#Also yes Killer fell in love in the first conversation and promoted himself to Love Interest

[ancha-aus]

Ghosts & Medium AU Drabble - First Encounter

Because we all know. I have no self control :D

I don't know if this will become a serie like RealAgeAU.

This drabble is more of a thank you to all the lovely people who interacted with me over this idea and added their own little ideas and headcanons <3 So this is for all of you <3 (also i named Ghost Papyrus Ash because I like the name combination of Dust and Ash. Dust to dust and ashes to ashes kinda deal/joke)

*---------------------*

Dust taps the steering wheel as he drives through the town. Many people shoot his van worried and suspicious looks but he really doens't care that much.

Ash does not agree.

"If they know what is good for them they will stop this idiotic behaviour!" Ash huffs and grumbles as he floats around the top of the van, only his skull and hands available to him in this phantom form. "They are already lucky we are willing to give them our presence!!"

Dust hums as he follows the road "It isn't big of a deal."

Dust stops their van at the end of the road and grabs his laptop. a beat up old model but it works for what he wants. He only uses it for work stuff anyway. he opens his email and checks the address "We are here." he looks up and spots the house the email describes.

Ash huffs but floats near his shoulder "stupid white family who moved into an obviously haunted house again?"

Dust snorts and shrugs "Maybe. The man didn't specify. still." he grins at his brother "wanne bet?"

Ash looks unamused "I don't bet with you anymore."

Dust shrugs "your lose. Either way. I bet that this is the same old story. a white family moved to this very cheap mansion because the father was convinced this change of environment would solve all their issues, which are mostly that he cheated on his wife with his twenty year younger assistant."

Ash huffs unimpressed and just points pointedly at the house "Do your job. What can we expect here?"

Dust sighs but focusses on the house in the distance as he slowly opens his aura and soul for influence. Doing this near a lot of spirits leaves him at the risk of being possessed. which is why he does this only from a large distance and when he doens't sense other spirits nearby.

Dust hums as he focusses "okay... I think this may be a poltergeist? Though a very powerful one." he shoots Ash a look "best you dont go on a recon mission." he turns his driver's chair around and gets up to look through his shelve.

Ash grumbles behind him but doesn't fly off to investigate on his own. Ash as phantom is very stealthily and able to get anywhere he wants. But it leaves him weak to other spirit types.

Dust first grabs the pendant to strenghten Ash, which he tugs away in his scarf. Next he grabs a notebook and pen. An ouija board. a ghost radio.

He considers his tools before also grabbing the EMF meter and a handheld thermometer.

Ash laughs "You don't need those. if you are right and it is a poltergeist you just need to follow the floating and throwing objects to find it."

Dust shrugs "They may not be active. and stop calling your fellow spirits 'it's. it is rude." he gets out of his van and locks it before walking the last bit of the distance towards the house. Ash grumbles unhappily but follows him.

They get to the mansion together and find the family out in the garden. camping. huh. Honestly good idea on their part. just camping just outside the house.

The man had been holding a sniffing girl before catching sight of him.

The man looks excited as he hands the girl to the grown woman. the wife then it seems.

The husband rushes over "You are here! please help us!"

Dust tilts his skull and studies the scene before looking back at husband "hello. How long have you been having this spirit in your lives?"

The man sighs and moves to speak but the wife gets to his side "please love. lets first let our guest sit and we can all tell him what we saw."

Dust tilts his skull at her "Normally people don't believe in what i do."

the wife laughs but looks tired "I didn't believe in ghosts before until my house suddenly got haunted out of nowhere. And the priests we hired started to lose their minds. You get more openminded after that experience."

They end up sitting together in the grass as they explain that this was a house they bought about ten years ago. and that they never had these problems before until a month or so ago. that knives started flying and attacking them and how they couldn't feel safe anymore. How many had tried to demand the ghost to leave or tried to make it leave but nothing worked.

Dust looks at the small list he made and nods "i will need to find out why they dont leave." normally something keeps a spirit anchored to this realm and reality. it is strange that this spirit moved in without having a reason.

or at least it seems like that.

