This weekend has been very sad for my family.
We had to put my mom's dog, who has been with our family almost fourteen years and got to experience with us: seven births, four weddings, three deaths, me and all of my siblings high school graduations, and an out of state move down on yesterday (9/13/20) afternoon.
My mom, who was his favorite human in the entire world, who found him in a bush at my elementary school bus stop abandoned at five weeks old & nursed him back to health when he got a bad case of mange not long after, is heart broken. I haven't seen her this upset since my maternal grandfather died in 2012.
I'm going to miss you so much Jack
"Kieran! Carson! Will you two please stop drawing on your sisters?" Riza groaned, taking the markers out of her two and a half and one and a half year old sons hands and then in her back pocket, before picking up her almost four old twin daughters, one in each arm, and standing back up.
"Oh Violet, Dinah. Look what your brothers did to you two." She sighed, counting all the bright orange and dark green slashes and circles on both of her baby girls round cheeks, nose and forehead.
Eleven green; seven orange. She had only turned around for thirty seconds. Riza had to admit it, Kieran and Carson were getting faster.
It was at that moment that Roy came home from work.
"Dah-dee!" Kieran shrieked, he and Carson running on chubby legs to get to Roy by the front door.
"Hey! What did you two do while Daddy was gone?" Roy asked, picking him up and resting one boy on each of his shoulders.
"This." Riza groaned, showing Roy Violet and Dinah's faces.
"Ooh." Roy grimaced. "Well that wasn't very nice of you, too. Why did you do that to your sisters?" He asked.
"They asked us too!" Kieran declared triumphantly. Carson let out a shriek, nodding his head yes.
"I see." Roy sighed, he and Riza clearly not believing his explanation. But hey, what can you do? Boys will be boys.
"How was work? Hear anything about getting shipped off?" Riza asked him. They'd spent almost every day of their almost four year marriage waiting for Roy's orders to go to Ishval. It was a waiting game that, frankly, they were both sick and tired of playing.
"Nothing. It's utter bs. Either ship us out or stop the bloody war." Roy groaned, following Riza into the kitchen so he could help her wash Violet and Dinah's faces in the sink.
"What does bs mean?" Kieran asked, as Roy put him back down on to the floor.
"Big stomach." Riza answered him, without missing a beat.
"There is one thing though..." Roy added, knowing she wasn't going to like it.
"Hmm? What's that?"
"There's a formal event that I have to attend up in Central. Something about the fifty year anniversary of the founding of the State Alchemist program, or whatever." Roy shrugged.
"When is it?" Riza asked, frowning when Dinah tried pushing the wash rag away from her face with a chubby fist. All four of her children looked like their Father and, so far, acted like their Mother.
"Not this Saturday, but next."
"Great. Well, at least in Central we'll get free babysitting for these four." Riza sighed.
She despised formal events.
As a wife to a Major, she was expected to pretty herself up. Make her short pixie cut hairstyle look as feminine as she could make it, put on make up and jewelry, and wear a long dress with heels that she could barely walk in- much less dance in. And as the wife of a State Alchemist, one of the people this bloody event is for in the first damn place, she's be expected to do all those things tenfold.
"Yeah." Roy agreed.
"Mmmm, God that feels nice." Riza groaned lowly, as Roy slide in and out of her. They were being quiet, they had to be; didn't want Kieran or Carson to wake up and ask what they were doing. Luckily they didn't have to be dead silent like they had to be five years ago.
"You feel so good baby." He moaned, nuzzling the collar of his button down from her neck, nipping at the skin of her throat.
They both tensed up, gasping as their orgasms washed over them. Once it was over, Roy got out of bed, pulled his boxers on, and went to the bathroom to get a wet rag so he could clean his seed off of Riza's inner thighs.
It wasn't that they were trying to make baby number five, they just weren't trying to prevent it from happening. They wanted multiple children, but it was never discussed what the age gaps between their children would be. Which probably explained why there was eleven months between Kieran and Carson and fourteen months between Carson and the twins. It could be a bit hectic, having three different birthday dates in the span of a nine week time period, but they somehow made it work.
Riza hummed in satisfaction when the warm cloth hit her skin, her hands resting on the fabric of his shirt. Ever since Kieran and Carson both became more talkative and mobile, she had begun sleeping in his shirts, not taking it off for any reason- especially during sex.
The only question they wanted to hear less then "Mommy? Daddy? What are you two doing?" was "Mommy, who drew on your back?" And unless they discovered a way to magically remove it entirely, they knew eventually their children would see it. They just wanted to avoid that question until their kids were older.
Say... when the kids were in their thirties?
"I don't wanna go dress shopping." Riza groaned, bringing up the gala they had to go to next weekend.
