A/N: Wow an update! Again, this is an unedited chapter but well I think I caught everything. Also, my camp job is crazy and I'm tired as hell but it's a lot of fun! I hope you guys all like the next chapter; I'm trying not to rush the romance, but I needed to establish the connection Roy and Riza feel with each other to make this chapter feel right. Deep sigh.

Anyway, let me know what you think? I appreciate everyone who has read and favorited and reviewed so far! Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.

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Chapter 5

Her fingers were clenched white-knuckled over the steering wheel of the town car, stiff with more tension than even when she was poised to take a life. What in the hell was she doing here?

Riza stared ahead at the building through the windshield, incredulous that of all the places she would have driven to in East City, it was this particular bar her subconscious chose. It looked different in the daytime than it did at night, though the crimson sunset was elongating shadows and the neon lights of the club flickered on.

Subconscious, my ass, she thought sourly, angry that she was doing this, that a part of her must have condoned this kind of behavior for her to have pulled up and parked the vehicle in front of the same bar that she and her friends had visited two nights ago.

You don't even know if he's going to be inside. She gritted her teeth and loosened her grip on the wheel only to toss her head back against the seat. He probably doesn't even remember your name.

I'm not here for him, she argued back at herself with rising frustration. Her eyes burned at the ceiling of the car as she tried to repress the anger and anxiety that seemed to be inevitable in her life anyway.

Like hell. You didn't come to sit on a stool and get drunk by yourself.

She hissed out loud. So maybe she hadn't stopped thinking about the way his hand had felt around hers and maybe she hadn't been able to forget the absolute curiosity on his face or how his eyebrows had knit together in understanding. Grumman's last announcement was eating her from the inside and of all the places she decided to run to, it was this place with the memory of a man she barely knew.

This was a bad idea, but she didn't know what else to do. She couldn't stand another moment - no, another second - in the compound, even if Havoc understood and Rebecca was a perfectly capable candidate to go to for confessing what the commander had said. But Grumman was there and he was breathing down her back after only a day and she was going mad just thinking about him.

Her head fell forward and she held her folded hands to her forehead, trying to take deep breaths. To calm herself and consider rational thought.

It wouldn't hurt to go in and get a drink since she did drive all the way out here. Actually, that was probably the best thing to do since she was familiar with this bar in particular and going back to the compound at the moment was simply out of the question. Maybe she'd find a hotel room and stay the night in East City to give herself more time to cool off and come to terms with Grumman's orders.

Riza inhaled deeply and dropped her hands from her face to turn the vehicle off. She refused to let herself think about another reason why she might want to go inside, why she even came here in the first place, because it terrified her and that was not an emotion she was well acquainted with. It terrified her that though her entire life was back at the compound, she chose to come here, to the only place she had ever seen him.

What was he to her? A man, a stranger, who had assisted her with untangling her from attempted assault. He should have been nothing more than a passing hero in her thoughts, if that. She shouldn't even know his name and she especially shouldn't be thinking about how nicely it had felt in her mouth as she'd shaped the word and said goodbye to him.

Scolding herself for her thoughts half-heartedly - because clearly, it was a losing battle anyway - she took her handbag and checked the contents for her wallet and her pistol, then reached down to feel the ridge of her second gun in her thigh holster. Satisfied, she took another deep breath and held onto it for a moment before exhaling and getting out of the car.

Her boots were practically soundless against the concrete and she gripped the strap of her purse with anxious fingers, suddenly consumed by nervousness. That was ridiculous. Why should she be nervous to go inside and order a drink? She was a grown woman for goodness sake.

She entered the bar and she wasn't surprised to find it fairly empty considering it was a weekday and most people were at home trying to relax after a long day of work. The music crooned in the background, soft and low, and some of the tables near the dance floor had a few couples talking over an early dinner. There were two figures seated at the bar and as she approached, she realized that the one sitting closest to the wall had a terribly familiar slope to his shoulders and her heart seemed to crawl into her mouth.

He's here.

Before she could lose her nerve, she started toward him and tried not to think about what she was doing. If she thought about it, then she'd over-think it and that wouldn't do. She lunged at the seat next to him and took it fearlessly as if she wasn't scatter-brained and anxious and just a general mess of undecipherable emotions, placing her bag on the counter.

