AN: For Tumblr FMAWeek2015 Day 4 Prompt: Love
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA
Summary: Roy reacts poorly to seeing Havoc and Riza together, but the jealousy flare up leads to a discussion that changes things for everyone.
HavocAi, RoyAi, Edwin, HavoCat, Heylivier or BredArm. (I'm just making ship names up at this point)
Love
He didn't know why he didn't see it developing, perhaps he had just been blinded by her smile and drowned out anything but her laughs. Perhaps he was too busy enjoying it to realize who was the reason behind her sudden flush of emotion at work. Perhaps he didn't care. Until he couldn't ignore it any longer, Roy Mustang lived in the fantasy that the woman who had to remain at an arm's length was shining this ray of light on him because the new found joy in her life was her new puppy. Perhaps he really was an idiot after all.
Then one morning it all came crashing down. That smile on her face, something that she never allowed to break through her stoic facade when she was in uniform, was radiant as ever that warm Tuesday morning. He felt his sour mood lift immediately, the slightest upturn of her lips was enough to make his breath hitch, his scowl recede and his eyes soften. Then she laughed and his own smile broke through the pre-coffee morning haze and he felt in his pocket for a little jerky treat he had for Hayate. Maybe she'd look at him when she admonished him for spoiling her dog, maybe he could bask in the glow of that incredible smile.
Maybe that smile was for someone else.
He felt everything drain out of him as he got close enough to see who she was talking to. Jean Havoc leaned against the old oak tree puffing away on his cigarette, his eyes too focused on Riza to even see his commander out of his peripherals. Havoc smiled as he reached over and brushed a hair behind her ear, then she rewarded him with a smile for the gesture. Even Hayate was happy and it was like a kick to the gut. The way the puppy jumped up on Jean's pant leg wagging his tail like this was no longer the guy who suggested they stir fry the little canine.
He had been blind. For a moment he stood in shock as the woman he, and just about everyone else, expected to be waiting for him when he finally achieved his goals shared her happiness with another man. Apparently she got tired of waiting because Havoc's thumb brushed over her lip like it was familiar territory, like it was a promise of things to come. And she leaned into it like she wanted to cash in the offer immediately.
Finally, the shock gave way to something a little more familiar and Roy put his scowl back on. Riza was capable of stimulating so much in him that he often couldn't label what it was, however right now there was no mistaking what fueled him as he resumed his walk to work. It was nothing but jealousy and he wished he felt bad about it. As he approached the tree, Hayate gave him an excited bark in greeting and Havoc tried to smoothly return his hand to his cigarette but couldn't reach it in time.
Roy casually held up his gloved hand as his cold black eyes met Havoc's blue ones. The blond knew he was caught, but he couldn't react before there was a snap and a blink of red light. The next second blue eyes grew wide as the slim streak of flame left the Colonel's hand and reached his cigarette. The cancer stick instantly burned up, ash replacing what used to be tobacco and paper, and Havoc almost didn't spit it out in time. They had a moment, a brief moment of locked eyes before Hawkeye could turn to him, and he used that moment to the fullest. Blue orbs met onyx and the alchemist made his disapproval exceedingly clear.
Roy kept walking, held his gloved hand up a bit longer than needed but he was all about the dramatic effect and right now there was no call to tone it down. His emotions churned in his gut and anger and jealousy coursed through his body like a venom, the last think he was going to do was think like a mature and professional adult. He didn't even bother to remove the cold, threatening tone to his voice as he said, "Careful Lieutenant, it's one of those vices that will kill you."
He timed it perfectly, his head turned just as Riza's whipped around to lock on to the sound of his voice. He didn't need to see her face to know that the fear of being caught gave way to surprise, then as her eyes focused on him how her sienna beauties would take on a new light of their own. Her anger would push to the forefront of the influx of emotions and he knew it would be a long time before he saw her unguarded in the office again. He didn't care, it felt good and that's all he really gave a damn about at the moment. If Havoc truly thought himself worthy of Riza Hawkeye, than he should have no problems fighting for her.
