Rating: K

Summary: Roy and Ed have a little chat—one has been made General, the other comes back from a three-year trip.

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

My fmass2015 on tumblr. I wish it was better but nfjsdn nothing ever goes like I expect orz

Enjoy!

One-shot: Forever

Roy pauses at the exit of Central Headquarters' building, processing what he is seeing. When he fully registers the grin and the laid-back demeanor, he allows himself to smile a bit, half-happy and half-amused.

"Well, if it isn't a surprise," he says.

"Wanted to get rid of me for good, huh?" Ed drawls.

Ed hasn't changed a lot, in the past few years. He got tall, yes, but he had already reached a reasonable height during his journey against Father, meaning that his body just needed to build enough muscle to fill all that new flesh—on top of training the right arm. He keeps his hair long, tied in a ponytail, eyes still blazing with a fire that Roy isn't sure if it will ever die, and a shit-eating grin that seems a lot more relaxed and sincere than before.

Roy descends the stairs and stands next to Ed—they're now the same height, which is rather disturbing.

"I thought you were traveling," he admits. "Your brother said you couldn't stay put."

"I came back a few days ago, actually," Ed answers. "Went to Creta for two years, then Aerugo for three. Next is Drachma, but I think I'll wait a bit before that."

Ed shrugs, lifting two strong shoulders that Roy knows have dropped all the tension and the guilt carried for years and years. He finds it both fascinating and astonishing how Ed became so free after the Promise Day, and he can't help but be happy for his former subordinate. He nods in acknowledgement, remembering Al's letters that mentioned Ed's trip to Aerugo.

"I suppose you spent eventful years, then," Roy says.

Ed's grin widens even more, reverting for a split second to his teenage self.

"You bet they were, and I didn't even learn everything there was! But Al was nagging me and wanted me home for his son's third birthday, so yeah. I came back."

Roy softly smiles at the words, knowing how important Al considers the ties between his brother and his son; he wanted them to be as close as possible.

"This still doesn't explain why you are here in Central and not in Resembool," Roy points out with the ghost of a smirk.

Ed rolls his eyes.

"I heard about your promotion, so I thought I'd drop by and buy dinner or something," he snorts. "Finally General, huh? Guess that you didn't stop working."

"Of course not."

Roy has been promoted to General only two months ago, and he is still gloating about it—thirty-six years old and General, how old will he be when he becomes Führer? He shakes his head and clasps a hand on Ed's shoulder, noting that his interlocutor isn't fazed at all or even the slightest bit awkward about the whole thing; three years ago Edward Elric would have stammered and blushed at the mere idea of speaking on civil terms with Roy Mustang, and inviting him for dinner, furthermore.

"Then lead the way," Roy indicates, the smile still tugging at his lips.

Ed barks out a laugh and turns on his heels, heading towards the city.

Roy knew that Ed wouldn't choose something fancy or particularly expensive, so he isn't surprised to step into a regular restaurant with meals that can be prepared by any average cook—but he isn't displeased because this is exactly Ed's style. Moreover, he's still wearing his military uniform, contrasting with Ed's casual clothes consisting of a white dress shirt with black vest and pants, and a light brown coat. This is probably for the best if they don't stand out too much.

They settle at a table, surrounded by many other people enjoying their meals—it's barely past eight p.m., after all, and more customers will likely arrive soon. Ed seems to know the restaurant fairly well since he briefly scans the menu before making his choice, while it takes a few more minutes for Roy to order. Everything looks good, though, and Roy trusts Ed with food—food is basically the young man's second brain.

"So, what did you learn in the past five years, Edward?" Roy asks with a curious glint in the eyes. "Despite not being able to perform alchemy, you must have taken a look on the other countries' arrays all the same."

"What do you think?" Ed scoffs. "I still have the brains to understand all the stuff I read. The Aerugoan were particularly annoyed at that, to be honest. I guess they don't like smart people very much."

"I hope you didn't display your smart table manners."

"I don't eat like a pig, if that's what you're implying."

"I didn't imply anything, does it mean you acknowledge the fact your eating manners are terrible?"

"Shut up and let me talk, if you wanna know anything."

Roy laughs, admiring the familiar frown drawn on Ed's face as the young man glowers at him. It has been a while since they had bantered, and it's refreshing in a way. It comes so naturally that Roy wonders how he managed to spend three years without ever pondering on it—perhaps because he was too engrossed in his work. This isn't like speaking with Riza, to whom he can't hide anything even if he pulls the kid or the womanizer act; with Ed he enjoys being childish and isn't stopped from doing it.

"I didn't expect you to change your true self, that's all," Roy teases.

"I'm fucking twenty-two, you thought I'd stay a kid forever?" Ed grunts. "That's reminding me of that guy who tried to explain to me his Cretan alchemy like I was freaking five or something. Good for him I didn't know any insult in Cretan yet."

