Smile Like You Mean It

by Dailenna

Royai 100 Themes. Anything and everything from childhood, to alchemy, to Ishbal, to the coup, to parenthood. Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and the faithful comrades with them will stick together through it all.

26. Cureless

Disclaimer: FMA belongs to Arakawa Hiromu

Notes: Spoilers for Ishbal flashback. Erm, lemme find it . . . Chapter 60, pages 27 through to 31, assuming that Hughes told Mustang all about it.

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Twenty-six: Cureless

There were times during the Ishbal war, when Roy despaired of the future of his country, that he thought a talented enough speaker could convince the leadership of Amestris to change its ways; to stop following this ruthless path of destruction. With enough conviction and the right words, someone could turn Fuhrer Bradley's heart. The man was jovial and pleasant – it must have been that he didn't see what was happening right in front of him.

But Mustang learnt, over time, that Bradley's cheerful demeanour was a façade, covering his true intentions, and that he couldn't be cured of this behaviour. It was then that Mustang decided that he would become Fuhrer and let people see what peace truly looked like.