"Alright. Let's head off now, the building's going to close in ten minutes." Roy said, looking at his watch.
"Er, General..." Fuery trailed off with a pointed look towards Ed, huddled in the side of the couch, Hurricane in his arms. Roy looked at the young man. Ed couldn't go back to his apartment and see the crimson horror that awaited him there. He was already broken- No need to break him further. Roy walked up to Ed, kneeling down so he was eye-level with him.
"Edward, where do you want to sleep tonight?" Roy asked softly. Ed took his gaze away from Hurricane to Roy, his golden eyes fixed on him. He shrugged helplessly and resumed stroking Hurricane. Roy took hold of Ed's arm gently, stopping him from his absentminded stroking.
"I don't know, Colonel." Ed said, letting his bangs fall over his face, obscuring his eyes that threatened to spill. "I don't know." Roy stared at Ed helplessly, wanting nothing more than to comfort Ed- To return him to his normal, bright, hotheaded self. He decided right there and then that he would protect Ed, that he would care for Ed, that he would be there for Ed.
"Do you want to sleep at my house?" Roy asked gently. Ed looked at him in the eye, then nodded his head slowly. Then shook it. Then nodded it again.
"Yes." He said finally, and resumed stroking Hurricane. Roy nodded, then stood up, smoothing out his uniform.
"Fullmetal will be sleeping at my house for the remainder of this case." Roy informed and the rest of the team nodded, putting on their coats. Riza walked up to Ed and put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"We'll find Alphonse. Don't worry. He's going to be fine." Riza reassured, smiling softly at him, a smile of which Ed did not return. Instead, he opted to remain silent, giving a short nod in response. She retracted her hand and opened the door, and the team filed out, each saying comforting things to Ed as they passed him. Finally, Ed, Roy and Hurricane were the only ones in the office.
"Well, Edward, shall we get going?" Roy said, holding his hand out towards Ed. He stared at it for a moment, then gingerly outstretched his hand, taking Roy's gloved hand nervously, Hurricane nested in the crook of his left arm. Roy pulled him up then went towards the coat stand, pulling on his long brown overcoat. Roy opened his office doors, and the pair walked out from the room in silence, the only sounds being the footsteps of the two, reverberating in the empty corridors, and the occasional quiet, stifled sob from Ed.
The cold blasted them as they exited the building. A strong, icy blast of wind caught Ed, and the cold pierced him like knives. The cold seeped through his veins, seeming to freeze his very blood. An involuntary shiver coursed through Ed, and he hastened to pull his cloak in around him, an action that did not go unnoticed by Roy.
"Are you cold, Edward?" Roy asked, even though he already knew that answer. However, he shook his head in exasperation when Ed shook his head stubbornly, his teeth chattering.
"N-n-n-no, I'm al-al-alright." Ed insisted, steam escaping from his mouth as he spoke. Roy sighed, then took off his own overcoat and draped it on Ed's shoulders kindly. Ed, however, took it off and held it back to Roy.
"You'll be c-c-cold th-th-then." Ed pointed out, but Roy shook his head.
"My uniform's pretty insulated, to be honest. They were designed like that to make sure the soldiers could withstand cold temperatures on the battlefield. Another reason why I keep telling you to wear the uniform." Roy winked at him. "So take it. That's an order, Fullmetal."
Ed reluctantly put the coat on, and Roy offered to do the buttons, for the coat, which came up to the bottom of Roy's shins when he wore it, was trailing on the floor behind Ed. Ed looked at the trail evilly, as it was clearly a jibe at his height.
"Cheer up. Kings have those long robes that trail behind them. Apparently, it makes you look important, or so I've been told." Roy said. He fastened the last button and stood up. His hand lightly brushed Ed's, and even though the fabric of his gloves he could still feel the cold emanating from them.
"Your hands are cold." Roy said. This was a statement, not a question, and Ed knew that there would be simply no point in denying it.
"Yes."
Without another word, Roy pulled off his ignition gloves and pulled them on Ed's numb hands. Roy instantly felt the cold air attack his rapidly freezing hands, but ignored it for the benefit of the younger male. Ed looked surprised, and then slowly rubbed his fingers together, trying to create the sparks his superior was so famous for. However, those sparks that could kill thousands didn't form, no matter how hard Ed tried. The blonde was confused. Why weren't the sparks working for him? Was it because the gloves only worked for the man they were made for? Somehow, Ed knew that this wasn't the answer. So then, what was? Was it because it was a type of alchemy that Ed wasn't wholly knowledgeable in, and therefore couldn't channel the powers correctly?
