An Innocent Wish
A/N: Inspired by "It's All Your Fault" by P!nk and "Fields of Innocence" by Evanescence.
Takes place after Riza shows Roy the tattoo.
Roy couldn't sleep. The past few days' events swirled and whizzed around in his head, pinging off his skull and buzzing through his brain at warp speed, and none more vividly than today's.
"Why?"
Riza shrugged, her back to him, her arms across her chest. "Permanence. When you have so much taken away from you, and you're offered a chance at something that won't go away, no matter what the consequences are, you're hard-pressed not to take it."
Roy sputtered for a moment. "Ink… fades." He said finally.
Riza made a derisive noise. "It wasn't the permanence of ink—which this isn't, by the way; my father manipulated the pigmentation of my skin—but the hope that his love might be more permanent than anything else I've experienced." She picked up her blouse and held it to herself as she turned to face Roy. "I've never wanted anything so badly in my life," she whispered. "I was a fool to think it would last, especially with his condition…" she bit her lip and lowered her eyes, even hanging her head slightly so her bangs obscured whatever her face would otherwise betray.
Roy knew the feeling all too well; he knew what it was to reach out and take the hand of the devil, knowingly or not, and then to have everything shatter because you'd been granted a wish you hadn't understood.
Just as Riza had reached out and taken his hand… God, what had he done?
No; that wasn't the problem.
What was he going to do?
Roy squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, but the facts were the facts. He was a monster, a soon-to-be murderer, and Riza was his accomplice.
All I wanted was to be loved…
She'd barely whispered it, but he knew he hadn't been imagining things.
With an enraged yell, Roy sat up and threw his pillow across the room. He flung his legs over the side of the bed, pulled on an undershirt, and tried not to stomp his way to Riza's room, though she was a fairly sound sleeper.
He nudged her door open and, seeing she was still asleep, tiptoed over to her bed. He settled down next to her on top of her comforter and lifted a hand to brush her bangs back from her eyes.
"I can't decide what's worse;" he whispered, "An innocent wish that brings about something you can't stop, or an informed wish you're going to be paying for for the rest of your life. And maybe I really shouldn't make any other wishes, but, if by some miracle everything works out, I hope you'll be a part of that future."
Riza stirred and mumbled something incoherent.
Roy smiled sadly. "The permanence of love… it's still there, just maybe not from the person you expect. I just hope it's enough."
A/N: I don't know that Riza's father could've manipulated her skin pigmentation, let alone if that's even possible in FMA, but for the sake of this, please bear with me!
And, if you'd be so kind, maybe leave a review? Thanks!