Work Text:
#39 - Overwhelmed
It was taking Roy longer than Edward had anticipated to recover. He was sitting up in bed, staring blankly out the window, reacting little to any external stimulus. Edward was smart, he got Roy out of Central fast, got him to a small village and since he hadn't moved since Edward had dragged him into the inn no one had gotten a good look at him. The cloak obscured the strange armor and it had been late enough that the innkeeper didn't ask any questions. So long as Edward's gold was good, that is.
Edward wasn't planning on running out of gold anytime soon. Now that he was on the run from the army again, it was a simple manner to manufacture his own coinage. If it had just been him, he wouldn't even bother with towns and he was usually more than willing to work an honest day for his meals; but he was traveling with a fugitive. Edward's face had yet to appear on a single wanted poster, but Roy's was all over the place.
Samael was dead. It was over, at least for now. Edward had no doubt that this would not be the last of it; he thought he was done when Sariel died. Edward gripped the front of his shirt at that thought, the wound where the spear had barely grazed him had long since healed but its memory burned. Now Edward WAS Sariel. If he did what the angels said, he should just leave Roy to his fate and take his place in the Lineage.
It was fortunate then, for everyone involved, that Edward wasn't the slightest bit interested in doing what the angels told him to.
Edward sighed, sitting on the end of Roy's bed. He didn't stir, didn't turn his head to look at Edward, just kept his unblinking gaze on the window. The only thing out there was trees, trees, and more trees. Edward really didn't know what he was looking at.
He had been replaying that final showdown in his head for days. The armor he'd stripped from Roy had not vanished into aether like Edward's did, it sat in a sad pile in the corner of the room. Samael's armor. Why hadn't it dematerialized?
When Sariel had died... Edward gripped his knee tightly. He didn't remember much of it, and when his memories started to make sense again he was in a hospital bed. He didn't know what became of his armor between the fight and waking up in the hospital, but he'd always assumed it had disintegrated, just like it did now when he willed it away.
But that wasn't his biggest concern right now. He was more concerned with the fact that Samael had materialized between Roy and Edward. Edward had been prepared to kill Roy; Roy's hands on the floor, clenched into fists. His eyes closed, his head bowed as he fought against the thing that possessed him, begging Edward through clenched teeth to kill him now while he had the thing suppressed. Edward had done it.
No, Sariel had done it.
He had struck at him without thinking, and Samael had materialized between them, taking the blow that would have slain Roy. If he had time to materialize between them, he had time to escape. He didn't. He chose not to escape, he chose to die.
Why?
Was Roy like him now? Edward stared at Roy. There was no way to tell externally, of course. Edward hadn't known about the whole Earthborne bit... he had his wings out when Sariel was killed and the wings didn't dissolve. Edward had Tamiel around to tell him that he was an Earthborne angel, one of the rarest forms of angel. One had not been "born" in several thousands of years. To the angels, he was just as much a myth as angels were to him.
A bit of movement caught Edward's attention. Roy had turned to look at him. His eyes were blank, without emotion. It tore Edward's heart to see Roy like this, so blank, so empty. "Roy?" Edward asked quietly, his voice hoarse with how little he'd used it lately.
To his surprise, Roy's eyes were watering. "Why didn't you kill me, Ed?" His words were cracked, if Edward's voice was hoarse Roy's was sandpaper. "Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"
Edward felt the blood chill in his veins. "Roy," he said, and Roy drug his hands out from where they lay under the covers beside him and covered his face. His hands tangled in his hair as he slumped forward, pulling his knees to his chest.
"He's still inside me," Roy said, his voice broken. "I can feel him, Ed, why is he still-"
Edward was up on his knees and his hands on Roy's shoulders. "He's gone," Edward said. "He's gone, Roy, he's dead I promise you I killed him!"
Roy's shoulders were shaking, his chest heaving. Edward wrapped his arms around Roy's back and pressed his forehead against Roy's. "I killed him, Roy. He's dead, he's dead. He won't be coming back."
"You promise?" Roy sounded like a child, his eyes red-rimmed. Edward swallowed hard.
"I promise," he said. "I'll protect you, Roy. I promise I will."