Call
Fuhrer Mustang started violently out of sleep, sweat freezing his body. His sheets were hopelessly tangled around his legs, his pillows thrown on the ground. He shuddered in disgust and ran his hand up his face and through his hair. Nights like these were why he never brought anyone home back in the old days. The guilt that overwhelmed him every night, of red eyes begging. But even as he thought that, he knew it wasn't entirely true. He remembered a time when flings were just flings, casual meetings. Almost a business interaction, emotions never truly tied. That had all started changing when... Well when the local genius became a man.
He'd done his best to eradicate those feelings, thinking, knowing they were inappropriate. Fraternization was generally frowned upon, especially within a same sex setting in the Amestrian military. As well, he was nearly fourteen years older than Him. He knew everything changed the day Edward went through the gate and came back with Alphonse and his own true blue flesh arm in tow. He had been fire and blood and victory, the taste of copper in his mouth.
Roy had been promoted many a rank after that day, after having lost a great amount of the upper echelon in a so called 'Spring Cleaning' lead by the now retired Fuhrer Grumman. And Ed... well, he had served his time, achieved his goal and he had simply been done. A week afterward he had come into Roy's personal office, a letter of resignation and a silver watch held in both, blessed, flesh hands.
"General... It's been one hell of a journey, hasn't it?" Edwards eyes were filled with emotion, not the passionate fire of youth, but the wise flickering flame of the scholars reading candle, soft and warm.
"Yes... And I suppose it's over now, am I right Edward?" the pain that overwhelmed him in that moment taking him by surprise.
Edward's eyes sparked at his name falling from Mustangs lips like honey from the hive. A smile graced his lips, serene and open, a new side of Ed that had rarely ever been seen.
"Yes sir, I've done what I set out to do. And I've made my peace. I'd like to see the world again, but not from a soldiers view... And I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for helping me." Edward softly slid watch and letter across the wide desk, a last open meeting of their eyes, that warmth still pulsing, and turned to leave.
"Call me Roy." Ed's head turned ever so slightly as he opened the door, broad shoulders squared to the new world waiting for him, and he swore that in that last moment, Roy had seen one last bittersweet smile on his lips.
Roy would always regret having let that moment slip through his fingers, it was another regret to add to his roster. But really, who was he to complain about this anyway?
He was Roy Mustang, Fuhrer of Peace, youngest Fuhrer in the relatively short history of Amestris. The man who had ushered in a new era of accord. He had bridged the faulty gaps between Creta and Xing, he had come to new and improved trade agreements with Aerugo, and he had successfully incurred a full ceasefire on both sides of the border war between Amestris and Drachma. He had created many new jobs, improving the economy. He had fixed the train rails, he had raised the bar of police training, he'd done his best to make Amestris safe. Safe, and peaceful.
But to this day, his dreams still haunted him in all their wrath. Reminding of every sin he ever committed, of every wrongdoing. Of every unjust snap of his fingers. Of his one chance to maybe be with the one person who could understand that no matter how much you atone for your past it will haunt you.
On mornings like this, when the sun was blackened out by thundering clouds and heavy with the promise of icy rain, he still looked in the mirror and saw a murderer. It took all his willpower to heave himself from his bed to confront the mirror
His eyes haunted and marked darkly underneath. He sighed looking down to find his toothbrush in its cup, and when he looked back up, mouth covered in foam, for a moment he swear he saw glittering sun warmed amber eyes twinkling in the air next to his cheek. His hand floated up to his cheek, only to brush against empty air. Eyes pained, he spit into the sink. He turned his shower on, scalding hot water pouring forth as he attempted to scrub the sin away.
After he'd availed himself of the sweaty remnants of his dream he stepped out, toweling his hair, he dressed in his military blues and he walked down the long staircase from his room at the top of the Fuhrer's mansion to the car waiting below.
"Good morning, Sierra, how are you this morning?" he inquired politely to the petite young blonde cousin of Riza Hawkeye, who was currently manning the wheel.
"Good morning Fuhrer sir!" she answered enthusiastically from the front seat. "I'm doing well, sir. Thank you for asking, and how are you?"
Mustang had a deep fondness for his chauffeur.
"I'm very well, let's get going." He smiled as best he could at her, watching as his personal escort mounted the bikes behind him.
"Sir yes sir!" She turned the key and the car shuddered to life. And they, followed and surrounded by a motorcade of six, rolled out down the impressively and uselessly long drive up to the mansion.
It took them twelve minutes to get to Central Command. Roy watched through the window, too distracted by his own thoughts to continue making small talk with his personable driver, flashbacks of fire and gold filling his vision.
When they reached the front drive of the Command building one of his motorcade opened his door, and Roy stepped out, finding himself with a very capable Riza Hawkeye at his side. Riza smiled and made a small gesture of recognition to her young cousin, and turned to Roy as Jean Havoc filled in on the other side of Roy. "Sir," she saluted sharply, Jean sloppily copying her while he used the motion to insert an unlit cigarette into his mouth.
"You have a meeting with the Drachman ambassador today, to discuss those new trade proposals, afterward you have a meeting with the civil engineers to discuss the rail improvements on the border."
Roy sighed as Hawkeye read through his plans for the day and all three walked up the steps to enter through the front doors, soldiers and civilian personnel alike coming to attention for their Fuhrer.
"Hawkeye, could you get someone to get me some coffee? I feel like it is going to be a rather long day. Oh, and let me know if you hear of any birds."
