"I did it because I care about you, you colossus asshole!" Ed spit at him, his teeth clenched in a sneer and his eyes pinched in frustration. He was standing, leaning dangerously over the table they were sitting at.
Ed was passing through Central, on his way home from studying in a country East of Xing. He'd decided to visit Colonel Bastard and Hawkeye in the afternoon before catching a train of Resembool. Seeing Mustang was kind of a pain in the ass, but Hawkeye was always good company and he had some custom made ammunition from the East for her. Made of a lighter, but no less durable material; they'd fly faster and be more accurate.
What he hadn't anticipated was that Hawkeye might not be home. When he'd knocked on the door and a disheveled, cranky Roy Mustang had opened the door. In his shock, Ed just stood in the doorway staring stupidly and not saying anything. Roy stared at him irritably, scratching the back of his head and pulling at the knots he'd gotten from napping on the couch.
"What do you want, Elric?" His grouchy, you're-so-below-me voice snapped Edward out of his stupor. The boy grimaced and grunted.
"I was hoping to see Hawkeye but have the unfortunate luck of seeing you instead."
This incited a few more minutes of banter before the Flame Alchemist stepped aside to let Ed in the door.
"She'll be back later, she'd at the range. Come on in, I have the chess board set up anyway." He sounded annoyed, but he was happy to see the kid. He'd heard updates from Riza periodically, but it had been at least two years since he'd seen the boy himself. As much as a pain in the ass Elric could be, Roy would be lying if he said he didn't care about the kid. He grinned back when Ed flashed him a smile and sauntered past him into Mustang's home.
They got half way through a chess game before Roy suggested a drink between the two of them. One glass lead to three, which lead to a little more than playful banter. Naturally, Roy made an insensitive comment about Ed taking away the one kill he'd ever wanted to commit. Even as drunk as he was, Mustang didn't think he'd ever forget the look in Edward Elric's eyes at that moment.
Now they were here, eyes locked and the barest hints of tears in the corners of Ed's eyes. He was so shocked by the look that he didn't react to Edward lunging violently across the table. The sound of flesh hitting flesh knocked Mustang back into his senses. The table clattered aside, the chess pieces falling to the floor loudly. The bottle of booze fell over as well, spilling the liquid all over the floor. Mustang glared up at his counterpart from the floor, blood filling his mouth.
"Was that really necessary, Fullmetal?" Edward grimaced at him, straightening his posture and grunting at him.
"Of course it was, dumbass." Ed's mouth twisted into a deep frown, his brow puckered in frustration. "Have you really thought that this whole time? Ever since that day, you've thought I took away some great honor from you? Are you fucking kidding me?" In his frustration, he kicked at the chess pieces around his feet. Roy sat up slowly, wiping at his mouth. He curled a knee to his chest and leaned against the chair he'd previously been sitting in.
"He killed Hughes," Roy murmured softly. Ed stared at him for a long moment before sighing heavily and plopping down on the floor across from him.
"I know he did, how could I forgot? I blamed myself months over his death. Al did, too," Edward replied, fidgeting with a pawn near his knee. "I know how angry you were, but we couldn't let you do that to yourself."
Ed glanced up at him, his eyes dark with memories. "It's like Scar said, you were going to kill yourself. You'd surrender your entire being for your revenge and you'd never be the same person again."
Ed stared blankly at Roy. "And the person you'd become wouldn't be a man who could fix this country."
Roy lashed out, slapping the bottle of whiskey away from where it had fallen near his thigh. "What do you know, Fullmetal? How could you even comprehen-"
"I spent years working until I spit blood and hardly slept trying to make up for a mistake I made on impulse, when I was so blinded by grief and loss that I could hardly see straight," Ed interrupted, his voice matter of fact, "I didn't want to see a man I respect and begrudgingly care about ]have to do the same."
Roy sat in silence, his mouth agape and eyes wide. In all the time they'd known each other, the Flame Alchemist had never seen the Fullmetal brat act so mature. In that moment, Roy could see the growth in Ed's face. His jaw was proud and set with determination. The fire in his eyes, once uncontrollable and reckless, had calmed as he'd grown. It was still there, sparking brightly even now, but the knowledge and lessons he'd learned had tamed some of his recklessness. Mustang had to glance away from him as his words sunk in. Even now, after seeing the Truth that Ed had always mentioned and travelling through the Door, Roy was reminded that he'd only seen a fraction of the true tragedy Edward Elric had been through.
The ancient bitterness slowly eased away and Roy was left tired and limp. He sighed heavily. "Lectured by a kid again, how shameful," he muttered dryly, cracking a small grin to betray his sarcasm. Ed blinked at him twice before chuckling loudly. He threw a chess piece at the man playfully and shook his head.
