A/N: Another chapter for you all! Is it early or is it late? Why not both! This one took a weird turn on me, but I decided to keep it the way it is. I hope you enjoy. Thank you to all who follow, favorite, and review. It means a lot to me.

Chapter Ten: Books by the Fire

Riza and Roy's return to Giribaz was met with far less pomp and circumstance than in Central. Their homecoming was greeted with a noise of acknowledgement from Berthold, who quickly returned to his study, but not before dropping a heavy tome on the coffee table in the sitting room. Roy sighed, aware that this was his punishment for abandoning his studies for a week. He hadn't even had time to set down his suitcase. Once he stopped wallowing in self-pity, he realized that Riza had already been upstairs and back. She stood in front of him, waving her hand in front of his face. "Earth to R-" she broke off, realizing that they were back home. She stepped to the side, tearing her eyes from him. "Sorry, Mr. Mustang."

"Hey," Roy grabbed her wrist just below her bracelet to keep her from moving further away. "Don't start that again. I'm still me, still Roy. Call me that around your dad if you have to, but let's not go back to that, okay?"

Riza moved her wrist from his grasp, wrapping her own hand around the same spot. Her thumb brushed lightly over her bracelet as she said "I'll try."

"That's good enough for me." Roy smiled. He set his suitcase down in the middle of the foyer, earning him a sharp look. "Alright," he complained, picking it back up and taking it up the stairs to his room.

Riza looked around her, weighted down by what she saw. The sink was full of dishes, the rug hadn't been beaten; even the sun in the windows seemed to stream in melancholy. She had become accustomed to the noise of Chris' home, the brightness of the bar, the smiling faces. Homesickness clawed at her heart for the home that wasn't hers. As she walked through the kitchen and sitting room, turning on what lamps she could, the house began to illuminate. Finding that this wasn't enough, she pulled her coat off the rack and slipped it on before walking purposefully out the front door.

Roy came back down to find the door open, the cold winter air spilling inside. He could hear a rhythmic thumping outside the house. Shutting the door behind himself, he rounded the corner to see Riza chopping firewood. Try as she might, she hadn't gotten a single log split properly. With a cry of frustration, she struck again, chipping off a small piece of wood from the edge of the log. The axe, which was half her size, took both her hands to use. Before she could lift it again, Roy called a rapid "Hey hey hey hey hey!" Riza looked over at him and quirked an eyebrow.

"Let me do that. You're gonna hurt yourself on a downswing like that."

Relenting far more easily than she wanted to, Riza handed him the handle of the axe before stepping aside. She watched Roy swing down, splitting a log with relative ease for his size; he was far better at it than her, anyway. Rather than go inside, she stood in silence and watched him work. When Roy set the axe down, he chided "If you wanted the house warm, you probably shouldn't have left the door open."

"The fire isn't for heat," Riza countered as she bundled the firewood in her arms. "I want it for the light. The house is too dark."

"Really? I thought you liked it that way."

"I did." She walked back through the front door, her nose stinging slightly from the cold. The fireplace was soon fed, and she used a lighter to ignite a piece of newspaper, which she poked inside. The fire began to crackle. Riza fanned the flames to get the fire to take, a wave of warmth washing over her as it did. As per usual, she pulled a book from the shelf and retrieved a blanket from the basket.

Roy had only just sat down to study when Riza sat beside him, resting her back against his side. "Comfortable?" he asked pointedly, becoming less surprised with her actions by the day.

"Yes," was her response as she threw the blanket over her bent knees.

The two read in silence for several minutes, the fire warming them from across the room. After closing her book and listening to the fire crackle, Riza broke the silence. "Roy?"

"Yes?"

"We'll go back and visit soon, won't we?"

"Of course."

Satisfied with the answer, Riza opened her book again and picked up where she left off.

I am still in the state of bliss in which you left me. There is not the tiniest cloud in this pure sky, not a grain of sand in our lake. I'm beginning to believe that there are angels disguised as men who pass themselves off as such and who inhabit the earth for a while to console and lift up with them toward Heaven the poor, exhausted, and saddened souls who were ready to perish here below.*

Winter brought with it a freeze unusual this far into the eastern region. It snuck up on the town with swift fury, leaving everything coated in slick, gritty ice. There was little snow to speak of, and the sleet and hail that fell mixed with the dirt in the roads and around homes. It was an ugly sort of peace. Roy and Riza began to limit their trips into town after the first freeze almost caused an unaware Riza to slip down a hill. The grass crunched beneath their feet when they walked, making their shoes muddy and wet with freezing water.

After one such freeze, Roy was rudely awoken by being vigorously shaken. He groaned, placing his pillow over his head in an attempt to ignore the sensation. The pillow was pulled from his head and came down on his side, making a soft thud as it did so.

Roy, half awake, sat up on bed and complained "Damn it Riza, don't you know what time it is?"

"The pipe in the kitchen burst. I need your help." Riza was pulling him out of bed by his arm. "We need to stop it before it gets worse. Now come on!"

