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Chapter 9

Riza's honey hazel eyes fluttered open as she felt someone tap on her shoulder lightly, calling her name softly. She batted her eyes to adjust to the light, and she stifled a yawn, then hummed a groggy one. "Hmm?"

"Good morning, Riza." She heard a chuckle from him, and she turned her head to face her husband, just to see him grinning at her. "We're here, my dear."

"Since when did I fall asleep?" Giving in, she placed a hand over her mouth, and let out a tiny yawn before managing to scowl lightly at him, then asked.

"Two minutes after we got on the carriage," Roy replied, the boyish grin on his lips widening, and he offered a hand as he stepped out of the carriage. "Did you not have a good sleep last night?"

Riza nearly snorted as her scowl deepened, and she accepted his hand and hopped down the carriage. "I blame it entirely on you, Roy. You didn't intend to let me sleep, did you?"

He let out a light laugh and kissed her cheek. "How can I, when I have such a cute wife? Plus, you seemed to have enjoyed it as much as I did, darling." She grumbled under her breath, her cheeks tinted pink when she was reminded of the feverish night they had, where her husband wouldn't (and couldn't) take his hands off her. "By the way," He added.

She knitted her brows ever so slightly. "Yes?"

"Your neck." He stated and reached a hand up to her neck, and caressed the tiny red marks that were displayed on her porcelain skin, barely covered by the collar of her white, floral dress shirt.

Oh god, she nearly cussed as she quickly took her compact mirror from her pocket to check, just to see a few love bites visible on her neck, and she nearly dropped the mirror. She stifled a gasp, and turned to him and narrowed her eyes at him while mentally uttering, How did I not notice! "Roy..."

"I'm not sorry." He moued childishly, then tucked his shirt's collar, pulling it aside to show her his neck, that was too adorned with tiny love bites. "I'm not the only one with those— Ow!"

He yelped as she pinched his cheek, and buttoned up the first button of her dress with her other hand. She then sighed and spoke with a smile as she averted her attention to the scenery in front of her. "Is this the town your mother's from?"

"Mmhmm. A bit like East City, isn't it?" He replied while rubbing his palm on his cheek, trying to soothe the light stinging pain.

She nodded in response as she looked around while they walked towards the inn.

They checked in and settled their light luggage down. "There's a stream nearby, and I remember always dragging my parents to the stream when I visit this place as a kid," Roy said, then smiled as he asked. "It's usually nice and quiet with no one around, as I remember. Not sure about now, but do you want to go on a walk and have a look?"

"Sure." She smiled a warm one back and nodded.

Being used to the city life due to the military, albeit being raised in the country, Riza couldn't help but heave a sigh out of wonder at the sight of the stream. She was then reminded of the stream that was fifteen minutes away from her father's house, by foot, though the water wasn't as clear as the one in front of her, and the surroundings were much duller She peered at her husband, and felt a blissful emotion as her heart fluttered at the soft smile that hung on his lips.

She averted her attention back to the stream and its surroundings. There was a grassed slope leading down towards the shallow stream that had a pebble-paved ground next to it, there were evergreen trees and black willow trees on the side, the leaves rustling from the wind. There were also a few cherry blossom trees, where the pink flowers bloomed, the petals occasionally fluttering down.

She slipped her beige, ankle-strapped pumps off, and offered Roy a grin while gesturing towards the stream, and she took his hand, in which he blinked at him, then she skipped down the slope. He followed her as he hastily removed his black, leather loafers, and he chuckled. "You remind me of the ten-year-old you. I can still remember the first time you took my hand and brought me to the stream that was near your place. You were such an adorable child."

"You seem to like that place; every time you leave the house, you always go there. Is it because it reminded you of this place?" She ignored his comment, and asked while sitting down on the ground and took her cardigan off and placed it aside, then lifting the skirt of her dress higher to soak her legs in the cool water.

He nodded with a grin. "It did." He then rolled his loose trousers up, before sitting next to her.

She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, in which he planted a kiss on the crown of her head. "From my point of view..." She started.

"Hmm?"

"I found you... a bit strange at first. Quite, actually." She confessed with a sheepish grin, and he raised a brow at her. "You weren't the only person who showed up on our front door, wishing to learn alchemy from my father. It's pretty obvious that he didn't pay any attention to them, and they never came back." She then chuckled, "What I didn't expect was that you'd come back four times."

"I really wanted to learn alchemy back then. Plus," He let out a chuckle, and she lifted her head from his shoulder to look up at him. He turned to her and grinned, pressing his forehead against hers, and murmured in a teasing tone. "I saw this lovely young lady in that house, how can I turn away from that?"

