Title: I Swear
Genre: Angst/Romance
Pairing: Roy x Riza
Summary: Riza's first day on the battlefield, and she's already breaking down.
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or the lyrics I borrowed from the song I Swear by All-4-One.
I Swear
It was on a moonlit night that she met Roy Mustang. The skies were clear and the stars were twinkling brightly. It was rare to see such a wonderful night, and it was a pity that no one had the heart to enjoy the night. Everyone was too busy trying to get a wink of sleep before they had to wake up and fight for their lives again.
It was her first day on the battlefield, and she had already took away many innocent lives. And now she could not sleep. Even though she was exhausted, her mind refused to rest. She tossed and turned in her bed, trying desperately to fall asleep, but her mind was filled with horrifying images of dead bodies. Finally she gave up and walked out of her tent. The soldiers standing guard at the opening of the tent snapped to attention when they saw her, but they did not stop her from going out.
She was fully aware that it was dangerous to go out at night, so she had brought her guns with her. But she was thinking that even if she saw enemies, maybe she would not shoot. She would do nothing and leave herself to the mercy of them. She should die, after all the people she'd killed. She deserved to die. Her life seemed so worthless, so small now. It would be better if she died. One less soldier; one less killing machine.
And then she saw him. He was standing there, his back to her, under a tree, gazing at the moon. His shadow fell across the grounds, long and dark and ghostly. At first she thought he was an enemy, and her hands gripped her guns. For a brief moment she wondered if she should just commit suicide on the spot. But a small part of her was afraid of dying.
Then he turned and saw her. It was then she recognized his face. She had seen him earlier that day, when she first entered the army camp. His face was amongst a midst of other soldiers, fighting, fighting, fighting. She had not paid much attention to him back then. But now, she noticed, he had quite attractive features. Short raven hair and small narrow obsidian eyes. He smiled thinly at her, and she loosened her grip on the guns.
"Hello," he said. "The name's Roy Mustang. Yours?"
"Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye," she replied stiffly.
"There's no need to include your rank in your name," Roy said with a soft chuckle.
"It's a heavy burden to carry," Riza said quietly.
Roy's expression turned serious. "Oh yes, indeed. There are times when you want to die. Sometimes life is terrible when you're a soldier."
"How long have you been in the army?" Riza asked.
"About a year. I was here before the war started," he replied. "Those were good times then, before the war. Those were times when you felt good being a soldier."
"Why did you join the military?"
"I'm a State Alchemist, you know. Thought my talents would perhaps have some use in the military," he answered. "Never knew that it'd come to this. Using my talents to kill people. Destroy cities."
Riza could see sorrow in his eyes, even though there was laughter in his tone. "You must be of a higher rank than me then, sir."
"There's no need to call me sir, Riza. Not now, in the middle of the night. And yes, I'm a Major."
"Do you think you'd survive the war?"
"You do have so many questions, don't you, young lady?" Roy said with another chuckle. "Well, yes, to answer you question, I guess I might. It's hard to say so though. Even if I don't get killed by enemies, I might finish my life myself." He sighed. "I have an ambition though."
"And may I ask what is that, sir?"
"I want to become the Fuhrer and change the country for the better. Stop the wars." He paused, and looked at Riza with a genuine smile. "Would you like to assist me? Protect me so that I can achieve my goal?"
Somewhere deep within her heart, love was sprouting for this newly-known man. She couldn't help but return the smile. "Yes, I would."
"Follow me."
"I will."
And under her breath, she added, "I swear."
And I swear
By the moon and the stars in the sky
I'll be there
I swear
Like the shadow that's by your side
I'll be there
For better or worse
Till death do us part
I'll love you with every beat in my heart
I swear
A/N: I think this fic was a bit choppy at the start. And Riza seems to be OOC. Oh well, never mind. Love the song I Swear. Don't own it though. The Ishbal idea has been done to death, and I've done it again. -sigh- But people never get tired of these kind of fics, do they? Please read & review!