Author's Notes: I meant to post this chapter this morning until I realized that I only had 10 minutes to get to work. My bad! I should apologize twice though because the first part and second part are completely different. I didn't mean for the first part to get so angsty, but you all know how MUCH I enjoy writing about Roy's anger. Also this was supposed to only be in Roy's POV, but the first part wouldn't work. The second part is such a huge contrast, featuring more parental!Royed. I don't even know how this happened. Blame the muse.

Sinners and Saints

iii. wrath

His rage is chilling to the bone. It's cold and precise. Someone that didn't know him might think he was out of control, a wildfire ready to explode, but she knows better. He doesn't let himself go like that - refuses to allow it - and instead will focus all his anger into a single white hot pinpoint of destruction. There's precision to his flames, the way he can manipulate them to wrap around someone like a chokehold and not touch anything else in the room. Every explosion is contained and each target is specific.

Riza shivers despite the heat, but she doesn't know if it's because of what she's witnessing or the blood currently spilling out of her from a gunshot wound.

Stupid, she thinks, as she presses her hands against her side. Her hands are red, even redder than his flames. She raises her head, tries to shout out to him, but the words don't out of her mouth. She didn't have this much difficulty speaking when her throat was slashed on the Promised Day? How is this worse?

She feels hands on her and then she's pulled onto her back, wincing in pain. Havoc's face hovers over hers and she sees his lips moving, thinks he's saying something like, "Hang in there!" but she can't be for sure. All she can hear over the sound of blood pounding in her ears is the sound of flames. It has such a unique sound; it reminds her of wind as the flame greedily feed off the oxygen he is able to manipulate.

Desperately, using all her strength, she reaches out, blood dribbling out of her at a faster rate without the added pressure. Havoc curses as his hands take her place on the wound. "Stop…" she manages to choke out. Her hand wobbles. Blood drips onto the concrete. "…stop…"

"I'm trying, I'm trying," Havoc says, nearly cries. The fire glows in his bright blue eyes and she thinks she sees a film of tears covering them. Panic is written all over his face. She's getting blood on his uniform. How many times was she shot? Once? Twice? "Damnit, please, I'm trying to stop the bleeding, but I don't…"

She puts her hand on her gun, but she can't get her fingers to grip the handle. Unable to pick it up, all she is able to do is scoot the gun towards Havoc until it hits him in his thigh. They connect eyes and she forces hers to not waver, even as he fades in and out. "Stop…him," she orders through gritted teeth.

Havoc blinks, fear in his eyes. He must've looked like this after Lust paralyzed him. Lying there, bleeding out from the entrance and exit stab wounds, unable to move, knowing that he was going to die. She didn't think she would ever see such terror in Havoc's eyes, not his, not directed towards her. But then, when his gaze flickers to the man standing in front of them, wielding vicious and unforgiving flames, the fear doesn't go away.

She knows what this is. She knows how he is. She doesn't have the strength to stop him.

Shaking his head, Havoc puts his hands on hers and shoves the gun away. "I can't-" His voice chokes.

She pushes it back, unrelenting and dying and oh so tired. She can't let him ruin himself like this; she's supposed to protect him, even from himself. "Havoc, you-"

"Riza, I'm not you!" Havoc's eyes are wild and terrified, but there is a shadow of shame in them. "I'm not you. I can't do what you can." He bites his lip and looks away from her. "Not when I feel the same."

Stupid, she thinks again.

"Up," she says out loud, knowing full well that she shouldn't be moved.

Havoc opens his mouth to protest, but the flat look she gives stops him cold. Carefully, doing his best not to jostle her too much, he helps her to her feet. It takes more strength than she's capable of. She doesn't know where it's coming from and it's hard to focus. Maybe it's shock or adrenaline. With Havoc basically holding her up completely, she grits her teeth again and holds up the gun, shakily aiming it at her target. She doesn't have the strength to speak louder than a whisper.

And so Havoc does it for her. "Stop it, Mustang! Goddamnit, just stop it, man!"

At first, he doesn't. Another loud explosion ravages the building, finally collapsing the third floor. She's never seen him cause so much severe destruction before. Wasn't that always Edward's way? He didn't blow up the building right away and instead forced his flames to snake their way through the hallways. Once a scream was heard, he would step forward and take deliberate aim. He isn't making this quick. The rest of their team and a few other soldiers are hunkered down behind anything they can find, hiding and scared out of their wits. Hiding from him and not the men were shooting at them moments ago.

He never says a word. His face is cold, reminding her of when he faced down Envy. When he looks back at them, that same dead hateful look in his eyes, Havoc stumbles and takes a step back. She nearly drops the gun in her hand from the sudden movement, but she doesn't look away from him.

Stop it, her eyes plead. You're murdering them.

