Author's Notes: So someone asked me to write a fanfic about a Royai wedding where an assassination attempt on Roy's life would occur. They told me that it didn't have to be in my universe, but then I thought, Why not? Wouldn't that make it even more intense? I mean, in mine, they've got a son. So yeah, well, it got too long, like everything I write, and then I wanted to switch POVs, so I figured I might as well post what I've got.

In case anyone is curious or hasn't read the drabble where I had Roy proposing to Riza, it's Drabble 100 ("Until the Day") in my 100 Royai Drabble series, "you pull me through time", though I don't think it's necessary to read in order to understand this one. Just know that they've had a son for about five years and didn't decide to get married or even openly be together until Roy was Fuhrer. (Also, will I ever be happy with their son's name? I don't know. But I jumped through hoops to find this one.) I based the title off a quote from "A Beautiful Wedding" by Jamie McGuire.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for the OCs, and that is a bummer indeed.

i would part the sea
part one: excitement

In all honesty, Riza was still uncertain if this was a dream or not. After all, she was getting married today – to the Fuhrer of Amestris, her first best friend, her first crush, her first love, her greatest heartbreak, the man she had followed for so many years and protected with her life, and everything in between. She had to hand it to Roy; he certainly knew how to make an impression. She hadn't been able to leave him even if she tried. Now they were taking one more step together in their lives, a move that she had dared not even dream about.

As a girl, Riza had entertained herself with the idea that she would one day get married, but she hadn't really thought much past wearing a white dress. Of course, considering the circumstances, she wasn't even qualified to wear a white dress anymore. Despite the fact that she didn't really care much for tradition, she had decided on wearing a light blue gown that would complement the dark blue of Roy's military dress uniform. He had wanted to wear a suit, but being the Fuhrer, there were some expectations and photo ops and the list could go on.

Standing alone in the room, Riza tugged at her dress, trying to decide last minute if she wanted to ditch the veil. She hadn't wanted one, pointing out that it blocked her view, but Rebecca had somehow managed to convince her otherwise. Honestly, Rebecca had helped plan the wedding almost more than Riza had, but her best friend had been far too over the moon about the proposal. She'd taken on her duties as the maid of honor with gusto, enlisting help from all the other women in their lives and doing everything she could to put Riza at ease.

Apparently, even Riza was prone to the case to pre-wedding jitters, even though she had committed her life to Roy so many years ago.

A knock on the door caused Riza to glance back around. "Yes?"

Rebecca poked her head inside. "Someone wants to wish you good luck before the ceremony."

"As long as it's not Havoc trying to sneak pictures of me in my dress for Roy again," Riza responded dryly. They had already had a few debacles that involved taking Havoc's camera away from him and kicking him out. There was nothing quite like having a man tumble out of a dress rack when you were getting your final measurements for your wedding dress taken. Rebecca had chased him three blocks for that.

"I'm a better bodyguard than to fall for his shenanigans," Rebecca scoffed.

"And yet he somehow convinced you to marry him," Riza pointed out with a light smile on her face.

Rebecca rolled her eyes playfully, but she didn't fight back about that one. Instead, she looked back at whoever was at the door with her and nodded her head. "Go on in."

When a pair of dark eyes and a mop of black hair appeared in the doorway, hanging back shyly, all Riza could do was smile softly, feeling every bit of her once hardened heart melt into warmth. With Rebecca ushering him forward again, Riza watched as her son meandered into the room, eyes cast downward and blush tinting his pale cheeks. It was the same exact look Roy got whenever he wanted to surprise her with something. As soon as the door shut behind him though, he rushed forward and threw his body at her, wrapping his small arms around her legs and burying his face in the skirt of her dress.

"Oh, what's this for?" Riza asked.

"Aunt Becca told me that you were anxious and you always hug me when I'm anxious," Aidan answered, so straightforward with his thoughts. He had gained the habit of using big words that he heard adults use, listening to other people talk and then hounding Falman for certain words definitions and how to spell them. He certainly got his bookworm nature from Roy, though she quite enjoyed reading as well.

Riza smoothed her son's hair down. It was an absolute disaster. They'd combed it earlier, but he had already messed it up, probably by running his fingers through it like Roy did. She imagined that he'd copied his father's antics from watching Roy while he got ready for the ceremony. "Thank you. I definitely needed a hug from you."

Aidan peered up at her curiously. "Why are you scared? Mustang says that you're the bravest person ever."

