Chapter 4 Resembool

This purely fan made. I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. The owner is Hiromu Arakawa.

Author's Note: Okay… I took forever! And it's finally done! I'm sorry it's so long! I had to make it long cause I wanted to get lots of stuff done in this chapter. I hope that's okay with all of you. Well, Enjoy!

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The next morning Roy and Riza woke up at a few hours after day break, mostly because Riza woke up from the birds that morning in the trees around them. Roy had complained a bit about waking up but finally gave in to her. After which he complained even more when Riza told him that they were going to without breakfast for now until they had made a good start on the day, which to Roy it meant 'you don't get food until you get your butt up and walk for hours'. He gave in, quickly already knowing he'd have to, and lead her back to the path.

"Ah! I feels like it's been an hour since we started!" Roy complained breaking the silence between them.

Riza sighed. "It's not even been 30 minutes Roy."

"It's not my fault it feels like it!"

She smiled slightly. "Well, that's to bad."

"But I'm hungry." Roy pouted.

"You won't starve." She replied, moving some fallen hair from pony tail to behind her ear.

"How do you know!"

"I just know."

Roy frowned and picked up his pace, knowing Riza would have to pick up hers to. "Your mean, Miss Bossy."

"I told you not to call me that." She replied, giving him a slight push.

"Oh, fine." He replied, slowing back down for her. "But if you ask me it's a good nickname."

"That's why no one asked you."

---

After a hour of walking with a complaining Roy, Riza finally decided to stop so they could eat if it shut him up. Roy had chosen a place by a river with many trees and a strong river and had Riza shoot two birds for their breakfast which he cooked on a fire again, having no other way to cook them. There was little talk between them in that time and once they were both done the headed on their way again, Roy leading the way as usual.

They stayed in silence for close to two hours, both looking as if in deep thought. The whole time Roy had stole glances at Riza when he thought she wouldn't notice. The thing was Riza did notice and was getting irritated.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Riza snapped, glaring at him.

"Uh… No reason." He replied, his black eyes looking a way.

"Yes there is." She said. "Out with it."

He hesitated. "Well… I thought of a nickname for you…"

"What is it this time?"

"Hawk."

Riza looked up at him in shook almost. "What did you say?"

"Hawk." Roy explained. "You know, since you have sharp eyes like a hawk's."

'He's so close… How does he do that…' She thought. "You don't want me to call me that."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I'm not like a hawk."

Roy looked confused and slowed down his pace as he walked. "Yes, you are."

"Fine." Riza replied. "I… Just don't like it."

He pouted. "Fine… I'll think of something."

"Good luck." She smiled, happy having won.

He was shocked for a moment but then smirked as well. "You should smile like that more often."

Riza quickened her pace in trying to hide the small blush that had come to her face, no one had ever said that to her before, not since her mother had… "Thank you." She said in a soft voice.

Roy quickened his pace to catch up with her. "Welcome… Now, why did you speed up?"

Riza looked over at him. "Because I'd like to get there faster."

"There? Where's there?"

She glared at him. "To Risesina."

Roy paused in thought, though still walking with her, before saying. "You know… If we get to Resembool tonight, I've got some friends there that might give us a ride to Risesina tomorrow."

She looked over to him, questionably. "You have friends in all the right places, don't you?"

"Not really, just got myself a good few in this area." He replied while shaking his head.

Riza smiled slightly and adjust her backpack slightly, moving the weight around a bit. "Alright then, get us to Resembool by tonight… I'd like to met this people."

Roy smiled, nodded, and thought to himself. 'Hawk… What's it mean to her to make her so nervous… I know she's hiding but really now I'm starting to wonder just how much she can hide and for how long…Well, I since she wants to get to Resembool by tonight, I guess that means no lunch…'

---

About 5 hours later, Roy and Riza were still walking. It was really quiet between them, almost like they were afraid to speak, though they did speak at times when the must. That was until Roy's stomach growled so loud that Riza could here it.

