Hughes had occupied Roy's mind for most of the morning. Since he had already decided that he wasn't going to cancel on Edward, Hughes was the only thing he was worried about. He knew that a huge part of Hughes must truly be happy to be at home, and be able to stay home for longer than he ever had. Roy didn't allow himself to feel good about Hughes being able to be home; it almost felt like dismissing how bad it was that he lied to Hughes about Lior.

He knew he had to be honest. The guilt of lying would either eat him up inside to the point where he would be forced to sever his relationship with Hughes to ease the guilt—what was most likely going to happen if Roy didn't admit anything himself—or Hughes would find out the truth from someplace or someone else. Both options made Roy uneasy, but at least with the former, Roy could try and maintain his and Hughes' relationship. With the latter, it was up to Hughes whether the two stayed friends or whether the two stayed close. Roy supposed even if he was the one to tell Hughes he was lying, that was still true; it was Hughes' choice. That being true, Hughes was more likely to react better if he found out from Roy himself.

Roy wondered if Ed was going to come down to HQ when it was time for lunch. Probably. He then wondered what Ed made of his weight-loss. Surely Roy purposefully losing weight was probably the last thing he would possibly think. There was at least that. Someone who would only be concerned about him—as annoying as that was...—and wasn't suspicious of him. Unlike the lieutenant.

The lieutenant was suspicious of him still most likely. What was exactly on her mind, Roy couldn't be sure. He wasn't losing weight, he was maintaining it. Plus, the lieutenant had seen him eating more; even if he was throwing it up afterward. Once she was suspicious of that, if she was suspicious of that, Roy was done for. There would be no way of squirming out of that once Hawkeye got it into her head.

"Sir?"

Roy looked up to see Hawkeye at his desk with her coat over her forearm.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"I have a meeting to attend, sir. I should be back in the early afternoon."

"A meeting?" Roy rose a brow. "With who?"

"It's private, sir."

Roy looked up at Hawkeye dubiously. He didn't know if she was lying, but he knew there was something he wasn't privy to, obviously. If she was only keeping to herself because it really was private...that was different she would come around to tell Roy eventually. If she was omitting things because it was going to be about Roy...

"Alright," he said. "I'll see you, then."

She nodded and turned away from his desk. Roy watched as she exited the office. The meeting wasn't about him. That's was stupid to think. Never mind, entirely self-centered. He was going to drive himself crazy if he didn't stop jumping to conclusions. He pushed the lieutenant out of his mind. If her "meeting" was about him, surely he'd up finding out sooner or later.

Hawkeye left the office and slipped on her coat. She made her way swiftly to her car and hopped in. She gave herself a moment to think before starting her car.

She wanted to go to Hughes' house. She wanted to talk to Hughes about the colonel's feelings towards Lior and see what he made of them. Surely he'd agree with her, that the colonel was being ridiculous about feeling guilty. Unless Hughes was harboring a bit of resentment towards the colonel, which Hawkeye would find hard to believe but it wasn't totally impossible. She supposed she too might feel a little badly towards the person who should've gone in the first place if she was in Hughes' spot. Then again, this was Hughes and the colonel, not just any two people. Most of Hughes' military career was and is being spent on pushing the colonel up, much like her own military career.

After a brief moment to think, Hawkeye started her car and started driving to Hughes' house. She didn't want to disturb him and his family, but she had to talk about the colonel's feelings and her worries about him to someone and surely it wasn't going to be the colonel himself.

When she arrived at Hughes', she felt the urge to simply drive away and go back to HQ. She shouldn't be discussing the colonel behind his back, if he found out, he would lose it. There was nothing he hated more than people talking behind his back about him instead of just being direct. He didn't care about rumors or anything frivolous like that, but he cared if people were discussing things they should've been discussed directly with him.

"Oh, Lieutenant..." Gracia said when she opened the door. "Did you leave something?"

"I have to talk to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes for a minute, is that alright?"

"Of course," she said. "He's right in the living room. Go ahead."

"Thank you," Hawkeye said quietly, slipping past her.

Hughes was sitting on the couch, Elysia on his uninjured leg. Hughes was leaning over, his face right in his daughter's face. She cleared her throat.

"Oh, Lieutenant!" Hughes looked up with a grin. "What're you doing back here?"

"I'm...I need to discuss something with you."

"Oh." Hughes sighed. He picked up Elysia and stood her up. "Listen, baby, why don't you go see what mommy's doing, huh?"

Elysia gave a hum of enthusiasm and ran off. Hughes motioned for Hawkeye to sit on the chair that was opposite him.

"I think I can already guess what...or who is going to be the topic of discussion," said Hughes. "What's on your mind exactly, Lieutenant?"

Hawkeye wasn't sure how to bring up the topic. She wanted, of course, to discuss the colonel's feelings towards Hughes' injuries in Lior, but there was something else she also wanted to talk about. It was threatening to bubble up in her throat and come out.

"Well, I'm sure you know how the colonel blames himself for your injury," she said.

"Of course. Why wouldn't Roy blame himself for something that's not his fault?"

"Have you discussed it with him? Told him you don't believe it's his fault?"

"Obviously, I have. He doesn't believe me, though. Surprise, surprise."

