DISCLAIMER: Man, 15 chapters later and I still don't own FMA. I've gotta keep working on this...
A/N: Hey there. Sorry for the lack of update, but I'm working on it. This story is almost over I'm afraid, but I thank all of you who have kept up with it. To you, I am eternally grateful. Thank you so much.
Chapter 16: Fraternization. G.
"Colonel Mustang!"
Roy stood in the middle of the hall. He had been trying to worm his way into Riza's room. They hadn't allowed him in to see her and he was growing impatient.
The doctor moved toward him as he stopped suddenly. Roy turned to see the man who'd said his name.
"Sir, are you busy at the moment?" the doctor asked.
Roy glanced back down the hall, biting his lip. "Actually, I-"
"Major Elric would like to speak to you..." the doctor interrupted.
Roy stared at him. He didn't know that Ed was even conscious. Last he'd known, both Ed and Riza showed no signs of waking.
"Is he all right?" Roy asked.
"He's recovering," the doctor replied. "He's still very weak from the massive amount of blood loss, but he should be up on his feet in a matter of days."
Roy nodded and started in the direction of Ed's room. He couldn't imagine what Ed would have to say to him, or why it couldn't wait until a later time.
He opened the door and stepped inside. Ed was lying in bed, looking terribly beat up. His automail arm hung limply at his side. It was clear that he had broken it again.
"Yes, Fullmetal?" Roy asked, looking at the pathetic form in front of him.
Ed opened his eyes in an almost menacing glare. "Colonel..."
The angry stare faded into a deep sigh. Ed's focus locked onto the blanket covering his legs. It was going to be difficult to say what he needed to say.
"I'm sorry..." he muttered.
Roy looked taken aback. Whatever he had been expecting, what he got was nowhere near it. Ed waited for Roy to grin smugly. He didn't.
"For what?" he asked calmly.
"You were right," Ed told him reluctantly. "I can't stop everything I come up against. You told me that flat out and I didn't listen to you. All this is my fault. I'm sorry."
Roy stared at him. Ed waited for him to say something.
"So...laugh..." Ed said.
Roy shook his head. "I'm not going to. I didn't want to be right, Fullmetal, you know that."
"Yeah right," Ed scoffed.
"No. Honestly!" Roy stepped closer to the bed. "I mean it. If you can have the courage to apologize to me, I can admit this. None of this was your fault. It was mine. None of this would have happened if it weren't for my careless mistakes."
Ed's eyes narrowed. Something had happened to the Colonel while he was unconscious. He didn't seem like the same person anymore.
"Is First Lieutenant Hawkeye all right?" Ed asked, changing the subject.
Roy's face fell. A strange sadness crept into his eyes. Ed noticed and feared the worst.
"Is she-"
"I don't know..." Roy said abruptly. "They won't tell me anything."
Ed frowned. "Is she talking? I mean, has she said anything?"
Roy shook his head. His voice was failing him. He had asked the doctor's on several occasions if she was awake, but none of them would give him any answers, no matter how much he ordered them to. They were ordered from higher power to keep everything under wraps.
Ed understood and decided not to say anything more about it. "And Al? Is he-"
Roy was glad they'd moved on. "Al is fine. He will need very little repair once..." he eyed Ed's arm. "Once your arm is fixed."
Ed seemed to have forgotten about his arm. He glanced down at it. With his good hand, he lifted it and dropped it onto his lap.
"Will it be an easy fix?" Roy asked, not really sure how bad the damage was. He didn't know much when it came to automail. "Or will it need to be replaced entirely?"
Ed tried to flex his fingers, but they wouldn't move. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and he stopped abruptly, cringing.
"I'm not sure. It might have to be replaced, but it could just need tweaking. Winry'll have to..." he froze and chuckled, holding his normal hand to his head. "Winry...oh, she's gonna kill me..."
"You're darn right I am!" A female voice came from the doorway.
Neither of the boys had heard her enter, but Winry stood there beside Roy, glaring at Ed. Ed braced himself for a blow to the head, hoping she hadn't brought a wrench with her.
Instead, Winry threw herself at him, disregarding the look of pain that dawned across his face at her doing so.
"Winry!" Ed gasped.
"What were you thinking?" she cried. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"
Winry still refused to let him go. Roy couldn't help but smile as Ed turned bright red. Deciding that he was no longer welcome, he left them alone.
Back in the hall, he heard someone call out his name.
"Roy!"
An arm slung around his neck, dragging him down the hall. He turned slightly to see Hughes standing next to him, grinning broadly.
"I reckon you won't be dating much anymore, eh?" he asked jokingly. "Not after that one..."
