d been yanked over her knee.
“Are you cold, baby? You’re shivering.”
Ed nodded stiffly, not even realizing his legs had been trembling.
“You poor thing… Let’s make this quick.”
He wasn’t a stranger to medical procedures, no mid-winter baby had it easy in a border village, but that didn’t mean he was overjoyed to feel the lubed metal tip pressing against him. His nose wrinkled in immediate disgust at the icky, invasive feeling of the instrument pushing into him. No matter how many times he’d had this awful procedure done, the feeling always took him off guard. He didn’t understand why Pinako always insisted on this method of taking their temperatures anyway. He was way too old. She always rambled on about “something something more accurate,” but Ed would much rather have a wrong reading than something shoved in such a humiliating place.
With uncharacteristic obedience, Ed did as his granny instructed and just focused his attention on anywhere but here.
“You’re doing so good, Eddie Bear. It’ll only take another minute.”
Ed wiggled in discomfort. These two minutes always took an agonizingly long time. He inhaled sharply when Pinako removed the device, immediately scrambling off of her lap and back onto the safety of the bed to get his briefs and shorts back up. He’d already lost enough dignity laying with his bare ass for his grandmother to see. What a bitch.
“100.7. I was right, wasn’t I? You’re running a little fever.” She shook the mercury down as Ed got settled back under the covers.
“That’s barely even a fever! I could’a gone!”
Pinako tsked. “I don’t know where you kids learned to act like that. Always thinking about yourself and yourself only. Don’t you know what a fever means, boy? Contagious. It means contagious . You got another thing comin’ if you think I’m gonna let you around a bunch of people right now.”
“I could’ve gone! I could’ve gone and just stayed away from–” He stopped short, the cogs in his mind turning over new information. As realization settled in, Ed's eyes widened and he ducked his face behind his sheets. “–W-wait, if I’m contagious then you should go too, you stupid old bat!”
Ed wasn’t exactly sure how old Pinako was, but surely something like this could be dangerous for her. The idea of seeing someone strong like her bedridden and knowing it would be all his fault was mortifying.
“Now don’t you worry about me. There’s certain exceptions for family— and don’t you forget I’m a doctor as well as a grandma. Making people better is my job.”
Ed squinted at her explanation, now at an age where realities could not be so easily waved away for the convenience of adults. “But doctors still get sick, don’t they?”
“Everybody gets sick, but it’s up to me to make sure no one gets sicker. If I was always worrying about myself, we wouldn’t have a doctor at all, and then where would this village be?”
There was a small pause as he studied his conversation partner, unsure of how to give a voice to his many thoughts.
“…I just don’t want you to get sick too.”
She laid a soft hand on the top of his head, thumbing gently over his shaggy blonde locks. “You’re sweet, baby.”
She took the rare chance to pat his head without any opposition. It was simply the nature of her middle grandchild that the older Ed got, the less willing he was to receive such childish treatment. If only he could be in good health to enjoy it.
The part of her that knew he couldn’t stay this young forever wished she could still baby him without the need for poor health.
“Do you think you could keep that stew down now, or do you want me to bring you something a little gentler?”
As much as Ed wanted to prove how healthy he was, the thought of shoveling down a bunch of stew not even an hour after puking up every last bite of his breakfast was enough to make him eye the basin nervously. He found himself shaking his head, much to Pinako’s visible surprise. It was clear that he must be feeling worse than he was letting on to turn down her delicious stew.
“Oh? What can I get you then, sweetie?”
“I don’t think I can keep anything down…” Even that medicine he’d taken seemed to slosh violently in an already sour stomach.
“Well, I don’t want you sick on an empty stomach. If you don’t want your stew now, I can bring you some toast, but you’re going to have to put something in your belly.”
Ed nodded tentatively, although Pinako still noticed the hesitation on his face.
“Tell you what. I’ll bring you back something with your toast that’ll make your stomach feel better.”
“I don’t want any more medicine! I just took it, I don’t need more!!”
“Easy baby, relax. It’s much, much better than medicine. I promise.” She said, already rising to her feet and brushing off her apron.
Ed didn’t believe any of this. Pinako was always spouting white lies to get him to do something he didn’t want to do, like that time she lied and said that her hot chocolate was made with water. So when he took a big sip of hot chocolate-y milk, he immediately regurgitated it back onto his shirt. To this day Ed still didn’t trust her hot chocolate.
