A/N:Happy Royai Day and last day of Royai Week! Writing a ridiculous amount of Royai this week has been a fun, fulfilling way to procrastinate on studying for exams! I hope everyone else has enjoyed this wonderful week as much as I have.
This idea is one I had forever ago, inspired by one of the Omakes in the third volume of FMA where Riza draws cat whiskers on Roy's face after he whines about wanting facial hair. While this isn't exactly that, Riza does get some time with a sharpie.
I hope everyone enjoys!
There are two kids of sleepers. The first kind are light, quiet people who somehow manage to look dignified even in their unconsciousness. The second kind are the loud, drooling snorers who manage to get knocked out and stay that way until they hear Hawkeye cock her pistol. General Roy Mustang was, without a doubt, the second kind.
Watching the usually immaculate General drool onto a pile of forms rather than signing them, Captain Hawkeye sighed and shook her head. Unless she woke him, he would wake up by himself in about an hour and complain about how there was too much work to be done. Hawkeye still wasn't sure whether it was crueler to wake him and deprive him of his beauty rest, or to let him panic later. The amount of work he'd had recently was insane, but the amount of work he still had was about the same. She loved the man, truly, but during times like these, Riza felt as if the Lord were testing her.
Mustang snored, albeit softly. His small snorts were the only sound in the office other than the clock ticking away in the corner, and the gathering crowd in the plaza outside. Sometimes Riza found her superior's snoring endearing- they were only small noises, and Mustang had even more of a baby-face in his sleep- but on days when they had important work to do, the noise drove her up the wall.
In mere hours, the General would need to make a public appearance at the Ishvalan Rain Festival- a new celebration the Team had thought of organizing to celebrate the progress that had been made in the Ishval restoration. Even though he claimed the entire event was orchestrated purely to mock him, Mustang was giving a speech in order to kick the festival off, making it impossible for him to just skip it. The paperwork needed to get done, and he needed to practice his speech. Even he should understand that he couldn't waste time sleeping today.
And the Captain reached for a gun, she heard the office door open, entering a familiar pair of blondes.
"Hello, Edward, Alphonse," there was no attempt to lower her voice, and Mustang flinched before resuming his sleep.
"Hi, Captain Hawkeye," Alphonse did whisper, and Riza bit back a smile. The younger Elric had always been so polite.
"General Bastard's sleeping again?" The older Elric, however...
Mustang flinched once again, but had continued sleeping through the shouting. His puddle of drool was beginning to smudge the ink oh his paperwork.
"I was just about to wake him up. He needs to get his work done before we head down to the festival later on," Hawkeye replied, gesturing to the gun in her hand. All three people in the room knew she wasn't actually going to shoot anything, but the noise of cocking a pistol still freaked Mustang out.
Ed snickered, but quickly said, "Wait! I have a much better idea!"
Riza's brows raised, and she was curious to see what Edward had in store. The last time he had this devilish look in his eye, Ed had taken a spray bottle and filled it with water and green food coloring. Riza had had lots of fun with that. She hated to admit it, but Riza had almost as fun watching Edward aggravate the Colonel as Ed did while being obnoxious. And with the constant prank wars going on within the team, she realized it had been a while since Mustang was a victim.
Maybe it was the festive air surrounding the city that day, or the fact that Riza missed the boys, but right then, Hawkeye decided that she would go along with whatever prank Ed was planning. It would be a nice change from pointing her gun at the General, and the man deserved it; having slacked off all week, just napping. Seriously, the man seemed to pass out every time Riza looked away. Organizing the festival had been difficult, but it hadn't caused Riza or anyone else to lose too much sleep.
The former state alchemist fished around in his pocket for a minute before coming up with what he was looking for. He waved a black marker up toward the ceiling and Alphonse sighed.
"Brother, you confiscated that from Sam just before you left. And if I'm right about what I think you're about to do, you'll be following the example of a two-year-old," Al put his palm on his forehead and closed his eyes. Edward, meanwhile, was grinning wildly.
"You have to admit that was really funny, Al," Edward elbowed his brother, "Come on, that was hilarious!" Riza was still confused about what exactly was going to happen. She knew it involved drawing on the Colonel, but she didn't know where... or what... The idea reminded her of something she had done to Roy back when he was still studying alchemy with her father, if only she could remember better.
"Is that permanent marker?"
Ed looked up at Hawkeye, "I don't think so. Winry and I were able to wash it off of Sam and Nina this morning," Edward's face lit up when he talked about his children, while Alphonse sighed again.