Dust asks if there seems to be a room where the spirit is most active and the family tells him it seems to be the living room though they have also been haunting the master bedroom a lot.

Dust nods and walks towards the front door. Already noticing the presence of the spirit as he gets near. He opens the front door and waits for a moment.

silence. No movement. an unnatural darkness.

Is the spirit taking energy from the environment to get this powerful? Normally they tend to feed on fear or memories. taking it from the environment is rare but not unheard of.

Dust makes sure to keep his voice calm and even "Hello. I am coming in okay?" he waits for a moment before nodding and stepping inside.

The door slams shut behind him and Dust nods "fair enough. can't have a draft form." he glances around. He needs to make a choice. living room or bed room.

He goes towards the living room. That one is generally more socially acceptable to visit on a first visit.

He gets to the room and looks around. It is a mess of furniture thrown over and broken things. The TV is static and everything is lit up with that greyish light.

Dust takes a moment to get comfortable at the coffee table as he sits with his legs crossed on the ground "Hello. I would like to ask you some questions if that is okay."

More silence but no hostile auras around him.

Dust nods and takes out the ways to help the spirit communicate "Do you have a prefered way to speak?" he points at the notebook, the radio and the ouija board.

A laugh in the air and Dust searches for the source. The longer he is near spirits the easier for him it becomes to hear and see them. He can see the outline of the spirit and watches them.

The laughted stops and the spirit floats closer to the offered items. they seem to nudge some of them before huffing.

Dust nods "no preference? we can try to just communicate as is then?"

The other stops and turns to face him. More details are becoming clear to Dust as the spirit remains near. They seem to have been a skeleton before, or they just prefer that form now.

The spirit chuckles and leans on their fist as they lay on their front in the air "sure. sounds fun."

their voice is still a little hard to understand but Dust can manage. He will have a headache after this however. That always happens when he communicates like this with new spirits.

Dust nods before putting the offered tools away before grabbing his own notebook for his personal notes "Hello, do you have a name that i can refer to you with? and do you have a preference in pronounce or gender to be referred with?" and he waits.

The spirit, becoming more and more clear to him, stares at him before speaking with that crackling and static voice "Killer. I am a guy."

Dust nods and notes it down "Killer. Hello. I am Dust. I was hoping you could answer some of my questions." more of a statement but an important one to make.

Killer nods and shrugs as answer. Okay that is good. no obvious hostile air just yet. Killer is also becoming more and more visible the longer he is not hostile. Dust can make out the skeleton with a bright red target in front of his sternum. the sweater and pants he is wearing. most telling however? the dark and empty sockets adn the black tears.

spirit forms usually say a lot about how a spirit died. The best way to make a spirit leave is to help them move on which is about 9 out of 10 times connected to their death.

So... no eye lights... hopeless situation? black tears. very traumatic? that is all he has so far and that is just speculations.

Dust asks his first question "How long have you been a spirit?"

Killer blinks before shooting him a grin "Checking if i am legal? Don't worry! I am well beyond the legal age." and he winks.

Dust blinks as Ash is silent by his side. okay. not the kind of answer he had been expecting. but better than being hostile...

Dust gives a slow nod as he makes a note "so you have been a spirit for a while. how long have you been at this place specifically?"

Killer shrugs as he thinks "little while. a month ish? so i am open to running away wiht you." and he grins at him again.

Ash grumbles angerly behind him "I think a murderous spirit is better than whatever is going on here."

Dust decides to not pay much attention to the flirsts and stay on track "Where were you before you moved here?"

Killer grins "In some other house with other people."

dust nods and continues "Why did you leave that place?"

Killer grins as he leans on his fist. staring at him "They moved and no one new moved in."

Dust frowns and asks "isnt that your aim? By haunting them? To make them leave? To have your own place for just yourself?"

Killer freezes for a moment and seems to grow a bit more static. Then he grins wider and leans closer to him "I mean. I would love to have my own house! Especially as that is seen as hot right? Having your own place." Killer winks at him again "Make sure no one interrupts our alone time?"

Ash makes gagging sounds behind him as Dust notes down 'doesnt want to be alone.'

