Hello from another country where it's almost Halloween! ):D

My chapters are finally reaching an acceptable size! And the poll said our favourite homunculus is Greedling. (To whoever said Envy, DISOWNED! Kidding, kidding, I love you all.)

So anyway, here's the chapter! It's a little bit awkward in the first bit... I'm not good with the feelsy bits! XD RoyEd shippers, feel free to take it romantically always.

Edward looked up and caught the colonel smirking.

"Feel like taking a walk with me, then?" he asked, arms folded over his white shirt.

Edward's face fell into a frown. Roy wasn't normally one to give up his time for the sake of others, especially not his precious sleep. All those times Roy had turned down pleas for assistance from other officers who wanted the aid of his expertise in their cases proved that. Roy was infamous for never accepting an assignment that he wasn't required to do.

But then again, he had given his time for Edward on a couple of previous instances…

"I've seen and heard enough messed up nonsense to fill a lifetime. What's a few more on the list?" He'd listened when anyone else would have shrunk back.

"You're welcome." He'd helped him out when his auto-mail was giving him grief.

"Tyrell… Fix…him up…please?" Hell, he'd even asked for Edward to be treated first after he'd nearly drowned.

"Well?" Roy shifted his weight. "I don't mind if you want to go back to your brother and lie down, but I'm going to stretch my legs regardless."

Oh… So he was planning on heading out anyway. It had nothing to do with me, Edward thought. He was embarrassed to feel a sense of disappointment settle in his chest. Hey! Get out! It's not as if I wanted him to care!

"Yeah," Edward muttered. "Sure, let's go."

Roy smiled. "Good. I don't much like walking around at night by myself."

So the two of them stepped out into the darkness, illuminated only by the flickering lamps that always seemed to escape the attention of the maintenance division.

"Brrr," Edward grumbled. "I forgot it was cold out…"

"Good thing I'm here, huh?" Roy said, handing him his black coat.

"But won't you get—"

The colonel shook his head and Edward noticed he'd slung his uniform jacket over his shoulders as well as grabbing the cloak for him.

"It might be a tad big, but I imagine you'd prefer the coat over my uniform," Roy said as they walked down the path between the rows of dorms.

Edward nodded. "Yeah. I've had enough uniforms to do me for a year. Maybe even more."

They moved for a bit in silence. Edward took the opportunity to look closely at his superior. That oddness about his behaviour hadn't left him. What could it be? What was weighing so heavily on the colonel's mind? Did Lieutenant Hawkeye know? Did Hughes know? Maybe no-one had noticed but the young alchemist himself.

Maybe now was the time to ask.

"Will your brother be wondering about you?" asked Roy, breaking Edward out of his silence.

"Huh? …No, I told him I'd be back."

"Wouldn't that make him worry…?"

Edward shrugged.

They passed by several more darkened dorms. The cold gnawed at Edward's hands, feet and face, but Roy's thick military cloak kept him quite warm. He assumed the thing must have been military regulation as he'd seen numerous other soldiers with the same thing, including Hawkeye. Although he didn't think it suited any of them quite as well as it suited Roy Mustang.

The lull in conversation had made the boy acutely aware of the dead silence surrounding the base. At this time, there were no cars on the road and no exercises on the training grounds. The only people awake in the base would be the night staff, a few late officers who needed to finish off their work, a couple of MPs on patrol and those men who never left their posts unmanned such as a communications officer.

The pair reached the centre of the dorm sector, standing in the noiseless night. All around them slept the soldiers who'd given up their rights to live as civilians to serve the Amestrian military. Each of them had up and left their lives, homes and families a long way behind to fight for the protection of all three. They'd taken what they'd needed and moved into these dorms, sometimes prepared for a new job and a new life and sometimes not.

The thought of these many forces of will combining to make the military a force for the protection of the people was more than an idealistic notion to the colonel standing in the midst of the sleeping soldiers. A shiver ran down his spine and he was sure it wasn't just the cold.

Roy looked around. Each man here had volunteered his life in service of his home, and he hoped most had been willing to do it for the sake of the people living there and not just to get paid. The Amestrian army could be as corrupt as they came, but Roy liked to cast his gaze to the bright patches every so often, to remind himself what he was fighting for.

