The Way to a Man's Heart Isn't By Crushing His Ego Chapter 17: Answers Can be Found in Simple Yet Unord, a fullmetal alchemist fanfic

AN: This chapter could and probably will be a little longer then most, just because I'm putting some songs in it. The songs will be in bold italic font. I don't know what else to make it in. I don't want you to get confused between when the song is playing, and when the character is thinking, that's why I'm doing it this way.

Hmmmm… I'm not getting as many reviews as I did before (thank you to who all do review!) Is this fic not good anymore? Maybe it's because lots of people have read it already? Once I get the new chapters up do you think I'll get reviews like I used too? Lol, just asking, curious to see what your opinion on this is!

RW Grimm: Lol, you fixed it (well… kinda… later chapters, ya know?) and you can't remember what chapter they get things started in? Well, don't feel too bad, because I don't remember either, lol. I'm just posting them. I know it's a few chapter yet, the whole 'Roy walking in on Riza' thing is the next chapter. In your opinion and anyone's who read this before, if you can remember that chapter that I more or less blamed on Riza's mood swings. You know, were things kinda got outta hand, do you think I should rewrite that chapter? People seemed to like it better after I changed how I wrote things (most of them anyway) Do you think I need to rewrite it?

The Way to a Man's Heart Isn't by Crushing His Ego Chapter 17: Answers can be Found in Simple yet Unordinary Ways

"Lieutenant Colonel," the Fuhrer said before Roy left. The dog glanced back at his master. "That woman just saved your job you know," he smirked, "Be sure and thank her when you see her again."

Roy's expression didn't change. He just nodded and left.

"Great job, Riza, next time I'm in trouble I'll ask you for advice on what to say," Hughes said with a smile.

Riza didn't reply. She had somewhat of a sad expression on her face. She couldn't get Roy's expression out of her mind. The way he was looking at her while she was apologizing. It was just so... not Roy. It was like he was apologizing, but not with words. His eyes were so gentle and kind, like he knew how she felt on the inside and wanted to do something, but wasn't sure what to do, or he couldn't do it with what was going on around them.

Does he really care? Riza asked herself as they walked down the long hallway. Her amber eyes focused on the green tile floor. Her body was going home, but her mind was still stuck in the Fuhrer's office, Roy right by her side. Does he really care? Is he capable of loving a woman? And what is this strange feeling I have all the sudden? I feel I should be happy. But for some odd reason I feel different. I don't know if I'm sad, or confused, or depressed. This is an expression I've never felt before. A feeling of not knowing. I don't even know if I want to know the truth as to why I feel this way. It's such a hopeless feeling, I want to push it away and forget about it, but I can't escape it. It's like I'm lost in a dark room and can't find the door in the lonely darkness.

"Are you alright, Second Lieutenant?" Armstrong asked as he looked over her shoulder. Her facial expression and lack of words made him a little worried. He didn't know if she was really upset or not.

"Huh?" Riza asked as she snapped out of her mind for a second. "What?"

"Are you ok?" Havoc asked.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Riza replied as she looked back at her friends. Her face somewhat questionable. Am I really this readable? She wondered. Back at the old military base, she was said to have had no emotions. No one knew what she was thinking. But here, here it seemed she couldn't control her emotions at all, and it was driving her mad as to why she couldn't. All she knew was it had something to do with her new commanding officer.

"You just seem really quiet," Hughes replied. His arm still slumped over Riza's shoulder.

"Oh that," she replied quickly, "Well, I'm just as shocked as you were. I never thought the Fuhrer would let us go free like that. It was just that I'm too stunned to say anything."

"Well that's understandable," Hughes said as they walked down the flights of stairs. Armstrong nodded to Riza's response and Havoc just smiled. "It's not everyday something like this happens," he added with a laugh.

Roy was still walking behind them. His dark eyes were also focused on the floor beneath him. He didn't feel the same way Riza did. He wasn't lost or confused. He just felt bad about what happened. He never thought she'd react to everything the way she did in the Fuhrer's office. He thought she'd just shrug it off and take whatever the Fuhrer has to offer. But she didn't, she begged for forgiveness, like a little child when they do something wrong and their mother threatened to take their toy away. On top of that, she was also willing to take Havoc's, Hughes', and Armstrong's punishment as well as her own. Roy had never seen anyone react in that manner, and now he felt bad for it.

