Riza's Request
Author: MoonStarDutchess
One shot B-day Fic
Rewritten July 10, 2008
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA
AN: This is a b-day fic for Kgon Akumu. Hope you love it and Happy Birthday!
Riza's Request
If Roy were to describe the atmosphere between them on the walk to her apartment, tension-filled would be the perfect description. He could feel the anger radiating off her in invisible waves. It almost seemed that the anger was making the air around them thick and stodgy.
He returned to central that day, after being gone for two years. He reunited with his team, and then went up into that balloon to help Edward and Alphonse with their mission. When he returned, the others welcomed him happily. She however, just stood there silently, her gaze not meeting his in the slightest. He knew that inside her, extreme anger was festering. He could tell that she was doing all she could to contain the venomous, angry words that she wanted to scream at him.
When they were dismissed for the evening (the council decided to forgo the judgment of Mustang's conduct until the next workday) Havoc offered to let Roy stay with him. Riza looked at Havoc and said that Roy could stay with her since she had a spare bedroom. Of course, Roy chose staying with Riza and that brought them to their current place in time.
He tried to make small talk with her but she never responded and began to walk quicker. Roy was finding it hard to keep up with her pace. His leg never was the same since the fight with Bradley. He was surprised when they walked past her old neighborhood. He was about to ask about it when Riza stated, "I moved."
Roy merely nodded.
They walked a bit further and he was surprised when they arrived at the place where he lived before he left Central. "You moved into my old house?"
"I think the answer to that is pretty obvious," she answered and took her keys from her purse. She unlocked the door and opened it, going inside. After flipping on the light, she took off her coat and threw her keys and purse down onto the table beside the door. Roy entered, shut the door behind him, and then locked it.
He heard a bark and saw Hayate run toward them. He put his paws upon Riza to be petted and after she did so, he ran to Roy. Roy grinned and bent down to pet him.
"He's grown," Roy said.
"Yes," Riza replied, watching Roy interact with Hayate.
"Make yourself comfortable," she said. "I am going to go change out of this uniform." She then made her way down the hall and into the last room on the right.
Roy stood up straight, went into the living room, and sat down on the couch. Hayate followed and jumped upon the couch to sit beside him. The house was in better condition now than it was when he lived there. For one thing, the house was much cleaner looking. The walls were now white instead of dark grey; the hardwood floor was polished to a shine instead of being dingy and covered with an area rug. Everything was organized instead of in a mess of clutter. He couldn't tell it was the same house.
He turned when he heard someone behind him. He smiled when he saw Riza. She was dressed in a tank top that barely met the hem of the baggy light blue pajama pants she wore. Her feet were bare and he almost laughed when he saw that her toenails were painted red. He wanted to tell her how beautiful and cute she looked standing there but refrained from doing so. It wouldn't be a proper comment to make at the moment.
"You hungry?" she asked, snapping Roy from his thoughts.
"A bit," he answered.
"I'll fix some dinner for us," she said. "You should get cleaned up and changed. I put the clothing you left behind in the guest room. No one knew what to do with the other things you left. So I put your furniture up in the attic along with your books and other belongings. The guest room is the room you used as an office."
"You kept them?" he questioned, surprised that she kept his things.
She turned and smiled ever so slightly. "I kept them," she said and walked into the kitchen to fix dinner.
Roy hesitantly made his way to the room. He opened the door to see that indeed his former office was a lovely guest room. He was surprised to see that his old bedroom furniture was being used. It had been polished and looked beautiful with the peach walls.
After searching for some pajamas and boxers, which had obviously been recently washed, he went to take a shower. As he stepped under the stream of hot water, washing away all the evidence of his little adventure on the flying machine, his thoughts drifted to Riza. He'd seen the look on her face and could tell how upset she was as he went up in that balloon. Her face held a look of fear like he'd never seen before. She normally didn't display her emotions with facial expressions, if her emotions were to be seen, they were seen through her eyes. He hadn't wanted to upset her; he just wanted to protect her from what may be up there.
He'd never realized until his stay up North just how far his feelings for his lieutenant really extended. He'd always cared for her more than a superior should have for a subordinate, but it was hard for him to admit that his feelings for Riza extended beyond camaraderie. That he loved her more than anyone else on the face of the earth.
After stepping out of the shower, drying, and getting dressed, he made his way to the kitchen. When he entered, he saw that the colors hadn't been changed but there was a new table, and the room was; yet again, much cleaner than it was previously. He watched as Riza placed steak, potatoes, and salad on two plates. She turned and handed him the dish, not surprised in the slightest that he was standing there.
She went over to the table and sat down, Roy following suit. As they ate, no conversation passed between them. Roy could still feel remnants of the tension that he'd felt on the walk home, but thankfully, it wasn't as intense as before. After they both were finished eating, Riza stood, grabbed the dishes, and put them in the sink.
"I'll do them in the morning. I'm going to bed now," she said, then walked past him.
Roy was tired of the tension and decided to do something about it. He stood and grabbed her wrist. She spun around quickly and glared at him. There was anger in her stare but it was combined with another emotion . . . pain.
"What can I do for you?" he questioned, desperately wanting to rid her of the pain she was feeling. "Will an apology help things at all?"
"No, it won't," she answered, and looked down.
"I didn't want you to get hurt. That was why I didn't take you up there with me."
"Damn it Mustang, that isn't the reason I am angry! Well, it's not the only reason."
