Ed had been right about the colonel not being in his office. He had been absent for quite a bit. Around the time his last letter had reached Ed, Roy was no longer showing up to his office. His letter had been a last ditch effort to show the other what he felt. To show Ed that when he had left a year ago, he took a lot of Mustang with him.

It was hard, but when no answer to his mail ever came back, it got harder. When it had hit 6 months, that's when it became unbearable for Roy. He started drinking again, almost more than he ever had before. Riza had visited him a handful of times, sometimes begging him to go back to work. He always laughed at her, saying he couldn't. There was almost no more meaning anymore in showing up. The blonde boy he had always messed with was no longer around.

It made his life feel empty. On top of the drjnkjng, he had also made comments to women and also slept with them. After the year went by, that too started to stop till all he did was drink. Women were no longer keeping his attention. There was a certain person Roy wanted to see.

The older man stumbled as he stood up from his couch,the whiskey in his hand splashing over the rim of his cup. "Dammit", he growled, shuffling his way into his bedroom. He downed the glass and threw himself on the bed. He sighed, turning on his side yo catch a glimpse of the picture on his bedside table.

He reached a trembling hand to trace a finger down the young blonde's face, closing his eyes. "Why can't I let you go? Why do you still haunt me?" pain was evident in his rough voice, almost sounding like he wanted to cry. He refused to cry though. He allowed himself one day to mourn the loss of Hughes and one day to mourn the loss of probably his love. No more crying, just drinking.

As everyone kept fussing over him, asking him a million questions about the past year and a half, about his new arm, Al, Winry -- Ed’s eyes kept wandering to the door to Roy’s office. He started to answer everything half-heartedly, nervous and distracted. Was Mustang so angry he wasn’t going to come out? No. That wasn’t how things worked between them. He knew if Mustang were there, he’d have heard the commotion.

The Lieutenant noticed Ed’s eyes wandering. “Colonel Mustang has been on leave for quite some time,” Riza said, confirming Ed’s thoughts that Roy was not here.

The blond man frowned. “Why? What’s wrong with the bastard?” Maybe he shouldn’t have waited months to come.

“He.. just has not been well,” Riza’s answer was vague, a small shrug as she looked towards his office door. “We have all visited him. The Colonel has just not been himself since… things were over. I am sure, though, that he would be more than happy to have a visitor in the form of a friend he had not seen in quite some time,” She said, thoughtfully.

Ed shot her a look. “We were not friends.”

Havoc laughed. “Of course you weren’t.”

He spent the better part of the afternoon with them, catching up and telling about his boring life in Risembool. How he and Al had a rough time with their new bodies – but well worth it. Al was back in fighting shape, no longer the malnourished boy that he was when pulled from the gate, and other than the horrible scaring from the automail ports on Ed’s arm, you couldn’t tell the difference.

Once the sun started to go down and everyone’s shifts and paperwork was over, Ed left with promise to come back since he was staying in Central for a little bit. Once out of sight of the group, the Alchemist threw on his coat and turned down an alley to make a run for the residential district. That bastard – he had no excuse to go on ‘leave’ – what a crock of shit. Something was going on. All these letters this whole time – but Mustang was never actually active in service? The drunk letter, the plea to return… Ed felt like a complete moron. And he was livid. He could almost promise that Mustang was drunk right now.

He slowed to a stop once he reached the front door of Mustangs townhouse home. His expression was of pure rage. Ed reached with his left arm to open the door – locked. He kicked the door, taking a step back to look up at all the windows. He was going to get in if it meant that he would put a hole in the wall. “You fucker… GOD DAMNIT, TAISA!” He screamed. All the lights were out. A growl escaped Ed’s throat as he moved quick back to the door and in one swift but *so* familiar motion he clapped his hands together and spread his palms out over the doorhandle, transmuting it into a handle of equal mass – but no lock. He would fix that later.

“Good to see I’m not getting rusty,” He muttered. He had not used alchemy since retrieving Al’s body.

Ed was quick to navigate Mustangs main floor, with the silence and skill that only years of what he had gone through provided him with. Along with the rage came a thrill, he had not done anything like this at all in almost a year. His thoughts that Roy was into the bottle was confirmed when he saw the glint of the lights outside reflect off the open bottle of whisky in the office at the back of his home.

Mustang wasn’t on the main floor. Ed made his way back to the kitchen, digging quietly through Roys cupboards for two glasses, filling each with cold water. Picking both up, he turned and made his way quickly to the stairs. He scaled the steps two at a time, glancing down the hallway once he reached the top. One door was cracked open – Which meant, that would be where Mustang was. His room, no doubt.

