Hey y'all! This is a short little New Year's fic. Hope y'all like it!

It contains SPOILERS for the end of the series, so if you don't know what happens and want to save yourself, then don't read.

Disclaimer: (cries)

Fireworks

Brilliant blossoms of red, green, and yellow light exploded in the skies above Central, drawing the eyes of everyone in viewing range and signaling that another year was about to come to a close. Roy Mustang leaned back heavily against the smooth stone marker, watching as another set of rockets shrieked upwards and ignited, lighting up the night sky with a deafening crack.

Fireworks.

What were they, really, other than fuel, an oxidizer, various compounds such as barium or copper to get a certain colour, mixed with salts and a variety of other metals for incandescence? Broken down by chemistry, they really didn't seem all that amazing . . .

Hell, he could do that. He was the Flame Alchemist, after all.

Except . . .

Roy sighed and moved his ungloved fingers up to trace the outline of the patch that now covered where his left eye had once been.

Except he hadn't once used alchemy since the day he killed Bradley. He didn't feel as though he had the right to, for some strange reason. There was no desire to do so; no . . . spark, if you will.

The Flame had gone out.

"You know what, Fullmetal?" Roy asked as another explosion silhouetted the rooftops of Central. "I never thought that this is where I would be on New Year's Eve . . . Not only that I'm spending it with you, but just . . . everything." The dark-haired man paused to shift around and find a more comfortable place on the neatly trimmed cemetery grass, noting with dull consternation that the fireworks were beginning to lessen in both their amount and brilliance, signaling that the night was swiftly drawing to a close.

Roy knew that he had to be on a train back to Northern Headquarters by morning. At this thought he let a sad smile creep onto his face and muttered, "God, you'd probably laugh if you saw me now. A private doing border patrol . . ." A mirthless chuckle. "Sad, huh, Edward?"

Yes . . . it was sad. Pitiful, actually. Roy Mustang, ex-colonel, ex-Flame Alchemist, had indeed fallen a hell of a long way: he'd lost his position, lost his subordinates, lost his dream and his eye all in one fell swoop . . . And now, as he felt the hot tears streaming down his right cheek, Roy realized that he had also lost one of the most important people in his life.

Edward Elric.

Edward, who was boisterous and loud and kind and infuriating and pitiable and somehow managed to be all those things in one instant; Edward, who would look at you with those eyes and you could just feel yourself melt . . . or burn, depending on which mood he was in; Edward, who was so strong and grown-up, yet still managed to ensnare hearts with his endearing, childish ways; Edward, who would rant and scream six ways to Sunday about how he was not so short that one might miss him in a crowd of ants.

Edward, who would have preferred to be buried next to his mother and not on a military plot; Edward, who wouldn't have chosen the stone marker or epitaph that he had gotten; Edward . . . who was not buried six feet below the ground on which Roy sat.

He knew that. He knew that the grave was empty. If his own faith in Ed's stubborn ability to stay alive wasn't enough, then there was Alphonse's.

Al—who didn't remember anything from the four years that he and Ed had spent searching for the Philosopher's stone . . . and who now looked so much like Ed that it almost hurt Roy to look at him. That boy believed that his older brother was still alive somewhere . . .

And that was conviction enough for Roy.

Wiping away an errant tear with the cuff of his jacket, the ex-colonel pushed himself up with a groan and stared down at the grave; the few fireworks still blossoming behind him silhouetted his form, throwing his shadow against the headstone at impossible angles. "Well, Ed . . ." Roy sighed out, picking an invisible thread off of his uniform. There were so many things that could and could not be said, things he wanted to tell the boy . . . but, now—whether or not the blonde was alive out there—it was already too late. The fates had given him ample time to tell the Fullmetal how he felt and he had spit in their faces.

Confessing to an empty grave wouldn't help him now . . .

"Happy New Year."

And that was it.

One year of Edward's absence . . . one year of seclusion in the Briggs . . . and that was all he could come to tell the blonde before turning and making his way out of the cemetery, stopping only once to briefly speak to Hughes . . .

The fireworks died in the sky.

There's always next year . . .

For those of you who have seen the end of the series and possibly the movie, then you know that the last little comment alludes to. Hope you liked. Please review!

Responses:

BlackFire-Dog: (dances) Yes, I am! Thanks for the review!

Sakura-Chan: Thank you! Glad you liked!

dragon shadows: (laughs) No, looks like 'Family' will only be about ten chapters long . . . maybe eleven. But not fifteen. Sorry.

Glad you liked this one! Thanks for the review!

Trespasser1307: (laughs) Some other people want to see it, too. Though the painting is too big for me to scan, I bet I can redraw it and post it in BMF's bio. Would that do? Yes, silly, it makes sense . . . and don't worry, I forgive you.

Thanks for the review!

Neo Diji: Hello Kara. (laughs) I only read your fic after I wrote mine . . . didn't I? (scratches head) Not sure; it's too far back to remember. (shrugs) But, no—I wasn't making fun of your fic. Though, our Roy's are very different . . .

The painting is actually to big to scan onto my compy, even though my printer/copier/scanner is as big as a horse . . . well, maybe not—but it's big! Anyhoo, I was thinking that I could redraw it and post it in the BMF bio. How does that sound?

I'll probably take you up on that random idea. I like kitties . . . and I love RoyEd . . . and Al love's kitties and Ed. It all makes sense . . . at least, to me it does. Yes, I shall write a cat fic!

Now that Christmas is done and gone, I don't think that you can do anymore mistletoe fics . . . though, you're willing to try! How bout a New Year's fic? (points up)

(laughs) Nice talking to you! Bye!

Storm Dragon Goddess: Hooray! Thanks!

imyourvillian: Thanks! I love HavocFuery and wanted to write some . . . but I didn't want to start a whole other fic just for that . . . so I figured that this would do!

(laughs) So, Roy and your dad are one in the same? That's interesting . . .

You're the third person to ask. I can't scan the painting because a) it's too big and b) my friend now has it. However, I am attempting to draw it out on paper so that it can be scanned and then I'll try to put it in the BMF bio. Sound good?

Thanks for the review! Bye!

Foolish Mortal: (laughs) Good luck with that! Hope it worked out!

Raven Cactuar: Give it a shot. I'm sure you're a much better writer than you give yourself credit for. Good luck and thanks for the review!

Faith Lee: Me neither! (high five) And I concur! They are both highly amusing here if I do say so myself. Thanks!