Dark eyes glanced around his office. A pile of work was placed on his desk and hardly any papers were even touched since that morning, when he received it all.
"Sir. Have you even started that?"
Roy's eyes drifted down to the work and back up to Havoc's concerned face. He looked away and shook his head. Jean let out a sigh before nodding. He came toward him and grabbed the work off of his desk and then walked out of the room.
"Wow! I didn't expect this mission to be so easy!"
Roy's breath caught roughly in his throat and he let it out shakily. His hands clenched, nails digging into the palms of his hands as he pressed his fists to his forehead, willing himself to hold back hot tears. He held his breath, knowing the moment he let it out, he would start sobbing.
"Hey, old man, you crying?"
That was all he could hear anymore. That high-pitched yet raspy voice that always sounded so arrogant and confident. He heard him speak to him constantly, yet his being was not with him anymore.
"Come on, Mustang! What kind of soldier cries over some kid? Cheer up, man!"
Mustang but his lip. He wasn't just some kid! This wasn't something he could just brush off and poker-face like everything else in his life. He was responsible for the kid!
Oh, what would his mother say to him?
His brother already had a good hit at him.
"Brother is...what? No! No, that isn't true! Why did you only make brother go, Colonel! This wouldn't have happened if you let me come too!"
Roy didn't agree. The shot came out of nowhere. There was no way even Alphonse Elric would have been able to stop it if he were there.
"This is all your fault!"
Roy rubbed the sore spot on his cheek. He deserved it. He deserved every hit the suit of armor had to give and more.
He shouldn't have brought him on that mission. Not him. He should have been with his brother at their home, researching the stone that would restore their bodies.
Now there wasn't hope for either of them because of Roy Mustang.
"Sir."
"...Havoc..."
Jean stood at the door of Roy's office with his hands behind his back. No cigarette in his mouth. It seemed all too formal. "It's today, Sir."
"Awe, man, today? C'mon, you bastard! Me and Al planned on doing some heavy-duty research today!"
Roy nodded wordlessly before standing and following Havoc out of the room and toward the car, where they sat in silence for a long while, with Roy staring out the window as raindrops pelted against the window mercilessly.
"May I know why you asked me to take Riza's job for the past week, sir?"
"Riza, your target is the man in the top building. I've been told he is wearing green. Make sure you take him out first. We can't have any screw-ups."
"Understood, sir."
Mustang shook his head, making Jean sigh and nod.
There was silence all the way there for Havoc, but Roy's ride was the complete opposite. All he could heard were soft hums inside his head. Beautiful, haunting hums of a boy that sounded happy.
He hummed the same song as he would when he was walking through the halls or just sitting in Roy's office, waiting for him to speak or give him a lecture.
Roy wanted to just claw the noise out of his head, but it wouldn't leave. It was like a reminder.
You'd hear the real joyful hum today if you hadn't messed up, Mustang.
The car stopped.
Roy stepped out of the car and into the rain soundlessly, allowing the water to shower him. Jean offered him a umbrella that wasn't even acknowledged as he walked into the cemetery. His boots were sinking in the mud. He almost wished that it would swallow him like quicksand.
He stood in front line and stared at the empty hole in the ground. Music started playing and his eyes drifted toward the coffin being carried in.
The coffin was dull, in his opinion. He knew the boy would much rather a red coffin with golden hinges and maybe even an imprinted plate at the top about his bother or mother. But it was plain, just like any other military dogs'.
"Stop."
The music paused as Mustang walked forward. Everyone watched his closely, almost afraid as to what he would do. After all, he had hardly even spoken since the incident.
He stood in front of such a plain coffin before shakily opening it. Jean held the umbrella above the opening so no water could get in as Mustang stared down into it.
Blonde hair was unbraided and laid so perfectly around his shoulders that it made the Colonel want to puke. He was dressed in all blue, like a dog.
"You never liked your hair down, did you? You hated this uniform too. I bet you're angry in heaven, Fullmetal."
There was a soft chuckle of the boy in his head, as if agreeing.
Roy reached into the coffin gently and pulled the boy's hair to one side.
The crowd watching in awe and Alphonse dropped to his knees, him being almost as close to the coffin as Roy. Alphonse knew what he was doing without even seeing.
Roy pulled a red silk ribbon from his pocket and tied the braid in place. Then, he released the locks on the automail, letting it just sit beside the boy.
He knew that his arm always bothered him when it rained.
A red coat was then pulled from Roy's bag. Some rain had gotten on it, but other than that it was almost perfect still.
He laid the coat over to cover the blue on the boy.
"You were never a fan of the military and I know that as well as you do, Edward. Blue was just never your color...," Mustang spoke slowly, staring down at the teen's pale complexion. "I'm sorry, Ed... I'm so sorry... I'll make sure Alphonse never gets hurt, I'll protect Winry and her grandmother with my life. I will do everything in my power to find out another way to get Alphonse's body back for you..."
Roy let out another shaky breath. "I know you would have laughed in my face right about now, but that's okay. I just...I just needed to apologize."
"I can't believe how easy that was! You should totally treat me to dinner now, Mustang! I did do most of the work here!"
Roy let out a small chuckle as he walked towards the smiling boy. "Let's not get cocky, Fullmetal-"
Bang.
"Fullmetal!"
"I love you, Edward Elric."
Everyone around let out a gasp except for Mustang's "crew". They knew. It was hard not to know.
"For that, and for this," he looked at the grave and to the crowd staring at him in horror. "I'm very sorry."
The coffin was buried slow and the whole time all Mustang could hear was Alphonse and Winry's sobbing and those ghostly hums in his head.
And when it was over, only he and his crew remained. Not even Alphonse Elric could stand to stay any longer. The wind had picked up quite a lot and the umbrella above him wasn't keeping him or the blood seal dry any longer.
"Sir, it's getting dark out."
Mustang just nodded.
Edward's body began its slow sail to the concrete ground, but it never made it there as Roy caught his frail body in his arms.
Two more shots flew into the boy from above as Mustang held him close, attempting to move him away or even block them with his own body, but he wasn't quick enough.
One bullet hit his own hand when he tried to block a bullet. He ignored the pain and pressed his hands desperately to the bleeding spots on the boy's back as he held him to his own chest.
Small whimpers and cries escaped his lips as his fists gripped onto the blue uniform on the older of the two's body.
"M-Mustang..."
Roy looked at Edward's face with desperate eyes.
"It really...hurts..."
"Edward, hold on! We're gonna get you help, don't you dare close your eyes on me!"
Edward cringed as a tear fled down his cheek. "I really don't want to die, Mustang. Alphonse needs me. I'm all he has left- I-I can't..."
"Shh, Ed. You're not going anywhere, just stay awake, Ed."
"Edward?"
"Edward, open your eyes!"
Then, even with the heaviest shower of the year pounding down on them, not even the rain drops could hide the loud sobbing that escaped their Colonel as his knees slammed into the ground.