When Words Become Superfluous

A/N: This is a possible continuation of theme 91 ("Kiss") from my Royai 100 themes collection, "Chaotic Sonata", as well as what I get for having story ideas right as I'm falling asleep… Anyway, it might not be the greatest, but I hope you enjoy!

Many, many thanks to the wonderful Starry Pink for suggesting that this needed editing, and for beta-ing when I asked.

The day after Riza's birthday saw tension in the Hawkeye household soar to new heights.

Roy and Riza had barely spoken over dinner the night before, and each kept glancing at the other with anything from fear to curiosity to a sort of embarrassment to longing (although it seemed an unspoken agreement that longing was by far the worst). Now, even as they continued to sneak glances, they were avoiding each other's eyes, and Riza seemed to be avoiding Roy almost entirely as much as she could.

It was pretty damn pitiful. Something had to be done. Now.

Roy finished drying the plate he'd just rinsed and put it away, then took a deep breath and turned. "Riza…"

Riza, if anything, scrubbed her glass harder than she'd been before. "Yes?"

"Please…" Roy sighed. "This is getting worse the longer we leave it. Hear me out, okay?"

To her credit, Riza did stop and turn to face Roy, drying her hands on the towel he held out to her. Recognizing this courtesy, Roy took a deep breath and spoke. "Yesterday… I can't figure out what's going on. I didn't want to put any pressure on you, but it felt like the right thing to do, and maybe I'm wrong about that, but if I am, I want to know." As miserable as it made him to say it, that Riza hadn't interrupted him angrily to tell him off kept that small spark of hope he'd been nursing alive.

Riza stared at him for a moment, contemplating what to say, before sighing. "I could give you so many reasons why it's wrong," she began, "not the least of which being that you're my father's student, but I can' t truthfully tell you it didn't feel right, that I didn't like it, or that I wouldn't want to again…" she trailed off, feeling rather helpless.

There was only one solution, then. Roy stepped forward, placed one hand behind Riza's head and the other at the lower part of her back, then he gently pulled her in until she started moving toward him on her own. She pressed her hands against his chest, torn between knowing she should push him away and wanting to pull him closer. Even though she remained undecided after a second of internal debate, her fingers seemed to involuntarily grasp at the fabric of his shirt. The feeling of his warm breath against her face made Riza aware of just how close they were, and she nervously wetted her lips before tilting her head back to meet his gaze. As soon as she realized that their faces were slowly inching closer together, her heart began to race, and she could feel his do the same beneath her hands.

After what seemed like both forever and an instant, two pairs of lips finally met.

And met again.

And kept on meeting, breaking apart only for much-needed air.

If "it's wrong" had been any excuse, it was quickly forgotten in the twin floods of relief and desire as each pulled the other as close as they possibly could. At that point, it was clear that there were no excuses; that they were entirely unnecessary. Riza had been right: there were many reasons why this was a bad idea, but only one to make it a good idea was all it took.

It wasn't a promise for a glorious future, nor was it reparations for a damaged past. It was just here and now: a tangible connection between two people to let each tell the other more about their feelings than words ever could.

And that was all it needed to be.

A/N: Okay, a few things:

1) The title was taken from the Ingrid Bergman quote, "A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous." Well, here, it's more like, "I have no freaking idea what to say", but you get the idea.

2) The fic itself was inspired (as was theme 91) by the Karmina song "The Kiss". I almost decided to name this piece for this line in the song: "give me my sin again".

3) They're teenagers in that awkward romance phase, plus the complications of apprentice/master's daughter and all that jazz. It ain't gonna be perfect. Kisses come at the weirdest moments, and when you try to talk it out, well… see 1).

Thanks for reading! I'm always wary of these ones, so please, let me know if it should be kept as-is, if something could/should be improved (and how, if you have any ideas), or if it should be scrapped entirely.