So, I'm back with a new long chapter!

And just as a bit of an explainer, I am operating with the way that canon Amestris doesn't have Christianity, and so I like to think that they're not following the Christian calendar, meaning that though they're far from as militaristic as canon because their democracy is actually a thing, they still have the border skirmishes so that they get outside impulses from time to time, but not enough to be as advanced as most of Europe in all fields.

And so please leave a review, but also please no flames ;)

Chapter forty

Riza froze as she woke up to the sight of the back of the stranger in her bed. Especially as she was only wearing her knickers.

Then she caught sight of the ring on her finger and felt her stomach clench at the memories that were suddenly flooding her mind. She was actually getting married again. She was getting married to a man that she hardly knew. He had been her boyfriend for less than a week before he had proposed to her. They hadn't even known each other for four weeks.

And yet she was moving in with him. She was moving in with him, with her foster kids that they were adopting together.

...And they hadn't even been on a date yet.

The situation was ridiculous.

Riza began giggling. She began giggling in that weird way that came with being in love and overwhelmed by the burst of emotions that were flooding her body. Which was why she fell for the temptation to carefully climb over him and instead lift Roy's right arm to accommodate her presence, leaving her with her face about twenty centimetres away from his. She rested her left hand against his pecs, seeing the ring glinting slightly in the beginning datlight outside. The injuries that he had suffered seventeen years ago were horrifying to think about. The sight of his so severely scarred skin made her both sad and grateful. Because he was still such a handsome man. She may only have been in East City for a few weeks, but wherever she had gone when she had been in Roy's presence, she had noticed him having drawn longing looks from a fair few women. However, Roy had a sharp eye and had never been oblivious to those looks, and for the past week, he had had a tendency to have taken Riza's hand in his own in a slightly possessive manner whenever that had happened.

It was odd how his imperfections made him seem so perfect. The scars made it clear just how much of a sweet man that Roy Mustang truly was. How, beneath all that professional exterior, there was still a vulnerable person inside. One that had decided to use what had happened to him as inspiration for trying to prevent more things like that from happening to someone else. He was an incredibly sweet altruist. And yet he could keep his head level and just switch from one type of mindset to another.

And he harboured such curiosity. He wanted to keep learning things, rather than just base everything on experience. That was how he had helped that cow the previous day. And he would keep reading up on what sort of people there was. If someone had a form of social developmental disability, he would look into it rather than just listen to what other people had to say, just because he did not believe in the way that professionals would look down upon those that were different. He wanted to meet everyone without prejudice. If he found that he didn't like someone, then he didn't like them. But if he were to speak with a suspect or conduct an interview or an interrogation, he would only keep what others had to say about them in the back of his mind. Because he wanted to see it for himself, rather than have his mind made up for him. There was no doubt in Riza's own mind that his grandparents had been the ones to teach him that, as well as it being based on his own experiences with dealing with the aftermath of the explosion. And so he would often spend hours in between cases to read up on things. To learn more about the things that he had encountered during his cases. Apparently, the librarians at the Central East Library all knew who he was, and some of the oldest librarians would actually chuckle each time he came by. No, Roy was a nerd who didn't take anything for granted. 'Curiosity is one of the most important qualities in a detective. If you don't have it, then you should find yourself a new line of work,' seemed to be a motto of his. And Riza thought that it wasn't a bad one. Investigators were supposed to be curious or they wouldn't get anywhere. And so she knew that he would be a fantastic work partner that she would be learning a lot from.

Which made it so odd to think of where things had started just a few weeks ago. She had come to East City to get a fresh start. A fresh start and an escape from the city that had carried far too many memories of Will's betrayal. Because she had driven all over that city, often having been thinking about her husband. The day that she had moved out, she had begun to realise that fact. And it had resulted in her now thinking back to Central as suffocating. Viewing it as such. So many of those places that she had loved, had become corrupted by the feeling that he had stepped on her trust. And she knew that she was running away from her past. That she was in many ways letting Will destroy so many things that she had held dear.

But she also knew that if she hadn't done so, then she wouldn't have had the guts to now actually get back on her feet and move on. Ed had been right about her fear of risking to dress in a way that could be considered attractive. She had been scared of getting emotionally attached. Of doing anything that could leave her with someone she had trusted leaving her heartbroken once more.

There was so much irony involved in the fact that the first time she had worn her new dress, had also resulted in her having got engaged five days later. But they were learning from each other, the boys and her. Ed would get angry and frustrated by her insecurity caused by Will, most likely because he wanted to keep her going so that he and Al could feel like they could do the same despite what had happened with their stepfather. And Al was sweet about it all. Scared, quiet and in need of a hug as he followed his brother.

Ed's approach was more of an 'if we're gonna do this, then you'd damn well do the same, lady.'

And so now the four of them were clinging to each other. Because they were bonding through their understanding of what had happened to them all.

She looked at her sleeping fiancé with a smile. His mouth was slightly open, his features peaceful. And the arm that she had placed on top of her upper arm felt just as warm as he did.

There was so much safety in just about everything that he did. The calmness and the warmth. The way that he showed her so much respect. He was so different from Will. Will had always appealed to her playfulness. He had been spontaneous and funny. Actually, he would have made a fantastic stand-up comedian. Because no matter how much he had broken her heart, she couldn't just ignore the fact that she had loved him, and the reasons behind it. But there was so much difference between the two men. Will had always been keeping her on her toes in a way that had delighted her. Because he may have been fond of surprising her continuously, but he had always been kind to her. He had never mocked her. And he had been so ridiculously romantic.

And then there was Roy. The first thing that would always spring to mind would be that he was warm. He was always so warm. And on the night of Riza's heartbroken desperation, she was fairly certain that the Will approach would have been to give her a similar comfort to the one after Roy's nightmare. And she would have enjoyed it. She would in fact have basked in it.

But instead Roy had just kissed her forehead and had held her for the rest of the night. He had told her 'no.'

And so Will was like a funfair while Roy was like having good dreams in a soft bed. And just like dreams, he could be funny and exciting. He could be quirky and odd. But he was never a nightmare. And she sort of enjoyed how there wasn't much of a height difference as Roy wasn't a particularly tall man. Will had had a good five inches on Roy. But Roy's height meant that she was able to easily hug him cheek to cheek.

...Riza probably ought to tell Rebecca that she was engaged once they got back to East City.

Roy suddenly moved his hand around her back and pulled her to him, mumbling sleepily. "My Riza," he stated with a sleepy sternness.

She paused, not exactly having expected that one. "Roy?"

"You know that it's very easy to wake someone up by climbing over them and pressing your hand to their chest, right?" he mumbled, before opening his eyes slightly, looking at her with a small smile. "So the least you could do is to be my soft toy... Because you're really, really soft and warm and very nice to snuggle up to at night." He hugged her tightly to emphasise his point.

