Title: Flint and Ashes
Author: Spirix

Genre: Hot War fic
Rating: M for sMut
Pairing: EdRoy RoyEd
Summary: Roy is a young state alchemist in a new war to "unite" Amestris under one banner. But is that what's actually happening, and who is the newest alchemist?

WARNING: BACON!!

Disclaimer: I hate this part; it just reminds me of my lack of owning such a great story.


Inane and Useless


It was a hard but necessary evil; the smell of the medical tent. Roy loathed it every moment he spent staring at Elric's cot in anticipation and anxiety. The burning flesh was so new and bizarre that he had a hard time keeping his face schooled. He was relieved that the smell was not coming from Elric but that did nothing to comfort him in his long hours at the blond's beside.

Roy looked humbly at his fingers then back up at Elric. What the hell was he doing there? Yes he didn't have duties to perform the next couple of days but he should be out... somewhere. It was wrong for him to be waiting for Elric to wake up. His injuries were very minimal but the percussion shock wave had knocked Elric clean out for several hours so far.

It was the middle of the night and Roy had easily not moved in twelve hours. Hughes had been kind enough to bring him a piece of corn bread and there was unlimited coffee, but Roy hadn't indulged in either luxury as he worried his gut into a complicated knot. He couldn't explain it but every time he stood up leave and take a break, like a proper friend would, his heart twisted painfully and demanded to stay in the constant vicinity of the blond.

This wasn't good.

Roy had been talking it over in his head again and again. He should really leave the boy alone. It was obvious that he had some complicated issues without a male lover to add on top of it. But Roy's heart refused to be ignored. It wouldn't hear anything of leaving Elric in any capacity, even going to the latrine was not an option. Things like: 'What if he woke up alone?' and 'What if he needs you?' keep spinning through Roy's head at a steadily increasing velocity.

It took a few hours to realize what was pumping through him but in the dark chill of what must be the wee hours of the morning it was painstakingly obvious.

"I love him more than humanly possible. Fuck this is so bad," Roy muttered to himself and ran his fingers through his hair roughly.

Roy stood up quickly and his folding stool hit the tarp covered sand with a thud like squish sound. The tent had only three victims in it and the other two, sever burn patients, were too heavily drugged for Roy to worry about waking them up.

Their flesh wounds were making him nauseous beyond control and finally Roy left the tent to dry gag behind one of the P.A. system posts. He was pretty certain he would have thrown up everything in his stomach, but since he hadn't eaten since before Elric's semi explosion, there was nothing to heave upwards.

He sat down heavily in the sand then flopped back further to look up at the dark night sky. The stars were bright since there were no flood lights on tonight. Kimblee's alchemy practice had taken out the generator. It was Elric's job to fix the melted hulk of metal when he was recovered since that was the only with the alchemic skill.

That further dragged on Roy's mood, the fact that an unconscious man was more useful than he was.

Sure, there were other alchemists in the camp who were equally useless at the moment, but Roy was of no help consistently. All he did was burn dead bodies and burn garbage. Oh and on occasion he would burn tainted flags, the ones that touch the ground. Tradition was to burn them regardless of how new they were because a flag tainted by the dirt of the ground would never lead them to victory.

That was the extent that Roy could do anything.

"I'm just spinning my tires here," he said offhandedly to himself, "and that's just not me. How did I sink into this pit of incompetence? Here I am; wanting Elric to accept my feelings and take a huge risk, for me, and I can't even be a useful commodity to my profession. Fuck!"

He picked up a handful of sank and threw it hard across the makeshift road. It fell apart instantly and created and small yet fast falling cloud of debris. "If I am to convince him that I'm worth having, then I have to value myself first."

Roy's solemn promise to the approaching false down was one he kept. He carefully distanced himself from the blond and concentrated on his alchemy. That was the key ingredient that attached them both to the sandbox. Once Roy became an extremely skilled alchemist, Elric would have to see his value and that he just wasn't a horny waste of skin.

Every day he went out to Kimblee's bolder and tried out array after array. He made modifications with a marker he commandeered from the medical tent because they were so hard to come by. This marker made clean solid lines but the really important part was that Roy could erase them with a damp cloth and redraw the lines again and again.

With each modification he came closer and closer to the control his teacher had as a boy. The old man never told Roy his secret to flame alchemy but Roy didn't need him. His knowledge of fire craft was nearing expert level but he was missing some key element to his array that drove Roy to near insanity.

"It's been over two months now! What, what, WHAT am I missing?" Roy kicked one of his unmarked stone targets and yelped in a very... manly way... not really. It was more of the sound a cat makes when its tail is surprisingly stepped on without warning. Roy clutched his foot which only resulted in him falling hard on his side. "Well this is just a fucking great way to end my day."

