A/N Hi again! Thanks as always to all of my reviewers; you make me want to write! Still trying to reach 250, but I may not, oh well. Well, I don't really have anything else really to say, so on with the story.
Disclaimer: I do not and never have owned FMA
"Roy, where are we going?" Riza asked again as they walked down the street.
"You'll see," he replied. Riza continued to walk next to him, somewhat annoyed, but patient nonetheless. Break had started the day before, only a few weeks to go until Christmas. Riza was still in deep despair over the whole abortion incident, but Roy seemed to be trying as hard as he could to make it up to her. And so they trudged through the light snow from the night before to were ever the hell they were going.
"Just around this corner, here we are," Roy said, as they rounded a bend and came to a small shop. The front was chalk full of lush green trees, each slightly different in it's own way. "Pick one out," he said, gesturing around, "You need a Christmas tree for a good Christmas."
Riza stared in wonder at the trees, frosted in a layer of soft snow. Then they began to wander about, looking at each one individually it seemed. Riza couldn't abandon her sadness and guilt, but Roy helped her carry the burden. And, seeing as it was a huge burden to carry alone, she couldn't help but be grateful and feel her spirits lift at Roy's many varied attempts to make her smile. After about an hours worth of searching, they found a lovely tree near the back, it was missing a branch or two, but seemed just about right.
"Roy?" Riza asked as he purchased the tree
"What?"
"I love your enthusiasm and all, but how are we going to get this home?"
"…Didn't think about that."
In the end, they also bought a large sledge to drag along behind them to carry the tree. It also served useful while they got tinsel, ornaments, and other decorations. They spent most of the day simply wandering around and buying Christmas related things. Also, at Riza's request, they stopped to buy some groceries due to Mustang's utter lack of non-alcoholic beverages and food whatsoever. "Here, I need to pick up something, I'll meet up with you when your done shopping for groceries," Roy said. Riza nodded in accent and looked around. Where to start?
Wandering through the isles of assorted foods, it became painfully apparent that Riza would need more than one trip. Spices, fruit, vegetables, flour, cookbooks, Roy needed everything. 'Best just get the necessities,' Riza thought exasperatedly as she loaded up her cart with things such as flour, rice, spices, and meat, 'this could take a while.'
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Got everything?" asked Riza, dragging the sledge lazily behind her.
"Yep, you?" he replied, looking in disbelief at the mass amount of groceries.
"Pretty much."
They finally made it home, and Roy began trimming and setting up the tree. "Riza, what's for dinner?"
Riza, meanwhile, was nailing the wreath to the front door. "I don't know, but one thing's for sure, I'm not making it."
"Right, sorry. How about we, go out to eat tonight? I'll call and get us reservations somewhere," Roy replied, berating himself for forgetting Riza's disability. Her left arm was, for the majority, still immobile. She could move her fingers and bend them rather well now, but it would be sometime yet before she could use it again. But it would be all right, all he had to do was pull some strings and they could get into the fanciest, most difficult to get into restaurant. And tonight, he was going to impress.
It was about an hour or two later that almost all of the decorations were up and both Riza and Roy were hanging silver and gold baubles on the tree. Once the box was empty of decorations, all now located on the tree, they both stepped back to admire the affect. It was simple, but beautiful and breathtaking in it's own way. "They say less is more," Riza stated, "and this proves it."
"Riza, get dressed up, tonight we're going out to eat," Roy said. He himself needed some fancying up, and it wasn't until another 15 minutes or so had passed that they were both ready, Riza throwing on some red shoes to go with her dress. She had her hair down, and wore a light red lipstick, only just noticeable. Her dress was casual, with simple red short heels to go with. Roy had on a tux, black shiny shoes (probably guchi), and no makeup, seeing as he's a guy. They got in the car, driving away from their now Christmas-ified house. Where they went to for dinner was like Robertino's, only more fancy, more exclusive, and more expensive.
