The Trouble with Kissing Booths

Author: MoonStarDutchess

Chapter 4: A Kiss for a Jealous Fool

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist but I do own my plot so no touchy.

A Kiss for a Jealous Fool

Riza tried to keep her temper in check as yet another person pushed her. As she navigated through the rapidly increasing crowd, feeling more like she was on a packed train than outside, she remembered exactly why she hated these festivals and chose to spend them alone with Roy.

The thought of her boyfriend sent a pang through her. She hadn't seen him during the graduation even though she knew that he attended. When speaking to her grandfather, he told her that Roy had come to his house for their usual chess game and was feeling quite down. He'd talked about her, saying that he was unsure about the status of their relationship since she seemed so angry with him.

After reassuring her grandfather that she still loved Roy and still intended to marry him if he wanted her, she left him to talking with his colleagues. She'd hunted around the entire auditorium for Roy so that she could clear things with him. Finally, she gave up, found her grandfather again, and left to stay with him for the night.

Riza stared down at her feet when she finally broke loose from the crowd. When she heard her name yelled, she looked up and saw Rebecca, who was grinning widely. She reminded Riza of a cat that had just drank some heavy cream and was lounging on its master's lap. Rebecca walked toward her, a bounce accentuating each step she took.

"Riza! Our booth is going to be a hit. There's a huge line full of horny cadets just waiting for a nice peck on the lips! This is great!"

Rebecca grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the booth until Riza broke away from her. "What do you mean on the lips?"

Rebecca looked at her oddly. "A peck on the lips. It is just as it sounds."

"I thought that it was a kiss on the cheek."

"Do you think men will pay for a kiss on the cheek? They could get that from their mothers," Rebecca said.

"I'm not kissing anyone on the lips except my fiancé."

Rebecca's face faltered, "Come on, you didn't seriously think it was on the cheek?" There was a laugh in her tone that told that she thought Riza was kidding.

"Yes, I did. What girl in their right mind would kiss so many men on the lips? It's weird to me. Especially for me since I have a fiancé.

Rebecca folded her arms. "Why are you being so concerned about him?" Her voice came out rough and annoyed. "If you ask me, he doesn't seem too concerned about you," she said.

"First of all, I didn't ask you. Secondly, just what in the hell do you mean by him not being concerned for me?"

"I mean that if he really cared he would have been at the graduation. Riza, there are a lot better men out there than the one you have. One of them could even be in this line."

"He was at graduation and even if he wasn't, that wouldn't mean he doesn't care. He was... he was just uncomfortable about me kissing another guy."

"He thought it was on the cheek. He didn't trust you enough for on the cheek? Come on."

Riza nodded slowly. Rebecca was right. If Roy didn't trust her enough to run an, what she thought was a peck on the cheek kissing booth, then he wouldn't likely trust her with anything more serious. Maybe they really weren't meant to be.

Riza looked down at her feet, instantly making Rebecca feel guilty at what she said. She could tell Riza was very much in love with her mystery man. She couldn't believe that she was so cold to her best friend.

"Aww, I didn't mean that," she said, then walked closer to Riza. "I'm just a bit stressed out." She put an arm around Riza's shoulders. "I'm sure things will work out with you two. Don't worry."

"Yeah," she said, "you are probably right."

"Tell you what, Maria and I will do all the kissing. You can just take care of the funds. Is that okay?"

Riza looked up at Rebecca and nodded, a half-hearted smile crossing her lips. "Thanks Becca."

"No worries. More men for me," she joked, causing Riza to laugh.

"Yeah, you need them more than I do."

They gathered at the booth and Riza sat down at the table. Riza watched as Maria and Rebecca kissed the men that gave them the cash. It still gave her shudders at the thought of actually kissing so many men on the lips, even if it wasn't a passionate kiss. However, if Maria and Rebecca were comfortable with it, then it wasn't her business.

"Are you doing any kissing? I'll pay ten bucks for a kiss from you," a man said. She looked up into his green eyes and studied his features. He was very tall, with spiky brown hair and large eyes that seemed to glisten in the sunlight. He was very good looking and seemed to have a very kind demeanor. Despite finding him attractive and sweet, she shook her head.

"No, I'm just the bookkeeper."

"Fifty bucks?"

Riza's eyes widened. "Just for a kiss?"

The man smirked but it lacked the beauty of Roy's small smile. In fact, instead of making her happy when she saw it, it made her feel miserable. She wanted to see Roy smirk at her. She was making herself sick at the way she was acting like a love-struck woman in romance novels, but it was a feeling she just couldn't repress.

"You are worth it."

Riza shook her head. She was flattered that he was willing to pay that much but her heart increased in the pain she was feeling. She wished Roy would do something like that. "Thank you, but I still have to refuse."

"Alright then," he said, with a kind smile that made Riza smile. "Your guy sure is a lucky one."

"I beg your pardon?" She was surprised at the man's comment.

"That's the reason right? A guy? A beautiful girl like you could really bring in a lot of money."

"That's what I thought too," Rebecca muttered then quickly kissed a guy in the line.

Riza nodded. "Yes, that's the reason."

"The beautiful ones are always taken. He reached into his wallet, pulled out a fifty dollar bill and handed it to Riza. "That's my donation. For the smile." Riza stood and kissed him on the cheek.