The bright patches being those hundreds upon hundreds of men who had enlisted out of the desire to fight for the lives of their fellow humans, for freedom and peace and justice. Call it naïve, but the Flame Alchemist believed in those things. He believed in the dream of an Amestris united, of a military who served more than itself and a world where people could live in safety no matter their race.

And every so often he needed to be reminded of that, because people like General Yu liked to come along and smother his visions with their dishonest and crooked reality.

He glanced to the young alchemist at his side. He also looked to be lost in thought. The boy had joined the military under the name Fullmetal for the research grants, but with better reason than most.

Edward was the older brother, the one born with the responsibility of looking out for the younger who came after. When he looked back at his past self, he saw everything he'd done thus far as a failure to Alphonse. To atone for what he'd done, Edward stubbornly worked towards restoring what he thought he'd stolen from Alphonse.

He joined the military as a protector, as someone who cared deeply for not only his brother, but every good person he happened across. Although stubbornly snappy and dismissive about the fact, Edward was indeed a person who would offer his heart and soul to protect the life of another.

And that, in Roy's eyes, made him one of the truest soldiers of them all.

Despite the fact that he hated the military and couldn't take orders if he worked in a fast food joint…

"Hey, Ed."

Said young man's head jerked up with a grunt.

"You've seemed off recently. Something on your mind?" asked the colonel, trying to remain casual. He'd realised if you dared approach Edward like you were trying to coddle him, all you'd get for your efforts were snide remarks. He assumed the boy was taking it like you were trying to insult him.

Edward snorted. "I'm acting off?" he repeated incredulously. He followed with a muttered, "I was gonna ask you the same thing."

Roy's expression became surprised with the twitch of his thin eyebrows. "You were what?"

Edward gave a start, realising he'd just asked the question he'd been racking his brains trying to figure out how to word all night completely by accident.

He sighed. My 'genius' might extend further than I thought in the field, but give me something with words in it and I'm about as smart as a brick.

"You just seemed really…" Edward shrugged. "…I dunno…"

Roy's surprised look grew as Edward proceeded to wriggle his fingers in the air and pull a face.

"…wonky."

"'Wonky'?"

"Shut up."

"Really? Wonky was the best you could do?"

"Tch! I try to be nice and you make fun of me! This is why I hate you! Now shut your mouth or I'll make your face as wonky as the rest of you!"

"You…" Roy smirked. That smirk grew into a smile, which grew into a chuckle, which grew into a laugh. Before Edward could get the blush off his face, Roy was laughing so hard he had no hope of finishing whatever comeback he had planned.

"Aw, shut up!" Edward complained, tangling his fingers in his hair. "You frikkin' bastard."

Roy finally caught his breath, straightening up and letting out a happy sigh. "Things like that are the reasons I love you."

He caught himself as soon as the words slipped out of his lips. His mouth was still open as he frowned, giving him the look of a man who'd just discovered the hole he was now standing in.

He tried to scramble up to the level of the boy looking at him with a face of pure shock and concern, almost one of horror.

"G-gimme a break, it's the middle of the night! It's quitting time for my brain at one o'clock and I…I just say whatever I'm thinking, alright?" he stammered.

Edward cocked his head slowly, giving Roy a look of extreme scrutiny. "So you were thinking it anyway?"

"I-I mean whatever comes into my head! Wait, no, I just say whatever… I say things I don't mean! That's…! That's not it either, is it…?" Roy sighed. For all his efforts, he had ended up closer to the centre of the planet than out of his hole.

As Edward continued to stare, Roy folded his arms and looked to the sky. "Gee… I have such a way with words. What I'm trying to say is I…I appreciate you. I just said love by mistake. You know when you hear something so many times it sticks? Well…that."

Edward dropped the stare and looked off. "Oh."

Roy wasn't facing the boy, but the quiet tone of that single syllable only spelled out once thing.

Disappointment?

Roy unfolded his arms and turned to face Edward. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, you got me. Neither of us are much good with this kind of thing, are we? I mean, you'd think for a master of the façade, I'd know how to speak my mind when it comes down to it, but… Let's just leave it at sometimes I'm even worse at matters of the heart than you."

Edward blinked. "What are you trying to say?"

"Thing is, Ed, I do love you," Roy explained. He swallowed. "Obviously not in a romantic sense, you know…because I just don't swing that way…or fancy getting arrested for harassment of a minor…"

He muttered something else under his breath that sounded to Edward like a string of curses.