"I was there too, you know," Al crossed his arms, "And I'm pretty sure I had to scrub Nina raw to get it off."
"But it did come off, Al," Edward rolled his eyes, "And Mustang is a grown-ass adult who doesn't need to be held down to be wiped off."
"Didn't Hawkeye mention a couple days ago that the General was kicking the festival off with a speech? Ya know, in front of other people?" Al added, but was waved off again. Riza found herself amused by the brothers' bickering, reminiscing on days over ten years ago when Ed had first joined the military.
"I was only going to draw on his hand, but whatever, Alphonse," Ed looked expectantly at his younger brother, then at the Captain. Even if Alphonse did jump on board with the plan, it was ultimately Riza's choice on what color the General's hand would soon be.
"Okay, fine," Al sighed, "But only if Captain Hawkeye is alright with it."
Riza looked over at the near-comatose General drooling into his work, then back at the brothers. Earlier, Roy told Riza that he was about halfway done with the papers, and assured her that there was time for a little nap, but this was stretching out to be much longer than "a little nap". It wouldn't make a difference for public appearances if it was only his hand colored on with black marker; ignition gloves always covered Mustang's hands. And he might even wake up before the brothers got done, "I'm fine with that, Ed, Al. General Mustang is slacking off today, and this little wake-up call will be a nice change from pointing a gun at his head," Hawkeye smirked. Today was a festival day; they needed to have fun.
Edward's smile widened as Hawkeye got up from her desk, and the three blondes made their way over to the General. Al sighed again, but Riza could see him trying to hide a smirk. Outwardly, Al seemed to be a perfectly sweet, responsible young adult, but Riza knew that he could be just as bad as his brother.
Al picked Mustang's hand up, letting the limp appendage drop the pen it was holding. With no signs of his victim waking, Ed uncapped the marker and began drawing a caricature of himself sticking his tongue out with his eyes crossed. Around the face, he drew about six small skulls, also somehow sticking their tongues out.
"Al, other hand," the younger Elric expertly set Mustang's hand down so not to wake him, and picked his other one up.
In loopy cursive, Ed wrote "USELESS", the U turned into a raindrop. A fitting picture for the Ishvalan Rain Festival.
At that point, Riza couldn't help but let out a laugh. She had definitely missed having the boys and their liveliness around the office. Roy would be livid when he woke, but it was his fault for falling asleep rather than working.
Riza's laugh spread quickly, seeing as Alphonse also let out a small snort, and Ed was snickering uncontrollably into his hand. It had only taken a moment before the two boys were doubled over, and Hawkeye was visibly snickering.
The moment lasted all too short, because as soon as all of their laughter increased in volume, Mustang let out a groan. Ed capped the marker, Riza stifled her snickers, resuming her indifferent facade, and Al dropped the General's hand back onto the desk. The three pranksters froze in silence watching Mustang for any further signs of movement, only to be met with a snore.
Thank God he's asleep Riza thought for the first time that day. She realized how inappropriate it would be for her, a 35 year old woman, to be caught pranking her superior officer in his sleep. Even in the past, while she silently encouraged Ed's tomfoolery, she had been careful to maintain her professional reputation by staying at least somewhat separated. Roy could guess about how deep her involvement in the pranks was, but he would never know for sure, and Riza was fine with that.
Riza stepped back, sensing that the boys were done with their joke. She bent over to pick up all Roy's papers which had landed on the floor when Alphonse dropped Mustang's hand back onto the desk. Seriously, how had all of the noise and fluttering of papers not woken that lazy General? The papers came up fast; too fast thought Riza, knowing that if the General had indeed finished half his work, there should be thirty scattered pages, not ten. Riza set the stack back near Roy's hand and glanced at the page on top of the stack functioning as his pillow. Page 11... out of 60.
So Roy was being even more of a slacker than Riza had originally thought.
How stupid could Roy possibly get? He had been given plenty of opportunity to finish the work even yesterday, and he even had this festival to help out with. Roy should be downing cup after cup of coffee to stay awake and get everything done. But no, he lied about his work load and snored and drooled on the papers he did manage to work on. What else had he wasted all his time on?
"Captain Hawkeye, is everything alright?" Alphonse asked, tipped off by Riza's angry expression. The woman decided to tell Al the truth, seeing no purpose in making excuses.
"Well, Alphonse, General Mustang seems to have lied to me about how much progress he's made today," Riza crossed her arms.
"Damn, the General isn't just useless, he's also immature. So are we done with the marker now?" Ed stuck his tongue out. Even though the maturity of their owner was also questionable, Ed's words rang strikingly true. Roy had been a procrastinator ever since he was a fifteen year old alchemy student.