He turned, startled, toward the sudden flurry of movement and she saw his eyes widen sizably from the corner of her vision when he glanced at her. But there was something else that flickered across his face, something close to satisfaction or maybe even triumph. Either way, she didn't exactly know what to make of that.

"Riza?" he said, perhaps a little too loudly. She felt an abrupt rush of surprise jolt through her at the sound of her name. He remembered.

"Hello, Roy," she replied calmly, though her voice was still calloused from the stress she felt, allowing herself to smile slightly at him.

He still seemed taken aback, flustered, as he ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the tie under the collar of his shirt. Her eyes raked over him briefly and she could appreciate that her memory of his face hadn't quite done him justice. "I didn't think - I didn't expect to see you again," he said clumsily.

"I could say the same," she admitted. She waved down the bartender. "This doesn't seem like your usual scene." Why would I say that; I know nothing about him. Her eyes were mentally rolling at her words. He was going to think she was an idiot.

"I like to try new things, meet new people," he told her with a quirk of his eyebrow, finding a handle on his surprise as he leaned against the counter.

She ordered her drink and watched as the bartender made it. "Natural curiosity?" she asked, shooting a sideways glance at Roy, who seemed to have trouble taking his eyes off her.

He grinned. "Something like that."

With a nod, she began to fish through her purse for some money when the bartender walked away with the correct change in his hand and a thank you. She looked up at Roy who was still smiling and frowned.

"You bought me my drink last time," she said. "You didn't have to do that again."

"I wanted to," he shrugged and then raised an eyebrow at her with an odd sort of smile. "You won't let me save you from a drunkard and you won't let me pay for your drink. Do you always resist common courtesies from other people?"

What a strange question. "I don't see why I should expect people to go out of their way for me," she said curtly, taking a sip of the alcohol and repressing a smile at the taste. She shot him a look. "Especially when I don't even know their last name."

The expression on his face smoothed out and she felt his eyes slowly move from her forehead to her chin. "You don't receive any common courtesies in the first place, do you?"

She took another drink and pressed her thumbs against the cold glass, hoping it might cool her off. It was so hot inside this room. "There really isn't such a thing as common courtesy where I come from," she murmured.

"That's unfortunate," he said and then smirked as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, his drink in his hand. "I guess it's my duty to bestow as many as I can upon you."

"I think you've done enough, thank you."

His eyes were dancing, she noticed as she looked at him. He was absolutely entertained. "Do you usually venture out to public bars on weeknights or is this a special occasion?"

She shook her head as Grumman's orders flittered across her thought process. "Nothing unordinary," she told him dryly.

It was incredible that he picked up on her sarcasm so instantly. "Work stress, huh?" Roy said casually. She looked at him, astonished that he'd been able to figure it out so easily, and he shrugged. "Why do you think I'm out at a bar on the weeknight?"

"There are plenty reasons." Of course, she couldn't name one.

"Well alright then, let me consider this. Judging by the absence of a ring on your left hand, I'd say marital problems are out. You've now accompanied me twice for a drink without fanfare which leads me to believe that there is no lover that you are having trouble with; that, in fact, there is no lover at all. And last time we talked you mentioned how complicated your job was. The only other thing that could possibly drive you to a bar in the middle of a week perhaps might have something to do with a family member you don't quite get along with."

Her heart hammered once in her chest, hard. How the hell did he do that?

"Am I wrong?" His lips lifted in a crooked smirk as he took a swig of the dark liquid in his glass.

She couldn't let him get the best of her; not with that arrogant look on his face. "Perhaps I'm simply an alcoholic," she insisted stubbornly. "Or perhaps I do have a lover and he is away at -"

"Do you?" he asked intensely, interrupting her. He was leaning toward her now, though it should not have been close enough to be messing with her mind the way it actually was and she had to think a moment before she remembered how to take a breath.

"What?"

"Do you have a lover?"

"That is an extremely personal question." Instantly, she got bitterly curious and scowled. "Do you?"

"Regrettably, I don't have time for such frivolous things," he responded, but his voice was low and his eyes were trained on her so sharply she wondered how they hadn't pierced right through her yet. "Your answer, Miss Riza?"