Roy straightened up. "Kid… You're like family to me. You still remember back in Kin Palace? We had an agreement – we feel enough like family already, why not admit it?"

"How could I forget?" mumbled Edward. "As much as I hate to say it, I was… I was kinda happy about it."

Roy nodded. "So was I. Heck, I still am. So when I say things like that, just keep in mind that I'm kind of an idiot sometimes and think of what it is I'm trying to say."

Edward shifted his weight. "Okay."

"Because if love means caring for someone so deeply you'd be willing to die for them as if they were family," Roy took a breath, "then yes, I love you."

Edward gulped. "That's okay, but don't say it out loud. It sounds weird coming from you."

Roy bore his teeth. "Tch! Well it's out there now, so I shouldn't have to say it again! Just remember it and we won't have this problem!"

Edward gave a small smile and scuffed at the dirt. "Thanks, old man… But please, don't go dying for me, huh?"

"If it can be avoided," Roy agreed.

Silence fell on the two standing in the middle of the dorms. The stars twinkled few and far between, but they were a pretty sight nonetheless.

"If we're doing this then I love you too in a non-awkward way," Edward blurted out, his face burning. "In a non-awkward way."

"There's no way in hell it isn't going to be awkward," said Roy. "Even if specified."

"Shut up," Edward retorted. "That's the best I can do."

Roy smiled, gripping the boy's shoulder and pulling him close. "It's good enough," he replied, ruffling the blonde mess Edward called his hair.

Edward smiled and yawned. Suddenly the time came crashing down on his head like rubble. "Hey," he said sleepily. "You never answered my question."

"That can wait for another time," said Roy, shifting his ruffle to a stroke. "Just rest now. My head's too busy a place to be at this time of night."

"I know," Edward mumbled, blinking slowly. "I can hear it sometimes… It sounds so lonely in there."

Roy's eyes widened.

"I don't… I don't like it when you're like that… All tiny and…alone. It's scary."

"I-I'll try not to be, then," answered Roy.

"Idiot… You can't make yourself un-lonely… That's why you're there in the first place. You try to solve everything by yourself and it makes…it makes everyone…disappear."

Roy frowned as Edward's eyes slipped closed. What did he mean? Was he trying to tell him to open up more? Hadn't he done enough of that already? What more could the kid want?

He sighed and hefted the heavy boy into his arms, thankful he was small and they didn't have far to go.

"You're a weird kid, Fullmetal," Roy stated solemnly. "Telling me not to bottle it up when you're a goddamned kettle waiting to blow."

The man made his way slowly back towards the dorm, careful to keep his balance with the slumbering alchemist in his arms. Edward was no easy cargo, but Roy was determined not to wake the boy. Getting him to sleep comfortably was good. He knew from experience. He always knew from experience.

Sometimes this kid seemed to go through everything Roy did, only at twice the severity and at half the age.

Maybe that's why he felt this way about him.

By the time Roy reached the opposing dorms assigned to the Elrics and himself, his arms were shaking with the need to give out. He struggled to push the handle down with his elbow, traipsed inside and nestled his cargo into the bottom bunk.

Granted, this was his bed after Edward had given up bottom bunk when Roy had stubbornly refused to sleep metres in the air for another night, but there was no way he could get the boy up that high.

He stifled a yawn whilst watching the kid curl into the blankets.

"Looks like it's the top bunk for me again," Roy muttered.

Across the pathway, the soul of Alphonse Elric smiled to itself as his hollow body settled onto the carpet.

"I knew that connection wasn't gone for good."

"Colonel… Colonel…! Colonel!"

"S-sir!" Roy barked hurriedly, snapping upright.

Clang!

"Ah! I'm so sorry!"

Alphonse waved his hands around spasmodically as Roy gripped his forehead and made noises like a broken wood chipper. He swore there was a cone-shaped dent in his forehead where it had connected with Alphonse's helmet.

Behind the armour-bound boy ran his brother, flinging himself from one end of the dorm to the other with a piece of toast in his teeth and his red cloak pulled on backwards.

Once Roy was sure he wasn't bleeding, he had the sense to blearily ask, "The hell's going on…?"

"You two still hadn't arrived so I came to find out what the holdup was only to see neither of you had woken up," Alphonse explained hurriedly. "I woke brother first since he gets up really slow, but he's doing…that…and, well, you need to get dressed quickly!"

