(Or a oneshot that was supposed to just be the prompt "I a dagger strapped to thigh" and it got way out of hand).
Roy looks along the crowd of elegantly dressed people from where he's standing at the threshold of the entrance of the banquet hall and another small, hidden room off the side of the building. He peeks around the corner at the inaugural ball now in full swing. All of the tables and chairs from the actual banquet have been removed and replaced by hundreds of people milling around and dancing.
Roy sighs as his eyes continue to scan along the people in the crowd. For the first time since his inauguration as the new Fuhrer of Amestris earlier that evening, he is alone. He'd been surrounded by people in the hours leading up to the election results—scratch that, in the weeks leading up to the election results, and in some ways it's a relief.
However, the longer he stays away from the crowd, the more he doesn't want to admit the fact that he really wishes for just one person to be at his side. He hadn't seen her since the end of the banquet about an hour before, but knowing Hawkeye, she probably knows exactly where he is and isn't very far.
After coming to the realization that he and Hawkeye had finally achieved the goal they had been climbing towards for so many years, Roy needed a moment to just let it truly sink in that things were changing, and were going to continue to change, for the country and for the two of them. Or at least Roy was hopeful for the latter.
She'd been right by his side when he'd been sworn in earlier that day, and he took pride in the fact that over the years he'd built himself into a man she could proudly stand by. Of course, he'd only become that man with her constant vigilance and guidance, and he'd never forget it.
Somehow, Roy was officially the leader of their country, and now he could finally move on to his next goal. It had been in the works since the Promised Day, but not really possible until now.
At the thought, Roy's hand makes its way into his pant pocket, fingers rolling around the little box hidden there. He pulls the box out of his pocket, flipping the lid open, staring at the simple ring cushioned there before closing it again. He gazes back into the crowd. If only he could—
"Are you looking for someone in particular, Fuhrer Bastard?"
The familiar yet unfamiliar nickname makes Roy's neck tick. He quickly remembers the box in his hand and hides it as best as he can behind his back.
His glances to the side to see a sharp-dressed, blond-haired man—dare he say "man" and not "annoying runt"?—stroll up beside him, crossing the threshold between the banquet hall and the room Roy was hiding in. He leans against the wall next to Roy, out of sight of anyone from the next room.
Roy resists the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Ah, Fullmetal, how nice to see you here, celebrating my victory with all five-hundred of my closest friends." Ed rolls his eyes at the new Fuhrer's snark. "And why exactly are you at a military inaugural ball when you are no longer military?"
Ed smirks, "For the same reason you and the other officials could never stop calling me 'Fullmetal.'"
Roy rolls his eyes and mutters "Definitely still the same annoying little runt," under his breath, and this time it's Ed's neck that twinges.
Old habits, Roy smirks.
"Anyway," Ed breathes out slowly, "You look like a sad lost puppy. And there's only one person you could possibly be looking for with that look on your face. Did Hawkeye finally realize her worth and ditch you?"
Roy grits his teeth, hand curling around the little box before he answers, "Is there a particularly good reason why you've decided to come over here and bother me? Do you have anything useful to say or is being a pint-sized irritant really all there is to you?"
Surprisingly, Edward doesn't seem to notice the slight at his height, and instead his eyes are trained on where Roy's hand has fallen to his side, clenched around the little box. This time he's the one who smirks.
Ed shrugs, but his grin grows. "Originally no, there wasn't a good reason. But now that I'm here and I see you're finally going to man up and ask Hawkeye to marry you—" Roy shushes him, but Ed keeps going, "I figured I'd let you know the last I saw her she was dancing with Fuhrer, er, former Fuhrer Grumman. And she's not in her military blues anymore," he adds, actually stating something Roy wasn't aware of. "She changed clothes since the inauguration. She's wearing red now."
Roy takes in a breath, looking outside the door to make sure no one heard Ed's proclamation. After seeing no one is paying attention to them, he sighs, feeling relief wash over him for more reasons than one.
Relieved his secret is still safe and that he now knows what to look for, Roy finds himself surprised and genuinely grateful for Ed's generous giving of information.
"Thank you, Edward. I appreciate you telling me that," he says, and begins turning the little box around in his fingers.
Ed makes a face at the new Fuhrer's genuine thanks before nodding his head in understanding, and—in a move surprising Roy—holds out his hand.
Caught off-guard, Roy raises an eyebrow before reaching out and gripping Ed's outstretched hand. Roy startles a bit when Ed pulls him in to clap him on the back.
"Don't blow this, Fuhrer Bastard," he says lowly in Roy's ear, glaring pointedly at the box in Roy's fist.
After a moment, Roy huffs out a laugh, clapping Ed on his shoulder before pulling away. "I'll try not to."
