Until that Day

Chapter 4

Evasive Maneuvers

"Coming to supervise me?" Roy sat on a bench with a basket of potatoes beside him. He had peeled about half already and had them sitting in a bucket of water while he completed his task. He grinned at Riza as she walked over and looked down at him, the morning sun peaked around the edge of the pump house and caught her perfectly in it's light. Not that she could look anything but perfect, light or dark, but he could appreciate mother nature all the more when the sun's rays caught Riza's wet blond hair and made it shimmer. He didn't even notice the coffee in her hand until she almost shoved it in his face.

"You're getting your work done, I think breakfast is a pretty good motivator to keep you working." She watched him set his potato and knife down, wipe his hands on his apron and take the coffee mug with a grin of gratitude.

"Well now that I have a distraction..." His smile turned into a pout as she turned around to go back to the house. "So what else do you have planned for the day? Now that the milking is done and breakfast started, anything else on your agenda?"

She looked at him over her shoulder and wondered what he was really asking. "We're here to help with the wedding. It's not my agenda we're adhering to."

"We should go for a drive." He sipped his coffee and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Drive, not exploration of the back seat of the car, you pervert."

"You're in quite a mood this morning." She said and watched that innocent smile play across his face. There was nothing so phony as Roy Mustang pretending to be innocent.

"It's my only chance to spend some time with you that doesn't require roasting in the desert sun or looking at endless sand. Reminds me of when we were young, the country that is. I'm also having a hard time being bombarded with the fact that our kids are all grown up and I'd like a little reprieve from that by pretending we're young again."

Riza whipped her head around quickly so he couldn't see her hurt. Pretending we're young again. Their military life helped them keep the shroud of denial around their eyes, all they ever heard was that Mustang was so young to be in the position he was in. Too young to take on the responsibilities he was vying for. Their military life helped them maintain the illusion that they still had time, but stepping back into civilian life ripped that cloak of deniability from their eyes and showed them exactly were they stood. He was right, it was a hard reality to swallow. Little Edward was getting married and when they met that little boy for the first time they thought they had all the time in the world. Time however, like the sands of the desert they both were so tired of, slipped through your fingers so quickly you didn't notice until you started struggling to keep it in your hands.

"Riza?" Roy saw her posture change as soon as those words left his mouth and knew he had said the wrong thing. He walked over to her as she stared at the back door of the Rockbell's mulling over his words. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a light kiss on her neck and nestling his head against hers. They were out of sight of the kitchen window and any windows on the house, he could afford a few moments of tenderness without ramifications. Especially after he slipped up and said the wrong thing. "Sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Don't apologize for the truth." She whispered. "I never want you to apologize for being honest with me."

"I just wanted to enjoy a little time away with you, that's all." He closed his eyes as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"We just got here." She looked at him as he picked his head up and smirked.

"I'm not used to having to share you this much."

She wanted to ask what he planned on doing when they had kids, but there were conversations they couldn't casually have anymore. Not without getting his hopes up. "Hurry up and finish those potatoes so we can eat."

He let her pull from his grasp and enter the house. Yeah, because family breakfast wasn't going to make it harder on them to accept the fact that this was just never going to be a reality for them. He went back to his bench and saw that rooster eyeing him and wondered if he could convince everyone they wanted barbecue chicken for lunch.

The Elric brothers descended upon breakfast like locusts and Mustang was appalled that nobody called them out on it. Ed was shoving pancakes in his mouth by the handful and Al was trying to shovel a mixture of hash browns and eggs into his mouth so he could race for second helpings before his brother could beat him to it. Apparently they didn't grow up that much. Roy finally sat his coffee cup down and barked, "Sit your asses down and eat like normal adults. You're both acting like savages!"

Riza shook her head as she scrambled more eggs for the ravenous boys. The Ed and Al froze in place and stared at the man who suddenly assumed command at the head of the table. In an instant they both looked like kids again, especially with pancake and fried potatoes falling from their mouths. She glanced at Roy who was staring them both into compliance. Al was the first to slink back into his chair and wipe his mouth with the napkin. Ed however took a few bites and stood up straight.

Through a mouthful of pancakes Ed said, "You're not my supervisor."

Roy cocked an eyebrow. Ed spit out more pancake than words but he got the gist of it. "Nope, but she is."

