Restraint
Royai. Three-Part Ficlet. First two parts applicable to either Manga or Anime storyline.

Something always brings me back to you
It never takes too long
No matter what I say or do I'll still feel you here
'Til the moment I'm gone

-Sara Bareilles, 'Gravity'

BEFORE

He leaned against the door frame and watched her sign her name across the bottom of the sheet. He couldn't quite see what it was for.

"Riza," he said quietly.

She jumped and quickly slid the sheet out of sight.

"I told you not to call me that," she said, "It's not right."

He walked into the room and leaned against her desk, watching her impassive face as she tried to avoid his gaze. She was so beautiful, but softly beautiful, not like the women he normally wasted his time with. They all had thin pointy faces and eyes that were fuzzy around the edges. Not Riza, Riza's face was round, but not plump, and her eyes were sharp.

Hawks eyes.

"Riza," he said, leaning forward and brushing his bare fingers up against her neck. Her skin tingled under his fingertips but she did not flinch or pull away like he expected her to. This was a promising reaction. "I did it, I've become a State Alchemist. Aren't you going to congratulate me?"

"Congratulations, Mr Mustang," she said stiffly.

"Just because I don't live here anymore doesn't mean that I can't come and visit," he said, "Will you let me come and visit? Riza?"

Riza didn't answer.

The only sound that he could hear was the sound of his breathing, ragged and unsteady, and hers, even, but shaking, as though she were restraining herself from something. Or someone.

He had seen the glances that she threw him out of the corner of her eye. But they weren't nearly as frequent as the glances that he threw at her. It had started off as a simple attraction to this quiet, reserved girl. The kind that he had for every female, but she hadn't thrown herself at him like all of the other girls had.

He said her name again, soft as a whisper, and leaned forward to press his lips against hers. Thinking about how much trouble he would be in if her father caught him with his daughter in his house. Especially after all the warnings he had given Roy to stay away from his little girl.

But he shouldn't have thought it. Because her father was already dead.

Roy surreptitiously reached past her to slide the form into view, but he only caught a glimpse of the title 'Application Form' before Riza surprised him by leaning into him and swiping the form off the table to hold it behind her back with her fingers. The form was forgotten in his mind as she opened her mouth and tilted her head a little, drinking in his scent. But then she wrenched herself away and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"No," she said, her voice faltering over the one tiny word. So she said it again, more firmly this time.

"No."

There had never before been a woman who had said 'no' to Roy Mustang before. And as he watched her walk out of the room with her head held high (he couldn't see the tears that were threatening to spill out from underneath her lashes) he knew that he would love Riza Hawkeye until the day he died. And that the less he saw of her the more he would die inside.

But when he came back the next day she was already gone.

RESTRAINT; the act of holding back

Eee! My first Royai fanfic! I hope you like it, there are two more parts coming and they shouldn't be long in coming. (Unless the next chapter of FMA comes out in which case there will be a delay for me to have a fangirl-orgy for a few days).

Please review and tell me what you think.