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Another rumble shook the earth around them and Roy felt the panic starting to set in. The light-filled exit ahead was crumbling before his eyes. They weren't going to make it in time.
Before he could even think of a plan, Edward was leaping into action, a loud clap echoing off of the underground walls as he ran full speed ahead towards their only shot at freedom. Ed's hands pressed to one side of the opening and Roy could see the blue crackling light of Ed's alchemy forcing it to open back up just wide enough for them to squeeze through. As he catches up to Ed, he can see his entire body shaking with the effort to keep the passage open. Their eyes lock and Roy is already shaking his head, knowing what's going to happen even before Ed speaks.
"I can only hold it long enough for you to get through. I'll find another way out, but you need to go now."
Roy shook his head again, hands clenched into fists at his sides. "No. I'm not leaving without you, Edward!"
Ed let out a frustrated sound deep in his throat. "You don't have a choice! You need to get out there and make sure those fuckers don't get away! You have to get to the team and help them!"
"Don't do this. Please." Roy knew he sounded weak—desperate. He could hear the crack in his voice and he hated it. Hated that he couldn't hide behind a mask right now. Not when fear was seeping into his veins like ice water. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving Ed in here alone; of him getting trapped under the rubble and not being able to find his way back out.
Roy could see the pain in Ed's widened eyes as he shook his head. "I told you I'll find another way and I will. You just have to trust me, Roy. Dammit, we don't have time to argue! I can't hold this open forever!"
"Promise me you'll get out. Ed, promise me you'll come back." Come back to me.
Ed's pained gaze softened and Roy could see so many emotions flickering there in the gold that he didn't even know how to process any of them. "I promise, Roy. Now go!"
The tunnel was collapsing at an increasingly alarming rate now and Roy knew he had no choice but to trust Ed and take the exit he was holding open for him. And he did trust Ed. He trusted Edward Elric as much as he trusted Riza and Maes—in a lot of ways, he trusted him even more. He trusted Ed with his life, of course; but also with his heart, his soul, his very being. Whether Ed knew the full scape of that or not. What he didn't trust was everything else. Everything that was out of his control. All of the risks and factors he couldn't calculate to the exact. All of the moves he couldn't see ahead of him—like half of his chess board was blurred out.
As soon as Roy's through the narrow passage and out of immediate danger, he turns back quickly to see Ed's small relieved smile before the rubble seals them apart. He calls Ed's name through the debris, knowing it's probably futile with how thick it looks, but he has to try. He feels useless in a way he rarely feels outside of rainy days. He presses his ear to the mess to try and hear any signs of life from Ed. He's met with nothing but the sounds of more rocks rolling around and the terrifying crashing sounds of the tunnel collapsing in on itself further. His heart was in his throat and he felt as though he were about to be sick, but he couldn't afford to freeze up right now. Ed risked his own life to get him out and Roy knew he couldn't let that be in vain, no matter the outcome. He had to do his part now to help his team put an end to this and he just had to trust that Ed wouldn't break his promise.
Allowing himself one final glance at the closed entryway, Roy steels himself and takes off running towards the sounds of his team. He can hear Riza yelling something and see the flashing of firearms going off coming into view as he comes to the top of a hill. One hand poised to snap at a moment's notice, Roy ducks behind a tree just as a shot richochets off of the bark.
"Sir! A dozen armed in total, at least one alchemist among them!" Riza calls to him, catching his eye before looking around him, presumably in search of a golden head of hair.
Roy shakes his head, eyes hardened. He can't think about Edward right now or he won't be able to do what needs to be done here. And he knew that she would understand without a word. "Any casualties on our side?"
"Negative, Sir! Everyone is in position to move in."
With a nod, Roy signals to proceed before he snaps, sending a wall out to provide cover for his team to move in more safely. He can hear the enemy shouting over the roar of his flames. They sound panicked. Good. They're the reason that Ed is currently trapped underground and Roy will show no mercy if he does not make it back out.
As his flames disperse, Roy sees Riza land a couple of shots on the men closest to her and he can see Havoc not far off dealing with his own share. He hears more shots fired, but there's so much happening that he truly can't keep track. He manages to sweep his leg out to send the gunman that had turned his way to the ground, kicking his weapon out of the way. Unfortunately, this calls attention to him and he manages to drive an elbow into the face of a man on his left and crouches down and rolls to the right to avoid another string of bullets coming his way. It's then that he sees the alchemist crouched down in the middle of a ring of armed men, carving an array into the ground beneath him.
He sees the moment that Jean notices as well and motions to Riza and Breda to fall into formation to take on the middle group now that the outer guard have been neutralized. Roy sends out a sharp, pinpoint flame directly into the middle in an attempt to stop whatever that array is from being completed. The alchemist's hands pull back in reflex and Roy sees the moment he drops his knife. He snaps again and the gunmen closest to him jump out of the way before his flames reach them.
