Breaking Points (Benjamin only, unless he wants someone else to join.)

Tobi sat alone in the desert, silently digging in the sand like a child in a sandbox. He hated the sand, the desert, and everything about this place, but Amaya would have loved it. She'd always enjoyed the heat, a polar opposite of himself, and had always wanted a sandbox in the back yard. Boy, did he wish she could see this. The only thing he could take comfort in now was the fact that that bastard who had killed her was dead.

Benjamin was walking through the desert, looking for Tobi. He had heard by a passer-by that there was a tall black-haired man cursing at the heat, and he just knew it was him. He kept his hand slightly above his eyes, shealding them from the sun.
"There he is.."
He said to himself as he saw a figure sitting in the sand. Becoming worried that Tobi might be hurt, he quickened his pace.
"Colonel! Hey! You okay?"

"Ah?" Tobi glanced up to see Havoc approaching. He smiled slightly. "Havoc, hey," He greeted, "I'm not hurt. I'm...fine." Not exactly true, but physically he was fine. He sighed and went back to playing in the sand. "What brings you to the deepest depths of Hell, Havoc?"

Havoc smiled, standing next to Tobi wih his hand on his hip.
"Oh, you know. Just taking a stroll.."
He chuckled, glancing down. He watched the Colonel play with sand. 'Odd....'
"So, what are you doing here?"

"Oh," Tobi said, not looking up from the sand, "I'm on a mission at the moment, though I can't remember what it is I'm actually supposed to be doing. I suppose when I get back to Central after wandering around for a few days, I'll find out what it was and have to come back. Sucks."
He sighed and flopped onto his back. "Why does this kind of heat exist?" He asked in a somewhat whiny voice.

Ben shrugged, starting to wonder why they put the White Ice alchemist in the desert. Not smart.
"I guess it's here so nutty people have a place to live."
He drew a circle with his foot, then sighed.
"It's scorching...Ugh.."
Ben knew he could make a sand dome to block the sun, but it would be just as hot.

Tobi sighed. "I guess I can see why someone would want to live in the heat," He mused. If his sister hadn't have been so fond of the heat, he would have said something more along the lines of 'What sort of idiot wants to live here?' but it hurt too bad to think of Amaya as an idiot. He smiled slightly. "So, you on a mission, too?"

"Sorta. Hey, are you sure your okay, Tobi?"
Benjamin closed his eyes for a moment. 'Idiot.' He thought to himself. He new he was suppose to call Tobi by his Last name, or rank.
"..You look down."

Tobi blinked and looked up. No one had called him by his first name since his sister had died. "I'm fine, Havoc, really," He muttered, looking away.

Ben shrugged. He wasn't going to pry and see what was wrong with Tobi.
"If you say so.."
He looked up at the sky then back down to Tobi.
"I'm going to visit my Mother and Sister back in Dublith soon."
He explained, trying to start small-talk.

"Oh..." Tobi was curious about why he hadn't said 'Father' as well.... "So....your Dad is out of the picture, then?" He knew he really shouldn't try to ask about that sort of thing, after all, it could be a tough subject for the young Major. He sighed quietly.

"Yeah, he died in War."
Benjamin simply said. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a pack if cigarettes. He bumped the bottom of the pack and it spit out one, then he put it in his mouth, unlit. He held the pack twords Tobi, offering him one.
"Do you plan to go visit your family?"

Tobi took the cigarette. "You're better off without him, Havoc," He said with a sigh, pulling a lighter out of his jacket pocket. He glanced up at Havoc's question. "I don't think I'll be visiting them," Was all he said as an answer. He took a drag of the cigarette and blew out the smoke slowly.

Ben lit his aswell, breahing in the smoke then letting it escape through his nostrils. He remembered what Patty said to him about cigarettes 'shortening his life'. He always thought it was bull.
When he heard Tobi say "Your better off without him.", he looked down at him and gave him a odd look.
"What?"
Was all he said about the subject, he was quite shocked and didn't really know what to say.

Tobi glanced up at Benjamin. "I said, you're better off without your dad to begin with," He said, taking another long drag to try and clear his head of the swimming thoughts, "Trust me," He added thoughtfully, "It's the truth."

Ben shoved the pack of cigs back into his pants pocket, along with the lighter.
"I think your mistaken. My Father was a good man, very noble."
He took another deep breath, then sighed.

Tobi chuckled. "Aren't they all?" He said bitterly. "That's the same thing everyone said about my dad, and he still came home and beat us at night. Good, noble man? Let me tell you something, Major. There's no such thing! They're all the same. Pieces. Of. Shit. It's how people operate. I learned that years ago when I watched a 'Good, noble man' kill my younger sister. It's best to learn these things young. It saves you a ton of trouble later." As he finished speaking, his voice shook in rage. He took another drag of the cigarette, trying to calm down.

Ben flicked his cigerette to the ground and stomped it.
"I'm sorry to hear about what went on with you and your dad, Colonel. But that doesn't make every other man alive a terrible one."
'At least the man's in hell, hm?'
He looked at Tobi again, his eyes sympathetic, but he tried to pull it off as aggrivation.

Tobi sighed. "Every man, at least once in his life, screws up. At least for one day, everyone is a terrible man. At the end of the day, I know I am." He blew smoke out of his mouth and sighed. "It doesn't take long for that one screw up to grow and grow, until you don't even recognize him anymore. So, yeah, eventually, we all turn out just like that bastard who came home and beat us every night." He turned his head to the side, looking at the sandy landscape that surrounded him. He didn't want to tell Ben everything. Not yet. It was still too soon.

"The screw-up won't grow if you watch yourself."
Benjamin couldn't say he never screwed up, because he has. He's messed up alot of things, but he didn't think it made him a 'Terrible Man'.
"We can change the subject, Mustang. If it's making you uncomfortable."

Tobi shrugged. "I don't think changing the subject will ease the tension any," He admitted with a sigh. "I know, some men try to be good. They really do. Some do an okay job at it. But others....well...they fail, Havoc. Sooner or later, they fail. Maybe your father really was a decent man. Maybe he wasn't. Either way, if you cared about him, it's not up to me to criticize you for it."

Ben nodded. His friend was clearly upset, and changing the subject wasn't going to make things better. He looked down to the sandy ground and scraped his boot across it, making a line. He didn't know what to say, but knew he should say something. He looked at Mustang, then back at the line he had made.
"I hope things get better soon. For you and me both. But, I guess all we can do right now is hope, hm?"

Tobi nodded, looking down at the line.

Ben plopped down onto the ground, sinking into the sand some from impact.
He sighed. "Sand is so...sandy.." .... He chuckled, getting an idea.
Ben cupped his hands together then scooped sand into them. He swiftly tossed it at Tobi, making it thud onto his leg.

Tobi jumped back quickly, glaring first at the sand, and then at Havoc. "Havoc!" He said, wiping the sand off his leg, "Why would you do that? I hate sand!"