Maes and I left the library and started heading back to the inn. I couldn't have been luckier to have him as a crutch. I was a little sore after what we had done and may have developed a slight limp because of it. My God, Maes. You could've gone a little easier on me. I was a delicate little flower. I just hope it goes away before dinner. The last thing I want to do is show up at the Fuhrer's mansion with a limp because I had just lost my virginity to his son.
"How you holding up, Halfmetal?" Maes asked while I was in the bathroom getting ready.
"Do I look like I just had sex?" I worried, "Can you tell?"
"Other than the glow in your cheeks," he kissed them both, "And the fact that your shirt's on inside out and your hair's a mess. You're golden."
"Thanks, Maes," I gave him a swat in the shoulder, "You're such a jerk."
"I love you, too."
I fixed my shirt and my hair and took his hand, "Come on."
"You ready to face the music?" Maes pulled me to his side and threw his arm around my waist.
"No." In all honesty, I was terrified of this moment. I started completely second guessing doing this in the first place.
"We'll be ok," he assured, doing his best to comfort me like he always did, "Do you have any idea how we'll tell them?"
"Natural progression of conversation?" I figured, "That'd probably be the best."
"I'd rather go through the entire certification process again," Maes cringed, just as nervous as I was.
"I'd rather actually take that trip to Briggs," I joked darkly.
"That's kind of screwed up, Tricia," he grabbed the door for me, "Considering that trip could possibly kill you."
"That'd be the point."
"We can do this," Maes gave me a little smile, "Out of the palms of our hands, remember?"
And with those few words, I was ok again. Amazing how Maes had the most incredible talent of calming down with his words. I wasn't sure if it was something in his words or his voice, but it could take me from wanting to kill a man to perfectly calm and content, so I guess it was worth keeping him around. Even when he can be kind of an idiot.
The two of us made it to the Fuhrer's mansion unscathed and walked right in through the front door. Does no one knock anymore? Sometimes I forget this is where Maes lived before he and I began our trek across Amestris. Sometimes I forget he's the Fuhrer's son altogether. I'm pretty sure our time spent on the island had beaten the spoiled, whiny prince out of him. Or our time in Ishval, for that matter. It still made its occasional appearances, but I could allow it. It's nice to be depended on from time to time.
"Mom?" Maes called out, "Dad? I'm home!"
"Hi, Maes," Aunt Riza emerged from the dining room, "Tricia, come with me."
"Ok," I obliged, "Come on, Maes."
"No," she stopped him, "Just you. You've earned a glass or two. Maes, go find your father."
"Yes, ma'am," Maes nodded, scurrying off to find Uncle Roy.
"You come with me," Aunt Riza took my hand and pulled me along into the kitchen. The last time we did this, Mom was here and the two of them were drilling me for information. Now that it's actually true, God only knows what she'll do. Aunt Riza uncorked a bottle of red wine and started pouring, "So you met him, too?"
"Met who?" I wondered, realizing I wasn't here to talk about Maes.
"The Prime Minister of Drachma," she rolled her eyes, sharing my disdain for the man.
"Oh, yeah," I let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Isn't he a gem?"
"What happened with you two?" Aunt Riza wondered, "Your uncle told me you two didn't get along, but he didn't go into any further detail."
"He's a misogynistic pig," I grumbled, "He thought I was Uncle Roy's secretary. It's like people don't realize I'm a Lieutenant Colonel."
"It could've been worse," she sympathized, "He gave me a swat on the ass like I was a secretary. And I'm a damn General!"
"Sexist scum," I took a long, heavy drink from my wine glass, "If I never see him again, I wouldn't have a single problem with that."
"You and me both," we toasted, "Now, for the real reason you're here."
Dammit. Here it comes, "What is it?"
"What's going on with you and my son?" she asked, "Ever since you two came back from Xing, you've been different around each other. Why?"
"Well..." I blushed, feeling my heart race in my throat. Something tells me Aunt Riza still doesn't know about Ishval. If she did, I'd probably be impaled and on the front lawn by now. I couldn't be the one to tell her. I know my father's a powder keg, but I have a feeling he'd have nothing on Aunt Riza if she were to ever find out about her one and only baby that she loves very much was kidnapped and tortured under my watch.
"It finally happened, didn't it?" she smirked.
"What happened?" I started sweating a little. And I may have peed some, too.
"What did you come to Central for, Tricia?" Aunt Riza jumped up onto the counter, "All those months ago, what made you come here?"
"To get my certification," I remembered, "Why?"
"What else have you gotten from your certification?" she drilled me.
"Well," I thought it over, "The Central library's pretty great."
"What else?"
"The traveling is nice," I sighed out, "Getting to see the country."
"And?"
"I feel like you're trying to fish for something here, Aunt Riza..." I figured her out.