When his granny returned with tray in hand, his eyes widened. He’d been expecting some huge pills he’d choke on, or some weird medicinal concoction that smelled like rotten eggshells– not something sweet and bubbly sitting on the tray next to the toast.
“I thought we didn’t have soda!”
Pinako nudged Ed to sit up and gave him the glass. “This will be our little secret too.”
Ed’s eyes lit up for the first time all morning. “Really?”
“Of course. It’ll help settle your stomach.”
None of them ever got soda! It was so sugary and expensive that Granny rarely bought it, and even when she did, it was hidden in a secret stash where the kids could never find it.
“Drink it slowly, now. We don’t want you getting sick again.” She scolded when Ed started drinking greedily, eager to enjoy the only sugary treat he was going to have today. The fizzy liquid felt weird going into a forcefully emptied stomach, but it wasn’t immediately coming back up, which Ed took as a sign of improvement. At least now he wouldn’t be in discomfort for the rest of the day.
“Try some of the toast too. There’s nothing on it.”
Ed made a face, memories of his first breakfast already returning to the front of his mind.
“Can I have it later?”
“Try at least one little nibble for me. You don’t have to finish the whole thing. You just need something to digest with your medicine for now.”
Ed took the smallest bite that he’d ever taken in front of the woman that piled his plate full of food even after three servings. He quickly washed it down with a tiny sip of soda, and waited to make sure everything he’d eaten would stay where it belonged.
“Are you holding up okay?”
“I think so…” Ed closed his eyes miserably. This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. Al and Winry were probably having the time of their lives right now and he should be too. He was supposed to be stuffing himself silly with pretzels and pies, not struggling to hold down plain toast. “I hate this. The day is completely ruined!”
Pinako started tracing soothing circles over Ed’s shoulders with her nails. “Oh, come now, is it really so terrible spending the day with your Granny? I can think of much worse fates than getting to stay in bed and drink soda all day.”
Unconvinced, Ed let his misery show in his somber, puppy-dog eyes.
“I’m sure there are plenty of little boys who would be happy to be in that bed right now. I think you’ve got plenty to be thankful for.”
“…But Al and Winry don’t have to. They get to have fun and I don’t.”
“Do you want them to be sick or something? You’ve been saying that a lot today.”
“Well… no…”
“Then stop wishing that on them. We both know how worried you’d be if your brother came home coughin’.” She reminded. Edward had been an attentive brother from the very moment he became one; whether it be a scraped knee or a sore throat, Al’s maladies were Ed’s matters. “Misery doesn’t always have to love company, you know.”
“But being in bed all day sucks.”
“Well, let’s see if we can think of something a little more fun…” Pinako offered, hoping to ease his woes. A part of her envied his chance to lay down all day without concern for responsibility. It wouldn’t be too long now before he’d begin to regret complaining about getting permission to nap for an entire afternoon. The workshop was going to be a lot more lively once he and his brother were old enough to know how not to hurt themselves on the equipment. “Does my little alchemist have anything he wants to read while I start your broth?”
She pushed herself up from the bed and moved toward the small shelf that held he and Al’s personal library. Though there hadn’t been space in their shared room for all the leather-bound tomes their father had left them, they’d been allowed to bring along their favorites as reference materials.
“I already read all’a ‘em.”
“Well, then maybe I should go fetch those medical journals. ‘Does a body good to know the body. Especially in our line of work.” She teased. “What about all those automail encyclopedias, hm? You could spend the day memorizing the different kinds of screws. After supper, I’ll quiz you on ‘em. That sound fun?”
“Our line of work?” Ed scoffed haughtily, annoyed by her repeated attempts to urge him towards the Rockbell’s trade. “Check your head, hag. I already told you, you can leave the bolts to the screwhead. I’m an alchemist, not an engineer.”
“Oh, really? Well, how would you know unless you try? You could come help me in the workshop over your break…”
“Granny! I don’t wanna spend my summer doin’ homework! Don’t you think making me shear sheep in those hot musty barns is enough torture?”
“It’s not torture. At least when you shear sheep, you get to sleep in. If you were out there working the coal mines, you’d be up before the sun. I know it’s not always fun pumpkin, but we all gotta do our part around here. Offering to help out with the shearing isn’t nearly as much of a chore as you think it is. You should feel lucky that you’re not the one letting them out to pasture every morning.” She said, plucking a few hefty tomes off the shelf and tucking them under her arm. “You’re not going to be impressing any girls with how many books you can carry if you can’t find yourself a half decent job.”
