Don't own FMA. But it's one of my favorite manga/anime.
Roy Mustang was pissed. He was beyond pissed. He was furious.
Flashback
Roy's day had started out normally enough, with him being neck-deep in paperwork from the moment that he got into work to the moment he left. The only odd moment had been when Riza had clocked out early with Ed, but he wrote that off due to the explanation that they were having a sparring session and wanted to do it while there was still daylight out.
Roy was walking home, muttering about lucky blondes and ungrateful runts (Riza and Edward respectively), when the pillar of flame had appeared. For a brief instant, night had become day and a wave of heat pressed down on the Brigadier General.
In a flare of panic, Roy ran towards the park where the pillar of flame had come from, slipping on his gloves as he did so. Reaching one of the many entrances to the park, Mustang slipped into the shadows, his combat training taking over.
What he saw shocked him.
An area of the park was demolished. No, not demolished. Vaporized. The intense heat of the flame pillar had vaporized the surrounding foliage. This gave Roy an unobstructed view of two things. The first, was the disturbingly familiar sight of an alchemical circle, his own, the one sewn into the back of his gloves. The circle for flame alchemy. The second thing that Roy saw was Riza, his Riza, hugging Edward and crying.
A number of emotions ran through Roy, thought the main one was rage, directly focused on one Edward Elric.
Suddenly, Edward grabbed Riza's arm and began running towards the entrance that Mustang was hidden by. Still fuming, Roy stepped out of the shadows and faced down the short blond. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Roy shouted, letting every bit of his rage leak into his voice. He walked up to the pair, glaring at Edward but occasionally shooting a glance at Riza. "Now why don't one of you tell me just what the hell happened here?!"
Flashback end
Ed couldn't help but stumble over his words. He had seen Mustang pissed off before, TRULY pissed off and no the half-pissed version that Ed usually encountered when they argued. But this was the first time the full weight of Mustang's rage was directed fully at the short blond alchemist. And his eyes, strangely cold but at the same time burning hot, scared Ed more than he would ever willingly admit.
"W-Well, you see, I, well I mean…" Ed began, tripping over himself worse than when he had first began walking with his automail.
"It was a rather backfired alchemy attempt sir." Riza said calmly, stepping forward. She had experience keeping Roy calm, after all.
"I CAN FUCKING SEE THAT!" Roy shouted, startling both Riza and Ed. Roy never swore at Riza. "So why don't one of you tell me why you're apparently attempting to replicate MY flame alchemy in a public park?!"
"Berthold's." Ed said, having regained his cool.
"Excuse me?!" Roy snarled at the young alchemist.
"Flame alchemy was invented and perfected by Berthold Hawkeye, and was given to Roy Mustang." Edward said calmly. "So it's not your alchemy."
"You told him?!" Roy shouted, turning to Riza. "So not only is the Fullmetal Pipsqueak-"
"I AM NOT SMALL GODDAMNIT!" Ed shouted immediately, automatically coming to defense of his small stature despite the seriousness of the situation.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Roy shouted at Ed in return, a look of absolute rage in his eyes as he raised his gloved hand threateningly. Only to be stopped by the unmistakable sound of a gun chambering a bullet. Roy froze and slowly turned to Riza, who had one of her guns out and pointed straight at Roy.
"I made you a promise a long time ago sir." Riza said, a slight tremble in her voice, though the tremble didn't extend to her hands, which had the gun pointed straight between Roy's eyebrows. "Please, don't make me go through with it."
In an instant, hot shame flooded Roy as he realized what he had been about to do. If Riza hadn't of been there, if it had just been Ed and Roy, Roy would have tried to unleash a blast at Ed. It didn't matter if, just then, Roy was just trying to scare the young alchemist. That would have created an irreparable rift between them.
Roy slowly lowered his hand and waited until Riza lowered her gun before almost ripping the glove off of his hand and handing it to her. "Take this." He said in a tired voice. "I really don't want this anywhere near me right now."
Riza accepted the glove and put it in her pocket before fixing Roy with a pointed look. Roy briefly wondered what she was thinking before he remembered, both of his gloves were of sparkcloth. He sheepishly peeled off his other glove and handed it over and only then did Riza holster her gun.
"Now then, if you think you can hold your temper, let's go to your office and we can discuss this like adults." Riza said, putting a hand on Ed's shoulder, gently restraining him from jumping the Brigadier General.
Roy numbly nodded his consent and Ed just grunted in irritation which Riza took as an affirmation before leading the way to Roy's office.
Once the trio made it into Roy's office, the Brigadier General collapsed into his chair and covered his face with his hand. "Now then, someone please explain this messed-up situation to me."
"Well you see ya bastard Brigadier General…" Ed began before stopping. "That doesn't sound nearly as good as 'bastard Colonel'." The blonde mused before catching both Roy and Riza's stern glares.