Suddenly, the incident Riza had tried to recall earlier came back in full clarity:
Roy, sleeping on her father's alchemy texts the night before he was to be tested, drooling and snoring the same way he was now. And Riza, black marker in hand, drawing a tacky mustache on his face and snickering. Even though back then the joke had been an innocent laugh at Riza's expense rather than a punishment, both her and her father had played it off as a lesson not to fall asleep on important alchemy books before important deadlines.
This was exactly like then, twenty years later. And if Roy refused to grow up, maybe he should be treated the same as back then. This man should have thought more about his situation before incurring the wrath of Riza Hawkeye.
"No, we are not done, yet. Edward, please hand me the marker," Riza's voice was eerily calm as she made up her mind. The marker was washable, so when Roy went to the bathroom to wash his hands off, he could easily see his face and feel embarrassed as he washed it off as well.
Edward handed Riza the marker, feeling somewhat scared of what she was going to do, but just watched as the Captain uncapped it and turned to the General.
Brushing his hair out of his face, Riza watched Roy's eyelids flutter. She took the marker and drew two lines above his lip, making the most pitiful, mousy - looking mustache she had ever seen. She then stepped back and gave the marker to Ed, allowing both boys to see her handiwork. God, it was awful. Roy looked like a sleazy con artist.
The boys screeched with laughter, and at that point, Mustang finally jolted awake. "What the hell?" He looked up, bleary-eyed, at the howling Elric brothers and his Captain. Without even looking, he pulled his gloves on, eliciting another screech from the boys. The drawings on his hand didn't even register in his lethargic brain.
"Ri- Captain, what the hell is going on?" Roy's voice was husky from sleep, and would normally have sounded incredibly sexy, had it not been for the atrocious "facial hair" adorning his lip. Riza tried her hardest to keep a straight face, and crossed her arms.
"You were drooling on your paperwork, sir," She wasn't going to mention anything to him, except maybe... "Paper work that you claimed to have halfway finished by now."
Roy's eyes widened as he looked back down onto the smudged stack, then noted the gun laying on Hawkeye's desk, "Shit. What time is it? And why are these two idiots in my office laughing?" He rubbed his eyes and stretched.
"Oh I'm sorry that I showed up to the event you guys invited me to," Ed rolled his eyes, but fished his wallet out of his pocket, "Winry, Sam, and Nina are here too!" From his wallet, Edward grabbed a stack of pictures and shoved them in Mustang's face.
"Dammit, Fullmetal. If they're all here, why are you showing me pictures?" Roy growled with irritation and confusion.
"Because they're good pictures, you bastard," Ed grumbled, Al still rolling his eyes.
"Sir, it's already 15:00," Hawkeye reminded, and panic flashed in the man's eyes.
"Dammit! Captain, tell everyone else to start getting ready. I can't have my team slacking off with Festival security today," the panic subsided and the General quickly slipped into his cool, demanding public persona.
"Yes sir," Riza saluted and turned around to exit the office.
"Fullmetal, Alphonse, you two leave as well. I can't have you two annoying me through this," Ed made a face, but quickly turned on his heels.
"Don't call me Fullmetal anymore, you were the one who discharged me from the military seven years ago."
Al gave a nervous smile, but left with his brother, "See you later, General Mustang."
Before shutting the door behind the three of them, Riza saw Mustang pick his pen up and begin furiously signing whatever papers he found in from of him. Really, he hadn't changed at all in almost twenty years. He had received that paperwork at the beginning of the week, giving him ample time to have brought it home to work on it.
The door clicked shut, and Ed's voice filled the room with the team in it, "Whatever you do, don't say anything to Mustang about his face," He snickered.
Everybody was understandably confused, but Riza gave them a look, "Don't even breathe louder than normal."
"Yes ma'am!" They all saluted back, not fully understanding what the hell was going on.
"Are you sure you don't want to practice one more time?" Riza asked Roy slightly nervously. He was about to walk up and give his speech, kicking off the festival. There was only one problem: in his rush to get everything done, he hadn't had a chance to look in any sort of mirror and see his new 'mustache'.
"General Mustang, we're ready for you," Some scared - looking assistant had opened the door, and was gesturing outside. When he caught sight of the General's face, he had to stifle a laugh, awkwardly saluted, then left the room as quickly as possible.
"Sir, are you sure you don't want to go over it one more time?" Riza implored, trying desperately to stall the man from giving his speech. If normal stage assistants had this bad of a reaction, who knew what the crowd would do?
