Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix, FUNmation, VIZ, and anything else I've forgotten.
Warning: There's some playful RoyxRiza fluff, expect some OOCness
Flora
The restless Flame Alchemist paced about his office. Every few seconds, he would slow down and anxiously peer at the clock. When the hour hand finally hit seven, he abruptly stopped. First, he straightened up his slightly rumpled military uniform, and looked into his closet mirror to flatten down his wild black hair. When satisfied, he reached down, and pulled out a bouquet of white lilies from the bottom of the closet. Straightening up again, with an air of cautious confidence surrounding him, Roy Mustang strolled out of his office with a very important matter in mind.
---
Edward Elric was very grouchy. Oh, and pissed. Alphonse tried his best not to get into his older brother's way, but to no avail.
"Al!" The Fullmetal Alchemist's loud voice rang down the empty hallway. "Quit making so much noise when you walk!"
"But Brother," Alphonse responded, quite puzzled. "This is how I normally walk. Why should I be any quieter?"
Ed sighed, pulled to a stop, and turned to talk to his younger brother, an obvious mischievous gleam shining in his golden eyes. "Al," he started. "If you haven't noticed, it's late. It's past seven now, and the Colonel probably thinks we're due back tomorrow. This is my once in a lifetime chance to give him a niiiiice surprise!"
If armor could have facial expressions, Al would choose to look perplexed. "How do you plan on surprising him then?"
"That's the problem." Ed frowned. "I don't know yet." Then he shrugged. "Maybe with a prank or something. I'll think of something when we get there."
This time, Al sighed. "But brothe—"
"Don't worry, Al!" Ed flashed his brother a megawatt smile. "Anyway, it beats having to sit in that horrible man's office all day tomorrow, listening to him mock me. 'Oh why, Fullmetal, you've come back! I almost missed you there. We were wondering what happened to you. Why don't you take a seat? Oh no, I won't be able to see you over my desk!' " Ed mimicked the Colonel, scrunching up his face and wildly waving his arms around.
Al shook his head. "Isn't that what you have to go through tomorrow, anyway?" He stated gently.
The short Fullmetal Alchemist shot the younger Elric a smoldering glare before stalking down the hall in silence.
"Brother..." Sighing again, Al started walking to catch up with his brother.
As they neared Roy's office at the end of the hall, the Elric brothers heard voices leaking from the flimsy door, and Edward immediately slowed down, holding a hand out to Al. Once he recognized the voices he heard, and deciphered what they were saying, the mischievous gleam in his eyes brightened and a devilish smile appeared on his face. Edward Elric rubbed his hands together, grinning like a madman.
'Now what do we have here, Colonel...'
---
What was wrong with him, dammit? Coughing, then clearing his throat for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Roy willed himself to just walk up to her. What was wrong with it? Just a simple, one step, two steps, three steps, and maybe a couple more to get across the room, but then he'd be right next to her. What happened to that confidence in his office earlier?
'It died, or expired. Whatever, Roy, move it!' he thought to himself, dryly. He coughed again, just slightly this time. But she sighed, obviously frustrated with him at the moment.
"Colonel," she turned around to look at him, an annoyed look on her face. "Is there something you'd like to say?"
Swallowing hard (God, why did there have to be a frickin' huge lump in his throat!), Roy forced himself to take a walk a few steps closer to her. "As a matter of fact," he started in a raspy voice (must've been from coughing so much...). "Yes, there is."
Riza raised one delicate eyebrow up at him. She didn't say anything; the look on her face clearly saying, 'Well...what is it?'
"Well, you see," Roy stammered, averting his eyes to look down at the flowers in his hands. "There have been err, some things I've been meaning to tell you, um, lately..." He desperately resisted the urge to pull at his collar. Since when had it gotten so hot in the room?
However, one good thing was that the annoyed look on her face softened, and slowly vanished at his words and uneasiness. "Yes?" she inquired softly.
"First," Roy jabbed the air with the lilies. "You have been one of the most hardworking subordinates of mine. I see so much progress in your reports. Everyone else has told me about your efforts and support around the military!" He paused to take a tiny peek at her face, then internally smacked himself. 'You blew it, Mustang!' he snapped at himself.
He cringed, seeing her lips pressed tightly to each other, while still trying to maintain an interested look on her face. "Will that be all?" he heard her ask, politely, all business now.
"Well um, I guess..." he struggled to pull his mind together, and he could've sworn he saw her face fall. "Not," he said firmly. "No, there's more."
The corners of her eyes crinkled as the corner of her lips curled into a miniscule smile. She gave him a tiny nod, a sign for him to go on, also an indication that she was listening.