Dust thinks for a moment before speaking again "You seem very focussed on being near others. does that mean you regret being alone?" just get more information.

Killer grins "The only thing i regret is not meeting you earlier."

Dust hums as he thinks. He doesn't seem to have any regrets. So his death and lingering isn't regret related.

It goes on like this for hours. Dust asking Killer questions and Killer replying with somekind of pickup line or other flirt with tiny bits of informations within those answers.

By the time it is evening Dust has a small list of things that seem to be trauma related but not any closer to actually getting the spirit to move on.

Dust says his goodbye as he moves towards the door only for the door of the living room to slam shut. Dust looks at it before turning back to Killer "Yes? Was there something?"

Killer looks downright panicked "Where are you going? Don't leave!"

yeah that is very obviously trauma related to being alone. maybe left behind? abandoned by someone Killer cared a lot about? Maybe that explains the flirting?

Dust speaks "I was going to go eat and sleep. I need to it to live." and he waits.

Killer frowns as he rubs his arms and eyes the door "And you will be back?"

Dust nods "I was planning on it. If i am welcome."

Killer thinks but nods. the door behind him unlocks and opens and Dust hears a second door do the same in the distance.

Dust nods and leaves the house. he gives the family a quick update that it may take a while longer as he tries to figure this out. then he goes to get his van and park it closer.

This may be a bit of a tricky case after all.

*---------------------*

and then in the end dust never managed to get killer to move on and killer ended up stalkign him instead <3

A drabble for this silly au!! I love seeing everyones ideas and headcanons and i hope this helps you guys to also keep interacting with me about this :D <3

part 2 - New Haunting

[justsomeoneunordinary]

you said i could ask for ironhawk fic recs so here i am asking for ironhawk fic recs pleeeeeeeeease?

Hi! Yes! Yes, yes, yes and all the yes in the world. You came to the right place, cause I’ve got all the IronHawk one could wish for! This is one of my absolute favorite ships, which is why this list is also a bit on the longer side. And there are still some in my MfL list yet to be read, otherwise this would be even longer.

(On a funny side-note; I almost rec’d your own AU-gust ficlets at you and it wasn’t until I typed out your name that I realized it lol)

Visiting Hours are Nine to Forever by Tahlruil

Look, Clint didn't mean to hit the guy, it just sort of happened. He was distracted, and the guy was distracted, and then things were a little bit out of his control. And even if it wasn't completely his fault, he still feels pretty bad about it. He had to go see the guy, didn't he? It was only polite, so yeah. He'd do that.

And look, he doesn't mean to start fake dating his accident victim either, but sometimes life is weird that way. You just gotta go with the flow when it happens, and learn to be the best fake boyfriend ever.

This is not only my favorite IronHawk fic, but also one of my favorite fics in general. I’m not one for overly fluffy stuff, but this fic is an exception. I absolutely adore Clint here and re-read this story so many times already I could probably recite it from memory. Sometimes I don’t have the time to read the whole fic, so I just jump to the beginning of chapter 2 cause it’s literally my favorite scene written ever. Honestly, you just need a feel-good? This fic is it.

I wonder how the world sees us by donutsandcoffee

This is how everyone else will see it:

Clint and Tony don’t so much happen as other people don’t happen.

(Or, Clint and Tony, as friends, as best friends, as warriors, as lovers-- and, most importantly, as themselves, even in the eyes of others.)

Clint and Tony’s relationship, written entirely in everyone else’s POV - and in such an incredibly beautiful way at that. Bruce’s POV always makes me very emotional. 

Learn from the Wreck (Series) by thepartyresponsible

The circus has a way of evening people out. Everyone looks the same when the lights center on the stage. The whole audience, just blank shadows, staring in. Everyone looks like nothing.

Someone like this, though. Someone like him. They’ll throw off that nothing before they get back to whatever pampered bed they crawled out of. Everyone else stays nothing, but, for people like that, it’s just a temporary state.

Clint doesn’t mean to watch him. It’s just that he keeps catching Clint’s eye.

A+++ characterization and amazing mix of heart-wrenching yet so beautiful. Phenomenal fics!

