It's not over yet.
Disclaimer: As usual. But I would rent Charlotte and her dad and all the other OC's. Anyone interested?
And yes: It's still just something I came up with after thinking about Hawkeye's family on her mother's side.
Riza was reading a book while Laila was drawing another beautiful picture when Roy walked in. He brought them lunch and watched amused how Laila grinned at the chocolate. (Since he knew how much Riza's niece loved sweets, he had always a bar of chocolate in his pocket and they got along much better than before.) Riza was training to walk with the crane since she wanted to get back to work but it was still a hopeless case since her arm was also injured. The only option would have been a wheelchair but she disliked them greatly.
"Thank you for the chocolate," Laila grinned at Roy before she handed him one of the pictures she had painted during the morning. "You don't need to keep it but grandfather said that you could like it," she stated before she shrugged. "I don't know why he thinks so but still…"
Roy looked at the picture and smiled back at her. "I will keep it," he said and put it into one of the folders before he handed Riza another stack of paperwork. She had been the one who had said that she wanted to work from her couch and since the workload was huge, no one had said something against it. "And before I forget…"Roytook out the little black box and kneeled down. "Riza Hawkeye, I believe it's time for us to marry," he said.
She smiled gently at him. "Yes, Roy Mustang, I believe that you are right," she said amused.
Laila frowned at them, clearly disappointed. "But … but … it's not romantic!" she exclaimed. "Dad proposed to mommy in a much better way!"
Riza rolled her eyes, something she rarely did. "Yes," she sighed. "I remember everything. I have seen the bills and the whole setting … pink petals of roses everywhere … nearly a million of candles in the shape of roses … I am sure that I can even remember his exact words … something along the lines of: 'Babe, each of this roses stands for one of my heartbeats … which all belong to you. Will you marry me?'" She shrugged, absolutely unimpressed. "And the ring … well … eighteen comma five Carat are not bad but the gem always gets in her way when she shoots."
Roy looked at her. "How does it come that you remember everything?" he asked confused. "Were you there when he proposed to her?"
"I was in Central City at the time and … well … he asked me to help with everything. We needed three hours to set everything in place and we had to hurry because her piano teacher was ill that day and we had less time than we had imagined…" she sighed. "I vowed that day that it was the first and the last time that I helped someone with the proposal. Three years later, Kay ordered me to help Hughes with his proposal. And he was even worse because the petals had to be arranged in the shape of a heart," she said. "Every man I know exaggerates during the proposal and I am really happy that you didn't do the same … Roy."
"But you deserve something like that!" he said while he took out the ring. He hadn't looked at it before but he had to admit that Jade had a good taste. The ring was beautiful. An elegant golden band held the clearest diamond he had ever seen and said diamond was surrounded with many little emeralds. He took Riza's hand to slip it onto her finger and it fitted perfectly. He made a mental note to thank Jade for everything as soon as he would see her again.
"OH MY GOD, YOU TWO WILL MARRY!" Gracia screamed and her joy was obvious as she grabbed Roy to hug him. "I have to call Maes! He will be so happy! And I need to make photos! Elicia, Elicia! Come downstairs, I need you to hold them in place!"
Any doubts Roy may have hold against the fact that Gracia was Maes' soul mate vanished in the second she rushed back into the room and held a camera. She was more hyper than Laila after she ate three bars of chocolate and drank a whole cup of coffee with eight spoons of sugar. The flashlights started to hurt in Laila's eyes and she searched protection and comfort in her aunt's arms. Gracia took the opportunity to make a photo just of Riza's hand with the ring.
"Have you finished?" Riza asked while she gently rubbed Laila's back. "I believe you just shocked her, Gracia, and I am sure that Kay will not like that. If I were you, I would already search for someone who can give you a new nose and a secret identity somewhere in Xing or Drachma…"
"What's going on?" Peter walked into the room and ran a hand through his hair. "Gracia, since you woke me … could you please explain to me why you are that happy?"
"Look at Riza's hand!" Maes' wife smiled like she just won a bet.
