"You must've been really brave to have stayed in that Godforsaken place."
Roy stared intently at the man sitting opposite him, his face buried in his hands.
Alex looked dreadful. Large bags under his eyes gave the impression that he hadn't been able to sleep well for a while, plus giving him a sullen appearance. It didn't seem like he had taken a shower or shaved in days either.
"You were able to bear it," he continued, small sobs escaping him occasionally. "I was a coward, a pitiful coward. Even my own sister refuses to speak to me now!"
Roy couldn't help but laugh on the inside. How wrong Armstrong was! Despite the relative silence of the office, the one he had earned because of his 'War Hero' title, he could still hear the screams and gunfire of the war that had only just recently ended.
He had gained a promotion and a group of loyal subordinates, including Hawkeye who was busy preparing tea at the moment, but he couldn't stop feeling guilty about it all. Was any of it worth the death and destruction he had caused in Ishval?
But he couldn't admit any of that to Armstrong, could he?
He was blaming himself for walking out of the conflict. He had been the only one to break down entirely in the middle of the battlefield, carrying that lifeless child in his arms. If anyone should be proud about what they accomplished in Ishval, it should be him.
Realizing that said man had finished talking, Roy managed to find the right words to respond with.
"I wasn't brave; I was obedient."
"But-" Alex tried to argue, but Roy shook his head before he could keep going.
Then, looking over at Hawkeye as she settled a tray of tea onto the table that sat in the middle of the room, he knew she understood perfectly well.
There had never been any bravery in that war, only senseless murder.
