"Please don't die," she had said. He could have said the same to her.
Roy Mustang gazed up at the blank white ceiling above his head. He was, he had realized, a fool. He was in this position because he could not sacrifice his pieces, could not depersonalize those under him until they were no longer liabilities. He was in this position because he cared.
He snorted, fingering the chess piece in his pocket. What was the use of being on top if everyone below him was a disposable, faceless no one? So he was a fool - it wouldn't be the first time he was pegged as such. For the same reason his people were liabilities, pieces available to be used against him, they were also assets - individuals with skills and loyalty, no matter how far afield they were.
Letting his eyes drop to the wall before him, Roy shifted forward, his gaze far away. Perhaps after he became Fuhrer, after he changed things, after the ghosts of Ishbal were exhumed and examined, and after he was cast down in a fair trial, he would get a change to truly be with her for a little while. It was possible; even if his war crimes were enough for a sentence of death, it wouldn't be immediate. There was a chance.
Taking the queen from his pocket, Roy turned it over carefully in his hands. Yeah. It was possible.
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AN: The next update will be in about a month, after Chapter 63 comes out. I hope you can bear with me until then (: