As much as Edward hated to admit it, he liked Roy Mustang. Even though there was a four year age difference between them, he felt Mustang was really his only peer at the university. Certainly there were other talented alchemists, Kimblee in particular, but Edward wouldn't put himself on the same shelf as the cadet with a grin that made his skin crawl. Roy shared his disgruntled view of alchemy suppression and didn't seem to want to be a soldier any more than he did. If Edward was given a choice, he'd always choose to collaborate with Mustang over anyone else.

Over the last few months, the political environment had galvanized, and it seemed he might be on his way home sooner than later. Senator Tucker had managed to gain more support in the senate and the backing of local laborers who wanted to cash in on the projected economy for alchemic materials. The previous evening, Edward had listened with an attentive ear to a radio journalist give an optimistic time frame of three to four years until total legalization. His father didn't share his excitement; his concerns were financial. Even if Edward established a private practice, how would he bolster the family in a rural area such as Resembool? The barter system still outplayed hard cash in some circles, and one couldn't pay for electricity and sewage with bushels of wool.

Edward wasn't as ignorant as Hoenheim assumed, though. He had a plan. He wanted to experiment and research. With an open market, advances were sure to be made! The military provided innumerable resources for a student such as himself, but the path always led to the same destination. How can your specialty be used for the military?

Cadets like Kimblee had no problems answering questions like that. He liked to blow things up, and the military was happy to oblige. Edward truly hoped that war with Ishval never broke out. A skill like Kimblee's would be devastating. His own mind was wired for knowledge attainment, and in the late night hours, he'd confessed to Winry his desire to travel to Xing. Alkahestry was fascinating, and the potential of medical application excited him. Edward felt lucky to have someone like her in his life. She would always be his home regardless of how far he wandered. Soon enough he'd be free, even if the in-between time dragged.

More than once, Edward had been present for a not-so-subtle inquiry into Mustang's research. Elemental alchemy was prized and dangerous. He respected Roy's desire to hold his cards close, even if he was quite curious himself. The gloves alone were fascinating. Who wouldn't want to slip their hand inside the rough material and have the ability to create a wall of flame at will? Of course, Edward didn't have the intrinsic knowledge of gasses to operate them, but the temptation was there all the same.

The first time Mustang demonstrated the level of pinpoint accuracy he was capable of, Edward had been astonished. He'd watched Roy carefully fold three origami balloons and line them up on the edge of his dorm room desk. With an effortless smirk that belied the concentration set into his brow, Mustang slid a white glove over his hand and snapped. The middle balloon burst into a quickly dying flame, leaving behind nothing but floating wisps of ash. I can do that with just about anything I'm familiar with. Paper is easy because the composition is simple. Other targets are more… complicated.

Edward understood immediately what Mustang meant when he'd said other targets. The true purpose of their studies always lurked beneath the excitedly bubbling surface of newly acquired skill.

Over the past two years, Roy had earned himself a privilege amongst his classmates, superiors, and professors. As far as he could tell, he only had one serious rival. After graduating from the Central Amestris Academy, Zolf Kimblee had taken up residence in the university. His range of study came too close to his own specialty for Roy's liking. Kimblee had a knack for pyrotechnics, and the glee on his face when he successfully executed an array was disturbing. All too often, he'd caught Kimblee lurking in the hallways outside his dorm with a barrage of questions laced with a friendliness Roy knew didn't exist between them. Twice, he'd had the locks on his door changed.

Roy was dining alone in an empty lab surrounded by books and equipment when a thundering blast rocked the walls. He had no reason to assume anything, but his chest clenched with a knowing anxiety. He left his belongings and sprinted down the hallway and across a courtyard. Smoke poured out of the south dormitory building, and he just knew.

Military police swarmed the area, but Roy slipped past them and into his wing. Smoke billowed from a familiar staircase, and he pulled the collar of his undershirt over his nose and mouth. With watering eyes and a lungful of poisonous air, Roy's heart sank. He couldn't see much, but there were only a handful of occupied rooms on this floor. The two other soldiers he shared the hall with weren't alchemy students and didn't have possession of any sensitive materials. Of course the blast had originated from his room.

Before he could reach his destination, a rough hand on his shoulder restrained him. A masked face shouted, "Get out of here, cadet! How the hell did you sneak past the barricade? Downstairs, now!"

"Sir, I believe the explosion came from my room, and there's-" His words were strangled by coughs.

"You can inspect your room when the fire marshal gives the all-clear! Get outside!"

"But-"

The hand on his shoulder grabbed a handful of uniform. "Did I fucking stutter, soldier? Tear your ass, or I'll toss you out myself!" Roy was shoved toward the staircase and begrudgingly followed orders.