"Woah, I haven't seen this ring in hundred years," Peter shrugged. "I have to say, it looks still great … but didn't Lysander tell me that someone stole the ring…?"
Roy stared at him as he realised that the general was probably talking about Lysander Grumman who had been a great and famous commander during the First War against Drachma. "What do you mean?" he asked confused. "You know the ring?"
"Of course I do," the red-haired general stated. "This ring was family heirloom of the Grummans until 1756 when someone stole it. Lysander was really upset because it was in his family since 1541 when the great general Alexander Grumman bought it for his fiancée Aurelia. I helped Lysander to find it but we never found it. It's really amazing that it found its way back into the possession of the family." He frowned slightly. "How did you get it?"
"Well, I sent Jade to buy a ring since she was the one who always complains about my bad taste in jewellery," Roy said. "I didn't ask her where she found it but I am sure that she still knows it."
"Your cousin is really an amazing woman," Peter said. "We searched this ring for years and never found it and just when Riza is about to marry, the ring returns. Like I always said: fate has a funny way to make things work…" he sighed. "Well, I need coffee and an aspirin. I drank too much last night. Catharina had always a bad influence on me…"
Riza smiled at the ring. "The stone has the perfect size," she said. "It shouldn't get in the way when I use a gun," she explained before she leaned forward to kiss Roy's cheek. "It's a really beautiful ring, Roy. I am very happy that you bought something like that."
Peter chuckled. "Did you even read the inscription?" he asked before he left the room.
His niece took off the ring to read said inscription. 'Love reunites what fate set apart – Alexander Grumman' was engraved into the metal.
"Congratulations for asking Riza to marry you," Maes said as he dragged his best friend into a bar after work. "Gracia told me that you didn't put much effort in the setting…"
"Well, it was probably better that way," Roy replied. "From what Riza told me, she is probably traumatised after helping you and Charles with your proposals. Really, Maes, petals in the shape of a heart? This is really sappy!"
"Gracia liked it."
"How much time did you spent on it?" Roy asked before he ordered a beer.
"Well, Kay is very fast when it comes to such things," his best friend said. "I believe we needed four hours to fix everything. Kay was angry afterwards because I didn't follow her script…"
"She wrote you a script for your own proposal?" Roy asked terrified.
"Just in case you didn't notice it: she was always an overachiever and all the teachers loved her since she was such a good pupil. She was class president and president of everything else what needed a president," Maes said. "She was the youngest member of our class but she made us look stupid in every test we had to do. I can still remember her standing in front of our class each time the teacher announced that she was the best out of us…" he shook his head. "She was such a small girl that some of us used to pick on her before they saw her beating up some boy."
"She was small as a child?" Roy chuckled. "I wouldn't have guessed…"
"Smaller than Edward and even more sensitive about it," Maes grinned. "She is a little bit younger than you but since she was especially smart as a child, she was in my year…"
Roy paled. "Don't tell me that she was the red-haired girl with the two perfect braids and the immaculate school uniform with the green ribbon," he muttered.
"Yes, she wore a green ribbon on her uniform since she was class president…" his best friend looked at him. "Why are you so pale?"
"I used to be one of the fools who picked on her and who harassed her with all the synonyms of 'small'," Roy confessed. "Most of us thought that she was a freak since she always used to read a book when you saw her somewhere on the hallway. And you know how cruel kids can be … God, she absolutely hated me as far as I can remember … she always glared at me and transmuted my homework into paper flowers … it was war between us … even without knowing each other names … and now she is taller than me … like she promised…"
"I don't think that she still remembers," Maes calmed him. "And even if she would … she grew up. She isn't the insecure little brat she used to be. She became a fine lady over the years and I am really proud to call her my best female friend. If she remembers that you bullied her, she will slap you and move on. She isn't complicated or something like that – I have to admit that she is really uncomplicated for a female being."
I thank everyone who reviewed and all the people who put this story as a favourite. You are wonderful people and I hope that you still like the story.
I am really grateful for this great feedback.
And merry Christmas everyone out there! I hope that all of you will get some good presents and that all of you will have a good time with the family!
There is nothing special I wish for this year ... just some reviews.
AvaEobane
