Roy sat unmoving, both hands gripping the lip of the fountain as he fought to catch his breath. The heat descended upon him like an enveloping cloak, heavy, suffocating. And the figure of Riza Hawkeye shimmered and wavered in the brilliant light across the grass. "Scar…I…"

"General, forgive me. I didn't mean to upset you." Scar turned to sit sideways, facing him, brows drawn together.

"I…don't know what to say…" Roy took a deep breath. "Did one of my…people…"

"No one has said anything. But General, I've always known that you would come one day. It was clear to me that justice would eventually be demanded. I murdered a great many State Alchemists, after all."

"As I murdered even more Ishballans," Roy retorted. "Thousands more, with much less justification." He wished he could just breathe. Maybe he should unfasten the top button of his uniform.

"Nevertheless. The Amestris military could not simply allow my actions to go unanswered."

"Except you're wrong about that. It wasn't the military that wanted this at all. If it had been, I'd have overridden all of them. But the military people, more than anyone, understood all the circumstances. This order came from the elected Council. It was one of the first demands they made."

"I see," Scar nodded. "Very interesting."

Roy leaned abruptly forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped between them. "I opposed them when they began talking about this. I'm on the Council too, and will always be, as long as I head the military. And while I'm still head of the government, I could just as well override them too. Except…"

"Except," Scar finished for him, "you've been promoting the idea of an elected authority for almost two years. And you can't now contravene that, just as your work is coming to fruition."

Roy said nothing. He watched his hands clenching together, white-knuckled, between his knees. Havoc, he remembered, had wanted him to put on his ignition gloves before leaving the car.

Scar crossed his arms over his chest and remarked, "It is very important that all old wounds between the two countries be healed. Amestris is helping to heal the damage it caused to Ishbal, and Ishbal must make its own gesture of reconciliation."

"Do you know," Roy muttered, "what it feels like to hear you reciting the arguments for why I should arrest you?"

"It must be uncomfortable. I'm sorry. If it will make things easier for you, I will come right now and we can be on our way."

Roy straightened. "If justice were really to be done, there would be a prisoner exchange." He looked his companion in the eye. "Me for you."

"My people would not take you prisoner, General, nor wish to punish you."

"I suppose most of them wouldn't, now. Which I don't understand at all."

"General Mustang, perhaps we should go. I can see that you're distressed." The Ishballan rose and turned toward him. Waiting.

Roy's stomach clenched, and the breath threatened to choke off in his chest once again. It was so hot, even by the fountain, in the shade. "Or…" He swallowed, and felt as though dust had clogged his throat. "Or not."

If the other man had been silent before, his stillness now was absolute. Around them, the murmur of voices and movement in the market met the creaking sounds of cart wheels and of people going in and out at the administrative building. But here at the center, beneath the spreading tree, silence seemed to envelop the two men.

At last Scar asked softly, "What are you going to do?"

To which Roy answered, voice barely above a whisper, "I don't know."

Again Scar glanced aside, across the grass toward the figure still standing guard there. "What does your conscience suggest?" he wondered.

Roy followed his gaze and watched Hawkeye for a moment as she completed another turn, looking at her fellow soldiers – the rest of his core people – who had obeyed his orders and remained behind, leaning against the two cars. He saw the woman nod to Havoc, perched on the hood of the lead car, and then she began her slow turn again, scanning the surroundings, ever watchful for his safety.

"She hasn't said a thing," Roy admitted slowly, and felt Scar's eyes upon him again.

"And why is that?" asked the other man.

"I don't know that either." Roy grimaced. "Either she disapproves of our coming here, or she approves and doesn't see the need to comment. I can't tell."

"And you haven't asked her." It was a statement rather than a question.

Roy met the red eyes fixed on his face for just a moment, until he could no longer hold the thoughtful gaze and had to look away. "No," he muttered. I haven't asked her."

Scar remained silent for a long time. Behind the two of them, the water in the fountain splashed slightly and sprinkled them with cool droplets as a bird flew through the leaping stream.

"General," the Ishballan said at last, "this is an error that I've often observed, between you and your lady."

"She's not my – " Roy bit off the words. For an instant he wanted to laugh, crazily, at his constant knee jerk reaction. For just a moment, catching a flash of humour in his companion's eyes, he wondered if Scar was making the remark deliberately just to provoke him. But the flare of humour vanished almost immediately, and he asked, "What are you talking about? What error?"

