A/N good news! I found my hat. That, paired with the many wonderful reviews I received, thank you very much, made me happy beyond belief. So, I typed up this, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA

"Ed," Roy said gently, shaking his shoulders, "Ed, wake up."

Ed's eyes opened, and he sat up sluggishly. "What is it? Was going on," he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Ed, the service starts in a few minutes, you need to get up and dressed now," Roy replied, getting up from the chair he had moments before been sitting in.

"You mean the funeral," Ed sighed, getting out of bed and pulling on his coat.

Roy paused, then nodded, a grave silence piercing the humid air. Ed tugged on his shoes, and then followed Roy out the door. They walked in silence, not an awkward silence, but a comfortable one. Neither of them had anything to say, and so silence ensued. "We'll be there in another minute or so," Ed commented blandly, "Listen, Colonel, well… thanks for coming with me."

"It's my pleasure," Roy smiled slightly. He had just thought of the perfect short joke right now, but he didn't say it. Ed was too hurt right now, so instead he settled with, "You don't have to be so formal Ed, you can call me Roy here."

"Ok," Ed replied, "I just wasn't really sure…"

"Don't worry, Ed, you treat me like I'm some sort of egomaniac," he laughed "But we're not at work so I guess it's ok."

Ed did, in fact, think of Roy as a psychotic egomaniac, with no greater joy than getting a promotion, no matter the price. Other than, of course, calling him short. Now he thought about it, this was one of the first times Ed had of Roy as human… he had always pictured him more like some sort of parasite. "Sure, Roy."

They came round a bend in the road, to find a grave sight. Alphonse's tomb was already slated; they had buried the remains of his armor. Ed and Roy proceeded soundlessly, to join Winry, Pinako, and Izumi. A priest stood waiting with an open bible. He started talking about Al's life, and tons of other random stuff.

Most of it was religious crap, the two brothers had of course never believed in god. Scientists didn't believe in improvable theories like god, it simply made no sense. This man never even knew Al, how could he try to talk about him? He couldn't even scratch the surface of his life. He didn't even realize that Al had spent a good part of his far too short life as a soul bonded to armor. Of course, that had been Ed's fault. Everything Al went through for being in that state was Ed's fault, it was so unfair…

And the service was over. The priest stood in front of the grave, gave his last respects, and had to leave. Ed stared, Al's grave was beside his mother's, Al had always missed her. At least now they could be together, wherever they were. Roy stepped forward, hesitated nervously for a moment, before laying down a bouquet of charcoal black roses. He stepped back, and, in turn, everyone else stepped forward to say a few words on their relationship with the deceased. And as soon as it had started, it was over. Ed felt empty, Izumi was right. His chest had been ripped open, and his heart had been torn out.

"It's getting late, we should head back," Winry said, looking towards the setting sun. It glowed, giving the sky a splash of red and gold, but on the other side of the sky, darkness crept over, little by little. They started to trudge back, but Ed stayed put. He sat down in front of the grave. He looked like he might cry, but he didn't. He had no more tears to use up, he'd already cried earlier. Roy took a step back, but Izumi grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Roy, is it? Leave him be. That boy's lost the most important thing he could in this world, he's under a lot of pressure and stress, and if we put on any more, he might just break under the load," she said solemnly, "you like him right?"

"What?" Roy didn't know what to say, what did she mean?

"I hope that you, as a close friend, can help him out," she proceeded, "in this time of trial. I sound like that preacher right now, don't I?" Roy laughed nervously; Izumi was kind, but also a bit frightening. "Well, just remember. He's still young, and youth can't be expected to last under such circumstances as he is in for long. I can't follow him, I have my own agenda, but I'm hoping you'll help him. Keep him out of trouble for me, make sure he doesn't get any unhealthy addictions."

Roy nodded, and Izumi sighed, letting go of his collar. They walked back, the only noise being that of the crickets. It was dark by the time they got back, and everyone went back to what they normally did. Half of an hour later, they began getting ready for bed, all except Roy.

"You shouldn't worry so much, he'll come back when he's ready," Pinako reassured him. But Roy pulled on his coat.

