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worryinglyinnocent · 3 years ago

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Fic: Practical Alchemy (2/11)

Summary: "Everyone knows that the Hawkeye name is cursed. There are always two girls to a generation and they have to keep the family name in order to inherit. They'll fall in love with alchemists, and those alchemists are doomed to die. We thought Aunt Trisha had broken the curse - she changed her name, and she had boys not girls - but it just rebounded on her. That's why I dread falling in love."

Riza Hawkeye lives a quiet life - running her late aunt's herbal dispensary and helping her Uncle Hoho bring up her young cousins, having vowed never to fall in love herself. A call from her estranged sister Rebecca turns her life upside down - especially when a certain State Alchemist named Roy Mustang enters the scene on the sisters' tail.

A Practical Magic AU.

Rated: T

[One] [AO3]

Content warning for Chapter Two: Offscreen canonical character death. You can tell from the fic summary who it is.

Two

“Rebecca, I love you as if you were my own daughter but I think I speak for everyone when I say that this scheme is one of your more ridiculous endeavours.”

“No it’s not! Riza thinks it’s a great idea, don’t you, Riza?”

Riza looked up from sorting beeswax lipbalms and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t even know what it is.”

“Come on! I was telling you on the way home yesterday! Although you were staring into space out as usual so you probably didn’t hear a word I said.”

Uncle Van rolled his eyes. “Your sister has decided that she’s going to fly to Xing in a hot air balloon, and has started making technical drawings of said hot air balloon.”

“I say that if she’s gone to the trouble of making proper schematics then it’s worth a try.” Aunt Trisha came in with an armful of empty face cream tubs. It was inventory day at the shop and everyone had been roped in to help with the stock-take, although Rebecca’s role was chiefly to keep an eye on Ed and Al and make sure that they didn’t get into any mischief. Considering Rebecca’s own propensity to get into mischief, Riza wasn’t entirely sure that she was the best fit for the job, but considering the last few times she’d helped with the stocktake they’d ended up with tea-tree oil all over the floor and all the windows open in the middle of winter to help get the fumes out, perhaps it was for the best. The whole family was squeezed into the small backroom checking off supplies, with Rebecca keeping half an eye out for any customers coming in.

Uncle Van gave a heavy sigh. “Trisha, I really don’t think that you should be encouraging these things.”

“Where’s your spirit of adventure, Van? Come on, I think a hot air balloon ride would be a very romantic idea.”

“A little pleasure cruise over the village, perhaps, but going all the way to Xing is a very different matter. What if she gets struck by migrating geese and crash lands in the middle of the desert?”

“I can’t understand how I managed to marry such a pessimist. If you can build yourself a hot air balloon, Rebecca, then you go off to Xing.”

“See! Also there’s someone at the counter.”

Riza rolled her eyes, wondering how long their customer had been waiting before Rebecca noticed them, and how much of their conversation had been overheard.

“We’re not mad, I promise,” she said. “What can I get you?”

The customer grinned. He was a newcomer; Riza was pretty sure that she’d never seen him around the village before. It looked like he was around her age, perhaps a little older, tall and gangly with dark hair. He had a cute little smile, and Riza shoved that thought away to the back of her mind as soon as she had thought it. Where on earth had that come from? She’d never had any kind of feelings like that towards anyone, not since she had made that vow all those years ago that she would never fall in love. In fact, she’d made a point of not having those feelings, even as Rebecca went through boyfriends faster than she changed socks.

“I’m sure you’re not mad, even if your sister is.”

“Hey!” Rebecca yelled from the back room. “I heard that.”

Riza buried her face in her hands. “I’m so sorry. How can I help?”

“I was looking for something for travel sickness,” the boy said. “Not for me,” he added hastily, as if trying to save face, because of course a handsome, confident young man like him would never get travel sick. “They’re for my aunt. She said she had some good stuff from here a while ago but she couldn’t remember what they were called. We were just passing through, so… You know.” He trailed off, going a little bit pink around the ears.

“Well, we have ginger pastilles or chewing liquorice,” Riza said. “They’re both good for travel sickness. I guess it depends if you want to chew or suck.” She felt her own face flame with the unfortunate possible connotations of her words and decided to cover it by turning to the shelves behind her, grabbing both items.

“I’ll take both, thanks.” The boy started counting out change.

“So, you’re not from round here then?” Riza asked. She was only trying to make conversation, but she was still inordinately interested in the answer.

“No, Eastern City. We’re on our way to visit some relatives.”

“Oh, well, do drop in if you’re ever around here again.”

The boy nodded. “I will.”

Once he was gone, the jangle of the shop bell long since quietened, Riza found that she was still staring at the door after him, and she only came back to herself when she heard Rebecca sniggering behind her. She whirled round to see her sister in the doorway to the back room and glared at her.

“I never would have thought it,” Rebecca said, ignoring the glare. “It turns out that Riza the ice queen does in fact have functioning eyes, and methinks she likes what she saw.”

“Shut up.”

“Leave her alone, Becca.” Aunt Trisha came through into the shop, batting Rebecca’s arm on the way past, and Rebecca threw her hands up in surrender and went back to babysitting her cousins.

Aunt Trisha just smiled, raising a questioning eyebrow, and Riza sighed.

“He was cute, but that’s all there is to it. It’s not like I’m ever going to see him again, he’s just passing through on his way to somewhere else.”

“I know. I’m not saying that you have to jump on the first person you fancy. I’m just happy to see you taking an interest.” She came over, taking one of Riza’s hands where they were balled up into fists on the cash register. “Four years ago, you said that you never wanted to fall in love, and I advised you to try and keep an open mind and not believe in the curse. You’ve never shown any interest in anyone since then, and I’d accepted that you just genuinely weren’t interested in romance or anything like that. As long as you’re happy, it makes no difference to me. But I don’t want you to deny yourself something that might make you happy out of a misguided obligation to protect people from your last name, ok? You are allowed to be interested in people, Riza. You are allowed to have relationships and to think of yourself and what makes you happy, and be selfish once in a while. Promise me that you won’t let these opportunities pass you by, ok? And if there are any other boys like that one who catch your eye, and whose eye you catch in return, because I think that was clear to all except perhaps you, then don’t repress those feelings. It’s not healthy to dwell on the past and close yourself off to the potential future.”

It was a heavy speech for a nearly-sixteen year old to receive, but Riza appreciated it nonetheless. Truth be told, she had also come to the conclusion that she wasn’t interested in boys in the same way that Rebecca was, and also didn’t seem to be all that interested in girls, or in romance in general. Looking back, though, she wondered if that was due to a genuine lack of interest or if it was because she didn’t think she ought to be interested, that such things would cause far more trouble than they were worth.

Aunt Trisha’s grip on her hand suddenly increased, her other hand shooting out to steady herself against the counter as she swayed.

“Aunt Trisha? Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I just came over really dizzy, that’s all. I think I need to sit down. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather all day, perhaps I’m coming down with a cold.”

Her face had gone ash grey and Riza couldn’t help but worry as she helped her through into the back room and got her sat down on the workbench. They always made a point of stressing, whenever they sold their remedies, that they weren’t a substitute for going to an actual doctor if you had persistent symptoms, and the colour had been gradually fading from Aunt Trisha’s cheeks for a couple of days now.

Hopefully it was just a cold.

“You know what I think? I think it’s the curse.”

“Shush. You know that Aunt Trisha never believed in the curse and Uncle Van won’t be happy if he hears you talking about it today.”

Rebecca shook her head, her eyes fierce, but she dutifully didn’t say anything more about the curse until after Uncle Van, Ed and Al were out of earshot. It was strange that she should mention it now, well, all things considered it wasn’t that strange, but Riza thought that she was the one who had always had the curse in the back of her mind. Rebecca hadn’t mentioned it for years, and Riza had got to the stage of thinking that, like Aunt Trisha, Rebecca had stopped believing in it.

“It makes sense though, don’t you see?” Rebecca hissed presently. “This is the curse rebounding. It’s payback for Aunt Trisha trying to escape from it. She said she didn’t believe in the curse, and she changed her name and got herself disinherited from the family, and she did everything she could not to be a Hawkeye anymore. And she fell in love, and she had boys instead of girls, and they’re both golden-blond rather than one fair and one dark, and I think we could all be forgiven for thinking she’d managed to sneak her way past it, but in the end, it didn’t kill the alchemist she’d fallen in love with, it killed her instead.”

“Rebecca, please, not today of all days, please don’t talk about it now.”

Riza really didn’t want to talk about it, because the exact same thought had already crossed her own mind more than once in the days since Aunt Trisha had passed. Moreover, she couldn’t help but think that perhaps, in some weird roundabout way that made no sense except in Riza’s own grief-stricken brain, that she herself was responsible for it all. After all, she had made the vow that she would never fall in love, and it was on the day that she’d met that nice guy and thought he was cute that Aunt Trisha had fallen ill. She knew it was stupid and illogical; the doctors had said that Aunt Trisha had been ill for a long time before then and she just hadn’t realised, putting it down to seasonal bugs, but Riza couldn’t help thinking it. Even now, after she’d broken down in an ugly mess of sobbing apologies to Uncle Van that it was all her fault and he had held her whilst she cried for hours, and he’d told over and again her that it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Even now she still felt a twinge of guilt about it all.

It had been a beautiful sunny day for the funeral, but it was bitterly cold, and Riza felt that it reflected their mood quite well. Things felt wrong without Aunt Trisha. For the last five years she’d been a steady presence in their lives, always the voice of reason whenever anything was going wrong, always there with a kind word if life was being unkind. She had been the level head when Uncle Van was off in the clouds with theoretical alchemy and forgetting to come down out for dinner. She’d mediated in disputes between sisters and brothers and cousins, and she’d always done it all with the utmost patience and grace. Life was never going to be the same without her, and the weather knew it. Visibly it looked the same as it had been before, so sunny and mild, but the cold… that reflected the lack of Aunt Trisha’s warmth, her comforting arms around them all that they would never feel again.

The last of the funeral guests had gone and it was just the family in the white cottage now, all of them gathered in the sitting room with the coffee cups still scattered around from the wake. Riza left the rest of them, the atmosphere in the small room suddenly feeling more stifling than it had done when there had been half the village squashed in there, and she made her way through to the greenhouse, wandering along through the plants, touching their leaves and fronds and finding peace in their delicate mingled scents like she had always done. She found her way over to Aunt Trisha’s work table, still with the same old wicker chair, and she sat down in it, losing herself in her thoughts. Aunt Trisha’s signature was all over this greenhouse, and it would remain there for years to come in the plants that she had cultivated and tended so carefully. She would never truly be gone as long as the greenhouse was still there, and Riza intended to keep it healthy and cared for. So many of her formative moments had taken place here; there were so many memories of Aunt Trisha. She thought back to the first time she had come in here, having only been in the house for a minute or so and finding herself drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Back when she still hadn’t trusted Aunt Trisha properly, finding this little haven, obviously so loved, had given her just a little more confidence to trust her gut and trust that Aunt Trisha and Uncle Van were good people.

“She wanted you to keep going with the dispensary.” Uncle Van had followed her in, and he perched on the work table beside her, moving the drying peppermint out of the way. “She always knew how much you loved it in here and how important it was in your life. But she told me to remind you not to do it at the expense of your own hopes and dreams. The greenhouse will take care of itself. I can take care of it. You need to remember to take care of yourself first, Riza.”

Riza nodded. “I know. But who’s going to take care of you, and drag you and Ed and Al out of whatever alchemical whatnots you’ve got yourselves into?”

“We’ll be fine. We’ll all look out for each other, all five of us. That’s what family does.”

Riza drew her knees up to her chin in the chair, hugging them close to her chest as a tightening, worrying feeling that she had not felt in a long time began to make itself known.

“We can stay with you, right? Me and Rebecca. I always assumed that we would, but since Aunt Trisha was our blood relation…”

“You’re staying here,” Uncle Van said firmly. “Social services will move you two over my dead body.”

Riza shook her head, thinking of the curse and how she had always expected Uncle Van to go first out of all of them, an alchemist doomed by the Hawkeye bloodline.. “Please don’t say things like that.”

“I suppose it’s not in the best of taste, especially today. Don’t worry about it, Riza. This is your home now, and it will stay your home for as long as you need and want it to be. You and Rebecca both, although if her itchy feet stay itchy then I can see her taking off sooner rather than later. That doesn’t matter. You’ll both always have a place here. You’re part of the furniture.”

Riza thought of Rebecca’s grand plans to fly to Xing in a balloon. It all seemed so pointless now, so whimsical. The day had been so draining that she couldn’t muster up any enthusiasm for anything.

She glanced up to find her uncle weeping.

“Uncle Hoho?” They hadn’t called him that for years, but right now, it seemed to be the only thing she could think of to say. She reached for his hand, squeezing gently, and he returned the pressure. Nothing more needed to be said. They would look out for each other, and for everyone else, and here, in the greenhouse, Riza knew that Aunt Trisha was looking out for them as well.

Resembool station could really barely be called a station. It was two platforms and a small hut that served as ticket office, waiting room, lost property and stationmaster’s office all in one. Riza still privately thought it miraculous that Resembool even had a station in the first place considering how out of the way it was. There was no one else on the platform apart from her and Rebecca, waiting for the express train to Central City. Rebecca was chattering on nineteen to the dozen, monologuing about all the things she was going to see once she started travelling. She still hadn’t given up on her hopes of getting to Xing, although she had decided that there were easier methods than balloon to get there. Riza was silent, clutching Otto close to her chest. The stuffed octopus had been Rebecca’s comfort blanket for as long as both of them could remember, and now that Rebecca was going out into the world on a voyage of discovery, she had declared herself too old to need to take Otto with her. She wasn’t too old for her to have bequeathed him to Riza with careful instructions to keep him safe until she returned.

She knew that Rebecca was only talking out of nervousness, needing to fill the empty space between them with something in order to put off that final moment of parting. Riza didn’t begrudge Rebecca her decision to go out and make her own way in the world. After all, that was what Aunt Trisha had always wanted for both of them, not to be tied down by the ghosts of their past. Rebecca had always had an easier time of casting off the shadows and envisaging a better future for herself, and there had been times when Riza wished that she could do the same and get over the mental block that seemed to throw itself up whenever she thought about what was to come.

Ultimately, she didn’t mind her life as it was now. There was nothing wrong with it, and nothing wrong with not seeking out the adventure that Rebecca craved. As long as she had her family, she would be all right, but now it felt like she was losing someone else. Rebecca wouldn’t be away forever. She had promised to come back, but none of them knew when that would be, least of all Rebecca herself. She would travel until she was done, or until she ran out of money and ran out of patience with whatever odd jobs she could find to tide her over. The thought of not seeing Rebecca for years on end left an aching hole in Riza’s chest, even though she had promised to call and write every week.

Finally, Rebecca ran out of things to say and just flung her arms around Riza instead.

“I’m going to miss you so much. I’ll miss everyone, but I’ll especially miss you, because you’ve always been there. Every time I’ve ever needed someone, you’ve always been there.”

Riza smiled, pulling her sister in closer. “I’ll always be here in the future as well, you know. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

“I know, I’m the one going places. Back after Mom and Dad died, we promised we’d be together forever. I was so certain I was never going to lose you.”

“Of course you’ll never lose me, you ninny. You’ll always have me, even if I’m not always physically right next to you. We’re sisters, we’ll always have that bond.”

“Yeah. Wait, hang on a sec. I know what we can do.” She released her hold on Riza and scrabbled about in her back-pack, coming up with a penknife. Riza recognised it as Uncle Van’s, no doubt a parting gift with a plea to be careful out there in the big, wide world. Rebecca nicked her thumb with the blade and grabbed Riza’s hand. There was a smarting pain against her own thumb pad and then Rebecca was pressing them together.

“They talk about blood brothers all the time. We’re blood sisters. Literally and metaphorically and whatever else-ally. We’ll always have that bond now. Nothing can take that away.”

Whilst Riza might have thought that it was a bit dramatic, at that moment she thought that she needed the drama and the big gestures. She and Rebecca had never been apart for longer than a single night all the time that they had been in each other’s lives, apart from the three days Riza spent in the hospital having her appendix out when she was seven. They had always been such a constant presence in each other’s lives, and now they were going to be so far apart for so long. It was such a sudden change and it was going to take a lot of getting used to.

The train was pulling into the station, and Rebecca stopped sucking at the cut on her thumb long enough to pull Riza into another hug.

“Look after everyone for me, ok? Make sure that Ed and Al don’t bring the house down with experimental alchemy, and make sure that Uncle Hoho eats three meals a day and doesn’t get crushed by paperwork in his study, and keep Otto safe, and…” She tailed off. “You’re going to do all that anyway. You’ve been doing all that ever since Aunt Trisha passed.” There was a long pause. “Are you sure that you don’t want to come with me? Get away from all the responsibility that I’ve just heaped on you?”

Riza shook her head. “No. I’d miss everyone too much. I know you’re going to miss everyone too, but the thought of leaving, for me…”

She couldn’t articulate the feeling properly, it was an ache deep inside that couldn’t be put into words, the same ache she felt at the prospect of Rebecca going away.

“Take care of yourself,” she finished, wishing her voice didn’t sound so terribly choked and bereft. “Keep in touch, and remember that this is your home, and you can come back to it whenever you like.”

Rebecca nodded and wiped her eyes before she stepped onto the train, waving out of the window as it began to pull away from the station slowly.

Riza stayed on the platform long after it had vanished over the horizon, clutching a plush octopus as close as she possibly could and wishing that it was her sister. The walk back up the hill towards the little white cottage felt impossibly long and dreary afterwards, and Riza found herself trudging with heavy feet, each step an exertion. The front door was already open for her by the time she managed to drag herself up the path, and Uncle Van just held out his arms for her, letting her sag against him.

“She’s really gone,” Riza mumbled. “She’s gone off to have adventures and live her best life, and I want her to do that more than anything, but I can’t help missing her. It’s like half of me’s just been torn away.”

“I know,” Uncle Van said quietly. “I know.”

He didn’t offer any platitudes or reassurances, and Riza was grateful. It was a strange kind of grief that she was feeling, and he respected that.

At length they moved out of the doorway, and Riza went into the kitchen to help with dinner, needing the distraction of keeping up with Ed and Al to occupy her. She couldn’t believe that Ed was ten already, that she’d been here in this house and calling it a home for ten years. He was the same age as she had been when she had first come here. Sometimes it felt like only yesterday that they’d arrived, and sometimes it felt like this had been their home forever. It would be different now with just the four of them, but they would get used to it, just as they had got used to life without Aunt Trisha. Rebecca would still be with them, and they would definitely see her again soon.

#FMA: Brotherhood #FMA Fanfiction #Riza Hawkeye #Rebecca Catalina #Trisha Elric #Fic: Practical Alchemy

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fullmetalscullyy · 3 years ago

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Can you write a fic about how Roy takes care of Riza while she's pregnant?

hey anon! thank you so much for your ask and your request 💖 i have actually already done this a few times before, so i'll link them below!

the way it was - 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.

about 2/3 of this fic is riza pregnant within canon events (although she's not in the military). plenty of family moments, domestic royai, and roy doting on her (as she deserves)

available on ao3 and ffnet

let you love me chapter 28 - Nervousness had settled into his body as soon as Riza had announced she was pregnant. Nine months later, that feeling still remained. It was constant. Every thought in his mind was concerned about both Riza and the baby’s welfare. Was she too hot? Did he need to turn the AC to a lower temperature? Was she comfortable? Was she hydrated? Was she in pain?

i don't think you need to read the whole fic to understand this chapter, but i think it does have the vibe you're looking for. the premise of the fic is riza has a son and roy moves in next door to her (and they fall in love ofc uwu) but this chapters specifically has flapping roy as riza goes into labour as well as him being supportive supportive throughout it all w some nice soft and family moments

available on ao3 and ffnet

royai collections chapter 45 - prompt: can you do a royai one shot where they're both married while still in the military (not a secret) and riza is pregnant but gets kidnapped and roy has to save her?

not 100% roy taking care of her while she's pregnant, but along the same lines w a bit of fluff at the end

available on ao3 and ffnet

#sorry to disappoint and that i can't provide anything brand new #but i just feel like i've done it to death at this point #this is not to say i'll never touch it again but like. atm i've got absolutely nothing esp after the way it was sorry :((#i wish i did #but i'm a bit burnt out on writing pregnant riza #however the majority of the way it was is like. p much exactly what you're looking for i think #and if u want any kid!fics on top of that i've got plenty of them too lol #ask #anon

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splendidshinobi · 4 years ago

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FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST 2003 LIVE REACT: EPISODES 6-10

back at it again with the white vans

episode 6: the alchemy exam

alrighty then

um mustang calling edward “ed” is EXTREMELY offputting

ohhhhhhh noooooo not shou tucker

FUCK

im wholly unprepared

them all being in central instead of east is low key jarring like my brain isnt computing it

alexander’s intro is basically the same

nina bbyyyyy girl u deserved so much better

ed is such a fucking nerd...chemistry club modern au confirmed

god the more tucker talks the more i wanna beat his face in

al pretending to eat by tossing a potato in his armor i-

aww theyre playing in the snow theyre so pure

wonder how long thatll last

“bigger brother” and “little big brother” and ed doesnt even get mad

ed’s birthday party????????

A MELON? ED YOURE SO RUDE

so 03 had ed’s bday instead of elicia’s...CAUSE THEY GOT ELICIA IN THE WOMB

“it’s here!” “the tea?” “the baby!” hughes is a fuck head

ok so now they’re having elicia replace rush valley baby arc

this was winry’s time to shine in fmab i miss her

if winry isnt here who is gonna birth this baby

oh my god they just realized ed can use alchemy without a circle

no wonder he’s been using circles this whole time

SO ELICIA JUST POPPED OUT????? WHAT

STUFF ALEXANDER IN THE ARMOR AND PRETEND YOURE A TALKING DOG???

