Almost a tenth of the way and no reviews yet? Marduk, my self-esteem doesn't need this… Oh yeah, 'tis set before Maes died. Not sure when, but before that.

9: Before We Knew Each Other

"What were you like before we met?" Roy asked one day, one arm securely wrapped around Riza's stomach, the other used to control the book he was reading, both his legs were thrown across one of the armrests of the armchair the pair reclined in. Sporadically, he'd bury his nose in her golden locks.

"Much the same as when and immediately after we met, why?" Riza responded, snuggling back against Roy's chest, eyes still trained on the book in hand.

"Something Maes said to me, about you treating me like I was the reason anything good enough to give you self-confidence had ever happened…" Roy paused, giving the ceiling a thoughtful look. "Then he started ranting about me needing a wife."

Riza chuckled at that. "I hope he never discovers about my father… He'd try to foster me!"

"Try to foster you? Oh no, he'd pull you into a violent hug, bawl his eyes out, tell you that that's the saddest thing he's ever heard, then he would baby you, perhaps go on an all-out head-hunt for your father, and would then somehow manage to adopt you!" Roy paused, in part to get his wind back, in part to let the giggles subside. "Then he would never, ever let us cuddle like this again."

Riza, unable to stop giggling, turned to hide her face in Roy's chest. "Then we better make sure not to tell him."

A long time later, after even the residue sniggering had stopped, Riza turned back to her book and Roy raised his again, ready to drop the subject. "Although it would be nice to have a father…" the woman whispered wistfully.

Roy contemplated this information for a while, then sighed. "I'll have to agree with you. I was raised by my aunt and her daughters. Haven't really told Maes that either."

"Same reason?"

"The exact opposite, actually. He'd be pressing women down my throat faster than I'd have a chance to digest," Roy grimaced. "When he got a whiff of us, which he indubitably would, he'd somehow manage to have us married within fifteen minutes, damn the fraternization law, but would then proceed to never leave us alone.

"Riza chuckled. "What a mess our past before we knew each other, mixed with your choice of friends, could create…"

The two returned to their reading at that, hearts just that bit lighter. Although Roy refrained from mentioning that he'd never have had a chance with Riza if not for her sorry excuse for a father. If they liked him, women tended to choose men that reminded them of their father.

True fact, that last bit. Women are more attracted to men who resemble their father somehow, although mainly when they had a healthy relationship, unlike the Hawkeye's.

Please review and tell me what you liked/disliked. ^_^ Or I will be sad. =(