That atrocious mustache she'd drawn on his face would be visible to the thousands of people gathered in the square, and the millions of people who read the paper and would see pictures. This time, it wasn't just Riza and her father that could laugh at him- it was the whole country.
Because of her dumb choice to prank her superior officer back like when they were teenagers, his entire public image could be ruined.
So yes, Riza was desperately trying to stall and find a way to tell him nicely that there were two black lines on his face.
"Don't worry, Captain," Roy waved his hand in the air in nonchalance, "I've practiced this a couple of times at home too. I'll be fine."
Hawkeye's face must have said the opposite, because he then elaborated, "And after I'm done with the speech, the meet and greet with reporters is going to be shortened. Following that," He took her hand in his, "We're free to walk around the festival as we wish."
With that, the General turned on his heel, formal uniform and black coat flying in the air behind him, and walked out the door. It was the point of no return; everyone would see Roy Mustang's atrocious new facial hair now.
Hawkeye followed her superior five steps behind, as she always did, and kept her hand on her weapon, as was standard procedure when he made public appearances and an attempt could be made on his life. Change only came through the fact that Riza was glaring at every person who seemed to open their mouths to talk to the General. The action itself made people stop, but her reputation around the base was what made people really back away in fear. It wasn't like Hawkeye had tried to make herself seem like an intimidating workaholic, but she guessed constantly nagging the General about work, and being a sniper did that to someone's image. Today was possibly the first day Riza was glad she'd been branded that way.
They made it out if the building, and began navigating their way across the festival grounds to the stage. Any reporters who tried to talk to the General received the same treatment as those inside, and the two officers were able to make it up to the stage without a problem.
The mayor of Central greeted them on their way up, and to Riza's relief, didn't mention anything about Roy's slight change in appearance. The only thing he did say was, "How about one picture for the papers, eh? And make it candid."
Everyone stepped into action as quickly as they could in order not to stall the speech any more. Roy looked off into the distance, keeping his face neutral and his head turned to the side. It looked real; like he was proudly surveying the event. Riza, meanwhile, stared directly into the camera, trying to communicate across to the photographer, despite keeping a neutral expression on her face, that if he made one comment about anything, she'd be very angry.
After keeping his position for a few seconds, Roy asked the photographer, "How long do I have to wait before I can see how that turned out?" That poor man; he thought the photo had turned out well.
"General Mustang, you can ask him later," Riza reminded him, "Come on, you didn't practice this speech for nothing."
Mustang turned to her and smiled, "You're completely right, Captain. And besides, the sooner I get this done, the sooner we can actually begin enjoying the festival. I have something important to talk about, so I can't wait for a chance to get you alone."
Then, he smiled at Hawkeye, unintentionally giving her a superb view of his fake mustache, and turned to the crowd, doing the same.
The speech went beautifully. Roy managed to captivate the crowd with well-articulated words and a great message about integration, and the success of the restoration so far. The festival was a perfect amalgamation of Ishvalan and Amestrian traditions; the celebration, music, food and traditional dances and prayers coming from the Ishvalan side, but the way much of it was presented as a public event, with booths and activities as well was all Amestrian. Overall, the event was intended to make Ishvalan traditions more accessible to others, and help convince others of their importance.
And the speech carried that point across flawlessly. The only this that wasn't flawless was the face of the speaker. Due to the marker having been black, each small line on Roy's face stood in contrast to his pale skin. To the average person from far away, the mustache shouldn't look to awful, but it made Riza cringe.
After Roy stepped down from the podium, wild cheers came from his audience, and the press assaulted him with cameras and questions. It was out of sheer, dumb luck that none of them commented on the General's new look. Questions about the festival, or the contents of Mustang's speech were all he had to answer, and Roy seemed delighted to do so. The festival was, after all, his team's baby.
Then, after the Captain took out her gun and led the General to a quieter place away from the madness of the press, the Elrics came bounding out to meet them.
Winry and Riza hadn't seen each other in too long, and the two blonde women hugged as Edward, holding Sam and Nina, and Alphonse laughed at an oblivious General Mustang. After Winry caught sight of him, she too, let out a screech.
"What is going on with all of you?" Roy demanded, glaring at the two boys. They quieted, but May Chang soon walked up and almost doubled over. Shao May caught sight of the General and promptly hid in her owner's hair; an action that caused everyone to begun howling again.
"Why the hell is everyone laughing at me?" Roy crossed his arms.
"You're such an idiot!" Ed wheezed, "Have you not even taken your gloves off since you last saw us?"
