We've got to the end of this awesome week! A big thank you to everyone that took the time to read and accompany me on this.

We'll see each other again on another royai week!

Enjoy!

vii: together a long time

Riza wakes up to a scene out of a dream or a fairy tale book. None of this seems like it belongs to the many futures she envisioned since setting foot in Ishval years ago, not the white curtains billowing in the wind, not the early morning sunshine touching the side of her face, not the birds singing in the railing of her balcony. Maybe when she was a lot younger and her mother was still alive, she dreamed of a moment like this, but she cannot recall any of it.

The beddings are blissfully warm after a long night of sleep and smell distinctively like him and her, together. On the plush armchair set in the corner, her long white dress is draped over it with care. They could not leave Amestris to celebrate given their positions in the military, but they can make any place the perfect place for a honeymoon, even if it is the bedroom of their own house. Roy can do minimal work from home as they spend the one week off they have given themselves to enjoy their first days of marriage before they drag themselves back to Central Headquarters.

The gold band around her finger is new and with it rests the practical engagement ring he bought her with encrusted stones. She often finds herself running her thumb along it, but now she takes the time to admire both rings under the warm morning light. The bands shine brightly and the crystals sparkle like water under the midday sun.

Riza smiles and runs her fingers through her sleep-tousled hair, not as long as it once used to be, but it is slowly getting there. Beside her, on the space where Roy once occupied, lay their dogs, all of which perk up when they realize she is awake and promptly wander closer to greet het with licks and happy yips. She struggles to give them all equal attention, but somehow manages. She makes a quick trip to the adjoining bathroom and returns feeling refreshed, slipping beneath the covers that feel so, so good on her naked skin.

Black Hayate curls up to her stomach, sighing softly as he settles for another nap. All the other dogs find comfortable places to sleep all around her. They should not even be in bed, but Roy always spoils them rotten. If they ever have kids, she will know exactly who to blame if they are caught with candies before meals.

All of them scatter as the door opens slowly, running past Roy's bare legs as if he is the one that tells them no when they beg to get on the bed. He enters the room with a tray in his hands and a beautiful smile on his face, his eyes so full of love her heart swells. She sits up, the sheets fall to her lap, he sets down the tray and cups her face to give her one lingering good morning kiss, whispering the words against her smiling mouth.

Roy settles into bed beside her, an arm easily slung over her shoulder and pulling her closer to his side as she eyes the food on the tray. With only his underwear on, their skins meet and she feels the delicious sparks blooming from the contact. "Did you call Gracia for help?"

He gasps, placing a hand over his heart in mock insult. "I'll let you know that I learned how to make toast and scrambled eggs in the past years."

"Impressive," she says in a tone that is clearly not impressed. "Why's it that I always had to cook breakfast?"

"I couldn't reveal my secret abilities until the right time, could I?"

He kisses the curve of her jaw once she places the tray on her lap. Toasts and scrambled eggs aside, there are heaps of fresh fruit and two cups of tea. Riza sips it tentatively and pecks his lips in thanks, the cup warm between her palms. Of course, he would not dare to try to make coffee; he never gets it right. Roy feeds her a strawberry, and they are happy just sitting in bed in silence, sipping tea and eating berries to the tune of the birds outside. The backs of his fingers are brushing along the side of her neck, tantalizing, ghosting over the scar she earned after the Promised Day. His lips replace his hand, and she squirms as a familiar prickling starts between her legs.

Riza sips the last of her tea and leans away from his touch to set the tray on the bedside table. His questioning gaze disappears once she rounds in on him, understanding taking its place as his hands settle on the curve of her waist. She does not mind eating cold scrambled eggs later if it means she gets to spend her first morning as a married woman basking in the attention given by her wonderful, handsome husband.

Their lips meet and part, he searches her eyes with his hooded ones. A lazy smile stretches on his face and she finds herself returning it, inhaling deeply through her nose as he dives in for another kiss. He lays her against the pillows, an elbow supporting his weight as his other hand trails up and down her side slowly, matching the rhythm of his tender mouth. Her hands glide up his torso, curl over his shoulders, flutter over his neck and play with his hair. Her leg moves, her toes caressing his the back of his leg as she bends it at the knee, the sheet falling away to reveal more bare skin for his wandering hand.

