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cornerofmadnessTitle -- In Each Other
Author--![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cornerofmadness
Disclaimer --Arakawa owns all
Genre: romance/drama
Rating -- technically Mature (NC-17) but only the very last scene in ch 6 is. All else is teen.
Characters/Pairing -- Roy/Riza, Ed/Winry, Alphonse, Chris Mustang, Armstrong
Timeline/Spoilers -- post 108
Word Count -- 12,289
Warning -- some potty mouth bits but nothing really worse than that
Summary --They are making the most of their recovery time
Author’s Note --Notes: For the 2012-2013![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fmabigbang. This time it’s in reverse, with me basing my story off kriem’s beautiful art. Thanks to evil_little_dog for the beta and to bay115 for the help along the way and to enemyofsleep for hosting this again.
back to the beginning
Chapter Four
Roy yawned prodigiously. He had made good on his boast. All night long and a good part of the morning with cat naps in between. Walking might be a bit problematic, a reminder he wasn’t Edward’s age any more. Of course, Edward’s age was wasted on him, but judging by the glares Edward kept favoring him with and Alphonse’s tired eyes, youth wasn’t wasted on Alphonse. Roy snuggled down in the soft padded chair next to the fireplace in his aunt’s bar.
“Are you just going to lie around all day?” Edward asked
“Alphonse, how did your brother escape his suite?” Roy stretched his legs out.
“He’s tricky.” Alphonse put his foot up on the ottoman.
“It’s too early in the morning for your garbage, Mustang.” Ed sat on the hearth. “This place smells like smoke.”
“It’s a bar and weren’t you just accusing me of lying around all day?”
“Do you know what my brother did last night?” Ed bowled on, ignoring Roy.
“I’m hoping he came downstairs, had a good meal and met up with some of the girls.” Roy glanced over at Alphonse. “Judging by those tired eyes, he did. Either that or he was up all night in pain with his broken ankle.”
Edward’s face fell and Roy knew he had hit some nerve he hadn’t known existed.
“I came down and talked with Lilirose. It was a nice evening,” Alphonse said quickly, casting a quick glance at his brother.
“Well, I’m glad. Where’s Winry, Edward?”
“She disappeared into the back with one of those girls.” Edward shrugged. “I’m not sure I want to know what they’re up to.”
“Probably making us breakfast, so be nice. And I haven’t been lying around all morning,” Roy said. No, what he and Riza had been up to definitely couldn’t be called restful. “As it turns out, Mr. Tarr was friends with Hawkeye’s father. She’s calling him now. Hopefully, she can get him to agree to let us come see the books, maybe even buy them from him. If not, I have a backup plan.”
“This would be so much easier if he just talked to us.” Ed rubbed his shoulder. Roy didn’t doubt there was residual pain in the restored limb, judging by his own alchemically healed hands. There probably would always be some pain.
“Some collectors are very protective of their collections,” Roy replied.
“What is the backup plan, sir?” Alphonse asked.
“To see if one of my sisters can work her feminine wiles on him.”
“Depraved, figures.” Ed snorted.
Roy narrowed his eyes at him. “Do you want to see the books or not, Edward?”
“We want to own them,” he countered.
“I can’t promise that, but I can at least do my best to get you time with them.”
Alphonse sighed. “It would be easier if we could just say our dad wrote them, but who would believe that? They’re hundreds of years old and we can’t really say, well, you see our father was a living Philosopher’s Stone. We can’t even say we’re the descendants of the Great Sage of the West because there’s no proof of it.”
Roy nodded. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the origins of the boys’ father. “That is unfortunate. I can do this much for you. My aunt and sisters trade in information. I can have them look around for other things dealing with the Golden Alchemist, the Great Sage of the West and any other names he might have used,” Roy said, seeing how much it would mean to Alphonse. He was less sure about Edward, but Roy had no doubt that the elder brother would never be accused of being sentimental.
“Paracelsus, that’s another name he told me he used.” Alphonse’s eyes brightened. “Thank you, sir.”
“You can thank Lilirose later. That might be fun.”
“Shut it,” Edward rumbled.
“Edward, just go and take all the attention you’re showering on your brother and give it to Winry. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it more.”
“Thank you, Roy,” Winry called, leaning in the doorway. Edward flushed, obviously realizing she heard what Roy said. “Your aunt says to come on through to the private dining room. Breakfast is ready.”
“What’s for breakfast?” Roy got up, stretching. Edward helped his brother up.
“Better question is who cooked it,” Edward grumbled.
Winry’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have something to say, Edward?”
To his credit, Roy didn’t snicker at the stricken look on Edward’s face as he realized he’d stepped in it. The boy was learning, but undoubtedly, like Roy, Elric’s mouth would be his own worst enemy always.
“Just curious. You know me.” Edward tried to play it off. Alphonse rolled his eyes and moved away from his brother before things started to fly. Roy had heard Winry stories.
“It was a collaborative effort,” Winry replied, her face pinched with annoyance.
“Riza and my aunt aren’t very good cooks either. Better hope a sister had a hand in it,” Roy whispered to the brothers. Edward snorted. Alphonse wisely kept his own counsel as he hobbled toward the dining room.
Roy didn’t know what to expect, almost hoping for cereal. It was hard to mess that up. He was a fairly good cook, out of self-defense, having grown up in the Mustang and Hawkeye households. When he entered the room, Roy eyed the pancakes on the plates. “Smells good,” he admitted.
“They are,” Chris said. “Winry can cook.”
“I know Gracia taught Winry her coveted apple pie recipe. Elicia must have told me three times,” Roy said, noticing Riza wasn’t around. He hoped that was a good sign about the phone call.
“Winry makes a great apple pie,” Alphonse agreed, sitting down to a pile of pancakes.
“Thanks, Al.” Winry beamed, setting another plate of pancakes in front of Edward.
Chris handed Roy his plate and the women joined them for breakfast. The pancakes tasted as good as they smelled. Roy wanted to wait until Riza joined them but cold pancakes weren’t good pancakes. Besides, he had a secret weakness for maple syrup, soaking his pancakes in it. Riza knew that weakness well. Hmmm, could he sneak the bottle upstairs without Edward asking an insane amount of questions? Of course, taunting Edward with the answers could be fun.
“I spoke to Mr. Tarr.” Riza’s voice jerked Roy out of his happy food fetish daydreams, dragging his attention to the doorway.
“He’s going to let us see the books?” Edward asked with enthusiasm.
“Yes and no. He refuses to allow you into his home.” Riza came in and sat beside Roy. “He’s turned into quite the paranoid man. He will let me see the books as the daughter of his old friend.
Ed stabbed a pancake, his face curdling with his mood. “What good does that do us? Can you even read an alchemy journal?”
Riza laughed. “I was raised by an alchemist, Edward. I’m sure I could reproduce it accurately if I had to copy it, but he’s not letting me in his house, either. He’s posting them to me here on the base, or should I say he’s sending them to Major Armstrong. After the last assassination attempt on the soon-to-be general,” she put a hand on Roy’s shoulder. “All our correspondence goes through Investigations.”
Roy saw almost everyone’s face pinch at the reminder that if he hadn’t been gifted with clap alchemy, he’d have died within days of getting his sight back from an exploding package. Attempts on his life, Grumman’s and Olivier’s were expected and had already started. Luckily, they were smarter than their various enemies, most of them bitter Bradley supporters and a few emboldened Ishbalans who didn’t seem to like that their elders had helped overthrow Bradley and were working toward an accord with the new Amestrian government.
“But if he’s sending them to you, you could let us see them,” Edward pointed out, brightening.
“Naturally. So in a day or two, depending on how long it takes for him to post them and for Alex Louis’s men to clear the package, you’ll get your chance to see them. And, if you want to keep them, I could at least ask if he’s willing to sell,” Riza offered.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Hawkeye,” Alphonse said. “That’s great.”
“What do we do until then?” Edward asked.
“Edward, you’re in a town with a thousand things to do and with a lovely lady with which to do them. Go out and have fun,” Roy waved him off, eyeing that syrup bottle again. His aunt caught him and rolled her eyes.
“And what’s Alphonse going to do then?” Edward asked and Winry looked shocked that he seemed amiable to taking her out on the town.
“I’ll get Lilirose back down here and he can stay here and have fun,” Roy replied. Alphonse went red and Edward choked on his pancakes.
“What would you suggest we see?” Winry broke in before things could degenerate.
“There are the museums and several wonderful stores you might enjoy,” Riza offered. “Or the zoo or the arboretum.”