Ed's eyes grew wide as he turned and saw Winry, hand on her hips and a frying pan in her other hand. He sat down immediately, wiped his mouth and started chewing as fast as he could. "Sorry Winry. It's good."

Winry resisted the urge to smash him in the face. It would ruin the wedding pictures.

Mei laughed and fed her Panda some leafy greens. "Just wait until Ling gets here with his tapeworm, you'll be lucky if you have any food left."

Riza refilled Roy's coffee and smiled. The kitchen was full of life and noise, giggles and threats alike, and it was going to be hard for all of them to part ways again. "When is he arriving?"

"Lan Fan insisted they arrive unannounced," Al responded, "but he announced it would be Friday evening."

Roy noticed Ed was putting fresh whipped cream on his pancakes. "So you want more pancakes?"

Ed nodded. "These are awesome. I had no idea you could cook. I figured you were useless in the kitchen just like everywhere else."

Roy leaned forward to get up and put his palms on the table. A devilish grin cross his face right before the bowl of cream exploded in Ed's face. "Oh...look who forgot I don't need transmutation circles."

Ed wiped the cream out of his eyes and growled. He saw that smug smile and wiped the cream from his hands on the pancake. Then he picked it up and flung it at Mustang's face. He smiled with satisfaction as it slapped him in the face, cream side first. "I don't need them either, asshole."

Riza watched Pinako grin and puff on her pipe, clearly enjoying the antics but not wanting to admit to it. Al and Mei giggled and continued with their breakfast, but were moving all plates and bowls closer to their side of the table in the event that an all out food fight developed. Riza saw Winry raise her frying pan, no longer interested in preserving her fiance's skull for the wedding pictures. It was time for her to step in, as always. "Boys, that's enough. Go clean up and if there is no food left when you get back it's nobody's fault but your own."

"It would be easier to read if you put on your glasses." Riza watched Roy squint at the speech Al had written, trying to pass it off as not enough light in the room.

"I'm able to read it just fine." Roy said and stuck out his tongue at her. "This lamp is casting shadows."

Al smiled as they bantered back and forth like an old married couple. Back when he was still in his armor, he was usually overlooked as a part of furniture or considered older than he actually was. Team Mustang always snickered or made off color comments about the Colonel and his Lieutenant and it all went over his head in the beginning, then he too saw what they all called "treasured RoyAi moments". As glad as he was that those days were over, it was hard to not look back at the good times and want to relive them.

"Then what does it say?" Riza said as she held his glasses up to show him an incorrect answer would mean he forfeited his right to be stubborn.

Roy sat up straight and looked at the paper. The words were fuzzy and he was going to have to try pretty hard to pull this off. "It's been a long journey. My brother and I left our home once vowing to never come back. He burnt it down because he really envied the Flame Alchemist and wanted to grow up to be just like him. His hero, a man who saved him during his darkest days and gave him a reason to live."

Al laughed and heard Ed scream from the next room. "That's not even close, but nice try General."

Roy pulled away from Riza as she tried to take the speech from him. He kept 'reading' as Ed's angry face appeared in the doorway. "It was impossible, because to grow up to be like anyone would mean he would have to grow."

"What would you know? All you do is grow older." Ed snapped.

Roy stood up and lifted the paper above his head so Riza couldn't get it. "I Alphonse, the taller Elric, am happy to give my brother away today to be the new Mr. Winry Rockbell."

Al grinned as Hawkeye poked him in the gut and shoved him back into his chair. "Also, not quite what I was going for but I'll take it under consideration for the next draft."

Ed snorted. He wished he could fling an insult about getting married first but he wasn't going to stoop that low. "Who couldn't wait to use circeless alchemy this morning? Huh? I'd say someone was pretty jealous of my ability."

Riza slapped Roy in the head and then put his glasses on him. "Stop being such a child. These make you look more dignified than that damned mustache you tried to grow if we're going to talk about stunted growth."

Roy frowned as she left the room with a frustrated huff and he let the glasses slide down his nose to look at the grinning Elrics. "What? Have something to say?"

Ed shook his head. "Nope. But I need Al to help with Winry's dress."

"Oh no." Al shook his head. "I'm not going to take the chance that what I do will ruin something. I mean what if I miscalculate? The dress could be short. There is only a small amount of material remaining and I'm not going to take the chance."

