Day 69: Breakfast

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar scowled, both relieved and angry that he had woken up once again in his own bed. That lanky man who had become his new roommate on the night of his death was sound asleep one bed over.

This was coming to be the new "normal." It was infuriating.

As always, he begrudgingly followed his nurse into the cafeteria and took a seat. He preferred to file in with the majority of the patients in order to avoid sticking out, but no such luck this morning.

Scar stared at his food rather than starting in on it, despite the newly found appetite that had been lost thanks to that blasted sickness. He had a lot to think about. He hadn't managed to find Frank last night. The damn intercom had beaten him to it. And judging by Tsubaki's reaction to him, he had been out for at least a day's time. How many had noticed? Cared? It couldn't have been many.

But it was the few who did whose detection Scar was desperate to avoid.

[Eddyyyy!]

Comments

[fullmetalheart]

Ed forgot about his arm and stared at Scar. "There's no science books?"

[envy_the_sinners]

"Only fictional nonsense, so I have heard."

[fullmetalheart]

"Damn," Ed grumbled. "Looks like I get to ignore the library unless I'm desperate for reading material."

[envy_the_sinners]

"There are more important things to be done than reading, anyway."

Speaking of research, though...

"What have you heard about this supposed 'cure?'"

[fullmetalheart]

Ed rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm real sure I'm gonna be allowed to do anything worthwhile during the day. Anyway, it's a flower called St. John's Wort."

[envy_the_sinners]

"I am nothing of a botanist... What does it look like?" He ignored the sarcastic comment. Even Scar was learning that he had to step rather lightly around Edward's childishly fiery attitude.

[fullmetalheart]

Ed shrugged. "No idea. If Al was told, he didn't tell me. I'm sure that someone from back home could tell us, but he's not here, and doesn't need to be here. He's got a little brother to take care of."

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar nodded.

"I will ask someone else. But has it been used? Does it work?"

With the now slim chance that Frank was still alive, he needed to know.

[fullmetalheart]

Ed chewed on his lip as he tried to remember everything Al told him. "He didn't say."

Then he remembered a bit of his and Lust's conversation. "Lust told me that she found one for you."

[envy_the_sinners]

"Did she?" Scar rolled his eyes, frustrated. It was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. Why was she wasting her own time for the damn cure? And if she found one, she should have given it to Frank. He was the one who was actually transforming!

Not that it mattered, now.

"Did she at least give it to someone else?"

[fullmetalheart]

Ed shrugged. "I have no clue."

[envy_the_sinners]

Another look of frustration.

Scar got to finishing his breakfast in silence. Prolonged conversation had never been his strength. Hell, this was probably the longest continuous conversation he had had since arriving!

Instead, Scar's eyes drifted up to Alphonse and lingered there. It was somehow not strange at all to see him like this, whole and human. His kindhearted demeanor had always shown through during his days in the suit of armor. Now it was even stronger. And now that Scar knew what they had been through...

Alphonse was everything Scar could have been, if he had only been stronger. This boy's suffering had shaped him into a compassionate and strong willed young man. Scar had only let it break him. It was a painful reminder of how weak he truly was.

But it was also why he was so fiercely protective of both the Elric boys.

[fullmetalheart]

"If she gave it to someone, it was probably last night when I was preoccupied," Ed said as he cautiously lifted his hand to check the scratches on his arm. They started bleeding again although not as fast, causing him to grimace and cover them again.

He glanced in the direction Scar was staring before looking back at him. "Are you looking at him or her?"

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar's teeth snapped together and he looked back to Edward.

"What?" He only half-realized where he had been looking. He had zoned out completely.

[fullmetalheart]

"Well, either you've been staring at my brother, or you've been staring at Lust's rack," Ed said drily. "And I'm not sure which."

[envy_the_sinners]

"...Excuse me?" He had known Edward to be brash, but for God's sake. Scar didn't even know how to properly formulate an argument. Once again, his terrible conversational skills had damned him.

"I was not staring at anything!" he snapped.

[fullmetalheart]

Ed's eyebrows just slowly went up and he didn't say anything.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar tripped over his words once again.

"I am simply not used to seeing Alphonse as a human, yet. Sorry."

He reached across the table and smacked Edward in the back of his head.

"And that is not an acceptable way to talk about a woman," he growled.

[fullmetalheart]

Ed yelped and rubbed at the back of his head, thankfully remembering to use the hand that didn't have blood on it. A quick moment of reflection told him that he had it coming. Not that it was going to stop him from opening his mouth.

"Given how much that dress of hers shows off, I doubt she'd mind that much," Ed said as he had a moment of his memory filling in just how much it showed off and oh god, was he starting to blush? What was wrong with him? He took a hasty sip of his juice and hoped Scar didn't notice.

[envy_the_sinners]

"Keep talking like that and I'll hit you again," he snapped. Scar didn't care for Edward's bullshit logic. These damn Amestrians had no sense of respect.

[fullmetalheart]

"Fine, I'll shut up," Ed grumbled and took his own look over at where Al and Lust were to see how his brother was doing.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar huffed, continuing to eat his breakfast after shooting one last dirty look at Edward. Clearly nobody had taught the boy any manners.

Scar would just do it himself.

[fullmetalheart]

Manners, what are those?

Ed idly made patterns in some of the syrup that got left on his plate with his fork.