Roy looked down at his stomach. "Uh…"

Riza laughed and pushed him playfully. "Hungry?"

"Maybe a little."

She smiled and asked. "Want to stop for a lunch then?"

He stopped in his tracts causing Riza to stop as well. "I thought you wanted to get to Resembool by tonight."

"I do but you have to eat, right?"

Roy thought for a moment. "I know, I remember a berry plant around here! I could grab a few of those."

"Okay. That'll work."

Roy started walk again, Riza following. "They're just up ahead."

They keep to the berries about 10 minutes later. Roy gathered a lot, holding then in his shirt, and Riza grabbed around ten. Roy told her to get more for later but she declined. As they began walking again Roy decided it was time he tell her about his friends in Resembool.

"Hey, since you want to get to Resembool today, you should know about my friends there, right?" Roy said with a happy smile.

"Oh. Okay." She replied tilting her head.

"Okay first off, my friend are doctors and one a auto-mail engineer." Roy said, looking up at the sky with a lot of clouds that where pretty dark.

"Oh? That's good." She replied.

"Yeah, it helps a bit if we ever get sick." He smiled. "But Pinako won't do a thing if we need auto-mail."

Riza chuckled. "Well, at least the doctor's help."

"Yes, oh and they have a dog with an auto-mail arm."

"What happened?"

He looks over at and replies. "No one really knows but I think something like a bigger dog bit him really bad when he was a pup and Pinako gave him some help."

She smiled, softly. "What's his name?"

"Den." Roy replied. "Strange huh? Anyways, Pinako's son is the one of the doctors. His name is Tim Rockbell and his wife is the other doctor, her name's Sara. They both live with Pinako and they all three work in the house too."

"Oh? Their house must be pretty big for that."

"Not really, it's about the size of a normally house, actually." Roy laughed and ate a berry from his shirt. "You'd never guess by how it looks on the inside."

She looked at the berries he'd put in his shirt after making his shirt like a pocket. "Yeah?"

"You know you can have one right?"

"Not hungry."

Roy shrugged. "Anyways, I think it might rain soon."

"How much long do you think it'll take until we reach Resembool?" She asked and looked up at the dark clouds that seemed to get darker every second.

"Two hours. One if we run but I don't think that's a wise choice." Roy replied.

"Think the rain will hold off?"

"If we're really lucky." Roy replied. "You lucky?"

"No." She shook her head. 'That's why I'm here after all.'

"Me either. And I hate rain. So we can only hope now." Roy's shoulders dropped but perked back up when he heard giggling and looked back at her. "Well… That's new."

Riza stopped giggling and looked up at him. "What?"

"You giggling. And why are or rather were you?"

"You hate the rain."

"What's funny about it?" He countered.

"It's just water." She replied. "Nothing but."

"I know what it is! I am an alchemist after all. I'm not stupid!" Roy said, defectively. "It's just that…"

Riza interrupted him and asked with wide eyes. "You're an alchemist?"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you?"

"No."

"… Oh… Well. I'm an alchemist." Roy replied.

"Oh… What kind?"

"Just the kind that uses earth." Roy smiled, proudly.

"Oh." She replied and, then, thought to herself. 'I wonder if I should him about my alchemy…'

The rest of the walk was quite aside from when Riza ran out of berries and Roy offered her some which she said no to. They walked for a long while before Roy said anything else but when he did it was because he had to go to the restroom and just happened to think that he had to asked Riza. She scolded him, almost scaring the carp out of him which he made a mental note to never p' her off, and they continued to walk once he was done.

About 3 miles after they began to walk again, Roy yelled. "We're almost there! No more sleeping outside! … Well, for a while anyway."

Riza smiled. "That's good, I think."

Roy was about to reply when he felt something wet hit his head. "What the…"

"Huh?" Riza looked at him as he felt the top of his head and another thing hit him.

"Rain." Roy glared up at the sky. "Rain! Why!"

"What?" Riza asked but right then a down pour happened.