While he moves in to set a foot on the fallen knife, Roy can see that every other threat has been taken down by his team. Normally that would bring a smug smirk to his lips because his team was truly incredible, but he just felt numb with anxiety and fear. "I suggest you surrender now. It's over."
It happened too quickly for Roy to even process. The alchemist dove for one of the discarded guns and fired it at Roy, managing to pull the trigger just a second before Riza. Pain bloomed in his side, directly opposite the side that he still bore the scar from his battle with Lust and his vision blurred at the edges as he fell to his knees. Fuck. He couldn't pass out right now! Roy looked all around frantically, Ed was still nowhere in sight. He had to go looking for him now. He didn't have time to be injured. Not when Ed could be—
"Whoa, Chief, you need to lie still 'til a medic gets here! They were on standby so it shouldn't take long." Jean is holding his hands over Roy in worry, looking him over for any other wounds.
"Have to... find Ed." Roy clutched both hands to his side, trying to will himself to get up. Shit, he was losing too much blood. He couldn't get his body to respond to his demands to stand. Breathing and speaking were becoming too difficult as his mind fogged up. "Jean, please. Ed was—trapped. The tunnels. Been—too long. No sign. Find him. Please."
Jean squeezed Roy's shoulder gently in understanding, nodding. "I'll find him, Chief. I'm sure he found a way out further down or somethin'. I'll bring him back to you as soon as I can, okay?"
Roy found even blinking hard, his eyes felt so heavy. He tried to get out a word of thanks, but everything faded to black. The last thing he heard were hurried footsteps running towards him and one pair running away.
━━━━━ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ━━━━━
The first thing Roy became aware of was the beeping of hospital machines. His mind felt fuzzy and his body unbelievably heavy. Opening his eyes was proving to be nearly impossible. He let out a pained grunt as he tried to force himself into full consciousness. Something warm was in his hand. It felt nice. What was that?
"-oy? Roy, can you hear me? Are you awake?"
That voice. His eyes snapped open, blinking rapidly to regain some sort of focus until golden hair and golden eyes and golden skin came into view. He looked to be covered in dirt and debris and scrapes and bruises, but he was here. Alive. With Roy.
"Ed." Roy breathed out in a rough, dry voice. His heart felt as though it'd just been kickstarted again. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Gentle fingers carded through his hair, pushing his fringe out of the way. Roy couldn't help but lean into the touch. He could see Ed's lips twitch into a small teasing smirk. "S'not a dream. You dream about me often or somethin'?"
Roy nodded, too drugged up probably to even realize he should be maybe embarrassed to admit that so freely. He cleared his throat as best he could, his voice coming out no more than a whisper. His eyes felt far too wet all of a sudden as they adjusted further to take in the absolute vision of a man before him. "You kept your promise."
Ed squeezed the hand he'd apparently been holding. So that's the warmth he'd felt. "Told you I would. I should've made you promise me you wouldn't get hurt before I let you out, though. I can't believe you went and got shot."
Roy huffed out something akin to a laugh and winced as it pulled at what he assumed were stitches in his side. Ed moved to grab a cup of water from the cart nearby and helped Roy lean forward to take a few sips. "Thank you. Are you okay? Were you injured seriously in any way?"
"Askin' me if I'm injured while he's the one who just got shot." Ed scoffed affectionately, shaking his head. "Nah, nothing major. Took me awhile, but I managed to bust my way out of the tunnels a couple miles out where they were more stable. Those fuckers really did a number with that bomb, glad you managed to stop them before they could do more damage. Havoc found me tryin' to make my way back and brought me straight here." Ed was holding his hand again between both of his now, thumbs stroking softly over his skin as if Roy was something precious.
"Jean's getting a raise as soon as I get discharged." Roy mumbled with a smile, his eyes taking in every part of Ed that he could see and drinking in the relief that he was here; safe and sound.
Ed laughed, light and easy. It was a sound Roy wished he could bottle up and replay over and over again day after day. "Roy?"
Roy hummed, doing his best to stay lucid and alert for Ed, squeezing his hand back as well as he could. "What is it, Ed?"
"After everything that happened today, I don't want to keep tiptoeing around saying it just because I'm scared I might ruin this—us. Everything's been so...scarily perfect with you that I've been too chickenshit to—Just—Tomorrow's not promised, right? I could have—You could have..." Ed's voice cracks and Roy gently extracts his hand from between Ed's so he can reach up to cup one of his cheeks.
Roy waits until Ed meets his eyes again, stroking his thumb lovingly over a cheekbone and catching a tear before it can make its way all the way down Ed's face. "I love you, Ed. Will you stay?" Will you stay here by my side? Will you stay forever?
Ed's grin is sunshine personified, a brightness that Roy hopes he can bask in for the rest of his days. "Like you could ever get rid of me now. I love you, too, Roy." The words are whispered with overwhelming emotion as Ed leans in to press their lips together. A kiss that felt like the most unbreakable kind of promise.