Riza tugged the heavy quilt closer to her chin and cuddled against Roy's chest, soaking in his warmth. Apparently awake as well, he clutched her tighter and rubbed her back vigorously. "I'll put another blanket on the bed tonight," he said, voice still rough from sleep. He feathered kisses across her face until she smiled.
"We should get up and help Aunt Chris with breakfast," she said, pulling back from Roy's lips.
"I thought you were cold."
She lifted her hands from under the covers to stroke his cheek and he leaned into the warmth of her touch. "We'll take a hot shower first," she promised.
"A hot shower or a hot shower?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Second base is as far as you're getting. We have to eat breakfast before Pinako brings the kids over. Now come on. I think I can hear Aunt Chris getting up," Riza said.
After they had showered, they went downstairs, where Riza put a pot of coffee on and Roy set a pan on a burner and turned the stove on. Chris was still upstairs and Riza moved behind Roy to wrap her arms around his waist and rest her chin on his shoulder.
He placed his left hand over hers. "You're wearing my ring, my sweater… I feel like I should be wearing something of yours."
Nuzzling his neck, she said, "In a way, I suppose you are wearing me."
"Close enough," he said, and she could tell that he was grinning.
Footsteps echoed behind them and Riza stepped away from Roy to greet Chris, who wore an expression so reminiscent of Roy that it almost made Riza laugh. "I'd apologize for making so much noise last night," Chris said, "but I could tell the two of you were still up when I came in."
Riza's amusement quickly turned to embarrassment and she felt her face heat up. It had taken her quite some time to adjust to knowing that Chris was aware of their physical relationship, and there was enough of a difference between awareness and eavesdropping—unintentional though it had been—that Riza still hadn't gotten comfortable with the latter.
"You've been acting like newlyweds since you were eighteen," Chris said with a hint of amusement. "There's no need to be shy now that you're engaged."
"I'm making omelets and you get the first one," Roy said loudly to interrupt the thread of the conversation. "What would you like, Aunt Chris?"
Taking three mugs from the cupboard, Chris shrugged. "I'll take some of everything." She poured the coffee and added creamer to one, which she set aside for Roy before taking one of the remaining two for herself.
"Thank you," Riza said, taking the other untouched mug. She lifted the mug to let the steam warm her face as she leaned against the counter beside the stove.
Roy smiled at her. "You look cute like that," he said, nodding toward the sloppy bun on top of her head.
"Don't burn my omelet because of those stars in your eyes, Roy-boy," Chris teased.
"Hey, I can took and admire my fiancée at the same time!" Roy said. "Besides, it's done anyway." He scooped the omelet onto a plate then cracked more eggs into the pan. He didn't bother asking Riza what she wanted; he already knew how much of everything she liked.
When her omelet was finished, she thanked Roy and kissed his cheek, shaking her head at the cocky grin that crossed his face in response. She joined Chris at the table and dug into her omelet. As always, it was perfect.
Roy joined them a few moments later, depositing his plate and mug beside Riza's, then disappeared into the kitchen again, returning moments later with three glasses and a carton of orange juice. He filled the glasses before sitting down and chugging his coffee, which had cooled rapidly thanks to the creamer. While he ate, he caressed Riza's thigh with his free hand, though she wasn't certain whether it was entirely from affection or if it was because she was wearing her softest leggings.
The doorbell rang after they had finished eating and Chris got up to answer it while Riza and Roy cleared the table. Before they had a chance to rinse the dishes, however, Chris called out, "Roy! Riza! It's for you."
They left the kitchen hand in hand and as they reached the entry, Riza felt something ram into and wrap around her. She looked down with a fond smile. "Hey, Winry."
"I'm so excited for you, Miss Riza!" Winry gushed, squeezing Riza's waist. Behind her, Alphonse looked equally excited, but he was more bashful when it came to hugging. He mumbled a shy congratulation and Riza beamed at him.
Edward, however, was looking at Roy warily with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "I can't believe she's gonna marry you."
"Brother," Alphonse said, tugging at the hood of Edward's jacket.
"Winry," Riza said, hoping to diffuse the uncomfortable atmosphere, "would you like to be my flower girl?"
Winry's eyes went wide with surprise and delight. "I'd love to!"
"Edward, Alphonse, would you like to be the ring bearers?" she asked. Edward scowled for a moment, but he did nod his head in agreement, though with far less enthusiasm than Alphonse.
Roy crouched down to look Edward in the eye. "Look, kid," he said, putting a hand on Edward's shoulder, "I know you don't like me, and I know Riza's been almost like a mom to you ever since Trisha died, but you can trust me on this. I've been head over heels for her since I was about your age, and I'll always treat her like the queen she is."
Edward still looked skeptical. "So you love Miss Riza?"
Beside him, Alphonse looked nervous. "Brother," he whispered, giving Edward's sleeve a warning tug.