"DANG IT ALL!" Roy yelled. "We're going to have to make a run for it! It's not that far away."

Roy took off running without even waiting for her replied, Riza quickly ran after him. Roy was a bit faster then herself she noticed, even if she tried to push herself to go faster he could probably do the same. They soon ran out of the woods and Roy lead them on the a dirt path that was now mud.

Roy slowed down to Riza's speed and said. "Just a little farther. If you want we can walk the rest of the way."

Riza smiled, evilly. "No way."

She then pushed herself to run even faster. Roy was shocked for a moment the ran up next to her at her speed. Riza glanced at him and pushed herself even harder but all of a sudden tripped on a rock, landing face first in the mud. Roy slid to a stop, not falling, and went back to where she was, the rain still pouring.

Riza pushed herself up to sit on her knees, trying to get the some of the mud off of her, but stopped when she heard laughing. She looked up to see Roy's mud splattered knees of his jeans when Roy squatted down in front of her. She glared.

"Shut up."

"No way!" He replied in between laughs.

"Fine." She replied and pushed him over so he fell backward.

He quickly sat up. "Hey!"

"That's what you get." She smiled, evilly as the rain washed the mud off her skin but only made her clothes heavier.

Roy glared for a moment then smiled and began to laugh again. "I guess I do."

This confused Riza. "Huh?"

Roy stood up with the back of his clothes covered in mud and put a hand out to her. "Here. We better hurry. Pinako is already going to be p'ed at us for bring mud in her house."

Riza nodded and took his hand. He pulled her to her feet and she noticed something, Roy had onyx colored eyes. 'That's strange… I like it though.' She thought and noticed Roy had already begun to walk off. She quickly followed him and not much more then 5 minutes later, they were standing on a porch under a small hangover of the house.

"Okay, get ready. If Pinako answers the door she may yell at us… Well, more likely me." Roy told Riza and knocked on the door.

A minute later the door opened relieving a very small old woman in a green dress and a white apron over it with her gray hair up on the back of her head. "Roy? What the heck are you doing here?"

"Um… Well, we were hoping you'd let us stay here and could get a ride to Risesina…" Roy replied.

The older woman looked at the blond girl next to him and pointed at her. "Who's the girl covered in mud?"

Roy was about to answer when Riza said. "My name is Riza Grumman."

A tall man dressed in black pants and a white shirt with short blond hair showed up at the door behind Pinako. "Mom, just let them in."

Pinako looked up at him. "Fine but your cleaning the floor."

"Yeah, yeah." He replied as Pinako moved out of the way and Roy and Riza walked in.

"Thanks." Roy told him.

"Not a problem." He looked at Riza and said. "By the way, my name's Tim. Just follow Roy to the kitchen. My wife, Sara, is in there and we'll be there soon."

"Thank you." Riza replied in a small voice and quickly followed after Roy.

Once the teens were in the kitchen, Pinako asked. "What the heck are they so mud for? Were the playing in the mud?"

Tim shrugged. "Who knows. But do you think Roy finally got a girlfriend?"

"I don't know but I'm sure she's got some secrets to be hanging out with him." His mother replied and started walking to the kitchen.

---

"Thanks, Sara." Roy said as a normal sized woman in jeans and a brown shirt with blond shoulder length hair put a cup of juice in front of himself and Riza.

"It's okay." She replied. "So, Riza was it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Riza nodded.

"First off, more of the ma'am stuff, call me 'Sara'. And second, what are you doing hanging out with Roy here?" Sara smiled at her and at that time Pinako and Tim came in the room.

"My question too." Tim said coming to stand by his wife next to the stove and his mother sat across the wooden table from Roy and Riza in the dinning room that was attached to the kitchen.

Riza thought for a moment. "Because he asked if he could come with me."

"To where?" Pinako asked.

Riza took a colder tone as she said. "Any where but where I came from."

Roy glanced at her then smiled. "So I decide to take her home with me."

"Roy!" Tim scolded.