She wants to cry out. She can't.

They were dead the second they shot you, his dark eyes seemed to say in return.

She doesn't know if it's on purpose or she loses her grip, but she squeezes off a shot. The bullet hits the ground uselessly at his feet, kicking up concrete. He doesn't blink or hesitate. Havoc grips her tighter. She can feel him closing in on himself, but he won't let her go. Why can't he let her go? They need to let her go.

When they were teenagers, she never saw him angry for the first two years of his apprenticeship. He never lost his temper. He was filled with good humor and didn't let anything get him down, except for the occasional put down from her father or when he was disappointed in himself. She wondered what might set him off, when it would happen. Those first few months were terrifying. Surely he would snap at her for something, as her father did, as other former short-lived apprentices did. But he never did.

Until one day he came to walk her home from school and witnessed one of her classmates bullying her. He might not have done anything until the boy put his hands on her and shoved her hard enough to the point where she tripped and fell in the road, scraping her elbow and bruising her hand. Before she could even say anything, he was there, gripping the boy by the collar, and punched the kid right in the face just once and bloodied his nose.

"Don't you ever lay a hand on her again," he spat coldly, dropping the boy to the ground and glaring down at him in a way that reminded her of a tower, "or a bloody nose will be the least of your problems."

She knew then that his temper was something to fear. His eyes softened when he looked at her and helped her back to her feet. She didn't know whether to be terrified of him then, even if he was defending her. She knows not to be now. Never terrified, never of him, but perhaps for him, yes, she could be. He never loses control of his flames when anger grips him, but he can lose himself.

"Stop," she says in a whisper, so quiet she knows that he can't hear her. He knows though. He knows exactly what she said to him. He doesn't hesitate. He doesn't flinch. She's not even sure he's breathing. Her finger itches towards the trigger again. Tears don't come to her eyes and she doesn't look away.

And then she sees it. A flicker of something in his eyes. Something warm. Something that is able to break through the iciness of his rage. Him. She sees him again in the black of his eyes and it's the brightest thing she can imagine. The gun slips through her fingers, too wet from her blood and her grip too weak. It clatters to the ground. He drops his hand to his side.

She is able to breathe again and almost smiles as her vision begins to fade. The last thing she sees is Roy rushing towards her. It's enough. She couldn't handle it if the last thing she saw was his wrath.

iv. patience

Honestly, Roy rather thinks it's a testament to his strong-willed patience that he doesn't even flinch when Ed kicks open the door of his interior office and storms inside. Standing up straight and turning away from the papers she was going over with him moments before, Riza arches an eyebrow at the young alchemist but says nothing. She has never once corrected Ed on his rude, bordering on insubordinate, behavior towards his commanding officer, though she is quick to point it out in others.e

Most people would think it's the kid's age, but Roy knows different. He knows that even someone as tough as nails and strict as the Hawk's Eye can have a soft spot for someone.

Plus, it works to his advantage. Ed likes Riza. He respects her and is fond of her. When she tells him something, he actually listens without complaint. She's never even had to put the fear of god in him like she does some other soldiers in the military when they step out of line. All of which comes in handy when Roy has to deal with him. Because that kid is anything but easy to manage as far as Roy is concerned. He gave men younger than Roy gray hairs.

Patience isn't limitless, and Ed was doing his best to drain Roy's well dry quickly.

"Ah, Fullmetal, what a pleasant surprise," Roy greets in a blandly amiable voice, the kind of tone he uses at those neighborhood barbeques that Hughes drags him to sometimes in hopes of finding him a girlfriend. It's also the kind of tone that pisses Ed off. He doesn't like it when people use Adult Tones on him. It amuses Roy to no end. It does not amuse Riza. "I thought you weren't due back in for another day."

"What kind of cruel joke is this, Mustang?" Ed demands, waving a crumpled piece of paper in his automail hand.

Lacing his fingers together, Roy props his chin on his hands, elbows on his desk. "As I'm not a mind reader, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"This!" Ed practically screeches, his voice doing that high-pitch thing that happens during puberty. Despite the fact that he's the equivalent of a major in the military and a State Alchemist, his body doesn't seem to give a damn and is still treating him like a fourteen year-old boy. He stomps towards them, looking fit to murder someone, and slams the paper down on his desk, knocking a manila folder off the table. Riza frowns slightly, but Roy doesn't blink or look away from Ed. "What the hell is this?"

Picking up the offending piece of paper, Roy flicks it open and quickly surveys the contents. Not exactly what he was expecting, but it's a struggle to keep himself from grinning like an idiot. Just when he thought his weekend was going to be sour, it turns out that it's going to be entertaining.

"I believe," Roy says coolly, "that it's an invitation to the fundraiser for the State Alchemist Program this Saturday."