"Mmm," the lieutenant hummed—if only to keep herself from blurting something else out. "What exactly happened in Lior anyway, sir?"

"Roy didn't tell you?"

Hawkeye shook her head.

"Well, there was...a bomb, or smoke bomb, something like that."

"A smoke bomb broke your leg?"

Hughes laughed, "No, let me finish. I couldn't see anything and suddenly I felt a huge weight on my leg."

"And then what?" she asked. "You were just stuck?"

"Well, I..." Hughes trailed off.

"Yes, sir?"

"I blacked out."

Then the two went silent. The air was awkward and thick and Hawkeye regretted coming. Hughes was already well aware of the colonel's feelings about Hughes' injuries; there was no need to discuss it. She really wanted to discuss other feelings of the colonel's.

"I wish Roy wouldn't feel so guilty," said Hughes. "It really isn't his fault."

"I can understand why he feels that way. It would've been him there."

"Right, but it wasn't him." Hughes sat back. "I swear, Roy can be so stupid sometimes."

"I have to agree, sir. The colonel does tend to needlessly place guilt onto himself."

It almost seemed as if Hughes was going to respond, but he hadn't. Hawkeye stayed quiet for a few moments in case he was going to say something, but still, he hadn't. She cleared her throat.

"What did the fuhrer want to talk to you about?" she asked.

"In the hospital?"

She nodded.

"Uh..." Hughes smiled sheepishly. "I wanted to talk to Roy about that..."

Her brows went up. "Was it about him?"

"Not necessarily...well, no, it wasn't, but..."

Hughes trailed off, moving his gaze away from Hawkeye.

"But what, sir?"

Part of her didn't want to come off as too anxious to hear, but another part, a larger part, didn't care. She felt a little desperate to hear, as she usually was when it came to anything concerning the colonel.

"This is a little uncomfortable to ask," started Hughes. Hawkeye unconsciously leaned forward, closer to Hughes. "But can I trust you not to tell Roy what I'm going to tell you?"

Instantly Hawkeye sat up. She couldn't help but stare daftly at Hughes.

Why wouldn't she be able to tell the colonel? She wanted to ask, but what if pressing Hughes too much made him go, "nevermind, Lieutenant, it's nothing"? She wanted to hear what the Fuhrer told Hughes, but in exchange for not being able to tell the colonel? Hawkeye wasn't sure she wanted to keep a secret from him...especially when she was trying her best to encourage him to be more open with her.

"Sir?"

"I'll tell him myself, I promise. I want him to hear from me, not anyone else."

"Okay," she rasped finally. "I won't tell him."

Almost as if he was trying to keep the suspense up, Hughes shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. His hand went to his injured leg, rubbing it soothingly.

"Well, when Fuhrer Bradley came into my room, he wanted to discuss Lior."

I could've guessed that, thought Hawkeye, but she kept it to herself and simply nodded.

"He asked about this and that," Hughes continued, waving his hand as if to appear casual. "Then, he asked how I got injured and so on."

"And so on..." Hawkeye echoed in hopes to nudge Hughes to get to the point already.

"And well...he wants to promote me," Hughes admitted quietly.

"What?"

"To Brigadier General."

Hawkeye tried to mask her surprise, but it was to no avail. She gave a small, involuntary gasp. She of course wasn't ignorant to the arrangement that the colonel and Hughes had seemed to work out; Hughes was to stay ranked closely below the colonel and push him to the top from there. The plan wasn't to be a rank above the colonel and somehow pull him up. Perhaps that would work, actually. Although, she wasn't going to say that Hughes, nor the colonel once he inevitably came ranting to her about it—hopefully.

"Oh..." was all that passed through her lips.

"I know." Hughes frowned, "He'll be so disappointed it wasn't him."

"Right. What are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure. I'll probably just tell Roy that it was only because I was the highest-ranking person there...and maybe because I got injured, and not because of some fault of his own."

"I wasn't asking about what you're going to do about the colonel," she said. "I'm asking about what you're going to do about the promotion."

Again, Hughes shifted.

"Take it?" Hawkeye supplied, exasperated. "You're gonna take it?"

"I don't know." Hughes sighed, "I'm not sure if I even have a choice..."

Hawkeye was at a loss for words. She wanted to rush back to HQ and tell the colonel; she was already feeling bad that she knew before the colonel did. She couldn't help but put her hand up to his lips and chew on her thumbnail softly.

"Maybe in some way, it'll make him feel better about Lior...maybe he won't feel so guilty anymore."

"Perhaps," Hawkeye mumbled absentmindedly.

She could already see how the colonel was going to react. As much as she admired and respected him, she knew he could sometimes be a jealous person. Even though Hughes was his closest friend, surely the colonel would have trouble feigning to only be happy for him and nothing else. If Hawkeye was expecting that from the colonel, it most likely meant that Hughes was most likely expecting something similar.

Hawkeye finally pulled her hand away from her mouth but ended up putting it right back. There was still something else she wanted to discuss with Hughes...

"Sir," she said, putting her hands together on her lap. "I actually wanted to speak with you about something else."

"I can tell. What is it? Roy, still?"

She nodded.

"Alright," he said. "What's up?"