Taking a deep breath, Roy took the last few steps to his first lieutenant, and held the flowers out to her with shaky hands, and finally started speaking very softly. "You look very beauti—"
BAM!
"Ha! Colornel, you finally got the guts to ask..."
The door flew open as Riza pulled her gun from her holster, cocked it and swung it up in one fluid motion for the barrel to meet right between a pair of golden eyes. The words died in the young alchemist's throat, as his eyes wildly darted around the room; from Riza's gun barrel to her face to the window, to Roy's shocked face to finally settle on the bouquet of lilies resting in Roy's hands.
Both Roy and Riza saw the boy's eyes widen as some unrecognizable emotion swept though them. Quickly and suddenly, Ed whirled around and burst back out into the hallway, pushing Al aside, who cried, "Brother!"
Bewildered, the two adults looked at each other with equally confused expressions. "Al!" Roy called to the younger boy before he could run off. "Stay here, I'll go after Fullmetal." Al bowed, and glanced back down in the direction Ed had run off in. As Roy started out the door, Riza cut in front of him. "No," she said quietly. "I'll go."
He nodded. After she left, he noticed that he was still holding onto those goddamn flowers. Furious with himself, Roy pitched the white blooms into the nearest trash. Turning around, Roy fixed his glare onto Al, who gave a tiny squeak and backed up.
"...C-colonel?"
---
Steadily, Riza set her pace behind Edward's. 'Even if he is short, he can sure run pretty fast.' She thought to herself wryly.
Frowning, she watched him suddenly turn into a cemetery. Then her blood ran cold as recognition hit her. 'That's where Hughes is...' Sprinting now, she chased after the boy, but he was still a ways away from her. Knowing he'd probably find that certain grave before she could reach him, Riza slowed down. She walked around the graveyard, giving the young alchemist some time for himself. When she decided he had enough for now, she set off in Hughes' direction. Sure enough, there he was, still reading the words set into stone.
"Why?" She heard the unmistakable anger and pain shake in his voice. "Why didn't you tell us?"
She didn't respond, first carefully choosing her words before speaking. "We," she started, careful to stress that one word. "...decided it was best not to distract you and your brother from your goal."
"You?" he inquired, "...Or the Colonel?"
She could hear the suppressed rage in his voice. "Everyone." She retaliated firmly.
"Heh." Edward Elric shook his head, chuckling bitterly. He slowly stood up, brushing dirt off his pants.
Riza tensed, waiting for him to run away, or do anything just as foolish, when she heard him say, "Don't worry, Lieutenant. I'm not going to run away." She glanced at him sharply, and just waited. Both stood apart, waiting in the revering silence for the other to speak.
Finally Edward spoke up in a quiet, calm voice. "Do you know what my mother's last wishes for me were?"
Though he didn't seem to be waiting for an answer, Riza supplied one anyway. "No."
The Fullmetal Alchemist fiddled with his gloves, determined to avoid her gaze before answering. "She..." he started, hesitantly. Clearing his throat, Ed started again. "She asked me to transmute flowers for her."
Riza's eyebrows shot up, but he was already talking again. "But I never did. I never got the nerve to do the last thing my mother wanted. I wanted to, but I couldn't."
She swallowed hard as she watched Ed's shoulders shake in front of her. She could hear the tears shaking his breath as he spoke. Silently, she moved closer to Ed, who wasn't done yet.
"I wanted to, so badly." He cried into his hands, because he didn't know what else to do. "But I couldn't, not even at her damn funeral!" He sobbed as quietly as he could, not daring to look at Riza's face. "All I could do was sit there for hours even after everyone left, staring at those goddamn white lilies that someone else brought for her!"
Feeling her own tears welling up, Riza closed her eyes, willing them to go away. She could practically feel the pain emanating from Ed into her. She opened her eyes to look at the grown boy, yet not quite a grown man standing before her. Drawing in a shaky breath, she reached out to touch Edward'' shoulder tenderly. When he didn't do anything in response to her teach, she knelt down and slowly helped him turn around to face her. "Edward, look at me." She said, not unkindly.
With much difficulty, Ed managed to bring his eyes up to hers. His were red-rimmed, but in the light of the setting sun, his irises seemed like molten gold, shimmering and shining from his tears of sorrow.
Gently brushing his golden bangs away from his eyes, Riza gave him a sweet, genuine smile and started speaking, "From what I've learned, despite the fact that you might see lilies at funerals, and think that they represent death, they really don't. My mother loved lilies in general, and planted many in our gardens." She paused to smile, caught back within her memories. "She said the white ones in particular were extra special to her." Riza turned her gaze back to the boy in front of her.