"You shoulda got him up first!" Edward called from the bathroom. "He's about as coordinated as a fish on rollerblades at this time of the morning!"

Roy flung back his sheets and made for the ladder, stubbing his toe on the railing and falling on his rump. Alphonse sweated (somehow) and stood awkwardly in the bedroom.

Edward would have laughed had he not been garbling something unintelligible about orange juice and toothpaste.

Roy snatched his uniform jacket from a nearby hook and wrenched open the drawer containing his shirts, having slept in his uniform trousers after a shower out of a desire for greater cold prevention. The drawer came out of the cabinet under the wild force and spilled its contents over the floor, but that was the least of Roy's concerns.

He almost strangled himself removing his singlet and spent the better part of their preparation time searching for a pair of ignition gloves before remembering he had some stowed in his pockets. He dropped his watch at one point and stepped on it when he went back to look for it, causing quite a fiasco of hopping and swearing, but eventually he got to the stage where he looked presentable.

Edward, now completely ready, stepped out of the bedroom. "Are you ready? Let's go!"

Roy grimaced as Alphonse walked up behind him.

"Y'know, there's no way even I could be this clumsy this early…" he complained. "It's raining, isn't it?"

Edward blinked and pushed open the door.

Sure enough, the steady downpour of warm, wet drops typical of summer rain had turned the base to a smudge of grey outside. The concrete paths harboured a smattering of vengeful puddles and the tough boots of platoons of early trainers had churned the training grounds to brown mush mixed with grass.

Edward shrugged and let out a sigh. "Good old East, huh? Gotta love the year-round soaking, am I right?"

Alphonse laughed half-heartedly. "Well, at least the frogs will have fun."

"Yeah. It looks totally awesome."

"I'm getting an umbrella," Roy deadpanned.

"I hate my life. I hate my job, I hate my friends, I hate my co-workers, I hate everyone else I know and don't know and I really hate the rain."

"Is that so, sir?" Hawkeye asked, very mildly interested in her superior's complaints.

"…Probably not entirely. But I do have a bone to pick with the miserable weather of this damned city," Roy decided, folding his arms in the back seat of the small car the two were driving in. The lieutenant, as Roy's assistant, had received a request to escort the colonel and his 'son' Edward to the location of the next stage of the contest. The young blond alchemist was the third occupant of the small car, sitting just opposite Roy with his black coat and unruly bed-head.

"Quit your whining, Mustang," said teenager drawled, doodling in the condensation on the windows. "Our situation could be a lot worse."

"Oh, do enlighten us, great Fullmetal."

"For starters, Alphonse could be crushed in here with us. It could be a lightning storm. You could have lost your umbrella. And neither of our old wounds are acting up in the rain." The boy raised an eyebrow as he ticked the things off on his fingers.

Roy closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the window. "I suppose you're right."

"Oh, and we could be running an uphill track in this. It's on level ground, at least."

Roy's eyes opened with a cold glare at the rushing landscape. "Do not make me think about what we're about to do."

"Given that we're gonna be feeling this run, I wanna get as much thinking out of the way beforehand," reasoned Edward.

"I have no idea what that logic was but you knock yourself out, kid," muttered the colonel, wondering what would happen if he just opened the door right now and rolled away down the road in the opposite direction.

The rain continued to fall, its warm, heavy body soaking the earth thick as any blanket. Roy liked to watch it, but the knowledge of the fact he and Edward had to run twenty kilometres in it made his heart sink right through his boots, down past the bottom of the car and onto the road to be left behind in the hazy sheet.

At least it got out of the run.

Gradually, the concrete greys and brick reds of East City disappeared into the distance along with the remains of Roy's spirits. Structured lines became tangled and bright as the red of buildings became the green of foliage and the grey of concrete became the brown of mud. They'd left the city for a countryside blurred behind a sheet of warm precipitation.

Oh well. Roy twisted his legs restlessly. The most I can do is enjoy the car trip.

The man shifted to a comfortable position, propping his elbow against the bottom of the window and placing his chin in his palm. With a quick sigh, he allowed the rushing landscape to lull him into a state of drowsiness.

Eyes half and heavy lidded, he glanced towards Edward and gave a slow blink akin to a movement a cat would make. Though where cats did it to show trust, he did it to show he was half-asleep with tiredness.

