Understanding

It was the last weekend in Central before Edward and Alphonse returned to Resembool. Besides, the newly promoted Brigadier General Mustang, now that he finally had his old team of subordinates back, would be heading for Ishval in a matter of days. Everyone had agreed on meeting at Roy's apartment tonight, for one last gathering before they went their separate ways.

Dinner went smoothly: jokes, sarcastic remarks, anecdotes, a few insults that caused no harm, praise for accomplishments and offers of help and support in the future if needed.

As she drank her coffee, Riza looked over the cup and watched the Elric brothers. Edward was enthusiastically eating a piece of cake, but Alphonse looked distracted; he rubbed one of his eyes and turned his head to the opposite side of his brother. He may have hidden it from Edward, but Riza noticed the yawn.

When Breda made a pause on his retelling of a story of his academy days, Riza used the moment to interrupt.

"Alphonse."

The blonde boy looked at her, along with everyone else at the table.

"You seem tired. Do you want me to drive you back to your dorm?"

Edward turned to his younger brother immediately and frowned. "Al, why didn't you tell me?" He put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's head back."

Alphonse shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine, brother!" He grinned so widely that his eyes were closed when he spoke. "You're having a good time; I don't want you to miss it just because I'm a little tired."

Riza smiled sweetly. "I can take you, Al, and Edward can join you later."

Roy, who was sitting next to Riza and a little too close, touched her arm. "No need for you to leave, Lieutenant." He turned his attention to the boy. "Alphonse, take my bed. Whether you wake up in an hour or stay until morning, I won't mind. We'll probably stay up all night."

Alphonse stared at Edward. "What do you say, brother?"

Edward shrugged. "It's alright by me if you want to, Al. But if you want to leave, I'll go with you."

He shook his head again. "Uh-uh." Then, he said to Roy, "Well, if it's no bother…"

"Of course not," Roy answered amiably.

Riza stood up. "Come on, Al. I'll show you to his room."

With help from Edward, Alphonse stood up and used his cane to walk behind Riza. "Thanks, Lieutenant," he said.

The two of them left the dining room and, while Riza helped Al to bed, the men continued talking.

"And so Rebecca and I are going to be officially dating when we come back from Ishval," Havoc said proudly.

Ed brushed a side of his hair with his fingers and groaned with frustration. "Seriously, you said that like five times already. Don't you have anything new to share?"

Havoc gasped, and then lit a cigarette as he replied, "Well, excuse me for being happy. You're just jealous you don't have a girlfriend." He put the cigarette in his mouth.

Fuery lifted an eyebrow. "But he does have one." He turned to Ed and asked, "Aren't you and Miss Rockbell together?"

Edward startled and blushed furiously. "What?! No, no, no!" He stood up and shook his arms in the air, crossing and uncrossing them at high speed. "We're just friends! I don't like her like that!"

Roy chuckled. "You should tell that to your face, you know?"

Edward sat back down, clearly ashamed and agitated. "Of course I'm going to blush if you're going to suggest something like that about my childhood friend!" He sighed. "At least I'm better than someone who dates different women all the time with no shame."

Roy leaned over the table and smirked. "You wish you could date such beautiful women."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I don't care about that. But one day, you're going to actually love someone other than yourself and she will probably hate that attitude of yours."

Roy relaxed in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. Quietly, he said, "That's some curious word you used there, Fullmetal. Do you honestly think I don't love anyone?"

Edward blinked with confusion and lifted his chin. "What, you do?"

Falman coughed.

Very quietly, Fuery said, "Ed, don't."

Breda busied himself with another big piece of cake.

Havoc lit another cigarette.

Roy pursed his lips. "I'm surprised you ask, Edward. Everyone else here knows the answer to that, as you can see."

"Really?"

Edward looked at the men. They were all nodding except for Fuery, who was wiping tears from his face.

Roy took a deep breath before speaking. "There is, in fact, one woman I love, Edward. I love her more than my own life, too."

Edward listened with great interest, having not expected any reply of the sort.

"Tell you more," Roy continued.

"Boss!" Havoc interrupted.

Roy ignored him. "She's the only woman in this house right now."

Riza sat down next to Roy.

Edward watched the scene agape. Aware of all the eyes on her, Riza simply took back her cup of coffee and drank the beverage again.

She made a face of disgust and left the cup on the table. "It's cold."

Edward gulped. "Uh, Lieutenant…?"

She looked at him. "Yes?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I asked Mustang about it. I don't think he would have wanted you to hear—"

"Don't worry, Ed. I already knew."

"…You did?"

She smiled at Ed and nodded.

"Did… did he tell you?" he dared to ask.

Riza looked at Roy, her expression getting even softer, warmer. "It isn't hard to see."

Edward stared dumbfounded at the pair. The silence lasted for a whole minute. Roy was lost in Riza's eyes; his expression serene and full of tenderness. It was obvious that he was totally in love with the woman at his side. Ed mentally kicked himself for not having noticed it earlier.

The awkwardness grew as the seconds passed, and Ed felt like just standing up, waking up his brother and getting out of there.

"Do you want to know, Ed?"

The older Elric looked at the person who talked to him. Riza was patiently waiting for a reply.

"Know what?"

"If I love the General."

He started to sweat and talked nervously. "No, no, it's none of my business, really. I mean, unless you want to tell me, but I'm not asking; not at all."

"I do," Riza said. "I do love him."

Havoc had a lit cigarette in each hand. Fuery was weeping, failing miserably at trying to dry his cheeks with a handkerchief. Falman was reading a magazine he found nearby, and Breda served himself the last piece of cake.

Edward was speechless. He didn't understand. How had he missed this for so long?

"But…" he said. "You're not dating, are you?"

"Of course not," Roy replied. "It is one thing to have this feeling for each other, but it's against the military rules to act on it."

Ed looked down. "So you can't be together, even if you want to," he concluded.

"Right," Riza said.

He frowned sadly. "I'm sorry."

She showed him a wry smile. "It's alright, Ed. This is the life we chose."

Edward was about to say something else, but Riza continued.

"But please," she said, "do not talk about this to anyone. Our careers are at stake. This is very important, Edward." Her tone got even more serious. "We're trusting you with this information."

Ed nodded, knowing better than thinking of ruining Roy's and Riza's lives with a simple slip of his tongue. "I promise I won't tell." He frowned. "But what about Al?"

Riza smiled. "You can tell your brother, Ed. But no one else, please."

"You have my word, Lieutenant."

Soon enough, the topic of conversation changed, and everyone else became talkative again. When it was time to leave, Edward went to the bedroom and woke up his brother. Falman and Fuery had left minutes ago, and Havoc would take Breda and the Elric brothers to their dorms. Riza said she would stay a little longer, just to help Roy tidy up the place.

By the time they were back and got ready for sleep, Edward had told Alphonse everything he missed at the table. The younger brother was happy to hear about Roy and Riza, and he couldn't keep his grin off of his face as he changed clothes.

"Hey, Al," Edward said. He was helping Al to lie down on his bed. "I know it's great that Mustang and Hawkeye know that they love each other and all that, but there isn't much to be happy about. They can't be together after all."

Al smiled. "I'm sorry, brother. You're right. It's just that…" He turned off the lamp on his bedside table. "Something weird happened when I went to sleep to the General's room. I told the Lieutenant that the mattress was amazing; hard enough to help me keep a good posture, but still soft enough to be very comfortable."

Ed got into his bed and lifted an eyebrow. "What's so weird about that?"

Alphonse closed his eyes. "That the Lieutenant smiled at me and said, believe me Alphonse, I know."