Roy settles comfortably on top of her, hard against her body. A delicious shiver runs up her spine, the promise of getting another taste of last night makes her toes curl. She succumbs to his ministrations, eagerly responding to every touch of his with one of her own of the same intensity. Riza pursues him when he pulls away, draws him back in for another mind-numbing kiss, keeping him in place until her head starts to spin.

She does recall other times when things were passionate, but it never seemed to get to this point. Her chest feels constricted at the amount of love she can feel through every physical contact they share now, the kisses hard, but sensual, with qualities contradicting in the most delightful of ways. She is eager to return all of it tenfold until Roy can barely breathe as she overwhelms him with her emotions as he is doing to her now.

He flips them over. Riza is sitting on his stomach, his arousal throbbing against her cheeks. Roy smirks up at her, that usual smug quirk of his lips, but the quality is lost due to the warmth in his eyes. "Riza Mustang," he tests the name, rolling it off his tongue for about the fifteenth time in less than twenty-four hours. He would not stop teasing her about it throughout the reception, whispering the words as they danced or posed for photographs. She is sure Ed caught him saying it about eight times, because he would always shoot him an annoyed look.

Her fingers wrap around the intricate headboard; the floral pattern is something she will trace with curious fingers on lazy days by his side. Riza lifts her hips and repositions herself; his hands never leave their perch on her hips. Roy stretches her. She feels full, whole in more ways than one. For the longest time, they had always believed themselves to be undeserving of a happy ending. Killers, mass murderers do not deserve what they want the most. She does not know what changed their minds to make them give up that mentality and give in to each other. Maybe it was a gradual change, too many scares and experiences of nearly losing one another in different ways. Lust, Bradley, the Promised Day. They had come close to dying at least once and somehow evaded Death.

Something grows inside her, a knot in her throat that makes it hard to breathe. Riza hopes the gasp she emits can be interpreted as pleasure alone and not something else she does not want to face right now. The rocking of her hips is wonderful and distracting, but still cannot mask the feeling welling up at the base of her throat. She looks down to catch his gaze, feeling his eyes on her the entire time like burning coal. She swallows past the lump and dips lower to kiss him, fingers tightening against the headboard as the warmth inside her grows enough to rival the heat of his flames.

Her joints hurt by the time they reach their climaxes. A thin sheet of perspiration clings to their skin and soon, she thinks tiredly, soon they will wash it away, but right now, all she wants to do is lie down. Roy sets himself between her legs again for another tired, but still no less loving, kiss. He brushes his thumb over her lower lip when they draw apart with that affectionate expression back on his face. She wants to cry at the way he looks at her, and maybe she does, because next he is kissing her eyelids gently. She had not cried during the vows whilst his eyes had been a tad bit brighter. Riza has seen her wedding ring and other proofs of their marriage just moments ago, yet it seems reality is only now catching up to her. A hiccup shakes her frame and she tastes her tears in her mouth when she grins at him, seeing that his eyes are shining again. Something wet lands on a dry spot of her face. Roy is blinking swiftly, but the damp eyelashes give it away.

Riza lifts her hands to his face and swipes her thumb along his bottom lash line, locking her fingers together on the nape of his neck and pulling him down towards her again. "I love you," she whispers when their foreheads come together and repeats the words a little louder, clearer.

She can count in the fingers of one hand the amount of times she has seen him cry, the last one being on his best friend's funeral so long ago. This is the first time it happens out of happiness.

"I love you too." His chest rumbles above hers. "So much it hurts."

A breathless little laugh escapes her. "You'll make me cry again." He smiles, endearing, breathtaking. If he keeps looking at her like this, she might just wail for the first time in years. Riza sniffs and it sounds too much like a sob. This is not how she had expected their honeymoon to go, but she finds quickly that the tears will not stop nor will her smile diminish.

She wraps her arms around him and rests her cheek on the crown of his head. He dampens her chest, arms tight around her. The dogs come rushing back inside once everything is quiet for a long period of time and settle at the foot of the bed, watching them with curious, expectant eyes and wagging tails, only to turn away for another nap when they realize the duo will not be getting up much sooner. They spend the better part of the morning simply holding each other, scrambled eggs and toasts forgotten on the bedside table.