Now it was Hawkeye's turn to shift uncomfortably and stall. She wasn't sure how to broach the subject. Again. It already seemed the first time she had brought up the colonel's eating habits that Hughes didn't exact;y agree with her entirely. Even when she followed up with him, he still didn't seem to believe her.

She was wrong; all wrong, all this time. The colonel had even told her that and admitted what the problem was. Still, though, she couldn't shake that was on the right track. If she was and believed the colonel (and Hughes) that his disordered eating wasn't on purpose, then turned out to be right...she would never forgive herself for dismissing her original theory.

The colonel's eating habits were still weird (at least this morning they still were), and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Is it about what we've discussed before, Lieutenant?" Hughes asked after Hawkeye's silence.

She nodded again.

Hughes sighed heavily and leaned forward. "I'm really not sure why you think what you do. Roy told me he's busy, and I'm willing to believe him."

"Did he tell you anything else?"

"No...? Why? What did he say to you?"

"A little while ago," started Hawkeye. "He told me he was depressed."

Hughes frowned. "He hadn't mentioned that to me, but it doesn't surprise me."

Hawkeye could understand how Hughes was feeling. It hurt to have a person you cared deeply about hiding something from you.

"It doesn't surprise me either," said Hawkeye. "But I'm...I don't even know how to say this..."

"You don't believe it?" asked Hughes.

"It's not that...well..." Hawkeye put her head down. "I think it's an excuse. I think he's lying about why he's not eating right still."

With a soft grunt, Hughes moved closer to the lieutenant. He lifted himself off the couch and tried his best to crouch next to her chair by keeping his injured leg straight...considering the cast, he didn't really have a choice. Hughes put a hand on her back and rubbed softly.

"Hawkeye, can I be honest with you?"

Hawkeye lifted her head slightly to look down at Hughes. "Of course..."

"Could it be you're only holding onto this because...you think you know Roy better than you actually do?"

"But...what?"

"You wanted to be right because being wrong meant he was hiding something from you and you couldn't figure it out."

Hawkeye put her head down again. Could that really be true? Could she just...want to be right?

"I...I don't know, sir."

"I know Roy very well too, and I—well, I don't know if I agree with your worries." Hughes tried his best to smile, "I like to think what I think of Roy is also of some importance."

"It is! It is, but..." she trailed off. "If I'm wrong and we let the colonel just continue what he had been doing..."

"Well, either way, he won't continue what he had been doing," said Hughes. "We both want him to start taking care of himself better, right"

She nodded.

"So we work on that, and not work on making him more secretive."

Hawkeye almost felt like she was squirming. She wanted to continue to argue her point, but Hughes was right. Maybe. Maybe she only wanted to be right about the colonel, because her being wrong meant she didn't know him as well as she wanted to think. Either way, the colonel had hidden something from her. She really hadn't liked that. But, if she was right, that meant the colonel was still hiding something from her, and that worried her.

"Hawkeye? You understand what I'm saying?"

"Yessir."

"If Roy made me...suspicious of his eating habits, I would've confronted him about it. I promise you, if Roy were to do anything that concerned me, I'll come to you about it, okay?" Hughes pulled himself up with a groan and leaned down a little. "I don't want to tell you to drop it because I understand you're worried, but don't let it eat you up. Understand?"

"Yessir," she said again.

"Do you?" Hughes asked softly. "Do you understand why I'm saying that?"

"Yes, because I was wrong about the colonel...but I think you're trying to spare my feelings."

"Not necessarily, Lieutenant. You're so worried about cornering Roy and getting him to confess something to you, you almost forgot the issue at hand: him. You're becoming more concerned with being right about him more than fixing what's wrong."

"I..." Hawkeye looked up at Hughes, blinking. "You're right."

"Relax, Hawkeye. Things will work themselves out. Either way, whether you or I am right, but if you only focus on one possibility, you close yourself off to anything else that could be happening."

"Right. You're right, sir."

"Of course I'm right."

Hughes stood up straight and Hawkeye eyed his cast.

"Where's your wheelchair, sir?"

"In the other room," he said. "I don't need it."

"Are you sure?" Hawkeye asked dubiously. "Your leg is injured pretty badly isn't it?"

"It's in a cast!" Hughes cried. "I think crutches will suffice."

Sometimes Hughes and the colonel could be similar, Hawkeye thought. She supposed it was only normal for men to have pride, even after an injury.

Hughes sat back down on the couch, almost falling onto it. He grinned. Hawkeye thought he looked exasperated.

"Why don't you go get Gracia to make us some coffee?"

Roy glanced at his watch over and over again. He thought the lieutenant would be back by now. She had been gone for over an hour now. Surely a meeting couldn't take that long, right? Not one Roy would be clueless about.

He was also checking his watch to count down how long he had until lunch with Edward. He felt himself grow more and more uneasy as the afternoon grew closer. Ed hadn't told him a time, and in a way, that made Roy more nervous but he wasn't sure why.

Ed needed him right now, Roy knew that. Roy knew Ed most likely wanted to talk about Lior and Hughes and see what Roy knew about either of them. He couldn't simply dismiss Edward (or his feelings) and cancel lunch, but oh, was it tempting...Roy simply wanted the whole ordeal to be over with and done already. He didn't need his eating habits under yet another watchful, scrutinizing pair of eyes.

