Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

A/N: All right. The moment you've all been waiting for. This is the last chapter, and now I shall reveal the reasoning behind Spitfire's name. Flava Sava was the first person to guess correctly--Spitfire is the name of a fighter plane. Congratulations Flava Sava! See, all of the people in the military are named after aircraft. Roy Mustang gets his name from the P-51 North American Mustang, which is widely considered to be the U.S.'s most powerful fighter. Rain Spitfire gets her name from the British Supermarine Spitfire, Britain's top fighter plane. Her first name was Rain, because it began with an 'R' to match Roy and Riza, and because Roy hates rain, so that added some irony. Anyway, now that that's done, enjoy the last chapter.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Riza felt her heart sink. He wanted to talk about P-51. Absolutely wonderful. Her thoughts suddenly brought to mind all of the horrible things she had written about P-51, in her brief spats with anger and jealousy. They were not things to be read by someone else.

"Sir, I..." Riza wasn't sure how to approach the situation. It was a very awkward situation, and she didn't feel like dealing with it, but she knew she didn't have a choice. Her mission: To end the conversation as quickly and neatly as possible, and avoid talking about her...feelings. After reading the diary, he should know anyway. She glanced at Roy. He was fiddling with his collar—apparently he was having the same trouble that she was.

"Hawkeye," Roy finally said, closing the door quietly behind him, "if I had known that the diary was yours, I never would have read it."

"Well," Riza remarked, "now you know."

"Yes, now I know..." Roy echoed, still searching for the right thing to say. "I know about P-51."

Riza winced. "Sir, all those things I wrote—"

"—were absolutely true," Roy interrupted. "When I started reading the diary, the first thing I noticed was that P-51 was a self-centered, arrogant bastard. I hated him from the start. And why the author of the diary stuck with him, I could never understand. That's why I didn't think it was yours. You're Riza Hawkeye. You're always so distant and cool, calm and collected and practical. It was inconceivable to me that you would devote yourself to a selfish man."

"Colonel, I--!" Riza wanted to yell at him, to deny it, to say she didn't mean those things, but she couldn't figure out how to express it all.

"Why do you stick with that bastard, Hawkeye? What has he ever done to deserve you!" Roy's voice was harsh and demanding.

Riza couldn't answer. There was nothing she could say. The floor that she was staring at started to blur. Riza bit her lip in disgust. Her eyes were going to betray her again!

"Why? Why do you stay with him?" Roy tried to meet her eyes, but Riza kept her watery gaze on the floor. She didn't want to see those dark eyes that she knew so well. Those dark eyes that threatened to capture her, as they had once in her dream.

"...He doesn't...deserve to have you," Roy's voice was softer now.

Riza tried to talk, tried to say that it was true, he didn't deserve someone as weak as she. She drew a shuddering breath to try to keep in the tears that were adamant to fall. When was the last time she had felt this vulnerable; when was the last time she had cried like this?

"You what!" Riza asked angrily. She had heard that her new superior Mustang had done something stupid; something as stupid as attempting suicide. Apparently the war was getting to him; but then, it was starting to crack all of the sane people in the military. Having to kill every Ishballan they came across—total war—could not be aptly justified to those who had a sliver of conscience, a hint of humanity.

He didn't look at her, and didn't answer her question. Riza clenched her fists. She wasn't going to let him do something as idiotic as kill himself.

"Sir! Look at me!" When she was ignored, Riza walked up to him and turned him around forcefully.

"Go away Hawkeye."

"How can I leave you alone if I might come back and find you dead? Don't you think that there are enough people trying to kill you without your help!" She realized that she was yelling rather loudly, and that she was crying. She was crying with anger—how could a man like him even think of doing that?

"I said go away."

"Fine! But if a man like you wants to kill himself, then I need to kill myself," Riza spat.

"You can't kill yourself," Mustang muttered.

"I know how to pull this trigger," Riza threatened, pulling out one of her pistols. That made Roy spin around. With one swift motion, he deftly knocked the gun out of her hand.

"Don't," Roy said heatedly. "Don't even JOKE about that."

Riza smiled wearily; there were tears of relief in her eyes now, "Then, you can't joke about it either, sir."

He tried to hide his true emotions with a half-hearted smirk. "All right then."

Riza had known it. He was the source of her tears, as he was now. Strange—the man who gave her the most happiness also gave her the most pain.

She looked up to face him with this new revelation, and wished she hadn't. His face was awash with worry, anger, and...almost...Riza refused herself the privilege of finishing the thought.

"Riza, why don't you leave P-51? I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would realize what they had..."

Riza felt her throat constrict. That was it. He had just told her that she should go because he didn't feel that way about her. And yet, she heard herself respond, "I can't."