“I’m sure there are several good machine shops.” Winry’s eyes lit up.
Edward groaned.
“I have several trips planned out for visiting guests,” Chris said. “I’ll let you see the brochures.”
“And on that note, I have some things I need to talk over with Hawkeye.” Roy got up, picking up his plate, dropping his napkin “accidentally” over the syrup. He picked up the bottle with the cloth. “Just let me get these out of the way. And seriously, Alphonse, if your brother and Winry would like to tackle a few things on their own, Lilirose or any of the girls would be glad to go with you.”
“Thank you, si…Roy,” Alphonse said.
“Riza.” Roy nodded to the doorway and she went with him. Roy dumped his dishes and heard Edward bellyaching that the syrup had disappeared. Roy didn’t even remotely feel bad.
XXX
It was afternoon before they headed out into the summer sun. Riza was nearly unrecognizable in a red wig that sported long curls. It bothered him a little for her to have to hide. He wanted to be out and about with Riza how she was, but until then, he had to be happy with the moments they had together no matter how it was achieved.
“So, what did you have planned?” She looped her arm with his.
“A nice walk through the park to start with,” he said, thinking about the surprise he had there. Either she’d love it or think he had lost his mind to the Gate along with his sight.
“All right, you have me intrigued.”
They didn’t need a lot of words as they walked. There always had been a soft comfort in the silence that stretched between them. That was all due to Riza. Roy was a talker, but in her company, he could be still. The park was filled with moms and their kids and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares. He’d buy her an ice cream cup later.
He picked up their leisurely pace, hearing the off-key but bright music. Chris had told him the Flying Horses Roundabout had been fixed up while he and Riza had been out in the cottage. When she was younger, Riza had always wanted to go on a carousel, but there had been none nearby in the isolated woodland town she grew up in. There had never been money – or at least none Master Hawkeye wanted to free up – to go two towns over to the carnival there. Roy had tried once only to suffer a day's worth of rants about being a spendthrift and shirking his studies. Still, he had never forgotten she had wanted to go.
“Roy, is that what I think it is?” she asked when the gaily-colored carousel came into sight. Horses painted in fantastical colors, elaborate saddles on their backs and full curly manes strung with painted on ribbons flew around and around to the not-quite-up-to-snuff music.
“You always wanted to go for a carousel ride. I thought maybe you’d like to give it a try. We never had any out east, too frivolous, I guess.”
“You’ve taken leave of your senses,” she laughed. “How can we go on that ride?”
“You throw a leg over a horse,” he said, hoping he hadn’t just made an egregious lapse of judgment. “No one’s going to care we’re not there with our child. Lovers have been known to go for a ride or two.”
She kissed him. “You are insane.”
He smirked. That was a given. “So…you like the idea?” Why he felt so nervous, Roy couldn’t say. He wanted this to be whimsical and romantic because they had so few moments together that he wanted to make the most of them. He also wanted Riza to want to ride the carousel so he wouldn’t have to confess that he wanted to ride on a child’s ride.
“It’s one of the sweetest things you have ever done.” She kissed him again, long and slow and wholly inappropriate for a park filled with kids. “And I bet my horse beats yours.”
“Oh you’re on, but being a gentleman, I’ll let you have first pick.”
She snorted. “Gentleman? You probably still have syrupy sticky spots on you.”
“Hey, I showered.” Roy led her to the carousel and let Riza pick out her horse. The platform was slotted so the horses could move forward and backwards as well as up and down.
She picked a magnificent black steed with a gold saddle, accepting his hand up onto it. That left him with either a white one with flowers in its mane or the one that looked like a pack horse and should be on a different carousel. He resigned himself to the hapless mule of the Flying Horse Roundabout. In the row ahead of them, twin boys thrashed their wooden horses with the leather reins while their tired mother looked ready to fall asleep on her horse.
“I’d have brought you at night,” he said, “more romantic, but well you know.” Roy shrugged. Riza knew as well as he that certain curfews were still enforced and parks were no-go after dark.
“It won’t last. You’ll have to bring me back.”
He smiled at her, looking forward to that. There were less obnoxious kids then, too. Roy considered the boys in front of him. One day he would like to have a few of his own - hear that Maes? - but with his luck, bratty twins would be in his future. At least he could hope to give them a better childhood than either he or Riza had enjoyed. Chris had tried her best, but her idea of motherhood was a bit skewed, and he’d been young when he’d been bundled off to Master Hawkeye’s. Chris might be a little left of center, but Hawkeye had been downright hopeless. For that matter, his and Riza’s adulthood had been marked with terror and sacrifice. Maybe that’s why he felt compelled to recapture that hint of innocence with a carousel ride.
The tinny music started and the horses shuddered to life. The twins whooped, standing in their stirrups, bouncing. Their mom ignored them, probably half hoping the wooden horses would turn carnivorous. Riza glanced over at Roy and he shrugged.
“You picked these horses,” he reminded her, his horse coming to a sudden stop before rolling backwards. Figures. As the carousel spun, Roy spotted the music’s problem, a blown bellow. His horse rallied toward the end and at least managed to beat the prissy white one. However, it managed to stop at the top of its arc and his feet dangled in air. Occasionally, he understood why Edward was so annoyed at being short. Roy jumped down to offer Riza a hand she didn’t need since her horse was at the bottom. Ahead of them the twins squalled, not wanting to get off.
“I don’t blame them. That was fun,” Riza said wistfully.
Roy glanced over to the gate, not seeing a line. “Pick another horse and I’ll get another set of tickets.”
He went over to the attendant and paid him. “I’m going to fix it for you, too.” Roy clapped his hands and repaired the bellows and a few other minor issues he sensed as the alchemy worked. Several loud ooo’s went up and the attendant gaped. Roy ignored him and hunted down Riza. She had a palomino with a circus plume on its head this time. Next to it was a Xingese tiger, looking irate to having been saddled.
“I thought you’d appreciate him.” Riza waved a hand at the tiger.
“Better than the mule.” He wasn’t quite right about that. The tiger was broader-backed and Roy was reminded he wasn’t ten any more. Damn, he was going to have to get back into stretching before he turned into an old man. At least there were no rambunctious twins this time. His tiger leapt forward as the music started, sounding much less like the instruments had a cold.
“Ah, so that’s what you did. I was wondering,” Riza said, smiling broadly.
“It was driving me nuts to hear that music so sad. We’re supposed to be helping to fix up the city so…” Roy shrugged. That was one of Grumman’s non-military initiatives. The plan was to bring an end to war where possible, fix up relations with their former enemies if possible - with certain Bradley supporters, those who had survived the Promised Day, being offered up to those who wanted to punish Amestris’s former leadership - and lastly, Grumman planned on making life less about war and more about living for his own people. Parks, natural and amusement, were high on the list of things to be restored. Circuses were already in motion, bringing some joy and distraction to the most war torn areas of Amestris.
This time the tiger won. Roy left the ride with Riza on his arm. He tugged her close. “So what do you say to an ice cream cup?”
“Does it have hot fudge?” Her eyes danced
“Nice, decadent. I approve.”
“And since you took care of dinner last night, I made reservations at the Xingese Palace for tonight.” Riza gave his hip a squeeze.
“This is why I love you.”
“You love me for a whole host of reasons,” Riza replied.
“True, each more compelling than the last.”
“And that’s why I love you,” she said. Who was he to argue?
Chapter Five
“’Anna thought she heard something downstairs. Heart pounding, she snuck down the steps’.” Riza shifted on the bed, leaning against the headboard as she read.
Roy lifted his head off her lap, glancing up at her. “Wait, what? Anna knows there’s a murderer in town. She’s investigating it by sticking her nose into everyone’s business so clumsily my aunt would have killed her by now. Doesn’t she think that maybe the sound downstairs is the killer?”
“Sssh, you’re the one who wanted me to read you a story so I picked the book off the top of the to be read pile,” Riza kissed the top of his head. She was really starting to enjoy this, him resting between her legs with nowhere to hurry off to. While not sexual, it was still intimate, and she could get very used to it. That frightened her a little because it made her want to just resign and move into a new phase of life with Roy. It was far too dangerous. Roy needed her more to watch his back then to warm his bed. Stealing time like this was dangerous but worth it.
“Yes, but I didn’t know that it would be a mystery.”
“Were you hoping for a stormy romance?” Riza laughed at his disappointed expression.
“Of course.”
“You don’t need any additional stimulation.”
“Is that a condemnation?” He pouted. The damn man knew what that did to her.
