So this is the place where the ass is working now... Ha, serves him right to be stuck behind a desk all day.
I turned to the door that was in front of me, and took a deep breath, ready to scare the living shits outta Roy Mustang,
I grinned, and then put on my "Pissed as all hell Sgt. Major face" that I had borrowed from my mentor, 1rst Sgt Brittham, (He was a cool teacher!) and kicked the door in.
"MUSTANG!"
I had been asleep when the door burst open, and, assuming it was Lt. Hawkeye or some other officer above me, I shouted that I was working and immediately picked up my pen. When I looked up at the door, what I saw was far worse than having a superior officer catching me sleeping. It was just as bad as Ishbal, if not worse.
"MUSTANG!"
It was that hell-girl from my worst nightmare. Mizuri Tamanami...
"So this is what you've reduced yourself to? Not even fully capable of a desk job? HA! Some hero you turned out to be!" She scoffed, raising her foot so that it rested on the corner of my desk, her right, automail arm draped over it carelessly.
"And I suppose you've been doing better, more exciting things with your life?" I asked irritably, actually wishing Riza would come back and scold me about the paperwork. Then at least I could blame it on Mizuri and get her to leave.
"For your information, I have, Mustang." She scoffed. "I was traveling around in Xing, Mindin' my own business, seein' the sights, y'know? And alluva sudden, I get attacked by this cross-dresser kid who had a bad case of Palm-tree hair- not to mention it was actually green, and these crazy bitches who called themselves Sloth and Lust! They said that they were gonna kill you if I didn't get you to stop snoopin around in Homunculi affairs 'n' stuff, And I had to explain to their crazy asses that I hate your guts. Now, can ya explain to me why they even knew who I was?" She growled, looking me dead in the eye. Her bangs on the left side covered one green eye, and the visible one narrowed at me, signaling her "You better give me a damn good answer or I will fucking kill you. And it shall not, be done, with mercy." face.
"Ah... well, Envy found a picture of us from Ishbal, and he was asking about you... and I uh... kinda exaggerated our... uhm... R-relationship a little, s-so they may have thought you ... um... liked me?" I squeaked. The portion of the desk underneath her foot cracked, and her face was dark and her eyes were evil.
"I see." She growled, and then tossed me out the window by my collar with her metal arm. Thankfully I landed in the lake and not on the concrete, but unfortunately, Lt. Hawkeye was right there, on her way back to the office with a stack of documents.
She secured those and made sure they wouldn't be blown away, (though they would probably be turned to ashes later) and then helped me out of the water.
"Sir? May I ask what happened?"
"Mizuri Tamanami happened..." I could see she didn't know who I was talking about.
" You might know her as the Whitewater alchemist, Lt." I said, watching recognition spread across her face.
"I know her as my worst nightmare, personified."
"Mizuri Tamanami. The Whitewater alchemist. She's about five foot four, green eyes, brown hair usually kept either in a ponytail or like Riza's, 24 years old, (*four years younger than me, Jean Havoc*) and she really can't stand Roy Mustang, because of an off hand comment he made during the Ishbal war about Water alchemists. (he said that they were useless in a fight and would only get in the way, and as proud as Mizuri is, she didn't take it as lightly as he had hoped...) She's a soldier and a prankster at the same time, and though she has a state alchemist watch, she has absolutely no ties to the military, save her friends, and her attitude when faced with a challenge. In most cases, that challenge is getting Roy to do his paperwork and stop staring at Riza's butt.
Basically, she took the state alchemists test, and declined the position, stating that she only wanted to know if she could pass, and that she wasn't going to let that hothead flame alchemist, Roy, get one over on her. She was a volunteer during Ishbal, and since then has refused joining the military. However, King Bradley decided to give her the watch anyway as a token of respect for her, and she was granted use of the central libraries.
She has also taken to tormenting Mustang whenever she drops into central, saying things that implied his and Riza's relationship, as well as insulting his behaiviour and claiming to possess a list of "299 reasons why Roy Mustang is a terrible Fuhrer, Soldier, Boyfriend, and Person", and also a list of "I Detest Col. Roy Mustang" signatures from hundreds of dumped girlfriends, and Edward Elric's signature for good measure. Along with bad-mouthing the poor Colonel, she also likes to prank him; i.e. Whoopee cushions, Water buckets over the door, tossing him out of windows into giant water bubbles made with her specific style of alchemy... Eh, that kind of thing. She likes to hit him, and even developed a type of water bullet, which she uses on him frequently. It's hilarious to watch.
However, the antics aren't all her fault. Roy has a bad habit of teasing about her height whenever she drops by, and at her height she's only 2 inches taller than Edward Elric. (And that usually gets Roy tossed out of a window as well...) She and Riza are good friends, along with Tara and Nikki, and she likes to sing to the music Nikki brought with her from her side."
As I explained this to the guy who was keeping tabs on Mustang and Mizu- (and yes, the rest of the guys (and Riza) and I have given her a nickname)- I noticed that he looked like he was going to explode with the laughter he was keeping in. Now, understand that this is the guy you file complaints to in the military, and he also keeps tabs on the work quota put in by each office team. Not normally a guy you see laughing a lot.
At this point, he had started howling.
"No wonder the boy wants her gone!" he laughed. I frowned. Mustang wanted Mizu to leave. I wanted her to stay.
"And it's no wonder the work quota for his team increased by 30%! Whatever you do, boy! Keep her with ya!"
I smiled. Mustang wouldn't be happy about this, but Mizuri, Riza, and the guys were gonna be ecstatic. I was practically clicking my heels together on the way back to the office.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So do I have to leave, Jean?" Mizuri asked me. I shook my head no.
"Nah, the guy said that whatever we do, don't let you leave. Mustangs actually working for once." I laughed. Mizu-chan squealed and hugged me.
"YAY! I get to stay! But, that does present a problem..." she sighed, arms still latched around my body. "I don't have a permanent place in Central to stay..."
"Ah, well, You tried, Buh-bye! Buh-bye now! See ya! Oiv-oa!" Mustang said happily. Mizuri and I glared at him. I looked to Hawkeye, and the look she sent back told me that she wished she could let Mizu-chan stay with her, but she couldn't for some reason.
I didn't bother looking at the others when the silence lingered.
"A-ah... Y-You can stay with me, Mizu. If you want to, that is."
I saw the starry eyed look on her face and braced myself as she jumped on me. It amazed me that even when doing something like this, she was so light, and dainty, and she moved with perfect grace, even though one of her arms was made of metal. She shouted out a string of rushed thank you's and I'm so happy's and she smiled a big bright smile that seemed almost too big for her face. It was just so cute that couldn't help but laugh with her and everyone else as Mustang repeatedly hit his head on the table.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Today, Mizuri Tamanami, My eternal Nightmare, met her blonde, male, 5 foot 2 inch tall counterpart, Edward Elric. Some. One. Shoot. Me. PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!