Riza huffed and leant away to lightly swat his arm, though she soon let out a light-hearted laugh, in which he followed suit. The memory of their first encounter was still fresh in her mind as if it just happened the day before. She remembered the nervous smile he wore and the kind tone he used when he asked her about her father. His raven hair was neat and short, his bangs barely covering his forehead; There was a spark of innocence in his dark, sparkling onyx eyes, where he envisioned his future, his dreams.

She dipped a hand in the clear water and reached her hand up to ruffle his slicked-back dark locks, letting them down, then gently brushed them aside so they wouldn't cover his eyes. Her brows knitted slightly when she noticed the light wrinkles and dark eye circles under his eyes (though she was slightly relieved that they started to fade), and she cupped his cheeks, caressing the skin under his eyes with her thumb, and leant in to place a kiss.

"Riza." She heard him murmur, and she stifled a gasp when he placed a hand over her cheek, and his other hand snaked around her waist to pull her closer to him so her hip was touching his. He pressed his soft lips onto hers for a light and sweet kiss, and she kissed him back while wrapping her arms around him. They pulled away, and she rested her head on his shoulder as they embraced each other tightly with a bright smile hanging on their lips.

She peered down, watching the water flow slowly, tranquilly, and she bit her lower lip when a sudden thought flashed across her mind. There was water, and a certain flame alchemist, who she would call 'useless' out of frustration at times, on rainy days. No, she mentally scolded herself. You're not a child anymore.

Finally giving in to the temptation after a while of mental debating, she released her arms that were around him, and pulled away, scooting away from him, enticing him to raise a brow at her in confusion. "Riza?"

She grinned sheepishly at him, and he swore he detected a glimpse of mischief. "Sorry, Roy."

"Hmm? For wha—"

He instinctively closed his eyes shut when he saw his beloved wife reach her hand down in the stream, her hand motioning towards him, and before he knew it, he felt the cool water splattered on his face. His hair was drenched, with water droplets dripping down his locks. After quickly coming to the conclusion that he had just got water splashed on his face, he peeked an eye open, to see her turning to the side and stood up, ready to skip away from him. He grinned and let out a low chuckle, feeling joyous to having to discover a playful and childish side of his wife, before standing up to wrap his arms around her waist, and pulled her towards him, eliciting a gasp and a light laugh from her.

He hugged her tightly as her back was pressed against his chest, and he murmured in her ear. "You think I'll let you off for—"

He was once again interrupted when he took a step back to balance the both of them, but instead slipped on a pebble, and fell backwards, bringing Riza with him. They were completely soaked, and Riza groaned. "I only brought one set of clothes..."

"Consider that as a payback, darling." Roy moued, and half-swam, half-walked over to her. "But I suppose we need to go shopping for clothes later. That being said," He grinned whilst once again wrapping his arms tightly around her from behind. "Who knew that I would have such a mischievous wife? Weren't you the one who always called me useless, darling?"

"Couldn't resist the urge..." Riza uttered though she couldn't help but let out a chortle.

He sat down crossed-legged on the stream bed, the stream water barely reached his chest, and he turned Riza so she was facing him, then he sat her on his lap with her legs wrapped around his torso. He heaved a sigh and rested his forehead on her chest, enticing her to smile down at him and plant a kiss on the top of his head, then caressed his damp, raven hair.

He raised his head from her chest and leant in to press his lips against her. She placed her arms around his neck, closing her eyes as she responded to the kiss. Their lips moved against each other, and she parted her lips for him to slip his tongue into her mouth. They tangled their tongues, dancing for dominance as they exchanged more open-mouthed kisses. He cradled her head with a hand, threading his fingers in her silky, golden hair as he kissed her with more fervour until they were both out of breath.

They pulled away, and Riza planted a kiss on her husband's forehead, then murmured. "We should go back to the inn, we'll catch colds."

He pecked her lips before smiling and nodding, "Right."

Riza found herself sandwiched between her husband and the cool, marble shower tile, with her back against the tiles, whilst locking lips with him, entangling their tongues. She had expected this to happen the moment she asked him to join her in the shower, and she couldn't deny that she'd been wanting this.

She leant her head backwards, showing off her gleaming neck, where little red marks adorned her porcelain skin, and Roy couldn't help but latch his mouth on her smooth skin, kissing and nipping and sucking the skin. Moans escaped her lips when he released her neck just to avert his attention to her perky breasts. He cupped one in his hand, kneading and fondling, enticing another whimper, and he pressed his lips against her ear, nipping it as he huskily murmured. "They've gotten bigger," Then he placed his lips back onto hers, murmuring against her lips between kisses. "Or is it just my imagination?"

