Soldier Keep On Marching On

We're All Idiots Here

The times you lived through, the people you shared those times with - nothing brings it all to life like an old mix tape. It does a better job of storing up memories than actual brain tissue can do. Every mix tape tells a story. Put them together, and they can add up to the story of a life.

**********

"You're an idiot!"

Aiden cringed at Roy's tone and shifted in her wheelchair to find a more comfortable spot. It'd been days since the events at the Third Laboratory and the trio had been transferred to the hospital with identical wounds. Jean through his back and stomach and Roy and Aiden through their sides. At first she'd been restricted to bed rest, but her constant fidgeting annoyed one of the nurses enough to the point of letting her go down the hallway to Jean and Roy's room. Walking was off-limits, hence the wheelchair.

Riza had given them a complete rundown of what happened to her, Alphonse, and Barry. When she got to her reaction under the false news her superiors and teammate had died she admitted to breaking down. That set off Roy and he went on about how she shouldn't have believed the homunculus, much less given up.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Aiden sighed and shook her head, her dark locks swaying above her shoulders. "Take it easy on her Roy, she thought we died. You can't blame her for going off the rails of the crazy train for a moment."

"That's no excuse! You wouldn't have broken down."

She leveled him with a hard glare. "Don't compare me to my friends, Colonel. I know for a fact I will break down if any of you die." The words felt heavy coming from her mouth but they were the truth and they needed to be said.

Being compared to one another wasn't fair to either of the women. They were their own beings and everyone reacted differently under stress which was what helped make humans so diverse. In a controlled environment where she knew what would happen (like she was already in), Aiden knew she would panic and worry, but she wouldn't go so far as Riza did. However, in an unscripted place and confronted with the possibility of his death, she knew she'd freak. She'd scream and cry and destroy breakable objects because that was how much she cared.

Roy sighed and crossed his arms. "Still, a soldier needs to be able to keep it together under any kind of pressure." He looked away from the woman in the wheelchair and back to his subordinate. "You've gotta stay strong and don't you ever give up on living!" he ordered. "I need to know you can keep your cool no matter what happens."

"Sir."

"I'm gonna continue to rely on you to watch my back, don't let me down."

"You ought to think about taking your own advice, Colonel," Jean snarked from his bed. "Since you were the one who abandoned his post."

"Hey shut up Havoc!" Roy yelled.

"Calm down and don't hurt yourself!" Aiden shouted back. The two winced and held their injured sides.

"Please don't yell Colonel. It's hard on my injury."

"Is that all you have to say to the man who saved your life?"

"I'm grateful and all, but couldn't you have been a little more careful with the fire? Girls aren't going to like me with burn scars all over my stomach."

According to Roy, before he'd gone after Lust he cauterized their wounds so they wouldn't lose any more blood. It was a smart move. Although Jean could be a bit of a drama queen. Their burns were only centered around the wounds and the only reason Roy's burn was large was due to the fact that he couldn't see what he was aiming at. It didn't bother her so much as it bothered Jean. She was alive and she was thankful for it.