A/N: Okay, so I feel bad because it's been almost 2 years since I've updated this (AGAIN). But I finally found the incentive to keep going! And I've fallen back into FMA again, due to the release of the Brotherhood series. and omg. the Royai. OMG THE ROYAI IS AMAZING. Seeing everything I squee'd over in the manga 4 years ago being put into anime format? It's a dream come true. If I could tell my 13 year old self, 'just wait a few years and it will all be worth it', then my 13 year old self would be having a panic attack of joy right now.

:3 i hope you enjoy this chapter. it's kinda awkward since I never thought out this far about Roy's family or how I would portray them. The next chapter will be much better. And it will have more drama. -dun dun dunnn-

Be sure to review, because that's the only way I'll keep going. I need to know this story is still wanted, and liked!

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Memoria

Chapter 5

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They stepped off of the train, and waded through the thick crowd of people clogging the station. Once they broke free of the mass, Roy led her out to the frozen sidewalks that wrapped around the building, and he waved his hand furiously, shouting, "TAXI!"

He kept up the act, and soon an old rickety-looking cab pulled off and stopped at the curb. Roy looked relieved, and opened the cab driver opened up the trunk.

Riza placed her luggage inside the trunk, and Roy hurriedly did the same, lest the driver grow impatient and complain. He shut the trunk, and they slipped into the car on either side of the backseat.

"Where to?" the driver asked, a gruff-looking man.

"422 Apple Avenue," Roy replied evenly. The man grunted in response, and pulled out into the street and began the drive.

Riza glanced at Roy. "How am I going to pull off this act?" she asked softly.

"By not trying too hard." He smiled at her weakly, "But really, just act naturally. The way we act as is should be enough to suggest intimacy."

"...Are you trying to suggest something?" she inquired.

"Not specifically. How many times have our comrades commented on how we act like a married couple, though?"

"Too many times," Riza admitted, feeling the tips of her ears grow hot.

"So there. You don't even have to act - in fact, you could act as rudely as possible towards me, and my parents would probably still think we're the most loving couple around."

Riza looked as though she didn't know whether to be creeped out or relieved.

"Ugh, the whole visit is going to be a headache," Roy mumbled, rubbing his temples tenderly. "Now there's the added addition of annoying children - if they're my sister's, they're going to be rotten little brats to the core, through and through. I just know it."

She noticed his growing discomfort and uneasiness as they seemed to near his home. A scowl weaved across his face, and a few beads of sweat began to dot his forehead.

"You know, Hawkeye, maybe we should just turn around and go back to Central."

"No," she said simply. "We came all the way out here, sir. We're seeing this through."

He looked at her pleadingly, but gave up when he realized she wouldn't relent. He sighed. "That's another thing you have to watch - you can't go around calling me 'sir'. I don't care if you tell them about your rank below me in the military, but it'd be just entirely strange - even to my parents - if you were to address me as that in front of them or anyone else here."

Riza blushed lightly. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"So just call me Roy. And don't worry too much about telling them about you, they'll recognize you as Sensei's daughter."

She twitched. "Oh, so now they'll probably pity me..."

"Don't say that," he reassured her. "If anything, they'll respect you."

"We're almost there," announced the driver, and Roy's face fell.

"Fuck..." he muttered.

They turned onto Apple Avenue, and the car coasted along the street with a dragging slowness. Roy began to fidget uncontrollably, rubbing his palms over his thighs, and shaking his head repeatedly to jerk his bangs out of his eyes. Riza, however, found herself awaiting the moment of truth anxiously. She wanted to see this house - she wanted to see the people in it, she wanted to experience it all. The mystery that pervaded around Roy Mustang for years was finally going to disperse, and she found herself greedily awaiting the glimpse of life beneath.

And then, the car stopped.

A large white farmhouse, decorated with navy blue shutters and a large wrap-around porch hung a few hundred feet away, surrounded by a large expanse of white. A long winding driveway swept all the way up, dotted with various vehicles. Roy swallowed loudly.

