in response to this gorgeous art ( post/150635589336/theysangastheyslew-so-sorry-guys-round-2-is ) and some headcanons by theysangastheyslew on tumblr. I hope you like this, Elena! This is sort of also a "real" version or sequel to my piece for Thursday of Royai Week 2016, which can be found here ( post/145663835436/royai-week-day-5-music )

at last
my love has come along
my lonely days are over
and life is like a song

This is perfect, Riza thinks. She is wonderfully ensconced in Roy's arms, and the band is playing something slow and jazzy. The light of the most wonderful day of her life slowly fades beyond the horizon, and throws the courtyard into a soft shadow. The sun sparkles against the champagne glasses, and gives the white roses a fiery glow. All of their guests have respectfully given them space for their first dance together, and for that, Riza is extremely grateful. In this moment, it's just her and Roy, holding on to one another, swaying back and forth in time to the music.

Safely wrapped up in Roy's embrace, she rests her forehead against his. Roy's hands on her waist are comforting and protective, and every now and again he runs his thumbs up against her sides. Her arms rest against his shoulders, and her hands clasp behind his neck, and she takes a moment to run her fingers through his soft, slicked back hair. Riza didn't know what she would have given to be able to behave like this all the time through all the years. Back then they'd had to resort to stolen kisses in quiet corners of the office and gentle, fleeting caresses when no one was looking. There had been so many instances where they'd considered breaking things off with one another because of some extremely close calls, but in the end, the bond they shared had conquered all. After all they had been through, Riza was certain that nothing would be able to tear them apart.

As the minutes melt away, other couples join them on the dance floor, but Riza and Roy have eyes for only each other. One slow dance turns into two, then three, and eventually they stop counting. The warmth that has finally fully blossomed in Riza's chest glows with an intensity brighter than Roy's flames. Riza doesn't know if she believes in God, but she knows that she and Roy crossed paths for a reason stronger than any coincidence. A feeling of glorious sacredness descends gradually upon them both, and Riza revels in the feeling.

"Riza?" A shiver runs down her spine; Roy had said her name as though it were a prayer, and he was reaching out to the heavens to shower her in love in adoration. The reverence in his voice is enough to forever satiate the deep longing for him she has always had to hide. She leans away to look him in the eyes, and a smile pulls up the corners of her mouth.

"Yes, Roy?" His name tastes wonderfully sweet on her tongue, and she savors the feeling of it rolling from her mouth.

"How could I possibly deserve you?" Roy's voice is soft and deliberate as he asks, and he runs his fingers along her cheek. He fidgets with her simple veil for a moment, adjusting the pink rose, and then trails his hand down her arm and back to her waist.

A warm, spiky feeling takes hold of Riza and she immediately responds, "Roy Mustang, you are a far better man than you give yourself credit for. Don't put me on a pedestal so you can degrade yourself." She pauses briefly, and he bows his head a little in a tinge of shame. "We vowed to put the past behind us, didn't we?"

"You're right," he replies, giving her an apologetic look. "Forgive me. I just can't believe that we don't have to hide anymore." He leans in to kiss her gently, slowly, wonderfully, and she shivers when his lips meet hers. She feels the multiple pairs of eyes on them, and an old part of her begins to panic, but Roy seems to recognize this and breaks away. Despite Riza's wariness, Roy does not look upset; on the contrary, he is gazing at her with unabashed devotion and love. Her cheeks color against her will, but this time, she lets it happen. "Finally, no more charades or close calls or pretending. Just you and me, forever standing together." At the end of the sentence, Roy's voice tightens, and Riza loves him for it all the more. Oh, how she loves this man.

The words tumble from her mouth even before she has time to register them. "I love you, Roy. Thank you for all these years and for staying by my side. Thank you for being the right person for me to follow." Her eyes begin to burn; their past is so incredibly turbulent and fractured and damaged, but their future holds a wonderful promise of hope. The ache of what once was makes her want to cry, and she barely succeeds from doing so. How had they done it? How had they pulled through all of those awful things? From Ishval to the Third Laboratory to the Promised Day, Riza knows she and Roy should've died a thousand times over. Yet, it was as though there was something tying them together, keeping them both afloat and alive, and that power would never cease to amaze her.

Abruptly she notices that there are tears streaming down her face, and it's definitely not because she may be allergic to the flower in her hair. She looks down, an embarrassed smile curving across her face, but Roy delicately raises her chin up. To her surprise, his eyes are shining with tears. "I love you, too, Riza." His voice is choked with emotion, and her heart aches for him even more. "Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for always watching my back. I owe you everything." His voice breaks on the last word and Riza can see him visibly struggling to not let the tears spill over. She tenderly reaches up and cradles his face with her right hand, running her thumb under his eye and wiping away the tears that threaten to fall. He smiles softly, leaning in to her touch. Impulsively, she raises up onto her tiptoes and kisses his eyelids gently, and pulls away with the taste of saltwater on her lips.

The night continues on, and the two are inseparable. Eventually the band picks up their tempo, playing sweeping waltzes and snappy jazz. All the while, Roy and Riza are never far from one another, always instinctively gravitating back to each other. Fuhrer Grumman steals a dance with Riza at one point, and Madame Christmas grudgingly allows Roy to take her for a spin. The joy that Riza can see on Roy's face so clearly mirrors her own, and for that, she is incredibly grateful.