Roy could only hope that would be so preoccupied with his own problems that he wouldn't pay what Roy was eating (or wasn't eating...) any mind.

Almost as if Ed knew Roy was thinking of him, he burst into Roy's office suddenly.

"Fullmetal!" Havoc shouted before Roy could. "How've you been? No Alphonse?"

Roy hadn't realized that Alphonse wouldn't be joining them until now. He supposed he already knew that, though.

"Nah...and eh, I'm alright."

"Whatcha been up to?"

"This and that," Ed replied vaguely.

"How's that blonde of yours?"

Ed rose a brow, "Winry? She's...alright. She's not mine, though. Quit saying that."

"Sure...keep saying that", said Havoc, laughing.

Havoc ducked his head back into his paperwork and Ed rolled his eyes. Fuery, Falman, and Breda all just gave a simple wave hello, to which Ed nodded back to. He came up to Roy's desk.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"You tell me," said Roy. "After all, you asked me to lunch, didn't you?"

"But you live here, I don't! You know all the good spots."

"You're certainly here enough." Roy looked Ed up and down. "Always coming and pestering me."

"Believe me, Colonel. I wouldn't be down here so much if I didn't have to be."

Roy didn't bother mentioning again how Ed was the one who asked Roy to lunch and that certainly his last statement wasn't true. He looked up at Ed and narrowed his eyes.

"Let me grab my coat."

So, Roy grabbed his coat and he and Ed walked out to his car. Listlessly, he wondered if Ed would ever learn how to drive or if he would simply walk or take the train everywhere he needed to be.

"You've lost a lot of weight, Colonel."

Hadn't Gracia said that to him only last night? What was with everyone's sudden need to point it out?

"Don't be stupid, Ed. You saw me a couple of weeks ago. I look the same."

"No, before that. I just never mentioned it."

"I believe you did," mumbled Roy irritably. "You told me I look awful. Not to mention only last night you told me I looked worse for wear."

Edward scoffed. "I was joking. Kinda."

The two were quiet. Roy wasn't interested in continuing this conversation. If Ed wanted to continue talking about it, he was going to have to speak up himself; Roy wasn't going to dispense answers to questions he wasn't asked.

Roy felt a full sense of unease in his belly. He got a similar feeling when Gracia had mentioned his weight loss, or the doctor had, or Hughes had...or anyone had. When he had first started losing weight, he always took the mention of his weight loss as a compliment and nothing but. Then again, the people saying it usually were complimenting him. Roy hadn't started losing weight because he felt fat, but people complimenting his initial weight loss surely made it feel that way. He supposed he did look more trim and muscular when he had first started to lose weight. Now he just looked haggard and tired all the time, he was well aware of that.

Now every time someone mentioned it, Roy cringed and wanted to end the conversation quickly. Hearing about his weight loss went from an incredible sense of flattery to a muted sense of it, and now it almost felt like an insult.

"So," Edward continued. "What's going on with you?"

"I don't have to answer to you," Roy spat. "Nothing is going on with me."

"Oh, sure, that's why you're getting so defensive about it."

Roy winced. Wrong move. Good going, Roy, he thought to himself. Being snide and biting with Ed wasn't the best hand to play; Ed always had the trump card when it came to that game.

"All I'm saying is that it is nothing you need to be concerned with. I'm not getting defensive about it."

"You kinda are."

"Am not! I am—" Roy cut himself off. "I'm not doing this, Fullmetal. Let's just drop it."

Edward hadn't said anything to that. He hadn't even so much as nodded or shrugged.

Roy knew he had gotten defensive. It was the same as when the lieutenant had first confronted him in the hallway several weeks ago. Getting defensive about his weight loss, or even getting too dismissive about it, was only going to suffice to make everyone more suspicious than they already might be. A normal person would respond, "I know but..." and offer some time of explanation.

But normal people didn't do what Roy was doing.

Roy pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant he knew well. He already knew there were multiple things on the menu that he wouldn't feel too guilty about eating.

"You are paying, aren't you?" said Ed as he slid into the booth. "Surely you wouldn't make me, a teenager, pay for lunch?"

"You already owe me money, what's another lunch on top of it?"

Ed smiled his so often sardonic smile and looked down at the menu. Roy looked down at his menu as well, but he already knew what he was getting. A waitress came to their table before Roy could try and start a conversation.

"I'll have the t-bone steak and cola," said Edward, grinning, holding his menu for the waitress to take back. "Thanks."

"And I'll have spinach salad," said Roy, somewhat embarrassed. "A water, please."

Ed watched the waitress as she left, then leaned forward.

"That's all you're getting? Surprise, surprise."

"Cram it, Fullmetal. I don't need you making comments on my diet, I'm an adult."

"Then why don't you eat like one?"

Roy grit his teeth, his face darkening. Had it he been wrong about Ed's reasons for lunch? Was it just so he could hound Roy about his eating habits?

"Edward," Roy said slowly. "I'm telling you, quit it."

"Fine. There's something else I wanted to talk to you about anyway."

"Mmm. Alright."