“That’s me being hopeful.” She grinned.
His eyes brightened. “Ah well, then.” Roy snagged the book out of her hands, tossing it on the bed stand. He pressed his lips against her belly. From there, he proved his own imagination on the romance subject would make him a top notch author.
XXX
“I hope I didn’t call you too early, Flame,” Major Armstrong boomed into the phone, but Sciezka ignored him the best she could. Her ability to shut out the world and read came in handy sometimes, but it wasn’t tremendously interesting to read one letter after another. It was part of her job to make sure the information got divvied up to the investigators in the most efficient manner because not every piece came in with a designation, especially if it came from outside the military. “Yes, we have the package and it’s safe. I’m looking at it right now. Shall I have it sent over? All right then, I’ll keep my lunch time open and you can pick them up at that time. It will be nice to talk to you for a while.” He hung up then said, “Sciezka, I need to step out for a moment.”
“All right, Major. I can man the phones for you,” she said. Usually that duty fell to Sergeant Austen, but she was out sick.
“That won’t be necessary. Sergeant Clotworthy can do that. I’ll need your assistance with another matter later, so why don’t you take an early lunch?”
“Thanks, I will,” Sciezka replied, eager to exchange what she was reading here – a laundry list of names sent in by someone known only as the Madam – for a fresh new book. The major headed out while Sciezka locked away the paperwork. She didn’t really know what those names were for, but the investigators would want them and certainly didn’t want random eyes on them.
As Sciezka got up, she spotted a stack of books on top of Major Armstrong’s file cabinet. She picked up one of them. It wasn’t military, which was good. Military history wasn’t high on her list of fun reading. These books were old and reminded her of some of the things she had seen while working at Central Library – she still missed that job sometimes. The top book reminded her of Dr. Marcoh’s recipe books that the Elric brothers said was alchemy. That would make sense if these were the major’s books.
He was such a nice man. He wouldn’t mind if she borrowed them for a day or two. Scizeka packed them in her bag and carried them off to lunch at her nearby home. She’d talk to the major about them later. She couldn’t wait to start reading them.
XXX
“What do you mean the books are missing?” Edward barked, dragging the attention of several nearby patrons of the restaurant Roy and Alex Louis had agreed on. Roy understood the sentiment. Who the hell broke into the Investigations unit of the military and stole something that was worthless to most people?
Alex Louis’s mustache ruffled as the man huffed. “I do not know how it happened. They were there when I went to report to Lieutenant Colonel Ellington, but they were gone when I got back. Don’t worry, Edward Elric, we will find them. Have no fear.”
“This isn’t fear, it’s rage.” Ed took a huge bite out of his sandwich. Obviously rage wasn’t putting a damper on his appetite, not that Roy expected it would. Edward always blamed supporting Alphonse’s body for his big appetite, but it seemed to be the normal teenaged boy’s need to eat everyone out of house and home.
“We know you’ll do everything you can, sir,” Alphonse said more temperately. He tackled his ridiculous double order of lunch with gusto even bigger than Edward’s.
At this age, Roy had been losing weight. Hawkeye couldn’t afford food and they had gone without many nights. Then he ended up in the military with the worst food known to man and random assholes kept stealing the only things that might be edible. He scowled at the sudden remembrance of Maes. Roy sighed. “Whatever we can do to help, Alex Louis, let us know. From what Riza said, Tarr is ten kilos of crazy in a five kilo case, so I do not relish telling him we lost his books in the event we can’t find them again.”
“Of course. Some of my staff was out by the time I had to head for here, but I’ll be sure to enlist their help.”
“You could have told us the books were gone before we ordered,” Ed took another startlingly large bite then added while chewing, “We could have gone right out to look.”
“Don’t gulp your food, Edward. I doubt those books got far,” Roy said, earning himself a glare.
“Hell to that.”
“I’m sure Flame is right, Edward,” Alex Louis said. “We should not need your help. Didn’t Miss Rockbell accompany you and your brother here? You should be out enjoying her company. We can handle this.”
“I’m helping,” Edward growled. “I’ll make it up to Winry later.”
“Winry’s out with Riza and a couple of other ladies,” Alphonse said. “Clothes shopping, though I’m not sure their hearts were in it.”
“Lieutenant Hawkeye is a practical woman. Her companions may be more…frivolous,” Alex Louis ventured.
Roy snorted. They were out with some of his sisters. Frivolous and showy worked well. He did hope Riza would consent to at least one dress suitable for dancing. He had put a bug in Winry’s ear about that himself. Edward needed to take her out. In his experience, once a woman was well armed with an outfit bought especially for the occasion, the man had best consent to going to said occasion or be doomed to face her considerable wrath.
“Who cares about women’s clothes?” Ed asked with all the naivety of a man still new to the idea of having a girlfriend. He polished off the last bite of sandwich. “I’m done. Al, you’ll just slow me down on those crutches. You can go back to the hotel. Come on, Major, let’s go.” He popped up, giving Armstrong an expectant look.
“Let the man eat, Edward.”
“I can just get started on my own then,” Edward said, turning from the table.
“You’re not Fullmetal any more, as you so love to remind me, Edward. You can’t just waltz onto a military base whenever you want,” Roy said. “I suppose you could start at the front gate and ask around if anyone saw someone leaving with an armload of books.”
Edward glowered but nodded. “Fine, I’ll go do that. I’ll meet up with you there soon, Major,” he said as if he had some direct effect on that. He didn’t wait for an answer.
Roy glanced over at Alphonse who wore an apologetic look on his face. “I noticed that your brother left you, with me no less.”
Alphonse snorted. “Brother fusses at you and you trying to take care of me because you’re you, sir.” He shrugged. “Really, Ed trusts you. Besides, even though he likes to pretend I can’t do anything on my own right now, I can, in fact, hail a cab if you decide to go look for the books with Ed.”
“I have no doubt of that. You know I could drive you back to the hotel, though most of the livelier company is probably out shopping,” Roy said and Alphonse blushed. “Of course, the Madam should be around.”
“No, that’s all right. I might be able to help. It’s not all going to be running a thief to ground even though I think Ed’s hoping it might be. I think he’s getting a little bored.”
“I’m sure it’s been a big adjustment to this new phase in his life,” Roy agreed then turned to Armstrong. “You said not all of your men were around when you got back from lunch. That means you have a few to talk to.”
He nodded, his blond forelock flopping. “Sergeant Austen is out today, but Lieutenant Thurman was still out to lunch as was Sciezka.”
“Wait? Sciezka?” Al’s eyes brightened. “Is she still working with you guys?”
“Isn’t she the one you guys set up with Maes?” Roy asked.
“Yes, Sciezka’s a reader” Al said, reaching for his crutches as if he planned to bound up and go after her.
“I remember that. She helped me go through things so I could back trace what Maes had discovered to find out what got him killed,” Roy said and his companion’s faces sobered. “You think she would have taken the books?”
“Well, not maliciously, no. She remembers everything she reads and she reads a lot. Brother and I found her half buried under books once and taking things and reading them on the job is what got her fired from the library,” Alphonse said. “If she saw the books, she might have borrowed them.”
“I did leave them on the file cabinet. I saw no reason to lock them away,” Armstrong replied. “I suppose we should head back to the office then and talk to her.”
“Let me settle the bill and Strongarm, let’s go through the back gate.” Roy said, unable to hold back a grin.
The huge alchemist gave him a peculiar look. “Is there need for subterfuge I was unaware of, sir?”
“No, but Edward will be out front interrogating random strangers. Let that keep him busy for a while and out of my hair.”
“Sir, that’s mean.” Alphonse chided, but Roy saw the smirk on his face.
“That’s what he gets for waking me up far too early in the morning,” Roy huffed.
“Please tell me he didn’t go to your room and knock to demand you check on if the books had made it to Mr. Armstrong,” Alphonse groaned.
“No. All I know is my peace was disturbed by screams of ‘automail junkie!’ and ‘alchemy freak!’ And I was having a really good…dream, if you know what I mean,” Roy said, editing himself. Armstrong didn’t know – nor should he – about Roy’s current relationship with Riza.
“Oh, that. You get used to that.” Al waved him off. “That’s a constant.”
“You get used to it, Alphonse. Next time, I’m raiding the store of gags in the attic.” Roy waved over the waitress, leaving Alphonse laughing. “Now, let’s go see if we can track down those books.”
