"Hey Riza, I didn't see you before!"
She looks back at him, startled, with those haunted eyes that makes it sting inside him. A pair matching his own.
He flashes a smile at her. (It's a false one, but it's for a good cause.)
"Do you mind?" he asks, motioning with his hand the vacant spot next to her. She swallows and looks down at the mug cramped between her hands
"…No" she says, but she doesn't sound sure at all.
He takes a seat beside her and can't think of anything more to say. They sit silently next to each other. Enjoying the calmness that is going to become their reality.
(In Ishbal, there are no bodies left to burn). They are going home.
He can't wait to leave it behind. All the dusty roads and the dusty sky.
"So. Happy it's all over huh?" he tries to make his smile look real.
She just looks at him with those eyes that have seen too much.
"What's there to be happy about?" she asks softly, and at the same time not asking at all.
(His smile falls, crashes and burns.)
They both know she's right. There's nothing to be happy about and for a moment he curses himself and his silly attempts to cheer her up.
He sighs, ready to give up and go away before he makes even more of a fool of himself, when he notices the look she's giving him. It takes him by surprise.
"What is it?" he asks, genuinely curious.
"Aren't you supposed to say something silly right now?"
He stares at her. It takes a moment for him to understand he actually heard what he heard.
"…Like what?"
"Well," she starts, mulling over her answer. "Something among the lines of "there's always me" and then you'd probably grin at me in a way I can imagine you find charming but honestly isn't."
Ouch. He had forgotten this side of her. The girl with the fast wit and the sharp tongue that always called him out when he needed it, or when she found it amusing. (He's glad there's a part of her still left.)
Then that girl he used to know disappears, and beside him is once again, a tired soldier that has just realized what she said. She stands up and dusts off the once white coat as she clears her throat.
"It was nice to speak with you, sir, but I must be on my way" she offers as a parting line and starts walking away, but before she turns around completely he catches the hint of a smile.
He smiles too, a weak and tired one, but this time it's real.
AN: Actually wrote this years ago I think, even though this is a very revised version of the barely readable drabble from my notebook.
Posted after midnight because this is the only time I'm tired enough to not go through it an extra time just because. Not beta'd so excuse any errors. If you liked it (or hated it) I would appreciate it if you could drop a line.
(Obviously, I don't own FMA. Never have, never will)