He walked into the building without turning around to look at the two people behind him, he had already seen enough. Right now he needed to get to his office and compose himself before she brought him his coffee and probably spilled it in his lap. He couldn't help but ask himself, if he was really worthy of her either. Especially if being a possessive, jealous asshole was his knee-jerk reaction to seeing her happy with another man.
"Seriously guys, you're going to get caught and we're all going to suffer for it." Heymans Breda didn't turn around from making his morning coffee when the office door opened, he just talked over stirring in his sugar. However the response was the door slamming and the silence told him that he probably didn't want to turn around.
"Please elaborate, Lieutenant."
It was Mustang's voice, in that tone that he used to interrogate people. That crisp, cold voice that chilled you to the core and made you wonder if he was possessed by something other than his own demons. It was always accompanied by those eye, that dark emotionless void that you swore could cut right through you. "Good Morning, sir."
"Cut the shit, Breda." Roy snapped and threw off his trench coat, letting it fall over Havoc's chair on purpose. "How long have my Lieutenants been fraternizing behind my back?"
Breda turned and saw those eyes peeking out from under his messy head of hair. Except there was something else, like a smoldering fire lurking in the depths behind them. He wasn't devoid of emotion this time, no...it was worse. It was fueled by emotion. Mustang was very much like the flame he controlled and his anger just needed a spark to ignite an already lingering fuel source inside. He told Havoc not to take a chance, he told him to just be honest and go to Mustang first. He told him this would happen if the Colonel felt betrayed on top of infuriated by the fool who dared sniff around the woman he couldn't have. "A few months, sir."
He already knew that. He knew when her attitude changed, when she suddenly started acting like she had somewhere better to be. He already knew, but he was in denial. "Tell Lieutenant Hawkeye that I would like to see her when she gets in."
Breda watched him stride into his office, the door slamming behind him before he took another breath. "Shit."
"Shit." Havoc wiped his mouth off again, trying to remove the ash from his lips. "Shit, shit shit!"
Riza was beyond infuriated. This was none of Roy's business, not that she was surprised by the display in the least, but it was still not appreciated or warranted. He got away with too much, nobody ever stood up to him, and she was finally going to have to draw the line. So she began to walk away from Jean as he cursed to himself.
"Riz, wait!" Havoc reached out for her jacket but she slipped from his fingers. "I'm not letting you go up there alone."
"Let me handle him." She said dismissively, not wanting to let the distraction be the reason she lost steam. She rarely raised her voice to Roy, never approached him in a less than polite manner in their personal interactions and she always respected him even in their worst moments. Yes, she could lay into him when he was a moron at work, but that was her job. His recklessness undermined her ability to do her duty as his bodyguard, it was her job to scold him on those manners. His laziness and procrastination about paperwork received her scorn as well, because it was her job as his aide. Personally, she had never criticized him even if she wanted to. That was Hughes's job. However this display was nothing short of a declaration of his possession and he might as well have walked up to her and pissed on her leg before growling at Havoc. She deserved to be treated better than this, especially by him.
"Riza, this is about us. Not you and him." Jean ran up to her and tried to get her attention, but her eyes were focused straight ahead and he could tell she was already mentally engaged for a battle. "I'm not ashamed of us, he has no right to make us feel like two schoolkids breaking the rules. We're adults and..."
"You're giving him too much credit." Riza opened the door to the side entrance of HQ and held the door for him. "He's the schoolkid, not us."
"He's our boss."
And at that moment, she knew exactly what hand Roy Mustang would play to put an end to them.
He was not expecting that response at all. Roy blinked at her and raised his hand to his cheek where Riza had just slapped him. "Well, of all the ways I thought you'd assault me...I never expected this one."
So she slapped him again, this time with the back of her hand on the other cheek. It felt good, very good. "How dare you."
"How dare I?" He took a step back and returned to his seat, hoping that would put an end to her hitting him. Damn, that stung. "You're the one fraternizing with a subordinate. Even I'm not allowed to do that."