They both began laughing, though not loudly.

"If you were awake, why didn't you say so?" Riza asked him, smiling slightly, though still confused.

At that he sighed heavily, looking at her with a fond sadness. "Because the fact that you just lay there with your hand to my chest, suggested that you were deep in thought and I didn't want to interrupt you. After all, what's happening to our lives is something that requires a lot of deep thinking."

Riza couldn't help but smile slightly at him and give him a light kiss. "You are a very wise man, Roy Mustang."

Ed just stared at the stranger. "You're that lady from the cemetery!"

The woman paused, her eyebrows shooting up as she spotted Ed past Hughes's elbow. However, there was some softness in her eyes too at seeing him. It was obvious that she was wondering how things had gone after what she had told him. "Oh, I didn't expect to see you here," she said in surprise, before taking in the sight of Hughes's tray loaded for two people. "So you know Maes?"

Ed gave her a look that she hopefully understood to mean that he didn't want her to talk about what they had discussed at the cemetery in front of the others. "Yeah, uh, he's a colleague of a-" he began, not really knowing where to start because he didn't know if she even knew Roy.

Thankfully, Hughes stepped in, obviously deciding to just make things easier by interrupting them. "Ed, this is Izumi Curtis, she's got a PhD in chemistry and mathematics and works as a professor at East City University. And she used to come by and do some unofficial homeschooling for Roy during those first six months after the explosion to keep him from climbing the walls with two broken arms. She would drop by from time to time to catch up and she was always ready to babysit. I met her in the hospital and joined in on parts of the homeschooling myself." Ed had to admit that Hughes was being a genius with his explanation. Because it made it clear that they knew about the explosion so that this Izumi Curtis didn't have to hold back per Roy's wishes about keeping his scars to himself.

And then Hughes broke out into a predictably large grin as he explained who Ed was. "And this is Edward Elric, brother of Alphonse Elric, and in two months' time, they'll be Roy's adoptive kids as he's adopting them together with their foster mother, who is Roy's work partner and fiancée."

The woman just stared at them, eyes wide, before focusing back on Hughes. "He's engaged? Since when? And when did he meet his fiancée? As far as I could tell, he was single when I last met him just four weeks ago?"

"He met Riza little over three weeks ago," Hughes said with a bright grin. "Nine days ago Roy realised he was crushing on her, and two days after that, they kissed, and became sweethearts the next morning. They've been engaged for about forty-eight hours now."

The stranger's eyes widened even further. "...I don't really know what to say... I didn't think that Roy was really the type to do something like this..." Her voice was slightly weak.

"Well, how about you and Sig join us and we can tell you more about it? Nanna Mustang's here too."

She smiled at that and nodded. "We'd love to. Georgina must be extremely excited."

"You've got no idea," Hughes said, grinning even wider. "Now how about Sig and I fix the food while Ed shows you the way to our table?" The guy was once again proving just how good he was at reading people, and soon enough, Ed was walking away from the buffet together with the stranger.

"Didn't really expect to meet you again," Ed told her quietly as she carried a glass of orange juice for the pair of them. "Please don't tell the others about what I said, Mrs Curtis."

She offered him a soft smile. "If that's what you want, then that's how it is going to be. And please call me Izumi."

"Right... And thanks, you know... For the advice. It's made things a lot better."

"I'm glad I could be of help."

"They're adopting us 'cos they... Got together during the time while the chances are the highest, so they wanted to show that we're just as good a reason to get married as a biological child of their own... 'Cos Roy's got involved a lot and it's obvious that he's not letting go and he wants to have some legal responsibility should things don't work out between them... Riza's still separated after her husband was a bastard that cheated on her, so it's gonna be about another ten months before they can actually do something about it... They're saying that they've already got a pair of kids together and we're moving in with him in a few days."

"I see... Well, congratulations, you're obviously good kids."

Ed felt his stomach clench. "He's been really nice and a bit possessive... He... He cares about us a lot, I think, and that was before he started liking Riza..." He looked up at her slightly, seeing a sad and soft smile on Izumi's lips. "Did... Did you hear about Barry Anderson?"

Izumi paused and her eyes widened. "No wonder Roy cares so much about you... That is one of the very few cases where he has had trouble with staying unbiased... I'm so sorry about what happened."

Ed bit his lip, fear sinking into him. "Do you think he'll leave us?"

"No." Her answer came so quickly without any doubt to it, and he felt a wave of relief. "Never."

"Thank you."

...March 25, 1893...

"Please, Uncle Jim, have mercy on me!" Izumi tried once more where they sat at the train station café, facing the platform. She only had thirty minutes left until her train would leave and take her back to West City and thereby return her to her life of gloom.

The man before her gave her an apologetic, but fond sigh, his eyes glinting with life and humour. She liked Uncle Jim. He was dead smart, and she would take Mum's older brother over both her parents anytime. Plus, contrary to Mum, Uncle Jim didn't spend a small fortune on fighting against the natural dreadlocks that they had on the Walsh side of her family. But no... Dreadlocks were evil additions to the beauty of Morwenna Auten.

And so Izumi had had an epiphany the first time she had come visiting her uncle for the entirety of her summer holiday, which had let her dreadlocks resume their original glory. Which Izumi had made very clear would not be straightened out again.

And Uncle Jim was just sitting there in his black shirt and white trousers and waistcoat. "Sorry, but it doesn't really work that way."

Izumi groaned and crossed her arms on the table before resting her chin on top of them. Her empty glass of chocolate milk was standing in front of her, and she pouted, her stomach clenching slightly. "I hate it... Mum and Dad are designing away and none of them seem to even be capable of understanding that me wanting to be a chemist is something other than a weird joke. The new school's a waste of time because it's separated into two different buildings, one for girls and one for boys, and we don't get to learn anything beyond multiplication and division and we don't even seem to be taught the existence of equations even when we'll be reaching year ten in two years! And that's not an exaggeration either! I found the book in the school library, and there wasn't anything!"

Uncle Jim sighed heavily, his eyes betraying just a fraction of his horror at the news. "All right, I'll admit that that sounds like a horrible school... But as long as your parents want you to go there, then I still don't have a say in it, kiddo."

