Disclaimer: i do not own fullmetal alchemist and if i did i wouldn't be in university i'd be rolling in the MONIES!

Summary: this about Roy and Riza as they grow up with each as friends and eventually lovers and the whole story will be long and have themes that are lightly touched upon in FMA such as poverty, working conditions, politics and ethics. BUT don't GET ME WRONG THIS IS MOSTLY RIZA AND ROY, COMEDY, ROMANCE AND FRIENDSHIP.

My Main inspiration came from the indomitable, Indefatigable and irrepressible GENIUS that is the author Steph's and her story 'twist of fate' which i have a link for check it out its awesome, .net/s/6547272/1/Twist_of_Fate

Throughout the story you might find references from Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie or Ricky gervais so don't be surprised. And I'm British so some of the words you may not know just go with the story and you'll get it. As you know FMA is set in a Victorian steam-punk style world that's why I've set mine similar but with realistic aspects such as mill cities and towns resembling cities of the Victorian- age like Manchester (where I'm from) in UK.

The first chapter will only be a setup for the whole story so don't expect the arc to star off with a bang, this chapter will set up the relationship and situation of roy's family and hardships. DO NOT expect romance to start which i hate in Fanfic where they fall in-love after two days, my approach will be friendship as youths and lead on from there. If you are too impatient for the romance to begin then sadly this story won't be for you.

I hope you enjoy it and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW, this is my first time


This tale is about the enduring love and friendship, it begins with the story of an aloof twelve year-old kid and a prim and proper girl as they grow up to adulthood.

Our story starts just as the sun is beaming through the window of a shabby, dirty and sweaty room, which could only mean one thing it was a BOYS room. Lying on the floor like a dead mule shot in the back was a black haired boy snoring, which was unusual for his age among other things, laying next to him another black-haired sallowed looking boy with his feet in his brother's face. There were two more little children around the ages of 5-6 looking like they needed a good bath. This was clearly a big family.

Roy mustang the eldest of the boys eyes were being stung by the rays of the sun and Roy being Roy most definitely didn't want to wake up. Unfortunately for him he could hear a voice coming from below the floorboard at first it was quiet but gradually it grew louder and louder until….

"ROY MUSTANG GET YOU'RE LAZY SELF UP BEFORE I BOX YOUR EARS Little man!" Roy knew who that was and it was the familiar voice of his mother.

"aaww come on mum I'm just havin' a little kip. I don't hear you tryin' to box they're ears off" Roy moaned whilst pointing incredulously at his brothers.

"UP UP UP you boys you've had enough sleep we've got a busy day ahead and your dad needs to get off to work so chop chop'', his mother declared.

Roy forced himself to wake up rubbing his head, grunting and groaning after night of sleeping on the hard wooden floorboards but he didn't mind much. He tiptoed out of the room and went down the stairs that looked like they were about to collapse due to its old age. Roy slid into the kitchen with a huge grin on his face,

''alright mam what's on for breakfast cuz' I could eat a cow''. His mum looked at him and smiled, she loved how her son always was the one to be cheery but she had to bring him back down to earth

"never mind eatin' cows you little bleeder, your father needs his medicine, I want you to pop over to the pharmacy and pick it up and if the bloody man asks why were we haven't paid last month's medicine tell 'I'm to try raisin' five kids''. Roy burst out laughing in hysterics he loved his mums little rants they were hilarious.

Roy ran out the front door of their little two bedroom house and came out to rows and rows of terraced houses which you could see for miles.

In the distant you could see giant smokestacks of the metal and coal factories which made the air have a dirty thickness to it and a permanently clouded sky. For people living in the wrong side of amestris's central city this was normal you lived day-by-day and pay check to pay check. Roy sped down the row of terraced red brick houses dashing passed children playing and their mothers catching up on the week's gossip on their doorsteps with other neighbours with a cup of tea in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Roy arrived at the pharmacy and picked up the medicine not before the pharmacist gave him a long diatribe about paying medicine bills to which Roy replied with a middle-fingered gesture and ran away laughing.

Roy arrived home to be greeted with a rush of noise and breakfast in the kitchen. He ran and was immediately punched.