"No..." Trailing off, Roy looked skeptically down at his hands. Both gloves came off quickly, and the furious General threw them at Edward's head, "You're supposed to be an adult now! You little shrimp!"
"Hey! I am not a shrimp, you old geezer! And you say I should act like an adult, but let me remind you that only a few hours ago you were drooling onto your paperwork," Ed would have gestured, had he not had a child in each arm, "And stop throwing things at my little angels!"
"Guys, calm down," Alphonse tried to step in between the two men, but it was to no avail, "General Mustang, Ed only drew on your hands. And even though he literally got the idea to do so after watching his two-year-old play around with a marker, his actions didn't negatively affect you in any way," Alphonse had specifically refused to mention the marks on Roy's face- a fact that Riza wasn't sure whether to be happy about or not. Despite Edward being the more loud and obvious troublemaker, Alphonse could be just as sneaky and underhanded if he wanted to be.
"He's right, sir," Riza agreed. She was going to have to be the one to own up to drawing on his face, "Edward and Alphonse only drew on your hands. And, sir, you should probably listen to Edward's point about throwing things at his children."
What Riza received in response to her reprimand was grumbling, and the General begrudgingly bending down to retrieve his gloves. Winry, meanwhile, was chipper as ever, "So let's start going around and seeing what you guys have organized here! It looks great!"
Winry's suggestion caused the men in the group to stop glaring at each other and finally begin moving around. They visited countless food stalls, getting free samples due to General Mustang's presence as event coordinator.
Alphonse and May had led everyone to one of the traditional Ishvalan dances, and convinced almost everyone to participate. Only Riza stayed behind to watch Ed's small children while everyone else briefly got in a dance line and laughed. She would have been joined by Roy, had he not felt obligated by the press to be on the dance floor.
The Elrics, May, and Roy all spun and laughed and had their pictures taken as upbeat instrumental music played. Something that impressed Riza was when Edward took his wife by the waist and lifted her above his head, spinning. It surprised Winry at first, but she soon held her arms out and just let her blonde hair blow free as she laughed. Light from the afternoon sun reflected gold off of both her and her husband, making the entire scene reminiscent of a film. After Ed brought Winry down once a new, slower song began, she kissed him hard on the lips, causing both of them to laugh and turn a little pink. It was extremely satisfying to see the married couple so happy, especially since Riza had been waiting for them to get together since they were young teenagers.
Sam watched his parents and laughed, which made Riza decide to lift him up in the air as Nina clung on to her boot. The action distracted Riza from noticing May from approaching with Alphonse on her arm, "Captain Hawkeye, we can take over child duty for now. You look like to want to get out there," the small Xingese woman smiled.
"Oh, I couldn't," Riza was taken by surprise. Even though she'd love to be out there with Roy, it would be improper, "You two should be out there enjoying yourselves. Besides, I don't have a partner unless you count Sam."
"I don't think you'll have trouble finding a partner," Al winked, and his eyes slid to General Mustang, who was now twirling Winry around in front of an annoyed Edward, "They can't share Winry forever."
"Yeah, you should enjoy yourself too," May added, and Riza looked back out at the dance floor. Roy spun Winry outward again, and Edward butted in to steal back his wife. She swatted his arm with a hand, but grinned at him and continued dancing with her hands now on his shoulders. Roy, now at a loss for a partner again looked back to the side where Riza was standing. He caught her eye and motioned for her to come closer.
Riza wanted to; it had been so long since they'd danced together at all, let alone in public with other friends and live music. But that was the problem- even though Riza knew how she felt about Roy, and how she wanted to start a relationship with the man, she knew military regulations would never allow that. And it was Riza's choice to adhere to those rules so she could keep serving, and keep helping him get to the top safely.
But then again, did dancing at a public festival with friends count as breaking those rules? It wasn't anything romantic; definitely nothing against the fraternization laws. And all of her friends wanted her to go...
Roy waved for her again and grinned wide. Even though he was far away, she saw the awful little fake mustache on his face- a reminder of another one of Riza's choices. He pouted at her, and the action combined with his comical 'facial hair' unintentionally made Riza laugh. He grinned again, and motioned for her once more. Surely one dance couldn't change anything.
Reluctantly, Riza handed both children off into the safe hands of May and Alphonse, and walked onto the dance floor with her hands swishing by her side.
"I was wondering when you'd finally join me, Captain," the General smirked.
"So this entire tine, you were planning on having me here, sir?" The Captain fired back.
"Well it's been ages since we've danced, so it's very long overdue," he pulled her in, close enough for her chest to be touching his, "I don't think we've been in this particular position in years."