Riza clenched her fist and wanted to tell him how damned lucky he was that he had the foresight to sit down. "You've insulted me enough today, at least have the dignity to tell me what your real problem is because we both know it's not about me outranking Havoc."
He flashed her a heated look and she returned with one of her own. So he leaned back in his chair and considered whether or not he wanted to get into this now. It was 8am, they had a full day of work and some overtime to get through and he had already been slapped. Twice. "Not here."
She leaned over his desk, not accepting the dismissal of the situation because she knew he was hoping she'd calm down. This one time she didn't want to calm down. She didn't want to have someone else tell her what to do with her life and she was hurt that he would try to control her like this. So instead of just agreeing to this smart option, she opted to tack on an addendum. "Fine. However, you better be prepared to explain to me why I should want you instead. You, who gets possessive and jealous every time anyone looks at me. You, who should know better because you're the only one in existence who knows how controlling my father was, how he used me as a damned notebook. You know how I've struggled to be in control of myself, to get away from a man who abused me by treating me like a possession. Why, would I want to turn away from a man who treats me like an equal and be with one who sees me as a trophy?"
She could have just shot him in the heart and it would have been less painful and had the same effect. He felt like everything stopped, all his vital organs as well as the passage of time as she leaned over his desk and stared him down with her angry eyes. He didn't know if it was the result she was going for, however he just melted in front of her. Suddenly his voice was nothing more than a hollow whisper as it left his lips. "Riza, I...you don't think that's how I feel. Do you?"
She closed her eyes at the sound of his voice, knowing those eyes of his would crush her if she looked into them now. "I think you know damned well what you're doing here and I think I have every right to tell you how I feel about it."
"We agreed that...we couldn't take the risk anymore after I made Colonel. We made that decision, that it was too risky and it would compromise our goals in the long run. So why did you revise your policy for him?" Roy leaned forward, his chair squeaking. "So maybe you should have the dignity to tell me why I'm waiting and you've moved on. Tell me what the real problem is, because if it was just about Havoc I know you wouldn't have hid it from me."
"This isn't about you!" She slammed her fist into the desk. "Dammit Roy don't you dare try and change the subject with a slight of hand, this is not about you!"
"Then why the hell are we arguing like a couple instead of a superior and subordinate?" He asked and searched her face for an answer. "Why do I feel betrayed and you felt like you needed to hide this?"
"Because he's in love with her you idiot!" Breda slapped his best friend upside the head and returned to eating his breakfast sandwich. "Do you think we just make this shit up? Do you think that everyone who has ever met them just asks if they're married because they're cute together? Do you notice how he smirks when he hears that question and how she has to look away? Are you blind?"
Havoc looked into his coffee and glanced at the Colonel's office door. Things were quiet, uncomfortably quiet, and he knew he should be in there. It was about his relationship with Riza and not what Riza was doing with him, however he had already accepted the awkward role Roy Mustang had in everything Riza did. He was this ever present gloomy cloud that hung over them, even before now. They worried about him finding out. She always had to reschedule dates because the Colonel had some undercover job he had planned. They couldn't let anyone know about them because it could make the Colonel look bad. Roy Mustang was already in their relationship before it began and it was almost a relief that he finally injected himself into it physically. Almost. "Well it's not about what everyone thinks. Hell it's not about what he thinks either. I'm dating Riza...me...Jean Havoc. Not anyone else."
"Are you going to quit your job for her?" Breda asked. "Or Transfer?"
"What?" Jean looked at his best friend, confused by the questions.
"She's your superior idiot. You work in the same office." Breda glared at him, sometimes Havoc just wanted to simplify a complex situation that just was never going to be anything but messy. "Do you support Mustang in the long term, or Havoc for the short term?"
"What do you mean short term?" Havoc looked into his best friend's eyes and saw that same calculating look he used to give him in the academy. That look from a man who did think through all the possibilities because he wanted to be prepared for all of them. "It's not like this was a one-night stand. We've been taking it slow, but that's because I'm not going to screw this up or cheapen it."
