Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters. I only am responsible for the (albeit poorly written and devised) plot.

First off, this chapter is dedicated to:

Curious0309

Vampirsha518

DarkWinxGirl

WhispersOfWings

DaPandaGirl

Schrodinger no Neko

AND WHOEVER THE GUEST IS PLEASE LEAVE A NAME NEXT TIME.

Now that I'm done with that….

Hi.

So, this is the end.

I'm so happy to have met so many amazing people, who really liked my story, and had nice things to say. You're all so supportive of my work, and always give me your honest opinion.

Thank you for that.

But on the other hand…. I've decided to write a sequel.

YAYYYY!

You guys were right, continuing this story after this would be a bit much, and there really does need to be a break between the next big transition. I'm so excited to continue this story, and I'm happy that I can hear more from all of you! I've decided to build on the ideas I shared in the AN of the last chapter, though, I'm not sure how well my ideas are going to work. So...

In the reviews for this chapter, I want all of you to pitch your ideas, share what you personally want to see in my story. Whatever you think would help my story, I want to hear it.

My ideas suck, and it's most important that you guys of all people like what's going on.

If I get reviews saying that I shouldn't continue with the sequel idea after this chapter, then fine. I won't. But if I do start my sequel, I promise that it'll be published within the next two weeks.

This is more a filler chapter than anything, so I'm sorry for that. But I promise, I'll try and make the sequel not totally suck.

Everybody, this is the end of The Burden On Her Back….

So let the ending… begin.

"Did you hear? Lieutenant Hawkeye is the Fuhrer's granddaughter!"

"Grumman is dropping the fraternization laws?!"

"Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang are together?! As in, like dating?! I KNEW IT!"

Roy smirked, as he sauntered back to his office. (Well, it wouldn't be his office for much longer. All that was going to change very soon.) Havoc followed closely behind, filling in as Roy's bodyguard in Riza's absence. On his way back from the bathroom, his presence rekindled the rumors that had been flying around the whole building the entire week.

"I heard that Roy Mustang is gonna be the new Fuhrer within the next month or so!" On female (a secretary, not an officer) dared to say in the close proximity of the Flame Alchemist. Her friend (also a secretary), twirled a strand of bleach-blonde hair around her finger. She snorted, and when she opened her ridiculously pink lips, her nasally voice came rushing out.

"Yeah, I bet," she said with a snort. Roy flinched as he walked by. He voice was probably the most irritating, annoying, unpleasant thing he'd ever heard. "That blonde bitch who works under him, Something-eye or whatever, its Fuhrer Grumman's granddaughter. She probably promised him the position of Fuhrer if he became her banging buddy. What a slut." She ended with a sneer.

She hadn't meant for Roy Mustang to hear.

Unfortunately for her, he had. Every. Single. Word.

He froze in his tracks, shoulders tense and fingers ready to snap. (It was a bad habit he couldn't seem to break. It was becoming quite a problem, actually. Sometimes his fingers accidentally slipped.) He spun on his heel, suddenly face-to-face with the airhead, jealous artificial blonde.

"What did you say about my Lieutenant?" He growled, leaning awfully close. He didn't give her any time to resound. She paled, now whiter than the cloth on Roy's fingers.

"I was just uh- just saying that-"

"Forget it. Whatever you have to say is a lie."

He backed up, never once breaking eye contact with the terrified (but still a jerk) inferior worker.

"Listen here!" He yelled, drawing all eyes to him, and the woman he was intimidating at the moment.

"I am going to be Fuhrer next month. My team is going to be moving up the ranks with me. And my Lieutenant, my subordinate, my girlfriend," the whole hall was in a standstill at his term referring to Hawkeye. "If I hear one bad word against her, against us, or a question as to why I'm with her… there will be a lot of charred bodies to hide and a bunch of new job opportunities for positions in this building this time next month. Do I make myself clear?" He asked, and the question hung in the air, unanswered.

He relaxed in satisfaction. Havoc promptly closed his mouth, which had hung slightly open just a second ago.

"Good."

And with that, he retreated to his office, Havoc right behind him.

Havoc turned back to smirk at the bleach-blonde.

"Mess with the woman ever again, and I can guarantee that there will be a very long line of people waiting to get their hands around your throat," Jean called over his shoulder.

No one dared to call his bluff.

Because they all knew he wasn't.