Things Clint Barton Has (Series) by Tahlruil

Clint has always been a people watcher - he likes things better from a distance, after all. Hanging out in the Student Center with Nat supplies him with a primo lookout and fodder for stories. He's learned a lot about college students since they started hanging there - he can spot a freshman or a grad student from a mile away.

One in particular has really caught his eye lately. Not because he's attractive - though he is - but because he's both adorable and clearly a Grad Student Zombie. It really gets his protective, mother hen instincts up. Clearly something must be done.

Absolutely adorable. I really love how this author writes Clint a whole lot.

Take A Shot by ChibiSquirt

When SHIELD decided they were going to send an agent to assess Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, the Black Widow was their first choice to do the assessment.

Unfortunately (or maybe not so unfortunately), they would have to go with their second choice, instead.

IM2 but Clint is sent to spy on Tony instead of Natasha. And since this is Clint, the story takes quite a different turn. My favorite part is the moment Clint realizes Tony is dying, because of how he realizes it.

A Different Kind of Knight by jenny_wren

Clint's soulmate's first words to him will be 'Oh shit. You gotta help me hide the body.' Clint's not sure why everybody thinks this is a bad thing.

Soulmate AU with a first meeting you probably haven’t read like that before. :)

360 by donutsandcoffee

Clint and Tony's relationship from all perspectives. A collection of ficlets. 

Lovely characterization of Clint!

Twelve months by everythingispoetry

Twelve months in twelve pieces: how Clint and Tony, slowly but steadily, become Clint and Tony.

I have no other words for this but: soft.

No Heart For Me Like Yours by FannyT

Everyone is born with a number visible on a random body part, a number that only exists twice—on yourself and on your soul mate.

Tony, famous from birth, was brought up to always hide his number from everyone around him in order to protect both himself and his soul mate from kidnapping and extortion. Clint, meanwhile, had his number obliterated by an accident when he was young and now only has only his own memory to rely on, having no records of his number from before.

Then, one day, Clint accidentally sees Tony's number.

This was the very first IronHawk fic I read and therefore partly the reason why I fell in love with this ship so hard.

The Man With the Golden Gauntlet by squadrickchestopher

“Okay.” Clint sighs. “So, am I jumping out of a window again?”

“Nope.” There’s a smile in her voice. “As per your request, you get to seduce the rich guy.”

Clint blinks. “What?”

“Tony Stark. He’s got a type. You’re it.”

I literally just read this one yesterday. Absolutely hilarious and well done characterization.

Aww electricity, no by Bill_Longbow

When Clint gets trapped in an elevator it might not be such a bad thing with this gorgeous stranger. 

Cute and funny!

first one's free by shatteredhourglass

Clint Barton has a crush on Iron Man. Clint Barton is also sleeping with Tony Stark on the regular. All in all, it's a mess. 

Identity Porn! So much Identity Porn!

Killer Date by Jaune_Chat

Clint and Tony's fifth date starts with death threats and payouts and only goes uphill from there. 

Some nice smut. ;)

Bright Eyes by NotEvenCloseToStraight

After being hurt in a fight, Tony ends up temporarily blind and tries to hide it from the team so they don't worry.

Clint is the only one to notice, and an honest conversation between the two about exactly how much Tony matters to the team leads to unexpected kisses.

Very soft and beautiful.

Sorry for the Repetition by harcourt

When Tony fails to save Clint from a mission gone bad, there's only one thing to do. Reset the clock and try again.

So he builds a machine that allows him to go back in time in an attempt to change fate...but he fails again and again and suddenly he's not confident anymore. He's terrified that he'll never be able to save his lover.

Read the tags first. Heart-wrenching angsty and so well done!

devil on your shoulder by desitonystark

As an Angel, Tony's job is to investigate potential humans, assess whether they're fit to enter Heaven. The worst (read: best) part of that job, is what when Hell got word of their investigations, they started sending Clint to accompany him.

Some lovely bickering!

