Riza awoke in the soft glow of Roy's reading lamp. She saw him slumped over the table, asleep with his head cradled in his arms atop an open alchemy book. She smiled and shook her head, then got out of bed to go to the bathroom.

When she got back she walked over to Roy and gently smoothed his hair. She checked his watch. They could sleep for a couple more hours. She knelt beside his chair and carefully pulled him over her shoulder, then she slowly stood. She smiled. She hadn't lifted Roy since they were children, and she hadn't been sure that she could. He was about six inches taller than her, and he had an athletic and muscular build. But a year of military training and years of martial arts meant she was no weakling either.

She slowly carried him across the room, holding onto his legs, then dumped him into bed. She covered him with blankets and tenderly kissed his forehead. She went back to his desk and turned out the lamp. Then she climbed into bed with him and rested her head on his chest.

She woke again an hour later when Roy sat up suddenly and cried out.

"Roy! What is it?"

"Sorry," he said, panting a little and trying to calm down. "Stress dream."

She rubbed his back. "Did you dream you slept through the test?"

"Something like that."

"Don't worry," she said soothingly. "There's plenty of time. You can even go back to sleep if you want. I promise I'll wake you up."

"No, I'm up now." He got out of bed and began to pace.

She smiled at him. "You're going to do great, Roy. You know this stuff backwards and forwards."

"I know," he said absently, and sat down at the table with his books again.

She sighed. "You can't read in the dark." She got out of bed and lit the lamp for him. She wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now either. But she couldn't just sit and watch him study. So she went into the kitchen and made herself busy with tea and eggs.

When it was light, she walked him to the building where he would take the written exam.

"Good luck," she said cheerfully. He looked a bit pale and didn't answer. She looked around, then kissed him quickly on the lips. "You'll do amazing. I'll see you afterwards." He nodded and walked inside.

She made her way back to the barracks. Classes hadn't started again yet, and Rebecca was visiting family. She looked for Naomi and found her in the weight room.

"Riza!" she said dropping her weights and hugging her tightly. "Are you okay? I was worried when I didn't see you yesterday."

"I'm fine. I spent the day with Roy, helping him prepare for his exam." Naomi raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm really okay, I promise. I cried a lot when I first got back, but I'm feeling a lot better now."

"Okay, good. I'm here to talk if you ever want to though."

"Thanks," Riza said, her smile only a little fake. "How have you been? Did you do anything for the new year?"

"Oh, no, not really. Laura spent it with her family. But we had our own private new year the day before, and that was nice."

"That does sound nice. What did you do?"

"Oh, you know. We walked around the park and stuff."

"Uh, huh," said Riza, raising her eyebrows. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Oh, and I talked her into meeting you and Rebecca." Naomi gave a big grin.

"That's great!"

"So we'll have to do that when Rebecca gets back in town."

"Of course. I can't wait." She gave her friend a big hug.

She met Roy that afternoon.

"How'd it go?"

He gave a big sigh, then smiled. "Great."

"I knew it! Didn't I tell you?" He grinned, pleased with himself, and she squeezed his hand. "When will you know how you did?"

"I don't know," he said shrugging. "A few days maybe. But I'm confident that I passed. Now I just have to worry about the demonstration."

"What about the interview?"

"Easy. I'm already in the military. I've already sworn to obey the State, to protect and serve the country. I'm really not sure what else they can ask me." He smiled cockily and she rolled her eyes at him.

As it turned out, they asked him about her father.

"Did you know the military sent someone to see your father about fifteen years ago?"

"Really? I don't remember it."

"Yeah. The examiner asked who I studied with, and when I said the name Hawkeye, he got a weird look and told me. The military had heard about his fame in the region and sent someone down to talk to him. But he refused to give them a demonstration or even talk to them."

"That sounds like him," Riza said with a wry smile.

"Then I guess after he stopped practicing, the talk about him died down, and the military decided he'd just been a fraud. That it was all just countryside rumors after all." Roy smiled. "The examiner said they'd love to be proven wrong. I think they're looking forward to my demonstration."

"Of course they are," Riza said, and leaned forward to kiss him.

Roy was hard to live with that week. He'd gotten time off from work and he spent all of it in mood swings, going from being cocky and arrogant to being nervous and insecure. Riza must have watched him practice his demonstration a hundred times. She wasn't back in classes yet, but she kept going to campus to train with Naomi, just to take a break from his intensity. She remembered this time a year ago she had taken the entrance exam to the military academy, and she was sure she hadn't been this obnoxious about it.

The day before the practical exam, they were walking back into the city from yet another practice session when he stopped suddenly, looking at the sky, then turned to her in horror.

"What if it rains tomorrow? What if it snows?"

"It won't." she said quickly. "And even if it does, you can just explain it to them, and I'm sure they'll understand and let you reschedule."

"No they won't!" he cried. "I'll have to wait another year! Worse, if I fail tomorrow they'll probably transfer me out East, and who knows when I'll get another chance?"

"They wouldn't do that, Roy," she said reasonably. "State alchemists are too valuable to them."

"How valuable can I be if I'm useless whenever it's wet?" he asked in despair.

"That's the point of the research fund, isn't it? So you can get better? All you need to show them tomorrow is that you have potential. That you're worth investing in. And you are, Roy. You know you deserve this more than any other candidate there."