"Glad to see that you've managed to pull your head out of your ass, bastard," Ed quipped back, earning him a swift kick to the shin. He grunted and rubbed at the spot unhappily.
"You're such an asshole," he griped, an exaggerated pout set in his lips. Roy rolled his eyes at the display and waved a hand.
"Thought the Fullmetal Alchemist would be made of tougher stuff, my mistake."
Ed sneered at him, comeback on the tip of his tongue, when the front door opened and shut quickly.
"I swear if you're sleeping on the couch again, I'm hiding your gloves again." Hawkeye's voice floated to them from the entry way. Ed sent the dark haired man a knowing look, waggling his eyebrows playfully. Mustang grimaced at him and mimed for Elric to keep his mouth shut.
"I'm up. We have a guest," Mustang replied, rising from the floor and collecting the bottle of alcohol and glasses as he went. Ed followed his lead, picking up the over turned chair and righting the table. When Riza walked in, Roy was cleaning up the spill on the floor while Ed gathered the chess pieces. She raised her eyebrows at the scene, coming up with scenarios around how they'd gotten so this point.
"I see that you two still can't be in the same room, I would have thought you'd outgrown this," she commented, removing her jacket and draping it over the couch. She hugged Ed briefly before undoing her chest holster and setting it on the table. "Welcome back, Edward. It's good to see you."
Ed threw her a smile as he deposited the chess pieces on the table. "It's good to be back. I'm on my way home and decided to stop by, I have a gift for you actually." He excused himself to grab the gift from his suitcase near the door. Riza watched him for before turning to her superior officer with a knowing look.
"Who hit who?" she asked.
"He clocked me pretty good," Roy replied immediately, rubbing his hand along his jaw and running his tongue over his teeth. Riza nodded, seeming to have expected this.
"What was it about?"
Mustang looked away from her, mouth turned down in a frown. "Envy," he muttered. Riza's eyes widened minutely at that before she trained her expression and pursed her mouth.
"You said something stupid, didn't you?" she asked smoothly, crossing her arms over her chest. Roy looked at her, affronted, before he took in her expression and looked away in dejection.
"Yeah, I guess I did," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Rize kept him leveled with a hard stare for another moment before sighing.
"At least it seems he was able to knock some sense into you," she said with a grin, easing some of the guilt in Mustang's gut. He grinned back at her and gav an exaggerated roll of his eyes. Ed joined them a minute later, holding two small boxes of ammunition. They sat around the table as Ed showed them to Hawkeye, explaining what they were made of and why he'd gotten them. Riza was exciting, loading some of them into her gun immediately and commending Edward for getting the ammo size correctly. Ed blushed lightly at the comment but grinned regardless.
They chatted for another few minutes before Ed glanced at their wall clock and frowned.
"I should get going. I wanted to catch the last train tonight so I can get back to Resembool." He blushed brightly at the knowing look Hawkeye gave him. "Don't even start, Hawkeye," he warned lowly.
She laughed at that and waved a hand at him, silently assuring him that she would withhold any teasing. She glared at Roy to ensure he'd be quiet as well. Standing from the table, Ed gave Riza a parting hug. He punched Roy affectionately.
"It was nice to see you, Edward. It would be wonderful if you and Winry could come visit again soon?"
Ed nodded emphatically. "Of course, she'd been mentioning a trip of Rush Valley sometime soon. We'll stop by on our way there."
They chatted for a few more minutes as Ed pulled his coat on and collected his suitcase. He hugged Riza one more time in the doorway and waved as he walked down the stairs and down the sidewalk. They pair stood in the doorway, watching as the boy walked away. Only after he'd turned a corner and disappeared from sight did the two retreat into their home.
"It was nice to see him," Riza commented softly as they walked toward the kitchen. They both needed a cup of tea. Roy went about preparing it while Riza sat at the table.
"He's always such a pain in the ass when he's here," Roy grumbled, leaning against the counter while the pot filled with water. Once full, he did a simple transmutation to heat the water. Sitting at the table with two glasses and their small box of assorted teabags, he pointedly ignored the look his partner was giving him.
"He looks up to you, you know?" she pointed out sharply, snatching a teabag from the box and ripping open the package. She dropped it into her cup and allowed him to pour her water.
"Well, I didn't ask him to," Roy replied, filling his own glass after hers. Riza frowned at him and kicked him hard under the table. The man yelled at the blow and frowned back at her.
"Stop it. Whether you like it or not, that boy- both of those boys!- look up to you and respect you. So, it shouldn't be too much to ask that you not be such a jerk all the time."
Roy stared at his hands as she talked, clutching his cup tightly. He digested her words slowly, taking them in and weighing them. After a moment, the tension left his hands as he sighed and shook his head.
"I'll admit this," he murmured, "I owe that kid a lot."
Riza smiled softly at his words and took a sip of tea before speaking. "We all do, sir."