"Jean." Breda leaned against the wall of the office and rolled his eyes up to the light fixture. "I'm not asking you if you guys slept together. I'm asking where you think this is going? Are you quitting this team to pursue Hawkeye? If so, where is that going? You think she's going to go back home with you and work in the General Store? I know you bud, I know you want a family. I know...what you're thinking. That maybe if you give her that option than she'll want it as bad as you do."
"You don't know her." Jean growled.
"You're right." Breda looked over at him. "Which allows me to observe. I don't know what is between Mustang and Hawkeye, but what I do know is that it goes beyond just being war buddies. It's beyond some solidarity of soldiers that fought on the front, it's something probably fucked up but it's never going away. Beyond that, she's not going to leave him for you. I'm not talking about a relationship, I'm talking about a lifetime commitment. Hawkeye is on his team for life, whether it puts him at the top or takes them in front of a firing squad. That's just setting yourself up to get hurt Jean."
"We'll talk about this later." Havoc tossed his coffee in the sink and ran his hands through his hair as Falman and Fuery arrived with breakfast and talking about the lack of jelly in the donuts this morning. He knew when lunch came he'd have to ask Riza what happened. Ask her if they were still dating. Perhaps Heymans was right, because even at this stage he had less pull in this relationship than Mustang did. So glanced over the man's office door again, then contemplated grabbing his boss's damned trench coat and kicking the door in to suffocate him with it. Of course, anyone could tell you what would happen: Riza would step in to save Mustang, just like she always did.
So where the hell did that leave him other than watching the clock with his back to his supposed girlfriend hoping the Colonel wouldn't steal his lunch time away too?
Riza felt his hand on hers and she tried to pull it away but he grabbed on tighter. "It's not about you."
Roy took a deep breath and reluctantly asked, "So...is he the one?"
Riza looked at him, his dark eyes pleading for an answer that wouldn't shatter him. It was in moments like this when he looked at her in the way of a man that would give up anything for her happiness that she wanted him the most. She knew him better than anyone else, she knew his fits of jealousy and that spectacle outside were because she had wounded him and he lashed out like vulnerable animal. "It just happened, I realized one day that he made me laugh and it felt good. We don't have a history, there isn't anyone watching us, there's an innocence about him and he shares it with me."
"Is he the one?" Roy asked again. "It will kill me but I will walk out there and apologize to him if you say yes. I'll ignore what I saw, what I continue to see...I'll help cover for you. If he makes you happy, I want you to be happy Riza. I can understand if you can't be happy with me."
It was her turn to melt and she wanted to cling to her anger from earlier but instead reached out for his red cheek and bit her lip. "I...just enjoy how uncomplicated it is. I..."
He kissed her hand and softly said, "He's a good guy."
"We just started out at the range, then with coffee and...I didn't want it to stop. Yet I stop him every time he gets too close." She felt a tear roll down her cheek and his hand brushed it away. "What am I doing?"
"If you enjoy..."
She leaned forward and placed a kiss upon his lips. The spark was still there, that flush of emotions that started in her gut and rushed to tighten her chest with a feeling that bordered on euphoria and nausea. She felt him struggle to not kiss her back, to not pull her into his lap and and take her breath away with the thousands of kisses he hadn't been able to give her since they agreed to part ways. To pull away was more difficult than she thought it would be. She placed her forehead on his and whispered, "I really do like him."
"I'm an asshole." Roy said and touched her face, the feel of her skin under his fingertips made his breath fluctuate. "You're right, you deserve someone like that. My actions today prove that you can do better than me. You deserve to be treated like a queen and you don't lurk around in the shadows with a Queen, you put her on a pedestal. He'll do that. He'll worship you and give you everything. You can have a peaceful life like you've always wanted. A world where people can be happy, he can show you that world. He'd already proven that to you, you just told me in your own worlds. A man like me, I'm broken and miserable and I need to stay in the shadows. So get out of here and go tell him you slapped me and..."