“i dont think thats very funny” NO ALPHONSE IT IS NOT

THEY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DOING WITH THAT ONE I SWEAR TO GOD IN THIS ESSAY I WILL

damn bradley what up homie

im so thrown off by the way theyre doing the exam omg

seriously what the hell is fuhrer bradley’s purpose right now is he even the fuhrer in this i feel like they wouldve mentioned it

oh lord ed is about to impress everyone with his clappy hands

ok so next episode is nina FUCK

episode 7: night of the chimera’s cry

havoc babeeee

im gonna marry him my himbo king

also can RIZA DO SOMETHING PLZ

“huhhhhhhhh nina” ew tucker that was weirdly gross

wonder why

cant do it cant do it

do we think jean kirstein was modeled after jean havoc slightly looks wise

was that purposeful

ill have to google

serial killer who only targets women? it cant be scar...scar drinks respect women juice

barry or slicer bros maybe? um ok

why did we start with liore if they were just gonna hop right back into the past for a huge chunk of episodes idk

assessment day??? oh noodles

AL WHY DID YOU TELL TUCKER TO MAKE ANOTHER TALKING CHIMERA ALPHONSE NO

THE NOISE I EMITTED IM GONNA TAKE A LAP

im gonna FUCKING SCREAM

ed r u writing to winry??? that’s a bit out of character for u good sir

no tucker put that baby down

im gonna fucking SCREAM

aww he burned nina’s picture thats not sus at all

SHESKA!!!!!

wait does the ironblood alchemist know what tucker did to his wife? thats kinda the vibe im getting

SCARRRRRRRR

looking like a pirate too damn

his voice sounds different is that j michael tatum

apparently not it was dameon clarke in 03 ya learn something new everyday

ew elicia has a lot of hair for a FUCKING NEWBORN

ed really is such a cynic very suspicious of everyone as he should be really

basque grand knowS SOMETHING

oh jesus oh fuck oh god please do not TOUCH THAT BABY

ed and al snuck back in to the house well u know what its for the best

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

im gonna cry again please god no

FUCKING DIE SHIT HOLE

she’s hurting? oh my god

my sweet angel

ew his eyes!!!!!!!

tucker is such a fucking failure...like look at the chimera squad and greed’s theatre troupe being the way they are. ugh it really hits how fucking unfair it is

ed was really about to split them? boy you know better

where is nina going...im hurting

ed really tried to save her in this one

SCAR KILLS NINA IN THE STREETS???????? SIR

thats different

oh snap

oh FUCK

SCAR WHY DID YOU LEAVE HER BODY LIKE THAT

THE WAY SHE WAS ARRANGED ON THE WALL THAT WAS FUCKED UP

AND THEY FOUND HER LIKE THAT???? AT LEAST IN BROTHERHOOD THEY DIDNT HVE TO SEE HER CORPSE ARE YOU SHITTING ME?

that was fucked.

episode 8: the philosopher’s stone

can yall get ed and al away from nina’s fucking MURAL

get out of the car mustang

finally jesus christ

roy mustang talking about healthy coping mechanisms dont make me laugh but alright baby boy go off i guess?

im curious about who this goddamn serial killer is though lets turn to that plot thread

r u kidding me

mustang is making ed and al take over tucker’s research?? thats actually wildly messed up

oh tucker was straight executed that’s a choice i guess

tucker and the philosopher’s stone sounds inaccurate but ok

ed please stop being mean to your brother

03 mustang has got me reaching for a fucking baseball bat on GOD

scar and edward having this conversation right now i literally cannot

WINRY yes bitch

BRADLEY WHAT IN TARNATION

JESUS LORRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDD

alphonse shut your mouthhhhhhhhhhh

im so confused what is bradley up to

“alchemists are not cold blooded murderers?”

i mean

kimblee would beg to differ for one

whos this creepy lady

her voice sounds familiar

barry’s food shop?

the killer is barry ok got it

IS BARRY DISGUISED AS A WOMAN

I KNEW THAT WAS JERRY JEWELL’S VOICE

WELL I KNEW IT SOUNDED FAMILIAR AT LEAST

WINRY GET OUT OF THE FUCKING TRUCk

has PINAKO TAUGHT YOU NOTHING

ok so i VASTLY prefer suit of armor original manga canon barry

this is such an odd plot what in fuck

um OW the meat cleaver

im so confused this fucking plotline

oh hey alphonse nice of you to show up!

is barry still gonna become a suit of armor later on

it makes NO SENSE to introduce him otherwise

everytime i see 03 mustang i wanna beat his ass HONESTLY

literally i will shove my foot up his ass

fullmetal here we go

ed thinks he’s so punk rock

oh great scar’s seen the watch

episode 9: be thou for the people

ed you simp buying winry all this stuff my edwin heart is ascending

SIMP SIMP SIMP

“mr. elric”?? you mean MAJOR ELRIC

to be fair though fuck the military

YOUSWELL??? oh LORD

im gonna need to read a full chronology of this show

alphonse continues to be a precious angel

where’s my boy yoki!!!!!

edward you idiot don’t go flaunting your money

woof woof ed

al looks so offended by ed saying they just met

whereas in brotherhood didnt he totally throw ed under the bus???

a choice to be sure

ah there he is hello yoki

who’s the chick

shes a lesbian

yoki makes me miss my baby girl mei chang

mei where r u

WAS THIS MILITARY DUDE REALLY ABOUT TO CUT DOWN A CHILD??? oh my god

hawkeye getting a promotion yes bby girl

jesus theyre transferring them to east now OKKKKKAY thats not how it happened it the book but ill take it....just doing it the opposite way i guess

who is lyra who is she

cute some military bribery

umm lyra what the fuck did you do

lyra is a homunculus im callin it now

they definitely invented/changed up some homunculi in fact im certain they did and shes one of em. gotta be

i feel like 03 wrote ed as much more insensitive towards others than he really is...just a vibe im getting

i know he was faking for the townspeople’s sake but i still get this vibe from other instances

i mean i cant say its not “canon” because its 03 canon

anyways what a show off

i cant believe theyre going to east...fuery and breda better be there

ok finally some answers on their ages....ed got his license at 12 like normal and nina and youswell were when he was 12...liore was 15,

if they didnt flash the ages on the screen id be lost honestly

at least we’re back up to “present day”

episode 10: the phantom thief

ed saying he doesnt wanna see mustang

same

03 mustang is activating my fight or flight and im choosing fight

ed cheating at cards totally checks out

um who the fuck is this woman

what is she wearing

SERIOUSLY WHAT IS THAT CUTOUT MAAM HOW DO YOUR C**CHY LIPS NOT POKE OUT

idk but this is fem!hisoka

“hey shouldnt we talk first” after getting handcuffed??? christ almighty these innuendos

siren??????? siren is probably also a “fake” homunculus

ugh

ok so the nurse is siren

ya aint slick girly

alphonse control your crush

I REFUSE!!!! ALMEI RIGHTS

why is al’s hair so brown in this flashback anywayssss

oh its spelled psiren ope

like she’s literally a batman villain...

oh my god...............the tiddy grab. my son would never

my son is respectful

is this her homunculus tat or just a random alchemy tat

the added plotlines and original content continue to confuse and astound me every single time....

ok but if psiren really was doing this for the hospital she wouldnt be so flashy about it. like thats how you get caught sweet cheeks

girly stop flirting with this child on god im gonna fucking kick you

now shes a nun????????????????

Shes a fucking troll i hate her

im going to kick alphonse into the sun

oh great now shes a teacher

wow shes a savior. the savior of amestrian venice. greatttttt

ed looking exactly like this emoji on this gondola rn 🧍‍♀️

STOP FLIRTING WITH THE CHILD

GOD THIS IS SO BATMAN VILLAIN ESQUE

alphonse plzzzzzzzzzz she aint your girl

ok so probably not the last we see of this ding dong con artist

ok so its starting to get muddy. im scared the 03 stans are gonna come after me like i do like it and im having fun watching it but some of the plot and characterization choices are just....odd??? idk i gotta keep going though!! im sorry i just stan arakawa and her work in all her glory!!!

#carol watches fma03 #fullmetal alchemist #carol's remaining brain cells #this is fun for me and no one else #whatever i dont care about anyone else on this website anyway #this is my stupid hole

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promptmaker · 5 years ago

Text

Prompt Left Overs

Below the reading line is a list of prompts from 2019 that are still available. There is no time limit and you can switch out characters if you prefer (they must be consenting adults or aged up). As always if you pick one, please let me know and I will cross it out.

1. My Hero Academia. Future AU. (Shoto/Momo): Pro heros Momo and Shoto have broke the top 10 Hero rankings for the first time and are celebrating with their former classmates with a party at their home. After everybody leaves and they are finally alone, Momo and Shoto can finally celebrate in their own way.

2. Fairy Tail City Hero (NaLu): Natsu and Lucy are stranded on the side of the road outside of town when their Patrol Car breaks down. Natsu quickly gets bored and entices Lucy into some sexy time until help arrives. Either inside or outside of the patrol car. (Optional: They accidentally give a show to the dash cam)

3. Fairy Tail (NaLu) Canon or AU: Natsu and Lucy have been together for a couple of months now and can’t keep their hands off each other it gets so bad that Lucy’s friends need to drag her away for some girl time at a spa/onsen. NaLu secretly keep in touch via text and facetime through out Lucy’s trip but things escalate when a drunken and flirty Lucy starts sending Natsu risque pics and texts throughout her time there. Their escapades end with a video chat session that turns steamy.

4. Fairy Tail (NaLu) Modern AU: Lucy goes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans with her lady friends as a way to let loose from work and College. The girls enjoy all the festivities Mardi Gras has to offer and Cana even leads them through a wild time on Bourbon Street. During the days of partying, Lucy befriends a local named Natsu who shows them the best places to go during their visit. Natsu and Lucy flirt the whole time and get a chance to hang out alone together for a day before Lucy has to go. Things escalate and they both show each other a wild time. (DISCLAIMER: I have never been to Mardi Gras or New Orleans)

5. Fullmetal Alchemist (EdWin): Ed and Winry (married/together) rent a car during a trip to central but when it breaks down and Winry goes into full mechanic mode trying to fix it, Ed decides that he has never been more turned on.

6. Fairy Tail (Mira/Lucy/Natsu): Mira is a little depressed after the end of a long term relationship. Not liking seeing their friend so down and wanting to repay her for all she has done for them and the guild, Natsu and Lucy invite her to their place for some no-strings-attached fun to help her get her mind of things. Mira, graciously accepts. (Or any extra female of your choosing. It doesn’t have to be Mira)

7. Fullmetal Alchemist (Roy/Riza) Riza helps Roy with their firearm re-certification. When he fails to take the tests seriously, Riza offers “incentives” for doing well with the test. Also works with Rebecca/Havoc.

8. Fairy Tail (NaLu) Canon or AU: Natsu and Lucy have been together for a couple of months now and can’t keep their hands off each other it gets so bad that Lucy’s friends need to drag her away for some girl time at a spa/onsen. NaLu secretly keep in touch via text and face-time through out Lucy’s trip but things escalate when a drunken and flirty Lucy starts sending Natsu risque pics and texts throughout her time there. Their escapades end with a video chat session that turns steamy.

9. Fairy Tail Gruvia: Possibly a sequel to (https://archiveofourown.org/works/10425108/chapters/42895043). An unexpected storm delays Nalu from returning home. They contact Gruvia through lacrima to check their home for any damages, but remembering what Nalu did in his favorite chair, Gray decides to get revenge. He entices Juvia into helping to leave their scent all over the house, from the living room to the bedroom.... When Natsu gets home a few days later, he knows what happened before he even opened the door and races off to find Gray.

10. Fairy Tail NaLu (or any couple really) AU: Lucy and Natsu are athletes in the Olympics. They are from different countries but they meet early on and become friendly. During a rare grace period where neither of them have event to be at, the two get drinks at a bar in the. They quickly discover that the rumors about down time in the Olympic Village are true, sex between athletes is abundant and constant. Be it out in the open or in the privacy of their rooms. The two decide that since they may go their separate ways after the games, they might as well join in the fun. TL;DR AU Athlete Natsu and Lucy has some adventurous sex in the Olympic Village.

11. Fairy Tail NaLu: Lucy is having renovations done to her apartment, so Erza graciously lets her stay in her room(s) at Fairy Hills while she is away on a mission. Her boyfriend Natsu comes to visit her in her new accommodations and to complain that she chose to stay there instead of his place (she didn’t want to deal with the mess and Fairy Hills is closer to FT). Lucy seductively promises to “make it up to him”. Natsu is hesitant to do anything in Erza’s room but then Lucy makes the mistake of teasingly asking if he is scared. Which leads her being dragged to Erza’s bed. Are they caught by Erza or do they get away with it? TL;DR: NaLu risk having sex in Erza’s bedroom.

12. Fullmetal Alchemist EdWin: Ed and Winry visit Xing for their wedding anniversary. Ling sets them up in a fancy room at his palace with its own private hotspring. After some drinks with the Emperor, the couple heads back to their room and a frisky Winry decides they need to test out the hotspring and have some extra fun in it. TL;DR EdWin fuck in a private hotspring.

13. SFW. Fairy Tail NaLu. Modern. AU: Natsu is a pyrotechnician and he thinks showing Lucy how he sets up a fireworks display for 4th of July makes for a good (first?) date.

14. SFW. My Hero Academia: After hearing All-Might mention it, Eri becomes fascinated by the concept. Especially the fireworks, having never seen any before. Class 1A decides to give her a fireworks display of their own and go overboard.

15 SFW. Fullmetal Alchemist. EdWin: Ed tries to show his kids the science behind Sparklers and they seem more interested in trying to set him on fire.

16. SFW. MCU canon divergent, Steve/Natasha: Steve and Nat have been together for a year now. After having a big birthday party for Steve, thrown by Tony at Avengers HQ, Nat/Steve sneak off to the roof to enjoy Tony’s elaborate firework show. NSFW optional: they get side tracked from the fire works and decide to make there own right there on the roof.

17. NSFW. Fairy Tail. College AU. NaLu: Lucy is dragged to a college 4th of July party by her friends. She tries to make her escape from said party until Natsu shows up. She has several classes with him and the sexual tension between them is palpable. He makes the party fun for her and when the party starts to wind down the two sneak off into a spare bedroom for some fun.

18. Fairy Tail Nalu and Nack/Lucia (A couple of years after 100 year quest): Fairy Nail has come to Fiore, doing an international tour of their show. Natsu, Lucy and other guild members are hired as security during the tour. NaLu are assigned to Nack and Lucia specifically and after only a week guarding them, they are becoming very annoyed by the lewd behavior the other two display. Having to pry them off each other often. While staying at a hotel, Nack and Lucia’s antics keep NaLu up all night, them having their room right next door and all. So NaLu decide to give Nack and Lucia a taste of their own medicine and try to keep the other two awake all night with their own antics. It turns into the couples trying to outdo each other through the night The same prompt as above EXCEPT, instead of separate rooms the couples are in separate beds. In the same room. TL;DR: NaLu and Nack/Lucia try to out fuck each other

19. Fullmetal Alchemist EdWin: Ed takes Winry shopping in Central for her birthday. He bemoans being dragged to clothing stores until she has him come into the dressing rooms with her. Ed enjoys watching try on clothes for awhile but soon can no longer contain himself and they go at it in the dressing room and have some fun with its mirror. (optional: Ed seeing her in skinny jeans and a tight top is what triggers it. Said jeans end up at her knees) TL;DR: Ed and Winry have sex in a changing room

20. Fairy Tail NaLu: Brandish is in town on a mission. Natsu and Lucy run into her and offer her to join them for drinks. She reluctantly agrees to join them. A few drinks later and Brandish has had a drunken mood shift. She switches between being overly friendly and apologetic about her past actions towards the two. Before returning home for the night Brandish drunkenly offers them a “gift” for being nice to her and to make up for what happened during the war. Not knowing what what she means, the confused couple accepts. So Brandish uses her magic to increase the size of Lucy’s breasts and Natsu’s dick (nothing to major. Like a cup size/inch or two). Brandish tells them they will be normal by morning and to have fun with it before leaving the flustered couple. NaLu aren’t sure how to handle it at first but decide to make the best of it. So when they get home, the two have some fun with their temporary new proportions. TL;DR Brandish makes the dick and breasts size of NaLu slightly bigger and they have fun with it.

21. Fairy Tail (NaLu Tattoo Artist AU): Lucy has a few tattoos and is looking into getting a back tattoo. She is told that local artist Natsu Dragneel, from the new tattoo place is the best and most affordable option in getting one. She goes to him to go over the design she has in mind and the two hit it off immediately. For about a month Lucy goes to Natsu for various tattoos (fairy tail symbol on hand, Aquarus one on breasts, ect.) and to flirt with him. When the back tattoo is done she is worried that their sessions have come to an end. But when Natsu suggests she come back after it heals so he can take a picture for his wall, Lucy decides to use the opportunity to seduce him and they go at it right there in the parlor. TL;DR: Tattoo enthusiast Lucy flirts with her Tattoo Artist Natsu until they can’t take it anymore and fuck each other.

22. Fullmetal Alchemist (EdWin): When Ed losses a bet with Winry, he must where a military uniform on their date night. Ed hates it of course but seeing him in Uniform is having an unexpected reaction from Winry to the point where she starts messing with him under the table and eventually drags him to the bathroom for a quickie. TL;DR: Ed has to wear a military uniform and it unexpectedly turns Winry on to the point that she jumps him at a restaurant.

23. Fullmetal Alchemist (Royai): Roy and Riza are visiting Xing and are given their own private train car on the way to the palace to see Ling. The car is like a fancy hotel room but when Roy starts getting bored of the sights, he turns his attention to Riza and convinces her to try some train ride fun. (Could also be EdWin) TL;DR: Roy and Riza take advantage of alone time in their VIP train car.

24. My Hero Academia Future AU (TodoMomo): Todoroki and Momo have finally returned home from a long mission/investigation. When Momo mentions her back hurts from the long hours of being awake, Todoroki offers to give her one of his “famous” massages. Momo eagerly accepts and Todo has her strip down so he can work his magic. He uses the heat and cold from his quirk to work wonders on her sore muscles. Once done she sees her moaning and excitement from the massage has gotten Todoroki worked up as well. So she makes use of the massage oil and gives him a rub down of his own. TL;DR an innocent massage leads to sexy fun with between Todoroki and Momo.

25. Fairy Tail NaLu+Female: Lucy wants to surprise Natsu with a threesome for his birthday! It is something they have considered for awhile and one of the potential female partners they have discussed it with says they are ready, so her and Lucy plan to give Natsu a night he won’t forget. (Suggestion: Natsu is blind-folded at the start). The extra female from the FT series is the writer's choice. TL;DR: NaLu have an MFF threesome for Natsu’s birthday.

26. Fairy Tail (NaLu+Male): It is now Lucy’s birthday thanks to an arrangement between her and Natsu, since he got a threesome with an extra female for his birthday, Lucy can now pick and extra male for hers. So, looking for a one night stand type deal, they go bar hopping, searching for someone that is compatible and easy going. When they find who they are looking for, they head back to their place for some fun. This could be a sequel to number 1 on this list or it can stand on its own. (Suggestion: Lucy starts with the Male first then Natsu joins) The extra male from the FT series is the writer’s choice. TL;DR:NaLu have a MMF threesome for Lucy’s birthday.

27. Fullmetal Alchemist EdWin: EdWin visit Rush Valley for Winry’s birthday. She doesn't know that her colleagues and customers are throwing a surprise party for her at Garfiel’s shop and Ed has been tasked with keeping her occupied until then. When she starts to get suspicious of Ed’s motives he tells her that his leg needs another oil rub down and Winry is happy to help with the new wax she just got. But once Ed’s pants comes off she is distracted by something else entirely and Ed seduces her. They are going to be late to the party... TL;DR: Ed must distract Winry while her surprise party is set up and they both end up side-tracked by sex.

28. Fullmetal Alchemist (EdWin+Rose): EdWin have a small gathering of friends at their home to celebrate Ed’s birthday. Afterward, when everybody leaves, it is just EdWin and Rose, who is staying with them until she leaves in a few days. They have a few drinks together and a tispy Rose mentions that she has been kinda lonely lately and admits having a thing for both Ed and Winry at one point. Winry surprisingly take this comment in stride and suggests Rose join her and Ed for the night. This would allow Rose to resolve her feelings for Ed and EdWin gets to try a threesome that they have discussed attempting for awhile. TL;DR: EdWin asks Rose to join them in a threesome to settle her unresolved feelings.

29. Fullmetal Alchemist (Royai+ Rebecca) College AU: Rebecca, Roy, and Riza are in their final year of college. The 3 friends are celebrating Riza’s birthday at a restaurant. Roy and Riza have been flirting all night and Rebecca has been trying to push the two together. But then a drunken Rebecca accidently reveals that her and Riza once had a threesome with her ex, Jean, in their earlier years of college before they met Roy. But instead of being mad about the revelation, Roy asks for details of that night and Rebecca replies that they can just show him instead. Riza surprisingly is on board with this and thinks it would make a great birthday present. TL;DR: Rebecca tempts Roy and Riza into a threesome with her in her attempts to get the two of them together.

30. Fullmetal Alchemist Roy/Rebecca + Havoc) Modern AU: Havoc and Rebecca are in an open relationship and for his birthday, Havoc asks Rebecca if he can watch her have sex with his friend Roy, from work. She and Roy agree to this and give Havoc quite the show. (Havoc joining in is also optional.) TL;DR: Havoc watches as Roy and Rebecca go at it for his birthday.

31. Fairy Tail (Any ship): Character A attempts to make their spouse/partner a cake for their birthday but fails miserably. Character B is more than happy to lick specific cake ingredients (Whip cream, strawberry, whatever the writer wants) instead as compensation. TL;DR: One character licks off the cake/dessert off of another.

32. Fireplace (NSFW): A tender moment in front of the fireplace in their new home turns steamy.

33. Hot Cocoa: Natsu give shows Lucy how he makes his “famous” hot Cocoa.

34. Sledding: Natsu and Lucy race each other down a mountain and use magic to their advantage. (Wendy cast Troia on Natsu for his motion sickness before hand).

35. Perfect Christmas tree hunt: NaLu explore the woods around Natsu’s house looking to cut down their first Christmas tree.

36. Mistletoe: Lucy shows Natsu the benefits of hanging multiple mistletoe around the house.

37. Stocking Stuffer (SFW): Natsu doesn’t quite grasp the concept of stocking stuffers so he just puts random things from around the house into Lucy’s stocking.

38. Stocking Stuffer (NSFW): Lucy wear Christmas themed stockings with a lingerie set as part of Natsu’s Christmas gift this year.

39. Gift Exchange: Lucy gets Natsu a proper “Nin Nin” outfit for missions (along with a matching one of her own). Natsu gets her a new key holder.

40. Gift Exchange (NSFWish?) Natsu and Lucy get each other racy underwear (at the suggestion of Erza).

41. Scrooge: A grumpy Natsu is not thrilled that Happy is spending the holidays with Carla instead of him so Lucy tries to cheer him up.

42. Gingerbread: Natsu shows Lucy how he and Happy build gingerbread houses every year (and promptly destroy them)

43. Caroling: Lucy drags Natsu caroling with her and her spirits. He is reluctant at first but becomes impressed with them.

44. Shicca (Edens Zero). Ice Skating: Rebecca uses her new Ether gear for Ice Skating while also teaching Shika how to skate.

45. Royai (FMA). White Elephant: Roy and his crew have a White Elephant gift exchange. Roy and Riza end up with a gift from the other.

46. TodoMomo (Boku My Hero Academia) Ornaments: It has become a yearly tradition that Momo and Shoto think of new ornaments for their tree. Momo will then create them.

47. GaJevy (Fairy Tail) First Christmas Together: It is Gajeel and Levy’s first Christmas together since she announced her pregnancy. The are excited/nervous of the fact that the next Christmas will be with a baby.

48. All Fairy Tail Ships. Guild Master’s game (NSFWish): The FT couples have a Christmas party together that devolves into a other Guild Master’s game. Though the dares become more intimate now that they are couples.

49. Havoc/Rebecca (Fullmetal Alchemist) Snowball Fight: A standard patrol turns into a snowball fight between a bored Rebecca and Havoc as they are temporarily stationed at Briggs together.

50. Royai (Fullmetal Alchemist) Decorating: Roy and Riza attempt to decorate the office for once with mixed reactions from the rest of the team.

51. EdWin (Fullmetal Alchemist) Jacket Sharing/snuggling: During a particularly chilly day at home, Winry puts on Ed’s old red jacket to keep warm. Ed insists body heat would keep her warmer so they both snuggle under said jacket.

52. Gruvia (Fairy Tail) Christmas cookies: Juvia’s attempt at making Christmas cookies end in failure but Gray shows her how Ur used to make them when he was young.

53. Jerza (Fairy Tail) Snowboarding/Skiing: A race down a mountain between Erza and Jellal gets out of hand when the two start using magic to try to win.

54. Invisibility: Lucy and Natsu have left over Invisibility potion from a mission. What starts as an attempt to prank Natsu turns into something else when Lucy decides pleasuring him when he can’t see her is way more fun.

55. Invisibility (2): NaLu are taking a bath together when Natsu introduces a new bath ointment that he was sold by a shady merchant. Lucy recognizes what it is but it is too late, once it is in the water it turns both of them invisible. Natsu uses his new invisibility to mess with some guild mates but when he gets bored with that, he and Lucy discover their are other benefits to not being seen. They can now do it anywhere in the guild they want. Will they get caught? Or they could just do it in the bath.

56. Transform: NaLu are at home practicing transformation magic for a mission. Once they get the hang of it they start having some fun with it. But once one (or both) of them find a transformation that the other finds to desirable for the other to ignore, the real fun can begin. (Bunny or Cat girl Lucy? Dragon Lord Natsu? Whatever the writer wants!)

57. Clones (2) When Lucy makes the mistake of asking Cana what to get Natsu for his birthday, Cana crudely reveals that she has a new multiply card that can multiply (x3) anyone she touches with it and she convinces Lucy it would be a great bedroom surprise for Natsu.

58. Pleasure: NaLu are exposed to a “Pleasure” spell from a dark mage during a mission. They are forced to leave the dark mage in the care of their teammates as they scurry off to find a secluded area where they can work off the spell. (Pleasure spell like Laracade’s, that sends a person into a heightened pleasured state until they reach completion with someone.)

59. It’s finally time for Natsu to move out of his cabin and into a new home with Lucy. Before they pack everything up, NaLu remembers all the fun (and sexy) times they’ve had in the place.

60. NaLu gets a little to drunk during a FT party and when they get home, have unprotected sex that leads to a pregnant Lucy. They will love the kid regardless.

61. NaLu are put in charge of making Erza’s Strawberry Cake for her birthday. Things go wrong when playful banter turns into them getting heated in the Kitchen and them getting covered in what is left of Erza’s cake. Does Erza find out?...

62. When Lucy gets back into their room after her morning shower, she finds a nude Natsu snoozing in bed right where she left him except the blanket has been kicked down to his ankles. Lucy takes the time to admire the view and appreciates that he is all hers. So she decides to give him a special wake up call.

63. When Lucy begins to feel self conscious after having kids, Natsu reminds her she is perfect just the way she is and proves it by giving her a special rub down/massage.

64. When Lucy tells Natsu he can pick their next date location she knew she was asking for trouble and he confirms her fears by taking her to a nude beach. When she realizes he picked the location specifically to fluster her she decides two can play at that game and the two tease each other the entire time they are there. They of course get carried away and sneak somewhere hidden to go at it before they get caught. Afterward Lucy realizes that she really had fun there and is open to returning. Also works under the Secret prompt.

65. AU: Natsu works at the fancy Heartfilia Hotel. He enjoys working there but doesn't really get along with the boss Jude Heartfillia since he forbade Natsu to hang around his daughter Lucy. Little did he know that Natsu and Lucy are already dating and use their free time to “defile” various areas of his hotel.

