Best Kept Secret

Author: MoonStarDutchess

Chapter 21: Scars

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA but I do own my idea.

AN: Thanks to the reviewers for all the support.

NOTE: To a reviewer. I would just like to ask that you please refrain from calling me an asshole. That doesn't get the chapters out any faster,.

Surprisingly enough, I do have a life away from fanfic,net (finally) Just like all the readers and writers on this site do.

I am a psychology major in college and I might have a new job very soon . Not to mention that I have four other stories to write and my novel to work on and also my boyfriend is back for the week (he's in the military.)

This story will only be updated once or twice a month depending on how much time I have.

Thank you for the reviews and I Luvs you all. Please enjoy this chapter.

Scars

Riza awoke to the feeling of kisses trailing down the length of her neck. She groaned as they went lower to her collarbone and she felt hands slide down her legs. She reached down and stopped their ascent. She knew where Roy was going and as much as she would love to continue their activities from the previous night, she and her husband had work to do.

Riza's eyes shot open at what she thought. She was married to Roy. She was Mrs. Roy Mustang! They'd have to keep it a secret of course, but still. Knowing that she belonged to this man and that he belonged to her cleared up her emptiness that she'd had in her heart since he left.

"You all right?" he asked. He'd noticed that she'd been staring off into space for quite a while. Riza shook her head to rid herself of her thoughts and turned to him. She nodded. He kissed her softly on the lips and pulled away for a second. Then he kissed her yet again, this time the kiss lingered a bit longer than the previous one. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he pushed her gently down on her back. When they pulled away, both were breathless.

"We should get up," she stated. He nuzzled her neck.

"Aww. . .do we have to?" he asked.

"We have to search the city one more time. You know that," she replied.

"Then we have to leave tomorrow," Roy said with a frown. Riza frowned as well and nodded. She had to go back to the academy and he would be stationed somewhere, probably far away from her. She suddenly shook those thoughts from her head. She had to stay focused until they were finished looking around the city.

"Get off Roy," she said, with a slight laugh evident in her voice.

"That's what I am trying to do," he replied. Riza's eyes widened then she laughed aloud.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

He pulled away from her neck and smirked. "Like what?"

She blushed and pushed him off her, earning a laugh from him as he hit the bed. She got up, grabbed her clothing and went in the bathroom to shower. Roy continued to laugh until his own shock stopped him mid-laugh. He was shocked because he was laughing.

He sat up on his back and smiled slightly. She was the only one in the world that could make him genuinely laugh or smile. He was truly happy to have her as his wife. He thought it was much more than he deserved. How could someone like him truly make her happy? He stared down at his hands and frowned. Apparently he'd drifted into his own little would because he didn't hear Riza come out of the bathroom.

"Sir," he heard her say. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. She had a concerned look on her face so he forced a smile on his to rid her of the look. "You can have the bathroom now," she said.

"Thanks Riza," he replied and stood up. He grabbed his own clothing and went to shower. Riza took out her guns and sat in the chair beside the window to wait on Roy. She'd seen the look that he was wearing when she came out. His mind was dwelling on what he did just as hers was except she did a better job of pushing it to the back of her mind and sealing it off. She shook her head to rid herself of the line of thinking that her mind was leading her to.

Soon, Roy emerged from the bathroom drying his hair with a towel. He then threw the towel back into the bathroom. She smiled at seeing his hair all wet and messed up. She stood, grabbed a comb from her kit and walked over to him. He looked at her confusingly and she directed him to sit on the bed. She stood in front of him and began to comb his hair.

"I can comb my own hair ya know," he said to her. His face was even with her stomach as she combed.

"I know," she replied but said nothing else and continued to comb his hair. He grinned and he rested his right hand rest on her hips. His left hand reached up and pulled out her shirt that was tucked into her pants. "What are you doing?"

"Are you still ticklish on your stomach?" he questioned. Riza laughed. "I don't know," she answered.

She combed the front of his hair down and then jumped as she felt him lift her shirt and run his lips around her belly button. He then kissed her stomach. She laughed and he pulled away slightly.

"Yep, you are still ticklish," he laughed and kissed her stomach again. This time she could feel his tongue on her stomach. She tried to move away from him but his hands on her hips stopped her from doing so. He continued to kiss her stomach causing her to laugh periodically when he hit a certain spot. She laid the comb on the table near her.

She thought of how strange it was to be acting like this. It was strange for her to finally have someone to be herself with and not go by stiff military conduct all of the time.

Roy thought it strange to act like this as well. They were both murders and here they were, so shortly after the wars end, laughing. Of course, what they did rested in their minds but the laughter brought a welcome, temporary reprieve.

He suddenly felt her move away. He looked up at her.

