AN: Another fic meme from Tumblr, ""You know what they say about leaving things unfinished."

RoyAi Collection

Chapter 38

Things Left Unfinished

Roy finished piling the last of his clothes into a box along with the few necessities he couldn't move out until after graduation. He left it all until after the ceremony was over, wanting to have one last glimpse of what had been a memorable few years before going to Christmas's Bar for the party. It wasn't sentimentality, he wasn't going to miss the stiff mattress or drafty rooms of the military academy, it was a need to finalize a chapter in his life and reassure himself that he was on the right path. Come Monday he would accept his new orders and prepare to leave for real military life, but right now he was struggling with how much he still needed to do.

The transition from cadet to Lieutenant and life outside these walls wouldn't be as difficult as some of his comrades thought. Some were foolish enough to believe it would be easy, others scared of what assignments would be delivered and he was simply focused on the next step. Wherever he found himself stationed, he still had work to do and that would occupy his thoughts more than anything. Graduation was certainly something he was proud of, but he had always had his sites on State Alchemist certification and until that was achieved he could not feel accomplished.

"Yo! Roy!" Hughes strode into his old room and watched his best friend jump at the intrusion. He walked over and scooped up the box and leaned over to give him a smile. "I know you're going to miss me, but I promise I'll send you a picture to keep under your pillow."

Roy glanced over at the smile and had to sigh. Hughes always knew when he was in need of being dragged out of his deep thoughts. Now wasn't the time to dwell on his failings, it was a time to celebrate his achievement. Still, he had to explain himself. "I couldn't help but think about how far I am from my goal. I thought I'd be able ready to apply for certification by the time I graduated. I…"

"God Roy! You just got commissioned a Lieutenant like an hour ago and you're already thinking about being a Major?" Maes shoved him with his elbow. "You know what they say about leaving things unfinished, don't you?"

Roy frowned. There was no telling where this was going.

"Lots of things left unfinished back at Master Hawkeye's place, you know what I mean?" Hughes said and grinned. "That's what's bothering you. You have plenty of time to work on getting certified, but your training isn't complete yet…right?"

"Well…" Roy followed Hughes out of the room, turning to look at it one last time before shutting off the light. He wouldn't miss it, but he's miss Maes. He knew they'd lose touch, it was just how things went. "He never did teach me flame alchemy."

"Well you should finish up your training." Maes said and gingerly strode down the hall. "Fix that feeling of emptiness you have. Get you a nice shiny pocket watch and you know what else?"

"What?" Roy asked.

"A wife." Hughes said and reached into his pocket to pull out a train ticket. "Here's your graduation present buddy. One way trip out to the middle of nowhere so you can tie up lose ends."

Roy blinked as the ticket emerged over Hughes's shoulder. He was rolling his eyes, pissed he allowed himself to be set up for that 'wife' comment, but then he saw this ticket between Hughes's fingers.

"You know you have to go back. You have to know why you weren't good enough to be the next Flame Alchemist and whether or not you're good enough now." Maes then added. "For her too."

Roy almost slammed into him when he stopped and turned to look at him. He was right. He couldn't move on until he had answers. He could, but it would haunt him. He took the ticket and smiled at Hughes. God he was going to miss him.

"Remember, I'm your best man." Maes winked.

This was not how things were supposed to go. He had the entire train ride to think things through and he was confident he could stand up to Master Hawkeye and demand answers. What he got instead was a bill for the man's funeral.

"I'm sorry." Riza said and looked at the grave where her father now lay.

"Don't apologize. I'm glad I could help." Roy said and looked over at her and remembered Hawkeye's last words. Take care of my daughter. What the hell did that mean? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring on this stress…"

"He's been dying for years. I think he only lasted this long waiting for you to come back." Riza said and folded her hands.

"Oh." Roy said. He should have come sooner? No, he made sure he waited until he graduated to show his dedication and ability to follow through on his decisions. He also didn't want to be swayed by Hawkeye's words and turn his back on the military to chase the dream of alchemy.

"You came here to finish your apprenticeship, didn't you?" Riza asked. "To have him finally teach you flame alchemy?"

"I had hoped he would." Roy said softly. He looked over at her and she quickly looked away with a blush. "I wanted to see you again too."

She turned back to look at him and he was blushing now. "You knew he'd be upset when you joined the military, but you did it anyway. That impressed him."

He looked back at her and she smiled.

"Me too. I'm proud of you." She said and looked back to her father's grave. The man had laid the burden of his life's work on her shoulders and she knew Roy was the one. He had always been the one. "My father's research, what would you have done with it?"

"Protect people." He said. "It's why I joined the military. With his research, with a state certification I could help more people. I'll do the best I can with what I have though."

"I'm glad you didn't change." Riza said and took a deep breath. "If I give you my father's research, you'll use it for this dream of yours? To protect people? I want to believe people can be happy."

Roy looked over at her and nodded. He was about ready to tell her he wanted to make sure she was happy. That her days of living in the shadows of the Flame Alchemist and his life's work were over, but she was already walking away.

"Will you come back to the house with me, Mr. Mustang?" Riza asked and turned to look at him. "I'll give you my father's legacy."

He was shocked into silence. She had his notes? He jogged over to catch up with her and looked over her face. A look of calm and peace was there and he was surprised by that. He shouldn't have been, he knew she was scared of her father and life with him was less than ideal. He wasn't sure if she was relieved to be free of him or that he was finally at peace. Either way, he was glad to see her looking lighter, unburdened. She waited for an answer and he finally snapped out of his stare. "Yes."

"Thank you." She said and walked back to the road. Finally her father's work would be finished and she could move on with her life.