The Unexpected (Part 3 - Silver Stud)

After coming from Riza's hometown, Roy worked day and night to understand flame alchemy. He was quite a good learner and being the student of Berthold Hawkeye, he had its perks. It took him only a week to understand that one of the most important parts of flame alchemy was ignition cloth. He started performing some beginner level flame alchemy within the next 2 weeks. It was a great achievement for him, and that also at the right time because the state alchemist selection process was starting from the next week. And on the state alchemist exam, he performed exceptionally well. No one had ever seen flame alchemy in action, which proved to be Roy's trump card. He stood first in the exam by a great margin and became the youngest state alchemist at the age of 20.

Roy was given the title of "Flame Alchemist" by the Fuehrer, and he was assigned under the command of Colonel Ludwig in Central City. Soon after his posting, Roy got involved in a slightly long military operation, and after its completion, he was praised throughout the Central command for his excellent performance.

Because of his recent fame, one day General Grumman of East City contacted him for a solo mission. Grumman was Riza's maternal grandfather, and he knew Roy as well as his relationship with Riza. He gave Roy a mission at his granddaughter's hometown after talking to Roy on the telephone that day, not because he wanted to give Roy some time to meet Riza, but because Roy was well aware of that area and he was a state alchemist over that. Roy was also very happy that he could finally go and meet Riza.

Roy never told anyone about his relationship with Riza, except his foster mother, Chris Mustang (aka Madame Christmas), who also happened to be his aunt. She was an information broker and was an ally of General Grumman. Before leaving for Riza's hometown, he went to Colonel Ludwig to get the information for the mission and later visited Madame Christmas at her bar before catching the train, which was at late night.

When Roy entered inside the bar with his luggage, he saw there was not a single customer that night. There was only Madam Christmas at the counter and she was cleaning some glass with a piece of white cloth. Chris was wearing a furry coat and she was facing her back to the main door, but she definitely heard Roy enter through the door. She had also seen Roy's reflection on the cupboard glass in front of her. So, when Roy walked close to the counter, Chris spoke before Roy could say anything.

"How are you doing, Roy boy?" She said while cleaning the glasses.

"I am doing fine. Thanks for asking. So why did you call me?" He replied while sitting on a chair in front of the counter.

Chris put the cleaned glass on the cupboard and turned around. She then said, "I have a thing that I need you to give to your friend."

"But, you never met her. What can you possibly give her?" He chuckled.

She took out a small jewelry box from her coat pocket and gave it to Roy. When Roy opened the box he saw a silver ear stud. He looked at the silver stud critically.

"She would definitely look outstanding with a single silver stud," He said sarcastically.

Chris ignored his sarcasm and said, "Just give it to her."

"Fine," He then put the box in his luggage bag.

"Have you told Hughes about her?" Chris asked.

"No, I have a bigger plan. I want him to meet her face to face, I want to see Hughes in that situation," He replied with a big grin on his face and starry eyes.

He burst into laugh just imagining the situation, after all, he had the perfect chance to tease his best friend who was finding a girl for himself but was not successful yet.

He took his leave from Chris after few minutes and went for the railway station with his luggage. Next morning he arrived at Riza's hometown and walked to her home as no ride was available. After reaching there, he put his luggage on the floor and knocked on the door, and as expected, Riza opened it. He was very happy when he saw her after 2 long months, and she was also looking very happy. Both were smiling while looking at each other. After a moment, Riza was reaching out to hug him, but before she could do it, Roy carried her on his arms with a surprise and took her inside the house. He took her to the sofa and gently put her on it, then he leaned close to her face and kissed her, and she kissed him back. It was a long kiss before they separated. When they separated, Roy stood up and found Ms. Becker was standing a few feet away from him. She was staring at him.

"Hello Roy," Matilda said slowly and with a scary face.

When Riza heard Matilda's voice, she quickly stood up from the sofa. Both were standing beside each other and were blushing, they looked like some school kids who were about to get punished by the principal. Roy then looked at Matilda with a forced smile and said hesitantly,

"Hello, Ms. Becker. Sorry I didn't know you were here."

"I am happy that you came back. Riza was missing you a lot," Matilda said.

Matilda then smiled and continued, "Though I was hoping to see you with some broken bones or swelled face."

Roy and Riza were relieved when they saw Matilda smiling. Roy now smiled back at Matilda and replied, "Sorry to disappoint you."

"I was thinking of taking Riza with me for some grocery shopping, but now that you are here, I don't think she will go with me," Matilda said.

Matilda already knew that Roy was coming that morning. Moreover, she never asked Riza to go for groceries. She did that just to tease Riza, and it worked. Riza quickly looked toward Matilda and said, "I can-"

But before Riza could complete her sentence, Matilda had left. Now Roy and Riza were alone in the house. Riza looked at Roy and asked,

"So, how many days are you going to stay?"

Roy sighed and sat on the sofa. Then he replied, "They have given me a week to present the report."

Riza sat beside Roy and asked another question, "Did my grandfather assigned you on this mission?"

Roy knew that her grandfather rarely ever came to visit Riza. The last time he visited her was when her mother died. For Grumman, his work was always above his own family. So, he hesitated a little while talking about Riza's grandfather. He replied to her with a "Yes" and quickly redirected the conversation to something else. He said persuasively,

"I am hungry. Can I have some breakfast first?"

Riza understood that he did not want to talk about it anymore. So she acted along.

"Would you like some egg and bacon?" She asked.

"I would love it," Roy replied excitedly.

In Roy's wait, Riza also didn't have her breakfast. So, she prepared egg and bacon for both of them, and they had their breakfast together after a long time. After finishing the breakfast, they relaxed on the sofa. Riza rested her head on Roy's shoulder while Roy wrapped his hand around Riza. They were just enjoying each other's embrace for some time without talking. But then, Roy suddenly remembered something.

He pulled his hand back out of the embrace, due to which Riza sat properly and started looking at Roy surprisingly. Meanwhile, Roy walked toward his luggage bag and started searching for something in it. Riza was confused, so she asked curiously,

"What happened?"

"I forgot to give you something. I think it's in my bag," He replied while struggling to find the jewelry box in the bag. When he found the box, he pulled it out and walked toward Riza. He stood in front of Riza, who was sitting on the sofa. He offered the box and said,

"Here it is. A gift for you,"

When Riza took the box and opened it, she was stunned watching the silver stud. Looking at Riza's reaction, Roy asked politely,

"Riza. Are you alright?"

Riza quickly stood up and hugged Roy tightly. Tears of happiness started sliding down her cheek.

"Oh Roy…thank you…thank you so much," She sobbed out of happiness.

After some time, she controlled her tears. She then separated from Roy and asked,

"Where did you find this?"

"My aunt gave me this. I had no idea how much it meant to you," Roy replied.

"This is the only thing I have from my mother. She gave it to me when I was 6. I remember I cried a lot when I lost one of the studs some days after she gave them to me," She chuckled with tears in her eyes, remembering the time with her mother. She continued, "I don't know how I can ever thank you?"

Roy smirked and replied, "A kiss would be enough."

Riza smiled and leaned toward him to kiss which again led to a long kiss. Their young love was filling a lot of colors in each other lives. There was no one to disturb them at that moment, but then they heard the main door open. On hearing the door opening, Riza quickly pushed back from Roy and both of them stood beside each other acting as if they were doing nothing. When Matilda entered inside with the groceries and looked at them, she understood they were kissing again, but she went inside the kitchen without saying anything.