Chapter Seven

"So ... this is my wedding, huh?" Maes asked, scratching the back of his head as they stood in the middle of the aisle, watching the group at the altar. "Yeah." Roy nodded, sighing. This moment had been lodged in Roy's mind for years, though the Maes that his mind had created didn't remember it ever happening. But Roy remembered it perfectly, as well as the drunken days spent alone afterwards, sinking into depression that he had wasted his chance with Maes.

"You don't look too happy for me." Even from afar, he could tell that the best man's small smile was forced. "I didn't want you to get married." Roy admitted, and even to him his words seemed bitter and selfish. He had wanted Maes all to himself, and still did. "That makes sense." Roy glanced at Maes curiously, surprised to see something close to regret on his face. Had this Hughes also always wanted to get married and raise a family?

"C'mon," Roy sighed, walking towards a wall as everything began to crack and splinter again. The colours of everything dripped and ran like Maes had before, rolling and splattering onto the floor like large mulicoloured raindrops. "I really don't feel like it's possible to hide anymore, Roy." But he ignored the other, pushing through a wall with a rather depressed air. Thinking of Maes' wedding always did that to him.

He frowned at the low voices that greeted him, the dim lights and cigarette smoke adding to his confusion. And then he heard voices - his and Maes, not too far away. "I'm not sure if this head priest is the same one that Ed defeated, though. We should ask Ed to reinvestigate this matter."

"He thinks that he saved a city. Let's just let him believe that for now. He will find out on his own eventually." As Maes appeared at his side, Roy had spotted their other selves sat at the bar. But he pushed on, not wanting to dwell and think, just wanting to hide and cling to Maes.

As he walked out of the bar, Roy found that he couldn't see at all, and that the air was cold and damp. His eyes adjusted quickly, thanks to the small grate near the ceiling that let moon light filter in. Military dungeons, he mused.

"Hey mum ... Roy's twitching." That girl's voice was louder than ever now, making the walls shake and stones fall and rattle. Roy turned to look at Maes, who was looking utterly confused, having finally hear the voice. "C'mon, Maes. We have to keep running." He began to walk again, but stopped as he saw that Maes wasn't following, and was instead staring at his own hand. Fine lines ran along it, spreading and growing, slowly slithering up his wrist and arm. "I don't think we can run anymore, Roy."

Roy shook his head, staring as he reached out, snatching hold of Maes' hand. There was a sound like glass smashing, and two of Maes' fingers came away in Roy's hand, crumbling like ice. "NO!" He screamed, lunging hold of Maes' upper arm where the lines hadn't reached, dragging him through the dungeon wall. "Roy -" "NO! Keep running!"

He could feel Maes' upper arm start to crumble in his grip, and he spared him a glance, horrified to find that it had reached all the way up to his shoulder and was now spreading down his other arm. He let go of Maes, ignoring the fact that they were back in that field again, except now it was dark - a simple, starless night. "No! No no no! You can't leave me again!" Roy couldn't understand why Maes didn't look confused or in pain. He just looked curious and a little sadly resigned. As if he had known this would happen all along.

"Roy," Maes sighed, enfolding him in his arms. He wasn't cracked or lined or missing anything now, he was perfectly normal, apart from the fact that he was slightly transparent. "You can't live inside of your own mind. You have to wake up." Roy's throat had gone tight, and instead he pressed himself against Maes, clinging to him desperately like a man drowning, shaking his head and refusing to believe. "Me leaving you can't be stopped. I have no power over that. But I love you anyway, even if I'm not real."

He tried to tell Maes that he was stupid, that what he was saying was just a lie, but all that came out was a croaked 'No!'. He clung tighter, stumbling as he found his arms go right through Maes. Ghostly lips pressed to his, and despite the fact that he could hardly see Maes anymore, he could still feel the arms around him. "See ya, Roy."

There was a stabbing pain in the back of his head, and Roy's eyes closed, his knees buckled and he fell into a dark pit.

The family had been about to leave, getting ready to catch the two am bus home. Anne was on the verge of falling alseep in her chair, and even her parents looked quite tired. The constant visiting was beginning to wear them out. They stood, gathering their coats and pulling them on. Marie yawned, and the family turned their backs on Roy and walked towards the door.

There was a rustle of cloth, but their brains barely registered it as began to walk. Roy was just twitching again.

"MAES!"

The scream took them all by surprise, the sound of it echoing down the hall, followed by uncontrolled sobs and low shrieks of horror. Roy was awake, thrashing in his bed, screaming for this Maes to come back, to not leave him all alone. The trio stood there and stared for a while, letting Roy cry himself dry and let out all of his screams, until he had buried his face in the pillows and merely dry-sobbed, coughing and spluttering.

"Honey, calm down, everythi -" "HE LEFT ME! HE'S GONE! HE LEFT ME! HE'S DEAD! MAES! COME BACK!" Roy couldn't remember ever being this unrational, to ever lose control like this. But he had led himself to believe that he would never wake up, and now couldn't take the pain of losing his Paradise. "Honey, what are you doing?" Marie couldn't do anything more than raise her hands and step forwards, asking him in a forced calm voice.

Roy was reaching to his bedside cabinet, where the nurses had placed the gloves that he had been wearing. The family had thought nothing of the odd designs on them, and just labelled them off as something with emotional value and kept them there for when Roy woke up. But now, as the man pulled them onto his hands, they began to have second thoughts about them. "I - I need him." Roy sobbed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

And then he clicked his fingers, engulfing both the bed he sat on and himself in flames. The family could do nothing but stare, terrified of the person they had been so concerned about. And then the nurses that had stood in the doorway kicked into action, lunging forwards to put out the fire. But Roy had changed the oxygen perfectly - he had been dead within seconds.

Anne began to cry, and her mother instinctively held her. This was too much for the poor girl to take, who had been the most desperate for Roy to wake up, and now only had a charred corpse for comfort.