DA: Well, this is a first. I've never written for the FMA category before. In fact, I've only just watched the series. You can blame me being bored as fuck during a long ride home one day. I had nothing else better to do than to torture poor Ed. XD

Disclaimer: Nope, it's not mine.

DA: Well then, enjoy!

Surface Appearances

by DarkAngel555

Ed stood at the edge of a building, golden eyes scanning the streets of Central beneath him. The setting sun reflected off his braided hair, dying the strands that flopped into his face red. Blood dripped onto his usually pristine white glove, some splashing to the ground in heavy drops to create miniature scarlet puddles on the otherwise grey concrete. The silver of a blade shone in his other hand, the edge crusted red.

It was his fault, it was all his fault. And he couldn't take it anymore. The pearly scars that lined his flesh wrist just didn't alleviate the pain like they used to, becoming meaningless marks rather than reminders. He'd started after their first failure in finding the stone, the pain, disappointment and guilt too much for him to bear at the time. The suit of armor that was now his brother just served to remind him of his mistakes. It was hopeless; he knew that now. So why continue? The search was taking energy that he no longer possessed and it was time to end it.

Breathing slowly, he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Al."

Roy Mustang was engaged in a staring contest with the stack of papers Hawkeye had so graciously plopped onto his desk when the phone rang. Elated at the excuse to ignore his work, he picked up instantly. "Colonel Mustang here," he said, authority filling his voice.

"Sir, there is a call here from one Alphonse Elric. He said it was an emergency," the operator informed him, all politeness. Mustang sighed, running a hand down his face. Those boys were going to be the death of him.

"Patch him through." He mentally prepared himself for the list of complaints as the line momentarily clicked. What he wasn't expecting was Alphonse's frantic voice, thick with what would have been tears had he been able.

"Colonel, sir. Have you seen Ed? I can't find him anywhere and this note-" The young boy cut himself off, making sounds that were reminiscent of sobbing. Mustang was frozen, eyes wide, with shock. Note? Notes were only used when-

"Alphonse, what does that note say?" He attempted to keep his tone calm but stress and worry leaked through his words, causing Hawkeye to send him a strange look.

"It says that he c-can't do this anymore. He said that he's p-proud of me and he wants me to c-continue the search w-without him. Please Colonel, find him. I c-can't l-lose him too." The Colonel pressed the phone to his shoulder, already barking orders to his ragtag group of soldiers.

"Hawkeye, grab the car and pull it around front. I'll meet you there shortly. Fuery, get on the police frequency. Call my radio instantly if you hear something of interest." He placed the phone to his ear again. "Don't worry Alphonse. We're going to find your brother."

"Thank you Colonel." Sighing, he hung up the phone and stood, already making his way towards the door.

"Sir, what exactly are we looking for?" Worry burned in his gut at Fuery's question as he paused at the door, hand already on the doorknob.

"You'll know it when you hear it. Believe me." And he walked out, the door closing quietly behind him.

The radio fizzled in and out, giving small bits of intelligible information as the static cleared. So far, though, it had given nothing of value, but they were all half-listening to the device so they could figure out why the hell their superior was being so cryptic. Havoc had abandoned his paperwork to help the tech genius, a strange sense of foreboding filling him. Falman and Breda just watched from behind their desks, pens hanging loosely from their fingers. Hawkeye was going to skin all of them when she got back, seeing as absolutely none of their work was getting done. "What do you think the Colonel wanted us to listen for?" Fuery asked, pushing up his glasses. "It sounded urgent."

"I don't know," Havoc murmured around the cigarette clenched between his teeth, spewing smoke with each word. "But I have a bad feeling about this..." Silence overtook the small group, each listening to the quiet sound of the radio. Suddenly, the cigarette dropped from the blond's lips, his face an expression of shock. "Fuery turn that up!" His face confused, Fuery complied, twisting the dial to increase the volume.

"-in the vicinity please respond immediately. Again, a call has been made about a young man possibly threatening suicide at the building on the corner of 1st and 3rd. Subject is described as a child with blond hair and is wearing a red cloak. Anyone in the area respond immediately as back-up," the police dispatcher ordered urgently from within the device. They stared at the radio with looks of varying worry and fear, the Sergeant's trembling hand turning down the volume.