Chapter six
“This is what I was afraid of.” Riza sighed, leaning back in her chair in Chris Mustang’s second floor library. When she had been younger, the first time she had met Roy’s aunt, she had been shocked to learn the woman was a reader. Of course, back then, Chris was sleeker and sexier and seemed more interested in cracking a man’s secrets than the spine of a book. Riza had been only half right in that assessment. Chris liked to do both.
Winry laughed. “I expected this, too.” She waved a hand to the large table that the brothers and Roy were huddled over, all three of them nose down in the books they had rescued from Sciezka. “They’ve been at it for hours and knowing Ed and Al, they’ll be here all night.”
“Roy, too.” Riza nodded. “Every alchemist I’ve known has been like this.”
“Crazy?” Winry grinned and it was Riza’s turn to laugh.
“Yes, very much so. There must be something in how their brains are wired. They understand all the mysteries of the world except for the ones that say food, drink and sleep are necessary time to time. To this day, I wonder, did my father know just how sick he was before he died, or if it was something he shoved to the back of his mind along with dinner time and bed time?”
“He was sick?” Winry shot her a curious look.
“Very. He died. It was lung cancer. I keep telling Havoc that smoking did in my father.” Riza said. “It was a long time ago now, but he was like this, too, even more so in some ways.” She didn’t really feel like telling Winry that her father had hidden from life in his alchemy library. Edward and Alphonse weren’t like her father. Her mother’s death had cut him off from life and even his daughter hadn’t been enough to anchor him. That and the flame alchemy haunted him. Too bad she had been too young when he died to understand that. She would never have given her father’s handsome, idealistic young apprentice her father’s secrets had she understood the cost.
Winry nodded knowingly. “I’m not even sure what fascination this has for Edward any more. He can’t use alchemy. I know he’s speculating that maybe he could use Xingese alkahestry since it’s so different, so that means sooner rather than later, he’s going to go pay Ling a visit. They’d probably be gone already if Al hadn’t broken his ankle.” She sighed. “I know he’ll come back, but it’s not fun having him gone all the time.”
“Tell him that, though once you start sitting for your journeyman tests you might want an empty house. Bored men usually expect their girlfriends to entertain them. That was hard when Hughes was sent to Central while Roy was in the East. Roy had no friends to run around with and the excuse ‘I’m doing something right now’ doesn’t seem to sink into a man’s head, at least not any man I’ve known.” Riza’s attention got dragged back to the table as they started arguing over some point in the oldest of books which was one none of them had seen before. At least one book was a copy of something the brothers had let burn in their house
“You have a point. Of course, if he waits for a while, I could take a vacation in Xing myself. That could be fun,” Winry said, brightly.
“I would envy that trip. I know Roy would like to go some day. His mother was from there, but he’s never had the chance to go.”
“Are they still at it?” Chris asked, coming into the room with Lilirose.
“They’ve been ignoring us for at least an hour now. I’m not even sure they know we’re here,” Winry replied. “We might as well go do something else.”
“Boys, there is a group of naked women here that are ready to make your fantasies come true,” Chris called out.
No one paid her any mind. Roy glanced up momentarily, looking around like a wary woodchuck, then dived back into arguing with Edward over some whorl in the pattern they were studying.
“Wow, they’re gone,” Lilirose laughed.
“Roy boy’s been like this since he was a tot. I gave him one of his mother’s alkahestry books and he was gone. You couldn’t pry it out of his little fingers. He’ll be worthless until he finally tires himself out. Miss Rockbell is right, go do something. I have a standing room at the Zimmern. It caters to world food and music and we can start the night with a massage,” Chris said and Riza needed no more convincing. Zimmern was out of her budget, but Chris paid for her girls to go. Riza didn’t mind being a ‘sister’ for this occasion.
“We can even request all male servers,” Lilirose sweetened the pot. “They have such cute ones.”
“That sounds like fun. How much does it cost?” Winry asked.
“My treat,” Chris said, waving the girl toward the door. “Sorry boys, your fantasy women are going to find their fun elsewhere.”
When they were in the hall, Riza heard Roy ask “Did you hear something?” Well, at least something almost penetrated his little alchemy shield. She was content to let him have his fun. She’d be there after he tired himself out. For now, she could pass on a few tips to Winry about how to survive living with an alchemist and didn’t doubt the girl had a few ideas of her own.
XXX
Roy let himself into the bedroom, trying to look livelier than he felt. How it got to be nearly midnight, he didn’t know. He could have sworn it was afternoon and he and the brothers had just started in on the books. At least the light was still on so he wouldn’t be disturbing Riza. She was in bed, reading. She cocked an eyebrow up upon seeing him.
“What? You didn’t think I’d remember I have a beautiful woman waiting on me?”
“Past experience says yes, you’d forget all about me while you go poking through musty alchemy tomes for some germ of new information,” she said, looking back down at her own book.
“I’m smart. I learn from my mistakes.” Roy grinned, bouncing onto the bed. He took the book out of her hands and popped the mark into it. “Want to see?”
“After how you ignored everyone’s attempts today, it had better be good,” Riza replied but she grinned. He knew she wasn’t actually too mad at him.
“You knew this would be the result of getting those books,” he replied, taking her hands.
“I did and I plan to put a call in to Mr. Tarr tomorrow to ask if two State Alchemists could buy the books from him. He doesn’t need to know Edward has resigned. I think that might impress him a little. He isn’t an alchemist anyhow.”
Roy kissed her. “That is a very good idea.”
“I know. Now, you mentioned something about making it up to me.” She trailed her fingers along his neck.
Roy fished the book off the mattress and tossed it onto the bed stand. “Where to begin? I think I know. Be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Exactly where would I go?” she laughed as he headed into the walk-in closet.
“Nowhere. You like this view too much.” Roy posed against the closet door frame, letting her get a good look at his backside. Did she just stifle a laugh? Well, he was asking for it. He fished out the toy chest his aunt had stocked for various guests. He had put in a list of what he wanted, included which was more than a little embarrassing but less so than General Mustang getting caught at a shop that sold the stuff. He bypassed the soft cuffs and long curling feather. Riza could play with those one a day where they had more time for her to do to him what she wanted. For quicker play, given the hour of night, Roy found something perfect.
He took the repurposed confectionary treat of powdered sugar infused with vanilla. He displayed the jar to her, noticing Riza had the condom tin out on the bed stand. Better yet, her nightgown was gone. She was glorious enough to almost make him believe in God.
Riza smirked. “You do have a food fetish and have the gall to mock Edward for his.”
“That’s because he’s as orally fixated as Havoc but at least he chooses phallic-shaped foods instead of stinky cigarettes. Just don’t point it out to Edward, or you will be there for hours getting your head chewed off.”
Riza snorted, taking the jar from him. She set it aside so she could grab his shirt. Her deft fingers made short work of the buttons and she raked the shirt off his body. Riza palmed the erection tenting his trousers before picking up the jar. While he fought his way out of his pants and shoes, she dusted her breasts with the flavored sugar.
Getting on the bed with her, he kissed her, moving the kisses from her mouth, down over her neck, trying to ignore the scar, still pink and noticeable in spite of Mei’s alkahestry. His tongue followed the trail of sweet powder over her breasts, sucking and teasing as he went. Riza’s hand curled around his cock, slowly moving up and down over it, fingers sweeping over the tip as she went. She was going to make him half-crazy right off.
Her hands abandoned his hard flesh, encircling his neck, pulling him closer to her. Roy ran his hands down her sides, feeling her toned muscles tempered by the softness of her skin. Riza caught one of his hands, bringing it to her lips to kiss the scarred palm. His skin quivered at the touch.
Roy sat back, reaching for the condom. Her lips met his again as he tugged the thing into place then she pulled him back against the mattress. Sinking into her, Roy picked a leisurely pace. Well acquainted with each other, their bodies moved together like a precision waltz. He wanted nights like this to be theirs always without fear of reprisal, but the bittersweet touch faded as lust buried it.
He took her to the edge before picking up his pace. Riza shuddered against him, moaning as she tumbled over that edge. His hips pumped quicker as his need built. The release always left him deliciously dazed. Riza’s mouth devoured his before his senses returned. Gathering enough wit to dump the condom in the bed side trash to deal with later, Roy wrapped his arms around her.
“I am never going to let you go,” he whispered.
“I’ve never doubted it.”
Roy knew that soon enough they’d have more to worry about than missing alchemy books and more to do than spend loving moments like this. But those hard times could wait. This was their time and it wasn’t over quite yet. One day, hopefully soon, it would always be their time. Until then, he would dedicate himself to carving out the best future for them that he could. Content with that, Roy lost himself her arms, safe in
Author--
cornerofmadnessDisclaimer --Arakawa owns all
Genre: romance/drama
Rating -- technically Mature (NC-17) but only the very last scene in ch 6 is. All else is teen.