And bonus, since I’m not above some shameless self-promotion:

Le cirque des mirages by me

Tony Stark falls in love only three times in his whole life: once it’s with an institution and the other two times with a person. Both times it’s the same person. 

I’m quite proud of this one. That’s it, hope you’ll like some of them, cause I love them all a lot! Enjoy reading :)

[fullmetalscullyy]

the way it was - chapter 14

summary:  what if riza never went to war?  riza hawkeye has just married the man she loves. six months into their marriage, an unexpected surprise stops her from following roy to the military. a canon divergence au that explores what might have happened had riza been unable to join the military. there will be plenty of family fluff, angst, and royai.

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

chapter 13 | read on ao3

1914 

anywhere the sun shines

anywhere your love goes

you will find me

“Moving to Central?” Riza asked in surprise. Roy had mentioned the move before but that seemed like a far-off thing – something not happening until the end of the year, or in the new one.

“They liked how I handled the Scar situation so much that they promoted me.”

“A promotion too?”

“Don’t act like it was so unlikely,” he grinned cheekily.

“No, I’m just… This is great for you.” Her expression softened, her lips curving upwards as he grinned at her. “Well done. I’m proud of you, and this is a step in the right direction.”

Roy’s arms looped around her body, locking together on the small of her back. “It’s all thanks to you.”

Riza snorted lightly in disbelief. “I doubt that.”

“No, it is,” Roy urged as she tried to pull away. His grip tightened and Roy held her in place. “You’ve pushed me to keep going. Plus, now we have baby number two on the way, we have to get a bigger place, so this is the perfect excuse,” he winked. Roy chuckled as Riza swatted his arm, making him loosen his hold on her waist.

“What happened with Scar, by the way?” she enquired.

“He’s still on the loose. He’s far too fast for us to catch but at the moment, the threat has passed.”

“Just be careful, okay?”

“Always am,” he reassured her with a grin. Riza promptly rolled her eyes at him. Says the man that fell off her roof while trying to impress her.

But still… Riza bit her lip. She knew Scar was an Ishvalan man. Roy had expressed his strong desire not to use alchemy against him, not after what he did. Riza reasoned that he had to protect himself. He had a whole country depending on him. Once Roy started making moves with the changes he wanted to see in the world, the Amestrian people would need him. He couldn’t get himself killed with the first step he took.

“Did you use your alchemy against him?”

There was a pause which caused Riza to glance at him. Roy’s gaze was off to the side as he answered.

“No.”

Riza felt relief wash over her. “How come?”

“It was raining all day.”

Riza blinked at him, then burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it. A memory from their past came to her mind unbidden, and it always amused her thoroughly. It involved smug Roy trying to show off and some petrol. He’d been trying to get the old barbeque they had going in the damp, wet air. It wasn’t working, so Genius Roy, with all of his fifteen years of wisdom, thought that pouring a few drops of petrol on the barbeque would get it going. It did. The inferno claimed his eyebrows. Riza had to draw them on for days after so her father wouldn’t find out.

She’d never laughed so much in her childhood before.

“It’s not funny,” he glared.

“I’m sorry, dear. I wasn’t laughing at that,” she giggled, trying to calm herself down. 

Roy moved to sulk on the couch instead. He placed his face on two closed fists, his elbows resting on his knees. Mia was lost in her own world as she played with her toys on the rug in front of them.

“Okay,” she admitted. “I was.”

“Before you say it,” Roy interrupted her. “I’m not useless,” he spat out, the word obviously leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

“I bet you didn’t even realise it was raining that day, did you?” Riza grinned from behind the couch. She perched on the back of it, running her hand through his hair. There was a soft sigh from Roy, and it made Riza’s smile grow.

“No,” he muttered sullenly. “Listen,” he jumped in, his spine straightening. “When you’re faced with a serial killer, you’d have bigger things to worry about than the weather, all right?”

“Not when it affects my ability to use alchemy, the only way to defend myself,” Riza retorted. His defensive argument was a strong one, however he could have been killed when fighting Scar that day. That was the reality of it. Riza tried to let it go. She exhaled slowly and quietly, letting that anxious energy drain out of her. He was fine. He was alive. He was still breathing, and his heart was still beating.

