Thank you to all of you for the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate it!

Sorry for the delay in writing this chapter. I was enjoying the holidays, and I hope you were too.

Just another warning, this story is going to get dark. If you're not a fan of the horror genre, I don't suggest reading much more.

Thanks and enjoy!

Chapter 3

The rain pattered harshly on the rooftop. This was the third day in a row that it had been raining. Dark, angry clouds covered the sky, making it almost seem as though it were constantly night. The wind was howling, and made windows rattle under its strength. The streets appeared to be long, black rivers. Hardly a soul dared step out into this unpleasant weather that could rip umbrellas from even the strongest hands.

It was just past eleven o'clock in the evening. Edward had only just returned home from the hospital. His white coat was soaked through from the rain. He shivered as he rubbed his neck, stepping heavily into his home. He'd had worse days. The entirety of his work took place inside of a quiet, strong, clean building. A bit of hard rain was nothing to him. In fact, he appreciated the roar of the droplets as they hit the ground. It was almost enough to drown out the thoughts in his head.

As he walked towards his kitchen, he let his hair down, and tossed him coat over the back of a chair at his dining table. He rummaged around in a cabinet to find his kettle before filling it with water and setting it on the stove to boil.

A tight, heavy feeling had locked itself into his chest, and had been taking residence there for a month. Not even a heavier workload was enough to scare it away. No matter what he did, he could not keep himself from feeling angry and jealous.

Alphonse hadn't known about his feelings for Winry at the time. He couldn't have known. No one knew about it. Edward had avoided mentioning any feelings of affection for anyone when he was able. It wasn't as if Alphonse had purposefully proposed to Winry as an attempt to steal her from Edward, but it certainly felt that way to him.

He could hardly bear to face his brother. Every pleasant thing he could think of to say to him was instantly pushed away as nastier words forced their way to the surface. Because he had no desire to hurt Alphonse, he simply refused to see him. Even a phone call was too much. Edward had resorted to only writing letters. Alphonse was confused, but never questioned it.

There weren't enough friendly lies for Edward to use. He had gone through the expected motions: congratulating, praising, and the like. However, as he lacked an authentic sense of happiness for his brother, he couldn't think of much else to say, and took to lingering at the hospital as much as possible. Now, he could tell him that he was just too busy to partake in much of the celebrations.

He was relieved that work had gotten him out of Al's bachelor party this evening, but he still had the actual wedding to attend, for which he had been carefully selected to be the best man.

He had tried suggesting that Alphonse pick someone else, saying that he had no reason to feel obligated to choose him simply because they were brothers. However, Alphonse insisted that Edward be his best man, stating that he didn't feel obligated in the slightest; Edward really and truly was his best friend and the person he trusted the most in this world, and furthermore, he felt that he would never be able to repay his brother for his sacrifice.

His brother's words were so sincere and heartfelt that Edward almost felt guilty for not being happy for him. He hadn't spent years of his life trying to restore Alphonse's body because he hated him. He had done it as an act of love. He still loved him, but lately, it had become increasingly difficult to show it.

There was a loud knock on the door. Curious as to who would visit him at such a late hour, he walked quickly to the front door to see who it was.

"Hey there," Roy said with a smile. "Wonderful weather we're having this evening."

Edward laughed at the sight of the Fuhrer, his hair a complete mess and his clothes completely drenched. "Get in here," he said. "You're gonna get sick if you hang around outside in the rain, and I don't want to have to take care of you."

Roy wiped his feet on the doormat outside before stepping into Edward's home. "Why is it so gloomy in here? Aren't you freezing without even a fire going?"

"Oh, I just got home from work. I really wanted something hot to drink, so I started making tea. That's when you showed up."

"I see. Well, let me do the honor of making a fire for you."

"Suit yourself. Do you want some tea?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

Roy walked off towards the living room, leaving Edward to himself once again. He didn't think he would be so happy to see Roy, especially at such an odd hour. In the back of his mind, he wondered if something had happened.

He heard Roy placing firewood into the fireplace, and went to the cupboard to get two cups for their tea. After setting the cups on the down, he took teabags from a box on the counter, and placed them inside.

"The fire is taken care of," Roy called as he returned to the kitchen. "Maybe now it won't be so damn cold in here."

"That was fast," Edward replied.

"Yeah, flame alchemy still comes in handy sometimes. It's a shame I don't get to use it much these days. As it turns out, people don't really want a Fuhrer who sets everything on fire."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I miss alchemy too."

Roy sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry about it."

The two were silent for some time. Edward couldn't remember the last time it took so long to boil water.

"You know, you can't be sneaking off all the time," Edward said. "You're the Fuhrer. I'm surprised you have so much time to slack off."

Roy smirked. "It's not that difficult to hide from my officers when I need some time away. Without this country being at war all the time, I really don't have too much to get done. Besides, I always have time for those who mean a lot to me."

"Come on, Roy. You don't have to skip out on work just to check on me. I'm really fine. You should be doing this for Riza."

"Riza can handle herself. You're the one who worries me the most. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you've been acting these past six years. You know you can talk to me about it."

"I don't know what you mean."

Roy sighed just as the kettle began to scream. Edward turned off the heat and poured the water over the tea bags, inhaling the scented steam that rose from the cups. He took one, and handed it to Roy.

"You were a great alchemist," Roy said quietly. "There's no doubt in my mind that you would have been the best in the world if you hadn't had to give it up for Al. The thing is, though, is that you're not an alchemist anymore, and there is nothing you can do to change that."

Edward glared at Roy. He couldn't believe that he was bringing this all up when he had enough to worry about.

"But maybe it all happened for the better," Roy continued. "I mean, I've never seen a doctor with the talent that you have. Your medical knowledge is so incredibly vast and thorough. It just makes me think that maybe you were supposed to be a doctor all along."

"This wasn't what I wanted," Edward said. "I know this is awful of me, but if I had known that in pursing a way to save Alphonse I would end up like this, I don't think I ever would have bothered attaching his soul to that damned suit of armor in the first place. Alchemy was everything to me, and now I have nothing, and Alphonse is the one with all the glory. He has everything that should have been mine."

"Ed... I can't believe you. How can you even think that?"

"I know," Edward said, his voice cracking as a warm tear ran down his cheek. "I'm a terrible, selfish person, and an even worse brother. What hurts me more than knowing that Alphonse has it all is knowing that I hate him for it. If I really love him as much as I know I do, how can I think all of these disgusting things?"

Roy put his hand on Edward's shoulder. "Listen, I won't pretend to know what it's like to have lived the life that you have. However, if there's one thing I know about you, it's how dearly you love your brother. You loved him enough to give up what had been your whole life to save him. His success should make you happy, but it's just as natural to feel the way that you do now. You're envious. You're hurt. But you need to stop believing that what he has now rightfully belongs to you. That sort of thinking will get you nowhere, even if it is true."

Edward nodded. Although he couldn't completely agree with Roy, he understood what he meant.

"Please, Ed," Roy said. "Move on."