Thank you kititolovesme and Sssk611 for reviewing (sorry for the disappointment haha, but here's the real update).
Happy reading!
Chapter 18
"Miss Riza!"
"Winry." Riza smiled and greeted the younger woman who waved and smiled brightly at her and her husband, "Long time no see. You too, Edward, Alphonse." She said as she turned to the two boys.
"Hey, Miss Riza." The older boy grinned, then faced Roy. "Heya, old man."
"Old—"
"Brother!" Alphonse scowled at his brother and turned to the older couple. "Sorry, Mister Mustang, Miss Riza."
The raven-haired man crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the older boy, "Hello to you too, bean sprout."
"Who the hell are you calling—"
"Stop it, Ed!" Winry glowered at her husband and immediately replaced the frown with a smile. "Come in, Miss Riza, Mister Mustang. Thank you for coming all the way here!"
"Thank you for having us," Riza said and greeted the elderly woman who sat in the dining room. "Hello, Mrs Rockbell."
"Here's something for you," Roy handed Pinako a bottle, and she grinned.
"Oh, a vintage?" She said, "Well, make yourselves at home, you two. Ed, bring them to their room."
"Yes, granny," Edward said, and took Riza's small suitcase.
"Thank you, Edward." Riza smiled and patted the boy's back, enticing him to blush ever so slightly and Roy to snort. Edward scowled at the older man and asked, "I thought you were going to bring Lt. Colonel Havoc and Rebecca with you."
She nodded, "We were going to but they said they wanted to stay downtown, plus I doubt there'd be enough room here."
"Just the two of them?" Edward raised a brow.
Riza let out a light-hearted laugh and nodded, "Just the two of them."
"Interesting..." He uttered, then said when they arrived, and he placed her suitcase down. "Here's your room."
"Thank you." She said, then asked. "By the way, where are the kids?"
"They're taking a nap right now, they'll most likely wake up in an hour." He replied, "Make yourselves at home, lunch will be ready in ten minutes, we're having cream stew today. Oh, and don't do anything weird." He smirked teasingly at Roy before leaving and closing the door.
"That brat..." Roy grumbled under his breath, and sighed and sat down on the bed, then raised a brow when she stripped her dress off, though his confused expression was soon replaced with a smirk. "What are you doing, my dear? That shorty just told us not to do anything weird."
She scoffed whilst pulling a black, cotton T-shirt and a skirt out from her suitcase, then proceeded to put them on. "Wipe those thoughts out of your mind, Roy. What part of 'getting change' is weird?"
He chuckled and shrugged as he watched her tuck her T-shirt in her pencil skirt with a slit, and stared at her thigh where her skin was exposed.
"My eyes are up here, Roy." She folded her dress neatly and placed it on the bed next to him, before crossing his arms.
He glanced up at her face, and grabbed her hand and lightly tugged her down to sit her on his lap. He then circled his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder as he heaved a sigh.
She reached a hand up to caress his hair and gently massage his scalp, and softly said. "Let's go down."
He nodded, and she pressed her lips against his temple before pulling out from his hold.
"I'll dry the dishes."
Winry placed the dish she just washed down on the rack before turning her head to the source of the sound, "Oh no, it's alright, Miss Riza."
The older woman shook her head and offered a smile. "It's fine, I should help too."
"...Okay, thank you." Winry nodded and moved slightly to give Riza some space. "D-Did you enjoy the meal?"
"I did," Riza nodded whilst wiping the wet dishes, "It was very nice."
The younger woman heaved a relieved sigh, "I'm glad. I'm actually the one who made it, so I wasn't sure if it was as good as granny's."
"No worries, Winry, It tasted good. Would it be alright if you share the recipe with me?"
"Of course!" The girl said excitedly, "I would love to!"
"Thank you." Riza chuckled.
"Ah, by the way," Winry started, "I'm planning to bake an apple cake. Would you like to come grocery shopping with me?"
"Sure." Riza nodded, placing the bowl she just wiped on the rack. "Now that I think about it, it's been ages since I last ate an apple pie."
"Really?" Winry asked, surprised, "Then I'll—"
"Mummy!"
The two women turned their heads to the source of sound to see a little girl holding her thin little blanket, looking up at her mother with half-lidded eyes as she rubbed them.
"When did you wake up?" Winry quickly dried her hands with her apron, and bent down to scoop the little girl in her arms and turned to Riza. "Look, it's Aunt Riza. Say hello."
"Hello, Aunt Riza..." The little girl waved her hand shyly and said with a bashful smile.
Riza chortled, "Hello, sweetheart. How are you?"
"I-I'm fine, thank you." She replied quietly.
"Where's your brother?" Winry asked.
"Still sleeping."
