Author's Notes: So originally this was only supposed to be a two-parter, but then this got way out of hand and I got way too into it - and then I found a perfect spot to end it to make a three part fic. Because deep down I'm evil. Enjoy! Thanks for reading!

i would part the sea
part two: fear

"If you don't relax, you're gonna have a heart attack, Chief," Havoc hissed discreetly from his position.

Roy shot his best man a quick glower and then looked back as the last bridesmaid and groomsman made their way down the aisle. Breda gave him a thumbs up, to which Roy nodded his head gratefully, but that still didn't make him feel any better – or worse. He watched as Breda let go of Gracia Hughes so that she could take her spot next to Princess May Chang and then he stepped in line next to Alphonse.

When his eyes cast a furtive glance throughout the crowd, his heart began to beat wildly. There were so many people, some he was almost certain that he didn't possibly know past reputation. Honestly, this whole thing was bigger than either of them had wanted, but the idea that the new Fuhrer of Amestris could get away with a simple ceremony had been a pipedream. It was the talk of the nation. Everyone loved the idea of the Fuhrer being a family man, as a former Fuhrer had proven so well.

Sure, the man had turned out to be a homunculus and his fake son also a diabolical homunculus, but as far as the general public of Amestris was concerned, King Bradley and Selim Bradley were every day humans that had loved one another as a family and sacrificed themselves for their country, instead of the opposite way around. If those were the examples Roy had to lead by, well, he could be the family man people wanted to see.

He could be the husband and father that he was supposed to be.

It was only when his eyes dropped to the young boy at his side that Roy's pulse began to steady again. His little Bug was five, just now able to reach up to his waist. His hair that Riza had no doubt tried to tame before the ceremony began was already beginning to fall into its typical messy pattern. When Aidan had shyly asked if Roy would slick his hair back like his, Roy had been ecstatic and had done so – but then the moment he'd started to run his fingers through his own hair while pacing the room, Aidan had done the same. Like father, like son.

Edward wasn't wrong about Roy being anxious though. It had nothing to do with the fact that there were so many people around to witness the wedding. It wasn't that he was worried because he had found a few gray hairs this morning. It didn't even have anything to do with the idea that something might go wrong. The moment he had finished getting ready and caught sight of himself in his dress blues, Roy's brain had decided to toss around the idea that Riza might not actually want to get married to him.

"She had a kid with you, didn't she?" had been Edward's dry attempt at comforting his concerns.

Looking down at that kid now, Roy felt as if all his fears were nothing more than silly thoughts. Riza wanted to marry him – she had agreed to follow him a thousand times again and again in so many different ways – she wanted to be his wife. But more than that, she wanted to be a family just as much as he did. This wedding was more than about the two of them becoming husband and wife. It was more than some publicity to be touted around in the newspapers and on the radio. This day was for their son perhaps even more than it was for them.

Roy would never again have to explain to his son why he wasn't home for the past three days. Riza would not have to gently correct him whenever he slipped up and called Roy by anything other than his title or surname. He wouldn't be forced to pretend that the truth that everyone knew wasn't real. His son had been so utterly strong during these years. Perhaps his struggle was just another sin on Roy's and Riza's plates, but this time, they would be able to carry it together.

As if sensing eyes on him, Aidan peered up at him and a goofy lopsided grin appeared on his face, one that Roy couldn't help but respond back with. It was so strange seeing that grin on someone else's face when he could recognize it in his own reflection so easily. In a way, looking at his son was an awful lot like looking into some sort of time traveling mirror. But instead of that grin hiding secrets like his normally did, it showed happiness and excitement for what was to come.

A simple grin from his son was all the boost in confidence and emotional support that Roy needed.

The sudden change in music caught Roy's attention. When the doors swung open, everyone in the room took the opportunity the stand, but none of that mattered. For all he knew, there wasn't any music playing and there was no one else in the room, not when he caught sight of his fiancée.

Riza was wearing a light blue gown. He hadn't even known if she would wear white or not, but when he saw her dress, he realized that it complemented his own uniform. Of course she would do something like that. Her hair was down, blonde tresses cascading over her shoulders and down her back. She'd begun to grow it out again after finding out that she was pregnant over five years ago. He loved her hair either way, short, up, down, that awkward middle length everyone teased her about, but he did enjoy running his fingers through her hair. She had on a veil that hid her face a little, but he could still see the small smile on her face as she walked towards him.