"Hey, Roy, you alive back there?" Hughes asked as he glanced back at his sulking friend.

Roy looked up at his friends and gave a small nod. He had his same cool expression. No one knew he was feeling anything negative on the inside.

"I bet you never expected that response for the Fuhrer, did ya?" Hughes asked with a laugh as he took his arm off Riza and waited for Roy to catch up with him.

"Yeah," Roy replied as he glanced up and watched Riza, Armstrong, and Havoc leave through the front entrance.

"Well good grief, this has sure has been an interesting day," he said as they walked outside. It was a beautiful night, not to hot, not to cold. There were no clouds so you could see the stars clearly in the night sky. "I've really gotta be getting home. See you tomorrow, or… whenever you get back from your mission," the Major said as he walked away. His car was parked far away from Roy's. Riza wanted to walk home, she didn't live too far, and it was a nice night. Havoc was driving himself and Armstrong home.

Roy stared up at the stars for a minute or two, and then he headed down the stairs and to his car, which was parked a little ways away from the back of the military buildings.

It has been a long day. Roy thought to himself as he approached his car. It was old fashioned, much like all the other cars of that time, and was painted black. Usually he'd find a lower ranking officer to drive him home. That was just how the military was run, but today he really didn't feel like bothering with it. He began unlocking the door. He had decided he wouldn't think of his Second Lieutenant anymore that night.

She got into it all by herself. She didn't have to try and prank me back. This all happened out of her own free will. Roy's macho smile retuned as he got in his car and started the engine. He put his car in reverse so he could back out of the parking spot, then he put it in drive. He drove down a few streets, his mind not concentrating on the road, but on the events that happened that day.

It was quiet; most of the families living in the houses on the street had gone to bed long before so the houses were dark, only the street lights shown brightly, as if lighting a path to his and only his destination.

Flashbacks of the bank, the remark about the hooker boot, and the destruction of the office flashed through his mind. He smirked once again when he remembered the expression on Riza's face as each event came to pass. Suddenly without warning a car with their bright headlights on passed Roy's car, the bright lights blinded Roy for a second and a glimpse of Riza apologizing flashed through his mind. He remembered the look in her eyes. She wasn't going to cry, but you could see all the sorrow in her eyes. He shook his head violently. This isn't my problem. I didn't make her do anything. With the way that woman acts, she'll be able to shake this off. Don't worry about her. Roy kept repeating to himself over and over. The street lights came and went around his small car as he drove down the small two lane road. I need some music. He thought to himself. "Yes, that will get her off my mind," he said as he reached for the radio dial. He didn't care what he listened to, just something to take his mind off things. He turned the radio on, it was a talk show. Not what he was in the mood for. He continued playing with the dial until he found a station that played soft soothing songs. He heard a man's voice on the radio.

"And for all you men out there who are seeking advice. We have a song coming up that may answer a few of your questions." The voice on the radio said.

Roy smirked at his remark. Answer my questions, yeah right.

The song began playing; it was a guitar beat with and a little bit of drums, not anything electric or heavy metal. A pleasant tune that wasn't a really a slow song that bored you to death. It had enough power, but also enough calmness to balance out nicely. The singer began singing. It was a man, he sounded somewhat older, his voice blended nicely with the music.

Don't ride your bike off a ramp that's more than three bricks high
Don't take that candy from the store if you ain't got the dime
Don't pick a fight with a little guy that doesn't talk that much
Don't pick up a cherrybomb thinkin' it's a dud
And don't sneak out of a 2 story house usin' bed sheets for a rope
Don't ask me how I know

Sell your truck while it's still runnin', save the Jesus off the dash
Say a prayer when you feel like cussin', save your money pay with cash
Forget your pride, buy the roses, if you're sorry tell her so
Don't drink the water in Mexico
Don't ask me how I know

Don't quit your high school football team halfway through the season
Don't bust your buddy in the nose when you know he didn't mean it
Don't lose a girl you love at home for a night in Panama City
Don't rush off the phone when your Mama calls, you ain't that busy
Ya oughta make that drive to say goodbye to your grampa 'fore he goes
Don't ask me how I know

The lights from the outside world continued to flash through Roy's windows. He rolled down his window to get some air. There was a small breeze, nothing major, just enough to blow his black bangs across his forehead calmly. The wind stopped for a moment as Roy turned a corner; the body of the car blocked the wind from coming in. Once the car was going in a straight line it began blowing in again.

