I would like to dedicate this chapter to Maes Hughes—who's death hit me more than any other anime character's death. And to one of my best friends, Kelsey, who is obsessed with Hughes as well. I hope you all enjoy this oneshot!

Roy took a deep, shaky breath. This was going to be difficult and he would rather be anywhere but here. But he had to be.

He raised a trembling hand to the door and knocked. For the occasion he was wearing normal civilian clothes—abandoning the usual uniform that normally felt melded to his skin. This wasn't a military matter; he was visiting a friend.

"Yes?" Gracia's head poked out from behind the door. "Oh, hello, Roy. Why don't you come in?" She didn't look surprised to see him.

All Roy could do was nod and follow the woman inside. A lump had suddenly formed in his throat and he fought back the burning in his eyes.

"Would you like any coffee or tea? Gracia asked as Roy sat on the couch.

"I'm fine," he croaked.

Gracia looked at him sadly and started to say something but was stopped by Elicia's cry.

"Uncle Roy!" She rushed into the room and leapt into Roy's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. Roy smiled and hugged her back. Gracia sat down beside Roy and looked at her daughter sadly.

"It's nice to see you, Elicia," Roy said. The little girl pulled back and looked up at the man.

"Why are you sad?" she asked.

Roy let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh—I'm just tired is all. Work has kept me pretty busy."

"You work too much, just like Daddy. You need more sleep." She wagged her finger at Roy like an adult scolding a child. "Mommy always told Daddy not to work so hard."

"Elicia . . . " Gracia said softly. Her eyes were moist with tears but she didn't let them fall.

"I'm sorry, Mommy!" Elicia crawled over Roy's lap to sit in her mothers. Gracia gently combed her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"So, what can I do for you?" she asked.

"I just wanted to come and tell you something," Roy began, his composure and tone serious. "I promise you that I will do everything in my power to find the one responsible for your husband's death. I will not rest until the criminal is caught and brought to justice, even if I have to do it all myself."

A tear slid down Gracia's face and she looked at the colonel gratefully. "I'm sure you will." They were silent for a moment, neither knowing what to say next. "What about you?"

Roy glanced up sharply. "Hn?"

"How are you doing?"

The young colonel just shrugged and looked everywhere but at Gracia and Elicia. He didn't trust his voice at the moment. He came here to comfort the wife of his best friend who had become a good friend of his own. The point in him coming was to provide comfort to her, not wallow in his own pitiful misery.

Yet everywhere he looked there were memories; memories of Hughes. They all came flooding back with a taunting vengeance.

They were sitting on the very couch that the three of them had sat on while swapping stories by the light of the fire and drinking wine; the flowers on the coffee table were ones that Roy had helped Hughes pick out after work for Gracia barely a week ago; there was a picture from Thanksgiving on the mantelpiece when Hughes had practically dragged Roy from his house so that he could come and join them, and further down there was a picture from when the both of them joined the military; framed on the wall was the medal Hughes had received for saving an entire building full of people who were at the mercy of a deranged bomber (Roy had been given the honor to present it to him at the award ceremony); the rug—

"Roy." The colonel turned to Gracia, startled from being interrupted from his memories. It was then that he realized silent tears were falling down his face. Embarrassed, he hastily wiped them away and tried to school his expression into a neutral one. Gracia gently lifted Elicia off her lap and placed her on the empty spot beside her. She moved closer to Roy and took his hand while he stared at her incredulously.

"You don't have to be strong for me. I know it's hard on you, too."

Roy stared at her with a look of absolute shock. When he made no move to do anything Gracia pulled him into a hug.

"It's okay."

Unable to hold it back anymore, Roy cried. His entire frame shook with all the grief and anger he had kept inside since learning of Hughes' death. He wrapped his arms around Gracia as the tears flowed down his face without restraint.