With that, Roy wishes Ed and his family well and Ed makes his way back into the crowd of people. Roy resumes his search, this time for a blonde woman in a red dress and an older man with an impressive mustache.
As his eyes scan all of the people dancing, they eventually fall on Riza Hawkeye sharing a dance with former Fuhrer Grumman. Just as he thought, she's only about twenty feet away, and he can see her occasionally cutting her eyes at him.
Roy ignores all of the other people in the crowd as he meanders his way over to the now-Major Hawkeye.
The dark red dress she wears glitters as she spins around Grumman, loose hair spinning with her. He wonders briefly how she can move so well in a dress so tight, but the slits going up to her lower thigh on either side of the dress quickly answers his question.
The high back may give a conservative impression to whomever may be standing behind her, but the low neckline spoke otherwise, and Roy was trying not to drool at the sight of her in something other than her military uniform.
After shaking himself a bit, Roy walks up to Grumman and bows. "Would you mind too terribly if I stole your partner for a dance?"
Grumman smiles, gesturing at Roy to stand straight before clapping him on the shoulder. "Ah, Fuhrer Mustang. I would say you could steal her for the rest of the evening, but I do believe that decision is up to her."
Roy tries to ignore the twinkle in Grumman's eye, as he clearly knows why Roy is looking to steal her away. They'd discussed it over a game of chess, and while Roy was happy the then-Fuhrer had been eager to give his blessing, Grumman was still far too nosy for Roy's liking. After all, he'd been hinting at their engagement for years now.
Riza rolls her eyes before agreeing on a dance. She kisses Grumman briefly on the cheek before taking Roy's hand.
"Be careful, my dear granddaughter," he says, with no real warning in his voice. "He's a mischievous one."
Riza smiles for a moment. "After all this time you should know I'm aware of that by now."
Grumman gives a thoughtful hum before muttering, "Indeed."
With one more bow, Roy tugs Riza away from the former Fuhrer, but instead of going toward the dance floor, he swiftly pulls her along and into the room he'd been hiding in, clearly trying to be stealthy.
As he pulls her along, she whispers, "And why are we trying to be sneaky, sir?" close to his ear.
He can hear the smile in her voice, and he can't help but grin in return at her cheerful mood, as his mood immediately lifts as he listens to her usually stern voice sound so carefree and bright.
"We're going up to the balcony," he tells her, and takes a sharp turn toward a door in the corner of the room. He opens it, and they are greeted with a flight of stairs. They begin to climb.
"I just figured, after the day—month—we've had, we could both use some peace and quiet."
Riza raises an eyebrow at him as they make their way up the stairs, but doesn't say anything until they reach another door, which Roy opens with ease.
"Wow, security is terrible," Riza quips.
"No one will be up here," Roy reassures her, as he fully opens the door to the balcony. "I went over the floor plan of the entire building before we arrived. This is the most isolated spot there is."
Again, she raises an eyebrow, but he doesn't answer her unspoken question.
Riza does a quick once-over of their surroundings as the door opens, just in case, and finds Roy's statement to be true. The wooden balcony stretches over the back of the building, out of the eyes of anyone who may be passing by. Any sound coming from inside ceases as Roy shuts the door behind them.
Riza glances up to the night sky before sitting down on a bench. "It's so peaceful," she says absently, attention fully on the moon and stars.
"That's what I wanted to show you. And after today I just needed a moment of silence." Roy tells her, sitting close to her on the bench.
"I'm glad you're sharing your moment of silence with me, sir. It is quite beautiful out here," Riza says with a soft smile, "Something a little different after the chaos of the last few weeks."
Roy hums in agreement. He fiddles anxiously with his ignition gloves for a moment before deciding to take them off.
After putting them in a pocket not holding the ring, he begins wondering how he could even begin to broach the subject that's been eating at him for the past few years. He decides to do it as simply as he can.
"There is actually another reason why I wanted to come out here with you," he starts, "I figured you might need a quiet moment as much as me, but I wanted to talk to you about something." His fingers begin to tap along his thigh as he feels nerves begin to twist his stomach.
Her eyebrows scrunch a bit as she picks up on his anxiety.
She gently takes his bare hand, stilling the fingers drumming along his leg as she asks, "What's wrong, sir?"
"Nothing," he says quickly, and internally shakes himself. He looks down at their intertwined fingers and begins to rub small circles on the back of her hand.
He feels foolish, being so nervous around the one person who he quite literally trusts with his life.
He sighs before beginning to speak.
"Riza." She blinks at the sound of her name, and he knows his use of it has caught her off guard. Now at least she knows what he wants to talk about is beyond work and beyond anything except the two of them.