Roy stumbled down the stairs and was startled awake when his feet landed in a puddle of water. Not bothering to get his boots, he rushed as fast as he could without slipping into the kitchen. Riza was hauling a large bucket in from outside, struggling with the weight of the metal. Roy quickly grabbed the other side, and the two maneuvered it under the kitchen sink. Several cleaning supplies met a watery fate when Roy swept them out of the way with his foot in order to make room. The pipe contained for the time being, no more water would spill out into the house.

His sight landed on the basket of linens, and Roy sloshed over to grab as many towels and blankets as he could carry. As much as he tried to mop up the water, the majority slipped right around his attempt. Growling in frustration, he began to throw the linens down on the floor, where they began to rapidly soak up the water.

Riza had made her way over to the telephone and dialed the number pinned to the wall at eye-level. "Please work please work please work please work," she prayed under her breath until she heard a tone from the phone line. If she believed in miracles, she would say that this was surely one. A click was followed by a woman's voice on the other end.

Hello?

"Jessica, it's Riza. I need to talk to Aunt Chris."

Riza! How are you?! We just sent you and Roy a letter. I wish I knew your phone worked, otherwise we would have just called!

"It rarely does. Please hand the phone to Aunt Chris."

Roy's not giving you trouble, is he? Because-

"Jessica. I need you to give the phone to Aunt Chris. It's really important."

We'll, maybe I can-

"Jessica!" Riza's sudden shout startled Roy, who was still throwing blankets all over the downstairs.

With a huff, Jessica relented on the other end of the line.

Okay, but you have to promise you and Roy will call soon.

"If we can," Riza agreed. She waited on the line until she heard Chris' gruff voice.

Well, you have her all worked up, but don't worry. She'll be over it in a few hours. What do you need?

"A pipe burst in the kitchen and I need to know what we should do."

That's unfortunate. There was a pause on the line, which Riza assumed meant Chris was smoking. So here's what you need to do...

Roy lay on his back underneath the sink, doing his best to follow Riza's instructions. He kept getting dripped on, the water running down his face.

"Make sure you patch the entire leak, otherwise it might burst again."

"I knooow." Out of sight, Roy rolled his eyes as he said it.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, Roy Mystang."

Roy shimmered out from under the sink and stood up, looking down at Riza. "What're you gonna do about it, Riza Hawkeye?"

Annoyed, Riza snatched the wrench from him and dropped down under the sink, mumbling to herself. "Useless jerk."

"What was that?" Roy demanded, tapping his foot. When he didn't get an answer, he probed "Riza? Well?"

"I heard you." Riza shoved the toolbox out from underneath the sink before following it. She took a rag off the counter and began to dry her face.

"Would a useless person have mopped up the floors?" Roy demanded, clearly not willing to let this go.

"And have left them there?" Riza asked pointedly, glancing at the drenched blankets covering the house.

The two stood their ground, glaring at one another, waiting for the other to make a move. Roy broke first, turning in a huff to gather the linens off the floor. Riza aided in the endeavor, both children dumping the blankets into the bathtub. As Riza dropped the last of them, both she and Roy were soaked to the skin, and none the warmer for it.

The floors were still a little damp, and Roy was doing his best to dry them. He swore under his breath, cursing water in all the ways he could think of. Riza passed by him unnoticed. She grabbed the handles of the metal tub, now filled with water, and found that she couldn't get it off the ground. "Roy, come give me a hand with this."

"I can't." He never looked up from the task at hand.

"What?"

"I'm useless."

Riza raised her eyes upwards, praying for patience to whoever may be listening. She took a deep breath before saying, "I lost my temper for a little bit. I was mad at the situation. I'm sorry I called you that. Now, please come help me."

"Say it."

"What now?" she groaned.

"Say I'm not useless."

Riza looked at him in disbelief, seeing that he was completely serious. When he arched an eyebrow at her, she relented. "You're not useless. Now will you please help me dump this outside?"

Roy got to his feet and walked over to her, grabbing the other side of the bucket. The two of them barely managed to get it out the door before Riza's arms started to shake. "Set it down," Roy told her, motioning her out of the way when she did so. He placed both hands against the bucket and began to push, scraping it across the porch. When he reached the steps, he gave it a shove, turning it on its side. The metal clanged and the water poured down the steps and into the yard.

"The steps are going to freeze," Riza pointed out.

"They already did," Roy said dismissively, turning the bucket upright. "Let's get inside before we do the same."

The children trailed water up the stairs as they went to their rooms. Riza changed out of her wet clothing and put on the warmest pyjamas she had. Now that they had used all the blankets as towels, she had no choice but to unmake her bed. She pulled the blanket off the top and wrapped herself in it, trying to warm up. When she made it to the bottom of the stairs, she saw Roy lighting the wood in the fireplace, changed and wrapped in his own blanket. She approached him cautiously, taking a seat not a foot away from him. With Roy, she knew she had nothing to worry about. "Are you really that mad with me?" she asked, her eyes set on the fire.

Roy heaved a sigh and pulled his blanket closer around himself. "No," he admitted. "I was being an ass."

"So was I."

"Let's just forget about it. Our stress just boiled over. No hard feelings?"

