Chapter 6

Deceit

Roy couldn't believe his ears, he figured he had to be dreaming.

"You are going to help me cover up the fact that I murdered Fuhrer Bradley?" He asked in disbelief. "Somehow I doubt that. Just recently you went on the warpath to find the killer and put their head on a stake. But when you found out who did it, you're going to help them hide it? I find that a little hard to believe."

"I don't blame you for being cautions, Mustang. But I assure you I'm being sincere. I don't lie to people. Lying is ultimately just a huge waste of time."

The woman made a good point. For as long as Roy had known her, she had always been very blunt and straight-forward. People used to complain that she was ofter too honest. But, she was right. Lying was just a waste of time, because, always, the truth will inevitably reveal itself.

Roy just couldn't wrap his head around it. "But why?" He asked. "Why in the hell would you help me cover up something like this?" He wanted to believe her more than anything, but he still felt guarded.

Armstrong paused and took a breath. "I'll tell you why, but you have to tell me something in return."

"Being?"

"What's been going on with you lately? You were sick as a dog after your mission was over. I know it wasn't the poison in your blood. And if you killed Bradley as harshly as you claim you did, it's clear the poison wasn't even an issue anymore."

Roy looked down in though, considering whether or not he could trust her with this.

Armstrong could see that he was conflicted and worried. "You're Fuhrer now Roy, that's not easily lost. If you're ill, you would still be Fuhrer."

Roy looked at her face and could just feel that she was being sincere. Not only that, but she was offering her own information in exchange. "I have your word that none of this leaves this room?" he asked.

Armstrong rolled her eyes. "Don't ask stupid questions. What we say will remain between us—no one else."

Roy sat back and closed his eyes for a few seconds, his headache was still bothering him. "You know how if you perform human transmutation that there's a price that has to be paid?"

"Yes. That's why Edward lost his left leg and Alphonse lost his entire body."

"And like I said before, I performed it on Fullmetal." Roy said. "It was all like how he described it when he first got here. I encountered a being that is known only as Truth. Information poured into my head so fast, I thought it was going to explode. I experienced The Gate."

"So something was taken from you." Armstrong said almost making it sound like she was asking him instead of telling him.

"Exactly." Roy said, closing his eyes and reaching into his coat pocket and tossing a small bottle of pills to the General.

When she caught them, she quickly made to read the label, her eyes grew narrow. "These are for people in late stages of heart failure."

Roy just nodded at her. "Yep. I have about eight months left to my name."

Armstrong let out a small gasp. "So...you're..."

"Dying?" Mustang finished for her. "Yes."

"And that's why you've been frequenting the infirmary." She said.

"You knew about that?"

"Please, I'm a lot of things but unobservant isn't one of them." She retorted.

"I know." He said. "But, yes, that's why I keep going there. That crazy old man insists that I need to be in intensive care. I just can't do that, if I only have a short while as Fuhrer, then I'm going to make use of every second."

Armstrong tossed the bottle of pills back to him. "I can't say I wouldn't be doing the same thing if I were in your shoes. I take it that this is the reason why Edward and Alphonse went on that 'secret mission'-it's to find a means to save you."

"I didn't want that, but you know how stubborn he is."

"Like you." Armstrong told him. "If he can't save you then it's going to be the end of him."

Roy closed his eyes and brought his hand to his head again. "Don't say that. I know how emotional he can be. I have to believe that he will succeed, if not for my well-being, then for his."

"He's a very skilled alchemist, so is Alphonse. They'll think of a way."

Roy opened his eyes and leaned back, putting his legs up on his desk. "You're up, General." He told her, gesturing for her to speak.

Armstrong yet again rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to on into full detail with this, Mustang. I'm just going to give you the abridged version. The details aren't important."

"Point taken. Now tell me why you hate Bradley so much that you're going to help me cover up his murder." he said.

"Because...he and I were...'involved' in the past." She said with a heavy sigh.

Roy's legs fell from his desk so fast that he nearly cracked his head against it. "What!?" He asked in pure and utter shock. "You two...what!?"

"Are you done?" She asked in annoyance.

Roy sputtered his words. "Y-yeah it's just...what!?"

