The Flame Alchemist and the Fine Print

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Part 9

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Roy cleared his throat slightly. His heart seemed to be beating amazingly fast, and not just because of the dancing.

He and Riza had retreated to one of the tables by the dance floor, where they sipped champagne and watched the dancers. The clock was ticking nearer to midnight now, and as Roy glanced at the clock, he fingered the object in his pocket. Yes. Still there.

As the time to midnight became seconds, Roy stood up, and knelt in front of Riza.

"Riza," he was forcing his voice to be steady, "Will you marry me?"

With that, he offered the ring.

Riza was in shock, but pleasantly so. She hadn't really though that Roy would actually go through with it. She blushed, and clasped his hands.

"Ye-"

"Ah, if it isn't the apprentice and the master's daughter," drawled someone from over their heads. Everybody in the hall turned to stare at the speaker.

Envy, leering at his audience, crouched on the banister of the balcony above Roy and Riza.

King Bradley pushed to the front. "Envy!"

"Oh, Hi there, Bradley. Having a nice time?"

"Envy!" shouted Ed. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

The homunculus smirked, and leapt from the banister. He changed form as he flew through the air, so that when he landed in front of Ed, it was the Elric's own smirk was smiling at him. Ed drew away slightly, moving protectively in front of Winry.

"Ah, is little Fullmetal brat scared I'll hurt his girlfriend? How cute!" Suddenly Envy aimed a vicious kick for Ed's head.

Ed only barely blocked the blow with his arms but he was knocked off balance. Swiftly Envy aimed with his temporary automail arm at Ed's gut, but was blown off his feet by a small, concentrated explosion. Both Envy and Ed swung around to see Roy, standing, holding his gloved hand up, ready to snap again. Beside him, Riza stood ready, a handgun clasped firmly in her fist.

Another explosion rattled the walls of the ballroom as Gluttony and Lust entered through a wall.

"Ah, this is where you got to, Envy," commented Lust, looking around with a frown on her face. "We were supposed to stay undercover."

"Yeah," answered Envy, converting to his usual form, "Found my way into the State Alchemist Ball. I was just having fun with Short-Stuff over there." In the background, Ed fumed.

"You three have no right to be here," stated Fuhrer President Bradley. "Therefore, leave, before I must make you."

"We were just checking out the human sacrifices, but," Envy cocked his head, and his grimace took on a terrifying crazed tone, "Make us, eh?" he glanced around the hall, "As if Humans could make a homunculus do anything? Ha!"

Lust chuckled. "Yes. For instance-" she turned and strode toward Riza, a small smirk on her face, "-do you really think you can scare me with that gun?" Swiftly, she sliced through the gun's barrel, knocking the hilt out of the woman's hand. Riza barely blinked, but lowered her hands. She stood where she was, staring back at the homunculus.

Roy moved to help Riza, but Lust turned to look at him.

"Do you really think that's a good idea? My nails can cut through anything. One wrong move and . . . " she waved the tip of one nail millimeters from Riza's nose "and oops."

Roy gritted his teeth in frustration. This was definitely not good.

Suddenly, something whizzed past Ed's cheek, and slammed into the side of Envy's head. Envy yelped in pain, and spun to look at his attacker. Ed turned too, and saw Winry, glaring at Envy, and holding another spoon.

"So you're the reason Ed's automail is always trashed?"

"Wha-?"

'Not Good' thought Ed.

"Then YOU'LL get the beating I would have given Edward had he turned up with that banged up automail, WHICH I JUST BUILT !"

Envy backed away from Winry, thrown by the fury that radiated from the girl.

"Damn, Fullmetal shrimp, you two were ma-"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME ?"

Lust looked away from the couple to watch the mess Envy had just made. Taking the chance, Roy rushed forward, but didn't make it. Lust turned, saw him coming, and attacked, piercing a nail through Riza's shoulder.

Gluttony stood in the background, eyeing the other State Alchemists and their partners. Most were watching in shock and disbelief as Ed and Winry blew up at the kid in the tank top and skort. Others watched, horrified as Lust withdrew her nail from Riza's shoulder, and as Roy rushed to her, shouting "Riza!"

There. That one looked good to eat. "Lust, Lust!" cried Gluttony, "Can I eat that one? Can I?"

Lust looked around at Gluttony. "Hn? No, Gluttony, we're only supposed to come here to see how the Ball was coming along, remember? Father told us not to kill anyone."

"Then let's go. There's nothing really to see here," Muttered Envy, backing away further from the two Resembool natives.

Lust shrugged, and led the way back through the hole in the wall. "Most of these alchemists were recruited after the Ishbarlan War. They've never seen battle like our friend, the Flame Alchemist." Envy and Gluttony followed, and behind them the wall was repaired in a flash of alchemy.

"Dammit, that bastard isn't getting away that easily!" bellowed Ed, and rushed over to the wall, transmuting a set of double doors. Winry, right on his heels, seized one handle while Ed grabbed the other, and together they threw them open to . . . nothing. The cold air of outside billowed in from the garden, but there was not a soul to be seen in the darkness.

Roy knelt beside Riza, who had been knocked off her feet by Lust's attack. "Riza!"

She clutched her shoulder, her teeth gritted in pain. "I-It's nothing. Nothing fatal."

One of the state alchemists stepped up. "Ah, um, I specialize in medical alchemy. I think I could help."

Roy nodded, and helped Riza to sit upright. Blood from the wound had stained her gown, and more flowed from it as Riza removed her hand. The alchemist quickly drew two arrays in Riza's blood, one on either side of the wound, and healed the shoulder.

Ed grumbled, and he and Winry shut the doors, then he put the wall back the way is had been originally.

"Miss Riza, are you okay?" asked Winry.

Riza nodded. "Yes." Then she turned to Roy. "And yes," she smiled up at him, "I will marry you."

Roy kissed her.

Ed and Winry smiled in the background. Havoc, who had finally managed to get through the crowd, laughed heartily.

Roy panicked a little, suddenly realizing that he might have dropped the ring in the chaos. But it was still clasped firmly in his hand. He slid in onto Riza's finger, and they kissed again.

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It turned out later that the partiers back at Headquarters had had an uneventful, if very noisy, party. Al turned up in his and Ed's hotel room covered in streamers and tinsel. Ed and Winry had been amused, before they started helping get it off, and discovered that someone had knotted tinsel into Al's helmet plume.

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"Roy," Riza turned to him, "I have a condition."

"Really?" he had wondered why she had wanted to talk privately.

"Yes. I will marry you, once you have become Fuhrer."

"Is that so? And what about the contract?"

Riza smiled. "I am the sole surviving blood relative. I'm sure I have some influence there."

He chuckled. "Alright. The day I become Fuhrer, I will marry you."

"Kiss to seal the promise?"

"yes."

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Note:

Okay, I've only read to partway through manga 16, so I hope that this is good.

To all my watchers and reviewers,

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

You made me feel really happy, and I can honestly say I smiled every time I read a new one.

I love you guys. Thank you very much!

Now to concentrate on Calculus and my latest FMA fanfic!

AARON