Immediately, Ed stuck his tongue out in disgust. “I don’t wanna impress any dumb girls!!”
“Dumb?”
“Yeah! Girls don’t give a bit about alchemy!” He barked, slapping his small hands down on the thick, downy covers.
She tried her best to stifle her amusement at his insistence. “Who says?”
“Winry did.”
“That’s one girl, Edward. She doesn’t speak for all girls.”
“She said the girls think it’s creepy.”
Her lips pursed into a small frown, understanding entirely too well the reputation her grandbabies had around the village. Most families would not approve of bringing the witching kind under their roof.
“Do any of these sound interesting?” She changed the subject shortly, returning to his side to set the stack of books onto the nightstand. Truth be told, no matter how often her boys prattled on about chemistry this and array structure that, alchemy was a science she had never been able to wrap her mind around. Deny it though he might, Edward would always be Hohenheim’s boy.
“I told you, I read all those.”
“Cover to cover?”
“Cover to cover to cover to cover…” Ed muttered, flopping backward into the yellowed, goose-feather pillow with arms crossed.
“Well, what about this one?” Pinako smirked, lifting the smallest of the books off the top of her stack with careful hands. It required a delicate touch, the worn spine well-past saving, its crisp pages only barely bound to the battered cover. She held out the old picture book for him to see, the familiar images of well-dressed lambs and goslings instantly recognizable to them both. It had at one point been a beloved bedtime story– one Ed had excitedly babbled along to before he could understand the connection between letters and sounds.
“...How old do you think I am?”
“Well, I just thought you might appreciate it a little more now that you understand books are for reading and not eating.”
Ed mustered the nastiest glare. “Put it back.”
“Well, if you’re really not in the mood for reading,” she began, setting the tattered little book back on the table. “Are you feeling up to a game of checkers?”
The golden luster returned to his dull, melancholic eyes at the idea of having more entertainment. Playing checkers with his granny was the best way to pass the time on rainy days when he’d already read every book on the shelf, though he was rarely able to beat her at their favorite game.
“Now that’s actually fun.” Ed started to get up when two gentle hands pushed him back down.
“You stay right where you are. I’ll go start your broth and then I’ll bring the game to you.”
“I could go get it while you start the broth… We could set it up in the dining room!”
“No, you need to stay in bed. You don’t need to be up and down the stairs with that fever.”
Though he talked a big game, if he was being honest with himself, Ed could get used to this. Normally Pinako nagged at him for every little thing – don’t track mud in the house, wash behind your ears (who even did that anyway), drink at least one glass of milk a day. If all it took was a slightly raised temperature to get her to treat him like a king, then so be it. If it were any other day of the year, he would’ve gladly welcomed sitting in bed playing games and sharing warm stew with his granny until he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.
Chapter Text
A hot flash yanked Ed from his impromptu nap, recognizing the threatening churn of his stomach as the stew tossed and turned the same way his breakfast had earlier. There was no way that any of Pinako’s hard work would stay where it belonged.
The back of Ed’s pajama shirt was soaked, although he couldn’t tell if his uncomfortable warmth was coming from the rising fever or heavy quilts that Pinako had piled on high. He tried to untangle himself to get relief from the suffocating heat, finding himself dreadfully entangled in the mass like an insect stuck in a spider’s web. His legs were like jelly trying to kick himself free, and by that point, his lunch was crawling up his throat and exploding all over his lap. The acidic sickness burned passed his lips and hit the faded quilt squares with a splat, the off-colored mess immediately soaking into his granny’s delicate needlework.
Fuck! Ed was very glad that no one could hear his thoughts. That word had been picked up from down at the market when one of the older boys had accidentally knocked over a display of glass soda bottles that had shattered on impact. It had only taken one time for Ed to learn that this word was not meant to be repeated by little mouths. His bottom had stung for a week after that one.
Ed weakly fumbled to reach the basin sitting on his bedside table, knocking the stack of books to the floor with a heavy thud, hoping he’d at least be able to get half of his partially digested stew in an appropriate place for proper cleanup, but it turned out to be a mite too far to be easily reached from his sitting position. His tiny hand gripped the edge of the mattress as another wave of sickness hit both the blankets and his chest, leaving a dark stain behind as it rolled off his shirt and onto the sheets. It was sickening to think that it looked nearly identical coming back up as it did going down.