Though tired, his eyes didn't let him down in the observation department. He saw Edward's left arm gently massaging the thigh of his half-missing leg and vowed to keep a close eye on the boy. If his stumps began to act up, this stage of the competition would be hell for them both – Edward having to put up with the pain and Roy having to watch him suffer.

He slid his weary focus back onto the soaking landscape outside. It looked soggy and miserable. Just like he felt. And he'd probably look that way soon too.

"About five minutes until arrival, sir," Hawkeye told him, snapping him back to wakefulness.

"Noted," he replied lowly, folding his arms. "Edward, when we're running this thing I'd like for you to stick close to me. I don't care how fast you think you can run or how slow my pace may be, you are to stay by my side. Understood?"

"No, not understood!" Edward said sharply, sitting forward. "If you're giving ground to the competition, I ain't holding back! There's no way I'm losing to that Lightning jerk! Why the hell should we throw the race like that?"

Roy pointed at Edward's leg with a lethargic finger. "Number one, that leg. If the pain worsens to an extent that you can no longer walk, you would find yourself alone in a wet forest with no way of contacting others but to wait until the next competitor came by. And they might not even help. Even if they did, there's no easy way for you both to get to either end of the track – unless you fancy having one of the Fergusons carry you there."

"How did you—"

"Two, in this weather and foliage, it won't be hard to lose the track. One of us going missing in the middle of the race is the last thing we need."

"Like I'd ever—"

"Thirdly, the other teams will likely be running together too. Most of them will probably move at the same pace, and I can't see Tyrell going ahead without his father or Ulfric leaving Felix to run by himself."

"Yeah, but—"

"Four, morale. This is a long run, so there's nothing to say either of us won't be inclined to simply stop halfway and try to think of an easier way out that would probably get us disqualified. If we're running at the same pace, both of us will be competitively engaged with one another and therefore compelled to run the race to beat each other."

"…"

"And the final reason." Roy turned to the window as Hawkeye swung them onto a lane that had once probably been dusty and full of potholes, but was now a mess of mud and puddles. "This event is nearly completely isolated. It's the perfect situation for any of the other teams to make a move against us and make it look like an accident. Whether it's the other Amestrians trying to get a leg up or the foreigners trying to take us down… Don't give me that look. You know as well as I do that appearances aren't always an accurate reading of personality or alliances."

"So you think there's a chance we might get ambushed and pushed off a cliff by Felix?"

"Did I specify the kid? No. I just like to be on guard. Our defences will be stronger if we stick together. And besides, I…" Roy trailed off. He shook his head once in a quick, decisive movement that indicated whatever he had been about to say was no longer required.

"You what? What is it?" Edward asked, cocking his head. "You don't think you could take them?"

"No, I know I could," he replied evenly. His voice darkened. "Just not…"

"Not on a day like this," Hawkeye finished. "He's no more than dead weight when it comes to wet weather, remember?"

Roy made a soft noise like a grunt crossed with a moan.

"Ri-i-ight," droned Edward, a vicious leer tearing across his face. "Not such a tough guy now, are ya, Colonel?"

"It's not my fault the most powerful form of alchemy known to man came with such a fatal crux!"

"But it is your fault you haven't corrected it yet, right?"

"Shut your—" Roy was swiftly cut off as the car hit a particularly deep pothole that sent the back left of the car jerking up and down to smash the man's head into the ceiling.

Edward cocked his head as the man slumped sideways, a lump the size of Armstrong's moustache forming amidst his black bangs.

"Will he be okay?" he asked, pointing.

"He'll be fine, just give him a minute to recalibrate," Hawkeye replied with the slightest of amused smiles. Edward swore she enjoyed mocking the colonel about his rain issue even more than he did. "I think the weather's messing with the wiring in his brain."

Scorching heat he could deal with. Flames tearing at air so dry it cracked with lack of moisture he could suffer through. He had tempered himself to put up with backlashes of stinging hot air through every snap of his fingers.

So when it came to the end, and if it came to an afterlife, he was confident he'd at least suffer a little less than the others within the fiery hell he'd likely be condemned to for all he'd done.

But if hell was custom built to perfectly torture those like himself who had committed the ultimate crime, then he would find his eternal punishment in pain like this.

Yes…this was the ultimate torture.

