A/N: Roy is funniest when he's totally serious.
Monday evening held a million questions just begging to be asked.
Roy had chosen to meet up with Riza after her day in the office, grateful for the break from the gossip and curiosity involving his discharge announcement. Considering his rank and his stature, the news had been of much interest to many people, and he'd already dodged a few curious reporters hoping to make the story for the next morning. Riza had provided an excellent barrier to the questioning, and Roy had to appreciate her firm and slightly intimidating gaze as she walked with Hayate on his leash to where Roy stood in the largest park in Central.
"Right on time," He greeted, inclining his head at her before he bent down to scritch Hayate behind his ears. Riza smiled softly, as Hayate leapt up to Roy's bent knees, tongue lolling in his mouth.
"Down boy." She directed, and the pup flattened his belly against the ground playfully.
Roy straightened, and grinned. "Me, or the dog?"
"Both of you." Riza responded dryly. "Though the dog's been easier to train." She said, hiding a smile as she did so. It was easy enough for him to tell though, given her sense of humor that she was lightly teasing him.
He laughed. "There are some things I'm easily trained in…"
"Mm?" Riza replied, directing Hayate to stand back up and begin walking at her side. The park pathways were fairly empty, but Roy still glanced around before he matched Riza's stride and nodded.
"I think you can guess what that might be." He pressed, a grin tugging at his features.
"I could," Riza said carefully, avoiding looking at him. "But that would only encourage you."
Roy laughed.
Hayate picked up pace, sensing his master was hitting her stride, and he wagged his black tail in excitement as he trotted beside them. For all Riza's strict training, Hayate still tended to pull at his leash and bound in all directions at every new patch of grass and tree he passed by in Central. He'd always been a dog with a keen nose, and had provided invaluable help during their on and off stations in Ishval from the Eastern Command center by sniffing out trouble at every turn. When she wasn't looking, Roy tended to slip Riza's dog a treat or two.
He was just hoping Hayate would continue to cooperate with him today.
"Any word on your discharge request?" He started with, as they hit a comfortable pace.
"Yes." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, as if she was deciding how to best word herself. Riza never rambled, never spoke lightly, but sometimes, Roy wished she would. If only so he could know what was going on inside her head, instead of having to gather everything from the smallest of changes in her demeanor.
Riza tilted her head, and then swallowed. "They're not discharging me."
"What?" His intake of breath was so fast that he hissed as he spoke, and his lungs burned as something under his ribcage twisted. The slow cadence of their walk faded from his ears, replaced by a erratic thump. Why?
Her voice drifted over the noise that he registered as his heartbeat, and he vaguely noted that she'd told Hayate to heel. He'd already stopped without realizing it.
"They're promoting me to Captain." It'd been a promotion she'd refused for years of service, and rightfully long overdue. But now that he wasn't there, and she wasn't by his side, the thought of it made Roy tremble.
Riza reached for his hand. "Roy, listen to me," She began, bringing up the hand that didn't have Hayate's leash wrapped around it up to his face. She traced his jawline with her fingers, gently reminding him of the subtle explorations she'd begun of his every contour for the past few days. The tension refused to fade, and he felt like snapping and pulling her against him, despite the fact that they were in public. His hands twitched, and she stepped in closer of her own accord, Hayate tilting his head in confusion at the movement.
Raw honey eyes searched his expression, and she spoke as levelly as she could, knowing he was losing himself to his fears. "-I'm not leaving you." The words fell between them, and he clung to them. They'd been apart before, and he'd made it without her by his side. It was doable, but…
He squeezed her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles and the back of her hand slowly. Riza looked down, as if searching within herself for the best way to pull back in their barriers. Roy's heart twisted as he considered the fact that she must have first dealt with this news alone, and he wasn't reacting in any way to make this easier.
"I'm going to assemble a security team to serve as a governmental protection force." She looked back up, and raised a brow. "The Fuhrer believes that if there is to be an election, the Amestrian Military needs to protect its political figures for the sake of democracy. A small, but elite squad of men will be assembled for every candidate that chooses to run for office." She gave him a slight smile, shifting in her stance ever so slightly. The light of the setting sun had begun to gravitate to her hair, clinging to the gold that shaded her eyes.
"You'll still have my back," Roy mused, letting his shoulders slump. "-what a sly bastard."
"Roy," Riza said, shaking her head at him. "This is exactly what we need."
