Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.
Hey guys! (She says to an empty room...)
Don't think anyone is even reading this anymore...
Still gonna post it anyway.
And if you are reading this, I honestly don't know what the hell is wrong with you. (No offense or anything.)
So whoever is proving to be difficult, it's your own fault from here on out.
And just wanted to say thank you to:
WhispersOfWings
Hiccstrid4eva
Locklady (Sorry, if I added the '.' your name would immediately erase. Wouldn't save at all. I'm not really sure what's wrong with my computer.)
I Must Say
I've been meaning to apologize. Here goes: sorry Riza and Roy seem to be blushing and crying all the time. I don't know how to write.
Just letting you guys know, I'm not gonna do the scene-change thing I did when Riza was explaining it all to Maria and Rebecca. You're going to get the WHOLE explanation.
Get comfortable, because this might take a while.
Riza and Roy were just casually sitting on his kitchen floor at this point.
Roy was leaning against the kitchen island, and Riza against the wall, facing him.
She played with the small key still secured to her ankle, twirling it around in her fingers.
She'd buttoned up the shirt, due to the Colonel's request. (He'd averted his eyes and turned red when he asked)
Riza thought her lack of clothing was just making him uncomfortable, which was understandable.
In actuality, Roy had been imagining the horrible things he'd do to any member of the team if they'd caught her in that state. Friend or not, if Havoc had even glanced at her in the wrong way...
"Colone- Roy, why are you smiling?" Riza asked. Roy shook his head, smiling to himself.
"It was nothing. What were you saying?" She straightened.
"We were talking about the fire." Roy crossed his arms over his bare chest.
"Right. I believe you owe me an explanation." He gave her an irritated look, saying how he felt about this whole thing.
Riza blinked.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
"Yes. I do."
In. Out.
"I can do the same thing you can." Roy snorted, and rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I can somewhat do what you can. I can... manipulate fire. I can bend it to my will," she said, scratching her neck. "Only, I can do it on a bigger scale."
"Yeah, I noticed. You seemed a bit more useful at that warehouse than I was." Roy grumbled, disappointment in himself coloring his voice.
"Only because I beat you to it," she said, moving to sit next to the Colonel, playfully shoving him. "You would've kicked that guy's ass halfway to next week. We're not that far apart on the power scale."
She sat in front of him, shoulders hunched. Out of spite she added: "Except, y'know, I'm not useless when I'm wet."
"Hey!" She scooted away, laughing. His fingers, which had been reaching out to grab her, just barely grazed her shoulders.
"I am not useless!" He insisted, pouting at her. She smiled, beaming right at him.
"No, you're not," she admitted truthfully. She cleared her throat, serious again.
"I'm sorry I never told you. No," she added seeing he was about to say it was alright. "I should have told you. If I trust anyone, it's you. I'm sorry if it came across that way. I'd trust you with my life, you know that. It's just that... I didn't want you to carry the same burden I do."
Riza paused, usure if she should really continue.
Roy seeing how hesitant she was, cut in. "Oh, no. Don't think that you're ending with that. I want a full explanation. I know you Riz. I can tell what you're thinking."
Riza sure hoped not. Because lying underneath the urge to conceal the real story concerning her father, were some thoughts she really wanted to keep to herself.
Umm... is Roy going to put on a shirt? Not that I mind, it's just that-
"Riz," he pleaded. "I need to know."
"I know, it's just that... I've never told anyone the real story before today. I mean, this morning I told Rebecca and Maria but-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You told Maria and Rebecca, but you don't want to tell me? I've known you way longer than they have! Do you really not want me to know?"
His eyes were showing the hurt he felt, and Riza couldn't resist it. He just looked so confused and sad. It broke her heart.
"I'm sorry. I'll tell you the real story. But you might not trust me anymore when I'm finished. Hate is more like it," she warned, and Roy shook his head.
"There's nothing you could possibly say that would make me hate you. Was it during Ishval? Something you picked up? You didn't look at my notes before I destroyed them, right? I mean, I can forgive you if you did. But Riza, you could have just asked me. I might've said no but-"
"It started with my father." His eyebrows quirked.
"So you stole a copy of your father's work when he died? Wow, who knew? Your rebellious phase started WAY before you started working under me. When you finished the notes, did you make another modification? In the formula, I added another-"
"No, I didn't steal a copy. It was," she roughly swallowed, a bitter taste filling her mouth. "Given to me. I got work directly from my father."
"Wait, does that mean I got the copy? Aww, shit! It was a great forgery then. The penmanship looked identical! Dammit, I knew I should've gone to you first! I mean, not that your mom wasn't reliable and all, but she was pretty sick the whole time I knew her. She was a great person, just easily confused towards... the end." He lowered his voice, though he knew Riza hadn't liked either of her parents growing up.