The searing pain like fire on Roy's skin had been transferred within his body so that each panting breath was like breathing hot coals. He was gasping in air as fast as he could to keep up with the demands of his body, but each breath seemed futile in the vortex of burning muscles.

His arms and legs ached with the need to stop, to fall to the ground and just lay there. His limbs were desperate to escape the strain of the run, to halt the endless cycles of stepping and swinging. Each movement hurt. Each step forward burned through his legs but he wouldn't stop.

Rain had permeated his clothes and stuck his shirt to his skin. His black hair clung annoyingly to his face, getting in his eyes and streaming water down his cheeks. His face radiated heat, but the rain wasn't cold. Summer rain did nothing to cool anyone.

He was soaked in moisture, a mix of the rainwater and sweat. He hated the way it felt, sticky water clinging to your skin like a coat you could never pull off. It felt warm and revolting, like a clinging creature bent on wrapping itself around you and pressing to your skin like a watery blanket.

He hated the rain. Oh, he hated the rain.

His jacket hung at his waist like a clinging hopeless, a man without legs or life. How he longed to just cast it aside…but his last shreds of pride as a soldier kept him from doing so.

His mind was a complete blank, all thoughts being chased out by the burning in his body. His mind was blank, but that kept him going. The less he thought about his pain, the less he thought about giving up. The burning made it clear there was no time for thought.

Finish. Finish the race and the pain will end. Those were the only words cycling in his mind now. He had no idea who was in the lead, how long or how far they'd ran or even what the point of it was anymore.

Finish. Finish and you can rest. The pain will stop.

His glazed eyes slid back into focus. Yes, he thought. Finish.

It had been a long time since the colonel had pushed this hard.

And he just wanted it to be over.

"Hey…"

Roy turned his head backwards. That one gasped word was the first noise he'd heard apart from breathing in what felt like the last two days.

"…?" He made an incoherent grunting noise in response.

"Maybe we could…slow down here?" Edward continued. "Been jogging…for ages now…"

Roy nodded, slowing his pace. As he lost his rhythm, the distance they'd run began to catch up and he eventually stopped under the cover of a large oak tree.

Edward folded his arms behind his head and looked to the sky, rain splattering his face as he evened out his breathing. Damn, resting felt good.

Roy doubled over, chest heaving. This sensation brought back memories from his academy training long ago. It was also very painful.

"You oughtta…straighten up…" Edward panted. "It's better for ya."

Roy nodded, holding up one finger and closing his eyes. With a painful cough, he responded, "Yeah…gimme…a sec…"

After a minute or so of the two catching their breath, the man stood straight and flicked his wrists. "Whew!" he exclaimed. "I think I lost my sense of being somewhere along this track."

Edward nodded in agreement. "It's harsh, isn't it? Probably worse considering we're now basically running through a swamp."

"Mm-hm. I'd kill for something to drink…"

Edward smirked, a large droplet of water running down the side of his face. "Good thing for you I'm here, huh?"

Roy watched him drop to his muddy knees and clap his hands against the earth. There was a pop and a flash of zapping reaction that sent Edward's bangs splaying around his face wildly. The boy's red cloak had been left back at the starting line with Lieutenant Hawkeye, but his short black jacket was in a sorry state. It was tied around his hips and splattered with dirt, much the same as half his trousers. Roy thought the boy's smaller stature might have something to do with the matter and was thankful he'd managed to keep his uniform relatively clean thus far. His boots had received a fair smattering, however.

Edward's sparking reaction died down and he picked up the product out of a dip in the ground.

"Ta-da," he proclaimed, presenting two stone cups filled to the brim with cold, clear water. "Water!"

"Are you sure this is safe to drink?" Roy asked, scrutinising the water as Edward handed it to him.

"Sure as Lieutenant Havoc loves his cigarettes," the young alchemist stated. "This is the good cold stuff, straight from underground. Made sure to filter it. A dog could pee on that ground and I'd still be able to make something drinkable."

"Thanks for the image…" Roy said, frowning.

"Yeah," Edward took a swig. "I made sure to study how to get water from underground like this after Al and I got stuck in the middle of a desert trying to find Liore. I swear I almost died of dehydration…"

Roy shrugged and put his faith in his teammate. "Alright, if you say it's safe to drink, I'll trust you. But if I die from some horrible dog-piss disease tomorrow, I'll know who to blame."

