Chris Mustang's living room was stacked with boxes, and it hadn't escaped her attention that only three of them contained Roy's clothing. The remainder were carefully filled with the late Doctor Hawkeye's research that Riza had handed over shortly after his death. As much as she told herself she was prepared, Chris hated to see Roy leave the nest.

A house to herself would be a good thing. She could finally… do what? Chris hadn't realized how much parenting Roy had become a part of her fabric. Of course, as all children do, her little nephew had grown up. He had a determined glint in his eye, and she wouldn't hold him back. She knew once he returned home from a military career he insisted would be short, he wouldn't be the boy anymore. Instead, he'd be a man, and his heart belonged to Riza now. In all likelihood, he'd move into her family home, and Chris wouldn't get him back. Not really.

An unflattering tear caught in her eye, and Chris snagged it with her fingertip before the thing could ruin her makeup. Ridiculous. Of course this day was coming. It always had been. A child hadn't ever been in the cards for her, but she'd ended up with one anyway. And now he was leaving.

Glancing at the photographs that littered the mantelpiece, Chris noted that Roy had grown to resemble his mother more than his father. Probably for the best, she surmised; her brother had a roguish face that often exuded a harshness. Roy's countenance shone with an affable nature that concealed a quick cleverness and sharp mind. Doctor Hawkeye had seen his potential and helped lay the foundation of success. Chris hadn't ever gotten the opportunity to thank the man for the influence. Only she herself and Hawkeye's daughter were ever permitted to see the self-doubting center of Roy - the part of him that needed reassurance and hand holding.

For Riza's sake, she hoped the legislation to legalize private alchemy would pass quickly. Roy had sworn he'd resign his commission and come home as soon as the restrictive laws were lifted. Even so, he'd be away at least four years at the university. The situation in Ishval didn't seem to be improving, and it worried her. Chris didn't doubt the solidity of Roy's devotion to her, but time had a way of changing things. Dreams that once seemed so strong to young eyes often bent under the weight of age.

"You named him what?" Roy stared at Riza.

"Black Hayate. I think he likes it." She scratched the puppy lightly behind the ears, earning an adoring gaze from the lump of fur in her lap.

"I think maybe you should've let me name him." He tossed a handful of flower petals into the grass and plucked another dandelion from the ground.

"You gave him to me. He's my dog, and I can call him what I want," Riza huffed indignantly.

"Okay, but any subsequent pets we have, I'm naming them." Roy stretched out in the grass and crossed his ankles. A breeze ruffled his hair and sent the swings in the playground into a gentle motion.

"No more pets, Roy. One is enough." Hayate rolled over, revealing his belly, and Riza acquiesced to a rub.

"You two should get a room," Roy mumbled.

She laughed at him. "Your jealousy of this dog is very amusing."

"You think my wounded feelings are amusing?"

"Oh, yes. Very."

Roy closed his eyes against the setting sun and frowned. "Some girlfriend you are."

Riza sighed and set the dog aside. Hayate started an investigation of a patch of clover as his mistress lay next to her boyfriend in the empty park. "How many more days?"

"Five."

"That's so short." She draped herself across his chest and brushed the hair from his eyes. "They're going to chop off your hair, put you in a uniform, and you won't be the same when you come home."

"I knew you loved me only for my beautiful hair." Roy's eyes opened, and he grinned up at her.

"Stop. This isn't funny. I'm worried that while you're gone, you'll decide the world is a big, wide place, and you won't want to come home."

His eyebrows flew up. "Is that what you think is going to happen? I'm more worried about you meeting some tall, dark, and handsome intellectual at college and deciding you don't need me anymore."

Riza propped her chin on her wrists. "Ridiculous."

"What you said is ridiculous, too."

"It doesn't feel ridiculous."

Roy took her hand and kissed it. "Listen, it doesn't matter what happens, Riza; the way I feel about you is a constant variable. It's never going to change, no matter how big and wide the world is. You're the axis my planet spins on."

"Can I come to your certification ceremony?"

"I'd be offended if you didn't, but you have to leave your furry boyfriend at home."

Riza laughed and weaved her fingers through his. "I don't know, Roy; we're pretty serious."

"I should've bought you a turtle."

"Nah, our babies would be horrific," she giggled.

"I'm not even gone yet, and you're talking about babies with another man."

Riza sat up and straddled his lap. Her skirt rode up, exposing her thighs, and Roy's hands found their way onto the smooth skin. "Do you remember when we were kids, and you'd bring me things you thought would make me smile? Let me tell you something, Roy Mustang, that very first time you shoved a sticky handful of yellow weed flowers and a crumbling lemon cake at me, I knew."

"You knew what?" he breathed.

"I knew you were it."

"It?"

"Yes, it. I knew you'd be my last love, and that hasn't changed. I was just a little girl, but I knew. It never bothered me that you saw other girls, and I've had my own firsts, too, but in the center of my heart, it's always been you. These other boys were just stops on my way to you, and now you're mine. I don't ever plan on letting go."

"Promise?"

Riza grabbed his hand and placed it in the center of her chest. "I promise."

Later, when he lay in the embrace of her legs and there was nothing but a sheen of sweat between them, Riza whispered in his ear that she loved him. She'd never said the words to him before, and Roy's heart ached. He missed her already.