It was our spring office picnic, and Jean had decided to bring Mizuri along, and Mizuri had brought along her and Riza's friends Tara and Nikki. I will admit, Tara and Mizu can cook some pretty damn good food. (Nikki said that she didn't bring anything because she wanted us all to live, and by the looks on Tara's and Mizu's faces, she really meant what she said.)
Everything was going fine at that point, as in, Mizuri hadn't tried to kill me or prank me yet, but then Nikki had had to go and find the Elric Brothers. She wanted to see Alphonse apparently, but she came back... with the Other one...
"Oi, Where the hell are you takin' me!"
"Fullmetal?"
"Flame-Jerk?"
"Well, well, if it isn't Mr. Short stuff? Look, Mini-zu, you have a friend who's a midget just like you!" I said, fully intent on making Fullmetal angry. I actually hadn't meant to insult Mizuri too, I knew better than that from experience... It's just, everything had been going so well, for a minute I- I lost myself and it slipped. Fullmetal didn't even get the chance to retaliate. Mizuri beat him to it by a long shot.
"Who the hell are you calling a MIDGET?" The looks on everyone's faces set my mistake in stone, as they couldn't believe I had said what I had, Knowing Mizuri, and Nikki had crawled behind the shocked Riza and the fearful Tara.
I will never do that again. As it stands, I am currently in the hospital because of that hot tempered woman.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Mustang has some nerve, insulting me like that. Pssh. He got off easy! But oh well. The picnic ended a little early because of the incident, but I did make a new friend by the name of Edward Elric, and Jean says he doesn't blame me for going off on Roy. As he put it, Colonel Mustang should know better than to insult a woman, much less a no-nonsense girl like me. And I have to admit, going home with Jean Havoc ain't all that bad. If more girls would stick to him and not go off gallivanting after Mustang's shallow charm, he'd be the new heart throb.
I like living with Havoc. He's polite, he's clean, and he doesn't wear excessive amounts of cologne like a certain hot headed Colonel, he's prompt, organized, and even though he smokes, his house smells more like granny smith apples than anything else. Roy's place smells like Brandy and beer; no surprise there. And I had to go get him for the Fuhrer once! Get your mind out of the gutter, will ya?
Anyway, since I've been staying with Jean, he's been nothing but the perfect gentleman, and he lets me go with him to work all the time, especially for the holidays. Which reminds me... I need to start planning ahead for Christmas...
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"YO-OO! Merry Christmas Everyone!" Mizu said, busting through the door with lots of huge boxes and bags on her arms. She was dressed in a white shirt with red trimming and a red skirt with white. We all found ourselves staring at the unusually feminine (and rather revealing) attire.
"What? I can be girly when I wanna be, guys. Don't look so surprised." She huffed. I shook my head, and looked her over.
"You look great, Mizu-chan... What'cha got there?"
"It's the Christmas Season! So naturally, Presents for EVERYBODY! I even brought Christmas cookies!" she exclaimed, and then began passing out large sugar cookies topped with fudge icing. It didn't take much to notice that Mustang got the tiniest cookie, while Riza and I had the biggest ones. She also put a giant box on one of the empty desks, and when she opened it, she stood proudly, one hand on her hip and the other gestured to the box.
"May I present to you all- The Great Big Cookie Book!"
"You mean cookbook, don't you?" Mustang said, seemingly satisfied with shooting her down.
"No, I mean what I said. Cookie. Book. Simple as that." She said, lifting the masterpiece out of the box and onto a large silver platter she had fished from a bag.
"The cover is made of Sugar cookie, and so is the back, and the pages are each a different kind on a piece of laminated cooking sheets. And in between the cooking sheets are laminated pieces of paper with ... well, eat the cookies and you'll see."
She giggled.
Mustang=0, Mizu=1.
As the first page was devoured, (it was fudge chocolate chip), we realized what Mizuri had meant when she said that there was something under the cookies. She had made a scrapbook purely out of cookie and laminated cookie sheets. The first page had a picture of everyone in the office, plus her friends Nikki and Tara at a picnic, all of us had been having fun. I truly and honestly think that that was the one and only time since she moved in with me that we all got along. Well, since she and Mustang had gotten along.
When she was satisfied with the number of pages we'd eaten, she started passing out big boxes of gifts to everyone. She even gave Mustang a set of new spark gloves. She got Riza a gun cleaning kit, and me... well, she got me a pack of expensive cigars, and a photograph of the two of us when she first moved in with me. She and I were smiling- way too big, we both looked like idiots- and you could still see the big pile of boxes behind us. Thinking back on it still makes me smile.
I honestly don't remember what she got Breda, Falman, and Feury or her friends and the Elrics, who had arrived a little late. I do remember her saying that if Mustang was going to be an ass about everything then she would take the gloves back, and Roy clutched them, refusing to give them up. I wouldn't give those gloves up either. The gloves she had gotten him were obviously expensive.
Ah, what a Christmas...
XXXXXXXXXXXX
It had been about an hour since the work quota had been finished, but everyone was still in the office. It had basically turned into a Christmas Office party because of Mizu. And Mustang had wanted her gone! Idiot. The atmosphere was so light, even Hawkeye was laughing her ass off at something ROY had said.
Can you believe it? She was laughing. At one of Roy Mustang's Jokes. I couldn't have been more at ease. It had been at least a year since Mizu had showed up from Roy's nightmare (Laughs at Roy's misfortune- Revenge is sweet, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise) And she had already become one of us, and well, kinda embarrassing to admit it in my soldiers log, but... she became a part of me, too. Eh, just your ramblings of an unsuccessful romantic who never gets to keep a date because of his "Oh-so-popular-date-stealing-boss".
Wait... why am I linking Mizu to dates? I really need to quit reading Nikki's romance stories
Ah, it's so nice, staying here in Central! And Jean Havoc! What a guy. I feel sorry for him, working for that asshole of a Colonel. He deserves better- all of Mustang's subordinates do. Jean has it especially bad, though, from what I hear. Every time he gets a date, Roy seems to steal his girl right from under him...
I walked toward the lake at the park and stopped.
Speak of the devil, himself...
"Mizuri... What a pleasant surprise."
"Wish I could say "Likewise", Mustang."
"Ouch."
"Not sorry."
I glared at Roy, and he gave me this cheeky grin that said "You have something I want, and Bratty little Roy gets whatever he wants".
You can Think what'cha want, Mustang, but I ain't buyin'!
"You're so cold, Mizu. Like ice, y'know?"
"What the hell are you up to, Mustang?" I asked. He winked at me. WINKED. AT
ME. WTF?
"Why, Mizu, what makes you think that I, the incredibly handsome Roy Mustang, would ever need to be up to something?"
I gave him the rolled eyes, tilted head, and the Are you seriously serious? look.
"I will ask you again Roy. What. The hell. are. You . Up TO!"
"Alright, alright, I admit it. I need a favor."
I felt my eyes narrow involuntarily, and I watched a bead of sweat fall past Roy's brow as he nervously smiled at me. Oh-hoho, yeah. He knew that look, Well.