66. Lucy is pregnant and is looking for the best way to tell/surprise Natsu with the news so she has been keeping it a secret until she figures it out. Or that was the idea until she just blurts it out during the afterglow of sex.

67. NaLu have been married for a few months and they experience their first time spent away from each other when Lucy goes on a “girls only” mission for a week. When Lucy gets back she finds that Natsu was not handling the separation well since his dragon instincts are not used to her absence. When she reunites with him they become inseparable and told to get a room before they go at it right in the guild hall.

68. Natsu and Lucy dated in High School but were forced to go their separate ways. Now, at their High School reunion years later, the two re-connect and fall for each other all over again. The two then sneak away from the party to further “catch up” (in a classroom, office, locker room, or wherever the writer wants). Suggestion: When they hook-up again, they admire how much better they are at it then when they were awkward teenagers.

69. FT City Hero: Officers Lucy and Natsu indulge in a fantasy of theirs by doing it in the interrogation room. That part of the building is closed for renovation so they think they are safe from prying eyes. They get so into it that they don’t think to check the other side of the one-way mirror in the room or they would have seen one of their co-workers enjoying a quiet lunch (or drink if its Cana) and accidentally getting a free show. (Optional: NaLu are pressed right up to the mirror at one point)

70. Do to some comments from guild mates about them being insatiable, NaLu make a bet about how long one can resist the other. The one that caves first loses. So for almost a week there is a back and forth between Natsu and Lucy of them trying to seduce each other and trying to resist (via sexy clothing, innuendos, ect.). Who gives into their cravings first?

71. SFW- Haru,Shiki,Elie, and Rebecca visit NaLu at Fairy Tail. The boys have a drinking contest that escalates into a bar fight. The girls attempt to break it up but just end up joining in.

72. SFW- The three couples rent a house together and decide how to distribute bills/chores via contests. (Video Games, billiards, darts, wrestling, ect.)

73. NSFW- The couples have a weekly game night and tonight they are playing poker (or whatever game the writer wants). Natsu, wants to up the stakes so a game of strip poker is started.

74. SFW-The guys and girls go out to a karaoke club and chaos ensues.

75. SFW or NSFW- The couples treat themselves to a trip to an Onsen/Spa. They enjoy various activities like couples massages, ping pong, enjoying a private mixed bath, and the dangers of a drunken Lucy.

76. NSFW- The guys and the girls go out clubbing to blow off steam. It soon becomes a game to seduce and tease their significant other from the other group This could include alluring outfits, dirty dancing, body shots, ect. Eventually, each couple sneaks off for some alone time.

77. SFW- Lucy invites Elie and Rebecca on a mission with her. Ellie and Rebecca are interested in Lucy’s keys so she lets them use a key/star dress of their choice for the mission. (Lucy uses a spell that lets them borrow her magic). Lucy could in turn give their weapons a shot.

78. SFW- Haru lets Natsu and Shiki try out his sword with varying results.

79. Girls night. SFW- Rebecca,Lucy, and Elie have a sleepover. Throughout the night they discuss their various adventures, crazy friends, and their boyfriends.

80. Girls night out NSFW- The girls are enjoying a bachelorette party. The topic of sex is brought up (possibly thanks to alcohol), and the 3 recount some of their wildest and sweetest sex stories with their current significant other.

81. Boys night out SFW- The boys are catching up at their favorite bar and go over new life developments (marriage, kids, ect) with their significant other.

82. SFW - What starts out as a simple volleyball game between the Guys and the Ladies, quickly goes over the top as both sides will do anything to win!

83. NSFW- The Guys and Girls have a simple volleyball game but are willing to use dirty tactics and distractions to win. Winning team gets to do whatever they want to their significant other on the losing team.

84. NSFW- The group are on a vacation at a resort. When they hear of a secret beach near the resort they go check it out. Only to learn when they get there that it is a (optionally) nude beach. The group decides to be adventurous and gives it a shot. One couple, decides to get a little too adventurous and end up getting them kicked out.

85. SFW- NaLu,Haru, and Elie take a trip on the Edens Zero. Shki and Rebecca give them a tour and introduce them to the crew. Elie and Lucy would be drawn to the bath/massage area. Haru could want to fly the ship, while Natsu deals with his zero gravity motion sickness

86. NSFW. Haru/Elie or NaLu are visiting the Shiki and Rebecca on the Edens Zero. They take the opportunity to cross “sex on a space ship” off the bucket list. They of course are constantly interrupted by the nosey EZ crew.

87. SFW- (Famous): Lucy is Ellie and or Rebecca’s favorite writer and they meet her for the first time and become fast friends.

88. SFW- (Proposal): One of the guys plans on proposing. The other two give their unsolicited advice on how to do in the most extravagant ways possible.

90. NSFW- (Noise Complaint) Modern AU: Couple A (writers choice) has moved into a new apartment. They really like their new home but there is one major problem, their neighbors, Couple B, are very vocal during their nightly activities. The bedrooms sharing the same wall only makes it worse. Any attempts to keep Couple B quiet have failed so Couple A decides to fight fire with fire and starts making some noise of their own. It quickly becomes a back a forth between the two couples trying to outdo each other.

91. NSFW- (Swingers) The three couples are good friends with families of their own. But secretly, once every few months, they get together and swap partners. They meet up at one of their houses or a hotel and they either pick names randomly or play a game to see who is paired up with who. The decided pairs would go off to seperate rooms for the night. Match ups are up to the writer but my suggestions are Natsu/Rebecca, Shiki/Elie, and Haru/Lucy. Each pair could compare/contrast their current partner with their regular one. Lucy is with someone less hyper than Natsu, Rebecca is similar to Lucy but with subtle differences, Elie likes to take charge, Haru is methodical, ect. How they act and what they wear could also be a factor. Lucy wears lingerie, Shiki and Rebecca cosplay, ect. Could end with each couple leaving after everyone is finished or group sex in the living room.

#prompts #2019 #nalu #gruvia #jerva #edwin #royai #rebecca/havoc #fairy tail #Fullmetal Alchemist #boku no academia #todomomo #gajevy #smut #edens zero #shicca

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flourchildwrites · 5 years ago

Note

Why are you 'on the fence' about the fullmetal alchemist big bang? I saw you say stuff about how it would be great to do one in your notes and now you changed your mind?

Hey, anon. Thanks for the ask.

Honestly, I debated whether I should answer this. However, I post enough stuff encouraging people to drop asks in my inbox. It felt wrong to ignore this ask because giving an honest response makes me uncomfortable. I guess the answer is complicated.

You’re right when you say I’ve been pretty vocal about wanting to participate in another FMA Big Bang since September or October of 2019. My interest goes back to the beta work I’ve been doing for @teaplease1717’s Ashes of Love and War, an awesome Todomomo fic for the Boku No AU Big Bang. Working on a big project like that was (and is) fun. Naturally, I wanted a piece of that for myself in one of my favorite fandoms.

I’ve been a spectator for so many big bangs, reverse bangs and open bangs, even events done with writing and soundtracks! Every year, I wanted to participate in Resbang (in particular), but there was something always holding me back, be it an existing longfic or my responsibilities. And then there’s that awful, nagging voice in the back of my mind which cautions that my fic might not be picked up by an artist.

Then what? Are the mods going to be like, “Too bad. Write a better story next time.”

I’ve heard the big bang horror stories. Well, maybe not horror stories, but if I had to write in isolation for six+ months, I might start talking to inanimate objects about my fic a la Castaway. “Wilson, have I used too many semicolons in this chapter? And when Riza is dancing with Roy in chapter six, should Roy, like, go for the kiss or is that not slowburn-y enough? I feel like we should torture them for at least two more chapters.” There’s an apple pie scented candle on the corner of my desk that would be a great candidate for this role. I will call the candle P’Tas, after my beta reader friends, lol. (Kinda a Star Trek-ish name.)

But aside from all that (as well as the fear that the sign-ups won’t be as anonymous as one might hope – I’d like to meet and collaborate with new people, not just see the popular writers get paired with the popular artists), the FMA Bang Bang has two rules that brought my enthusiasm to a screeching halt.

There is no limit on what kinds of things can be present in your fic sans the no minor/adult rule, no incest rule, and the no blatant NSFW rule, so if you’re going to write about triggering topics outside of those already not allowed in this event then please be mindful to tag each and every one as well as keeping the content PG-13.

And

Fanfiction should not have been posted anywhere before this event (even if it was only a few chapters, not the whole work).

😪

Two fun facts. Most of the ideas I have would be rated mature because they explore dark themes. My first candidate for an FMA Big Bang would be Original Sin, a post-canon fic about the war crimes trials that I have been thinking about for well over a year. My second choice would be the surprisingly fun Royai succubus AU I thought up for Witch, Please! But let’s be honest here; neither topic is PG-13, especially that succubus AU. Like, if you’re going to read or write a succubus AU, you know what you’re there for.

The second fun fact is that I posted my Fictober prompts for the purpose of testing new material. There are at least five serviceable chapter fic ideas buried in the prompts. I wanted to see how it would feel to write a random portion of it with zero pressure or commitment (and to gauge the response). While it worked as far as figuring out which ideas had potential, doing that has also made each of the ideas ineligible for the big bang.

Thus, my idea factory has been gutted, and where I was once really excited, I’m on the fence.

Part of me feels I should just devote my free time to developing my Todomomo ideas and, like, finish up my WIPs. Another part of me doesn’t want to give up so easily. Regardless, I’m painfully aware that I’ll be starting from scratch and working under an ambitious schedule. All it takes is another bout of sickness like I experienced earlier this year, and I’ll get too far behind. So, idk…

Bet that was more than you were expecting, anon. Sorry for unloading on this ask, but I kinda needed to vent a little bit. I really hope the FMA Big Bang does well. I hope it forges new bonds between fans and marries the benefits of the old school zine mentality with the accessibility and diversity of perspective promoted by online archives.

#you ask i answer #anon #big bangs #fma

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bleedingcoffee42 · 6 years ago

Text

Eureka AU- Part 10

20k words was a gross underestimation. Maybe this ‘pilot episode’ will be wrapped up in 30k-40k but fuck me for already thinking about making more episodes in this AU and making it a series. Cause I have that time. But the ‘working together as well as married Royai AU’ element is not getting used enough in this fic and that would be a shame to not work with that more.

Click the Eureka AU tag to see prev parts of this serial flash fic.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

While Mustang and Edward where taking what they needed from Comanche's lab, Marcoh went over to have a conversation with Alphonse about the concerns he had with the chelation process. He had caught a few glances from Dr. Knox that said 'You better bring this up before I do' and he appreciated the good doctor allowing him to have the floor to discuss the matter. He was a little apprehensive about disturbing Al as he was controlling the nanites within Hawkeye manually. “Can we talk without it disrupting what you're doing?

“This?” Al said cheerily. “Oh this is actually easy for me. Ever since that little accident a few months ago where I had to transfer my consciousness to the bots to become a suit of armor because my body was in another dimension, I really fell like they're a part of me. Controlling them is second nature at this point.”

Marcoh had just assumed the kid was really into cosplay or prepping for a renaissance festival during that week he was walking around like a knight. There was a lot that happened in these halls that nobody really wanted to question. “If you can make them anything you want, why did you pick that?”

“Well, our Dad used to collect vintage armor when we were kids and had them lining the walls of his study. That's where Ed and I taught ourselves science. That's also where Mom would bring us cookies and tell us how proud she was of us and since we were trying to bring her back I was thinking of those days. She always smiled the most when we were in there. That's how I remembered her. So when I was being deconstructed and I quickly transferred myself to the nanites, I was already thinking about that time and place. It was the first thing I thought of.” Al smiled and then got more serious. “Plus I had to be taller than my brother and that was the biggest human size specimen I had ever seen.”

“If these nanites are a part of you.” Knox finally interjected himself into the conversation. He was blunt and that was what was needed or Marcoh was going to bring out the tea and cookies and start chatting about something else. “What's going to happen when we neutralize them with the chelation process?”

“They're not fragile, they'll just go offline until I can set them in repair mode once they are back in their tank. The chealors will bind to specific metals they are constructed of and disassemble them, they'll be partially broken down but nothing they can't fix themselves. If anything they'll come out of this stronger and with more experience than before.” Al said confidently. “So Dr. Knox, please place a catheter and collection bag if you have not already.”

“Not without Mustang's approval.” Knox said and sat down next to his patient. “First why don't you start by explain to me how you're going to avoid causing renal failure?”

“We're using a biological so that it will take time and collect the metals and deposit them in the kidneys so they can be processed like any other waste.” Al said. “I could program the nanites to do this themselves on a metered basis, but I would have something far more complex than the kidney's are prepared to hand. That's why we're going with chelation because it will transfer control of the process back to a biological competent instead of a mechanical. Nature can work in ways that mental I can't anticipate. “

“The chelators will bind to and break down the metals in the nanites themselves.” Marcoh reiterated.

“I get all that.” Knox said dryly. “What about the virus? The chelation process is going to destroy the carrier for the virus that we're counting on carrying it out of her system. Removing it from the blood stream is only a first step, depositing an active virus in the excretory system is worse.”

“My nanites have mapped the strain we're dealing with. We need an anti-viral to target them.” Al replied.

“There we go.” Knox opened his hands as they came back around to the missed step.

“Oh, yeah.” Al said and bit his lip. “I guess we didn't talk about that. I just assumed Dr. Marcoh was waiting on me to get him the profile of what we're dealing with so he could make something.”

“I was.” Marcoh shrugged. He had just assumed this was the route and he watched Knox mumble about 'fucking researcher' and 'I don't read minds'. “I'm sorry Doctor. We're used to working on our own and even in collaborations we leave each other to work on our respected specialties. I don't think any of us would work with someone without knowing something about what that person could bring to the collaboration and respecting their ability to contribute to the process.”

“Right.” Knox nodded. “I'll sit over here and commiserate with my patient who has to deal with the repercussions of that way of thinking in her job and life every damned day.”

“I guess...” Al thought about it. Knox was just an ordinary doctor, even if he was exemplary. He treated patients using the tests and technology they produced but he was an end game user. “We should be better about explaining things but it's just not how we operate.”

“We honestly wouldn't work well together if we told each other what to do. It usually devolves into a lot of yelling and not much progress.” Marcoh mumbled. “No offense, doctor.”

“None taken.” Knox said. “Just looking out for my patient.”

“I'll get to work.” Marcoh said. “I'll go to my lab. Call me if you need anything.”

As Marcoh left, Ed and Roy returned. Roy saw Marcoh was engrossed in his tablet and on a mission so he asked Al, “Is he off to make the anti-viral?”

“Yes.” Al said sheepishly and Knox mumbled so more. “Can I get your permission to have a collection bag placed?”

“I thought you would have done it already.” Roy replied and Knox threw his hands up, cursed a little and got up to leave. He wasn't sure why he was upset but was pretty sure it had to do with being around scientist who liked to assume a lot of things and did not waste time explaining anything unless they wanted money or supplies. “Did you check to see if there was any blood in the blood bank from Riza? I know she donated a lot and we have at least one bag in storage from her annual physical which is required.”

“Nothing fresh.” Knox said. “It's been a busy few months around here and you can understand why she only donates when there is downtime.”

“I do understand that completely.” Roy nodded. 42 days was still the standard for keeping fresh blood refrigerated. They hadn't pushed those limits yet.

“We should have something frozen but I didn't want to pull that out in case we needed it.” Knox replied. “We have plenty fresh in her blood type.”

“Our storage facility is state of the art.” Roy assured him. “Dr. McDougal's advancements in freezing technology mean we can store frozen plasma way long that the conventional year. In case you have your concerns.”

“Yeah, so I'm told.” Knox replied. “Thankfully I haven't had an occasion to need it since I've worked here. One nice thing about dealing with scientists instead of soldiers.”

Al frowned and the doctor got up to leave and collect his necessary supplies. Mustang looked over at him for an explanation and he quietly said, “I guess the whole anti-viral step wasn't obvious to everyone.”

“It was obvious, you doing something about it was not.” Knox snapped right before he left and tried to slam the door.

“Sorry.” Al called out after him.

“We're all a little stressed.” Roy admitted. Then he went back over to Riza and sat down. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. “Once Marcoh makes the anti-viral we'll proceed with the chelation. We'll have to give the anti-viral time to work, but if he's making it it should be extremely efficient. He already knows the Xerxes virus since he made it, it's familiar territory and the hold up will just be the equipment producing what he needs. Time will also give Riza a chance to take her body back from all this and once Knox gets back I think plasma will help. Al, how are you doing?”

“I can keep this up all night.” He assured him.

Roy reached over and took Riza's hand again, weaving his fingers between hers and gently squeezing. “Ed, now that we have a profile of this pathogen we're dealing with, see if you can't do some digging and find out who made it.”

“I should be able to narrow it down by finding out who got an extra dose of Marcoh's Xerxes Vaccine.” Ed said and slid his laptop over. “We are pretty good at monitoring who we distribute our products to, even if the government isn't. Did you want to give me your access to....”

“No.” Roy said and flashed a smile at him. Give Edward Elric his password to gain complete access to everything this facility had on it's servers? Ha! “I'll send you the invoices. “

“We could just ask Dr. Marcoh.” Al said. “He'll know how many he made.”

“I think the good doctor feels bad enough about how this all turned out, let's not compounded it unless we have to.” Roy said and took his phone out and opened up the app he used to keep track of billing. He did a quick search and found the invoice in question and forwarded it to Ed. “Knox pulled the records from her unit, did he leave those notes here?”

“Yeah, it's in the file.” Ed gave an embarrassed grin. “'Cause someone likes to share information, unlike us.”

“Occupational hazard.” Roy said. “He's over it, he just wants to make sure it doesn't keep happening. We have to make sure we include him even though I know you all think he's just a doctor.”

Al sighed. The superiority complexes and egos did get out of hand here where almost everyone could brag on multiple doctorates, and too often did. Mustang and Ed were no exception and Al thought he was above that but he had been the one to offend Knox. “It's not like a medical doctor is a lesser field of study or occupation. We do respect him a lot.”

Roy knew that Knox was on edge, not just because of his patient, but because his own history as an army doctor had put him in the position to do some ethically questionable things while under orders. This, the way they were approaching Riza's treatment, felt more like experimenting on a patient than saving her. Roy knew that Knox would never say anything, he knew that wasn't the case, but he could see it in the Doctor's eyes when they bounced from solution to solution. He understood for sure that there was no time to test, just react, but it didn't mean it felt right to him. Both Knox and Riza were the same in that respect, they trusted instinct because their job was rooted in practice. Roy and the other scientist saw practice as a sign of complacency, if something was already established it was meant to be reconstructed in some way to make it better. There was no settling for how things were, it was always a process of moving forward especially because the results were uncertain. Science was about knowledge and pursing a greater truth, bending the rules of nature and shattering the standard practices because they had been established by scientists before them who failed to push boundaries any further than that. Roy squeezed Riza's hand again, it drove her crazy that he would rush into the unknown with a grin on his face when she wanted to default to reconnaissance and defense until it was safe to proceed.

“The order for the Xerxes vaccination was originally for a dozen doses.” Ed reported. “However Marcoh demanded blood samples from the Army so he could test the vaccine while also regulating how much he was sending out. So each vaccine he made was labeled for a specific person to avoid a surplus. Comparing to the records Knox got from his Medical Corps contacts, there is an extra dose intended for a Private Mobuta Mobuo who was not in that unit.”

“Did you say Mobuta Mobuo?” Knox asked as he returned with supplies.

“Do you know him?” Ed asked.

“Yeah, I made him up.” Knox said and shook his head and walked over to his table to set his box down. He turned to see three surprised scientist and wished he could be satisfied with being the one to cause that reaction, but his own heart was pounding as a name from his past came back to haunt him.

“I got the idea from an episode of M*A*S*H where they made up an officer in order to give his pay to an orphanage. I created a fictional soldier who 'used' up a lot of supplies during my attempts to save him from injuries, which I instead sent to a pair of doctors who were treating patients from both sides in the war. I had to 'kill' him in action in order to avoid having him promoted and given a medal of honor for as many times as I reported him being my 'patient'.”

“Dr. Knox, “ Al said with a hush whisper of awe. “That's amazing.”

“Yeah, well someone brought him back from the dead and that's not a coincidence.” Knox tried not to loose his cool but he was worried. Not about himself, but because this was a sign someone was trying to eliminate a lot of loose ends.

“Don't worry Knox, apparently that happens a lot around here.” Roy said and leaned back in his chair. So this was as well orchestrated move on raven's part. Knox would have done the autopsy if they didn't step in and save Riza from certain death. Knox would be thorough, use all the resources available to him, and would eventually find traces of the Xerxes virus. Then it would all play out like a scripted murder mystery: Eyes would turn to Marcoh for creating it, Roy would defend him and pull the invoice and they would be at this stage right now, asking who the hell Mobuta Mobuo was and why he wasn't real. Blame would shift to Knox who created the fake personnel file and by the end of the day he would be in handcuffs heading to a military camp to await trail.

“I got those doctors killed.” Knox said and the three of them once again looked at him shocked. He leaned on his patient's bed to support himself as the guilt of actions long ago ripped his heart out. “The Rockbells. They were good people. They volunteered their services to a humanitarian medical organization that treated patients no matter who they were. The army saw them as problem, putting enemy soldiers back on the front and replenishing numbers, so they would confiscate their supplies as contraband and try to dry up their resources. They were heroes, real doctors without allegiance to anyone but patients, and when they were killed....I suspected it a bit too convenient of an ambush to be coincidence.”

Ed watched the doctor slump over further, weighted down by the guilt. “That was not your fault!”

“I helped provide a trail of stolen supplies to their camp.” Knox said. “I gave them a reason to write off a murder as a 'tactical move'.”

“No.” Roy said with a flat monotone that said there was absolutely no doubt in what he was saying. “Raven bought himself a promotion in blood from that campaign. His corruption runs deep and now he's trying to erase the evidence. You and Hawkeye are both loved and respected soldiers, exiling both of you here was the only way he could ensure nobody asked questions about your disappearance from the ranks. Being off the radar for so long, you've both lost contact with your original units and life has moved on.”

“Yeah, I don't have to have the obvious explained to me now, Mustang.” Knox looked up at him. “These eyes have seen a lot and I know a set up when I see it. I also know I wasn't going to be seeing a trial.”

“We can't let him get away with any of this Mustang!” Ed said and slammed his fist into the table. “This son of a bitch is losing sleep tonight because he's excited he's going to get this gift wrapped and delivered to him like a present tomorrow.”

“He's underestimated us.” Roy said and looked at Riza. “So let's get back to work saving our Sheriff so she can have the pleasure of arresting him tomorrow.”

#fic #royai #eureka au

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mustangtaisa · 7 years ago

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Operation Fake Mermaid

Pairing: RoyxRiza Genre: Crack, Humor, Fluff Word Count: 1166 Summary: Mustang’s team is assigned the task of taking down a bank robber. The catch? The robber wants to be a pirate and is in love with mermaids.

Royai Fake Mermaid AU inspired by @sapphiredragonprincess who mentioned that my fake married au looked like it said “fake mermaid au” and I couldn’t unsee it.

-------------

“Captain James Morgan?” Mustang groaned, staring with a look of utter disbelief at the sheet of paper in his hands. “Captain Morgan? Like the rum? This has to be some kind of joke.”

“No joke, unfortunately, sir,” Hawkeye sighed, standing in front of Roy’s desk. She could hear the rest of the team snickering behind her and she could see Roy was struggling to hold back laughter himself. “They’ve been having trouble detaining this bank robber and General Grumman has asked us to give our assistance on this case.”

“Of course he has,” Roy grumbled, slapping the case file on his desk and flopping theatrically back in his chair.

A man that witnesses say was dressed like a pirate, complete with an eye patch, hook hand, and parrot on his shoulder, had been robbing banks for the past two months. The man called himself Captain James Morgan, spoke with a gnarly pirate accent, and had gotten away with three bank robberies already. It was turning into quite an embarrassing predicament for the East City military and they wanted the case wrapped up quickly and discreetly. Grumman decided to call in Mustang’s unit. He knew they would get the job done.

The phone rang and Roy picked up the receiver.

“This is Colonel Mustang… Yes, we did. Ah… yes.” Roy glanced up at Riza, still standing in front of his desk. He had a peculiar look on his face and Riza cocked an eyebrow in question. He shook his head and finished his conversation with Grumman. “Yes, sir. I’ll let them know.”

Hanging up, Roy scratched the back of his head. He looked like he was trying to figure out a way to say something and Riza waited patiently for his orders.