Not for the first time in his life, Roy blessed Marcoh for allowing him to use the Philosopher's Stone to restore his vision, but this time it was for an entirely selfish reason. Because Riza in all her wedding glory was a stunning and godly sight to see indeed.

It was only when he felt Aidan getting antsy at his side that Roy was able to tear his eyes away from her. "Mom looks so pretty."

"She does, doesn't she?" Roy murmured in response, his heart pounding away in his chest. He felt overwhelmed by the same giddiness that he had felt the day that Riza had told him that she was pregnant with their child. It was uncontainable and he felt like he might burst with elation. The time it took for her to reach him was far too long when all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms, kiss her as deeply as possible, and forget this entire thing.

When he looked up again, Roy caught eyes with Grumman, who was the one walking Riza down the aisle. Roy had honestly never seen the man look so utterly carefree and happy before. Grumman ended up being more nostalgic than Roy had ever given him credit before, taking joy in being a great grandfather and being able to give his granddaughter away on her wedding day. It was funny really. After all those years of Grumman teasing Roy about marrying his granddaughter, Roy was finally making the old man's wish come true.

Finally, Riza stood with him. In his eagerness, Roy took her hands in his before Falman, the officiant for their wedding, began to even speak. He smiled somewhat shyly at her before reaching forward so that he could delicately pull the veil back from her face. Luckily, he had taken a deep breath beforehand because looking at her now in all her radiant beauty was enough to stop his heart. She wasn't wearing anymore make up or jewelry more than normal, but for some reason, in this moment, she reminded him of the sun.

The ceremony began in a blur for Roy. He did his best to listen to Falman and even appear to be attentive, but his eyes kept dragging back to Riza. For her part, she didn't look too distracted, but then they would catch each other's eyes and she would blush a little and his heart was jump again. From behind him, he thought he heard Edward snickering. Roy honestly couldn't care less. With Riza in front of him and Aidan at his side, Roy felt like for the first time in a long time everything made perfect sense.

Right in the middle of Falman speaking, just as Roy was about to give his vows, a sudden sneeze interrupted them. After casting a wry smile at Riza, Roy pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and began to bend down so that he could help rub his allergy-prone son's nose. "Didn't take your medicine, did–?"

A zipping sound rang in Roy's ears, quickly followed by the sound of something smacking into the wall behind him. A familiar but out of place sound. He furrowed his brow and glanced back in the direction smacking noise, taking note of a splintered hole in the wall that hadn't been there before.

Roy's heart stopped as he gaped at the hole. His eyes snapped over to Riza, who had immediately come to the same conclusion as him upon looking at it. They both knew what that was. It was a bullet hole. And it was smack dab in the place where his head would've been had he been standing up straight.

"Everybody get down!" Roy yelled. "There's a sniper!"

Instinctively, without any thought to himself (and oh, how Riza would cringe later at not knowing whether to be mad at him or not), Roy wrapped his arms around his son and pulled him into his arms, rushing away from where the gunman had been previously aiming. Aidan clung to him in a way that he hadn't done since he was one years-old, tightly gripping Roy's military jacket and burying his face into his neck. Roy's first and only thought was to get Aidan out of harm's way, but when he heard another bullet hit the wall, his mind leaped again.

"Riza!" Coming to a halt, Roy jerked his eyes around the room. He made sure to keep his back to the windows, so that if the gunman did have a shot on him, the bullet would hit him and not his son. Using his body as a shield wasn't ideal, but it was the only thing he could think of to do. "Riza!"

People were running around everywhere. It was absolute pandemonium. Maybe announcing that there was a bloody sniper hadn't been the smartest thing to do, but when he had been faced with the thought that his son might have to witness his father or mother get shot or worse, he hadn't really known what else to do. All he wanted to do was get his son and the love of his life out of harm's way, along with all the other people he cared about. Trying not to allow panic to swallow him entirely, Roy searched the crowd with wild eyes.

"Fuhrer Mustang!"