"He did what?" Riza asked, eyes wide as Havoc told her what had transpired in the hallway the day before. She had been out, helping the Fuhrer prepare for his retirement. Also, she was in charge of Roy's transfer. Papers had to be read through, forms had to be filled out, and boxes had to be packed up and moved from place to place.

"You did what?" Riza asked again, her head whipping in Roy's direction. He looked proud, something Riza noted in the back of her mind with a bit of happiness. However, she was not happy.

Angry, not so much either.

Embarrassed was more like it.

I don't regret it in the slightest.

Nope, you couldn't PAY me to take it back. Even Roy's thoughts were smug.

Roy was leaning back in his chair, calm on the surface. Underneath, however, he was ready for the scolding. The yelling the typical 'you idiot!' and then she threaten to shoot him. She take out the gun, and miss his head by half an inch and reload. She stalked up to the large mahogany desk, putting her hands on his desk.

He cringed slightly, when Riza's face was suddenly devoid of any color or any expression.

Totally blank.

He prepared himself for the yelling.

"Oh, that's so embarrassing!" Riza cried, mortified.

Wait, what?

"You told her off in the middle of the whole hallway? With all those people watching?" Riza squeaked, imagining the scene. (Like the theater in Tamaki Suoh's mind in OHHC)

"She called you a slut Riza. I'm not just gonna a let her walk away after that."

She was flushed an adorable cherry blossom pink, going with the golden-blonde of her hair. He chuckled, ruffling her hair as she then decided to press her forehead against the shiny wooden tabletop.

"Everyone in the whole building probably knows by now!" She exclaimed.

He laughed, as did the others in the room at that time.

"That's what you're worried about? Eventually, you know, they were bound to find out somehow."

"But-"

"Aww, you're so cute, and hilarious to watch when you're embarrassed!" Havoc said with a throaty laugh as he casually threw an arm around her shoulder. "Who would've guessed it?"

"I knew that," Rebecca muttered to Maria. She nodded in agreement. "If there's anything we learned from that one time in the academy and she-"

Riza silenced the two with a deadly look.

Say one more word, and I will end you.

Rebecca noticeably gulped, and Maria scurried to cower/hide behind Maes, whose eyebrows were quirked at this new piece of information.

Well, well, well. What have we here? I hear a new story opportunity….

Roy's eyebrow climbed further up his forehead as Riza groaned.

"Not gonna let it go, huh?" She clarified, turning to Maes.

"No chance."

She huffed.

"Fine."

Roy eagerly propped his chin up in his hands, elbows on the desk. Riza rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"So…." Rebecca continued, now sure that she wasn't in any danger of getting strangled, "We all were hanging out at some café, and Riza got really hot and stuffy because she was wearing a sweater, and it was laundry day. Y'know, one of those pull-over-the-head hoodies? Yeah, she went to take it off and lifted her shirt halfway up her chest before Maria leant over and yanked it back down. Then some sexist bastard whistled and said something about her bra in front of the whole place! Man, you should've seen her face right before it turned into that look she gets when she'd about to murder someone. She looked like she wanted to just die right then and there!"

And Roy," she added seeing his expression. "Don't even bother. Riza socked him right in the face and broke his nose after."

"That's my girl." He said fondly. She smiled back cheekily.

"So," Maes said, rubbing his hands together. "Who else had any embarrassing stories about the golden couple?"

Riza and Roy locked gazes, thinking more or less the same thing.

Good lord, somebody save us.

The vibrations of the car hummed pleasantly under Riza as she gazed out the window.

Roy looked over at her, one hand on the steering wheel, and the other slid over the leather seat to touch hers. She grasped his fingers tightly, smiling with the knowledge that he was all hers.

She stroked the scar on the back of his hand with her thumb.

Guilt immediately washed over her.

That day, that fight with Lust when she'd thought she'd lost hime. The first time she'd ever cried in front of an enemy. The only time she'd crumbled and given up in the middle of a fight.

She glanced down at his abdomen, where she knew burn marks lay under his uniform. He looked over at her, noticing her troubled look. Lost in thought with her eyebrows pulled together and her lips pursed.

"What? What's wrong?"

She smiled at him, a small smile gracing her face.

"Oh, nothing," she said almost airily. He pulled her closer, knowing that no one could see them through the tinted windows. They were on a long stretch of open road, still on the way to Riza's house.

"You liar," he accused, still not looking down at her. Her tone all by itself had given it away.