Characters/Pairing -- Roy/Riza, Ed/Winry, Alphonse, Chris Mustang, Armstrong
Timeline/Spoilers -- post 108
Word Count -- 12,289
Warning -- some potty mouth bits but nothing really worse than that
Summary --They are making the most of their recovery time
Author’s Note --Notes: For the 2012-2013
fmabigbang. This time it’s in reverse, with me basing my story off kriem’s beautiful art. Thanks to evil_little_dog for the beta and to bay115 for the help along the way and to enemyofsleep for hosting this again.back to the beginning
Chapter Four
Roy yawned prodigiously. He had made good on his boast. All night long and a good part of the morning with cat naps in between. Walking might be a bit problematic, a reminder he wasn’t Edward’s age any more. Of course, Edward’s age was wasted on him, but judging by the glares Edward kept favoring him with and Alphonse’s tired eyes, youth wasn’t wasted on Alphonse. Roy snuggled down in the soft padded chair next to the fireplace in his aunt’s bar.
“Are you just going to lie around all day?” Edward asked
“Alphonse, how did your brother escape his suite?” Roy stretched his legs out.
“He’s tricky.” Alphonse put his foot up on the ottoman.
“It’s too early in the morning for your garbage, Mustang.” Ed sat on the hearth. “This place smells like smoke.”
“It’s a bar and weren’t you just accusing me of lying around all day?”
“Do you know what my brother did last night?” Ed bowled on, ignoring Roy.
“I’m hoping he came downstairs, had a good meal and met up with some of the girls.” Roy glanced over at Alphonse. “Judging by those tired eyes, he did. Either that or he was up all night in pain with his broken ankle.”
Edward’s face fell and Roy knew he had hit some nerve he hadn’t known existed.
“I came down and talked with Lilirose. It was a nice evening,” Alphonse said quickly, casting a quick glance at his brother.
“Well, I’m glad. Where’s Winry, Edward?”
“She disappeared into the back with one of those girls.” Edward shrugged. “I’m not sure I want to know what they’re up to.”
“Probably making us breakfast, so be nice. And I haven’t been lying around all morning,” Roy said. No, what he and Riza had been up to definitely couldn’t be called restful. “As it turns out, Mr. Tarr was friends with Hawkeye’s father. She’s calling him now. Hopefully, she can get him to agree to let us come see the books, maybe even buy them from him. If not, I have a backup plan.”
“This would be so much easier if he just talked to us.” Ed rubbed his shoulder. Roy didn’t doubt there was residual pain in the restored limb, judging by his own alchemically healed hands. There probably would always be some pain.
“Some collectors are very protective of their collections,” Roy replied.
“What is the backup plan, sir?” Alphonse asked.
“To see if one of my sisters can work her feminine wiles on him.”
“Depraved, figures.” Ed snorted.
Roy narrowed his eyes at him. “Do you want to see the books or not, Edward?”
“We want to own them,” he countered.
“I can’t promise that, but I can at least do my best to get you time with them.”
Alphonse sighed. “It would be easier if we could just say our dad wrote them, but who would believe that? They’re hundreds of years old and we can’t really say, well, you see our father was a living Philosopher’s Stone. We can’t even say we’re the descendants of the Great Sage of the West because there’s no proof of it.”
Roy nodded. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the origins of the boys’ father. “That is unfortunate. I can do this much for you. My aunt and sisters trade in information. I can have them look around for other things dealing with the Golden Alchemist, the Great Sage of the West and any other names he might have used,” Roy said, seeing how much it would mean to Alphonse. He was less sure about Edward, but Roy had no doubt that the elder brother would never be accused of being sentimental.
“Paracelsus, that’s another name he told me he used.” Alphonse’s eyes brightened. “Thank you, sir.”
“You can thank Lilirose later. That might be fun.”
“Shut it,” Edward rumbled.
“Edward, just go and take all the attention you’re showering on your brother and give it to Winry. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it more.”
“Thank you, Roy,” Winry called, leaning in the doorway. Edward flushed, obviously realizing she heard what Roy said. “Your aunt says to come on through to the private dining room. Breakfast is ready.”
“What’s for breakfast?” Roy got up, stretching. Edward helped his brother up.
“Better question is who cooked it,” Edward grumbled.
Winry’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have something to say, Edward?”
To his credit, Roy didn’t snicker at the stricken look on Edward’s face as he realized he’d stepped in it. The boy was learning, but undoubtedly, like Roy, Elric’s mouth would be his own worst enemy always.
“Just curious. You know me.” Edward tried to play it off. Alphonse rolled his eyes and moved away from his brother before things started to fly. Roy had heard Winry stories.
“It was a collaborative effort,” Winry replied, her face pinched with annoyance.
“Riza and my aunt aren’t very good cooks either. Better hope a sister had a hand in it,” Roy whispered to the brothers. Edward snorted. Alphonse wisely kept his own counsel as he hobbled toward the dining room.
Roy didn’t know what to expect, almost hoping for cereal. It was hard to mess that up. He was a fairly good cook, out of self-defense, having grown up in the Mustang and Hawkeye households. When he entered the room, Roy eyed the pancakes on the plates. “Smells good,” he admitted.
“They are,” Chris said. “Winry can cook.”
“I know Gracia taught Winry her coveted apple pie recipe. Elicia must have told me three times,” Roy said, noticing Riza wasn’t around. He hoped that was a good sign about the phone call.
“Winry makes a great apple pie,” Alphonse agreed, sitting down to a pile of pancakes.
“Thanks, Al.” Winry beamed, setting another plate of pancakes in front of Edward.
Chris handed Roy his plate and the women joined them for breakfast. The pancakes tasted as good as they smelled. Roy wanted to wait until Riza joined them but cold pancakes weren’t good pancakes. Besides, he had a secret weakness for maple syrup, soaking his pancakes in it. Riza knew that weakness well. Hmmm, could he sneak the bottle upstairs without Edward asking an insane amount of questions? Of course, taunting Edward with the answers could be fun.
“I spoke to Mr. Tarr.” Riza’s voice jerked Roy out of his happy food fetish daydreams, dragging his attention to the doorway.
“He’s going to let us see the books?” Edward asked with enthusiasm.
“Yes and no. He refuses to allow you into his home.” Riza came in and sat beside Roy. “He’s turned into quite the paranoid man. He will let me see the books as the daughter of his old friend.
Ed stabbed a pancake, his face curdling with his mood. “What good does that do us? Can you even read an alchemy journal?”
Riza laughed. “I was raised by an alchemist, Edward. I’m sure I could reproduce it accurately if I had to copy it, but he’s not letting me in his house, either. He’s posting them to me here on the base, or should I say he’s sending them to Major Armstrong. After the last assassination attempt on the soon-to-be general,” she put a hand on Roy’s shoulder. “All our correspondence goes through Investigations.”
Roy saw almost everyone’s face pinch at the reminder that if he hadn’t been gifted with clap alchemy, he’d have died within days of getting his sight back from an exploding package. Attempts on his life, Grumman’s and Olivier’s were expected and had already started. Luckily, they were smarter than their various enemies, most of them bitter Bradley supporters and a few emboldened Ishbalans who didn’t seem to like that their elders had helped overthrow Bradley and were working toward an accord with the new Amestrian government.
“But if he’s sending them to you, you could let us see them,” Edward pointed out, brightening.
“Naturally. So in a day or two, depending on how long it takes for him to post them and for Alex Louis’s men to clear the package, you’ll get your chance to see them. And, if you want to keep them, I could at least ask if he’s willing to sell,” Riza offered.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Hawkeye,” Alphonse said. “That’s great.”
“What do we do until then?” Edward asked.
“Edward, you’re in a town with a thousand things to do and with a lovely lady with which to do them. Go out and have fun,” Roy waved him off, eyeing that syrup bottle again. His aunt caught him and rolled her eyes.
“And what’s Alphonse going to do then?” Edward asked and Winry looked shocked that he seemed amiable to taking her out on the town.
“I’ll get Lilirose back down here and he can stay here and have fun,” Roy replied. Alphonse went red and Edward choked on his pancakes.
“What would you suggest we see?” Winry broke in before things could degenerate.
“There are the museums and several wonderful stores you might enjoy,” Riza offered. “Or the zoo or the arboretum.”
“I’m sure there are several good machine shops.” Winry’s eyes lit up.