A knot was forming in Ed’s stomach, but he was not one for backing down out of fear. He closed the gap between him and the door smoothly and quietly. He knew that if Mustang were conscious he would have heard him at some point and come out guns blazing, but the fact that he didn’t only added to Ed’s confirmations.

The door pushed open in silence, and Ed’s eyes immediately fell on the figure in the bed. He frowned and walked around the room to the side of the bed, eyes scanning Roy as that knot in his stomach got tighter and tighter, and his chest felt like his heard was going to punch right out of his ribs. “Christ, you look rough,” Ed muttered. His eyes fell on the photo – it was old, he remembered when that was taken. His eyes scanned each face in the photo – Al’s tin body, Riza and the others from the office, and himself and Roy… glaring daggers at the older man, no doubt something Mustang had said.

Ed’s eyes narrowed with anger once more and he looked back at the older man. In one swift move, he dumped one of the glasses of water on his face. “Wake up, You fucking asshole!”

As soon as Roy started to wake, Ed grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and abruptly pulled him up to a sitting position. It was around then that the golden-eyed man made reality come crashing down hard on Roy, when he slapped him across the face.

“That’s for being drunk off your ass for god knows how long, and being such a chicken shit that you ran and took leave from work!” Ed yelled. He was pissed. It was written all over his face. He was never good at hiding his emotions, never good at not flying off the handle. His eyes locked with Roy’s and his anger was almost burning.

He sighed and shut his eyes for a second, rubbing his forehead before looking back at the Colonel again with a bit of a softer expression. He held out the other glass of water to him. “Drink this. Alcohol dehydrates you. The more water you drink when you’re drunk, the less shitty you’ll feel in the morning.” He placed the glass in Roy’s hands before he stepped back.

“Not that I give a shit or anything. You did this to yourself.” He scoffed, walking across the room to the window to look at the view of what you could see of the city from Mustangs room.

If the water didn't wake Roy before, that slap sure did. Talk about being sobered up quickly. He could only stare at Ed with his mouth open, still in disbelief. Ed was really there in his room. He had actually slapped him. He broke eye contact only to look down at the glass in his unsteady hands.

Water.

Roy couldn't help but laugh softly, shaking his head slightly. That was just like Ed. He sipped the water, grimacing as he felt his head start to pound from the slap. He rubbed his forehead, a soft groan pouring from his mouth.

What was he supposed to say? He wanted Ed here but now he was at a loss. He almost didn't know how to explain the last few months.

"You're really here, Fullmetal" he grimaced again, his throat not used to being used other than drinking alcohol. He sipped at his water more. "What brings you here after so long."

Ed wasn’t even sure of that himself. He frowned a little, scratching at the back of his head with his newly flesh hand. “Risembool is boring, you know,” He turned around to lean against the cil. The streetlights were coming on, illuminating Ed from behind. “I thought I could get used to that shit, farm life, y’know.” He shrugged. He was starting to blush a little bit, luckily it was hard to tell from the way he was sitting at the window.

“Not for me. It’s boring. I haven’t used alchemy in a year and a half, you know? Can you believe that? Well, aside from your front door.” He paused. “Er, I’ll fix that later,” he added quickly.

Al didn’t need him anymore, either. He was in good shape again. No longer malnourished and sickly. He’d filled out, now he had muscle tone to him and could put up one hell of a fight. “Al’s adjusted. He doesn’t need me anymore.”

Yep. Just keep avoiding the letter. He technically wasn’t lying, though. All did play part in why he came back.

Roy listened to Ed as he rambled on, his alcohol fogged brain barely keeping up. He chose to ignore Ed's comment about his door instead he sighed. He still couldn't understand what was going on and why the other just suddenly showed up. Couldn't have been because he saw one of the letters. Why show up now after all the time and the letters that were sent? All this thinking while still slightly drunk wasn't helping anything.

He drained the water, setting the cup on his bedside table. He flopped back on the bed, rubbing his face roughly. "They revoked your state alchemist title. If you're wanting it back, we're going to need to go back to square one." he yawned, staring at his ceiling. He was slowly sobering up, but it didn't help things. He was still just as confused as he was drunk and nothing was making sense at all.