She kissed him again. If Jean Havoc's draw was his optimism and purity, Roy Mustang's was his shattered innocence and tortured soul. It wasn't that she wanted to dwell in the darkness like he did, it was that she knew she could keep him afloat whereas she could only drag Havoc down with her. She was broken too. "I wish it was that easy to stop loving you."
He felt his heart pound. "I don't deserve that. Especially not after today."
"I wanted to believe you moved on." She said and stood up to try and avoid kissing him again. She was breaking one of the cardinal rules of the office. "All those women and dates...I know those are Christmas's girls but still...you looked happy. You looked like you were enjoying yourself. It hurt to see you with them, but it helped me stay away."
"They're fake. They're work, nothing more. I work to keep my mind off you. " He leaned back in his chair and tried to compose himself. They were at work and the rest of the team, well at least Havoc and Breda, knew what they were in here talking about. They knew they weren't discussing expense reports. "Staying away from you is the hardest thing I have ever done."
"I need time." She said and took a deep breath. "To sort this out. I'm going to be honest with Havoc, but this is about me and him."
"When you're ready, I'll be here and ready to talk about us." He said, following her train of thought. "Risk be damned, it's more dangerous without you than hiding a relationship."
"What you did today was horrible." She said and watched him nod in agreement. "You're still going to apologize to him."
"I'll make it up to him." Roy said and toyed with a pen on his desk. "I'm sorry I treated you that way, more than anything. I really am, it was nothing but jealousy and I just didn't think. I reacted and you deserve better."
"We'll talk more later, right now...this isn't about us." She stood up and walked over to the window to look down at the street and gather her thoughts. What happened to coming in here and fighting for her right to date Jean? He made her happy and she enjoyed how normal the relationship was. Jean didn't have her father or his alchemy always looming over him. Jean didn't serve in Ishval so he didn't have that experience to tarnish his good intentions. Jean...wasn't Roy. When she was with him she felt like she was just an ordinary woman again, but the fact was that she was far from ordinary. The brand on her back had seared her skin, but Ishval seared her soul. When those parts of her surfaced, when she couldn't keep them locked away anymore...she needed someone else who understood the sting of the fires of damnation. Not someone who would make her feel better. She needed someone who knew it was never going to be better, that it was going to be something she carried for life. "This isn't about us."
"Of course it's about Mustang." Havoc let his head fall into his hands and tried to squeeze his brains out with them. Not another girlfriend! Damn him!
Riza sat on the bench outside headquarters and wondered if she could get any less professional today. "The Colonel and I have a lot of history."
"I know." Havoc grumbled. "The damned war."
"Before that." Riza said. "He was my father's apprentice."
Havoc lifted his head out of his hands and looked at her. "No."
"Flame Alchemy, is a Hawkeye family secret."
"Holy shit. You've been in love with him since you were kids!?" Havoc asked and watched her cheeks flush and finally saw what Breda was talking about. Oh God, he wasn't the only one in denial.
"Jean, I love being with you. I love how honest and kind you are..."
"I get it. I've had him steal enough of my girlfriends to see a break up coming. You don't need to let me down easy." Havoc reached for a cigarette. "Though, I'd appreciate a parting gift of letting me smoke a few without you busting my ass for taking a long break."
She hung her head. There wasn't anything that she could say that wouldn't sound cliché. "I was happy with you, you know that."
"I think I always knew you weren't always 100% with me." Havoc reached for his lighter and looked at it. Damned Mustang was everywhere. "He better cut that jealousy shit out though, you deserve better. You're not the kind of woman a man wins."
She wasn't going to insult him by denying her feelings for Roy anymore. "I wanted that future, with the white picket fence and the farm. The kids playing in the yard, family dinner and peace. The simplicity away from everything."
"But?" He looked over at her and he saw the sadness on her face. Perhaps they had both been living in a fantasy world for the past few months. She honestly did enjoy being with him, Riza wasn't a woman to play games like that. However he saw times when she'd shut down and close him out and he had experienced that with Roy too. They both had secrets and were good at keeping them, he just hoped they at least confided in each other. Like Breda said, could he really picture Riza beside him at the table during the holidays talking about grain prices and buying their kids a pony? No, deep down he knew she'd be watching over Mustang while he did something dangerous while he made excuses to his family. She was a soldier, she was Mustang's Lieutenant. Still, it had been nice to pretend for a little while.