He was okay.

Roy huffed, returning to his sulk. “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered.

“Daddy?” Mia asked, not looking up from playing with her toys. Her brow was furrowed as she still played, confused about something.

“Yes, Mia?” he asked. His mood perked up as soon as their daughter called him. It made the smile return to Riza’s face.

“What’s a serial killer?”

Riza snickered as Roy stiffened underneath her hand. She patted his head twice then bent at the waist to whisper in his ear. “I’ll let you deal with this one,” she stated, oh so kindly. Their daughter had quite the inquisitive streak and was a sponge – she picked up everything.

“Gee, thanks,” he deadpanned.

“Dinner will be ready shortly Mia, okay?” Riza called during her retreat to their kitchen.

“Okay Mummy,” she called as she clambered up onto her father’s lap.

“Make sure all your toys are tidied up, okay?”

“Yes Mummy,” she replied dutifully.

“Thank you, Mia.”

Riza smiled and left the two of them to their lesson, snickering at the thought of Roy explaining to their five-year-old what a serial killer was. In all honesty, she shouldn’t know, but Mia would never let things go. If they put it off, she’d just ask again and again until she got her answer. Or worse, she’d ask someone else, stating she heard her parents talking about it. That had happened before, and it was an awkward conversation with the adult afterwards.

Ten minutes after their impromptu lesson began, Roy entered the kitchen alone and kissed her cheek in greeting.

“As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted.”

“Are you talking about me, or our child?” Riza asked dryly. “Choose wisely.”

“Um… None?” he squeaked with a forced grin. Riza rolled her eyes, and the forced smile on Roy’s face fell, leaving a real one in its place. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that it was you who saved me with Scar.”

Riza scoffed. “Hardly.”

“No, you did. Honestly. I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.” He stopped for a moment, tilted his head then smiled softly. “Watching out for me even when you’re not by my side,” Roy grinned. “I knew I married you for a reason.”

“To stop you from inadvertently getting yourself killed?” Riza asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Something like that,” Roy smiled, angling his head to kiss her temple.

“I believe Maes calls your ability to still find yourself alive “sheer dumb luck”. Emphasis on the dumb.”

“Well, Maes is always talking out of his ass.”

“Daddy?” Mia piped up suddenly, appearing in the doorway. “What’s an ass –”

“Oh! Mia!” Riza announced quickly and loudly, distracting their daughter with her food. “Dinner is ready! Daddy will help you into your chair.”

Mia grinned and ran over to him, holding her arms up in the air, signalling she wanted up. It was like she was two years old again.

Riza shot him a pointed look that said, “no more swearing in front of the kid.” The last thing Riza needed was for her to repeat that. Hopefully, she’d caught it early enough that Mia had already forgotten all about it.

“So… Central?” Riza stated as they retired to the living room for the night.

“Are you all right with that?” he asked, an undercurrent of uncertainty in her tone.

Riza nodded. “Of course.”

“I just knew it meant you’d be able to pursue your career and Central would give you so many more opportunities to do that than being here does.” From his tone it was clear he’d already built up a case to try and persuade her, but there was no need. She was already ready to go. It was the packing up of all Mia’s toys that would be the nightmare part of it.

“Roy, I’m ready. This is a step in the right direction for you.”

“But it’s your life too,” he stressed, turning to face her. “I can’t just assume you’ll uproot your life just for me.”

Riza smiled and cupped his cheek. “You’re sweet. But don’t worry. I already told you I had something lined up in Central for this year and you’re also my husband,” she stated, as if it were obvious. “I’d follow you anywhere.”

That seemed to settle some of his fears and his nervousness. His shoulders sagged in relief.

Riza wondered if he was like this every day at work. He seemed to be calm, cool, and collected in front of his colleagues at the ball, but when it came to her he was always uncertain and sure she was going to turn and run away from him at a moment’s notice. It may not be intentional, but that was the vibe he gave off to her. Riza wasn’t worried about it, per se, but she’d married him, and loved him with all her heart. He owned it completely. What else could she do to prove that she wasn’t going anywhere?