"No," Riza said, her voice breaking. "You got the real deal. But, I got the final copy." Roy looked into her eyes, searching for a sign.
"So, he did finish his work? And you have it..." he trailed off looking at her to verify if his theory was right so far. "And what, you have gloves too?" She shook her head. "Oh. So what, do you have the fire alchemy circles I have? Are they modified or something? On your feet maybe?" He said, recalling how she'd been able to shoot fire from the bottoms of her feet.
She shook her head, dreading what she now knew was inevitable.
She spoke slowly and carefully.
"Tattoos, yes. Feet, no."
She brought herself up to her knees. Kneeling on the tiled surface, the cool feeling against her skin was calming.
She started to unbutton her shirt as Roy's hand flittered about and his mind went wild.
Maybe the Professor modified it before giving it to Riza. She wouldn't have known, and maybe she thought it was-
Roy made the mistake of looking up. Riza had unfastened the front of her shirt and was in the process of shrugging her shirt off.
Roy panicked, wildly looking at the entry-ways that led into the kitchen.
"One of the guys could come in and see you! Riza, keep your clothes on!" he hissed, struggling to keep himself from ogling her. and avoid looking at her wounds again. It had hurt enough the first time. He didn't need to go through that again.
The shirt way off, and fell around her knees.
"Roy, calm down. It's what? 5:45? Why on earth would they be up right now?"
She clutched her bra to her front, and very slowly, snaked a hand to her back, and unclasped the back of the garment.
"Riza, what the hell are you doing?" Roy, did something he'd already done several time that day. He turned pink and stared.
It took him a second to realize what he was doing. Mortified, Roy turned away, trying to preserve her dignity. Still holding her bra to cover her self, her used her free hand to lightly grab his.
"No," she murmured. "It's alright."
When he finally did look up, she turned slowly.
Red.
The first thing he realized was: red.
Red sweeping elegantly from the back of her neck to just a few inches above her hips.
Lines of text winding around interlocked circles. Strange symbols, forming one huge alchemy circle.
It was strange, seeing the stark contrast from milky white to dark red.
"This is why," she whispered, not turning around. "I can do those things I did. My whole body might as well be a weapon. It pretty much is. The symbol is amplified, since it's so massive. His work, is more dangerous than you could ever imagine."
"You can touch it," she spoke softly. A finger gently traced the curve of the first circle, sending a shiver up her spine.
He inspected the symbols in wonder. They were encoded in a method Roy had never seen.
"So the power flows through your whole body," he said, tilting his head as he tried to read the next sentence.
"And because if its size and the information it contains, it's much more powerful."
"So that's why he checked their backs first. He was looking for it," he came to this conclusion with pity. She'd been living with that guilt for weeks now.
"Those girls, the women before me, they were my friends," she whispered. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew what she was feeling. Shame and regret.
"Their parents were people who worked under my father. Before you came to learn from him. They'd always bring their daughters. They were my friends. But one day, they just... stopped coming. The parents too. Maybe they wouldn't work with him anymore, or maybe he fired them. I don't know."
She was at a standstill, holding her breath.
She'd bracing herself. He realized with a start. Bracing herself from what? From... me?
Suddenly his hands were on her back, reattaching the two ends of her undergarment. He took the shirt off the floor, and pulled it over her shoulders.
She turned to face him, tears leaking out of her eyes.
Traitors. She thought as she brushed them away.
She was enveloped in a hug before she could realize she was crying again.
She sobbed into his shoulder, clinging to his neck. With his arms wrapped around her waist, and his face in her hair, she felt secure.
Safe, even.
"I'm sorry," she cried. "I didn't mean for them to die, or for Maria to get hurt or any of this. I should've told you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to see something that awful. I didn't want you to hate me. I didn't know what to do."
She paused to sniffle, and he reassuringly smoothed her hair down.
"So I went into the Academy. I wanted to escape the fire. I swore I would never use it. But then I met you again in Ishval, and I was so confused. You seemed to be helping people. Helping Amestris, anyway. I changed my promise; I'd only ever use it in a complete emergency."
He sat on the floor, pulling her down to rest on her bottom.
"Riza. I could never, ever hate you. You hear me? I know you were doing what you thought was best. It's okay."
"Shh..." he assured he when she began to cry again. "We're fine, see? Maria's arm is going to heal. Those girls, it isn't your fault. None of it, you hear me?"
"Pathetic," she muttered, burying her face further into his chest. "Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic."
She was reliving her nightmare.
Roy was here.