He continues, "We've been with each other for so long, and for so long I've cherished the fact that I always knew I could count on you to be my bodyguard; you've protected and guided me, even held a gun to my head when I needed you to. But in some ways, I regret asking you to do those things all those years ago; because of that duty, you have always been one step behind me as you guarded my back. And in some ways I still regret it because that wasn't originally what I wanted for us."
He smiles softly. "You were my friend and confidant first, and I never forgot that. Don't get me wrong, I've always been grateful for your loyalty and courage as my subordinate and as a soldier. You've been watching my back for so many years and I know you'd give your life for mine even when I know I can be a bastard sometimes. But I also know it's always gone a little deeper than that." He looks down at their conjoined hands before continuing.
"I fell in love with you when we were kids, and when I left to go into the military, I was convinced it wasn't real love, just a teenage crush I thought I'd grow out of. But then I saw you again in Ishval, and I never imagined what we had as kids would grow into the indescribable companionship, trust, and loyalty we have now, and it's something I can't imagine ever having with anyone else.
"On the Promised Day, I thought I was going to lose you, and it felt like someone was cutting my heart out with a dull knife. I should've known that would happen given who you'd become to me, but it was still something I didn't expect to feel it as intensely as I did. As I held you, bleeding and dying, it was then I knew I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. And I felt like an idiot, knowing it had taken you almost dying in my arms for me to realize that. But it stuck with me, and I knew if I became Fuhrer I would have no more excuses for why you would need to continue to walk behind me, which is part of the reason I was so determined to reach this point."
His tone changes as he looks back up at her. "I don't want you to be one step behind me anymore. I want you to take a step forward and walk with me through the rest of this life. God knows we've lost so much time already."
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the small black box that had been sitting heavy there for the last few hours. He flips it open, glancing at the simple diamond atop a silver-banded ring before looking back at Riza.
Her eyes are intense, though she's looking only at him, not straying to the ring or anywhere else but his face. He takes a deep breath.
"I can't imagine going through the rest of my life or leading this country with anyone else by my side, because I love you, Riza Hawkeye. So," He clears his throat, trying not to let the nerves get the best of him as he asks the most important question of his life. "Would you allow me the absolute honor of becoming your husband?"
She breaks her gaze from him to look at their conjoined hands and the scars that mark them. The scars that join them as both damaged soldiers and damaged souls.
She breaks her gaze from him to look at their conjoined hands and the marks that scar them. She briefly runs her thumb over the raised scar of the transmutation circle on the back of his hand, a circle now permanently etched onto both of their bodies
When she smiles a soft, close-lipped grin, he feels like the luckiest man in the world.
"Do you even have to ask?" she questions him softly. She releases his hands to bring her own up to cradle his face. "Of course I'll marry you."
He is only able to breathe a sigh of relief before she kisses him.
Kissing her now brings Roy back to the one and only time he tried kissing her when they were teenagers. They'd both been drunk, as that was the only way Roy Mustang would've had the courage to kiss his master's intimidatingly independent and intimidatingly beautiful daughter. It had been sloppy and awkward, and he'd been too embarrassed to bring it up again, and she never brought it up either.
And this is so much better than that, is the only coherent thought in Roy's brain as he finally kisses Riza Hawkeye for real.
After a moment, he places one hand at her waist and the other on her knee. As the kiss gets more intense, he finds the hand on her knee slowly sliding along her inner thigh, the slit in her dress allowing him better access to the tantalizingly soft skin.
Unexpectedly, he feels her tense.
"Roy, stop!" She almost shouts and grabs the hand running up her thigh. It's such a stark contrast from the current mood, and he jumps back as if he'd been burned.
Her eyes are wide, and he's sure his are too, and the look of concern on her face makes him freeze, before apologies start bubbling from his lips.
"Riza, I-I do sincerely apologize, I'm not sure what came over me. We are in a public place, I should have—"
Riza places the hand she'd grabbed on top of her covered thigh before placing a hand on Roy's cheek. She lets out a short laugh and Roy is immediately confused.
"No, Roy," she smiles, and before Roy can even blush she reaches under the slit of her dress and whips out a razor-sharp knife. Roy feels his eyes get even wider.
"I have a knife strapped to each of my thighs, Roy. They're in holsters, but I didn't want to risk you cutting your fingers off. That would ruin the mood."
Roy can't help the ragged laugh he manages to get out as relief and a tiny bit of fear wash over him. And maybe just a little bit of lust.
He sags into her a bit, resting his head against her shoulder for a moment. He kisses her there, before reaching up to trace her cheek.
"I can't wait to marry you."
Hope you enjoyed! Drop me a comment!