Omg I'm so sorry for not updating for so long! Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'll be working on updates more frequently from now.

Shout out to lunatic4eva for the awesome review!

Enjoy this chapter! :)

Chapter XXI - Secrets

By the time we reached Mr. Hughes' house, my throat was dry as I struggled to stop the tears from spilling down my face. What did I do? Why did I allow him to kiss me? Why couldn't I stop him?

Everytime I'm with him, I feel a pull. His touch is fire, his voice is silk. And his eyes, they penetrate my soul.

But something's going on between him and Lindsey.

I avoided eye contact with Roy as we entered the house and went straight to the room. Mrs. Hughes raised her eyebrows and looked at me as I passed by, but I didn't have the patience to talk to her.

As I closed the door behind me, my back hit the wall and I went straight down to my knees. I finally let the tears rush down my cheeks as I hugged my legs. I started off crying about Roy, but later cried about my life and all the faults in it in general. I cried about my feelings for him, my failure in finding the philosopher's stone, and my failure in being with my parents at all times.

I heard a knock on the door and someone's voice. "Are you in there, darling?" Roy said. I didn't reply and continued to sob. The door opened with a noise and I buried my face in my knees. "Darling" Roy said and I heard his footsteps coming towards me. The room was pretty dark because the curtains were closed, concealing the afternoon light, and the house was in a shadowy part of the street in general.

I soon felt a hand on my shoulder, but I brushed it off harshly. I heard a loud sigh and I felt him sit down next to me in the corner of the room.

"You know your little cat that you have?" Roy said, "You're just like it." I looked up and stared into his eyes that were already staring at me. "So moody and unpredictable."

I sniffed and a single drop of tear poured out of my eye. Roy came closer and his thumb softly brushed it away. His other hand cupped my left cheek and he caressed it. "So what's the cat's name?"

"Jestin" I muttered. Roy's eyebrows wove into a frown. "Jes for short."

"What kind of name is that?" he said and smirked, "If I had a pet animal, I would name it Maya."

I pouted, "Well if I had a pig I would name it Roy."

"Oh my, you're so furious. I like it."

Roy said, "How about we name it Cake?" My eyes widened and my mouth watered as Roy continued, "Better yet, let's name it Cheesecake. It's my favorite."

"Now what kind of name is Cheesecake? It's weirder than Jes" I said. I had forgotten all about my grief in the argument.

"Why, do you want to name it Polka-Dots then?" he said and I blushed. I averted my eyes and looked at the floor in embarrassment. Roy suddenly came closer and his soft lips landed on my forehead. "You look better when you blush, my angel" he said, "don't let those tiny diamonds drop down your cheeks." My heart was beating so hard that I could hear it vigorously pounding in my ear. No, this can't be. How can he possibly be playing me with someone else? His eyes scream that he truly loves me.

"Tell me, why were you crying?" Roy asked.

Just then, his phone started to ring. Roy looked at me and smiled before reaching into his black coat and pulling out his phone. "Colonel Mustang speaking... Yes, I'll be there at the restaurant."

"I'll be back, baby" he said and got up. He opened the curtains and I flinched at the sudden brightness. Roy smiled at me before closing the door and exiting the room.

He said he's going to the same restaurant. I know where it is.

o0❤0o

I stared at the same grey cobblestone street and the row houses that were squished against each other. The place looked completely different in the daylight, with many people hovering in and out of houses and shops. Some women were sitting in balconies and watering their flowers and some men were busy talking to each other in the street. I neared the restaurant carefully and saw an old woman sitting outside her house next to it. She smiled at me and I reluctantly returned it back.

Before I went inside, I remembered what Mrs. Hughes had told me. "He's not how you think he is, Maya" Mrs. Hughes had said as she had caught me quietly exiting the house behind Roy.

I had turned around confused about how she knew what I was doing. "You're the only one he's in love with."

I had stared wide-eyed at her and was about to question her when she had said, "Some secrets are not meant to be shared. But if you want to dig deeper into this one, you must be ready for it. You never know, you might end up wishing you had never known the truth."

I gulped and pushed the door of the restaurant open. The same smell of wine and bread filled the air and my mouth watered. I glanced at the bar counters to my left, which were empty now. Many tables were filled to the right and two waitresses passed by serving customers and taking orders. In the corner, I saw a four-seater table in which Roy was seated on. Across from him, the same magazine girl twirled her hair between her fingers gave a shy smile at Roy. Roy smirked and looked at his menu after saying something. They are on a date!

"Welcome, Ma'am. Table for one?" someone said. I'm a fool! I continued to stare at Roy and remained at the door. Just when I was about to leave, Roy's head turned towards me and his eyes widened. I quickly turned away and ran out the door.

I kept my head down as streams ran down my face again. "Maya!" I heard someone call behind me and my heels clicked faster on the ground. "Darling!" Stop calling me that! Mrs. Hughes was wrong! I'm not his only one!

I felt someone's hand on my wrist and I was suddenly pulled into his chest. I looked up at Roy through my teary eyes. "Why're you following me? Go and enjoy your date!" I yelled.

Roy's eyes narrowed and gleamed with anger. "Is that what you think this is about?"

"Yes, now let me go!" I said and struggled to free myself from his grip. His hand tightened around my wrist and his left one held my waist and pushed me closer to him. "I'm not on a date, I'm in a meeting" he said and I rolled my eyes. "I've seen what kind of meetings you attend, Colonel Mustang!" I yelled.

"Maya!" he yelled and I jumped because of his sudden voice change.

