We Come To Love
a series of Fullmetal Alchemist drabbles
dedicated to Hiromu Arakawa
"Oh," said Riza, something new creeping into her voice. "Oh. God."
"What?" asked Roy, alarmed. She had a hand on his back, holding him steady, and he was clinging to her, feeling vulnerable. "What is it?"
"It's Alphonse," she continued, and if Roy hadn't known better, he could have sworn he heard her voice trembling. "He's back. Edward got him back."
"But…how?" muttered Roy. "What did he give up?"
"I don't know," replied Riza. There was a crowd collecting around the two boys. "I can't tell. But it looks like…it looks like they've finally reached their goal."
They stood there, holding each other. Riza took a hand away from him to wipe her eyes. Roy pulled a little closer to her, and then turned and blindly leaned forward, his lips landing halfway on her nose.
"Sir," she said indignantly, "what are you-"
He tried again, hitting her chin this time.
"Where," the side of her face, "are," between her eyes, "your goddamn," the corner of her nose, "lips."
She pulled her head away from him. "Very romantic, Colonel."
"This moment is entirely ruined by my new handicap."
"Not entirely."
"Yes, it-"
She leaned forward and silenced him, placing her lips onto his. He relaxed, sinking into the kiss and the way they embraced each other became less out of necessity, and more because they wanted to hold one another close. They lingered in the kiss, unwillingly to pull apart and go back to reality.
Suddenly, a loud cheer rose up from the group crowded around Alphonse and Edward. Riza pulled away from Roy, but he didn't open his eyes, because the darkness was easier to bear when his eyes were closed.
"What are they yelling about?" he asked, tugging her closer to him, trying to show her that he didn't care about anyone else. He just wanted to kiss her.
"Well," she said, and she sounded different once again. "Well, sir, it looks like they're cheering for us."
Roy opened his eyes, his face completely blank for a moment. Then he grinned and said, "Might as well give them what they want."
One hand around her waist, the other on her back, he leaned forward; she helped him find her lips. She responded instantly when he tugged on her waist, and as she leaned back and just barely – just barely – raised her foot an inch off the ground, he had to smile against his lips because he knew she must have been rolling her eyes.
But he didn't mind, because her arms were still wrapped around him, and that meant she still cared. And that made everything right.
"HEY, MUSTANG!" shouted Ed, cupping his hands around his mouth. "GET A ROOM!"
"Brother," said Al, frowning, "that's rude."
"You're rude," retorted Ed. "Besides, I'm just kidding. Took them long enough."
"Yeah," replied Al, looking out to where Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye stood alone, sunken deeply into a kiss. He smiled, and then Ed reached down and helped his brother to his feet. The people around them, most still hollering in support of Roy and Riza, started cheering once again as Al managed to stand up. They both grinned. Roy took his mouth away from Riza's and buried his head in her shoulder. They held each other.
Al said, "It looks like this is the perfect end for everyone."
