Author: Spirix
Genre: Angsty/Fluff… Flangsty?
Rating: K+... thats like preteens I'm guessing...
Pairing: Edward/Roy
Summary: "Brother, come home now. I need you here, Please."
Disclaimer: I hate this part; it just reminds me of my lack of owning such a great story.
Note
Furher Roy Mustang hated his new desk. It was entirely too shiny for practical use. He was so afraid to scratch it that he couldn't do any of his work, or at least, that's what he told himself. The highly polished mahogany gleamed under his desk lamp as he looked out at the snow falling.
The war was finally over. It had been three long years of pain and suffering for everyone. No one had been able to escape without loss. He sighed as he thought of the men had had loss himself. Havoc and Falman were gone and Fuery was covered in burns. Breda somehow came out unmarked in body but Roy could tell he was dead on the inside. His fiancé died in one of the civilian attacks.
Roy knew that pain all too well. But it no longer crippled him. He had a new life now and a new home. The mansion of the Furher was a very elegant and regal place. It was a full time job just maintaining everything that took place there between all banquets, balls and breakfast, Roy was glad it wasn't his job. It was the job of the First Lady.
"Sir, you wife is on line one. She wants to know what side of the Langdon Hall you want to face. She can't remember if it was the fireplace or the window. She also reminds you to be home on time so she isn't left to entertain the Xing Ambassadors on her own."
"Tell her I will be there to intercept Ling and his wife as soon as I sign off the new barracks blue prints. Team Newgrounds is suppose to be in tomorrow for their final assessment of the underground labs found after the treaty was signed. I want the Westmeath Meeting room set up for their arrival. No press. I want the real meeting this morning and then we will have an edited and censored one in afternoon that is open for those jackles."
"Very good Sir. The car will be waiting for you in ten minutes."
"Thank you Colonel, you may go home as well."
The mousey haired man saluted and left. He was the most god-awful boring person Roy had ever had the misfortune to work with but he was quick, quiet and efficient. His wife had appointment him when she retired to make sure Roy stayed on task. Riza Hawkeye really did know how to pick them.
They were married now for a little over a year and it was splendid. Roy had never thought he could have a relationship with her or anyone for that matter after Edward had died. It took a long time for him to be able to admit it but the lively blonde was gone. He would be happy that Roy was happy. Edward had to be happy… because Roy was… happy, wasn't he?
He got up and fixed a small picture he had on his desk, his only real sentimental possession at work. It had the old gang in it back when Ed first brought Al to them in a body and not a suit of armour. They were all so young then…
Damn he was going to be late for dinner. Riza was going to shoot him this time for certain.
Sir we made a rather disturbing discovery…
Roy was running down a white hallway without windows. Moans came from placid doors on either side of him.
They were doing human experimentations and torturing…
Roy didn't even want to see the some of the victims. Almost all of them were civilian.
There was one, Sir, from within the ranks.
Who?!
He has yet to be officially identified Sir… but he has two automail limbs, his right hand and his left leg.
All the victims were being kept under wraps until he made a decision what to tell the nation, what version of the truth. Roy felt sick. Alchemy should be licensed like guns. Things like this shouldn't happen to people.
The victims that can still talk described some of the… procedures. Only those without any alchemy kept their minds. The knowledge of alchemy triggered negative reactions.
The last door appeared in front of his as he slammed to a stop. Did he really want to open this door? Once he did there was no turning back, who was he kidding? There was no turning back from the moment he came down the hall, the moment he had that meeting, the moment he yelled about a slide, the moment he fell in love.
Only one alchemist survived… or chose too.
Roy placed his hand on the white paint. Was it really so hard to enter a doorway?
The reports say he has kept his mind be refuses to react to anything. He just is.
There was a simple cot in the room without windows. This was a secret sick ward after all, hidden deep under central command, away from the public. Roy walked in slowly, pressing all thoughts aside, even the most recent one. He couldn't think of that at the moment. He needed to see if the on in the bed was the one he had lost.
A metallic arm was atop the linen sheets, gleaming in the dim hall light. There were no lamps on in the room. Roy approached with caution. He noticed the flesh arm was covered in a strange tattooed writing. It was in tight lines as if the flesh were a notebook. The scrawl was from the wrist to the elbow, spiralling up the arm in some foreign script. Roy gathered his courage and walked the rest of the way to the distant bed.
Golden eyes looked at him without seeing him. Roy's mask crashed and shattered. It was-
"Ed?"
The one guessed to be the Fullmetal Alchemist was experimented on the most. The medical journals say his body was able to withstand more than most so in the final stages they did a complete reconstruction of his genetic makeup. Sir, it said he was the only true successful chimera.
The haunting orbs focused and widened.
"…R. Roy?"
