Love and Loyalty – Royai Romance Collection
Story 1: Future Furniture
Author: MoonStarDutchess
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction other than much needed writing practice.
Wrote this in Omniscience POV.
"Where's your furniture?" Riza asked as she walked into the large but still cozy house that Roy found. It was just a few minutes outside of Central, had a yard, and was part of a secured neighborhood. She'd been surprised when he told her he'd bought an actual house instead of one of the rentable flats he normally frequented. She realized why he bought one when he held up a key and asked her to move in with him.
With his new position as a vice fuehrer, he was going to need his aid around him the majority of the time. He used that as an excuse if anyone asked, but he really didn't need one. It was a three bedroom flat after all. Even if it weren't, Grumman made sure to amend the fraternization laws a couple months after he'd become fuehrer, so they weren't doing anything illegal by moving into the same home. They didn't have to know they were going to sleep in the same bed.
"It came," he said, motioning toward the living room.
Riza followed Roy to the living area, mindful of stepping on something valuable or tripping over several boxes littering the hallway; it was all of his things because hers hadn't come yet. Hayate passed them, zigzagging through the maze of crates as if he were the one that placed them in that particular pattern. "See?"
Riza walked to stand beside Roy. The living room was void of any furniture except a nice black couch and a brown side table. Her stomach sank. "Where's the rest of it?"
He looked at her, confused as to what she meant. "Rest of it?"
"Yes. A coffee table, a few chairs."
"Umm…"
She didn't like the sound of that. "Did they take the rest of the furniture up to the bedroom? What about your bed."
Roy rubbed the back of his neck and looked anywhere but at her face. She was the master at asking questions he didn't have a good answer to. He had an answer, but not one that he figured would be very pleasant for her. "I…I don't have a bed."
"Where do you sleep?"
"On the couch."
She looked around the living room again, noticing something else was missing. "You don't have a desk either?" That was something odd for an alchemist not to have.
"No, I do the paperwork I bring home while sitting on the couch."
"And where do you eat?" she asked. Roy opened his mouth to answer but she did it for him, "On the couch. I don't know why I asked." She hadn't expected him to have a lot of furniture since they moved a lot, but she'd expected more than this. Thankfully, she had some things they could use. Not a proper couch, but he had that covered. She sighed and left the room to check on a few other things that would make the house more secure.
-/-/-
Roy groaned and leaned against the wall. What was he thinking asking her to move in here when he had nothing more than a couch for furniture? He should've at least purchased a bed. He was so excited to have her with him all the time that it didn't occur to him. He'd never needed a completely furnished home before. He also never thought he'd live long enough to have the opportunity to buy things with her for a house of their own. Now he did, and…His eyes widened. He smiled and slid down the wall he leaned against until he rested on the floor.
Now he did.
Now they did.
They were alive. He and Riza were alive. He'd stared at her in the hospital, so thankful she was breathing and her blood still flowed through the veins of a living person instead of leaking from a corpse.
He laughed and looked up at the doorway when she stepped back inside. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm great. Fantastic, actually."
"Why were you laughing?"
"We're alive," he said. "And here."
Riza raised an eyebrow. "You're just now realizing that?"
Roy grabbed her hand and pulled her until she was on her knees beside him. He got on his knees and turned so he faced her. "I guess getting this house, you being here, really set it in stone for me. The fact that I have to buy furniture that sui—"
"Mine is on the way, you don't have to buy anything."
"That's not the point," he moved a hand to rest behind her neck, pulled her forward, and grinned.
"Sorry, continue," Riza said and chuckled at how cute, and kind of romantic Roy was being.
"It really hit me when I realized that I didn't just need the couch. I need the double sized bed, lamps, chairs, and a table for two in the kitchen. I need things that we can . . . live with. We need those things. We can actually have a home."
Riza stared at him and remained silent for a moment, her facial expression changing slowly the more she thought. "That's right," she said trailing off as the full brunt of what he was saying hit her. They were alive, they were together in this home, and they did need those things. To anyone else, furniture would be simple, something to take for granted, but to them, it was much more than just material items. It was a symbol that they had a future.
"Want to shop for furniture tomorrow? We have the day off," Roy said.
"I said I had some coming."
"Yes, but that's your furniture. We need to buy our furniture. Besides, your bed is probably not big enough for both of us right?"
Riza laughed, nodded, and decided to tease him a bit, "Yeah, that's right. But there are two bedrooms. I wasn't aware we'd be sharing a room."
Roy knew she was teasing but played along. He shook his head. "Not my plan."
"Oh?"
"No," he grabbed her around the waist and fell backward onto the hardwood floor. Riza released a gasp of surprise at his sudden action. "We need a huge king-sized bed."
Riza rested her head on his chest and looked up at the ceiling. "A king bed probably wouldn't fit in the bedrooms very well."
Roy frowned. "That's right." He heaved a large sigh.
Riza cuddled closer and threw her arm around his firm stomach to hug him. "But wouldn't a small bed be better?"
He looked at her. "How so?"
"Well, in a small bed we'd be much much closer."
His smile widened and he kissed the top of her head. "You always know how to cheer me up."
"Comes with the job. And now that I'm living with you, I'll have to do that more often in the future."
"But at least we have a future. We can do all those things that people think are boring. Things we put off doing. Doesn't that sound great?"
"Perfect."
AN: I've always found it funny that the smallest things in life can bring some of the biggest realizations. From holding that cup of coffee, staring in the eyes of someone you love, smell of rain, etc can stun you in some way. There are some people that crave something as simple as all of that and can't have it. It makes one think about how they should be grateful for what they have. That's what spawned this simple fic. I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a comment if you have the time.