Forget your pride buy the roses, if you love her tell her so,
Don't go to Vegas with your heart broke,
Don't bum your cousin for that first smoke
I'm tellin' ya, don't drink the water in Mexico

Answering my questions, 'forget your pride and buy the roses'. Roy calculated what this man was saying in his head. Is that really what I should do? Everything else he was saying sounded right. Is that right, too?

Don't ask me how I know
Don't ask me how I know
I just know
Sell your truck while it's still runnin', say a prayer when you feel like cussin'
I know.

Roy tuned off the radio as he pulled into the parking lot in front of the building that held his apartment. He began thinking about what the man was saying as he turned off his car, got out of his car, and walked into the apartment building, still wondering about the song and Riza.

Riza had made it home a long time before Roy. She was lying on her bed in a light blue, button up, night shirt. She tossed and tuned in her bed. She couldn't sleep even thought she felt exhausted. She glanced at her wrist watch. Her amber eyes squinted in the dark, trying to make out the time.

"Oh my gosh, it's 4:34 in the morning," she groaned as she sat up and stretched a bit. Then she slumped forward, from the waist down she remained in the sitting position, but her upper body lay, stretched out on the bed, her arms almost reaching the end of the soft warm bed. How am I supposed to sleep? And why is that man on my mind? I try to get him to leave, but he insists on staying and tormenting me. Even when he's not around I still get annoyed with him. She though, she got up. Her bare feet felt cold on the wooden floor.

She walked through her small apartment and into the kitchen. Her kitchen was small as well. In the back of the room was a backdoor. In the front of the room was the door she had entered through, next to the door sat a stove. Next to the stove against the right wall sat a sink and cabinets hung above it on the white walls, next to the sink was a white fridge. Everything in the room was white, the walls, the cabinets, and the floor, all of it was painted white. On the left wall was a kitchen table, it was pressed against the wall. She didn't need much seating because she was the only one there, and it saved space. She grabbed a quick snack out of the pantry and slumped down in the kitchen chair, laying her snack on a napkin that sat on the table. It was dark and quiet in the room. She sat there for a few minutes thinking about Roy and the way he looked at her. She just couldn't banish that look from her mind, like it was frozen in time and would forever be imbedded in her thoughts.

Then she got an idea to get him off her mind. She reached over to the small radio that sat on the table, pressed up against the wall. Her fingers traced the small brown object as she tried to find the dial in the dark. She found it and clicked it on. She immediately found a station she liked.

There was no voice talking on the station, she must have missed that, music had just stared playing. It was soft, quiet and peaceful. Just a guitar playing a slow calming melody. Just before the lyrics in the song started a piano as well as a few other string instruments began playing. The singer was a young woman, probably about her age.

Time after time, I've turned away from you,
When all I had to do was surrender to your love.
You've seen me stumble, you've watched me fall,
And though I heard you call, I just wasn't strong enough.
But there's an emptiness inside without you in my life:
Lord, I hope you hear my prayer tonight.

Won't you blind my eyes, when all I see is temptation.
Break my stride, when I'm runnin' from the truth.
An' tie my hands, when I reach out with desire.
Go on an' do what you must do,
Whatever you must put me through till I turn to you.
Yeah.

Riza listened to the lyrics this young girl was singing. It reminded her a lot of Roy and herself. Like the song was being told from her point of view and it was telling the way she felt, or thought she might be feeling, about Roy. These were the things she wanted Roy to do to her if she couldn't convince herself of the truth.

I know that others fall down on their knees for mercy,
But you may have to hurt me before I see the light.
'Cause I've gone as far as I can go by myself:
I need your help if I'm gonna get it right.
I'm tired of strugglin' every day,
I wanna know the way,
So now the only prayer I wanna pray:

As she listened to the music play she began thinking more about Roy and herself. Flashbacks of the past few days didn't pass through her mind like it had done with Roy's, but calming images, such as Roy's eyes when she was apologizing to the Fuhrer, and the way he smirked when he was happy or had a crazy idea.

Suddenly, the music got stronger and the girl's voice picked up, like she really meant what she was saying. It was all coming from her soul.

