Hi guys! Thus far I've only written for the Ace Attorney fandom, but I fell in love with Royai…so this is my first FMA (Brotherhood) story – I hope nobody is too OOC.

This one-shot takes place right after Mustang told Marcoh to heal Havoc's paralysis before he'd allow the Philosopher's Stone to cure his blindness…and we get to see Riza's reaction to the devastating news….

This is dedicated to my good friend and terrific fellow FF writer who got me into this fandom, ThePudz! I hope you like this, mate!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, Fullmetal Alchemist and all the characters/names of places…etc. belong to their rightful owners!

Light My Fire

As he listened to Dr. Marcoh's footsteps retreating from his room, the black-haired military officer clenched his sightless eyes shut while he reflected on the harrowing instant when his life as he'd known it had nightmarishly been transformed, without any just cause or warning.

Despite the fact that, like a scene from a movie, he'd mentally rewound and played the moment over and over again in his mind, it still seemed like a blur.

One minute Roy was almost spinning his neck to locate the next person needing cover, the next he was on his back. What exactly had transpired, he hadn't had a clue. He'd felt cold sweat soaking into his undershirt, his brain straining for any sound of approaching feet or breath, like a sitting duck. When hands pulled him to his feet, with a jolt, he'd realized that he'd had to wait for the voice to tell him if it was friend or foe.

Izumi was asking him questions, but it was all he could do not to lose his balance all over again. The explosion of intense brightness had seared into his eyes like a hot camera flash, but after the heat and light had gone, aside from a hazy glow around his peripheral vision, he saw only total blackness – the most absolute darkness he had ever known; even in the blackest sky, there was some light from the stars. This time though, he knew it had nothing to do with the night.

He was blinded.

He could see no more than a blur and all he could do to mute the pain was clamp both hands to his eyeballs and push firmly. With frantic rubs, he'd attempted to clear them and regain his vision, but it was no use.

The Colonel could have dealt with almost anything better than the loss of his vision. He was never one to walk about, lost in daydreams; always his eyes had been admiring of the way the sunlight played on the leaves, or the soft frost on the grass. He didn't get to choose though. The blinding ray hadn't been like a simple flashlight; it was like a laser, brilliant and sharp. That was the last thing he got to see.

Until the Crystal Alchemist followed Roy's decree and utilized the Philosopher's Stone to heal Havoc's paralysis – because then, and only then, had the officer acquiesced use of the powerful transmutation amplifier to restore his vision – all he could do was daydream to bring back pictures of the natural world that he already missed so much…

Stop this self-pity, Mustang!

He gave his head a firm shake, refusing to allow his thoughts to go down this lachrymose path.

I did the right thing, he told himself firmly. The power of one man doesn't amount to much. But, with whatever little strength I'm capable of... I'll do everything humanly possible to protect the people I love, and in turn, they'll protect the ones they love. It seems like the least we tiny humans can do for each other.

He'd made his decision and he would not renege on it!

That's why I told the doctor to heal Havoc's more grievous injury first – he's a good man whose life was far worse destroyed in the line of duty! At least I am still mobile; he's paraplegic. There's no comparison – he needs the stone's healing more than I do! I can't let any fear or doubt cloud my decision. I will see again – but I won't allow my eyes to be treated yet. Not until Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc is walking once more.

As a Colonel, Roy had faced more dire straits and life or death situations than he could count. Truth be known, it really wasn't the loss of his eyesight that had now filled him with trepidation and had suddenly led his mind spiraling down that treacherous path of lament.

No, he realized as he saw the beloved face in his mind's eye. The lugubriousness isn't for me. It's never been about me.

The wave of limerence he'd been futilely suppressing for far too long overcame him again, and he bowed his head.

If he were to finally be entirely honest with himself, it was the speculated anticipation of her reaction to the news which filled Roy Mustang's heart with utmost dread and despair, unlike any he had ever known.

The Next Day...

"Damn you, Colonel!"

The plaintive wail resounded at such a clamorous, high-pitched decibel, it echoed amongst the surrounding treetops, with the loud flurry of hastened wings from the birds perched in the surrounding branches immediately following it.

Roy winced. More than anything, he desperately wished he could have joined the fleeing avian creatures, rather than have to face the music!

The reaction to his bulletin was even more gut-wrenching – and ear-splitting! – than he could have ever imagined! Evidently, the claim about all of your other remaining four senses become more sensitized and sharper upon the loss of another proved to be quite true. And at that moment, his consequentially ringing eardrums briefly made him wish he were deaf, as well as blind!

He had wisely chosen to meet with his Lieutenant at their favorite spot in the park after lunch, innately sensing it'd be in everybody's best interest if he were to tell her his calamitous news privately, away from the eavesdropping ears of their confrères.

