Sommary: Life doesn't care much when changing its colours- to vibrant shades or fading ones. Will Maes find true love and happiness after the tragic death of his wife? Will he find a family that he truly desired for? Maes/Roy. Adoption ahead! (Not mpreg but the boys and an adopted kid. Boy's love and parental complex - it's no less than a mpreg!)

AN: My second fic and it's my first multichapter fic as well! I've tried my best to keep everyone in character, especially Maes. Timeline- when Roy has been promoted to the rank of Colonel and as for the Elrics- well they will have guest appearances but mostly will stay in the background. The first three or four chapters will be the foundation of my main plot which will get interesting, I guarrantee! So till then, hang on to me and...now, I stop my non-sense. :D

Warning: None for this chapter. But be prepared for the forthcoming ones! :D

Special thanks to Kika 1 for being such a wonderful beta.

Paled Comfort

Prologue

The fragile body laid still, motionless right in the middle of the now empty street. Legs bent and arms stretched out by her head, evident that she was not in this position by choice. Hair covered her delicate face, sand-coloured strands scattered disobediently all over, in random directions, its disarray leaving no indication of how carefully it had been styled not long before. Blood gushed out from her skull, flowing unhindered over the ground, slowing to a trickle till it gathered to form a shallow lake of crimson. Patches of dried blood stuck to her pale forehead, her skin cold and lifeless.

Gracia Hughes was dead. She had already shed her mortal coil long before her now insensitive skin received the last touch from her husband, as her screaming daughter looked on, him shaking her, begging, whispering into her deaf ears to wake up. To talk, to smile once more. But Maes knew as well as everyone else that had been present there that she was not going to return. She would not speak or show her wonderful smile again.

It is bizarre how lives can change in just a blink of an eye, always leaving behind people to ponder upon a 'what if'! The 'what if'-s could never change what Fate had in store for anyone who dared to question it. It could either be for the better, or for the worse...in this case, however, there was no sign of this being the 'better' path for life to have taken.

It had been a street accident. A car, driving far too fast on the city street, collided with an unaware Gracia. The sudden impact had thrown the poor woman off her feet and back to the ground as gravity took its painful toll. After sustaining such a blow, it was impossible to cheat death. . . even for a woman of immense strength like Gracia Hughes.

Maes slowly stood up from beside his wife's body. He removed his glasses, fogged with tears, and covered his eyes in an attempt to stop the fluid was still flowing from them. He couldn't take it anymore. His whole body trembled as a hot, swelling pain circulated through his heart. He couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening to him. He felt as if his family had been shattered before his very eyes.

Gracia's sister, her mother, and of course, her young daughter -- they were all in different states of shock and confusion as well. The toddler was crying; confused as to exactly what was going on, but somehow knowing her mother was not coming back. Gracia's sister, previously a vibrant young bride-to-be, looked shell-shocked, while her mother had simply fainted upon seeing the body. The husband -- widower, now! -- seemed to be taking it the hardest. He himself was devastated and was losing grip on his strength, but he knew he needed to be strong for his daughter. He knew this, but he could barely hold himself together, much less be strong for her as well! The sounds of his daughter's sobs only added to his own sorrow and fear -- fear of a life without his mate, his love, his daughter's mother!

He could not believe how quickly the world turned against him. He could still hear her. Her calm yet jovial voice still kept ringing in his ears, as if she was there, there beside him, speaking in careless whispers which no one else could hear. An hour ago did he hear her voice, her ever so merry voice, saying she'd be back from shopping. Gracia had been really excited about her sister's upcoming marriage. She could not wait to see the perfect gown, the perfect jewelry, the perfect decors that she'd arranged. But, painful as it was, God obviously had other plans...

A tiny gasp escaped from Maes's mouth when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The hand, whoever it belonged to, squeezed its resting place, gently and warmly. The touch. . . it was exactly what Maes needed right now. So reassuring, so comforting. Maes removed his hands from the wet, red-rimmed eyes and looked up to see who it was and when he did, he was not at all surprised. Instead, he rested his head against the man's chest, burying his face into it as he let the sorrow he felt pour out of the place where his heart used to be.

The other man gently wrapped his arms around the weeping man, resting his chin on the head of the widowed man and murmuring gentle useless yet comforting words, like a mother to her child.

"How did this happen, Roy?" Maes asked, his voice cracking as he looked up at his friend. "How could she leave us?"

Roy had no good answer for the man. All he could do was pull the other's head more closely to his chest and hold him as the other shed his tears.

"She was alive. . . alive when I saw her. . . told- that she was going out for a while. . . that she'd be back before dinner!" The words were interrupted at intervals by hiccupping sobs and shaky breaths.

"Maes. . ."

"How did this happen? It was her own fault! How dare she!!" Maes said, his voice expressing the sheer pain he was experiencing. "How dare she to leave us like this! Why couldn't she watch where she was going? Why couldn't she. . ."

Maes could speak no more. His bitter cries overpowered his power of speech. Thankfully, Elicia was not around to see her father fall apart. Lt. Hawkeye had stepped in to take the girl away from the crowd, somewhere to try to calm her down. She had been crying, painful-sounding sobs forcing their way out of her tiny body. Was he actually glad for her absence? So that he'd not have to look in those expecting eyes, waiting for her daddy to give a reassuring reply as always? Was he glad because he knew that he would not be able to do so? Perhaps so. For the first time, Maes was actually relieved to not hearing his daughter's voice.

She was screaming, begging her mother to come back, and he wanted nothing more than to scream with her. Instead, he cried until there were no more tears left in him.

He held on to Roy just as Roy held on to him. Roy usually never showed his softer side to anyone other than Maes, and even that was rare. However, this was one time he did let himself free from the cold walls and barriers of protocol and sarcasm. It was one of those times when Roy Mustang showed how compassionate and gentle he could be -- and by the looks of things, he had no difficulty being there for his friend when he was needed.

For a long time, neither said a word. The moonlight fell softly on the two men, one deeply grieved, the other feeling his friend's pain. Gracia's loss was not an easy one; she had touched many lives, and now all of those who had known her were paying the price in tears.

The heaviest burden of all was on the shoulders of the shattered husband and lost father. For now he could lean on Roy, but sooner or later he would have to pick up the pieces. Tonight, though, Maes was lost in utter despair.

Now that the chapter comes to an end, I just want to say, please! Please review the story! It'll encourage me more and the output will be a wonderful fic! If you have any question/suggestion/whatever, feel free to share. If you have any flames/just another reason to quarrel, then you better not waste your time.

Thank you,

Bloodrose 10