So, just as a warning: I posted a chapter less than a week ago while the online version was glitching, so those that are using the online version need to go back to the previous chapter before this one ;)

Chapter thirty-five

Roy's head was swimming with thoughts and fears and an odd urge to cry and also shout all at the same time.

...Then realisation struck him, and he held Riza by the shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. "Riza, I forgot to bring a fresh pair of boxers and the stores are all closed this early. Just wait here for about an hour so that I can get home and shower and change there instead." He sighed, speaking softly. "Could give us some time to think about what we're going to say to the boys..."

It was certainly a lie, but it would do the trick.

She looked at him tearfully and nodded, and Roy kissed her forehead. "We'll figure this out no matter which way it goes, right?" he told her softly, cupping her left cheek and stroking it with his thumb.

She nodded again, giving him a quick kiss.

He smiled and nodded at her and opened the bathroom door, only to find his clothes neatly folded on the floor right outside.

"For the nuggets!" Ed said from the kitchen.

"Thank you, Roy..." came Al's shy and quiet voice, which explained exactly who it was that had folded the clothes.

"It's the least I could do, thank you, boys." His cheeks were definitely bright red.

And so he grabbed his clothes and pulled them on quickly, before heading out to the car and driving directly for a different destination than he had told Riza.

His mind was one big lump of numbness and constantly straying thoughts for the entire drive. Of course, it wasn't certain at all that she would get pregnant from this, but still...

...We're both at an age where the chances are at their highest and she's at the point in her menstrual cycle where she's most likely to become pregnant.

And the thing that made him the most nervous was the boys. Ed was certain to think that Roy had broken his trust, and they would become afraid that they would be swapped out because Roy and Riza "had no need for them now because they had a child of their own", and if it happened, then they were very likely to feel insecure because they weren't related to Roy and Riza by blood.

Which in turn was why Roy was driving to Nan's and not to his own house.

Roy stood before the door to the flat, feeling nervous as hell. It was seven in the morning and he had slicked back his hair, trying to look his best. In his left hand he had a gift, in his right he had a very, very unnerving object because this could easily go to hell in a flash.

He knocked on the door, bracing himself. Riza opened it, now fully dressed for work and Roy was relieved to see that she at least did not look like it had been a mistake.

That was very, very encouraging, considering what he was about to do. "I've been thinking, Riza, and we should definitely talk alone."

She looked at him in slightly frightened confusion, and Roy was beginning to understand just what was going through her mind. His voice had been a lot more solemn and serious than it should have been and he could probably have come off as trying to break up.

She still stepped back and let him inside. "Al's in the bathroom and Ed found the rest of the brownies from Friday..." she said quietly, before turning around to face the kitchen. "Ed, could we borrow your room?"

"Only talking and definitely no snogging on our beds," Ed said.

Roy barely repressed a chuckle just as Riza did. And so they went inside the bedroom and Riza closed the door behind them.

For someone known to be a smooth talker who kept himself calm and collected when facing gruesome crime scenes, odd and awkward situations with various people intoxicated by various substances, he was certainly not doing so now. His brain short-circuited as he got down on one knee, held up the ring in his right hand and chose three words that were originally supposed to come a few minutes later. "It's my Mum's."

Riza froze.

Roy froze.

Both blushed.

"We already have two kids and if... If there should be a third, then I think it would be better if we gave the boys a lot less reason to think that we'd only get married because of a child of our own... None of us are leaving the boys and we could adopt them and-" Roy said.

What the hell, Roy?! You're proposing and you're making it sound like it's got nothing to do with the woman you're offering the ring to?!

Apparently his mouth wasn't done, however. "...I mean, we could adopt the boys and so if something should turn out not to work between us after all, then neither would be leaving them and we'd both have legal responsibility that gives them a lot more safety and they'll know for sure that they won't be sent away and doing it now before we even know if there will be a baby will be better, won't it? And should something go wrong, there's still about ten months until we actually can get married so it will give us some time to make sure that it will work..."

Roy groaned inwardly because he had yet to actually give her a compliment. "...Plus you're like a goddess and you're smart and funny and..."

He did not expect her to double over, laughing loudly.

Roy just stared, not daring to say anything else. He was usually very good at reading people, but right now his fears were winning over those skills, and so his mouth opened yet again. "And of course you don't have to decide right away..." he finished quietly.

He had no idea if this was going to hell or not.

"Roy... Your... Your Nan found the ladder..." she wheezed.

Roy froze and turned towards the window, and found that Nan was indeed watching them from outside.

Roy stared and began signing furiously at her. "I told you to wait in the car!"