"What else?" she pushed me along.
A little smile crept across my face, "I got my best friend in the whole world."
"Is he, though?" Aunt Riza dug, "Is he your best friend?"
"Yeah," I nodded, "Of course he is. What else would he be?"
"I remember that induction ball, Tricia," she poked.
"So do I," I pointed out, "Uncle Roy got hammered. I got promoted. It was a good night."
"He got to you, Tricia," Aunt Riza knew, "I can see it all over your face. There's no hiding that. Trust me. I tried for years."
"Maes said no one would be able to tell!" I freaked.
"You and I are a lot alike in that respect," she topped off my glass, but then, something clicked in her mind, "Hold on. Wouldn't be able to tell what...?"
"Nothing," I kept my mouth shut. Mostly out of fear.
"Dammit, Maes..." she let out a heavy, exasperated sigh, "You really are your father's child, aren't you? I guess I really don't have much room to judge. After the Promised Day was over, the Fuhrer's mansion was empty and we were feeling vengeful. Then, nine months later, Maes was born."
The last thing I wanted to picture Uncle Roy and Aunt Riza making Maes. But if discussing their exploits kept her from asking about ours, I can't be mad at that, "That's a little more information than I needed to know, Aunt Riza."
"But I was right, wasn't I?" Aunt Riza assumed.
"Let's say…" I tiptoed around it, "Hypothetically speaking, I was with Maes...What would you say to that?"
"I'd say it's about time you told us."
"What?" I nearly needed a new pair of pants.
"Tricia, it wasn't exactly a secret," she explained, "I knew it was going to happen the night of the induction ball. Maybe even before that. Your uncle was giving serious consideration to instating a law for arranged marriages for that very purpose. And like I said, I could see it all over your face."
"Really?" I took another drink, "What gave me away?"
"For years, I saw the same look," Aunt Riza went on, "The sparkle in the eyes every time they walked into the room. The compulsive need to take care of them any way possible. The exasperation every time they did something stupid that you just want to hit them for. Anything sounding familiar here?"
"And where did you see this?" I wondered as if I didn't already have an idea.
"The mirror in my bathroom in my old apartment," she smiled with a heart full of nostalgia, "I've loved him for quite a long time, no matter how much of a moron he could be. Ever since that young man walked through the door of my father's house asking if he'd take him on as a student, I knew there was something about him. Some sort of a connection between he and I. Like fate had dropped him here for a reason. I never thought that a thunderstorm would've been the thing to make me realize it the most. That is until the Promised Day. But that's a story for another day."
"Uncle Roy was going to make arranged marriages a thing just so he could make Maes and me get married?" I squeaked, "Thanks, Uncle Roy. I really appreciate it."
"I'm glad we didn't have to..."
All of a sudden, Uncle Roy's words had popped into my head.
She's your hawk.
And now it all made sense. When he told me that was the highest compliment he could ever give me, he wasn't joking. I knew exactly what he meant now. If I had to be compared to someone, I'm flattered it was Aunt Riza. I was kind of mad at myself for being such an idiot and taking this long to figure that out, but that made this all the better.
"Go get Maes," Aunt Riza nudged me along, "God only knows the kind of hell his father's giving him right now."
"Ok," I ran out of the kitchen, a little dizzy from the wine, and searched the labyrinth that is the Fuhrer's mansion for Maes and Uncle Roy. I had a feeling I knew where those two were. I took off behind the stairs and down the hall to the office. Cautiously, I opened the door, not sure what I was going to find on the other side, "Maes? Uncle Roy?"
"Hi, Tricia," Uncle Roy ushered me in, "What can I do for you?"
"Dinner's ready," I told.
"Ok," he grinned at me.
"What…?" I found it rather unsettling.
"Oh, nothing," Uncle Roy spun me around and started toward the dining room.
"Maes…" I grabbed his hand, "What just happened?"
"Nothing," he kept walking, "Everything's good. What about you?"
"Got a little buzzed with your mom," I said, keeping our little secret.
"Mom did always like her wine," he took my hand, making me a little more stable, and we headed for the dining room. And the drop of a pin would equivocate to multiple gunshots.
"So, Tricia," Uncle Roy broke the silence, "How was the trip to Dublith?"
"Easier than I thought it would be," I smirked, feeling comfortable in the fact that his plan of Izumi killing us for Ishval backfiring, "We did another trip to the island I did my alchemy training on. Hell, Maes proposed."
"What?!" Aunt Riza choked.
"It was a joke," Maes settled her, "It was too quiet one night and I wanted to give Tricia a heart attack. We're not getting married. Besides, she turned me down."
"You're such a jerk," I rolled my eyes at him.
"I'm your jerk, Halfmetal."
"Very true," I agreed, "Speaking of you being my jerk, care to tell them?"