"Shut up Mustang." Ed said as he noticed the man's eyes light up as he heard his two favorite words: small and short.

"I said nothing." Roy feinted hurt. "Clearly you do not deserve any of these kind words your sweet little brother says about you in his speech."

Ed glared at him and went back to pleading with Alphonse. "Look, I already drew out the transmutation circles and all you need to do is activate it."

"Oh no." Al said and shook his head. "I've seen your work and taste in clothes. I'm sure it's going to produce some red Gothic dress that is gaudy and horrible. Nope. Ask Mustang."

"Seriously? Let that bastard even think about Winry...or her dress and how tight...NO!" Ed stomped his foot and folded his arms.

Roy put the paper down and took off his glasses. "What the hell are you implying Ed?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Ed stood up straight and broke out his Mustang impersonation that had been shelved for too long. "Oh hey there pretty girl, I'm the local pervert Colonel Mustang. You're so cute and pretty, so am I! Want some help being hot, you can ask me because I'm the Flame Alchemist and I know how to be hot without being scorched. Ha Ha! Here's my number in case you like older, taller men."

Roy threw his glasses at him and watched him catch them. "I never said that!"

Al shook his head. "You both are so dramatic."

"Take your glasses back, old man." Ed threw them at him and was surprised when they got thrown back at him immediately. He was careful to not let them fall, he was a little worried about how Hawkeye would react to that.

"You're the one who needs them! Talk about being blind!" Roy snorted. "The whole point of that conversation was to make you realize your girlfriend, oh I'm sorry "mechanic", was now not hid away in the country but in the damned city where everyone was going to be hitting on her!"

"Including you." Ed threw the glasses back at him.

"Al." Roy stood up and handed the paper back to the younger brother. "Be sure to keep that part about him burning your house down so he could be like me. We are going to go upstairs and ask his future wife exactly how that conversation went down."

"Please." Ed snorted. "You burnt your childhood home down long after I destroyed mine. You're the one who got the idea from me!"

"Yes, you invented the idea." Roy rolled his eyes. "I'll pay you royalties for using your copyrighted material. Can I borrow 520 Cenz?"

Winry sighed as Riza attempted to help her with the neckline as Pinako tried to find any more scraps of fabric to add to the transmutation circle now drawn on her bedroom floor in chalk. Mei giggled and swung her legs as she sat on the desk, all of them listening to the 'conversation' drift up the stairs from the guys in the study. "So Riza, this was how it was for years with them working together?"

Riza stood up and stepped back to see if her adjustments helped any. "Worse. You have to remember they were both younger and cockier back then."

"I'm so sorry." Winry mumbled.

"Don't be." Riza unpinned the piece of fabric and threw it onto the ground with the rest of it. She heard Roy's steady and heavy footfall as he marched up the stairs, always a soldier. Ed however was clearly bouncing around as he insulted him as she heard his bare metal foot hit the wooden treads occasionally. "I was happy Roy would have someone his own age to play with."

Winry chuckled and turned as she heard a knock on the wall. "Come on in."

"Don't you dare!" Ed tried to grab Roy's shirt and choke him.

Roy shoved him away as he was being choked. He coughed out, "Don't...look..at bride. Bad luck."

"You better not either!" Ed screamed.

Winry sighed. "Knock it off!"

Riza watched the two separate and Ed cover his eyes to avoid being yelled at further. "Can you just fix this and go back to whatever work you weren't doing?"

Roy pointed at Ed. "He started it."

"You did!" Ed kicked out at him. "By hitting on Winry! You better not be looking at her or you're going to be blinded again really quick."

Roy watched the blond wave a pen at him menacingly. "Pen is mightier than the sword? Look who's useless now. You were more threatening as a cripple midget."

Ed prepared to stab him but was clocked in the head by a shoe.

"I said enough!" Winry stomped over and shoved Ed out of the room and slammed the door. "Can you fix my dress?"

"What's wrong with it?" Roy asked and immediately felt the stares from the women in the room. He knew when to say no more.

Riza walked over to the bride's side and locked eyes with Roy. "It's too low cut. So can you adjust the neckline and raise it about two inches? We added enough fabric to avoid having the dress shortened so no miniskirts."