"It was over fifteen years ago. That's a long time, Mustang." She said. "People...change. It was long before he became Fuhrer. I was very young, naive and stupid."

"Wait...but wasn't Bradley married back then?" Roy asked, thinking back.

Armstrong nodded. "Yes he was. It didn't matter to me. I was madly in love with him like an idiot. The man was...among other things...physically abusive."

"Oh..." Roy said softly. He never liked the idea of a woman being harmed. Riza may have been his protector, but if anyone hurt her, he'd light them up as bad as he did Bradley.

Armstrong scoffed. "I don't need your pity, Mustang, so save it. It isn't needed. I've long since gotten over that."

"So...that's why you're glad he's dead?" He asked, feeling like he was missing a piece of a puzzle.

"Hardly." She answered. "The creep may have hit me but I didn't want him to be killed because of it or anything. I'm not that petty."

Roy narrowed his eyes. "Then...why?"

Armstrong tightly closed her eyes. Roy could tell that talking about this was upsetting her. He'd never seen her like this, whatever the reason was, it was clearly very hard for her to express. When she finally opened her mouth, he interrupted her.

"Stop." He said. "You've told me enough, it's okay. Him beating you is reason enough for me to understand why you'd want him gone."

"I'll tell you... just not now. Not here." She said, Roy realizing this was the same office that used to be Bradley's—no wonder she was upset. Just being in this room was enough to upset her, and he wasn't going to make her tell him here.

"Sure." He said with a softened voice. "You take all the time you need."

Armstrong rose from the desk and turned to leave. "Excused?" She asked him, trying to sound back to her strict and icy exterior.

Roy nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Yes, you're excused."

Although she didn't turn all the way around, she turned her head slightly. "Thank you." She told him before exiting the office, closing the door behind her.

Roy just smiled warmly. "Likewise."

XXXX

(April)

Riza heard her alarm clock go off with a loud ring. She moaned groggily and turned to make that terrible noise end. Hayate was already awake and waiting by her bed excitedly. She smiled at him and petted his head.

"I know, I know. You're hungry." She said to him.

Pulling herself from her bed, she made her way to the kitchen to get Hayate's usual meal. She needed to shower and dress to get out the door quickly today. She had mountains of paperwork to complete from the interrogation and it was going to take her most of the day. Especially since Roy would be whining about it the whole time. There was so much that they would even need to work through their lunch hours.

Oh, goody.

Once she had made it to work, the day went as she thought it would, being cramped in her office, her hand getting tired from all the papers she needed to read and sign. But when lunchtime came, Roy insisted that they do it in his office. Great, this most likely meant that she was going to be doing her and his paperwork now.

When she arrived at his office, she proceeded with the formalities. "Lieutenant Hawkeye." She said with professionalism. "Permission to enter, sir."

"Granted." She heard him say as she opened the door.

When she walked in, she saw Mustang standing there, holding a single red rose. A lovely lunch arranged neatly on the table with a couple of candles on either side.

"Sir...what is all this?" She asked, her face lighting up as she looked around at all of his work.

"What?" He asked in defense, handing her the rose. "It's just a little paperwork over lunch. Nothing out of the ordinary here." A cheerful smile on his lips. "But..." He continued, pulled a large stack of paperwork from the desk behind him. "Well, would you look at that, it's already finished."

"Bummer." Riza said playfully.

"Looks like lunch will just have to be lunch today." He said, guiding her to the table where the food was.

"We'll make it work." She replied, feeling overjoyed.

For most of their lunch hour, they just talked and chattered about little things. Playful flirting jabs here and there. It actually felt like they were on a real date. It didn't matter it was just sushi in her superior's office. It was magical because it was Mustang, and he felt the same of her.

"How was your food?" Roy asked, finishing his and wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"It tasted great."

"So I'm a good cook then?" He asked, looking at her.

Riza just chuckled. "I'm not sure, this is from the place around the corner."

"Damn!" Roy said with fake frustration. "I should have known a keen eyes like yours would figure that out. I may not have made it but I arranged everything."

"That you did, sir." She said, still giggling.

"Roy."

"What?" She asked.

"We're alone. You can call me by my first name. Although I can't say the constant 'sir' thing isn't sexy." He said flirtatiously.

