A/N: YAY UPDATE! So this may seem to happen pretty quickly. It's very dramatic and then very light hearted :/
Roy woke to a draft, caused by the lack of body heat from his lieutenant. With a groan, Roy rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, mulling over his discoveries from the previous night. There was so much he didn't know about his faithful subordinate.
With another groan, he was able to sit up, before laying back down in response to the pounding in his head. At that moment, he noticed a glass of water and two pills on the table next to him and thanked whatever god there was for his lieutenant. After downing to pills and water, Roy felt well enough to stand. When he finally made it out of the room, after dodging the piles of stuff on the floor and taking a moment to wonder about how he'd made it through the night before.
On the dining room table, he found a plate of eggs and bacon, as well as a neatly folded paper. He ate quickly before reading the note, which consisted of a greeting and Riza's location, in the basement. It also contained information about the snow. It had started to melt and he should be able to leave within the next few days.
Roy smiled at the lack of a signature, remembering her tendency no to sign anything unless necessary. He quickly ate before he cleaned off his plate and put it away before heading down to see his Lieutenant.
He was greeted by the smell of gunpowder and the sound of gunfire. Clearly Riza had decided to get some early morning practice in before he woke up. He stood watching her as she reloaded and fired her rifle of choice, hitting her target expertly. It was interesting to see her doing something she so passionately loved. It'd been ages since he had last bothered to watch her at the range, or even the competitions she frequented at HQ. However, he was proud of himself that he knew that she didn't often enter competition anymore, as to give other sharpshooters a chance to show their worth without her upstaging them.
It wasn't until she didn't move to reload, but instead put the gun down, that he noticed her uneven breathing and sniffles. His eyes widened as he realized that she was on the verge of tears. He heard Hayate whine and she laughed, looking over at the little dog, narrowly missing Roy, who ad backed up into the shadow of the stairway.
She gave a weak laugh, leaning against the wall of the booth, "Aren't I a piece of work, eh, Hayate?" she wiped at her eyes quickly as Hayate rubbed against her leg, "First I make a complete fool of myself, then I come down here and burst into tears," She slid down the wall into a sitting position, wrapping her arms around her knees. Hayate leaned against her, trying to nuzzle her hand.
The tears streamed down her face as she finally let all the pent up stress out from the rollercoaster of feelings she'd been experiencing with her Colonel in such close quarters.
Roy felt a terrible pang in his heart. He could hardly stand to see her in her current state. So defeated. He was about to go comfort her when she began talking to Hayate again.
"Hayate," she gave a bitter laugh, "I guess you'll be the only man in my life. It's clear I'm nothing more than his plain subordinate. And who could blame him, with all those beautiful women throwing themselves at him. How could he even notice his plain, tomboyish lieutenant? I'm practically, one of the guys," she reached down to stroke his head again, trying to regain her composure.
With a final wipe of her eyes, she gave a deep sigh before standing up once more and beginning to reload her rifle, as if nothing had happened. In the back of his mind, Roy vaguely wondered if these episodes happened often. He briefly tried to convince himself that they didn't, but couldn't quite believe himself and his weak arguments.
Roy couldn't stand it anymore. He could tell that she was pushing down her feelings, trying to pretend that she didn't just lose control of them. She placed the rifle on the counter, picking up a handgun in its stead. She turned it over a few times in her hands absentmindedly.
He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, whispering in her ear, "I don't think you're plain at all," he felt her heart beat quicken and her back stiffen as she turned her head to look at him. She was caught completely by surprise as his lips captured hers in a passionate kiss. Her eyes widened, before she relaxed and returned the kiss.
Finally they came up for air and Roy's arm came up to brush all of her hair over one shoulder, before taking its place around her middle once more. Riza opened her mouth to speak, but her words caught in her throat as he began to kiss up and down her neck before stopping a while to suck on the juncture of her shoulder and neck. When his hands made their way under her t-shirt, she came back to reality.
"Roy, stop it," she murmured. She turned in his arms and gently pushed him away. "I cant" she began, but her words broke off as she looked into his eyes.
He instantly missed the missed the contact. He hadn't meant for it to get that far, to go like that at all. "Ri, I'm so sorry. I just got carried away," he paused, grasping for a reaction that she wasn't offering. "It's just," he looked up at her and placed a hand on the side of her face, "I've wanted to do that for so long,"
Her face immediately turned to disbelief, as if she couldn't believe was she was hearing, and he mentally slapped himself. He'd never shown her the appreciation she deserved, never put in his own time for her. Not only was he a terrible boss, he was a terrible friend.
"Well, I can see this is an uncomfortable situation," Roy began slowly, scratching his head nervously, "So, I'm just going to go upstairs," he said, turning quickly and retreated up the stairs, leaving a stunned Riza behind.
Roy scrambled up the stairs and ran to the door. He started half-heartedly banging on the door in frustration, "UGH! What is the matter with me?" he exclaimed loudly.
