AN: the song lyric roy mentions is from the song this fic is named after - inferno by cyril hahn

Riza walked out of Armstrong Records a signed artist.

Her.

A professional singer.

She had to park herself on a bench outside the building on the busy main street to take a moment for herself. Bracing her elbows on her knees, she bent her head and took deep breaths, not letting the happy tears spill over just yet. She didn't want to do it in the street.

She was a signed artist. It had been her dream for so long and it had seemed so unobtainable she thought it would never come. Riza had been kicked out of her home because of this dream then had managed to prove herself in the music world, getting herself a contract and becoming a signed artist, despite her father yelling in her face that it would never happen. Riza had proved him wrong and it felt wonderful.

If she was being honest, she'd never go back and shove it in his face. Riza wasn't that kind of person. She was so done with that man that she hoped to never see him again. There was no point in trying to make amends because growing up he'd been a brick wall to talk to. If it wasn't his way or what he wanted to hear, Berthold Hawkeye wasn't interested. Over the years they'd grown apart and they ended up being two strangers living in the same home. Luckily, the house had been big enough so they never really had to cross paths. All that money, Berthold, and look where it got you. With a daughter you verbally abused and who wants nothing to do with you after the way you treated her.

Taking a deep breath Riza let out all those bad feelings leave her body. It was time to move forward. A smile played over her lips.

Alex Armstrong was adamant that she'd have full creative control and suggested that if anyone in his organisation stated otherwise, she was to go and speak to him and he'd sort it out. It was a reassurance she needed, and it soothed her nerves about taking this next big step. Riza also had good people behind her to support her every step of the way. Rebecca and Izumi were as excited about this day as Riza was. They'd both read over the contract – at their insistence – and deemed it acceptable. She had a wonderful boyfriend who still made her stomach flutter at the thought of him. Roy had read over the contract twice – the little frown on his face as he'd concentrated was extremely adorable – and was satisfied, seemingly very happy with it. To have all that support after coming from nothing, Riza almost cried when the realisation hit her.

Pressing her palms flat over her knees, Riza took a deep breath then stood, collecting her bag. She set off for her car with a spring in her step and couldn't stop a smile spreading across her face as she moved. Things were already looking up for her after meeting Roy, but now it felt like she was skyrocketing. She was finally close to achieving her dream.

"Roy Mustang," Roy greeted as soon as he picked up the phone. He sounded distracted and Riza smiled, imagining the furrow of his brow as he concentrated.

"Hey, it's me," she greeted.

"Oh, Riza! Hey!" His tone had completely changed, and he sounded happy to hear from her. It sent a thrill through her body, thinking about how lucky she was to have found him. "How did it go?" The excitement in his tone kicked Riza's back up again.

Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a rush, a grin spreading across her face. "I'm a signed artist."

Roy whooped almost immediately through the phone, and it was loud. Riza laughed at his reaction, settling down in the driver's seat of her car and letting the feeling wash over her. "Yes! That's great! I'm so happy for you." She could hear the grin in his voice through the phone.

"Thanks, Roy." Her gratitude came out shakily, her voice quivering as emotions threatened to overwhelm her again. She tried to hold it back but now she was in the safety of her own car and speaking to the man she loved it was hard.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine," she mumbled wiping at her eyes.

Roy chuckled through the phone and it wrapped around her like one of his hugs – which were her favourites. "Come over to mine if you want, and we can celebrate?" he offered. "I've got one more report to do for this month then I'll be home."

"That would be lovely," she smiled, wiping her eyes once more. "Thank you."

"No problem," he reassured happily. "I'll call ahead and tell Denny to let you up, but to be honest, he'd probably just do that anyway. I just don't want you to have to wait." Riza still couldn't believe that they'd reached this point, where she was so welcome into his home without him there and Denny, the security guard, would just let her up without question. It was amazing to her. "I'll see you soon. I love you."

Riza grinned. "I love you too."

Ending the call Riza gripped the steering wheel hard and let out a deep, yet happy, sigh. Her grin returned and she started the engine, heading towards Roy's apartment.