"I hope for you that you still didn't insult anyone for Amestris's sake."

Ed stares at him, then raises an eyebrow. Roy stares back.

"Alright, stupid thought. Go on."

Their food came as Ed was talking about the new discovered healing alchemy in Creta, which is quite different from alkahestry and much more accessible to alchemists. Roy looks appreciatively at his plate that offers him a harmonious mix of colors and textures, vegetables shining under the dressing and meat ready to be cut in half. He knew he could trust Ed's judgement. He then proceeds to order a bottle of wine, earning a puzzled look from Ed but he just smiles.

Ed shrugs and is already digging into his food and talks with his mouth full as always, gesturing his fork towards the General to emphasize his point and Roy discreetly shakes his head at that. Some things really don't change.

"I told them I knew more than all of them reunited and that was my cue to leave the country," Ed ends with a dramatic sigh.

"Did you get kicked out of Creta?" Roy asks increduously. "I found it hard to believe you only spent two years there. So that's the reason."

"Hey! I didn't get kicked out. I left on my own to avoid a bloodbath because of stupid divergent point of views. That's different."

Ed stabs his meat and chews a good chunk of it angrily, apparently still bitter about his whole trip. He may have grown a good head taller and got broader shoulders, his face remains the same and displays the expressions Roy remembers perfectly well, such as sulking.

The waiter comes back with the bottle of wine, and Roy fills a glass he gives to Ed, before filling his own. Ed stops mid-sentence and slightly narrows his eyes, shooting the same puzzled look at the General, who offers his usual smirk.

"Well, you did say you were twenty-two, you can drink, right?" he points out. "Don't worry, I can pay for that bottle."

Ed scoffs, but grabs the glass and takes a slow sip, careful, as if it would burn his tongue like a hot tea. Roy is still smirking when Ed tries to suppress a grimace at the bitter taste.

"Before you make a comment, I've tried wine while I was in Aerugo, but I still can't see why people like the thing," he scowls. "It leaves a nasty taste in your mouth and whatever they say about it being good for our health won't change my mind."

"You will learn to appreciate it," Roy chuckles. "It's good to have you back, even for a short while."

The General drinks from his glass, eyes not locked with Ed's because he knows the words alone will make an impact. When he sets the glass down, the silence is stretching so he raises his head, observing the tight line that Ed's lips is forming and the contemplative look he has on his face. Roy wonders for a moment if this was the right thing to say—they have been making small talk for the past ten minutes and it doesn't feel right to do that when they probably have so much more to say. Maybe he feels a bit selfish for bringing personal feelings and matters into the conversation when they just met again, but he has never liked to be left in the dark and Ed's lack of communication is getting to everyone, not to Al and Winry only.

Ed sighs and rubs his nose.

"I said that I'll go to Drachma next, but that I'll wait," he begins. "'Cause the tension between it and Amestris is still fresh and not about to diminish, and that I need to tune up my automail anyway."

He picks at his food, brows furrowed in concentration and surely to ponder on what to say next, and Roy is listening attentively, slightly taken aback by the sudden seriousness of his interlocutor's tone.

"The fact is, it's been seven years since the Promise Day happened. Al got his body back, he's happy with Winry, they have kids, I managed to keep two of the many promises I made. I broke most of them, actually, so I can't really say I did a good job at promising."

Roy remembers a twelve-year-old boy haunted by the ghost of a little girl, a ten-year-old boy striped of life's fire. He remembers friendship that has been formed during this long year of battle, some of them unexpected and bonds that were meant to last but couldn't. He remembers that fifteen-year-old boy determined to keep everyone safe and to make everyone happy, always ready to offer his help and support his relatives.

"So I'm gonna fulfill another of these promises, which is why I came back," Ed lifts his head and looks right into Roy's eyes. "You've been promoted to General but that's not enough. You're one step away from reaching the top. The lieutenant has always been by your side, it's time for me to do the same to help you."

Roy closes his eyes and thinks. He thinks about the future he will build, the world he will leave to the next generations and the faults he will fix, beginning with the military. He can see himself ruling over a country, surrounded by his friends and family, ready to take on any enemy to ensure peace and happiness.

He made it so far thanks to all the people that lent a hand in his journey to the top and he can't imagine the future without them, without all of them.

So he smiles, genuinely, without malice or anything else that usually accompanies his smile, and opens his eyes to see the growing embarrassed expression on Ed's face.

"Thank you, Edward," he whispers. "Let's erase the tension between Amestris and Drachma soon so that you can travel there safely and not be subjected to death sentence when you insult someone, shall we?"

Ed doesn't provide Roy with a sarcastic comment, and instead grins, lifting his glass, to which Roy does the same.

"And I still owe you 520 cenz," Ed snickers.

"Damn right you do," Roy agrees. "It seems that we are stuck forever."

"Doesn't sound so bad to me."

Their glasses connect—Roy feels his whole body filled with renewed fire.