“They found out something interesting about this ‘Captain Morgan’ fellow,” Roy began, still looking at Riza oddly. “On his last robbery, witnesses reported that he was going on about the reason he was robbing banks… Apparently, he needs money because wants to become a pirate full time, move to some remote island, and um… marry a mermaid.” Havoc, Breda, Fuery, and even Falman burst out laughing, unable to contain themselves any longer. Roy was on the verge of laughing as well, Riza noted, a wide grin splitting his face. He quickly sobered up though, clearing his throat to prepare himself for what he was about to tell Riza. “So the general came up with an idea to lure this guy in. It’s, uh… Lieutenant, we’re going to need you to dress up like a mermaid.”

Riza blinked and was certain she had misheard him.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Roy cringed and quickly tried to explain the situation.

“Well, I mean, we certainly can’t have Breda dress like a mermaid and lure this guy in. This could bring the case to a quick close! It’ll only be for a short time, just long enough to distract him so we can sneak up on him. Please, Lieutenant, you’re the only one we can count on in this situation.”

He gave her a pleading look and she wanted to smack him. Dressing up as a fake mermaid? How embarrassing. How demeaning. But, she had to admit, it was a decent idea. She sighed.

“Fine,” came her curt reply before she turned on her heel and stormed out of the office.

---------

Riza sat on a rock at the shores of the river than ran through East City. The green fake mermaid tail she was forced to wear was constricting and she couldn’t find a comfortable position to sit. She wore a cream colored body suit that blended with her skin with purple sea shells covering her chest. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and decorated with pearls and shells. She’d already been sitting out there for almost an hour and the reports of a mermaid sighting by the river had been circulating through the city the entire time. Riza hoped this Captain Morgan would see the news and show up soon. Her feet were going numb.

“Yar, what does my one good eye see?! Is that a lovely mermaid waiting just for me?”

Okay, maybe she didn’t want him showing up any time soon. His voice rang out from somewhere downstream and Riza wanted to pull out her gun and put him under arrest immediately. Instead, she plastered on a smile and waved when he came into view. She tried to slap her tail against the rock, but her legs were too numb and she almost fell over into the river. Unfortunately for her, Captain Morgan caught her before she fell, giving her a leering smile. Where the hell was her team? They were supposed to catch him before he approached her too closely.

“Unhand her you scurvy dog!”

Morgan and Riza turned to see Colonel Roy Mustang dressed as a pirate. He had an eyepatch, hat, a gold tooth, peg leg, the works. Riza stared dumbfounded, not believing her eyes. This was not the plan. At all.

“What?” said Morgan, clearly bewildered by Roy’s appearance.

“What?” said Riza, equally baffled by the sudden turn of events.

“I said, unhand her,” Roy spoke again with a cocky grin, pulling out a sword and pointing it at Morgan.

“I saw her first!” Morgan argued, drawing his own sword.

“She’s my mermaid!” Roy countered, charging at Morgan.

The two began to sword fight. The scene was almost comical. Roy could barely walk with that stupid peg leg and Morgan seemed to have no idea how to wield a sword. Riza grumbled and buried her face in her hands. The whole thing was turning out to be far more embarrassing than she had anticipated.

Riza yelped in surprise when someone picked her up. She removed her hands from her face to see Roy grinning back at her. Ahead of them, the rest of the team was taking a handcuffed Morgan to their car, Jean turning back to give them a thumbs up and a wink. Riza groaned and covered her face with her hands again to hide the deep blush staining her cheeks.

“What were you thinking, sir?”

“We decided this was a much more fun way to deal with Morgan. I distracted him long enough with a sword fight that Havoc and Breda easily walked up behind him and handcuffed him.”

“Why didn’t you just stick to the plan!? The plan was easy!”

“I was worried Morgan would just run away with you as a hostage.”

“And this was the solution you came up with? Sir, are you an idiot?”

Roy shrugged.

”I couldn’t let him get away with putting his hands all over my mermaid. And I might be an idiot, but I’m your idiot.”

Riza sighed, but finally cracked a small smile.

“Just take me home so I can get out of this ridiculous outfit.”

“But you look damn sexy, Lieutenant.”

Riza smacked his shoulder and he relented, trudging up the hill toward the car to take her home.

#royai #fma #mermaid #fmab #fanfiction

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worryinglyinnocent · 3 years ago

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Fic: Haven (39/50)

Summary: They say Resembool is a haven, and they’re right. Lush pastures, quaint country town, farmers’ markets on Saturdays: a bucolic paradise.

But it’s more than that. Resembool is a haven for the runaways, the deserters, the people who don’t want to be found…

The Resembool community knows there’s something odd about Hohenheim, but they’re not going to let that stop them helping him out. This is Resembool after all, a place where no one has to hide and neighbours help neighbours, be they building a fence, chasing a sheep, or trying to save the country from an evil they inadvertently helped release centuries ago…

Or: A series of slices of life in an AU in which Hohenheim never leaves, and several broken state alchemists find hope and home in Resembool.

Rated: T

Haven

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [AO3]

Summary: The residents of Resembool hold a crisis meeting and Alchemists Anonymous are reminded that they are not alone in their quest.

Characters: Trisha, Hohenheim, Ed, Al, the rest of Alchemists Anonymous, pretty much the entirety of Resembool’s population…

Trisha’s pretty sure that she’s never had so many people in her garden. There hadn’t even been this many when she and Van got married. Still, they’re all being very polite and they’ve all brought their own flasks of tea, so at least she doesn’t have to play hostess.

It’s quite a motley crew who’ve gathered and Van has no idea why they’re there any more than she does. He’s just standing at the kitchen sink staring at them all out of the window with a wide-eyed expression of helplessness.

“Trisha…”

“Don’t ask me, love.”

“Is everyone here?” Ed and Al bound down the stairs and look out of the kitchen window. Ed gives a woop of triumph. “Perfect! It’s a bigger turnout than I thought we’d get.”

“Edward, are you telling me you invited half the village around to our garden without telling us?” Trisha gives her son an incredulous look. Ed has done a lot of weird and wonderful things in his time, but she thinks this one takes the cake.

He shrugs. “You’d have said no if we told you about the plan.”

“Well, you’re right there.” Van looks out into the garden again and lets out a squawk of alarm as there’s a knock at the door. It’s Tim, looking just as confused as Van. Trisha lets him in and he gives Ed a pointed look, shaking his head in despair.

“Ed, when you said ‘it takes a village’, I didn’t think you meant it quite so literally.”

“Why not? You can’t deny that we need the help, and we don’t need them all to be alchemists. We just need them to be willing to lend a hand, and you know that they all will be.”

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” Van pleads. “Edward, what have you done?”

“If we’re going to take on the Homunculus and the entire military, then we need more than just you lot,” Ed says, entirely pragmatically. “Sure, when it comes down to it, it’s probably best to leave the confrontation to the alchemists, but when it comes to preparation, everyone can help. The whole village knows what’s going on under Amestris; they’ve known for almost ten years now, and you know they’ve always been willing to help you out. So Al and I asked them to come and help.” He gestures towards the window. “And look how many people are willing.”

There’s another knock on the kitchen door and Trisha opens it to Fahim and what appears to be the majority of Resembool’s Ishvalan population.

“Are we too late?”

“No, you’re right on time. Come on, let’s do this.”

“I still don’t understand what it is we’re even doing,” Van protests as Ed shepherds everyone out of the kitchen and into the garden. Ab, Alex, Roy and Riza are also there among the throng, looking just as perplexed.

Ed waves his arms in the air to get everyone’s attention, and the hubbub of chatter that had been going strong dies down.

Trisha can only watch in dumbstruck amazement as her eldest son strides out in front of the gathered crowd and begins to speak.

“Thanks for coming everyone. I’m sure you all know why you’re here even if Mom and Dad don’t. Resembool is a village that’s always helped each other out no matter what. We’ve got the craziest mix of people here that would never normally get along, and we have a much higher ratio of alchemists in one village than we’ve got any right to, and we’ve always worked together.”

There’s a murmur of assent, but despite this, Ed falters for a moment, looking over towards Al and Trisha. Even though Trisha doesn’t know exactly where this is going, she gives Ed an encouraging nod. Everything he’s saying is completely true, after all.

“We all know what’s going on in Amestris at the moment,” Ed continues. “Maybe some of you have only found out recently, maybe some of you have known since you stopped my dad leaving town on a one-man mission to save the world ten years ago. Thanks for that, Joe. I don’t know what we would have done if he’d left. The fact is, the world still needs to be saved and you’re the only people we can rely on to do it.”

Al goes on to give a brief outline of what’s happening with the nationwide transmutation circle and Homunculus’s plans to use the population to power an immense Philosopher’s Stone.

“We have a way to fight back,” Ed says confidently. “Fahim’s created a reverse circle that will neutralise the alchemical null field that Homunculus has laid under the country. Dad can put an automatic fail safe in place that will break the nationwide transmutation circle if he and our friendly neighbourhood former state alchemists can’t take down Homunculus in time. But we’re going to need so much help to put these things in place. This is big, it spans the entire country, and we need to cover that amount of land to make sure we can protect everyone. We’re so good at looking after our own, but now we need to look after everyone else. So, will you please help us?”

Trisha feels Van’s arm come around her shoulders, and she glances sideways at him. He’s looking at Ed with so much wonder and pride. This was a fight that he always thought that he would have to undertake alone, a fight he thought would take him away from his family for years and years, and yet he is still here, and his family is helping him, and not only that, the entire rest of the village is willing to help him as well. Ed and Al are fielding questions left, right and centre, but there’s no hesitation in any of their neighbours’ faces. They want to help; they’re more concerned about potentially doing it wrong out of a lack of centuries of alchemical knowledge. They’re even offering to help out on the Promised Day itself despite Tim urging them to stay safe and out of the way here in Resembool.

Fahim steps in and starts organising preparations for distributing the components of the reverse circle, and Van gives her shoulders a squeeze before he too goes to get involved in the planning.

Although not before pulling Ed and Al in for a massive hug, to both of their surprise. Van’s never been the most tactile of fathers; even though he got a lot better with it after his aborted attempt to leave, there’s always been a part of him that still thinks of himself as a monster with the potential to taint the boys somehow.

He’s only just released them when Trisha grabs them and squeezes them tightly too.

“You’re remarkable,” she whispers to them. “But next time, please ask before you host a town hall in the garden.”

#FMA: Brotherhood #FMA Fanfiction #Trisha Elric #Van Hohenheim #Edward Elric #Fic: Haven

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fullmetalscullyy · 4 years ago

Text

the way it was - chapter 31

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

read on ao3

1914

we're fighting our fear of the silence

we're running through walls where they stand

Christmas’ Bar was the closest and safest place to her current position. Ducking inside, Riza took refuge, completely shaken by her encounter. She didn’t even remember walking there. The last ten minutes felt like a complete blur. The only thought that had run through her head was ‘escape’. There was no processing of events and conversation. That single word sounded in time with her hurried footsteps as she put as much distance between herself and the university as possible.

After returning to the present and escaping the fear plaguing her mind, Riza realised with dismay she’d continued walking in the wrong direction. Still, landmarks were recognisable, and she’d found herself outside of Chris’. Once inside the door, she gave herself a shake, gripping the lapels of the jacket tightly. Her envelope was getting crushed underneath her elbow, but Riza didn’t care.

Her entrance had unintentionally been a loud one, causing some heads to turn curiously. Once they noticed a heavily pregnant woman in the doorway, they turned away, uninterested, returning to their conversations. Luckily, it was mid evening and wasn’t too busy with a military crowd just yet.

Chris was behind the bar, eyeing Riza sharply. With a jerk of her head, she motioned for Riza towards what they’d jokingly dubbed the “Ladies Bar”, where she met up with Rebecca and Sheska for their nights out. It was empty when Riza entered, which she was grateful for. Since it was unused, it was colder, threatening to make Riza’s teeth chatter. Given her currently shaking hands, it wasn’t too hard a leap for her body to make in the chill of the room.

“What happened?” Chris’ question was forceful, her eyes scanning Riza’s face frantically, but with a contradicting calm expression. She was all business. Those dark eyes settled on the cut upon Riza’s cheek.

Not receiving an answer right away, Chris gently but firmly tugged the envelope from Riza’s grip. Without a word, she turned away and walked behind the bar. Stooping low, Chris retrieved a handful of tissues.

“I, uh,” Riza blinked, looking around the room as she still tried to process what had occurred. She clutched at her jacket tighter, trying to stop her frame from shaking. The digits were beginning to cramp with the pressure but Riza didn’t notice.

Tell him we say hello and nothing else. We will be watching.

The threat in that warning hovered over her head uncomfortably. She wanted to tell Chris everything. She trusted Chris completely but the sight of the shadows on the wall drew Riza up short.

We will be watching.

Riza remembered the elongating shadows in front of her, that massive eye peering at her.

“Can you talk?” Chris' voice was so low Riza didn’t even hear her. A hand squeezed her shoulder tightly, drawing Riza back to the present. “Riza, can you talk?” Chris asked again, the question spoken slowly and carefully.

There was a minute shake of Riza’s head.

Nodding in understanding, Chris motioned for Riza to take a seat on the chair behind her. Doing so, Riza shook out her aching fingers and absentmindedly rubbed her sore wrists. Feeling dried blood, Riza looked down at it, noting how they were heavily marked but there was only a tiny cut on her left wrist.

“Are you hurt?”

Riza shook her head. “Just this.”

“All right.”

Gently, Chris lifted a paper towel to her cheek and wiped away the blood. She patched Riza up carefully, silent throughout the whole process. The alcohol wipe stung her cheek, making Riza grit her teeth to ride out the pain, while also keeping her lunch in her stomach. The smell of the cleaning alcohol flooded her nostrils, making her stomach roll with nausea.

“All done,” Chris announced, straightening in her chair. The weight of the plaster on her cheek felt heavy. Uncomfortable. Chris stood to dispose of the soiled towels and wipes. “I’ll go and call Roy to come and pick you up.”

Riza paused. She didn’t want him to worry. On the other hand, she really didn’t want to walk home by herself tonight. Not after beginning to fear her own shadow for very legitimate reasons.

We will be watching.

Nodding in agreement, Riza hid her shudder.

Roy took one look at her and froze on the threshold of the door. His hand gripped it tightly as his gaze roved over her form. His small, expectant smile died on his lips as he spotted the plaster on her cheek. She must have still looked agitated because he strode over to her with long and purposeful steps. Riza rose from her chair and Roy crushed her into his arms.

She finally felt safe. Like she was at home.

“What happened?” His voice was low in her ear. It was threatening, but not to her. It was to whoever had marked her skin and left her unnerved.

Shaking her head, Riza pleaded with her eyes for him to drop it. “I’m fine,” she answered instead.

A hand lifted, grasping her chin with the gentlest of touches, turning her head left and right. He gazed upon her injured skin, his lips pressing into such a thin line, they almost disappeared. There was that fire back in his eyes again. It was the same fury she’d seen when Bradley appeared at their front door.

“Roy, I’m fine,” she urged, gripping his wrist insistently.

That was another mistake, because he looked down, seeing the marks on them too. His head jerked back to face her, eyes burning like an inferno. They widened considerably as he breathed out heavily, like a bull gearing up to charge.

To try and soothe him, Riza wrapped her arms around his back as best she could with her stomach, clutching at him tightly. “I’m all right.”

“This isn’t over,” he murmured almost unintelligibly into her hair. “I swear my life on it.”

“It is for tonight,” she fought him, her tone firm. “I just want to go home.”

Silence filled the room for a long stretch of time. It felt impossibly long, dragging out as Riza silently begged him to listen to her. She didn’t think he’d deny her such a request, but he was ready to fight someone on her behalf. She needed him to agree with her for his own sake too.

“All right.” The fight was still in him. His tone was firm and authoritative, like she’d heard him use while on the phone while working from home. “Let’s go home.” His eyes still burned with that fire and Riza didn’t doubt he’d tear the world apart to find out who or what had harmed her.

Even she was still at a loss for what happened. Chris was entirely trustworthy but until she was home, Riza wouldn’t feel safe discussing what had happened. She shuddered again. In an instant, Roy’s arm was around her shoulder as they walked, holding onto her impossibly tightly. Riza appreciated and needed his comfort and support.

Riza tried to drag up enthusiasm for her daughter as she chatted away in the backseat of their car. All she could manage were half smiles and poor excuses for laughs as terror threatened to consume her. Selim had no issue coming after her. Would they target Mia? She almost panicked in the passenger seat but dug her nails harshly into her palms to stave it off. Roy glanced over at her, noticing the state of her hands, but could offer her no words, not with Mia oblivious in the back seat. Instead, he reached across at a set of traffic lights, his palm face-up and resting upon her thigh. Slipping her hand into it slowly, Roy latched on and gave her fingers a tight squeeze. Slowly, he smoothed out her palm and ran his thumb over the marks her fingernails had made on her palm.

Regrettably, he had to remove it once the lights turned green, but it had been enough for the moment. It had calmed her. Letting out a breath, Riza tried her best to relax back into her seat and pay more attention to what Mia was saying.

* * *

Why Roy was called suddenly out of their home with Mia that evening was not discussed until they were alone in their bedroom. Mia had gone up to bed and once alone, Roy started to press, however Riza just shook her head and kept her mouth shut about the incident. She didn’t know where it was safe yet and it terrified her.

We will be watching.

Was she still safe in her own home? Every shadow was a threat to her now, and a reminder. There was no way to escape light.

They went about their evening like normal, but Riza knew Roy was watching her. Every creak, though there were not many, made her jump and Roy noticed. After the first instance, he watched her even more closely. Trying to help, he waved away her attempts to try and clean up after dinner, but Riza needed to be busy. She needed a task, something to focus on. So, she’d taken Mia up to bed and lay with her for a while, listening to her daughter’s deep and even breathing once she was asleep.

Journeying back downstairs she found Roy in their dining room, hunched over the table. He cursed, bringing his thumb to his mouth to suck on it. Shaking out his wrist, he hissed in pain as his other, uninjured hand, returned to what was on the surface, hidden from her view.

“What are you doing?”

Riza’s head cocked to try and look around Roy, but he spun in place quickly, moving his body in front of it. A fake smile was plastered across his face, making him look pained rather than reassuring.

She lifted a questioning eyebrow at him.

“Nothing.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“It’s nothing, honestly –”

“Liar.”

In mock hurt, Roy huffed, but still didn’t move out of the way. Her curiosity only increased.

“It was supposed to be a surprise, but the generic picture frame has defeated me,” he sighed, taking a step to the left.

Against the glass lay her certification, face down, and looking slightly crumpled thanks to her careless actions earlier in the evening.

“I figured putting it in the frame right away would smooth it out a little.”

Reaching over, Roy slipped the back of the frame in place, but not secure, and flipped it over carefully. Inside a golden border lay her certification from the university.

“Congratulations, Riza.”

As she stared down at it, tears threatening to collect in the corner of her eyes, Roy pressed a kiss to her temple as a hand rose to rest upon her shoulder.

“I… Thank you,” she breathed, a slow smile spreading across her face as she turned to look at him. She swallowed past the lump in her throat as she took in the way his eyes crinkled with his joy.

“You’re more than welcome. Let me just…” Quickly, the frame was flipped, and Roy secured the back in place. His actions were precise and careful, trying to avoid hurting himself on the sharp metal pieces that held the back of the frame in place.

It stood, without incident, proudly on her table. A culmination of all her work in the last six years. All on a simple piece of paper, presented properly in beautiful swirls of ink and shining gold leaf, printed with her name in the centre.

“There,” Roy announced proudly. “Now you just need to decide where you want to hang it.”

“On the wall?”

“Of course. It’s being shown off somewhere,” he added. “It’s not going to be hidden away.”

“What about next to your State Alchemist certification?”

Roy grimaced. “But that’s in my office.”

“Okay…” Riza didn’t know where to put it.

“You’ll need an office soon, won’t you?” Roy’s head cocked in thought. “You’ll need somewhere to work from if you’re a teacher. You’re own space. Why don’t we convert the storage space downstairs by the kitchen into one?”

“I can use the dining table,” Riza reassured him. “There’s more than enough room there.”

“But if you’re working, you’ll need some peace and quiet from the kids, right? So you would be better with an office of your own.”

“We’ll see.”

“You’re just saying that because you don’t want to cause trouble,” he teased, a cheeky smile on his face.

“I am not,” Riza grumped, but even she heard the poor lie.

Right now, she was in no state to be reorganising furniture and moving boxes that were in their storage space. If she was to get an office of her own, she would want to help with the conversion and not leave Roy to do it all by himself. In the same vein, luckily, they’d had the nursery set up for their new little one months ago. It had been an easy one. They just needed to get Mia’s old crib back from Chris, where they’d stored it after it outgrew their old apartment. The walls were a seafoam green colour when they moved in and neither parent saw a need to change it. It had just been Mia’s playroom initially, however once the news had broken that Riza was pregnant, it was quickly repurposed. Mia had barely even used it anyway, preferring to play in the living room with her parent’s company.

“We’ll leave it for now,” Roy relented. “But give it a thought. I want you to have your own space. For now, we can hang it in the living room for all to see,” he beamed.

Rolling her eyes, Riza still nodded and agreed with him. If it meant more to Roy than her, she wouldn’t take it away from him.

“Thank you.” Riza patted the hand on her shoulder gently.

“For what?”

“For that,” she gestured towards the frame, “and for…”

The dread that had followed her earlier returned, unwelcome, as she remembered what had occurred that night. Her cheek stung for a second.

“For distracting me,” she finally finished.

Understanding dawned on Roy, and he nodded, his expression grim. Riza realised that she hated herself for mentioning it, because gone was his happy and proud smile. In its place was a look that was both thoughtful and displeased. His eyes moved to her covered cheek.

“Any time for you, Riza. You know that,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Once in the safety of their bedroom, her safe haven, Riza bared herself to Roy, ready to reveal as much as she could about all that occurred that night. How she’d do it, Riza wasn’t entirely sure, but she needed to. She couldn’t leave him in the dark, and it would be important to the case he was building against them.

Roy was in bed already, observing her move around the room to gather what she needed to change. He didn’t even try to hide his watchful gaze anymore. He’d been eyeing her closely, protectively, as she undressed and as much as it irritated Riza, she understood his reasons why.

As Riza shrugged out of her blouse, she heard Roy shift on the bed. It creaked as he stood up and Riza heard footsteps.

The shirt bunched around her wrists and Riza let it hang there. There was no escaping Roy seeing the marks now. They circled around her neck and wrists, a reminder of Selim’s – or “Pride’s” – message.

“Is this what happened tonight?” His voice was low and there was a hint of his anger bleeding through it. If she turned, Riza knew she’d see it in his eyes, so she didn’t turn to look at him.

Their happy evening, the reveal of her framed certification, felt like a lifetime ago in that moment.

Nodding, Riza’s head tipped to look down. Unseeing, her gaze settled on her stomach as her fringe framed her vision.

The fingers against her skin were impossibly gentle as they skimmed over the pink marks. They were fading but not quick enough. Riza swallowed. They were meant to last, to haunt her. A message in themselves.

“And the cheek too?”

Riza nodded again.

Roy’s feet appeared in her view, toes hidden by her extended stomach. One of his hands lifted hers, gentle tugging the blouse off one wrist. He did the same with the other, tossing the shirt into the laundry pile. On the collar Riza spotted a dot of dried blood. The brown stood out alarmingly against the soft cream of the fabric. Walking behind her, he unclasped her bra and did the same thing. Riza shivered in the cool air of the room, but he quickly eased her pyjama top over her head, tugging it on and over her exposed skin. Smoothing it out made her shiver, but this one was welcome. His touch warmed her, a reminder that she was safe and at home.

Snaking her arms through the shirt, Riza finally glanced up at him. His smile was kind and gentle.

“Let’s go to bed,” he offered, grasping her hand tightly and giving it a squeeze.

As soon as her head hit the pillow Roy snuggled in as close as he could. Their heads were bent, both looking at her stomach as they rested together. Riza’s hands covered her stomach protectively, joined by one of Roy’s.

“Can you talk about it?”

Riza tensed. “I honestly don’t know.”

“Do you want to?” The hand on her stomach lifted to caress her cheekbone, the thumb running gently over the plaster covering it for good measure. It relaxed her tensed muscles somewhat.

She nodded. “Of course I do.”

“Take all the time you need, Riza.”

His eyes were understanding but there was a pain in them too. He wanted to help, to ease her suffering, but he didn’t know how. Riza knew exactly how he felt, remembering just how hard it had been on her when Roy hadn’t opened up about Ishval in the beginning, and the eventual fall out of it. Riza experienced a strong sense of déjà vu, knowing what she had to do, even if the thought did scare her.

Tell him we say hello and nothing else.

“I ran into Fuhrer Bradley tonight.”

Roy’s entire body froze. The hand on her cheek stilled and his eyes widened considerably. She could already see the anger forming as his gaze hardened. Muscles growing visibly taut, Riza thought he might jump out the bed any second.

“He was at the university with his family,” Riza continued. She reached up, removing his hand from her face so she could entwine their fingers together, anchoring herself. It kept the fear of her encounter at bay. “I met Mrs. Bradley and their son, Selim. They told me to say hello,” Riza swallowed.