"Sir! I would thank you not to try and break down my front door," Riza spoke sternly.
Her behavior did nothing to soothe the irritation caused by his embarrassment. In fact, it merely egged on his irrational thought process.
He spun on her, "How can you behave like that! I practically jumped you not five minutes ago and you come up to yell at me for banging on your front door?" When she didn't respond, he returned to himself, running a hand through his hair. "Look, Riza," He hesitated, "I like you. A lot. I probably love you," he paused again thoughtfully, "No, I'm quite sure I love you. But I know I've been a piss poor friend, and I've not treated you the way you deserve to be treated" He smiled and pulled her into a gentle embrace, "I want to spend the last bit of time we have together here getting to know you again," He finished his speech, anxious to hear her response.
He stepped back and scratched the back of his head again, "So, do you think you could say something?" He asked softly, clearly uncomfortable.
Riza blinked twice then cleared her throat, "Roy, it's just, this is happening so fast!" She looked away, "I've dreamt of this for so long, of you telling me you have feelings for me, but," She trailed off.
"But what? What's stopping you?" He asked softly.
She spun around, "Because you've never cared!" She immediately covered her mouth.
He suddenly understood. Even if she was his most trusted companion, she didn't know him as a lover, or even a decent friend for that matter. She knew dates of important things and a few of his preferences, but she didn't really know what was inside him, who he really was under his aspirations. It'd been so long since they had a friendly conversation.
A huge smile broke out on his face, "Then that's what must be done. We need to get to know each other. I mean really get to know each other, on a more personal level," He paused, "Then maybe pursue a relationship," He said the last bit slowly, as if it were more of a question than a statement.
She smiled and nodded in confirmation, pleasantly surprised at how the day had progressed. Perhaps there was more to him than she thought, "An excellent suggestion, Colonel," she responded.
"Uh, uh, uh," he tutted smiling widely, "If we're really going to do this, then no titles. I'm Roy and you're Riza," He spoke sternly, but playfully.
"Alright Roy. Where do we start?" She asked, sitting on the couch and petting the space next to her.
He sat, taking her invitation, and thought a moment. There was so much he wanted to know about her, but he had no idea where to start. A topic popped into his head and before he could stop himself, he blurted it out.
"Do you want children?" he asked, immediately mentally slapping himself. Of all the topics to start out with, he picked children.
Her eyebrows rose in surprise, but answered the rather abrupt question. "I suppose, in a different life. Of course I could never be your standard, domestic housewife, but I wouldn't have minded a few little ones running about,"
Roy looked straight into her eyes and asked the other question he'd been considering over the last few years, "Do you regret following me?"
She answered immediately, "No," It was simple and straightforward, but he knew it was her way of conveying absolute honesty.
He couldn't help himself from grinning, even if he had wanted to. He was filled with an overwhelming feeling of joy, a joy he hadn't felt in decades, if ever, as his worst fear had been proved impossible. She didn't regret her choice, didn't regret him.
She smiled as well as she saw the happiness stretch across his face as he took in her answer. It had been years since she had seen him in such good spirits and all of his premature age lines seemed to disappear. He looked, as a man of his age should, young and carefree.
With that weight lifted from his heart, the fear that he ruined her life and she regretted following him, Roy felt like a free man. "Is there anything you'd like to ask me?" he asked, doubting there was anything she didn't know about him.
The questions became much more mild. They exchanged tales from their academy days, their various preferences, and their routines.
He discovered that, despite her love for Hayate, she generally preferred cats for their less demanding nature. She would donate any money she had in her pocket to the local food pantry when she passed by, and spent her Tuesday and Thursday nights volunteering there. She bought a coffee for the homeless veteran outside of her old complex on her way to work. Her house was actually further away for HQ than her complex was, and she passed it every day on her way to work.
She learned that he considered Madame Christmas more of a mother than his birth mother and he loved playing tricks on his sisters, but she always found him out. As a teenager, he was very well behaved. In fact, Maes had gotten him in tons of trouble when they were in the Academy together. Not serious trouble, but slap on the wrist with a ruler trouble.
Finally Roy's stomach growled. They had lost track of time and it was already noon. He flushed slightly, as the noise interrupted a story Riza was enthusiastically telling about herself and Rebecca at the Academy. Roy didn't want to interrupt her, but it seemed inevitable. She laughed and stood.
"About time for lunch, then?" She said with a grin.
He blushed and murmured a quiet confirmation. He looked like a little boy who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar before dinner, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Well? What'll it be?" she asked, already heading to the kitchen. She seemed so light and carefree. It was almost as if they were just regular people. Like there was no military, no bloody past, no flame alchemy. It was just two regular, run of the mill people. They could have been anyone, friends, family, or even lovers. He loved her face even more without all the premature lines, lines he knew she earned over her twenty-seven years of life.