"You are almost never honest with each other."

Roy opened his mouth, but Scar had turned away, gesturing across the grass, catching the attention of Hawkeye and waving her over. And she responded immediately, leaving off her surveillance of the area and striding toward the fountain. In the distance behind her, Havoc slipped off the hood of the car and straightened beside it, standing at the ready, one hand hovering near his gun.

Roy watched the woman draw near. The heat had created a slight flush in her cheeks, and a stray lock of hair had plastered itself damply to her forehead. She gave a brisk nod in his direction as she approached, as though she were following his orders by coming here. Roy scowled back at her, but she had already turned to his companion.

"Captain Hawkeye," Scar smiled, "it's very good to see you again." He held out his hands and to Roy's surprise, Hawkeye placed her own hands in his. The man used them to pull her closer, leaning forward to place a kiss on her forehead, as though bestowing a blessing.

"And I'm glad to see you as well," Hawkeye smiled in her turn. "How have you been?"

"Very well. The rebuilding is going quickly."

"I see you've become a teacher too."

"Yes. One of my students is very much like Alphonse Elric, in fact."

The woman chuckled. "That's bound to make things interesting."

Roy watched them as they spoke, tuning out their actual words as Scar described some of his students to Hawkeye. The man had released her hands, but her smile retained the sparkle she'd exhibited at his initial greeting. Scar's eyes had softened at the corners, as though he, too, were hovering on the edge of another smile. He tilted his head slightly as he talked, and while Hawkeye had folded her arms across her chest, she stood with one leg bent, as though she were about to start kicking an idle toe at a tuft of the grass she stood on. For some reason, here in the shadows under the spreading tree, her eyes seemed very blue.

She and Scar hadn't seen each other in months, yet they'd fallen instantly back into the easy camaraderie they had shared during their weeks of working together back in Central. Roy had observed it many times before, and he couldn't help but smile at the sight. Riza so rarely let her guard down with anyone. It was good when she had the chance to do so.

He knew exactly when this comradeship had begun. He didn't participate in it in the same way as the two of them, but he was directly responsible for it.

He grimaced, looking away and shifting his weight on the lip of the fountain. It was astonishing, he sometimes thought, how many babysitters he'd needed throughout his adult life.

"I'm surprised you knew about my promotion." Roy's attention returned to the conversation as Hawkeye made the remark.

"I try to follow as much news as I can from Central, especially news about you and General Mustang. I was pleased when I learned of the promotions. You all deserved them, and they should have happened long before this."

"Well, it wasn't a good idea to do it too quickly," Hawkeye explained. "We'd all just engineered a coup d'etat, after all. It might have raised a few eyebrows if the general had appeared too eager."

There she was, repeating all his own arguments, much like Scar, a few moments ago, repeating all the logical reasons why he should be arrested. It made Roy's stomach roil. "No," he put in tightly, drawing their eyes back to him. "I think Scar is right about this one. I should have promoted you much sooner than I did. I won't make that mistake again."

Hawkeye regarded him in silence, the smile still hovering at the corners of her mouth. "It didn't matter. You know I'm not in this for the rank, anyway."

Roy held her gaze with difficulty. Of course he knew that. But Scar was right: there were dishonesties burrowed in all his rationalizations.

"And yet," Scar answered Riza's remark, "you both do carry the ranks you do, and you do have responsibilities. I know why you're here, Captain Hawkeye. Do you really think we should put this off any longer? I assume you've brought handcuffs with you. I assure you that you won't need them, but perhaps it's best that we follow the correct form." And again he held out his hands, palms down this time, wrists close together.

Hawkeye didn't even look at him. Instead she stood as before, arms crossed, leg bent. Looking at Roy. Waiting for his command. The smile still implicit in the curve of her lips.

He gripped the edge of the fountain, staring at those outstretched hands calmly waiting to be bound, with all the consequences that that would entail, and death being the inevitable end of them all.

This man had killed a great many State Alchemists, and had even tried to kill Roy himself. This man had helped rebuild both Central and Ishbal, and had begun teaching Ishballa's forgiveness to children.

This man – and this woman – had saved his sanity and his life.

Roy took a deep breath, and felt as though a weight had shifted from his shoulders. He saw Riza's smile emerge again before he even spoke. "Actually," he said, "you're right again, Scar. Hawkeye's not going to need the handcuffs. We're not going to arrest you, and we're not taking you anywhere."