I do not own FMA

Chapter 25.5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Okay... I know what you must be thinking... Chapter 25.5? What's that supposed to mean? And you are probably also thinking this: 'WHY DID YOU TAKE FOREVER TO UPDATE?!'. :I well the answer is writer's block. Like, really bad writer's block. I have written about half of chapter 26 but it has been agonizingly slow... And then I got the idea for this chapter. I loved the idea but I knew I couldn't fit it into the story any time soon. So I made a .5 chappie! I swear I'll be updating again soon! (Aka: eventually)
Ps: I am pretty cruel to Eddie in this chapter. SO MUCH ANGST! me likey :3

(ANGST FIESTA! (Again) Hope you brought your sombreros! :D)

(Ps: Eddie is dreaming right now, k? :3 and he is a little kid in his dream too)

Edward found himself standing in a familiar hallway on a wooden floor with pictures hanging on the walls. It was his old home... Didn't he and Al burn this place down? And why was everything so high up?

"-ill you wait for me?" A sudden deep voice said from somewhere nearby.

"Of course I will. Do you want me to go and wake your sons?" A woman's voice replied sadly. Edward recognized the voice of his mother, Trisha.

"Mom?" Ed whispered as he slowly walked toward the voice that he missed so much.

Peeking his head around the corner of the hallway, Edward saw his mother standing by the front door with the silhouette of a man blurred by the bright light shining through the open door. Ed knew all too well who that silhouette was. It was his father, Hoenhiem.

Edward slowly tiptoed closer to the two adults. But what the silhouette said next stopped him dead.

"No. There is no reason for them to say goodbye. They mean nothing to me..." Van Hoenhiem growled. He started to walk out the door without another word and without looking back.

Ed's heart raced as he began to panic. 'He can't leave! What about me and Al?! We need him here!' The young boy thought frantically.

"Dad, wait!" Young Edward gasped. He rushed forward and grabbed hold of the bottom of his father's shirt. "Please don't leave us!" The small child cried.

"And what reason do I have to stay, Fullmetal?" The unexpected change of Hoenhiem's voice startled Edward. He looked up at his father, expecting to see a blonde-haired, golden-eyed man. But instead, Roy Mustang was standing there looking down at Edward with eyes as cold as ice.

Ed simply stared in shock at his former boss before managing to choke out a few words. "B-But... Mom was talking to-"

"What mom?" Roy snorted. "Oh, you mean the one you turned into an abomination?" He spat as he angrily pulled Ed's hands off of his shirt. "You killed her already, remember?"

Ed gasped an looked around only to find that his mother had vanished. He looked back at Roy. "N-no... I didn't mean to... I just wanted to see her again... I didn't mean to..." He whimpered.

Roy scowled. "Don't lie to me, you little bastard! You're the one that preformed the transmutation! You're the one who dragged Alphonse into it and forced him to become a living suit of armor! You're the one who decided to join the military and drag everybody else into your problems!" He snarled.

"I'm sorry..." Ed sniffled while trying to blink back the tears that were welling in his eyes.

"No you're not!" Roy snarled. "You're a pathetic excuse for a human! Oh wait, that's right! You AREN'T human! You're a filthy homunculus! Just like the one who killed Maes. You're just like the rest of them! All you do is ruin the lives of those around you. We would all be better off if you never existed." Roy hissed and again turned to leave.

Edward quickly grabbed onto Mistang before he could walk away. Ed couldn't fight the tears any longer, they now flowed freely down his cheeks. "No... I'm sorry... Please don't leave!" He cried.

Roy violently shoved the sobbing child away and scowled down at him. "What made you think that I would ever stay?! Your own father abandoned you. And now you are a monster waiting to murder those around you. I don't know why I haven't left earlier. after all, everyone will leave you sooner or later. They can only put up with you for so long before they get tired and toss you aside like the trash you are. And even if you weren't a homunculus, I still wouldn't have stayed. I've had it. I never liked you in the first place so I have no idea why I put up with you for this long. You're a selfish and reckless brat that has caused nothing more than annoyance ever since I met you. Now get out of my sight. Better yet, get out of my life." Roy snarled cruelly before he slammed the door shut in the crying Edward's face. And with that, he was gone. For good.

"He's right.." Edward whimpered to himself. "Everyone would be better off without me. I never expected him to stay... All I've done is try to kill him. It's probably for the best that he left... But... it hurts. it hurts so badly..." He let out another sob and curled up against the wall to cry in peace. But no comfort could be found in his heart, for it was torn apart by the very person who had once helped mend it...

"Fullmetal."

'Oh no... He's back. Why is he back? Has he come to do everyone else a favor an finish me off?'

"Fullmetal. Come on."

'Please... Just stop. I don't want to hear anymore from you...'

"Fullmetal, wake UP!"

Edward gasped and jolted awake, sitting bolt upright with wide eyes. His heart was hammering and his breathing was fast. Ed slowly looked around and saw the guest bedroom in Roy's house instead of the hauntingly familiar hallway of his old home in Resembool.

Ed slowly allowed himself to relax. "It was a dream..." He sighed shakily.

But then Edward noticed the dark figure standing next to his bed. He quickly turned his head around to stare at the unknown person. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Ed realized that it was Roy.

"Are you okay, Fullmetal? You were crying out in your sleep." The General murmured.

The gentle tone of his voice sounded so foreign to Edward after such a terrifyingly vivid nightmare.

Edward's mind was filled with dark, sad thoughts when he remembered his dream. He hung his head and looked away from Roy.