The sunlight hurt his eyes, and a medic took his arm as he stumbled from the building. "That was very foolish, Cadet Mustang. Please have a seat and clear your lungs." Roy hung his head and lowered himself to a concrete planter on the far end of the courtyard.

"Such a shame, Mustang. Destruction of personal space so far from home must be a serious blow for you," Kimblee's voice oozed into his ear.

"Shut the fuck up, Kimblee," Roy choked out. His throat burned and breathing hurt.

"Of course, a genius like you shouldn't have any trouble moving forward without your boxes of cheat sheets."

Roy clenched his fists and accepted the oxygen mask thrust at him by the concerned medic.

"Not all of us were so lucky to be a famous teacher's pet. Looks like the playing field has been leveled."

Kimblee strutted off, and Roy's blood boiled. Exploding his way into a private room seemed too showy, even for an attention hound like Zolf. Surely he wouldn't be so brash and confident in his place at the university to attempt such a giant invasion of privacy. Blaming him didn't feel exactly right, but the knowing grin on his face clawed at Roy. He needed to see the damage to determine the cause of the blast, and if it was alchemic in nature, he'd know right away. Transmutation left behind trace markings that were unmistakable.

It was several hours before Roy was allowed back into the building, with an escort, and the fire marshal explained his assumptions had been correct. His dormitory room door had been the source of the blast. The surrounding wall was covered in tiny indentations proving alchemy had been used, but no arrays could be found. He didn't care about the destruction so much as the large expanses of empty floor space. Every last one of the boxes containing Doctor Hawkeye's research was gone.

Roy didn't actually need Hawkeye's books and papers anymore. He'd committed their contents to memory very early on and now relied on his own notes and the materials held in the university's library. However, the thought of someone with malicious intent getting their hands on the research terrified him. Flame alchemy and its application could have massively destructive results, and slowly, he understood why Hawkeye left the military to pursue his studies independently and secretly.

Weeks passed with no real information as to the person responsible for the explosion. Roy hated the way Kimblee smirked at him when they came into a rare contact but still refused to believe the cadet was the source. Kimblee preferred his ostentatious pyrotechnics to a simple flame skill, and said so loudly and often. Roy was assigned a new dorm space, and he didn't bother with door locks. Why should he when his private room could be invaded so easily? Riza did not agree with this decision and voiced her dissent frequently.

"You aren't going to try and tell me I can't come, are you?" Riza's voice over the phone was annoyed. "Because you know I will anyway."

"Riza-"

"I've already bought tickets, Roy."

"Someone clearly isn't above blowing me up to get into my dorm room! I can't believe you'd even want to come stay with me right now! It isn't safe!"

"Don't talk at me about safety when you refuse to employ basic measures like door locks!"

"Well, that's-"

"A matter of principle, right? Is this a game to you?"

"I don't see any of this as a game, which is exactly why you shouldn't be here. I'll be home over the summer, and I won't have much time over the spring holiday anyway. You know I have the additional study groups."

"I'm aware, but they didn't seem to concern you when we made these plans months ago. What's changed? Do you not want to see me?"

Roy flopped backwards into his bed. "Of course I want to see you, but everything changed when my room blew up and your dad's research was stolen!"

"I can stay in a hotel."

He sighed and imagined the stubborn set of her jaw. Fighting her would only serve as a wedge between them, and Roy couldn't handle more discord. "A hotel with a security guard," he relented softly.

"Once you're officially dismissed for the holiday, you can stay with me, right?"

"Absolutely. My study group only meets from eleven to three in the afternoon, so you won't be alone for long."

"It's not me being alone that I'm worried about. I had no idea the things my dad studied were so valuable." She was silent for a moment. "I mean, I guess I should've known. I knew he was in the military and had an inkling of what he was capable of."

"I didn't want to say anything, but I've heard some things since I've been here."

"What kind of things?"

"Nothing bad." Roy rolled the piping of his pillow between his fingers. "At least, nothing bad about Doctor Hawkeye. Some of the cadets in his class at the time, though... there's rumors. He had enemies."

"My dad was a secretive man. I still haven't looked through all the papers in his study here. I almost feel like I want to just memorialize him in my head and ignore anything else."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting that, Riza. Most of the things I've come across have been accounts of stuff he refused to do, nothing damning. He left on his own accord."

"I'm going to book my room tomorrow, okay? Five days really isn't enough time, but it'll have to do." Roy smiled despite himself. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

"You aren't having puppies are you?"

Riza laughed, and even after so many years and miles, he still loved the sound. "No, no puppies. Hayate is the last of his line."

"Aw, you snipped him? Poor guy. He has my sympathies."