"Well then just wear a dress you already have then." Roy suggested, tossing the rag into the hamper and climbing under the sheets.
"That's not an option. Last year at that boring as hell fundraiser, a Lieutenant's wife wore a dress she had worn before at a different event. Every woman whose husband was a Captain or higher whispered nasty things about her behind her back. I am not dealing with that." Riza grumbled, rolling over to lay her head on his chest, her left hand resting on his peck.
When he became a State Alchemist, Roy had wanted to get her the biggest, most obnoxiously gorgeous ring that he could afford. A desire that Riza quickly shot down, stating that while she appreciated the gesture, felt that they should spend the money on more important things- like furniture for their apartment.
So, being the wonderful woman that she is, Madam Christmas sent them an alternative from Central. She sent the bridal set that had been in the Mustang family since 1793, having been passed down from father to the eldest son- or in their case, from aunt to nephew. The ring was absolutely stunning. A four carat princess cut diamond, centered on a white gold band surrounded by one third carat diamonds. The wedding band matched the engagement ring, completely covered in diamonds.
Upon receiving the package and the accompanying letter explaining the family heirloom, Roy had immediately called her up.
"How come you never told me about this family heirloom before?" Roy had asked.
"Well I had planned to give it to you when you brought a serious girlfriend home. But the first girl you brought home to meet me is already your wife!" Christmas had scoffed.
"And I don't have to pay anything?"
"Just to resize it if it doesn't fit her finger."
"And who is next in the family line to get it?"
"Your first born son."
Riza, who had heard Christmas' answer, asked the question that was in both her and Roy's minds. "What if we only have girls?"
"Hmm... Not sure. Everyone in our family that has had the ring has had at least one boy. Oh well, I'm sure you two will figure something out."
Luckily they had two boys, so no need to worry about that. Riza had been wearing the set ever since, which thankfully hadn't needed to be resized, only taking it off to put on a chain around her neck when her fingers swelled up due to pregnancy.
"Military wives can be so catty." Roy joked.
"Tell me about it. You and the female soldiers are so lucky. You all have set uniforms to wear at formal events." Riza sighed.
"I, personally, would rather wear a three piece suit." He told her, kissing her forehead.
Packing to take four children under the age of three for a six hour train ride was absolutely no one's idea of a good time.
"So, how do you want to do this? I deal with Kieran and Carson and you deal with Violet and Dinah, or we deal with one each?" Roy asked her, helping her back bored bags for their sons. The bags contained the usual items; coloring books, crayons (not markers!) little toy cars, their favorite stuffed animal, and their baby blankets.
"I honestly don't know. I feel like no matter what we decided, it's going to be a mess. I'm not looking forward to this trip at all." Riza sighed, zipping the small backpacks shut, before moving on to pack her own suitcase.
"Please tell me that your capable of packing your own bag." She begged him.
"Hey, I'm not completely useless." He whined. Riza chose to ignore that statement, instead going to the closet to grab her gown for the event they had to attend the next night. A lace cheongsam dress that was the same blue as Roy's uniform, with gold detailing. It met all of Riza's requirements for a dress: matched Roy's uniform and covered up her tattoo.
"Why do I have the feeling that tomorrow night is going to be a disaster?" Riza sighed, closing her suitcase.
"Hey, relax. Let's just get through the train ride." He hummed, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek.
"Aww! They're all so adorable!" Madeline shrieked, crouching down on her knees to pinch Kieran's cheek, while Vanessa snatched Carson out of Roy's arms and into her own. Another of Madam Christmas' girls, Bianca, took one of the twins out of Riza's arms and into her own.
"Which one is she? I can never tell them apart in photos, makes me feel so bad." Bianca pouted, feeling guilty over not being able to tell her nieces apart.
"Dinah. And don't feel bad, mixing them up is one of the negative parts to having identical twins." Riza reassured her.
"Hell, we have to color code them or else we mix them up, too." Roy groaned, motioning to the two different colored outfits he and Riza's daughters were wearing, pink for Dinah and purple for Violet, with one hand and rubbing the back of his neck with the other.
"So pink is Dinah and purple is Violet?" Vanessa asked, kissing Carson's cheek.
"Yes."
"Purple for Violet, I see what y'all did there." Chris smirked, entering the room. Roy rolled his eyes at his Mother's statement. That wasn't why they assigned what color to which daughter. They flipped a coin.
"Nana!" Kieran squealed, completely forgetting about his Aunt Madeline for his Great Aunt slash Grandmother.
