Royai Week Day 1: Triumph
Word Count: 1301
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: T
Characters: Riza Hawkeye, Roy Mustang
Warning: NA
Summary: Roy has been at her house for several months now, trying to break her father's code to flame alchemy. But perhaps today will be different.
Notes:

Triumph

No one could ever say that Berthold Hawkeye made anything easy for anyone. Riza could attest to that. All of her life she had been subject to the whims of her father's penchant for making things far harder than they needed to be. That was why she was not the least bit surprised when the research that her father had left behind proved to be equally as difficult.

For months she had watched as Roy had worked diligently to understand and comprehend her father's notes. At first it had been with her laying or sitting shirtless, a blanket or something held to her front as he studied the tattoo on her back. She would never forget the feeling of his fingers ghosting over her skin, the warm press of them on her back. In a way, it had been a soothing balm when compared to the process of getting the tattoo.

Now, though, he studied it from notes that he had made, a copy of the tattoo that he had transcribed. She had been uncertain of letting him do that at first. After all, her father had emphasized the importance of keeping flame alchemy a secret, even going so far as to burn all of his notes. She had only acquiesced to Roy's request after multiple assurances from him that he was going to burn everything after he had broken the secrets and mastered flame alchemy.

That had been two months ago, and Roy didn't seem any closer than he had before. Riza fed him what little bits of information she could recall or remember, but she was, honestly, of little help. She made sure he ate, tried to get him to sleep, kept the house and, when he needed it, exposed her back to him. Roy, for his part, tried to remember to eat and sleep, helped her with chores when she needed a break, told her to use his money to buy supplies, and was always extremely respectful when he asked to see her back.

It was an odd sort of existence they had here, but they had a routine they had settled in to.

Riza just didn't know how long it would last.

Roy's research sabbatical couldn't last forever. He had to go back to the military at some point. They wouldn't allow for him to stay gone forever, especially with the unrest that was happening in Ishval. The reports on the radio only seemed to be getting worse each day. The question was, when would they call him back to active duty?

Riza bit her lip as she cut up vegetables for supper that night, keeping her strokes nice and even. That wasn't something that she particularly wanted to think about. It was far too nice to have Roy here with her, and she honestly didn't know what she'd do when left. Instead, she focused on her cooking. She'd need to go hunting for more meat soon, and she probably needed to check her traps. She needed to check the garden as well. The carrots should be just about ready to pull. If she had enough, maybe she could go to the market and trade for some of those purple potatoes she heard that old man Patterson was trying to grow. She'd like to see how they measured up to regular potatoes. Perhaps she could—

There was a thud from upstairs and she jerked, messing up her cut and leaving the green onions unevenly cut. That didn't matter, though. She put down the knife, quickly wiping her hands on a towel, and heading out of the kitchen. Her heart sped up, remembering the thump that had brought her up the stairs only to find her father dead. It wasn't likely that Roy was as well, but he was researching flame alchemy, and her father had been researching flame alchemy, and what if there was something about flame alchemy that caused people to die, and—

Riza clamped down on her racing thoughts, trying to get her equally racing heart under control even as she headed up the stairs. She could hear more movement, so he was probably alright, but she couldn't help the worry and panic that lurked in the back of her mind.

"Roy?" Her voice held more of her panic then she wanted it to. She continued up the stairs. "Roy!?'

There was stumbling that sounded like footsteps, and they seemed to be moving from the study, Riza able to pinpoint where he was as she knew this house inside and out. Still, she didn't slow down even as his footsteps moved towards the top of the stairwell.

She was halfway up when Roy leaned over the railing, half hanging down to look at her. "Riza! I did it!"

Riza didn't stop coming up the stairs, worry still living in her as Roy looked a little too wild-eyed for her liking.

"Did what?" she asked as she climbed, drawing closer to him.

He tracked her progress up the stairs, grinning through his two-day-old stubble and messy, unkept bangs. "I broke the code! Your father's code! Riza! Now I can understand his notes!"

She rounded the top of the stairs, looking at him with wide eyes. "You did?" she asked.

Still grinning, he reached out to her, pulling her into him and hugging her tightly. "I did!" he crowed. "I figured it out! Riza, do you know what this means? It means I can understand what he wrote, and I can deconstruct the circle! I'll be able to understand flame alchemy!"

Riza didn't fight his grip, although she did fight the blush on her cheeks. Now was not the time for her childhood crush to rear its head again. He was four years old than her, for heaven's sake!

"Does this mean you can master it?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled against his shirt.

His arms squeezed her a bit more. "I think so. I should be able to! It'll take practice, I'm sure but if I can master it—" he pulled back from her, still grinning, but didn't let go of her arms. "—If I can master it, I can become a state alchemist, and I can help protect this country even better! Think about it, Riza! I could work to really help things change!"

Part of her still felt some trepidation, but Riza pushed it to the side. It was probably just left over from her experience with her father. Roy was different. He was a better man. Instead, she smiled at him, letting some of his enthusiasm seep into her.

"I'm sure you can," she said. "If anyone can, I'm sure that it's you."

He grinned at her again, but before he could say anything else, his stomach growled. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I got caught up in the research."

Riza tsked at him and poked him in the stomach. "I told you to eat!" she chided him. "But come on—we need to celebrate this."

He laughed, letting go of her arms, and instead reaching to place her hand in the crook of his arm. "A feast for this triumph?" he teased.

"I don't know about a feast," she said. "But I'm sure I can whip up something to celebrate it, especially with a little help."

"I'll gather and clean whatever you need, Riza! But this definitely deserves celebrating!"

He turned to lead her back down the stairs, and Riza let him, starting to relax into his enthusiasm. She was still a little uncertain about this, but—Roy was going to use this for good. Roy was going to protect people. And Roy had just made a major step towards unlocking flame alchemy.

And hopefully this was just the beginning of many more triumphs for him—for both of them.