"I can't," She said again, firmer this time, because she had finally given up on fighting the tears. There was something more important to accomplish.

"I can't leave him, sir. I love him."

She waited. Those were the words, the admission that she had been denying for longer than she consciously knew. She waited for lightning to strike her. She waited for the world to end. She waited for Roy to yell at her, to laugh at her, to mock her. This was it. She had given herself entirely on a shadow; a dream. And now it was time to wake up.

"Equivalent Exchange. That's what every alchemist learns," Roy murmured, his gaze fixated on the ground, as hers had been moments before. "To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. And yet, he—I—haven't given anything. I've been an arrogant, self-centered bastard. I've never done one thing in my life to earn something as precious as you."

"Sir! That's not—!" Riza cried.

"See? Look, you're crying. The only thing I've ever done was hurt you," He turned away. "There's nothing I could ever do to measure up to what you've already given me, but I've been a fool, an idiot, to not realize it until now. I'm sorry."

"Sir!" Riza gasped, and then started sobbing. She couldn't stand this! Riza had never thought that he would return her feelings, or at least not throw them back in her face. This was not what she had been expecting. How could he think of himself like that? Riza hated herself now, because she was the one who had made him think like that. If she had never written those things in her diary, they wouldn't be here in this situation. This was all her fault.

"I'm...sorry..." Roy whispered. He kept his back to her, and tried not to think of the tears that had sparkled on her cheeks. He wanted her to understand that she deserved someone who really cared about her. He once though he cared about her, but her diary made him realize that he knew nothing about her, and that she was too good for him.

It didn't matter that he couldn't see her. Roy could still hear the sobs that she tried to stifle. That sound was too much for him to bear. He turned around and glanced at her. His first instinct was to comfort her, the way he would comfort any other woman—to take her in his arms and kiss her until she forgot why she had been crying in the first place. But he was the reason she was crying. What could he do? How could he apologize for all of the times he had ignored her or forgotten her? How could he apologize for never seeing how she felt? There were simply no words powerful enough.

"Hawkeye..." He was at a complete loss.

Riza, by some incredible feat, managed to say, "Sir...I meant what I said. Everything in that diary...was true. I won't lie to you. All that I wrote was what I truly think about you, but I should never have expressed it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all those bad things about you, and I shouldn't have said that I loved you. That crossed the line. I must apologize, but I cannot take anything back. Please, excuse me. And have a good evening...colonel." She walked towards the door that he partially blocked, grabbed the handle, and waited for him to let her out.

"Riza..." He couldn't let her leave; not without her knowing all that he felt. There was still something hanging between them, something she had not asked, but the question remained. Unspoken but understood. She loved him. But did he love her? Such a blunt question, but so difficult to answer. Until a few moments ago, he never would have put love and Hawkeye in the same sentence, except for a joke about miniskirts. Roy had no doubt that she felt strongly for him, though whether it really was love, he wasn't sure. At least, that's what he wanted to think.

Riza would never have said something like that lightly. She truly loved him. That fact thrilled him as much as it unnerved him. Many women had told him those very words over his lifetime, but none of their words had meant anything to him. He had been attracted to the women, yes, but he had never really cared for them. Not the way he cared for Hawkeye.

To him, she had always been something beyond his reach, and to be treasured because of it. Roy had never expected to actually mean something to her. To find out that he did, in fact, mean something to her, was far beyond what he currently believed he deserved.

"Why didn't you ever tell me what a bastard I was...?" He asked. Riza did not respond. She was preoccupied with another battle—their current position had placed them far too close physically. From this range it would be so easy for her to just reach out...then she could try other methods of telling him that she didn't really think that of him at all. Images of her entirely forbidden dream came to her readily. Riza felt her pulse speeding up as she fought down inappropriate desires.

To her utmost horror, he stepped in even closer to her and held her shoulders lightly.

"I wish," he whispered. "That there was something I could say that would fix everything."

"Sir, please..." Riza pleaded almost inaudibly. As if it hadn't been hard for her when they weren't sustaining any contact, he had to go and do this to her. At this point, Riza didn't care anymore. She had told him that she loved him, and as far as she knew, would always love him. She had tried to tell him that he wasn't the monster he thought he was, that she was undeserving of him, not vise-versa. She had said everything, and he had read everything. Wasn't that enough? And yet here he was, unknowingly torturing her with his mere presence. Not that his presence was anything close to mere.

"I wish," Roy continued, oblivious to her plight. "That I could simply say that I return your feelings. But...I don't want to lie to you. And yet, I'm not sure at the moment that it would be lying. You've given me your heart—what on this earth could I ever give in return for that?"