Roy knew that look. The look of 'if your eyes wander anywhere you will pay dearly for it'. "Sure."

Winry walked over to the dressing screen and heard Ed knocking meekly at the door. "Stay out Ed!"

"I'm not OK with you being in there with him! Do you remember when he hit on you!?" Ed scratched at the door like a puppy that had been locked out. "How he was an old pervert and asked you out on a date?"

Winry rolled her eyes as Mei helped her unzipper her dress. "I can't believe I'm marrying that idiot."

"And this is how you get doujinshi." Roy crossed his arms and leaned against the dresser.

"Shut up Mustang. You're the one in the wrong here." Ed growled.

Winry got dressed and came back out. "Ed, come in here."

Ed cracked open the door and peeked in. "Not sure I want to."

"All I remember is you fuming and him looking fatter than he was the first time I saw him." Winry said and handed Roy the dress. "Sorry."

"Fat?" Roy gasped. "Fat!"

Ed chuckled and walked in the room. Well this was turning out to be better than expected.

"I really didn't think anything of it. To be honest, your little hissy fit was embarrassing me so I didn't really pay that much attention to what he was saying." Winry shrugged. "It's normal that adults tell you you've grown up to be pretty and grown up so fast."

Roy chuckled. "Hence the reason you misinterpreted it Ed. Since you never grew."

"Can you fix my dress now?" Winry asked and pointed to the circle on her floor. "So I can mop my floor?"

Roy stood and looked at the circle. "You can erase that. He's trying to cover you up like a nun. That circle will get us both killed and not in some horrifying alchemic explosion either. More of the 45 caliber or 20mm wrench variety."

"Really." Winry put her hand on her hip and watched Ed slink back towards the door. "I showed you the dress so you could help me fix it, Ed. You know I'm trying to go the traditional route here and play by all the rules. Rule one is the groom isn't supposed to see the bride in her dress before the wedding!"

"I didn't see you in the dress!" Ed defended his actions. "I saw the dress and...you said the neckline was low."

Roy took the scraps while everyone was distracted and placed them on the desk with the dress. A crackle of alchemic glow was the first sign anyone had that he was up to something. Before they could turn around he had the finished product in his hands and was placing it Mei's arms. "Glad I can save the day, as always Fullmetal. Anything else, you know where to find me."

Riza shook her head. "Maybe it is time for a drive, it's not even noon and you've filled your quota of yelling for the day."

Roy grinned and followed her out of the room as Winry lectured Ed about the dress and told him to get a mop.

The drive lead them to a hill where they could see most of the county. It was green as far as the eye could see and the rolling hills were beautiful, especially since they were out of the car and Roy wasn't driving like a maniac. Riza knew better than to let him drive, but he was sitting there behind the wheel with his driving glasses on looking so damned cute and she let him have the keys. She knew better.

As they left the Rockbell home he proceeded to make her sick to her stomach by pinning the speedometer and flying up and down the hilly dirt roads of Resenbool. The car was airborne more than once and he laughed like a little boy as the suspension on the vehicle took a beating when tires met the road again. When they finally came to a stop, he took a beating and she cursed him for almost getting them killed. She confiscated his glasses and keys, refusing to allow him to have them back until he was back in Ishval where he could play in the wide open desert. Now she was calm and no longer queasy, so taking in the breathtaking views allowed her to enjoy the time alone with her General instead of wanting to strangle him. The winds blew and the grass moved like waves and the sounds of nature was all they could hear, until Roy started to munch on an apple as loudly as humanly possible and she looked over at him.

"What? Want a slice?"

She looked at his smile as he wiped off apple juice on his sleeve. He was sitting there in the grass with his sleeves rolled up and just looked at ease. This whole day he had been so playful and relaxed, it reminded her that their lives had become so stressful and tense. It was to be expected when he was the commanding General in Ishval, but there was so much more to it; it had somehow invaded their personal lives as well. The atmosphere in the desert was charged with emotion from both sides and they didn't even have a sanctuary at home anymore. He shouldered it without complaint, so she didn't see how heavily it bore down on him until now. "Sure."

He pulled out a knife and cut her a slice of apple. She grinned at him and took it. "I remember sitting on a hill like this when we were kids."