"How can you know that?"

"Because I know. I've seen how hard you've worked, how much you've improved. And I know because I believe in you. Now do you want to keep arguing in the street, or do you want to go home? Or we could go visit Madame Christmas if that'd make you feel better."

"No, I'm okay," he said calming down. "Let's go home."

It didn't rain or snow the next day. The sun rose and the air was crisp and cold. They both dressed in uniform and walked to the parade ground. They paused near the entrance.

"Good luck," she whispered, smiling. "You'll be amazing." He flashed her a confident smile, but his fists were tightly clenched.

She stood on the edge with the few onlookers. They were early. She stamped her feet and huddled in her overcoat. A half hour later, they called the first alchemist to begin. Madame Christmas appeared halfway through his demonstration, looking even grumpier than usual. She made her way to stand by Riza.

"I don't know how you young people get up so early all the time. And haven't these exam people ever heard of chairs?"

Riza watched the alchemists and the examiners. All the alchemists were brilliant, but it was clear that the examiners were really only interested in a certain kind of alchemy. They weren't investing state funds in art for the sake of beauty or in science for the sake of knowledge. They were only interested in military applications. And Roy's alchemy was clearly the most applicable.

When it was his turn to perform, Roy set up an array of targets, marking some of them as "bad," to be destroyed, and some as "good," to be avoided. He set up the array so that some of the bad targets were really close to the good, and some even directly behind the good, so as to show off how selective and precise his attacks could be. He backed away and took his lighter out of his pocket. He took a deep breath, then clicked it once. There was a loud snap, and then all the bad targets burst into flame while the good targets remained unharmed.

He kept going, showing off his range, until the examiners stopped him. They were obviously impressed, but there was something about the way they looked at him that Riza didn't like. She thought of all her father's fevered words about the military, but brushed she brushed her uneasy feelings aside. This was what Roy wanted.

One of the examiners clapped Roy on the back and whispered in his ear, and Riza knew that he'd earned his certification.

When Roy walked over to them afterwards, he had a giant grin on his face. Madame Christmas and Riza grinned back at him and his aunt wrapped him into a hug.

"That was wonderful Roy-boy. You got it didn't you?"

Roy smiled at Riza over his aunt's shoulder. "Yeah, it's not official yet, but they said I'm definitely in."

"Fantastic! I'm so proud of you!" She squeezed him harder. "Come let's all go for lunch and celebrate."

Once Madame Christmas was finished squeezing the life out of Roy, Riza gave him a firm handshake. "Congratulations, sir."

Roy grinned at her, pulled her to him and hugged her, without a thought or a care for any onlookers. "Thank you so much, Riza," he said quietly. "I could never have done it without you."

They all went to lunch, but Roy claimed to be exhausted, so they finished quickly and went home. Roy was bursting with his own success. This was the fulfillment of a dream he'd had since he was twelve years old. He couldn't stop grinning. And Riza couldn't help but smile too, seeing him so happy.

They were kissing before they got through the door. Riza had one hand on his face and the other in his hair. He touched his forehead to hers and she smiled and caressed his cheek. He was so beautiful at that moment, happy and proud, the boy she loved.

"You did it," she whispered smiling.

"I know." He grinned back at her, then picked her up and twirled her.

"Stop it!" she said laughing.

He obliged, dumping her on the bed instead. They struggled out of their uniforms and then he pushed her back against the pillows, climbing on top of her and kissing her open mouth. She sighed as he kissed her neck and collarbone and then moved to her breasts. He teased her nipples with his tongue and moved his hand between her legs. She breathed deeply and bit her lip, pulling his hair.

He looked up at her and grinned. She grabbed his face and kissed him. He kept rubbing her clitoris and so she kept interrupting their kisses with little gasps of pleasure. She reached for his erection and then he was gasping too.

"No," he whispered, moving her hand. "It's your turn right now. I want to make you come."

"If you must," she said smiling.

He gave her a long kiss and then moved down, returning his attention to her vulva. He kissed her there, then slid a finger inside her. He worked with his tongue and hands and she occasionally gasped instructions.

"A little lower. More pressure." She moaned softly. 'Oh, Roy."

She could feel it coming, and she leaned her head back and twisted the sheets in her fists, breathing hard. Her orgasm washed over her, making her gasp and moan. She pressed her thighs together, pinning Roy's head and making him stop. She sat up and pulled him up to her.

"Kiss me." He did so, then held her to him tightly.

"You're so sexy, Riza," he whispered. "God, I want you."

"You have me," she replied softly, her chin on his shoulder. "I'm all yours."

"That's not quite what I meant," he said smiling. "But it's nice to hear all the same."

She laughed and grabbed his erection. "I know what you meant."

A week later, classes had started again and Riza was sitting at the table in his apartment with her books open in front of her. Roy burst into the apartment beaming. Riza looked up at him.

"What is it?"

He walked up to her, and put a silver pocket watch on the table in front of her. She picked it up and held it in both of her hands, almost reverently.

"Wow," she said in a whisper.

"And look," he said, unfolding a certificate, "the Fuhrer himself signed it."

She put down the pocket watch and took the paper from him.

"The Flame Alchemist."