He was right; it had been too long since Riza could feel his heart beating in his chest, or smell his expensive shampoo in the air. Being close to Roy was something she desperately missed.
"But there's a reason for that, General. In case you'd forgotten..." Riza began.
"Ah, yes. Those damned anti-fraternization laws," Despite saying exactly what was on Riza's mind, Roy made no move further away, "That reminds me what I wanted to talk to you about."
"And what would that be?" If Roy had something to say about the anti-frat laws, why did he want to single her out in private to talk?
"As you know, your grandfather is going to retire soon, and he is in the process of choosing his successor," Roy continued, starting on an entirely different topic.
"Yes, he is," She replied slowly. Honestly, Riza didn't know what point he was trying to get across.
Despite Riza's obvious confusion, Roy continued in a small whisper, " Nobody else is supposed to know this, but Grumman told me to 'expect a massive promotion, and very soon'," Riza's eye widened and heartbeat increased in both speed and volume.
"Are you implying what I think you are?" She whispered back, looking around them to ensure nobody was observing them too closely. Thankfully, only Alphonse and May were watching, smirking and each giving Riza a thumbs-up. Edward and Winry were too occupied gazing into each other's eyes, and Sam and Nina were staring at their parents.
"I'm implying exactly what you think you are," Roy smirked, the disgusting fake mustache quirking upward with the left side of his mouth. All Riza could do was widen her eyes in surprise and attempt to keep the rest of her face under control.
It was finally happening. After over ten years of planning and fighting and clawing his way up to the top, General Roy Mustang would now hold the position of Fuhrer.
As Riza held on to the arms of the man who would lead the nation into the future, visions of their past flashed before her eyes. God, the two of them had fought so hard to come to this moment. They'd both stared death in the face and practically spat at it, and still managed to wake another morning. They'd both been shot at, stalked, been used as pawns in the sick game played by some homunculi, but neither of them had fallen.
Even when Roy had gotten himself impaled by Lust, and blinded by a benevolent higher power, he'd managed to pull through and get himself into another insane situation the very next day. Even when Riza had her throat slit, and her blood almost drained out, she got back up, stalwart as ever, and defended the General with more ferocity than she'd had before. If equivalent exchange truly was real, then the blood, sweat, and tears they'd both shed throughout their journey should be enough to pay the toll of becoming Fuhrer.
And even though Riza firmly believed Roy was the most qualified, deserving person to become Grumman's successor, hearing the words, hearing the confirmation slip from Roy's lips was enough to take her breath away. It made her heart stop and her dance steps to quickly fall out of sync with the music. It was surreal; made even more dream-like with the presence of Roy's tacky black mustache.
"Can you repeat that one more time?" Riza breathed out heavily, focusing deep on his inky eyes.
"I said that I'm going to become Fuhrer. We finally made it," And with that, Roy brought her in even closer and hugged her with force she didn't know he still had. Screaming from the logical, rule-following side of Riza's brain was stifled as she wrapped her arms even tighter around Roy Mustang, almost crying tears of joy.
The General ran his fingers through the Captain's hair, and almost said something else before Riza spotted Alphonse and May chatting amiably with some MPs. Damn it.
She pulled out of his embrace, feeling the heat of the eyes of everyone else around her, "I'm very proud of you, sir," it was back to business again, "I look forward to serving under you in the future."
"Huh," Roy was confused by her sudden change in demeanor until he spotted the two military arrivals next to the younger Elric and his girlfriend, "Damn," He released her from their embrace and put as much distance between them as he used to when they were nervous teenagers trying not to annoy Riza's father.
The absence of Roy's body heat, and his strong arms around her caused Riza to almost visibly deflate, but she managed to make it through the dance without missing a step. And following those brief few, intoxicating moments she and Roy had shared on the dance floor, Riza broke apart fully and excused herself back to where the Elrics' children, Alphonse, and May were standing.
Riza wanted to look back, she desperately did, but the MPs already had her eyes on her, and she only had the memory of Roy's heartbeat to carry her back out.
After the next few hours of walking around the festival, eating more food, playing more games, and loud, laughing conversations, Sam and Nina fell asleep in the arms of their parents. Nina, who was only one year old and therefore always tired, was the first to pass out while riding on Ed's shoulders. Sam held out a little longer, and just decided to lay down on a bench when he got tired.
Ed and Winry now each held one sleeping kid, and the happy married couple decided to call it a night. They said their goodbyes to Roy and Riza, and promised to come by the next day as well. Alphonse and May went with them even though they could have stayed a while longer. The only explanation Al gave as to why they left early was a mumble about their hotel, and another wink directed at Hawkeye.