“There’s nothing to worry about on my part. And Central will be good for us. Plus, Maes and Gracia are there too, so we’ll be able to see them more often.”

“Oh no.”

“What?” His tone was filled with dread, and worry began to pool in Riza’s chest.

“I won’t just get phone calls about his kid and Gracia, I’ll have to deal with it in person.”

Riza rolled her eyes. “Drama queen.”

“It’s a real problem I suffer with here. I would think as my wife you’d be supportive,” he frowned.

“You’re on your own there, dear,” she smiled sweetly, patting his knee. Before she could remove it, Roy snagged it in his hand. “Okay, so now we need to think about moving,” Riza stated, already planning and making a list of things to do in her head. “We’ll need boxes. I threw out all the ones we brought here with us. I’ve no schoolwork tomorrow and was planning on going to the market with Mia anyway, so I’ll pick something up then.”

“Tell me about it,” Roy requested, immediately after she’d finished her train of thought.

“Excuse me?” she asked, confused by his request. “Tell you about cardboard boxes?”

“Tell me about your typical day. About what you have planned for tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Riza stated after a pause, wracking her brain for what she’d decided to do tomorrow. “Tomorrow the market is on in the square from nine o’clock until noon, so I’ll go there with Mia to collect some fresh vegetables for dinner. Then, we’ll probably go to the park and she’ll play on the swings.” Roy grinned. They made that trip a few times a month on the weekends and Mia would be on those swings for hours if they let her. “Then, I’ll nip into town and get a cup of coffee –”

“Where about?” he inquired.

“Robertson’s.”

“The old haunt.” Roy quipped.

“They do a soup that Mia really likes so we’ll have some of that for lunch then head back. At home she’ll play while I look over my schoolwork, then we play until you come home. Except…” She cocked her head in thought. “We’ll nip back to the market as it closes to see if we can get some cardboard boxes from some of the stalls.”

“That sounds genuinely wonderful. I wish I could join you,” he murmured.

“One day,” she smiled. “Or we’ll do it more often when you’ve got the day off.”

“In a perfect world I like to think we’d do that every day.”

“Oh yeah? What do you imagine our lives being like?”

Roy took a deep breath then let it out in a rush, tilting his head to look up at the ceiling. “If I never joined the military… I picture us in a house out in the country. Not your father’s one, but something new that we bought ourselves with our own money. We’d have chickens, we’d have a cow and a goat.”

“Just one of each?”

Roy nodded. “Yep. Just one is all we need. There would be a little vegetable plot in the back garden where we’d grow our own… It would be perfect.”

Riza hummed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “That does sound wonderful.”

“However.” He heaved a sigh. “This was the path I chose, so I must follow through with it.”

Riza patted the hand on his thigh. “I’ll be right behind you.”

“How about beside me?” he asked, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. “I don’t like the idea of you being behind me.”

“I’m supposed to watch your back, Roy,” she smiled dryly. “I can’t do that from beside you.”

“Then how am I supposed to watch yours, with you behind me?” he queried. “No, beside sounds a lot better, because we’re equals. We look out for each other, and no one is getting put to the back or left behind,” he stated firmly. Riza smiled at his explanation and felt her chest blossom with warmth at his words, along with a little flutter in her stomach.

“That sounds lovely, Roy,” she hummed in agreement.

Silence settled over them, and Riza turned her vision to the future, thinking about how everything was all falling into place conveniently for them. She was loath to damper on the moment for herself, but this seemed too easy. Letting go of her insecurities was easier said than done, but she gave herself a shake anyway. No, she wouldn’t let those fears ruin this lovely moment for herself.

“So, Central, huh?”

“I know,” Roy stated.

“This is a big move.”

Roy nodded. “It will be good for us.”

Riza agreed with him. “Definitely. I’m sure we’ll have lots of fun in the big city,” she joked. “Plus, we’ll be closer to Chris, so she’ll get to see Mia more often.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” Roy stated dryly.

“She’s great with Mia,” Riza said, eyeing him like he was crazy. “What are you talking about?”