"Why come back after all this time?" Roy repeated his question, turning his dark eyes to stare at Ed's silhouette. Hopefully Ed was tell him why he was really here. He was having a super hard time believing he came back to see him. He could see Ed coming to see Eliza and Gracia, possibly even Riza and the others at his office. To see Roy though? That was a very big 'no it wouldn't happen' type deal.

'Why come back after all this time?'

Edward wasnt stupid. He knew Roy was trying to talk about the letter. Knew that Roy was trying to make it a topic. The once-full metal Alchemist wasnt going to have it.

"I came back to take the state exam again. To become a dog for the military once more." He pushed himself away from the window cil to stand up straight, adjusting his coat. He ran his hands through his bangs and tightened his ponytail. "And you know as well as anybody that even out of practice, I will be more than capable to do just that."

He pulled the curtains open to let more of the night light in. "I came here to tell you that i hand in my forms tomorrow morning. Your desk, 10am." He turned around with a smug look on his face. Surely Roy would remember that the spring state alchemist test was in two days. "Better clean yourself up, bastard, your leave is over."

Edited 2015-05-09 10:34 pm (UTC)

Roy couldn't help but snort, his eyes rolling of their own accord. He should have known Ed would force him to sober up. Nobody else had the balls to do that. Probably because the others knew why he pretty much fell off the deep end. He cleared his throat as he laid back, sighing.

"I hope my uniform still fits then. Don't expect anyone to go easy on you." He chuckled, a familiar smirk coming across his lips. He still felt tipsy but was slowly coming out of it if the teasing of Ed was any indication.

Roy really wanted to push the issue of his last letter. As drink as he had been writing it, he still remembered. "So you only came back because of your state alchemist exam." his voice sounded like he didn't completely believe the blonde boy. He needed to know if there was even a slight chance for him with Ed.

Ed smirked and it was clear as day in his voice. The thought of the exam sent chills down his spine. It had been so long… He never even got much of a chance to visit Xing or any of the Eastern countries, Winry keeping him and Al too busy to do so. He had, for a month or two in the beginning, mostly to visit Ling and Mei. But the things he’d learned – and the food -- was unreal.

Go easy on him? “I wouldn’t dream of it. Bring it on. I wont even warm up.” God, how Ed missed a challenge.

"I want to explore. I want to do something. That's why I'm back, Mustang. I told you." This was getting repetitive and Ed was going to tape Roy's mouth shut soon.

He leaned back on the cil and crossed his arms, titing his head to the side as he peered across the room again. “Haven’t worn the uniform in a while, I guess, though, eh?” That smirk had gone devilish – the banter had never left Ed. It probably never would. “What, getting fat, huh, Taisa?”


Edited 2015-05-10 03:10 am (UTC)

Roy actually laughed, grinning back at Ed. "Yeah, really fat" he teased, running a hand up his stomach to his chest to pull his shirt up. You could still see his abs, but only just barely. They weren't as prominent as they were before he started drinking heavily.

He sighed softly, letting the shirt fall back down. "If you want me in my office at 10am, you better let me sleep." He grumbled, turning on his side to go to sleep.

----------------------------------------

It sure felt like morning came earlier than usual. Roy yawned, groaning as his head let him know how much it hated him. He felt like he had only gotten an hour of sleep instead of almost 6. He sat up slowly, his stomach lurching at the movement to sit up. He sat for a few more minutes completely still until he didn't feel like he would puke his brains out.

Roy stood up to get washed up and ready to finally head back into the office. He tool a quick shower and got dressed, sighing in relief that his uniform did in fact still fit. He took one last look around his townhouse before he left.

He half expected the reaction he got when he walked into the room. Everyone looked up at him with shock on their faces before hell broke loose. He had all of his subordinates in his face, all expressing how much they missed him or asking how he was. He noticed that Riza stayed back, a small smile on her face.

Roy sent her a smile and finally yelled at everyone else to leave him alone. He appreciated their worry but he did have to open his office door after all. He opened the door to a dusty room, his eyes sweeping the room. Everything was just as he left it. He wandered over to throw the curtains back to let the sun in. He rolled his shoulders as he sat down at his desk, trying to loosen his muscles.

"Has Ed stopped by?"

Riza followed Roy to his office quietly, holding her clipboard of paperwork to her chest. She closed the door behind her, glancing around at all the dust once Roy had opened the curtains.