Although Roy knew he could guess what the next topic of conversation was going to be about, he decided to let Ed bring it up himself. He half-expected Ed's disposition to change before talking about Lior. He at least expected for his shoulders to slouch, but they hadn't. He kept that same stupid look on his face.

"What happened in Lior?" he asked. "To Hughes, for real."

"What did he tell you happened?" asked Roy.

"What did he tell you?" Ed replied instantly.

"The smoke bomb, that he fainted...but I'm sure you already knew that."

"Yeah..." Edward trailed off mindlessly, his mouth hanging open. Roy hated when he did that. "I knew that."

"So, what? Did he tell you something different?"

"No, he didn't."

Roy's brow shot up. "Okay, so what? You thought he was lying to you?"

Ed averted his gaze momentarily. He opened his mouth but suddenly the waitress came back with their drinks.

"Thanks."

"Thank you."

She gave a small smile before leaving. Edward again watched as she left.

"She looks like Winry a little, doesn't she?" teased Roy.

"Winry's prettier than her," Ed said. Then, realizing it, blushed slightly. "I mean...whatever. Back to what we were talking about."

"I asked if you thought Hughes was lying to you," said Roy. "Do you?"

Ed sighed, "I couldn't help but get the feeling that he was..."

Roy frowned, mostly because he had also felt that way. He even asked Hughes, hadn't he? And Hughes had said no. He wasn't sure if he should admit to Ed that he also initially felt as though Hughes was lying. If Roy was completely sure that Hughes wasn't lying, he would simply tell Ed that he thought Hughes was lying at first but now he didn't think so. That had been true up until now. Hearing Ed having the same doubts Roy initially had solidified them.

"I got that feeling too," admitted Roy quietly. "Like there's something he wasn't telling me."

"Me too. It's not so much that I think he's lying as much as—"

"Omitting something?"

"Yeah, that's it." Ed's deflated. "But I don't have a clue as to what he would hide from me...or you, especially."

Roy gave a nod of understanding. Hughes would only lie about how bad his injuries, or perhaps if Private Zell was injured. Though, he had no reason to lie to Ed about Private Zell. Then again, Ed wouldn't ask about him. Both he and Ed had seen Hughes themselves, so there really wasn't any lying about his injuries, and surely he would know that if he were to lie about Private Zell that Roy would found out eventually.

Knowing people would find out is seldom a reason not to lie, Roy thought sullenly. After all, he lied knowing that most likely everything was going to come back and bite him in the rear-end—even if he didn't know when that would be.

"Huh," gave Roy.

"What, huh?" Ed sat up. "What is it?"

"He never told me what it was like there," said Roy. "How the riots were going, or how the people of Lior were taking to a military presence there."

"Now that you mention it..." said Ed. "He hadn't told me either."

"Is that why it feels like he's lying?" whispered Roy, mostly to himself.

"I don't know..."

The two sat there, thinking to themselves and not saying anything to each other. They had only raised their heads when the waitress came back with their food.

Unlike Roy, Ed began eating almost instantly. Roy could only look down at his plate, debating whether or not he would throw this meal up. He wanted to decide now, so he could know how much to eat. To think that Ed would be suspicious of Roy using the bathroom after his meal would be insane, so that wasn't a problem. Although, seeing Roy's face when he came back afterward would certainly make Ed notice something, so that was a problem.

It was only a salad, after all, but Roy had eaten more at breakfast than he had wanted to. Even if he did throw it up, he wasn't sure how comfortable he was with eating another one.

Roy got an unsettling urge to cry. He was tired of this. It was so exhausting to constantly be worried about what food he was eating. He felt like an absolute child when he could feel the tightness in his throat that came before a sob. Moreover, he felt like a dolt. He knew he was tired of this. He knew that he was going to get found out sooner or later, so why didn't he just confess? Not even! Why didn't he just stop doing this?

He couldn't stop. He needed this. Roy hadn't had another coping mechanism.

"It's not poisoned," said Ed. "Probably."

Roy looked up at him, "What?"

"You can eat it. You don't have to stare at it."

"I know that! It's...ah, forget it."

Ed hadn't resumed eating. He was waiting for Roy to begin, so he did slowly.

"He probably just doesn't want you feeling bad," said Roy, pausing eating but not putting his fork down. Doing that only emphasized he wasn't eating. "That's why he didn't tell you."

"What about you?" asked Ed. "Why wouldn't he tell you?"

Roy cleared his throat and shifted uneasily. He was only going to divulge to Ed to make him less concerned with his eating habits.

"I feel...responsible for him being there," Roy said. "He knows that."

Ed cocked his head to the side. "Why?"

"I told you, I turned it down, so that's why he's there in my place."

"Oh...that's right..."

Roy moved his fork around his plate to make it seem as though he was going to take a bite. He raised it to his mouth but lowered it.

"That tells me things maybe aren't going the best down there," said Roy. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me?"

"Because I know you feel responsible as well, Edward," Roy said. "Even if you want Hughes to believe otherwise."

"Well, wouldn't you? If you were me?"

Roy scanned Ed's face. He knew he would also feel guilty if he were in Ed's shoes, but saying that would do nothing but validate how Ed felt, which Roy wasn't aiming to do. Instead, Roy steered his answer in a different direction.