"...Why?" Ed asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"Mother said..." Riza struggled to remember her mother's exact words. "She said..."
'Riza, do you know why these lilies are so special to me?'
A wordless shake of the head.
'Well,' a delicate, motherly smile. 'These white ones in particular are a symbol of purity, though you see them so much at graveyards, you wonder.' An amused chuckle. 'Other than purity, white lilies represent innocence and sweetness. Whenever I take care of my flowers, I am always reminded even more of my darling daughter's pure innocence and her joyous laughter, when she is happy. It makes me love taking care of my lilies almost as much as my sweet Riza.'
"Maybe, I'm just saying maybe," Riza explained cautiously. "This was how someone close to your mother related their affections to her and now she loved you and your brother the same way. Perhaps, it was your father—"
"That bastard left us years ago!" Ed cut in angrily.
"—regardless of who he is, or wherever he may be." Riza finished deliberately, looking at Edward intently.
"But Mother didn't take much care of our flowers, even if she did love them" he protested, her own determination quashing down the hope in his eyes. "She smiled more when Al and I started learning alchemy."
She paused to process this new information. "Then," she began slowly. "Maybe your mother related her love to you and your brother through alchemy, the way mine with flowers." She felt her knees ache in protest of their position, but she quickly ignored them. "Let me ask you something, Ed. Why did your mother ask you to transmute flowers for her?"
He immediately clamped his jaws together, and refused to answer. She didn't pry, but settled on waiting some more.
"H-he used to transmute flowers for her." Came the quiet answer.
"Your father?" she inquired softly, and he nodded. And it all made sense to her now. "Your mother, she loved those flowers very much, didn't she?" she asked as her eyes asked him, 'She loved your father very much, didn't she?' Once again, he nodded. Yes, to both questions at once.
"She probably missed seeing those flowers after he left." Riza said quietly. Ed didn't respond, merely staring ahead with a blank expression on his face. "She probably wished to see them again before she died, just as some reassurance, that the talent, or at least the love hasn't died." Her own heart pained, watching the alchemist's face crumble. "Now Edward," she gathered his hands, both flesh and automail, into her own. "I want you to transmute some flowers. It doesn't have to be for her. It can be for me, or Al. Anyone! Or...even the colonel." She couldn't resist adding with a tiny smile. "I'm sure she'd just like to see some. It wouldn't be fair to her, if she couldn't."
"Edward?" she pressed when he didn't answer.
Then he sighed and pulled his hands from her. "I know what I have to do." He said gruffly.
He turned around. She felt a sort of peace in her heart and sat back to watch. She heard the sharp clap of him bring his hands together, and saw that bright neon blue lights of a transmutation reaction flash before her eyes. Once they disappeared, she rubbed her eyes, still seeing the flashes. When she looked up again, a bouquet of white lilies was thrust into her face.
"Here." Ed said in a rough voice, avoiding her eyes. "For you, because I interrupted the colonel before he asked you out to dinner." For a second there, she almost saw the hint of a familiar impish smile at his lips.
"Thank you very much, Edward." He nodded, before turning to Hughes' grave with a bouquet of yellow roses in his arms. "I apologize, Hughes, for being late." She heard him say, in a stiff, formal voice, as she gently fingered the pure, white petals, pretending not to listen. "I would've came sooner, if I knew." He set down the flowers, and picked up his last bunch. Riza looked down at her own. Shift of clothes, and a set of footsteps. She looked up to see a silhouette of a small figure going down the hill against the burning sunset. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, careful of her joints popping. Looking down at Ed, she watched as he grasped the flowers to his chest for a long time. Then suddenly, he held them up in the air, and let go, letting the evening breeze carry those precious blossoms somewhere else, far far away...
---
I love you, MotherI will always take care of Al
Forever
Mother, look
I made flowers for youI wasn't sure what kind you liked best
So I made all that I could
Roses, geraniums of some sort, lilies, irises, tulips...
I hope you like them
Please forgive meI will find that bastard for you one day
-fin
A/N: Oh gosh,
this is major crap. This is probably the longest and worst FMA piece
that I've written. I'm terribly sorry if there's any confusion
within it, I do understand that there is a weak connection between
Edward and the flowers, and I'll probably rewrite parts of this
someday, since I'm very unsatisfied with what I have right now (And I
think, it ended up being a little more Riza-centric than
Ed-centric...). But this is what it looks like right now.
Leave some feedback and/or constructive criticism, please?