The alchemist looks at me and glares. "Well, you're annoying aren't you," he spits. Suddenly, he claps his hands together, still glaring at me and puts his hands on the ground. Everything seems to turn into slow motion then. I stare at the ground where he put his hands, and what looks like a speedy lightning bolt makes its way towards me, traveling through the ground raggedly. Even though I know there's not enough time, I desperately scramble to get up. That's when Roy dives for me, pushing me out of the way, and falling on the place I had been sitting on. My eyes begin to fill with tears as I watch the man I love yell with agony and pain while being electrocuted.
I run to Roy's side, dropping to the ground before completely stopping, which causes sand to spray everywhere.
"Roy?..." I cry. I only hear a groan in response. 'You'll… you'll be alright. Roy?" His eyes slowly open and he laughs weakly.
"You know, I didn't ever think you would lie to me like that, Riza," he says. This causes me to sob and stand to my feet, wobbling. I shoot and icy, hate-filled glare at the alchemist who is watching us like a soap opera, and reach for my belt, grabbing one of the guns I always carry with me. The alchemist looks amused.
"Go on, shoot," he says with a distorted smile. I do. He dodges easily. I start screaming and shoot my guns repeatedly, watching the alchemist dance around like this is all a game. Eventually, my gun runs out of ammunition and I grab another. I'm just about to start shooting again when Edward Elric runs over, automail turned into a sharp, knife-like weapon, and cuts the alchemist in the arm, catching him off guard.
"Brother!" a voice calls, causing Ed to jump out of the way. A suit of armor grabs the alchemist and holds him in a tough position to get out of.
"Finally, we got him!" Ed exclaims. "Good job, Al!" Their heads turn towards me, registering my stance: me holding a gun, tears streaming down my face. "Lieutenant Hawkeye? What happened here?" I lower my gun and point to Roy lying on the ground. Edward's eyes follow where I'm pointing and widened when he saw him. "What happened to Mustang?!" All I do is fall to my knees and cry more. "Lieutenant?"
"H-he saved me," I finally manage to get out. Then my voice raises as I yell, pointing, "from HIM!" The alchemist Alphonse is holding laughs.
"It was sure a wonderful show!" he teases. I raise my gun and fire at him in anger, knowing I can without hurting Al since he doesn't have a body, and the bullet launches itself into his left shoulder. He cries in pain.
"Hawkeye, stop!" Al shouts. I throw the gun and hiss, then look back at Roy who apparently is still alive and watching me.
"I didn't think you'd freak out that much over me," he chuckles, his face revealing pain. I slap him, despite his condition. This surprises him.
"You idiot!" I cry. "You told me he was weak! Why did you say that?!" Roy smiles smugly.
"Er, well, I sort of assumed that since all he's killed are defenseless and innocent townspeople," he says. "My reasoning seemed logical." I slap again, this time not as hard, and drop my head to his chest, starting to sob. "Ugh…" he mumbles, not sounding well. "I'm getting really tired… and I don't feel very good… Dang, I never say stuff like that." I lift up my head and smile sadly at him.
"I really thought you were going to die there," I sigh, relieved he didn't.
"Yeah, me too." The way Roy looks into my eyes just sort of hypnotizes me for a while, as heat runs up into my face. I just sit staring back at him, thinking, 'Thank you thank you thank you…'
After awhile, I hear Edward clear his throat, so I look up at him.
"Well, I don't mean to interrupt uh… whatever is going on between you two, but Al here is still holding a psychopath murderer," he states. "I think we should go take him back to central now. And Colonel, I'm assuming we should call you a doctor?" Tch. Roy is going to decline.
"No need, Fullmetal. I'll be alright," he answers. See? I know him better than anyone and both of us know it. "Ed," he starts to say slowly. "Could you take this filthy alchemist and your brother to the Central Command cars waiting for us before I leave here?" Edward nods. "Just be careful. You look pretty wounded yourself." He only scratches the back of his neck.
"Yeah? Well you're not the only one who'll be alright. Though he did knock me out pretty hard earlier… but I'm still alright."
"Well, you should get going then."
"Right." Edward spins around and runs off into the city, forgetting his brother.
"Ed, wait up!" Alphonse calls after him. It's easier for him to drag the killer alchemist along then it probably would have been if I hadn't given him a gunshot wound. I wish I had given him more…
"Riza," Roy says softly. I turn my attention back to him. "Could you help me sit up?"
"Of course!" I tell him. I put my arm under his back to help him as he pushes himself off the ground into a sitting position.
"Wow, I'm really really soar," he groans, then laughs when he sees my worried facial expression. "Why are you so worried about me? You know I'll be fine." I look off into the distance. The sky is red now, and the ocean is a dark blue with sparkling waters.
"I guess… because you're never so open about your feelings," I tell him. "You've been acting really different today, and my first reaction is to worry." I feel a gloved hand take mine and glance over.
"Do you want to know why we originally came here?" he asks. "Because it sure wasn't so we could be attacked by that grubby alchemist." I laugh at that.
"Really? Because I was beginning to think that," I tease. Roy smiles at me. For about a minute, we stay smiling at each other.
Then, Roy's face suddenly becomes serious and he says, "You know, I know." My eye brows furrowed.
"Ever since the day you started loving me, I knew." This catches me completely off guard. "I could tell by the fact that you have never wanted to leave my side, you have always tried to protect me, and when you looked me straight in the eyes, even when mad, I could see… And the only times I know of you crying are when I get hurt. Do you remember when I almost died after our encounter with that homunculus, Lust? Alphonse tells me you just gave up on life after you thought I was dead."
I look down, my face burning. "I'm sorry… if it has bothered you…" I almost whisper. Roy gasps then hugs me.
"Riza, you know me like the back of your hand. That's why I'm surprised that you have been so blind to not see how much, and how long, I have loved you." I pull away and stare at him, shocked. Roy shakes his head. "After all these years. How is that the one thing that you didn't know about me? You know, Riza, the reason I brought you here was so I could ask you to marry me!"
"R-really?" I ask, slowly absorbing every word he said. "I mean, we've never dated or anything at all yet."
"True, but for so long, I thought we had both known about us loving each other. Oh well, that's not what matters. What does matter is that we have treated each other like we loved the other, so it's similar to if we were dating." I continue to stare at him, then do something I've wanted to do for a long time; I kiss him. After a few seconds, I pull away and immediately rest against him, closing my eyes.
"So… is that a yes?" Roy asks me.
"Hmm, let me think," I say sarcastically. "I just kissed you, so you tell me." He laughs and puts his arms around me.
"I can see it now," he says jokingly. "When and if we have kids some day, I'll tell them about how I literally was almost killed trying to propose to you." I laugh back at him. Then I feel him kiss my head, and murmurs into my ear, "I love you." We stay there in the same position until an annoyed and surprised Edward comes back and snaps at us that we were taking too long, and that we should hurry up and get our butts to the Central Command cars before Alphonse and the murdering alchemist can cause him to go more insane than he already was.
I, Riza Hawkeye, love only one person; one man. The man who long ago gave me the strength and a purpose to live my life. The man who was and is the source of my happiness. The man who loves me enough to propose to me. His name is Roy Mustang.