"Oh look at you! Almost taller then your dad." Chris joked, bending down to pick him up, ignoring Roy's glare as she did so. Being five ten didn't mean he was that short. Just because his Father and Grandfather had both been over six and a half feet y'all didn't mean anything. His Mother has been four nine.
Roy's height was a happy medium.
"How's it been, dealing with four little ones under such a young age?" Chris asked, as she and her family walked up the steps to the living quarters of her establishment.
"Easier then we thought it would be, that's for sure. Will definetly be a different story once the girls become mobile." Riza sighed.
"And if and when I get deployed." Roy huffed.
"Wait. You mean to tell me you still haven't gotten your orders yet?" Bianca scoffed.
"No."
"I said it earlier today and I'll say it again, I've got a bad feeling about tomorrow night. I just now it." Riza sighed.
She just couldn't get rid of the bad feeling she had in her gut. Something was wrong. Something was going to happen tomorrow night. Riza didn't know what it was, nor could shake the feeling.
"Everything will be fine." Roy cooed, leaning down to kiss her on her cheek.
"Your usual guest room is all set up for you guys, plus some old cradles for the girls. The boys can stay in the room where Greg and Matthew sleep." Vanessa explained, mentioning the sons that two of the girls, Farah and Willa, had had a few years earlier.
"I thought Greg and Matt slept in a room with Xaiver and Vaughn?" Roy asked about Juniper and Nelly's sons, putting the luggage down on to the bed.
"You've been gone a long time, Roy-Boy. Those boys got better things to do then room with a couple of little kids." Christmas smirked.
"What are you talking about?" Roy asked.
"Xaiver is fourteen and Vaughn is fifteen. They don't want to share a room with a six and eight year old." Madeline told him.
"God I have been gone awhile." Roy mumbled.
Riza entered the ballroom at Führer Bradley's mansion holding on to Roy's arm.
Scanning the room, she saw a two or three dozen military men mingling with their fellow soldiers. They were all in their formal uniforms, their sabers attached to their waist. They were laughing and having casual conversations with those who were in equal rank to them and kissing ass to those that were higher up. Out of all of those in uniform, only six were women.
On another side of the room she viewed the wives chitchatting and giggling with each other, all playing their roles as brainless eye candies. Some were young and pretty, others older and sophisticated. All of them in dresses that were either military blue, black, or gold and of varying modesty, and made Riza wonder how she would dress if her back was flawless. Most of them had glasses of champagne or white wine in their hands, and those that didn't had baby bumps ranging in size from barely noticeable to they might have their baby tonight.
In the background Riza could hear a band playing classical music- violins mostly- and she wasn't surprised to see less then ten couples dancing to the music. The sound made her want to sit down in a chair and take a nap rather then waltz with Roy.
All in all, if you go to one military function you've been to a hundred of them.
"Gonna go chit chat with the other wives?" Roy whispered in to her ear.
Riza let out snort. "Of course, gotta go chit chat with the other wives. I've got a plethora of choices for conversation companions. Should I chose the fellow first wives, all of whom are old enough to be my Grandmother, with children old enough to be my parents? Or the women closer to my age, who are their husbands third or fourth wife, and hand their children off to nannies from sun up to sun down, and can't tell you what their child's favorite toy is even if you put a gun to their head?"
Roy frowned. "We could always dance?" He suggested, thinking he was giving her a better option.
He was wrong.
Riza scoffed. "I'd rather talk with the bimbos." She whispered in his ear. "You owe me so much for this. I don't want to walk straight for a week after this." She growled lowly.
He couldn't help but laugh. "I love you so much." He smiled, kissing her on the lips as they separated to go to their respective groups.
A passing by waiter held a tray of champagne flutes, and Riza quickly grabbed one and suppressed the urge to down it one gulp as she walked towards the group of women. Scanning the wives, she found she recognized no one that she liked talking to at other galas. Bummer. She frowned, finishing her drink, eyes wandering around the room for a group of women least likely to make her want to jump through a window and run back to her children and in-laws. Her wandering eyes caused her to nearly crash into another wife.
"Oh! I am so sorry!" Riza gasped, taking a step back from the woman. She looked at her dress; black, a deep v neck and thigh high slit. She got to her hair and saw it was a golden blonde with a few streaks of silver, long and curled and resting on her shoulder. When Riza finally looked the women in the faces, she saw brown eyes and her heart stopped.
No... It can't be... No.
It seemed the other woman recognized her, too. Because riza could hear her let out a soft gasp.
"Riza?"
"Mother?"
Disclaimer: I can't stand the phrase "boys will be boys" Boys should be held accountable for their actions.
But I'll let it slide when it comes to a two year old turning his little brother's face into a coloring book.
Links to Riza's wedding set and her dress are on this story over on Ao3.