"Listen, Ed, I already told you and Hughes already told you, you wouldn't change what you did there." Roy put his fork down for a moment and leaned with his elbows on the table. "What you did was good. You couldn't have predicted the outcome. Would you rather Father Cornello still be misleading those people?"

"No," said Ed quietly. "I wouldn't."

"That's what I thought, so stop feeling guilty about it."

Roy picked up his fork again and took a bite this time. He then tried to make it look like there was less on his plate than there actually was.

"Why didn't you go, Colonel?"

"Because I don't think we should have a military presence there," Roy dispensed. Even if he was lying about making the choice of whether or not to go to Lior, at least he wasn't lying about the reason technically. "I didn't want to do something I'd regret. Hughes didn't seem to agree."

Doing something he regretted seemed to be the root of all his problems. Roy could never shake the nagging feeling that his time in Ishval and his eating habits were intertwined.

"Well, would you have gone and done something you'd regret then?" Ed pressed. "Why do you still feel guilty about it?"

"Well, I—Of course, I wouldn't want to do something I'd regret," said Roy. "But that doesn't mean I want Hughes to either."

"You said yourself he doesn't agree. There's no need to feel guilty about him getting hurt. It's stupid to; it had nothing to do with you."

"But it should've been me," Roy blurted. "I should've been there."

"You weren't. He was. He didn't have a problem going," Ed said. "Geez, it's like you want to feel guilty or something."

If Roy had been telling the truth, Ed's bluntness would've actually made him feel better. That was the weird thing with Ed. His blunt mouth could often sting, but when it was being used to comfort, it helped actually. At least for Roy, it did; it meant he wasn't being jerked around or just being told what he wanted to hear.

Roy forced a laugh. "You might be right, Fullmetal."

"Of course I am." Ed finished his cola. "Any, I'm done. Finish up so we can get the hell out of here."

"I'm done," said Roy. "Just let me go pay and we can leave."

"Done?" Ed laughed, barking almost. "You took two bites!"

Roy felt his whole body tense up. He tried desperately to control his face but knew he must be frowning.

"I'm done, Edward. Don't argue with me."

Ed sat back. He started to inspect his nails.

"Oh, what? Cat got your tongue?"

Roy knew he shouldn't be pushing Ed, but the brat made it so hard not to. He knew all the right ways to get under Roy's skin.

"I'm waiting for you to finish." He pulled out his pocketwatch and clicked it open. "I've got the time."

"I don't. Let's go."

Ed shrugged.

"What the hell is your problem?" Roy muttered. "What's with you?"

"What's with you?" Ed parroted. "Just finish your food and stop freaking out over it."

"I am not—" Roy cut himself with a strangled noise of frustration. "I'm not in the mood for this."

"Okay, fine. We'll leave."

Roy couldn't decipher why, but there was something almost...threatening in Ed's tone. It felt as if he was saying, "Okay, fine. Don't finish, but you're only confirming what I'm already thinking."

"I'm not in the mood for this," Roy said again. "Quit it."

"Aren't you hungry, Colonel?" Ed leaned forward, his hands sprawled on the table. "You look starved."

"Enough, Elric. Watch yourself."

Roy was practically growling at Ed. He couldn't help it. He couldn't stand being talked down to or being talked to like he was stupid, and that's what it felt like Ed was doing. He felt like he was talking to Roy like he wasn't smart enough to climb out of the hole Ed was digging him in.

"Why are we sitting here arguing?" Ed asked. "Why aren't we out of here already?"

"You tell me."

"I thought you said you didn't have the time, so let's leave. Why are you still sitting here instead of paying?"

"Because I—" Roy cut himself off, not knowing how to end the sentence. Maybe he wasn't smart enough to climb out of this hole, but he better think of a way soon or he'd be buried alive. "Because I don't want you to think you're pulling something over me. I'm not hungry, so what?"

"I just find that hard to believe is all," Ed said with feigned casualness, shrugging. "I would think you'd be hungry."

"Why?"

"Because you clearly haven't been eating. If I wasn't eating, I'd sure hungry."

"Elric, I told you already. Watch yourself. Stop saying things like that. You have no idea what's going on."

"Ah...what's going on? So there is something, then?"

Roy kicked himself. Arguing with Ed could be like playing chess with someone who is three moves ahead of you. He had to either shut up or get smart. He could always finish, but something about that was unpleasant, and it wasn't necessarily the eating part. He didn't want t to be ordered around, but it was beginning to feel like he didn't have a choice.

"If I finish it, you'll quit bothering me? Because you're seriously starting to piss me off."

Ed shrugged.

Roy couldn't imagine much situations worse than the one he was currently in; his back against the wall like this and being stared down while he ate. At least he had ordered a salad.

He didn't even pay Ed so much as a glance. Ed could've been looking away and Roy would be none the wiser. He hadn't wanted to see what expression was smeared all over Ed's cocky face. He knew Ed must have been watching him, and most likely watching him closely. Roy couldn't decide if he should it quickly or slowly, so he kept alternating between both.

Even though it still seemed far-fetched for Ed to be suspicious of Roy using the bathroom afterward, Roy wasn't going to. It still felt too risky, because there always that lingering "what if?"