"I hate it. Pendleton was bad enough, but now that Mum and Dad have had her breakthrough and have their own collection, then they're just too important to stay in anything but one of the largest cities in Amestris," Izumi told him sulkily. She hadn't said anything about it before now, even if she had been staying here with her uncle for a fortnight because her parents had been busy at a conference in South City. They were partners and Dad was designing clothes for men while Mum for women and they were getting increasingly popular. Her reason had basically been that she hadn't wanted to make her uncle sad, but now that she had been staying here and her life had been reintroduced to joy, she really didn't want to leave. Uncle Jim was a biologist professor at one of the local universities and he was great. Plus, he had begun teaching her how to spar. "You know how you say that 'to train the mind, one must first train the body?' Well, back in West City, we don't get to do either an-"

Everything shook as a large explosion went off down the train tracks some two hundred metres in front of them and her eyes locked on a thirty-something blonde man with a fedora. A very dodgy one who seemed far too calm about the bomb that he wasn't even looking around to see. He was wearing a light blue shirt that matched his hat, and had black trousers and coat, as well as a black leather satchel over his right shoulder.

...And seemed very much like he needed to leave quickly.

Izumi didn't even think as she ran off after the man, Uncle Jim reacting just a bit too late to grab her arm to hold her back because she was still a lot faster than him. There were three types of people surrounding her: those that had frozen, those that were fleeing and those that were running to help.

...Plus Izumi, who was running through the masses of the first and second type, trying to catch the bastard. And so she used her speed, slimness and height to her fullest as she followed fedora-man up the stairs and all the way out the main entrance to the train station, where the throng of people finally dispersed a bit.

Which, luckily, gave her enough room for her to finally sprint up behind fedora-man as they ran up the nearest street. Around them appeared to be the most panicked ones that were probably scared of there being more explosions.

Then Izumi jumped at fedora-man's back as soon as possible and they both fell forwards, causing the man's face to hit the cobblestone beneath them. "IT WAS YOU, WASN'T IT?!" she bellowed, right before the man flipped over, obviously stronger than she had given him credit for, and he threw her to the right, making her land on her side as he began getting to his feet.

"I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!" Izumi yelled at him as she pounced and dragged him back down to the ground.

...Then the guy whipped around, and he was proving his guilt very thoroughly by almost shooting her just as she punched him hard in the groin.

Which meant that he had only got to fire that one bullet before he was wheezing with his own gun pointed at him. Izumi just got to her feet and kept the gun trained at the guy, beginning to wonder just how badly she had managed to hurt his privates, judging by the tears of pain. "WERE YOU THE ONE WHO CAUSED IT?! ANSWER ME!" she demanded, glaring at him in a way that promised him a slow death if he lied to her.

The man whimpered and nodded weakly. "Y-yes, Ma'am!"

And so she was facing an entirely different problem.

...The sirens of the emergency services and the likes had probably deafened the sound of the bullet being fired, and the people that they had been surrounded by had all been of the most terrified type.

...Meaning that she was all alone with a criminal to deliver to the police, and restraining him would mean that she could potentially risk him making a successful escape attempt. Then she found the perfect solution and hissed at him in a way that made him whimper with fright. "Tie your shoelaces together and get to your feet!"

The man nodded vigorously, and it was clear that he found that facing the wrath of the police to be less terrifying than facing the wrath of Izumi Auten.

And so, two minutes later, she was walking two metres behind the man as he shuffled forwards with very small steps.

...Very.

But then they finally came around the corner to the street where firemen and paramedics and policemen were frantically working to save those that had been injured and to keep the crowds calm.

"HEY! I CAUGHT THE CULPRIT! COULD SOMEONE TAKE HIM OFF MY HANDS?!" she shouted loudly, causing a nearby policeman to her right to freeze as he looked at her and her captive.

"SHE'S RIGHT! I DID IT! NOW PLEASE GET HER AWAY FROM ME!" fedora-man yelled desperately, tears in his eyes. "THERE AREN'T ANY OTHER BOMBS AND I'LL GIVE YOU ALL THE FACTS OF EVERY OTHER CRIMES I'VE COMMITTED TOO AS LONG AS YOU TAKE ME AWAY FROM HER!"

Two policemen and a policewoman picked up their guns and Izumi felt just a bit uncertain at that point, because she probably looked a bit suspicious with a gun in her hands like this... Especially paired with the words that the man had just uttered.

And so she just took the gun and placed it on the ground. Then she straightened up as she looked at the nearest cop, a chubby guy in his forties with a big moustache. "I saw him from the café..."

Then she froze as she spotted the large tear over the left shoulder of her black sweater. And the fabric appeared to be pretty sticky.

Ten minutes later she was sitting on a bench outside the train station with a local nurse carefully stitching the deep graze on top of her shoulder, now that the local anaesthetics were in place and working. There were only so many ambulances and she wouldn't die from waiting a bit, unlike many others. And so a nurse that lived a few streets down had asked if they had needed some assistance with minor cuts, having brought her own first aid kit and everything.

Izumi had obviously fitted that category, and so here she was, in her very nondescript sports bra, dried blood going all the way down her left side, but her stomach covered up by Uncle Jim's waistcoat. And she had a large lollipop in her mouth that Uncle Jim had actually been hiding in his inner pocket to have given her right before she had bordered the train.

...Though she hadn't done so and she had tears in her eyes at all the people that were being brought out on stretchers. They were surrounded by crying people and young children screaming for their parents because they didn't understand why they weren't answering and were going into the cars without taking them with them. People who didn't know each other were brought into the same ambulances just so as to bring as many injured people to the hospital as quickly as possible.

Then came a very urgent group of four paramedics with worried looks, and they were the most so that she had seen up till now. She spotted a small body with black hair being carried on the wheeled stretcher between them. What little there were that was visible between them were blood and an oxygen mask. "I don't understand how he's even still alive..." one of them said as they passed her, sounding shaken to the core. As soon as they had walked outside, a man in his sixties stood up and looked at the small child with tears streaming down his cheeks. He seemed to have lost at least parts of his family. And it didn't bode well that the small child was getting an ambulance all by himself.

Izumi looked up at Uncle Jim, her stomach clenching. "You said you had two lollipops for me, right? Could you give the other one to him?"

Her uncle smiled down at her and squeezed her uninjured shoulder, his eyes filled with both pain and pride as he walked over to the stranger. She couldn't hear what he said, but he held out the other lollipop and pointed towards Izumi.

The stranger looked at Izumi with trembling lips and tears in his eyes, and Uncle Jim led the old man over to their bench as he removed the plastic film covering the large sweet for the man because of the sling that his left arm was resting in. "Thank you, dear," the man told her, barely keeping the sobs at bay. "I'm Wilford Mustang... A-and I don't think I've ever needed a lollipop more than I do r-right now."

Izumi gave him a small nod, her stomach clenching even harder than before at the look in his eyes. "Then I'm glad that I had an extra one," she told him with a small smile. "And I'm Izumi Auten, but please call me Izumi."

"Then you just call me Wilford, young lady..." He looked her straight in the eye as if searching for something, before letting out a shaky sigh of relief. "You don't have any other family members who are injured, have you?" he asked her, his voice slightly choked.