Denny just smiled and shook his head when she pulled up to the gate. "Imagine him calling me to let me know you were coming," he grinned through the window. "Just head on through Riza. Hey, Hayate!" he greeted with a little wave, who perked up and wagged his tail happily in the back.

She'd anticipated Roy's offer to spend the night at his – and she'd been presumptuous and wanted to do it before he'd offered – so brought her canine companion with her. Regardless of that though, she couldn't leave him at home all day, so it was a given Hayate would come with her anyway today.

After exiting the car, she smiled as Hayate greeted Denny eagerly, desperate for attention and to be petted.

"There you go, Riza," Denny smiled after granting her access to Roy's apartment with his own key.

"Thank you, Denny."

"It's no problem. And tell Roy not to bother phoning ahead," he chuckled. "He doesn't need to." Riza smiled and thanked him again, grateful he was so welcoming. "Have a nice day!"

"You too, Denny."

The doors closed in the lift, leaving her and Hayate in there alone. Glancing down at her dog, she noticed he was looking up at her, a happy smile on his face while his tongue lolled out of his mouth. As soon as he noticed Riza's attention on him, his tail thumped against the linoleum floor. Grinning, Riza crouched to pet him, letting the happiness from the day settle over her.

She couldn't wait to see Roy and share the celebration with him.

Roy's foot tapped impatiently as he waited for the lift to reach the penthouse. Excitement coiled inside his stomach and had been present all afternoon as he worked through what needed to be done. He was so happy for Riza. He was so excited for her and couldn't wait to share this new experience and new time in her life. This was something she'd been wanting for so long, and now it was finally here. It was well and truly deserved. Roy smiled when he remembered a thought he'd had when he'd first heard her play. He couldn't believe someone hadn't discovered her yet and snapped her up to some big company. Now she had and was likely the happiest person on the planet because of it. Of all the people in the world, she deserved that the most.

The lift doors dinged open and Roy stepped out, eager to see her.

Riza was sitting on the couch in his living room, Hayate on her lap as she stared out the window to Central below. It was something she liked to do, Roy noticed, and would opt over doing that than watching television.

"Good afternoon," he greeted with a grin as he approached his girlfriend. He made a beeline for her, leaning over the back of the couch to kiss her. She smiled against his lips and when Roy pulled away, she noticed the twinkle in her eyes.

Roy was right, she was the happiest person in the world right now.

"Hello," she greeted.

"Hey, Hayate," he added, giving the pup a little scratch behind the ears. Roy was glad she'd brought Hayate with her, because it meant that she wouldn't need to go home early and could stay overnight if she wanted to.

Walking around the couch Roy flopped down. Turning his head, he grinned at Riza, letting every ounce of his pride and excitement for her pour into that smile. "Hello Miss Signed Artist." Her face lit up and it was a joy to witness. Chuckling, Roy leaned over and kissed her, so happy that she was on the way to achieving her dream of singing and producing her own music.

"Hey," she whispered, her eyes turning wet despite the happy smile on her face.

"There's no tears today," he smiled, brushing her cheek with his thumb.

"They're happy tears," she chuckled, wiping at her eyes fiercely. "Don't worry."

"That's all right then," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her again. "But still, no tears. We need to celebrate!" he exclaimed. Jumping from his spot, he rounded the couch to where he'd left his bag. Reaching inside, Roy watched as Riza's eyes widened while he produced a bottle of champagne. It was the expensive stuff, and Riza seemed to notice. However, this was a very special occasion and only the best would suffice. "Champagne?" he asked, waggling the bottle.

"Roy, you shouldn't have –" she began to argue but Roy silenced her with another kiss, leaning his body over the back of his couch to meet her lips. It was awkward and uncomfortable for him – he was at an extremely high risk of losing his balance and toppling onto the floor – but it was always worth it to kiss her.

"Only the best for you," he smiled softly. Pulling away, he entered his kitchen. A few seconds later, Riza followed and he heard Hayate following close behind, his claws tapping off the wooden floor.