"Yes, uhm. Thank you...driver, sir." He leaned forward and fumbled around as he withdrew his wallet from his backpocket. He took out a few fancy bills, and handed them to the driver. "Thanks for your time." He opened the car door, and exited, Riza following suit behind him.

The cab driver popped the trunk, and Roy began to lift out their luggage solemnly.

"This is going to be a nightmare..." he muttered. "We should have never come... Fuck...and what if they find out that we aren't..."

"It's only for a short visit, isn't it?" Riza asked. "Besides, if worse comes to worse you're a high-ranking officer. Come up with an excuse or something."

Roy shook his head. "No...I've just got to deal with it." His bangs fell across his face, preventing Riza a glimpse at his eyes. "I've waited this long to come home, I might as well make it the best damn visit they'll ever have." He took out the last suitcase, set it down by his feet, and then pushed the trunk closed.

Riza eagerly took her luggage and even shouldered a duffel bag of Roy's, smiling at him sympathetically. "I'm glad you're being so mature about this now..." she informed him softly.

He chuckled half-heartedly. "Yeah, I know you are." He waved at the driver, who then began to drive off without sparing any extra time, and he peered over at the large house that loomed in the distance. "They didn't shovel the God-damned sidewalk..." He walked over to the mouth of the driveway and began to trek all the way up, Riza hurrying to catch up behind him.

"Expect the most overdramatized and dramatic of greetings, all right?" Roy warned her offhandedly over his shoulder.

Riza nodded. "I wouldn't expect anything else, sir -- ahh, Roy."

They made their way up the creaky front steps, and across the even creakier porch. Roy let a bag slide down his shoulder, angling his arm so as not to let it slip entirely, and he plunged his finger into the doorbell. "Here we go..."

Almost 15 seconds later, the large black front door swung open. Riza blinked over Roy's shoulder, trying to make out who opened the door, and saw a tiny child gaping up at them from the flooring inside. The child was wearing a one piece pair of pajamas, and had messily tousled black hair similar to Roy's. Riza assumed that the child was a boy by the blue hue to his pajamas.

"...." A short staring contest ensued.

The child continued to gape, until gradually his face scrunched together, and he let out a large howl.

Roy scoffed, and threw back his head. "What the....Oh god..."

The child's howl trailed off, then suddenly erupted into a tearful sob. "MOMMYYY!!!" he wailed. "SOMEONE'S HERE!"

"Because that's SO upsetting..." Roy grumbled, glancing at Riza. Riza, however, felt as though her heart were going to burst. Something about the scene - perhaps how strikingly the boy resembled her superior officer, made her feminine hormones bounce around as if they were boiling. It was so...adorable...

A tall, slender woman with flowing black waves stomped up to the front door and scooped up the fretting child, taking a moment to rub his back and coo a few words of comfort before glancing at the visitors on the porch. Her eyebrows rose.

"O-Oh my....Oh my God!" she blurted, and flung the screen door open. "Oh my God! OH MY GOD! ROY! COME IN!" She turned and called over her shoulder, "EVERYBODY COME HERE! ROY'S HERE, EVERYBODY!"

Roy flashed Riza a quick pained look before he took the fated first step inside, holding the door for her to follow after him. Riza took a tiny step in after him, huddling behind his back while clutching her things. The small boy in the woman's arms ceased crying, staring at the two guests as if he were trying to figure out what it was about them that his mom so close to hysterics. The woman set the boy down promptly and shot forward, throwing her arms around Roy's shoulders.

"You finally came back!" she cried, voice weak. "I never...never thought I'd see you again...."

"Well, here I am now, aren't I?" Roy murmured, patting her on the back awkwardly. "Selene..."

The woman withdrew, using the corner of her sleeve to dab at her eyes. "Yes?"

"Uhm...this is Riza Hawkeye." Roy gestured to Riza. "She'll be, uhm, staying with us."

Selene blinked at Riza a few times, then her gaze shifted back to Roy, then again to Riza. "...." A coy smile tugged at her lips. "Ohhh....I see...So this is what you've been so busy with in Central..."