Riza sighed inwardly at this seemingly stupid statement. There was something equivalent to her heart—all he had to do was to give her his.

"Your heart," Riza replied, before even realizing that she had said it out loud. She bit her tongue—albeit too late—and glanced hesitantly up to see his reaction.

"If," He took one final step closer to her. Now they were just an insignificant inch apart. "If that would be enough..."

For a heart-skipping moment, Riza thought that he was going to kiss her. And how badly she wanted that! She met his eyes, and wondered if he was going through the same internal conflict. Then, he gave her one last look of...almost—Riza again refused to complete the thought—and walked out the very door she had been so eager to pass through.

The door, though it closed quietly, seemed to echo in the newly silent room. Riza stared at the spot where he had been for a long time before returning wearily to the chair she had been sleeping on earlier in the day. By now it had to be late. She looked at the clock and confirmed her suspicions—it was nine.

"He stayed late tonight," Riza muttered absently. Her voice sounded foreign to her. It was calm and collected. Nothing could be farther from her current state. Her heart was still pounding away in her ears, a constant reminder of how close they had just been.

Riza tried to remember half of what had passed between them—spoken or not. She didn't think the issue between them was entirely resolved. It might never be resolved. Still, they had admitted to things that were forbidden. Riza's practical mind finally returned, and lurched her to reality. Even if she loved him, and he loved her, they could never be together. Would it hurt as badly if she had never accepted that she loved him? Because now that she knew, would that make it even worse?

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!" The door flew open and revealed Rain Spitfire. Riza, after she nearly jumped out of her chair in surprise, wished she had remembered to lock the door.

"If I had known, I would have backed off!" Rain declared loudly. Riza wondered what she was talking about, and if everyone in Amestris could hear her.

"What are you—" Riza tried to ask, not even bothering to salute. Rain rolled her eyes at Riza.

"Now see here, first lieutenant, when I came here, if you had just told me you and Roy was together, I would have left you alone!"

"But we're—"Riza felt her heart sink. If Rain knew, then surely she would report it to someone higher up, and then there would be trouble.

"Uh-huh. You deny it. Well, I'm not stupid. If you weren't together before I came, it was just going to be a matter of time. If you had told me to get the hell out, I would have," Rain said.

Riza was indeed about to deny it, when she realized that Rain was mad at her because she wasn't with Roy.

"I mean really," Rain continued, her tirade still coming, "did you think that I wouldn't notice? On my date with Mr. Mustang, all he talked about was 'Lieutenant Hawkeye' this or 'Lieutenant Hawkeye' that. For goodness sakes' I would have mistaken him for your husband had I not known otherwise. You should have heard him yell at me when I called you a lazy lieutenant."

"And then there was you. For a while, I thought you were the next thing to an android. You did everything for him, and did everything properly, to the letter. His infatuation with you was obvious, but I didn't realize you felt the same way for a while. But now I know better. Heck, you probably know his favorite flower!"

"Day lilies..." Riza muttered. "But he and I, we don't—"

Rain raised an eyebrow. Her dark blue eyes dared her to tell the lie.

"—we can't," Riza corrected herself. Rain's eyebrow went up further. "Sure you can't. But you have anyway, haven't you? You love him just the same."

Riza sighed. Was there ever going to be a moment of peace for her after this? For a moment she had actually been entertaining the notion of hoping that she had Roy could forget what had happened and coexist as they always had. But now it seemed as if everyone knew...

"All right. Fine. I love him. What do you want me to do about it?" Riza asked curtly. "He's not sure about the way he feels, and I don't blame him. He's been all over you for the past week."

Rain shook her head. "Not true. He always acted like he was in love with me in public, but the minute we were alone, it was all about you. I'm sure he didn't even realize he was doing it."

Riza waited for Rain to continue.

"Anyway, your troubles are resolved. I won't be here to bother you much longer," Rain remarked.

"What?"

"I've been transferred to South Central. I being here was just a transitional thing. Next week I'll be out of here," Rain said. "So I expect you to kiss and make up with Roy. Literally."

Riza almost blushed. Such physical contact had been on her mind for what seemed all day. Then something occurred to her. "Why do you care so much about Roy and I?" Riza asked.

Rain shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it's because I'm fond of Roy in my own way, and you two just make such a cute pair."

OOOOOOOOO

Riza and Rain chatted casually as they walked down the empty hallways on their way out. There was still a small amount of tension between them, but it was lessening every minute.

"So where did you get your name as the Blackwater Alchemist?" Riza asked.

"Because my alchemy focuses on liquids. I'm not sure where the 'black' part comes from though," Rain admitted. Suddenly she stopped walking, and laughed from embarrassment. "I'm such a clutz. I forgot something in my office. You can go without me, okay?"