"I carry so much with me, decisions I have made and things I have done. I don't think I deserve that life and that would haunt me if I pursued it. I'd feel like a fraud, I'd feel like I was ignoring my obligation to rectify my wrongs."
"I don't know." He said and puffed his cigarette to life. "I think I could see you in a big mansion in Central with a bunch of puppies playing in the yard and a couple kids setting the Fuhrer's dinner table on fire. Don't count yourself out, Riz, you're one hell of a woman and he knows it. Men do stupid things when they're in love, but sometimes it's the right thing to do. "
"I don't want to lose you." She admitted.
"Oh, and here comes the 'we can still be friends' line." Havoc leaned back and winked at her. "But seriously, someone has to make sure that idiot treats you right, someone with a sniper rifle who is out of range of his fire attacks. I'm not going anywhere Riz."
She looked over and he gave her that innocent smile. "How are you still single?"
Havoc chuckled. "My boss is an asshole."
"You're going."
Jean Havoc's jaw almost hit the table. This was how Roy Mustang made it up to him? When he apologized and said he was going to 'make it up to him' he expected a night at the bar with as much booze as he could stomach. Not this. "Look Chief, I...don't want to die."
"Nonsense." Roy leaned over and ignored Alex Armstrong flexing and bellowing about his beautiful sister. "The Armstrongs are wealthy and well connected. You can't go wrong with this date!"
"She's going to kill me!" Havoc squeaked. This wasn't doing him a favor, it was eliminating him as competition! "What exactly do you thing is going to happen when Olivier Armstrong sees me at the door?"
"Oh no, not Olivier." Alex corrected him. "She would kill you. I'm going to introduce you to my little sister Catherine!"
"What if she looks like him?" Havoc asked and Roy shrugged. "You asshole, stop trying to kill me because I dated your girlfriend that you wouldn't admit was the love of your life."
"Shut up Havoc." Roy growled. "I'm doing you a favor."
"How is this a favor!?" Havoc asked.
"There will be fancy tuna." Roy said and smiled. "And I'll make sure you see my tailor and I'll pay for a new suit for you."
"What are you, my pimp?" Havoc asked.
"I doubt I could really charge much for you." Roy said sadly and then turned to Alex. "He'd love to come over for dinner and meet Miss Catherine."
Breda tried to not laugh, but ended up failing miserably. He made a mental not to never ask Roy Mustang for any favors.
One Year later...
"I can't believe they're getting married."
"Now I really am jealous." Roy mumbled and he felt Riza jab of her elbow into his side. "Of being able to get married, not of who he's marrying."
Riza gave Jean a reassuring smile as he stood at the alter on the steps of the Armstrong mansion. He looked amazing in his tuxedo and his face seemed frozen in an expression of disbelief and bliss. He stood beside Breda and waited for his bride to arrive on the arm of her father. It had been a year since that disastrous first date when Roy had shoved Jean into a blind date with the youngest Armstrong woman. Riza had actually been surprised at how persistent Jean was after her first rejection, especially after he moped around for a week after the failed dinner here at the very same house. Apparently Catherine didn't think he was strong enough for her tastes and he returned for a second date to try and prove her wrong. He ended up hospitalized after Alex accidentally broke his arm while arm wrestling, but Havoc never complained during his leave. Not when Catherine felt so bad about his injury that she announced she was going to nurse him back to health herself. When he finally returned back to work, Jean Havoc was showing off pictures of his new girlfriend like Hughes would show off pictures of his daughter.