"It's my little Roy's proposal!" she argued. "And you're lucky that she's such a sweet girl or she'd have thought you were mocking her!"

"Nan, get down right now!"

"But she hasn't answered yet!"

"I told you to wait in the car because you wouldn't let me leave without you, just wait for a few minutes!"

"No can do, Roy."

"Get down from there, Nan! You could break your leg!"

"She could break your heart!"

Roy groaned, turning back towards Riza. "She's not leaving."

"Then I suggest we invite her in," Riza giggled, suddenly snatching the ring from him and shoving it on her left ring finger.

He froze.

She just kept giggling and kissed his forehead. "You're adorable, Roy Mustang... Now let's get your Nan inside, she's crying."

Roy reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could leave. "Riza, wait... There... There's one last thing..." he told her, not surprised to hear that his voice was breaking. "Nan also wanted me to give you this..." He held up the gold necklace he had hidden in his left hand. It had an elegant flower at the centre that was painted dark green, but with gold edges, and in the middle sat a white pearl. "It's the one Pappy gave her when they got engaged..."

Riza just looked at him, then at Nan, gently pulling her wrist free from Roy's hand, before signing "thank you" at the old woman. The boys had obviously taught her some words in ASL.

And Riza was crying and Nan appeared to be sobbing.

And so Roy stood up, feeling numb as he gently fastened the necklace around her neck. He was in a daze.

...I'm getting married. I'm actually getting married and I'm adopting a couple of boys so that they'll be my sons... Me and Riza's sons...

Ed froze as Roy came into the kitchen with Riza and Nan. The latter was dressed in blue pyjamas with white dots, a large, dark blue, fluffy dressing gown, and a couple of fluffy, white slippers with bunny ears.

...And he had no idea where Nan had come from.

...Or what the deal with the necklace was.

Then he saw the ring and he froze.

"You... You can't be... Seriously?" he asked weakly in complete disbelief.

Al was just sitting there next to him, not saying anything out of what looked like frightened shock.

Riza had obviously been crying, Roy's eyes were just a bit too shiny, and Nan was standing there with a handkerchief, tears streaming and continuously blowing her nose.

"Ed, Al, there's something we need to talk with you about..." Riza told them.

Ed froze. Something was wrong. But he couldn't tell what it was. Only that it wasn't something that he had thought about when he had given them his blessing tonight.

...Which made him afraid that he had caused something very bad to happen.

Riza suddenly sat down at the remaining kitchen chair, folding her hands on the table. Roy placed his hands on her shoulders. "Ed, Al..." she began gently. "We're going to adopt you."

Ed paused, Al going rigid. "You... You are? ...You're sure?" Ed asked shakily. He hadn't dared think about it. He was confused and slightly scared that Roy had decided to act on his promise rather than what he wanted for himself. Also, that would legally make them their parents and that thought made his stomach clench. Foster parents sounded a lot less parent-y than adoptive ones. "...Why would you...? Why now? Like this?"

Roy sighed, his voice heavy, but laced with a bit of fearful softness. "...Because there's a chance that Riza will become pregnant... We can't know, of course... But it made us realise that we strictly speaking have a couple of kids together already... And so we decided that you two are just as strong a reason to get married that having a baby is... Like I said, Ed... I'm not leaving you two, and neither is Riza, and so we figured that we should make it legal. We'll be applying for adoption later today and we'll be far more likely to get the process done quickly when we're getting married, as it shows how we're wanting to keep you with us in one home."

Ed just stared at them. He didn't know what to say or think or anything because Riza might get pregnant and then they would have a child that they could raise that wouldn't be traumatised or... Or who didn't have a parent that could never be replaced. Ed knew that looking after him and Al wasn't easy at all. It was a lot of work and a baby wouldn't be prejudiced and-

"Should it be that I get pregnant and it's a girl, we've already decided to call her Trisha," Riza said gently.

Ed froze and felt tears pressing, his stomach clenching and he didn't know what to think or say or do.

"We're getting married and we don't even know if we'll have a child, but it's going to be over ten months until we can actually have the wedding..."

His eyes widened in realisation. "You... You're getting married because of us? ...But... But you don't hafta do that... You really don't hafta..."

Roy suddenly walked over and knelt down between them, placing a hand on a shoulder each. Ed saw that Al was crying. "Like I said, Ed: You're our kids before we even know if you're getting a little sibling. You're just as strong a reason to get married as any potential baby. We're keeping you, it's that easy. We've just realised that when we have a couple of kids that neither of us are leaving, then I too would like to have a legal responsibility for you. I'd much rather adopt you with Riza than just be your foster mother's boyfriend."