"Call the Colonel," Falman ordered swiftly, the first to recover from the astonishment. Fuery worked quickly, his hands shaking even worse than before. Havoc walked over to the window, eyes glinting with both anger and worry.

"Dammit, Ed..."

"Got it Fuery. Thanks for the help," Mustang said into his personal radio, pausing as more sound responded to his voice. "Don't worry. I'm sure this is all some kind of misunderstanding. We're going to sort it all out." He put the device down and glanced at his lieutenant, black hair falling over his dark eyes. He wasn't going to worry his subordinates, but she was a different story in entirety. He trusted her completely. "First and Third, Lieutenant. Hurry." Hawkeye's hands were tight on the steering wheel, her face pale.

"Please tell me this is a joke," she whispered, voice wavering slightly. She couldn't get her mind around the idea that Ed, their Ed, could even think about doing something like that. It was too out of character, too selfish. He wouldn't leave Al all alone, would he? Tears hazed her vision and she made no motion to wipe them, to do so would acknowledge their existence. Roy sighed, shaking his head.

"This is no joke, Hawkeye. God, I wish it was. Alphonse called me. He left a note; he's completely serious about this." He swallowed, trying to force saliva down his suddenly tight throat.

"But Edward? Why would he even consider this? He has his brother to think about."

"I wish I could tell you, Riza. With Fullmetal, it could be a number things." And that wasn't far from the truth. Too many things, horrible things, were stacked behind the normally energetic golden gaze each time the boy came into the office. It made Mustang shudder even thinking about it. Hawkeye pulled the car over, listening to the crowd that had congregated around the foot of the building. "Alright. You work crowd control. I'm going to go talk him down."

Ed breathed, tasting the city air for perhaps the last time. He moved his foot as the door to the roof slammed open behind him, intending to step out into open air. No matter what anyone said, he was committed to this; no regrets. All he'd done in his life is fuck everything up, and usually managed to drag his brother into his messes. Surely Al hated him, any sane person would. He clenched his automail hand into a fist, shifting his weight to fall.

"STOP!"

The cry rang out, causing the blond to freeze where he stood. He knew that voice. "Leave me be, Colonel. This is my decision. I don't give a fuck about your life's goal," he said softly, the man in question hard-pressed to hear the words. He didn't bother opening his eyes, the darkness far too peaceful for the interruption of light. The sun warmed his face as it slid down the horizon.

"Ed, think about what you're doing," Mustang yelled, voice straining with concern. The sight in front of him confirmed everything; this was real. No more passing this off as a misunderstanding. "Think about your brother. Alphonse has been worried sick."

"He's all I have been thinking about!" Ed snapped, surprised himself at the outburst. "This is best for him. I've just been failing him. He'll do better without me." His volume lowered as he continued speaking, tears burning underneath his eyelids until he finally opened his golden eyes, turning his head upward as they rolled down his cheeks. "He-he must hate me..." His voice shook. The black-haired man thought out his next words, knowing he had to be careful. One wrong word and this was all over. He had to tread cautiously on the kid's already fragile psyche.

"Al could never hate you, Edward. He'd tell you that himself. Now get your ass away from that ledge and quit being a coward. The Edward Elric I know wouldn't even consider this." Mustang watched as the boy tilted his face towards him, revealing anguished golden eyes. That look shouldn't even belong to an adult, much one so young. Thin rivers trailed down his face, a testament of his pain. "Ed..."

"A coward, huh?" Ed's shoulders shook as a humorless laugh barked from his throat. "Well, I guess I am. That's another thing I'm apparently good at. Running away and letting others fix my problems." He faced the edge again, dropping the shards of a blade from his hands and clattered to the puddles of blood at his feet. Mustang stared at them, eyes wide, but forced himself to ignore the blood. One problem at a time. "Goodbye Colonel. Take care of Al for me." Wind tousled their hair, billowing in Ed's red cloak as he moved to throw himself off. He actually did lose his balance when a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, yanking him back against a sturdy chest.

