A/N: I hope this isn't too hard to understand. I tried to imply the plotline rather than outright tell it. A huge thanks to my new Beta! Shizuku Tsukishima749, thanks again! Your awesome.

It's strange, Edward thought numbly, standing on top of a building like this…

Teetering on the edge of the high-rise, his cloak and braid whipping violently in the wind, all he could think about was the view. It was like he could see the entire world at once. He could see hundreds, no, thousands of ant-sized people, cars no bigger than his thumb, countless buildings dwarfed by him for a change… It was the whole length of Central in just one glance.

But fascinated as he was by this amazing sight, his eyes never failed to be drawn to the horizon like nails to a magnet. Part of him yearned to see what lay beyond it, but another travel-worn part of him couldn't think of anything worse. The unknown could be both a gift and a curse, could offer both consolation and despair. It could fix his whole life or it could break it apart, piece by agonizing piece.

Exhaling softly through his nose, his eyes drifted to his boot-clad feet. Truth be told, he shouldn't be thinking about what lay onward (such a horrid pun…), but about what lay beneath. Or more specifically, about the long dro—

"Edward."

The eerily calm silence shattered, the younger military man sighed and responded simply, "Sir." There was a tense pause here in which the commanding officer said nothing, compelling Edward to speak if only to break the damn quiet. "What do you want?"

Again, there was no answer.

"Let me guess: you've come to gloat, right?" the blond asked bitterly. "I bet you're feeling very high and mi—"

"I heard you were in town, yet you never came to my office."

"Got worried?" his subordinate mocked.

"No. I would never be worried about a shrimp."

"Of course." This time, Edward's words weren't filled with the ever-present self-loathing. "But then…why did you come up here?"

"You have paperwork to do, and I'll be damned if you leave me to Hawkeye's wrath. Come back to Headquarters."

"Give me one good reason!" Ed challenged.

"I'll miss you if you don't," he admitted truthfully, voice dropping to a whisper. He paused for a long moment before continuing, "Paperwork is awfully tedious. I need someone there to talk to."

"You have Havoc."

"I don't love Havoc."

And not for the first time or for the last, Edward stepped away from the edge.