'' AAAA what was that for'' Roy remarked whilst holding his arm, his older sister and consequently, arch-nemesis and spitting image of mum with black hair and green eye and according to people very beautiful but Roy couldn't see why they would say that, she was a monster to him.

Isabelle looked at him and just simply said ''I felt like it'', his younger brother Billy and the two young twins Tim and Jim burst out laughing because everybody loved to hate the permanently smug-faced brat called Roy mustang.

Everyone sat down to have breakfast the only two things you heard were munching on food and talking loudly over each other, this was after-all the mustang family home and it was full of happiness. Their father finally joined them as he came hobbling down the steps which sounded as if they were going cave under the pressure, as he sat down he let out a painful grimace while holding his back.

Everyone stared at mum who they knew would immediately talk about one thing ''Dave love, I told ya' a million times to quit that god-forsaken job at the factory it'll be the death of ya'and then how am I going to take care of our little ones EY. I've told you my brothers got some work in Xing maybe we could all join him there''. Their father looked down at the table rubbing his forehead in deep thought and said ''How am I supposed to feed the kids if I don't work, Chris, AND THE LAST TIME YOUR BROTHER HELPED US OUT IS WHEN HE STOLE MONEY FROM MY SAVINGS!''.

The whole table was fell silent and their mother Chris was quietly sobbing, this was a regular occurrence when it came to talk about job and money. Dave took a deep breath and sighed and looked at his wife Chris,

''I-I I'm sorry darling I didn't mean to upset you, I'm as worried as you about my health and there's no jobs apart from the factory and they treat us like dirt there but we can't do anything nobody represents us workers.'' Dave leaned over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her

"HAHAHA this reminds of the time we first dated and you thought I stood you up", Chris looked up teary eyed and said ''well I was angry with you, you were an hour late you idiot''.

There was an awkward chuckle between the kids because they knew what was next.

'' COME HERE SHMOOPY PAPOOPY '' Dave grabbed his wife and was nuzzling his wife's neck which made her giggle to no end and only thing she said was ''stop Dave eheheehehe" she obviously didn't want him to stop.

Isabelle interjected "MUM, DAD EEEWW THAT'S DISGUSTING I HATE IT WHEN YOU GET ALL NOSTALGIAC" their dad replied "It's called LUUUUUUUV hahahaa" the kids screamed in discuss in unison,

Roy added finally "someone please end my life for me here while I have a shred of dignity" to which the whole family burst out laughing and to Roy he knew he'd done it again and all was right.

Roy and his brother Billy who was 10 years-old were playing outside their home playing football (soccer) with his best friends Maes, havoc, Breda, feury and falman. It was a street lined with terrace houses so everyone knew each in this neighbourhood, a tight knit community in which nearly every grown man worked in the steel mill working the furnaces trying to get by with their families and helping out others. People in this neighbourhood appreciated friendship and loyalty over wealth and fame they were all working class people.

Roy was amazing at football and he was side stepping every time they tried to dispossess him but suddenly everyone stopped except Billy. Roy turned to look wondering what happened when he heard havoc say

"WOW! She is AMAAAZING'' the others chimed in too "I wish she knew I existed", Roy looked closer at what they were talkin about and screamed "NO WHAT THE HELL GUYS THAT'S MY BIG SISTER YOU DIRTY BEGGAR".

Falman who was older by 3 years older at 15 let out "ffwwwooooaahh check out that piece of totty, wouldn't mind myself" with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"YOU GUYS ARE DISGUSTING YOU KNOW THAT" Roy screamed, Breda replied ''HEY don't you say anything, you've been the only one out of us to ever have a girlfriend" Roy retorted " I WAS 5, WE PLAYED HOUSE ONLY". All of them turned their heads slowly towards Roy with jaws hitting the floor and then bursting out laughing like hyenas crying "HE PLAYED HOUSE AHAHAHAHAHA".