Riza sat down, marveling at the length of many of the other women's dresses. 'Does Roy expect me to wear things that short?' she found herself wondering incredulously, 'you can totally see her panties.' Which would be a problem, as Riza did not wear normal panties; she secretly prided herself upon wearing undergarments with… less fabric involved. It was one of the few ways in the military that she could express how feminine she was, though no one could tell she was wearing it.
"Riza, have you decided what to order?" Roy asked, snapping her out of her thoughts on thongs and perverts like, well, Roy.
"What? Oh, yeah, I'll have the broiled chicken fillet with cream sauce and a small salad," Riza replied as the waiter standing casually behind Roy noted this. After living with Roy for so long, she had learned how to know what is and what is not good in restaurants. Many things she had to learn out of first hand experience, like the fact escargot was really just a fancy word for snails. Really, who thought of that? It's just weird.
"And a bottle of your most expensive Champaign," Roy added.
"Roy, it's no fair," said Riza as the waiter glided off to do whatever waiters do. Obviously not anything we regular human beings would know about. "I told you everything that happened when you were away in my life, so now you have to tell me what went on in yours."
"Well, not much to tell the truth," Roy said, "We followed clues, compared murders, and we thought it was adding up, but it was all just a bunch of red herrings. I knew that something was wrong the night I saw one of them.
"I had gone on my own to retrace our steps and check on the clues we had when I heard a struggle going on a ways off. It was in a dark alleyway, there were two men. One of them was effortlessly choking the other, practically enjoying it, and as I watched the life drained out of the other. I ran forward to get the murderer, at least see his face, and I did. It was mine. It looked like it had been someone else's a moment before, but in the blink of an eye I saw myself toss the body aside, wink at me and disappear into the night. It was like a mirror, a mirror with a mind of it's own. Except mirrors can't kill."
There was a brief silence, before Roy continued. "The next day we realized that it was all random and nothing could be done about it. We were chasing a shadow, seizing at thin air. Then I heard you collapsed and, as the murders had stopped and the case was obviously hopeless, got on the next train I could," he finished, uncorking the newly arrived Champaign and pouring it into both of their glasses.
"Sounds like we both had our fair share of social time with Envy," Riza joked. It felt good to laugh again. Shortly later their meals arrived, with all the frills and magnificence of a 5 star restaurant.
"It's funny, remember our first date? It was at a place like this," Riza commented, gesturing at the surroundings.
"Yeah, then Ed and Hughes came to spy on us. To not be suspicious, Ed borrowed Hughes's wife's dress and makeup. And where he got the bra, to this day remains a mystery," Roy finished.
"Good times."
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After the meal, they did not immediately head home. This restaurant, being fancy and hard to get into, had a large garden in the back. The tranquility of it all was amazing, and the continued snow falling made the sight absolutely picturesque. Located around the extensive grounds were several delicately carved marble benches, all freezing, but pleasant enough to sit on. They stopped to rest on one of these, admiring the frost and festive lights.
"Riza, I know you've had a hard time with everything that's happened lately, and I couldn't be there for you. That is one of my greatest regrets, Riza, I want to be there for you. You shouldn't have to do everything yourself," Roy said, staring Riza in the eyes. Warmth emanated from them in a way, Riza loved their dark mysteriousness. The things Roy said were kind, but reminded Riza of things she didn't exactly want to think about just then when things seemed so good. Depression began edging in on her heart, but she tried to push it away.
"Riza, I want to help you carry your burdens, I want you to be able to rely on me, to be able to trust me with anything. Riza, will you marry me?" Roy pulled a small velvety box out from his coat. The ring inside was silver with a single diamond in the middle, a curving pattern on the silver, and an inscription on the inside. Simple things often hold the greatest beauty in the world.
A/N: Had to fit that bit in, that's why this chapter's so long. I'll update when I feel like it, might be a while though. Please review! I will love you if you do.