Is just blind my eyes, when all I see is temptation.
Break my stride, when I'm runnin' from the truth.
An' tie my hands, when I reach out with desire.
Go on an' do what you must do,
Whatever you must put me through

Till I turn to you.
Yeah…

Blind my eyes;
Break my stride;
Let every want to be denied;
Whatever you must do.
An' tie my hands;
Ignore my demands;
Build a wall that stands so high, I can't get through,
Till I turn to you, yeah.
Until I turn to you.
'Cause I wanna turn to you.

As the song ended and the music stopped playing Riza began thinking. So many thoughts rushed through her head, and even more now that she had seen things through the point of view of the song. Is this what that strange feeling was? She wondered. Am I really just trying to run away from him? Trying to push him out of my mind?

She began wondering about what Roy really was trying to get at. What he was really thinking. Then a voice came on the radio, it was the same man Roy had heard. "Alright for all you ladies out there, ever wonder what you man has been thinking? Well we have a song coming up next that should answer all those questions. Sorry guys, but we couldn't leave them in the dark."

Hmm… She wondered as she listened to what the man was saying. The truth about men, this may help.

The music that began playing had a comical tune. Mostly only the twangy sound a guitar was heard. The song sounded like it was sung by about four redneck men, all middle aged and jobless.

"This better not be that hobo," Riza said harshly.

We don't like to go out shoppin',
We don't care what's on sale.
We just want to sit with a bag full of chips,
Watchin' the NFL.
When you come over at half-time,
An' say: "Does this dress fit too tight?"
We just look you in the eye with a big fat lie,
An say:"Uh, uh: Looks just right."

Well, that's the truth about men.
Yeah, that's the truth about us.
We like to hunt and golf on our days off,
Scratch, an' spit, an cuss.
It don't matter what line we hand you,
When we come draggin' in.
We ain't wrong; we ain't sorry,
An' it's probably gonna happen again.

Riza's expression began to change as she heard the confession from these men. She turned on the light that was in the ceiling and started at the small radio, annoyance began to show on her face. She couldn't believe this was true.

We hate watchin' "Steel Magnolias".
We like "Rambo" an' "Die Hard 4".
Jump up and down like fools when we see the new tools,
At the Home Depot store.
We don't really wanna take you to dinner,
At some fancy restaurant.
The only reason we do is 'cause we know it leads to,
The one thing that we all want.

Well, that's the truth about men.
Yeah, that's the truth about guys.
We'd rather play guitars and work on cars,
Than work on the problems in our lives.
An' though we might say it to you,
Every now and then,
We ain't wrong; we ain't sorry,
An' it's probably gonna happen again.

Well, if you want to know what we're all thinkin',
It's nothing too complex.
It's just somethin' cold for drinkin',
And a whole lot of s-e...

Yes, that's the truth about men.
Yeah, that's the truth about guys.
We like to hunt and golf an' drive around, lost,
Scratch, an' spit, an' a whole lot of other disgustin' stuff.
It don't matter what line we give you,
When we come a-crawlin' in.
We ain't wrong; we ain't sorry,
An' it's probably gonna happen again.

We ain't wrong; we ain't sorry,
An' it's probably gonna happen;
Sure, it's gonna happen;
You know it's gonna happen again…

An' that's the truth about men.

Riza had a very annoyed look on her face. This song had told her all of what Roy was thinking. She just sneered and grumbled, "Goodnight, sir." Then she clicked off the light and walked back to her room, a little steamed.

AN: The songs I used in this chapter were all country songs (yes I'm a country fan, but I hate those old country songs. I love the new stuff) The first one I used was called "Don't Ask Me How I Know" by Bobby Pinson. In Roy's case I didn't need something real deep. Just something to make him wonder. The 'forget your pride buy the roses' bit was what I was leaning toward on that one.

The second one is called "Canyon Prayer" by Jessi Alexander. I thought that was more or less how Riza felt about Roy. I just needed it to make Riza realize it, as well as to help you get a better idea of how Riza was feeling.

And the last one is called, of course, "The Truth About Men" and it's by Blake Shelton, Montgomery Gentry, and Andy Griggs (I think, Trace Adkins may be in there too, dunno). I know there are a lot of things in there that couldn't happen in the FMA world, such as the 'watching the NFL' and stuff like that, but the overall stuff fit just fine, and it's a song, songs always have stuff that aren't true in them, you could think of it like that I suppose. I just put that in there because I felt like it. It's so Full Metal, things are all serious and then something funny pops up out of no where, that was the 'poppin' thing, lol. Plus I needed a good way to end the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think!