Alright. So this is my very first fanfic. And yes it is a one shot fic .:D So basically I was inspired when I was staring out our classroom window after a long chem. class… and it was raining. So please be nice and say reviews in a nice way. :D And thanks in advance for those who'll review. :D

So it's a Royai fanfic. Spoilers for Episode 25… :D

And yes. I don't own FMA. If I did… then I'd rule the world.

The Tears I Refuse To Cry

It was just a normal, cloudy day. It didn't seem that I towuld rain at all. But when they were in front of the grave of Brig. General Maes Hughes, 1st Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye heard her superior say something that she never thought he would have said.

'It's going to rain today…'

It's been almost a week since Maes Hughes was brought to his final resting place. But the mood at Central Headquarters would still tell one that they were still mourning an important loss.

The mood at Colonel Roy Mustang's office was no different. In fact, it would seem that it was worse. The people who dropped by the office would just see him staring out the window as if staring out into the nothingness…

"Colonel?" Riza's sharp tone broke the silence in the near empty office. Only the two of them were there, as the rest of Mustang's subordinates left for a coffee break.

"Mm?..." was all Roy could reply. He didn't even turn to face her.

Riza could perfectly understand why Roy was like that. She knew what it felt like to lose someone she really loved unexpectedly. However, she couldn't give any words of encouragement to her superior officer. Not now. As she stood in front of his desk, clutching the work he needed to do, she had that sad look on her face.

"Colonel… a new batch of paperwork has just arrived…" She didn't make it sound like she was telling him to get to work. When he had no answer, she put the work on his desk and turned on her heel to go back to her own desk and finish her work.

"Lt… tell me… what does the rain remind you of?"

She stopped in her tracks and faced him. He was now sadly looking at the pictures on his desk.

"The rain sir… it reminds me… of the tears I didn't cry. The tears I refused to cry. All the pain and sorrow I've gone through…"

"Must the rain always remind us of pain and sorrow?" He replied with a little laugh, which was rather sarcastic in nature. "It would seem that this world just loves to test me. Taunt me and set me off the path I chose to take…"

"However hard your path maybe sir. No matter how many trials you must go through…I and the others will always be there to support you and finish the task of pushing you to the top…"

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Later that afternoon, Mustang decided to walk home after all that work. As he walked on the busy street, memories of him, Hughes and his other subordinates flashed before his eyes. He then heard a rumble coming from the sky, and the clouds turned gray, and the sky darkened. He stopped and looked up to the clouds. As he did, a drop of rain fell on his face. The people around him instinctively ran to a nearby shop to seek shelter from the rain. He, however, seemed rooted on the stop. The rain got stronger and the droplets of rain fell in large amounts. As the rain fell, he just cried along with the clouds. All that sorrow. All that pain he cried out. He suddenly heard a soft voice speak to him from behind.

"Sometimes sir… we just need to cry and let it out…"

He turned and saw Riza standing behind him, an umbrella shielding her from the rain,

"A single person cannot bear all the sufferings of the world, Roy… You are not the only one who is saddened by Hughes' sudden departure… We all share the pain, and the loss…"

"Must the world always be this cruel?"

"We sometimes learn from the cruelty of this world…" she said as she looked into the eyes of her superior. She gave him a small smile, and he returned it unexpectedly. Then, the smile vanished from her face and she pinched his ears, as if he was a little boy.

"SIR! Why did you walk going home alone?! You don't know if it's safe to do so anymore! And why didn't you run to a shed when it started raining?! You know you're useless in the rain and you won't be able to defend yourself if you need to! Plus you're going to catch a cold! Sir, are you a total idiot?!"

Roy was just dumbstruck and could only stutter.

"But… but…"

"No buts sir. Come on. I'll take you home. You have to go under this umbrella or you'll catch a cold." She said a bit sternly. She immediately shared her umbrella with him before he could even protest. Roy just kept stuttering as the two walked to his house together.

'The rain… it's like the tears we refuse to cry… but no one can bottle up their emotions… and sometimes… we just need to cry and let it all out…'