"I'm listening..."
I slapped him. Hard with my metal arm.
"You... You... I cannot Believe you would even imply something like that!"
So what was that favor he had asked of me? He wanted me to go on a date with him- Just to make Havoc feel like he'd lost another girl to the Infamous Womanizer Roy Mustang. He was seriously out of his mind.
"To think... You would consider me so shallow- So heartless as to do something like that to Havoc- To Jean! You just don't get it, do you! I CARE about him! I might even go so far as to say I could see myself With him! And you want me to hurt him like that? After everything Jean has Done for me? What kind of person do you Take me for, Mustang?" I shouted. He regarded me with a straight face that was all the more infuriating.
"So you love him, is that it?" he asked. Exasperated and angry at Mustang, I basically screamed as I threw my hands up and let them drop to my sides.
"YES! I LOVE JEAN!"
That's when Mustangs signature "I win" grin spread across his face, and that's when I realized that there was someone behind me. I whirled around, wishing that I hadn't decided to show my girly side with a short skirt, a white half top, and blue half jacket with short sleeves. I felt so... exposed and vulnerable and embarrassed. His face was blank, and his cigarette had fallen out of his mouth.
"J-Jean!"
"YES! I LOVE JEAN!"
She was glaring at him, i could tell by her posture, stiff shoulders, clenched fists, and then Mustang started to smirk. That's when she realized I was standing there, and turned around, her skirt flared, but I wasn't paying attention to that as my cigarette left my mouth. I was looking at her face, and she looked vulnerable,exposed, and embarrassed. She looked scared of something, and I barely had the time to let my brain think of a reason before she dashed off, hands over her mouth and green eyes wide.
"J-Jean!" She exclaimed, shock and embarrassment and humiliation spreading across her face like wildfire.
"I-I'm sorry, Jean, I-I've got to go!" she said hurriedly. She bumped my shoulder and as she turned a little at the impact, I saw a thin trail of water on her cheek. That bastard Mustang had embarrassed her- Hurt her- so much so that she had cry. I wanted desperately to punch him and make him hurt for that, but he didn't give me a chance to be furious with him. Not right this minute, at least.
"Well, you heard her Havoc. Now are you gonna go tell her you love her too, or are you going to let her worst nightmare come true?"
"You know damn well what I'm going to do, Mustang. But when I get her back to normal, you're going to regret whatever you did!" I said, making sure Mustang knew how angry I was. I knew I could be court martialed for threatening a superior officer, but at the moment I didn't really care.
The bastard smiled nonetheless, rubbing his bruised cheek.
"I don't see why I should regret anything, Havoc." Why you lowly... I trailed off in my head. "Because it seems to me like I've done you a favor. You know she loves you. Now, what's stopping you from telling her the same? Unless you don't love her back of course. If that's the case, I'll take my punishment like a Colonel should."
"I should sock you in the jaw, Mustang, but Mizu is much more important to me."
And with that, I took off after Mizuri.
I stopped, finally getting ahold of myself. I had been heading back to the house- Jean's house. But what good would that do me? Jean was likely to just come back there and find me if he had even been looking for me at all. And right now, Jean was the last person I wanted to see. Not when I looked like this. I undoubtedly had tear stains all over my face, and I was more flustered than I cared to admit.
So... Where to go from here?
I considered my options. There was Riza, who probably had the best advice, but going to her also meant that I might run into Mustang. Hell no. There was Lt. Ross, but she was probably pretty busy with something that had to do with Major Armstrong- poor girl always was, it seemed, because I always saw her with him. There was Schieska, but, the girl was too into those really cliche romance novels. Ugh, I have had my fill of cliche romance for the day. There was Olivier Armstrong, the Major's sister, but her advice would probably entail Mustang's painful demise (which at the moment I wasn't exactly Totally against) but it probably wouldn't help me do much besides vent my anger. Then, there was Winry. I didn't really value her advice much, as she was still younger than me, but Ed was far older mentally than his young years implied. That being said, I decided to head over to the Elric's apartment after I used my water alchemy to wash my face.
XXXXXXX
"Oi, Ed! Open up..." I muttered half heartedly, banging on the Elric's door. I had spent the rest of the whole day trying to find Mizu. I didn't think she'd come here, but I could at least ask if the boys had seen her at all since the Christmas party fiasco, or if they could help me find her. Alphonse, the younger Elric, opened the door and smiled apathetically at me.
"Hi, Mr. Havoc. You must be here for Mizuri. She's asleep right now, but you're welcome to stay until she wakes up. She told us what happened with Mustang, too." he said softly, letting me in. Sure enough, Mizu was sprawled across one of the living room couches, and Winry was just picking up an empty tea cup from the floor next to her. She smiled up at me in greeting as Ed came out of one of the far doors muttering something about Colonel Roy Mustang being an egotistic bastard. I could relate, for once.
"Hey, Havoc. Mizu's fine, right now, other than exhaustion and probably unease. I can't believe Mustang would embarrass her like that. I mean, I know the guys an ass, but really!" Ed said.. I nodded, keeping the reason Roy had done all this to myself. I sat down on the floor next to Mizuri, and sighed at the fresh tear stains across her cheeks and her furrowed brow. I could understand Mustang trying to get us together, but he had certainly crossed a line here.
"Mizu... Hey..."
One green eye slowly creaked open, and then widened as if shocked that I had somehow found her. Well lemme tell ya, Mizu, wasn't easy!
"Jean!" she gasped, sitting bolt upright and startling Alphonse's tabby cat, who had been napping on the armrest by her head. It yelped and scampered out of the room. Mizu groaned, putting a hand to her forehead.
"Ouch..."
"Don't sit up so sharply, here," I said, laying her back down so that her head would stop throbbing.
"Wh-what are you doing here, Jean?"
"I came to find you. I couldn't just let you wander around all on your own. Who knows what kind of chaos you could cause?" I chuckled. She cracked a smile.
"Listen, about earlier," I began. She shifted and the apprehensive look on her face became hard to miss.
"We don't have to talk about what happened if you don't want to. But for the record, the feeling is mutual, Mizu-chan." I whispered, smiling. Her eyes told me that inside she was relieved, and the small smile that graced her face was one of happiness. Ah, what I wouldn't give to have her smiling 24/7... And I seriously need a cigarette...
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"C'mon, Mizu-chan. Let's go home." Jean said softly, lifting me off of the couch. I nodded, and before he and I reached the door, I turned to face the Elric's and Winry.
"Thank you, guys. Both for your hospitality and your advice. I don't know what I would do without you." I said, every bit as grateful as I probably looked. Maybe more so. Then, once I was done, I smiled at Jean and we both left.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So... What kind of advice did they give you?" I asked once we were a good way away from the Elrics and almost half way home.
"Well, it was kind of cliche, but it works. They said I should follow my heart, and not Mustang... Which is completely true, but, in this case, Mustang and my heart have teamed up against me, and acting on that is much easier said than done..." she said softly.