Nevertheless, it still hadn't lessened the degree of her grief struck reaction.

"Lieutenant…" In an attempted consoling gesture, Roy sightlessly fumbled for her shoulder, vainly trying to estimate where it would be, as he was still unaccustomed to using his hands in lieu of his eyes, and instead found himself with his callused palm against her fine-boned cheek. "Please calm down. This is only a temporary setback, and it won't be permanent…"

The unaccustomed feeling of her satiny skin against his fingertips stunned him, but the blonde woman was too distraught to even react to his unfamiliar touch. Without even bothering to pull away, she continued pouring out her distress.

"Does your stubbornness know absolutely zero bounds?!" Riza Hawkeye shrieked impotently, her voice breaking. "How could you make such stupid, impulsive decision about something of this magnitude?! How?!"

His sharp ears picked up the tremor in her tone. He didn't need to have his eyesight to envision the agony on that seraphic face. Every delicate curve and feature was permanently etched into his mind, even though he was unable to presently view it. For the first time since receiving the news, Roy was almost grateful for his lack of ability to see, as observing Riza in this current state would have been his undoing.

He and Riza had been through so much together, and they each had been in fear of losing the other to the enemy's hand countless times, to the point where the heartbreaking image of her tormented visage was fresher in his mind than any other expression. His chest constricted in pain, knowing that this time he was responsible for her anguish.

"Dr. Marcoh is going to restore my sight as soon as Havoc's spinal damage is fully rectified! In the meantime, what say I try to use this to my advantage, and develop my other latent skills?" He attempted to speak lightly to lessen the somber mood as he heard her snuffle. "Perhaps I can soothe both our wounded souls by learning to play the piano? Who knows, I may prove to some sort of musical prodigy in spite of my handicap! The global masses would all flock to see the famed Flaming Alchemist tickling those ivories!"

"That's a horrible idea and you know it! I've seen what happens when you get frustrated … you – you hothead!" Another sniffle, followed by a teary laugh. "We're trying to rebuild Ishval, not start another war, simply because you had some sort of artistic meltdown, then in a matchless bout of fury, burnt the place to cinders!"

Roy chuckled at her attempted flippant wit, in spite of her misery.

"Hey, if all else fails, we could always get that plucky Shiba Inu of yours to be my seeing-eye dog," he joked. "I'm sure Black Hayate would be up to the challenge if you are!"

The Colonel went to give her cheek a gentle, commiserating pat, then froze as he felt the unmistakable feeling of wetness against his fingers. With a pang, he realized the rivulets cascading down her sculpted cheekbone were trickling from those expressive, luminous orbs.

She's crying.

Riza Hawkeye barely ever cried.

In all the years Roy had known her, the number of times he'd seen his personal adjutant shed tears could have been counted on the fingers of one hand. Of course she'd wept when her father had died, and the one time she'd thought she'd lost him, but otherwise, he'd seen her remain dry-eyed even in the greatest times of strife. Not even a droplet of pain had fallen from those chocolate orbs when that mad doctor had slit her throat!

Yet here stood the best sharpshooter and firearms specialist he'd ever known, utterly broken. One of the most enduring and formidable officers on earth, presently shedding tears. Because of him.

"I can't help but think of the last time we were here lieutenant," he'd once said mockingly. "As I recall, you were crying over me. Shame I don't get to see that softer side of you more often."

Roy didn't know how he ever could have uttered those smug words, even in jest. After all they had recently been through with the homunculi and the Elric brothers, Riza definitely didn't need to cry to demonstrate how she felt about him.

And it was because of the way he felt about her that the sound of her muffled weeping felt like a piercing stab wound to the chest.

"Lieutenant … Riza." He swallowed heavily at the lump in his throat. "Please don't cry."

"I'm not crying." She finally moved her face away from his hand and attempted to take a steadying breath. "It's – it's just…it's a terrible day for rain."

"What do you mean?" Undaunted, he reached out and gently wiped a stray droplet away from her cheek with his thumb. "It's not raining."

Her voice trembled as she moved out of reach again. "Yes... it is."

Roy couldn't take it anymore. Without warning, he swiftly drew her into his arms, the ache inside him steadily growing as he felt her collapse against him then, soaking his jacket with her tears.

"You don't know how much of that stone will be needed to repair the tremendous damage done to Havoc!" She wept, burying her head in his chest. "How could you take such a dangerous gamble, Colonel? How do you know there will be enough power left in the stone to fix your sight afterward?"