"Boys come inside now" his mum called, Roy sped in with embarrassment. As he sat down for dinner his brother Billy suddenly changed the mood when he asked his dad a question "dad…how come we can't go to school like the kids on the other side of town", his father shot a glance to his wife Chris that said 'help me' but he eventually replied " son you know the kids in this area don't go to school as well so you're not alone but the kids in the other side they have parents that have money and can afford to send their kids….were…not in that position…BUT hey guess what we're going to central tomorrow to see state alchemists and affiliated alchemists exhibition, ain't that cool mum" Chris replied clearly trying to lift their spirits "ooooo that'd be awesome wouldn't it the whole family seeing STATE alchemists wow"

Roy was wide eyed and couldn't believe that they were going to see a real ALCHEMIST he'd only ever read about them and he dreamt about being one.

"REALLY dad we're going, well now I know I can die happy after this" Isabelle chimed in "Ghod! Do you have to be so morbid all the time" Roy looked at her confused "o.O morbid? What's that mean?"

Dave face-palmed himself and added "well I guess he got my genes". The day ended quietly as everyone felt tired and they boys trudged off to the room the shared that was just enough to fit one single-sized bed for the twins and a closet. Roy took a bath and lay down on the floor which he didn't call the 'floor' he called it his bed and laid down shut his eyes dreaming of being an alchemist of Water…NO! NO! Maybe electricity….or even FIIIIIIRRREEE! Hehehehee, with that he drifted off to sleep dreaming a dream he knew he wanted to become reality.

Tomorrow arrived and the whole family were ready to leave with their best clothes on looking as smart as possible. Isabelle and mum were in elegant summer dresses which of course made Dave turn to jelly as his wife looked like she could have any man she wanted(in retrospect Dave should not be happy about), the boys were all decked out in their finest little waistcoats and trousers. As for the aloof, nonchalant and suave Roy Mustang today he surprised everyone by making an effort by combing his hair, wearing clean smart-casual summer clothes. They all stepped out and saw many families from the poorer area going with husbands, wives and children, the Mustangs and other families couldn't afford to take the newly-invented combustion-engine vehicle into town so they took horse drawn taxi to the centre of the city. As they were approaching town the landscape drastically changed from dilapidated homed to elegant marble and limestone homes with guards in front and blue tiled roofs and plush gardens.

The Mustangs were certainly impressed and were awed by the magnificence of the homes compared to their small home. As they were reaching deeper into the city the crowds started to get thicker and they jumped off the carriage and made their way to an enormous square bigger than steel mills combined. Dave and Chris took the three youngest hands and told Isabelle and Roy to meet them at the café. Isabelle had spotted her boyfriend and ran to him giggling, it made Roy, who hated ALL GIRLS, want to throw up.

The whole square was packed and there were innumerable stands and stages where alchemists were demonstrating their different skills and attributes from radio fixing to electric manifestation. Roy just stood there soaking it all in and the feeling of excitement which he felt would blow him up. As he ran through crowds of adults he spotted a man just sitting on a chair with a table. The man looked very serious and stern which would make you think twice to want to balls anything up with him. Roy watched as he just sat there, the crowd with puzzled looks on their faces as to what this man was going to do. Suddenly out of nowhere he clapped his hands together and there was the fiery manifestation of a giant dragon which swooped over the heads of the event goers and that's all he did, he looked uncomfortable being watched like a circus attraction. The man was sitting there with a blonde girl around Roy's age, the strange man just sat there the whole time occasionally talking to his daughter presumably whilst ignoring the crowd. The people started to disperse looking for other alchemist exhibitions, Roy was the only one left and he had the burning desire to go up to the man and ask him how in the world had he conjured that godly apparition.

Roy nervously shuffled his feet towards the table and he could feel his throat noticeably drying up as words were escaping him out of fear and embarrassment, Roy thought to himself 'this is a real life alchemist my dream to finally meet one and I'm bottling it'.

Roy lifted his head, took a deep breath and strode towards them, ''excuse me mister how did you do that?'' the man raised an eyebrow at the boy inspecting him.

The man looked at Roy with piercing eyes and said in a deep, gruff voice '' is that anyway to introduce yourself to a master of fire alchemy''. Roy immediately doubled up in shock and uttered ''wha-wha...you're-you're'', Roy looked at them man and thought 'NO WAY! That can't be the master of fire alchemy this man looks like a skreg; I read he was all elegant and noble'.

Roy finally opened his mouth again and blurted out ''you're NOT BERTHOLD HAWKEYE'', immediately the man burst out laughing remarking "is that why your hair is on fire".