Ed looked at him for a long time, feeling tears streaming down his cheeks.

Then he realised what was going on. "You're asking for us to adopt you back?"

Roy sighed, obviously not wanting to answer because it would in many ways make him sound like a jerk.

Al suddenly began sobbing and attacked Roy in a hug, and Ed was done for and did the same. Riza joined them soon enough and Ed had no idea what to think or do. Because if they were keeping them for good, then that was the best thing that could happen. But his mind was clouded by numbness and fear that something would go wrong because ten months was a lot of time for things to happen. The past three had made that very clear. He had lost his ability to speak and he was stuck in a whirlwind of emotions and he felt exhausted and wide awake at the same time and he just didn't have a clue about what he was supposed to do.

...Which meant that he just cried.

It was five minutes later that he found his mind clear enough to think and so he pulled back, sniffing loudly. "One condition."

"What?" Roy and Riza asked at the same time.

"If you did knock her up, Old Fart, then you're gonna call Will and tell him, word for word, that you got Riza preggers on the first go."

Roy felt a bit awkward as they walked through the station. His head was swimming and Nan was staying in the flat for the day to prepare everything for a celebratory dinner when they came back.

Basically, Nan was spending her day alone in his fiancée's flat, dressed in her pyjamas.

He was just slightly terrified of just what the hell people were going to react. Especially the Superintendent. Maes he could handle.

...Barely.

But at least Riza found the ring more than satisfactory. It was a fairly simple one: a thin, gold ring with a light blue diamond at the centre. It was simple, yet elegant, and Roy had to admit that it suited her very well.

He still felt nervous like hell and in a constant state of numbness. He was engaged to a woman he hadn't even known existed less than a month ago.

And yet, mostly by accident, they actually had a couple of kids together. Two boys.

Two boys that really needed them.

It was for the boys, first and foremost, but Roy also didn't really doubt that he'd want to stay with Riza out of purely selfish reasons.

And if she was indeed going to become pregnant, then all three of their kids would be bastards because Ed and Al's parents were never married. That made him feel like a very unsatisfactory parent.

People didn't notice the ring as they made their way to the office. What Roy wasn't expecting was that Ed suddenly ran forwards and kicked the door open when they were about six metres away.

...And then Ed made a nice and loud proclamation as he went inside the room. "YOUR BOSS IS HORNY SO I'M GONNA BE A PEGASUS!"

Roy looked at Riza, who blushed.

Al just disappeared behind Riza's back, blushing and looking very pale indeed.

Roy decided to just get it over and done with and take the fall as he was the one who had in many ways initiated this. He hadn't exactly expected a nightmare to end with him getting engaged and adopting a couple of kids, but that was just how it was. Trying to plan ahead when the Elrics were involved was really just a waste of time. Because those boys could easily turn what you thought was solitaire into a round of poker in just half a second.

And so Roy was engaged.

Ed just grinned innocently up at him. "I've warmed up the crowd for you, Old Fart, now you start the real show!"

Roy reached down and squeezed his shoulder in a friendly manner, biting his lip. "Thank you, Ed... That was a very thorough way to do it."

Ed just smiled brightly at him. "And you're welcome!"

Roy couldn't help the fond, little scoff escaping him, and instead he ruffled his hair.

"What the hell are you talking about, Ed?" came Havoc's confused voice.

Roy took a deep breath. "I'm engaged to Riza and we're adopting the boys."

The room went silent.

Then.

"Uh, congratulations, Boss, but... what's with the Pegasus?" Havoc asked, his cigarette having dropped out of his still open mouth. Breda was pouring coffee on the floor, and Maes was looking torn between horror, confusion, joy, and concern.

"It's 'cause the Old Fart's a horse and she's a hawk, so when they have kids, that makes us Pegasi! So now his Nan's in Riza's kitchen making dinner in her pyjamas and all is well." And then Ed bowed theatrically. "So there you have it: Your horny boss is gonna make us Pegasi, and so I wish you all a very good morning and please bring me some tea!"

Roy took a look at Maes and nodded at him, tilting his head in the direction of Roy's private office, before looking at Riza and holding out his hand for her after Al gave him a nod and took off to help his brother with the tea.

And so Roy walked hand in hand with Riza as they followed Maes inside the office and shut the door.

"You're engaged..." was all Maes seemed to manage. "You're actually engaged?"

"Yes, we are." It was Riza who spoke, holding up the ring for Maes to see.

Roy felt relief flooding him at her apparent happiness with the circumstances. This whole situation was stressful and with so many things that could go wrong.