Her hands travelled from his broad shoulders to his toned chest, then to his abs, her hands slowly, lightly wandering across his stomach as if she was teasing him, and her fingers gently caressed the scar. She moaned into his mouth as he ran his hands down her back to her rear, cupping and squeezing her arse. She made a noise from the back of her throat, desiring, yearning for more of him. He responded by kissing her harder, sucking on her tongue, and she gasped again when he lightly groped her seemingly sensitive breasts.

"I..." She whimpered a pleasured one.

"Hmm?" He hummed as he placed feather-light kisses on the corner of her lips, her jaw, her neck, then her collarbone, and her breath hitched.

"I may be ovulating." She whispered, her mind barely managing to do a mental calculation. Day eleven... She thought to herself as she closed her eyes.

"...Do you want me to stop?" He muttered against her skin, albeit his hands moving down to hold her waist, and his lips travelled south.

He leant away to look into her honey hazel eyes. She panted lightly as she stared back into his desire-filled, dark onyx eyes with her half-lidded ones, and she averted her eyes slightly to his black, wet, slicked-backed hair, where the corner of her eye caught a water droplet drip down his raven locks. His cheeks were tinted pink from the intimacy and the hot shower, and she cupped his cheeks and lightly shook her head, mouthing 'no', before kissing him on the lips.

He kissed her back hungrily, tightening the grip on her waist. She gasped into his mouth when he suddenly lifted her up, holding her against the tiles, and she unconsciously bit on his lower lip. He let out a tiny grunt from the back of his throat, then growled against her lips before roughly connecting his with hers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and let out a muffled moan when she felt his tip touching her soft, wet entrance. He slowly entered her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, wrapping her legs around him, feeling his length filling her up. She broke the kiss as moans and whimpers escaped her lips, and she arched her back. He took a nipple in his mouth, suckling the erected bud as he started to thrust in and out of her at a steady pace.

"Roy!" She cried as waves of pleasure crashed her, and she threaded a hand in his hair, grasping and tugging his dark roots, while her other hand unconsciously clawed his back, enticing a grunt from him. He connected their lips back together, and they swallowed each other's moans as their lips moved against each other's while tongues entangled.

She could feel an orgasm building up whilst his thrusts became hurried and rushed. They pulled away from the kiss, and the arms around his neck tightened. "Roy..." She whimpered into his ear, and she bit her lip as she felt herself coming close.

She shuddered as she came, heaving heavy pants and sweet moans of his name. He followed suit, groaning into the crook of her neck, abruptly pulling out of her and came on her stomach, then watched the running water wash it off her as he panted. He slowly let her down after a while, letting her lean on him whilst encircling his arms back around her, murmuring sweet, teasing words into her ear. She responded with a soft, hearty laugh, and placed a kiss on his jaw.

"I still think the slit is a bit too high."

Roy looked over to his wife as she spoke while holding up the pale pink qipao dress he bought her a few hours ago. He raised a brow at her, then moved to sit on the bed. "I think it looks perfectly fine on you, my dear."

He then gestured for her to come here as he patted the space next to him, and Riza blinked at him before neatly folding the dress and placed it aside, then wordlessly walked over towards him.

He reached a hand out to hold hers, and lightly pulled her down to sit her on his lap, then wrapped his free arm around her waist and pressed his lips against her cheek.

"Is there something on your mind, Roy?" She asked, and caressed his soft, black hair as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You said strange was your first impression of me." He kissed her neck and said.

Riza knitted her brows, "It doesn't necessarily mean in a bad way. Does it bother you?"

"No, it doesn't. No worries, darling." He replied, placing another kiss, then pulled away to look at her properly. He offered a smile, "Now that I think about it, I haven't really told you about myself; from my point of view."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder and let out a hum, gesturing her husband to go on.

Roy placed a hand on her hair, combing her golden locks as he began. "I'm not sure if you knew this, but it was Madame Christmas who told me about your father; Apparently your mother and she were close friends. Did you know?" She responded with a nod, and he continued. "My parent passed away when I was six, they died protecting me."

He stopped for a moment when he felt her tense up, and he heaved a light exhale and continued caressing her hair. "That was one of the reasons I wanted to learn alchemy and join the military; To stop wars, and protect the people I love... and to prevent people from losing their loved ones."

Riza couldn't help but frown when she detected the sadness in his tone as he spoke, and she leant up to place a featherlight kiss on his jaw. He blinked down at her, and his lips curled up to a smile. "I would keep on bugging madame to let me learn alchemy, then she gave up on ignoring me, and gave me your father's address." His smile widened to a grin, with a playful glint in his onyx eyes. "Then that was when I met this lovable little lady, who wouldn't talk to me for the first three months I became his apprentice."

"I—" She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned away, her cheeks tinted pink as she stuttered, then uttered meekly. "You know that I'm not exactly the most extrovert person, and... and I really wanted my father's attention, since he would barely talk to me after my mother passed. Then you came, and my father would only pay attention to you."