Ah, the military Mizu has surfaced. Her face was devoid of any one feature that could give away her thoughts, and her back had become straight and confident. Suddenly, though, the visage dropped with her shoulders.
"One of the few things I am actually really afraid of is relationships. It's so much easier to get hurt and never heal..." she whispered.
"That's true, but if you don't give it a shot, you'll never find the one who can really make the pain go away. That's what Riza is for Roy."
Mizu nodded.
"That still doesn't excuse why it can be so scary to admit to liking someone. If you get rejected it'll only hurt that much more."
"I wouldn't reject you if you said you liked me."
"So right now, if I asked you to be my boyfriend, you'd say yes? I find that hard to believe. Any one girl who's had a taste of Mustangs womanizing would love to be with you. Many of whom are much sexier than I am, and more appealing to the male eye. I'm nothin' special."
I stopped walking to look at her. Surely she wasn't serious? Surely she had more confidence than that!
"You can't be serious..."
"Of course I am, Jean." She looked up at me like she didn't understand why I was so surprised by what she said.
"You're joking. You have to be. You're beautiful. You are intelligent. You are serious when need be, and a prankster when somebody needs a laugh. The reason you aren't considered as eye candy is because most of the men here in central realize that if they try anything funny they'll be female for the rest of their lives! You are the one person besides Lt. Hawkeye who can strike the fear of God into Roy Mustang! Hell, you hate him and that makes you every other guy's DREAM GIRL, Mizu! You can't seriously have that little confidence in yourself!"
She stared at me, seemingly startled and flattered.
"I... never thought about it like that..."
I smiled.
"That's the only way To think about it. So that advice you got... I'm going to take it, if you don't mind. Maybe it'll get you to do the same."
"Alright... So what're you going to do, Jean?"
"I'm going to ask you another question... Will you go on a date with me, Mizuri?"
Her face was frozen in shock, and after a long, long moment of staring at each other, me grinning and her gaping like a green eyed fish, the look melted off of her face and she blushed, looking down at the ground and wringing her hands.
"I... I don't know what to say, I-I mean, wh- well..."
"Yes or no, Mizu. You don't have to explain yourself." I smiled, touching her shoulder. Her cheeks were bright red, and she looked up at me uncertainly. But then she smiled and nodded.
"Hell, sure, why not?" She asked. "I'd love to, Jean. After today, what's a date, right? Couldn't hurt."
"I knew my plan would work" a deep voice said. Alphonse nodded happily.
"And the date? How did it go?" asked another voice, younger than the first, but still male, just the same.
"Well brother, do you remember yours and Winry's first date? It went something like that only without Winry going off on you and trying to hit you with her wrench."
Edward blushed, and then Alphonse pushed play on the tape recorder he had borrowed from Nikki on the condition that he got good footage.
XXXXX
She was dolled up in a black tank top and pleated skirt that was at least six inches above her knee, and she kept trying to pull it down. Riza repeatedly had to tell her to knock it off. Yes, she was at Riza's apartment, having nothing date worthy to wear in her own closet, and because it would take away the Date feel if Jean was with her the whole time she was getting ready. However, the fact that Roy was at Riza's place as well was certainly not helping her sharp, testy nerves.
"Well, well. Someone's getting all dressed up. Wonder what the occas- YIKE!"
"Stow it, Mustang! Or the next water bullet will hit a little higher." Mizu hissed.
Mustang had his back pressed to the wall, and three holes in a straight line had come dangerously close to the centerline of his jeans. The deadly viper like look on Mizuri's face told him she wasn't joking around. Turning back to Riza, she sighed.
"Are you sure about this, Riza?" she asked, as Riza tried to decide on what to do with Mizu's semi-curly brown hair.
"Positive... "
"My hair stays up, Riza. No exceptions." Mizu sighed, noticing the hand headed toward her scrunchie. Riza shrugged as the doorbell rang, and Mustang said that he'd get it. Mizu groaned at the thought.
"Hey, Havoc. You taking her somewhere expensive? Sure looks like it." Havoc glared at him.
"Where's Mizu, Colonel?"
"Back there with Riza. I'll go get her."
Mustang returned later with a very flustered Mizuri, and he was grinning like and idiot. Riza kicked him.
"Another comment like that and I will be the one to shoot you." she hissed. The smile was gone from his face, but Mizu didn't bother to look at him, because her attention had become focused on the man in front of her. The black jacket, dark gray shirt and dark blue jeans set off everything about him. His blonde-brown hair had been slicked back a little, and he had offered her his hand.
"Come on, Mizu-chan. lets go." He said chuckling at the couple behind her. She glanced back to see that Riza had a gun at Mustang's head and she giggled to herself.
"Yeah. Bye Riza, see you around." Riza nodded an affirmative, but otherwise kept her attention on Mustang.
XXX
"See, that's where they left and I lost them for a little while cause I couldn't get out of the house without you and Riza seeing me. And you should really know better than to say things like that around Riza and Mizu. Those girls are seriously gonna kill you one of these days, Colonel." Al said scoldingly. Ed laughed and Roy only grunted something about how Alphonse shouldn't have been in his house in the first place.
XXX
Mizu hesitantly linked her arm around Havoc's and when he looked down at her, smiling, she blushed.
"So, Mizu, where do you want to go?" He asked. "I'll take you anywhere you want."
She remained silent for a moment debating as an unusually warm winter breeze ruffled her skirt and her ponytail.
"H-how about we just grab something cheap and head down to the lake. You can see the stars in the reflection. I-It's really pretty."
XXXX
"jeez, that's a lotta mushy stuff..." Ed said. Al made gagging noises.
"Hey, no comments from the peanut gallery, Ed!" Roy scolded.
"I AM NOT SO SHORT THAT A PEANUT LOOKS BIGGER!"
"I'm gonna fast forward now, brother."
"And that's what happened."
"So... You and Mizu... are... Dating?" Asked an incredulous Feury. The boy looked between Jean and Mizuri and then at the others, just to see if they were as shocked and amazed as he was. They were. Tara and Nikki were bouncing off the walls in excitement, and the Elrics, minus Winry who was back in Risembool, simply smirked.
"Yeah. And this weekend I'm headed off to Risembool to get my automail checked and to get all my stuff. Jean's gonna help me, since I'm moving in with him permanently." Mizu said sheepishly.
Colonel Roy could only sigh at the word "Permanently". He had brought this one on himself...
I sighed. Mustang's comments and my antics had been getting out of hand lately. Jean and the Elric brothers almost got really hurt last time. Again, and for about the zillionth time I let the air whoosh out of my lungs.
"Damn it, Mustang! You're late! Where the hell are you!" I muttered, looking at my state alchemists watch. He was already fifteen minutes late.
"If I come out of my hiding place, you promise you're not gonna shoot at me, right?"
I groaned. So he had been here the whole time? Damn ass hole was lucky I wasn't looking for a fight.
"I promise, now get out here!"