Edward groaned.
“I have several trips planned out for visiting guests,” Chris said. “I’ll let you see the brochures.”
“And on that note, I have some things I need to talk over with Hawkeye.” Roy got up, picking up his plate, dropping his napkin “accidentally” over the syrup. He picked up the bottle with the cloth. “Just let me get these out of the way. And seriously, Alphonse, if your brother and Winry would like to tackle a few things on their own, Lilirose or any of the girls would be glad to go with you.”
“Thank you, si…Roy,” Alphonse said.
“Riza.” Roy nodded to the doorway and she went with him. Roy dumped his dishes and heard Edward bellyaching that the syrup had disappeared. Roy didn’t even remotely feel bad.
XXX
It was afternoon before they headed out into the summer sun. Riza was nearly unrecognizable in a red wig that sported long curls. It bothered him a little for her to have to hide. He wanted to be out and about with Riza how she was, but until then, he had to be happy with the moments they had together no matter how it was achieved.
“So, what did you have planned?” She looped her arm with his.
“A nice walk through the park to start with,” he said, thinking about the surprise he had there. Either she’d love it or think he had lost his mind to the Gate along with his sight.
“All right, you have me intrigued.”
They didn’t need a lot of words as they walked. There always had been a soft comfort in the silence that stretched between them. That was all due to Riza. Roy was a talker, but in her company, he could be still. The park was filled with moms and their kids and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares. He’d buy her an ice cream cup later.
He picked up their leisurely pace, hearing the off-key but bright music. Chris had told him the Flying Horses Roundabout had been fixed up while he and Riza had been out in the cottage. When she was younger, Riza had always wanted to go on a carousel, but there had been none nearby in the isolated woodland town she grew up in. There had never been money – or at least none Master Hawkeye wanted to free up – to go two towns over to the carnival there. Roy had tried once only to suffer a day's worth of rants about being a spendthrift and shirking his studies. Still, he had never forgotten she had wanted to go.
“Roy, is that what I think it is?” she asked when the gaily-colored carousel came into sight. Horses painted in fantastical colors, elaborate saddles on their backs and full curly manes strung with painted on ribbons flew around and around to the not-quite-up-to-snuff music.
“You always wanted to go for a carousel ride. I thought maybe you’d like to give it a try. We never had any out east, too frivolous, I guess.”
“You’ve taken leave of your senses,” she laughed. “How can we go on that ride?”
“You throw a leg over a horse,” he said, hoping he hadn’t just made an egregious lapse of judgment. “No one’s going to care we’re not there with our child. Lovers have been known to go for a ride or two.”
She kissed him. “You are insane.”
He smirked. That was a given. “So…you like the idea?” Why he felt so nervous, Roy couldn’t say. He wanted this to be whimsical and romantic because they had so few moments together that he wanted to make the most of them. He also wanted Riza to want to ride the carousel so he wouldn’t have to confess that he wanted to ride on a child’s ride.
“It’s one of the sweetest things you have ever done.” She kissed him again, long and slow and wholly inappropriate for a park filled with kids. “And I bet my horse beats yours.”
“Oh you’re on, but being a gentleman, I’ll let you have first pick.”
She snorted. “Gentleman? You probably still have syrupy sticky spots on you.”
“Hey, I showered.” Roy led her to the carousel and let Riza pick out her horse. The platform was slotted so the horses could move forward and backwards as well as up and down.
She picked a magnificent black steed with a gold saddle, accepting his hand up onto it. That left him with either a white one with flowers in its mane or the one that looked like a pack horse and should be on a different carousel. He resigned himself to the hapless mule of the Flying Horse Roundabout. In the row ahead of them, twin boys thrashed their wooden horses with the leather reins while their tired mother looked ready to fall asleep on her horse.
“I’d have brought you at night,” he said, “more romantic, but well you know.” Roy shrugged. Riza knew as well as he that certain curfews were still enforced and parks were no-go after dark.
“It won’t last. You’ll have to bring me back.”
He smiled at her, looking forward to that. There were less obnoxious kids then, too. Roy considered the boys in front of him. One day he would like to have a few of his own - hear that Maes? - but with his luck, bratty twins would be in his future. At least he could hope to give them a better childhood than either he or Riza had enjoyed. Chris had tried her best, but her idea of motherhood was a bit skewed, and he’d been young when he’d been bundled off to Master Hawkeye’s. Chris might be a little left of center, but Hawkeye had been downright hopeless. For that matter, his and Riza’s adulthood had been marked with terror and sacrifice. Maybe that’s why he felt compelled to recapture that hint of innocence with a carousel ride.
The tinny music started and the horses shuddered to life. The twins whooped, standing in their stirrups, bouncing. Their mom ignored them, probably half hoping the wooden horses would turn carnivorous. Riza glanced over at Roy and he shrugged.
“You picked these horses,” he reminded her, his horse coming to a sudden stop before rolling backwards. Figures. As the carousel spun, Roy spotted the music’s problem, a blown bellow. His horse rallied toward the end and at least managed to beat the prissy white one. However, it managed to stop at the top of its arc and his feet dangled in air. Occasionally, he understood why Edward was so annoyed at being short. Roy jumped down to offer Riza a hand she didn’t need since her horse was at the bottom. Ahead of them the twins squalled, not wanting to get off.
“I don’t blame them. That was fun,” Riza said wistfully.
Roy glanced over to the gate, not seeing a line. “Pick another horse and I’ll get another set of tickets.”
He went over to the attendant and paid him. “I’m going to fix it for you, too.” Roy clapped his hands and repaired the bellows and a few other minor issues he sensed as the alchemy worked. Several loud ooo’s went up and the attendant gaped. Roy ignored him and hunted down Riza. She had a palomino with a circus plume on its head this time. Next to it was a Xingese tiger, looking irate to having been saddled.
“I thought you’d appreciate him.” Riza waved a hand at the tiger.
“Better than the mule.” He wasn’t quite right about that. The tiger was broader-backed and Roy was reminded he wasn’t ten any more. Damn, he was going to have to get back into stretching before he turned into an old man. At least there were no rambunctious twins this time. His tiger leapt forward as the music started, sounding much less like the instruments had a cold.
“Ah, so that’s what you did. I was wondering,” Riza said, smiling broadly.
“It was driving me nuts to hear that music so sad. We’re supposed to be helping to fix up the city so…” Roy shrugged. That was one of Grumman’s non-military initiatives. The plan was to bring an end to war where possible, fix up relations with their former enemies if possible - with certain Bradley supporters, those who had survived the Promised Day, being offered up to those who wanted to punish Amestris’s former leadership - and lastly, Grumman planned on making life less about war and more about living for his own people. Parks, natural and amusement, were high on the list of things to be restored. Circuses were already in motion, bringing some joy and distraction to the most war torn areas of Amestris.
This time the tiger won. Roy left the ride with Riza on his arm. He tugged her close. “So what do you say to an ice cream cup?”
“Does it have hot fudge?” Her eyes danced
“Nice, decadent. I approve.”
“And since you took care of dinner last night, I made reservations at the Xingese Palace for tonight.” Riza gave his hip a squeeze.
“This is why I love you.”
“You love me for a whole host of reasons,” Riza replied.
“True, each more compelling than the last.”
“And that’s why I love you,” she said. Who was he to argue?
Chapter Five
“’Anna thought she heard something downstairs. Heart pounding, she snuck down the steps’.” Riza shifted on the bed, leaning against the headboard as she read.
Roy lifted his head off her lap, glancing up at her. “Wait, what? Anna knows there’s a murderer in town. She’s investigating it by sticking her nose into everyone’s business so clumsily my aunt would have killed her by now. Doesn’t she think that maybe the sound downstairs is the killer?”
“Sssh, you’re the one who wanted me to read you a story so I picked the book off the top of the to be read pile,” Riza kissed the top of his head. She was really starting to enjoy this, him resting between her legs with nowhere to hurry off to. While not sexual, it was still intimate, and she could get very used to it. That frightened her a little because it made her want to just resign and move into a new phase of life with Roy. It was far too dangerous. Roy needed her more to watch his back then to warm his bed. Stealing time like this was dangerous but worth it.
“Yes, but I didn’t know that it would be a mystery.”
“Were you hoping for a stormy romance?” Riza laughed at his disappointed expression.
“Of course.”
“You don’t need any additional stimulation.”
“Is that a condemnation?” He pouted. The damn man knew what that did to her.
“That’s me being hopeful.” She grinned.
