Title: War
Genre: Romance/Angst
Pairing: Roy x Ed
Summary: Both live or both die.
Warnings: Character deaths. Shounen-ai/boy love. Also belongs to the genre tragedy.
Disclaimer: Don't own.
War
"Fullmetal... Edward... We've been summoned to the front."
Edward looked up. No... No, it can't be. He panicked. This would be his first time using his alchemy skills in war. He had always been afraid of this moment, but he knew right from the start when he joined the military that something like this was bound to happen, and he became a state alchemist bearing this cost willingly. Now when this moment came, he was not as calm as he thought he would be. In fact, he was terrified.
Roy noticed Edward's expression. Anyone would have been able to tell that the boy was not very happy. "Edward, don't worry. I'll be coming with you. We'll be together, at least." He tried to cheer his young lover up with a false smile on his face. It had no effect on the boy. Not the intended effect, anyway. It seemed to have made the boy even more upset.
Roy sighed. He had not forgotten the terrors of the Ishbal War, and he would never be able to forget either. It was imprinted in his mind, each scene of death and destruction, and what was even more terrible was that he had taken part in all of this. He was one of those people who caused the death and destruction. He was one of those cold-blooded animals.
He had always wished his dear Edward would not have to go through the same terrors. But now, they had both been summoned to the front. He would have go through these nightmares once more, and his young lover would have to endure them for the first time. He was unable to prevent it from happening.
"Edward, we either both live, or both die," Roy said. "Agreed?"
The boy looked at him. Slowly, he nodded.
---
Edward lay in his narrow, uncomfortable bunk, his golden eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. He felt tired. His eyelids were drooping. Every part of his body was exhausted. His brain was not functioning properly. He couldn't focus on anything. But the problem was, no matter how tired he was, he could not fall asleep. His body would not let him close his eyes and rest for even a minute.
He tilted his head slightly and watched Roy. Roy was fast asleep. His chest rose and fell evenly as he breathed in and out. His arm was dangling over the edge of the bunk. Edward got out of bed, making as little noise as possible. He padded over to Roy and bent down. He took in the older man's worn-out face, a face that he was not very used to. Roy was usually an energetic person, always awake and alert. He felt a twinge of sadness seeing his lover like this, and then he realized that Roy had probably just as much pity for him. He touched Roy's hand gently with his own. A warm feeling filled him up. Content, he returned to his own bed, trying to seek sleep once more, and this time he was successful.
---
"Brigadier General Mustang!" A soldier ran in and called for him. Roy stirred in his sleep. A moment later he was up and dressed and ready for action. He exchanged a few words with the soldier, then the soldier left the tent with a quick salute.
"What happened?" The asker's voice showed concern. Roy turned and saw Edward sitting on his bed. He had dark circles round his eyes, indicating that he had not had enough sleep. He had woken up one or two hours ago, and he had just been lying on his bed and thinking.
"Nothing that you should worry about," Roy replied smoothly. Edward could tell it was a lie at once. Something big had happened, and Roy did not want him to know about it. It would be something that he would definitely worry about.
"Must you go?" Edward's voice was almost a plead. He felt like a weak little kid begging his mum not to leave him on the first day of school. He was ashamed of his own words, but he truly didn't want Roy to go.
"Yes, I have to," Roy said, and there was reluctance in his voice. He didn't want to go, but it was an order from a higher-up.
"Can I go with you?" Edward asked, even though he knew the answer.
"No, you can't. Stay here where you are safe. It's an order," Roy said firmly, putting his hands on Edward's shoulders.
Edward looked down. "Promise me you'd come back alive." That was all he could ask for. A promise. It might even be a false one, but for now he did not care. It was the only thing that could reassure him.
Roy hesitated, but he did speak after a moment. "I promise."
"I'll be here waiting for you." Edward leaned closer and whispered into Roy's ear, "Both live or both die."
Roy nodded and turned away.
Edward gazed at the empty exit after Roy's departure.
---
He sat there and waited idly. He had nothing to do, and it made the waiting much worse. With every moment of waiting, his heart felt heavier. He wanted to go out there and do something, even fighting. At least it would get his mind off Roy. But he had been ordered by a brigadier general to stay inside the tent, and he was only just a lieutenant colonel, two ranks lower. He could only stay and wait.
How long would Roy be? Edward felt impatient. He wished Roy would come back quickly, so he wouldn't have to fear or worry about anything. The tension was almost unbearable.
A man rushed into the tent. Edward recognized him as the soldier from that morning. He breathed in sharply, knowing that this was not good news. "Lieutenant Colonel Elric," the soldier panted.
"Yes?" he answered, his voice unsteady.
"Brigadier General Mustang is very badly injured," the soldier reported.
"Bring me to him," Edward ordered.