“No, Sir. Edward has not been here since last night.” She paused, looking the Colonel over. She wondered for a brief moment what it was that Ed said that could have made the Colonel return to his office so easily. Perhaps it was just that the blonde was around again. Riza didn’t pry. Instead, she walked towards Roy’s desk, her dog close at her heels. She placed the clipboard down on his desk, right to business as always. “You need to look these over and sign them Sir. They are due end of day.”

Hawkeye turned around, making her way back to the front office. She paused at the door before glancing over her shoulder. “Welcome back, Sir.” She left without another word.

Punctual as always, Ed arrived just when he said he would, just before 10am sharp. He helped himself into Roy’s office, slamming the door behind him. Some things never changed. “Good morning, Bastard. Actually got out of the house today, huh?” He smirked. His coat was tied around his waist, too warm out to wear it. Besides, Ed would take any opportunity to take in the sun on his freshly-returned arm. It had been over a year, but he certainly didn’t take it for granted.

He held up the forms, glancing over them. “I take it I don’t need to read this shit, you know the answers to it all anyways. I didn’t lie or fib.” He took a sip of the coffee in one hand that he had picked up on the way over, and dropped the stack of papers on top of the clipboard that Riza had set down.

Roy looked up when he heard Ed walk in, an eyebrow raised at his greeting. He sat back in his chair, lacing his hands together over his lap. "I figured since you came all this way, I could at least attempt to make it into the office." He replied, his voice having a cool tone to it.

His eyebrow raised yet again when Ed went on about reading his application and then dropping it on his desk. Ed didn't know? Oh, this was bound to be good. He snorted, pinching the bridge of his nose to keep from completely losing it.

"Now why would you need to read it to me anyhow, even if things had changed since the last time? I might have been out of the office for a while but pretty sure an 'old man' such as myself could still comprehend what's on the report." He ground out the nickname Ed was so fond of calling him, his voice literally dripping with venom from that name. Ed was bound to laugh and say he admitted to being an old man now.

We'll see who is the old man when I make you mine. His mind supplied him with a nice image to show just how much he wasn't an old man.

Ed was mid-sip of his coffee when Roy said that. He froze, slowly lowering the coffee as he stared at the Colonel. A look of anger crossed his eyes. No. No. He swallowed his mouthful of coffee, setting the cup down abruptly onto the table.

He was swift walking around Roy’s desk to the mans’ side. Without a seconds hesitation and in one smooth move, Ed’s fist was raised and the punch was thrown – If Roy was blind, and he hit, he didn’t care. He wouldn’t feel bad, after all this bullshit. But, there was the reaction that enraged Ed even more – his fist caught in Roy’s palms. He wasn’t blind. The older man could see.

His hands grabbed Mustang’s shirt collar, knuckles going white as he leaned over him. Ed hadn’t been this angry in over a year. He was only here for a day and already the Colonel was going to kill him of high blood pressure.

”What. Did. You. Do?!” Ed demanded.

Roy couldn't help but smirk when he caught the other's fist, awfully smug with himself. He knew that once Ed caught on, he was going to throw a huge fit. He continued to smirk as his collar was grabbed. "I personally didn't do anything. Treatment was offered to me from a nice older man." He teased as he pulled Ed's hands from his collar.

He smoothed his shirt and looked the other up and down. "You haven't changed a bit, Fullmetal. Still shorter than me and still with your long hair .." He commented to further show Ed that he could indeed see.

If Ed connected the dots to Marco then that was fine. Roy wasn't going to go out of his way to give any info out.

His sight had been taken away by the Truth – that meant there was no surgical repair. Ed pieced it together remarkably quick, before Roy even spoke. The philosophers stone. An Older Man. Marcoh… He frowned, taking a step back. “I can’t believe you. You – Bastard,” He cursed, glaring at Roy.

Still shorter than me and still with your long hair…

“Fuck off, Old Man.” Ed was only getting angrier. The short remarks still got on his nerves, but he didn’t blow up as horribly anymore. He couldn’t let the Colonel get under his skin. He wouldn’t let the alcoholic one up him, or win.

Ed picked up his coffee, shooting Roy a dirty look. “If the State forms are all you need from me, I’m leaving,” His words were sharp, very clearly still irritated.

Ed going off the handle like that didn't surprise Roy. He knew the other was going to be mad once he learned the truth. It was also true that he didn't specifially ask for his sight back. Marcoh came in and asked him. Even though he knew it would piss Ed off, he still did it.

Roy rose an eyebrow at the other, shaking his head. "You leave then I do as well. I didn't come back today to sit and only do paperwork." He stretched, flipping through the paperwork on his desk. He scrawled his signature on a good bit of the paperwork, separating it so Riza could pick it up.

