"So, you wanted to meet me here?" Roy leaned over the side of the bridge, looking into the rushing waters of the Central River - they usually met here for anything important - for a few seconds before turning and meeting Ed's nervous gaze. Ed shifted slightly, uneasy.
"Uh, yeah, see, I've been wanting to tell you something for a while, now, and-" He broke off, silent.
"...Yes?" Roy asked. Ed's uncharacteristic stuttering was making him nervous. ...Men couldn't become pregnant, right?
Ed's words had skidded to a halt as he felt some of his resolve leave him. "You go first. " He stuck his hands into his pockets, the left playing with something; a habit he'd developed over the past week or so.
Roy took a deep breath and then let it out in a sigh. He didn't even have anything to say, but if it would help Ed get on with it... "Sure."
"...What?" The boy looked up, letting go of his nerves in place for curiosity.
Maybe this was the opprotunity Roy had been waiting for. "Look, Ed, about us..."
"...what?"
He shook his head. "I don't think it's working out. I'm sorry, I tried, but I can't make myself like you as more than a friend and subordinate." Not to mention this isn't exactly legal.
"W-well, I guess that's...fine. I'd rather not be...with you if you don't like me." Ed forced a laugh. "I mean, that'd just be pathetic. Can you tell me why you even started this, though?"
Roy shook his head pityingly, "Look, Ed. I'm sorry I've been leading you on for the past few months, but let's face it; I'm not gay, and even if I was, there'd be no way I'd fall for you. You've got a nasty temper, you rarely even show affection of any kind, you're always busy with that brother of yours, and," He looked Ed in the eye. "Unfortunately, you're not exactly the most attractive thing, either. You're covered in scars, you're half metal, and the lack of height isn't really becoming. I thought I could help you get yourself more together, but apparently you're so stubborn that nothing short of trying to kill you can change you, for better or for worse. I just give up." Better to hit hard, so that Ed knew there was no chance of them getting back together again.
Silence. Roy braced himself for the oncoming onslaught of wrath.
"...oh."
..."What?" Where was the yelling? The loud protests, swearing, and even fists?
Ed shrugged. "Oh. I...I didn't know you felt that way." He looked at the ground.
Roy looked away. Now that all his energy had been used on that rant, he was uncomfortable. Especially with Ed's...odd calmness.
"I guess, if you really felt that way, I wouldn't want to, you know, make you feel even more uncomfortable or anything, and-" Roy tuned out Ed's rambling and looked closer at his face, scrunitizing for any sign of violence about to happen.
Edward's eyes were wetter than normal but there was no way he'd cry in front of Roy freaking Mustang. His posture was more slumped than usual, and, if you looked really closely, his legs were tensed, like he was about to run.
"-and it's not like you really cared or anything, so that's it, then." Ed finished shakily. He leaned against the railing, hands still in pockets.
Roy nodded, regaining his composture and letting the cool indifference slide into place. "Yes, it is. So, you said you wanted to tell me something?"
Ed's eyes widened and he nearly fell over. "No! No, it's nothing at all."
Roy eyed him disbelievingly. "Then I'll take my leave," he turned around and started away, looking back at the last second. "Oh, and Fullmetal? Please, don't do anything abnormally stupid, like jump over the railing, okay?"
"Of course not, you bastard! I don't care that much, you know!" Lie.
Roy felt unexplicably hurt by those words, but he brushed it off and strode away from the bridge.
Ed leaned over the bridge again, hanging his arms over the side, and the wind blew his bangs out of his face. "...not like I loved you, or anything."
After a few minutes, Ed left as well, but not after reaching into his left pocket once again, and taking out two golden rings. He drew his arm back and hurled them far into the river, turning for home.
-
Despite Ed's quite vehement protests, Al couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with his brother. After all, it wasn't every day that he spent an hour walking around, and coming home with not so much as a library book in sight.
But, since Ed claimed nothing was wrong, Al was forced to drop the subject and continue making dinner for the both of them.
However, later that evening, the shower water hitting ceramic tile failed to muffle the sounds of stifled sobs. Al didn't say anything.