Mustang slowly made his way out of the bushes and I noticed he had his gloves on. The ones I had gotten him for Christmas too! Well, technically, Christmas wasn't even here yet, but the party had been less than a week ago.
"Okay, so what did you wanna talk to me about? You and Jean having problems already?"
"No, FYI, Jean and I are doing fine. I want to talk to you about a truce."
I passively watched Roy blanch and point at me incriminatingly.
"NO WAY! YOU'RE UP TO SOMETHING MIZURI!"
"What I'm up to is trying to get some peace and quiet. The last time we had one of our bouts, the Elric brothers and Jean almost got seriously hurt! And you blew up part of the Central Command building! I just don't want to deal with that anymore.
So what do you say, Roy? Truce?"
He watched me and flinched when I held out my hand. When he decide that I really wasn't going to hurt him, he took it and we shook. However, I had a foreboding feeling that this wouldn't be the end to my problem known as Roy Mustang. No, not by a long shot...
I knew the rivalry between those two hadn't ended with the Truce. When Mizu told me about it, I had genuinely been very happy for her, and for the fact that they wouldn't be blowing up or destroying anything else unless they were supposed to... however... it was getting up toward Christmas time again, and we had a Christmas dinner at Roy's house about a week before Christmas eve. Before I could blink, it had turned into an Anything you can do, I can do better, kind of competition. Mizu makes an Ice sculpture, Mustang makes a fire display in the fireplace. Mizu makes a toast, Mustang has to make one just to show her up...
Seriously, this is getting quite out of hand... Now they're headed outside... Oh, god, now its a snowman contest.
As it stands now: Mizu- 2, Mustang 0, and I really shouldn't be encouraging this by taking score...
Four hours later?
It's now a spin the bottle tournament... it's Mizu's turn to dare Mustang.
"Muwahahahahaha... Hey, Mustang! Are you ready for your dare?"
Roy gulped and paled. Mizu's evil laugh rang clear and gave us all a reason to cringe.
"I triple, double, dog dare you, you so called dog of the military... To..." She whispered in his ear, a terrible fang toothed grin on her face. Mustang went pallid and jumped up.
"Are you NUTS? SHE'LL KILL ME IF SHE CATCHES ME!"
"Then I suggest you don't get caught." She said, sultrily like the stereotypical evil mistresses in those horror movies. I gulped and asked her what she had dared him to do that made him look like he was being sent to the gallows.
"I told him to walk up to Riza and grab her chest, say, 'You're my sexy bitch', and then run."
I looked at her. Sure, I loved her, but this woman could think of some pure evil schemes... About a minute after Mustang left, we heard several gunshots and a frantic "I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY! IT WAS A DARE, FORGIVE ME! ACK! DON'T SHOOT THERE! DON'T SHOOT, RIZA! PLEASE! STOP- I'M SORRY!" and then Riza walked into the room with a smoking gun and a look that could've killed me. I hid behind Mizu, but that may not have been my wisest choice in places to hide.
"Who gave the dare to Roy?" she asked calmly, an aura of tangible fury about her. Mizu sipped her cup of cocoa and raised her hand.
"It was me" She said. Riza's shoulders relaxed a little and the aura of anger dimmed as she realized it was just another one of Mizuri's pranks.
"You're such an idiot."
"I am not, Riza!"
Mustang chose that moment to walk back into the room, looking much more than worse for wear. He glared at Mizuri.
"My turn to dare you, Mizu..." He growled. Mizu narrowed her eyes, and I was slightly worried as to what a vengeful Roy Mustang would have in mind for her dare. Judging by the evil look on his face, it was going to be something bad.
"Mizuri, I dare you to french kiss Havoc! Right now!"
'HEY! I understand you want revenge, but leave me out of your nonsense!'
"Oh, I would, but, Havoc has a say in whether or not he wants me to kiss him right now. If he says no, the dare is null and void." Mizu said, shrugging and looking at me, telling me silently that, even if she did like me that way, she wasn't too keen on kissing me in front of a crowd that most likely had hidden cameras everywhere.
I sighed, and shook my head.
"I decline." I said, albeit a little sadly, and Mizuri smiled at me gratefully.
"You heard him Roy. Ask me a truth question now."
Mizu, I think that another dare would have been best for you. A truth question is harder to find a loophole in.
"Have you ever... Fantasized about a guy you liked? Like a Mature fantasy?"
"Have you ever stared at Riza's ass? I'm 24, Roy. Seriously. Ask me a real question."
"Alright... Um... Have you ever been kissed?"
"Not willingly, no."
All of us blanched.
"Wh-What?" I asked.
"This drunk thought he could have his way with me on my way home. My metal arm had some... objections to that." She sighed, pointing to a dent in her auto mail.
"Little did I know that this guy had a partially metal face, cause it was too dark to see clearly. I settled for kicking the living shit outta the guys crotch." Mustang paled. Riza had almost shot him there less that five minutes ago. The thought of getting kicked there by an angry Mizuri was enough to scare any guy awake at night. I shuddered.
"You gonna dare me mustang?"
Mustang thought a moment. it was Mizu's turn, still, but he wasn't gonna let a freebie pass him by.
"I dare you to... do a strip tease."
Mizu stopped sipping her cocoa and spat it out of her mouth when she heard that, the chocolate liquid dripping off her chin.
"HUH!" She gaped intelligently. Even Riza and the guys were more than a little shocked. I however, was pissed.
"Are you fucking CRAZY, MUSTANG! HELL NO! I REFUSE TO LET MIZU GO THROUGH WITH THAT!" I yelled. Mizu sighed in relief.
"Y'know what? Lets do something else cause- "
"The dare doesn't pertain to you Havoc. Mizu has to."
Time for another loophole. Even if this one is complete bullshit...
"Not if at least half the room's occupants are against it! So whaddya say, Breda, Falman? Feury, Hawkeye?" All of them shook their heads. Mizu shouldn't have to do something like that, especially in a room full of guys. Mizu, You owe me.
"Thanks guys."
"Fine. D'you remember that song Nikki showed you a while ago? The hare hare yukai?" Roy asked. Mizu nodded and watched apprehensively as he left the room, grinning, and came back with a strange blue and white schoolgirl outfit with a yellow headband. I wasn't going to ask where he got it and I definitely was not going to ask why...
"Cos-play as that girl in the middle and do the dance! Plus you have to let your hair down and sing it!" Mizu looked around the room, and this time, she would be getting no favors and there were no loopholes left.
"alright. Here, give me that... thing... " She said, gesturing at the skirt that was obviously far too short for her tastes.
A moment later she was back, headband in place, though her hair was still in a ponytail, and dressed up as the "Brigade chief" from Nikki's Ipod. She tapped her foot three times, and her hand went up, to the side, in front of her chest, and then into an arc to rest on her hip as she sang and danced.
"I want to be
the only one who
can solve the mysteries
that take control of our lives!
with my friends
we will
go anywhere in this world-
Forever for all of time
boon, aaah this dream,
that warps and loops inside my mind
plays around with my heart
I imagine someday that it might
Absorb us all!