"Tell them what?" Uncle Roy asked.
"Thanks, Tricia," Maes shot me a glare.
"That's for the proposal," I very maturely stuck my tongue out at him.
"Maes…" Uncle Roy persisted, "What's going on?"
"Well," he got adorably nervous, "Tricia and I realized something…We've known this for a while now. Probably since we were in Xing…I love this girl more than life itself. And you were right, Dad. She is my hawk. In more ways than one…"
"I knew it," Uncle Roy brushed it off, "I knew you two would've come out of tragedy bigger, better, and stronger together. I'm not really surprised. Lieutenant?"
"Lieutenant?" Aunt Riza gave him a look, "I think you're slipping, sir. I haven't been Lieutenant in a very long time. I think the rank you're looking for is Brigadier General."
"Sue me, Hawkeye," he shot her a wink, "I got nostalgic. So, how'd the old man take the news, Tricia?"
"He lost five hundred cens to my mom," I blushed, "We haven't surprised anyone."
"And Izumi?" Uncle Roy asked, "She probably knows, too, right?"
"Well…"
"I see," he understood, "We'll just keep it our little secret then?"
"Yes, please."
"As long as you two keep it professional at the office," Uncle Roy brushed it off, "It's fine by me. I can give it my blessing. She's better than some of the other girls you've brought home, Maes. I can tell you that much."
"Thanks, Dad," Maes grumbled to himself, turning a light shade of pink himself, "Can we go now?"
"You're an adult," he pointed out, "You can make your own decisions."
Maes and I got up from the table and brought our plates into the kitchen. I caught him out of the corner of my eye by the liquor cabinet and one lone finger went up to his lips while he grabbed a bottle of, what appeared to be, whiskey. Because my wine buzz wasn't good enough. Then, the two of us headed up to our now regular spot on the roof. I rested my head on Maes' ribs and his arm naturally draped around me.
"Hey, Halfmetal," he chimed, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," I cuddled closer, "What is it?"
"When I was sitting on the steps in front of Headquarters," he asked, "Did you ever think this would've happened?"
"What?" I looked up at him, "You and me laying on the roof of the Fuhrer's mansion in a sort of committed and happy relationship with a bottle of whiskey between us?"
"Yeah."
"Honestly," I took a drink, "No. I had one love in my life and that was my certification. The Central library. That was the goal. No time for anything else. You were an unexpected surprise that fell into my lap."
"And you had no idea who I was," he assumed.
"Not a clue," I shook my head, "You were just another person to me."
"Thanks, Tricia," Maes chuckled, "You know how to make me feel good."
"Hold on," I stopped him before he could spiral anymore, "I may not have seen this happening, but I'm so glad it did."
A/N: And there we have it. The end of Halfmetal Heart. I'd say it was a nice, warm note to end on. And I love seeing Maes and Tricia on the roof. That's when their deep conversations happen. When I'm posting this, I'm almost to ten thousand views on it, so that's something. I crossed 100,000 collective views on Monday. And just because this one has ended, doesn't necessarily mean it's done for good. There is going to be a sequel and you all have Sterling to thank for that…*glares* Because I wasn't going to write a sequel until that little jerk had to say something. Next week, this is going to get an epilogue, so hang tight. And since you guys stuck it out this far, well…How about a little treat? The extras section of the manga, if you will. Only I don't think I could portray myself as a little cow. That'd just seem wrong. That's Arakawa's thing. I couldn't take it away from her. So, a little setup. We all know how Tricia and Hawkeye's conversation went, but what about when Maes and Mustang were left alone?
"Hi, Dad," Maes opened the door to the office, "You wanted to see me?"
"Sit down, Maes," his father insisted, "We need to talk."
This was it, Maes thought. This was the time when his dad was going to tear him a new one. Why else would he have separated him from Tricia? Last time was for an interrogation. What should make this time any different?
"What do we need to talk about?" Maes started sweating.
"You put the moves on Tricia yet?"
"Yeah…"
"When?"
"About," Maes checked his watch, "An hour ago."
"And where did this happen?"
"The restricted section of the library."
Roy stood up and sat next to his son, "How far did she let you go?"
"She used me as a crutch on the way out."
He gave Maes a pat on the back, "That's my boy."
"Maes?" a soft, sweet voice chimed from the other side of the door, "Uncle Roy?"
"Hi, Tricia," Mustang looked her over, noticing the slight dishevelment Tricia still had about her, along with the radiating glow in her face, "What can I do for you?"
"Dinner's ready."
"Ok," he had a slight grin on his face. He had seen this girl grow up to be such a powerful young woman. It was almost hard for him to believe that someone like her had fallen for someone like Maes. But he couldn't have been prouder of either one of them if he wanted to.