"With all my heart," Roy said, looking over at Riza with a tender expression that made her own heart ache with a sudden burst of love as well.
"And you'll take care of her?" Edward demanded.
"If she'll let me," Roy said with a good-natured chuckle. "She's pretty good at taking care of herself."
"And you'll never, ever leave her and your kids behind forever?"
"Never ever," Roy promised. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life by her side. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."
Edward considered this for a moment before he grudgingly said, "Fine. I guess you can marry her then."
Riza tensed slightly, concerned that Roy might go off on Edward about not needing his permission, but all he did was laugh and say, "Jeez, and I thought Rebecca's approval was hard to win." He stood up again and put his arms around Riza's waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, are you gonna take us to the park or are you gonna stare at her like your brain fell out?" Ed asked.
Riza ran her fingers through Roy's hair. "I did promise Pinako we'd take them."
"Do I still get to look at you like my brain fell out?" Roy teased.
Laughing, Riza pressed a kiss to his forehead. "If it makes you happy."
Roy kissed her shoulder, leaving his lips against the fabric of her sweater as he said, "It does."
She disentangled herself from his arms and went to put her boots on with Winry, Edward, and Alphonse at her heels. When she stood, Roy wrapped a scarf around her neck before stepping into his own boots. Riza adjusted the scarf slightly, then took his hand and led the way out the door. As they made their way up the sidewalk, Winry took Riza's free hand.
"I miss when you used to play with me all the time," Winry said.
Riza squeezed her hand. "So do I," she said with a smile.
"Promise you won't forget about us after you get married?"
Puzzled, Riza looked down at Winry. "Why would I forget you?"
"Well, you'll have your own kids to play with soon," Winry explained.
"By the time Roy and I have children, you will be old enough to babysit them," Riza said.
Winry smiled again, looking relieved that she wasn't about to lose her favorite babysitter just yet. She tugged on Riza's hand, pulling her toward the park. The playground was empty and the Elrics and Winry raced toward it, laughing and chattering while Roy and Riza sat on a bench to watch them. Roy slipped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. "They're good kids," he said. "Even if Edward's a little shit sometimes."
"Roy!" Riza chided, giving him a stern look.
"I'm just saying no kid of ours would ever act like that. He gave me the third degree back there like he had some kind of say in whether I married you or not. If I ever meet that Hohenheim guy, I'll wring his neck for scaring his own kid like that." Roy shook his head and looked back at the playground, watching as Edward and Winry raced down the slides with Al as some sort of referee.
Riza leaned her head against Roy's shoulder and he gave her a quick squeeze. "Maybe they should have investigated my father's death more closely," she said.
"I can't say I didn't think about wringing his neck at times," Roy admitted. "The thought of you going to bed without dinner, and spending your evenings all alone. If he hadn't let you spend the night at my house as often as he did, I might have done something stupid."
She could feel his hand clench into a fist against her arm and she placed a hand on his knee to calm him. "It's in the past, Roy. He's dead and you will never have to worry about me like that again."
"I always worry about you," he said, placing his hand over hers.
Of course he did. She worried about him, too. Perhaps it was foolish of both of them, but for Riza's part, after years of neglect from her father, it was nice to have someone who cared enough about her to worry.
Over the course of the next hour, clouds began to obscure the small patches of October sunlight, threatening rain. Riza got to her feet. "Time for lunch!" she called.
With some reluctance, the kids left the playground and followed Riza and Roy away from the park. The first raindrops splattered on the sidewalk and Roy hooked his arm through Riza's, shrinking against her as though that could make up for their lack of an umbrella.
"What's for lunch?" Alphonse asked
"Well, Riza made some pumpkin pie last night," Roy said, earning himself a gentle elbow in the ribs.
"That's not lunch, Roy," Riza scolded. "We'll make sandwiches."
"And can we have pie after?" Winry asked.
Riza nodded. "Of course."
Rain pounded against the windows while Riza and Roy made the sandwiches with the kids sitting on the stools across the counter. While Riza spread peanut butter on a slice of bread, her mind wandered back to what Winry had said earlier and she tried to picture what it would be like for her own kids to be sitting on the other side of the bar. Perhaps she and Roy were still too young; it was impossible for her to see anything but the children she had been babysitting for the past five years. Roy slapped his jelly-covered slice of bread on top of hers as soon as she withdrew the knife then slid the plate across the counter to Alphonse. With the last sandwich complete, Roy slipped an arm around Riza's waist and pulled her close to kiss her temple.
Edward made gagging sounds and Roy pulled his lips away, tightening his grip on Riza's waist. "You're not gonna make it through the wedding if you can't handle a little kiss."
Riza turned to give him a sharp look, but as soon as she was facing him, he kissed her again, this time on the lips. When she responded, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, and thankfully the moan she couldn't completely suppress was lost in Edward's noises of disgust.
