I Need You

Kuragari: Ok… here’s the set up for this story. It’s right after the events in conqueror of Shambala… except that Ed manages to stay in Amestris. After that he and Al live in Rizembool for a while… Ed still doing work for the military until he decided to resign after a year. This is set for six months-ish after his resignation. That’s pretty much it. Anyway… hope you like it!


chapter 1

Edward made his way up the hill of the cemetery, the roses and a single white candle tucked beneath one arm. The sun was setting beyond the trees as the day waned into night. He almost wished he hadn’t waited so long to come out and visit, but then again, he never came earlier. He was too afraid to really face everyone else.

He couldn’t believe how long ago it seemed that Hughes had passed away; it felt like it had been ages since that horrible day when he and Al had received the awful news that one of their closest friends and mentors had been killed.

There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t think about it, didn’t remember the pain of that loss, but it was all the more clear on this day. The fallen Brigadier General’s birthday.

Ed could never face anyone else on this day. He felt… responsible in some way for not being there when everything had happened. He just couldn’t gather with the others. His brother seemed to understand, as did Gracia. Ed always remembered to call her on these days, if only to make up some lame excuse as a reason behind it.

Ed sighed as he crested the hill, only two graves away from Hughes’s resting place, and froze, staring at the scene before him.

A dark form was hunched against the granite headstone, a candle burning beside one white gloved hand with an open wine bottle clutched in the other. Charcoal hair hung low over a bowed head and a rumpled blue jacket was carelessly slung over slumped shoulders.

Ed couldn’t make out the face of his old commanding officer, but the large black patch over one side of his face was still painstakingly obvious. Edward took a deep breath.

He hadn’t seen or really even spoken to Mustang much since the whole Shambala incident when he’d managed to destroy the gate and went to live with his brother and Winry in Rizembool.

Now that he thought about it… he hadn’t seen Roy since he’d turned in his resignation from the military. It had been about six months since that last trip to Central, and Ed mused that the Colonel turned Brigadier General definitely looked different.

‘Different’ meaning that Roy looked like shit.

The man looked exhausted and worn; Ed couldn’t believe the broken form in front of him was really Mustang, the infamous Flame Alchemist. He carefully approached the hunched over man, almost afraid to see that Roy had really become this big of a mess. What had happened to him? Ed wasn’t sure how to approach his former superior while the man was so obviously down.

“I’d ask how it’s going, but from the looks of you, life’s been kicking your ass,” Edward spoke up, deciding to settle for sarcasm… old ground between the two alchemists.


Roy had lost track of how long he’d been there… just sitting and drinking with his old friend. This was as close as the two would ever be again. He had made the customary stop at Gracia’s earlier that day and said hi to Elyssia before he’d finished all his work early and headed to the cemetery. He came alone every year to sit and talk to Hughes, trying to gain some small comfort from the action.

This year was different. Roy was alone more than usual today. He had no one anymore. Riza had oddly enough settled down with a nice man a few months back. Havoc had been discharged from the military due to injuries sustained during that last big battle. The man had caught a bullet to the back and was now paralyzed from the waist down, but he was enjoying his stay-in-home nurse immensely.

Falman and Fuery had both been transferred to different areas and left him feeling more alone than ever. What had really driven home the loneliness, was when the fiery ball of gold that was the Fullmetal Alchemist had resigned from the military and walked straight out of Roy’s life. He was alone… utterly and completely left alone.

He didn’t even have a goal anymore. The military’s rule had been cut down and replaced with a council… so achieving Fuhrer wasn’t possible. He had nothing left, but a half-empty bottle and broken dreams.

Roy heard the footsteps approaching but didn’t look up. He didn’t want to know who had come this time to pay their respects. He just wanted to be left alone. That’s when the person spoke. A voice he’d never thought he’d hear again blasted over his ears, shaking him out of his brooding enough to look up in shock, and shattered onyx met blazing gold.

He had to blink several times to get his eye to focus and make sure he wasn’t just seeing things. No, no matter how many times he blinked, the slightly blurred form of the Fullmetal Alchemist still stood before him. Ed looked good.

The young man had gained a few more inches to his height since Mustang had seen him last, but the officer was fairly certain if he were standing that the golden head still would only reach to just below his chin.

Ed was dressed simply in brown slacks, a white button down, and a long brown trench coat. His golden locks were pulled back into a long pony-tail that the alchemist had taken to wearing in the other world.

Roy tried to focus past his buzzed brain on what Ed had said to him. When it finally clicked, his good eye narrowed.

“Same old Ed… Manners still haven’t improved.” The words were only slightly slurred and had half of their usual snap. Roy just couldn’t muster his old fire today. It also didn’t help him sound like an ass when he was genuinely happy to see the ex-Fullmetal Alchemist, no matter how badly he just wanted to be left alone.


Ed frowned slightly at the use of his shortened name. Now he knew the bastard was drunk. He could probably count on both hands, and still have fingers left over, how many times the General had called him ‘Edward’… let alone ‘Ed’. He cleared his throat and set the flowers down next to many others from friends and family that had been by earlier. There were also about four candles, only one still burning, and two empty wine bottles, excluding the still half-full one the General still clutched.

“How long have you been here, Bastard?” Ed asked, half to be an ass, and half out of genuine curiosity. He placed his candle down after using Roy’s last one to light it and then stood, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Roy’s head lolled a bit as he tilted it up to look at Ed, the onyx eye looking stern and slightly pissed, a look Ed was extremely familiar with.

“I don’t know, Fullmetal. I neglected to bring my watch with me.” Roy half snapped, half growled.

Ed nearly smirked at Roy’s normal attitude returning along with the use of his old alchemic title. It was almost absurd how happy that small display of the old Roy made him feel.

Both of the Alchemists looked skyward at the sound of thunder in the distance and Ed spotted for the first time dark menacing clouds on the horizon. He turned his attention back the Roy, but the General’s head had dropped again.

Ed was shocked, for what must have been the third time in ten minutes, at Roy’s casual dismissal of coming rain. The General hated the rain and used to take any route to avoid it unless he was out for official reasons.

“Looks like a storm’s coming in. It’ll probably start raining in about an hour,” he prodded a little; further disturbed when Roy’s only response was an affirmative grunt and a swallow of wine.

“You should probably be leaving soon, huh?” he tried again to gain a verbal response. Roy glared up at him again.

“I’m fine Fullmetal,” He ground out in a tone that screamed ‘why do you care?’

Ed sighed, some how knowing that he wasn’t going to leave Roy outside to continue drinking in the rain by himself. He knelt down and, despite the General’s protests, gathered up an arm and started to haul the officer to his feet.

“Yeah well, unlike some stupid asshole I know,” he started, getting one of Roy’s arms over his shoulder. “My mother taught me to come in out of the rain.”

That earned a slight scoff/chuckle from the inebriated General as Roy tipped back another swallow of wine. Ed shook his head and, with one last look to Hughes’s grave, started steering Roy out of the cemetery and to the General’s home.


Kuragari: kind of a sadder fic to start. Let me know if their in character and everything.