There was a knock on the door 8 minutes later, Hayate gave a yip. As she opened the door Roy handed her a bottle of wine. She smiled when she saw the takeaway in his hands. "hey buddy" he greeted as he kneeled to pet Hayate. He wiggled and brushed up against Roy. Roy chuckled as he moved to set dinner in her kitchen. "The wines not chilled sorry." She handed him a corkscrew and he laughed.

"that never stopped us before." She murmured looking the bottle over. He chuckled as he pulled out silverware.

"How was your day?" Roy asked with a smirk looking up from the bag of takeaway.

Riza sighed as she sat on a barstool. "It was long." She graciously took the wine glass. "It was challenging." He nodded as he passed her boxes. She surveyed his order and smiled with approval. "How did you get this so quickly?"

He stopped pulling containers from the bag. "I had already picked it up." He looked up from the bag "I was outside of your house when I texted you." He admitted.

She smiled. "I spoke with Mrs. Elric today." He hummed as he helped himself to a carton of noodles. "It was like traveling back in time." She whispered. He frowned but continued to fill his plate. "I don't know what I was expecting. I mean she was very nice, but the experience was hard."

"I understand Riza. How did it go? Was she willing to talk to you about anything?"

Riza nodded and moved food on her plate. "Yes. She was willing to talk to me." She poked her food but made no effort at eating.

"And?"

"She has cancer and it is terminal." Roy watched her carefully. "She moved here for a drug trial study and wasn't successful. The trial just ended, and she is out of options." Riza slumped but sipped on her wine. "I don't know what to do Roy. She doesn't want to tell Edward or Alphonse but that's what my mother did to me. It feels wrong."

He nodded "I know, but it is what she wants. She will probably find a way to tell them." Riza played with her wine glass. "Hughes told me what you did. With the phone number." She gave him a shy look "You should not have, but I'm glad that you did."

She rolled her eyes "Hughes told me that it was going to be just another normal Health class, I didn't know you were doing a unit on Mental Illnesses and Depression." She played with her food. "Maes told me it was good to show them my vulnerable side"

Roy shrugged "I know I am sorry." He passed her some more food, even though she hadn't touched her own. "The kids have been talking about that lecture. They don't talk about any of my lectures." He offered.

She huffed a laugh "Yea the cold bitch of an algebra teacher actually has feelings. Who knew?" She spat.

"No, but now they know you care about them. That means a lot. I know you care about them, the girls on the soccer team know you do too, but now everyone does. Edward opened up to you."

She gave him a small smile and took a bite. "I haven't had this in a long time. Thank you for bringing it over."

"Yea I figured you wouldn't feel like cooking tonight."

"No I guess I didn't. Do you think Grumman is mad?"

He smirked. "He is but, in his eyes, you can do no wrong."

"I did yesterday and today. I stepped over boundaries." She took what Roy had offered her earlier.

"Yes, but he understands why you did it."

They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued eating. Roy packaged the food back up as Riza cleared the counter and refilled their glasses.

"Thanks for dinner. How was your day? Any hot rumors going around?" She asked as she put the bottle back in the fridge.

Roy choked on his fortune cookie. She watched him closely as he coughed, she opened her own cookie. "that good huh?" She read her own fortune.

He sipped his wine and shrugged. "Just the usual rumors that's all."

"oh"

"Nothing new." His eyes flicked away from her and he focused on his wine glass.

"Nothing." She pressed her head cocked to the side.

He glanced to her as he fidgeted with the fortune in his fingers. "Just a little rumor among the kids, you know how they can be. So very creative." She smiled and popped the cookie in her mouth. "Just that two teachers may be a little closer than co-workers." He shrugged "The usual cafeteria gossip.

Riza leaned back as she thought. "Fuery and Sheska?" he shook his head, she thought hard "they know that Jean and Rebecca are married right?"

"that they do. They also know that Hughes is happily married." He pointed out.

She pursed her lips "Breda and Sheska? Maria and Danny?" he shook his head and played with his wine glass. "Dammit Roy who, are you going to make me keep guessing?"

He smiled "I will give you one clue, It involves one ruggedly handsome, genius of a chemistry teacher."

She frowned. "Danny doesn't teach chemistry." Roy feigned pain and Riza grinned.

They both laughed "No me and another teacher." He raised an eyebrow.

"well, you don't seemed pleased. Maria? Sheska?" Riza made a face "Rebecca?" He avoided eye contact as he shook his head. "Me" she whispered.

Roy didn't respond he chose to sip at the wine. Riza shrugged "They've been saying that for years."

"How long have we been at that school" Roy chuckled.

"Our rooms are right next to each other. We went to school together." Riza started counting on her fingers. "We talk all the time; we have the same interest." Roy smiled softly, Riza continued to raise fingers in quiet concentration. She lowered her hand dissatisfied "We have been at that school too long."