"It's the responsible thing to do for domestic pet owners. Kain is going to look after him for me when I'm gone."

"He won't miss you as much as I miss you."

"I guess I'm just a popular girl." Riza yawned, and he could hear the sleep in her voice. "I'll see you in a week, okay? Don't get yourself blown up before then. I'll never forgive you."

"If it helps, I'll get a new door knob with a lock tomorrow. How's that?"

"Perfect. I knew you'd see sense eventually."

"This is a compromise, not a win. So no gloating."

"Gloating is beneath me, Roy Mustang. I am on the side of right."

"One week," he whispered.

"One week," she replied. Roy followed through on the lockable door knob, but he had a feeling it would prove useless. The prize had already been taken.

Central City did not offer a spring equinox festival, and Riza was eager to attend the annual tradition in the smaller locale of East City. A network of main streets in the downtown area were roped off and limited to foot traffic so citizens could mingle and enjoy the offerings of local merchants. Roy hadn't actually attended the festival in the past, but he was happy to hold Riza's hand through the streets and enjoy the warmer spring air.

He hadn't ever considered the traditions or symbolic meaning of the equinox festival. It wasn't until Riza pulled him to a booth with baskets of brightly colored eggs painted with symbols that his curiosity was somewhat piqued. Long-haired goddesses surrounded by brown rabbits graced the banners that hung near the counter. Roy wasn't a religious person, and the meaning was lost on him. A middle-aged woman, who reminded him of a much younger and kinder version of Mathilda Grumman, placed a red and blue egg adorned with a rabbit resembling the ones on display in Riza's hand and promised them a fruitful future. When he later asked what rabbits and goddesses had to do with a fruitful future, Riza only grinned and told him to look it up sometime.

"I can see why a festival like that wouldn't work in Central. Everyone is far too pretentious," Riza said with a smile as they walked back to her hotel.

"East City definitely has a different feel to it. Are you really not going to explain the rabbit and egg to me?" He tugged her closer to his side when she burst into laughter.

"I think it'll be much more entertaining to figure it out on your own."

"Entertaining for you."

"Yes, exactly." Riza pulled the electronic key from her pocket, and he followed her into the hotel room.

Roy fell into the bed. "I'm starving."

"You're always hungry." Riza shrugged off her jacket and kicked her shoes aside. "Order food if you want, but come sit with me on the balcony. We need to talk."

"That sounds ominous."

"It's not, I promise."

After a quick phone call to a delivery restaurant, Roy leaned back in a metal patio chair. "Do I get to hear one of the big thoughts you keep in your pocket now?"

Riza smiled. "I hope you haven't built them up in your head."

"You aren't considering getting my name tattooed on your back or anything are you? Because I'm opposed to that."

She threw him a withering glance. "Be serious, please."

"You'd be surprised what some people put on their bodies. Kimblee tattooed a transmutation circle on his palm."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Riza reached over and touched the short growth of Roy's hair. "I hate that they've cut your hair off."

"It'll grow back." Roy took her hand in his. "Tell me what's on your mind."

An unexpected blush of pink bloomed on her cheeks. "It was just a stray thought, really."

"I want to hear all your stray thoughts. I miss them."

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you'd consider a transplant?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Like with blood? Do you need a kidney or something?"

Riza groaned. "No, I'm sorry. I'm not saying any of this right. Let me start over." She opened her mouth to speak, but a knock at the door interrupted. Roy leaned over and kissed her lightly.

"Hold that thought."

She followed him into the room and waited as he paid the delivery person. Roy peeked in the pizza box and smiled. As he lifted the lid, Riza pushed it closed again.

"Move in with me."

"What?"

"This summer. Move into my house, and it can be our house." Roy studied her face and leaned into the table. Riza sighed frustratedly and hooked her fingers into his belt loops. "I know it won't mean a whole lot while you're here, and I know you'll be here for another two years at least, but it would be nice to know when you say you're coming home, you mean you're coming to me."

"Riza-"

"And I don't want to upset your aunt or make her feel like I'm taking something away from her. I just-"

"Riza."

She stopped talking and looked up at him. "I want to. Of course I want to."

His heart skipped two beats at the sight of her smile. "I guess that was a little more than a stray thought, huh?"

"Just a little. And don't worry about Aunt Chris. I wasn't going to live there forever."

She hid her face in his chest and sighed. "I'm happy."

"Good. Can we eat now? The smell of food is killing me."

His aunt only smiled over her teacup as he broke the news to her that summer. When he asked what she'd like done with the old bedroom suite that had seen him through childhood, she shrugged. "I'm sure you'll think of something to do with it in a few years. I'll keep the room free for visitors. Don't make me wait too long, Roy."