Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.


When the secret of flame alchemy was inscribed onto her back, she didn't think about how it would affect her in the long run.

The agreement was always consensual, she agreed to have this burden cast upon her, even with all the pain her father had put her through, she couldn't say no. She wasn't only doing this for him, she wanted to be the one to control his secrets and not let them fall into the wrong hands. In a way she almost took pride in the fact that her father trusted her with such a great secret, since he never had really shown much interest in her before.

It was clear that there was only one person who was ever allowed to gaze upon those secrets. His name was Roy Mustang, the last student her father ever took under his wing and the right heir, so to say, to his research. It wasn't only in her father's wishes that she gave him those secrets; she knew he would surely put them to good use, but more importantly, she hoped that having such powerful alchemy would keep him safe.

It was only after he left her to return to the military that she pondered about what that tattoo meant she couldn't do for the rest of her life. She would always have to stay covered, finding covert excuses to give doctors and nurses if anything were to ever happen to her. She would never get to wear any type of revealing clothes; her back always had to be completely covered. She could never have an intimate relationship with any man, well except one. Roy Mustang.

This, she had always thought had been some sort of hidden inclination from her father. Of course he hadn't said much about the relationship between his student and his daughter but no matter how much they tried to cover it up you could clearly see what they had went way beyond mere friendship. Even if her father had never outwardly directed any kind of distaste towards it, she knew deep down he thought she was making a mistake.

He decided the bound them, by destiny, by fate, whatever you wanted to call it. He decided she could never be with any other man but him. It was almost as if he openly mocked her, his voice echoed in her head.

"Do you think that silly boy will remember you when he leaves?"

"Do you think you're not just a simple fling, who he can discard at any given moment?"

"Do you truly believe that he will be by your side forever?"

There was a lot of truth in those words. She might be bound to him now but he had no reason to continue to stay with her. He had nothing to hide, he could be with any woman he pleased, and perhaps she was just a silly childhood crush to him. After he left for the military she was almost positive she would never see him again. She would support his dreams from afar and maybe one day, he will remember her and seek her out. She would still be waiting for him; of course, she wouldn't be with anyone else.

Simply sitting back and waiting was not a part of her nature. Riza Hawkeye was a woman of action.

She followed him straight into hell, she couldn't bear to see him just die like trash on the side of the street. She would protect him, he was the only reason she had left for living. If Roy Mustang ceased to exist, so would she. There was no future for her without him. Her father had decided that.

Now, almost 20 years since the day she first laid eyes on the raven-haired man sleeping peacefully beside her she realized that it was her victory. He had not left her, he would not leave her. She would not be alone for the rest of her life. They were bound by destiny through the markings on her back, his life in hers forever.

Sometimes, she was grateful for her tattoo bringing them that much closer together, but deep down inside she knew tattoo or no tattoo he would've always come back for her.