"Riza, please try to understand." He tried stroking her hair to soothe her, but to no avail. "If you believe the possibility exists, then you should do whatever it takes. That's why I did what I had to do…"

"I told you I would follow you into hell if you'd asked me to!" Her voice was muffled against his jacket. "But it seems I saved your soul from darkness when I stopped you from killing Envy… for naught. Because now there's another darkness you're in, and there's nothing I can do about it!"

Her slender body shook with the force of her sobs, while nearly wringing his heart out with her tears.

"You've finally gone to where I can't follow!"

There was nothing he could possible say to such a statement, so with a heavy conscience and even heavier soul, the Colonel squeezed his stinging eyes shut and silently held the devastated Lieutenant in his embrace while she bawled like a baby.

Roy Mustang had never felt more torn in his entire life.

Two Days Later…

The river dropped in close to the hillside and ran deep and blue, cool and refreshing, for the stream had cascaded down from the mountains by the stones, and twinkled in the morning sun like diamonds. The water flowed in that understated way, smoothly onward, without a fuss, and was lined with trees, pine, birch, redwood, fresh and green with every Spring. The blue sky was cloudless, and the air was rich with the fragrance of leaves.

Arm in arm, with Riza leading the duo to the small secluded riverbank area where he directed, the two entered the daylight of the clearing. The powerful rays of the morning sun beamed down upon them, but despite this, the breeze had a pleasant coolness and the bright colors contained the softness of the time just after sunrise.

The river flows with seamless consistency, an artery of blessed water. It feeds this place, quenches the thirst of the mighty beings rooted to the rich soil. Together they are perfection, the water of life and the community of flora and fauna. Being here is enough to remind me of my privileged place in the circle of life, in an ecosystem that is both robust and delicate.

Closing his eyes, Roy inhaled the air, thick with late spring presence.

Today I make the time; my life is my own after all. I wasn't born to stand on the banks. I was born to flow with nature, a part of the ecosystem, not apart from it.

As though reading his mind, Riza let out contented sigh as she took in the natural beauty of their morning surroundings.

The sound of running water in the river has a relaxing, hypnotic quality. I want to stop and stay here. I just want time to stand still.

"This was a perfect morning to go for a morning hike, even though it was a bit of a drive to get to this remote area." She drew in a lungful of crisp, clean air. "You said you used to come trekking here with Hughes?"

"He was quite the outdoorsman before he got married," Roy nodded, unable to hide the fond nostalgia in his intonation. "I thought since you and I finally had some hard-earned peace in our lives, we may as well bask in Mother Nature's surroundings."

He beamed at her.

"It's been awhile since I've come out to this place. Can you confirm if it's as beautiful as I remember?"

That morning's sunrise was a breathtaking display of radiant colors. Bright streaks of red, pink, and orange slowly overcame the dark blue and purple of the twilight sky. The sky resembled a prism; all the colors blended flawlessly into each other. The sun itself was just peeking out of the horizon, and its brilliant rays already shined brightly and began to warm the air. She marveled at the glistening reflection of the sun on the lake and a thrilling feeling of awe swept over her.

"It's glorious," Riza enthused, her brown eyes glowing with pleasure. "Thank you for bringing me here, sir."

"I was hoping before we went for the hike, perhaps we could have some breakfast?" Roy ventured as he gestured towards the tree behind her, where an elaborate picnic scene was laid out, containing cloth napkins, two wine glasses, and a blanket spread out readiness.

He bit back a smug grin as he heard her soft cry of surprised delight.

"I know the fresh air can really work up an appetite, but since it's so early, I took the liberty of bringing a blend of both light and hearty foods."

Riza's jaw dropped open as she came over to peek into the large wicker basket, to find a spread of scotch eggs, sausage rolls and quiche, along with a loaf of crusty bread, fresh butter, a sharp cheddar cheese and a soft brie, strawberries and a bowl of whipped cream, a bottle of wine and a bottle of orange juice.

"You did all this, Colonel?! Everything looks great but … with all due respect, sir … since when do you cook?"

"I don't," Roy confessed, a roguish glint in his eye. Extending his hand to her, he walked them down towards the river to get a better view of the sun glinting on the water, pausing just a foot away from the riverbank. "I will shamelessly confess that I had General Armstrong's assistance with planning this little expedition."

"The Ice Queen helped you out with all this preparation?!" Riza had given up on closing her mouth at this point, as this news was even more flabbergasting than the admittedly romantic-looking al fresco setting. "Since when is Miss "Love for the dead is pointless. We fight to keep them alive, that is all" the type to help you – or anyone?! – out with anything?!"