Izumi just shook her head. "No..." She looked at him, noticing just how shiny his eyes were because of his tears. Shiny and terrified. "I'm so sorry about what happened to you... If you need to talk-"

A sob escaped Wilford as he looked down and began speaking in a tormented whisper. "How can I tell him? I-if he even survives this? ...He... I c-couldn't help him... He was trapped... I-it's a miracle he's even a-alive. It wasn't s-supposed to be like th-this... It's his b-birthday."

Izumi felt like she had been punched in the gut by his words, and she looked up at Uncle Jim, and they silently agreed on their next course of action.

...Two weeks later...

Izumi felt very odd as she walked inside the hospital room alone to meet the young boy whose condition she had been asking about almost as much as his grandparents. It was odd how much of an interest she had taken in the young stranger. But after she had met Wilford the first time, she had felt like this was where she was supposed to be. This was her purpose in life at the moment. Because having learnt of all that Roy Mustang had lost, and on his eighth birthday, no less, had moved her in a way that nothing else had done. She had known that the world was scary and dark. She had heard about how people murdered and hurt each other all the time.

But she had never experienced it for herself before two weeks ago. It had always been something that had happened to other people. And it had never truly felt real when she had heard about it.

...And then she had found herself looking straight at an explosion that had killed and injured so many people. And she had done the one thing that she had been able to do better than anyone else. Because she had identified the one who had set the bomb off.

And yet, it hadn't erased anything. It hadn't changed what had happened. The ones that had been injured or had died hadn't been cured by it.

She had just stopped the man from doing something like that again, and had made it so that he would have been forced to face up to the pain that he had brought people.

But she had been able to have done something to have eased the pain for one of those that had lost the most that day. She had given Wilford a lollipop and had kept him company.

And the thought of how she had moments before it had happened, been complaining about bad schools and annoying parents, she just felt that this was right. That this was what she was supposed to do.

It had nothing to do with survivor's guilt or charity. But it just felt right and that was really just all that mattered. Because Roy Mustang had lost his parents at the same time as Izumi had been begging to get away from her own. And so it made sense that she should help Roy Mustang when he was in pain over the thing that Izumi had given up on. Roy had lost something that Izumi had lacked in her life, even if her parents were still alive.

And he was a nerdy, small boy and sounded like a great kid.

Still, he hadn't expected for Wilford and Georgina to exit the room and tell her to walk inside on her own because Georgina was going to have another examination of her ears.

But Izumi did as she had silently been asked, because the two oldest Mustangs obviously knew their grandson better than she did.

...But this was also the first time she would be talking to the kid.

And said kid was looking up at her from his hospital bed, looking terrible, covered in bandages and with the IV line hooked up to his left foot rather than one of his severely broken arms, The boy had been through multiple surgeries, and he looked heartbroken.

Just completely heartbroken.

"Who... Who are you? Are you lost, Miss?" the young boy asked, sounding like he was on the verge of tears just at the way that his only remaining family had left the room. And he was obviously still in severe amounts of pain.

Izumi shook her head. "No, your grandparents wanted me to meet you, because I've been worried about you for two weeks now and have been partially annoying the nurses for the duration of that time... So now I'm sort of wearing a mandatory sling, courtesy of Georgina, because she doesn't trust me not to rip my stitches again."

"Did you get caught in the explosion too?" Roy asked weakly, tears already building in his eyes.

Izumi shook her head. "No, but I was sitting in the café at the time that it happened and I spotted a man who looked very dodgy... So I chased after him and attacked him, and he managed to shoot me in the process so that I grazed my shoulder pretty deeply. But then I brought him back to the police and met your grandfather and gave him a lollipop, before my uncle drove us to the hospital so that we could keep Wilford company."

The boy paused, before tears began streaming down his cheeks in full. "Th-thank you, Miss."

Izumi just shook her head and sighed heavily, before she strode over to the sink and grabbed a facecloth from a shelf on the wall, and then began dabbing at his cheeks. "You don't need to thank me, Roy, really." She then placed the facecloth on his nightstand. "I'm Izumi Auten, by the way, but please just call me Izumi. Do you mind if I sit down?"

"I-it's nice to meet you, Izumi... And I don't mind the company."

Izumi gave him a kind smile as she sat down on the visitor chair next to his right leg. The boy really was young, scared, and very endearing already. "Thank you, Roy, it's very nice to meet you too... And, if you want to, then I've volunteered and have been given permission from both your grandparents and my uncle to do a bit of unofficial homeschooling with you while you get better, because I'm a bit of a nerdy kid myself who doesn't like sitting still without having anything to learn."

Roy looked at her at that, eyes shiny with tears, taking her in. "You really don't have to if you don't want to," he said shyly.

Izumi placed her tote bag on her lap and reached out and improvised at the lack of available hands, and instead gave Roy's right ankle a gentle squeeze. "There is nothing I would like more, Roy, otherwise I wouldn't have begged for being allowed to move in with my uncle and do something that I have very recently realised that I want to do."

"And what is that?" Roy asked quietly, obviously fighting valiantly against sobbing.

Izumi gave him another gentle smile as she leant down and pulled out a book on insects from inside the tote bag, before holding it up for him to see. "I want to teach."

...Resembool, present time...

"Why would you kill your wife?" Roy asked, looking at the deranged man in front of him.

"Because I love her."

"Roy, are you all right?" Riza suddenly asked from where she was resting her hand on Roy's left shoulder. And he felt a hand on his cheek.

His right cheek.

And he could feel the pressure of the thin band of gold against his skin.

His stomach clenched as a wave of fear hit him.

"Roy?" Her voice was filled with worry.

He took her hand in his and gently stroked his right thumb over the small diamond that was on her finger. He felt it bob slightly back and forth underneath his thumb, making the lump in his stomach grow slightly. "What the hell am I actually thinking?" he asked and brought her hand up to his lips so that he could place a kiss on top of the little, blue stone. "I'm actually sharing a bed with my fiancée, and I couldn't even do it properly when I proposed. All I did was tell you that it had been Mum's, and then Nan was the one who added the charm needed for things to stop being awkward for long enough to be a favourably memorable moment for you to feel still appreciated."

Riza sat up slightly at that by supporting herself on her right elbow. "Trust me, Roy, you were adorable and charming, and Nan only added to that charm whilst contributing with a wonderful comic element to the situation," she told him cheerfully.

"You know, adorable shouldn't really be the main takeaway from my marriage proposal," Roy told her with an exasperated sigh.