"If you're gonna stick your tongue down her throat again, I don't want to come to your wedding," Edward said.
Turning away from the kiss, Riza wiped her mouth on her sleeve. It was Roy's sweater anyway, and most of the spit was his. "Roy, this really wasn't an appropriate time for that. In fact, I remember another seven-year-old who thought kissing was disgusting."
"I sure grew out of that one, didn't I?" he said, running a hand through his hair.
"Wish you hadn't," Edward said.
"I think it's sweet," Winry said. "Miss Riza told me she already liked him back then."
"In my defense, I liked her, too," Roy said. "I was just an idiot." Edward scowled at that and Riza pulled away from Roy to retrieve the pie from the fridge. She put a slice on each plate and passed out forks, which provided a welcome distraction. Roy appeared at her side again an instant later, holding the can of whipped cream. He smothered his own slice before passing the can to Alphonse.
Riza raised an eyebrow at him. "Finish your lunch first," she said.
"Thank you, Miss Riza," Alphonse said, taking a bite. "Your pie is amazing."
"You're welcome," she said.
Taking a forkful of whipped cream and a tiny bit of pie, Roy fed his first bite to Riza. "I'm practicing for the wedding," he explained when she narrowed her eyes.
"You're supposed to be setting an example," she said once she had swallowed, cringing at the ungodly amount of whipped cream. "You're going to have a stomachache later."
"Worth it," Roy said through a mouthful that seemed, at least, to contain more pie than Riza's had.
When the can got around to Riza, she finished the last few bites of her sandwich and added a conservative amount of whipped cream to her slice of pie. The doorbell rang before she took a bite and she set her fork down to answer it.
"Come in," she said to Pinako. "The kids are just finishing their lunch."
Pinako closed her umbrella and shook it. "Thank you, dear."
"Would you like some pie?"
When Pinako nodded, Riza escorted her to the kitchen and served another slice of pie.
"Hey, Granny!" Winry said when Pinako took the last empty stool.
"Did you have a good time today?" Pinako asked.
Winry, Edward, and Alphonse all nodded and Winry said, "I'm sad Miss Riza has to leave tomorrow."
"I'm sad, too," Riza said, reaching across the counter to pat Winry's hand. "I never get to see any of you these days."
Once they had all finished eating, Pinako herded the children to the door where they hugged Riza one last time. "Thank you for watching them this morning," Pinako said.
"Thank you for asking me to. I've missed them." Riza waved as they left and closed the door against the cold and rain.
"And now," said Roy from behind her, "it's time for some adult fun."
Riza closed her eyes. "As much as I love those kids, I'm not particularly in the mood to make any of our own," she said, turning to face him. When she opened her eyes, she realized Roy was holding a stack of DVDs.
"I was talking about these," he said.
After examining the titles, Riza looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. "I didn't know you liked horror movies," she said.
He shrugged. "They always sounded ridiculous to me. Zombies I get, but ghosts? They're only scary if you believe in them."
"What changed your mind?" Riza asked.
"Oh, just something Maes texted me earlier," Roy said. From the tone of his voice, Riza was suddenly very curious about what exactly Maes had said, but she didn't ask, only followed Roy into the living room and settled on the couch while he put the first DVD in the player.
Roy hurried to sit beside her, carrying the remote and a blanket that he draped over them. After he pressed play, he pulled Riza close. "If you get scared, just turn to me and I'll hold you until it's over," he said.
"Uh huh," Riza said. She hadn't realized that he didn't know she had watched this movie every October that she had lived with Rebecca.
"I've got you," he said, though his voice was a little less sure than it had been moments before.
To bolster his pride again, Riza snuggled against him, tucking her legs up so that her knees rested on his thighs. He squeezed her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "I should have made cider," he said.
"I saw some in the fridge," she said.
"No, the regular kind," he said into her hair. His hand found hers beneath the blanket and he laced their fingers together.
As they watched the movie, Riza felt a warm sense of nostalgia wash over her, remembering late nights sitting on Rebecca's bed, bracing herself for ear-splitting screams, always followed by laughter from both of them. It was very different from the way Roy was coming onto—no. That wasn't it. His hand was still gripping hers tight, and he was trying to burrow into her neck without kissing it.
"Are you scared?" she asked.
"No, I'm not scared. Are you scared?" His voice was nearly an octave higher than usual and Riza extracted her hand from his to put her arm around him, pulling him against her.
"There's no shame in admitting it," she said gently, putting her other arm around him as well, cradling him until he sank against her chest, adjusting his position to hug his knees instead of her. She pulled the blanket up over his face. "I'll put it down when this part ends."
"Thank you," he whispered.
She rubbed his arm reassuringly. "It's ok," she told him.
"I know it is," he said, his voice coming closer to normal. "I have you."