"Aunt Riza and I are going to the market later, are you going to stay at home with daddy and Uncle Roy or do you want to come with us?"
"Uncle Roy's here?" The little girl's azure eyes lit up in excitement, her sleepiness suddenly gone.
Riza chuckled. "Yes, he is."
"Where?"
Winry passed the little girl over to Riza and said. "There, go find Uncle Roy with Aunt Riza."
"Let's go find him. Wasn't he in the living room?" Riza asked the little girl in her arms.
She shook her head, "I didn't see him."
Riza hummed, "That's strange... Where could he be?"
She walked towards the living room, just to see her husband come inside the house with Den.
"You were walking Den?"
Roy nodded whilst heading towards the two, and he smiled at the little girl. "Hello."
"Hello, Uncle Roy." She waved and smiled shyly.
"I think she likes you," Riza said, and handed him the little girl, enticing a flustered and confused expression. "I'm going to the market with Winry now. Keep her company for a while."
"Now?" He asked.
Riza nodded and leant in to kiss his cheek. "I'll see you later." The little girl gasped, and Riza blinked before chortling and patting her head. "Sorry."
"Ah!"
"What's wrong, Winry?" Slightly startled by the younger woman's exclaim, Riza asked with a raised brow.
"I nearly forgot to buy ingredients for dinner!" She cried and heaved a sigh. "Good thing we haven't left the market yet. What would you and Mister Mustang like for dinner?"
Riza hummed and replied. "We don't mind anything."
The younger woman sighed again, "What should I make..."
"...Winry."
"Yes?"
"I can make dinner if you don't mind." Riza said, "Though I'm only decent at making beef or lamb stew."
Winry grinned. "Of course I don't mind! That would be lovely, I've always wanted to try your cooking."
Riza returned the smile. "Well, beef or lamb?"
...
"Thank you for coming with me, Miss Riza." The sunflower-blonde-haired girl said, the two each holding a bag full of food.
"No problem, Winry." Riza nodded and averted her attention to the stands and stalls they passed by. "Is there an event today?"
"Ah, there's a festival tonight. I think it's from seven to twelve." She replied. "It's pretty loud; you can even hear the music at our place. There are fireworks at nine, I think."
Riza let out a hum, "Sounds fun. It's been a pretty long time since I last went to a festival. Speaking of which," She turned back to Winry, "There used to be festivals at my hometown, and I would sometimes drag Roy to go with me."
Winry gave an excited smile, "You did tell me that he was your father's apprentice."
She nodded, "He was. My father would get mad when he found out that we sneaked out to go to the festival."
Winry laughed, "I didn't know that you would be the type to sneak out."
Riza chuckled, "We didn't have much money back then, so there was little to none that we could afford there, but it was still a lot better than staying at the house. Not sure if I can say the same for him though."
"Oh. Why is that?"
"He was obsessed with alchemy and studying. If I didn't force him to, he wouldn't eat or sleep, let alone taking showers." Riza knitted her brows.
Winry sighed. "I didn't, and still don't, understand any of the things they're doing, so they would often leave me out."
She let out a light-hearted laugh, "Which is why I dragged him to the festivals."
...
Winry watched Riza stir the stew before covering the pot, "Oh... so that's how you make beef stew. I didn't know that you add cornstarch..."
Riza nodded, "Now let it simmer for an hour."
Winry glanced at the clock and grinned, "Perfect timing then." She then asked hesitantly, "Miss Riza?"
"Hmm?"
"...W-Was Mister Mustang your first love?"
The older woman placed the spatula in the sink. "...Do you mean the first person I fell in love with?"
Winry nodded.
"Well... yes, he is." She then chuckled, "To be honest I would've never thought that I would actually marry my first love."
The younger woman's smile widened, her blue eyes full off excitement, eliciting a chuckle from Riza.
"Isn't it the same for you?" The older woman teased.
"I-I—" She blushed, "Yes..."
Riza laughed lightly.
Riza sat up from the bed, and glanced at the clock that read '11:00'. She sighed and looked down at her husband who laid next to her, his eyes closed and his breathing even and quiet.
She sighed and got out of the bed, and slipped on her ballet flats before quietly heading down the stairs and tiptoed out of the house. She then sat down on the grass and closed her eyes, listening to the faint upbeat, cheery music from the festival as the wind blew.
She turned around when she detected footsteps behind her, and she smiled sheepishly. "I woke you up, didn't I?"
Her raven-haired husband shook his head and sat next to her, "I was awake the whole time, the music's pretty loud."
"It is."
"By the way, have I told you that the beef stew you made today was wonderful?"
She chuckled, "You have."
"Would it be alright if you make it once in a while? Now that I think about it, I really missed it." He asked.
"Sure." She said smilingly and resting her head on his shoulder, and he turned to kiss the crown of her head.
