"Roy?"
Roy watched in horror as a figure that was identical to him, but not himself approached the woman he loved. She sat on that bench, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her curled fingers. She sniffed and asked again, "Roy? What are you doing here?"
The fake Roy approached her and took her in his arms as she stood. He held her tight to him, smirking over her shoulder. He murmured sweetly, "I've decided to quit the force, Riza…and take you as my wife."
Havoc, Ed, Armstrong and Fuery looked to Roy in disbelief, but he soon looked to them and stammered, "T-that isn't me! I never went after her, you even saw!"
He looked back at the desperate expression that drew onto Riza's features. She nearly gasped and managed to weep out, "B-but…quit the force? B-but…you w-want to be Führer…I…I can't take you from the force!"
Fake Roy hugged her more tightly, then broke away for a moment to hold a gaze with her. He replied, "But it's what you've secretly wanted all along…isn't it, Riza? You think I don't want it too?"
Riza gasped lightly, and the Fake Roy ventured, "It is what you've wanted…isn't it?"
Riza fell to her knees in the wet grass, already soaked to the bone. She cried into her hands, "Y-yes, it is…and-and I know it's selfish of me…but…but I love you, Roy…" she wept before continuing, "I love you more each day and I can't stop it now…and I want you all for my own, but I know…I know I could never-"
She was cut off by the touch of the Fake Roy's hand on her shoulder as he told her, "Marry me, Riza."
She asked hopefully, "…really?"
He smiled to her and replied, "…Really…"
She stood up and embraced him warmly crying out, "Oh, thank you, Roy, oh, Roy, thank you, Roy…" She continued in a rant of his name and weeping in the crook of his wet neck
Fake Roy smirked sinisterly and sharply hit the back of her neck. She immediately fell to her knees, and was then caught by the Fake Roy. He picked her up over his shoulder and a familiar face popped out from the lake. She walked up from the water, slowly, her glowing composure glistening in the grey reflection of the sky.
"Good, Envy…now bring her to the lab and I want you to prepare for tomorrow."
Roy went to run after Envy and Lust, but was held back by Ed. His pupils dilated in anger and shock as he called after her, but he was unheard. He whipped around, nearly tossing Ed to the ground when he snapped, "Therapon, where are they taking her!? Tell me where she is!"
Therapon did not respond, but gripped the time travelers again and they were thrust into another time. It was years and years ago, some time near Christmas, and it was around the time Riza had first joined Roy. He was talking to Hughes as they sipped at eggnog. Riza was in a light blue dress that had a big slip starting at the side of her left breast and cut down to her waist, the cloth was held together by white pearls.
She wore white pearl necklace, bracelets on either wrist, a pearl hair-accessory held her up-do. The blonde curls that fell from her up-do slide over her small ears that fashioned matching, pearl earrings. She was extraordinarily beautiful that night, as Mustang wore a tux and proceeded to mutter conversation with Maes. She had been talking to Sheska at the time. Young Mustang looked to Hughes with a cocked eyebrow and said, "I haven't seen one alchemic demonstration from her yet. And when I asked the Führer about it, he said she doesn't even use alchemy! Haha, so I asked him why the hell he stuck me with some girly, useless private and he told me that she's 'more powerful than I know', but I doubt it, considering I've tamed about everything in alchemy and she doesn't know what a transmutation circle is."
"Gee, Roy, why are you so upset about it? I mean, she's a beautiful woman who's just dedicated her life to protecting you…I'd love to come into the office everyday to see a busty, beautiful, blonde woman taking my coat off for me."
Roy glared at Hughes; he shouldn't have expected Maes to understand considering he didn't know what this girl meant to him. He wasn't so angry about it, really, it was more of the fact that he didn't want to be the reason she'd die. He'd never be able to live with himself if anything ever happened to her.
There was a sudden crash and two masked men burst into the room. Everyone was caught off guard, especially Mustang. He hadn't been wearing his gloves and the moment he saw them pull out guns he was scared. He was never usually scared, or he was at least very good at hiding it when he was.
The moment he thought of fear, though, he was instantaneously brought to the ground; behind the table of punch and goods. He blushed furiously when he opened his eyes to see two, soft, light blue orbs nearly resting on his cheeks. He looked up and saw the pearls on her neck, then looked further up to see the blonde beauty who had saved him from a flying bullet.
He looked up at her out-stretched arms; she was firing wildly and looked furious. He looked to her neck more closely and saw they her ghost-white necklace was splattered with dark red. He was suddenly immensely nervous and looked further over to her right shoulder where she bled down her arm from. He was still blushing wildly when he stammered, "Y-you're bleeding, Hawkeye!"
"There's no time for that now, Sir, don't worry, I'll be fine. Just get down."
He lowered himself back to his slumping position. He didn't feel like arguing with her when she was angry and had two guns, one in either hand. He had no idea where she was even keeping the guns. He tried to peel his eyes away from her bouncing spheres, which his concentration begged on and his body begged him to grasp. He looked down and saw her legs split over his waist. Her waist line was across from his collarbone, he saw when he looked down his eyes met with her flat stomach.
He looked back up at her again. She had stopped firing.
"You're safe, Sir." She told him as she backed away, off him.
It took him a couple of moments to comprehend what she had told him. When he finally stood back up, gathering what dignity he had within himself, he looked to her and stated, "Thank you."
Her expression remained that of someone at a military camp's, but a blush did color her cheeks as she replied, "It's my job, Sir."