I still remember that sunny day
magical games that we used to play
pour down endlessly, could it possibly
take these memories from me?
I'll see you tomorrow, then we can say
we're laughing and humming all of the way
Gather happiness, using togetherness!
You'll find it isn't hard if you can really try!
Gotta learn to chase it-
Gotta learn to grasp it-
We love dreaming big,
so dream, and dream
Until the end!"
She sighed after she finished, stating that she was going to go change, but Roy stopped her.
"Oh, no you don't! You didn't hold up your end of the deal."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your ponytail Mizuri. I specifically said to wear it down." And with that, he yanked her hair tie out and tossed it to me.
"You have to wear it like that for the rest of the night now."
"Fine, whatever." Mizu said angrily. She had had enough of Mustang, obviously. Then she changed and outed the rest of the game, instead watching Breda try to do a strip tease and Feury taking drunk pictures. We left after Mustang got so drunk he tried to create an orchestra of burps. That man has some serious issues...
"Mustang is a jackass..."
"You can say that again..." Jean agreed.
Mizu was leaning out over the balcony railing as Jean walked up behind her. He put a hand over hers and gave a light, comforting squeeze.
"Y'know, you looked really cute in that outfit. I'm just not sure I liked the fact that you had to wear it in front of everyone like that..."
Mizuri blushed a deep red, the lighting from the room behind her casting a light urethral glow over her features.
"... T-thanks..."
Havoc smiled and gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face. She had been in such a hurry to leave after she noticed Mustang starting the dares again, that she had forgotten to get her scrunchie back from the man, who had snatched it from Jean twenty minutes after throwing it to him, and she still had her hair down. He thought it was very pretty, the way it framed her face and made her eyes so much more noticeable, not that they weren't already. With bright green eyes and a face and personality like hers, it'd be a miracle if a blind man didn't notice how beautiful she was.
She looked up at him as he let his hands brush against her cheek, and she knew that this was one of those moments that most people would strive for in a relationship, and here she was getting it dropped on her lap. She sighed.
"Hey, Mizu..."
"Yeah?"
"If I asked you to marry me, what would you say?"
"I guess you'll have to ask and see." Mizuri said playfully, putting a finger to her lips and pretending to be shy and girly. They both knew that Mizu wasn't like that at all, but Jean still thought it was cute when she did pretended to be.
They both laughed loudly, and as the boisterous laughter died down into low giggles and chuckles, they tilted their heads up to look at the stars in the clear midnight blue sky.
"Has anyone ever told you that you were beautiful?"
"Jean, please don't use cliche romance-"
"No, really. I'm asking you seriously."
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, not turning her head but instead leaning farther over the rail and crossing her arms with a sigh.
"No... nobody. I've had old drunkards and horny bastards call me sexy and hot stuff and things like that, but nothing sincere."
"... Huh... I can't say they were wrong- because you are, I mean really, but as strong and dignified as you are, they should have had a little respect..."
Mizuri scoffed and looked at him laughing sarcastically.
"They were old drunks, Jean. Who gives a damn?"
"I give a damn! ... I don't know if you remember, but we used to be friends back when we were kids. You always stood up for me and anybody when Roy would pick on us. I admired you for being so tough and brave. Now that others are disrespecting you, I feel like I should do something about it."
Mizuri smiled and shook her head.
"Y'know, right about now, I can't tell if you're an idiot or just naturally sweet. I can take care of myself, and-"
"I know you Can, Mizu! But you shouldn't have to..."
Two weeks ago***
Instead of going to the office like she usually did, Mizuri went to walk around in the shop districts and take a break from arguing with Mustang. It was her way of relaxing, by just looking around at the shops and the different items and such, instead of going to a spa like most girls did.
She smiled at the little kids that were running around the playground and smiling at each other, and then she turned as a little old lady caught her attention.
"Why, you seem like quite the pretty young lady."
"Thank you."
"Oh, don't thank me for pointing out the obvious! Now tell me, dear," the little lady said, leading Mizuri over to the well near her booth. "do you have a special someone in your life?"
Mizuri blushed and smiled.
"Well, yes, sort of... We're just dating right now, but..."
"But?"
"I... really like him a lot... I wish we could be more than just... boyfriend girlfriend sometimes..."
"I see..." The old woman said, adjusting her shawl and smiling. For a moment, though, the old lady's eyes seemed to dart to something across the street. Mizu couldn't be sure however, and kept her attention on the woman.
"I think I know something that could help your situation, dear."
Mizuri looked at the tiny woman before her and tilted her head.
"Really?"
The old lady nodded and pointed to the well.
"that wishing well there granted my wish years ago, and I'd bet my old bones it'll grant yours. Here! just toss it into the well and wish!"
Mizuri smiled at the old lady.
"You don't have to give me this, I have plenty of change, and-"
"Go, on! Just wish!"
Mizu looked at her and then at the well. 'Oh, what the hell.'
"I wish Jean would propose to me."
A blonde-brunette man watched her from the other side of the road.
"Marry me, Mizuri, please."
Mizuri abruptly stood up straight, a bright red tinge over her entire face, her metal arm hanging limp and her good hand covering her mouth, trying but not succeeding at hiding the surprise.
Jean looked at her apprehensively, knowing that Mizuri was unpredictable at best. The only thing about her that was a given was that she was a strong, independent woman who hated cliche romance and Roy Mustang. Hoping he hadn't screwed his chances completely, he watched her.
"I... I..." she stuttered. " I'm sorry, this is unlike me, I... "
She looked at him apologetically before dashing back into the house, heading for the bathroom. Jean heard her slam and lock the door, and then the shower turned on.
"I really hope I didn't just shoot myself in the foot..."
About an hour and a half after Jean suddenly decided to pop the question, Mizuri still stood in the bathroom, looking in the mirror and hoping for some kind of a miracle, some immediate relief of the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Fear.
It wasn't an emotion she was used to having. With all honesty, she wanted desperately to say yes, and accept his sudden proposal, but at the same time, she was plagued by what if's, and her heart was heavy with doubt. What if he wasn't "the one?" What if she screwed up later and he wanted to divorce her? Would he try to tie her down or be too possessive? Would he let her travel like she always used to?
She tied the silver bathrobe that he never used around her body. She sighed. She knew he'd never do anything she didn't like- he was too sweet, and far too considerate for that. He bought her sweet gifts that he had taken time into deciding on, but it was never like he was so shallow as to try to buy her. But still, the doubt was there, nonetheless, and that worried her. If it was really true love, shouldn't she have absolutely no doubt, whatsoever? But then, what about all of those couples who thought they had true love but ended up breaking up or divorcing?