At least when he’d thrown up earlier, he’d made it to the toilet instead of using his pajama shirt as a wastebasket. Guilt was setting in faster than the stains with the knowledge that none of these ruined fabrics would be salvageable. The Rockbells didn’t have all the money in the world for nice clothes and warm blankets, and now he had to go and ruin what little they had.
“Gr…gra…” The words got stuck in his mucus-clogged throat, crumbling into wet, pathetic sobs. Being stuck sitting in his own mess with no end in sight was enough to send a man (which Ed most certainly was) into a panicked frenzy.
“...Graaaaaannnnnny!” Ed wailed, feeling another wave of nausea coming on. Where was she anyway? She’d been sitting right next to him when he’d drifted off. Why did she have to leave at a time like this?
It wasn’t long before the sound of Ed’s cracked, pained voice pulled Pinako back into his room. With a quick and practiced motion, she put the basin in Ed’s lap and urged him to lean forward as he heaved up the rest of his lunch.
“Oh, honey, look, I’m right here…you poor thing, just get it out…”
That was the thing about Edward Elric – he never half-assed anything, getting sick included. He didn’t get sick often but when he did, he went all the way. Al was the complete opposite, Pinako had noticed. Al always got sick more, but it was mostly just getting a little sniffly during weather changes and thankfully not much more.
“It’s alright, you’re alright...You’ll feel better once it’s out of your system.” Pinako said, alternating between rubbing and patting Ed’s back comfortingly. The look on her face suggested some faint guilt for leaving him alone in this state, even if it couldn’t have possibly been her fault.
After a few more rounds of heaving, Ed’s stomach calmed down, although it didn’t leave him feeling much better. His head was roaring between his ears, his body left feeling like he’d been rode hard and put up wet. Even sitting up was sucking up all of his energy, which Pinako thankfully noticed and hoisted him up by the armpits onto the floor. Ed was so dizzy that he had to lean against her for support, burying his head into her chest miserably. Her apron grew damp from his tears, saliva, and snot, but if she noticed, she didn’t comment.
“Aw, my little man is having a rough day, isn’t he?” Pinako cooed, finding his small act of discomfort adorable. It wasn’t often that Ed openly showed weakness like this, instead preferring to put on the tough exterior to show off for Winry and Al. For once, he didn’t feel like he needed his bravado, not that he could summon it even if he wanted to.
“Thuh-This…” he wheezed wetly, his words dampened by a nose clogged with snot. “This is the wuh-worst day of my wh-whole life...”
“Oh, don’t say that… There’s worse things than being sick…” Pinako said softly, petting his hair as she spoke. “All you need is a nice warm bath, don’t you think? We’ll get you all cleaned up and you can lie back down.”
Ed nodded somberly, eager to get out of his disgusting, soiled clothes. That idea hadn’t even crossed his mind. It was amazing how grown-ups always seemed to know what to do. Briefly, he dreaded the arduous walk to the bathroom in his condition when felt himself being scooped up into his granny’s arms. With her small stature, it was easy to forget that her arms had been hardened by decades of engineering work. As she carried him out into the hall, he could finally be glad that he stayed home instead of trying to make it through the festival. Within the first hour he would have been curled up on the grass in a fetal position begging to go home.
She shouldered open the bathroom door and gently eased him back down onto his own scrawny legs. The bathroom tile was freezing against his bare feet, the whole room feeling unnaturally frigid. Granny must’ve been right about that fever— there was no way an East Area July would ever be this forgiving.
“Arms up, baby.” Pinako instructed, carefully peeling off Ed’s shirt to toss in the hamper, along with his shorts. He was right at the crest of aging out of allowing himself to be seen at bathtime, but he would allow for an exception this time.
She set Ed in the bath and knelt down to turn the water on. Immediately Ed shivered when the icy water made contact with his skin.
“Granny!” He whined, drawing his legs up to his chest in an attempt to avoid the water as it rose towards his toes. “That’s way too cold!”
“It might feel like that, but I promise it’s still warm. It’ll help bring down your fever.”
“I’m already cold! This is just gonna make me feel worse!”
“Would you rather have more medicine instead?”
That got Ed complying and reluctantly sinking into the water. At this point, it didn’t feel like it was worth arguing about. He just wanted to feel clean again.
