42. Chemicals React (Aly & AJ)

A/N: Now we're at the reception for the wedding of Maes and Gracia. A little bit lighter this time. YAY!

Roy leaned against the wall, eyes darting around the room. Weddings always made him a bit nervous. He didn't know why; they just did. This was his best friend's wedding, though! Shouldn't he be just a little more cheery?

He turned immediately to the sound of heels approaching. With a sigh, he realized it was just Riza. Though he should have been relieved to see a more familiar face, his stomach lurched, not entirely unpleasantly. "You look beautiful. Did I tell you that already?"

Riza gave him a small smile that changed into a frown when she saw his face. "Yes. You're repeating yourself and babbling. Why are you nervous?"

Roy groaned. "I don't know! It's driving me crazy, trying to figure it out."

"Are you jealous?"

Wow. That came out of left field, especially as it was Riza asking. "Why would I be nervous if I was jealous?"

"You want to find someone, but you don't want to mess it up." Typical Riza: getting to the root of the matter quickly and without fuss.

"Could be." Roy heaved a sigh. "What would you say to a dance or two?"

Riza shrugged. "Why not?"

The pair made their way to the floor and began to dance. They were by no means the best on the floor, but it wasn't as if either of them hadn't danced before. Chris had made sure Roy had learned, and Riza… well, Roy didn't know how, when or where she had picked it up, but she had, and he was thankful for it. It meant he didn't have to concentrate so much on leading.

"Riza, I—" Roy started.

"Is something—" Riza stopped as soon as the words started coming.

This was wonderful in a horrible sort of way. They both stared into each other's eyes for a moment, speechless and more than a little uncomfortable. What was this, anyway? It was wrong and right at the same time. Two hearts skipped the same beat, and for a moment, things shifted a little off-course.

As if on cue, a new song started and they looked away, wondering what on earth had just happened.

Riza looked back to her partner. "You were saying?"

Roy shook his head. "It wasn't… I don't know, it was just… What were you going to say?"

"It's not just the wedding that's bothering you, is it?" Riza asked.

Roy searched for some sort of answer. "It's us. I don't get it, but something about all this is throwing me off completely. I can't think straight or anything, and I'm beginning to wonder if something's wrong with me."

Riza was silent for a moment after that, turning a light-but-definite shade of pink. "So it's not just me," she murmured.

It was Roy's turn to hide a blush. He let out a shaky laugh. "What a shock, huh?"

The corners of Riza's mouth quirked upward. "I would say that you have no idea, but considering we're thinking roughly the same thing…" She looked up at Roy before shaking her head. "I haven't felt this out of my element since the day I met you, and that was for mostly different reasons."

They were both smiling now. It was a step in the right direction, Roy thought. "It's not just you, if that's any help. Kind of scary, though."

A few moments passed before either of them spoke again. This time, Roy was the first to say something. "I guess that explains pretty much everything."

"I really feel more enlightened after that," Riza teased, still a little breathless.

Roy noticed. "Would you like to go outside for a moment? I don't think the dance floor is the best place to continue this conversation."

Riza nodded.

"I want to ask what happens now, but I suppose it's pointless," Riza said as they leaned against a railing.

"We just keep on doing what we've been doing, I guess," Roy suggested, a bit downtrodden to realize what that meant. "I won't forget this, though."

Riza shook her head. "Neither will I." She pushed herself up off the railing. "We should go back in."

They stood there for a moment, looking into each other's eyes again.

"You look beautiful tonight, Riza."

"You look handsome tonight, Roy."

Again, they smiled.

Somehow, it seemed like everything was going to be okay.

A/N: Whoa. Weird. I liked where this was going when I thought of it, I really did. I think I might have put a bit too much of myself into this, though.

In an earlier chapter, I emphasized the "Oh crap, I'm in love" realization. This is kind of like that, but with an "Okay, what now?" tacked on. Didn't really get anywhere with that, but I think it's best to just continue as best one can, of course making changes to suit the romance. *is a true romantic*

Well, as always, feel free to tell me what should stay and what should go. I love to hear from you!