She realized that she was just being indecisive to stall for time, and trying to find a reason to say no, like she always did. She never tried to invest any sort of relationship in men, nothing more than a friendship. But this, this was way out of her comfort zone. Before Jean, she'd never even had a boyfriend. And it wasn't like he had been so very persistent. Maybe it was all the time she had spent with him. It had flown by so quickly, but the memories she had felt like they had been branded onto her heart... Was that why she trusted him so easily? Or was it the fact that she'd known him since he was little, only four years ahead of her in a very small, one room school.
Maybe it was the fact that even though they had been friends with Mustang, he had always sided with her, and she with him. Maybe it was because they were a match, like yin and yang, or a pair on a card memory game. Maybe it was because she had liked him from all the way back then, because she knew he was kind hearted and sweet, and that he would stick by what he believed in, even though he may not have necessarily been strong enough to defend it, and needed some help.
She knew he needed her, and she also felt like he was something she had sorely missed in her travels.
"I know what I'm going to say... sort of..."
"Jean? ... Can I come in?" Mizuri asked hesitantly. Havoc looked up from his hands *he had been fidgeting since he'd walked into the house about a half hour after Mizu* and looked at the door, which was cracked as Mizuri poked her head in, wet hair clinging to her forehead and neck.
"S-sure!" he said, obviously a little surprised. Mizu walked in and closed the door behind her, moving to sit next to him as he moved over.
"You're wearing my bathrobe..."
"Oh, um, did you not want me to?"
"No-no! it's fine! I just didn't think you'd walk around like that..."
Mizu blushed, noticing that he had a point. At this range, he could snatch right off of her if he wanted, and it wasn't like she had anything on underneath it.
"y'know, you have a point... I guess I just didn't think about it. I'm comfortable around you and in your house for some reason." 'maybe a little Too comfortable' she thought.
He just nodded, and kept his gaze trained on the carpet floor, noting that he himself wasn't even wearing a shirt and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his mind focused on what Mizu was saying, and not what she was wearing at the moment, or rather, what she wasn't.
"Hey, Jean, listen, about earlier, I... I got scared. I'm sorry for running away like I did- That's unlike me, but... Until I came back to Central, until I saw you again after all these years, I, I never dated, never even came close. You're literally my first boyfriend, ever... And you want to get married and all that... We... We've never even kissed! I don't even think I could kiss you, since I've never done it before in my life... I ... I kept my feelings and my heart locked up... somehow, you got past the lock without the key, and... I have my doubts... I know I shouldn't, because I know you too well, but... I'm... I'm scared, Jean. I'm sorry, but I am."
"I understand...As a matter of fact, I expected that you might react like this, I just wasn't sure. You're pretty unpredictable most days... well, all days. But I understand how you would feel that way. You always used to say that you hated the way those girls always loved Roy so much and how cliche love was. You would say that if love meant stupidly going all gaga and googly eyed after someone like Roy than you would rather be loveless. But I just, I dunno... I guess I wanted to take the chance, and if nothing else, let you know that I cared about you. So... um... yeah..."
Mizuri smiled, but didn't look at him.
"Y'know, I'm not going to lie to you and say that you're my first girlfriend, and that you can't fall in love with just anybody. You can force yourself to fall, but it's just not real love. There's a noticeable difference. You, I just... I just fell for you. Hard."
Mizu blushed.
"Yeah? ... To be honest, I never meant to fall in love with you. I didn't want to fall in love at all. But I stuck around you to prove that not all girls went after Mustang. I would have just left as soon as I came after I proved that to him, but... When I decided that I had stayed long enough, I realized that I didn't want to leave. I stayed a little while longer and I realized that I liked hanging around your office. Then Mustang filed that order for me to leave. When you offered to stand up for me, I... I was touched, really, and then you offered to let me stay with you... I couldn't resist. I just decided that you might grow on me, and you did. I just didn't expect you to do it so easily... and to grow so much, so quickly."
"..."
"'I'm sorry... That was a little much..."
"It's good to know. But... You still haven't given me a yes or no."
Mizuri blushed hard and Jean sighed.
"You haven't turned me down, right?"
"No! Of course not! it's just that-"
"Then just wear the ring... I'll still say you're only my girlfriend, but, if you wear it it'll make me feel better. Not so down, y'know?"
Mizuri nodded and took the ring from him after he took it off the nightstand.
"Alright, I'll wear it... Jean?"
He looked at her and smiled a melancholy smile. Mizuri blushed and stared at him with a determined expression. She looked so small compared to him, but she was so strong and so independent. He knew better than to underestimate her.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Looking up at him again, she sat up on her knees and kissed him.
"First boyfriend, first love, first ring... First kiss, too... Um.. Can I sleep with you tonight?"
"W-What!?"
Jean blushed when he awoke in the morning, noting that his arms were wrapped tightly around Mizuri's waist and that her metal arm was holding his in place, unwilling to let him release her.
Her face was calm and smiling as she felt his body shift against her back.
"mn-nhh..." she murmured. "Jean..."'
He smiled. She looked so cute. It felt good to not have to ask why he was feeling this way too. At least she didn't turn him down. That would have killed him.
"Mizu... Mizu, hey..." he whispered in her ear. He wanted to wake her, but to surprise her in the position they were in at the moment would have been suicide. Especially when all she was wearing was his bathrobe. She shifted under the navy covers and glanced at him through heavy lashes, blue eyes bright though she was still half asleep.
"Do you think you could let go of my arm? I didn't want to wake you, but, your metal arm is gonna break my hand." he smiled, gesturing at the automail that was currently cutting off the circulation in his right hand. She rapidly let go of him and blushed as she realized her current position, checking herself for clothes.
"Um... We didn't..." she asked worriedly, albeit very quiet and demure.
"NO! No, not at all!" Havoc laughed, nervously at first, but then confident she wasn't suspicious of him, re-wrapping his arms around her and grinning so hard his eyes closed. She sighed with palpable relief and even laughed a little when he tickled her. She turned over to face him.
Then a random- important (to her, at least)- but random thought hit Mizu.
"Um..." she murmured, looking him over since she hadn't had the chance to do so before as it was dark.
"I don't mean to be off topic or random... but... You... You are Hot..." she whispered incredulously. She knew from the start that he had been cute, but the clothes he wore never really showed him off. Without a shirt however, she had to strain to keep herself from having a nosebleed.
Her flesh and bone hand slowly reached out to touch his skin, marveling at the hard contours of his body. She had never felt the urge to kiss someone, but it was compelling. The fear of what could come after overpowered the urge though.
He shivered as her warm fingers touched his chest. His face had already turned red as wine after her completely out of the blue comment, but just having her touch him like this was turning his whole body to liquid.
She spread her hand out and then chanced a look up at his face. She smiled sheepishly and blushed.
"Ah... S-sorry... I don't mean to insult by implying that I hadn't noticed you were cute. I noticed, it's just... wow..."
Jean sighed, smiling back with relief that she had stopped her hormonal assault on him.
"That's fine... but you have no Idea what you did just now, just by touching me... You- You get what I mean, right?" he guessed that the red line across her face meant that she did.
"You are truly something else..."
She just smiled.
"Hey, Havoc..."