Edward grinned. "Can dogs die from drinking dog piss?"

Roy shrugged. "Well if they don't, at least we'll know we're both safe."

"You got me."

After the two had spent a few minutes getting their wind back, they decided to at least keep walking until they felt up to running once more.

"How's your leg keeping?" Roy asked, nodding towards Edward's auto-mail.

"Surprisingly, it's doing fine," Edward replied. "There's a bit of a throb, but it's nothing I can't put up with. Though I gotta say, my arm's a little worse for wear."

Roy's eyes narrowed. "You're okay to keep running like that?"

"Hey, relax," Edward replied, jumping over a particularly large puddle. "I told you I'd let you know if it got too much to handle, right? So don't worry! And what about you? How are you coping? You looked like you were gonna pass out back there. I was worried I'd have to carry your sorry ass the rest of the way."

"Hughes says I always look like that when I run long distances," he answered. "He says he thinks my brain goes into auto-pilot when I get bored running."

Edward snickered. "When did you run with him?"

"Back when we were in training," came the response. "The two of us were quite the competitive pair. I guess you could call us rivals, in a sense. Though that helped us improve our skills rapidly, it also meant we never went far without getting in strife."

"Troublemakers?" Edward asked with a glimmer in his eye.

"He was the troublemaker," Roy accused. "Unfortunately for me, he only made that known after he'd sidled me with his friendship. Before I really knew him, I wanted nothing to do with him. I hated him and he likely felt the same. But then we started to discover we had things in common. And then one day we just clicked and were equals."

Edward pondered that.

"Through violence, of course. Though to his credit, that was probably my fault."

"You beat each other up?"

"No. We beat everyone else up. See there was this gang of recruits, a year higher than me I think, they were real up themselves. They were picking on this one other guy, I punched someone, Hughes showed up, there was a gun, and it was all fun and games and vigilante hero stuff until three of us ended up digging holes in the yard as punishment." Roy smiled to himself, his dark hair plastered to his scalp with rain. "Good times."

Edward thought he caught a hint of sadness in that tone, but couldn't be sure.

There were times when he looked at Roy and realised what a jerk he was capable of being and wondered why he even trusted him.

Now was one of the times the reminded him why. One of the times when the colonel acted so undeniably strong and inspiring that it made Edward feel more than a little proud the man considered him a son.

"So you stood up for the little guy, huh?" he said, studying the face that seemed to never give anything away. "Never thought I'd say this about you, but that's pretty cool."

Roy shifted his head from side to side. "I suppose we were. Back before that happened to us…"

"Before what?"

Roy's eyes darkened. "Before our eyes were opened to the truth of it all."

Edward didn't have time to ask what he meant before the colonel shook himself and said, "Ready to run? We're probably slipping behind."

And as if his words had summoned them, the next team appeared right behind them.

Though in the race each of the teams were rivals, was this team their friend between events…or a deadly foe who'd just caught hold of the opportunity of a lifetime?

Roy always seems so grumpy nowadays, huh? XD

Hope you liked it! Leave a review if you did, or even if you thought it was just 'meh'. Plot has definitely arrived in the next chapter! (Finally!)

On a related note, an FFN goer by the name 'Colonel Metal' has started a new FMA roleplay forum to reignite the fandom. It's called 'The Arts of Alchemy' and it's set five years after the Promised Day, when Amestris faces a brand new threat. Check it out if you're into roleplays!

As well as that, it was Hetalia Day just before. A bunch of us all got together in the park to celebrate. I Cosplayed Germany 'cause why not. It was so fun! (Austria used me as a footstool though…)

Omake 1!

"I love you too, brah," Edward said. "No homo."

"What…?" Roy looked at Ed, confused.

"I already got Winry. What about you? You got a bae or nah?"

"A what?"

"A bae, ya doot."

"What has tumblr done?!"

Omake 2!

After a moment of wondering, Roy decided his plan to roll out of the car and down the road was wiser than living out the trip to the run and grabbed the doorhandle.

"Roy—" Edward was about to ask if he could tag along for the roll, but he was cut off by the man jiggling the handle up and down angrily.

"It's stuck!" he exclaimed, furiously trying to open the door. His frustration quickly melted into panic.

"Mine too! We're trapped!"

"Childlock works wonders," Hawkeye said to herself as the boys started screaming and clawing at the windows.