He stared into my eyes angrily and soon dragged me back towards the restaurant again. I grimaced and tried to ran away, but without success; he was much stronger than me that I couldn't resist. We stood outside and looked through the glass doors. "Look, I'm not on a date!" he said and pointed at the table in which Ms. Long-Legs Lindsey was sitting. Beside her, Mr. Hughes was seated and was eating an ice cream sundae and across from both of them was Lieutenant Havoc.

"They were not there before..." I muttered.

"Maes was in the bathroom and... and Havoc was getting the waitress' number."

I gasped as Roy pulled me closer to him again. He placed my hands on his chest. His own hand traveled from my shoulders and slowly made its way to my lower back. "This," he said and pointed his index finger towards himself, "This is all yours. I'm all yours, darling."

A warm feeling spread across my chest and my shoulders relaxed. I cupped Roy's cheeks in my hands as tears of joy sprinkled on my cheeks. "I'm all yours too" I felt myself saying. As Roy smiled his sweet, strikingly-hot smile again, I brought my face closer to his soft lips. My hands landed in his raven-colored hair and my lips glided smoothly over his. It was a gentle kiss, a sweet suicide of our lips. My heart rate skyrocketed and my cheeks flushed crimson. Roy kissed me back softly as his hands glided from my waist and slowly circled my hips. I felt lightheaded at his touch. "You taste amazing, sweetheart!" Roy said and I blushed even more. Roy smiled at my red face and we stared into each other's eyes.

"My, my. Young love is so lovely!" I heard someone and saw the old woman from before smiling at us from her front porch. I smiled from embarrassment and buried my face in Roy's chest. Roy chuckled and wove his hands through my hair.

"Roy! There you are" Mr. Hughes said as he exited the restaurant. Lieutenant Havoc followed behind him, but I saw no sign of Lindsey. Roy and I drew back from our embrace, but Roy wove his hand into mine. "What have you lovebirds been up to?"

I blushed and looked down at the ground. Roy pulled me closer to him and said, "Is the meeting over?"

"Yes," said Mr. Hughes, "Lindsey already left and we're leaving too."

"Who's Lindsey?" I asked.

Roy cleared his throat, "She serves for the military."

"Too bad I didn't get to meet her." I said and faked a sad face.

Mr. Hughes replied way too quickly, "Sure, you can meet her some other time. Let's go home, now. My daughter's waiting for me to get home and play with her, you know!"

I smiled at Mr. Hughes' enthusiasm. Roy said to me, "Go to the car with Lieutenant Havoc. Maes and I will be there shortly."

I was about to question him but he brought my hand closer to his lips just then and kissed it softly. "Wait for me, darling" Roy said and winked. I felt butterflies in my stomach. I smiled at Lieutenant Havoc and walked with him as Roy and Mr. Hughes stayed behind.

o0❤0o

No One's POV

"Thanks for backing me up, Maes." the Colonel said and directed a small smile towards his friend.

The brown-haired military officer put his hands on his hips, "You can't continue to lie to her, Roy. My wife told me she's coming and Havoc and I rushed to the restaurant to save you. The truth will come to her at some point."

The Flame Alchemist looked down at the ground. "Now's not the right time. I just want to protect her."

Hughes put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know, buddy. You care about her a lot. But be careful, it might be too late."

o0❤0o

Maya's POV

"You serious? He stole your previous girlfriend?" I asked Havoc.

"Yeah, Colonel Mustang stole three of my previous girlfriends and took them on dates!"

I frowned and leaned against the black car beside Havoc. "Don't worry, I won't let that attention freak go on any dates anymore!" I said. Except with me.

"Thanks, Maya. I owe you one." Havoc replied.

I smiled at the blonde officer and wiped the sweat that was pouring from my forehead because of the heat. "It's so hot that Satan called. He wants his weather back..." I muttered.

"There's an ice cream truck right there. Want me to get you some?" Havoc asked.

I thanked his blessed soul and told him to get me a cookies-and-cream cone. "Auntie!" a kid called and came running towards me with a red rose in his hand. I noticed that he was same kid that I was playing the mud puddle with the other day. I told him to call me sister...

"Auntie, this is for you" he said and handed me the rose. Did that Roy send me these? What a sweet idiot!

"That Uncle told me to give it to you" the boy said and pointed at a man across the street. My eyes widened as I stared at the same white hair and crimson eyes. I looked around to make sure Roy and Maes were nowhere in sight and crossed the street to where Scar was standing. "What're you doing here?" I asked and pulled him into a less crowded part of the street.

"I was just passing by when I saw you in this state" he said and glanced at my outfit. I looked down at my dress and tried to brush the little sand particles that were still lingering there. Despite my efforts, the white bodycon was stained brown and had a dirty look to it. "All thanks to Roy" I muttered.

"That military freak did that to you?" Scar questioned as his eyebrows wove into a frown.

"Yeah, it was kinda my fault though..." I bit my lips and looked at the ground.

"You need to stay away from him, Maya" Scar said, his stare piercing.

"I know, he's an idiot sometimes, but he's also sweet-" I started off, but gasped when Scar suddenly pulled my wrist so that I was forced to look right into his blood-red eyes.

"He's another one of those military bastards, Maya" his tone became more threatening, "all he cares about is discipline and following the military's orders"

I grimaced and pulled my hand away from Scar's. "And what about you? All you care about is justice. But lives don't matter to you!" I yelled and turned back to head towards the car. As I went farther away from him, I heard Scar say, "He does not care about anything else, Maya. Not even you.