Roy didn't like the fact that she used his last name to address him. It felt like she was too emotionally distant.
"What else then?" he asked.
She jerked her wrist away from his grasp and raised her head so she could stare into his eyes. "You left without a word to anyone. Can you imagine how I felt? How worried I was when I went into your room to find that you weren't there? I went to headquarters and of all people; General Hakuro told me that you left."
Roy cursed, of all people it had to be that bastard.
"He looked so damned smug; like he won some sort of victory. Like he was so happy that you did what you did."
"I'm sorry ... I just ... I don't know what to say."
"I don't want an apology and I don't want an excuse. I know I wasn't good enough to help you. I am sorry that it took Edward returning to bring you back to us. I would have rather you told me that I wasn't good enough and that my work was in vain, than to have you just leave."
Roy was alarmed at her words. It wasn't about her being good enough. Dear god, did she really think that was the reason he left?
"Riza, you were always good enough. Better than what I deserved. The reason I left was because I felt guilty over what happened to Edward and what I did in Ishbal finally came back to haunt me like it'd never before. I couldn't let you see me like that."
"That's what hurts," she said, in a pained voice.
"What can I do to make it up to you?" he questioned, taking her hand and looking down at it for a moment. He lifted his gaze to meet hers. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Riza stared at him for a moment and shook her head.
"You wouldn't give me what I want," she said. "It's a lot to ask."
"Yes I will. Whatever you want me to do, I will."
What she wanted would alter their lives greatly. If she requested it, he would probably run back to the north and never return. She wasn't getting any younger and if she put it off much longer, she may never get what she longed for so badly. There was no one else alive that she would consider for this. She felt queasy when just thinking about asking him. However, it slipped from her mouth before she knew it.
"I want a baby," she said, softly.
"I beg your pardon?" Roy questioned, his eyes widened considerably. Surely he didn't hear what he thought he did.
"I said, I want you to give me a baby. These past two years I've seen so many women with children and realized that I want one so badly. I want a child that I can raise and love. I'm getting past the age where it's safe to have children. You know it's not medically a good idea to have children past thirty. I am twenty-seven now so I don't have very long."
"A baby?" he questioned. "That's . . . that's quite a large order to fill." Roy said, wincing at the statement that could be taken as an innuendo.
"Yes, a baby," she said, turning away from him. "I told you that you wouldn't give me what I wanted." She walked away from him and out of the kitchen. He heard the patter of her feet down the hall and heard her bedroom door shut. He sat down on a chair, his emotions going crazy. He was dazed at her request. Riza Hawkeye wanted a baby. More importantly, she wanted a baby with him! She could have had a child in the two years when he was gone. There were many men that had an interest in her. Surely, any one of them would have been willing, but no, she'd waited and asked him to father her child.
What kind of life would a child of his have? He didn't know how to be a good father? Then he realized that she hadn't said that she wanted them to share in raising the baby. She said she wanted to have a baby she could love and raise. She made no mention of having him anywhere in its, or her, life.However, did she really expect him to leave her if he did get her pregnant? Did she expect him to leave after knowing he helped create a life?
Create a life. . . To create and not destroy would be a foreign concept to him. Moreover, he would create this life with the woman he loved. Despite his reputation, he'd only told four women that he'd loved them. Those women were his mother and three sisters; Riza would make the fifth.
He grinned softly at his decision and stood. He made his way to her bedroom and twisted the knob that would open the door. After walking inside the room, he closed the door and looked over at the bed. Thanks to the streetlights shining through the blinds on the windows, he could make out Riza's form. She was lying on her side, her back facing him.
He walked over, crawled on the bed, and laid down upon it. He moved his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. She gave no resistance to his actions, but she did tense up slightly.
"What are you doing in here?" she questioned, her voice slightly scratchy.
"There's something I need to know," he said, and turned her so that she laid on her back. He was surprise to see tears pouring from her eyes and running down her cheeks. He reached up and wiped them away with his thumbs.
"What's that?" she asked, tensing up the more he touched her wet face.
"Why me? You could have anyone else."
"Is it really that hard to figure out?"
Roy nodded.
"I love you," she said. "There's no one else I would ever consider having a child with."
Roy smiled softly. "I don't understand why. How can you love me with all the things I've done?"
"A person can't explain love Roy. If they could, then there would be a lot less confused people out there in the world. I just love you. There's no explaining it. I love the man who is perfectly imperfect."
"You know, I always denied the way I felt for you until I left. Then when I was alone up there, I felt it. I missed seeing your face and hearing your voice. I missed that lavender smell that would permeate the air as you walked by. I missed your laugh and your touch and staring into those beautiful hazel eyes of yours. I love you so much Riza. There would be nothing that would make me happier than giving you a child and raising it with you, if you wish it."
Riza gasped with surprise at his affirmative answer. "Did you just propose as well?" she asked, her shock evident in her tone.
"I did," he answered. "It wouldn't feel right if we had a child before we were married, right?"
She grinned and turned her back to him. "If that's the only reason you want to marry me, then forget it and the child," she said, the humor in her voice evident. He grinned and flipped her onto her back.
"Marry me because I love you," he said. "Will you? Marry me and grow old with me until the day we die?"
"Yes," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lowered his lips to cover hers.
He may not be the best husband and father but he would try his damnest. Riza and his future child deserved the best he could give of himself. He also realized that maybe he deserved some happiness as well, and she was the only person in the world that could give him that.