Disclaimer: Just let me be Hiromu Arakawa for a day.
Yay for sembreak! That means more time for Royai. XD Thank you to Heroes of Amestris (is-your-heart-in-the-cards on tumblr) for the beta. :)
The rain outside was pouring hard as Riza Hawkeye was cleaning the attic in their house. Ever since her mom died, this particular place in the household had been untouched, and since Riza was very bored from doing nothing, she decided to at least lessen the clutter in the loft. Who was she kidding? She was very far from bored. She needed to wipe the stair steps, as well as the railings, and she needed to prepare supper for her and her father's student.
One may ask: if she had other things to do then what is she doing in the attic, when the duty of cleaning the piles of paper and boxes of unused things could wait? Answer: Roy Mustang. Her father was out of town for four days doing some business that was unknown to her, and that meant her and Roy all alone in the house. That day was the second and she had been avoiding him ever since. However, the seventeen-year-old boy kept on following her, and it was already getting on her nerves. Since Roy was now sleeping in the couch at the living room, Riza finally bought the time to be away from him, even for just a short while.
The way Riza felt around Roy was very unexplainable. At first, she shrugged it off, thinking it to be just a normal crush, just like what her other friends were experiencing; very similar to what she felt with some boys her age.
Who was she kidding again? This feeling was new; it was way more deep and serious. This was nothing like any of the things previously mentioned. No, Riza thought as she picked up a red shoe box and sitting cross-legged in a corner. She shouldn't let her thoughts drift again to the way her heart did those cartwheels whenever their fingers accidentally touch when Riza passed the salt, or to the way it also beat a million times more whenever she caught Roy looking at her. Hence, the reason of her avoiding him was that she didn't want to fall deeper in what she was now sensing to be love.
Glancing at the contents of the shoe box made her realize that this was indeed, her mother's. Elizabeth Hawkeye was a very sentimental woman; she kept various things that Riza didn't know her mother still had. Her mother died when she was a year old because of some disease her father didn't tell her, so Riza didn't have even a glimpse of her memory. Wiping her palms at the side of her ripped jeans, she looked around to make sure there was no dark-haired boy around the vicinity before taking out a silver locket from the box. It was a heart shaped one, and it was very hard to open. Riza used both of her hands to open the locket, and she let out a tiny "yes" when she successfully opened it. Her eyes widened upon seeing the tiny picture displayed.
It was her baby picture, or she guessed it was her since the eyes that were staring back at her were brown and doe-like. Tiny wisps of blond hair were visible in her bald head, and she was smiling as if she was the happiest infant on the planet. All this time Riza thought that she had no pictures when she was very young, now her mother proved her wrong.
Now wearing the locket, she took out three dried roses from the box. A paper, now turning yellow because of time, was binding the roses. Riza placed the roses in her lap as she undid the paper. To Elizabeth, three roses, three words. Love, Berthold. This again was another surprise to Riza. Who would have thought that her father had a romantic side, that he has a capacity to love? Okay, that was a bit mean, Riza told herself, but who could blame her? Her father had been cold to her ever since.
Riza tied the small paper to the roses again before proceeding to get a pile of papers which were also turning yellow. They were three, to be exact, and were written for her mother by three different persons, Riza assumed it was her group of friends. Congrats, Liz! Here's a drawing of the puppy you wanted to have. A black and white puppy drawing was beneath the letter. It was so cute, Riza promised to buy something like that when she is older. Hi Liz! I will miss you so much. More success in your teaching dreams! So her mother wanted to be a teacher. Too bad she got stuck living with father, Riza thought with disdain. Dear Liz, congratulations on your graduation! I will miss your nagging. Riza smiled, imagining her mother alive and nagging her to do the chores she was supposed to do right now.
Riza heaved a heavy sigh, fighting the urge to cry for the lost memories of her mother. Well at least now that she had read these letters, she learned a lot from her. Another sigh escaped from her lips again as she drew out a very tiny box. Her mother's wedding ring. Riza took the ring and slipped it on her ring finger. What's amazing was that it fitted perfectly. She admired the ring in her finger, thinking about the time when she would get to wear her own ring. Riza shut the thought of her father's student putting that ring on her finger; she shouldn't think of those thoughts.
The last items in the box were pictures. There were three of them, and each of them was showing the three important phases in her mother's life. The very latest was when Riza was born. There was her mother, smiling in her arms as her baby was fast asleep. Riza's father was not in the picture, the girl thought that maybe he just didn't bother at all. Her mother was beautiful, Riza had no doubt about it, and she was very radiant. The next picture was at her parents' wedding. It was then Riza guessed that her mother might be her complete opposite. Elizabeth Hawkeye was a very bubbly person, Riza could tell by the way her mother grinned at the camera with her eyes closed. Riza was more reserved, not that open to show her emotions to the world. Maybe she inherited that trait from her father, who was just looking at her mom with that small smile of his that is enough to tell the person viewing the picture how much he loved her. Why couldn't Riza feel that love as well?
Riza's eyes widened with surprise as she looked at the final picture: her mom's graduation photo.
"You looked very alike," she heard someone speak, and he was right. From the way her mother's blond hair fell to her shoulders, to their eye color. The only difference was that her mom's smile was wider, but one couldn't tell them apart. Riza looked like a carbon copy of her mom.