"No, I can wait," Riza replied. Rain turned and started walking back, when she tripped over something—Riza certainly didn't see anything—and flailed—almost a little too obviously—and accidentally hit one of the office doors.

"Wow! I am a clutz!" Rain said as she recovered quickly and dashed down the hall. A second later, the door which Rain had hit opened. Riza was very skeptical that Rain had truly tripped when she realized that the door was Roy's.

"What was that?" Roy asked. "Who knocked--?" He glanced around and saw Riza.

"Sorry for the distraction sir," Riza apologized awkwardly. "Spitfire just...fell...on your door." Roy looked confused. Riza didn't blame him.

"Oh..." He looked around the hallway again. "Did I ever thank you for the...uh...flowers?"

"You mean the day lilies?" Riza asked. "Well, no."

Roy smiled wanly. "Thank you then."

"Anytime..."Riza felt the tension starting to return. She hoped Rain came back soon, to escape from the awkward situation. "Did you know that Spitfire is being transferred?"

"Really?" Roy nodded. "I'd heard something like that, yes..."

Neither met the other's eyes for a while, and neither said anything.

"You should get back to work, sir," Riza suggested. "It's late."

"Exactly," Roy smiled. "It's late. I was just about to leave anyway." He ducked into his office and shut off the lights, locked the door, and reappeared before Riza could walk away.

Riza figured she had been waiting for Rain for at least ten minutes now, and was starting to suspect that Rain hadn't intended on coming back—the fancy fall on his door had been entirely on purpose. Rain did want them to kiss and make up. Literally. Riza doubted that they would get to the kissing part.

"Hawkeye, there's something that's been bothering me," Roy said as she and he walked down the halls.

"Yes sir?"

"When I was reading your diary, I noticed that your hand-writing in a lot like mine...and I wondered why."

"Well sir, I do a lot of your paperwork, as I'm sure you know, and I've taught myself to write like you, so that I can sign those papers with 'your' signature. When I write my diary, I work on writing in your handwriting," Riza answered.

Roy stopped to look at her incredulously. "You do that for me? You spent all that time teaching yourself that for me?"

Riza turned and faced him. "Sir, I thought you'd have realized by now that I would do anything for you." They were outside the building now, standing on the desolate sidewalk.

"I still don't deserve it."

Riza did not reply.

"Ah...Hawkeye?"

"Sir?"

"Since Rain's leaving, I don't really have any excuse to get off work early. For a date, I mean. Maybe you and I could go get something to eat tomorrow night..."

"You'd rid yourself of Rain that quickly?" Riza asked sharply. "She hasn't even really left yet, and you're already trying to get someone else?"

"No, it's not like that!" Roy denied, worried that he was going to lose his chance with her. "I'm only trying to obey her last wishes. She came in and yelled at me after you and I had that talk...I thought she was going to kill me. She insisted that I 'kiss and make up' with you."

"That's what she told me too," Riza smirked. "It seems she's trying to play match-maker."

"So..." Roy said slyly, "It is your duty to follow her orders—she is your superior."

"I think we've already 'made up' as she said," Riza remarked innocently. Roy stepped close to her.

"And...?" Roy hinted. Riza couldn't believe she was in the same situation again. At this rate, she was going to end up actually kissing him. Not that she didn't want to, but...

But what? But it was forbidden? The fact that it was forbidden didn't stop the Elric brothers from doing human transmutation. But they had paid a horrendous price.

But this was a direct order from Colonel Rain Spitfire...and it was forbidden to disobey a direct order as well.

"And enjoy this," Riza whispered. "Because this is a one-time thing. For now."

"For now--!" Roy was about to say something in protest, but Riza didn't bother to let him. She had waited far too long for this.

OOOOOO

Rain looked out the window of her second-floor office. In the darkness of the night, she could just barely make out the two forms of Roy and Riza. Judging by the miniscule distance that separated them, they were obeying her orders. She smiled and twirled a piece of her auburn hair between her fingers. Now she could leave and know that she was finally released from orders she had received in the will of Brigadier General Hughes.

OOOOOO

A/N: There it is. I wrote this chapter over and over, and I still don't like it, but I had to get it done sometime. I think I deserve to be flamed for this one. So bring it on. Review.

And since this is the final installment, I'd like to thank all of my reviewers. I can't believe Igot so many reviews!You're all magnificent, I love you all, and I hope this story wasn't a complete waste of your time. I wish I could thank you individually, but that would go on forever. However, there is one I must mention.

Zamnandi- Wow. I can't believe you got all of that out of 'P-51'. I never would have thought of something that in-depth. That was awesome, and I wish I had thought of that. Wow.