He showed off that confused, caught-off-guard pout that she had missed so much. Then he turned, looking at the two bodies across the room. Both were alive, but groaning in pain. They had been shot right above their hearts.
He glanced to her again, as the blue and white lights began to swallow the group; Mustang forced to concentrate on the last words he'd witness before being sunken to some other time.
"You're truly amazing, Hawkeye."
He then found himself back in the sunrise in which they had woken that morning to find her. She let go of them. Her voice sounded like pooling water in a gigantic cave as she told Roy, "Three midnights on now, it is never simple to find one's self when they're already there; Time does not allow repetition, only revision…"
Roy gripped her forearm to shout questions to her, but with the first crack of light over the horizon, onto the group, she vanished. Mustang rose and kicked the ground angrily.
"Damn it!" He cursed over and over as he paced
He paced until he saw Riza exit the front door with a bag over her shoulder, holding some books. She was wearing a red, white and black skirt with a white buttoned top, and black shoes. She waved to Mamiko who was standing at the top of the hill. She was in the same outfit, and Roy gathered that it was their school uniforms. He watched young Riza trotted up the hill and babbled with Mamiko shortly, then walked down the hill.
Roy admired her long, blonde ponytail flow behind her.
It finally hit him.
It is never simple to find one's self when they're already there.
"I know what to do." Roy said aloud
Ed looked at him with a cocked eyebrow and began to say "What?" when little Roy walked out of the house and Mustang ran into himself. They had gone through everyone else, but it made sense, that if it was truly himself, that no matter what time he could control himself. Ed was shocked to see that he didn't come out from the other end.
The group all babbled and asked, dumbfounded, shocked questions to each other. Mustang could still see them, probably because half of him was more spiritual than real.
The young Roy walked up to the group and said in a higher voice than they were used to, "This is it. This is how I'm supposed to change things."
"You're such an asshole, Roy." Fuery yelled
Roy looked to his private and asked in disgust, "What?"
"That woman…that woman, Riza…Riza Hawkeye just begged someone that wasn't even truly you to stay with her forever! She gave up her life to be with you, so don't fuck this up! A person's emotions…should be there own, no matter what time they're in…let her love you, Roy…"
He blushed and replied, "I-I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Fuery."
"You know exactly what I mean, you just saw it!"
"What I saw was a confused, upset woman. Comfort was what she needed and when that homunculus gave it to her, no matter what they offered, I'm sure she would've taken it."
"Sir, how could you-"
"I'm going inside now, men…try to stay out of trouble…oh, and if that Therapon woman comes back, tell her I've got it all figured out."
With that he waltzed off, back into the house. Fuery looked to Ed and Havoc with a dropped jaw.
"Jeez…that level of denial that guy's in…" Ed murmured as he looked through the window to see Roy talking with the muscular man they saw earlier.
The day consisted of Roy ignoring them, so that it didn't seem as if he was talking to himself, and hard labor. He had been studying in the basement; going through paperwork when young Riza approached him with a brown bag. He looked up as she slid it onto the table.
She didn't smile, she looked overcome with nervousness as she stammered, "I-I made you lunch, Roy…would you like me to bring you some tea?"
He blushed and smiled, replying thoughtfully, "Yes…I'd love that…thank you, Ms. Riza."
She smiled and ran back up the stairs. He beamed and pulled out the whole-wheat sandwich she had prepared for him. His stomach grew eager looking at it. He was about to chomp down when he heard the door open again. She had returned with a small plate that matched the mug's color. She laid it down on the desk, near his papers as she whimpered, "Here's your tea, Roy."
He beamed and put the sandwich down to retrieve the tasty tea he loved. He looked up and asked, "This is the tea with your own recipe, right?"
She nodded positively. He grinned more widely before adding, "Good, it's my favorite."
She blushed, smiling cutely and asked, "You'll be done with all of this work by tomorrow, wont you?"
He swallowed some of the tea and replied, "I don't know…why?"
"Oh…it's just…it's just that the festival's tomorrow. You said you'd go with me, but…but it's okay if you can't, I know you have lots of work to do." Her voice died in and out of the sentence
Roy blushed wildly, "Oh, I completely forg—I mean…I completely didn't forget about that! Of course, I'll be done with my work by then!"
Roy found then, that he truly was terrible at lying to Riza. No matter what age or reason.
She smiled weakly, "It's okay if you don't, though…don't overwork yourself!"
He chuckled and told her, "I couldn't give up a night with you, though, Ms. Riza."
She looked up from her lap, blushing and wide-eyed. Her mouth hung a little open and it seemed as if she was going to form a word when the basement door swung open again.
"Riza…what are you doing down here?"
"Oh, Daddy, hi…I was just giving R- Mr. Mustang some lunch I made." She told him
The man seemed to growl and said to her, "Fine, I just don't want you getting any ideas about alchemy…it isn't meant for pure, beautiful people like yourself, dear."
She smiled and chirped, "Thank you, Daddy, although I 'have' met a wonderful person whom was also an alchemist."
She was gripping her father's waist in a hug when she looked at Roy. He realized it was directed at him and he flustered.
"I'll call you down for dinner, honey." He told her
She looked up to him and spoke out, "Okay…I'll see you later, Mr. Mustang."
He smirked at the cute tone her voice took when she said 'Mustang'
"Yeah, I'll see you later, Ms. Riza."
With that, she turned about-face and marched back up the stairs. She slid her back against the door and breathed out, "Ah…what a dream-boat!"