"I'm... I'm fine." He whispered sadly. 'I don't know why Mustang is always so nice to me... He will abandon me eventually... Like they always do. Maybe if he left sooner it won't hurt as bad...' Ed thought to himself.

Roy studied the boy carefully with narrowed eyes. "Liar." He growled, folding his arms.

Edward seemed surprised at his response and finally looked him in the eyes. "W-What?"

"You heard me. You aren't fine. I know you too well to not know when you are really alright." Roy said with more authority. Then his black gaze softened and he sat down in the side of Edward's bed. "So what's wrong? And tell me the truth."

Edward looked away from his former commanding officer and stared at the wall. 'Why should he care? He won't be here for long. Pretending that he cares will only make the pain worse once it happens.' Ed thought.

Edward felt the mattress shift and looked back at Roy. The general had moved closer and was not staring at the boy with concerned black eyes.

"Please tell me what's wrong. I can tell its serious. And I can tell that it has something to do with me. Did I do something to upset you?" Roy asked softly.

Edward blinked in surprise. 'How does he always figure out what you're thinking? But... Then again... Would it even matter if I told him? He's gonna leave eventually anyway...' Ed took a deep breath and looked away.

"Well Fullmetal?"

"Why... Why are you doing this?" Ed whispered shakily.

Roy looked confused. "What? Am I doing something wrong?" He asked.

Edward gave a tiny shake of his head. "No... No... I mean why are you doing this for me? Why are you helping me? I've only ever annoyed you or hurt you. I could easily be the death of you yet you still stay by my side... Why?" He asked shakily. Ed took a deep breath and waited for Roy to answer.

Mustang was shocked into silence at his former subordinate's question. "W-Why? What do you mean why am I doing this for you? I'm doing it because I care about you! Have you forgotten already? I care about you and Alphonse probably more than you will even know. Now, I know that I'm not your real father legally, but I ...uh... w-want to be. But that's only if you allow me... Although I'm not your father yet, I can still act like it. And besides... You need the support now more than ever." Roy replied.

Edward breathed a sigh of relief and allowed himself to relax. "So... You promise you'll never leave like... Like he did?" Ed murmured.

Roy's eyes widened. "This is about him, isn't it? Is that what were dreaming about? your father?" He asked.

Edward looked away and nodded. "Yeah... I've had many nightmares about him before. About the morning he abandoned us. But this time it was different..." Ed's words slowly trailed off into a quiet oblivion.

"What was different about it, Ed?" Roy prompted.

Edward took a deep, shuddering breath before he answered. "This time when I tried to stop him from leaving... I saw you instead of Hoenhiem... You said that you didn't have a reason to stay, that I was naive to think that you would stay when our own father had already abandoned us. You said I only caused others annoyance and pain, and that they would be better off if I had never existed. Y-You told me to get out of your life... And then you left." Ed murmured.

Roy stared at Edward with wide eyes. 'He dreamed all that?! Shit... Why do I cause this kid so much pain and fear in his nightmares?!' Roy thought angrily. But his anger soon have way to sadness and sympathy. "Oh, Ed... I would NEVER say anything like that! None of it is true, you are an amazing person, not a hindrance to anybody! Sure you are a bit rude and reckless at times, but who isn't? And besides, you'd be pretty boring if you weren't." Roy said with a sympathetic smile. His tone softened, "I will NEVER leave you. I promise."

Edward smiled back. "Thanks. But... I should already know that. This nightmare was just so... Vivid, I guess. I forgot how much you care about me for a little while. So... Thanks." He said.

Roy smiled. "So are you going to be alright now?" He asked.

Edward sighed an relaxed onto his bed. "Yeah..." He yawned and closed his golden eyes.

Roy smiled and turned towards the door to leave.

"Oh... and Mustang?" Edward murmured sleepily.

Roy stopped walking and turned back to the blonde boy. "Yes?"

"Good night... Dad." He said quietly.

Roy grinned and walked back over to Edward's bedside. He leaned over and looked down at the half-asleep blonde.

"Good night son." Mustang said softly.

Roy suddenly bent down and kissed the boy on the forehead. Before Edward could react, Roy leaped up and sprinted away, laughing.

"What did... Why... You just... MUSTANG GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!" Edward's raged voice screeched from the room.

There was a faint flash of red from the doorway of Ed's room followed by the snarl of some kind of animal. The sound of claws scrambling across hard wood floor was heard before a cheetah came sliding through the doorway and collided with the wall directly across.

"Oh, SHIT!" Roy gasped before sprinting faster.

The cheetah scrambled to it's paws and ran after the fleeing general. "Get BACK here so I can MAUL you! Only my mother was allowed to do that! I'm gonna KILL YOU!" Ed-Cheetah snarled.

Roy just laughed and leaped down the staircase with the big cat close behind.

one of the doors in the downstairs living room suddenly opened and out stumbled a sleepy Alphonse. "What's with all the noise?" He grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

He looked up and saw a golden Cheetah chasing General Mustang around the living room.

"First I'll chew up all of your ignition gloves! then I'm gonna claw your eyes out!" The cheetah was screeching at the fleeing Roy.

Alphonse simply backed up into his room and closed the door again, shielding him from the strange scene in the living room. "I need to stop eating so much sugar before bed..."

*(DAT WAS NO YAOI, m'kay? :I)*

(THERE! Wasn't that awesome. :3 it goes from cruel angst to normal angst to adorableh parentalness and finally to humor. :3 yay.)

Aaaaw, no fair! I wanna kiss Eddie on the forehead! D: (fangirls everywhere would love to too... :I on second thought... That's kinda weird... Never mind.

-Sapphie out!