"I am not!"

"You really think I can't tell when you're lying? Your lack of faith is concerning, Riz."

"…"

You know I'm gonna just keep asking, right?"

"…Look, it's really no big deal, okay?"

"I'm warning you, Riza…."

"I-"

"Riza…"

"I just, I forget sometimes, y'know," she said softly after a few beats of rest, looking back down at the faded lines. "And then I remember all over again, and it feels a little bit like being slammed into by a train out of nowhere."

Roy, confused looked down at her, then followed her line of sight to his hand. He sighed.

"Riza, I'm not doing this agai-"

"I know. I just feel bad, and nothing you could ever say will change my mind," Riza sighed, relaxing into him, leaning against his shoulder. "I should've been there when it happened. When you had to sear your own wound shut, when you had to carve your own skin. I should've been there when Havoc was impaled, and I should've killed Lust myself, the bitch."

"Riza," he said with in a way that made her suspicious that he was holding back a laugh. "There was no way you could've done that. I mean, regardless of your emotional state, when you broke down and started talking nonsense of just letting her kill you-"

"How did you know about that?" Riza asked, pulling back a little bit to look at him questioningly. "You only got there after all of that, and then you passed out right after we laid you down."

"I asked Alphonse," he admitted. "I could barely remember anything from that day, except for you crying on your knees looking like you were ready to die. He wouldn't tell me, at first. But I eventually convinced him that I needed to know, and he told me."

"You could barely had any, no scratch that, you didn't have any ammunition left. How the hell were you gonna…" He trailed off, seeing her twitching fingers and her sheepish look.

One.

Two.

Three...

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Why didn't you use your fire? Why were you just going to let her kill you?" He demanded.

"In all honesty, I probably would've, one I came to my senses. If I get angry enough, and let the tension guid, I eventually just burst into fire. That day, I could feel it building behind my eyes, about to force itself out of me. I mean, I couldn't just let your murderer walk away freely, and I didn't want to live anymore after that, so I had nothing to lose at that point. I'd been debating whether or not to just die with you, or try and and kill her. But I had no plans of surviving either, so I decided to kill her and just shot myself. But you beat me to it, obviously." Riza said, abashed.

Roy wasn't really going to dig into the sort-of death wish/half-assed suicide plan now. He probably would've reacted the same way, if he was being honest. It didn't mean he approved, because he sure as hell did not, but he understood where she was coming from. Though, he had one more question….

"Why didn't you ever use it before then?"

"I didn't want to upstage you. Y'know, 'wound your ego' or however men see it," Riza said with a shrug. "You didn't need me as a fellow flame alchemist, you needed me as 'The Hawk's Eye,' your bodyguard. Besides, I was asked to bring you to the top, not beat you there."

Her logic (somewhat) made sense to him. But her level of self-sacrifice was...

Wow.

"All these years? And even in Ishval… You kept this secret because you didn't want to outshine me?"

"Well…. that among a few other things, but yeah," Riza said. "I mean, I hadn't really thought about applying to become an official state alchemist before you decided to do it. It definitely wasn't necessary for my job to use this, and I really didn't have any control over the fire until after the Homunculi." Anticipating his question, she ran a hand through her hair.

"I started practicing after you were attacked by Lust," she explained, and he turned to look at her in surprise. "I hated feeling so useless, and I decided if your life depended on it, I'd use it. Reputation or not, you surviving was most important. I practiced whenever I got home, whenever I had the free time. I almost burned down my apartment a couple of times, actually."

"Ha! I'm not the only one who screwed up the beginning!" Roy cheered. Riza rolled her eyes at his immaturity.

"At least I didn't singe my eyebrows off," Riza piped up. Roy scowled at the open road in front of them, remembering how long Maes had waved that in front of his face.

"… You know, I used to try and help you a little bit. Added just a little to your alchemy notes after you'd passed out and I had to get you to bed," Riza informed him almost indifferently.

The car came to a screeching halt, and Riza's momentum threw her into the dashboard.

She been expecting it, of course, and had been holding her hand out, bracing for impact.

Thankfully, not one car was in sight on the long stretch of seemingly-endless road.

Roy, dumbfounded, stared over at her.

Riza grinned at him awkwardly, biting her lip.

"…I guess I should've mentioned that earlier, huh?"

Roy remained silent, and Riza was afraid of how intense his reaction would be.

