Without them
Characters: Roy Mustang, mentions of Maes and Gracia Hughes, Kay Hamilton, Charles Mayer and Riza Hawkeye
Timeline: 19th of March 1914
Roy stared out of the window to see that the roses in his garden weren't as pretty as they used to be before the call had come. He could still hear Maes' chocked voice and Gracia's sobs in the background. The black-haired man looked up to realise that the sun hadn't rose as high as usually and as he closed his eyes to concentrate on the silence, he even noticed that the birds didn't sing their usual, sweet songs … even the clouds on the sky were more grey than usually.
It seemed like everyone and everything was grieving along with him. He sat on his window while night fell but even the stars didn't shine as much as they used to do it in the night before.
And to him, it felt like things would never be the same again.
Heaven got two more angels in the night before then Kay and Charles left this world behind. It was surely an improvement for heaven, Roy decided, but it was a great loss for this world. He missed them already but he hoped that he would see them again, in his next life.
For now, he would close his eyes to go to sleep … and to dream of heaven tonight.
Charles … green eyes … great pride and the will to stay alive … messy, brown hair … a bright, happy laugh … a hard punch … and simply the best guy out there …
Kay … green eyes … always walking the fine line between self-confidence and arrogance … red hair, often bound to a ponytail … a wonderful, sun-like smile … a sharp tongue … and simply the most annoying, most amazing best female friend a guy could ask for …
The grass wasn't as green without the comparison with their shining eyes any longer and the sky wasn't quite as blue without making a sharp contrast to the fire-red hair.
He looked at the photo of them on his sideboard. It was their wedding picture and it hurt his heart to see them that happy while he knew that he would never see Kay and Charles holding hands and kissing in the rain again. Still, the photo sweetened the memory of them because he knew that they had lived their lives to the fullest. They had never left any chances unused. They hadn't left behind any regrets. They had died without thinking 'I should have done…'
Still, the rain on his skin had been a little bit colder when he had walked home and the fire in his fireplace was never quite as warm since they were gone. Of course, he hadn't seen them in five years but they had been still around, somehow. Now they had moved from Aerugo to heaven which seemed so far away.
But he would learn from this loss, the loss he had never expected to suffer. He would spend a little more time now with the things that mean really meant something to him. He owed Riza a proper explication and an apology and he would give it to her soon … because while Kay and Charles hadn't had any regrets, he had many … and it pained him greatly to realise that it had taken the death of two of his oldest friends to make him notice the wonders of this world. He smiled thinly as he looked at the picture. They had taught him so many things and he had never thanked them for telling him that he should love with a little more hope and to live with a little more peace. And after all, he understood now how precious life could be.
He closed his eyes again as he listened to the music from the radio on the table.
Of course, it had to be song he had used to hear with Charles, Kay and Riza in his room when he to studied under Riza's father. He remembered how he had told Riza that the way her brown eyes shined at night would put all the stars above them to shame … and she had frowned at him before she had stated: "That's a terrible lie, Mr Mustang."
Back then, Charles had been just a boy with a shiny new car that had a tendency of smelling of Kay's perfume which had smelled of apples … and Roy had been right there beside them, all summer long … and then the time they had woke up … just to find that October had come and that summer was gone.
But when he thought Elle Duchamps, he thought of Kay's favourite song … the one they had danced to all night long while the moon had illuminated the room and had made the lake look like a silver mirror – and when he thought of happiness, he thought of Riza's little black dress … Kay's head on Charles' chest – and his old jeans.
The October had been a month of tears. Kay and Riza had been depressed all the time because Riza's father had fallen ill. He could still remember how they had both thanked him for being there with them – even though they had been ashamed that he had seen them that way.
But in a box beneath his bed was a letter that he had wrote to Kay and Charles who would never read it now but it should have brought that special summer back.
It wasn't hard to find it all a little bitter sweet because they had been so close to everything.
And when Roy looked back now, on all the things he used to have, it was nice to believe that Riza would think of Kay's favourite song to when she thought of Elle Duchamps … the song they had danced to on her school ball. Or that she would think of her little black dress, a head with red hair on a muscular chest and old jeans when she thought of happiness.
Maybe she would really think of him and the dances they had shared when she heard Elle Duchamps. Maybe, someday when she would turn the radio on, they would play Kay's favourite song and it would take it back into his arms – and this time, he wouldn't let go.
He looked back at the old photo on his nightstand before he went to sleep.
