Riza took a nap, nearly falling onto her bed, then blacking out. She was awakened gruffly three hours later by Rebecca, demanding to see the dress Maria had told her about. Riza rubbed her eyes then washed her face, went over to the closet and showed her friend the dress. "Whoa..." murmured Rebecca. She had obviously not expected something like that. Riza rolled her eyes; it was just a dress.
Rebecca left again, only having wanted to see the dress, she herself having to get ready too. Riza checked her watch and found she only had an hour to prepare. She took out the face paints and shared some foundation on, covering the sun tan lines from the sea sun, darkening her eye roughs and lashes, lining her eyes, redrawing her blush line which she had thoroughly covered by her foundation, and painted a pale pink shimmer over her lips. Then she added a small mole right above the end of her left eyebrow for decoration.
Then she tried do tackle her hair. The paste that was supposed to tame the hair only made it greasy, and she had to comb it out over her head and comb a wave into hit the hard way. The rest she tied up into a series of tiny braids, flowing with the lose strands down her back. The scent was spritzed and she looked over at the dress. It was so big, and why had she thought wool would be a good idea? She tugged it on and immediately remembered why it was the one she had chosen. It hugged and accentuated her perfectly. She put on her heeled shoes and formal white gloves and walked out to the living room to meet with Roy Mustang.
He himself was wearing a light brown, almost tan but not quite, suit with his hair combed (for once), smiling very dapperly at her. "You're so beautiful."
The night flew by as if they were skating through it. She met with Roy, who was dressed in his dress uniform, leave it to someone along the line to allow men to wear their dress uniforms, and he had tamed his hair for once to be very suave and dapper. He looked her up and down and they greeted each other with a kiss. Together they walked to the dance hall, which was festooned for the occasion with exotic flowers and sounded of home with an Amsterdam band playing classical ballroom dances.
Vaguely, Riza was aware of the other couples as she was swirled across the floor by the dapper General. The lights of the setting sun glanced off of the water and the air mingled sea salt with sweat as the dancers energetically danced in the summer heat, wearing all forms of dressy clothing. At one side of the room, Havoc and Rebecca were trying to make their dance they had created at the beach party three days ago, and though they seemed to be having fun, it didn't catch on with the other dancers.
It was a beautiful sight nonetheless. Roy held her close, and she could smell him, the musky smell of his cologne and the light perspiration and the gel in his hair and the starch in his uniform he almost never wore. He gripped her, and her front was plastered against his in a comforting movement. It was really quite intimate, communicating without words, dancing one step at a time as they read the other's inclinations in their movements. After some fox trots and tangos, the sun was almost set and it was nearing nine.
A soft waltz began to play. Riza spun around, skirt filling and swishing, air rushing past her and then her world was filled again by Roy. The music slowed and faded, and a light shone down on the two of them dancing. Roy whispered in her ear, "We'll talk about this more later," and knelt in front of her. "Riza Hawkeye, you've been my best friend our whole lives and we have been together for everything. We have seen beauty and fear, creation and destruction. I have felt I have been part of your family, and you have been a part of mine for some time now; I don't think we could be closer. Riza, will you marry me?" He produced a ring from his pocket as he spoke and opened it to her. It was a white gold band with a black pearl, surrounded by smaller white pearls, set into it. She took it from its casing and he helped her put it onto her finger.
It took her a moment, but she finally said, "Roy, you have known for some time now that I would die for you and give you anything I have got to give. In the past week, I have found that I will also live for you, but more than that, live with you. For some time, it's been that I couldn't imagine living without you, and I've vowed to protect you. I can't say I ever imagined our relationship would end up this way, but now that it has, I can't see a better way for it to be. I will marry you, Roy." With that, she helped him up to standing and he dipped her into a kiss.
Everyone who had been so silently waiting for her answer applauded for the beautiful couple. The music started up and they went back to dancing, Riza and Roy all but oblivious to the others and the music, but focused entirely on each other, specifically their eyes and the inside of the other's mouth. Occasionally, other couples or friends would come up to them and give them their congratulations, but mostly, they were whispered sweet nothings to each other for hours, kissed, and when they got back home, went to the same room for the first time.
Two months later they were married back in Amestris. It was a small ceremony, not wanting a big deal made of it, although Roy had tried to get her to concede to some media coverage. But in all, it was just family and close friends. Small as it was, it was amazing none the less. With white and gold streaming everywhere, it was elegant, and even Mother-in-Law Christmas wasn't tacky that day.
Riza closed her photo album with a sigh. The last photograph was a picture of Roy, smiling, young, and full of life, holding her, both in their wedding best. Chelsea was pulling at her sleeve, trying to get her to come play. Ten years had passed, they had settled down. Riza no longer worked and Roy had succeeded in his goals all too well. He had risen in his ranks, returned the country to a democracy. He and the other soldiers were tried for war crimes. Some were found guilty and were killed, and some were found guilty and pardoned. Both Roy and Riza had been dismissed from the military as an honorable discharge and banned from seeking office in the government. They didn't work; they were rich from the publicity, and spent much of their time traveling. Chelsea was beautiful, with her father's hair and eyes, and if she was feeling giggly, his smirk. Riza loved her more than life itself and together they were raising her properly.
In the fall, she would go to school. She was as brilliant as either of the two of them and they knew she could do anything she tried to do. The only question was; would she go to military school or learn alchemy from a private tutor?
I remember there being ten chapters to this story...maybe the really long chapter in the beginning was supposed to be two chapters...whatever I'm not fixing it. And there you have it. I have no idea how this thing ends, but I hope you liked it well enough. Tell me what you think.