I'll support you all the way to the top...

Oh! A familiar face and friend, even in a new place! Hughes is excited to see the fellow father, and is more than ready to show off pictures of his darling little Elicia. In the middle of the supermarket.

“Hey! Phoenix, right? It’s good to see you! How’ve ya been? Would you like to see a picture of my daughter? Wait, I’ll even do you one better and show you a picture of my wife!”

Wasn’t he here to buy ingredients for dinner? Oh well, guess that plan was ignored in the face of pictures of Gracia and Elicia. 

     There’s a noticeable flinch before the Colonel’s frame accepts the embrace much like one would cling to a LIFELINE. If he lets go he’ll lose his best friend again; the darkness will welcome Roy home. Some bonds formed ran so deep that when they were SEVERED, recovery felt inconceivable. The blame weighed so heavily upon his shoulders he felt as though he was giving Atlas a run for his money. Imagine what would have happened if h’d lost HAWKEYE too.

     Only one choked sob made it through the mess that was his face and Maes’ shoulder. Eyes peek over into the distance, there not in Amestris ( they’re at WAR ) / he’ll have to stand back up and FIGHT. He’s doing something familiar, that look on his face, Roy can see them back in Central again. - Look how adorable she is -

     “  Yeah,  it’s…  absolutely  wonderful.  Let’s  get  out  of  this  mess  and  we  can  talk  about  this  later.  “

     He RELEASED Hughes and steps back, wiping his face with the back of a sleeve. How unbecoming of Colonel Mustang; the dangerous Flame Alchemist. Sucking in a heavy breath, he turned his focus on the hoards SEETHING around them. A few were taking more of an interest in the pair of Humans standing still, looking SORRY for themselves. It was like clockwork: line up the shot, raise his arm, SNAP; the monsters erupted in flames.

     “  I’m  not  going  to  let  anything  happen  to  you  again.  I  will  get  us  out  of  this.  “

     This wasn’t Ishval but it sure did bring back NIGHTMARES; countless horror stories etched in blood and ash. If it was their punishment after death, it still paled in comparison to the SLAUGHTER that put them here. Hawkeye was here too; what a tragic bunch they were. - S N A P - target hit, excessive collateral damage. Eyes dart to Hughes, then back to the beasts. Where are they supposed to go?

For Roy’s sake, Hughes doesn’t comment on seeing his tears. His face does fall though when Roy turns his back to him. It makes Hughes feel like every bit of him, all the love he holds for his family and friends...is nothing more than a cause for pain to them now. His very essence feels as if it’s been torn away from him and changed into the last thing he could ever want. He hates this.

But like he said, they’re in the middle of a battlefield. What could be a more fitting reunion place for two soldiers?

Hughes isn’t an alchemist by any means, but he’s far from defenseless. His gun seems to be a real one for once, with actually useful bullets rather than BB pellets. He also has his throwing knives back, which he takes the opportunity to relish in having them again by throwing one at a monster and hitting it dead in the forehead, felling it instantly. 

“There are safe zones, from what I’ve heard, the monsters can’t get inside them.” 

Hughes gestures to the nearest one, which is still at least a few blocks away. Still, the red light gives him at least some semblance of hope that they can reach it before they’re overwhelmed. 

“You could always adopt from the animal shelter”

     Roy’s thirst for revenge, justice as he called it, had damn near consumed him. The anger that had sent Scar on his RAMPAGE was threatening to take hold and a cycle like that is not so easily broken. Sorrow because of loss, HATRED of who ( or what ) did it, not being able to have closure; he still had nightmares. The day he faced off with Envy all HELL had broken loose, they had run out of time. That was his last memory before waking up in Spirale City ( those raw emotions were still volatile ).

     Pained eyes and GNASHING teeth, he was hesitating, listening / praying. This couldn’t be Maes, he can’t afford to be fooled twice. Shame on him right? God how his heart breaks ( he’s longed to hear that voice again ) and his THREATENING hand drops. He releases the collar, finding the exact pocket Maes had his family photo in, and pulled it out. His shoulders IMMEDIATELY slump in defeat ( lip trembling ) Just what really ruled over Spirale that they’d be so CRUEL as to reopen fresh wounds and, at the same time, generous in giving Hughes back.

     “  I’m  sorry  Maes…  I’m  so  sorry.  “

     This begged the question as to whether not he HAD died that cursed day. That girl, Paz, her purgatory theory that he an the Lieutenant laughed about; this ENCOUNTER gave it more credibility. All he could do was cover his face with his hand and shake his head.

     “  I  fought  and  nearly  killed  Envy  after  they  revealed  themself  as  your  killer  and  wouldn’t  stop  bragging.  I  spent  so  much  time  looking  for  the  culprit  and  when  I  finally  found  them…  I  lost  it.  “

Hearing Roy say those words breaks Hughes’s heart even more than he had initially thought it could. How much had his death alone caused? Destroyed? Saved? 

He’s gone too long without a hug from his daughter or wife, so maybe he’s a bit more emotionally impulsive than he usually would. It’s not as if he’s never hugged Roy before, but this time it’s slow, and slightly hesitant, tainted by the grief and guilt they both feel over his death. At the very least Roy has accepted that Hughes is who he says he is.

