Blessing
A/N: To Nightfirecat: my everything, and so much more.
From the first, he was different.
He had stars in his eyes—every aspiring alchemist did—but his blazed with an intensity matched by no other. He was determined to make it, willing to give all it would take. Time and again, he worked through his mistakes, frustrated but otherwise undeterred.
She watched. Watched, and wondered. How was it that he had the ability to keep going? From what comfort or hope did he draw his strength? It had to be his future; that much was clear, but what did that future hold?
Even as their friendship developed, she never could muster up the courage to ask. It seemed so dear to him, so personal, that it was almost an unforgivable offense to ask the revelation of such a secret.
That didn't mean that she learned nothing, however. His father's sister had taken him in after his parents had died in a train accident. He couldn't swim. He'd had "more sisters than I ever thought possible" growing up. He was (usually) respectful, thoughtful, and fiercely loyal to those closest to him. His favorite subject outside of alchemy was history. His favorite color was green. Injustice of any sort angered him beyond words. He loved dogs and disliked cats. He would sleep as long as he could get away with after studying long into the night. He had a quick temper with anyone he deemed an idiot. He didn't always like to admit his mistakes, and he would wallow in self-pity for a while before picking himself back up again because he could do nothing else.
Nobody is perfect. Riza knew that Roy was no exception, and yet, she found herself looking past all his imperfections, just as he seemed to see past hers. The brilliance that she saw unsettled her, but not entirely unpleasantly. She took comfort in that presence, and in his general presence, and she found herself starting to think that maybe, just maybe, even though perfection was impossible, she'd managed to find it, anyway.
He didn't need to be the world's vision of perfect, after all. She was rather glad he wasn't. She was happy to be able to see what so few people seemed to, to be one of the privileged few let in on an amazing secret that could be found in everyone, if someone else took the time to look.
And he did take the time, at least when he could, to see the magic in Riza. She never knew exactly what he was seeing, but it seemed that, at least on some level, he looked at her the same way she did at him. She knew she was deluding herself if she thought it was all for her, but, as much as it frustrated her, as irrational as it was, there was that little voice in the back of her head that kept daring to ask, but what if it is?
It was a dangerous thing, to get attached to someone she knew so very little about, who might decide the next day that he couldn't take it, that he'd learned all he could, and he'd be gone just like that.
And yet, he stayed. Her hope lived on, despite knowing that every day might be its last because she had no other choice. In what was possibly the first selfish desire she could freely act on, Riza clung tightly to every moment, seeking out more whenever she could. As long as neither of them objected, it surely wouldn't cause any harm.
She'd stand by him as long as she could; that was all she could offer. Maybe, if she was very lucky, it would be enough.
A/N: Yeah, you bet your ass I waxed both giggly schoolgirl and cheesy/sappy romance novel here. From the dedication, I find it hard to see how you could expect otherwise. And yes, I fully injected my own thoughts into the story. (Again, I refer you to the dedication.)
And really, as hard as Riza likely had it, I can see her looking to Roy as… a savior of sorts. Sure, he was most likely your typical young man, but really, who wants to see the ordinary when you're falling for someone? I'm just hoping I didn't make her sound too much like Edward Cullen.
Finally, I made up a lot of that stuff about what Riza learned about Roy. Some of it's based off of what we know from the manga, but a lot of it is pure conjecture, just so we're clear.