She wanted to glare at Alphonse for insinuating what she thought he was insinuating, and also for reminding her that the General still somehow hadn't caught a glimpse of the mustache on his face. Honestly, that was the most astounding thing about that evening; not his speech, not the fact that they basically organized a festival, and not even when May obliterated a rigged carnival game with her knife throwing skills. The most impressive thing was the lack of decent mirrors around the festival, and the fact that whenever there was a reflective surface, the General had refrained from admiring his own face in it.
The entire happy Elric family left around eight at night, right as the sun was beginning to set, so Roy decided that it would be a good idea to find a nice spot to watch the rest of it in peace, "We'll finally get even more alone time now, Captain," He smirked, and Riza knew this would go exactly like the dancing had.
But if she got too close this time, she wasn't sure if she could let go again.
No matter, Roy led her through the packed crowds, and they finally arrived at a quiet, somewhat secluded area of picnic tables right next to the food stand of Riza's favorite Xingese restaurant. The entire area gave them a fantastic view of the setting sun.
"Wow," Riza's eyes grew wide. Never before in her life had she seen the clouds reflect reds and oranges this vibrant in Central, "This looks amazing. The view from here is better than I've ever seen in the city before, sir."
"Riza," hearing her voice on his lips (whether they be adorned by a tacky drawn-out mustache or not) made her heart skip a beat, and she looked up into the face of the man who had said her name.
"Yes, sir?"
"I know it's probably stupid of me to ask, but I want you right there by my side when I take my new position. You've held me up every second of every day since we began on this journey, and I won't be able to finish it if you don't know you're right there with me," Roy grabbed her hands and stared intently into her brown eyes. His sincerity was seriously undercut by his tacky mustache, but Riza managed to reply with a calm face.
"That was a little dumb of you to ask," she smiled, "I've already been the Fuhrer's assistant before, so the position will be fine for me; you don't have to worry."
Sucking in a breath, Roy looked considerably more nervous with the next part of his speech, "I've don't want you there as the Fuhrer's assistant-"
"Fuhrer's personal bodyguard is fine as well," Riza's heart also skipped as she tried to decipher Roy's true intent. Fuhrer's bodyguard would work a bit better, but his tone during the refusal of the assistant position concerned her.
"I don't want you there as the Fuhrer's anything," What the hell was Roy talking about? This time it wasn't just his atrocious mustache really throwing Riza off, "Except..." He held on to her hand as he knelt on one knee.
"... The Fuhrer's wife."
The sun dropped out of the sky and rammed Riza in the chest, knocking the air right out of her lungs. Roy looked up at her with smiling charcoal eyes, and a gleaming ring in his right hand. The ground around Riza spun, and she had to squeeze Roy's hand to make sure he was still real. Everything looked too bright, like a dream. This couldn't be her superior officer kneeling before her, asking her to be his wife. This had to be a dream. The sky was too orange; the day had been too happy and carefree; there was an atrocious mustache on his face.
Riza sputtered a few times, but couldn't manage out any real, coherent words. Every bone in her body turned to jelly, and she swayed on her feet. Her face must have conveyed a look of abject shock, because Roy's immediately turned concerned, "Is there something wrong? Shit, did I say something wrong?"
"Is this all really happening?" Riza breathed out, "Everything looks unreal," She spoke the truth, but some part inside her desperately wanted everything to be true. She really wanted Roy Mustang to be kneeling in from of her, diamond ring in hand, asking her to disregard the laws and regulations which had held them both apart for so long. She desperately wished he was really declaring his love for her in such a public place, not caring who saw them.
"Yes, this is really happening," Roy spoke again, "I guess you do need an explanation, though. You've been by my side for years; through the good and the bad; through war and through peace; and even though the universe seems to keep wanting to split us apart, you're always there with me, and I want you to stay that way forever.
"Riza, when I become Fuhrer, I won't be able to just command a small team of soldiers. The only people directly under my command will be the senior staff, and some more Generals. My security team will be led by a completely different officer, making the degrees of separation between them and me greater. So if you decide you want to keep moving forward with me in that capacity, the anti-fraternization laws won't be an issue," Riza's eyes widened further than she thought they could go.
"But…" She began, not quite knowing what to say.
"You are honestly the most amazing woman I have ever met, and I love you, Riza," he squeezed her hand, "You don't understand how long I have been waiting to say those three words; how long I've been waiting to be able to finally tell you how I feel," Roy's eyes shone, like he was on the verge of tearing up, "And I hope you feel the same way about me." God, she did. She loved him more than anything in the world, and she wanted to tell him the same thing. But she would tell the future leader of Amestris; the man with fantastic, magnificent dreams and a heart of gold.