"We have work to do," she stated, tucking her shirt back in her pants. He frowned and nodded.

"Can I kiss other places when we get back?" he asked.

"You are such a pervert," she said.

"Pretty much," he admitted. She grabbed her guns and put them in their holsters then grabbed her rifle. "Let's go . . . Sir." She said and walked out of the room.

"You never did give me an answer," he stated as he stood from his perch on the bed and slipped on his gloves.

Riza scoured the city with Roy this time instead of staying on the roof sniping. They searched the remaining alleys that they hadn't searched yet then did a quick sweep near the warehouses near the docks. Soon, dusk started to set it. They were walking through one last alley when they heard a gun cock. Riza spun around and they were faced with two Ishbalans with guns.

"Put your gun down and turn around," one told Hawkeye. She threw down her guns but Roy snapped sending a way of fire in front of them. Riza moved out of the way, flipped on the ground, and grabbed her gun as one of the Ishbalans dodged the flames and was going to fire at Roy. She shot her pistol, shooting the man in the heart. Roy snapped burning both Ishbalans into ashes.

The smell of the burning flesh made Riza a bit queasy. It wasn't as if she didn't know the smell at all. She had to pass the places where Roy had to burn someone but it was usually after time had passed and the smell had dissipated somewhat. This smell was very potent.

Roy lowered his hand that was poised to snap. "I think that's enough," he said. Riza could tell that he was doing his best to steel his voice. She looked into his face and saw that he was just as broken and torn inside as she was. She really didn't have to look at him to know that but just seeing him confirmed it even more. "Let's go," he said and turned to walk out of the alley. Riza watched him leave the alley and looked back at the bodies that were now ash. She frowned and turned to follow Roy.

They got back to the hotel room and Roy threw his gloves on the table. "You can have the shower first," he said, knowing she'd want to take a shower.

"Thank you sir," she said and walked into the bathroom. She showered and changed into the new buttoned up shirt and shorts that she'd bought at the market on the way back to the hotel. Both she and Roy stopped by a shop to buy a change of clothing that they were in desperate need of. She'd bought these especially for something she was going to ask Roy to do.

She emerged from the bathroom and went over to sit on the bed beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He reached up and cupped her hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it once before standing and going to take a shower himself. He soon emerged from the bathroom in his boxers and spotted Riza looking out the window. She turned and his eyes widened at the look she was giving him. She was looking at him with a sad yet determined look gracing her features, the soft glow of the lamp highlighting them making them look even more serious.

"I need you to do something for me," she stated. "Will you?"

Roy walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder and he stroked her short blond hair.

"You know I would do anything for you Riza," he said. "What is it?"

"I want you to burn and crush by back," she stated. He pulled away and looked at her in shock. He had both hands gripping her upper arms and started to speak but she spoke before him. "I need to be Riza Hawkeye the individual, with this I feel like I am nothing but a tool, I feel like one of those damn transmutation circles." Roy's gaze never left hers. "Besides, if someone sees it, it might give birth to another flame alchemist. I don't want that to happen." Roy nodded and let go of her arms.

Riza realized how it sounded. She didn't want him to think that she regretted giving him the secrets. She didn't want him to think that she blamed him for everything. She didn't regret giving him the secrets. He deserved them, she believed in his goal, and knew his heart was in the right place. He couldn't help it if he was ordered to do the things he did. She was ordered to do the same thing he was . . . And she did. While it didn't absolve them from their sins, they both knew that they really didn't want to kill those people. If they hadn't then they would have been killed.

She took a step forward and kissed him softly. When she pulled away she whispered, "Will you?"

He could only nod. She smiled and kissed him once more. He pulled away and said, "We will have to make up an excuse to stay a few extra days and an excuse for your injury. I can take care of it but you won't be able to move very much until it heals a bit."

She nodded, "You are right," she said and walked over to the bed. She sat down and the room got quite. "I've got it covered," Roy said suddenly.

Riza nodded, trusting him completely. She took off her shirt, not bothering to hold it in front of her for modesty. "What do you want me to do," she asked.

"Reconsider your decision," Roy offered. She smiled a bit and shook her head. "It was worth a try," he said.

Riza chuckled. "Yes, I suppose it was."

"It might be better if we did this near the fireplace," Roy said. Riza nodded and walked over to the mantel. He grabbed a clean towel from the bathroom and then walked over to get his gloves that he'd thrown on the table. He slipped them on and walked over to her.

"Here," he said, handing her the towel. She stared at him and took it. "It's to bite on. When I burn this it's going to go deep but . . . It won't hit the nerves so you are going to be in a lot of pain."

"I figured that's what it was for Roy. A medical gave me a bullet once to bite on in Ishbal when I was shot." Roy looked at her in surprise. "You were shot? When?"