His eyes brightened. “Ah well, then.” Roy snagged the book out of her hands, tossing it on the bed stand. He pressed his lips against her belly. From there, he proved his own imagination on the romance subject would make him a top notch author.
XXX
“I hope I didn’t call you too early, Flame,” Major Armstrong boomed into the phone, but Sciezka ignored him the best she could. Her ability to shut out the world and read came in handy sometimes, but it wasn’t tremendously interesting to read one letter after another. It was part of her job to make sure the information got divvied up to the investigators in the most efficient manner because not every piece came in with a designation, especially if it came from outside the military. “Yes, we have the package and it’s safe. I’m looking at it right now. Shall I have it sent over? All right then, I’ll keep my lunch time open and you can pick them up at that time. It will be nice to talk to you for a while.” He hung up then said, “Sciezka, I need to step out for a moment.”
“All right, Major. I can man the phones for you,” she said. Usually that duty fell to Sergeant Austen, but she was out sick.
“That won’t be necessary. Sergeant Clotworthy can do that. I’ll need your assistance with another matter later, so why don’t you take an early lunch?”
“Thanks, I will,” Sciezka replied, eager to exchange what she was reading here – a laundry list of names sent in by someone known only as the Madam – for a fresh new book. The major headed out while Sciezka locked away the paperwork. She didn’t really know what those names were for, but the investigators would want them and certainly didn’t want random eyes on them.
As Sciezka got up, she spotted a stack of books on top of Major Armstrong’s file cabinet. She picked up one of them. It wasn’t military, which was good. Military history wasn’t high on her list of fun reading. These books were old and reminded her of some of the things she had seen while working at Central Library – she still missed that job sometimes. The top book reminded her of Dr. Marcoh’s recipe books that the Elric brothers said was alchemy. That would make sense if these were the major’s books.
He was such a nice man. He wouldn’t mind if she borrowed them for a day or two. Scizeka packed them in her bag and carried them off to lunch at her nearby home. She’d talk to the major about them later. She couldn’t wait to start reading them.
XXX
“What do you mean the books are missing?” Edward barked, dragging the attention of several nearby patrons of the restaurant Roy and Alex Louis had agreed on. Roy understood the sentiment. Who the hell broke into the Investigations unit of the military and stole something that was worthless to most people?
Alex Louis’s mustache ruffled as the man huffed. “I do not know how it happened. They were there when I went to report to Lieutenant Colonel Ellington, but they were gone when I got back. Don’t worry, Edward Elric, we will find them. Have no fear.”
“This isn’t fear, it’s rage.” Ed took a huge bite out of his sandwich. Obviously rage wasn’t putting a damper on his appetite, not that Roy expected it would. Edward always blamed supporting Alphonse’s body for his big appetite, but it seemed to be the normal teenaged boy’s need to eat everyone out of house and home.
“We know you’ll do everything you can, sir,” Alphonse said more temperately. He tackled his ridiculous double order of lunch with gusto even bigger than Edward’s.
At this age, Roy had been losing weight. Hawkeye couldn’t afford food and they had gone without many nights. Then he ended up in the military with the worst food known to man and random assholes kept stealing the only things that might be edible. He scowled at the sudden remembrance of Maes. Roy sighed. “Whatever we can do to help, Alex Louis, let us know. From what Riza said, Tarr is ten kilos of crazy in a five kilo case, so I do not relish telling him we lost his books in the event we can’t find them again.”
“Of course. Some of my staff was out by the time I had to head for here, but I’ll be sure to enlist their help.”
“You could have told us the books were gone before we ordered,” Ed took another startlingly large bite then added while chewing, “We could have gone right out to look.”
“Don’t gulp your food, Edward. I doubt those books got far,” Roy said, earning himself a glare.
“Hell to that.”
“I’m sure Flame is right, Edward,” Alex Louis said. “We should not need your help. Didn’t Miss Rockbell accompany you and your brother here? You should be out enjoying her company. We can handle this.”
“I’m helping,” Edward growled. “I’ll make it up to Winry later.”
“Winry’s out with Riza and a couple of other ladies,” Alphonse said. “Clothes shopping, though I’m not sure their hearts were in it.”
“Lieutenant Hawkeye is a practical woman. Her companions may be more…frivolous,” Alex Louis ventured.
Roy snorted. They were out with some of his sisters. Frivolous and showy worked well. He did hope Riza would consent to at least one dress suitable for dancing. He had put a bug in Winry’s ear about that himself. Edward needed to take her out. In his experience, once a woman was well armed with an outfit bought especially for the occasion, the man had best consent to going to said occasion or be doomed to face her considerable wrath.
“Who cares about women’s clothes?” Ed asked with all the naivety of a man still new to the idea of having a girlfriend. He polished off the last bite of sandwich. “I’m done. Al, you’ll just slow me down on those crutches. You can go back to the hotel. Come on, Major, let’s go.” He popped up, giving Armstrong an expectant look.
“Let the man eat, Edward.”
“I can just get started on my own then,” Edward said, turning from the table.
“You’re not Fullmetal any more, as you so love to remind me, Edward. You can’t just waltz onto a military base whenever you want,” Roy said. “I suppose you could start at the front gate and ask around if anyone saw someone leaving with an armload of books.”
Edward glowered but nodded. “Fine, I’ll go do that. I’ll meet up with you there soon, Major,” he said as if he had some direct effect on that. He didn’t wait for an answer.
Roy glanced over at Alphonse who wore an apologetic look on his face. “I noticed that your brother left you, with me no less.”
Alphonse snorted. “Brother fusses at you and you trying to take care of me because you’re you, sir.” He shrugged. “Really, Ed trusts you. Besides, even though he likes to pretend I can’t do anything on my own right now, I can, in fact, hail a cab if you decide to go look for the books with Ed.”
“I have no doubt of that. You know I could drive you back to the hotel, though most of the livelier company is probably out shopping,” Roy said and Alphonse blushed. “Of course, the Madam should be around.”
“No, that’s all right. I might be able to help. It’s not all going to be running a thief to ground even though I think Ed’s hoping it might be. I think he’s getting a little bored.”
“I’m sure it’s been a big adjustment to this new phase in his life,” Roy agreed then turned to Armstrong. “You said not all of your men were around when you got back from lunch. That means you have a few to talk to.”
He nodded, his blond forelock flopping. “Sergeant Austen is out today, but Lieutenant Thurman was still out to lunch as was Sciezka.”
“Wait? Sciezka?” Al’s eyes brightened. “Is she still working with you guys?”
“Isn’t she the one you guys set up with Maes?” Roy asked.
“Yes, Sciezka’s a reader” Al said, reaching for his crutches as if he planned to bound up and go after her.
“I remember that. She helped me go through things so I could back trace what Maes had discovered to find out what got him killed,” Roy said and his companion’s faces sobered. “You think she would have taken the books?”
“Well, not maliciously, no. She remembers everything she reads and she reads a lot. Brother and I found her half buried under books once and taking things and reading them on the job is what got her fired from the library,” Alphonse said. “If she saw the books, she might have borrowed them.”
“I did leave them on the file cabinet. I saw no reason to lock them away,” Armstrong replied. “I suppose we should head back to the office then and talk to her.”
“Let me settle the bill and Strongarm, let’s go through the back gate.” Roy said, unable to hold back a grin.
The huge alchemist gave him a peculiar look. “Is there need for subterfuge I was unaware of, sir?”
“No, but Edward will be out front interrogating random strangers. Let that keep him busy for a while and out of my hair.”
“Sir, that’s mean.” Alphonse chided, but Roy saw the smirk on his face.
“That’s what he gets for waking me up far too early in the morning,” Roy huffed.
“Please tell me he didn’t go to your room and knock to demand you check on if the books had made it to Mr. Armstrong,” Alphonse groaned.
“No. All I know is my peace was disturbed by screams of ‘automail junkie!’ and ‘alchemy freak!’ And I was having a really good…dream, if you know what I mean,” Roy said, editing himself. Armstrong didn’t know – nor should he – about Roy’s current relationship with Riza.
“Oh, that. You get used to that.” Al waved him off. “That’s a constant.”
“You get used to it, Alphonse. Next time, I’m raiding the store of gags in the attic.” Roy waved over the waitress, leaving Alphonse laughing. “Now, let’s go see if we can track down those books.”
Chapter six
“This is what I was afraid of.” Riza sighed, leaning back in her chair in Chris Mustang’s second floor library. When she had been younger, the first time she had met Roy’s aunt, she had been shocked to learn the woman was a reader. Of course, back then, Chris was sleeker and sexier and seemed more interested in cracking a man’s secrets than the spine of a book. Riza had been only half right in that assessment. Chris liked to do both.
