Um, this would be one of my first fanfictions. It's a multiple-chapter fanfic, so I'll be updating it frequently. There should be about five chapters.

Summary- Colonel Roy Mustang is dead. His subordinates spend the next few weeks after his death, contemplating on his sacrifice, and they eventually come to terms with their experience in court. Yet, how did Roy Mustang die?

Disclaimer- I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, Alphonse would be in love with piglets and Mustang would have Armstong's personality. ;D

Aeternum Vale }{ Farewell Forever

A year later, the moss had begun to grow on Hughes' grave, eternally staining the stone green and indicating that the once-loved officer would never return from death. Next to this grave was a similar stone in shape and size, except for the lack of any age. Its inscription read: "Colonel Roy Mustang: A great soldier, friend, and ally."

-chapter one-

"It's getting cold."

Edward Elric stood in front of his superior's grave, face drawn into a blank expression that could have only been matched by the Colonel's. He felt the sharp bite of the winter breeze on his back, even through the ebony dress coat he had worn over his suit. Somewhere, deep down inside of his chest, Edward desired to leave his hair down from his braid, just once. He knew that Mustang had only seen him with his hair free once, back when he was in bed as a child, without a complete set of arms and legs.

"Brother...?" Edward felt a hesitant tug on his sleeve, and gave the person next to him the slightest of glances out of the corner of his eye. Yes, [i]person[/i].

Alphonse stood next to his older brother, attempting to ignore the numbness of his toes, or the sting on the lobes of his ears. His fingers were tightly clenched, trying to retain whatever warmth remained in them. Ever since he and Edward had successfully fixed their bodies, Alphonse had become almost painfully aware of the change in seasons. Somehow, the transformation of fall into winter seemed to be the worst of all.

"Al...?" Edward spoke in the quietest voice he had. Inwardly, Alphonse winced, remembering the last time Edward had spoken his name like that. The last time, Edward had suggested that they bring back their mother from the dead. "How cold are you?" Edward said after a moment's pause. Knowing that he had really wanted to say something else, Alphonse gave a slow, mental sigh.

"Not...very cold," Alphonse said determinedly.

"Oh," Edward replied without emotion. Slowly, he stepped away from his younger brother's side, and knelt down in front of the plain stone grave that was already littered with stiff, frozen leaves. Brushing them away, Edward laid his hands on top of the stone as if he were clutching a person's shoulders.

"Alphonse got his body back, Mustang," Edward said brokenly. "I just wanted you to know that. You tried so hard to keep us safe, yet...in the end..."

The frost that had collected on top of the Colonel's grave was suddenly marred by the drop of a salty tear. More drops followed as Edward leaned over his superior's grave, crying softly. Alphonse gave a small whine of sorrow, burying his face into the cold leather of his jacket sleeve and letting himself sob silently. The two brothers lamented the Colonel's death by themselves as their other colleagues watched them from afar.

"Should we..." Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc swallowed the tightness in his throat, and shakily pulled out a cigarette. "Should we go get them?"

"No," First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye said thickly, producing a handkerchief from her pocket that she herself didn't use, but instead pushed into Master Sergeant Kain Fuery's hands. Fuery had his head hung low, shoulders shaking, bottom lip crushed between his teeth to suppress the racking sobs that threatened to break through. Seeing that he wasn't going to take the offered handkerchief right away, Havoc took it instead and set a comforting hand on Fuery's shoulder, wiping the tears away himself.

"W-Where's Falman when you need him, huh, Fuery?" Havoc joked halfheartedly as Fuery's tears kept coming. Upon hearing the absent officer's name, Fuery burst into slightly louder tears, gasping and whimpering in a failed attempt to keep himself quiet. By then, Havoc couldn't keep his own emotions from overflowing either, and joined Fuery in his sorrow. Hawkeye had her face in her hands, her chin trembling and her palms already wet with tears.