He sighed. "I know. I just, I was so worried…" Her hand fell away from his face, and she tightened her hold on his other hand, lacing their fingers together. "I'll have to figure out how that changes how we campaign."
"You'll do it."
"-I suppose if you think about it, I still rank above you."
"You're no longer in the military's active duty." Riza countered, squeezing his hand, and directing Hayate to walk again.
"I never had my State Alchemy status revoked. I still rank equivalent to Major."
"If you wanted me to keep calling you 'sir', you could have just said so." She replied, ducking her head to hide the faint outline of a smile that graced her lips.
"Only when you want to, Riza." He said easily, eying the bench further down the walk. "I don't care either way." When they neared the stone bench, he pulled her aside, tugging at their linked fingers, winking at the confused Hayate. The wonderful thing about animals was that they never told any secrets.
And sometimes, they even helped moved their owners along. "Roy, we're supposed to be walking Hayate…" Riza said, as Hayate sat and laid down on his front paws, tail wagging in the air.
"He doesn't look like he's in a hurry." Roy said, smiling. "Take a seat." He encouraged, pulling her to sit with him on the bench. He let her weight lean into him ever so slightly as he pulled, and she adjusted herself as soon as she'd gained her balance on the bench. He nearly laughed at the look she gave him - they weren't supposed to be too overt in public, considering how his discharge hadn't been publicly announced, but he didn't care. It was selfishness and excitement combined, but with every small touch, he found himself wanting more.
"Roy…" Riza said, clearly uncertain if her tone would have to be warning or not. He dropped their hands over his legs, and closed his eyes for a moment before he braced himself, drawing on the natural strength that radiated from her.
"I wanted to talk to you, I thought you needed to know if you were getting discharged," But she wasn't, and that didn't take away the necessity of his words. "But you still need to know—"
"-I know, Roy,"
"—I love you." He blinked, and she tilted her head at him, amusement spreading across her face. "You know?"
The corners of her lips tugged upwards, and she looked at his hands, tracing the outline of one of the long scars on the back of his palms. She laughed, soft and melodic, like the clear ring of a bell.
"Hawkeye, this isn't funny…" Roy defended, as Hayate's ear perked up at the sound of his Master's voice. Riza's giggled faded as she doubled over and collected herself, bracing herself on his knee before she straightened.
"I know." She sobered, and squeezed his hand. "I knew. Hughes knew, too."
"Hughes saw whatever he wanted to see,"
"Roy." Riza said, "Hughes told me. You didn't need to tell him for him to figure it out."
"He was too smart for his own good." Roy said with a sigh. Of course Hughes had seen through them, they'd never been half as good at being secretive as they thought they were. Certainly not in the eyes of their mutual 'brother'. "He never let up when I couldn't look him in the eye and deny it."
"I didn't deny it either. No amount of glaring got him to give it up." She shook her head.
"We should've known better," He said, rolling his eyes. He slipped his hand out of hers, and pulled it close. "He wanted what was best for us."
"Which is why I told him that we couldn't just forget everything and do what he and Gracia did," Riza said, watching him fumble over her fingers for a moment.
"I want you to marry me,"
"—Roy,"
"Riza," He responded, in equal stubborn force. His hand slipped into his pockets, and he drew out a small, ebony box, rectangular in shape. He eased the box open with his thumb and revealed a small, white chess piece. Riza's gaze fell to the marble settled over black velvet. Of course. "I need you to be my Queen." He turned her hand, pressing the piece into her palm.
It was a decent weight, and warmed to her touch as she examined the crown that had been inlaid with the same small stones as the rest of the set had been. "You're taking this very seriously," She began, and before she finished he nodded.
"I am trying to propose."
"I mean the chess pieces."
"Oh." Roy said simply.
"Most people would just buy a ring." Riza pointed out, holding out the piece between her fingers. She smiled. "I thought I wouldn't get mine."
"You're getting both," Roy said, slipping his hand into his coat pocket once more. He opened the matching box, and held it out for her. A simple and elegant band backed a larger stone, tucked within for her. "Marry me, Riza."
For those who might be interested: I will now also be updating an Archive of Our Own [AO3] account under the username "Turdle" as well as here, in case you prefer the reading style of AO3. I added a few minor edits to the AO3 version as I caught mistakes as well. This will still be updated here as well of course. Thanks!