Riza gave him a fond and grateful smile. "You know, Roy, that that was actually the thing that made me snatch that ring out of your hand. Because you're the cool-headed, smooth-talking genius who is the youngest ever DCI in Amestrian history, and who calmly speaks to killers and criminals... And yet you're letting me see you in a way that barely anyone else has. Because you actually trust me enough to not be on constant alert and try to think ahead of everything that you're going to say. You're letting yourself be insecure and improvise because you trust me enough to do so," she told him gently, though her voice was turning just a bit shaky as her eyes began shining slightly with tears. "And the fact that you would so abruptly choose to drive off to Nan's to retrieve your mother's engagement ring and let her join you in the car... rather than to keep it as solemn that most people would, means far more to me than you could ever imagine."

Roy just reached up and wiped away her tears with his thumbs, not really knowing what to say, especially as Riza wasn't done, and obviously needed to finish saying what she felt like she needed to do.

And so Riza took a few shaky breaths, still smiling weakly at him. "The fact that you would give me your mother's ring, rather than waiting until you could buy one... And without second thought, choose to a-adopt a pair of children with me so that you could have r-responsibilities if things don't work out..." She choked slightly on her tears as her voice rose a pitch. "...Just so that you c-could make sure that you won't l-leave any of us b-behind... Because you're not choosing c-convenience over t-trust... A-and it all adds up to the fact that I feel safe around you... a-after having mostly been on my own for most of my life."

Roy felt his stomach clench violently at her words and at the truth behind her conclusion, and so he simply pulled her tightly to his chest and listened to the muffled sobs escaping his fiancée. Roy then placed his left hand on the back of her head as he began gently stroking her back, before he just sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "Riza, it's very simple. It's just what I felt like doing, just like you do with Ed and Al. I care about them and I care about you and I want you in my life, regardless of whether you and me have rushed into this too quickly and find out after a while that it won't work out. And if that happens, then I still want to be Ed and Al's adoptive father. If we acted too rashly, then I won't be demanding that you be sent away. Because I would still want you as a friend. I would still like to have you living in my house, and should you not want that, then I still want to provide you with financial support..."

He sighed heavily once more. Riza's deal with Will had basically consisted of having made as little fuss about anything to just have got independent from each other as quickly as possible. Roy could understand why she had felt like that. She had been happy, had gone home, expecting a smile and a hug because she had come back early, only to have found her husband having used her absence to cheat on her in their bed. And apparently there had been a shouting match for about ten minutes, before Will had told her that he hadn't even known if he had ever loved her. Which meant that Riza had decided to cut all ties as his words had very much made it clear that she could never ever trust him.

And so it had all ended in a very swift manner. Riza had left all that they had paid for together, and had given those few pieces of furniture that she had owned, as well as having completely replaced her wardrobe as she had given her belongings to charity, and had then signed a contract that had left Will with paying the mortgage, also meaning that Riza would have no claims to the house from that point on, all of it having been signed and thereby verified by an attorney. And so Riza wasn't paying for anything that had felt like a lie to her and nothing else after Will had said those things. Riza had had some money on her account after her grandfather had helped her sell her childhood home back when she had been sixteen, although a flat had been the only option as the building had still not been in the best shape upon the time of her father's death. She had, luckily, never shared an account with Will, mostly because of the way that her account had had an emotional significance due to her father's death. She had basically wanted to have entered marriage with just a slight safety net, almost like she had thought of it as her father looking after her.

Which meant that there were now zero financial negotiations between them.

And he could tell that Riza harboured a lot of disgust at the thought of how she had been aiming for a baby since they had become engaged soon after her nineteenth birthday. They had both been rash and hormonal and Will had let her down in more ways than just through cheating on her. Because he was still four years her senior and had taken advantage of her lack of experiences in life. He had let Riza believe that he would be there by her side when she would come home from work and be a break from the harshness of humanity.

...But that had changed swiftly once Riza had been turned into something that had meant less to him than his libido combined with his secretary's.

Then an idea struck Roy, and he kissed the top of Riza's head. "Riza, let's go on a date. I'll us buy some paper cups, a blanket, a large bottle of Resembool's famous, non-alcoholic apple cider, some different types of cheese and a box of salty crackers, and then we can go up on the nearest animal-free hill and watch the sunset. What do you think?"

Riza looked at him with raised eyebrows as she sat back up slightly, her face still red from tears, cheeks still wet.

And still looking beautiful.

Then a small smile spread across her slightly trembling lips, and she nodded. "Yes... I'd love to."

There was that word. That so terrifying word. The word that could either be wonderful or terrible. Because Barry had said that he had killed Trisha first because he had loved her and had wanted to make it special. Then he had advanced on his stepsons for the same reason. The man that had caused the explosion seventeen years ago, had done it because his wife had died due to a gas leak and a cigarette. And so the purpose of the bomb had been to make people die in the same way so that they would up in the same place as his wife to keep her company.

And it made him scared because he was beginning to love Riza, and that could get her killed. Because Roy was someone that had arrested people who had had loved ones, and whom he had thereby alienated.

But he was, very much already, loving the boys. He could be certain of that. With Riza he was just a bit too swamped with hormones to want to say anything rash. Because telling one's girlfriend that one loved them meant something very different in a way.

And so he reached up with a smile of his own and with his stomach warming up on the inside as he cupped her cheeks. "Great, because I'd love to take you out to do just that," he told her, before leaning up and pressing his lips to hers, losing track of time as they deepened the kiss.

And then abruptly regaining it as the alarm clock rang out shrilly.

Ed had to admit that he felt a bit uncomfortable about having another psychological evaluation out of the blue like this, and without Al in the room with him. And Al was talking to another one in their bedroom whilst Ed was on the couch. And so he was looking over at the guy a few seats down from him, Ed resting his back into the pillows that were stacked up against the armrest. The guy, or Damien Fitzgerald, was wearing a light yellow shirt and black trousers, was in his late twenties, and had a bit of reddish-brown beard, matching his wavy hair that reached his ears. But he seemed nice enough, even if a bit too patronising and 'understanding' for Ed's liking. But he had been told to call Damien by his first name, and Ed had told him in return to just call them Riza and Roy. "Well, Edward, I just want you to remember that you have no obligation to only say nice things about Riza and Roy. Everyone makes mistakes, and it doesn't mean that they're not suited to take care of you and your brother just for being human. They won't have to know anything about what you tell me. So are there any bad things that have happened?"

Ed felt his stomach clench, but then decided to tell him the truth so that it didn't seem like he was trying not to make Riza and Roy angry about what he had to say. "Well, there was this one thing last week where I sorta overreacted to finding them in the kitchen after they had spent the entire night working on a case, though I didn't know that... So I started yelling at them and accusing them of Riza having swapped us out and that they had slept together... I didn't trust them much yet back then, 'cos I was scared of... you know... getting swapped out again, and that Roy was being just like Barry and was only being kind to us and didn't really care about us, but had just wanted to hook up with Riza... So I called her a traitorous bitch and told her that she was worse than all the other homes and I was so tired of getting sent away and I... I told her that I'd rather Barry had just finished the job... Because I had begun to trust her, you know?"