"Olivier's neither as frosty nor hard as nails as she'd prefer everyone to think she is," Roy told her knowingly. "I think perhaps keeping the company of a certain Ishvalan Warrior Monk – who by the way, is still alive! – has softened her up somewhat…"

Early yesterday morning …

"Who works out this early?" The Colonel grumbled to himself as he shuffled down the hall and heard the strained huffing and puffing coming from behind the closed door, to what he presumed was Major Armstrong's Office. "It's barely dawn!"

Despite all his years in military service, Roy had never been a morning person, and like most people, was dependent on an early caffeine jolt to be fully alert. However, that day, he'd been so preoccupied with accomplishing his early-bird mission that he'd neglected to consume his much-needed first cup of coffee du jour.

Ergo, the distracted man was so bleary-eyed at this early hour, he didn't even think twice about double-checking the placard outside the room, which indicated the occupant's identity.

Without thinking twice, he flung open the door and poked his head in, a sardonic grin on his tired mien.

"Go easy there with those weights, you over-sized lug!" He called good-naturedly. "You're sweating up the whole neighborhood!"

"Nrgh!"

"Gah!"

Two horrified sets of yelps sounded at that instant. The second one had been from none other than Roy himself!

"Hairy Balls Of The Gods!" An infuriated male voice – which unmistakably was not the Major's! – roared. "That door was supposed to be locked!"

Roy remained rooted in place, fervently wishing he could un-see the scandalous scene that greeted him!

"Roy Mustang!" Olivier Armstrong hastily dismounted the hulking, bare chested man she'd been writhing against on her sofa and shot daggers at the openly gawping Colonel. "How dare you just barge into my office like this, completely unannounced?!"

He gulped as the irate bombshell grabbed her discarded military jacket from the floor and gripped it against her breasts, uncertain where a safe place would be to redirect his traumatized orbs at that moment!

"Pardon my intrusion, General Armstrong! I wasn't paying proper attention, and had only caught a glimpse of the name Armstrong on the nameplate outside…"

His voice trailed off as he stared disbelievingly at the disheveled blonde officer and half-naked blond man she'd been wrapped around like a tire!

"When I heard all that labored panting and heavy grunting, I assumed I was bursting in on Major Armstrong, having yet another muscle head workout session with his new buddy, Sig Curtis!" Roy averted his gaze as best he could while the General fumbled to refasten her jacket. "It never would have occurred to me, in a million years, that I had the wrong office, or that there'd be a different type of chest pressing going on in here!"

He grimaced.

"Yeesh, how is it that I've now officially claimed the lofty privilege of saying I've seen both of you Armstrong's topless?!"

"If you wish to live another day, Colonel Mustang, you will forget you saw anything!" The General barked, her eyes narrowing into little slits as Roy held up his hands in mock surrender.

"On my honor as military officer, you have my word that I won't breathe a word of this," he promised the agitated blonde beauty, then jutted his chin in the sullenly silent Scar's direction. "Nor will I ask just how long … this has been going on? All the same, I'm hoping you could find it in your heart to perhaps reward your favorite ex-rival for his zipped lips?"

"Roy Mustang!" Her eyes widened with outrage. "You have the gall to try to blackmail me?!"

"Not at all!" Roy's lips twitched to fight back a snicker. "I was legitimately on my way to see Lieutenant General Grumman just now. I'd wished to discuss something regarding his granddaughter, prior to unwittingly bursting in on your ah … sweat session. Nevertheless, since I'm here, perhaps I might procure some advice from you?"

He paused meaningfully.

"After all, you do seem to be well-versed in male/female relations…"

Scar shot Roy a death glare for this jibe, but he ignored the Ishvalan and turned his amused ebony gaze at Olivier.

"I guess this means it'd be a negative if I asked you to have dinner with me, this time?" A shit-eating grin. "At least I'd know why you'd turn me down!"

"You're treading on thin ice, Colonel." There was a blast of Arctic in her cadence. "I'm giving you exactly three minutes to state your case about what kind of help you need, and then you're getting the hell out!"

"I'll only need two," Roy promised solemnly. "Then I will gladly let you two lovebirds get back to your … squat thrusts?"

He leered at the brawny former State Alchemist Killer and arched a derisive brow.

"I suppose this gives the time you said: 'I'd like to hear more details about this... in between your screaming!' a whole new meaning?"

Scar growled menacingly in response, and the General gritted her teeth.

"Don't push your luck, Mustang! Just know that I not only have an heirloom rapier, but I sure as hell know how to use it! Should you break your vow of silence, I can make your death look like an accident!"

Riza's eyes were like saucers as Roy finished the tale.

"You mean her and …. Scar?"

"Keep this confidential information to yourself!" He affirmed, chortling. "The bloodthirsty General wouldn't hesitate to impale me with her sword if she knew I'd told you!"