Riza blushed and looked away. For as long as she had known him the most personal thing she called him was Mustang. Even when they were alone in the past, she never called him Roy, but he never just called her 'Riza' either.

"Okay...Roy." She said slowly. Saying his name to her superior like that felt strange on her tongue.

"Thank you, Riza." He replied, slipping his arm around her. He lost himself in her eyes and gently stroked her soft cheek with his fingers."In all seriousness, Riza, I don't know why you bother putting up with me. I'm arrogant, demanding-"

"And you have a temper." She added with a smirk.

Roy just laughed a little. "Exactly, I'm all those things, and yet...you never gave up on me. You've always stood by my side, even when I didn't deserve it."

Riza turned to him and put her arms around him, and running her fingers through the back of his hair with one of her hands. "You've always been worth it. I'll always be by your side."

Roy just took her beauty in for a moment. He took his hand from her cheek and moved it to her chin, so that her lips could meet his. To Riza, his touch was like fireworks. For so long, the two of them had awaited this moment.

As he kissed her, Roy felt tears landing on is hand. Riza broke from him.

Roy just regarded her sadly for a moment. He knew why her tears fell. There wasn't anything he could say to her, no words were going to soothe her. Telling her everything would be fine could very well be a lie. It may not be. He didn't want his words to be hollow.

Instead, he just brought her close to his chest and held her, stroking her hair and kissing her on the top of her head. His own eyes were closed tightly as he held her. All he wanted was to not make her cry, and yet, here she was, sobbing in his arms. Riza didn't deserve pain like this. Maybe he was right before when he decided to push her away. But, he knew in his heart that would be futile. She wasn't going to leave his side no matter what he did. Pushing her away again wouldn't make her feel better, only worse.

All he wanted to do right now was utter those three little words to her, but he feared that it would only upset her further. So he decided to hold back, but it didn't change the fact that...

He was in love with Riza Hawkeye.

XXXX

Ever since Edward had overheard the conversation between Alphonse and Dr. Lee, his training seemed to just plateau. Hearing Al say that Edward would never commit suicide if he was pushed to the edge, made Edward fill with guilt. He had been lying to his little brother about something huge and it just didn't sit right with him. The plan used to be that he would never tell Alphonse what really happened, but now, it seemed he wasn't going to make any more progress until he did. Better to tell him now, rather than him finding out at a critical moment and breaking down.

Doctor Lee had left town to tend to a few patients and would be gone for a day or two, so now was the perfect time to get this over with. He just had to bite the bullet.

The brothers were outside sparring. Physical training was still something they needed to keep up with. Edward was getting beaten over and over again by Alphonse. Edward had never beaten him to begin with, but it seemed he was going down a lot easier than usual.

"Is something on your mind, Brother?" Al asked, knowing that something wasn't right.

Edward couldn't look at his brother, he just stared down at the grass. "Al, I have to tell you something. I didn't want to say anything about it but its been weighing on me lately."

"I've noticed that you seemed distracted by something for a while." Al said. "So what's up?"

"I wasn't...completely honest with you about when Dad, Riza and Greed found me in that cave." Ed told him, still not looking at Al.

"You weren't?" Al asked, sounding hurt.

Edward shook his head. "No, and I'm sorry about that."

"What really happened, then?"

Edward sighed and swallowed hard—his mouth was suddenly so dry. "It's about h-how I died." He said, stammering. "It wasn't Bradley who killed me."

"What!?" Alphonse exclaimed. "Who did it then!?"

"Me." Edward barely choked out in a pained voice.

Alphonse let out a loud gasp. "What!? It was you!? Youkilled yourself!?" He yelled in horror.

Edward's long blond hair fell around his face. "I did." He said sadly.

"Were you under the influence of the Philosopher's Stone when you did it?" Alphonse asked next, his voice now eerily even and calm.

Edward shook his head slowly. "No. I was in control when it happened."

Alphonse let out an angry grunt and an infuriated growl. He stormed over to his older brother and slapped him hard across the face. Edward made no motion to move or avoid it, he just took it because he felt he deserved it. He fell onto the grass from the strike.

"How dare you!" Alphonse yelled down to him, it was clear that he, or his soul, was weeping. "How dare you, Brother!?"

