Doesn't Matter
Author: MoonStarDutchess
Beta: Dark Secret Keeper
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.
Doesn't Matter
"Riza you have to do something about it. It's ridiculous," Rebecca said as Riza was getting dressed in the locker room. Riza looked at her friend from the corner of her eyes for a short moment before going back to removing her shirt from the locker.
"Why?"
"Because it's so weird! All the girls think so!"
Riza gave Rebecca her full attention after she slipped her shirt over her head. "Just why do all the girls feel the need to think on it? He's taken you know."
"Yeah, I know that but with the others there's always that hope."
"Hope that we'll break up?" Riza knew that was the case even though she verbalized it in question form. Maybe it would take Rebecca away from the annoying topic she'd brought up.
"I know you expected that. He's the most wanted man in all of Amestris, next in line to be fuehrer. There's a great deal of women out there that want him and that wasn't happy to hear he was going to marry."
"I hope you weren't one of them."
Rebecca's face scrunched up. "Please, I can barely stand him. I only work under him now because I'm your bodyguard."
"Which is still hard to get used to," Riza said. Ever since the announcement she was the future first lady, her life got more complicated. However, the small annoyances were worth it if she got to be with the man she loved.
"Um… Riza you are dressing in your uniform."
Riza looked down and saw that indeed she'd slipped on her blue military pants and tight brown shirt.
Ah, there was one of the more annoying things. She had to be well dressed all of the time. It was for the sake of Roy's reputation. Appearance mattered and like it or not, she was someone women would look to for fashion: as funny as that was to her. It happened with the former first lady, and Roy's image team said the same would happen with her.
She'd never admit to Roy that she found the emphasis on appearance aggravating enough she wanted to choke his entire image team. He'd end up trying to make sure she was comfortable and happy. That was the last thing he needed to be doing with his time. Besides, Roy seemed to enjoy seeing her in the dresses. She chuckled. Though he'd made mention he liked seeing her without clothing better. He was a charmer, a perverted charmer, but a charmer nonetheless.
Most of the civilian population, especially the media, found their "love story" enchanting: A real life fairy tale to share in when the country needed something more to be happy about. She was comparable to the proverbial princess that found her prince. If that view made the public happy and improved Roy's standing with them, she'd play her part in front of their eyes.
Riza jerked her shirt off and slapped it on the bench behind her. In public was much different from in front of her best friend. "This is annoying." She removed a crisp white shirt from her locker and slipped it on before removing her pants and slipping on a silky blue skirt.
"Right," Rebecca drawled out the end of the word. "It must be really horrible to dress in expensive clothing all the time."
"To me it is."
That made Riza smile. It was surreal that he loved her. She spent most of her adult life in love with him. When he popped the question during the lunch break, in a very indirect manner, he hadn't even gotten word Grumman chose him as a successor yet. He was already the second most powerful man in Amestris so it was safe to assume he would be the next fuehrer.
The door to the locker room opened, jerking her from her thoughts. Several women Riza recognized from the secretarial office came inside, all chatting amicably until they spotted her. "Hey, can we talk to you?" one of the women said. She used the same tone that one would use to calm a growling dog.
"Ma'am," Rebecca said.
"Pardon?" the woman said.
"You should address her as Ma'am."
"Rebecca, its fine." Riza resisted the urge to roll her eyes at both the formality people wanted to use and at the question she knew was waiting to fly from the woman's lips.
"When are you going to do something about it?"
And there it is, Riza thought.
"I'm not. I'm going to do absolutely nothing about . . . it."
"But it doesn't suit him."
"I don't care." Riza was about to blow up at the woman and tell her to mind her own business. "It's not your concern."
"But if you two break u-"
"Do you relish getting a haymaker?" Rebecca asked.
The woman backed up a step. "What? Of course not."
"Then I strongly suggest you avoid that statement."
"You wouldn't hit me!"
Rebecca tilted her head to the right and stared at the woman. "I wasn't talking about me."
The girls eyed Riza who was now slipping on a jacket to match her skirt. "Oh," the woman said.
Riza buttoned her jacket and turned to the girls, her face taking on a weary appearance. "It doesn't affect you whatsoever. Please just try to deal with it."
"But it looks like two small caterpillars!" another of the women said.
"I don't care," Riza said.
"But you should!"