"So in appreciation for not ratting out their forbidden dalliance, General Olivier Armstrong thus cooked and prepared … all of this?" She cast a sweeping arm towards their elaborate fare. "I didn't think she had any more domestic skills than you did!"

"She doesn't!" His tone was rife with mirth. "She commanded the Major to do all this for us! That mountain of a man is so terrified of his elder sister that if she orders him to jump, he'd say: on who!"

Roy had fully expected his bodyguard to have joined in the merrymaking by this point, or the very least, interrogate him about some of the revealing particulars he'd accidentally on purpose let slip into the anecdote, but instead saw that Riza was contemplatively frowning about something.

"Amidst all this, you asked the General out for dinner?" She demanded suspiciously. "You do know there's no need to use that as an excuse to talk to her anymore, since there's no longer a requirement to slip her classified Intel, don't you?"

Roy simply stared at her in bewilderment.

"That's what you got out of this story?" He asked incredulously. "Riza, I was purposely goading her! It was rather comical, getting that woman so riled up, since normally, The Ice Queen is never known to lose her legendary cool! Why in the world would you think it was for anything otherwise?"

"Because Oliver Armstrong looks like the fantasy bad girl out of every cinematic film ever made!" Riza blurted out before could stop herself.

Heat flooded her cheeks as she realized how telltale her unintentional slip had been, and in her flustered state, she was totally unaware of Roy's taken aback expression at her outburst.

"Because she's so goddamn beautiful, and sexy and ambitious! I always wondered when the day would finally arrive that you'd no longer need the ruse of giving her flowers as a means to exchange top secret notes! That you'd willingly attempt to woo her with floral bouquets and ask to take her out to dinner for real…"

Unable to suppress a loud shout of laughter at her endearing rant, Roy placed an index to her lips, effectively silencing her, while with his free hand, tenderly roved his fingers over every inch of her exquisite face, as though seeing her through the sheer power of touch.

She let out small gasp at the unexpected contact of his caressing hand, but then closed her eyes, as though reveling in the moment as he thoroughly traced every ethereal detail of her visage.

All the while, Roy was beyond amazed at how unaware the woman was of her own pulchritude.

Riza had a kind of understated beauty, perhaps it was because she was so disarmingly unaware of her prettiness. Her peaches and cream skin was flawless, never needing any sort of artifice. He doubted she used face masks or expensive products; that really wasn't her MO. She was all about simplicity, making things easy, helping those around her to relax and be happy with what they had. Perhaps that was why her skin glowed so, it was her inner beauty that lit her eyes and softened her features. When she smiled and laughed, you couldn't help but smile along too, even if it was just on the inside. To be in her company was to feel that you too, were someone, that you had been warmed in summer rays, regardless of the season.

"Mark my words, you have no need to ever be threatened by Olivier Armstrong." His reassuring words were laden with meaning. "For me, scorching blue orbs and permanently pouty lips don't hold a candle to a contagious smile that a man would walk a million miles for. Nor can they compare to large, liquid brown eyes which hold such an intelligence and serenity, it's impossible not to be held prisoner by them. Never doubt for a minute that you are vision of loveliness, Riza Hawkeye. I know I never told you that before, but you truly are. I remember … from before. And I can feel it now."

He slid his hand over to the exposed skin at her nape, his voice now taking on a teasing inflection.

"Moreover, while I have an overall soft spot for blondes, I tend to have a preference for golden over platinum, even though between the two of us, it appears I'm now the one with the lengthier hair!"

"What?!"

Riza's eyes flew open at the shocking words, her thunderstruck mind at last registering the fact Roy had just told her an anecdote about eye witnessing Olivier Armstrong and Scar caught in a compromising position! How was it only now dawning upon her that he'd also just openly admitted to visibly ascertaining she'd hacked off, and hadn't just tied back, her flaxen locks off at the neck?! After all, she'd seen no reason to keep her long, high-maintenance mane, since the only man in the world whom she'd ever wanted to impress could no longer see it!

Or so she'd thought!

She couldn't believe her trademark Hawkeye observations had been so clouded in a moment of petty jealousy that she'd overlooked the most significantly telling detail of all!

"Colonel!" Riza clapped a hand over her mouth, her orbs the size of golf balls as she staggered backward. "You – you can see?!"

"I'd daresay better than ever, Lieutenant Sight For Sore Eyes," he confessed unabashedly. "It seemed you were the push I needed to stop my obdurate way of thinking. It was a sharp reminder to be mindful of how my actions don't only affect me, but those I care about most – especially you."