“Did that bas –”

“Remember Scar?”

Roy’s head cocked, bewildered at the sudden change in conversation. It startled him out of his angered thoughts, bringing him back to her, so Riza tapped her finger on his palm twice, hoping he’d get her signal.

“And how the Elric brothers went up against him?”

Slowly, Roy nodded. His expression changed as he listened intently.

“Friends of mine were also involved, Lucy and Iain. I met up with them this evening too,” she lied.

If shadows were no longer safe and someone was ‘watching’ them, it was better to be safe than sorry.

“At the University?”

Riza shook her head. “I saw them on the way there. They’re stationed out East still, but were in town, so it was nice to run into them. Mary still works at the university, though.”

“Oh, the one with the dark hair… Obsessed with cats?”

Riza elbowed him gently but was glad he was playing along. Anything to ease the tension over them as she tried to get her message across.

“That’s Ida. Married to Sugar. They have five, I think.”

“If you like cats, you like cats,” Roy shrugged.

“True. I wonder if Havoc has managed to get a cat yet. He was always indifferent towards our dog. I wonder if cats are more his thing?”

“Maybe. I’ll ask next time I give him a call.”

“It would be nice to send over some presents if he did get a furry friend,” Riza added. “I think he said Oscar was a good name for a pet. Or Mike.”

“He’s as poor at naming things as you,” Roy snorted.

“I didn’t name our dog,” Riza reminded him. “That was our daughter.” Carefully, Riza edited herself so that she avoided their names so not to endanger the coded message.

“Okay, okay,” Roy relented in surrender. “Point taken.”

“Uri, your friend from the academy, was the worst from what I remember.”

“Oh yeah, what did he call his dog again?” Roy’s head cocked to the side as he pretended to cast his mind back.

“Nora,” Riza smiled.

“Oh, that poor dog.”

“He could at least have gone with something generic for a pet, like Charlie. But Uri wanted to call it after his grandmother.”

“That’s kind of sweet though, in a way,” Roy reasoned.

“I think Lucy was planning to do the same as Uri, but… Imagine calling your dog Stirling. I would have a hard time calling after it at the dog park with a name like that.”

Riza tapped her finger twice against his palm.

Chuckling, Roy nodded in agreement. “I hear you,” he replied. “I’ll be right back,” he muttered distractedly, but Roy did lean over to kiss her cheek before leaving the bed and entering the bathroom.

“Okay.” Riza cuddled into the warmth he’d left behind, waiting, and listening for his reaction.

“Oh…” She heard him murmur and Riza cringed. Now that he knew the truth, he may be even angrier than before. There was a pause, then the sound of Roy rummaging through a drawer, followed by a snap. A sound akin to a candle burning reached Riza, but quickly turned muted and disappeared.

In the doorway Roy stood, wide eyed, completely shocked. The light from their bathroom silhouetted his frame, but she saw the raw emotion on his face.

He looked terrified.

Riza offered him one nod, confirming his thoughts.

Turning the light out, he hurried over and jumped back into bed. Riza was drawn against him and she didn’t protest now that he knew exactly who she’d had a run in with tonight.

A homunculus.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he whispered into her ear ever so quietly. His arms gave her a tight squeeze.

Riza clutched at him in return. “Me too.”

“The marks will fade,” he added, running a hand gently across her neck and then her wrist. “I’m sorry you have to bear them, though.”

“It’s not because of you.”

He shot her a pained look.

“There’s no way you get to blame this on yourself,” Riza warned. “Don’t you dare.”

“It’s hard not to,” Roy admitted so quietly, his voice catching. Eyes dropped away from her, expression bitter at his inability to look out for her like they’d agreed to.

“It’s nothing I will ever hold against you, Roy Mustang,” Riza announced passionately, grasping his hand tightly in hers. It made him look up and meet her eyes sadly. “You didn’t plan this. No one could have.” She gave his hand another squeeze, more gently this time. “We’ll just have to be more careful in future.”

“You shouldn’t have to be though.”

Riza shook her head. “That’s the world we live in right now.”

“It’s not the world I want.”

“That’s why we’re working, right?” Offering him a reassuring smile, Riza curled up against him as best she could. Inhaling deeply, she took in the smell of him, of home. “I’m right here,” she whispered.

It was quiet, then Roy shifted, readjusting his grip. “I know,” he nodded, sounding defeated, but also relieved. “I know you are. I’m so thankful you are.”

Wrapped as tightly in his arms as she was now, Riza wasn’t going anywhere for the rest of the night, and that was okay with her.

#royai #royai fanfic #royai fic #royai au #the way it was #emma writes

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fullmetalscullyy · 4 years ago

Text

the way it was - chapter 28

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

read on ao3

1914

never thought love never thought life

could take us far beyond what we believed

as long as i got your love next to me

better than i used to be

“So.” Rebecca threw herself into the chair, barely waiting for Riza to even sit down at the table in the back room of Chris’ bar. “What has been going on in Central, Riza?” Her voice was hushed as she leaned forward eagerly in her chair.

Rebecca’s urgency had startled poor Sheska before Riza could even greet her with a hello. Eyes owlish but full of concern, Riza paused as she turned to greet their friend.

“I’ll tell you all that I know, but it’s not much,” Riza replied. “But first,” she added, turning to face Sheska, “hi.”

“Hello,” Sheska nodded. A timid smile overtook her concern, but the crease in between her eyebrows quickly returned. “What’s going on?” Nerves had settled in Sheska, making her shift in her chair and also tip forward to hear what Riza was going to share.

Poor woman. Riza felt for her. When she’d called and invited Sheska out it really was to spend some time together of an evening, but now she would be dragged into this whole thing. That’s not what Riza wanted for her.

Resigning herself, Riza let out a sigh. “I really don’t think here’s the best place at the moment –”

As if on cue, someone approached from behind Rebecca. The woman’s expression changed as she walked, moving from neutral to breaking out into a bright grin as soon as she made eye contact. Given Riza’s current circumstances after her talk with Fuhrer Bradley, she was instantly on guard.

“Riza Mustang?”

“Yes?” Riza eyed the woman up and down. She appeared to be innocent enough. Her brown hair fell just past her shoulders, sitting in a side parting. Hair was curled behind one ear, the other side falling forward as she smiled kindly down at Riza in her chair.

“Hi, my name is Irene. My husband is Lieutenant Colonel Andrews.”

Irene spoke as if this would answer all of Riza’s questions, but it created more. Remaining wary, she eyed the woman as Rebecca and Sheska did the same, although the latter did it rather shyly, her head angled to look down towards the table before them.

“Sorry to interrupt your evening with your friends.” Irene continued to smile at the other two women, noticing the suspicion on their faces. “I just wanted to pass on my congratulations to you and your husband. A new addition to the family is always something wonderful to celebrate, and my husband and I wanted to pass on our regards to you both.”

Irene held out an envelope for Riza to take, which she did. Eyeing the paper and weighing it by touch alone, it felt like there was a card held within. Giving it a gentle squeeze to test, whatever was inside was tough but not indestructible to break. It bent gently underneath the pressure. Remaining wary, Riza schooled her expression so that it appeared as neutral and grateful as possible while accepting it.

“That’s very kind of you both, thank you,” Riza replied.

“We’ll be thinking of you both during this time,” Irene added, meeting Riza’s eyes straight on. For whatever reason, something held Riza there. Irene’s eyes widened pointedly, as she gave a tiny nod of her head. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do,” she grinned, that look in her eyes gone. Without another word, she turned and left.

“What was that all about?”

Riza placed the card down on the table, giving it one gentle pat before retracting her hand, hiding it underneath the table. They both joined, her fingers wringing together with uncertainty. “I honestly don’t know.” She was just as baffled as Rebecca.

“That was nice of her, though,” Sheska added, trying to see the best in the unexpected interaction.

Another woman approached, the same as Irene did, offering the same message and sentiment. This time it was a woman named Rose, whose husband was Sergeant Cairn, recently transferred from East City. Angela followed after her. She was an older woman, the wife of Major Cole. These names all meant nothing to Riza, however they may to Roy. These women, all coming forward with the same meaningful look in their eyes, obviously all meant something, but Riza didn’t want to open up the cards in public. There was no telling what would be inside. They were inconspicuous enough, just like a normal greeting card, but Riza couldn’t help but wonder. Perhaps… If she could slip behind the bar for a few minutes…

“I’ll be right back.”

She’d been lost in thought and had unintentionally interrupted Rebecca and Sheska’s conversation. They both looked surprised at the sudden disruption, watching as Riza subtly swiped the cards into her purse.

“Is everything all right?” Rebecca's eyes were searching Riza’s, trying to get a read on her mood. Admittedly, she’d been out of it that evening as she mulled over each woman’s message, trying to make sense of it all. It was bothering her so much that she was going to leave her friends to find out.

“Perfect,” Riza smiled as best she could. “Just need to use the bathroom.”

It wasn’t a lie, Riza thought as she left the two of them at the table. A quick detour on her route would allow her to open those envelopes in peace and find out what they contained.

“Is everything all right?”

Riza was startled by the sudden appearance of Roxanne. Her green eyes were scrutinising Riza carefully, unwilling to back down. Tonight, Roxanne’s hair was tied back into a high ponytail, the long brown locks looking luscious and healthy in the lights of the bar. It swished from side to side eagerly whenever she walked, catching the attention of all she passed by. Calming her heart rate, Riza scolded herself for being so absent from her surroundings.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

Roxanne’s eyes narrowed.

“Really, I am.” Riza lifted the three envelopes in her hands. “I was handed these tonight. It’s been bothering me that I don’t know what’s inside. Would you mind if I go inside the house to open them?” Riza nodded at the ‘staff only’ door.

Roxanne broke out into a smile and tutted, rolling her eyes fondly. “As if you have to ask. Of course you can! Come on,” she ushered, opening the staff door for Riza.

She was guided inside, entering a hallway that Riza knew well. Just ahead, to her left would be the living area where they spent most of their time when visiting Chris. Taking a seat, Riza let out a breath and balanced the envelopes on her lap. There would be nothing held within the pastel pink, white, and blue paper that would attack her, but why did she experience such a foreboding feeling? Perhaps it was just the unknown. Giving herself a shake, Riza tore open the seal of the one on top, from Irene.

Riza blinked.

Inside was a ‘congratulations on the birth of your child!’ card, but a note slid out from between the stiff paper, removing Riza’s attention from the well wishes.

Weston arrived at the store today, was the first neatly written sentence on the page. Esther is not the fondest of him but puts up with his appearances for Susan’s sake. Ursula likes him though, along with Poppy and Preston. The twins have been fighting over his affection, much to Oliver’s dismay. The poor boy is so crestfallen at their diverted effort but won’t give up the fight. The same can be said for Rosalie. She feels the same way towards the dear boy, but Thomas has been diverting her attention as of recent. We think she may be susceptible to his charms. As for Yuri, he’s still focussed on furthering Oliver’s studies, much to his chagrin, but Ursula is good at pushing him towards where his attentions should lie, and away from such frivolous things.

“What?” Riza muttered is aloud, wondering why this would note would be included in a congratulations card –

Suddenly, Roy’s game popped into her head. In Riza’s mind, memories of ‘I love you’ stories, littered about their home, overwhelmed her. This was a message. This story was a message to her and Roy.

Dropping the thoughtful card, Riza picked out the names quickly and read the coded message.

We support you.

Peeling open the second envelope, and the third, Riza found a similar sentiment in each. Relief tugged her lips into a smile, and she sat back against the cushions of the couch.

“Everything all right?” Chris appeared from out of nowhere, almost startling Riza.

She turned quickly, nodding to her mother-in-law. “Yes. Everything’s fine.”

“What’s that?” An eyebrow raised, looking down on the cards sitting in a pile haphazardly on her coffee table.

“Messages of support…” Riza turned back to eye them. “For Roy, from other soldiers stationed in Central Command. Their partners handed them over to me tonight.” Lifting the congratulatory cards, Riza waved them gently. “Along with these.”

She had been so focussed on the coded stories that she didn’t properly look within the cards. A note fluttered free from the confines of the stiff card, floating onto Riza’s lap. Squinting at it, she lifted it delicately into her hands.

“Along with a gift too, it seems,” Chris chuckled.

“It’s money.” Riza blinked at it, dumbfounded that those women would gift her and Roy with money on the birth of their new-born child.

Chris shrugged. “People do that. It saves them having to worry about buying a physical gift,” she added. “Then you can go out and buy what you need for the kid yourselves.”

Riza was left to stare at the five hundred cenz note in silence as Chris wandered away.

Well, it was an immense relief that despite the sudden relocation of his team, Roy still had people behind him who were willing to support and lend their aid. Riza’s fears of his future were appeased for the moment, knowing there were others out there who looked up to him and were willing to fight Bradley as well.

Pocketing the envelopes in her purse, Riza stood and slipped back out the staff door to the bar. Passing the bar itself, she ordered another water and waited for it before returning to their table.

“You were away a while,” Rebecca commented upon her return, her voice low. “What was in them?”

Glancing up, Riza saw Rebecca frowning, instantly on guard to whatever the envelopes contained within.

Placating her worry, Riza shook her head and gave her old friend a reassuring smile. “Just some well wishes and support.”

* * *

“Wait.”

Roy sat up straight in bed, a thoughtful look overtaking his face. He motioned for the envelopes Riza had already opened. She’d already explained what was held within – the cards, the monetary gift, and the coded message to him.

“What?”

“Can I see them for a second?”

Wordlessly, Riza leaned over to her bedside table to pick them up before passing them to her husband.

Roy removed the card, ignoring the paper that held the message, and shook it, letting the note float onto his lap.

“Kids get us money too?” He picked up the note. “Oh damn,” he muttered, “we need to have more kids.”

Riza hit the back of her hand off his elbow gently.

“I’m kidding!” He didn’t sound like it. Roy was eyeing the note with a curious but excited look.

“We’re not exploiting our children for money.”

“… What if I took them to the office?”

Riza’s frown deepened.

“Y’know, everyone is aware I’m a family man,” Roy continued, “it would be nice to show off the kid.”

“To get money from your colleagues?” Riza’s eyebrows shot up towards her hairline, daring him to confirm that was the real reason behind his plan.

“I mean,” he scoffed, “that’s what people do, right? When someone has a baby? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to –”

Riza hit the back of her hand off his forearm this time, but slightly harder. It caused his arm to falter slightly, the joint giving way as the limb tried to distance itself from her hand.

“Hey!”

“That’s what you get for thinking of exploiting our kids,” Riza snapped back.

“I was just making an observation!” Roy exclaimed. “That is what people do when kids are born. You wouldn’t believe the amount of kids I’ve had to shell out for over the years,” he grumbled to himself. “About damn time it was my turn.”

Riza scoffed, lifting her eyes to the ceiling as she rolled over in place, pulling the sheet over her shoulder and making herself comfortable.

“I’m kidding, Dear,” Roy crooned into her ear as his arm wrapped around her stomach.

“Sure you are,” she replied, not believing him for a second.

“It would be a benefit though, right? You have to admit that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she barked.

“I’m joking!” The hand that had been around her stomach shifted, moving away and into the air in a show of surrender. “Sorry I mentioned it.” Roy rolled away from her, settling into the bed with a sigh.

The room was silent for short bout as Riza continued to frown at his insinuation. Ire was festering in her chest, causing a light burn. They would not use their kids to get money from strangers. Even if it was a traditional gift, it made her uncomfortable and she wanted no part in it.

“Sorry.”

His apology was soft and quiet, filling the room. It smoothed out her frown and put out that spark in her chest. It fizzled low, turning to an ember before leaving her completely. Her shoulders relaxed, peeling down from her ears as a deep breath left her lungs. That breath calmed her, giving her time to think.

Riza rolled back over, seeing Roy on his back, staring up at the ceiling. His lips were pursed and off centre, a sign he was chewing something over in his mind.

“Sorry I snapped.”

Dark eyes met her own. The crease in between his eyebrows slowly disappeared, the skin of his forehead smoothing out.

“Sorry I upset you,” he replied. “I won’t bring it up again.”

Riza huffed quietly. “I don’t mind jokes. I don’t know what came over me.”

“It sounds like it was a mood swing.”

Her irritation spiked again. Opening her mouth to reply, offended at his accusation, Riza stopped herself. His eyes had widened in realisation that he’d set her off again. There was a fear in them too which stilled her tongue. Riza’s mouth promptly closed, accepting her hormonal reaction.

“I guess it was, yeah,” she agreed sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” Roy replied simply. He rolled over to face her, brushing her fringe from her face and curling a strand of hair behind her ear. “I opened my mouth without thinking. Again. And I’m sorry I brought it up. I was just joking, though.”

“I know you were.” Her head turned, pressing a gentle kiss against the wrist that was resting by her face. Roy had cupped her face with his hand, his touch warm and gentle, as well as comforting.

“Did the mood swings happen a lot with Mia?”

“I don’t think so.” Riza cast her mind back, trying to remember. It didn’t feel like it. But then perhaps it was biased to ask her. “I don’t remember.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“I don’t want to feel like I’m going to snap at you every two seconds though,” Riza frowned, but at herself. That behaviour wouldn’t do at all.

Roy shrugged. “We’ll work through it. It won’t be the first mood swing in the family and it won’t be the last. In a few years, Mia will be all over that,” he grinned.

Her head bowed in defeat. “I hope we don’t end up with a moody teenager.”

“I do too,” Roy chuckled. “But, like I said, we’ll get through it. Be as understanding with her as we can and give her the space she needs.”

“It sounds like you’ve been through this before,” Riza commented wryly.

“I grew up with so many sisters, remember? I learned my lesson after the first shoe was thrown at my head,” he winked.

Riza gasped. “Who?”

“Roxanne,” Roy laughed. “I was bugging her too much and she’d had enough.”

“You were a little shit as a teen, so I can totally see it.”

Roy’s mouth popped open in shock. “Riza Mustang!” he exclaimed.

“What?” she giggled.

“I was not,” he scoffed, scandalised.

“You’re remembering differently.”

“No, I think it’s you that’s remembering it differently, Ma’am,” he accused, poking her shoulder gently.

“Don’t poke me,” she pouted, poking him back.

“What are you going to do about it, huh?” His provoke came with a wide grin, reaching right up to his eyes and causing the corners to crinkle.

It reminded Riza so much of the boy she grew up with and the innocent young man she’d fallen in love with. It came out in rare moments, but it was heart-warming to see. Underneath the lines and scars life had left him with, Roy was still Roy, and he loved her completely, just like she did him.

“Why don’t you tell me what I can do about it, Colonel?”

Roy hummed, shuffling over to her side and rolling Riza onto her back as he kissed her forcefully. Propped up on an elbow, his free hand moved to cup her chin, holding Riza in place as they broke apart and Roy stared down at her with so much love in his eyes, it felt like she may cry.

“I love you, Riza,” he smiled fondly, a hint of his mischief still remaining, dancing playfully in his eyes.

Bending his head, Roy pecked her lips once, then her nose, then her forehead. His freehand moved from her chin to rest upon her stomach. The ends of two of his fingers were resting on her bare skin, making Riza gasp quietly. Slowly, as his head bent to claim her lips once more, Roy’s hand moved and slipped underneath her pyjama top, his touch hot as his thumb caressed her skin lovingly.

“Love you too, Roy,” Riza breathed, eyes fluttering closed as his touch relaxed her immediately.

Then suddenly, a massive yawn overtook Riza. It was loud, making her eyes water, the moisture bunching at the corners.

Roy just laughed. “Looks like someone is tired,” he murmured.

She almost snapped at him again for moving his hand, but a wave of fatigue overcame Riza before she had the chance.

“Sleep, love.” A kiss was pressed to her forehead again, making Riza melt at his touch. Roy cuddled into her side after turning off the lights. His face was buried in her hair, his lips resting just above her ear.

“Love you,” she mumbled tiredly.

“Love you too,” he laughed quietly, returning his hand to her pregnant stomach once more, this time, above her pyjama top. It was the warmest, most comfortable, and most relaxed Riza had felt in a long time.

#royai #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai au #the way it was #emma writes

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fullmetalscullyy · 4 years ago

Text

the way it was - chapter 20

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

read on ao3

1914

just because it's pouring down,

doesn't mean we're gonna drown

Roy was gently rocking her in place as they sat, his touch and comfort soothing her instantly. It helped her think more clearly in the emotionally charged room. He’d hugged her against his chest and Riza cuddled into his torso completely. Her feet were up on the couch, and she was lying against him. Her tea was long forgotten, but at least she’d stopped feeling so shaky. Morning sickness was a bitch.

She’d finally given into him, her need for his comfort. She was tired of fighting and hiding from her husband. They’d finally met on a middle ground after Maes’ death. It might be no man’s land, it might finally be peace, that was yet to be seen. Today’s conversation would decide their fate.

“Even though it terrifies me,” Riza began, breaking the silence that had blanketed over them. “I think… If I share it all now, we can finally air everything out. It was an extremely difficult time for us both and I think we need to discuss it, rather than shoulder it alone like I’ve been doing.” Riza shifted, moving herself closer to him. “I’ve done that since our first argument. I told myself just to get through Maes’ funeral in one piece, then I could deal with it all, but I’m exhausted.”

She was so tired. She’d spent her whole life hiding how she really felt and putting others before herself but now, pregnant and exhausted from her morning sickness, she was tired of it all.

“These past few days… I felt like I’d lost you.” Riza gripped the fabric of his shirt tightly in her fist. “I was…” Riza sighed. “I was upset about Maes. I know how much he meant to you and how close you both were, so I can’t imagine how you must feel about it all, but I was hurting too.” She heard his breathing hitch. “I couldn’t stop thinking about Gracia and Elicia being left alone. I got Mia to school then went right over to see her…” Riza swallowed back the tears, remembering Gracia sobbing uncontrollably as Riza held her, letting her ride it out. “It was horrible. I was there for hours.”

Roy was silent as she let it all out and Riza was grateful. His hands had stopped rubbing up and down her arms in comfort. They remained still as her explanation washed over him.

“And...” Riza sniffed and willed the tears not to fall. “I had to tell Mia what had happened.” Riza swallowed past the lump in her throat. “She couldn’t understand it. She didn’t know what I meant by she’d never be able to see her Uncle Maes again,” Riza’s voice shook. “She asked if you were really sad the night you came home,” she sniffed, “and then asked if we’d be sad if she died.”

The silence was deafening in the room. Riza squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of losing Mia. She’d never wanted to bring that up again. She couldn’t lose her baby girl. Riza would die inside if she did. It would kill her to lose any part of her family.

Roy stood abruptly. Riza was so startled she fell sideways on the couch, needing to push herself up to a seated position to see where he’d gone. Her husband was pacing in the middle of the room, frantically. One hand was gripping his hair tightly, the other on his hip.

“I don’t want that.” His whisper was quiet, but she heard the sob in his voice. “I can’t lose her,” he pleaded, face crumpling. “I can’t – My baby girl.”

Riza hushed him, pulling him into a tight hug. Hands wrapped around her tightly. Roy pressed his face into her shoulder, his head dipped low as she felt his torso shake with his sobs. His knees shook beneath him and Riza had to hold his weight for a brief second. Riza knew exactly how he felt because she’d lost it like this when Mia had asked her the question. But it just showed she was too young to comprehend the concept of dying. She was too young to lose anyone. Too young.

“She’s not going anywhere,” Riza reassured him fiercely through her own tears. “She’s safe and happy with your mother right now.”

“And I left you to deal with all of that. I didn’t even think.”

Riza hushed him again. “You had a lot to deal with –”

“It’s no excuse,” he replied. His tone was firm, rising in volume. The grip on her tightened. “I can’t believe she said that to you.”

“It’s because she’s only young. She didn’t understand.”

Silence enveloped them as they both cried. It was cathartic to do this together, Riza thought. It was finally all coming out and she felt better about it. A weight was being lifted from her shoulders.

“I won’t say I wasn’t angry at the whole situation,” Riza whispered. “Because I was. You were grieving, I get that, but you didn’t need to say those things. That’s when I thought we were done,” she admitted. “After everything happened, I thought you’d finally realised how much I burden you every day.”

His head jerked up from her shoulder, his eyes staring into hers with disbelief in them. It was a comfort, at least. “Never,” he replied vehemently, pressing his forehead against hers, as if it would somehow make her understand better. “That’s on me. You keep me sane. You keep me grounded. You keep me going.” His voice cracked on the last word. “You always have.” He drew himself up to his full height, meeting her eyes. His hands never strayed from around her body though. “There is a plot in the military that we think goes right to the top.”

Riza’s stomach twisted painfully and dread threatened to creep up her spine. She swallowed thickly, letting the weight of his revelation settle over her.

“I don’t have names yet, but I think that was what Hughes figured out. Or, it was just how deep this whole thing ran. Someone is controlling the military. That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

Riza’s stomach continued to churn. “The reason I asked you not to go after the culprit and get your revenge wasn’t me asking you to drop it,” she whispered. “I was terrified of losing you. Whoever is pulling the strings didn’t hesitate to kill Maes as soon as they found out he’d discovered them. I don’t want you to die too.” Riza gripped his t-shirt tighter again, shifting her face so that it was pressed into his shoulder.