"Damn it, Colonel, you were supposed to survive," Edward whispered hoarsely into the freezing stone of Mustang's grave. "You didn't have to die. I told you to stay away, but you just had to keep walking didn't you? It doesn't matter if you were my superior, you couldn't have listened to me just once?"

"Brother..." Alphonse sniffled, looking up from his tearstained sleeve.

"Nobody asked for you to save us!" Edward burst out, slamming his right fist into the stone. The fleshy skin on his knuckles broke from the force, staining the grave crimson. "Nobody asked you to sacrifice yourself for us! It wouldn't have mattered if we failed one more time! At least..." Edward choked back a sob and let his arms hang loosely as his sides, his blood staining the stiff, frozen ground underneath him, "At least you would still be alive, Colonel Mustang..."

xxxxx

"You've been promoted now, huh, Hawkeye?"

Havoc's question broke the morose silence of the car, stirring the air with the puff of warm steam in front of his face. Hawkeye sat next to him in the passenger's seat, playing with a strand of her hair and chewing the inside of her cheek.

"Yes," Hawkeye said finally with a heavy sigh. "Colonel Hawkeye. I'm following in Roy's footsteps." She immediately regretted what she said when she realized what her tone implied. It sounded as if she were going to fare the same fate he did. Quickly rewording herself, she huffed, "I'm carrying out his dream for him."

Edward rested his forehead against the icy glass of the window, watching gravestones fly by as the car drove through the cemetery back towards Central. He felt a sudden warmth on his side and looked down to see a crown of brown hair. With a sad, crooked smile, Edward gave Alphonse's locks a small pet before draping his arm around his shoulders in a rare form of physical affection. Alphonse was still sniffling softly, burying his face awkwardly into Edward's side.

"I'm resigning," Edward thought aloud. Havoc looked into the rearview mirror with a red-eyed look of uncertainty.

"What?" the blonde smoker asked, hoping that he hadn't heard what he thought he did.

"I said I'm resigning...from the military. Our task has been completed. We don't have a reason to continue working for the military," Edward said, unconsciously pulling Alphonse a little closer to him, just to feel his heartbeat against his arm.

"O-Oh." Havoc's voice sounded as if it might break again any second, and he returned his eyes to the road, not trusting himself to say anything.

Fuery had fallen asleep against the window on the other side of the car, his cheeks covered with the dry tears that Havoc had missed with Hawkeye's handkerchief. Every once in a while, he would stir in his sleep, or whimper softly, causing Alphonse to flinch at the fleeting movement against his side.

"Poor kid's gone and cried himself to sleep," Hawkeye said softly, and began to shrug off her military coat. With Havoc's assistance, she pulled it away from her shoulders and leaned over to carefully drape it over Fuery's sleeping form. The only response she got from the young man was a drawn out sigh, and the slipping of his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "I don't think he should stay by himself for a while. Something tells me that he might shut down." Hawkeye looked over at Havoc, who understood immediately.

"Falman's living in the North HQ right now. Fuery can stay with me until he's got everything together." Havoc said, shakily lighting up a cigarette and pressing it to his lips.

Edward leaned against the back of the seat, letting his head fall a little to the side to rest on top of Alphonse's. It was decided. He had decided. Their journey was over; they'd gotten their bodies back, at the cost of another loved one. What more could they do, other than live out their lives as normally as they could? Something in Edward's gut told him that he and Alphonse would never be completely normal, mentally anyway. They never had been.

"Where to, Chief?" Havoc asked Edward, finally turning onto the main road and gunning the engine unnecessarily.

Edward thought for a moment, taking the time and silence to relish the feeling of Alphonse's hair against his cheek. That soft, brown hair. He felt that he was going to cry again.

"Gracia's, please," Edward said, before rubbing away the stubborn tears on his cheeks.

This is the end of chapter one. It's rather slow. D: Sorry. The next one will be longer.

I'll post the next chapter (which I promise will be better) when I get some comments.... hopefully.