But his gut feeling told him that it would turn out okay, even if the odds were against them. Even if logic was halfway absent in their thought processes. Even if Roy was very afraid that much of Riza's enthusiasm also had something to do with rediscovering love after having been discarded like a used rag.

But that only meant that Roy would not fail her. He was going to be there for her and he would just have to keep being someone to love should she be afraid that they were moving too fast. Roy was perfectly capable of slowing down. They had over ten months. If most of that time had to be spent with a few hugs and only being friends, then Roy was prepared for it. Because Riza had agreed that should things go wrong, then they still liked each other enough to just be friends with a couple of adopted kids. They could live in the same house, but not share beds. Basically just be friends until they needed to decide what to do next.

...Or it could be the best relationship they'd ever have and they'd end up in a nursing home, sharing the same rocking chair, recreating some beloved wedding picture.

Basically, they were Ed and Al's adoptive parents first...

...And then fiancées and work partners.

Roy still felt his stomach drop somewhat at that thought. He had been having trouble keeping girlfriends ever since he first got into that in the first place. He supposed that dating a cop had its benefits. They could be morbid and unashamed to talk about a lot of things, and by being work partners, they wouldn't need to be kept in the dark about how a case was going, what parts were classified, and they didn't get the fear of talking about their day because they found it disturbing. But still...

...I am still engaged to a woman who's only been my girlfriend for four whole days and now...

"Wanna tell me just why you decided to do this out of the blue?"

"Because Roy came to me tonight after having a hellish nightmare and it would honestly have meant that something was very wrong with his moral compass if he had brought a condom," Riza said, matter-of-factly, making Maes gulp.

"With the boys there?!" Maes asked in horror after taking a few seconds to recompose himself.

Roy sighed. "Maes, it's complicated... But Ed basically said go ahead and turned on the radio... It feels like I'm breaking his trust if I say more, but please just know that we have the boys' wellbeing as our first priority."

It was Maes's turn to sigh. "So that's how it is, huh? You don't know if you'll get a baby of your own, and so you're not risking having the boys think that they're not a good enough reason for you to get married. Thereby, you basically needed to get engaged and hopefully get the adoption in order before you can even tell if Riza's pregnant." He chuckled slightly. "Well, it appears that you're two of a kind, then... I'll come by with a gift later today, do you think Nanna Mustang's going to mind an extra guest? You getting engaged and adopting two boys is going to make this the best meal she's ever cooked."

Roy began chuckling, and hugged Riza to his side, whispering into her ear. "I think he just appointed himself to be the best man without asking..."

She began giggling, jokingly pushing Roy's chest with her hand. "Be nice, Roy!"

Roy smiled. "I am being nice, Riza... He's already getting that job, I was the best man in his wedding... It's been something we've planned since we were ten..."

She sighed fondly, giving his cheek a pat. "Roy, you're adorable at times..."

"What do you mean?"

"Because you're making childish jokes about childhood promises and your Nan's your Nan and that together makes you a very sweet and adorable human specimen. Especially as you have..." She pointed at his chin. "One remaining stubble that you missed in your rush to propose to me with your Nan in the car because she refused to let you leave without her."

Roy didn't exactly know what to say because Maes began giggling, so Riza decided to make Maes uncomfortable instead by giving Roy a very deep kiss that he happily returned. Then she pulled back, giggling at Maes's uncomfortable and slightly blushing face. "Dinner's at six. No alcohol."

Maes looked at the pair of them, grinned, and walked up to Roy, grabbing his shoulder. "Roy, keep her, she's perfect... And get a male labradoodle unless you want to deal with a dog in heat."

Roy paused. "Who told you about the labradoodle?"

Maes shook his head, chuckling. "Wow, you're really head over heels in love with her..."

Roy looked at him curiously.

"Just listen, Roy."

And so they stood in complete silence, hearing a sort of odd sound, suddenly recognisable as a small voice. A small voice saying the same thing over and over again right outside the door.

"Dut-duuut-dut-dut, dut-duuut, duuut-dut-dut-dut, dut-duuut-dut, dut-duuut, duuut-dut-dut, duuut-duuut-duuut, duuut-duuut-duuut, duuut-dut-dut, dut-duuut-dut-dut, dut."

Roy paused, recognising the word that was being spelled out. "So what we've learnt today is that Ed knows Morse code."

"And that he's very serious about that labradoodle," Riza added.

"Dut-duuut-dut-dut, dut-duuut, duuut-dut-dut-dut, dut-duuut-dut, dut-duuut, duuut-dut-dut, duuut-duuut-duuut, duuut-duuut-duuut, duuut-dut-dut, dut-duuut-dut-dut, dut."

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