"Invitation?" Ed seethes. "It says it's mandatory for all State Alchemists!"

Roy smiles. "Not all of them - just the ones in the vicinity."

Ed folds his arms across his chest. "Then why did I get a call informing me that I needed to return here asap?"

"Because, as I'm sure you're already aware, you're not just any State Alchemist," Roy points out. Even though it's one of the closest things to a compliment that Roy has given him, Ed doesn't seem impressed. Instead, he folds in on himself even more, as if he can't trust his ears right. Roy Mustang complimenting him? Certainly not. Roy doesn't miss a beat though. "As the two youngest alchemists to take the exam, both of us are required to go. Not to mention that there's no one that outclasses me."

Jumping from a subtle compliment to bragging about himself causes Ed to snort. He narrows his eyes at Roy, trying to discern whether or not he's lying or if there's a way he can get out of going to the fundraiser. Roy can see his brain working overtime, if only because he thought the same exact things when he received his own so-called invitation. At his side, he can feel Riza's gaze on him, warning him not to aggravate Ed even further.

Roy isn't going to say something to set the kid off though. He likes to take his time in winding Ed up into a frenzy. It's truly one of his favorite things to do. See, this is why he tells Hughes that he wouldn't be a good father. What kind of parent would torture their kid this way?

"Do you have anything nice to wear?" Roy asks. "Any dress clothes?"

Having not thought the entire thing through yet besides "how in the hell do I get out of this?", Ed's cheeks turn pink. Considering he wears nearly the same tacky get up everywhere, the answer is probably no. Luckily he's got enough money in his State Alchemist funds to pay for some nice clothes. Everyone needs to have at least one outfit for a special occasion, just in case, or so Madam Christmas always told Roy when he was growing up.

"We should probably arrive together," Roy surmises thoughtfully.

Ed starts at that. "Together? Why would I want to go with you? What's that supposed to mean anyways?"

"You're my subordinate," Roy says, "and as the officer that recruited you and is your commanding officer, I need to make sure that you don't do anything stupid."

"Stupid?" Ed unfolds his arms to point an accusing finger at Roy's face. "You're the one that needs to worry about doing something stupid. You'll probably get drunk and flirt with some General's wife or daughter and get in trouble."

But Roy shakes his head. "I won't do that, not while I have a date."

"A…date?" Ed looks confused for a second, like he doesn't know what a date actually entails. Hell, maybe he doesn't. He's still a kid after all. He's probably never been on a date before or even thought about asking someone out.

Roy tilts his head sideways to look up at Riza and grin at her cheekily. "What color do you think the Lieutenant will look better in: a red and green silky dress?"

In response to that comment, Riza merely rolls her eyes and says nothing of the matter. She'll be in her military uniform most likely, considering that she will be there acting as his adjutant and bodyguard (and not his date), but a man could dream after all. Ed, on the other hand, turns full on red as he sputters, unable to get an actual sentence or even full word out of his mouth.

And finally, having reached the crescendo of his game, Roy turns back to focus on Ed and says in his most earnest voice, "It would probably be a good idea if you brought a date too. Why don't you call your automail mechanic? Winry Rockbell, isn't it? She seems like a sweet girl."

"I would– Winry is– I can't–"

Ed loses it. He can't even figure out an insult to come back with to turn on Roy. His mind races as he imagines a hundred horrible situations. In his fourteen year-old mind, he's probably stuck with visions of him being stuck Roy and Riza while they subtly flirt with one another, much to his embarrassment and horror, or calling up Winry to ask her and having her say no – or even more terrifying, her saying yes. He's so confused about what he might actually want that he panics and his brain shuts down.

It takes literally every ounce of strength in Roy to not burst into laughter.

Unable to do or say anything else, Ed rushes out of the room with Roy calling after him, "Get some nice clothes and be sure to be at my office an hour before the event!"

Once the two of them are alone, Roy leaning back smugly in his chair, Riza sighs. "Was it completely necessary for you to tease him like that?"

"He's going to have to own up to being in love with that girl one day," Roy replies, shrugging his shoulders. "What's wrong with giving him a little push?"

"A little push? I think you nearly gave him an aneurysm."

"Well, sometimes you need to be pushed into the abyss when it comes to admitting your feelings." When Roy returns his gaze back to her, Riza gives him a shrewd look, like she knows exactly what he's trying to imply, but she is not going to fall for his charms. Roy gives her a lopsided grin. She has never once made things easy for him. She forces him to wait, forces him to be patient when sometimes he wants to rush head into things. It's a pain. But that's who they are. Their lives revolved around waiting, did it not? "So, what are you thinking - red or green? I think a green dress would really bring out the flecks in your eyes."

Luckily, Riza has an endless amount of patience when it comes to him or she probably would've shot him already.