"What?!" Roy yelled. "You know our house has one room left!"

Sara frowned. "So she's not your girlfriend?"

Roy and Riza both blushed and said in unison. "No!"

Pinako smirked. "Young love."

"Really, it's not!" Roy yelled. "I just met her not long ago!"

"Fine, fine." Sara said. "Now Riza, I'll show you to the bath room. I'm sure you'd like to take a shower now, right?"

"Yes, ma… Sara." Riza said.

"Afterwards Roy can show you to the room you to will have to share okay?" Tim said. "Sorry, about it too. But we only have on guest room and we have to keep the patients room open in case some one comes in the middle of the night."

Riza stood up. "That's okay. I understand."

"Alright this way." Sara said, walking out of the room.

Riza follow Sara down a hallway, then up the stairs, and to a room. Sara opened the door for her and followed her in to show her which knob was hot and cold also where the towels were. Sara went to the door and said.

"Just leave your clothes on the floor and I'll wash them for you before you leave tomorrow. That is what you two are planning, right?"

"Yes." Riza nodded.

"Alright, take as long as you need okay." Sara said, then, closed the door behind her.

Riza smile. 'They seem like nice people.' She undressed, putting her clothes neatly on the floor, finished any other busy she needed to do, and quickly took a shower so that Roy would have would have hot water. She warped a towel around her and opened her back pack pulling out another pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with her under clothes.

She dried off, put on her clothing, and began to dry her hair with the towel she'd used on her body. She looked into the mirror above the sink. She frowned, hung up the towel, put her hair bow on her wrist, grabbed her back pack, and opened the door to see Roy standing with his back against the wall across from the door. He looked up at her.

"Hi." He said with a smile.

"Are you stalking me?" Riza asked, plainly.

"WHAT! No!" Roy yelled, freaking out. "I just needed to make sure when you got out I you could find me so I could show you to the room."

"Calm down. I was kidding." Riza laughed.

Roy sighed, relieved. "Good. Alright now. This way."

Roy turned to his left and began to walk down the hallway. Riza followed staring at the back of his clothes, all the mud had dried on them and was beginning to peel off. Roy glanced of his shoulder.

"Like what you see?"

Riza's eye widened. "I wasn't staring at that! The mud on your back is peeling off!"

"I was kidding, a little pay back for the stalker comment." Roy laughed. "But I'm a little hurt that you find the mud more interesting than me."

'I can't really say that… You are very… how should I put it… Cute? Hot?' She thought and just groaned for a reply.

"Here we are." He mumbled and opened the door.

They walked in and Riza looked around the room. The room had white walls, one bed in the middle of the room with a wooden head board, a oak dresser, a closet, and hard wood floors. She watched as Roy walked over to the dresser, bend down, and open the bottom drawer.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Getting some clothes out. I keep some here."

"Oh."

He pulled them out, shut the drawer, stood up, and turned around. "You should go ahead and sleep on the bed. It's getting late so you can go to bed before I get back."

"Where are you sleeping then?" Riza asked as she went over and sat on the bed placing her back pack next to her.

"The floor."

"But that can't be comfortable." She said.

"Would you rather me sleep on the bed with you?" He asked with a smirk.

Riza blushed. "No. Floor for you."

Roy laughed. "That's what I thought, besides they have some extra bedding in the closet."

"Alright… But next time I get floor."

"Why?"

"It's only fair." She said. "Equivalent exchange."

Roy blinked. 'Smart.' He thought, then said. "Alright, deal. Oh! And by the way, you should you leave your hair down more often."

Riza blushed again and shook her head. "It gets in the way to much."

Roy sighed. "Fine and Night."

"Good night." She smiled at him as he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

She crawled up to the top of the bed and pulled her bag up to her. She opened it, looked in it at everything, and zipped it back. Riza placed it on the floor next to the bed, went under the warm covers, and smiled. 'A bed does feel a lot better then the ground.' Was her last thought before she fell asleep.