Roy refused to spend his last days with Riza studying. His notes and books stayed safely taped into boxes until Maes helped him pack them into the trunk of his car.

"It's going to cost a small fortune to ship all these to East City, Roy. I bet you've got at least seventy-five pounds of stuff here."

Roy shrugged and slammed his trunk shut. "I want it all waiting for me, and I can't afford to leave anything behind. There's no way Riza or Aunt Chris would be able to tell what I needed, even if I described it in detail."

"You alchemists and your books." Maes grinned and ducked into the passenger seat. "Are you nervous at all? It's going to be a huge change."

"More than huge, and yeah, I'm nervous as hell. I keep thinking I'm going to fuck something up and be sent home."

"Nah, you'll be fine," Hughes smiled confidently. "If anyone can do it, you can. How's Riza doing? I'm glad she didn't murder you for keeping it a secret."

Roy sighed. "You and me both. She says she's afraid I won't come home."

"She thinks you're going to die? You're too young to be deployed to the border, I think."

"No, she thinks I'll want to go off and forget about her or something. I don't know."

"Oh, hey, speaking of Riza, you know who I saw the other day in the senate building?"

"A bunch of boring old men in suits?" Roy mumbled as he pulled into the post office parking lot.

"Well, that too, but no. Jason Miles. You remember him, right?"

Roy's jaw flexed. "The wrestler Riza dated before Havoc. Yeah, I remember that guy."

"Well, apparently he's at the humanities college now and will have an internship with Senator Tucker soon. He's the guy pushing so hard for legalizing private alchemy."

"Well, of course he goes there." Roy stepped from his car and slammed the door. He had nothing against Miles, but the idea of Riza being on the same campus as him in a year rattled his cage.

"Are you jealous, Roy?"

"No, Hughes, I'm not jealous. I'm not jealous of Miles, and I'm not fucking jealous of Riza's dog. I'm fine."

Maes eyed Roy for a long moment before pulling open the trunk. "You've got to let it go, man. Don't make things harder on yourself. If you start getting jealous and angry now, it's only going to eat at you while you're gone."

Roy sighed and leaned against the bumper of his car. "I'm not really jealous, Maes. I'm just frustrated that I can't have my cake and eat it too. If I stayed and didn't go to EUMA, I'd still have to wait until things change to practice alchemy. And even then, I won't have access to the resources I saw when I was there. I want to do this. I have to. There isn't anything that I want to study more, and the only place I can do it is five hours away on a train and dressed up like a soldier."

"Well, there's your answer then. Riza will be here when you come home. I've seen her schedule for next year, and she's going to be really busy. Maybe it's for the best you guys have some time apart."

"You know, her dad gave me a bit of advice once, back when I was still with Becky. He told me I needed to find someone who had their own interests and obsessions. He said I'd always be in a tug-of-war with my partner if the person I was with didn't understand me."

"Do you think he knew you'd be dating his daughter soon?"

Roy looked over the boxes in the trunk. "Actually, I do. He never said anything specifically, but damn, there were a few times before he died that I swear he was hinting at me."

"It'll be fine, Roy. You only have one chance to devote yourself to academia before life sticks you with responsibility. Like kids. Gracia wants kids."

Roy's head whipped around, and he pulled a face. "Geez, Hughes, she doesn't waste any time. You guys really talk about that stuff?"

"Of course! Don't you?" His friend was getting that mushy look he often had when the subject turned to Gracia. Roy shoved a box at him.

"No. No we don't. I got her a dog, and that was enough." He led the way into the post office, with Hughes trailing behind.

"One day, though, Roy. One day, you'll have little blonde and black-haired kids running around that giant yard of hers, and I'll say I told you so."

Roy rolled his eyes. He did not want children any time soon. It was bad enough he had to share Riza with Hayate. The last thing he wanted to think about was a pack of clingy kids stealing her attention away from him even more.

The morning of his departure was overcast, and Roy thought it suited his mood. His aunt made him breakfast, but his stomach felt too queasy to eat any of it. She hugged him tightly before watching him climb into Riza's car from the front steps of the house. He hated that she looked so sad, and he realized that as long as he'd been living with her, he never thought of himself as an orphan. Chris Mustang had been his mother, his father, and everything in between. She'd woven him a safety net that couldn't ever be replaced. The thought of leaving her behind weighed him down even more.

Riza held him fiercely on the train platform, and he felt her tears through his shirt. "It kills me when you cry, Riza," he whispered into her hair.

"I can't help it. I didn't realize until just now that you'd actually be leaving. I haven't been without you since before my mom died."

"I'll come home for winter break. It's only a few months. Please don't cry. I don't want to remember you this way."

She sniffled and smiled up at him. It wasn't a full smile. "Five months. That's more than a few, Roy."

"Don't rain on my parade. Tell Hayate that I'll make a hat out of him if anything happens to you."

Riza smoothed his shirt and leaned up for a kiss. "I'll do no such thing." She pressed her lips to his and sighed. "Come back to me, okay?"

An ear-shattering whistle sounded, and Roy pulled back from her. "I promise." He kept his eyes on her as long as he could. Eventually, she disappeared, and Roy felt utterly alone.