Damien nodded thoughtfully, writing down a few notes. "Which is more than understandable... So what did they do about that?"

Ed looked down at Damien's notebook, not exactly keen on someone being all understanding of things that he probably didn't know shit about, really. "Roy grabbed me by the shoulder, not enough to hurt, but told me to come and so I followed him to the car and then held me by my tank top so that I'd look him in the face so that he could set me straight... Made me aware of just how much of an ungrateful brat I was actually being and told me all that they had actually done through the night, 'cos he's a genius and he remembered the numbers of which time they had done what... And how they had found Al and me screaming in our sleep 'cos of nightmares and the way that Al had fallen to the floor and banged his head against the nightstand... So Roy had taken him with him into the bathroom to check that he hadn't hurt himself and had then just sat with him on his lap for over an hour... And apparently Riza had sat with me and had even sung to me to help calm me down... And after Roy had told me that that was actually how they had spent the night, drinking coffee and Riza having checked in on us once every hour... And he also reminded me first about how much she's actually doing for us, what with taking us in on the spot, and had given us her bed, which meant her sleeping on the couch and having to be quiet every time she got some time on her own... And so he asked me just when she had deserved all that crap and me jumping down her throat all the time... And I realised that she hadn't... So I began sobbing... And then he hugged me and I asked him why... And he told me that he had been there too when Mom died and he had lost his parents too when he was young... And that caring for us was called empathy, not a pick-up line..."

Ed felt his lips quiver as he continued explaining. "So he held me for a long time before he told me that we'd be driving to a nearby field to pick some wild flowers and for me to think up the world's greatest apology... So we went and I pointed out which flowers for him to pick and we talked about different things and he was done being angry 'cos I'd got his point, so he helped me pee behind a bush and he was just being nice and... And acting like a parent, really... And then we went back to the car, which was when he realised and felt bad about me having still been in my pyjamas and had been walking barefoot through the field, so he grabbed his coat and a blanket without second thought and put his coat around my shoulders and warmed my feet up with the blanket and apologised about it... And about me not having been given time to take my painkillers before we had gone off to the field..."

Ed looked up at Damien's face, feeling tears building in his eyes as realisation struck him. "A-and I know that that sounds bad, but the thing is... He doesn't believe in physically punishing children and when he shouted at me when he set me straight, he did something that none of the other foster families had done... 'Cos he treated me like an equal... He didn't patronise me or act like I was being stupid and childish. He actually understood what I was thinking and just made me see the actual situation, rather than the one that I had made up 'cos of me being scared and not trusting anybody when they didn't deserve it, and it wasn't in a brainwashing kind of way. He got through to me and he hugged me and for some weird reason, he felt bad about not having taken us in from day one and he just decided that he wouldn't leave us... So he was sort of being our unofficial foster dad already."

Fear was coursing through him because of the part about him being barefoot in the field without his painkillers. "But you need to understand that Roy isn't neglectful and that he didn't drag me out into the field to punish me or whatever, because he just wanted to help me and guide me so that I could actually find a way to keep moving forwards and to trust Riza because I..." Ed looked Damien straight in the eyes. "He knew what we needed and helped us get it. And he would never hurt us. He's not dangerous and he wants to be with us and he's cared about us ever since that night and... And I think he feels lucky because he gets a second chance at taking care of us. Because he wants to see us happy, not normal. He thinks it's okay to be different and be nerdy and not just... Not just go with the flow... He wants to be there and he wants to... To be our d-dad."

Ed was surprised at what he was saying, because he hadn't even been planning to say it. He hadn't even thought about it before, actually. "And he hasn't even said that. But I can tell. I can tell because he's a good guy who's actually doing what he can to be our dad because he cares and he's actually being so without even thinking about it. He just feels like doing it. Because we're not even a chore to him. He's choosing us without really having any reason to. And now he's even gone so far as to want to be legally responsible for us because he actually wants to call us his family. Also, I think he sort of subconsciously picked up on the way that Riza wasn't demanding that I get my painkillers before we left 'cos I wasn't actually supposed to be taking them for another hour because of the fact that my missing arm means that I don't have a normal dose. I told him before we drove off..." And so Ed fixed Damien with a stern glare. "So he's a smart guy who wouldn't have dragged me off to a field if I had told him that I hadn't wanted to, or was scared. He wouldn't have done it if I had been scared of him or hadn't trusted him. He's good at reading people, otherwise he wouldn't have been DCI. And taking me barefoot to a field, that's basically what parents do all the time. People bring their kids to the beach all the time, knowing that there are chances of sharp rocks and glass shards. They are unobservant enough not to notice that the ice cream was the wrong type and that it wasn't non-dairy after all. Or that the cookie dough pieces contained peanuts. So you can't say that Roy's an unsuitable parent, just because of that! Roy's human, just like the rest of us! And if he wasn't more than satisfactory, do you really think that I would trust him to take care of the only family that I have left?!"

Damien looked at Ed, obviously trying to read him, before nodding thoughtfully, writing down a bit more on his notepad. "Don't worry, Edward, I would be far more alarmed if he had decided to spank you or something similar to that." Then he gave Ed a reassuring smile. "I've been involved in a couple of cases with him before, and I have no problem believing that he's subconsciously picking up on things like that. He's got a sharp mind and it's pretty fascinating to see it in work. My purpose here is to see how you and your brother truly feel about the entire situation."

Ed felt a wave of relief flood him, and he nodded. Then he thought about what the guy had just said, and decided to be a bit braver at learning that Damien actually wanted Ed to be as much abnormal as he was. To show him that he actually meant what he told the guy about Riza and Roy. "Could you stop being so... Uh... psychologist-y? Like just professional? 'Cos it kinda makes me feel like you're telling me that you know better than I do when you're supposed to be impartial and let me be the one to sorta be in control? Otherwise, it's not gonna be completely realistic when I feel like you're judging me on everything that I say. Restaurants serve people what they order, but the guests are the one who gets to tell them how they want stuff..." Ed thought for about two seconds. "It's sorta like you suggesting a fancy steak with a bunch of fancy stuff that I don't really want. And so I tell you to serve me the steak, potatoes and broccoli, 'cos I'm not interested in having the flavour compromised by the weird green stuff on top of the steak when I think it's completely uninteresting and useless and sort of ruins the things that I want."

There were a few seconds of surprise on Damien's face.

Then the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Then he began chuckling.

"Right, I'm beginning to get why they wanted someone that had worked together with Roy Mustang to be the one to speak to you... Very well, kid, you'll get the customised dinner, no problem."