He was so elated by Riza's dramatic reaction that as his restored eyes drank in the surprised flush in her fair cheeks and widened ochre eyes, he was unmindful of how close she'd staggered back to the edge of the river.

"Lieutenant, as magnificent as it was having you literally be my eyes for me and guiding my flame alchemy, during your umpteenth gesture of undying loyalty, you broke my heart that day when you shed tears for my loss; tears I hadn't even shed on my own behalf. That was why I went to see your grandfather the other day. I wanted to get his input about the best way to reveal that you were the sole reason I did a 180 in my initial pig-headed decision, and chose to go see Dr. Marcoh."

It was all because of you. I've hurt you far too many times in the past and refuse to compound my follies. It was the wisest decision I've ever made in my life.

Two days earlier…

"Would you believe me if I told you I'm not at all surprised at how quickly you opted to change your stance on getting your eyesight restored, Colonel Mustang?" Dr. Marcoh remarked wryly as he stepped away from putting the finishing touches on his optical patient. "Naturally, I'll keep my own speculations as to the reason why to myself, but suffice to say that neither you nor Havoc is the worse for wear because of this impromptu change of heart."

"You wouldn't just be saying this to placate me, would you?" Roy asked apprehensively, nonetheless so happily relieved not to be blind anymore, he didn't even mind that the first thing he'd seen with his newly returned vision was the sight of the medico's ugly mug! "Do you give me your solemn word as a doctor that Havoc's paralysis has been fully healed?"

"Affirmative. His spinal damage is entirely fixed, although he's on crutches because his muscles have atrophied. He's going to need lots of physical therapy and exercise for those weakened, unused muscles of his, but fret not. He's young and strong, and even with a long, hard road to recovery ahead of him, Second Lieutenant Havoc will walk again on his own in due time."

The doctor caught the sheer relief on Roy's countenance and cautiously added one more statement to his diagnostic.

"Technically, Colonel, I could have expedited Havoc's recuperation time and rebuilt the muscles myself … but you summoned me and told me to return as soon as the nerve damaged was fixed."

"I still want you to resume treating Havoc. My vision has fully returned and is better than ever," Roy assured him. "You can go ahead and speed along his recovery. I just – came to the recognition that I cannot remain without the ability to see for one more day. There's just too much required rebuilding and repairing to be done, and that means in order to move things along, my sight had to be restored. I want to be the best leader I can be."

He smiled ruefully as he glanced down at the tearstains on his jacket. They were a painful reminder of how his penchant for stubbornness was something that'd unnecessarily afflicted the most important person in the world to him. He would move heaven and earth to ensure Riza Hawkeye never shed another tear over him, ever again.

"Plus, it's a beautiful world out there, doctor. I don't want to miss a thing."

"It's a wondrous world of splendor out there indeed. And there's no arguing eyesight is an invaluable gift, which should be very much treasured." The medic winked at him. "If I'm not mistaken, you've always had an eye for all things gold, haven't you, Colonel?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Roy quipped, purposely misunderstanding the question, even though he knew the healer, just like everyone who'd ever encountered them, was wholly aware of what he and Riza unequivocally meant to one another. "It's one of the most valuable, precious metals in world!"

"I can't believe you can see again, but never told me until now!" Riza cried accusingly, sparks flying out of her dark eyes. "How could you keep something like that from me? Is this your idea of a sick joke, Colonel? Do you get some sort of sublimely perverse pleasure from seeing me cry, since it allows you to witness that softer side of me which you're so damn keen on seeing more often?!"

Roy blinked in astonishment. He had counted on her being dumbfounded, perhaps even briefly angry with him for not telling her the good news sooner. What he hadn't expected was for her to look as though she wished she had a loaded firearm in her hands! And that if she did, she would've gladly aimed and fired it in his direction!

"Riza…" His tone was earnest as he took a step towards her. "It was nothing like that! Yes, I wanted to surprise you, I'll admit it, but I also wanted to do something special for you! Now that you're no longer technically my military subordinate, I could finally let you know…"

"Get away from me!" She obstinately swatted away at his extended hand and took another unmindful step backward. "To think I ever shed a tear for you, you cruel, sadistic… ack!"

With the grace of a three legged spider, Riza had unknowingly taken one back step too many. With a startled screech, the aggravated officer went flailing backward, ass over teakettle, right into the cold, rushing river behind her.

"Riza!" Roy hollered, rushing to the edge of the stream, just in time to see his spluttering, gasping Lieutenant resurface, drenched to the core and glowering at him from the waist-high water, but otherwise unharmed. "Are you alright?"

"Oh I'm just bloody fantastic!" Sarcasm was positively dripping from her tongue as she treaded water against the strong currents, which made it difficult for her to regain her footing. "I mean, thanks to you, I wound up with proverbial egg on my face, but luckily there was a bountiful river nearby to wash it off!"