"Alright there," Roy said, finally looking up. "Can we go now?"

"No dessert?" asked Ed. "I thought I saw some good-looking ones in the display when we were walking in."

"No, Elric. I'm finished."

"I'm going to get something then," Ed said. "If you don't mind."

"Why would I?"

Ed craned his neck to find the waitress and then motioned for her to come to the table.

"Can I have a big slice of the apple pie, please?"

"Of course, sir." She turned to Roy. "And for you?"

"I'm all set."

"Alright then. I'll be right back with your slice."

"Thanks," said Ed. "She's nice."

Roy couldn't help himself.

"What are you trying to do here?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ed said. "I'm not doing anything. Can't a guy get a slice of pie?"

"I'm right here, sir."

The waitress was already back at the table holding Ed's slice of pie. She put it down, gave a nervous smile, and slipped away.

"I think you just scared her," Roy said. "Nice going."

"Oh, please."

Ed began to eat his slice of pie as Roy could only watch on. He had to keep his leg from bouncing. So badly Roy wanted to excuse himself and run to the bathroom. He knew he could always do it back at the office, but who knew how long Ed was going to be or what he was hiding up his sleeve.

"It's good," he mumbled. "You don't want any?"

"No."

"Winry's pie was good too. Too bad you couldn't have any."

"Too bad."

Roy didn't like this game. He wanted to leave already. He didn't want to sit here and watch Ed after being coerced into finishing his lunch. Suddenly, it felt like he was back in his bathroom this morning—his uniform feeling too tight. He felt hot and stifled, and he wanted to leave if only to catch some fresh air.

Whatever it was Ed was thinking, Roy was already debating begging him to keep it to himself. Ed's pressing was ten times worse than the lieutenant's, even if most likely Ed knew less than the lieutenant. Roy thought of when the lieutenant and himself were at his house and she asked him if she should lose weight. She wanted him to break and confess, and that's exactly what Ed was doing to Roy now. Something told Roy that if he were to break and confess to Ed—as if!—that Ed would be shocked at what Roy would say.

Ed didn't know a thing, That wasn't possible. Roy was overthinking.

Overthinking or not, Ed's pressing was getting unbearable.

Ed finished his slice and licked his lips theatrically. "Too bad you didn't have any. Your loss."

"Can we go now or do you want to waste more of my time?'

"No, I think I'm all done."

Roy rolled his eyes and pulled himself to his feet. He went to the counter, paid, and Ed followed him outside.

So much for a nice lunch.

Once the two were in the car, Ed couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"I could've eaten that salad and still finished my steak," he was saying. "I mean, come on? What are you, a rabbit?"

He went on and on but just kept his lips pressed tightly together. It wasn't until Ed had mentioned Hawkeye that Roy had had enough.

"I have a hard time believing that the lieutenant would let you eat that little," Ed had said and it was enough to make Roy burst.

"I told you to watch yourself, Elric!" Roy gave a quick glance towards Ed. "Do not make me repeat myself."

"I was only—"

"You were only getting on my damn nerves," grumbled Roy. "The lieutenant doesn't have control over what I eat. Do not bring her up again."

"You're not mad about that," said Ed after a short pause. "You don't care if I bring her up or not."

Roy could only give an exasperated, "What?"

"You're just mad I noticed."

"Noticed what, Elric? That I lost weight? Everyone has noticed it, you're not special."

"Mmm."

"Mmm, what? Speak!"

"Maybe I misspoke," Ed said. "You're mad I noticed and didn't let you get away with it."

This was bad. Ed was up to something and Roy had to end it. Something told him the excuse he gave Hawkeye and the doctor wasn't going to cut it. Ed was looking for something else.

He couldn't know. If Hughes hadn't known, then Ed couldn't either.

Who's to say Hughes didn't know? He had mentioned Roy's weight loss. Hughes was just better at keeping things to himself until he had enough evidence to confront someone. Surely the two hadn't talked about Roy...

"I'm not even going to pretend to know what you're talking about," Roy mumbled.

"I think you do...Colonel, what's making you lose weight?"

"I'm—I'm busy."

"Not too busy to waste our time back there," Ed remarked. "And that doesn't really explain why you got a salad."

Roy paused. He had to stop speaking without thinking.

"Colonel?" Ed said. His voice was softer and it took Roy back. He asked again, "What's making you lose weight?"

"Nothing's 'making' me, Elric. What are you driving at?"

"Pull over."

"What? No."

"Pull over, please."

At his soft tone, Roy pulled over. He put his car in park and turned to Ed.

"What?"

"You're not..."

Roy tensed. This was it. It was the same thing Hawkeye had done when she mentioned him having an eating disorder, or how stupid she was for thinking it. Ed was going to do the same thing: blurt something out and catch Roy's brief panicked expression.

"Sick, are you?"

"Wha...what?"

"Is there something wrong with you that you're not telling me about?"

Roy could almost burst out laughing. Ed didn't have a clue. Of course, he didn't.

"Like what, Fullmetal? You think I have some kind of disease?"

"Just answer the question."

"No, there's nothing wrong with me." Roy paused, "I told you I'm busy, and I'm stressed about Hughes. I don't have much of an appetite these days."

"Have you thought that maybe you're...never mind."