“That’s what I thought. Now hold still for me.” Pinako lathered up a washcloth with soap and started scrubbing the grime off of Ed’s body, just as she had done many times before when he was too young to bathe alone. “We’ll just have to not tell Al about what happened. You know how finicky he gets about germs. I could wash the blankets a million times and he’ll still put up a fight at bedtime.”
Unfortunately, Pinako’s attempt at humor went right over Ed’s head. Instead of a giggle and snide comment in agreement, a long, wet sob erupted.
“I-I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!!”
“Hey, hey, ” Pinako cupped Ed’s wet cheek in her hand, putting his washing on a temporary hold. “Now what could you possibly have to be sorry for?”
“You had to miss the festival and then you worked so hard on the stew and then I ruined my clothes and blankets and now you gotta give me a bath and– and–”
Ed hiccoughed as he panted for breath, all of his pent-up emotions tumbling out at once. It was too much. He’d been resting, eating bland foods, forcing nasty sludge down his mouth in the name of health, and yet he still didn’t feel good.
“Alright, alright, settle down now. You act like this is the first time I’ve ever seen you spit up your milk.” Pinako assured gently, stroking down his smooth back. It was always hard to see any of the children work themselves up into such a state of distress. “Don’t you know what we used to call you when you were a baby?”
Ed sniffled thickly, wiping his face on the back of his wet hand. Pinako offered a dry washcloth to him as he spoke. “No… I don’t remember being a baby…”
“You were your granny’s spitty little grandbaby. We couldn’t keep anything in you. It was as if you didn’t want to grow!” Pinako went on, pleased that his outward cries were muffling into choked sniffles. “You always had to go and make everything difficult. Your poor mother had stains down the back of her dress from the way you’d spit your bottle back up every time she tried to burp you.”
“Grannyyy… that’s gross…”
“What’s gross is changing your diapers before we realized you were lactose sensitive.”
“Granny!!”
“ Alright, alright, I’ve tortured you enough. My point is that what you did today is nothing compared to what I did for you as a baby. At least that first time you were sick, you made it to the toilet in time. You could’ve spit up all over the rug, or the breakfast table, or Al— ”
Pinako was proud to have pulled a slight smile from Ed.
“…I bet he’d scream like a little girl if I did that!”
“Now, don’t go getting any ideas now.” She scolded playfully, giving his cheek a loving pinch. “Whatever you got, he don’t need. Now close your eyes for me so I can rinse out your hair. I don’t want you crying again from soap in your eyes.”
The way Pinako was stroking Ed’s hair was no fair, but it made missing one a lot less heartbreaking. Grandmothers always had a knack for matters of the heart, and before he knew it, Ed was being engulfed in a warm fluffy towel. Pinako took a seat on the closed toilet seat and set him on her lap to begin the long process of running a comb through his hair.
“Your hair’s gotten so long. I’m sure it’s a hassle to keep the knots out. Don’t you want me to cut it soon?”
“Mm-mm. I like it just the way it is.”
“Do you actually feel that way, or do you just not like to sit still for that long?”
Ed gave the most adorable pout in response. “You always take so long to cut it! I always hafta sit there for hours !”
“ Minutes , Ed. You don’t got that much hair. It only feels like longer ‘cause you won’t stop squirmin’.” Pinako ran her fingers through his hair to make sure it was all smooth.
“I wish we had one of those new blow dryers everyone’s talking about. I’m freezing cold.”
“That’s your fever talking,” She laughed gently. The children of the new century were overflowing with want. “But I know the wet hair isn’t helping either. It’s about time for you to lie back down anyway.”
“But I threw up all over my bed…”
“You must think I really am the worst Granny you could ask for, thinkin’ I’d put you back to bed on soiled sheets.” She tutted, wondering exactly where he always got those dramatic ideas. “We’ll bring out some of the winter quilts and set you up on the couch while your granny makes you some tea to settle your stomach.”
“What kinda tea?” Ed asked in a skeptical mutter, not yet at an age that appreciated the bitter tea leaves that were brought out of their striped tins on the few occasions the family had proper guests.
“Thistles and motor oil,” she joked lightly, tussling the moisture from his unruly locks.
“That’s worse than that medicine you made me take earlier. I bet it’s the reason I threw up again…”
“And you’ll drink every drop. And you’ll remember to say thank you, won’t you?”