Roy nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt hands on his arms. He whipped around and found himself face-to-face with Alphonse Elric. The young man wore a determined expression, probably because he knew that he was dealing with a very panicky leader of a country. He had to appeal to Roy's higher nature. It was not going to work right now.

"Where's Riza?" Roy demanded. "Did you see her get out?"

"I saw her with Breda and Rebecca," Alphonse responded, "but I don't know where they went."

Trust Alphonse to always be honest with him. Roy didn't know whether or not he would've preferred some sort of sugarcoated version of the truth right now, if only because he felt like his heart might burst any second, but he was grateful for Alphonse's straightforwardness. Riza was sure as hell going to kill him once she found out that Roy had ordered Breda and Falman to make sure that she was taken care of first should anything happen, especially when he was supposed to be the top priority. There had been other protocols set to take place to take care of Aidan, but of course Roy couldn't bear the idea to let him go on his own, not when he had been forced to abandon his son for so long.

"I need to know that she's–"

"She's fine, Mustang," Havoc cut in, pushing his way through the fighting crowd. All of them ducked and even winced when another gunshot rang out, though Roy couldn't tell where it came from. He gripped onto his son tighter, willing his breath to slow down so that he could appear calm. Aidan was trembling in his arms. Roy felt like both crying and screaming at the fact that someone was making his son feel this way. "We need to get you and Aidan out of here."

Roy swallowed down the lump in his throat and nodded his head before following Havoc through the door that they had designated as one of the escape routes. They walked in silence, but the sound of the door shutting behind them and muffling the shouting was enough to jumpstart his heart again. When he glanced back at it, he saw that Alphonse was still with them, along with May Chang. She was holding onto the knives that she used for her alkehstry in her hands, casting suspicious glances everywhere. When she spotted him looking at her, May hid the knives up her sleeves, though he knew that they would still be in her grasp in a second if need be.

"You must have some experience in this," Roy managed to say, sounding remarkably composed. "I've heard that assassination attempts are frequent in Xing."

May nodded her head. "Even more so now that I am the Emperor's favored sister." A smile crossed her face. It looked quite earnest. He could see how she and Alphonse got along so well. "You're in safe hands though. And from what I saw before we left, no one was actually injured."

"Did you…? Did you see Edward?"

At her side, Alphonse stirred at his brother's name and it was only then did Roy realize that Alphonse was carrying the same nervous weight that Roy felt himself. Alphonse had seen Riza with Breda, but he hadn't seen where his brother had gone. He had jumped to save Roy and his son. Roy tried not to let his fear get the best of him, but then it was difficult. Riza wasn't with him. Fullmetal was out there without his alchemy…

"He grabbed Winry the moment you gave the warning," May answered, laying a hand on Alphonse's arm. "I saw him ushering her and Mrs. Hughes to cover."

Roy closed his eyes and leaned his head against his son's. Everyone that was important to him had been up front with him during the wedding. It would've been so easy to take them all out. They shouldn't have done this. A small and simple ceremony would've sufficed and not brought so much attention to them. Roy blinked his eyes open when hot tears stinging his eyes surprised him. He couldn't lose himself to his emotions, not right now.

"Where's Mom?" Aidan whimpered into his shoulder.

"She's fine," Roy murmured, even if he didn't know the truth himself. "She's with Uncle Breda. You know him. He's big and strong. He won't let anything happen to her."

God he hoped so. It was all he could do to not burst into a frenetic dash as it was. He knew that his heart would not be able to stop resting until Riza was in his grasp as well. Here he was, the leader of a country, and all it took was losing sight of one woman that nearly brought him to his knees. At least he had a hold on his son. He didn't want think about how Riza felt, being separated from the both of them. She had seen him grab Aidan, but after that, he didn't know what happened to her. Why wasn't she with him? What if…what if she had been shot?

No, no, he couldn't think like that. More than likely, while Breda and Catalina were attempting to get Riza to a safe place, she was fighting furiously with them about needing to find Roy and Aidan. Unlike him, she had never been separated from Aidan, so he could only imagine how mad it was driving her now.