"I'm what?"

"Depressed?" Ed asked.

"I...I have thought about that..."

Ed frowned. "Why don't you talk to someone?"

Roy opened his mouth to reply, then closed it quickly.

"What made you think what you pulled back there would be any help?" Roy asked. "What the hell was all that?"

"It worked, didn't it? You're spilling to me now."

He wasn't going to deny that. To do so would be to tell Ed he was wrong and that Roy was lying.

"I suppose so," Roy said. "Don't pull something like that again."

"You're so closed off! What am I supposed to do?"

"Pry like a normal person," mumbled Roy. "Don't force food down my throat."

"Sorry..." Ed rubbed the back of his neck. "Good thing you're not sick or I would've been a real ass."

"You are a real ass."

Ed laughed and Roy bit back a frown. He was tired of lying to people, but he couldn't stop himself.

"Alright, alright. Drop me back off at my hotel."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"But seriously, Colonel. Talk to someone, like the lieutenant, or some a professional, or something."

"Are you bossing me around?"

"Damn right. Now take me to my hotel."

"I should be getting back," Hawkeye said after a brief glance at her watch. "The colonel is probably wondering where I am."

"He'd be lost without you," Hughes said.

Hawkeye gave a small smile and rose to her feet. She took Hughes' empty mug from him and brought hers and his to the kitchen and placed them in the sink. She went back to Hughes.

"Tell Gracia I said good-bye," she said. "And take care of yourself."

"I will. You do the same, and remember what I said."

She nodded and turned to leave the room. She slipped out of Hughes' house and went to her car.

It hurt to hear Hughes say what he did, but that was most likely because it was true. She couldn't admit that she had been wrong about the colonel. Plus, even if she was right, obsessing over how to corner him wasn't going to do anything productive. Things will work themselves out, as Hughes said. trying to somehow get the colonel to break was only going to make him more secretive and closed off whether or not it was about what Hawkeye originally thought it was about.

Plus, the colonel had been eating better. She had no real reason to keep onto her original theory.

As long as the colonel continued to eat better and take better care of himself, she hadn't had anything to worry about it. She was going to let her guard down, still. The fear of what would happen if she had been right and simply backed off the colonel was too intense to let her guard down. That being said, she was going to give the colonel his space.

If the colonel did have issues with eating, Hawkeye hoped he knew that he would be able to come to her about them. Forcing a confession out of him wouldn't be comfortable for either of them. Moreover, that wouldn't necessarily mean that the colonel wanted to open up to her; being forced to would most likely make him bitter towards her.

She could keep her eyes on him while maintaining a distance, but after a while, if the colonel didn't prove to be avoiding eating, it was going to be time to drop her original theory once and for all.

Her biggest issue right now was Hughes' promotion and not telling the colonel about it. She didn't like keeping things from him, but she had already told Hughes that wouldn't, and she wasn't going to break that trust. The colonel would learn from Hughes himself soon enough, she hoped.

Dropping off Ed had been a huge relief, even if he had gotten Ed off his back without breaking and telling the truth. He was itching to get back to the office so he'd be able to get rid of his lunch and relax. Even if he didn't get it all back up, it was alright. Roy was just glad to have avoided revealing himself to Ed.

He might a straight b-line to the bathroom once he got to HQ. Fortunately, there was no one in there so Roy could get rid of his lunch in peace. He threw up until his chest hurt. Clutching his chest with his still saliva-soaked hand, Roy fell back onto the stall door. He let himself drop to the ground.

Throwing up took so much out of him each time. He was exhausted.

Roy stood up rather quickly, afraid someone might come in suddenly. He flushed the toilet, left the stall, cleaned up, and then finally left the bathroom.

Hawkeye was at her desk when Roy entered the office. She was actually the only one in the office.

"How was lunch with Edward, sir?"

"Interesting," Roy replied, putting his coat up on the rack. "And your meeting?"

"I can't say the same."

Roy laughed and sat down at his desk. He had so much work to do...

"Is there something you're hiding from me, Lieutenant?" Roy asked suddenly.

"What?" Hawkeye looked up quickly from her paperwork. "What would make you think that, sir?"

"I just find it odd you had a private meeting."

Hawkeye put her head down. "If you must know, sir..."

"I'd like to."

She rose her head and looked at Roy. Sometimes it felt like their desks were so far from each other.

"It was about my performance," she said. "Apparently, my paperwork is not up to the usual caliber. It wasn't private. I was...embarrassed."

"Oh." Roy rose a brow. "Why would you be embarrassed about that?"

"I didn't want you to think less of me, sir."

"You couldn't do anything that would make me think less of you."

Hawkeye smiled softly and ducked her head. Roy thought she might be blushing.

"So, that's it? It was about your paperwork?"

"Yessir."

"And it was that long?"

"I wasn't the only one they were reprimanding, sir."

"Oh, oh."

Roy felt a weird sense of guilt, feeling as if Hawkeye was somehow taking the fall for him. He knew she was probably distracted, worrying about him, and that was why her performance wasn't up to par. It had been his fault, probably. Hawkeye worked so diligently, and it was all for him, always for him. He felt a small smile creep onto his face. Roy couldn't ask for better subordinates than what he had.