A/N: Sorry it's been so long. I struggled with this chapter; I feel like it needs to be included, but I don't think I should add anything else to this chapter. It's way short, but I've played this out so many different ways, and this just feels right. Expect a normal length chapter sometime this week.

Chapter Fifteen: Chance

She didn't want to talk about it.

She voiced her goodbyes to Pierre and Jean, openly embracing both of them. She thanked the Elrics with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, and she kissed her grandfather on the cheek with a promise to write.

She buried herself in her solitude, taking refuge in a book as fields and villages passed by. She didn't want to talk about it, and he had no idea what to do.

Roy subconsciously let out a sigh as he stared out the window, just like he had done every minute before. The only sound was the rattling of the wheels and the soft turning of pages. His stomach dropped when he heard the binding shuffle as Riza closed her book. Her reflection in the window showed her sitting with her eyes closed, curled up on herself as her head rested against the wall. She was shutting him out, going back to square one; no, further than that. He slumped down in his seat and began to tap his foot on the floor. Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

"Please stop."

He looked over at Riza, who met his gaze for the first time that day. It was deeply unsettling that he couldn't read her. Obediently, he kept his foot still. He couldn't help himself. "So you're talking to me now?"

"Hm?"

"You've been giving me the cold shoulder all day." Roy's tone prickled.

Riza's lips drew into a thin line. "I hadn't meant to," she admitted. Her fingers traced the back cover of her book. "I've been preoccupied."

"So we're not going to talk about what happened?"

Riza's fingers curled into her palm. "I shouldn't have," she admitted, studying the back of her hand. "It was a stupid thing to do, and I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Roy asked, genuinely confused.

Riza looked blankly at him from across the car. She had figured out that he had feelings for her long before he knew it himself, so she wasn't surprised. Really, she thought he would have understood. To put it simply, "You can't stay."

Roy drummed his fingers on his knee. She was right. Master Hawkeye wouldn't kick him out; he hardly cared about what either of them did so long as he wasn't disturbed. One day, however, his studies had to end. Finding his courage, he retorted, "You can't, either." He explained himself before she could ask. "You can't tell me you plan to spend your entire life in that house. What kind of life is that? You're smart, Riza. Too smart for that village."

"I don't want to talk about my future," Riza objected. "I made a mistake. Let's just leave it at that."

Roy stayed silent for a few moments. "At the rate I'm being taught, I'll probably still be studying under Master Hawkeye when I'm thirty."

"That's sixteen years, Roy. You're being hyperbolic."

"Alright, twenty-nine, then. Make it a solid fifteen." He smiled at his own joke. "In fifteen years, if I'm still some hopeless alchemist, and I haven't abandoned you, what then?"

"I'd be surprised," Riza murmured before she could catch her thought.

Roy walked over to her bench and sat down on the opposite end. He placed his feet on the chair and bent his knees, leaning against the wall. Riza avoided his gaze. He studied her profile as he tried to think of what to say. Damn it, why was talking so hard? It hadn't been this difficult with her before. Finally, he landed on four words. They weren't eloquent or romantic, and they certainly weren't poetry. All the same, he stood on the edge of a cliff as he asked, "Give me a chance?"

Riza's thumb repeatedly brushed against her fingertips, exposing her anxiety. She was afraid to. A small voice in her head countered, haven't you already? When she nodded, it was an answer to both questions. By letting him get as close as she already had, she knew that it would hurt her when he eventually left. She guessed that letting him closer wouldn't hurt any more or less.

Roy grinned and swung his legs off the bench. He threw one arm around Riza, to which she raised an eyebrow. "So I am cooler than that Cretan, wannabe bad boy."

"Dont." Riza warned, even though she knew he was trying to play. "Jean likes you. You don't need to be mean to him."

"He what?"

"He said that you seem like a fun guy to hang out with, and that we should come visit sometime. He wants to be your friend, Roy." When he didn't respond, she added "He knows you thought he was a threat. You weren't exactly subtle. "

Roy groaned when he realized what he had done. "Was it really that obvious?"

"Yes." Riza was trying her best to scold him, but she started laughing when she thought about his actions. "I can't wait to tell Aunt Chris that you tried to smoke."

All the color drained from Roy's face. "You wouldn't." Riza flashed him a mischievous smile in return.

"C'mon, Riza!"