"...So, I was your first love?"
She immediately pulled away, looking at him with widened eyes, and he could see a light blush on her cheeks despite the dark. "You were listening?"
"Well, kind of." He said, then wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer and leant his forehead down against hers as he smirked. "So I'm your first love, huh?"
"...You heard me." She bashfully said whilst trying to get out of his grip, and stifled a gasp when he suddenly pressed his lips against hers for a sweet kiss.
"You're mine too." He whispered.
"Don't tell me you were into children." She said, "I am five years younger than you, Roy."
"I'm not a paedophile." He scowled and said. "Would you believe me if I told you that I wasn't interested in girls when I was in the academy?"
She nodded, "Yes, you were more into alchemy."
"How do I say this?" He felt his cheeks starting to heat up. "It wasn't until we moved to Central that I realised that I love you. I appointed you to be my adjutant to keep you only by my side, so I suppose that was when I fell in love with you."
"So... right after Ishval?"
He nodded.
She stayed quiet for a few seconds, and the music stopped and changed to a slower and romantic one. She then said, "I thought you always saw me as a little sister..."
"I did." He said, "Until I saw you in Ishval, that I realised that you weren't a child anymore."
"...Is that so..." She heaved a deep breath.
"Riza."
She turned to face her husband, "Yes?"
She watched him stand up, and offer her a hand with a smile. "Care for a dance?"
Riza let out a light-hearted laugh, "You know I don't dance, Roy. Especially with this music."
"You never know, darling." He grinned, and it widened as she accepted the hand.
"I really can't do country waltz, Roy." She knitted her brows.
"Follow my lead, we'll go slow first," Roy said as he pulled her close, and placed a hand on her waist whilst holding her hand with the other.
She placed her hand on his shoulder, and hastily followed his steps, enticing him to chuckle.
"Relax, my dear—Ow!"
"S-Sorry..." She bashfully apologised, immediately retreating her foot that accidentally stomped on his.
"It's okay..." He muttered and tightened his grip on her waist.
She looked down at his feet, attempting to follow him, heaving relieved sighs when she didn't step on him when he twirled her.
He temporarily let go of her hand to tilt her head up to face him, then leant in and murmured in her ear. "Let's go faster."
She hesitated before nodding, and he smiled and quickened his pace slightly. She followed his lead, waltzing in the wide space with the moonlight and faint streetlight being their only guidance in the dark, and she closed her eyes for a second to enjoy the cool, summer night breeze. He spun and twirled her, holding both of her hands as her back was against him, their feet dancing slow, wide steps.
She raised a brow in slight confusion when he moved his hand from her waist to her back, and nearly gasped as he leant his upper body forward and tilted her down. "Roy!"
He chuckled, and lifted her back up in his arms and embraced her tightly, catching her by surprise.
She blinked before smiling and wrapping her arms around him to return the hug, resting her head on his shoulder.
They eventually pulled away and looked into each other's eyes lovingly. He lifted a hand up to her cheek, cupping it and caressing with the rough pad of his thumb, then cradled her head, threading his fingers in her hair.
"Riza..." He murmured before leaning down to press his lips against hers.
Tightening her hold around him, she closed her eyes and responded to the sweet kiss, and their lips moved slowly, tenderly against each other's, savouring each moment of the kiss. He ran his tongue along her inner lips, tracing the shape of it and probed his tongue inside her mouth as she parted her lips, and she let out a quiet, muffled moan as he deepened the open-mouthed kiss, tangling his tongue with hers.
She sighed against his lips as they pulled away, and they stayed in each other's arms in comfortable silence before she spoke. "Let's go back. It's pretty late now, we still have a train to catch in the morning."
He nodded, and pecked her lips before taking her hand in his and headed back into the house.
Omake:
"What are you doing, Winry?" Edward raised a brow as he crossed his arms and watched his wife who was desperately suppressing her giggles as she looked outside the window.
"Look!" She pointed outside the window as she whispered excitedly.
He sighed and poked his head out, and immediately froze as the sight of his former superior officer and his wife looking lovingly at each other and locking lips entered his mind, and he shuddered. "Ugh. Yuck. That is an image that would get stuck in my mind forever."
"What do you mean 'yuck'!?" Winry scowled, "They're so sweet! Can't you be happy for them?"
"I am happy for them, but imagine seeing Garfield and his, uh... lover, making out."
Winry groaned, "It's not the same."
He glanced outside the window again, and let out another sigh as he saw the two embracing, then grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her down to the bed, eliciting a yelp. "Just go back to sleep," He muttered, "I'm sure they want their privacy."
A/N: This chapter feels more like a filler episode. Sorry if they're being ooc to a point it's cheesy and cringey (again).
Though I hope you enjoyed reading it! Reviews are much appreciated ;) xx