"Yeah, I guess so-" Since when did she have a companion? She looked in front of her and there was Roy Mustang, sitting cross-legged. The questioning look on her face made Roy laugh.
"I was here when you started looking at the pictures," he explained. "You seem to be off lately, you know that?"
Yeah, she had been aware of that, and she blamed it all on him.
"What are you doing here?" Riza asked as she returned all of the sentimental things inside her mother's box. She decided to bring it to her room later, but first she should figure out a way to avoid the boy in front of her again.
"Is this an off-limits room?" He grinned but it disappeared when he saw Riza's glare. "When I woke up and you weren't there, I looked for you. And here you are." He flashed a very shy smile, which made Riza blush like a tomato. One smile from him and I go crazy. What would happen to me then if he- Riza shook her head. She should stop these thoughts from eating her mind. He looked for you, stupid. It only means one thing. She shook her head again. This should stop! She glared at the two subconscious in her head, why are they even agreeing at one thing when they should be fighting?
"Are you okay, Ri? I was starting to think you are becoming delirious." Roy joked.
Riza slapped herself inwardly, this is getting to embarrassing. "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled sheepishly at him as he himself blushed. Aha! Mutual feelings! She shut off her mind. "I should go, I need to prepare supper and-"
A hand gripped her wrist as she made her way to the door. "Why are you such in a hurry? It's still four in the afternoon, and I'm not that hungry."
"Well then, I need to dust off the-"
"Are you avoiding me?"
Riza's big eyes grew even bigger when she heard those words. Of course he would realize that; he was not that stupid.
She turned to face him. "Avoid you? Why would I do that?"
"I don't know, I just have the feeling that you were." A ray of lightning crashed, followed by the roar of thunder. "I hate the rain." Roy mumbled, but it was loud enough to reach Riza's ears.
Riza raised her eyebrow. "Why?"
"It was raining when my parents died. I was a ten-year-old boy back then, but I didn't even do anything to save my parents from the hands of a thief. I felt stupid." The hand gripping Riza's wrist tightened, but he continued. "That's why I came looking for you; I hated being alone on rainy days, it reminds me of how useless I am." He looked at her with a sad smile.
As if her hand had a mind of its own, she held Roy's hand that was gripping her wrist, which was now reddish. "I blame myself for my mom's death, even though I do not know the reason why she died. We're in the same boat." She smiled, one that Roy returned.
Seconds, minutes, and heck maybe hours passed with just them standing near the doorway, comfortable silence hanging above their heads, hands together, and eyes lost in each other. Riza can't help but swim in those black orbs of his. It was very addicting to stare at, and she felt herself getting high with the way the boy was staring at her; that stare with excitement, nervousness, and something else she couldn't put into words. Her hold on the shoebox was getting tighter as Roy intertwined his fingers with her own. Her mind completely forgot the plan to leave the attic, she reasoned that Roy needed company, and she was the only one available.
Another round of thunder and lightning before Roy spoke. "Let's dance."
"What?" She asked as if she just heard the most absurd request in the world.
Roy laughed, "Let's dance." He repeated as he took the shoebox and placed it on top of another box. He then pulled Riza closer to his as he placed both hands on her waist.
Riza blushed as she looked at the floor. "But there's no music."
"I don't care."
"I'm not that good at dancing."
"I am too, and I don't care. We'll learn together."
Just give in; you know you wanted this too. This time Riza listened to her mind. She wanted it as much as he did, and who knows maybe this opportunity won't come again, so she should grab it while she can.
She placed her arms around Roy's neck while they swayed. Well, it was more like him swaying, and her following him. Riza didn't know where she got the courage to lean into his chest, smell his strong scent and listen to his heartbeat, beating in time with hers. His hold on her tightened as they swayed, forgetting that they are in a dusty attic, and instead in a field with stars above them. Three words. She remembered her father's words to her mother. Was her heart also shouting those three words to the boy hugging her at that moment?
"I am confused." Roy suddenly uttered out of nowhere.
Riza removed her head from his chest to look at him. "Confused at what?"
He touched her cheeks as he looked into her eyes. "The way I feel whenever you're around."
Riza reached up to touch his hair. "I am too."
She didn't knew who initiated it; all she remembered the feeling of his lips on hers. The kiss was neither too fast nor too slow; it was perfect. Riza clung unto him as if he was the air she needed to breathe, and Roy held her tight, afraid that if he didn't, that magical moment would end. No, Riza was not the type to believe in magic, but this boy proved her wrong. How? She also didn't know.
The time came when the need for air was more vital than pressing their bodies closer than possible. They were both breathing heavily; Roy leaned his forehead against hers while letting out a small laugh.
"What the hell just happened?" Riza asked, smile evident in her voice.
"I don't know; all I know is that I liked it, and I wanted one more." Roy smirked while cupping her face. Riza blushed, she also wanted more. Then the realization that they just kissed dawned on her; she began entering her state of shock.
"I should get going; there are a lot of chores I haven't done yet!" She exclaimed, pulling away from Roy's hold as she grabbed her mother's shoebox. Riza didn't notice her feet hitting the corner of a box and she slipped. That was pretty embarrassing on her part, but Roy found it very cute.
"That didn't happen," Riza said as she stood up and exited the attic. Closing the door, she leaned on it while touching her lips. She smiled; if she didn't know her mother she would be guessing that this was all her mother's plan.
A review would be very nice. Thanks for reading! :)