At those words, Riza's heart skipped a beat. So many things had changed over the past few months, but it was difficult to explain the differences to a child. He still slipped back into the habit of referring to Roy by his title or surname, sometimes even "sir" to emulate her, and it took the breath out of her every single time. When Aidan was little and they were alone together, he had called Roy "dad", but they had realized quickly that he couldn't do that in public. Teaching him to stop calling Roy "dad" or "father" had been extraordinarily painful – it had to have been confusing for him, being so young – but she found it hurt even more when he fell back into the habit.

"Maybe I'm not scared," Riza said, bending down so that she was at his level. God, he looked so much like Roy that it made her heart want to burst. How they had ever thought they could keep this a secret was laughable at best. They had done everything that they could, but in the end, they had only been able to do so much in order to protect their son from the wolves that was the military and media. "I'm…excited. That can cause people to be nervous too. I never thought this day would come."

"You should know better," Aidan pointed out in a tone that broke no nonsense. How so very like her. He may have gotten his looks and bookworm tendencies from his father, but everything else he got from her. She raised an eyebrow at him. "You made a promise. And it's…Dad's dream. He says he likes to dream big, and that you're the biggest dream to ever come true. He loves you a lot."

Riza kissed her son on the top of the head. "He loves you too, so very much, and it's both of our dreams. Not just to get married, but to be a family."

"We are a family," Aidan said, putting his hands on her face.

Riza looked into her son's eyes. They were so open, every little bit of how he's feeling available for her to see, but she could remember far too many times when his eyes would be guarded, his thoughts closed off to the world. Those were the times when they would be out in public together and he couldn't act like Roy was his father. They tried to make it a game for him, so that it wouldn't hurt or confuse him, but whenever they came home without Roy, she would have to watch as her son fell into fits of silence and play halfheartedly with the toys that Roy had bought him.

He did it to Roy more often than not, which cut him to the quick, but Roy had been quick to understand that their son was merely protecting himself from getting hurt. Hiding his feelings and thoughts towards was one of the few ways that Riza had learned to guard her heart when she had been a child. It was only natural that her son would be the same way, though it had practically killed her to watch him harden beyond his years, especially because they tried to do so much to bring light and happiness into his life. A few times though, like when he woke up from a nightmare and found that Roy wasn't in the bedroom with her, he would close himself off from her and that cut her even further.

This wasn't just Roy's dream anymore. It was hers as well. Not the wedding and all the fanfare so much as these quiet moments when it was just them and they could be who they were meant to be and simply be together. They could have gotten married in a courthouse for all she cared, as long as they were together, but it wasn't every day that the Fuhrer got married, and so the pomp came with the dream.

"How's your father holding up?"

"Good!" Aidan replied cheerfully. "He's only told Uncle Ed that he's going to light him on fire once."

Riza chuckled. The fact that their son called the former Fullmetal Alchemist an uncle was humorous in itself, but it was especially funny picturing the scene. Havoc was technically supposed to be the one to help Roy get ready for the wedding, being the best man and all, but he'd been forced to step out in order to perform last minute security checks before the ceremony began. Edward had been all too willing to step up to the plate to help in Havoc's stead, most likely to get a few more jabs in, being "experienced" in marriage life.

There was another knock on the door and Rebecca's voice calling out, "It's almost time!" letting them know that their pep talk was over.

Grabbing a comb, Riza did what she could to tame her son's unruly hair. Aidan made a few faces at her, but he didn't fight or protest. She knew that she was lucky that he didn't struggle with her more, although he had been excited to wear the kid's tuxedo that Roy and he had gone shopping for. "You remember what to do?"

Aidan nodded his head. "Stand by Mu— by Dad. I get to stand by Dad, just like we practiced."

Riza smiled and placed her forehead against his. "Good, good." After pulling back, she nudged him towards the door and then stood up straight. "Now go to Aunt Becca. She'll take you to Uncle Jean." The poor kid honestly had more non-blood-related family members, but it warmed her heart to know that so many people had taken places in his life when they had little to no other family to speak of.

Before he walked out the door though, Aidan stopped and turned back around. "Mom?" His voice was a little hesitant, something not like him. She looked at him questioningly and he gave her the same lopsided grin that Roy had patented. "I'm excited too."

Riza stared at the door after it shut and left her alone in the room again. She realized that the nervousness that had been tugging at the edge of her mind was gone. It turned out that all she had needed was a visit from the brightest light in her world. Yes, today was going to be a day for the books. It was going to involve a lot more pomp and fanfare than she wanted, but at the end of the day, all the grandness and publicity mattered nothing compared to the fact that she would get to spend it with the most important people in her life.