"Where did you stay last night?"

Ed frowned. Of course Roy wasn’t going to stay – of course the older man wouldn’t get his shit together like a normal functioning human and stay at work. Where he should be. “No, You came back because this is your job, and you shouldn’t be at home drinking yourself into a stupor.” He scowled. He didn’t come back to deal with this. But, par for the course, he supposed. He had gotten Roy into the office, at the least.

He took a long sip of his coffee before speaking again. “I stayed at Gracia’s,” And god, He’d missed her food. He was so stuffed last night he thought he was going to go into a coma. “When I told her I was coming, she offered to let me stay.” Gracia was one of few he and Al had kept in touch with – Al kept in touch with more – He felt like he owed it to her and Elysia. And that little girl they could never get out of their heads – Nina – made them feel like it was their job to keep up on Elysia. For Hughes.

Roy broke out into loud laughter as he listened to Ed. Yeah, he sure as hell had missed the other. It took quite a few minutes for the colonel to calm down from laughing. He wiped at the tears in his eyes as he still chuckled lightly. "Of course it's my job. Fortunately they know they have someone they can count on. Which is probably why I still have my rank and job."

Yep, still full of himself. He still thought of himself as God's gift to the earth. Roy stretched after he signed the last paper which meant technically he was done. He stood up to look around the dusty room, his nose twitching in annoyance.

Looks like he was going to be busy. He sighed and stripped off the blue blouse, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. "Since you're here, you can help me dust."

Ed had started walking towards the door, waving his hand over his shoulder as hem mumbled a “Yeah, yeah, yeah…” When Roy started to inflate his own ego. Prick. He was lucky. Unfortunately, also right – a remarkable commander, they would have screwed themselves by just cutting him loose. Ed wouldn’t say that out loud, though.

You can help me dust.

The blond man froze and turned around, “Like hell I will! This Is your damn problem!” It wasn’t Ed’s fault that Roy had stayed out of the office who who knows exactly how long. “Clean your own damn office!” He demanded. “I’m not your fuckin’ helper.”

"Then I guess I should leave too since you're leaving," Roy teased with a smirk, still enjoying playing with Ed like this. He planned to clean regardless of Ed staying or going. He walked over to one of the closets to grab a towel and cleaning solution. "If you're going, then would you like to come to my house tonight for dinner?"

The question was innocent enough. Depending on how you look at it and if you knew Roy that well. He started at the bookshelves and slowly made his way across his office.

Roy was going to make this hard, Ed noticed. He was either fucking with him or he was going to to half-ass this getting his shit together thing. Ed scoffed, looking away from the older man as he leaned on the door. “Do what you want, it’s your job,” Ed argued. Who cared? If Roy was going to make this difficult, let him.

Ed wasn’t going to waste his time on someone who couldn’t keep it together, like Roy hadn’t for the last year, it looked.

Roy’s offer made Ed twitch. The nerve. Luckily enough, he had already made plans, so he had a legitimate excuse to turn him down. “I promised Elysia we would do something tonight,” He said with a straight face. He was going to make the other work for him, if it truly was him he wanted. “I owe it to her,” He mumbled. She reminded him so much of Nina, the little girl he couldn’t save.

He turned around and just before he opened the door and left, he turned his head to look at Roy over his shoulder. “As Commanding officer, I expect you’ll be at the state Exams tomorrow.” And with that, he left the room and all seriousness about him was gone as Hayate jumped up on him, barking and play bowing, getting a laugh out of the young Alchemist. “Hayate, Enough!” Riza called out, and there was silence again followed by quiet chatter of Ed excusing himself from the groups office.

Roy's laughter followed Ed as he left the room. The colonel finished cleaning his office and left shortly after. Riza had told him to leave as she was still getting some other paperwork finished for him to sign. It was hard, going home and having to avoid the whiskey. He poured himself a small glass and sipped it as he cooked. After that glass, he put the whiskey away and actually poured himself a huge glass of water. The itch to get drunk was still there, but he knew if he even tried to get drunk, Ed would leave.

He ate his dinner, took a shower, and then finally laid down to sleep. He actually got up early to make sure he was present for the beginning of the State exam. He got dressed and wandered out to where they were holding it, eyes sweeping the area for Ed.

Edited 2015-05-12 03:26 am (UTC)

One thing was definitely noticeable about the State Alchemist exams, today – they had more security around the Fuhrer. An odd coincidence, considering the stunt Ed had pulled when he broke record and became the youngest State Alchemist.

Ed was brought into the room flanked by two military staff. This time, no one asked Edward if he needed something to draw a transmutation circle. There was silence until the Fuhrer smoke up with a knowing smile. “Ah, Edward Elric. The former Fullmetal Alchemist… Surely, we have all seen what you are capable of. Examining you is almost like a joke, is it not?”

Everyone in the room probably expected Edward to behave. He was older now, surely he would have matured and learned to respect those of higher authority?

“Yeah, It’s a joke alright.”

Nope. Roy Mustang could probably sense Lieutenant Hawkeye cringing at his side as she placed her forehead in her hands. Oh, Edward… But the Fuhrer just laughed. “Tell me, Elric, what makes you think that we should allow you to become a State Alchemist again? You have proven yourself something of a rule breaker, committing the sin of Human Transmutation.”

“I can say that I have no interest in human transmutation anymore until the cows come home,” Ed crossed his arms behind his head casually, yawning. “But it ain’t gonna mean shit if you guys aren’t gonna accept that I am done with that territory.”

“Very well, Edward Elric. Humor me.”

A smirk crossed Edward’s lips, and for a moment it seemed as though he looked up at Roy with that smug look -- there was the loudclap of his hands and in a flash of blue sparks, that familiar weapon Ed often transmuted was pulled from the ground. He spun it around so it was upright, spear end pointed up to the ceiling.

“I would say good luck on the rest of your Exams, Edward Elric, but you shouldn’t need it,” The Fuhrer said with a knowing smile before he turned and left the room. Edward was soon after lead out through the same doors he had entered.

Roy's eyebrow definitely twitched as he watched the conversation. Leave it to Ed to still be a smartass. He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel the stirrings of a headache. Perhaps today would not be as good as he figured it would be.

He watched as Ed aced every aspect of the exam. He wasn't too surprised by it. It was expected of the blonde after the show he put on when he first achieved the name of State Alchemist. Everyone seemed to congratulate Ed on a job well done. Roy let everyone go before him as he contemplated what to say.

When it was his turn he walked up to Ed with a grin, offering a hand. "Congratulations State Alchemist ," he teased with a laugh. He wanted to bring up the letter, but still didn't know the right time to do so. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head.

"Look Ed, about those letters.."

Ed could have probably slept through the exam and still passed. He was pretty sure the only reason they didn’t hold the whole human-transmutation-thing against him was because he was quite valuable as an Alchemist – and he knew it. That, and the entire year he was off he never claimed his grant for research, so it wasn’t like he had a rep for scamming the military or anything.

Once everyone was gone, Ed let out a heavy sigh and slumped over into one of the couches in Roy’s office, immediately going off. “What a joke. I can’t believe they actually made me re-do it all. As if anything would have changed, really? Do they think I became stupid? Chri—“ Then Ed heard the others words that he was talking over and a heavy frown crossed his lips and he turned his head to look outside the window with an off look on his face. He crossed one flesh arm over the other.

“I came back and you were a fuckin’ mess.” He was blunt as ever. “You wrote that last one, clearly, now, drunk off your ass. Why should I even humor you right now?” He asked, his tone pointed.

“You were a coward.”

Roy clenched his jaw as he heard Ed's words. They had a ring of truth in them and he knew it. Still hurt to hear it though but when has hearing the truth ever been easy? He hid his clenching fists in his pockets, turning on his heel to walk away to one of the windows.

"I apologize for being a coward then." his voice was clipped without a hint of the humor it had in it before.

Ed knew how to get under his skin without too many words. That was the reason he even sent those letters. Ed had stayed under his skin long after he had left and he couldn't forget him. Countless women and even the drinking never helped him forget.

"You're right. You have no right to humor me," he replied without another word. Ed was right. He was a mess and he didn't need to humor him. Why should the disobedient child get everything it wants?

He turned to grab his overcoat to shrug into on his way out the door. He stopped briefly in the doorway to look over his shoulder to Ed. "Again, congratulations." And just like that, he was gone from the room.

Roy walked around central to cool his head before going home. The first thing to greet him was the whiskey bottle he had left out. With a growl, he grabbed it and threw it against the wall. He watched the glass break into a million pieces. He should have known better after Hughes but for some reason he didn't.

He didn't even bother cleaning it up. Instead he just walked over the glass and into his bathroom to shower.