Roy slid his hands over fine check bones and then into luscious blonde hair. Was this real? Roy didn't even care if it was a dream any longer. He never wanted to wake up. Reality was too harsh and he wanted to pretend, even if just for a moment, that everything was going to be alright. Edward sat up looking dazed and confused. His gaze fell to the side as he searched from something within his mind. Roy wasn't paying much attention for he just wrapped his arms around those soft and hard shoulders.
"You're alive, you're really alive."
He could feel his eyes burning as he raised his hands to touch the soft hair of his once lover. Time stood still as he savoured the texture. Thoughts and feelings pushed against their restrains but he wouldn't let them. He just wanted to enjoy this instant, this one instant. He embraced the shorter man close to his chest as if afraid to let him go. He felt two different arms slip around his waist.
Heaven was real and in his hold.
The hallway light glinted off his forgotten wedding band as a hot sickness flooded through him. Roy held on regardless, for once he let go, he knew he could never come back to this moment again. Life was too cruel. He made a promise and Roy Mustang was a man of his word. He took vows seriously. Riza… Riza was his wife and, and, and they were having a child, together.
"Ni-san?! NI-SAN!!!"
Al pounced on his brother right there in the military hospital bed. Edward smiled a small sad smile allowing his younger brother to thoroughly examine his appearance for obvious injuries. Even if it looked some what silly Ed didn't mind the attention. He had been alone for far too long. His mind wandered. It had been a week since he last had a visitor. Al was in Resembool so it took him a while to reach Central.
"Ni-san. I can't believe it. You're alive!"
Al broke into sobs and hugged his brother again, just to make certain the other was really there. He gave a wet laugh, almost a gurgle before he noticed Edward's face. It was down cast and blank.
"Everyone keeps saying that. How can I be alive, when inside I think I'm dead?"
"Ni-san?"
"He was here before you Al. My life here kept going without me. You all have moved on. What is left for me?"
"Plenty! You can do all those things you wanted to before. Remember? You always wanted to learn how to use Xing Alchemy. Now you can give it your undivided attention!"
Ed chuckled. Trust Al to find a bright side to his hell. His stomach rumbled and before he could even blink his brother was gone to get him a sandwich. The blonde leaned against his pillow headboard in the above ground hospital bed. His body was healed but the doctors kept him there for testing. Ed refused to participate, telling them he wasn't a chimera. He was going to be released soon if he didn't prove to be abnormal in anyway. They couldn't keep him against his will.
He held his flesh hand out and transformed it. He only shortened his fingers and produced claws. A golden fur was brushed against the back of his hand and his palm hardened into a paw like callus. He heard rustling so he quickly changed his hand back. Edward wrapped his arms around his knees and closed his eyes. Everyone was so happy to see him alive but all he wished for was to be dead.
Time passed and the season changed more than once. The flame coloured leaves of autumn stuck to his trench coat. Ed shook them out while he looked at his distant home. It was humble and in the middle of no where but he liked it. It had just enough room for him, his demons and a small library. He liked living in Xing. There were fewer jolts of familiar memories. He could keep his sanity there. He fixed his bag and then stepped into his living room.
It wasn't often he left but he had to urge to check his mail today. It was the only memory he had left. It was hard every time but it had to be done. He sorted through various junk he had no use for until a familiar calligraphically elegant scroll. Al wrote him again. He smiled and sat down on his old sofa. It was Al who suggested learning this kind of Alchemy after all. And it was Xing Alchemy that helped him deal with his new body.
"I wonder if the baby came yet."
Last he heard from Al, Winry was expecting again. That was a while ago though. She surely had her baby now, her and Riza. It was a big year for families. Ed pushed his thoughts aside. He knew he should be happy for them, especially Roy. He finally had a family. It just broke Ed's heart that he wasn't in it. He couldn't even have one now. Chimera do not procreate.
He tore open the letter. Usually he had one from Al every month but for some reason the last three his box held nothing. He expected the letters got lost and hoped faintly he didn't miss anything important. He enjoyed the letters about the twins, Elysia and their silly adventures. It reminded him of life before his mother died.
Looking at the paper, Edward was surprised on how short the script was. Usually it was pages and pages of useless gossip and descriptions. Al was always interested in the social details of his circle. He read it over several times over.
Brother,
Come home now. I need you here, Please.
Alphonse
Well it was short, no matter how many times he flipped the sheet over or looked on the floor. Edward felt a cloud of unease rest on him. He ran into his room and packed his bags. He was going to Resembool for the first time in almost a decade.
End
I have had this bunny on the back burner for months. I hope you like it. And don't worry, there is more. Some reviews thought that this story needed an ending so I wrote one. I am a slave to my own bunny army that stalks my every move.