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]

[Shit. Poor Roy. That is all that comes to mind as Hughes hugs him tighter.

Yeah, it wasn't fair. Sure, he got that. But he hates how these things keep happening to his best friend, the person that means the most to him. It wasn't right. But what could he even do?

Hughes does all that he can and just holds Roy up, letting the man cry.]

[thewarisover]

[It's some fifteen minutes before the shakes finally stop, and for a few minutes after that, Roy goes still, clearly trying to calm himself down.

When he does say something, it's low and wrung out, but leaves no room for argument.]

I'm tired of this. He's going to be the last one that I'll have to bury.

[comradery]

[Hughes knows that it is unlikely, but he does not have the hearts to disagree. He grunts softly in affirmation and loosens his hold a bit.]

I'll be here.

[To help. To be around. Whatever you need.]

[thewarisover]

[And you shouldn't have to be, but hell, you are. It'll be fine.

At least he gets to see you again. It's one of the few good things about this place for him right now.

Pulling back a bit, sighing, trying to find some way to regain his composure completely.]

...I suppose that's that. We're here until BREW decides otherwise or until the war ends, and I'm not going to just sit around.

[comradery]

Hm. Yeah. Ending this war as soon as possible would be best, huh. I don't like seeing people have to suffer from this sort of thing...

[He is still hesitant about fighting though. After all, it is not his war.

Hughes pats Roy on the shoulder and sits back. He puts off raising the fact that his reward for helping end the war is death.]

[thewarisover]

Yeah.

[Okay. Doing better, yep. Finishing off more of that beer in one go.

Then he's looking at you, like he's remembering something.]

[comradery]

Hm?

[The look Roy gives him feels like torture. Hughes chuckles lightly and ruffles Roy's hair again before turning back to his drink and taking a sip.

...]

[thewarisover]

[There is no going back for you.

But he can't say it. There's something about the way Hughes is acting that just...]

You don't have to fight if you don't want to.

[Let's go for that first.]

[comradery]

Hm. I've thought about it. [He takes another drink to try and think of how to continue.]

I don't think it's right for these people to suffer. But this is different. It's not the Ishvalan War; I didn't choose to come here. Sure, I'd love to protect these people, but I don't know them.

[He shrugs. It probably seems callous of him to think like that, but it is the truth. Here, he does not feel the need to protect anything since none of it is anything he knows.]

[thewarisover]

Yeah, I understand that.

[He had been in that position before... well. Everything. Add that to the fact hat he's Roy Mustang, and there you have it.]

Don't feel like you need to help me with this, all right? It's enough that you're here.

[Firmly.]

[comradery]

[He shakes his head and laughs.]

Roy. Shut up. I do what I want, and I want to help you. It's not out of obligation.

[thewarisover]

[Have that frown where you know Roy's trying to figure out how to argue with you on that even if he knows that he can't.]

...Yeah, okay.

[comradery]

[He grins and pats Roy on the shoulder again before taking another drink.]

Good, good.

[thewarisover]

{And he doesn't say anything for a while, content with settling down, drinking a bit more.

He still doesn't say anything, even as he's shifting just a bit closer, and plopping his head down on Hughes' shoulder.

He normally wouldn't do this, but things have not been normal, and maybe - just maybe - he wants to be selfish. For just one night.]

[comradery]

[Hughes smiles warmly. He shifts and places an arm around Roy as he takes another drink.

He would never admit to it, but he missed this the most.]