Roy immediately started screaming, running in circle and patting his head, the blonde girl interjected ''he's joking you idiot, your fine'', Roy immediately stopped and looked at the girl feeling embarrassed and red faced because he just took a closer look at her and she was beautiful, well as beautiful as GIRLS could get because you know….Roy hates ALL GIRLS because their devil spawns.

Roy stood there red faced as Mr Hawkeye spoke "oh this is my daughter Riza Hawkeye and I'm sure you know who I am" chuckling as he said the last part. Roy stood there literally star-struck and his usual quips for once in his life had abandoned him.

Mr Hawkeye took a deep breath, stood up and said ''well it's best we start leavin' Riza before the crowds return'' they both started to pack up their belongings when Roy suddenly burst out with knees on the floor "PLEASE MR. HAWKEYE LET ME BE YOUR APPRENTICE I PROMISE I WONT MAKE FUN OF YOUR HAIR….O.O…did I just say that out loud''

Mr Hawkeye stared at him for few seconds until his daughter said ''why don't you come over to our house to grab something to eat '' she smiled at Roy who felt himself go red in the face.

Mr Hawkeye invited Roy back to their home which was a lavish estate like a Georgian-period piece, elegantly decked out with tapestry's, busts and enormous rooms that were five times bigger than the rest of his house put together. Roy felt uneasy in such an elegant environment getting the feeling he might break something just by his mere presence there, he followed Mr Hawkeye to his office where he sat down at the desk in a room filled with books on alchemy.

Mr Hawkeye stared into Roy's eyes and immediately said ''I'LL TAKE YOU ON'', Roy couldn't believe his ears and the shock made him out to look like a gormless idiot, even so Berthold added ''I have never had an apprentice and most kids are scared of my eyes, you can blame my father for them'' he chuckled. ''WELL Roy m'boy you will become an ALCHEMIST''.

A month had passed with Roy being Hawkeye's apprentice which his parents were so proud that he was making something of his life. Roy would spend most of his free-time with Hawkeye's daughter Riza and Roy wouldn't admit it but she was cool for a girl.

''Hey Roy you comin' or not'' Riza shouted. ''yeah yeah hold up let me get my shoes on I might be poor but I'm no skreg.'' They both ran outside into the street where Riza lived which was the nicest neighbourhood in the city contrasted with his own home. Riza and Roy were very much birds of a feather and would talk non-stop about everyday drivel.

''Riza I was lookin in the paper the other day right and they had this monkey that apparently learnt alchemy'' Riza just gave stared at him with blank expression meaning this guy must be an idiot -.-, even so she always finding herself getting into these non-sense conversations which she secretly was fond of.

'' Roy how in the world can a monkey do alchemy I'm surprised that you can'', Roy snorted ''well I'm a MAN and were tougher and…err….COOLER HA'', Riza hackled ''well I feel sorry for the human race if they got you, I might as well jump ship from this sinking ship'' Roy gave her the middle-finger to which she smiled and slapped on the back.

''yeah well talkin' of monkeys, what would you rather be a human with a monkeys brain or a monkey with a humans brain?'', Riza looked at him and replied ''well obviously a monkey with a humans brain because I would still be more intelligent'' Roy cut in ''but aaahh, you forget, you don't have the speech capabilities of a human'' Riza replied ''yeah but still I'll have a higher intellect won't I even if I can't speak''.

Roy started laughing like a man possessed ''I can imagine now, you as a monkey reading Friedrich Nietzsche musings on Ubermench whilst at the same time rubbing your ass up against a tree''. Roy was on the ground holding his stomach due to the laughter which vexed Riza but she couldn't help but star laughing like crazy at the thought which made passers-by think the two 12 year-olds were a bunch of baby hyenas.


OK, I know its not very good and I myself felt that Riza should've been introduced earlier but i wasn't bothered to re-write it again. PLEASE REVIEW IT I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK BECAUSE IT'S MY FIRST TIME. DO NOT WORRY THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE MORE ROY-RIZA CENTRIC SO SHIPPERS DON'T GET YOUR KNICKERS IN A TWIST. :D