Is he angry? The little voice in her head asked meekly.

Roy didn't make a sound. Other than shallow breathing, that is.

"Ohhhhhhh, that explains a lot," Roy sighed. He put a hand to his forehead as he pushed his foot down on the pedal. With a sigh of relief, he turned to her, positively beaming.

"Jesus Riza, why didn't you just tell me you were adding things behind my back? I thought I was going crazy, discoveries I couldn't remember making! Man, Maes and Havoc even made me go to a therapist! For a whole month!" Roy exclaimed, as pieces all fit together.

"But, wait, how come I never noticed your handwriting in my notes? I mean, I definitely know your handwriting."

"I learned to forge your handwriting," Riza said nonchalantly. "Ever wonder how sometimes you'd go to lunch and about a third of your paperwork was done?"

"Yes! Oh god, it all makes sense now. Wait 'till I tell Maes: I didn't need professional help!" He the performed a series of strange movements that Riza suspected to be some sort of victory dance.

"I told him! I fucking told him so! HA!"

Roy calmed enough to look half-ashamed.

"Now I feel bad for making you do so much extra work," Roy said, swerving calmly around a pothole in the middle of the road.

"Aww, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel less useful" Riza said guiltily.

"But if it makes you feel better, I used to reload your guns and swap them out with modified models when you weren't looking."

"Oh, I knew it!" Riza said, snapping her fingers (In recognition! She's not trying to blow up the car!). "My favorite gun, I noticed it was better balanced than it was when I bought it!"

"You have a favorite gun?"

"Yeah. You don't have a favorite glove?"

"I mean, the attacks I use are specific to each hand and I-"

"So? What's your favorite attack?"

"I-It depends, I guess?"

"Just in general."

"Umm, I guess it's the right…? No, the left maybe….?" Roy scratched his head, trying to find a way to express what he was thinking in a way that made sense.

Riza laughed, and leant her her head into the crook in her neck.

He's funny when he's flustered and confused.

"You're funny when you're confused, you know that?" Riza asked, echoing part of her last thought. He kissed the top of her head, his free arm draped over her shoulders. She twirled a few strands of his hair around at the nape of his neck. (Literally the epitome of the perfect couple… Am I wrong?)

Pulling up to her house, Roy parked the car and held the door open for Riza.

When she'd opened the door to her house, then turned around to say goodnight to Roy, he was blushing from his hairline all the way down his neck.

What's wrong with him?

He fiddled with a button in his jacket, before looking up to meet her gaze.

"Uh, Riza… D'you maybe wanna… would you consider possibly…."

"Yes…?" Riza said, still anticipating the real question that was bound to come out eventually. Sooner or later he'd fess up.

"What?" Riza asked, walking closer to him. She put a hand to his still-reddening face. "Do you have a fever or something? Are you feeling okay?"

"Rizawouldyougooutwithme?" He spit out, the string of words not quite reaching her ears.

"Roy, you're gonna have to spe-"

"Riza, will you go out on a date with me tomorrow night ?" He stuttered nervously.

She grinned, her lips pulling back to show her (blindingly white, I might add) teeth, and beamed at him. She launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and standing on her tiptoes so their heads were almost level.

"I'm so glad you final grew a pair and asked me," Riza breathed into his ear, just before releasing him and saying goodbye with a wink.

"See you at seven."

As the door slammed shut behind her, he let out a whoop and pumped a fist in the air.

Riza, still listening and leaning against the other side of the door, smiled.

And then amusedly listened to the noises he made as he preceded to fall backwards down her front steps.

Riza had a migraine.

It just now occurred to her that she should have waited until after the date to alert her friends of the upcoming event. It had been less that 24 hours since he'd asked, and she now stood in her room, in her underwear, as Rebecca held out two identically colored lipsticks.

"Riza," Rebecca said, her entire body trembling with excitement. "Pick one."

Riza rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she bent one knee. (You know, they typical girl stance…)

"Rebecca, they're exactly the same." Riza stressed each word, trying to understand the mentality of a typical female older than 15. She'd never been one for makeup, even the lipstick she'd worn to the Fuhrer's party had been selected by Maria as a Valentine's Day gift.

"No, Riza," Rebecca stated calmly, as she repeatedly counted to ten in her head. Riza was personally offended; her dear friend was treating her like a five year old. "This," she said, holding up a tube "this is 'Rosy Valentine.' and this," she said, holding up the other one and moving it so it was barely an inch from Riza's face. "This color is 'Sugar Tulip.' See the difference?"

