Hello! So this is my first RoyxEd fic! I've actually written a plan for this so I (hopefully) wont go off track, it's looking to be around 20 chapters or so long. This will be M for violence, swearing, sex, rape and torture and drug addiction so if you don't want to read those things then I advise you don't read this story. For those of you who still wish to read on then I would be so very happy if you would review!

This chapter isn't the best, seems a little slow but it's just some context, so bear with if you can! And with that I'll leave you to read. Enjoy!

Sometimes money can buy happiness

Chapter 1

After the Promised Day a lot had changed for many people in Amestris. Edward had his arm back, Alphonse was back in his body and Roy had been promoted to General, his trusty team all bumping up a rank also. Of course there were some sad moments too; Ed and Al's father Hohenheim had passed away. The boys were happy though, that their parents were able to be together again, at least now their mother wouldn't be so lonely looking down at her sons growing up. Also the newest friends from Xing had left, needing to return to their own country to sort out the political affairs there. However Roy's mind was focused on the empty bar stool beside him, which was once filled by the presence of his best friend, Maes Hughes.

Hughes was meant to support him all the way to the top; he should have been there to help with the take-over of central. He should still be alive, to watch his little girl grow up and to fill the empty space in his widows bed. He should still be alive to fill the hole in Roy's heart. Sighing, Roy downed his drink (a large glass of whiskey), left a tip at the bar and grabbed his coat to make a move towards his hotel.

After Amestris had settled down, Roy had requested to the Fuhrer that he and his team leave with the Ishvalans that had helped them, so that they could all return to Ishval in the hope of aiding the rebuilding. The request had been approved and the team had currently been stationed in Ishval for 3 weeks now, all staying in a small inn together. It had been difficult at first, many Ishvalans trying their best not to get involved with Amestrians, still not trusting them, understandably. However the team continued. As time went on, the population slowly began to accept their help, not putting their trust in them, but accepting their presence. Although not much, this was a huge step towards bridging the gap between the two cultures.

The street was dark now. Roy wasn't sure how long he'd been in the small bar drinking alone. Riza's going to blow a fuse when I get back. He'd forgotten to tell her where he was going, or that he was even going anywhere at all, he had left the inn, passing her and Havoc as he left, not even making eye contact. He knew he should have said something, the team had been worrying about him lately and he knew this. They knew how much he was missing his friend, how large a loss he was, however there was nothing they could do to alleviate this feeling inside Roy; they couldn't force him to hurry up and deal with the feelings, they would have to wait for Roy to let them in before they could help him slowly. No he would never forget Hughes and the pain would always be there, however he could learn to accept the loss.

Walking down the street, Roy noticed that the usually quiets streets contained a few more characters than usual, all looking Roy's way. Though this wasn't unusual, seeing as he was in his uniform, however it still felt slightly unnerving to the soldier, yet Roy carried on walking. Five minutes later and he stood outside the door to the inn. He was contemplating what to say to his friends and co-workers inside as he slowly lifted his hand to the door handle. A slight whispering behind him caused Roy to turn around, simple curiosity orchestrating the movement. As he turned his curiosity turned to slight paranoia as he saw a small group of around 6 men looking directly at him, one of them lowering their arm, suggesting it had been raised, pointed at Roy. Deciding it was merely the four large whiskeys and his normal unrest from being in Ishval that were causing him to overthink the situation, Roy pushed open the inn door and made his way inside.

Roy Mustangs face contorted with a mix of happiness and guilt as he witnessed Colonel Hawkeye's and Colonel Havoc's sleeping figures in the downstairs lounge area of the inn. "They worried, determined to wait up till you came back, to make sure you were ok. Guess their panicking caused them to get tired quicker." Ed's snickering frame turned from the chair he was on to look at his superior as he spoke.

"That wasn't necessary." Roy replied, making his way to the set of steps leading to the bedrooms. "Might not have been, if you had told them where you were heading. Look Mustang, you've been acting sad lately, and we all understand. But you need to let them in, they're meant to be your friends, not just your lackeys." Ed's words stung slightly. Roy knew he was being selfish by wallowing in his depression and not allowing the help that was being offered to him, but part of him felt that it was his feelings that kept him close to Hughes, the constant remembrance of his friend keeping the image alive. Not sure what to say, Roy didn't answer, however he held eye contact with Ed a little longer as a way of showing that he had taken in what he had said.

