Summary: At the right angle, in a line of sight, one might wonder why he never stopped staring at her for so much as a second.

Theme: 076. Watching Over You

Disclaimer: If I owned Full Metal Alchemist, the end wouldn't have gone down like that.

Angles

076. Watching Over You

"Riza, do not do this."

The way the bullet hits his offender is not beautiful or poetic or righteous, but it was never supposed to be. Propaganda had always made war sounds beautiful and poetic, flawless as long as you won. But it was not. It was vile, it was cheap. Beauty means nothing in the real world. Even now, with her.

"He was going to kill you." Simplicity in duplicity. Things had always been black and white with Riza. She chooses not to see the shades of grey, what is wrong is wrong and what is right is right as long as you ignore what is in between. She calls it ignorance, he calls it bliss. Roy looks at the man slumped at his feet.

"He was still alive." Roy almost whispers, his voice strained. She bows her head, although he knows she does not understand. The way she feels small in his arms, it is hot like an infection against her dry bones. She would promise him to be a perfect human, if only there were not too many ways for a human to die. But this is not what he needs.

"Would you rather be dead?" She asks. He raises a heavy hand to her sharply upright shoulders but she shrugs it away. Sadness has no place in war, and she has all the sadness in the world. Maybe it is because the the world is an infinitely miserable place to live. Or maybe it is because she has trained herself to turn a blind eye. From suffering springs greatness. She was born of it and she believes that it meant nothing.

"You could have paralysed him instead." She purses her lips. She was twenty when she first killed a man, using any means necessary for survival in her household came long before that. What came even earlier was learning that nobody in the world is trustworthy. She has learnt that when she opens her heart, she becomes vulnerable; and when she becomes vulnerable death stands before her. Lessons she will never forget, if she wants to survive. It is amazing that Roy has gone this long without killing like she has.

"Then he would shoot you from the ground. You're an alchemist." She answers blankly. Her only regret is when she lets the cracks show. By now, she honestly believes there is not a single person in the world that is kind to another without any sort of ulterior motive. Now, if Roy wants to survive he must realise he is the epitome of what the Ishvalians hate. To them, magic is wrong; and slaughtering their people with it does not make the integrated beliefs of a few centuries change at all. Now, it is kill or be killed.

"Then do not watch my back. This only makes this war worse." He tells her, and she scoffs. She has no choice. Her orders are to make sure he is not killed. If he dies, she will be court marshaled and shot. Not even her Grandfather could prevent that if it was a direct order from his superiors if he has any concern for his life. Animosity is everyday. Alchemists are just something to direct it at. Maybe if the world was different, she would be like her enemy; but for now she has to ignore her prejudices and hatred. Maybe this is why her aim was off today, rather than the sharp glances Roy gives her whenever she takes a life.

"I want you to survive." She says genuinely. Perhaps even though he is the worst of alchemists, even though she is being ordered to do this rather than taking the choice; Roy is not a bad person. He is naïve and foolish, but for now she almost wants this attitude to last. When he is sent out into the desert a week later, she does not give him kind words or anything to tell him that things will work out. She does not want to insult his intelligence. Tired and weary as he returns, blood soaked and cold, instead she lets him bury his head into the crook of her neck as she swears she will never leave his side. He does not have the capacity to kill much longer, and so she will take the mantle.

"I wanted everyone to live peacefully."

I feel like Roy needs a little bit of the spotlight. Especially after the final chapter, which slightly disappointed me. Sorry I have not updated again! I had done three more chapters the week after my exams ended but my computer got a virus and my user area was wiped to remove it, so I have had to rewrite a few chapters.

Preview: Rule number one; never say that he misses who she used to be.

Reviews are loved. :)