"No."

Rebecca sighed.

"I have failed you as a mother."

"Rebecca, you're not my mother."

"But I might as well be! Me, and Maria, are the only female influences you've got! It's our job to make sure you understand makeup!"

Maria then walked in, holding a bag that Riza highly suspected contained at least one pair of shoes.

"Oh. Riza, so which one do you like better?"

"They're the same damn color!" Riza exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

Maria mock-gasped, and turned to Rebecca, winking.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us."

Roy had never felt so useless in his life.

Havoc and Maes stood at his side as he tried to focus his thoughts. Havoc patted his shoulder sympathetically, knowing he wasn't going to be much help to his friend in this situation.

Maes, unsure as to what Roy had screwed up while they'd left him to go to the bathroom, had his camera at the ready, knowing whatever was about to go down was going to be hilarious.

Roy squared his shoulders, and reached his hand out, and grasped the car door handle.

He pulled.

A wave of flowers came pouring out, various petals and plants pooling at their feet. The assortment of spilled petals and stems had a very strong, perfume-y scent.

Maes blinked.

Roy could practically feel him thinking it.

"The shop was about to close and I couldn't remember her favorite flower, okay?"

Maes threw back his head and began to laugh.

Riza tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, and straightened the collar of her blazer.

So glad Maria intervened and said I didn't need makeup.

She wore a white scoop neck shirt, and a royal blue blazer over that. She had on black pants (like black skinny jeans) and a pair of semi-heeled boots that laced up to just below her knee.

She looked back at Maria and Rebecca, and unsure look gleaming in her eyes. They ushered her forward to the front door, and she nervously open the door.

Standing there, leaning against the door holding a bouquet of flowers in a way that made her think he was as nervous as she felt, was Roy Mustang.

He had wrapped the arrangement in white paper, and tied is neatly together with a blue bow. He held the flowers out to her, and Riza took them gratefully.

"Thanks you! You didn't have to, you know."

Roy shrugged, secretly happy with how pleased she looked.

"You deserve them."

Maria winked at him over Riza's shoulder, and he recalled the conversation he'd had with her maybe half an hour ago.

"Hey Maria?" Roy asked meekly. Maria spoke into the phone, twirling the cord around her finger as Riza and Rebecca bickered about what Riza was going to wear.

"Yeah, Roy? something wrong?"

"I was just wondering, do you know what Riza's favorite flower is"

Maria chuckled, realizing he had absolutely no clue in this area.

"She doesn't really have a favorite. Just nothing yellow or orange, okay?"

Roy relaxed, happy that a sixth of his options were finally eliminated. Thank god that she didn't have a particular favorite, because he couldn't really tell the difference between half of them.

"Thanks."

She gave him a thumbs up, noticing that the collection was mainly comprised of whites, red and some pinks.

He sighed in relief, happy that he'd finally gotten something right.

"Shall we go?" He asked with a smile. She grabbed him by the wrist, and pulled him behind her outside.

"Yes."

Two hours later, Roy was smiling so wide his face hurt.

He held hands with Riza as they walked down the street, earning adoring looks from many people as they passed.

They'd just left the restaurant, a nice italian place that Roy had been recommended by Maes. As they walked, Riza was suddenly bumped into by a teenage girl and her friends.

The two females fell to the ground, landing in a heap of tangled limbs. Riza tried to push her hair out of her eyes, and push herself up into a sitting position.

The other girl scrambled to her feet apologizing at the fallen woman while one of her companions fussed over her, asking if she was alright. She waved him off, holding a hand out to help her up.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" She asked, pulling Riza up. Riza, finally successful in blowing her hair out of her eyes, answered:

"I'm fine, thanks. And I'm so sorry, I should've been looking where I was-"

She stopped, finally recognizing the face in front of her.

Roy gasped behind her.

"Winry? Winry Rockbell?" She turned to face the two gaping friends.

"Edward? Alphonse?"

So… TBOHB is finally over...

Hope you don't hate the ending too much! It's join got lead into the sequel which I am going to post really, really soon .I promise. Probably within the next week and a half or so.

Thank you all so much for the support and the comments; I might not have finished this without your encouragement.

I really will miss all of you.

Thank you once again; for the last time on this story,

-Pyro