"None," Riza agreed, moving a little closer to the fireplace. After a few seconds, she added, "Sorry I called you useless."

"It's okay. Sorry I acted like a jerk."

"You know we still have to wring out and hang all of the towels and blankets, right?"

"Well, the floor got mopped, at least."

Riza shrugged, seeing his point.

"Hey, look." Roy pointed out the window. The sky was blanketed in a deep, melancholy grey. Riza didn't see the big deal until she noticed small specks of white sticking to the window. "Snow."

"Think it'll stick?" Riza asked, not knowing if she should get her hopes up. Most of the time, the snow just melted.

"Maybe. There's already a lot of ice on the ground. If it's cold enough for that, the snow might stay for a while." Roy noticed Riza's frown. "What?"

"I've had enough water for today."

"Today? Try my entire life." Roy grinned at his own joke. He stood up, taking the blanket with him. He walked to the coffee table, heaving the alchemical tome in one arm, his other holding the blanket and Riza's collection of letters. He handed it to her and sat back down, letting the tome fall to the floor carelessly. "Why do you read stuff like that?" He asked, looking at the cover. "What's the point in reading the letters of some dead lady?"

"There are words of wisdom to learn from. Listen: We cannot tear out a single page of our life, but we can throw the whole book in the fire.* Isn't that beautiful?" She watched Roy look down at his text and then at the fire, clearly contemplating. "It's not literal, Roy. Don't you dare."

"Words of wisdom my ass," he grumbled, opening the tome. "Can't even use them."

Riza shook her head. She knew he was being facetious, even if she didn't trust him not to set the book on fire. She didn't feel the need to explain the quote, aware that he understood its meaning. She read the quote to herself several more times before musing, "It would be kind of nice. To throw the book in the fire, I mean."

Roy looked up from his text. "Why do you say that?"

"I can't tear out pages. There are a lot of them that I wish weren't there. More than the ones I want to keep."

"You know, those good ones are going to keep coming. They'll outnumber the bad ones eventually."

"When?"

"I don't know. I mean, my presence is just a ray of sunshine into anyone's day, so that ought to speed it up a bit." His smugness was met with a light kick against his thigh.

"Narcissist."

"What, you mean that I don't radiate happiness and joy around me? I'm pretty sure that I do."

"That's not what I saw earlier when you were moping."

"Not fair." Roy returned her kick. "But really, though. Just give it time."

Riza let out a sigh, displeased at the reality of her situation. "I know. I just want to grow up and have my own life. I want to move away from this town and find a job that pays enough for me to study whatever I want. I don't want any of this anymore. I don't think I ever really did."

"You have more than this now. You know that my place is yours as much as yours is mine. You just found out about your grandfather. My family loves you. If you ask me, that's a lot of good pages."

Riza fell quiet before asking "What will you do when you leave here?"

"No." Roy reached over and pulled her over to his side, ruffling her hair as he did so. "None of that. We've had enough for one day."

Riza tried to swat his hand away with both of hers. "Okay, okay. You win."

"I'll make you happy or die trying, dammit." Roy let her go and watched as she tried to straighten her hair back out.

"I hope you know you're obnoxious."

Before Roy cold respond, there came a loud thud and a clang from the front porch. Riza walked to the door and picked up a shoe, assuming that it was some sort of small creature trying to get into the house. When she opened the door, she was startled to find a man laying face-down on the icy wood. Roy peered over her shoulder at the scene.

The man shoved the metal tub to the side before cautiously getting to his feet. His jacket covered the bruises forming on his forearms, and his hair disguised where he had a nasty run-in with the tub. He straightened his jacket, which was now two different shades of blue, thanks to the ice. After noticing themail children, he asked, "Is this the Hawkeye residence?"

Riza glared at the bars and stars adorning his jacket. She lifted her eyes for a moment to look at the man himself before closing the door in his face. Roy watched in surprise as she walked back over to the fireplace and sat down. A knock sounded on the door, and Roy reached for the doorknob.

"Don't," Riza ordered.

"Why?" Roy asked as the man knocked again.

"He's military. The military isn't welcome here. They should know that by now." Another knock. "Lock the door, would you?"

Roy did as he was told despite not understanding the reason. "What do you have against the military?"

"It's my father who holds a grudge. I know better than to ask why. Can we just leave it be?" She looked up from her book and over at Roy. "We just got back to a good place, remember?"

Roy took a moment to close the curtains which the man had started to look through. Before closing the second, he shook his head at the man from the other side, trying to tell him that he should give up. He, once again, joined Riza by the fireplace, trying to make sense of his own book.

Take, then, of this liquid of the minerals which I have described, four parts by weight; of the Earth of red Sol two parts; of Sulphur of Sol one part. Put these together into a pelican, congelate, and dissolve them three times. Thus you will have the Tincture of the Alchemists.**

"Is your dad still trying to test me or something?" he asked Riza, who was leaning against him with her back to his.

"No, I think he expects you to understand that level by now."

"Just wonderful."

A/N: *Taken from a book of letters written by George Sand.

** Taken from The Treasure of Treasures for Alchemists by Paracelcus, born Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim