02 { feb 13: late afternoon } { video[s] }

[comradery]

[The network was spammed with a flood of messages in the span of a few minutes. Instead of posting each separately, it compiles them into a single post since there are so many. Each block is a separate message.

He posts all of them publicly since there is nothing remotely private about them. They're all addressed to Roy though. Who cares about saving Roy's face? It's not like Roy's in charge of a bunch of people, right?]



Roooooooooooooooooy, I'm BORED. Hey, you should come over.



Roy. Roy. Hey, Roy. I'll bet you'll never guess what Elicia did a few nights ago. It was the most adorable thing ever! I had just got home, and I was really tired bu— [The video cuts off suddenly.]



ROY, MY APARTMENT'S ON FIRE. [He looks frantic, but there is no evidence of a fire in the background behind him.]



Hey, stop working and get your ass over here, Mustang. I'm dying of boredom, over here!



There's nothing to do, Roy. You should come over and share some of that paperwork with me! And by share, I mean, give it to me and don't do any of it at all.



Hey, didja' know that Falman has impeccable memory? I tried moving the chess pieces once when he wasn't looking, and he figured it out as soon as he looked at the board again. Yeesh! How about we play a round, Roy?



Roy, have you ever seen a toilet paper roll be flushed down the toilet? Not the whole thing, but if you pull the paper over from the holder, put it in the water, and then flush it? It's pretty funny. It's probably a waste of paper though.



...okay, so I ran out of toilet paper. That wasn't a really good idea. Roy, could you get some toilet paper for me? I'm out. Please? Pleeeease? [In the background, anyone can see that he still has toilet paper though...]



Seriously, Roy, you should stop working and come over here. Don't leave me hanging!



Alright. You know what? Since you probably think my place is complete boring, and there's no reason to come by, how about I show you something you can't resist?
[The video moves and focuses in on Amaterasu, who's sleeping on Hughes' bed. After a few seconds, it shifts back to Hughes, who is smirking.]
What was that? I couldn't hear what you said over your sheer jealousy.

Comments

[comradery]

Hahaha, all right. That's fine.

[He smiles cheerily.]

Thanks, Roy. You're the best.

and switching to action, yep~

[thewarisover]

Yeah, yeah...

[Trailing off. This feels so natural, it's a little painful.]

See you.

[With that, he's hanging up.

One cigarette, then he's raiding the fridge at the Watch for the food, dialing up a Chinese place for food. Once all of that's done, he's taking his bike to the Communal.

And once he's there, he may or may not have spent maybe a minute or so just staring at the door to Hughes' room before finally knocking.]

all the actions

[comradery]

[Hughes almost leaps up from the bed when he hears the knock, but remembers that he promised Amaterasu he would be more careful. He sighs and gets in the wheelchair that is fun to play with, but not that fun to actually have to use.

He gets to the door a little later and opens it. Seeing his best friend makes him forget about his lameness despite the effort he already put into being careful though. He gets up from the wheelchair and grapples Roy into a big hug.]

Roy! You're here, hahaha! It's so good to see you!

[thewarisover]

[...And for a good bit, he can't move or get a word out. It was one thing seeing Hughes on the network; it's quite another seeing him in person, and getting hugged.]

It's good to see you too.

[Is his voice a little thick? Naw. Just muffled against your shoulder. And it's not that he hesitated to hug you back, he's just carrying a lot. Really.]

You shouldn't strain yourself, though.

[comradery]

It's fine, it's fine! This is nothing! Don't worry about it!

[He laughs and steps back after a bit, sliding back into the wheelchair and opening the door further. He grins and nods toward the inside of the apartment.]

Come on in.

[thewarisover]

[There's a bit of a relief and maybe a tiny pang of loss when Hughes withdraws. Still, Roy's stepping inside, going immediately for the kitchen table.

Not talking yet. He can't actually think of what to say.]

[comradery]

[He closes the door and follows after.

Of course, when Roy cannot say anything, it is Hughes' job to step in.]

Xingese, huh? They have it here too? I haven't had it in a while... Heh. Smells delicious.

[The last time he had it had been with Roy, when the alchemist had last visited Central. Well, last Hughes recalled, anyway.]