The Colonel folded his arms over his broad chest and bit back a smirk.

"I'd come in there to help you get out, Lieutenant," he deadpanned. "But you've always told me that I'm completely useless around water."

"Argh!"

If looks could kill at this point Roy was certain he would've been plant food!

"You are unbelievable, you know that?" Riza's words were coming out in choppy breaths now as the current grew slightly stronger, furthering her struggles to come back to the shore. "Colonel Mustang, you are the most aggravating, mulish … ungentlemanly…"

Without warning, Roy placed one leg down into the river, soaking himself to mid-calf, while keeping one foot securely on the coastline. Then he bent down, and in one quickfire motion, grasped her firmly under the arms and hoisted his sopping, mad as a wet hen Lieutenant up onto the dry shore.

She collided against him and nearly lost her balance, but he clamped his hands on her arms and spun her around to face him, noting her dark orbs were still glittering with anger.

"Exactly when did you go see Dr. Marcoh?"

"Since the day after you broke down in my arms." He gently brushed a wet lock of hair out of her eyes so he could gaze down into them without any obstruction. "I swear, I'm through with hurting you, even indirectly."

Riza didn't speak, but her visage was one of unmasked, turbulent emotion. Thinking he saw a tear in her eye, he lifted a hand to brush it aside, but she jerked away.

"Don't flatter yourself, Colonel! The last thing I'm going to do is start crying for you again!" Her chest rose and fell in agitation. "Water makes you useless!"

Roy chuckled slightly and shook his head in response. He supposed he'd deserved that.

"Just tell me this much. How long have you been able to see again?"

"Long enough to know I've never been happier to have my vision back, because you're even more breathtaking than I remember." His eyes dropped to her bosom as it heaved with her heavily winded breaths. "Seeing you, heals me."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she muttered darkly, trying to muster up the rags of her dignity as she shrugged off her soaked jacket, in vain attempts to hide that her cheeks were pink from the compliment. "You really expect me to believe you still think I'm a sight for sore eyes, when I presently resemble a drowned rat?"

For a split-second, his eyes dropped down to her wet blouse, which stuck to her breasts like a second skin, and her face grew warmer.

Automatically, Riza crossed her arms over her bosom, the water droplets flying around her drenched hair, which lay plastered around her face like a sheet of wet gold, her dark eyes as rich as molasses and just as liquid as they stared searchingly into his.

He regarded her with utter seriousness, like he always did.

"I've always thought you were absolutely beautiful. Dry or wet. Then, and now. But especially now."

"Beautiful?" She breathed, feeling lost by the undisguised look of desire in his eyes.

"Riza Hawkeye, you are so beautiful it hurts me sometimes."

Roy's gaze dropped to her moistened lips, then slid lower, following the line of her throat down to the tantalizing globes of flesh, which, as she'd divested her jacket, were further exposed to his view, due to her clinging wet shirt. With her head thrown back, they quivered and thrust forward invitingly, emphasizing the undeniable fact that she was an alluring woman, and not merely his loyal subordinate, as he'd been trying for far too long to convince himself she was.

Riza suddenly realized she was dripping wet, and that he'd removed his jacket before rescuing her from the river, so his shirt was soaked from where her breasts had touched him, and was sticking to what looked to be very well-chiseled pecs. Her face flamed as the intimacy of the situation dawned on her. She swallowed and wet her lips, hating how he could turn things around so suddenly and make her go from being indignant to embarrassed with the mere brazen quip of his tongue.

"I should be angry with you for deceiving me," she admitted quietly. "But how can I, when this discovery has made me happier beyond my wildest dreams, and I feel all my prayers have been answered?"

Her straightforward, ungrudging admission caught Roy utterly off guard. Every feminine ploy in existence had been used on him; he was hardly unaware of the appeal of his masculine wiles with the fairer sex. Moreover, he'd certainly taken advantage of it in the chambers of more women than he could possibly name or count. But Riza's candor, combined with her enchanting, upturned face and the sensation of her alluring, drenched body still pressing against him, acted on him like a powerful aphrodisiac.

She continued staring at him with limped eyes, her expression best described as an unmasked plea that only he could answer. Desire surged through him, heating his blood, sending it singing through his veins, forcing his hands to pull her closer.

Riza saw something primitive and carnal flare in his eyes as his hands tightened on her arms, then, with a low groan, Roy leaned down and kissed her with fierce tenderness, his lips covering hers, stifling her voice with a demanding insistence that stunned her into immobility as she felt his hands stroke soothingly up and down her spine and shoulders, while his lips moved on hers with inflaming expertise, shuddering uncontrollably when her lips softened and melted against his. Instantly, the demanding heat of his kiss increased. His tongue slid over her lips, urging them to part, and the moment they yielded to the sensual pressure, his tongue plunged gently between them, exploring the soft recesses of her mouth.