Pulling two champagne flutes from his cupboard. They were a gift from his mother after he signed his first record deal, so it was only fitting to use them in this situation too. Roy placed them on the breakfast bar and popped open the bottle. They laughed at the pop as the top flew off into a corner somewhere. Poor Hayate got a fright and whined, his paws shifting restlessly on the tiled kitchen floor. Riza comforted him as Roy poured the champagne. While Riza was still occupied with soothing her dog, he lifted the remote for the sound system in his apartment and hit play. Riza's singing voice filled the apartment – the system was wired so that there was sound in every room in the apartment – and Roy grinned as her head jerked up in surprise.

"That's me," she stated, seemingly shocked.

"I'm glad you recognise your own voice," he remarked with a cheeky grin.

Riza let out a laugh of disbelief, then her eyes met his. "That's my EP."

"It is," he agreed.

"You still have it?"

"Of course," he stated. What did she think he did with it? Throw it away? As if he ever could.

Riza cast her eyes downwards, away from him, but there was a smile on her lips and her cheeks had turned slightly pink. "I didn't think you'd keep it."

"Of course, I did. I bought it, didn't I?"

Riza cringed when she heard a car horn on the track. Roy chuckled, because he knew exactly where the placement of it was – just at the end of his favourite lyric out of all her songs.

You know I need to hear your voice. It was his favourite because it was his general mood these days in regard to Riza. He loved her so much and wanted to spend every minute he could with her.

"But it's so bad," she commented, as if she didn't believe him and his reasons.

Roy shook his head. "Not to me." Riza looked at him as if she expected Roy to be joking, but he was dead serious. "There's a reason that CD hasn't moved out of my sound system for the last few months."

"It's stuck?" she joked.

Roy shook his head. "No. It's perfect."

"It's got a car horn and a train in the middle of the songs," Riza deadpanned.

Roy shrugged. "Who cares? It's still perfect. It's raw, it's emotional, and it's you. That's what makes it perfect – you." Roy slid the glass over to her, the champagne inside bubbling away like the excitement in Roy's stomach had been ever since Riza had called him and revealed her news. "I fell in love with your voice long before I fell in love with you, Riza," he stated. "But I knew it would happen." Roy chuckled. "That morning after I bought the EP, it was on repeat for hours, and I knew then that I was in big trouble," he grinned happily.

"Ah, so you're only in it for my singing voice then?" she jokingly asked. Roy blinked at her for a second, not expecting such a quick and witty response, then he burst out laughing. Riza's own sly grin made the moment even better. Every day he was learning more and more news things about her and Roy never wanted it to stop. One thing was for sure, she'd come out of her shell, and that made him even happier. He'd expected her to stutter slightly over her joke, or her cheeks to turn pink, but there she was, confident and standing tall and strong as she joked with him. He was so pleased she felt so comfortable with him to do so. It made him happier than she would ever know.

"Yes, my love," he professed dramatically. "I'm afraid I'm only falling in love with you because of your singing voice," he winked. "It's been my ruse all along!"

Riza sighed, her grin returning quickly. "What a shame, but I think I'm okay with it."

Roy grinned and raised his glass to her. Riza followed suit, her eyes dancing with excitement and jest. "To your future," he toasted, holding the champagne flute high. "May it be filled with success and happiness… and me," he winked. Riza grinned at him and took a swig while Roy followed suit.

After a drink, Riza rounded the breakfast bar and hugged him close, her arms wrapping around his torso tightly and giving him a squeeze. He chuckled in surprise, but still appreciated the gesture.

"I hope my future is filled with you too," she whispered. Roy smiled down at her. With just that one sentence, she'd made him the happiest man alive. Wrapping an arm around her back, he returned her tight hug and with the other he pulled her glass over to her.

"I aim to make that happen." Riza craned her neck up at him with a smile. "What? It's good to have goals," Roy shrugged. Riza burrowed her head into his chest as he downed the rest of his champagne. With the buzz from the alcohol and the warmth of Riza's embrace, Roy decided he never wanted to leave this moment. If he could bottle it and live with it forever, that would be more than okay with him.