He'd seen her shame.
And she was crying.
Again.
"Pathetic," she sobbed. "Why am I so pathetic?"
He yanked back, gazing into her watery amber eyes. His gaze was hard.
"Don't you ever say that. Riza, you are not pathetic. You hear me?" His words were firm, leaving no room for arguments. "You do not have to be clear-headed all of the time. You shouldn't feel bad because you're not invincible. No one is. And in any case, you're as close as it gets. I don't need you to-"
Riza reeled back, as if he'd slapped her in the face.
She crumpled, folding in on herself as she pushed herself away.
Hugging her arms to her body, she bit her lip so hard it bled.
She practically flung herself away from him when he confusedly tried to grab her hand.
It's like repeatedly kicking a puppy. She thought in despair.
But it hurts. It hurts so much. The sorrow was clawing away at her heart, and Riza was succumbing to the pain.
But you have to Riza, the voice in her head sounded as sad as she felt. Leave it alone. It was all going to blow up in your face eventually. You've gotta face is sooner or later.
He.
Does.
Not.
Love.
You.
"STOP IT!" Riza screamed. She was clutching her head like her brain was gonna explode. Roy leapt at her, not caring if he was being to forward.
He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.
She wasn't burning up, just a little flushed.
"Riza," he hissed. "What is wrong?"
"I can't do this anymore!" She screamed, grabbing at her hair. She was pacing , stumbling on her own two feet as tears blurred her vision.
Roy caught her easily, quite literally sweeping her off her feet.
"Hey," he murmured softly in her ear. "Can't do what? What wrong?" On the inside, he was panicking like a lost child. On the outside, he seemed to know exactly how to handle an incoherent, warm-blooded female.
I guess this'll be great practice for her majesty.
"I can't live like this anymore."
She reached down to readjust her shirt. She pulled herself out of his arms, and started to walk away.
"I won't do this anymore. I can't... I can't see you anymore Roy. I can't even talk to you anymore."
"What the hell are you going on about? Riza, don't do this! You can't just shut me out out of nowhere! Tell me why! Give me one good reason why! I NEED TO KNOW!" He roared.
Riza whirled around.
"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" She yelled back, and the two just stood there in silence as tears from both officers dripped to the floor.
"I have loved you since that day we met. I have watched as you left a trail of broken hearts behind on your journey to the top. I swore that I'd get you there, and I can't let my emotions get in the way of that."
"I used to cry myself to sleep, wondering what lucky girl had you for the night," she admitted to the frozen man. "And then I'd think about who I'd end up protecting permanently along with you."
"The queen," she said with a slight nod "Was what I started to call her. The lucky girl who'd share the throne with the king."
She humorlessly chuckled.
"I used to dream about you keeping me around forever. I just wanted to see you need me. But then my dreams started to turn on me. You'd send me away, or tell me I was useless."
"Worse, you'd tell me you would tell me you didn't need me. Never again."
She stepped closer, officially invading his personal space.
"Are you happy now?" The heartache written on her face was just replaying in his head, along with the longing, bitter speech that had been given with it.
Roy looked down at her, and the broken expression she wore.
And he bent down to close the distance.
Riza was seeing stars.
Floating, as their lips moved against each other.
She wove her hands into his hair, tugging gently, as she lowered his head closer to hers.
Roy was watching fireworks explode beneath his eyelids.
He kissing Riza.
Riza Hawkeye.
And she was letting him. She was smiling into his mouth, as he cradled her back and held her shoulders firmly against him.
After who-knows how long, the two pulled away, gasping for breath.
The flash momentarily blinded them both.
Maes and Havoc triumphantly held up a camera.
Well, Havoc was shell-shocked at the sight of Hawkeye in her underwear.
Maes was smiling like a gleeful idiot.
The whole team was standing behind them, gaping like she'd just grown a third eye.
Except for Maria, who was giving her a thumbs-up from above Havoc's head.
Nonchalantly, Rebecca was propped up against the wall.
"Damn girl, what was wrong with the set I got you for Christmas?"
Gesturing at her boy shorts, Rebecca wore a grin that rivaled the Cheshire Cat's. Riza slapped her friend upside the head.
"I will not to parade around Roy's house in a thong!"
Mirth was clearly expressed in her eyes.
"I think you mean: not yet."
Man... the look on Riza's face before she angrily chased Rebecca around Roy's house was a sight no one would ever forget.
Hey guys! Thanks for reading/reviewing, I really appreciate it.
I hope this chapter didn't suck as much as I thought it did.
Remember: if you're bored, or want me to respond to you personally, just PM me or leave a review and I'll PM you.
Thanks for everything,
-Pyro