When Roy turned his eyes ahead again to watch Havoc's back, he felt his stomach clench. He hadn't even stopped to think about how Havoc was feeling with his own wife out there. The two of them may have not gotten on perfectly well, but Roy had grown to appreciate the woman that Havoc loved. Of course the two of them had split up to take care of Roy and Riza. They took their duties as best man and maid of honor to another level. Still, Roy took note of the tight way Havoc was gripping his gun and the clenched look of his jaw. That was definitely the picture of a man trying not to think about his wife's life at stake in order to get the job done.

Easier said than done, much easier. Roy was having a difficult enough time of it himself. The only thing keeping him focused was the boy in his arms. To this incredible child's credit, while he shook in Roy's arms, he wasn't crying or panicking. He was so much like Riza in that respect, bundling up all his emotions to protect himself.

Havoc pointed at a door ahead of them. "Ross should have a car waiting out–"

His sentence was interrupted by a loud explosion as the door in question was blown open, followed immediately by what looked like a smoke screen bomb, which burst and flooded the hallway with smoke. Gunfire rang out in front of him from where Havoc most likely stood as he shot into the fog at anyone coming through the doorway. Alphonse shouted May's name and then there was a whizzing sound as five daggers slammed into the wall next to Roy, blue light crackling around him. When a bullet seemingly bounced away from him in midair, a red glow glinting where it hit an invisible wall, he bit back a gasp.

All Roy could do was curl his body around Aidan and put his back to everything. Switching his arms around so that he was holding Aidan with one arm, Roy dug around in his pockets, trying to snatch up one of his ignition gloves. It was difficult to put on a glove with one hand, but he knew that if he let go of Aidan, the boy would cry out in fear, drawing attention to them.

There was a shout that sounded like it came from May, and then everything came to a sudden halt.

Roy slowly turned around and took in the scene as the smoke began to clear the area. A man had hold of the princess, one arm wrapped around her neck while his other hand held a gun pressed to her temple. Alphonse was being held back by two others, who gripped his arms and kept his hands apart so that he wouldn't be able to produce any alchemy. There was a man and a woman lying on the ground near the door, not moving after being presumably shot. Havoc was slumped against the wall, holding onto a bleeding left arm and glaring up at the masked man pointing his own weapon at him.

Unable to stop himself, Roy started at the sight of his injured subordinate. "Havoc, are you–?"

"Just a flesh wound, sir," Havoc managed to grit out. "Bullets don't have anything on Homunculus."

Someone clapping from behind him caused Roy to swivel around again, only to find himself staring into the barrel of a gun pointed at his face. A man with dark hair and even darker eyes held the gun, his lips curled into a confident sneer, a face not terribly unlike Roy's own. He wore a suit and looked like he could've easily belonged at the wedding, but Roy had no clue who the man was, except that he was clearly the leader of this attack.

"I must hand it to you, Fuhrer," the unknown man said. "It was a beautiful ceremony, but you will have to forgive me for skipping to the festivities."

"Who are you?" Roy demanded.

The man shrugged his shoulders. "An entrepreneur, looking to make money." His sneer broadened, turning his expression into one of glee. "And you certainly helped me out, so please, thank you. I only came here for you, but then I find this?" He waved a hand in the direction of May, who struggled in her captor's grip and glowered at the man as he bowed before her. "Princess Chang, the prized sister to the Emperor of Xing, it is my pleasure to meet you. I know plenty of people that would pay quite a bit of money for you."

Whatever May said to the man in her native Xingese, Roy did not believe it was nearly as pretty as it sounded. The man must have spoken Xingese though because he let out a full belly guffaw when he stood up straight. "I heard that you were not the polished princess that people expect of you! Such spirit, such life. This shall be an excellent opportunity."

"Don't touch her!" Alphonse shouted, sounding shockingly furious. There were only a handful of times when Roy had actually seen the younger Elric brother in an angry state. Anger was typically Edward's domain. But judging from the way Alphonse jerked against the man holding him back and the irate glow in his golden eyes, perhaps it was more of a family trait.

"And I haven't forgotten you," the man said, stepping over to examine Alphonse closer. "Younger brother to the Fullmetal Alchemist, ambassador of Amestris to Xing, beloved by both countries. I've heard that you still retain your incredible alchemy abilities whereas your brother doesn't." He tapped his chin with his free hand and then stepped back. "I'm sure I could find some use of you."