"That's the best I can give," she said, "thank you."

The guy grinned and took her hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it. Looking into her eyes, he said, "It was worth it," then turned and left.

"Hey, don't you want a kiss on the lips too?" Rebecca shouted.

He turned around and shook his head. "Only if it is from her," he said, motioning to Riza and then walking away.

Rebecca shot a suspicious glare at her friend. "Are you excreting some sort of pheromone or something?"

Riza shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

--

Roy sighed as his best friend, Maes Hughes, was nagging him. "Come on Roy! You two have to make up!" They were standing near the food section. Maes was waving a hotdog in his hand as he spoke and Roy was trying to ignore him as he held a cup of coffee and took a bite of his donut. "Roy, are you listening to me?"

"Yes," he said.

"You've been miserable since you two fought. Make up already!"

"Yeah," Roy said and took another bite of his donut. What his friend was saying was the truth. He was the most miserable he'd ever been in his life. Without Riza around it felt like there was a huge, gaping hole drilled in his life. His apartment, a place in which he was supposed to find solace, was nothing but a torture device. He smell was everywhere and every time he looked at the bed, he remembered how she felt sleeping in his arms.

Maes growled, "Oh I give up!" He leaned back against the brick wall of the building and took a big bite of his hotdog.

They watched as a young man approached a group of men sitting at the table. "Hey Dave, how did it go with that sweet blond at the kissing booth?" one of the men asked.

When he heard this, Roy's hearing peaked. The man was obviously talking about Riza. She was the only beautiful blond that was working at a kissing booth.

"It didn't go. She's taken. Really dedicated to her boyfriend," he said, sitting down roughly on a bench. "She's just taking up the money for the other two."

Roy's lips widened into a smile and he shoved the last of his donut in his mouth and took a huge swig of coffee to wash it down. "See you later Maes," he said quickly and rushed off to where the kissing booth was located.

"Wha… Where are you…" Maes started but trailed off when he saw his friend running through the crowd and out of sight, "going?"

---

Maria and Rebecca finally got the chance to sit down as lunchtime and the festival show started, decreasing the crowd. "Two hundred and twenty dollars. That's not too bad," Riza said.

"This is turning out to really suck," Rebecca said. She propped her feet against the table and pushed slightly so that her chair was tipping on its two back legs.

"That's a good deal of money," Maria said.

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about not finding the man of my dreams yet," she said.

"A rich one that will worship the ground you walk on?" Maria asked.

"Exactly," she said.

"Becca, there's more to men than the amount of cash they have," Riza said, as she locked up the box that contained the money.

"You are so lucky to have a guy that is jealous over you Riza," Rebecca said.

"Jealous? What do you mean?"

"She means him being angry over you working this booth. It's so cute that he got jealous," Maria said.

"Yeah, especially since even he thought it was just a cheek kiss booth," Rebecca closed her eyes, and sighed, "I want a man that will be jealous over me."

Riza leaned back in her chair, her back thumping roughly against the wood. "How could I be so damned stupid?"

Rebecca and Maria turned to look at her questioningly. "What's wrong?" Maria asked.

"I thought it was that he didn't trust me," she said, "It never occurred to me that he might be jealous."

"Damn," Rebecca said, "that's a bad thing to over look."

Riza groaned and rested her head on the table. "I can't believe I could be such an idiot. I don't deserve a guy like him."

Little did she know that the guy in question was nearby and heard what she said. He removed some money from his wallet and walked up to the booth. Maria and Rebecca stammered for words when Roy walked up to them.

"I'd like to buy a kiss from the beautiful blond who's napping," he said to Maria, holding out a handful of money.

"I…Riz…Riza…she's not…" Maria said, never realizing how much better Roy Mustang looked up close. It was just her luck that she was stammering like a nervous fool.

Riza raised her head as she heard the voice and directed her gaze to the man. He smirked at her and she instantly returned it.

"Who's asking?" she asked. Maria and Rebecca stared at Riza, completely shocked at the huge smile that lit her face. She was talking to Roy Mustang so casually, something almost no woman had the ability to accomplish.

"A jealous fool," he replied.

"Ri…Riza… is…" Rebecca couldn't form a coherent sentence as she watched Riza walk around the booth, wrap her arms around Roy's neck and kiss him passionately on the lips, relaxing completely in his embrace.

Maria and Rebecca's mouths dropped open and their eyes broadened so much that they began to burn and rear up. Riza pulled away from the kiss. "Got your money's worth?"

"Not yet," he said.

"What…you and…he's the…" Rebecca bumbled.

"Maria, Rebecca, I'd like you to meet my fiancé," Riza said.

Maria leaned forward, hiding her face in the palm of her hands. She'd been drooling over her friend's fiancé.

"Oh shit," Rebecca said. She pushed a bit too hard against the table and the chair slipped out from under her, causing her to hit the ground with a painful sounding slap.

"I'll forgive you for what you said about him this time but from now on look at your own man," Riza said.

"Huh?" Roy questioned. Roy smirked when he realized what she meant. "So, you were jealous?"

Riza blushed and looked away, "Maybe a little."

AN: Hope you all enjoyed my short little ficlet. I enjoyed writing something that was alternate reality and I've got another one written which is in the betaing process. Thank you for reading and please drop a final review.