Edward’s head shook like a dog, small droplets splashing against the faded wallpaper and covering Pinako’s glasses. He watched her wipe the lenses clean on her apron with his bright eyes twinkling in amusement, clearly proud of his work.
“That enough drops for you?”
“Since when did you get so sassy?”
Ed giggled brightly, combing his bangs away from his eyes with clumsy fingers. “I want lemon tea.”
“With honey. I know, baby.” She lifted him out of his seat with her hands tucked under his arms and set him back down onto the crack tile floor. “You’re treating my kitchen like some kind Central teahouse. What happened to those manners I taught you?”
“Lemon tea, please.” Ed requested haughtily, his usual twang traded in for his poor attempt at the capital’s cadence.
“Coming right up, Mister Bigshot Alchemist.” Pinako replied in a similar intonation, pulling the plug from the drain. “Now why don’t you go get changed into your jammies while I dry up this mess.”
Tightening the towel around himself, he took a bouncing step towards the door and padded out into the hallway and back to his and Al’s room. He tugged the fresh, not-covered-in-vomit pajamas over his head and trailed down the stairs to the living room. The combination of his pounding headache and the warm bath made his body heavy with slumber, even as the afternoon sun continued to stream through the wide front windows of their small home. All of his usual rambunctious energy was stolen by the fever and replaced with an unquenchable thirst for sleep.
The worn sofa already had a heavy quilt laid out across it in preparation for his arrival, and he was more than happy to curl up beneath it. As his eyes closed, he could hear the click, click, click of Den’s claws scraping the boards and the clunk, clunk, clunk of her steel leg against the hardwood as she hesitantly approached. Seeming to sense his discomfort, Resembool’s Best Escort offered his dangling hand a few soothing laps with her warm tongue.
“Shoo, girl..” Pinako said softly, nudging the dog away with her foot so she could take her place at his side. She gave his shoulder a gentle shake and sat him upright so he could take a few slow sips of her offered tea. As he weakly drank, he watched her set a 'just in case’ wastebasket on the floor before drifting off to sleep.
. . .
When Ed awoke from his nap, he lay perfectly still to assess the state of his stomach. He wasn’t immediately sitting up to spew everywhere like a broken spigot, so that was a good sign. His headache had reduced to a distant ache rather than thunderous booming, so that was also a sign of improvement. No wonder Granny was always pushing him to sleep as much as he could when he was ill.
The grandfather clock was perfectly in Ed’s line of sight, but he didn’t feel like using his brain to decipher the time. Instead, he used the soft orange glow pouring in through the window to deduce that the hot midsummer afternoon was settling in for a cool, lightning-bug-lit evening.
It was odd. Summer evenings were usually filled with laughter and screams as whatever activity winded down for supper, yet the house was silent. Al and Winry still wouldn’t be home until after the fireworks, which left a strange void where two rowdy children should be. Ed allowed himself the small hope that he’d be able to see the brilliant show from the windows, even if he couldn’t have his usual front-row seat.
“Oh, good morning, Eddie Bear.”
Much to his surprise, Pinako was sitting on the other end of the couch, slow trails of smoke rising from her pipe as she stitched clean, new squares onto the same quilt that he’d been violently ill on. The strong tobacco smell certainly didn’t help a sour stomach, but it had a comforting familiarity to it that Ed had learned to associate with home.
“S’not…” Ed buried his face into the quilt to cough, his throat miserably raw from the day’s events. “Hahh… it’s not morning…”
“Take it easy on your voice. I was only teasing you, boy. It’s still Saturday.” She looked up from her stitching to study his expression. “How are you feeling? You have some color to your face now.”
Pinako set down her patch to feel Ed’s forehead for the umpteenth time in the past twenty-four hours and the ump-hundredth time in eight years. He didn’t even bother to swat it away, instead choosing to lean into the cool touch.
Ed wasn’t so sure that he was genuinely starting to feel better, especially not after the day’s events. “I still don’t feel too good.”
Pinako nodded knowingly. “Mm-hmm, that’s to be expected. You were just pitiful earlier. But I bet you’ll feel much better after you have some water and get a good night’s sleep. What do you say?”
“That’s what you said last night and look what happened,” Ed grumbled sleepily, blowing tray hairs from his face with a huff. “Why should I trust an old liar like you?”
He was used to his Grandmother’s tutting, but that didn’t make the sound any less annoying.
