Distractions
It was a day like any other in the Hawkeye household. Roy studied in an easy chair in the living room, Riza studying in a chair opposite him.
Roy didn't know what caused him to look up on this particular day, but it didn't matter. What he saw very nearly took his breath away.
Riza was at just the right angle for a beam of late afternoon sun to shine directly on her. She looked so serene in the warm light, focused solely on her book, but half-asleep—an effect of lounging in the sun. (Riza had told him that she often chose that chair for that very reason.) She was a vision of a quiet, strong, capable young woman who would go far in life, if she so chose. In fact, at that moment, it struck Roy that this remarkable young woman could do whatever she wanted.
He knew she was human, and, like any other human, with limitations, but he also knew that she was a hard worker who tried her best and was not often given to excessive moping or dreaming. Still, his opinion stood.
Another part of him just plain found the scene beautiful. It wasn't that he'd never thought of Riza as good-looking—he knew she was, if in slightly more subtle ways than most young women he knew. She knew it, too, but she didn't flaunt it, and it was almost endearing, but in a way that made him want to imitate that self-assurance. ("Arrogance is all too often the destruction of a man, and none more often than the alchemist," Mr. Hawkeye had once told him.)
Riza blinked and looked up. It was almost uncanny—she had always had a good sense for when people were watching her, and she'd turned that quizzical-yet-guarded glance on Roy more than once.
"Enjoying the sun?" he asked lamely.
She nodded once slowly, keeping her eyes locked with his and not saying a word.
Roy had to clear his throat. "Sorry. I should… probably… keep studying, huh?"
"Not much of a point in studying if you can't concentrate," Riza pointed out.
"Well, you know me—I'll get it done eventually." Roy offered a tentative smile.
The corners of Riza's mouth curved upward ever so slightly. "I know. You might not exactly be the traditional definition of dedicated, but you do follow through, if mostly on your own schedule."
Roy grimaced. "Better late than never?"
Riza raised and lowered a shoulder. "That depends, but I'd say that in this case, it wouldn't hurt."
"Glad to have your blessing," Roy teased, succeeding in eliciting a true grin from Riza. "I think I'll do just what you said and study on my own schedule."
Lowering her eyes back to her book, Riza murmured, "You do that. So will I."
"In that case, I won't disturb you." Roy walked over to the stairs. "And Riza? Sorry again about disturbing you earlier."
Riza made a noncommittal noise and kept reading.
Roy grinned and ascended the stairs. He was going to go study, and this time, he thought a little sadly, without distractions.
A/N: I got the idea for this listening to "She is the Sunlight", and I was totally going to do something beautifully metaphorical with it, but I couldn't really think of anything but this little scene that just wouldn't let me go.
Well, what do you think? Please let me know!