almost like before
“Maes Hughes.”
To say Roy Mustang was frozen was an understatement, with his mouth suddenly dry his breathing stopped and if he couldn't feel it, he would say his heart did too, after what seemed like an eternity but couldn't have been more than a few seconds the truth continued to speak.
一Go to that world and eliminate the man who wants to defy death, despite dooming his world and close the breach that draws energy from my realm, in return you will return here when you are done, same age, no wounds, your toll will be settled and you can take Maes Hughes is that a deal fire alchemist?一 asked truth mockingly extending his hand towards him.
He looked at it, he could tell, he was sure it was a deal with the devil, it couldn't be anything else, but that didn't stop him, conscious or unconscious, he knew the decision was made as soon as Maes joined the equation, his hand shook truth's without further words, he would go to hell and back if it would get his friend and engine back.
一Oh, and those humans call my energy magic, lucky you!一 added truth as an afterthought with glee as the door behind Roy opened.
一What the-”一
Without further he was pulled into the dark void behind the door, feeling the knowledge being forced into his head without giving him time to process it, implanted his brain beyond its capacity, beginning to feel like he was lost in the knowledge, any thought he tried to have was silenced between equations, languages, history, as if a thousand voices were screaming inside his skull, until as soon as it started, it ended with him falling into an alleyway on top of someone complaining from the ground.
一You're heavy一 Commented a familiar voice that made Roy forget everything and turn his eyes back to the man, almost expecting a deception from his mind.
Wide-eyed and on the verge of collapse, he could do nothing but look for something to tell him it's not him, the Hughes who pesters him with pictures of his wife, the one who calls daily to tell him about his daughter, who won't stop bugging him to settle down and walks him to the bar to remind him to go out.
But it's all there, his silly beard, his misplaced glasses (probably from the fall), his disheveled hair and that smile that reaches up to his green eyes that seem to sparkle?
*too long living with Armstrong* Roy stores that observation to the back of his mind as he was greeted by a hug that for the first time in a long time didn't refuse to come back twice as hard.
He heard a whimper from his friend but he couldn't care, he's there, whole, alive...alive, not ten feet under, fucking alive and breathing.
一Awwww did you miss me?一 Hughes said in a mocking tone.
一Shut up一 he replied without letting go of the madman he had missed, being greeted by a laugh, he felt Maes chest shake with it and again it was as if it had been a decade since he had heard it and even longer since his shoulders had felt so light.
After a few minutes both men stood up and looked down the alley they were in.
一Did that tell you why we're here?一 asked Roy after leaving the silence for longer than he would have liked.
一Nope一 he said simply good-naturedly.
一Well for once I know more than you一 he joked still taking in the situation, but feeling everything so unreal that he needed to be on autopilot until he could take it all in again.
Hearing her laughter again made his smile also widen without his permission, but he turned his gaze back to the alley 一We're going to have to start from scratch一 Roy commented contemplatively.
一Great, we can mimic Ed and Al's travels, I'm Al, don't destroy a building and we'll be fine.一
Rolling his eyes Roy, finally denies and laughs escorting his friend out of the alley as they both clean their uniforms of the dirt.
一I'm not being like fullmetal一 he replies looking outside and then at them, realizing they aren't the best picture, two uniformed men covered in blood, thus remembering the pain of their hands being pierced by Bradley's blades.
一I'd question it, they have the same character一 Hughes returns as his gaze travels down the street.
一Fuck off一 Roy gets a guffaw in response as they both return to the alley ‘Stand still’.
He orders without waiting for a response as he removes his tattered gloves and puts them in his pocket before hesitantly mimicking the action he saw his younger subordinate do so many times, clapping his hands together and touching Hughes' pants, changing them to a completely neat black dress pants, taking only a second to be amazed and with his friend's now calculating gaze upon him, he soon dressed him in a dark blue shirt and jacket transmuted from his old clothes, being fully aware as he ignored his friend to finish that task.
Repeating the process on him, until he was dressed in a white shirt, pants and black trench coat.
一You did a human transmutation一 Hughes stated in a serious manner.
He looked back at him somewhat frustrated 一Not exactly一.
They both looked at each other for a moment, Hughes' calculating eyes bore into him, out of lack of practice he considered giving in to that look, but he wouldn't let himself.
一You got caught in the middle of one?一 he asked worriedly.
一That's closer to what happened, but it'll be easier to explain elsewhere or at least while we're looking for somewhere to sleep.一
Both men made a silent agreement to that before leaving the alley and walking in the middle of the night to somewhere.
With the street empty but both reasonably paranoid they kept silent most of the time, only signaling to communicate some place of future interest like a convenience store or library.
They arrived at a shabby hotel, but neither had the energy to complain, they took that as a victory when they were not charged at the entrance, only asking how many nights they planned to stay.
In a quick exchange they came to the conclusion that three was enough, taking the offered key and going to the two-bedroom apartment.
Roy was quite willing to sink into bed and not wake up until they were kicked out in three days, but Hughes dragged him over to an old couch, bringing a sheet and ordering him to make bandages out of it.
Reluctantly he made the bandages which Hughes soon used to treat his wounds on his hands, forcing him to tell him the situation as he took care of that, Roy wasn't so surprised that his friend noticed the wounds, giving up on that battle to start talking.
It mostly boiled down to how it all started after his death, discovering creatures that weren't human, how the army was corrupted from the top and how quickly it all went to shit leading up to the “promised day”.
It was clear to Hughes that Mustang went out of his way to skip to the highlights, skirting around so as not to explain too much at some points, but with a tired mind he just kept that as a reference to harass him as soon as they had gotten their immediate situation under control.
By the time they were done they were both mentally and physically tired enough to separate and pass out in their respective beds.
A pair of hard beds that probably hadn't been changed in years, with stiff sheets and springs that snapped against their bodies, squeaked as each man threw himself on them in their respective rooms, Mustang too tired to care enough and Hughes remembering that it wasn't the worst he'd slept on anyway.