Roy gave Olivier a seductive smile as she stood on the steps as the maid of honor. She smirked back, then gave him the finger using her flower bouquet to cover the gesture from the crowds. Roy snorted in amusement and looked over to Havoc as he stood there drooling on himself in excitement on his wedding day. The combination of one of Amestris's oldest and richest families wedding their daughter to a simple country boy Lieutenant was the romance the country was eating up like a fairy tale. He was happy for him, Havoc was head over heels in love and Catherine doted on him like he was the center of her universe...at least during the day. At night, well the Armstrongs were known for having a kinky side and Havoc was reporting to work with some questionable injuries on a weekly basis. Having grown up in a brothel, he had seen his fair share of strange muscle pulls and that euphoric glow that helped eased the pain. "Are you thinking about trying to catch the bride's bouquet?"
"You better not be looking to grab that garter." Riza countered.
He smiled and said, "I wouldn't dream of it. I know you want that garter/holster combo."
She smiled and allowed her eyes to shift to him for just second. She need to see that smile. He was gorgeous in that tux and she wished she wasn't so anxious to get it off him. "I'm wearing it right now."
"I'm wearing that shoulder holster you like so much." Roy said and smirked. "Maybe later we can help each other out of them?"
She took a deep breath. Damn that shoulder holster. Of course he was wearing it under his tux. He shifted in her seat as the thought of that started to make her feel uncomfortable. She searched for anything to distract herself with and noticed Breda wasn't looking down the aisle as the traditional bridal march played. He was looking across from him, at the woman who had come down the aisle on his arm...Olivier Armstrong? "Roy."
"Mmm?" Roy had turned to look at the bride along with everyone else as watching Havoc drool was somewhat embarrassing for not only his team, but all mankind. He noticed Riza was staring at the alter and he followed her gaze. "What?"
"Is there something going on between Breda and Armstrong?" Riza asked. "Or have I caught shipping fever from that man?"
Roy's eyebrows raised as he saw a subtle smile from Olivier as she and Breda exchanged glances. "Holy shit."
Riza clamped her hand over his mouth as all the guests around them turned to stare at Roy and his less than quiet outburst. "Excuse him, he's emotional at weddings."
Roy blinked and saw another exchange between his subordinate and the ice queen. Everyone was going to get married before him. Everyone. In fact, it was possible he was going to lose two of his subordinates to Armstrong. He pushed Riza's hand away from his mouth. "She's going to try and take my Knight and Rook."
Riza nodded. "I definitely have a feeling they're getting taken quite willingly."
"How in the hell did that happen?" Roy whispered as Catherine and her father walked past. Havoc's Mom could be heard crying over the music and he glanced up at the alter to make sure that wasn't Havoc sobbing. Nope. He was still there just frozen in place and drooling.
"I guess I can see it working." Riza whispered. "He's smart enough to see the danger in it. Heymans does actually respect and admire the General for the soldier she is, even if he does like to debate with her occasionally. As opposed to you who antagonizes her and underlines her accomplishments by repeatedly telling her how feminine she is and asking her out like a smug jackass."
"Wow." Roy sat back in his seat and watched the man of honor and maid of honor for the rest of the ceremony. Well at least she had enough money to keep him fed. "I don't see it working. Does he gag her with a sandwich?"
Riza kicked his leg. "Stop it, they're going to start the ceremony."
Roy leaned over and whispered, "I can't comprehend this. This equation doesn't work. Heymans and Olivier do not equal a compound of any kind that doesn't involve an explosion, expletives and...stains."
Riza reached over and sunk her nails into his leg. "Stop."
"What are we missing?" Roy whispered back. "Jean drooling on himself and Catherine dabbing it off his chin with her handkerchief? Alex crying?"
"You're going to be missing your leg soon if you don't shut up." She growled and squeezed harder. "Don't be bitter and jealous, be happy for Jean and quietly confused by whatever is going on between the man and maid of honor."
"It's called eye-banging." Roy said and someone gasped as they overheard him. He really should not have had so many glasses of wine while waiting on the wedding to begin. "She never looked at me like that. I'm irresistible!"
"Roy Mustang," Riza waited for his eyes to glance over to her as she lowered her voice so only he could hear, "If you want to help me out of this dress, you will shut your mouth until after this ceremony is over."