"You'll never be able to understand that it doesn't matter to me. Which is why he'd never give you a second look."
After she buttoned her jacket and closed her locker, she turned to Rebecca. "Let's go. I have to get back to the office."
"Right."
Riza grabbed her small handbag and left the room, ignoring the stares she was receiving from the women as she exited. Rebecca quickly followed behind her.
"I don't understand her," one of the women said when Riza was out of earshot.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"So, you ask her about it yet?" Maria said as she walked up beside Rebecca. Riza's eyebrow twitched.
"She refuses to talk to him about it."
Riza stopped and turned to look at Maria. "Not you too!"
"Sorry," she said. "Its not that I like him in an affectionate way but-"
"It's not your concern. Just forget about it."
"It's kind of hard to forget when you're face to face with it."
Riza glared at them and they both laughed nervously. "Drop it. Now," she ordered.
"Yes Ma'am."
When they got to the office, Riza turned to them. "Go have some lunch."
"But I just got back from break," Maria said.
"Then go have another one," Riza said. "I won't be leaving the office until I have to. . . ." She wrinkled her nose. "Until I have to get my hair and makeup done for the ceremony this evening."
"Are you sure? You aren't going to try to sneak out on your own again like you did yesterday are you?" Maria asked.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I didn't sneak out?" Riza didn't like having bodyguards and sometimes forgot that it was a necessity now. A necessity that Roy insisted on despite knowing she could protect herself. It was bad enough that she wasn't his main bodyguard anymore, even though she was still a large part in planning security for events, but now she had to have her own security team. "I promise. I won't leave without calling you first."
"Okay then," Rebecca said. Riza went into the office as they turned and walked down the hallway.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Roy was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and a manila folder resting atop his knee. He held the edge of his pen between his teeth, bouncing it up and down as his eyes skimmed along the page. Roy usually only had to read something only twice before knowing it completely. She carried no doubt he had the speech for the upcoming ceremony memorized. He was only quadruple checking it because he was unnerved.
"You'll be fine."
Roy shifted his gaze to her and removed the pen from his mouth. He sat it and the folder down and took in her appearance. "You look beautiful."
"You'd say that if I looked like a bum," Riza replied.
"Yeah, I would because you'd still be beautiful." He patted the seat next to him. "Come here will you?"
Riza moved over and sat down beside him. "I need to ask you something."
"If it's about the speech I'm going to tell you for the twentieth time that it's brilliant and you'll do fine."
"It's not about the speech. Havoc was telling me that there's been some . . . discussion about my . . . um . . . current appearance."
"Yes, there has been. It's a change that people aren't use to."
"Well what do you think?" he asked and turned to face her fully. She tilted her head to the right and a smile formed on her lips.
"Do you like it?" Her voice was smooth and soft as she spoke.
"Yes, I do."
"Then that's what matters most."
"But I care about what you like and want your honest opinion."
She reached up, cupped his face with her hands, and ran her thumbs on each side of the moustache above his lip. "You are my Roy with or without it. I honestly don't care either way."
"But does it make me less attractive?"
"Do you remember what you told me when I asked if I should keep my hair short or grow it out?"
"I said nothing in this entire world could make you less attractive to me."
"Well my feelings are exactly the same in regards to your facial hair. Nothing will make you any less handsome to me."
A cocky grin painted across Roy's lips. "Then that's what matters most."
"It's still there," Riza heard one of the women say right before Roy was to go on and give his speech.
"I can't believe she didn't tell him to shave it."
Riza shook her head and chuckled. They just didn't get it.
"Okay," Roy said and took a deep breath. "I'm ready."
He leaned in to kiss her quickly. She felt him tense when she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. She knew he wasn't expecting such a passionate gesture to come from her in a public place. Pulling away, she reached up and stroked his moustache with her thumbs like she did in the office. Then she wiped the trace of lipstick off his lips.
"Good luck," she said.
"Ah." Roy nodded. "Yeah." His voice took on a stunned, breathless tone. He adjusted his collar and made his way onto the stage outside when his name was announced, his bodyguards, Havoc and Breda, walking on each side of him.
She ignored the surprised stares of the people around her and went closer to the stage to listen to him give his speech. Moustache or no, Roy was still Roy and he was going to be one hell of a fuehrer.
AN: Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are much appreciated if you have the time.