A/N: Thank you so very much to everyone who took the time to review the previous chapter. I hope everyone who is following the story enjoys this chapter.
Chapter 9
Roy frowned and stared at the clock. It was almost half past three. Riza had been gone for most of the day; even though she had promised him she would only be out for a few hours. He couldn't help but worry slightly. He knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself, and he also knew that she would be exceptionally annoyed if she could see him fretting over her ware bouts. But he just couldn't help it, especially with this new serial killer on the loose. However, it had given him a rare opportunity to think. He could never sleep properly while suffering a large hangover and thinking was one of the few things he could do that required little concentration yet occupied him enough to allow him not to focus upon his ailments. That was when, in the back of his mind, an idea began to form. He had no idea where this idea had come from, or when it had occurred to him, but now the idea had become a plan. And slowly the plan was almost becoming a challenge. Just at that moment, he heard the unmistakable sound of the front door of his apartment opening. Knowing it could only possibly be one person, Roy jumped up from where he had been lying in a heap on the sofa and moved towards the sound. Sure enough, he found Riza hanging up her coat on the peg by the door. Roy leant against the doorway, setting his face into an annoyed glare, ready for when she turned around. However, the look didn't stay for very long. As soon as Riza turned around, she smiled so brightly at Roy that he found it impossible not to smile in return. Riza strode up to him and hugged him tightly.
"Hey. How are you feeling now?" she asked, her voice muffled in his shirt. Roy smiled as he held on to her.
"Not too bad now. Had a good day?" Riza drew away from him and smiled widely once more.
"I really really have." She replied, happiness evident in her voice. Roy smiled at her before leaning in to kiss her. He could barely remember the last time he had seen her smile like that, and while he was slightly put out that he had not been the cause of such merriment, he was simply glad that she was able to smile like that. He drew back from her, watching her re open her eyes and smile once again.
"Oh, before I forget, we're having dinner at Gracia's tonight. We need to be there at seven." Riza turned, and broke free of Roy's grip, automatically walking to his empty plate and cup in order to tidy the place up. Roy yawned.
"That sounds good. I could do with some of Gracia's cooking tonight, I'm starving."
"That's probably because you spent most of last night emptying your dinner in the street." Riza called from the kitchen. Roy winced, vague memories of those indiscretions flooding back at Riza's words. She returned from the kitchen and raised her eyebrows at his expression.
"Sorry." He uttered, walking back to face her. Riza smiled.
"It's alright." Roy drew her close and kissed her neck softly.
"No it's not." He mumbled as he continued his actions, causing Riza's eyes to flutter close and her body relax. He kissed his way slowly up to her ear before whispering
"What can I do to make it up to you?" Riza sighed heavily, pulling away.
"As good as that does sound, we don't have time. I need a shower, and to change before we go out." She began to walk away when Roy stopped her, his arms fastening around her waist.
"You could shower here." he whispered, sending shivers down her spine. Riza had to admit, the idea sounded exceptionally appealing, but now really wasn't a good time.
"I have no clothes." She replied sternly, attempting to break free from Roy's hold. However, his arms held her tightly.
"Just wear one of my shirts, that always looks damn good." He replied, causing Riza to laugh. Roy grinned, spinning her around.
"Almost as good as that red dress you were wearing last night." At the statement Riza froze, the blood draining from her face as memories of the morning flooded back to her. Noticing her reaction Roy peered at her closely.
"What wrong?" he asked his voice full of concern.
"Nothing." Riza replied, not meeting his eyes. Roy sighed and dropped his arms from her waist. Riza automatically turned and walked a few steps, absently trying to find something to distract her from the haunting memories.
"Why won't you talk to me?" asked a quiet voice from behind her. Riza turned slowly to look at Roy. She was touched at how concern and upset he was. She was instantly overwhelmed with guilt. She wanted to tell him, but it was her problem, nothing to do with him. Besides, she didn't want to worry him unnecessarily, considering he tended to overreact where she was concerned. So instead she pushed her anxieties down and walked back over to her lover, kissing him gently.