“I know,” Roy murmured. “I know that now. I was unfair to you, and if anyone else had been there, I would have lashed out at them too. It wasn’t directed at you for any reason.” Riza felt him hang his head. “I’m sorry. When I found out you were in the hospital that’s when it hit me just how awful I’d been to you. At Hughes’ funeral…” He took a shaky breath, almost stuttering over the last word. “I saw how good you were with Elicia and Mia, cheering them up after such a sad day. You were wonderful with them. You told Elicia about your own parents. I overheard you talking about it and I didn’t think you would share that with anyone, but you did it to show her, and to teach her, that it’s okay to be sad when people leave us like that. All the way home in the car she’d raved about how ‘Auntie Riza had said this, and Auntie Riza had said that’. You were exactly what she needed.” Roy gave her a quick squeeze. “Gracia and I knew you’d helped her understand. When I came home last night, that’s when I realised, I was losing you,” he admitted in a whisper. “You couldn’t even look at me, and I don’t blame you.”

“I was still angry at you but frustrated at myself.”

“Why?” He sounded genuinely curious.

“I obviously didn’t help you the way I should have through this tough time. I never offered help like I should have.”

“You did try to help. I also never gave you the chance,” Roy countered. “I wasn’t exactly the most approachable person. We promised we’d look out for each other and I did the exact opposite. I shouldered it all and pushed you both away and to the side in my grief.”

Riza couldn’t think of anything to reply to that. All her anger had left her now and she was tired. Emotionally and physically. She wanted to put this behind them and move on. There was nothing else that jumped to mind that needed to be discussed, and she felt certain they’d done enough of that for one lifetime.

Now, they could start moving forward.

A short, strangled laugh left Riza’s throat as she thought about Maes. He was probably up there screaming about how they were both so stupid and too stubborn for their own good.

“What?” Roy asked, his tone both curious and surprised.

She shook her head, peeling it away from his shoulder. When she looked into his eyes Riza finally felt at peace. “I was just thinking about how Maes is up there yelling about how stupid and stubborn we both are.”

Roy blinked at her, then his face relaxed. “He was always right about that. And the fact that I’m a colossal idiot. He’s still right about that,” he smiled. It was tiny, but it was there.

“But you’re my idiot, and I wouldn’t trade you for the world.” Riza pressed a hand to his cheek. “I couldn’t. Who would I tease if you were gone?”

Roy let out a laugh then hugged her tightly after pressing a kiss to her temple. “You’re right. Who would keep my sorry ass in line if you weren’t here?”

“To be fair, Mia probably could. She’s got you wrapped around her little finger.”

His laugh was solid this time. “You’re right. We’d be eating chocolate with every meal and there would be ice cream for breakfast if she got her way. I’d be huge in size.”

They both laughed, smiling fondly. When their eyes met again, their faces softened. Roy lifted a hand to her chin, cupping it and lifting it. She licked her lips in anticipation of a kiss.

“I love you so much, Riza Mustang,” he whispered. “I know I can be difficult, and I have a lot of making up to do but know that feeling will never change.”

“I just need you,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’ve come back to us.”

Roy bent his head, his lips pressing against hers so softly. It was a caring and loving kiss. She’d missed that feeling so much. His hand slowly moved so his palm was cupping her cheek. His fingers moved into the hair by her ear as his thumb stroked her cheekbone lightly. It was gentle and hesitant when Riza needed more. She gripped his shoulders tightly, deepening the kiss and pulling his body closer to hers. The two of them moved together, basking in the love they held for each other.

“I’ll always come back to you,” he whispered. He pressed his forehead against hers. “Like I said, you ground me. You’re the one constant in my life I can count on, so is Mia, but I took advantage of that recently.” His head lifted so he met her eyes. “No more.”

She smiled at him. It felt like it had been too long since the last she’d done that.

* * *

Riza was stirred from her slumber by the ghostly feeling of fingers brushing over her face. She shifted as it tickled her skin, her face brushing against something hard, but warm. Opening her eyes, she saw Roy’s well-defined chest directly in her view. Glancing up, she saw her husband smiling down at her. He was propped up on his elbow, which rested atop his pillow, while his head leaned against a closed fist.

“Hey,” he murmured, bending his head to kiss her cheek. His fingers abandoned her skin as he did so, but they returned to stroking her face after it. She sighed at his touch, snuggling closer to his body.

“Hello,” she sighed as his fingers made her shiver. “I didn’t realise I fell asleep.”

Roy chuckled. “For about two hours.”

Riza’s eyes popped open. “Really?” she asked in disbelief.

Nodding, he shifted so he could kiss her head again. “You must have needed it.”

After their emotionally charged discussion of what had happened between them, Roy had kissed her softly. Riza wanted – no, needed – more, and dragged him into a deeper kiss, her hands tugging at his t-shirt, trying to get it over his head as quickly as possible. She’d meant it when she said she’d missed him. It wasn’t just his presence and his comfort. She’d missed his love too. She was desperate for the emotional connection they shared. Riza needed to reconnect with her husband. The bond between them was something she’d never experienced with anyone else before. It was so intense, Riza was lost without it during their hard time. So, she’d dragged him off to their bedroom and had apparently fallen asleep for two hours after it.

“I suppose I did,” she agreed. She let her eyes drift closed as she cuddled back into his side. “And I definitely needed that.”

Roy hummed in agreement, bending to kiss her again. “I’m just thankful that was the way things went. It could have gone the opposite.”

Riza’s eyes opened, her smile slipping from her face. “It could have, but I don’t think I could ever leave you, Roy,” she admitted. “We agreed we were in this together. Plus, we have the kids.” Her stomach fluttered at the plural word.

While he’d made love to her, Roy had cupped her swollen stomach in his hands, kissing the skin and whispering about how much he loved their little one already. He made promises and declared vows against her skin, his lips and breath tickling her stomach.

“We do, and I wouldn’t trade them both for the world.”

“Neither would I,” Riza agreed.

“I can’t believe we’re having a second one…” A smile spread across his face as he trailed off. “Sometimes I really can’t believe how lucky I’ve been.”

“Me too. Who would have thought I would fall in love with the scrawny city boy who appeared on my father’s doorstep one day?” she quipped, grinning up at him.

Roy laughed. “Who would have thought the shy, quiet girl who almost made me vomit when she cut the head off a chicken for dinner would fall in love with me?” he retorted. “I’m sure you did that on purpose, just for the shock factor.”

“Maybe I did,” she teased as they laughed together. “You’re the best person in my life, Roy, and always have been. I would never want to lose you.”

“I feel the same way,” he whispered, dropping his joking tone. He gave her a tight squeeze.

Peace washed over her body, solidifying in her mind that she was extremely loved by this man and he wanted her by his side. Her childish fears would not get in her way today, or in the future. She decided there and then, to actually listen to Roy when he told her how amazing she was, and how much he needed her, rather than smile and nod just to keep the peace. She was worthy of being loved, and she was a good person. She helped him, and that was all she ever wanted.

“I’m glad,” she whispered, shifting to press her lips against his.

Roy rolled her onto her back, so he was hovering over her. His knees were on either side of her hips, one hand on the mattress by her shoulder. The other hand lifted to her face, stroking down the side of her face, moving from her temple, down her cheek, to her cup her chin with his thumb and forefinger.

“I love you, Riza,” he murmured, lowering his lips to hover just above hers, but not making contact. “So much.”

“I love you, Roy. Always have, always will.”

They were lost to each other once more under the warmth of their bedsheets.

* * *

“Hiya Mummy!” Mia called after they heard the front door to their home open. “Daddy!”

“Shoes off, Mia,” Chris commanded before they saw their daughter. There was a brief pause, then she came barrelling into their living room, Hayate hot on her heels. He looked as happy and excited to see them as Mia did, his tail wagging happily while his tongue lolled from his mouth.

“Hello, Mia,” Riza greeted.

Roy stood from his place beside Riza on the couch, disentangling himself from Riza’s hold. He bent low to scoop Mia up from the floor, twirling her around in place while she giggled happily. Hayate barked at his feet, his paws shifting on the carpet. Riza chuckled at their pup, betting that he probably wanted the same treatment.

“How’s my best girl?” Roy asked once he stopped spinning her around. Her body swayed in his arms, her head still spinning, while she giggled again.

“Good!” she exclaimed happily. “We went on the swings, we got some ice cream, we played fetch with Hayate and he jumped in the pond after his stick,” she giggled, leaning over her father’s arms to look down at their dog. As soon as Hayate saw Mia’s eyes on him, his tail wagged happily once more.

Mia continued to regale Roy with everything they did that day, and it sounded like a lot.

Chris approached Riza, one eyebrow lifted. Riza knew already what her question was.

“We’re good,” Riza told her with a smile, her eyes drifting back to Roy as he began to exclaim his surprise at what they did today, overexaggerating his tone and disbelief.

“I knew you would be,” Chris replied. “But that stuff still needs to be figured out. I saw how much what had happened was affecting him, and I could see it was beginning to tear you both apart.”

Riza felt her stomach twist uncomfortably, knowing that people had noticed their marital problems. However, what was done was done, and they’d made their way through it. That was what mattered.

“I’m glad you worked it out,” Chris added, offering Riza one of her rare, small smiles. “Otherwise I would have smacked him upside the head for being so stupid to push you away.”

“Thank you, Chris,” Riza replied, genuinely.

“Don’t mention it,” Chris replied, her tone gruff.

Riza smiled, noticing how she looked slightly uncomfortable with the gratitude. Despite being Roy’s mother, she still supported Riza wholeheartedly, and that was appreciated. In the past, her father had always taken Roy’s side, even going so far as blaming Roy’s failings or lack of progress on her, stating she was distracting him. It was nice to have a parental figure’s support once in her life.

Chris’ tone softened when Mia squealed loudly as Roy began to tickle her, not letting her escape from his hold. “I’d do anything for you both, you know that.”

A proud smile spread across Riza’s face. “I do. Thank you.”

“And for that little girl,” Chris added. “Even if she does run me off my feet all the time.”

Riza chuckled. “She’s well known for that.”

“Honestly, it was every five minutes. She’s always on the move.”

“Tell me about it. I used to look away for one second when she was a baby and she’d managed to crawl across the room to pick something up to put in her mouth. I needed another set of eyes.” Riza laughed fondly at the memory.

“Come on, Hayate!” Mia beckoned her friend loudly, leaving the room. They both ran up the stairs hurriedly, and Riza noticed she wasn’t limping.

“She’s going to get changed because she’s “all sweaty”,” Roy explained, adding in air quotes.

“I’m not surprised,” Chris snorted. “She ran about all day. I couldn’t get her to sit still for her lunch.”

Roy laughed, slinging his arm around Riza’s shoulders, then pressing a kiss to her temple. “Thank you for looking after her today,” he added, his tone sincere. “We really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” Chris stated, as if it were obvious she would. “I’d do anything for you two. Even if it means I end up in a heap by the end of the day because she’s run me ragged,” Chris added, jerking her thumb over her shoulder, motioning to Mia. Then, Chris narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m glad to see things turned out for the best.”

“They did,” Roy replied, but his tone was slightly solemn.

“Good, because I would have killed you, Roy Boy, for letting this one go.”

Riza blushed lightly at the compliment while Roy chuckled beside her, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Part of her was so close to opening her mouth to protest, but then she remembered her promise to herself earlier in the day. She was good enough. She was worthy of their love and support.

“She definitely is,” Roy grinned, pressing another kiss to Riza’s temple.

#royai #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai au #the way it was #emma writes

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fullmetalscullyy · 4 years ago

Text

the way it was - chapter 21

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

read on ao3

1914

you're my favourite kind of trouble

'cause there ain't no love without the struggle

and if it all turns to rubble

we put each other back like a puzzle

Mia was kept off school after Maes’ funeral. There were moments during the day where the loss of her adoptive Uncle would hit her suddenly. She’d be chatting away about something, then she’d freeze, her eyes welling with tears. Mia would fix Riza with a desolate stare as her body began to shudder, her eyes begging Riza for comfort. She was due to return to school that morning, but while Riza was brushing her hair, she decided against it.

“I miss Uncle Maes,” Mia whispered suddenly, meeting her mother’s eyes in the mirror of Riza’s vanity. Tears fell thick and fast down her cheeks so Riza bundled Mia into her arms and hugged her tightly. She rocked her little girl in place as her cries grew louder.

The sound of footsteps hurrying up the stairs didn’t quite draw Riza’s attention away from her daughter, however she knew Roy had heard Mia crying. Her suspicions were confirmed when he paused in the doorway, one hand gripping the door handle tightly.

Hayate was behind him, pushing his way forward and into Riza’s bedroom as he whined at Mia. Riza pet his fur to reassure him as he lay down on his stomach, head on his paws, to watch Mia.

“I miss him,” Mia sniffed loudly. “And, and,” she stuttered, her chest heaving as she tried to talk while she was crying. “And I don’t want him to be in a box underground. I thought you were going to go in a box too Mummy when you fell, and I didn’t like it.”

Riza froze but her grip tightened on Mia.

Suddenly, Roy had wrapped his arms around the both of them. The small family sat on the floor of the master bedroom, holding each other tightly. Hayate whined louder, putting his head on Mia’s legs that were sticking out of the family’s embrace.

“It was so scary,” Mia wailed.

“I know, Baby,” Riza soothed as she tried to keep a hold of things. “I know, it’s really hard. But I’m not going anywhere, okay? I promise.”

Ever since she’d fainted and Mia had found her, Riza wondered when this conversation would come. It was horrible waiting for Mia to let go like this, but now that it had finally happened, they’d be able to work through it together. As a family.

“You were amazing that night, okay?” Roy pulled away and cupped Mia’s cheeks in his hands. Her tear stained face had been pressed into Riza’s chest, but Roy gently guided it towards him so that he could speak to her directly. “Grandma told me everything you did. You were so brave and I’m so proud of you.”

Riza kissed the top of Mia’s head. Mia was staring up at Roy, wide eyed and tearful as he smiled softly at her.

“You told me once that I was your hero,” Roy added, wiping away Mia’s tears with his thumbs. “But you’re my hero, Mia Bear. You’re our superhero.”

“What?” she asked quietly, not quite believing or understanding him.

“You were so brave, and you got Mummy the help she needed. You helped her get better. That makes you a superhero in my book.”

Mia nodded and her face screwed up. Arms reaching out, she sought comfort from her father. Roy welcomed it and hugged her tightly against his chest. Seeing Mia so upset had brought pain to them both and now that Mia’s eyes were closed and angled away from her parent’s faces, they let it show just how sorrowful they were.

Now that Mia was out of Riza’s arms, she petted Hayate instead and comforted the dog as he whined quietly at Mia’s distress.

“You don’t have to go to school today Mia, okay?” Roy promised. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and swept her unruly dark hair away from her face so Riza could see her eyes.

Mia nodded vigorously and gripped onto her father tighter, eyes squeezed tightly closed.

“Mummy and I don’t want you to be upset at school and alone either. So, we’ll do something fun today, all right? What do you want to do?”

Mia took a minute to think. She’d calmed down a little with the promise of not having to face school alone.

“I… I don’t know,” she mumbled.

“That’s all right,” he reassured her. “How about you get changed out of your school clothes and I’ll go and make you a fun breakfast?”

“What’s a fun breakfast?” Mia asked, pulling away and looking up at Roy in confusion.

A playful smile spread across his face and he winked at her. “It’s a secret. You won’t know until you come downstairs.”

Mia perked up immediately with the promise of a surprise. “Okay,” she agreed, still subdued, but her tears had stopped. She stood from her father’s lap and straightened. She wiped her tears with the back of her hands and walked through to her bedroom to get changed. Hayate was off like a shot, hot on Mia’s heels.

Roy and Riza’s eyes met, then their smiles dropped from their faces.

“Come here,” Roy whispered, opening his arms.

Riza went to him eagerly, clutching at his shirt. “Seeing her cry makes me want to cry,” Riza mumbled into his already wet shirt.

Roy hummed in agreement. “Me too. We promised we’d be better for her and this is the start. I need to own up to a lot and I’m willing to do it. Will… Will you be by my side?”

Riza looked up at him, noting how his voice had wavered. Regardless of how long they’d spent talking things through, or how many times they did it, every time he sought reassurance, she’d give it to him.

“Of course, I will. You know that already,” she added gently.

Roy nodded, hugging her tighter. “I know I do. But after everything that happened… It’s just nice to hear, I guess,” he admitted in a mumble.

Riza cupped his cheek, lifting it so they were eye to eye. “Then I’ll tell you for the rest of my life.”

Roy kissed her softly, his lips lingering against hers for a little while longer.

“I love you so much,” he murmured. He pecked her lips once more then hugged her tightly.

“Love you too,” she replied.

“I better get started on that fun breakfast I promised her.”

“No chocolate,” Riza warned, just knowing what he had in mind.

Roy simpered. “Damn. That was the whole plan!” he joked.

“…Maybe just a little bit then,” Riza relented. To be perfectly honest, it was all she desired to eat right now. She wanted comfort from everything, and her pregnancy was making her feel more than ready to give in completely to cravings.

Roy’s face lit up as he turned back to face her in the doorway, a grin on his face. It was cheeky, almost mischievous, and Riza knew there would be no stopping his grand plan to cheer up Mia. Not that Riza would want to anyway, she supposed. She’d do anything to stop her baby girl from being so upset.

Riza phoned the school and explained the situation to Mia’s headteacher, and the woman understood completely. They would keep her off until she was ready but would see how the upcoming weekend played out first.

Once off the phone, Riza entered their kitchen and found Mia’s legs kicking her chair happily as she bit into a square of chocolate. A large square. Riza shook her head at Roy, but still wore a smile. He just shrugged helplessly. He always had been completely wrapped around Mia’s finger. She probably sweet talked him into the whole bar, rather than just a few squares.

“So,” Roy announced as he sat in a chair at the table. “Have you thought about what you want to do today, Mia Bear?”

Her legs stopped kicking. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But you’ll be going soon though, won’t you?” The sadness in her tone was clear.

“Going where?” Roy queried.

“To work,” Mia replied. She was definitely sad at the thought of Roy leaving them.

Roy shook his head. “Not today, Mia.”

“Why?” she asked, confused.

“I’ve got the day off work today.” Her face perked up. Mia shifted in her chair, eager to hear the news. “And I haven’t spent a lot of time with you and Mummy recently after what happened with Uncle Maes. I’ve missed you both,” he smiled softly.

Turning her attention away from her husband, Riza watched Mia carefully for her reaction, discerning whether or not she’d burst into tears, like she did upstairs, at the mention of her late uncle.

“Oh. Okay,” she nodded. Mia sat back in her chair and her shoulders slumped.

Riza took a breath, holding it for a second. She was preparing herself to console her daughter if she needed to, but Mia glanced down to her side. Hayate was sitting by the side of her chair. He let out a quiet whine then licked Mia’s fingers, which had been wrapped around the base of her chair. Her grip loosened, and Mia smiled down at Hayate, scratching him behind his ears.

“Okay, Dad,” Mia smiled, looking up at her father. “Oh, I’m excited! I get to spend all day with you and Mum!”

Despite the pup being sprung on them at a moment’s notice, Riza was extremely thankful Hayate was in their lives. He was an excellent little dog and had very quickly become Mia’s best friend. The two were inseparable, which was a joy to discover. He could pick up the feeling in any room and tried to comfort the people he loved in any way he could.

Mia had decided she wanted to go to the park, so of course, her wish was their command. After her “fun breakfast”, she was restless as Riza tried to apply sun lotion to her skin to protect her from the hot day outside. It had eventually turned into a game, with Mia squealing and laughing, trying to get away from Riza. It was frustrating as a mother who just wanted to get her daughter ready to go out, but in reality, the laughter was music to Riza’s ears. She didn’t mind indulging her daughter in her game because it worked wonders erasing the sight of the desolate look on Mia’s face from Riza’s mind.

* * *

Chocolate for breakfast was definitely a bad idea and Riza hoped Roy now knew why she’d told him only to let Mia have a little bit. She was certainly full of beans this morning. The sugar from the sweet treat certainly didn’t help.

Riza laughed to herself as she watched Roy run around the park with Mia. She’d been up on his shoulders, steering him like a horse by turning his head in the direction she wanted him to go. Riza snorted at that analogy, because it was fitting, given his surname. Mia had Roy chasing her in a game of tag. She’d been up to the top of the climbing frame twice, begging her father to join her. He’d used the excuse that he was too big to play on it, and would probably break it, to give himself a little reprieve. Riza knew he was struggling because as he’d waited at the bottom patiently for Mia to come down, he caught Riza’s eyes and silently begged her to help him.

“That’s what you get for giving her a whole bar of chocolate for breakfast,” Riza smiled sweetly, pecking his sweat covered cheek.

Roy groaned in response. “Noted for the future,” he muttered.

“Mia?” Riza called.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve laid out lunch. Come down and I’ll take you to wash your hands.”

“Okay!”

“Go and have a seat,” she directed Roy, nodding over to the picnic bench they’d claimed. It was a beautiful sunny day, so when Roy offered to prepare a picnic for them to take to the park, Riza readily agreed. “I’ll take her to clean her hands.”

Just as Mia landed on the spongy surface of the playground, Roy gave her a quick kiss as a thank you.

“Come on, Mum!” Mia urged, grasping her hand tightly and gently pulling Riza away from Roy. “I’m hungry.”

“Patience, Mia Bear,” Riza scolded lightly. “You don’t want to pull me over now, do you?”

“You’re too big for me to do that,” she giggled.

“Ah, but you forget, Mia. You’re a superhero, remember. You’re so strong that you might knock me over!”

Mia’s face lit up, dazzling her with a smile as she walked backwards, Hayate and Riza following her lead. “I would never knock you over, Mum,” she promised. “But I’ll be careful, I promise! I wouldn’t want to hurt my little brother or sister though…” Mia paused in her walking, biting her lip worriedly.

“You don’t need to worry about hurting them,” Riza reassured her, placing a hand on her head to ruffle her hair.

“How did the baby get in your tummy?” she asked. Mia’s eyes dropped and looked at Riza's small bump.

“Uh…” Riza smiled to herself. “That’s a talk we can have another day.” She nodded towards the toilets they were approaching. “We’re almost there, so time to wash our hands.”

“Another day?”

Riza nodded. “Yes,” she promised. Then a rather wicked idea occurred to her. “Or you can ask your father,” Riza added casually, trying to hide her smile. “I’m sure he would love to tell you all about how that happens.”

“Okay!”

“Another time, though.” No, that would be too mean to Roy, Riza thought to herself with a quiet laugh. It would be entertaining to see his face though. “And we’ll all talk about it together, I promise.” With any luck, that wouldn’t be today, and Mia would have forgotten all about it.

“Okay,” Mia agreed again, pushing open the door of the public toilets. He probably shouldn’t have been inside, but Hayate managed to sneak his way in the building and waited patiently for Mia to finish her task. Riza did the same, talking Mia through it to make sure she did it properly. At the age of five, she knew how to wash her hands, but was so excitable today that Riza wanted to make sure it was done correctly and wasn’t a rush job.

Roy looked weary when they returned. Hayate smelled food so had bounded ahead. Mia raced after him, trying to keep up. Roy shifted on the bench, moving to scratch Hayate behind the ears as he desperately tried to sniff at the food just out of his reach.

“Sit,” Roy commanded. Hayate obeyed instantly. His eyes never left the food bowl on the bench above him. “Good boy.” Roy lowered the bowl and Hayate dug into his lunch. Roy placed his water bowl beside him as Mia arrived.

“Hi Daddy,” she greeted brightly. She was sitting across from Roy, up on her knees as she gazed at all the food before her eagerly. From behind, Riza thought she might be drooling.

Roy had insisted on making all the food, so Riza has stayed out of his way. He was cooking something up, both literally and figuratively, so she’d steered clear of the kitchen and left him to it as she got Mia ready to go out. Her morning sickness was all right today and hadn’t plagued her yet. Riza wanted to keep it that way.

It was quite a spread. There were chipolata sausages, different types of seasoned chicken, rolls, sandwiches, a fruit salad, a colourful vegetable salad and various dips for the crisps and carrot sticks Roy had just opened up.

“Hello, Bear. What do you want to eat for lunch?”

“Is this all for us?” Wonder swept across Mia’s features.

Riza sat next to Mia, accepting the paper plate Roy offered her.

“Whatever you see, you can eat,” Roy confirmed.

Mia eagerly, but carefully, began to pile things on her plate.

She was so full after her monstrous lunch that Mia didn’t have the energy to run around like she did afterwards. Roy was probably thankful for that. However, apparently she’d ate too much because she was lying on the bench with her head on Riza’s lap, complaining about feeling ill.

