The military pass and review in honor of the Founding of Amestris had just ended. General Mustang had been in charge of organizing it, which meant Major Hawkeye and the others had done most of the work. But it also meant he hadn't been able to get near the Fuhrer.

Soon after his promotion to General, he'd gotten another communique, requesting that he take the position of Secretary of State. He hadn't accepted or rejected it, asking instead for a meeting with the Fuhrer. Somehow, the result of that had been that Grumman had become impossible to talk to.

That was going to end today.

"There he is, with the Secretary of State," Hawkeye said, pointing him out. "Right where First Lieutenant Catalina said he'd be."

Roy nodded and moved quickly. Hawkeye matched his pace, right behind him.

Grumman looked up a moment too late, and realized he'd been caught. Might as well make the best of it.

"Well done, General Mustang," he said, trying to keep the tone informal.

But Roy clicked his heels and raised his arm in a salute and kept it there. Grumman could tell by the young man's stern look that it would stay there until he returned the salute, so he waved his hand up to his forehead in a very quick, very sloppy return.

"Otto, let's meet back at the palace," he said, trying to limit the damage.

But the Secretary of State refused to be dismissed. "So I finally get to speak with my replacement in person," he said.

Grumman winced. He hadn't told Otto that he hadn't gotten a definite answer from Roy yet.

Roy heard the undercurrents in the exchange between the two, calculating. Then he decided to turn on the charm.

"I'm so happy to have the chance to talk with you, sir," he said. "There are just a few more arrangements to be made."

"Exactly," said Grumman, trying to figure out what Roy was up to.

"The Fuhrer has accepted my proposal to make the Secretary of State a civilian position. It's the first step to de-militarizing the government. It'll be a shame to have to take off my uniform so soon after being promoted, but I think it's worth it. Don't you?"

Grumman glared at Roy for just a second, when Otto wasn't looking, but he pretended not to see.

"Really, Northrup?" asked Otto, who nevertheless seemed quite pleased with the news. "I didn't know you were planning on moving that quickly."

"Well, you know what they say, sir," said Roy. "Strike while the iron's hot. Besides, now that I'm not an Alchemist anymore, what's the point in my remaining in the military?"

Grumman knew when to concede defeat. "As soon as we get the classification changed, you can retire again, Otto."

"Finally!" he said. "So Roy, what do you know about flowers? And bees?"

It took a couple of weeks for the paperwork to go through. He was discharged from the military, and then sworn in as the first civilian Secretary of State.

Roy was having lunch with Riza in a little cafe. The swearing-in ceremony had been that morning, so he was still wearing his formal three-piece suit. She had come from her office in Central HQ, in her usual uniform.

"Today then, Roy?" she confirmed.

"Not backing out, are you, Major?" he said, grinning.

"I'm still not sure we deserve this," she said. After so many years, it was hard to believe it was actually going to happen.

"Probably not," he agreed. "But as Secretary of State, being married will actually make me more effective. A diplomat's spouse is an irreplaceable asset. You're sure you don't want to wait until we can get more people together?"

"Not really. Besides, if my grandfather finds out, he'll want to make it a State affair and it could be months before we can get married. Unless you think maybe it would be better for your position if we did it that way?"

"I don't think it matters that much," he answered. "As long as your grandfather doesn't get angry with us, I don't think the State wedding itself is important."

"Okay then, we're supposed to be at the Marriage Registry Office in an hour. Lieutenant Colonel Miles is going to meet us there. I'm picking up Vato, Kain and Rebecca. You get Heymans and Jean."

An hour later, Roy Mustang signed the Marriage Registry with Riza Hawkeye. There were six witnesses. The only one not in uniform was the groom.

Duty and desire aren't always opposed.

Author's Note:

Riza's grandfather is Grumman, of course. Since the manga only hints at it, rather than coming right out and saying it, I decided to do the same.

The scene with Hawkeye pointing Grumman out to Mustang on the parade grounds is my description of the last picture of Roy and Riza in the manga.

And that was my goal in this fic: to get from the last depiction of Roy as blind (combining aspects of both the manga and the last anime) to the last depiction of Roy able to see. While staying as close to the manga canon as possible.

Thanks for staying with me and all your reviews!