"I'm going to go get him, don't stay up waiting for me," he muttered, striding out the door. Izumi sipped her tea, watching nonchalantly.

"Well, I've seen all I need for one day, I'm heading to bed," she yawned, getting up. The situation made sense now; she could trust this Mustang guy, at least for the time being.

"Yeah, we've got a big job tomorrow grandma, we should get some sleep," Winry agreed, adjusting her pj's. Pinako stared out the window as Roy disappeared in the distance. She smiled, then proceeded to turn out the lights and get ready for bed, remembering to leave the door unlocked.

Roy walked down the dirt road, staring at the sky. The stars were so bright; you never got to see them like this in the city. It was nice, so very peaceful. Roy stopped and looked ahead, he was finally here. Ed sat at the back of the tombstone, doing something to it. Roy walked quietly behind him. Ed had etched the symbol of the Elric brothers, the snake twining around a cross with wings and crown, on the back of the stone. He was just finishing the crown, with a pocketknife.

"What're you doing here?" Ed asked, in a bored, dull sort of voice.

"Nothing really, just looking at the stars," Roy replied, sitting down next to Ed. "Want to go for a walk?" Ed didn't answer, he simply stared at the stone as he finished the last tip. He blew off the excess dust, wiping the finished product with his sleeve.

He simply looked at it; no emotions crossed his face for a long time. "Sure."

They both stood up, stretching out. The night air was crisp and cool, as they began walking down the path. It wasn't the way back to Pinako's, it was just some random path they started walking down. The only noise remained that of crickets for a long time.

"Ed, so how are you doing?" Roy finally asked, looking down from the sky to Ed's face. Ed flushed slightly, but no one could tell in the dark.

"Alright I guess," he replied, "I've been better."

Roy smiled, "I remember how I felt after the Ishbal rebellion. I thought I would die of misery, I once tried to kill myself." Ed looked up in surprise.

"Really?"

"I had the gun in my mouth, I was one step away from pulling the trigger. But a good friend of mine stopped me at the last minute. I didn't know what to do or who to turn to when he left, Hughes hadn't been there so he couldn't truly understand. I became a severe alcoholic, it took me a long time to get over it," Roy said, he could remember the pain of it all, clear as day. They both stared up at the sky, bathed in moonlight.

"I could never do it," Ed sighed, looking back down at the ground as they continued to walk forward.

"Never do what?"

"I could never make it up to Al. For everything I put him through, making him have an armored body, I always felt guilty. Every bite of food I took, every time I felt warmth or cold, I remembered that Al couldn't have that. I worked so hard to try and pay off my debt to him by finding the philosopher's stone to turn him back to normal, but I guess it doesn't matter anymore," Ed replied, kicking a pebble on the ground, "And before I could help him, before I could give him the life he deserved, in a true body of his own, he died. Looking frantically to help me." Ed kept walking, but his shoulders were shaking. Roy looked down, Ed was crying. They both stopped walking. Ed felt so foolish, but he couldn't stop. "Why couldn't it have been me?" he whispered.

Roy pulled Ed into a hug. Ed cried, it was the second time Roy had held him as he cried. Ed regained control over his emotions much quicker this time, letting go of Roy's coat and wiping his eyes on his sleeve only a few minutes later. His eyes felt puffy.

"It's okay to be sad, or to feel guilty Ed," Roy said, "it's human. We're all merely human in the end, so it's foolish to try and ignore human things, like emotions." And Roy realized that it really was stupid. It only hurt yourself to hide everything, and it always would. And so, with the moon and the peaceful night sky as the only witnesses, Roy bent down and softly kissed Ed.

A/N aw, what a sweet chapter. Also quite sad and crappy, but oh well. I ate peppermint ice cream while typing this, it's my favorite ice cream ever! My brother ate a bunch of my limited edition peppermint ice cream, when I found out I screamed at him, cried, and disowned him as my brother. I have no brother. So, as a note to you all, don't take my ice cream or chocolate. Or I will kill you. As always review and I will love you. I demand at least 8 reviews before I type up the next chapter; I'm feeling rather malicious since the ice cream incident. Happy Holidays!