Roy had to breathe through his nose to steady himself. The man was lucky that Edward didn't have his alchemy abilities anymore. If he had ever found out about the threat made against his brother, he would have no doubt lost his temper and some serious damage would've occurred. Roy wouldn't put it past Edward to find a way to inflict pain and retribution even without alchemy. Be that as it may though, Edward wasn't here.

"But you gave me an even better gift, Mustang," the man exclaimed in a cheery manner. "I know you are a man that values the people he cares about above himself, but they could perhaps persuade you to forget them, maybe even your beautiful wife." When he sneered again, that glee took a maniacal turn. This man didn't care about anything else other than getting the job done and took joy out of it too. There were no personal quarrels between the two of them, maybe the person that hired him, but not himself. No, this was a job. Roy was a job. That made things even colder. "You would do anything for your son, would you not?"

At the mention of him, Aidan clung to Roy even more and Roy instinctively stepped back, though there was nowhere that he could possibly run. With one hand still in his pocket, he tried to get a finger on his ignition glove without being obvious, but the strain was difficult to hide. Even worse though was that the man wasn't wrong. Riza would've smacked him upside the head before she let him sacrifice himself for her. Alphonse and May would insist that they could get out on their own. Havoc would proclaim it was his duty to sacrifice himself to protect the Fuhrer.

His son though? No, his son was innocent. His son was the reason that Roy did everything that he could to better the future. His son was the future, in his eyes. Oh, how easily the once great Flame Alchemist could be knocked down and out.

"I'll come with you, quietly, no fuss," Roy began, "as long as you let them go."

"Sir!" Havoc snapped. "You can't–"

"You're here for me, right?" Roy interrupted, completely ignoring Havoc as he struggled to sit up and was shoved back down. "I won't fight. I'll be tame as can be. They have nothing to do with this. I'm the job. I'll make it easy for you."

Instead of thinking it over, the man only chuckled, which served to madden Roy further. "You are trying to bargain with me? Oh, no, Mustang, I do not believe you are the one holding the leverage here." He shook his head, like he was dealing with a child. "I could play this out – maybe shoot your man every thirty seconds that you do not hand yourself over. I wonder what would happen first: him bleeding out or you caving?"

Havoc swore under his breath, but he didn't move from his spot on the floor. Catalina would claw this man's eyes out for threatening her husband if she ever found out. Roy hated to think of what she would do to him if something like that were to ever happen. She'd never forgive him, but then he'd never forgive himself either.

"I could slowly carve through young Elric here," the man mused. Alphonse didn't even flinch, glaring back at the man with heated eyes, though May curse and tried to stomp at her captor's feet. "What was he to you back when his brother served under you? Was he not like a son to you before you had your own?"

He had been; he still was. Though Roy had adamantly refused to acknowledge the protective feelings and unusually warm thoughts towards the Elric boys back in the day, he wasn't able to lie to himself now, not when he recognized those amplified feelings whenever he looked at his own son. Roy hadn't done much in the way of being fatherly to Edward and Alphonse, but he had cared about them in his own way, tried to protect them, and most importantly, wanted to see them succeed and accomplish their goals. And they had. Alphonse had his body back – a body of flesh and blood that could easily be damaged unlike the metal body he'd had before.

"But no, I will cut to the chase. I have a deadline to make, after all." The man pointed the gun at Roy's face again and then dropped his aim a little lower. Roy's heart plummeted into his stomach. "Take your hand out of your pocket carefully, discard the ignition glove that you are attempting to put on, and come here nice and slow – or I will kill your son. It is as simple as that."

"You'd kill an innocent child?" May gasped, staring at the man with impossibly wide eyes.

The man gave her such a blasé look, though the aim of his gun never wavered. "For the price I am being paid to eliminate this man, I would kill as many people as the Flame Alchemist has himself."

Roy swallowed down the lump in his throat as his heart slowly began to beat again. Strange how it wasn't racing anymore, even with what he was faced with. He felt his son shift against him, wrapping his arms around Roy's check, his messy dark hair tickling Roy's cheek. Aidan had never held onto him like this before. It was normally what he did with Riza, whenever he was frightened or confused. At night, he only wanted to wake up Roy if he had a nightmare, but he would never cling to Roy for a source of comfort and strength, not like this.