He forced his mind to focus when he saw her slightly raised eyebrow and remembered her question, "Whatever is fine," He answered.
She grinned, "What are you thinking about? I feel like whenever I look away, you get lost in your thoughts," She pulled some bread down from a cabinet.
"Honestly, I'm thinking about you," He said with a sappy, love struck smile. He stood up and walked over to her. He was sure to alert her to his presence before wrapping his arms around her middle. He pulled her against him and rested his chin on her shoulder gently. He saw her blush but continued on with his explanation, "I think about things like how beautiful you are and how well we get along. Like how we've been together for so long. Things on those lines, but mostly, I think about what I like about you," He sighed, "I can think of millions of things I like about you. In fact, I just thought of several things this very moment," He finished off his declaration with a kiss on her cheek.
There was a comfortable silence as they stood in the kitchen together until Roy's stomach growled once more and the pair burst into laughter.
"Roy, you've got to let go. I have to finish the sandwiches," When she felt him shake his head and tighten his grip, she tried appealing to his stomach, "Aren't you hungry? Or am I making myself two?" He let go, but she could tell with slight satisfaction that he did so grudgingly.
She quickly finished the sandwiched and they sat down at the table once more, eating in silence. Roy devoured his turkey and cheese sandwich, while Riza took her time with her own.
Roy's thoughts began to drift to the next day. What would they do about their relationship once their safe haven was no more? Would it be out in the open or would it be kept quiet? Would she even want to be in a relationship once the snow melted? He didn't want to face all of the questions he was thinking of the next day when the snow would surely melt.
"Whats the matter, Roy?" Riza asked, noticing his thoughtful, yet unhappy expression.
"Are we a couple?" He blurted out.
She bit her lip slightly. The last few days had been paradise, but the snow was melting. She knew tomorrow they would return back to work. She had begun to think of them as a couple. They had fallen into the roles quite gracefully, but there was no way to tell what the future held.
"I'd like to be," He continued softly, "To be able to call you my girlfriend. To know that we are exclusive and I wont lose you," When she didn't respond, he continued nervously, "I mean, we could keep it under wraps if you'd like. I just want you to know I can't go back to the way things were before," He trailed off, waiting for a response.
She gave a small smile, "I don't think we could if we tried. Go back to the way things were before. I think," She grinned, "We are a couple. All this time, we've been together for so long. We've gone through so much together, Roy. I think we could make this work," She said, finishing the last bite of her sandwich.
Roy felt like jumping up and down, shouting with joy. Deep down, he felt the empty space in him fill. A space he'd tried to fill with drink and sex. As corny as he knew it sounded, she truly completed him. He had always felt happiest with her, even as Master Hawkeyes student.
When she stood, he did as well. He was bursting with happiness. So much good had happened so quickly he could barely contain himself. The chemistry between them was so obvious, he knew one day they would be together in the way he wanted, he just didn't expect it to be so soon. She'd always been so cautious, he was sure she would refuse for a while. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, to grow old with her.
They walked down to the basement together, talking about their relationship. It was agreed, albeit grudgingly by Roy, that at work, they would remain strictly professional and their relationship wouldn't be flashed around.
"Is it okay if I tell Maes?" He asked.
She smiled, "Of course. No doubt he'll be overjoyed. In Ishbal, before you got there, he used to bug me about getting a husband, the same way he does to you about getting a wife,"
He felt relieved when she willingly admitted she had known Maes in Ishbal. "I didn't know you and Maes got on that well,"
She laughed, Well you wouldn't know, would you? We're not as close anymore, but he saved my life. In Ishbal, he kept me going, him and Rebecca. I don't think I would have made it out without them," She seemed to get lost in her thoughts as a temporary silence fell, "Anyway," She began a minute later, "I'm going to practice a little while," She gestured to the firing lane.
He nodded and began to browse the wall of books until his eyes fell upon the journals. He decided to ask her if he could look. He'd pretty much already betrayed her trust, even if she didn't know it, but he didn't mean to a the time and he wanted to know if she'd keep them secret.
"Hey Ri, what are those ones?" He called over, pulling a few of the leather bound books from the shelves and holding them up for her to see.
She bit her lip before answering, "That's my life. My entire existence resided within those pages,"
"Oh, would you rather I didn't," He trailed off.
She looked nervous, "For now, I'd rather you didn't," She hesitated, "Just for now though,"
He smiled at her, understanding her hesitance. Allowing him to look was an extremely intimate and personal. "That's fine. I completely understand. It's still early. Really early, in this relationship,"
"Its not that I don't trust you," She blurted out, "It's just," She trailed off, unable to voice her objections fully.
"I know. I don't mind. I like you a lot Riza, and I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable position. We have all the time in the world," He put the volumes back on the shelf and took out another one, settling himself into the armchair as she resumed her practice.
A/N: Voila! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review if you have a moment :)