"I," she swallowed when her eyes darted to his lips for a moment and heat rushed through her. She felt foolish and childish and she knew that she wasn't acting like herself but all she could suddenly think was that it had been years since she'd been kissed. "No. I don't."

He widened the space between them again, thankfully, sitting back in his chair and the smirk reappeared. "Then I was right."

She blinked at Roy, frowning at how wholly insufferable he was. "You don't sound surprised."

"That's because I'm always right," he gloated with a wink.

With a resigned sigh she looked down into her drink before tipping it to her mouth again. She took a big gulp this time and it burned as the liquid poured down her throat. Her head buzzed a little and she also leaned back in her chair. "It's my grandfather," she mumbled. It was hard for her to open up; she wasn't used to exposing herself or her emotions and she liked to keep it that way.

But there was something about Roy that made her want him to know. She wanted him to know everything about her.

Roy was brilliantly picking up on all her cues and leaned forward at the solemn tone of her voice.

"He came to visit me since he knows that I've been out here for a while," she continued nervously. "Today he told me point blank that I would be moving back with him when he left, and to be quite honest, we aren't chummy." She wouldn't forget how her stomach had dropped when Grumman had uttered those words.

"You'll be moving back to Central with me when my duty is done here," he'd said in a tone that hadn't left it up for discussion. "Best be prepared for our departure; it could be two days or it could be two weeks." Then the old man had the gall to grin at her. "You'll do good at the compound in Central, Riza. Sharpshooters to train and military bastards with your name on them."

The thought of it disgusted her; that she was being forced to transfer based on her skill at murdering people, however guilty they may be at corrupting the government. She didn't relish killing people; couldn't smile at the thought of it even if she was taking down people that did more bad in life than they'd done good. They still had families. Still loved and hurt just like anyone else.

"He can't make you do anything you don't want to do," Roy spoke up with furrowed eyebrows.

She wished it was that easy. "It's hard to say no to him."

He stared at her for several moments and she could practically hear the gears in his head clunking along. Searching his expression, she wondered what kind of hypothesis he was gathering about her life and what he thought about her. "Then, I'm sorry," he finally murmured.

She turned away from him, the curiosities in those dark eyes and took another gulp of the alcohol in her glass. "Why are you here? It seems fair that you should answer truthfully after I told you."

"You don't believe it's work related stress?" he scoffed.

"No."

"Of course you don't."

"You didn't believe me."

"I did. I just didn't think it was the whole truth."

It was startling how intuitive he was; she hadn't met anyone quite like him in her life. "You are perceptive, sir."

He frowned suddenly. "Don't call me that."

She nodded awkwardly, surprised by the irritation in his voice. "I apologize."

After a few moments of silence he groaned suddenly and rubbed at his face. "Damn it, I didn't mean to sound like an ass. I'm usually quite charming but it's embarrassingly difficult for me to retain my composure around you as it is so accept my apologies. Please. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

Her curiosity was piqued. "What are you embarrassed about?" She tried to think about something he said that was particularly out of line or personal, but he'd been confidently composed ever since he'd recovered the surprise at seeing her again.

His eyes met hers and a shiver shook her to her core at the look she saw there. It occurred to her suddenly that he wasn't talking about something he'd said, but about something he'd done. She felt like she knew, somehow, what he was going to say next. She could read it in his eyes, the way he was gazing at her made her knees weak.

"I came here last night as well," he told her softly.

"You must really like it here then," she replied in a voice just as gentle, perhaps a little warmer than his, though she didn't believe her words for a moment.

"Not particularly. You see, Riza, you are quite unlike any other woman I've ever met and that is a problem."

"A problem." She breathed out lightly, unable to find it in her to be offended when his voice was drawing her in and his expression was exposing the truth right in front of her eyes.

"Yes. Because due to your intrigue, I can't seem to stop thinking about you." He was too honest. Too open.

"How irritating." Her heart was sprinting.

"Exactly," he whispered.

"So you came to this bar these past two nights because you were hoping I'd show up again," she said, knowing she was right as the words left her mouth. How long had he waited last night before leaving? How long had he been here today before she appeared?

"Yes," he said without a single ounce of hesitation, his eyes somehow managing to grow even darker than they already were. "And you were looking for me, too."