“You did eat a lot, Mia,” Riza told her.

“I didn’t mean too,” she whined, clutching her stomach. “I feel a little bit sick,” she whined.

“Just rest, Mia Bear,” Riza soothed. “You don’t need to go anywhere or do anything. Just close your eyes.” She stroked Mia’s cheeks then brushed her fringe off Mia’s face. When Mia had been younger her fringe had been like Roy’s; all over the place and falling over her eyes. However, as she’d grown older, she’d expressed the desire to have it cut like her mother’s so she could see better, so Riza styled it for her.

“Okay, Mummy,” she mumbled, her eyes already closed.

Roy laughed to himself. “Do you think this will teach her to slow down a little?” he joked.

Riza shrugged and smiled down at their daughter. “At least it’s tired her out a little. That’s something.”

“Or she’s crashing hard after that sugar rush.”

Riza hummed in agreement. “And who’s fault is that?” she asked playfully.

“I know, I know,” Roy agreed, lifting his hands in surrender. “Lesson learned. Completely.”

“She’ll be fine if she sleeps it off. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for her to get half an hour or so anyway. If she sleeps too long she may end up not sleeping tonight.”

“We don’t want that,” Roy grimaced.

Riza smiled at Roy’s fearful tone. “No. We don’t.”

They both lapsed into silence and Riza continued to stroke Mia’s forehead as she drifted off. Soon, her breathing evened out and she was asleep.

“Out like a light,” Riza chuckled. “She must take that from you,” she smirked over at him.

“Are you insinuating that I like a nap?” he asked, eyes sparkling.

“I am,” Riza replied. “How very astute of you, Colonel Mustang. They should put you in investigations.”

Roy snorted and shook his head. He dusted his hands off, removing crumbs from his last sandwich and started to clear up the table. Riza helped as best she could from her spot without jostling Mia, but Roy swatted her hands away playfully and gently.

“I’ll get it. You just sit back and relax,” he admonished.

Apparently this was a recurring theme for the rest of the day. Once home, Roy shooed her and Mia out of the kitchen while he prepared dinner. Hayate was his helper and apparently they were going to have some “guy time” together. Riza narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him but didn’t fight him on it. Mia was tired but Riza wouldn’t let her sleep. So, the two of them went into their living room and turned on the radio. A radio show aimed at children was currently playing, so Riza sat with her and the two enjoyed it, curled underneath a blanket. Riza just shook her head and smiled fondly when she heard Roy muttering to Hayate in the kitchen.

After a curious period of silence, Hayate came padding through with a piece of paper attached to his collar. Laughing to herself, Riza gave him a good scratch as he sat at her feet, waiting patiently for her to remove the message that had Roy’s dorky behaviour written all over it.

Roy Mustang requests the presence of Princess Mia Mustang in the dining room. A feast is being served in her honour.

“Mia,” Riza nudged her daughter. “Dad has sent a message to you.”

She read it tiredly, forehead scrunching up in confusion. She looked up at her mother, silently asking her to translate.

“Dinner is ready,” Riza explained. “Come on, let’s see if you can eat something after your big lunch earlier.”

“I don’t know,” Mia replied with uncertainty.

“It would be nice to try, though,” Riza reasoned. “Otherwise you’ll be really hungry when you go to bed and it’s not a nice feeling trying to fall asleep when you’re hungry.”

“Okay, Mummy,” she agreed tiredly, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She’d recovered from her sugar high but had still tired herself out today. Most importantly, she’d been happy. So had Riza. It was a wonderful day they’d all had together and in all honesty Riza didn’t want it to end.

Roy stood at the head of the table, clutching Mia’s favourite bear in his hands. “Dinner is ready,” he announced, making the bear wave to her.

“Is Mr. Brown allowed to sit beside me?” she asked, hopping up into a chair and looking at her favourite bear. Mia was not the most creative with names, given the light brown fur of her favourite toy.

“That’s why he’s here.” Roy placed the bear in the chair next to Mia’s and pushed her toy into the table.

Her dinner was a simple meal. It was all very plain, but Riza knew it would be perfect for her if she was still feeling slightly unwell after her feast earlier. There were lots of vegetables that wouldn’t fill her up too much, along with a handful of fries and some roast chicken.

“Our dinner is ready too,” Roy announced, catching Riza’s eye. “Would my Queen like to join us?” Roy asked. Riza was still standing by the door, simply observing them interact together.

“Is that why I’m the Princess?” Mia piped up from her seat. Her feet were kicking in her chair as Hayate sat by her side patiently, eyeing every bit of food that left her plate. Mia even played along with Mr. Brown and offered him a nibble of her vegetables before she finished them off.

“You are, my darling,” Roy reassured her. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he passed by, approaching Riza. “Mummy is my Queen.”

“So… Does that make you the King?” Mia was curious, offering broccoli to her bear.

Roy looked in Riza’s eyes as he came to a stop before her. “Yes,” he replied to Mia. “What say you, my Queen?” he asked.

Her arms slowly lifted and snaked around his neck. Riza stepped closer, so their bodies were almost touching. Her fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of Roy’s neck, causing him to inhale sharply. Angling her head, she considered him for a moment.

“Of course,” Riza smiled up at him. “I’d be honoured.” She angled her head to kiss him, pressing her lips gently against his as Roy’s hands lifted to grip her hips. She lingered there for a moment. Her eyes closed as she savoured the moment.

The three of them sat down to a meal of roast chicken, fries. Perfectly simple after their large meal at lunch.

Mia was out like a light again shortly after dinner. Riza tucked her into bed and pressed a kiss to her forehead, bidding her goodnight. Her daughter stirred as Riza stroked her forehead and cheek but sighed happily in her sleep and cuddled into Mr. Brown.

Riza almost tripped over Hayate sitting obediently outside Mia’s bedroom door. He looked up at her expectantly, another piece of paper tucked inside his collar. Crouching, she retrieved the paper with a fond shake of her head, thanking their pup.

The King requests the Queen’s presence in the bedroom.

Anticipation flooded her as she made the short journey through the hall. Opening the door apprehensively, she paused when she noticed the candles. Multiple candles cast a soft glow around the room, bathing it in an amber light and creating a warmth through sight alone. Sitting on the centre of the bed, was Roy, a single red rose in his hands and a cheeky grin on his face.

“What’s this for?” Riza asked, confused.

“Surprise,” Roy replied, his tone soft.

Riza closed their bedroom door and Hayate yipped in protest from outside. Riza didn’t even hear him. She was too distracted as she stared at her husband, still trying to find something to say.

Roy rose from his seated position on the bed and approached her slowly. “Ideally we’d have a little wine too, but for obvious reasons, we can’t,” he added with a chuckle. “I’ll just have to save that plan for later.”

“Wh… Why?” she asked again, looking up at him. There was a plan for later? She knew he’d been up to something while she was getting Mia settled, but this…

Roy handed her the rose with a flourish, interrupting her train of thought.

“A rose, for my Queen,” he announced with the silliest smile on his face.

He was such a dork. Riza handled the rose carefully, twirling it in her fingers as she watched the petals spin. But Roy was also so romantic. Riza was so touched by the lovely gesture.

“I said I knew I had a lot of making up to do,” Roy started. Riza shook her head, opening her mouth to argue, but Roy silenced her gently by grasping one of her hands and lifting it to his heart. “If I may?” he interrupted, sounding slightly nervous. “I… I have something I want to say.”

“Okay,” Riza relented. She swallowed, gooseflesh rising from her skin as anticipation flooded her once more.

“Like I said, I know I have a lot of making up to do. And yes, we discussed it all and went through it, but… I still made you unhappy. And I’m so sorry about that.” His eyes were earnest as they bored into hers, matching the tone of his voice. “So, this is my next step. If you would like to join me, of course?”

“Yes,” Riza breathed. “Yes, of course I would.”

The nervous energy seemed to fizzle out of him slightly and his shoulders visibly relaxed. His head bobbed. “All right. I love you Riza,” he stated passionately. “Can’t imagine a life without you by my side, in fact. In whatever capacity that may be. You were my friend first and foremost. You taught me so much and continue to do so. I adore you with every fibre of my being, and I meant it when I said you were my Queen,” he chuckled. “And, yes, you say I have no making up to do, but can you humour me?” he requested. “I want to do it because I want to make you happy. I promised I would on our wedding day. And I want to leave the wonderful Riza Mustang at a loss for words,” he quipped, a wry smile on his face. “It doesn’t happen very often, and I’ve decided it’s a rather nice feeling.”

“You surprised me,” she replied. She was slowly coming out of her daze.

“Making you happy makes me happy, Riza. That’s all I want,” he murmured, gripping her hand in both of his once more. “I’m doing gestures like this because I want to, not because I feel I have to. And… there may be some ups and downs in the future, but I promise, that feeling will never change, along with my love for you, okay? Even if things get dicey, or things take a bad turn for whatever reason, never doubt that.” He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. “I love you.”

“I promise, I won’t,” she whispered.

Riza stepped forward and crushed her lips against his. Roy responded eagerly in kind, his hands moving upwards and underneath her shirt. The fingers on her skin ignited a fire that had been lying dormant inside of her all throughout this exchange. Still thrown off by the surprise of his gesture, Riza decided to show him just how much she loved him. As they fell onto the bed, Riza whispered her own “I love you” against his skin.

* * *

“Sorry about rushing into things,” Riza murmured. “The candles are really lovely.” And they were, releasing the scent of vanilla into the room.

Roy turned his head, grinning at her. “Don’t apologise for rushing things Riza,” he chuckled. “Plus, you’re a much better view than the candles.”

“Still… You worked on it. And it was very much appreciated. Same with the rose… Wherever it is.” Riza craned her neck to look on the floor but couldn’t see where she’d dropped it. She couldn’t remember.

Roy rolled over onto his side from his back. Arms enveloped her tightly and Roy pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Don’t worry about that, Love. It had the desired effect.”

“To get me into bed with you?” Riza quipped.

Roy laughed. “No. To surprise you. To show you just how far I’m willing to go to try to make you happy and to show you how loved you are.”

“You already do that.”

“Yes, but I can do more,” he stressed with a secretive smile. “And that’s something I’m excited about showing you.”

“Today was perfect, Roy.” Her head tipped downwards so she could rest her forehead against his chest. “I loved every minute.”

“Good,” he replied firmly, giving her a squeeze. “I had the best time with you and Mia and wish I could do it every day.”

“We’ll have more weekends like that,” she promised.

“Every weekend?” he ventured.

Riza tipped her head up to look at him. “Every weekend,” she confirmed.

#royai #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai au #the way it was #emma writes

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fullmetalscullyy · 5 years ago

Text

the way it was - chapter 11

this old heart darlin’ is weak for you

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

chapter 10 | read on ao3

1911

i love you

this old heart darlin’ is weak for you

Their holiday was a welcome break from their usual busy lives and while they’d both missed Mia terribly, they had to admit that it was nice not having to look after a toddler all day.

The next week was a complete blur. Riza’s teaching classes could be done from home. She had to attend the East City University in the morning to collect her paperwork for the day, which was a welcome exercise because the walk to the university meant Riza could give Mia her mid-morning nap. Then, she had two days to complete whatever she’d been given by her professor. It was a system that worked and Riza just hoped it always would.

At this pace she’d be a qualified teacher in two years. It was an exciting concept. Riza loved Mia, but she didn’t want to be a stay at home mother her whole life. She became restless after being in their apartment for too long, longing to go out and see what the city had to offer her that day. Riza wanted to learn and explore. There was so much knowledge out there in the world and so many places to see. Riza, now with the freedom she’d craved her whole childhood, wanted to see it all. Taking Mia along for the ride made it even more enjoyable.

The weekend after their short getaway, they found themselves in East City Town Hall, at a military ball. Roy was required to go and Riza was interested to see what this kind of party was about. She expected there to be stuck up big wigs in the military parading about with their medals, and Roy told her she wouldn’t be far off. It was a lot of sucking up to the higher echelon of the military, and the thought left a sour taste in Riza’s mouth. She’d heard some stories from Roy when he’d been venting after work. The higher ups didn’t seem to be particularly pleasant company to keep.

“They’re not,” Roy told her, buttoning up his shirt in the mirror in their bedroom. “But I have to go. Having you there would make the whole experience infinitely better. Plus, everyone is dying to meet you.”

“Everyone?” Riza asked, raising an eyebrow while she secured the necklace around her neck. She didn’t normally wear jewellery however Roy had been very sweet and surprised her with the necklace as a gift this morning. He’d bought it for her to wear to the ball, and she couldn’t turn it down. It was beautiful, but simple in design. Just how she liked things. It was a spontaneous gift from Roy and that was all it took for her to love it.

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Everyone in the team is convinced you aren’t real and that I’m making you up.”

“Why?” she asked, amused.

Roy shrugged, then grinned. “I don’t think they believe that I could’ve ever secured a woman as lovely as you.” He kissed her temple as he passed, brushing his hand along her waist gently as he entered their bathroom and closed the door.

“The feeling is mutual, by the way.”

There was a pause, then the sound of the toilet flushing. After he’d washed his hands, Roy’s head poked out the door as he dried them on a towel. “You don’t believe in how amazing you are?”

Riza shook her head with a fond smile. “No. Well, yes, but not the point I was trying to make. I don’t believe how lucky I am to have fallen in love with you,” she clarified.

“Don’t ever think you’re not the most incredible person on the planet.” He hung up the towel before approaching. He gripped her waist gently while Riza wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. “And I’m the same. I can’t believe I’m so lucky.”

Chris was in town for the weekend to visit, so she’d taken Mia off their hands to spend some time with her granddaughter. Mia adored Chris Mustang, which was strange given the latter’s personality, however she was a completely different person with Mia. She loved her granddaughter unconditionally, and it showed in everything she did for her. Riza’s stomach dropped when she saw just how many gifts Chris had bought for Mia for this visit. In her mind, she mentally searched their apartment for where they’d store them all.

A taxi took them to the Town Hall. It was a subdued ride. Roy chatted with the driver while Riza gazed into the streets of East City. It wasn’t often she got to drive anywhere in the city. Whenever her and Roy went out, they always walked. It was mesmerising to watch the lights flash by as they flew along the road.

“Hey, boss!” a portly ginger man greeted them from afar. He called across the room towards them, offering Roy a wave. A blonde head popped up above everyone else, scanning the room for Roy. Upon spotting them, his eyes widened and his head ducked. He disappeared from view.

“Come on,” Roy urged, steering Riza towards the members of his team. Nerves tickled her stomach as they approached as it always did when she was introduced to someone new. Roy had stated there were four people in his team, so meeting four new people made it slightly worse.

“Hey!” the first man greeted enthusiastically with a wide grin. He glanced over to the blonde man beside him while wearing a rather smug look on his face, then turned his attention back to them both.

“Hey, Breda,” Roy greeted before turning to face her. “This is Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda,” he introduced, gesturing towards the ginger man. Lieutenant Breda grinned and offered Riza his hand, which she took.

“Nice to meet you,” Riza smiled.

“Likewise, Mrs. Mustang,” he beamed. The title was far too formal for her liking, but from the glint in his eye, Riza guessed it was for the benefit of the blonde man who was glaring at him. She glanced between them both, resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow at their antics.

“Please, just call me Riza,” she offered. The smirk dropped from his face, and Lieutenant Breda’s smile was genuine this time.

“Of course.”

“This,” Roy announced, moving onto the next member of his team, gesturing to the blonde man who snapped out of his glare hurriedly. “Is Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc. Don’t mind the glare or sullen look,” Roy added smoothly, making direct eye contact with Lieutenant Havoc. “He’s probably lost a bet with Breda over something. Ignore him.”

“Hey,” he muttered quietly but indignantly.

“This is Warrant Officer Vato Falman.” A grey-haired man took her hand and shook it firmly. Before being introduced his face had been a picture of seriousness, but now he smiled at Riza warmly.

“A pleasure to meet you, Ma’am.”

“And this is Sergeant Kain Fuery.” The last member of the team looked young – almost too young – with black hair styled in a boyish look. His glasses rose as a smile overtook his whole face. It lit up the room with its warmth, and Riza took a liking to the young man.

“It’s so lovely to finally meet you, Ma’am,” he greeted enthusiastically. She liked Sergeant Fuery. He seemed very sweet.

“Likewise, to all of you.”

“What would you like to drink?” Roy asked her.

“A wine would be lovely, thank you.”

“I’ll get it, Ma’am,” Lieutenant Havoc interrupted. He looked slightly sheepish, and she supposed this was his way of making it up to them over whatever had stirred up the one-sided glaring match between him and Lieutenant Breda. “Don’t worry about it, Boss. I’ll be right back.”

“That was… Unexpected,” Roy stated, blinking after Lieutenant Havoc.

Lieutenant Breda snorted. “Havoc didn’t believe you’d actually married someone. He was convinced it was fake. A whole scam,” he chuckled. “It would’ve been elaborate if it had been, however, I don’t think you’re that smart to pull it off.”

“Hey,” Roy frowned indignantly.

Lieutenant Breda shrugged, but his grin remained.

“It’s a likely conclusion Breda arrived at, Sir,” stated Warrant Officer Falman. “It would require a whole lot of planning and backtracking that even a normal person would struggle and fail completely with it.”

“Thanks… I think.”

“Don’t worry about them,” Sergeant Fuery interrupted their conversation, drawing Riza’s attention away from her husband and his two colleagues. “They do this all the time. It’s all good fun.” Riza found herself smiling.

Sergeant Fuery gave off a very “little brother” vibe, and Riza felt the pull towards it. She thought he would be someone she’d get on well with. She wasn’t quite so sure about the other three yet, but wasn’t one to jump to conclusions. She’d give Lieutenants Havoc and Breda the benefit of the doubt. Warrant Officer Falman seemed perfectly cordial and friendly though, like Sergeant Fuery. He seemed very intelligent, and Riza wondered if they would have any deep and interesting conversations at any point. Roy wasn’t unintelligent by any means, but his focus was alchemy and military strategy and that was it. He had no interest in subjects that weren’t a science. Riza was fascinated by the world, and often wondered aloud why things were the way they were. If Roy had an answer, he would tell her, but the beauty of the world lost some of its wonder when a scientific theory had been applied to it. Riza was undeterred though. She still loved that about him. She’d often sit and watch the cogs work in his head as he tried to figure something out, or how he passionately described how something worked. She’d find herself falling in love with him all over again.

Lieutenant Havoc returned with their drinks and offered them to her and Roy. He gave her an apologetic smile as he approached. “Sorry for the glare earlier. I hope you didn’t think it was directed at you.”

Riza shook her head. “Not at all.”

Lieutenant Havoc let out a sigh of relief, and Riza found herself smiling behind her glass, amused. Bless him. “Okay, good. Breda can be an asshole sometimes and likes to rub it in my face when he wins.”

“What did he win?” Riza asked innocently. It was comical the way his face fell. Lieutenant Havoc glanced towards her briefly, then away, swallowing hard. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat nervously.

“Okay, don’t take this the wrong way,” he began, turning her away from the rest of the group. He placed a hand on her shoulder, walking a few steps away. She resisted the urge to shrug it off and went with him, too intrigued to pass the opportunity up.

“Havoc?” Roy called behind them. The hand left her shoulder, and Riza watched as he waved Roy off irritably. This was still very entertaining to Riza. It was adorable the way Lieutenant Havoc’s face had turned slightly pink in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry. I’ll start with that,” Lieutenant Havoc stated. He downed his drink – it looked like whisky – and placed the glass not so gently on the table next to them. He looked incredibly nervous, and like he didn’t want to offend her. “But Breda and I made a bet that Mustang had made you up.”

“Oh?” Riza asked, raising an eyebrow. She only just managed to hide her smile by taking another drink. Who would have the time to craft an entirely fictional wife and child, and then have the patience to maintain that for a year and a half?

“Yeah.” Lieutenant Havoc coughed to clear his throat. “I’m sorry. He never really mentioned you, but we saw a wedding photo. I thought it was some wife he’d lost years ago. From the way he’d handled it, it certainly seemed that way.”

Now that was interesting. Just how did Roy handle their wedding photo in the office?

“What do you mean?” she asked before she could think, her curiosity getting the better of her. She hadn’t meant to ask out loud, but she was interested to know the kind of person Roy was at work around these men.

Lieutenant Havoc shifted on the spot. “Oh. Well, uh, he would always be so careful with it. He would never show anyone and wouldn’t bring it up, but I caught him a few times smiling at it when he was alone.” Lieutenant Havoc paused and shot her a genuine smile. “I must say, Ma’am, from the way he smiles at that photo, he loves you a lot.”

Riza felt warmth spread across her whole entire body. A smile slowly spread across her face, and she nodded. “I feel the same way about him.”

Lieutenant Havoc grinned. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re real and still among the living.”

Riza chuckled at him. “Thank you, Lieutenant Havoc.”

“Just Havoc, Ma’am,” he grinned.

“Then it’s just Riza for me too.” His grin was infectious. She liked him. He was a bit of a goofball, he didn’t seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was open and honest. Plus, if Roy had hand picked him, then he must be loyal. From the way he spoke, Riza could tell Havoc had a lot of respect for Roy. That was probably why he’d apologised to her immediately. Riza could respect that about him.

“What are you two talking about?” Roy asked with a grin, announcing his approach. Havoc stiffened slightly and Riza smirked to herself.

“Oh, nothing,” she waved off. “I was just telling Havoc about one of my lovely single friends that might be interested in him.”

Riza snorted, unable to hold in her laugh, when she saw Havoc’s spine straighten even further. His cheeks turned a light colour of pink.

“Wow, relax, Havoc. It’s a woman, not an eight-foot crocodile.”

“Excuse me,” Havoc muttered, shooting a glare at Roy, who just laughed at his misfortune.

“It was about the bet, wasn’t it?” Roy stated, slinging an arm around her shoulder. They walked towards the dance floor, Riza noticed. Excitement coursed through her veins at the thought she’d be able to dance with Roy again. It was one of her favourite past-times, being held close in his arms as they swayed together.

“It was, yes. Poor guy was genuinely apologetic. I respect that though.”

“Havoc’s the kind of guy that will bet on anything – and I mean anything – so it didn’t surprise me. I want to address that though –”

There was the quiet tinkling of someone hitting glass, followed by an announcement that dinner was about to be served.

“Ah,” Roy smiled at her. “After dinner then.”

Dinner was beautiful. The food was exquisite, and Riza was thankful that the company at the table was solely the men in Roy’s team. They bantered back and forth, which was captivating. Riza laughed so much during dinner that it took her an age to finish her meal. They were good men, and Riza was glad they all had Roy’s back. She often worried about him at work, going out on field missions and the like. It made her feel better to know these men were looking out for him.

They were incredibly loyal to him, and now, by extension, her. Havoc had announced that quite loudly – he was on the way to getting very drunk – and the rest of the team agreed, raising their glasses in a toast. Roy had just beamed at her, giving her hand a quick squeeze under the table. She supposed this was what he’d wanted all along – for them all to meet and get along so well. The fact she’d been so readily included in this little group made her happier than anyone would probably ever understand. She’d been on her own for so long as a child, then Roy came along and lit up her life. However, it had just been the two of them. Now, she had a plethora of people around her who were happy and willing to look out for her. It was a wonderful feeling.

On the dancefloor Roy twirled her around effortlessly. She felt like she was flying in his arms. She could dance, but he was much better at it than her. He’d taught her when they were growing up together, in stolen moments away from her father’s oppressive presence. It was a welcome reprieve from her monotonous evenings of cooking and cleaning up after Roy and her father.

“I love you,” Riza murmured as a smile spread across her face. Her arms were looped behind his neck, her fingertips playing with strands of his hair.

A loving smile broke out across Roy’s face. His eyes softened and he bent low to capture her lips with his own. She sighed into his kiss, embracing the love he showed her. “I love you too.”

The memory of Havoc’s confession floated through her mind at that moment, broadening her smile.

“I must say, ma’am, from the way he smiles at that photo, he loves you a lot.”

“What?” Roy asked, noting how big her smile was.

“Nothing. I’m just happy to be with you.”

Roy hummed in agreement. He shifted his stance so that her body was pressed against his. Their cheeks rested against each other and when Roy spoke, his breath tickled her ear. It felt divine.

“I’m glad you’re here. These balls are always so boring.”

“You’ve been to more than one?” she asked, curious. She tried to think back to when he may have brought it up before but couldn’t find anything in her memory.

“Well, just one. It was after coming home from Ishval. It was a “celebration” of the war being over. It… Well, it wasn’t enjoyable in the slightest. Most of the time, Hughes and I just people watched. It was thrilling to watch the amount of ass kissing that went down that night. There were so many brown noses.”

Riza snorted, hard. She felt Roy laugh, the sound reverberating through her own body.

“It was nowhere near as good as tonight has been.”

Silence enveloped them, but it was Riza who broke it.

“I’m curious…”

Roy hummed in reply.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone about me?”

Roy met her gaze.

