Tarnished - by Kay.
She is weeping into his shoulder, and at this point in time Roy Mustang feels as though he has tarnished her.
The Ishbal War has not long passed. Riza Hawkeye is young, far too young and innocent for the likes of a war. Tears on his shirt are evidence of this, and he has never felt so guilty in all his life.
Granted, she is considerably more precious than a metal which tarnishes; perhaps pure gold is more fitting, especially with the bright colour of her hair. As she looks at him asking, why, he is steadily aware of something haunting. While her eyes are the colour of bright, rosy copper, in years to come they will tarnish until all is ruined, and the windows to her soul will leave nothing but the hollow shell of a woman.
He believes the process has already begun, and takes full responsibility for - albeit indirectly - pulling her into this mess. She cries in his arms, and he is there to comfort her. He does not speak but longs to tell her that she will overcome her mental anguish.
Inside his own tormented mind, Roy knows better than to tell her these lies.
A few minutes have passed and Riza, whom he knows so well, has stopped crying. He is drawn out of his musing and when she looks up; her face is blotched with tears. No words escape her lips, but that familiar expression of determination was returning to her eyes.
It is this determination that makes him wonder if really, his doubts about her are wrong. She doesn't need to say anything to the man before her to finally prove this. Riza Hawkeye is sure she will defend him with everything that she is.
All of a sudden, the gaze in her eyes tells him something different, and he will surely return it. Roy doesn't ever speak of it and neither does she, but he returns the soft -and ironically heartbreaking- look to her.
While her purity may have been destroyed, tainted as a result of the war, the steady gleam to her eyes does not falter and for that, he loves her.
End
A/N: Gosh, I don't even know what to say about this little piece of writing. The inspiration was, in fact, metals. Strange, I know. ;) Funnily enough it took me days to write and mess about with before I was happy with it. So, I hope you all like it!