"I'm surprised you remember that." She said and took another piece of apple that he offered. She remembered him whining because his city boy shoes weren't meant for hiking a few miles. She remembered thinking she was going to have to bring him home like a felled deer, dragging him behind her with a sling.

"I remember all our moments with perfect clarity." He said and took another bite. "All of them. Even the horribly awkward ones."

She turned and watched him smile . She never doubted she would end up with him. Even in their most awkward moments, even when things should have been embarrassing...somehow they were never driven apart. It only made what they had so much more special because of that trust and comfort. "This is turning out to be a nice vacation."

"I could use a lot less yelling." He said and threw the apple core into the bushes. "However it was a nice morning. I love how you still know your way around udders."

She laughed and finally crawled over and pinned him to the ground. "That cow was mooing pretty suggestively at you, General."

"You'll have to assert your dominance and tell her I'm already taken." He grinned.

Riza ran her finger over his lip and chuckled. "Why does it feel like it's been so long since we could sit and laugh like this?"

"Because it has been." He admitted sadly.

"Because of me?" She asked, even though she didn't want the answer.

"No, because of where we're at. Ishval weighs on us, it's like we have past, present and future all crushed into the same space everywhere we go." He focused on her and saw she was contemplating something which stopped him from starting an analogy about compressed gases and density. Just because chemistry relaxed him didn't mean it didn't bore her, even if she enjoyed listening to him. Still her eyes weren't glazed over with boredom, she was searching his face for something and seemed like she was on the brink of a revelation. "Why? What's wrong?"

"This morning, breakfast..." She hesitated to say it because it would open up wounds but she knew it was the right thing to do. She had to be honest. "It was family. I want that. I want to have you cook beside me and have someone other than the dog to play with. I want that but I don't know how we can where we're at."

"I want that too." He said and gave her a smile. "So why don't we figure out how to make it happen instead of just coming up with reasons why we can't do it?"

"It's not that simple."

"Are you happy?" He asked. "Not just because you're alive and we're not hiding anymore, I mean are you really happy?"

"Saying 'no' to you..." She swallowed hard. "Haunts me. Every time we see some kids playing I think of what you could have if you just loved someone else. That if I would just let go of my insecurities..."

"I don't want this with someone else, I'm enjoying this life because you're here with me." He said and gave her a kiss. "Stop avoiding the question. Are you happy?"

"I want this life with you. The home, the peaceful drive, the food fights...you happy to be alive again because life is more than just mileposts you've set for yourself." She said and tried to hold back tears. "I just don't know how we can make it happen."

"You're not in a long-term, semi-illegal relationship with a General for nothing." He said with a smile. "It's not like I got those promotions with just my good looks."

She smirked at him and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Wow." He said with a mock sigh and shook his head. "I see how it is! I'm just your... "

She laughed and kissed him. They hardly had these moments anymore. He was right, the place they were stuck in right now was hardly optimal. She was happy he was alive and she was happy to be with him, but was she happy with their life? Could she really say that the last six months of walking on egg shells was healthy and happy? How did they get to this place, especially after everything they went through? How did their road just lead to another spot of darkness, one that seemed stagnant and worse than the secrets they had been hiding before? "You're my everything. I'm not happy. I love you, I'm so happy to be with you but the fact that the next step isn't there for us...it's a shadow over our lives. I miss this. I miss sneaking away with you and leaving all the worries and gloom behind us and just being us. I miss you, because in trying to protect us I've scared you away. You're afraid of hurting my feelings or saying the wrong thing and that's not good. I just don't want to hurt you any more than I already have."

"Just tell me you want me to figure this out and I'll do it." He said and brushed her hair from her face, awaiting her decision.

"Yes." She said and closed her eyes. "I feel so selfish for wanting more, but I don't want to be stuck in this part of our lives forever. You're right, just because we finish in Ishval doesn't guarantee we can move on. We're at a crossroads now, where we have to choose to make work revolve around us or give up us to work. I've seen what we could have this weekend, I've seen how good we could be if we could leave work at the end of the day and come home. I want that."

He brushed a tear from her cheek as it escaped her shut eyelids. "I'll figure it out, Riza. The next time you hear a proposal from my lips it will be a plan to make our future a reality."

AN: The 'Mustang complimenting' Winry like a perv is a manga panel.