Part one: Crashing Stars, Chapter one: Holding On

I do not own the rights to any characters so far the characters belong to their respective creator.

I am waiting for the dust around me, as well as the cloud of dust and smoke in my sight to settle that Mustang kicked up into the air blocking my shot. I am in the prone position with my trusted riffle against my shoulder looking down the sights trying to see if my target is still there. I am holding my breath with my finger against the trigger, ready to fire. Once everything settles, I can see that Roy is confronting a Kid and his face is as horrified as mine. The kid is armed, and Roy is frozen with his hand up, he's ready to send the kid to his god, but he is waiting for a reason to do it. I closed my eyes and prayed for forgiveness, knowing if Roy wasn't going to kill the kid, the kid might kill him. I exhaled and drew in a sharp breath as I squeezed the trigger the same time more smoke filled the air. I don't know much else about what happened besides waking up in a tent with a killer headache and every other piece of me hurting. I think I tried to get up but there was a hand on my shoulder and a voice telling me not to. The voice telling me not to get up was one I knew all too well. He explained that he didn't know my position and if he would have known I was there he would have kept the blast under control. He found me under a pile of what used to be a brick building. He was just happy the damage to me wasn't too much. Roy's body language suddenly tensed as if he sensed nearby danger, and he raised his hand with the glove on it a second too late as the sound of a gun going off rang though the air. Roy fell to his knees holding his stomach next to my bed as I ignored my own pain and pressed my hand over his. With my free hand I pulled out my colt 1911 and killed the person who shot Roy with one bullet. Tears fell from my eyes as I looked down and found my hand dyed the color of the awful hate that the senseless war was all about. "Just hold on you can do this!" I whispered as a doctor came running over and started helping him. I sat back against the cot shaking uncontrollably staring down at my blood-stained hands asking myself how I could ever atone for the sins of the war.

I bolt upright in bed, wheezing as I try to catch the breath that the night terror stole from me. I reach for the glass of the water on the nightstand only to accidentally knock it off, shattering the glass as it hit the hardwood floor. The dark-haired brigadier general woke up next to me and sat up slowly as he stretched out. He, however, quickly woke up when he heard my breathing. He didn't say too much as he wrapped me in his arms and adjusted the blanket around me. His fingers slid through my hair as he pressed my face into his shoulder and I began to cry.

"Hey, it's okay I'm right here. I won't let go of you until you tell me to. However, I think you do need to see the counselor. I am going to make a phone call, then I will get you some chamomile and lavender tea." I leaned against him as he spoke, and he picked up the phone and dialed the all too familiar number to us.

By the time he finished the phone call, I had fallen asleep again, hoping against hope the night terrors wouldn't come back. Then again, I always felt safer in his arms and not with him just next to me. The hospital light above the bed flickered before burning out plummeting the room into pitch darkness. We were left alone in the dark to deal with our demons. After dealing with pride, both of us hated dealing with total darkness, however Roy had to deal with it on a more permanent basis since his sight still hadn't been cured. I opened my eyes again in the dark, touching the bandage on my neck. I asked one request when they brought us here. That was that they stitched the wound shut, I didn't want alchemy used to close the wound. While it would have been a good use for alchemy, I had seen alchemy destroy too much to let it do the one good thing. Roy also denied the power of the philosopher's stone after he found out how the specific stone was made, he decided he would rather be blind than use a cursed stone to restore his vision.

I stared at my firearm in the dark and I wondered if I could meet a rather painless end to my suffering or if I could live in peace after everything I went though. I know he would stop me though. He couldn't stand to lose me, and personally the feeling was rather mutual in that respect. In the dark with both of us awake, Roy silently slipped a chain from around his neck and opened it slipping what the chain held off into his hand.

"Riza Hawkeye," he whispered, cutting into the still silence playing with whatever was in his hand.

"What is it...?" I asked just as quietly having a sneaky suspicion as to what could possibly be coming but preparing myself for anything.

"We have been together for a very long time. I cannot begin to count how many times you were there for me when no one else was. I kept telling myself that I couldn't fall in love with you because of the rules that govern the military, but, I can't keep pretending anymore. I almost lost you that day. I can't stand to go through that kind of pain again. I don't know what I would do without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care if I must throw away my dreams at this point. I would rather sacrifice my dreams and spend a lifetime with you than spend a thousand lifetimes without you by me and live out my dreams of being the führer of this country. It isn't worth it if I lose you in the end. Riza Hawkeye, what I'm asking is, will you do the honor of being my wife?"

I wasn't able to give my answer to the question that Roy just asked me. I knew for him, his loss of vision would mean a discharge from the state military, but I also silently questioned what he would do if he did regain his vision by chance. While I was trying to stop the tears from falling at the fact that he just restarted a heart I thought was dead, before I could give him a proper response, the evening doctor made their rounds. He walked over to me first, smiling and introducing himself, I forgot his name but I remember that somehow even in the complete darkness of the room, I saw what appeared to be a gold tooth. I don't remember too much about what happened besides Roy's arms holding me tightly and telling the doctor to get the hell out of the room. When the doctor protested, Roy told him he obviously didn't understand anything that we have been through nor the effects that that kind of trauma would have on a person. He repeated himself by telling the doctor to get out and to send in a nurse to do his job. When the doctor didn't move, Roy slipped on his glove holding out his hand, ready.