“You are just like your father, always having to question everything. I never said you’d wake up cured. That was only wishful thinking on your part.” That comment would have sent Ed into a fireball of rage if he had more energy. The dark circles under his eyes made Pinako coo in sympathy. “But I think the worst is over now, hun. Nothing can be worse than throwin’ up all over yourself. Now why don’t you sit down and I’ll bring you something to drink?”
Ed recognized that tone of voice, the one that disguised a command as a suggestion. Still, he had no reason to argue. Pretty soon he was being nudged to sit up and handed a glass of water, which he downed in one gulp.
“Easy now, we don’t want you getting sick again.” Pinako scolded, gathering her sewing project into her arms and scooting closer to his end of the sofa.
“‘M not. M’ just thirsty.”
When Ed stopped using full words, it was a surefire sign that he was exhausted. It didn’t seem fair that he would still feel so wiped out after napping. His eyes went droopy, fixated on the soothing rhythmic pierce and pull of her needle that could lull even a healthy person to sleep.
“What’s on your mind, baby?” Pinako asked, sensing that Ed was watching her without even having to look up from her project. “You’re not still upset about the blankets, are you? I already told you they’re perfectly replaceable. In fact, I’m just about to finish.”
She received no answer.
“Ed, are you awake?”
“...Mm-hmm, ‘m up…”
Pinako set her sewing kit on the floor and beckoned him closer. “Come here, Eddie Bear. We both know you’re not feeling well, no use actin’ like you ain’t.”
With a yawn, Ed ducked his head beneath the covers and crawled to the other end of them, his freckled face popping out from under the down like a rabbit emerging from a snow-covered den. He rested his plush cheek against her thigh, noting the warm smell of spices and herbs that clung to her apron. He wondered if they were from whatever he’d get to have for supper tonight, or if the linen was carrying with it the memories of countless meals.
He relaxed into her touch as she carded her fingers through his unruly bangs. Al and Winry would never let Ed hear the end of this if they were to see this. Ed was always going on about how he was too old to get kisses from Granny, otherwise, he wouldn’t be seen as the man of the household anymore.
“Do you know what this reminds me of?” Pinako asked in a comforting hum.
“What?”
“All those times I had to comfort you as a little baby on my lap.”
“Yes, Granny. You’ve told me a million times.”
“And I’ll tell you a million more. I spent so much of your first year sitting right here in this spot getting you to calm down. You know that in all of my years as a midwife, I’ve never seen a baby give his mother as much trouble as you.”
“It’s not like it’s my fault …”
“You were always fussing, that’s for sure. Once you knew what you wanted, there was no stopping you once you learned to crawl. And, boy, oh, boy, did you get upset whenever someone picked you up when you wanted to be down. For such a little baby, you sure had some big lungs on you.”
“Quit calling me little…”
“Oh, but you were! You were one of the littlest babies I’d ever seen in the entire village. I kept telling Trisha to not get too attached to you. Most babies that small don’t even make it through the night, especially with that awful snowstorm. I never thought I’d be holding you like this eight years later.”
Ed closed his eyes and snuggled into his blanket tighter. Hearing stories about his mother always burned in his chest, but with how few collective memories he and Al had of her, it was nice to learn about the years he was too young to remember.
But if it couldn’t be Trisha comforting him through every fever, chill, and upset stomach, then Pinako was the next best thing. Somewhere throughout her stories was the distant boom of fireworks and cheers muffled by distance across the grassy fields. In his fevered state, the line between being awake and asleep was blurry, but it didn’t seem as scary as it had when he was alone in his room. Here, he was comfortable, he was safe, he was well taken care of, and he was loved, and that was way better than any lame festival.
Notes:
Thank you for sticking through to the end on this one! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.
- Admiralish
KawaiiRae on Chapter 1 Mon 04 Apr 2022 01:16AM UTC
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Admiralish on Chapter 1 Mon 04 Apr 2022 12:00PM UTC
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KawaiiRae on Chapter 1 Tue 05 Apr 2022 11:14AM UTC
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Admiralish on Chapter 1 Mon 11 Apr 2022 12:56AM UTC
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Admiralish on Chapter 2 Mon 11 Apr 2022 12:59AM UTC
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Admiralish on Chapter 2 Tue 12 Apr 2022 11:24AM UTC
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Otaku_Dreamerz on Chapter 3 Sat 16 Apr 2022 06:44AM UTC
Last Edited Sat 16 Apr 2022 06:45AM UTC
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