“Roy, I’m sorry. If I’d been more careful, they probably wouldn’t have gotten suspicious, and I could have gotten that information to you a lot quicker... And none of this would’ve happened.”

He had sworn to support Roy from below, but his death had changed everything. He couldn’t offer his support from beyond the grave, and what important information he did have apparently never made it to Roy, they’d figured it out for themselves. To know that his death is what made Roy lose it more than anything else...it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth, and he has to fight to remember that it’s Envy who is responsible for this. Not them, but the Homunculi. 

“I’d seriously like to continue this conversation, there’s a lot of questions I have about what happened after I died, but...” 

Hughes glances around at the fact that they’re still in the middle of a battlefield, with monsters ready to get in a fight with them at a moment’s notice. He takes the picture back from Roy, looking at it with a downcast expression, which is usually uncharacteristic whenever he talks about his family. It doesn’t last long, as a smile creeps its way onto his face again.

“But hey! At least I still have all my pictures of Elicia! Isn’t that wonderful?? Look how adorable she is!!!”

     This can’t be who he thinks it is… There was NO conceivable way. Roy’s eyes are wide in shock ( melancholic ) / he’s struggling with SEVERAL emotions flooding in. The voice is perfect, so is the visage, but the last time he saw it; Hughes had been a WOLF in sheep’s clothing. ( he set that thing ablaze ) Hell had another thing coming if this was some kind of a JOKE again. Hawkeye wasn’t there to stop him, there was no Elric to shield the Sin, and that damned Ishvalan’s words shall NOT reach his ears. This time Mustang refused to be denied.

     “  Don’t  give  me  that  crap,  Envy!  I  know  it’s  you!  “

     Any concern for the world around them VANISHED with the yank of Maes’ collar. Only a fool with get this close to the enemy but caution had been thrown to the wind ( he’ll become Envy’s FUNERAL PYRE if he has to ) / i’m sure we both know what happened the last time / All that did was raise his free hand, POISE fingers to strike. Please, a part of him begged, please be the real deal and not that low-life Homunculus. 

     “  Maes  Hughes  is  dead.  Don’t  think  I  won’t  hesitate  a  second  time.  “

Relief at seeing his best friend soon makes way for a combination of grief, guilt, and mild panic. His smile fades quickly, replaced with a look of sorrow, as if he were the one whose friend had died that day. (But judging by Roy’s reaction, and the look on his face, it seemed part of Roy had died as well.) 

He raises his hands in what he hopes is reassuring gesture that he means no harm, even as Roy grabs him by the front of his shirt. He knew Envy was dangerous, but...what the hell had happened?

“Roy...what do you mean by ‘a second time’? Did you fight--did Envy--”

But the last he’d seen of Envy, they’d pretty cockily assured him that they still alive, even while he wasn’t. It was possible Roy had had a run in with the Homunculi, but they were still alive. After all, that one other he’d encountered seemed pretty hard to kill.

“I don’t know what happened after I died. All I know is that I was trying to get that information to you, and Lieutenant Hawkeye told me you had figured it out when I saw her. And let me tell you, she was as surprised to see me as you are...”

And even though she’d insisted Hughes had to be alive, through alchemy or other unknown means, he couldn’t shake the feeling he was still pretty damn dead, even here. 

Lizzie was a bit surprised when an unknown weapon took out a beast in front of her, but a quick glance to the side revealed the source. 

With a spin, she slashed through a monster that had been lurking directly behind the one dealt with by the stranger, only turning towards him fully when the new corpse collapsed to the ground. 

“Your concern is certainly understandable, sir, but I am doing rather well for the moment,” Smiling warmly, her head tilted to the side as she spoke. “I would not mind company, though! You are probably much more pleasant to be around than these creatures.”

Hughes chuckles at her enthusiasm, on top of her very well proven effectiveness. He wouldn’t dream of insulting her swordsmanship considering she seems to be on a level of genius similar to Edward’s. Still, seeing a kid out here by herself was going to sit wrong with him for the rest of his...life(?), so he had to do something about it.

“That’s pretty high praise, young lady, I’ll take it!”

He’d talk with her more, and he’s getting dangerously close to showing her a picture of his family, but with the approaching monsters, it will have to wait. 

Meme | Leave an object in my ask and my muse will react to it being given to them.

One of Roy’s gloves? That’s weird, how did it end up here? Sure, Roy’s in the city but this man should be keeping better care of objects that can create fire. Hughes is tempted for about...3 seconds before immediately deciding he is not going to try it on and he is not going to snap his fingers in an attempt to do what Roy does. He’s not an alchemist, never has been and never will be. 

Instead he’ll go find the man who dropped it...

Meme | Send me ♡ + a word, and I’ll write a headcanon.

Hughes doesn’t like being alone. It doesn’t fit him. He’s an extremely extroverted person, which is why he actually tends to shirk his paperwork and duties onto someone else. (Because doing paperwork in an office is fine...until you’re alone for hours on end.) 

“hey, heeey, you’re hurting my feelings here! i just took a little bit of a nap. with the city all turned upside down, i needed some beauty rest! i’m positively glowing now, unlike your scruffy mug. you look a little stressed out - i’ve been told i’m VERY effective at knocking heads clear off shoulders.”