Edward looked up to him and his eyes were glassy. "I'm sorry, Al. I didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice! But you did what you always do, you act then think! How could you of left me so easily? What, was all that talk about getting out bodies back just a lie!?"

Edward made it to his feet. "No, of course not! You're always my top priority! It's just-"

"Just what!?"

"Because I wanted to kill dad, Alphonse!" Edward screamed. Straining his voice so hard his voice was now hoarse and breaking. "That damn stone made me crave his blood! I wasn't going to stop until I did it! It manipulated my head and made me want to kill him more than anything!" Edward's throat was stinging so he brought his volume down. "And..if I had really killed him...killed our dad..." He trailed off, tears streaking down his face. "I wouldn't even want to live anymore. I wouldn't deserve it." Edward fell to his knees and grabbed at the grass beneath him. "And now...I've damned him to suffer for a year, only to have him die anyway."

Edward was sobbing hard at this point, nearly hysterical. "I'm so sorry, Alphonse! I made a choice, and a stupid one! I didn't want to leave you, I swear! You're my brother and I love you! It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Al!"

Alphonse fell to his knees in front of Edward and hugged him tight. Edward was just screaming he was sorry over and over again through his tears. Edward had just been a mess lately, maybe Lee was right, maybe Brother did need to talk to someone.

"Okay...it's okay, Brother. Shhh..." Alphonse said soothingly. "That couldn't have been an easy situation for you, I get that. But I want you to promise me, promise me, Brother, that you won't ever do anything like that ever again. Just tell me or someone else if you feel there isn't another way. There are more people out there that love you than you think."

Edward nodded, just clinging to his brother tight.

"I need you to do a couple of things for me, okay?" Al said.

"What are they?" Edward asked, sniffling.

"One: I want you to call dad. I really think hearing his voice would make you feel better." Al told him.

"Fine. I will." Ed conceded. "What's the other?"

"Two: I want you to talk to someone-a professional. I know that you're the Fullmetal Alchemist, and you think you can handle everything on your own, but it'll help you with your nightmares and all the burdens you're carrying."

There was a beat of silence. "Would you go with me?" Edward asked.

"Of course I would, Brother." Al replied, standing, helping Edward up too. "Come on, let's go and give dad a call."

"All right." Edward said, breaking away from Alphonse. "Let's go call him. It's far past time for us to report in anyways. As he turned to leave, he felt Al take his hand.

"Sorry for hitting you." Alphonse said, you could tell he felt bad about it.

Edward smiled sadly and laughed a little. "Don't worry about it. You were right, I just needed you to knock some sense into me, and that's exactly what you did. Now come on, let's go call our Colonel Bastard dad."

Then the boys made their way back into the house.

XXXX

Roy was sitting at his desk, going over his mission briefing. Although, his mind was going a mile a minute and he couldn't properly focus. Seeing Riza cry that way, to be in that much distress...and it was all because of him. Why did he have to give into his feelings for her again? It only caused her more and more pain each time he did. No matter how much he loved her, he just kept hurting her no matter what he did. The only reason he had even told her in the first place was because he was sure he was going to die that day.

Why did he do that?

Roy was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a sharp pain in his chest again. What? Already? It was odd, however, it lasted very shortly. Only about two or three heartbeats, and then it went away completely.

Bringing two fingers to his neck, he felt his pulse, but it still seemed fine. Inside is coat pocket he pulled out the bottle of pills Evans gave him and took two of the capsules. He had just forgotten to take it for today, that's all it was. It was fine.

Everything was fine.

The next sound he heard was his phone line ringing. Sliding the pills back in his pocket, he picked up the receiver. "Fuhrer Mustang's office."

"WHAT!?" Edward's voice screamed from the other end of the line.

Roy had to hold the phone far away from his ear, and yet the kid's loud lungs were still hurting his ears. "What the hell, Fullmetal!?" He yelled back at him.

"How and when did you become Fuhrer? Why didn't you tell me!?" Edward said, still shouting too loudly for Roy to bring the phone back to his head.

"Stop yelling!" Roy shouted back. "And I'll be happy to answer your questions. How? Because Bradley is still 'missing' and Amestris can't go without a Fuhrer. When? A few months ago, shortly after you left. And why didn't I tell you? That's because you're not here, Fullmetal."