So of course he knew what he had to do. Roy closed his eyes and breathed deeply. There was nothing else that he could do. He could only pray that they would be safe and let go after whatever happened to him. As far as he knew, they could still be kidnapped, injured, or worse – but he knew that those things would happen for a fact if he did not do as he was told. He'd die before letting anything happen to Aidan though. Riza would just have to forgive him for yet another thing.

With care, Roy pulled his hand out of his pocket and allowed the ignition glove to slip off his fingers and onto the floor. He held up his bare hand for a second before placing it over his son's head and burying his face into the boy's hair. "I'm going to sit you down now. When I do, I need you to go to Uncle Havoc."

Aidan let out a panicked whine and gripped the back of his jacket. "Dad, no!"

"I have to do this, Aidan. Everything will be okay." Tears began to prick at Roy's eyes, but he shoved them away. There was no room for that. He didn't have the right to them anyways. He'd been living his life with a gun trained at his back for so long. This didn't feel much different. "Please, go to your uncle."

It took an incredible amount of strength that Roy hadn't been sure he possessed to set Aidan down on the ground, even as he struggled to hold on. His breath caught in his throat as he let his son go and pulled away from him. For a moment, he watched as Aidan fought with himself, torn between wanting to launch himself to wrap his arms around Roy's legs and doing as he was told. Aidan stilled himself though and stared up at him with watery dark eyes, a tumultuous storm of emotions rattling about in them.

It was the most open that Aidan had ever been with his feelings to Roy. Honestly, he considered himself lucky to have seen it once.

"That's it, hands up," the man called out. "Now over here – to me."

Tearing his eyes away from his son's, eyes that looked so much like his own, Roy steeled himself, forcing a blank expression on his face, and walked over to the man pointing the gun at his son. A large part of him didn't want to look back at his son, terrified of what he would see, but then he couldn't bear the idea of not seeing him again. He didn't want his son's fearful face to be the last thing he saw, but he didn't want anything else either. God, he wished Riza was here to hold Aidan. She would be able to protect him.

"Turn around," the man ordered. Roy did as he was told, his hands in the air. "Get on your knees."

Roy went to his knees one at a time, his eyes focused on his son. The boy hadn't gone to Havoc, but had glued himself to the floor where Roy had placed him. He begged with his son with his eyes for him to go to Havoc, but Aidan didn't move. His face was closed off again, reminding him so much of Riza. It was the only way he could protect himself now, thoroughly alone. Havoc tried to get up again and moved to grab Aidan, but the person guarding him hit him in the head with the butt of his gun, knocking him back down.

"Mustang, you can't!" Alphonse shouted.

"Sir," Havoc groaned out, blood dripping down the side of his face now.

Roy felt the muzzle of the gun pressed into the back of his head. He relaxed his entire body and a weak smile twitched onto his face. "Close your eyes, little Bug."

"Daddy," was the only thing that Aidan could warble out, tears pooling in his eyes. It was the first time in a very long time since his son called him that. It was enough. It was more than enough really.

"You'll be fine. I love you. Tell your mom that I love her and I'm sorry I couldn't fulfill my promise." Roy nearly began to shake himself at that, but then he forced himself to stop.

No, he'd had enough, hadn't he? He had been given more than he expected, more than he could dream of, more than he'd ever deserved. After all that he had done, the universe had still seen it fit to bless him. He had been loved and loved in return. He'd been able to hold Riza in his arms, run his thumb along her cheek, felt her heart beat next to his, held her hand in his own, kissed every inch of her. He'd been given a son, an incredibly bright young boy that didn't fear him, that was perhaps the only person in Amestris to have never feared him on some level. A son who he could not always acknowledge, but never faulted him for it, only accepted it. A child that he'd never dreamed of having but could envision his life without anymore.

The gun clicked. Roy almost chuckled. Yeah, it was enough.

"Close your eyes, Bug."

A single gunshot rang out in the air, echoing in the hallway, and then there was silence.