"Alchemy..."
"Pardon?" Roy asked, staring at Ed curiously. He appeared to be in deep thoughts, and those same thoughts appeared to be troubling him.
"I can't create sparks because I lost my ability to perform alchemy." Ed informed, and Roy thought he heard a quiver in Ed's normally clear voice. Roy hastened to console him- He found it quite difficult to handle a crying Ed, after all.
"No matter, Edward. Sparks are my job, anyway. It wouldn't do to have-"
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Roy jumped, and saw that Ed's hands were balled into fists, and tears were leaking down his face. Almost instantly, the hands relaxed, and Ed's body shook with tears.
"I'm sorry..." Ed whispered, sinking to the ground, helpless. Roy knelt down beside him, confused. What had made Ed yell like that? Was it something he had said? And why was Ed crying now? Roy put an arm around him awkwardly- no matter how many times he would do this during this dark period of time, he would never, ever, ever get used to comforting Ed.
"It's j-j-just that..." Ed sniffled, wiping his nose with a hankie that Roy had offered him. "If I could use alchemy, I w-wouldn't need y-y-you. I wouldn't need the m-military. I'd find A-A-Al m-myself. I wouldn't c-cause all this fuss around me. I w-wouldn't be use-u-useless." Hot tears melted the fluffy snow, and Ed pounded the ground, sending the snow flying.
"If I could use alchemy, I could've been able to save Al!" Ed shouted into the night, despising himself for his uselessness. I hate myself. Al already suffered once because of me, and now I let the same thing happen again! The dastards that got Al could've been wanting me, for all I know! If I was there, I could've protected Al! He needn't have gone. And now that I can't even use my goddamn alchemy...
"Edward!"
I'm of no use to Al...
"Edward!"
I'm of no use to the world...
"Ed!"
"Huh?" Ed looked up to see Roy pull him into a comforting hug. Somehow, being embraced by Roy made him feel slightly better, as if not all was lost... As if there was still a glimmer of hope in this dark abyss, shining brightly, fighting off the ensnaring darkness. Ed returned the hug, grateful for the hope it gave.
"You're not useless, Edward." Roy said, his voice firm yet soft.
"But what have I done during all this? I simply found the scene and told you guys. Your team did the rest." Ed muttered, his voice muffled by Roy's shoulder.
"You're still young, Edward. Most nineteen-year-olds have never even set foot on a crime scene. They've never set foot on the battlefield. They've never witnessed death. They've never driven their awesome superiors crazy with their ranting."
Ed laughed, just a quiet and short one, but nevertheless, it was a laugh, and it relieved both Ed and Roy to know that Ed was still capable of making such a noise when he was this broken. "They've never saved a whole country, Edward. You're a man who has had most of his childhood cruelly robbed off him. You haven't known life as others your age have. You've lived your adult years when you were still a teenager. You've never let others help you, like normal teenagers do. Now, for me, all I ask of you is this." Roy said, pulling back and putting his hands on Ed's shoulders. Roy was no longer smiling. Rather, his face was serious, his dark eyes boring into Ed's golden ones.
"Let us take charge this time."
Ed looked away, thinking. Letting Mustang and his unit take charge of the investigation would mean that Ed could no longer go and save Al of his own accord. The case could take longer with a large, well-known group of people leading it. But then again, what use would I be to Al? At least Hawkeye's got her guns, and the Colonel's got his flames. They would be able to help Al more than me...
"Edward?"
"Okay."
A/N- Hello! I'm not dead! Just banned for a very long time...
This chapter felt so romancey to me... Gah. Hopefully it didn't to you! I actually meant them to go home and Ed go to sleep by the end of the chapter- No such luck!
Oh yeah, and on that new 'Tomodachi Life' game, Roy and Riza got married! I was so happy! Royai is my OTP, with RoyEd coming second.
And I got 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy'! I'M SO HAPPY! It's a really really really epic game! You play as Ed ^_^
Roy Mustang was my hardest opponent. The guy who's not supposed to go all out on me!
Anyway, review and tell me what you think!
I want Roy's overcoat- It looks so cool!