Roy smiled grimly. "I've sworn off women like her, that's for sure." he paused. "Actually, I don't know how much dating I'll be doing from now on..."
Hughes raised an eyebrow. "Riza?"
Roy nodded and Hughes smiled, laughing wholeheartedly.
"Finally! Jeez! Took you guys long enough!"
Roy didn't say anything. He sighed deeply and the two of them continued walking down the hall. They passed the open window where several nurses gasped as they walked by.
"Hi Colonel!"
"Colonel!"
"Over here! Hello Colonel!"
"You look great today, Colonel!"
Roy didn't even glance at the women, who all whined loudly. Hughes looked back at them, where they were waiting patiently for Roy to return. Glancing back at Roy, Hughes could tell something was wrong. He had never seen Roy pass by them without even acknowledging their existence.
"Roy?" he said slowly.
Roy didn't answer.
"Roy? What's going on?" he asked seriously. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing," Roy said softly. "I just...I want to-"
He spotted a doctor ahead of them. It was a different one than the one he'd spoken with earlier. He had seen this one go into Riza's room before. Picking up his pace, Roy easily caught up with him, leaving Hughes to trail behind.
"Colonel!" the doctor said, turning to see Roy standing before him. "How are you doing, sir? Are you feeling better?"
"Yes, sir. Thank you for asking," he said hastily. "I have to ask you. Have the conditions of Lieutenant Hawkeye improved?"
The doctor's eyes narrowed sternly. He had told Roy on several occasions that he was not allowed to divulge that information. He reminded Roy of this.
"I know," Roy said, growing irritated. "I just want to know if she's improving at all. Can't you at least tell me that much?"
The doctor paused for a moment, thinking it over. Finally, he nodded and looked down at the papers in his hands.
"Everything seems to be turning out well," the doctor told him. "However, she has not come 'round yet. She is still in a very deep state of unconsciousness."
"Do you know when she should?" Roy asked.
The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid it's impossible to tell. Even if I did know, I would not be able to tell you. Now, I must be off. Good day to you, sir."
With that, the doctor turned on his heel and hurried off in the other direction. Roy scowled at him and turned back to Hughes, who was still looking concerned. Roy took a few deep breaths, finally leaning against the wall.
"Don't worry, Roy..." Hughes said. "Everything will be all right."
Roy nodded, only hoping that Hughes was right. They started down the other direction, when yet another voice cried out. This one much younger.
"Mistah Hughes!"
Hughes had only turned a bit when he felt little arms wrap around his legs. He laughed when he looked down at the young girl in front of him.
"Sophie!" he said, smiling.
"You 'membahed me!" she said cheerfully.
"Of course I did," Hughes told her. "How could I forget?"
He lifted her into his arms and she hugged him tightly. Roy noticed the man standing at the other end of the hallway. He was walking toward them slightly, laughing at the actions of the little girl.
"Forgive me," he said. "She got away from me."
"Don't worry about it," Hughes said as Sophie grabbed his glasses and placed them over her own eyes.
"Colonel Mustang," the man said, nodding in Roy's direction. "It's good to see you again, sir."
"Mr. Villa," Roy said to him. "I hope you're well."
"I am now," he said. "Thanks to you."
Roy looked confused. "What do you mean?"
He smiled weakly. "All I needed was a conclusion. I know that my wife's murdered has been caught. No one else will have to suffer at her hands. You caught her, therefore, I hold you entirely responsible. I'm not sure I could ever thoroughly thank you for all you've done."
Roy shook his head. "No, I really don't deserv-"
"No, I insist," Mr. Villa said. "If there's anything I can do, I-"
"No," Roy said decisively. "Don't worry about it."
Mr. Villa looked at his daughter and Hughes. "Well, we'd better be going. I just wanted to stop by and thank you. Sophie wanted to see Mr. Hughes again." Sophie looked up at him at the mention of her name. "Say thank you to Mr. Mustang and Mr. Hughes."
"Thank you, Mistah Hughes," she said, hugging him again. Taking back his glasses, he placed Sophie back on the ground. She turned to Roy and clung to his leg tightly. He jumped at the touch, but smiled at her. "Thank you, Mistah Mustang!"
"You're welcome, kiddo..." he said softly.
They watched as Mr. Villa scooped Sophie back up into his arms and walked away. Hughes clapped his hand on Roy's shoulder.
"One day, Roy...one day..." he said. "You'll have kids too."
Roy laughed and shook his head. "I don't even want to think about that now. I'm too young."
Hughes laughed. "You're 29!"