Winry laughed. “I expected this, too.” She waved a hand to the large table that the brothers and Roy were huddled over, all three of them nose down in the books they had rescued from Sciezka. “They’ve been at it for hours and knowing Ed and Al, they’ll be here all night.”
“Roy, too.” Riza nodded. “Every alchemist I’ve known has been like this.”
“Crazy?” Winry grinned and it was Riza’s turn to laugh.
“Yes, very much so. There must be something in how their brains are wired. They understand all the mysteries of the world except for the ones that say food, drink and sleep are necessary time to time. To this day, I wonder, did my father know just how sick he was before he died, or if it was something he shoved to the back of his mind along with dinner time and bed time?”
“He was sick?” Winry shot her a curious look.
“Very. He died. It was lung cancer. I keep telling Havoc that smoking did in my father.” Riza said. “It was a long time ago now, but he was like this, too, even more so in some ways.” She didn’t really feel like telling Winry that her father had hidden from life in his alchemy library. Edward and Alphonse weren’t like her father. Her mother’s death had cut him off from life and even his daughter hadn’t been enough to anchor him. That and the flame alchemy haunted him. Too bad she had been too young when he died to understand that. She would never have given her father’s handsome, idealistic young apprentice her father’s secrets had she understood the cost.
Winry nodded knowingly. “I’m not even sure what fascination this has for Edward any more. He can’t use alchemy. I know he’s speculating that maybe he could use Xingese alkahestry since it’s so different, so that means sooner rather than later, he’s going to go pay Ling a visit. They’d probably be gone already if Al hadn’t broken his ankle.” She sighed. “I know he’ll come back, but it’s not fun having him gone all the time.”
“Tell him that, though once you start sitting for your journeyman tests you might want an empty house. Bored men usually expect their girlfriends to entertain them. That was hard when Hughes was sent to Central while Roy was in the East. Roy had no friends to run around with and the excuse ‘I’m doing something right now’ doesn’t seem to sink into a man’s head, at least not any man I’ve known.” Riza’s attention got dragged back to the table as they started arguing over some point in the oldest of books which was one none of them had seen before. At least one book was a copy of something the brothers had let burn in their house
“You have a point. Of course, if he waits for a while, I could take a vacation in Xing myself. That could be fun,” Winry said, brightly.
“I would envy that trip. I know Roy would like to go some day. His mother was from there, but he’s never had the chance to go.”
“Are they still at it?” Chris asked, coming into the room with Lilirose.
“They’ve been ignoring us for at least an hour now. I’m not even sure they know we’re here,” Winry replied. “We might as well go do something else.”
“Boys, there is a group of naked women here that are ready to make your fantasies come true,” Chris called out.
No one paid her any mind. Roy glanced up momentarily, looking around like a wary woodchuck, then dived back into arguing with Edward over some whorl in the pattern they were studying.
“Wow, they’re gone,” Lilirose laughed.
“Roy boy’s been like this since he was a tot. I gave him one of his mother’s alkahestry books and he was gone. You couldn’t pry it out of his little fingers. He’ll be worthless until he finally tires himself out. Miss Rockbell is right, go do something. I have a standing room at the Zimmern. It caters to world food and music and we can start the night with a massage,” Chris said and Riza needed no more convincing. Zimmern was out of her budget, but Chris paid for her girls to go. Riza didn’t mind being a ‘sister’ for this occasion.
“We can even request all male servers,” Lilirose sweetened the pot. “They have such cute ones.”
“That sounds like fun. How much does it cost?” Winry asked.
“My treat,” Chris said, waving the girl toward the door. “Sorry boys, your fantasy women are going to find their fun elsewhere.”
When they were in the hall, Riza heard Roy ask “Did you hear something?” Well, at least something almost penetrated his little alchemy shield. She was content to let him have his fun. She’d be there after he tired himself out. For now, she could pass on a few tips to Winry about how to survive living with an alchemist and didn’t doubt the girl had a few ideas of her own.
XXX
Roy let himself into the bedroom, trying to look livelier than he felt. How it got to be nearly midnight, he didn’t know. He could have sworn it was afternoon and he and the brothers had just started in on the books. At least the light was still on so he wouldn’t be disturbing Riza. She was in bed, reading. She cocked an eyebrow up upon seeing him.
“What? You didn’t think I’d remember I have a beautiful woman waiting on me?”
“Past experience says yes, you’d forget all about me while you go poking through musty alchemy tomes for some germ of new information,” she said, looking back down at her own book.
“I’m smart. I learn from my mistakes.” Roy grinned, bouncing onto the bed. He took the book out of her hands and popped the mark into it. “Want to see?”
“After how you ignored everyone’s attempts today, it had better be good,” Riza replied but she grinned. He knew she wasn’t actually too mad at him.
“You knew this would be the result of getting those books,” he replied, taking her hands.
“I did and I plan to put a call in to Mr. Tarr tomorrow to ask if two State Alchemists could buy the books from him. He doesn’t need to know Edward has resigned. I think that might impress him a little. He isn’t an alchemist anyhow.”
Roy kissed her. “That is a very good idea.”
“I know. Now, you mentioned something about making it up to me.” She trailed her fingers along his neck.
Roy fished the book off the mattress and tossed it onto the bed stand. “Where to begin? I think I know. Be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Exactly where would I go?” she laughed as he headed into the walk-in closet.
“Nowhere. You like this view too much.” Roy posed against the closet door frame, letting her get a good look at his backside. Did she just stifle a laugh? Well, he was asking for it. He fished out the toy chest his aunt had stocked for various guests. He had put in a list of what he wanted, included which was more than a little embarrassing but less so than General Mustang getting caught at a shop that sold the stuff. He bypassed the soft cuffs and long curling feather. Riza could play with those one a day where they had more time for her to do to him what she wanted. For quicker play, given the hour of night, Roy found something perfect.
He took the repurposed confectionary treat of powdered sugar infused with vanilla. He displayed the jar to her, noticing Riza had the condom tin out on the bed stand. Better yet, her nightgown was gone. She was glorious enough to almost make him believe in God.
Riza smirked. “You do have a food fetish and have the gall to mock Edward for his.”
“That’s because he’s as orally fixated as Havoc but at least he chooses phallic-shaped foods instead of stinky cigarettes. Just don’t point it out to Edward, or you will be there for hours getting your head chewed off.”
Riza snorted, taking the jar from him. She set it aside so she could grab his shirt. Her deft fingers made short work of the buttons and she raked the shirt off his body. Riza palmed the erection tenting his trousers before picking up the jar. While he fought his way out of his pants and shoes, she dusted her breasts with the flavored sugar.
Getting on the bed with her, he kissed her, moving the kisses from her mouth, down over her neck, trying to ignore the scar, still pink and noticeable in spite of Mei’s alkahestry. His tongue followed the trail of sweet powder over her breasts, sucking and teasing as he went. Riza’s hand curled around his cock, slowly moving up and down over it, fingers sweeping over the tip as she went. She was going to make him half-crazy right off.
Her hands abandoned his hard flesh, encircling his neck, pulling him closer to her. Roy ran his hands down her sides, feeling her toned muscles tempered by the softness of her skin. Riza caught one of his hands, bringing it to her lips to kiss the scarred palm. His skin quivered at the touch.
Roy sat back, reaching for the condom. Her lips met his again as he tugged the thing into place then she pulled him back against the mattress. Sinking into her, Roy picked a leisurely pace. Well acquainted with each other, their bodies moved together like a precision waltz. He wanted nights like this to be theirs always without fear of reprisal, but the bittersweet touch faded as lust buried it.
He took her to the edge before picking up his pace. Riza shuddered against him, moaning as she tumbled over that edge. His hips pumped quicker as his need built. The release always left him deliciously dazed. Riza’s mouth devoured his before his senses returned. Gathering enough wit to dump the condom in the bed side trash to deal with later, Roy wrapped his arms around her.
“I am never going to let you go,” he whispered.
“I’ve never doubted it.”
Roy knew that soon enough they’d have more to worry about than missing alchemy books and more to do than spend loving moments like this. But those hard times could wait. This was their time and it wasn’t over quite yet. One day, hopefully soon, it would always be their time. Until then, he would dedicate himself to carving out the best future for them that he could. Content with that, Roy lost himself her arms, safe in
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Date: 2013-03-12 02:40 am (UTC)