Ed nodded, immediately much more at ease with camaraderie and generally feeling like a person instead of an object that needed to be hugged. Because Ed didn't want Damien to hug him. The only ones that got to do that were Al, Riza, Roy and Nan. "Good. 'Cos like I said: Roy treats me like an equal and I don't wanna have my future as a Pegasus compromised by the way that I wasn't really able to speak my mind 'cos I'm just a kid. So now you tell me about today's specials, basically."

"Right then..." Damien said with a smile and a nod as he flipped the page of the notepad to get a new one. "So, what do you think about living together with them?"

"I think it sounds great. It's a nice house with plenty of room and with a library in the basement based on the interests of a nerdy, old fart."

Damien quirked an eyebrow at him. "And why do you call him that?"

Ed smiled slightly. "That's pretty simple. He's a twenty-five-year-old Mustang, which makes him pretty old for a horse."

There was a small round of chuckles from the other man. "Speaking of, Ed, how do you feel about their age? Technically they're not old enough to be your parents, and so people will most likely not believe them to be so, but more like an aunt and her boyfriend, fiancé or husband, depending on what happens in the future."

Ed couldn't help but frown at that. He hadn't really thought about it. But then a thought struck him. "If it becomes too much of an issue, then there's nothing stopping me from getting a second surname or two, is there?" He felt a bit awkward about the thought of it, but then he also knew that Riza and Roy would stay with them in a way that made him feel like he belonged to them. The only difference would be that he would get to show it through his name.

And part of him wanted that. He wanted to belong to them and show that he thought that they were great.

But that would come later and he would have to think about it a lot later when he wasn't so scared of being sent away.

Damien smiled at that. "If that's what you prefer, then that's up to you."

"I'd be a little worried if not. So what's the next question?" It was beginning to feel more and more like an oral exam, and Ed had to admit that he preferred it this way, instead of a psychologist session where the guy knew better than him because of his experience with people that weren't Ed.

"Well, I would like to know your opinion at the thought of Riza and Roy getting married."

"That they're good for each other and that they're also becoming best friends who respect each other..." Then Ed felt his stomach clench slightly. "And who are weird enough to think that Al and I are a strong enough reason on its own to get married."

Damien sighed kindly with a small smile. "Do you ever feel bad about that?"

Ed didn't really know how to answer that right away. "...Mostly just weird and... And that... And that they remind me a lot about Mom... And they feel like family... They make us feel like we're a real family already. Even if it's not official yet." He felt his stomach clench at the thought.

"Is that something that bothers you a lot?"

Ed felt a bit uncomfortable at the question, and the lump in his stomach began to grow as he looked down. "...Wouldn't it bother you? We're sort of just... Well, there are a lot of verbal promises... And Al and I still belong to the State. Everything can fall apart through a couple of simple 'no's, and we'll just get moved around again like a couple of insignificant pieces on a board. Like we're playing some sort of card game where it's all about getting the highest scores, and we're a couple of useless twos that just get moved around between players without anybody wanting to keep us. Riza and Roy are the only ones who seem to actually find us to be something that they want to keep in their lives. And Riza understands what it's like to lose so much and be discarded, and Roy's a guy who actually gave us the journal that he got from his mother, just so that we could write down our memories of Mom so that we can still remember her, even when our memories have faded as we grow up. 'Cos Roy's mother told him that he'd know when to use it, and he decided to give it to us, and he didn't even seem to doubt it... And he understands us. He understands us better than Barry ever did."

"So you want him to be your father, Ed?" Damien asked softly.

Edward couldn't help the dread that came with that word. Because their biological father had been a bastard who had left Mom with a broken heart and who was still missing, possibly dead. Their stepfather had killed Mom out of the blue, and he had taken her away from them and that was what Ed saw every damn time he looked in the mirror. His arm was gone so that he had been able to hold on to the one family member that he now had left. And then there had been those three foster fathers afterwards.

But Roy was also different, and so Ed wanted to make that clear. "...I think so, yeah," he said quietly. "Because every type of father that we've known so far, have left us with less and less. Hohenheim broke Mom's heart. Barry killed Mom and took my arm and our home. Our foster fathers left us with less and less self-esteem and they really made it clear that we're simply too demanding so that they weren't a good fit for us. Because we're just too difficult and not worth the effort."

A small smile suddenly found its way to Ed's lips. "And then there's this weird, old fart who's dead set on not leaving us behind because he's weird that way. He likes us and he wants us and he doesn't owe us anything. He saved our lives, and yet he just... He does what Mom did. He gives us what we need and then some. And he doesn't even think twice about it and neither does Riza. They're just weird." He felt his lips begin to tremble slightly. "They're weird and that makes them happy... They're happy by being just as weird as Mom..."

His stomach clenched violently as realisation struck him. "And so it sucks that technically speaking, Riza's cheating on her husband by being with Roy. We've already been made a lot exceptions for because of our situation 'cos nobody else wanna be weird for us, and so I know that a lot of it is in aid of the State and that we shouldn't really complain... Otherwise they wouldn't have been allowed to adopt us in two months, and that bastard Will having got engaged like that made it even easier... But it still sucks... It still sucks 'cos I just wanna have it uncomplicated and that bastard obviously wants that too, but it can't happen..."

"And exactly what is it you want by it being uncomplicated?"

Ed looked up at Damien, tears down his cheeks. "I just wanna have a post box with my name on it together with Al's, Riza's and Roy's, and a labradoodle that comes out with us to pee while we fetch the post."

The man before him seemed more than a little sad at his words, and Ed swallowed back a sob. "Why do you grownups have to make everything so damned complicated?! You're letting Roy and Riza adopt us sooner and before Riza's separation is gone... But the way I see it, the State owes us some compensation for placing us with three sucky foster homes that made it pretty clear that I'm too much of a freak for me to be good enough for people that take so many other kids in! And that I'm so much so that Al's not even good enough for people to want to keep us! We have been placed with three foster homes in two months, one of which was where my phantom limb pain was treated as a mental illness that, when I didn't try to fight it, I had my books taken away from me! The State made it clear to us for two months that we weren't worth shit! That we were damaged! Freaks! And if it hadn't been for us ending up spending most of our time in a police station to get some form of confirmation of our worth, then I don't know where we would have been by now! Because we were damned tired! But before that, we learnt that because we were scared and screaming in the middle of the night because we were reliving our stepfather chopping Mom to pieces, we were too much trouble! Because I panicked and punched one of our foster parents as I woke up, I got locked out in the garden and then we were sent away the next day because we were too much work and not worth helping!"

