A/N: Hola! New one-shot. It might have more chapters at some point, but for now this is it. I wrote this on the drive back to school yesterday. It was inspired by an experimental piece I did for Death Note called Felicity or Doom and by the song If I Ever Leave This World Alive by Flogging Molly. Just try not to gag on the sweetness, as this is a bit corny in my opinion. Onward!

Thank you to Kaze Kimizu for reviewing Felicity or Doom.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Roy knelt down to touch the headstone with one gloved hand and pulled back as though he'd been burned. Like a man possessed, he tore his gloves from his hands and flung them to the ground before slamming his hands against the stone slab. And then as suddenly as it had come, his rage seemed to slip from him and he hung his head, hands clenched against the stone and the spring thaw mud soaking his uniform pants.

His breathing was ragged as he leaned there, not wanting to let himself accept what had happened. He simply couldn't. Tears splattered against the ground as they fell from eyes that seemed darker than usual, adding to the mud that nursed the young shoots of grass. Roy was angry at the world right now. At the sun for shining, at the grass for thriving, at the birds for singing their songs of spring. How could it all go on so joyously after something so final and so terrible? Surely it couldn't.

He thought he heard a soft sigh from behind him, but dismissed it as the wind. Perhaps there was some sort of cosmic acknowledgement of the terrible loss. But the hand on his shoulder told him otherwise. His first thought was that it was Hawkeye, come to force him to go on with his life. But the hand was too small and too familiar. Suddenly he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It couldn't be.

"Roy," a soft voice breathed. "Everything is alright. I promise."

Roy barely dared to move. It simply couldn't be. Slowly he turned around to see who was behind him. He would later swear he felt his heart stop at the sight.

There before him stood the young man he had lost. The wind caught the front of his long, golden hair and Roy could see his braid swaying behind him. A long, red coat fluttered around booted feet and gloved hands protruded from the sleeves. There was a smile on the fair, boyish face. But it was the eyes that held Roy where he knelt. They shone like molten gold, bright as the sun that reflected in them and deep as the depths of midnight dark. There was an unconditional love in that gaze and a genuine concern underlying it.

"It's alright, Roy," he said. "I promise. Everything will be okay."

Finally Roy found his voice. "Edward?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. I'm here, Roy. It's okay."

"But you…" He couldn't bring himself to finish his statement.

"Yeah," Ed said softly. "I know. I… I didn't hear him coming. Roy, it wasn't your fault. You did everything you could. I watched you sit there, holding my body until the medic came. I saw how you refused to let me go when they tried to take me from you. You carried me out yourself and sat in the back of the medical truck with me. I watched you walk with them as far as they would let you when they took me. I watched you stand at the door for the next half an hour after that, hoping against hope and trying to rationalize it away.
"I saw you go home that night and sit on the bed holding my uniform. I saw that. And it was then that I knew just how much you loved me. I never had reason to doubt that, but it was that that showed me just how deep it went."

Ed paused. Roy was trembling, tears streaming down his face. Swiftly Ed knelt and wrapped his arms around him. Roy tensed at first, startled by the touch. He knew well the weight of Ed's automail arm, so it's absence surprised him.

"I'm whole again," Ed explained. "I have my body back. I'm okay, Roy. I'm not hurt anymore. There's no more pain. I'm not sick anymore and my body is finally whole again. So please, don't worry. Don't cry over me.
"But Roy, there's something you should know. I've told you what I saw. How you showed your devotion and your love for me. There's something you should know. That kind of love and devotion, it changes things."

"How?" Roy asked, the word muffled by the fabric of Ed's coat. He felt Ed's arms tighten around him.

Ed smiled, though Roy couldn't see it. "I haven't left you. I will never leave you."

Roy loosened his grip and held Ed at arms' length, studying his expression with searching eyes.

"I'm a part of you, Roy," Ed said. "Because you loved me so much and because you showed me such devotion, I will always be here. Whenever you need me, you'll be able to see me. But I'm always here. Whatever you tell me, I'll hear. Whatever you show me, I'll see. Just like always. But there's a change, too. Whatever you feel, I'll feel so that I'll know when you need me.
"I may be dead Roy, but I'm not gone. I'll never be gone. As long as you're alive, I am too."

"Edward," Roy breathed. He couldn't process what he was being told. His Edward wasn't gone. It made no sense – he had buried him just three weeks before – but he couldn't argue with what he was seeing.

"It's okay, Roy," Ed said. "You'll be alright. Stop your crying. I don't want you to cry for me. After all, you have such a wonderful smile.
"But I have to go now. Just remember, whenever you need me I'll be here. I'll always be here. I love you, Roy."

And with that Ed began to fade away. Roy tried to hold onto him, but it was no use. He was simply gone. In silence the man rose to his feet and looked around. There was no one else around. But then something caught his eye.

There on Ed's grave grew a single flower. It's red and gold petals seemed almost to glisten in the sunlight, as though they had caught the tears Roy had shed. In that moment Roy knew that Edward was with him even now.