"There's nothing to tell. I'm fine." Roy continued to look concerned. He knew she was lying, he could always tell when she was. But he also knew that she was an exceptionally private person, and pushing her into telling him something when she didn't want to would make things worse rather than better. So instead he pushed his worries aside and smirked at Riza.
"So, where did we land on the shower idea?" he asked.
Riza strode rapidly down the street, a rather amused flame Alchemist trailing after her.
"So how long are you planning on not talking to me for?" Roy called to her. Riza narrowed her eyes but refused to open her mouth or turn around. She simply continued to walk. Roy chuckled to himself.
"We're not that late Riza." At this comment the blonde spun around and glared at him.
"It's almost half past seven Roy, we really are late, and it's all your damn fault." She spat back at him, before turning and continuing to make her way towards the Hughes' residence. Roy jogged to catch up with her.
"It was totally worth it though. And don't even bother to deny it because I know you think so too." He stated smugly. Riza turned a violent shade of red and glared at Roy but didn't deny the statement. Roy laughed loudly before throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against him as they made their way to the Hughes' front door. Before they even had a chance to knock ,the door was thrown open, revealing a beaming Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.
"Hey there you two love birds!" he called merrily, causing both Roy and Riza to glare at him. He ignored the two officer's looks and ushered them inside the house. Riza automatically walked towards the kitchen with the intention of helping Gracia. As soon as she was out of ear shot, Roy grabbed his best friends by the arm and dragged him into the front room.
"Maes I need your help." He whispered quickly, making sure that he could still hear the sounds of the women in the kitchen. Maes grinned brightly at him.
"Of course buddy!" he cried, slapping Roy hard on the back causing the Alchemist to cough, "Anything you need." Roy straightened as quickly as possible, attempting to recover from his friend's actions.
"Well, I have a plan but..."
"Oh no, no way, no more plans!" Hughes replied, jumping back slightly. "I'm still paying dearly for the last plan you came up with Roy, there is no way I'm helping you with anything that you came up with!" Roy gave his friend an exasperated look.
"Maes, please, this is not going to be like last night. I really do need your help, it's urgent." He stated, attempting to keep the desperate tone from his voice. Maes frowned at the statement.
"Urgent?" he questioned, "Really? What's so urgent that you had to drag me in here to talk ab..." he trailed off and his eyes widened as his brain took a giant leap in his favourite direction. Roy backed away slightly, almost certain Maes was either going to hug him or explode, neither of which seemed particularly appealing. However before he could say anything, a voice asked.
"And what are you two doing?" Both men turned to see Riza and Gracia standing in the door way, Riza looking perplexed and Graicia slightly annoyed.
"Nothing." Roy replied a little too quickly, causing Riza to frown.
"Better be." muttered Gracia, causing her husband to flinch slightly. "Dinner's ready." She added before the two women turned and made their way towards the dining room. Roy began following when he caught sight of Maes. His friend's eyes were brimming with tears and a large smile plastered across his face. Roy shot him an odd look before shaking his head and turning away. Honestly, what was going on in his friend's head? More to the point, how on earth had he ended up with such a strange best friend in the first place?
The two figures sat on either side of the table, each of them surveying the other, watching for any sign that the other was speaking anything but the truth.
"So we have an agreement then?" The speaker received a nod in reply.
"And you won't back down?" the speaker questioned. The other frowned, annoyed at the question.
"I gave you my word didn't I?" it was the other's turn to nod now.
"So we are in agreement." Edward stated, leaning forward on the table before continuing. "I'll tell you what happened to my automail and you will tell me what the hell the sugar bowl is and why I can't go there." Winry smiled slightly and nodded.
"Go ahead then." She stated, motioning for him to speak. Ed hesitated.
"You won't throw a wrench at me?" He asked tentatively. The blonde girl frowned at him.
"That was never part of the deal." She growled. Ed flinched, scratching his head nervously.
"Ummm... okay." He began, keep his eyes firmly fixed on the floor, "we were sort of attacked." He stated lamely.
"Attacked... alright... continue." Winry managed through gritted teeth. Ed winced. He could practically see her mind calculating which of the many implements of her collection would create the most damage at this distance. He took in a deep breath before continuing.