Desperation was growing inside him rapidly. Desperation and frustration and fear. "So you tell me just why the State, who let us spend two months with neglect and abuse because they didn't know better, and they even paid those people to put us through that, are now deciding that the best thing for us is to wait for two months to get a home that we actually want and are choosing for ourselves where we feel safe and cared for! They're fucking police officers! They've both got spotless records, Riza's granddad is Superintendent Grumman himself, Roy's nan is awesome, and they want to give us a permanent, safe home! Which is apparently what the State that has mostly let us down wants as well, and yet we have to wait until they're considered suitable to take care of us, unlike those other foster homes?! We have to wait for two months for some permanence, and then another eight to let Riza get freed from some stupid and unnecessary separation period! That bastard told her that he didn't think that he had ever loved her, before he less than two months later announced his engagement per letter, and yet she's still bound to be legally married?! The State gave us hell, so I think they should damned well let us get taken care of by those that treat us like kids that are worth something and who makes us feel safe! Who want to take care of us by their own free will! And whom we can trust just as much as Mom!"

Tears began streaming down his cheeks and his voice broke as he spoke. "And when all of this in the name of doing what's best for us, then why won't they let us have it when we need it the most? Because all they're doing right now is leaving us scared of the people who had thought that they knew best and which left us even more broken as a result, are now thinking that they know best again..." He choked on his tears, his voice shaky and quiet. "...Which means that they are threatening to take our new, good, safe family away from us, and I'm terrified that we'll lose them."

He couldn't help it as he broke down into sobs. "Because all I want is that damned labradoodle!"

There came a couple of knocks on the bedroom door, and Roy instinctively looked up, dropping the sock in his hand that he had been about to pull on. "Who is it?"

"It's Yuriy, there's something I'd like to talk to you about." Which meant that the doctor was back after having combined escorting his daughter to school and walking the dog.

Roy walked over and unlocked the door, getting a bad feeling that he knew exactly what this was about based on the tone of Yuriy's voice. Roy had been noticing it yesterday and he had found it to in many ways have been a blessing what with Roy the bull calf, as it had made him able to have got such a long shower that had been a bit colder than he had told anyone. And he had been worrying about it for the past half hour since he had looked out of the bathroom window and had seen the very clear sky.

Riza was currently in the shower, and Sara was preparing breakfast, and so Roy opened the bedroom door, seeing Yuriy frown immediately at the sight of his shirt. They had been woken up by their alarm clock at seven, before having immediately been sent back to bed to get another eighty minutes of sleep after tonight's events. Considering how close the bathroom was to the two doctors' bedroom, Roy had relented after having been promised breakfast at nine, which had been non-negotiable when it came to him not helping out with preparing it.

"Roy, you need to be careful out there today, you know," Yuriy said, still frowning at his shirt. "The sun's even worse than yesterday, I'd be surprised if we won't have to treat any of the residents for heat exhaustion."

Roy sighed heavily, because he could tell from Yuriy's expression just what was going through his mind. "So what you're saying is that your opinion as a doctor is that I shouldn't be walking about outside for hours in general?"

"Yes, at least not until the worst of the sun is gone this afternoon. Yesterday was a joke compared to today, especially because it was pretty cloudy most of the time. There aren't any clouds outside today, and I don't think there will be either."

Roy swore inwardly. "Basically, your professional advice is grounding me?"

Yuriy bit his lip and sighed. "That's about it. Especially when you keep insisting on not wearing anything lighter than regular-length trousers and a shirt with the sleeves not even folded up. I can understand, yes, but in all honesty, I wouldn't have been comfortable had you conducted interviews in only your boxers today."

The mental pictures that filled his mind at that were both horrifying and hilarious at the same time, but then he sighed again and nodded. "Thank you for telling me. Do you think I could help Pinako out as a bit of repayment for your hospitality at least?"

"Well, she'll be able to keep an eye on you in case you start underestimating the work involved in automail engineering."

Roy had to admit that he was feeling vaguely like he was being both patronised and coddled at the same time. Instead he just gave him a smile. "Then I'll do that. So I'll just need to borrow your phone to inform the Superintendent about what is going on."

Which was of course when Riza came out of the bathroom, and so Yuriy just nodded at Roy. "I'll tell Sara that you might be delayed a minute or two."

"Yes, thank you, Yuriy."

"No need to, Roy."

And with that, Yuriy walked off in the direction of the kitchen, whilst Riza walked up to Roy, looking him up and down. "There's something wrong, isn't there?" she asked, frowning, before obviously reading him correctly. "This is about your scars, isn't it?"

Roy sighed and took her hands in his. "Doctor's orders, you'll have to conduct the interviews on your own today. I didn't tell you before because it wasn't too much of a problem yesterday because we kept getting invited in for cold drinks and it was cloudy in between, as well as the fact that I got an opportunity to take a longer shower to cool down. But today's apparently going to be much worse and without any shade. Which means that I'm at much higher risk than you of getting heat exhaustion from walking around today, because sweat glands don't regenerate..." he told her a bit awkwardly. "So most of the natural cooling system on my chest is out of order and has been so for quite some time, as well as for the scarred areas on my arms."

She looked both sad and worried at what he was saying. "And if you hadn't been told by our hosts?"

"Don't worry, I would have asked them when the weather was like this anyways. I'm fully aware of how stupid it would have been to take the risk without consulting a doctor who knows the local weather and how it gets when there's no sun, considering the way that the heat was yesterday."

Riza cupped his cheeks in her palms and shook her head in sad exasperation. "You daft, little man. I guess that it has something to do with how you don't want to have your scars slow you down?"

"Sounds just about right," he told her with a sigh, his stomach clenching. "I would have told you if it had been causing me any trouble."

She fixed her eyes on his, giving him one stern look, obviously reading his face to detect any lies. "Well, I'm glad to see that that's actually true. So you've got automail on your schedule for the workday?"

Roy smiled at her, feeling very lucky that his fiancée was able to put two and two together like this based on just a few clues. "Yes. So I suppose that my contribution to our investigation for today will be to truly pick the old family friend's brain for hours whilst possibly assisting with putting prostheses together."

"And so we will at least have a qualified medical professional present to tell you to lie down and hydrate if necessary." Then she sighed and frowned, her eyes betraying her worry. "Because the last thing we need, is for the boys to have one of us become ill while we are away from them..." She lowered her voice to a whisper and hugged him. "I just really want to hug them, you know. I don't like the way that they're involved in this."

Roy felt his stomach clench even harder and hugged her back. "Me neither, which is why we'll do our best to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible, and we'll be back to hug them again tomorrow evening."

ShaharahDatBoi: Thank you! I hadn't really thought about that fact, it doesn't feel like it's been around for over a year now, so I suppose it fits that the first chapter after its first year anniversary was a round number :) I hope you'll keep enjoying the story!