"It was before I went to your camp Roy. It was just a small leg wound. It didn't even leave a noticeable scar after it healed."

"I wish you would have told me you were shot," he muttered.

"Why? What good would it have done?" she asked. Roy frowned. She had a good point; it wouldn't have made much of a difference. "Now, let's get this over with," she stated, then rolled up the small town and bit on it, to silence her scream and relieve some of the pain that would no doubt come (she didn't think it would do much good though.)

Roy found a critical part on the array. "This place," he said, touching a part of the array near her left shoulder, "would be the best place to burn it and it would cause less pain as well."

Riza only nodded. Roy raised his hand to her shoulder. It shook a bit and he lowered it. She removed her mouth from the towel. "Roy, just do it!" she said. He could hear her pleading tone. She bit on the towel once more and braced one hand on the mantel of the fireplace while the other held the towel. Roy he raised his hand again.

Then he snapped. The fire when to her shoulder burning her skin, she bit down hard on the bullet as flames licked at the secrets to flame alchemy. It was rather ironic that the secrets to flame alchemy was destroyed by the very thing it would create.

She finally screamed loudly into the towel. It seemed to muffle them well. He heard something fall and looked down to see the towel resting in the floor then he watched Riza drop to her knees, tears streaming down her red face.

"Did you get it," she managed to ask. Roy looked at the scar on her back, it would be the thing that scarred him most about this time in his life. He may have killed all those people in Ishbal but despite this being her request, he was torn up about injuring her.

"Yes, Riza. I got it," he answered.

He grabbed her arm and lifted her to her feet. He gently scooped up off her feet, being sure to pick her up via the other side so that her shoulder won't brush his. He sat her in front of the bed and told her to lay on her stomach. She did so and he went to retrieve his med kit and proceeded to tend to the burn. Afterward, he told her to get some rest and he would make a call to headquarters. He handed her some pills and a glass of water to take. She did and fell asleep the pill easing her pain.

Roy made the call and went over to lay back on the couch. He heard Riza groan and cringed. He hated hearing that sound come from her lips. He grabbed a pillow and laid down on the couch. He didn't want to risk hitting her shoulder if he slept in the same bed with her.

He sat up when he heard her say his name.

"Yea Riza?"

"Why are you laying over there?" she asked.

"I didn't want to inadvertently hit your burn if I. . ."

"Roy, get over here," she said.

He knew that tone from the time he stayed with her at her home. He knew better than to argue. She always won. He went over and laid down beside her and she turned her head to face him. He reached up to her face and stroked it.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Yes, I will be fine. How did the call to HQ go? What did you tell them?"

"That you were injured while we were fighting and that I needed to make sure all enemies were neutralized. They asked me how long until you'd be able to recover. I told them a week."

"I see," she said. They both stared at each other. Roy reached to the small of her back and began rubbing it and the side of her back where the burn wasn't present.

"I was thinking."

"Uh oh," she joked. He laughed.

"Funny," he said in a chuckle.

"I couldn't resist. Please continue."

"All right," he replied. "I am heading to the top. Someday I am going to be fuehrer and there will never be another war like Ishbal. I've received my own command in Central. When you graduate from the academy will you serve under me and follow me to the top then when I become Fuehrer be my first lady?"

"Do you really need an answer to that? Of course it's yes," she said. A wife's place is supporting her husband after all."

"There's something else. If I stray from the path. I want you to shoot me. Can you do that?"

Riza nodded but only because she knew he wouldn't stray from the path. He was too determined to do such a think. "I will," she said.

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A week later they returned to central. She returned to the final classes at the academy and he got his postings at HQ. A year later she graduated and had several commanders vying for the her. She was given a choice of where she wanted to serve. She chose not to go in the direction of the sniping route but for a job as a chief aid and body guard. She soon found herself Riza saluting her new commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang."

"You know your duty Second Lieutenant Hawkeye?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she replied.

"Then welcome to Central Headquarters," he said. He stood up and looked at his office door to make sure it was closed.

"You found the apartment beside mine I take it?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she said. He pulled her into his arms.

"I missed you," he stated. Despite being in central the academy was too far away from Central Headquarters for a daily commute. In addition, they both had been busy. They managed to see each other six months ago but it was only a hello and a quick kiss.

"Me too Roy," she replied and he swooped down on her lips.

Quite a while later they heard about an Edward Elric and went to Risembool . . .

AN: Hello all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please drop a review. As you can see it's come full circle back to the beginning of this story. Now it's present tense from the next chapter until the end.

I would just like to ask you all to please check out and review my other stories if you haven't already. Especially The Key and Broken Wing. Thanks and much loves.