"Ah... Sorry." He smiled apologetically and patted her head lightly. "But I was a bit surprised when you started to open up to me."

"I felt bad for constantly ignoring you when you were being nice to me."

He let out a light chuckle and looked into her eyes. "Time flies, doesn't it? We've known each other for more than two decades."

"And now you're going to be stuck with me for the rest of your life." She grinned as she took his left hand, and placed a kiss on his ring.

"Gladly, my dear." He grinned back, then it softened to an affectionate smile. "Riza..." He softly spoke as he leant his forehead against hers. "You've gotten prettier; beautiful, actually." He moved his hand to cup her cheek, "And you became stronger; Physically, and mentally."

"Have I?" She let out a light chuckle as she asked.

"Mm-hmm." He beamed boyishly, though it faded when he asked hesitantly with knitted brows. "Can you... Can you show me your back?"

She pulled away to study his expression as her smile was too, replaced with a light frown, then it turned back into a smile as she nodded. She turned around and stood, and unbuttoned the first four buttons of her sleep shirt, then shrugged it off, letting the soft fabric fall from her shoulders to her elbows.

She heaved a tiny exhale when she felt his fingertips trailing the red ink etched on her smooth, porcelain skin, and she stifled a startled gasp when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist to sit her on his lap again. Roy... She wanted to murmur as he planted light kisses on the burnt scars, but she felt the word stuck in her throat.

"...I never meant to hurt you." He finally spoke after a few seconds of silence.

Riza frowned. "I was the one who asked you to do it."

"You were only fifteen when you showed me the transmutation circle, then you entered the battlefield at the age of eighteen." He murmured against her back, his tone saddening. "You trusted me, and I let you down."

She closed her eyes as the frown deepened. He joined the military to protect the country and its people, and he was ready to dedicate his whole life for it, which was why he chose to learn alchemy. She placed her hand over his, gripping it. For someone so young, naïve and kind-hearted to be forced to kill people of their own with the secrets on her back was just too... too... "...Cruel." She whispered, then turned around to face him. Seeing the faint wrinkles under his eyes, she was suddenly once again reminded how far they have come. She smiled warmly, "I'm glad you became the Führer, Roy."

He blinked at her whilst his eyes widened in surprise. She chuckled lightly before continuing, "I thought that asking you to burn my back was a way of atonement, but that was just to make me feel less guilty." The grip on his hand tightened ever so slightly, "But you freed me, allowed me to become an individual of Riza Hawkeye, or Mustang. These scars, are a part of what made me who I am now. And," Her smile widened, "I still believed in you, which was why I returned to the military after the war."

Roy studied his wife's gentle expression as he digested her words over and over again, then he finally smiled back, and he pulled her close for a tight hug. "Thank you, Riza. I knew this, deep-down, but the guilt and anxiety wouldn't go away. Thank you for telling me this."

She kissed his cheek and hugged him back. "I'm glad I've gotten to tell you this. We never had the chance to talk about this properly."

He caressed her hair, combing it gently with his fingers. "I love you."

"I love you too," She blinked, before replying while feeling mildly surprised, then looked up at him with a sheepish smile. "I'm not one to be very open with affectionate words, and I know you are very aware of my feelings, but I feel like I don't say them enough to you; I love you, Roy."

He responded with a sweet kiss on the lips.

Omake:

Riza awoke to the feeling of fingertips lightly running across her back through the thin, soft material of her sleep shirt, and she let out a quiet yawn and slowly peeked an eye open before turning to face her husband. "...Roy?"

His hand retreated as the guilt of waking his wife up tugged his heart. He uttered a quiet apology and spoke. "I'm sorry, I woke you up."

"Can't sleep?" She reached a hand up from the duvet and caressed his cheek as she asked sleepily.

He placed his hand over hers as he shook his head.

"What's keeping you up?"

"A lot of... thinking."

She opened her other eye, raising a brow as she hummed.

"I was thinking of my darling wife." His tone grew playful and there was a hint of boyishness and mischief in his onyx eyes as he grinned.

She heaved a sigh, then let out a light chortle. "Sleep now, Roy." She then wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him down gently so his head was resting on her chest, then pulled the duvet lower so it wouldn't cover his face.

He blinked. "Riza?"

"Good night." She murmured as she caressed his soft, raven hair, then pressed her lips against the crown of his head.

He sighed, before wrapping his arms around her, and muttered as he closed his eyes. "Night."

A/N: Sorry for not updating for a month, but my exams are finally over so I'll most probably update much more frequently!

Hnghhnhhg this is so ooc... But my dumbass can't think of anything else... (The young royai part and the tattoo-burning was just how I imagined it to be)

Reviews are much appreciated! :)