Despite her light scolding of Roy's self-degradation earlier, Riza can't help but feel exactly the same way. The man who is now her husband is driven, ambitious, and stubborn, but also devoted, determined, and somehow completely in love with her. All those years ago, when those notes were first tattooed on you, did you ever think that anyone was capable of loving you quite like this? The answer was "absolutely not". For so long Riza had envisioned herself as nothing more than a pawn to be used and sacrificed for the greater good, but Roy had come along and made her his queen.

Eventually the night comes to a close, and the pair of them say their goodbyes. More people than they had ever considered were in attendance- Ed and Winry were beaming and had announced that they were expecting again, Al and May Chang were virtually as inseparable as Roy and Riza, Gracia and Elicia came with a small portrait of Maes; even Mrs. Bradley had decided to pay a visit, young Selim in tow. Riza had visibly blanched at his presence, but quickly remembered that this was not the Selim from before. Fuhrer Grumman and his obligatory entourage were there, and so were all of Roy's 'sisters'. A good deal of military personnel had attended, too, and Riza found that to be strangely ironic.

The wonderful envelope of serenity and and love that had surrounded the new married couple all night only seemed to multiply once they were alone in their room at East City's most luxurious hotel (the astronomically expensive bill had been split by Roy's team as a wedding gift). In an almost lethargic calm, they crawl into bed together, face to face, simply content to hold one another again.

Silence descends upon them, and Riza is amazed at the catharsis that a simple touch can hold. Every soft caress of Roy's fingers on her skin seems to heal her, and finally, those touches don't feel dangerous or forbidden. Over the years, Riza had gotten very good at ignoring that feeling, but its absence makes her sigh with relief.

"What is it?" Roy asks, and his voice is music to her ears.

"This doesn't feel dangerous anymore," she marvels, and runs her fingers lightly along Roy's arm. "Do you remember when we first decided to try and make this work?"

"Of course," he laughs. "I was so insistent, I was sure you were going to file for a transfer request. What a fool I was, to push you around like that."

Riza laughs with him, sinking into her memories. After Ishval and after Roy had made her his bodyguard, they had slowly begun to re-familiarize themselves with one another. The war had broken them and rearranged them in ways that took them a while to understand. At their cores, they were more or less the same, but they layers and layers of grief they had hidden under proved to be quite difficult to pry away. It wasn't until they'd been sent to find the Elric brothers that they'd finally admitted to each other that the feelings they had had for each other before the war were resurfacing.

"The war completely tore us apart," she murmurs, and she searches Roy's eyes for comfort. Though it's been years, the awful echoes of the past threaten to surge over her and drag her under.

Roy immediately caresses her face and whispers, "Shh, love, don't think about that. I'm here." He pauses to kiss her nose, and then continues. "We're better then we were. Look at how far we've come. We deserve this."

At Roy's words, something seems to break inside Riza. All the emotions she had been feeling throughout the day finally conglomerated, and all her body could do to cope was cry quietly, and wait for the storm to pass. Her new reality descends upon her, and she weeps in relief. Roy is here, next to her, and will never leave her side. Never again will she be uncertain of their bond, and never again will she have to hide just how much she loves the man lying next to her. Roy seems to understand, and he draws her in close, covering her forehead with gentle kisses. As the sobs break over her, she feels Roy shaking in her arms, and she knows he is weeping, too- for himself, for the both of them, for the wonderful promises they had made that day, for the past they were trying so hard to make right. It was by no means a quick process, but they were determined to endure to the end.

Riza kisses away the tears on his face, and a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob chokes its way out of his mouth. The words "I love you" spill out of her mouth over and over again, only to be echoed by his replies of "you're beautiful". The connection she feels with him is powerfully tangible and gorgeous, and she completely surrenders herself to his embrace.

She wakes to the gentle feeling of Roy running his lips across the fading scars on her back. The feeling sends thrills down her spine and places a warm sensation in the pit of her stomach. A lazy smile graces Riza's lips, and she turns to him, tucking herself deeper into his embrace. His arms lock around her, and the spark that passes between their bare skin is shiver-inducing. She kisses the hollow of his throat where his collarbone curves and holds him tight. "Good morning," she murmurs, her lips still against his skin.

He hums happily in response. "Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?"

"Of course," she replies, and for once, she's not lying. For the first time in a very long time, her recurring nightmares had left her alone. Having Roy right there next to her always eased her subconscious, but that night, her mind had been completely quiet. "How did you sleep?"

"Perfectly. No complaints," he says, and smiles. "The company wasn't too bad, either." His smile grows wider and Riza pushes his shoulder playfully. It's only then that she notices that his bowtie is tangled around her wrist, and she laughs.

"Look," she indicates, and he warmth of the rising sun crosses her back and illuminates Roy's face, throwing a sparkle into his eyes. Everything about Roy was attractive, but Riza loves his eyes the most. Even when he is forced to be stone-faced, his eyes have always screamed his true feelings and given him away, and Riza adores that about him.

"What is it?" Roy asks, noticing her pensiveness. He gently disentangles himself from her and rolls over to his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows. Riza notices that her veil is stuck in his hair, the pink rose slightly crumpled, and laughs once more.

"Oh, nothing," she says in a slightly sing-songy tone, just to annoy him. She rolls over as well, drawing the sheets around her shoulders. "Just admiring a certain Flame Alchemist from afar."

"'From afar'?" he asks, and plants a quick kiss on her lips. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

A lovely feeling radiates throughout Riza's whole body, and she presses her lips to his bare shoulder. "I know." She rests her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes and sighing in contentment, and feels his hair tickle her forehead as he leans back into her. "I love you, Roy."

"I love you, too."