"Roy…" His name was so familiar on her lips, and uttering it made Riza's heart flutter even more rapidly than before, "I've only ever been your bodyguard. How could I be worthy of the position of First Lady?" Riza's lightheadedness caused her to blurt out the first thing on her mind.
"You're the kindest, bravest, most amazing, intelligent, and beautiful woman I have ever met. You are capable of being first lady, and so much more," Roy shifted position so his kneeling was more comfortable, "And if anything, I am the one not worthy to be asking you this."
That was the last straw for Riza, and she bent down to wrap her arms around Roy, "That's not true, you idiot," She felt her eyes prickle, as if she too, was on the verge of tears, "You know I think you're the bravest, most selfless man I've ever met. And I love you too."
"So Riza, will you still follow me?"
"Even into hell."
With that simple, maddening phrase, Roy took Riza's face in his hands and pressed his lips against hers. It didn't matter who was there to watch, or what rules and regulations might keep them apart until Roy was supposed to be Fuhrer. Because he was hers, and she was his, until the very end. And finally, finally, Riza was able to curl her fingers up in his dark hair and kiss him with the same ferocity she'd protected him with. He was finally able to slip a shining silver ring onto her finger and call her his fiancé.
The General and his Captain stood up, still entwined in each other's arms, and grinned as they pressed their lips together. Kissing Roy Mustang was the single most euphoric thing Riza had experienced in her life up until that moment, and she had no idea how she'd managed to live without doing it every day. Somehow, the feeling was even sweeter than when they were just teenagers sharing discreet pecks on the cheek or making out in broom closets to evade Riza's father. God, Riza wished she could stay like this forever.
But… She could… Now she would be Roy's wife; the one woman he could share the rest of his life with. The one woman he was able to kiss anywhere, in front of anyone. Riza actually broke away from him at the thought, and let out a laugh. After over twenty years of being in love with Roy Mustang, she would finally be able to act on her desires.
"Riza," Roy breathed, wondering why she had ceased with her kisses to laugh, "What's so funny?"
"This entire day just seems unreal," She gave him another quick peck on the lips, "I can't believe after so long, something as insane as this is happening."
"Me neither," He smiled, his black mustache now smudged and uneven, "I keep thinking I'm going to wake up from my nap and find out this is all a dream."
"God, I hope not," Riza rested her forehead against his and looked into his eyes, "The thing that keeps making me think that is that horrible fake mustache of yours. But I don't think you'd have a mustache in my dreams," Riza laughed, and Roy jerked his head away.
"What?!" He rubbed his upper lip in a panic, but soon turned to look for something to check his face on, "Riza what are you talking about?"
"While you were sleeping…" Even though their moment was now ruined by the reveal of the fake mustache, Riza's mind was still reeling at the fact that she'd been proposed to, "… I made a stupid choice and drew a tacky mustache on your face," She looked down, and Roy rubbed his upper lip with a gloved hand.
"I thought you said you three only drew on my hands!" He looked mad, then his jaw dropped, "Riza, I gave my speech with a mustache."
"I'm so sorry," She looked back up at his smudged fake facial hair, "It seemed hilarious at the time," And it still seemed hilarious now. From what she could tell, no huge issues had been caused by the dumb mustache, and Roy looked ridiculous with it. The fact that he'd lasted this long without somehow noticing caused Riza to burst out into another laugh. So much had happened that day that Riza's brain had completely discarded all logic and was just running on excitement.
"Oh my god…" Roy looked off into the distance, "I proposed to you with a fake mustache," Riza laughed even harder.
"And even though I did somehow find a way to make you look sleazy, I still said yes," she kissed him again, not caring about the mustache.
"Kissing me doesn't make it any better," he grumbled back, but didn't stop.
"You're right, but even with a tacky mustache, I'm in love with you," She replied.
"And even though you decided to ruin my public image," The corners of Roy's mouth twitched upward, "I'm still in love with you."
With those words, Roy wrapped his arms around the waist of his fiancé, and rubbed her back with his thumb. Today, Riza had made the choice to deface his upper lip with a marker stolen from a two-year-old, and she had made the choice not to tell him until hours after it was actually important. But the most important choice she made that day made both of those pale in comparison; she'd made the choice to marry him, and to stay with him for the rest of their lives. And with a woman like Riza by his side, Roy knew he could take anything the world threw at him.