"We... sort of found out that it was...by the serial killer who's terrorising Central."
"SERIAL KILLLER!" shrieked Winry, jumping out of her chair. Edward instantly hopped over the back of his own chair, placing it in front of him for the small amount of protection it might give him.
"EDWARD ELRIC ARE YOU JUST LOOKING FOR TROUBLE NOW! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" she yelled, her voice reaching heights that Edward hadn't previously know existed.
"He didn't want to kill me!" he shouted back, "He just wanted to give a message to the military." Winry opened her mouth in order to counter his words; however she paused as a large banging shook the wall. Clearly they had disturbed people in the room next to them. Winry sighed and slid back into her chair. Edward decided it was probably safe to come out from behind the chair. There was a moment of silence before.
"So... are you going to tell me about the sugar bowl now?" From behind her hand, Winry smiled devilishly. Well, I may as well have some fun with this, she thought to herself.
"But why not!" Roy whined, attempting to drag Riza down the street. Riza rolled her eyes.
"For the last time, because I'm tired and I cannot get any sleep at your place. Besides, it's Saturday night and I never stay on a Saturday night." Roy was just about to offer an alternative idea when Riza kissed him roughly. However, it was short lived as she soon pulled away.
"See you on Monday." She whispered against his lips before turning and walking towards her apartment.
"Riza!" Riza groaned and turned around to stare at Roy, her eyebrows raised.
"I love you." Riza smiled
"I love you two." She whispered quietly, causing Roy to smile at her. He blew her a kiss before turning and walking away. Riza sighed. He was far too good to her, she thought as she made her way back to her apartment. She yawned as she opened the door. She had spent most of the night before making sure that Roy didn't throw up in his sleep and choke to death. It would be good to get a decent night's sleep. Just at that moment the phone rang. Riza sighed, dropped her purse on a chair and grabbed the receiver.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Riza, thank God, I've been trying to call you for like an hour!" Riza frowned.
"Marguerite? Is everything alright?" she asked worriedly.
"Yeah, of course, don't panic!" the other woman laughed. Riza frowned for a second. Why on earth would she be calling if it wasn't for an emergency? Hardly anyone except Roy or Gracia called her unless there was something specific to say.
"Anyways, Riza, you will never, ever, guess what I saw today. I was talking to Roxy and Helena, well more like listening to Helena blab about that guy of hers, not that I care considering that he's about forty and looks like a tramp, but he's nicer than the last guy she picked up. Honestly, I'd rather be single than bring home the ones she does, talk about low standards. But beggars can't be choosers right? They can't all be tall dark and smouldering. Well, I'd rather have tall blonde and chiselled, but that's just me. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so Roxy, Helena and I were standing outside SB when who happens to pull up..." Riza smiled to herself as she took the phone and flopped on to the couch. She had a feeling this would take a while. And while she would have normally been rather aggravated at someone taking up all of her evening by chatting on the phone, she was actually rather looking forward to this conversation.
"Damn you, you stupid bitch!" Hissed the voice as it paced the room, shoes wearing away at the carpet. Stopping its pacing, the figure slammed its fists upon the small table, sending a vase of white roses shattering to the floor.
"Why have you not told you precious, murdering Colonel, you useless slut? Or does he not care? Is that it? That's because you're too good for him. Not that you act like it, parading around in filthy places, consorting with whores and making yourself just as cheap as them! It's disgraceful!" The
figure stopped pacing and stared out of the window, taking deep breaths in order to regain a sense of calmness.
"It's alright; it's going to be alright. When I have you, I will make sure that Lieutenant Hawkeye is never mistaken for a common prostitute, is never taken advantage of and is always, always loved." The figure retraced its steps, picking up a flower and tracing it's petals with pale finger tips.
"Yes." Murmured the voice, "He's so far beneath you. Not good enough. But I need him. After all, there's got to be something for me to play with when I'm done." and with that the flower was reduced to a crumpled heap, petals slowly drifting towards the floor, like tears of sadness lost in the wind.
A/N: Please review with what you think.