He felt incredibly embarrassed at showing such weakness in front of someone else, but couldn't help it. Hughes was the greatest friend he had ever had. He was one of the scant people in his life who had always been there, the other two being Riza and his aunt. Hughes' death hit him harder than anything in his life, even more than the horrors of Ishbal.

The war had damaged his soul and some of his emotional stability, yet Hughes' death ripped his soul apart. He felt like a part of his soul had died that night with Hughes. The man was such a large and integral part of his life. Maes was both his brother and friend, someone he could always count on. His over energetic personality balanced out Roy's calm and indifferent one.

It hurt so much to know that he was gone.

As Roy sobbed into her shoulder, Gracia started rubbing circles into his back in an effort to calm him down. Maes had told her many things about the colonel; things that most onlookers wouldn't know. She knew that the famed "Hero of Ishbal" silently despised the title and was more passionate about things than he let on.

She could remember the first time she had met Roy. It was when she and Maes had just started dating, and if it weren't for Roy's Xingese features, she would have assumed they were brothers. It was right before they had to leave for the Ishbal war and she was rather stressed. She had only been with Maes for a month, and now he was being shipped into the desert where he could very well be killed.

"What's with that face, Gracia?" Hughes asked. They were standing in front of the army trucks that would bring them to Ishbal. All around them were soldiers surrounded by their family, each wanting to say one last goodbye on the chance that it would end up being so. She thought she had been prepared for this, having ran through the scenario through her mind countless nights before. Gracia wanted Maes to know that she was proud of him and she wanted to prove she could be strong as he headed off to what would surely be hell. It was proving to be harder than she thought however.

"Awww, are you worried about me?" he teased, pointing to himself and blushing. "Don't worry—I've got the ol' Flame Alchemist by my side to protect me!" He grabbed Roy into a one-armed hug and gestured to him dramatically. "Not only is he powerful but he's so adorable as well! Gracia—I've got an assignment for you! While we're gone, I want to find you a suitable girl for my buddy here and then we can go on group dates!"

"Do you worry about anything other than girls?" Roy scowled and tried to pull away from Maes. He had been standing beside them while they said their goodbyes after being introduced to Gracia and was trying his best to stay out of their business.

"I'll do my best," Gracia said, trying to suppress a chuckle.

"That's my girl!" Hughes pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her cheek. Then the two of them waved goodbye and left, leaving her behind to pray for their safe return.

But now he was gone. Gracia had tried to be as strong for her daughter as she could, but it was hard when the girl kept asking when daddy would come home. Even after watching the soldiers bury the coffin into the ground Elicia couldn't grasp the fact that daddy was never coming home.

Over time she would come to terms with it and understand, but she would never truly heal. None of them could.

By now Roy's sobs had digressed to silent hiccups. He slowly pulled away from Gracia and stared at his knees, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Roy hastily wiped his eyes and tried to dry his face on the sleeve of his shirt.

"I—I'm sorry . . . about that." Gracia put a hand on his shoulder.

"There's no need to apologize."

Roy leaned back as something was shoved into his face. It was a—tissue box? He frowned at the object and then glanced at the arm holding it. Elicia was smiling up at him as she held out the container.

"Mommy says that whenever you cry to use a tissue!" she said. The colonel's eyes widened in surprise, and then smiled.

"You're perfectly right," he said. The colonel took a tissue from the proffered box and used it to finish drying his face. Elicia smiled up at him, and Roy then wrapped his arms around her in another hug. "You're just like your father," he whispered. "Always concerned about others."

"Bye, Uncle Roy!"

"Bye, Elicia, Gracia. Take care."

Gracia stepped forward. "And you as well. Please don't be a stranger."

Roy nodded, a small grin on his face. "Don't worry—I promise." He waved goodbye to them and walked to his car.

Hughes will be avenged, he thought as he clenched his fist. I promise you that.

There you go! Other than the brotherly bond between Ed and Al, the friendship between Hughes and Roy is my favorite thing about Fullmetal Alchemist. I hope I was able to do this great series justice!