Dizzily, she slid her hands up his chest, trying to grasp for support to the very object that was destroying her balance. This innocent action triggered an instant reaction from him. His hands slid from her arms to her waist, tightening around her as he deepened the kiss, his lips moving on hers with hungry intensity, insistently shaping and fitting her lips to his own.

Lost in a haze of nameless yearnings, Riza raised up on her toes, responding to the forceful pressure of his strong arms. Jolt after jolt of wild sensation rocketed through her at the sensation, until, in a fever of dazed yearning, she touched her own tongue timidly to his lips, and she kissed him back with an innocent ardor that sent desire roaring through him like wildfire. Roy's response was immediate; he groaned and wrapped his arms even more tightly around her, crushing her breasts against his chest, his tongue plunging deeply into her mouth, then retreating to plunge again and again in a wildly exciting, forbidden rhythm

An eternity later, he pulled his mouth from hers to catch his breath, a slow grin sliding over this face as he noted from her dazed expression that she'd been as swept away from this long overdue embrace as much as he'd been.

His grin faded as he peered down into her beautiful face and soberly thought, I love you.

The words crashed into his brain, almost bursting out of him in their need to be said. She deserved to hear those words, Roy realized instinctively. But years of stoic demeanor and military training and countless efforts to disguise what they'd both secretly known for so long made it nearly impossible to say the words – the ones which needed to be voiced, somehow.

Even though he'd never said them to another human being in his whole life.

He raised his hand, intending to brush her damp golden tresses off her face, but then she lifted her shining gaze, meeting and holding his as she looked right into his soul. What he saw in their glowing mocha depths stilled his hand and made it tremble — he saw the same thing that had made his body tremble when she'd kissed and touched him.

All the love in the universe was shining in her eyes.

It made his throat tighten, and he wasn't sure he trusted himself to speak.

"I know," he whispered hoarsely, desprately trying to convey his heart in his eyes, to say the devoted proclamation his lips wouldn't allow. "But you have to know that I –I do, too, Riza..."

She silenced him with a gentle finger to his lips, stilling his need for the uneccesary words.

"I do know. I've always known."

Intuitively sensing how overcome he was by their exchanged poignant avowals and unexpected passion, Riza attempted to lighten the mood. Assuming her most coquettish tone, she leaned back slightly in his hold and treated him to a teasing grin.

"What I don't know is why you've simply never used some sort of fail-proof magnesium stick to get over those pesky hurdles during all those times when you were the one who was... all wet, hmmm?" Her smile turned vixenish. "Or could it be that the great Flaming Alchemist had moments that were simply too hot to handle?"

Sincere, soft and sweet Riza stirred his heartfelt emotions like no other woman ever had, or ever would, Roy realized as he pulled her into a closer embrace, reveling in the feeling of those soft, feminine curves pressed up against him. But coy, playful, sultry Riza … that woman made his pulse surge, his blood race, and his temperature, among other things, rise.

"What I need to know…" he answered abruptly, already lifting up the back of her top so his fingers could trace up and down her bare spine, making her shiver. "Is why you're risking hypothermia by remaining in these pesky, cold, wet clothes, instead of letting them dry?"

"The morning sun isn't overly hot you know," she purred, obligingly raising her arms over her head as he tugged off her dripping shirt and flung it aside. "It may be quite awhile before I can put them back on…"

"Seems I'm going to have to find some way to keep you toasty and warm in the meantime…"

"That heating talent of yours may come in handy after all, although we'll find out soon enough how well your pyro skills work when dealing with waterlogged things that are ... soaking wet."

"I don't need any sort of igniter or alchemy for this inferno." The look in his onyx orbs could have started a forest fire. "But are you sure you can deal with this type of blaze, Riza?"

"Don't you worry about that!" She emitted a moan of pleasure at the feeling of his heated palms covering her exposed mounds, while his lips trailed a searing path down her throat. "I'm a big girl. I can handle the heat, Colonel."

"I think it's about time you called me Roy." There was a wicked glint in his eye as he yanked his own shirt over his head and drew her tightly against him, crushing her breasts against his half-naked, muscled physique . "And there's no amount of water on earth to ever douse these flames either, My Queen."

"Is that a threat or promise?" She murmured throatily, licking his lower lip.

"Both."

"Then I'm going to hold you to it." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her bare torso against his. "Make me burn, My King. Make me burn."

THE END