"You could of called me!" Edward countered.

"Fullmetal," Roy said, closing his eyes in annoyance, "how could I have called you when I don't know where you are?"

Silence on Edward's end for a little while, he'd realized how stupid he'd just sounded. It was true, Mustang didn't have any idea where they were—because they purposely didn't tell him.

"Shut up." Edward mumbled angrily. The kid was embarrassed.

"So why did you suddenly decide to grace me with that lovely voice of yours?" Roy asked sarcastically.

Edward suddenly became tongue-tied. "I, uh...I just wanted to know..." He trailed off before he was interrupted.

"Brother was worried about you and wanted to make sure you were okay!" Alphonse dropped in.

Edward growled. "Shut up, Al!" He said, and then there was a loud metal clang over the phone and Alphonse screaming.

"Not cool, Brother." Al's voice came through and he sounded brooding.

"Worried about me?" Roy said back.

"No!" Edward shouted quickly. "I wasn't worried, I just—how are you feeling?"

Roy looked downward, placing a hand on his chest, he'd considered telling them about the medicine he was taking, but he thought that would do more harm than good. "I've been feeling fine, Fullmetal,okay? You don't have to worry about me so much."

Edward was heard chuckling a little bit. "Well, you're sounding a lot more like your Colonel bastard self again, that's for sure. Oh, I'm sorry, Fuhrer bastard."

Roy laughed himself. "Are you making any progress wherever you are, doing...whatever it is you're doing?"

"I'm making a lot of progress!" Edward said happily. "I'm not going to stop until I master this technique."

"Technique?" Roy asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, I'm working on perfecting my medicinal alchemy, and if I get good enough, I know I will find the transmutation that will heal you."

Roy sighed and his voice grew serious. "Fullmetal, medicinal alchemy can be hell on the user. Please tell me you've been taking care of yourself."

"Ugh, you sound just like Doctor Lee!" Edward whined. "Yes! I'm being careful!"

Roy's eyes shot open. "Wait, did you just say Doctor Lee?" He asked. "Do you mean Doctor Douglas Lee?"

"Yeah...why?" Edward asked, wondering why Mustang suddenly sounded so strange.

"Come home, Fullmetal." Roy ordered abruptly.

"What!?" Edward asked in disbelief. "No, I can't! I'm finally starting to make some real progress!"

"I am ordering you to come home, now! I'm not asking, Fullmetal." Roy said, his voice rising.

Edward just sighed hard. "This is the only way that we've found that has a chance of saving you, ad now you're asking me to just throw it all away?"

"Listen to me, just trust me and come home. Please." Roy said, trying to stay calmed.

"I can't do that, dad." Edward said softly. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now." he said, suddenly hanging up the phone.

"Fullmetal?" Roy said into the receiver. "Edward!" When he realized the call was ended, he slammed the phone down hard on the hook. "Damn it!" He cursed, and his chest flared briefly again. Worse this time.

Damn it.

Riza knocked on his door a few moments later, opening it. "Are you ready to head out, sir?" She asked.

"Yeah..." He answered in a strained voice, rising from his desk. "I'm coming."

That's right. He had a mission he had to complete today. There was a rouge alchemist out there that had dominion over lightning. Like Scar used to, he was taking down any alchemist he could get his hands on. Roy never understood the way guys like this and Scar thought. They loathed alchemists and yet they used alchemy to suit their own needs.

As of now there were five alchemists dead and at least twelve critically injured.

Mustang himself and Riza were going to be the ones on the front lines, while Havoc and Major Armstrong would serve as their support. From his desk, Mustang grabbed a small, metal suitcase that held multiple pairs of ignition gloves. Riza and Havoc already had plenty of ammo for all their guns, and Alex, he only needed his fists and brass knuckles to get the job done.

Roy walked out the door before Riza could even really say anything. "Let's get going." He said coldly, barely regarding her.

"Sir, are you-"

"I'm fine, lieutenant. Let's go." He said rudely, cutting her off.

"Yes sir." She said with her own annoyed tone and followed him out. Something had happened to set Roy back a ways and she was worried he wouldn't manage to find his way back again.