29. Existence
A/N: Song: "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall
Takes place during Roy's apprenticeship.
"I bet it doesn't even really exist," Roy muttered one afternoon.
"What doesn't exist?" Riza asked.
Roy had forgotten he wasn't the only one in the room. Pink tingeing his cheeks (he was going to sound so stupid!) he admitted, "The Philosopher's Stone."
Riza shot him a sideways look. "But isn't that the goal of alchemy? To make something so perfect that it transcends all other substances?"
"Perfection doesn't exist," Roy responded hotly. When Riza didn't say anything, the pit of his stomach sank through the floor. If he didn't believe in the Philosopher's Stone, was he really cut out for alchemy?
But then, slowly, gently, Riza smiled. "There should be more alchemists… more people like you. People who can think."
And, even if just for a moment, Roy felt as though he'd glimpsed the Philosopher's Stone itself. He still held that perfection didn't exist, but with Riza, it didn't need to.
A/N: D'aww… Roy's falling for her so badly!
This is another one that could easily have been angsty, but I'm trying to do more in the way of fluffy and cute. It might not always be rainbows and sunshine and ponies, but doom and gloom really wears you out after a while!
Please review and let me know what you think!
