When a traveler from the future must talk, he does not talk but whimpers. He whispers tortured sounds. He is agonized. For if he makes the slightest alteration in anything, he may destroy the future. At the same time, he is forced to witness events without being part of them. He envies the people who live in their own time, who can act at will, oblivious of the future, ignorant of the effects of their actions. But he cannot act. He is an inert gas, a ghost, a sheet without soul. He has lost his personhood. He is an exile of time.

They had looked so blindly into the future. They ran madly into the battlefield like the young, reckless fools they were. For honor…glory…love…happiness…

They watched innocent blood spilled; heard screams of children; smelled death in every step they marched. They followed orders.

They would never forget. It would be a sin they would pay for the rest of this life and beyond it. This is their future. They have seen it. They cannot stray from the path.

And so they would not be fooled by what they told them. They told them that their lives would be redeemed. That in rebuilding Ishval, they were redeeming their souls with each new house they built.

Roy had opened his eyes to applause. He was lucky…so lucky. The past was finally behind them, they rejoiced. They no longer had to punish themselves for what they had done. Naïve fools.

When they faced each other once more they remained silent. What could they say? What would they tell each other? Let's change our future. Let's be happy. Let's believe we deserve it.

After countless minutes, he stood at the foot of her bed and wished her a full recovery in a stoic voice. There was more to say. There was always more to say. But his lips kept sealed and his tongue was made of stone.

Riza saved him then. She always saved him. In a quiet, resigned voice, she spoke, "Let's not tempt fate, colonel." He watched her head fall back onto the pillows and her eyes gaze blankly at the ceiling, ready to close. She needed sleep. She had lost so much blood…

He nodded quickly and turned away. Turned away so she would not see the pain in his eyes…turned away so he would not see the pain in her eyes. His fists clenched at his side so tightly they shook.

Roy always envied Maes for his strength...for the life he was able to have. A husband…a father… Unable to bear it, he turned back and gazed upon the sleeping body of his beautiful lieutenant.

All he had to do was reach out. Reach out and he would have this woman to hold for the rest of his life. They would always be happy. They would kiss each other good morning and good night as all couples do. They would have silly quarrels about mundane things. They would have a warm fire and bed to share while the winter storms raged outside. She would lean against his shoulder and he would rest his chin on top of her head in the summer afternoon. They would have children…children born at sunrise as the sun set on this bloody chapter of their lives.

But his arms stayed cold and empty. This would not be their fate. He was imagining things again. After all they've done, they did not deserve happiness. He could never make her happy.

Thanks for reading! =]