"She just fed him some cake!" Roy whispered as he peaked through the flower arrangement to see Breda and Armstrong hiding behind some bronze sculpture of one of her relatives. "Oh my god, he's licking her fingers."
Riza slapped him in the stomach. "Pay attention, Catherine's getting ready to throw the bouquet."
"Where was this enthusiasm when I bought you a carload of flowers?" He asked. "I don't see a vase in your hand."
"Why do I love you?" She asked as he grinned and then left to go over to Ed and Al to talk about the plate of food Edward was wolfing down. Only that boy would find spaghetti and mashed potatoes and gravy side by side on his plate. She smiled as Winry came over and stood next to her. "Hoping to catch it?"
"Well...not really I mean...I don't exactly have a boyfriend." Winry said and blushed. Riza knew better.
"Me either." Riza said and watched Winry cock an eyebrow. Both ladies turned to look at the new Mrs. Havoc giggle and turn her back to the crowd of single women. They prepared themselves to capture that bundle of flowers at any cost. They knew one thing the rest of the women didn't know, Catherine Elle Armstrong Havoc had the throwing arm of a MVP. They exchanged glances and then looked back at their men teasing each other like children. Sadly, she really did want to marry that idiot. The last year had been a refreshing change from the last time they attempted to cultivate a relationship away from watchful eyes, as they both realized how work and fear was sucking the life out of their time together. They learned to enjoy every moment they had and be uninhibited in private. It didn't solve everything, but she could say that it was definitely making her happy.
Winry frowned as Ed slurped up a strand of pasta as loud as possible and then shoveled a scoop of mashed potato into his mouth. He was gesturing and pointing at the alter, trying to tease Mustang about not being married yet without stopping his meal. From the blush on Ed's cheeks, she surmised that Mustang had countered with an accusation of his own. Ed swallowed and then started spitting insults back. She turned back to the wedding, wondering why she was waiting for that idiot to realize she was waiting for him.
Alphonse Elric watched the spectacle from the back of the reception. First Ed tripped on a hidden tombstone for someone's pet ocelot, which lead to a plate of pasta and potatoes launching into the Colonel's tuxedo jacket. At approximately the same time, Mrs. Catherine Havoc tossed her bouquet into the crowd and, with the strength passed down in the Armstrong line for generations, launched it nearly a quarter of a mile to the very back of the massive yard. Precisely where two young women were ready to catch it, even though the men they loved were now starting a food fight.
Love was something special and clearly not ordinary for the two most powerful alchemists in the world who were trying to suffocate each other with mashed potatoes. He really couldn't wait to get his body back, especially after Winry and Riza caught the bouquet together and then turned around to look at their future husbands rolling around in the grass covered in dinner, trying to pull each others hair. Al sighed and walked away before the ladies could come over to break up the fight. He was curious if the Armstrong's still had ocelots as pets. That was a cat he never had the chance to play with and he absolutely adored their cute little tufted ears.
As Al walked around some shrubberies and a interesting hedge animal that looked like a Centaur General Armstrong, he heard a crash and peaked over a row of tall hedges to see what it was.
"Rook takes Queen."
Al covered his eyes as he saw Lieutenant Breda's bare ass. There was grunting and rustling, and before he could turn around and find somewhere less adult to be, he heard a triumphant voice of Olivier Armstrong.
"Queen takes Rook." Armstrong said with a pant. "Now to show you how I deal with insubordination."
"Is that ice cream?"
Al paused, not sure if that squeak to Breda's voice was fear or excitement. He shook his head and determined that he really didn't want to find out. He resumed his quest to find an ocelot, and he really wasn't going to be upset if that journey took him away from the Armstrong mansion and to Central Zoo.
AN: Ocelot thanks to Archer, always. Expect more Havoc and Catherine, because they're adorable and uncomplicated.
Based this on a piece of official art where the crew is at a wedding and Winry and Riza are grabbing for some flowers while Ed dumps food on Roy in the background.