"You may think you are in charge here, but you are not. Your presence here is doing more harm to the captain than more good. I am going to ask you only one more time to leave before I burn you. Perhaps you have heard of me, Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist, don't think for a second that I won't make your life a living hell."

"I think you may have forgotten one tiny detail there Mr. Flame Alchemist," the doctor sneered, "how the hell can you hit me with your flame alchemy when you don't have your vision?"

"You pompous ass, how did you ever pass med school? I may have lost my vision, but I am in close enough range to you that I can hear exactly where you are at. the shoes you are wearing aren't exactly the quietest."

"Plus, we heard you down the hall, Colonel, do you need some help with this one?" Edward Elric entered the room with his brother.

"I don't need help, but of course you two would be here yet. I don't think Alphonse is ready for this quite yet. You also forgot it's Brigadier General now."

"Look, Mustang, you have known me for how long now? have I ever been one to see or hear trouble and run away from it?"

"You want me to actually answer that?"

While Ed and Roy were going back and forth, the doctor took the opportunity to slip a syringe out of his pocket. Before he could get the liquid into my bloodstream, I let out a shriek, stopping the debate in its tracks. Ed quickly sprang into action and subdued the doctor wrestling the syringe out of his hand and handing it off to Al telling him to get a nurse while Ed sat on the doctor to keep him down.

After I was treated properly for my episode, by authorized hospital personnel, I opened my eyes to find Roy's eyes trying to search for where he figured mine would be.

"I have bad days like that too, you are not the only one. I almost killed myself over the things we were ordered to do in the war. I know now it doesn't matter because we cannot bring them back, but I will do what I can to protect you. I think it's time for both of us to resign and leave it to a newer generation of alchemists who will use the alchemy for the good of the people. At least that's what I pray every night. Also, with what I said before, I know you didn't answer me yet, and Riza, that's okay. Just know that if I am with you, I will take all the good and the bad that comes with being with you, for better or worse I will always be by your side."

I didn't say anything yet but let myself be pulled into his arms as I silently cried. I didn't know exactly what I was feeling, but all I know is I whispered one word to the question he asked me earlier. "Yes."

"Wait, I feel like I am missing something... do I have to tell you and the First Lieutenant to go find a room?" Ed made a disgusted face.

"She's a captain now, and that depends if you make it to the wedding or not, Fullmetal."

"Wait... You mean...?!" Ed froze in shock, before pressing a hand to his forehead. "Damn it! Now you are making me look bad. I have the ring picked out for Winry but I haven't gotten around to asking her yet."

"Ed, you might want to get going on asking her. I don't know Winry that well, but she might not wait for you to ask her. I only waited for Roy for so long because he told me to wait for him. I grew impatient, but I am happy I was able to keep him out of trouble for the most part." I smiled up at Roy kissing him.

"I'm pretty sure it was me keeping you out of trouble Riza," Roy smirked mischievously.

I poked him in the side, "stop fooling yourself, you would have been lost without me."

"Okay, I think I'm calling in sick for this wedding," Ed yawned.

"What are you even still doing here Fullmetal?" Roy asked looking in his direction.

"Just thought I would bug you again Colonel, I can't babysit Alphonse all day. That just wears me out."

"It's - never mind. If you can come and go, do us a favor."

"Depends on what it is.. a favor to you is normally something not pleasant."

"This one should be, check up on Gracia and Elicia. I wanted to talk to them lately but.."

"You don't know what to say do you?" Ed asked quietly.

"You might be better off visiting them and seeing how they are holding up."

"You were friends with them." Ed pointed out.

"I just feel too much time has passed."

"Don't be hard on yourself, life does happen. I'm sure Gracia would understand. however, considering the task, I will check up on them. It's also quite ironic that you are asking me to do this when tomorrow marks the anniversary of the day he died. If only he could see you now."

"He would have said, now that you got her, how many kids will you have?" Roy looked down at his hands and gripped the blanket.

"Roy, everything will be okay in the end. You just have to believe that it will all work out." I whispered watching him slowly unclench his hands as the ring fell out of one of his fists.

Roy realized he still had the ring and he slipped it onto my finger , only it was the wrong finger and it got stuck halfway down. When he thought he had it on, I wiggled it off my middle finger and put it on my ring finger.

Ed saw the ring, "Mustang, how did you pay for that?"

I glared at him as Roy held up his hand as if to say he had it covered. "I have more money than you know about. I just don't let people know so I can afford to get married and do things like that someday."

"While that was rather rude for Ed to ask, Roy, the ring... I can't begin to describe it."

"Riza, you mean a lot to me, and now, everyone knows that we are together. I am not losing you again and the ring is proof of that." He kissed me to seal the deal, it was nothing like the kiss he gave me when we were kids, or the quick "stay safe out there" pecks on the forehead, this one proved to be more. I could feel the love and passion he felt for me and a desire to spend the rest of our lives together. I also felt the fire that was in his eyes when Envy tried to hurt me, only this time I could almost feel him saying that he would protect me, even if it cost him everything.