Riza's eyes shot wide open, and a thick spanse of heat coated her cheeks. "Uh, I-I--!....Um...Hello!" She bowed quickly.

That's when the parade drew near. "ROY!" shouted the voices of what sounded to be over 10 people.

A stout woman with curly black hair and eyes slightly rounder than Roy's lunged at him, nearly knocking him over. "MY BABY! MY BABY'S HOME!" A man, not too tall but with dusty black hair and Roy's slanting eyes stepped up behind her, clearing his throat.

"Hello, son," the man said weakly.

Roy gagged. "Yeah, hi dad...Hi mom..." He squirmed out of the woman's grip, and strode over to give his father a curt, professional hug.

A small crowd of children hung behind, staring at Roy warily. Riza presumed them to be his other nieces/nephews. Another woman, this one tall yet quite hefty gently pushed past the children who eagerly attempted to cluster at her ankles. She folded her arms under her ample bosom, and scowled.

"After how many years, you've finally come back?" she asked, though her tone made it sound more like a malice-lined accusation. Roy and his father parted, and Roy looked as though he were fighting back anger.

"Too many," he said simply through his teeth. "I'm sorry, Olga. But I'm here now, and that's what counts isn't it?"

Olga looked as though she were weighing that statement much too much, and scoffed, flipping her hair. Her body seemed to bounce quite a bit as the result of such a simple action. "Whatever. You can finally meet your nieces and nephews now."

"Roy-kun!" came a sweet, airy voice.

Riza fought a sigh. Yet another member of the Mustang family tree emerged, this one a dainty, frail-looking girl with waist length black waves and large, round obsidian eyes. She seemed as though she must have been the level-headed one of Roy's sisters, for instead of gaping at or accusing him, she settled to wrap her thin arms around him and stay there for a few long moments.

"Roy-kun, you've come back," she said softly.

Roy appeared to relax, and he stroked her back tenderly. "Yes, May. I have."

May pulled back, and her large eyes fell on Riza. "And you brought a lady-friend, I see," she said with a sweet smile. The familiar heat rose to Riza's cheeks, and she looked down at her feet instinctively, and then shuffled them.

"Yes. This is Riza Hawkeye," Roy said, gesturing.

Riza was shocked when she felt the lightweight pressure of May's body wrapped around her own in an embrace. She tensed up, yet placed an awkward hand on her shoulder.

"It's so nice to meet you, Ms. Hawkeye," May stated primly, and then pulled away with a broad grin. "I'm sure you must mean something awfully special to my big brother if he brought you all the way out here."

An awkward choking noise escaped Riza's throat, which she hastily tried to cover up by clearing her throat. "I...I hope so," Riza said with a shaky smile.

"You came in time for dinner," Roy's mother cut in, glancing at her wrist-watch. "Come, let's go into the dining room. We'll play 'catch up' after dinner. I made a nice big pot roast. You remember my pot roast, don't you Roy?"

Roy smiled weakly. "Of course, mom. How could I forget it?" The crowd began to disperse and filed down the hall into a large dining room, primly set with berry-colored wall paper. Roy turned to Riza, and looped his arm through hers.

"How are you going to tell them?" she asked softly, eyes full of concern.

"I figured the gracious thing to do would be announce it over dinner," Roy responded.

"Roy, this feels wrong..." Riza said, stopping. She yanked at his arm, trying to unfasten it from her own. "Coming here with you as a friend is one thing. But feigning this engagement....Getting their hopes up, when there's really nothing. It just wouldn't be fair. Not to them."

"I can always say we broke it off afterwards. Riza, please....Make this easy for me," Roy pleaded, tightening his grip on her arm. "It's been so long since I've been home. I just want this to be the easiest visit I can make it. And you here acting as my fiancee is going to make it exponentially easier."

"But easier isn't necessarily better," Riza said, shaking her head.

"With my family, it is. And so I'd like to keep it that way." Roy pulled her sharply until she fell back into motion, and they joined his family in the dining room.

END CHAPTER 5