"Well, I guess I should head up, wake those two up and get them to bed, and then you get some sleep too." Lately Roy and Ed had been getting along better seeing as they had been working together more. Both slowly realising that they didn't hate the other as much as they used to pretend to.

"See you in the morning then Fullmetal." Both still stuck to the names they were most familiar with, slightly wishing to go back to the old, slightly easier times, where the hardest days were the ones with the most paperwork and explosions. Giving a small nod, Ed stood and left.

Roy watched the younger leave, then sighed as he turned towards the two sleeping figures. "Geez, I thought you guys were meant to look after me?" giving a little chuckle as he spoke. He woke the two up, who were too sleepy to talk, took them up to their rooms then settled into his own bed and swiftly falling asleep.

Roy woke up to a loud crashing noise and harsh shouts. Bolting awake he ran to the calls of his comrades, who were trying to gather their group together in one room and get organised. "What the hell is going on?!" Roy shouted over the noise, the question aimed at Hawkeye who was loading her gun.

"It's pretty obvious Sir. We're under attack!" Riza shot back with a sarcastic tone. Roy scowled and began loading his gun. Havoc ran into the room "They've started a fire, we've got to move now or we're dead." Ed and Al darted in to the room behind Havoc, both with already loaded guns in their hands. "We're here Sir!" They shouted. Fuery was on the radio set trying to see if there were any back up units close enough to come help, Breda running through a channel booklet to assist Fuery. Havoc and Riza were coming up with a plan of attack whilst Ed was arguing with Al, trying to get him to stay in the middle of the group for his own safety. It had been so long since they were in the defensive position and Roy was not sure how to handle the moment, but he decided all he could do was his best attempt.

"Alright, we all need to move, they know where we are and chances are that they want us to come to them, hence why they started the fire. The best move would be to move down to the second floor of the inn, jump out the window in the east end onto the concrete shed outside then attack them from behind." The team were silent for a moment after Mustang had finished. Finally a smile crept onto Riza's face.

"Yes Sir." She knew he was back.

The team followed the orders, attempting to move as quickly as possible, some shouting fake information to confuse the attackers. Soon enough they were all darting around from the concrete shed to the front doors of the inn, finally coming face to face with the assailants. They had been expecting only a small opposition force however the team ended up face to face with a much larger, much more diverse group. The group was not only made up of Ishvalans as Roy had imagined, but there were people from all regions it seemed. Roy was able to tell from the different skin colours and facial features along with the ranging accents. Why are they all here? What do they want?

The battle began, bullets and fists flew everywhere, blood splattered and cries rang out. The team split up, Fuery and Breda dove straight through the battle to take the west side. Ed and Al headed straight to take the east side, whilst Riza, Havoc and Roy focused on immersing themselves in the centre of the fight. The team of seven took on at least 50 attackers, all a bit rusty seeing as all hadn't fought in a while. One attacker slammed the butt of his gun into Riza's head; in retaliation she crashed her fist into the man's gut as she fell. Havoc's nose cracked as a fist collided with his face, he reeled backwards into Roy, the move actually pushing him out of the way of an on-coming bullet. Roy's eyes met with Al's as he fell into the east quadrant of the fight, seeing that the centre fight was taking its toll on the General, Al ran past Roy to switch. "Ed! Watch the General!" Al exclaimed over his shoulder. "Gotcha!" was Ed's reply with a smirk.

"Getting too old Mustang?" Ed shouted, avoiding a fist swinging his way, grabbing the man's arm and snapping his elbow with his forearms.

"Are you kidding me Fullmetal? I haven't felt this young in years!" was Mustang's reply, giving his quirky grin in return. However his face fell when one of the attackers grabbed Ed's braid, pulling his head back. "'Ey boys! We gotta pretty lil' bitch 'ere!" He roared.

"Get off me you bastard or I swear I'll kill you!" Ed spat through his teeth, wiggling his body trying to get out of the man's grasp. The attacker bashed his elbow onto the back of Ed's neck.

His eye's went blank, the last thing he heard was someone screaming "Fullmetal!"