The soldier led the blonde alchemist to the medical tent briskly. What he saw in the tent he would never forget. About a dozen wounded soldiers lay in pools of blood on mats on the floor, moaning in pain. It clenched his heart to see the life seeping out of these once young bright soldiers. And the most heart-breaking thing of all was that Roy, his Roy was among these men. Roy was hardly recognizable. He was a total mess of torn flesh and bleeding wounds, and he was writhing in agony. A nurse was wrapping him up in white cloth. Edward stared at his lover in this horrible state, shocked.
"Roy!" he screamed.
The nurse looked up. "Oh, it's you, Lieutenant Colonel," she said.
"How's the Brigadier General?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"He's in a most terrible condition, I'm afraid to say. He's suffering from various major injuries in the chest, limbs, and head. It's surprising that he didn't die."
"How did he get like this?"
"I was ordered not to tell you, Lieutenant Colonel. I'm sorry."
"I understand," Edward said, though he did not. He didn't want to understand. He wanted to know how Roy got his injuries. He wanted to find out the truth and seek revenge. "Will he live?"
The nurse shook her head. "No, I don't think so, sir. He would be lucky to survive tonight," she said with regret in her voice. But it was just pretence. When she had first started her career as a nurse in the military, she felt much sympathy for the wounded soldiers. But within weeks she realized that she couldn't afford to feel sympathy for every single wounded soldier, for there were simply just too many. She lost her sympathy, and with it went most other emotions. She lost what every basic human should have.
War changed many. And it destroyed humanity.
"Can you please leave me and the Brigadier General alone for a while?" Edward's question sounded more like a command. The nurse gave a curt nod and left the tent.
Edward knelt down beside Roy. "Roy," he said. There was no response but a painful groan. "Roy." He raised his voice, but he still got no response. "Roy, you probably can't hear me, but if you can, then listen properly. I love you, Roy. You promised me that you would come back alive. Please don't break the promise. You can't break the promise. You never do. Please, please come back alive." His voice started to crack. He paused, feeling his nose turn sour. Blinking back a few tears, he continued to speak, "You said that we'd either both live or both die. If you die, then I'm going to die too. So don't let yourself die. For our sakes. I love you, deeply and truly, and I will forever. Please don't let me down." He closed his eyes for a minute or two, and then he stood up and walked away.
---
Edward was half-asleep only. His eyes were closed, and he was hanging between reality and nightmare. Not that these two things held any difference for him, anyway. For since long ago, his life had became a difficult, harsh one, almost a complete nightmare, or perhaps even worse. People were often grateful to wake up from nightmares, but for him, waking up was just entering another nightmare.
It had been three sleepless nights. The empty bunk opposite him felt weird. He couldn't fall asleep without the comforting presence of Roy next to him. He missed Roy. There was a constant pain eating away at his heart.
Hurried footsteps, and a rustling sound as the tent flap opened. A soldier dashed into the tent. Edward sat up straight promptly, his heart thumping so hard it was about to leap out of his chest.
"Lieutenant Colonel, I bring terrible news." Edward gripped his blanket so tightly with his metal hand that it was almost ripping.
"Brigadier General Roy Mustang is dead," the soldier announced.
The blanket ripped.
A boy's shrill, heart-wrenching shriek broke through the dark night.
---
There was the funeral. A few of the Brigadier General's close friends and comrades, including Major Hawkeye, First Lieutenant Havoc, and the other three loyal subordinates: Breda, Falman and Fuery, attended the funeral. His mother was present too. His father was long dead though. Gracia and her daughter, Elysia were also there.
A young man stood silently at a side, with a cap pulled down to shield his face. He made no sound throughout the whole funeral. He watched as people shovelled sand over the coffin. He watched as the coffin disappeared bit by bit under the earth. He watched as some of the guests cried and sobbed. He watched as the funeral ended and the guests left one by one. He stayed behind.
He moved closer to the grave until he was directly in front of the gravestone. He took off his cap, revealing his golden eyes. "Roy," he began, his voice trembling, "you broke the promise."
"How could you?" He put his cap back on. "Both live or both die. I'm not going to live anymore, Roy."
A tear trickled down his cheek.
---
"Fire! Fire! There's a fire!" Panic. Shouts. Confusion.
A tent was on fire. Everyone was carting water to extinguish the fire. But more and more flames flared up, bright and hot and burning yellow.
"Who's in there?"
"We think it's Lieutenant Colonel Edward Elric, sir."
Inside the tent, a boy was submitting himself to the flames. He felt the searing pain in his body as the flames licked his flesh. His vision was blurred. He felt dazed.
On the ground right beside him was a pair of gloves with alchemy circles on them. They were dissolving into the flames.
Weakly the boy spoke, "I love you, Roy. Both live or both die."
So were his last words.
His head went limp. His body turned into ashes.
He had chosen to die by fire. He had chosen to fade away in flames. He had chosen to die by the way of the Flame Alchemist. His lover.
The End
A/N: That. Was. Complete. Rubbish. I spent three days to write this. This is the longest I've ever taken to write a one-shot. And it's not exactly one of my best one-shots. I can't believe I killed Roy AND Edward. Anyway, please read & review and tell me what you think.