"Don't you fucking dare, Fullmetal! You've got way too much to live for. Trust me on that." They fell back, Roy onto his ass and Ed cradled between the older man's legs. Arms wrapped protectively around the younger form. The blond alchemist fought the hold, struggling against his captor. Limbs flew around to force the arms open, but they held strong, the Colonel mentally counting the amount of bruises that he would bear later.

"Let me go, you bastard! I can't do this anymore dammit. I'm too tired to deal with all this failure. I can't keep failing him." His automail pounded weakly against his superior's chest, tears streaming faster the more he struggled. "I can't go on feeling like this. I'm so fucking useless."

"Are you really so desperate to end your life, Fullmetal?" Mustang questioned, voice stern. The teen stilled the moment the words left the older man's mouth, air rushing in and out of his chest.

"Well...I..." Golden eyes met black. Ed was surprised at the amount of concern and fear in those dark eyes. His own filled with tears and he collapsed against Mustang's chest, his small form shaking violently with sobs. "I can't t-take it a-anymore, Colonel... F-failure after f-failure. I c-can't stand the d-disappointment in A-Al's voice each time we f-fail and know that it's my f-fault. He's my b-brother and I can't even get his body b-back." His words were unintelligible after that point, sobs breaking apart everything he tried to say. Roy just clutched him to his chest, rubbing the boy's arms in comfort.

"I've been where you are, Ed," he murmured, feeling a hand grasp onto his shirt, which was getting quite wet at this point. "It was just after Ishval. I thought my life was over and that I wasn't worth it because of all those that I killed. I actually had a gun pressed into my chin. Hughes talked me down. He convinced me it wasn't worth it." He paused, wincing silently at the muffled, broken sobs. "Ed, Al does not hate you. He knows that finding the stone isn't going to be easy. He knew that from the beginning. You've been through so much and still will. Don't even think of ending this now. Just give everything another chance. It'll get better. I promise." Mustang rested his chin on the blond head, rocking him gently as he had seen Hughes do to his daughter when she was crying. Soon the sobs relaxed and the boy's energy was spent. "C'mon kid. We have a few people we have to reassure." Looping his arms under Ed's knees and around his shoulders, he hoisted the young form up, back straining under the weight of the automail limbs.

Ed was still crying slightly as they reached the bottom floor, looking up at the Colonel with bloodshot eyes. He wasn't protesting to being carried, a testament to how much he craved human contact. "'m sorry..." Mustang glanced down, relief blossoming in his chest. The boy looked like hell, dark bags shadowing beneath his eyes. His face was pale and drawn and though it was kinda hard to tell with all the steel, the black-haired man swore that he had lost weight. His braid was falling out, oily strands hanging limply by his face. But all in all, Roy was relieved; he was alive. He must have been planning this for quite some time, hiding his true intentions beneath the usual mask. His latest dead-end mission had pushed him over that edge that he'd been dangling over for a while, causing him to finally make the decision to end his own life.

"Don't apologize. Just don't do it again." He was silent as he pushed the exit open with this hip, walking out into the artificially lit street. "You really scared us, kid." As they stepped into the light of the nearest streetlight, cries of joy and relief rippled through the small group that surrounded the car. Smiling gently, Roy set the boy on his feet, confident that everything would be ok now. He promised himself that he would personally check on him later, when Al had forced him to bed.

"Brother!" Alphonse cried, running towards Ed, who blinked in shock at the amount of people who had been waiting for them. He was swept up in an armored bear hug as everyone surrounded him, finding some way to manage physical contact with the alchemist.

Roy stood off to the side, the small smile still etched on his lips. Hawkeye took her place next to him, sighing in relief. "Let's go Riza. Let's leave them be."

"Yes, sir," she agreed, her voice light.

**EDIT: PUT DIVIDERS UP **

DA: YAY! Happy ending! I love parentalRoy!Ed fics. They just make me really warm inside, so I wrote one for myself. Hope I didn't knock the characters too out of proportion. Well, tell me how I did!

R&R please!

May your hearts stay strong,

DarkAngel555