"Maybe I should be the one to explain." Riza said. "It started from where I stormed off about a month ago. Ed followed me and we talked. I ended up telling him about my father and his flame alchemy and you have no right to get angry at me for that." Riza shot Roy a light glare that still had him sweating.
"Anyways, after she did that she told me that she always kind of wanted to learn his flame alchemy to honor him." Ed said, taking over the narrative and earning a glare from Riza which he took stoically. "So I offered to teach her basic alchemy and then later help her decipher the remaining notes on her back so that she could learn flame alchemy."
"And would I be right to assume that this is where the massive pillar of fire comes in?" Roy sighs, rubbing his forehead. "I guess that you at least managed to duplicate the rudimentary technique in order to pull off that spectacle in the park?"
"Kinda." Ed said, smiling nervously. "I was trying to research the formulaes used to alter the gaseous properties used in the alchemy when Riza asked why we had to do it when we both knew the alchemical circle for it."
Roy groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Tell me she didn't actually ask that…"
Ed smirked at Riza. "She did indeed. That bit of alchemy in the park was my demonstration to her of what could possibly happen if she just tried using the circle without understanding the principles behind it."
"I think that you got that point across." Riza said primly. "The results of that little 'experiment' looked like a massive bomb had gone off. If it wasn't for that shelter you forced me in I would have fried like the rest of the park." Suddenly, Riza's eyes went wide along with Roy's as they both stare at the blonde alchemist.
"And just how did you manage to survive that Fullmetal?" Roy asked, a coldness in his voice.
"It's related to some independent alchemical research that I intend to keep private, Sir." Ed said with a smirk. That smirk quickly faded when he heard the click of a gun behind him. "And by that, I mean that after the time that me and you fought I researched ice-based alchemy and finally found a formula that, when activated, would chill the air around me and protect me from the heat of flames."
Satisfied, Riza holstered her gun while Roy just stared at Ed. "You… You found a counter for my flame alchemy?" He asked, eyes wide and voice just above a shocked whisper.
"To an extent." Ed admitted. "It takes a lot of energy to maintain, and I can only handle up to certain temperatures. With my current modifications I can only handle up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit."
"Can only handle up to… Do you not see what a big deal this is Fullmetal?!" Roy screamed. "Just think! The major, MAJOR, reason that no one attempts to recreate flame alchemy is because of the flaming shitstorm that would rain down upon them if they did it wrong! If there was a way to handle the flames, this alchemy that you seem to have created for example, they wouldn't even need to master it! Insurgents could blow up any number of important military installments and just walk away to do it again!"
"That… That could be bad." Ed admitted. "Well, at the very least, I never wrote the completed formula in my notes and the only complete example of it is on my foot."
"That…" Roy began before taking a deep breath before all of the recent revelations caused him to blow up again. "Never mind. I expect a full report on this later Fullmetal."
Roy then turned towards Riza. "Riza, I understand that you want to honor your father and I apologize, both for claiming that the alchemy was my own and for blowing up when I discovered that you were attempting to learn it. As is pretty obvious, I already know the alchemy and all of its subtleties. Do you want me to teach you?"
Riza considered this. Roy was right, he already knew the alchemy. He had seen the notes in their entirety and had mastered the alchemy and all it entailed. But still… "I would have to refuse Sir." Riza said. "Edward is my teacher. For better, or for worse." At that, Mustang smiled while Edward looked happy that Riza had decided to remain under his tutelage.
"Dismissed Fullmetal. Riza, please stay behind for a second." Roy said, getting a half-hearted wave from Ed who cast a worried glance at Riza.
Riza shooed Edward away before looking back at Roy. "You wanted to say something, sir?"
"I just wanted to say… That I'm sorry about what happened." Roy said, hanging his head in shame. "I… Never should have given you cause to act on our old promise. I won't ask for your forgiveness, I doubt that you'll give it, but I hope to earn it back one day."
Riza put her hand on Roy's shoulder. "You're right in that I won't forgive you quite yet. But give it some time. You're a good man Roy, sometimes you just need to be reminded of that." Riza then left the office, leaving Roy behind with his thoughts.
Resolution! I'm a bit worries that the emotions are a bit rushed in this chapter. But meh. For those who are confused about the 'promise' that Riza and Roy made, Roy once made Riza promise that if he ever began to abuse his power that she would kill him. Please review, and I'm still disappointed by the lack of flamers. Meh, comment however you like. And speaking of reviews, here are some review replies.
No Name Anime Fan: No, this is not Roy/Riza. Well, unless you count their friendship. While I personally have no problem with them having a romantic relationship, I personally believe that there relationship is strictly platonic.
darkpaladin89: The pillar was contained by the circle, so it would have been about 5 Ft. wide.
Guest: I'm glad that you all are actually looking at and liking the reccommendations I post. They're great writers and I like giving them some credit.
And speaking of my shoutouts, this chapter goes out to microzombie! He writes a mixture of Naruto and FMA stories, all of which are good. But personally, I recommend Edward Hawkeye.