"I agree," came a snobby and amused voice from atop of the large stone Roy kept at his back to shield the camp from his flame bursts.

Roy rolled over and shot Kimblee a hopefully lethal look but Roy was pretty sure it border-lined pitiful yet angry. "What do you want?"

"Wow, such contempt for one's one bringer of tasty treats! I can't believe I took time out of my full day to make sure my favourite roommate was well fed?" Kimblee slid down the rock on his ass like a slide and landed on his feet.

Roy could feel his mouth salivating with each soft crunch of the man's approaching boots. Did he have bacon? Roy could smell the crispy strips as if they were attached to his face like a false moustache.

"You can smell it, can't you Roomie?" Kimblee swayed the bag back and forth, taunting Roy onto his feet. "What do you say?"

Roy gulped down whatever amounts of pride he had left and said quickly, "Pretty please with sugar on top?"

Fuck pride, the man had god damned bacon and Roy WOULD have his share of it, even at the cost of blood.

Kimblee's face split into a wide smile as he tossed the whole brown paper bag into Roy's eager arms. Like a savage Roy sat down and tore the paper open with his teeth.

Still thinking somewhere in the back of his head that it was a trick, he eyed his roommate with suspicion. "Where did you get this?"

Kimblee lay back in the sand, resting his head on another one of Roy's unmarked stone target. "It's a gift. I'm being wooed into the special ops division. Just a secret between friends."

Roy nearly choked on his bacon when the other alchemist winked at him. Kimblee laughed with his belly and turned his gaze back upwards. He continued his story while Roy tried to inhale the meat before some calamity occurred to smite it away. "Yeah, they have been sending me perks but I keep turning them down."

Curious despite his bare tolerance for the clap happy alchemist, Roy asked, "Why don't you go? It seems to come with good perks. And why aren't you eating this? It isn't often we get quality meat around here."

"I'll make you a deal. You tell me why you've been avoiding the little blondie and I'll answer those questions." Kimblee still wasn't looking at him but Roy could feel the man's metal eyes boring into his soul. He was just too damned perceptive, like Maes.

"I'm not avoiding him."

Kimblee rolled onto his stomach. "Yes you are. Just over a month ago you were going on about you two being friends and now you keep your distance like it's a lifeline. I am beginning to think that kid has leprosy, which would be a damn shame for such a damn fine body. Wouldn't you agree?"

Something feral rumbled in Roy and he paused in his bacon devouring. His eyes met with the casual ones of Kimblee and Roy could tell he knew.

"What do you want? There is nothing between him and me if that's what you are implying. I don't want my reputation shattered on a rumour so just tell me what you want so we can get this over with." Before Elric finds out his grudging secret isn't as such anymore.

Kimblee got to his feet and brushed the grit from his pants. "I don't want anything Roy. I just wanted you to know that someday, I may need you to keep something about me to yourself. It goes without question that you will; else, well you know what will happen."

Roy blood ran cold through his veins and he tore the bag further between his clutched hands. Kimblee say this and smiled, this one nothing like the first. It was thin and wide like one a snake with a canary would sport.

Kimblee started to walk away but turned over his shoulder and said in a conversational tone, "And your array is missing something in case you didn't notice."

At the end of his leash, Roy spat out, "Oh yeah? What's that?"

The walking alchemist stopped and turned around with his bare hands open wide in false greeting. "Personality of course. An array for you must have some of you in it. Hurry and catch up Rookie, before the big boys leave you behind."

With that he left and Roy was left to think of the inane symbol in Kimblee's palm array. That stupid moon did nothing but its significance may be the element Roy was missing. He feverishly searched around for his marker, unaware of his hidden audience.


END


Hello everyone!

I had no intention of updating this again so soon. Well it's not soon for you but it is for me. I was in the middle of Free Fall when I left to see a pro football game. somehow a moosebunny followed me there and gave me this. This chapter was written in less than two hours and than includes editing. I've reread it several times but am not certain about my ability as an editor at the moment. Oh well, I'll post for you guys and give it yet another read tomorrow morning.

On a side note, I want to invite you all to my LJ account. I finally have it the way I like and will be reposting all my fics there as well as starting a blog. For those of you who don't know, I was accepted into the military and am going to the royal university in August. I thought it would be fun to share the experience. If nothing else, go see my icon thingy. I made it myself and am super proud of the animated moosebunny in it.

I have to go to bed since it's 1:30am here. Yuck!

Thanks again for reading.

-rix the demon