"So?" Roy shot back at him.
"Hey there chief!" Lieutenant Havoc appeared at one of the doorways. "You certainly look a right sight better than you did before when we found you in that warehouse..."
Roy laughed bitterly. "Thank you, Havoc..."
"No problem," Havoc said, smirking. "Hey, rumor has it someone might be looking at a promotion..."
Roy's eyes grew wide. Hughes nodded. Roy didn't say anything, but he certainly hoped that Havoc was right. A promotion would be nice at a time like this, though he probably didn't deserve it.
Several other officers appeared in the doorway of the large staffroom. They were talking about the events that had gone on and the affects it would have on their future. Many of them were also talking about the rumored promotion of Roy Mustang.
"Are you excited, sir?" Sergeant Brosh asked, as Roy walked over toward them. Al was standing next to Lieutenant Ross and looked interested as well.
"Being transferred to Central," Lieutenant Ross said. "Of course he's excited."
"It's what you've always dreamed about, right chief?" Havoc interrupted. "Of course, it won't be as fun. We won't be around anymore."
"Ha," Roy laughed. "That's what I'm looking forward to."
Havoc knew Roy was joking. Roy would be completely lost without his subordinates. They were the only comic relief he had around the office. If he was promoted, he wouldn't be able to bring them along with him, would he?
And Riza...
Riza would have to stay behind too. Unless he made an arrangement with the Führer, but even then, it couldn't be certain she would be able to come with him.
"Starting to second guess yourself, Colonel?" Lieutenant Ross asked, noticing the look on Roy's face.
Before Roy could answer, Hughes had turned to look at something at the end of the hall.
"Roy..."
Roy turned slightly and froze. His heart began to pound as he noticed what Hughes was staring at. A doctor stood outside a door, holding it open.
Riza stood at the end of the hall, partially dressed in her uniform and looking a lot stronger then she felt. When she spotted Roy, a large weak smile spread across her face.
Slowly, she started toward him, gaining in speed as she got closer until she was nearly running. Feeling as if she were taking too much time, Roy ran toward her, taking her into his arms.
Riza's arms snaked around his neck as she pressed her lips to his. Roy was stunned at first by her forwardness, but relaxed and pulled her closer to him, kissing her deeply. The surrounding officers whistled and cheered loudly.
Riza pulled away, growing red. Roy chuckled lightly.
"I was so worried about you..." he muttered. "I-I thought you were-"
"Shh..." she said, pressing her fingers to his lips. "Don't worry. I would never leave you like this."
She kissed him again, but pulled away hastily, placing her cheek against his. He breathed in the sweet smell of her.
"I love you, Roy..." she whispered into his ear.
Roy thought his heart would soar. He had told her that he loved her already, but he had never heard her say it back. He had been waiting for her to say those words for many years.
Winry and Ed appeared in the doorway of Ed's room as the couple kissed each other a final time. Ed laughed to himself, though on the outside appeared disgusted at their public affection. Winry clapped her hands together, choking back tears of joy.
"Yes!" Hughes said, smiling triumphantly.
Riza's hands ran through Roy's hair as he rubbed the back of her neck. He tugged at her bottom lip gently, begging for further access to her mouth. She gave in, feeling his tongue slip past her lips. Part of her was embarrassed to be kissing him so passionately in front of all the others, but the other part didn't seem to notice them at all.
Though no one noticed, while watching them, Denny Brosh carefully took Maria Ross' hand in his. She blushed lightly at his touch, but didn't pull her hand away.
No one knew what was going to become of the pair, for fraternization among coworkers was frowned upon. It was most likely that Riza would be moved to another office, but Roy wouldn't hear of it.
She was his Lieutenant, his love, his life, and he wouldn't have it any other way...
For the rest of his life.
A/N: Okay, so I lied last chapter. There will only be one more chapter after this. I found it fitting to start the story in Riza's POV and end it in Riza's. Actually...it should end in Roy's, but there's no way I'm getting three more chapters outta this. The next chapter will probably be really short. I know there isn't too much Royai action, but I guess it doesn't fit as well as I hoped. There will be a little in the next chapter, but nothing real extreme. I'm gonna leave that for my other story, Midnight Conversations, (which is rated M, so I can pretty much do whatever I want with it. Muahaha. Lol. No, I'm only joking.) But yeah, so please Review! And check out my other works if you're interested. Once I'm done with this, I have another idea for another Royai story (yeah, that'll prolly be the only kind of FMA story I write.) which will be more Royai-ish than this one. So, keep an eye out! Thanks again!
Yours Fondly,
M.C.E.Black