Her knees shook even though she was sitting on a stool and she couldn't make any sense of her thoughts even if she wanted to. Blood rushing in her ears, heartbeat racing a mile a minute. "Yes."

She drew in a sharp breath, heat blazing a trail through her veins. She never let anyone get this close to her, not since she'd split with Havoc, had never had the desire to be close to another human being. But he was electricity and fire, lightning in a thunderstorm, new and uncharted territory. Perhaps this was too dangerous for her.

"I should probably go," she murmured, eyes flashing.

Roy's jaw seemed to tighten and she watched with a reserved sort of awe as the muscles pulled under his skin. "Don't go. Not yet. I'm sorry if - I mean, perhaps I shouldn't have. . .You know, I -. " He took a breath and she had to suppress a rising chuckle with thinned lips; for such a smooth charmer, her certainly had his fair share of fumbles. "If I scared you with what I said, I'm sorry. We can forget I ever said any of it."

"I'm not scared," she told him truthfully. It would have been hypocritical of her to have been terrified by the fact he'd been waiting for her for days when she'd driven to this bar in the hopes of finding him herself. "It's just that I left home rather unexpectedly and I don't want to worry anyone."

He held her eyes for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Of course. At least let me take you somewhere to eat? It's still early."

She pondered that for a moment and while being around the effect Roy seemed to have on her made her wary, it also thrilled her. Another hour or two couldn't hurt, she supposed, and she was getting rather hungry.

"I guess I have time for dinner," she said. The brightness of his answering smile was dazzling. She was so taken aback that it took her a moment to process he was smiling like that because of her. Her face warmed and she took the last sip of her drink before standing. "On one condition."

"Name it and its yours," he said cheerfully.

"You let me pay for my own dinner."

He regarded her for a minute and then scratched at his jaw. "Well, actually, I was thinking that, uh, I could make you dinner." His lips twitched and he grinned a little. "I'm not much of a cook, but I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich."

"I'd hate to impose," she replied, though it was a better alternative to dining out in reality. She didn't have enough money to cover a whole meal, she knew, and she was not going to let him keep paying for her.

He rolled his eyes as he stood and started pulling out a couple coins as a tip from his pocket. "Riza, please."

She snatched the money off the counter and replaced it with her own. "I can't allow you to keep paying my expenses. You'll go broke at this rate."

"Somehow, I get the feeling you don't ask for that much." But he took back his change and allowed her to leave her own money behind without fuss.

After grabbing her purse and slipping the strap onto her shoulder, she turned to look at him and found she had a hard time swallowing with the intensity of his eyes trained on her like that. "I don't normally do things like this," she said in a much stronger voice than she thought she was capable of.

His face contorted slightly at that and it didn't take much for her to wonder what was crossing his mind. She knew that since he said he'd had a date the other night that this kind of thing probably happens all the time and yet she didn't seem to care about the fact that maybe every woman he looked at felt the same kind of fire in her veins. That perhaps it wasn't her, but it was him.

And it was probably irresponsible of her to dismiss that completely but for the first time in a very long time she felt something other than hatred and anger and pain. For the first time, there was a spark of hope that there was something else for her beyond what she was now, that she was capable of feeling more, doing more, being more. Recklessness was in her blood at this moment and she wanted it there. She wanted to forget Grumman and Rebecca and Havoc and the Resistance and be here, right now, for the rest of the night.

She knew so much pain. It couldn't possibly be selfish of her to indulge in one night where she was free from that, right? Even with the atrocities she'd committed in her past?

"It's just dinner, Riza," Roy finally said, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Her face darkened slightly. "I know."

His arm extended to her and she only hesitated for a moment before taking it. As strange and new as it was, it didn't feel awkward to be this close to him, or for this formal physical contact of their entwined arms. She did feel warm, though. Not in the sense of embarrassment or nervousness, but in a sense of contentment. Was this what it felt like to live a normal civilian life?

He began to lead her down the sidewalk once they left the building as the lanterns were turned on, but she forced him to a halt and nodded back over her shoulder.

"I have a vehicle," she said. Even if Grumman did send someone out to look for her - which she doubted anyway - the car was so general and nondescript that no one from the compound would be able to tell it apart from hundreds of other automobiles in the city.

His eyes widened a bit but then he smiled and when they got in the car, she followed his directions to his small home in the heart of the city.