“I meant for Mia. Poor kid must put up with her. At the best of times, it wasn’t fun,” he joked, mock fear on his face.

“She must have done an all right job because you turned out okay,” Riza retorted.

“Just okay?” Roy asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Riza felt a mischievous streak overtake her. “Yes. Just “okay”. Below average, but a passing grade.”

Something flashed in his eyes and Riza began to laugh as Roy tickled her mercilessly as a punishment.

“Stop it,” Riza gasped. “You’ll wake Mia up!”

“No, you will wake her up,” he grinned, continuing his torture.

“Roy!”

She was silenced with lips pressed hard against her own. Her laughs and gasps turned into moans as Roy’s hands stayed on her body, but began to stroke it instead, lighting a spark within Riza that only he could put out. She moaned his name as he moved down to her neck. 

“That’s a better volume,” he quipped.

Riza pulled at his hair gently, guiding him back up to her lips. “Much better,” she agreed.

*          *          *

The move to Central happened in a blur. Two days after Roy announced it, and was officially told himself, they were expected to move out of their apartment within the week and head to Central. The military had already allocated Roy a new home in the city, so they were expected to be ready to go.

Talk about military efficiency, Riza had thought sourly, exhausted after cramming her packing time into two days, rather than the weeks she thought she would have. Luckily, they let Roy off work so he could prepare too, so she didn’t have to do it all by herself. It made the hectic and stressful time in her life easier to deal with while he was helping.

Now in Central, Riza barely remembered what happened. The move was over that quick. One morning she woke up in their apartment in East City to a fall asleep in a different one.

Except this wasn’t an apartment. It was a house. Roy had specifically put in a request for them to have a house.

“I wanted to save the trouble of moving again, since the family is growing.” He’d shrugged, like it was no big deal. Riza had been touched that he’d been so thoughtful. “I don’t want to drag Mia through all that chaos again.”

Their five-year-old was surprisingly calm throughout it all. Maybe she could sense how stressed her mother was and kept quiet. Of course, the military expected Roy to check in at Central Headquarters the day they arrived, leaving Riza to unpack. He’d been assured it would only be an hour or so, however four hours later, Riza was worrying about where he’d gotten to. When Roy did eventually return, he was extremely apologetic and had even stopped off at a bakery to pick up a coffee and a pastry for her.

“I promise, I’ll make this up to you,” he’d assured her. He didn’t have to, but Roy was adamant. The look in his eye told her that the “making up” wouldn’t be coming until after they’d retired to bed.

She wasn’t annoyed at him. Her sourness was directed more at the military, which was happening more frequently these days. It didn’t mean that the making up for his prolonged absence wasn’t welcome. Far from it. He’d become more affectionate recently, and Riza accepted it wholeheartedly. She enjoyed every second of it. It made her feel so loved, which she was eternally grateful for every time. Roy had that effect on her.

She couldn’t wait to see what their future held in Central. Despite being exhausted from their move she was thoroughly excited. Their home was perfect. It was large, spacious, and had room for them to grow within its walls. It was military owned, but far from what Riza had expected it would be. In her mind it would be beige walls everywhere, with no character or warmth. Instead, it was an old townhouse that had been taken over for military accommodation, which still harboured the old wood panelling in the hallway and plush carpet throughout the ground floor. It was warm and welcoming, just what she’d always wanted in a home.

 Mia adored the large back garden and the first day, she’d stood with her face pressed against the glass of the patio doors, mind boggling at the sight of the expanse of grass before her.

Roy had regaled her with his plans for the space. “We can get a swing,” he had explained, casting his hand over the old oak tree at the corner. “We can tie it around the tree branches and Mia can swing from there. When the little one is old enough, they can join her,” he grinned. “In that corner,” he gestured over to the opposite side of the garden. “I can build a small vegetable patch and we can grow our own.”

Riza glanced up at him and noticed the sparkle in his eyes as he spoke about all of this. She remembered the conversation they’d had about their ideal lives, and how Roy said he wanted a vegetable garden. She smiled up at him, catching the bug for his excitement and turned her attention back to the garden as he showed off the space.

Yeah. Riza couldn’t wait.