"Yeah?"
"You seem... different today... did something happen with Mizu?"
"No. Why?"
"She was wearing an engagement ring."
"So?"
"So? She's getting married!"
"No, she's not. I gave her that ring."
"Then you're engaged?"
"No."
"Then-"
"We're still the same as always. I asked her, but she wasn't ready to give me an answer."
"So she's just wearing the ring?"
"Yes."
"But she didn't turn you down?"
"No. She didn't."
Roy looked at his subordinate across the lunch table and smiled mischievously. Havoc's face was completely pink.
"Havoc, you're getting married, admit it."
A plate of peas and mashed potatoes were flung at Roy's face, and he only just dodged it in time, still grinning. A moment later, he was soaked to the bone.
"Uh... what?"
Riza smiled at Mizu happily as she sipped on her sparkling cider.
"You heard me, Whitewater. I'm... getting married... To Roy."
"You're getting hitched to that hot headed jerk? Ok, y'know what? To each her own, but the minute you say "I-do"? You are stuck with him, sister. I'm not bailing you out if you end up having to shoot him, ya hear me?" Mizu laughed, watching as Riza grinned and almost choked on her drink.
"That reminds me.." Riza said, eyeballing Mizuri's choice in beverage. "I've never once seen you with any alcohol except to give it to someone else... You don't
drink?"
Mizu shook her head.
"Nope. I have always hated the taste of alcohol and the smell of cigarettes."
"Oh, so you don't like it when Jean smokes?"
"I have to say I don't, but it's his choice and he never does it around me. He never even smells like smoke. Ever."
Riza smiled.
"So you really haven't noticed?"
"What?"
"Jean quit smoking about three months ago. When you came back."
"He... He did?"
"You really are that naive... Wow..."
"HEY! Don't say it like that! I'm not an idiot, Hawkeye..."
"I bet Roy would beg to differ."
"Roy does not count."
Riza only chuckled at the flustered look on Mizuri's face.
"And you're wearing an engagement ring... did he ask you?"
"Did Roy ask you?"
"Why, yes. But I'm asking about you and Havoc. So?" she asked, leaning forward curiously and making Mizu cringe.
"W-well... um... Yeah, he asked..."
"And you said yes?"
"Um... not exactly..."
"You're wearing the ring."
"Well, yeah but-"
"It should be a yes or no thing, Whitewater."
"... I told him that I wasn't ready for this, and that I still had doubts... he just asked me to wear it. I said that I'd do that much, at least, Y'know? ... Riza, I really want to say yes... I just..." Mizuri groaned and ran her hands through her hair.
"Why is this so HARD!"
"Well, think about it. You grew up with a general distrust of men. Havoc was the
first guy you trusted, like at all, and even then you were skeptical. You were fast friends, though, from what Roy told me."
"Apparently Roy can't keep his damn mouth shut... the bastard. Still though... What do I do, Riza?"
"You could say yes. You're obviously in love!"
Mizuri blushed and took a long drought of her soda, to which Riza answered with a smirk.
"Mizu's getting mar-ried!" she teased.
"SHUT UP!"
"Well, what have we here? A blushing Mizuri? That's quite unusual."
"CAN IT ROY!"
An ash tray made its way to the top of Roy's head with a crack, and Mizu shielded her drink and Riza's with a thin barrier of water. Roy coughed on the ash.
"Ahh... Riza?"
"Yes?"
Roy smiled at his trusted Lt. and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why did you say yes when I proposed to you?"
"Well that's a stupid question. Why did you propose?" She tossed, grinning at his priceless expression.
"You know why! Because I love you and if something happened to you it would kill me!" He responded hotly. Riza's grin grew.
"Well there's your answer, colonel."
"I think it's quite clear who tops and who bottoms in this relationship..."
"Of course. I own you. Now get back to work, colonel."
Roy sighed and kissed her cheek, and then sat back down at his desk.
"HEY! MIZURI!"
"Oh.. Um, Hi Ed. Alphonse."
"So it's true!" Ed exclaimed, not bothering to return or reply to her greeting, instead
grabbing her hand to look at the silver band with the sapphire in the middle.
She blushed and pulled her hand back sharply, shoving it in her pocket and putting her metal arm on her hip.
"W-What's true?" she asked with a squeaking voice and a red face.
"You're getting married!"
"No, I'm not. Not yet, at least."
"Uh... explain?"
"I... haven't given him an answer yet."
"Oh... Who's him?" Ed inquired. It was hard to miss the childish, mischievous look on his face.
"... ….. …. …. It's... It's Jean Havoc."
"Do you think you'll say yes?" Alphonse asked.
Mizuri leaned against the wall of the bridge she and the boys were on, watching a car on the road pass by on the street below.
She nodded, slowly, but with a smile.
"Probably. Don't be surprised if you hear later on that the rumors flying around are true."
The boys smiled at her, Ed grinning wildly, and Al smiling sweetly.
"So, Mizu. Do you love him?"
"Gah... Um, th-that's a rather... p-personal question, Alphonse..."
"True, but it shouldn't be too hard to answer."
Mizu stuttered, scratching her left arm with her automail, and blushing harder than she was used to.
"well?"
"A-ah... W-well... um... Yeah... Yeah, I love him. A lot."
"That's good. You shouldn't marry for anything other than that."
Mizuri nodded.
"So when are you gonna give him an answer?"
"Maybe she'll answer me when you stop pestering her, kid."
Mizu, Ed and Alphonse jumped as Havoc materialized behind them.
"Ah! J-Jean! H-Hi..."
He was silent as she turned to face him, his face unreadable. He glared at the Elric brothers (although it wasn't really a stern sort of glare) and then sighed as they scurried away.
"Mizu."
"Hey... um... how much did you hear?"
"Everything after "who's him" " He said, soft-spokenly. Mizu noted the small smile that he was trying to hide. She looked down to avoid letting him see her face.
"I-I see...*"
"You know I love you, too... Right?" He asked, looking dead ahead and blushing himself, arms crossed as he leaned on the bridge wall like she was.
"Y-yeah..."
He laughed.
"Y'know... I'd probably kiss you right now...But you don't seem very comfortable with that, so I guess I'll settle for this, instead." he smiled, turning to her and pulling her into his arms.
She sighed and put her arms around him as well, allowing herself to feel comfortable in his embrace and allowing herself a moment of something she never thought she would have.
"Jean... " She whispered, burying her head in his chest, "Thank you."
He looked down at her. "For what?"
"I would never have found love, not like this, if it weren't for you."
"If that's the case, I should be thanking you."
She smiled and felt her eyes start to water and she clutched at the back of his shirt as she cried.
"T-Thank you... s-so much..."
He set his chin on her head and rocked her back and forth until she got herself together. When she had, she looked up at him and huffed, wiping her eyes.
"Hey, Jean... About earlier... My answer is Yes."
She smiled as he stared at her, a smile slowly creeping up the sides of his face. He looked like he'd been handed a million cens.