“I’m just wondering,” she reassured him.

He was quiet for a moment, contemplating his answer. “At first, I was told not to trust anyone by General Grumman. He’s kind of become my mentor over the years.” Riza resisted the urge to react to the news. She wasn’t even sure if Roy knew the General was her grandfather.

Was he here tonight? Riza wasn’t sure if she was ready to deal with that interaction just yet. She’d been told as a child there was bad blood between her grandfather and her father, so they cut ties and moved away. How would the General feel, knowing his granddaughter had married someone working so closely with him?

“So, I didn’t and kept my cards close to my chest. I know I can trust the boys, but everyone else…” His face screwed up. “There’s a very small pool of people that I can trust in East City Headquarters.”

“That sounds very paranoid, Roy.”

“With you on the line, I’m very paranoid about this kind of thing.”

Riza thought he’d be joking, even just a little bit, but when she pulled back to look at his face, she saw his expression was serious. While she was glad, it didn’t sit well with her. It spoke of danger.

“But,” Roy continued. “It’s been a few years and Grumman has filled me in on who’s best to avoid and who can be trusted. I became more comfortable with the idea. I never denied it when people asked, but I didn’t want to project it, just in case. Plus, I’m not Maes Hughes, screaming about my family every two seconds,” he chuckled. “I don’t want to irritate people so much they began to hate me,” he winked.

“No, and I don’t blame you,” Riza agreed with an amused smile.

Roy wasn’t one for making grand gestures for her in front of an audience, and that was because he knew she’d hate the attention on her like that. And if no one at his work knew he was married, that didn’t matter to her really. She’d just been curious. He showed her, and her alone, how he felt about her. Everyone else didn’t matter, so long as she knew how much he loved her.

“I’m proud, in a way, that you played it so smartly.”

“Yeah?” Roy asked, seemingly surprised at her admission.

She nodded. “Like you said, ‘with my family on the line, I’d be very paranoid too.’” Her voice dropped in volume, causing Roy to press his cheek gently back against hers so he could hear her. “What you’re planning on doing is dangerous, and while I don’t like it for obvious reasons, I’d never hold it against you. After what you went through and seeing how it has affected you, I don’t want it to happen to anyone again either.”

Roy pulled away. She was trapped in his eyes, but Riza didn’t mind. She never would when it came to him. Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a rush, her decision made.

“You’ve got a good, solid, team behind you. I see that, now. It makes it less frightening for me, knowing you have this support behind you,” she admitted. “Before, in my mind, it was you against the whole world, and it was terrifying. But I see now that there are a lot of people who support you. Not just the core team. I’ve overheard others talking tonight, at the bar and around the room. Some people here really like you, Roy. They look up to you, and it soothes my nerves a little to know that there’s a lot of people who have your back. It’s not just me doing all the work,” she smiled wryly.

“Yes, but you do the best job out of everyone,” he murmured as he hugged her close to his chest. Smiling, she patted his back twice, affectionately, as he gave her body a tight squeeze.

Her hand found its way to his cheek when he pulled back. His eyes poured out with love for her, and it thrilled her to see it.

“Of course, I do the best job,” she replied, as if it was obvious. It made him laugh, a grin playing over his lips.

“You really do. Maybe I didn’t bring you up before because I wanted to keep you all to myself,” he grinned cheekily. “Since you do such a good job, after all.”

Riza stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh again, but louder this time. His head tipped back slightly. It truly was a beautiful sight seeing Roy so carefree and happy. He deserved it.

The rest of the night was perfect. During the fast songs they took a break to return to the table with the men. They were greeted each time with enthusiasm and joy. She was goaded into telling them how she and Roy met. She kept some parts out. Her childhood experience was still very raw within her, and she didn’t feel like dragging the past back up. That was firmly behind her. The only thing that had been worth keeping from it had been Roy, and she was eternally thankful that she had.

Fuery – they’d all insisted on Riza calling them by their last names rather than their titles – asked what their wedding ceremony was like. Falman asked to see the ring, complimenting her stone and band, stating they were the perfect combination. Havoc bought them a round of drinks to celebrate their wedding, despite it being over two years ago. His reasoning was they’d all missed it, so now was as good a time as ever to make up for it. Breda agreed wholeheartedly and staggered after Havoc to order the drinks with them. As they walked, they slung their arms around each other’s shoulders, slapping each other on the back amicably.

They were a good bunch, these boys, and Riza was officially initiated as “one of the team” that night.

Rebecca finally found her shortly after their “wedding toast”.

“There you are!” she exclaimed, flopping down into the chair next to Riza. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Where have you been?” she accused.

“Right here,” she smiled. Rebecca was slightly drunk, her cheeks pink and flushed from the alcohol, but she wasn’t fully drunk. Riza had seen her drunk a few times, and this wasn’t it. This was “merry Rebecca” – the Rebecca who had no filter and no shame. Riza had envied her confidence from day one and strived to be as good as her someday. Since meeting the brunette, it had done wonders for her confidence. It was freeing, and Riza was very thankful. Rebecca had also taken Riza to the East City HQ shooting range, smuggling her in late at night like they were a couple of teenagers. Riza had learned to shoot in the forests outside her home as a child, and she was pleased to see that she hadn’t lost her touch over the years.

Rebecca had done so much for Riza since they’d met, and tonight may just be the night she repayed her big time. It might not, however it was worth taking the risk. Plus, she deserved a little fun.

“Have you met Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc?” Riza asked, gesturing towards the blonde man who was slouched in his chair at the table. He smirked over at her, upon hearing his name, but he froze when he spotted Rebecca.

“No, I haven’t,” Rebecca stated slowly, eyeing him carefully.

“Havoc, this is my friend, Rebecca. The lovely lady I was telling you about earlier?”

Rebecca snorted. “Lovely,” she muttered underneath her breath, as if offended to be referred to in such a way.

“Uh, yeah. I remember.” He seemed to have sobered up rather quickly, Riza noticed, amused. He sat up straighter in his chair, like a bird preening at the prospect of a mate.

“I’m anything but a lady tonight, my friend,” she stated boldly, rising from her chair and striding over to Havoc. He watched her like a deer caught in the headlights.

Riza snickered when she noticed Rebecca had put extra sway into her hips as she walked. “And have you been talking about me, Riza Mustang?” she accused good naturedly, casting her eyes back over her shoulder.

“You said you wanted to find yourself a good man,” she shrugged with a grin.

“You,” she commanded Havoc. “Come with me.”

“What?” he asked, looking quite terrified.

Rebecca grasped him by his biceps and lifted Havoc from the chair. He yelped, almost falling over in his haste. Then, with a coy look over her shoulder and a wink, she dragged him over to the dance floor.

“God, help him,” Roy stated, taking up the chair beside her, the one Rebecca had just vacated.

Riza chuckled. “I agree. He’ll have his hands full with that one.”

“It’ll be good for him,” Roy stated, as if he was a proud parent watching his child go on their first date. “Either way, it will be character building.”

Riza snorted. “Rebecca can be lethal. I hope he’s strong enough for it.”

“He’s a good man,” Roy stated, his tone taking on a surprising sincerity after all their joking. “He’ll be good for her, I think.”

It certainly seemed that way, because not even half an hour later, Riza spotted the two of them slipping out the ballroom, hand in hand. Riza grinned when she spotted it. She was happy for her friend. Havoc seemed like her type – tall, handsome, and probably with some cash to play about with. He was a military man, so that was a given.

That would be a conversation for later.

All in all, it was a wonderful night. They took a taxi home, more than buzzed from the alcohol. Both Roy and Riza whispered and giggled to each other in the back like a couple of teenagers. With excitement in his eyes, Roy led her up to their apartment with a grin, his hand gripping hers tightly as they ran up the stairs. Once inside, Riza locked the apartment door in anticipation, only to be backed up against it. Roy’s kisses were feverish as he slipped her jacket off her shoulders. Riza gave him the same treatment, ridding him of his tuxedo jacket and leaving it to fall in a heap on the floor. It was expensive, as all his clothes were, but Riza didn’t think he’d care. Not right now.

They stumbled their way to the bedroom, bumping against the walls and breaking apart to laugh. It made Riza feel young again. It was like they were newlyweds on their honeymoon.

Roy held her close as they drifted off, both spent. Riza gripped his hand tightly, smiling down at their joined hands.

“I love you,” he murmured sleepily into her hair. Riza smiled, feeling sleep tug at her tired body, enticing it into unconsciousness. If she gave in, her only regret would be cutting this beautiful moment short. She wanted to live in it forever.

“I love you too, Roy. So much that it leaves me breathless sometimes.” Her admission was bolder than usual, but it was the truth. It came right from her heart. The alcohol had managed to pry it out of her grasp, and Riza was glad. At that moment, it was something she wanted him to know.

Roy hummed happily behind her, adjusting his grip on her waist, tugging her tightly against him. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“What about Mia?” she yawned, letting out a quick laugh.

“That angel is the light of my life,” he stated, his speech broken as he began to drift off. “But you are the warmth.”

Riza smiled and settled back against him. His breathing evened, signalling he was asleep.

“And you are mine.”

#royai #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai au #emma writes #the way it was

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fullmetalscullyy · 5 years ago

Text

the way it was - chapter 10

you're never gonna be alone, from this moment on

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

chapter 9 | read on ao3

1911

you're never gonna be alone, from this moment on

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Riza asked Rebecca worriedly. It was a little too late to be asking that question now – their train left in twenty minutes – but she had to check.

“Riza, for what feels like the hundredth time, yes,” Rebecca chuckled. “It’s absolutely fine. Go and enjoy your break. God knows, you need it.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled sarcastically, handing Rebecca Mia’s overnight bag, who laughed in response.

“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine, won't we, Mia?” The one year old stared at her Aunt Rebecca and broke out into a large smile, nodding her head slightly. “See!” Rebecca exclaimed. “We’ll be fine!”

Riza cast one long, lasting look at her friend. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure she trusted Rebecca Catalina with her child. The woman was crazy – in the best way. Who knew what mischief they’d both get up to?

“Come on, Love,” Roy chuckled, tugging on Riza’s elbow. The car is loaded up. Let’s get to the station.”

“And when you come back, we have that ball to look forward to next Saturday,” Rebecca winked. “So, practice dancing this weekend!” she called after them. “We need to find me a good man at that ball!”

They were going to Central, staying for two nights, then returning on Sunday. Roy was too busy with work to be able to take some time off, so they’d opted for a weekend. He could still be called away, but it was better than nothing. He’d booked it without telling her, revealing his surprise in the form of a poem in a card for her birthday. The closer their little night crept closer, the more excited Riza became.

She’d never been to Central before. Hell, East City was a shock after her small, quiet hometown. Central was on a whole other level. She’d read all about their capital city when she’d been growing up. She’d fallen in love with the stories of the nightlife, the hustle and bustle of the streets, and the thought of strolling down the streets arm in arm with someone. She never thought that someone would be Roy, but now she was so happy it was.

The train ride was long, reaching Central Station late in the evening. Riza perked up after her nap, gazing out the train window as the landscape passed her by. Green grass turned to grey concrete while tress turned to buildings. She’d never seen so many all cramped together before. East City was surrounded by farmland, so everything was spread out, the buildings weren’t cramped together. Here everything was packed into as little space as possible. Although it was slightly intimidating, it was amazing and completely different from what she was used to.

Their hotel wasn’t far from the station. Roy had booked it and still refused to tell Riza how much it cost a night, but by looking at it she’d say looked incredibly posh. Riza swallowed as she walked in, pulling her cardigan closer to her body in the cool summer evening. She felt a little out of place in those clothes when a bellhop approached them with a smile, suited and booted, equipped with a little red hat to match his red uniform. He took their luggage and directed them to the front desk.

Once in their room, Riza gazed in wonder at how plush it was as she perched on the edge of the bed.

“What do you want to do for dinner?” Roy asked. He sounded tired. Working and then the long hours travelling must have taken it out of him. There were dark circles under his eyes, but Riza didn’t know if it was fatigue, or stress. This whole case with the brothers was wearing on him. He’d been fighting to become their commanding officer, seeing as he’d recruited them, if the opportunity ever arose. The eldest, Edward, hadn’t given his answer yet, however he was currently off the grid as he was getting auto mail surgery to replace his missing limbs. Riza didn’t even know the boy but couldn’t help but worry for him.

“Are you tired?” Riza asked instead with a sympathetic smile.

“That’s a funny answer,” he mumbled, flopping down on their very large, and very expensive looking bed. “That doesn’t sound appetising.”

Riza leaned back slowly, resting her head next to his. With his eyes closed and his face relaxed, he looked like the boy she’d fallen in love with years ago. He almost looked innocent in the dim but atmospheric lighting of the room. If it was a little brighter, she’d see the stress lines on his face, but in this instance, when they were all alone and in their own little world, she was glad she couldn’t.

“Are you?”

“A little,” he yawned loudly. He still hadn’t opened his eyes.

“Is room service an option?” Riza asked. She bit her lip. It would be expensive, she was sure, but he was tired and didn’t want to drag him out to a restaurant to eat when he wasn’t feeling up to it. Besides, she wasn’t even sure where to start in this neighbourhood. Everything looked like a boutique shop, not a restaurant.

Roy groaned loudly in agreement and rolled over, gathering Riza in his arms and moving his body on top of hers. “I like the way you think,” he murmured, leaning down and kissing her. “I’m going to get changed,” he announced, pecking her nose. “I feel icky from the train ride.”

“Icky?” Riza giggled.

“What?” he protested childishly. “It’s a word.”

“Yeah, one Mia would use.”

Roy stuck out his tongue at her.

“With that attitude, she definitely takes after you.”

Roy had disappeared into the bathroom to freshen up, but after Riza had quipped that, he poked his head back through and grinned, his eyes twinkling happily.

After dinner, they curled under the duvet cover on the bed, snuggling close as the radio warbled on with a radio drama. Roy was feeling very affectionate, and the next thing Riza knew, she was underneath him, devoid of clothing, with Roy’s bare chest pressed against hers. His kisses littered her neck, her shoulders, her chest, before moving up to her face. She sighed into him, running her hands over his strong shoulders, feeling the muscle underneath his skin.

There was a knock at the door.

Roy moved to her lips, capturing them gently in his teeth before letting go. Riza whimpered, pressing herself harder against his body, eager for more. He moved across to her ear, nipping the lobe in between his teeth gently, but making her gasp.

Another knock.

“Roy,” she whispered breathily. He grunted in response, not once letting up his loving assault on her ear before beginning to stray lower to her throat. “There’s someone at the door.”

Knock. Knock.

Roy took a moment to stop. He either hadn’t heard the knock or was too lost in the moment to register it. It made a thrill fly through her body that he was so intent on her in that moment. He was always attentive, and even to this day she was amazed by it. Growing up she’d been made to feel so unloved by her father that she never thought she’d find it with someone. She was glad it was Roy.

Riza hated to do it, but they wouldn’t go away. She felt irritation and frustration begin to build in her chest. She just wanted to be left alone this weekend. Was that too much to ask? Roy finally stopped, heaving a sigh. His head bowed as the person knocked again, pressing his forehead to hers.

“Lieutenant Colonel Mustang?” the voice called out. Roy groaned in response, rolling off her. He kicked off the sheet while Riza pulled it over her exposed body, shivering as the cool air hit her skin. He’d been keeping her warm.

“Who is it?” Riza asked uncertainly. She didn’t know if he was frustrated or angry. She couldn’t tell from the angle, but from the set of his shoulders and the way he marched over to the door, she settled on angry.

Clothes thrown hastily on, Roy opened the door.

“Lieutenant Colonel, sir,” the man greeted. “There is a call for you at reception.”

“Who’s calling?” he asked. Riza could hear the irritable edge to his voice.

“A General Grumman, sir.”

Riza froze in place.

She heard Roy sigh, but barely. Is it him?

“Understood. I’ll be down in five minutes.”

“Excellent, sir. I’ll pass on the message.”

“Thank you.” The door closed quietly and Riza watched as he walked defeatedly back to the bed. “I have to go and take a call.” He apologised with his eyes, his expression, and his tone. “Sorry.”

Riza smiled at him. “That’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” he grumbled. “I want to stay here… curled up with you.”

Riza chuckled, grasping his chin lightly as he leaned towards her. She kissed him quickly. “I understand. Go and do what you have to do, Roy Mustang.”

“What I have to do and what I want to do are two extremely different things.”

“You work for the military,” Riza reminded him gently. “I understand that. Go and speak to your General. At least now I know who’s more important to you,” she joked, laughing at his expression.

“That’s not funny,” he deadpanned.

For her joke, she received a fierce kiss – one with the promise that there was more to come when she returned. Before he turned and walked away, Roy held her gaze. There was a fire burning in her eyes, and it made her heart flutter to realise it was burning for her.

Riza settled back in her pillows and closed her eyes with a smile, excited for what this weekend would hold for them.

And wow. She’d never enquired who Roy served under, but never imagined it would be her grandfather.

* * *

She’d fallen asleep before he’d returned from his call. Either she was more exhausted than she thought, or he’d been on the phone for a very long time. It was a luxury, Riza noticed too, that she could fall asleep so freely. It was always after Mia went down, and during the night it was like being in between waking and sleeping, anticipating when Mia would wake up for a feed or just to fuss. However, he couldn’t have been too mad at her because when Riza awoke, his arm was wrapped tightly around her stomach and his breath tickled the back of her neck every time he breathed. She smiled to herself, gripping the hand on her stomach tightly as she entwined their fingers, cuddling back in.

“Go back to sleep,” Roy mumbled into her hair sleepily.

Riza chuckled to herself. She almost argued it, but then remembered Mia wasn’t here. She didn’t need to get up and make up a bottle or make her breakfast. Roy’s relaxing ministrations managed to coax her back to sleep, but that didn’t take too much convincing.

He woke her up the next time by kissing her cheek. The bed dipped behind her and Riza rolled over with a smile, watching him yawn, stretch, and walk to the bathroom. The morning light streamed through the gold curtains, basking the room in a golden glow. Riza was still in awe at the grandness of the place. Everything was gold or cream, but it was tasteful. It didn’t look tacky, but it certainly looked expensive. On the one hand, she was secretly thrilled to live in such luxury for once in her life. On the other, she was worried. Just how much did this place cost? Could they afford it? Roy got more than enough money being a State Alchemist, but that was for research purposes. Personal holidays weren’t research purposes.

“Sorry about last night,” he murmured, snuggling back up to her again once he’d returned form the bathroom. He placed his head on her shoulder, pulling the duvet right up to their chins.

“It’s all right,” she reassured him, rolling over so she was facing him. Riza ran her hands through his hair. “What was it about?”

Roy seemed to stiffen under her hand, but Riza pretended not to notice. She continued playing with his hair. “I wish I could tell you, but it’s military business. It’s not supposed to be shared around.”

Riza nodded to herself. That was fair, she supposed. It wasn’t important to her anyway. She was merely curious as to what could have possibly dragged her husband away from his short break at ten o’clock on a Saturday night.

“It must have been important,” Riza murmured.

“It… Yes. It was.” She said nothing else but stopped moving her hands. “Like I said, I’d love to tell you, but until… other things happen first, this has to be confidential.”

“Okay.”

Roy moved and positioned his body so he could get a better look at her. “Sorry,” he replied sheepishly.

“It’s not your fault.” Riza shrugged. “I was merely curious.”

“I know, but I hate keeping things from you.”

A wry smile spread across her face. “A military secret is fair enough.”

“Regardless, I still hate it.” He shuffled onto his pillow and made himself comfortable. “I wish I could tell you everything.”

Riza swallowed, knowing he was referring to Ishval. “Some things are best kept secret, though,” she whispered.

She’d only wanted to know so she could find a way to help him. It was never a morbid curiosity. She knew flame alchemy was a touchy subject. He never used it in the house. Before he’d gone to war Roy had used it all the time. Riza had joked he was getting lazy because instead of getting up off the couch, he’d just snap and light the fire in the fireplace. He used the excuse that he was too comfortable with her pressed against his chest to move, but Riza knew it was the convenience. Hell, he’s used it to light the gas hob for cooking. Granted the first time he’d almost burnt the house down, so he never used it again, but still. It was prevalent in their lives. Now, there was no mention of it. There was no use. His gloves were in a briefcase in his sock drawer, buried underneath the fabric. They never came out again, only for work.

“Agreed,” Roy mumbled. “I…” He heaved a sigh.

“Roy, it’s okay. I don’t need or want to know what happened out there,” she reassured him. It felt like they always came back to this. To say she didn’t care was too blasé, but she didn’t mind. It wasn’t a deal breaker with her. “I’d only asked so I could possibly find a way to help you.”

“It’s not that,” he stated. He pushed himself up onto his elbow. “It’s… It’s all just sitting up there. When I fall asleep, I’m afraid of what will come in the darkness.” His admission was whispered, fearful.

Riza pressed a hand to his cheek. “I know.”

“When you’re not next to me it’s hard. Very hard. Sometimes I just can’t do it. I do have insomnia – the doctor diagnosed me with that.”

“When?” she asked, brow furrowing. He’d never mentioned going to a doctor.

He looked sheepish. “A few months after coming home.”

Riza sighed. She wished he’d told her, but there was nothing she could do about it now. At least he’d told her.

“I’m a hypocrite – saying I hate keeping things from you – but it's only because I don’t want you to worry.”

“That’s always going to happen, so don’t worry,” Riza admitted.

Roy grasped her hands tightly. “I know,” he admitted solemnly.

“What else is there?”

Roy shook his head. “Nothing you don’t already know. I promise.”

“PTSD?”

Roy nodded. “I figured you already knew that though. I knew you were aware of it after I kept waking up with nightmares. It was obvious.”

Riza nodded. “I read up on it. I read up on a lot. I just wanted to understand. And to be honest… I already knew about your insomnia.” She glanced up at him from staring at his chest. “That was kind of a given. I noticed you weren’t sleeping.”

Roy lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “I appreciate that. A lot. You have no idea.”

“I don’t want you struggling alone.”

“And I don’t want you to worry.” He chuckled. “This isn’t going to work.”

“I know. It won’t.”

Roy looked down at their hands. “I’m trying to be better. It’s… Well, to say it’s getting easier to deal with over time would feel like an insult to the people’s memory.” The people he’s killed. “And it’s not. But I’m striving to be better. Being at work helps because it gives me purpose and direction to prevent something like that from happening again.” His head moved up, so his gaze was on her. “Being at home helps too. I look at you and Mia and would hate it if you were put through that too. The thought of you both got me through Ishval. It brought me home.” He bowed his head. “If I didn’t have you, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Suicide. Riza swallowed. Maes had told her stories of Roy’s mental state over there. When he’d been passed out in their bed the night after his drunken outburst, Maes had filled her in on some details. She’d felt dirty doing it, but Roy wouldn’t open up and she was so worried for him. He’d been talking like he didn’t deserve a child. Riza was afraid of what he’d do to himself. She just wanted to look out for him.

“Maes told me,” she admitted quietly.

Roy’s eyes widened, then narrowed slightly. “What did he tell you?”

Riza bit her lip. She had to tell him. It wasn’t fair for her to preach about him sharing things when she kept things herself.

“You took what happened hard,” she whispered. She was scared to tell him. Who could blame her? When she’d kept something from her father years ago, he’d flown into a rage and hit her. Just once, but she’d been terrified. She spent the next month of the scorching summer wearing jumpers to hide the mark. She hated keeping things from people. She had to tell Roy. She was just afraid of how he would react. Nothing like Berthold – he was dead and gone in the past – but it was still nerve wracking.

“You struggled a lot,” Riza continued. “But he also told me that Mia and I got you through it.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Roy muttered.

Riza stiffened like a board. The memory of the ache in her arm flashed in her mind. Roy didn’t seem to notice.

Roy sighed. “I’m not going to kill him,” he grumbled. “I just…” He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “I don’t know. I wanted to tell you myself, I suppose,” he chuckled, but it looked strained.

“He also said that just being there for you would help. I’d asked him how I could.”

“He was right.”

Riza gripped his hand tightly. “We will always be here for you, okay?” she stressed, her expression determined. “I’ll always be here for you to return home to.”

Roy smiled at her softly. He leaned forward, kissing her. “Thank you. I know I can be a pain in the ass, and I can be difficult – especially about all of this stuff –”

“You’re stuck with me, Roy,” Riza interrupted him. “You’re not going to push me away, I’m afraid.”

“Thank you for putting up with me.” Roy kissed her forehead. “And for the reassurance. It helps a lot.”

“I just want you to be okay,” Riza whispered. “I want you by my side forever.”

“Forever, huh?” he asked.

Riza nodded. “Forever,” she confirmed, her tone sincere.

“I think I can try and do that for you, if you’ll have.”

“Always.” Riza punctuated her response with a fierce kiss. “Just promise me you won’t leave,” she whispered against him.

“I won’t,” Roy vowed. “Not like that again.”

That was all she needed.

#royai #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai au #emma writes #the way it was

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