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Edward was absolutely hopeless. That was the first thought that crossed Roy’s mind when he read through the paper that was supposed to contain Edward’s wedding vows to Winry written on them. Instead, the vows ended up strangely looking more like alchemy notes than anything else. Roy had tried not to sigh in frustration or run his fingers through his already travel-worn hair, but it had been difficult to restrain himself, not when each sentence had him falling further into an abyss of disbelief.
How had this boy managed to convince anyone to marry him? He clearly wasn't as gifted with words as he had been with alchemy.
Holding the paper closer to his face, Roy narrowed his eyes and peered at the middle part. Had he actually written half of it in the secretive notes that he’d used when he was a State Alchemist? What was he trying to hide? His love for Winry? Roy was pretty sure everyone already knew about that, considering that they were all here to attend their wedding.
“Well?” Edward demanded. “What do you think? It sounds good, right?”
Roy set the paper down on the table and pinched the bridge of his nose. No, he needed to remain calm. And he needed to figure out the right words before he said anything. If he said one wrong word, it would set off the young man that was already as tense as a just lit bottle rocket. Roy honestly hadn’t thought that anything could unsettle Edward, save for something happening to Alphonse or Winry, but clearly the prospect of getting married to the love of his life and his childhood friend had pushed Edward close the edge. Roy thought that Edward would’ve rather faced Truth again than mess this up.
But judging from his attempt at writing wedding vows, it was probable that Edward would do just that. Roy could already picture the spirited Winry Rockbell whipping out a wrench from her wedding bouquet and throwing it in the air out of frustration.
“It’s good,” Roy began, ignoring the way Edward sat up straight with relief, “if you’re about to propose a new theory to a board of alchemists.”
Edward’s mouth first dropped in shock and then his eyebrows sank down in irritation. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that it’s absolutely dry,” Roy told him. “There’s no emotion in it, no warmth, no sense of hope or love. It’s cut and dry.”
Folding his arms across his chest, Edward leaned back in his seat. “Well, I love her and I want to marry her. That sounds pretty cut and dry to me.”
Roy sighed. “That might cut it for her in private, but that’s not what wedding vows are about. They’re meant to showcase why you love her, why you want to marry her -- and there’s nothing cut and dry about that.”
Edward grumbled under his breath, but he didn’t say anything to outright protest. He knew that Roy was right -- and probably had known -- but he was avoiding the subject. Talking about his feelings was not one of Edward’s fortes. It had been akin to pulling a tooth to get Edward to admit what he was feeling when he was one of Roy’s subordinates if the feeling wasn’t anger. He wouldn’t even admit when he was injured, one time going so far as to pass out on Roy’s floor in the middle of a debriefing. Roy could tell from the poorly written vows that Edward was trying to talk about his feelings, but he was fighting with himself now.
“Vows are about laying yourself bare, about being emotionally vulnerable,” Roy explained. He couldn’t believe that he was giving this talk to Fullmetal. If anyone had told him that he’d be in this position ten years ago, he would have laughed his ass off. “You’re telling not only the person you love why you want to marry them, but everyone in the world. You’re making a commitment not only to them, but a promise to all the people in the room that you will keep it. There’s no room for alchemy in that. It’s not equivalent exchange. There’s no equivalent to your heart, not even another’s. You need to be romantic, more poetic, warmer, and absolutely honest. It’s an open dialogue, not a cold exchange.”
“Alright then, Mr. Romance Guru,” Edward countered, crumpling up the piece of paper and throwing it away. “What do you suggest?”
Roy blinked. “Me?”
“Yeah, you!” Edward waved his arms about. “What would you say in your wedding vows?”
His wedding vows... In all honesty, Roy tried not to think about those too much. In fact, he didn’t think about his wedding at all. Because at this rate, there would be none. He hadn’t thought about marriage in a long time. Oh, sure, there were plenty of women willing to marry him, as arrogant as that sounded. He was next in line to be Fuhrer. Any woman with a hint of ambition for herself would want to marry him, even if love was out of the equation.
The only problem was that love was not out of the equation for him. In his heart, his was a romantic, an absolute sap in his foster mother’s gruff yet almost affectionate words. She harped on him about making her be an old lady before making her a grandmother, but she knew the truth as well as he did. He couldn’t make that happen because his heart belonged to someone already, someone that he couldn’t be with, at least not yet. There were a lot of women that he could marry, but only one woman that he wanted to marry with everything in his soul.
“I would say that she is the light when I can’t see. She guides me when I’m lost and even when I don’t want to find my way. She’s home though, the reason I’m able to breathe easily and go to sleep at night when the nightmares of my past come to haunt me. She’s the sun: my day rises with her and sets on her. And if I forget, she’s always there, her bright, sunny hair tempting me to run my fingers through it.”
Without meaning to, Roy’s eyes turned to the open doorway into the kitchen where Riza was with Winry. She was standing at the counter, looking a little more than out of sorts with an apron on. But she was smiling and laughing as she baked dessert with Winry. Her laugh sounded so musical, her bright smile more than picturesque. He didn’t get to see this side of her often during the rebuilding of Ishval. Her hair was starting to grow out again, just now hitting her shoulders. She’d started growing it out again after they’d received the wedding invitation, whether subconsciously or not, he didn’t know.
“I’d tell her that I can’t envision my future without her in it and I don’t remember my past when she wasn’t. That I will spend every living day trying to be the man she believes I am and praying that I don’t fail her. Because if there is nothing I want to do in this world, it’s disappoint her. Every smile she gives me is a reminder of what I work for. Every fight we had brought us closer together. Every time I was parted from her was an agony, but also served to bring me closer to her each time. I’ll cherish every second I have with her from now on because all the seconds I couldn’t be with her cut worse than any blade.”
Even though he didn’t think she could hear him, Riza turned and locked eyes with him. When she gave him that shy smile that was only reserved for him, Roy grinned at her. She blushed just a little before turning her attention back to a talking Winry. The younger woman seemed to know what was up and said something low with a sly grin on her face, which made Riza straighten up stiffly and blush even more. Roy could only guess what Winry said, but she was the one laughing now.
When Roy turned his gaze back to Edward, he found the younger man looking at him with a hint of disbelief, his mouth slightly agape and his brow furrowed. He snapped his mouth shut and smoothed his face, but he couldn’t hide the surprise from his golden eyes.
“What can I say? I’m good with words. You, however, need work.”
Edward snorted as he pulled out another sheet of paper. “I’m not so sure. It sounded a little practiced to me, like you’ve been thinking about it.” This time, it was Roy’s turn to scoff. “Sounds like you need to just propose to the Captain and get it over with. You aren’t getting any younger and I doubt a smug bastard like you wants to have grey hairs in his wedding pictures.”
"Very funny, Fullmetal,” Roy responded dryly, although he felt a prick of agitation at his words. He wasn’t that old. “At the rate you’re going with these vows, I’ll get married before you.”
It wouldn’t be much longer before he could act on his hopes and dreams for Riza. At least he hoped so. He didn’t want to make her wait, but she was just as intent on him as he was on her. How did he manage to get so lucky and unlucky at the same time?