[thewarisover]

It's called Chinese down here. This place has good dumplings.

[Busying himself with unpacking everything, because that's totally easier than looking at Hughes again.]

[comradery]

Chinese? Huh...
Yeah? I expect you'd only bring me the best anyway. Being that it's you and all.

[He realizes Roy is avoiding him to a certain extent, but he does not mind. Managing to even convince the man to come over was success enough in his book. Besides, Roy would have too look at him sooner or later anyway, intentionally or not.

His stomach growls again, and he chuckles.]

Calm down! You'll get food soon enough! Hahaha!

[thewarisover]

[And it's the fact that Hughes doesn't really push that helps Roy muster up the courage to say something again.

Random conversation for the win.]

Ameterasu left, I take it.

[comradery]

Yep. Sorry if you were expecting to see that adorable fluffy cuteness. I kept her here for a few hours—well, I fell asleep, and she took a nap with me—so I figured I should let her go. She has stuff to do anyway, and I'm just a jobless bum right now, haha.

It's just us.

[He hoped that despite the awkward air that was obviously still unsettled between them that it could at least provide some comfort for Roy to know that they were not going to be bothered.]

[thewarisover]

Ah.

[That was both a good thing and a very bad thing. If someone else had been around, he wasn't sure whether he'd be able to put up a good face. But, now that they were together...]

...Anyway, here.

[Stepping back to let Hughes wheel over, then going off to rummage in the counters. They needed water, and glasses.]

[comradery]

Thanks.

[He wheels over and waits patiently. It was something he was fairly used to by now.]

There should be ice in the freezer if you want it.

[thewarisover]

Do you?

[Stopping by just long enough to set a glass in front of Hughes.]

[comradery]

I'm fine, thanks.

[He grins up at Roy regardless.]

[thewarisover]

All right.

[And he's finally settling his back against the kitchen counter, close to the sink, across from Hughes. He didn't want to sit down yet.]

...Dig in, I guess.

[comradery]

You aren't hungry?

[He picks up the utensils and starts, knowing that if he keeps waiting, Roy will feel uncomfortable.]

Heh. You're right. These are really good.

[thewarisover]

[Takes a sip of his water, swishes it about in his glass, looks down at it.]

Don't have much of an appetite.

[comradery]

Mm... That's because you think too much. When you do that, you'll forget about eating, and that's no good. Water doesn't fill your stomach, you know.

[He would not force Roy to eat, so gently nudges would have to suffice.]

...anyway, I really am glad that you came.

[He leaves the reasoning go unsaid since Roy probably knows and would not want to hear it actually being said.]

[thewarisover]

[He doesn't say anything for a bit again. There's a brief but telling flicker of something across his face, though. Pain? Maybe.]

I couldn't not see you.

[In spite of everything.]

[comradery]

Probably not, but that doesn't mean you'd have to actually come.

[As he says this, he points a dumpling at Roy. He eats it soon after and shrugs. He knows something else is wrong, but he does not know how to ask. Best to let Roy work up the courage for that one. Change the topic for now.]

So, your eye... What happened there?

[thewarisover]

I got shot after taking the Fuhrer in my version of our world out.

[Might as well say it straight.]

[comradery]

In the eye? That doesn't sound too pleasant. You made it to the top then? But why take out the Führer? Unless...that had something to do with what I found out...

[He had his own suspicions after all. He would ask what Roy meant by version later.]

[thewarisover]

It had everything to do with what you discovered. Our enemies were right within our own forces. [Setting the glass down now, and finally looking at Hughes.] It's the same for the Amestris that Fullmetal, Hawkeye and Ling all come from, which would be the same place that you're from.

[comradery]

Hn... So then Führer was really behind it...? The transmutation circle covering Amestris.

[He looks back at Roy with concern. Shit. How were his wife and daughter fairing through that...?

He can't handle worrying Roy though, so he glances down soon after and takes a drink of water to distract himself.]

I suppose the both of you managed to stop what was going on? Edward and them too, though I don't know who Ling is. All of that is pretty...
...fuck. It almost makes me feel like a fucking moron for ever fighting in that damned war...

[He was still calm, but he was extremely pissed. Despite trying to have a broader vision of the world, he had once again played a mere pawn in someone else's stupid game.]