"I wasn't going to tell you." He looked to her.

She shrugged "It doesn't matter, I have heard it before." Roy toyed with the coaster on the counter. "Danny is head over heels for Maria though. I'm surprised no one ever talks about that."

Roy laughed "they do." Riza decided to move to the couch, Roy followed with the bottle in his hand. "The freshest one is Winry and Edward." He added and sat next to her turned inwards to face her.

Riza nodded with agreement "Yes, I completely agree. They may fight a lot, but they are nearly inseparable during the school day."

"they both have quite the temper." He agreed topping her glass before filling his own "I got Ed to sign up for soccer tryouts today."

She raised her brows "How did you manage that?"

Roy shrugged "I kicked the ball around with him at recess, he has quite the shot." He sipped "Turns out he used to play when he was younger."

"that will be a good opportunity for him."

"Yea it will be, keep him out the books a little but give him a little fresh air."

"he is brilliant. Both of them are." Riza added.

"Yes, both of them. I am always surprised when I see their test scores. Edward seems to make it a mission to give me a challenging question. I know he is placed in an introduction level of chemistry, but the kid is a natural. It's like I'm trying to teach a student that's prepared for levels above the lessons."

Riza laughed "They are both like that in math too. If it were up to me, I would have placed him in my Calculus class. Maybe Alphonse too." Riza shifted against the arm of the couch so that she could face Roy. Roy threw his arm over the back of the couch and tucked his leg under himself.

"I can only imagine where those two are going to go. Edward could do anything in the research or the development field if he keeps on this route."

Riza smiled "My father used to say the same thing about you." Her smile faded and she took a long drink from her wine.

Roy chuckled "I went pretty far but look where that got me." Riza met his eyes "Right back where I started. We have a lot of talented students; they get to decide what they do with it." Riza half-smiled. "I made my decision and I have to live with that." He whispered. Riza opened her mouth to argue but decided against it. "Hopefully they make the right choice. I think with the knowledge that with the knowledge we provide them they will." He said confidently.

"I could make the same argument Roy. I thought I was going to be an engineer, but here I am." She gestured over her coffee table. It was littered with lesson plans and quiz templates.

Roy nodded and smiled "Winry was talking about engineering the other day. Her parents are from a long line of doctors but are going to let her choose her own profession."

Riza smiled "Good for her. That's exciting." She leaned her head into the back of the couch but continued to watch him "My father wanted me to be a chemist, like him, like his father." She sighed and turned back to him.

"But you are here doing good work." She snorted "I mean it Riza, you're an excellent mentor for our students. While you may be intimidating you are always an incredible ally."

"Sometimes I wonder, I know Grumman may be upset with what I did. I would do it all over again, I couldn't just leave it alone. I couldn't let those kids lose their mom and have nowhere to go."

"You did the right thing."

"I offered to take them." She whispered.

Roy's jaw dropped "You what?"

"They don't have any other family members that could take them. I offered to foster them at the very least until they graduate." Roy covered his mouth and looked away "I couldn't let them be separated or placed in the system Roy."

He nodded. "You always go above and beyond for your students." He looked back to her, she looked as though she was pleading for his approval. He smiled softly. "What did Trisha say?"

"she said that she would consider it but that she barely knew me. So, I told her about when my mother died and when my father died. I told her that if it wasn't for you and your mother taking me in until my grandfather could make arrangements I would have been sent away." Roy grabbed her hand absent mindedly "I promised her that I would take care of them to the best of my abilities, but I am very inexperienced."

Roy's brows creased waiting for her to continue, her face turned away "she agreed to think about it at least." He squeezed her hand "I couldn't believe it Roy. This woman barely knows me, how could she consider that." Her voice tapered off. "She must be desperate." Barely a whisper.

She looked to their hands and then back up to his face. "While the boys' life will be devastated with all of this at least they will have you. You'll do an excellent job." Riza used the wrist of her hand holding the glass to wipe a tear that escaped.

Roy wiped the other tear with his thumb. "I couldn't just walk away." She whispered.

He chuckled "You never knew how to do that." She downed her wine "You did good today. It will be a commitment to take them in." She nodded, as she sniffled, more tears escaped. Roy took her glass from her and set them on the table to his left. He opened his arms and she crawled across the couch. Her face nestled into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She took a deep breath in and let it out as slowly as she could, but her body shook against him. Her rubbed circles against her back. Hayate watched from the floor. He hummed and held her closely against him. Roy removed the clip from her hair letting it down. He slowly worked his fingers through her hair as she continued to cry.

As she calmed, she turned her face allowing her cheek to rest on his chest. He pulled her hair behind her ear so that he could see her face. He continued to rub her back. She sighed and relaxed the grip she had on his shirt. Her hand slid down and wrapped around him. Roy watched her cautiously. This is the closest that they had been in 5 years.