Hello! Thanks for clicking! This is my first FMA fanfic, so I hope it's good! Oh yeah, this was also inspired by the picture I put to it.

Enjoy!

I'd Give Anything

by AiroctivElnyn

Roy Mustang sat down on a piece of rubble, frantically tearing his blood-stained gloves off his hands and throwing them onto the ground like they were on fire. He stared blankly at them as they lay there, thoughts swimming through his mind. Both he and his comrades had spent yet another day slaughtering innocent Ishbalans, and while he had managed to shake it off before – tell himself that it was for his country, and that it was the right thing to do – it was now starting to weigh heavily on him.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Maes Hughes standing there, a concerned expression on his face.

"You okay, Roy?" the soldier asked his friend, even though he already knew the answer. Mustang sighed heavily.

"I don't know," he replied, resting his chin in his hand. There was silence, and then suddenly a grin grew on Hughes's face and he said,

"I know what'll help."

"What?"

Maes didn't answer right away, and suddenly Roy found himself staring at a picture of a woman with short, sandy-blonde hair and green eyes. She was smiling delicately, although it was slightly altered by the fold lines in the worn-down paper.

"A picture of my beautiful fiancé Gracia!" Maes exclaimed, practically swooning over the photograph. "Isn't she just a doll? I mean, look at her – she's gorgeous!"

Mustang sighed heavily again, rubbing his temples as he stared down at the floor. Hughes frowned at his lack of amusement and asked,

"What? Is it not helping?"

Roy looked up and rolled his eyes as if to laugh,

"Of course it is," he said sarcastically. "I'd give anything to have you shove a picture of your family into my face."

Mustang buried his face in his hands tiredly. He had just gotten done listening to another one of the famous Elric short rants – one that he didn't even cause this time – and also a couple of insults about him being old – which were not by any means true. That, combined with the three-foot-tall stack of postponed paperwork that was finally starting to become a problem, plus the extra paperwork he had to do thanks to Ed's beautiful handiwork at Lab Five, was enough to make him want to snap his fingers – gloved fingers, mind you – over and over again at something.

Suddenly the door to his office opened, and Roy, still burying his face in his hands, hoped and prayed it was not Edward. Thankfully, it wasn't.

"Hiya Roy! Whatcha doin'?" inquired the overly-enthusiastic voice of Maes as he trotted into the room. Mustang lowered his hands and exhaled, looking up at his friend,

"Trying not to strangle that kid to death," he muttered, irritation laced deep in his voice. Maes' smile faded slightly and he hummed in thought as he walked over to the desk,

"Is Edward bothering you again?"

Mustang shrugged, which was a good enough answer for Hughes, who walked closer to his friend and smiled,

"I know what will make you feel better," he said in a sing-song voice.

Mustang almost groaned outwardly, and wasn't surprised in the least to see a picture of Gracia and Elysia two inches away from his face.

"Look at my perfect wife and daughter! They're real beauties, aren't they?" Hughes asked excitedly. "We took this picture just last week. Look at my little Elysia in her new yellow dress! Isn't she just perfect?"

Mustang shoved the picture down gently, not wanting to hurt his friend's feelings.

"Maes," he said sternly, hinting him to stop. Hughes immediately frowned worriedly, looking at Mustang as if he had a serious disease or something.

"What, Roy, don't my pictures help?" the Lieutenant Colonel asked. Mustang refrained from shouting, mostly due to his headache, and replied sarcastically,

"Of course they do. I'd give anything to have you shove a picture of your family in my face."

Mustang entered his office slowly and without a word – although, unsurprisingly, nobody bothered to ask him why. Sluggishly he sat down at his desk and stared at nothing, remaining that way for a few minutes before recalling Riza's words. She had said that paperwork would take his mind off of things for a while – and for once he actually agreed. With a sigh the Colonel bent over and opened the drawer in his desk, reaching to grab a pen. When he looked at the inside of the drawer, however, he froze.

Sitting there, next to the pens, was a photo of Gracia and Elysia – the same photo Maes had shown to him one evening several nights ago. He had hastily stuck it in the drawer when his friend wasn't looking so that it couldn't be shoved into his face again, and had been forgotten about since. His stomach sank as he looked at it.

It was the last photo Maes showed him before his death.

Grabbing the overused picture and staring at it for what felt to be an eternity, he remembered what Maes had said when he couldn't find the picture.

"I'm sorry, Roy. I know how much you like my pictures. You do like them, right? I know you do!"

Mustang choked back a sob, finding that he couldn't hold back the two large, twin tears that streamed down his face. Nor could he stop the shattered feeling his heart constantly felt… or the words that his broken voice barely got out next.

"Of course I do. I'd give anything to have you shove a picture of your family into my face."

Fin

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-AiroctivElnyn