My contribution for the coming Royai Day. This will consist of 12 one-shots that will be posted daily until the Royai Day. These one-shots are inspired by songs, classical songs to be specific, all of the songs in Etude op 8 (there are twelve!) by Scriabin, to be more specific. XD

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and all its properties belong to Arakawa-sensei.

Singing in the Rain

There was always someone singing in the rain.

It was Roy's second year of studying alchemy with Master Hawkeye's house, and he realized that someone was always singing on rainy days. Sometimes it was a lady – a beautiful soprano, on other times it was a man – a deep bass. The two of them sang different songs from each other, but they were always singing their own songs. Sometimes they would sing together, though Roy would never know if they knew each other and sang together or their singing together was just a coincidence, but their songs matched with each other's. It was as if they were singing it in two voices: two different voices which were each melodious and beautiful, but harmonious to each other. Roy was pretty sure that the song (or both songs) had no words at all, but even if they had words at all, he wouldn't know, for all he could catch were beautiful melodies.

It took some time before Roy knew Riza had also always listened to the song in the rain. Being outside the study most of the time, Riza could have a better listening to the song, but she couldn't hear any words from the song, either. Riza was not someone who loved music, in fact, she had not heard anyone else sung since her mother's death, but she admitted that this song was beautiful. On some rainy nights, when one or both singers had finished singing, sometimes Roy and Riza would try to imitate the melody they heard. It was something they both enjoyed – both of them were cooped inside the house with nothing better to do on leisure than reading, and singing was a new yet welcomed addition. Quite oddly, when Roy left the Hawkeyes' home in 1902, the singing in the rain had stopped, too.

point d'orgue

They would say it was ironic: how they knew what song it actually was. It was on one extremely rare rainy night in Ishbal they heard the song again after they met in the Ishbal Massacre in 1908. It happened after Riza made her existence in Ishbal known to Roy. They were sitting outside their tents, huddling in front of the fire inside one of the ruined buildings the military had claimed which was close enough to the 'unsafe' areas which still had Ishballans 'running free'. There were no other soldiers other than themselves. They were sitting in complete silence when suddenly, 'the song in the rain' they used to listen to when they were children. It was Roy who broke the silence once the song ended.

"It is that song we used to listen in the rain," Roy said. Riza simply nodded, not knowing what to say. Not receiving any response, Roy tried to start the conversation again, "Why do you think it would be sung here, in Ishbal?" Riza shrugged, still not saying anything. Roy sighed. When he got her eyes on him, he immediately made eye contact, his eyes pleading to her, 'Say something, please.'

It worked. Riza replied to Roy's last question. "I don't know. Maybe it's an Ishballan song?"

Roy smiled. He liked to hear her voice. "That would be quite ironic. I mean, I've never heard that song other than in the rain. It must be some sort of a rain song, mustn't it?"

Riza shrugged again. The conversation died at that, and they returned to their own tents not half an hour later, both not knowing why they did so.

The next morning, the grounds were still wet from last night's rain. Roy, who just woke up and was eating breakfast, was approached by Maes Hughes.

"Yo, Roy," the bespectacled man greeted him.

Roy simply nodded. His mouth was too full of food, which was a bowl of totally bland gruel, to greet his best friend properly. Once he swallowed what he wouldn't call food when he was still back in Central, he greeted Maes, "Hey."

"Last night was a rare but pleasant incident, no? I mean, it rained. It was only a drizzle, but that's more than you can expect in this desert. Even the ground's still wet from the rain," Maes commented.

"Uh-huh," Roy mumbled, his mouth once more full of gruel. He suddenly remembered about the song, the one always sung in the rain, and thought Maes might know something about it. He was in the Investigations, after all, though songs might or might not have any connections to that… Roy quickly swallowed the gruel. "Hey, Hughes, do you know if there's a particular Ishballan song often sung here?"

Maes shook his head. "Nope. I mean, who would sing in a war?"

"Do you know anything about Ishballan songs?"

Maes rubbed his chin pensively. "Well, I might know some. There are some popular Ishballan folk songs often sung by Ishballan servants back in Central."

"Why the hell don't I know anything about that," Roy grumbled.

"Because you were studying alchemy when people started hiring Ishballans as servants," Maes started simply. "Why, is there a particular song you would ask about?"

"Well, I heard a song last night… And I've never heard it before."

"You think it's an Ishballan song just because you've never heard it? Aren't there many songs in the world? I mean, what makes you think it's Ishballan?" Maes raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"The tune does not sound like Amestrian, pop or folk."

"Ah, that makes sense. What was the song like?"

Roy hummed a bit of the tune he knew by heart. Maes frowned, listening in deep concentration, and when Roy finished humming his face lightened up.

"Well? Are you familiar with it?"

Maes nodded. "It is an Ishballan song, just as you suspected. It is the Song of Rain. It is actually quite famous."

Roy raised his eyebrow. "The Song of Rain? Are you kidding me? I mean, why the hell do they have a Song of Rain in Ishbal?"

Maes shrugged. "I heard they sing the song when they wish for rain to their God, otherwise known as Ishbala."

Roy's eyebrow was still raised, but he nodded. Riza's guess was right: it was an Ishballan song. Mystery unrevealed.

point d'orgue

They have never heard the Ishballan Song of Rain anymore since the Ishbal Civil War. They were stationed at Eastern HQ not long after the war, along with Roy's four new subordinates. East City, being very close to the desert, had warm weather, too. On dry season, it rarely ever rained, just like in Ishbal. One day, the weather was warm to the point the officers were very tempted to undo their military jacket.

Roy stretched behind his desk, which was full of paperwork. He didn't feel like doing any of the paperwork at all, the weather being very warm, making him twice as lazy as usual on doing the paperwork. He yawned and eyed his First Lieutenant, who was diligently doing her share of his paperwork.

"Lieutenant," he called. "Don't you think it's the perfect time to sing the Song of Rain?"

Riza looked up, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Don't you think it's a bit weird? Hughes said it is called the Song of Rain because they sing it when they are wishing for rain to their God. Yet they always sing it in the rain."

Riza laughed. "I suppose it is, Sir."

A/n: So what do you think? Was it good? Was it bad? It was surprisingly light-hearted for a conversation had in Ishbal o.o Anyway, if you want to try listening to the song, go to Youtube and type "Scriabin Etude op 8 no 1" in the search box. Oh, and... review please!

EDIT: page breaks/separator lines.