Summary: Two months after Ishval, Riza and Rebecca have finally graduatied Military School. Ishval had changed Riza and Rebecca tries her best to make her friend accompany her to their celebratory graduation ball so she can finally smile and feel good again.
This is dedicated to Queen Elenya Hawk.
Please enjoy!
"This is it."
Rebecca Catalina stared at her reflection in the mirror and smoothed out some wrinkles in her dress. This was her last night as an ordinary citizen.
Starting tomorrow noon, the blue military uniform would become her second skin. She would wear it every day for the rest of her life. Or her retirement. Whichever came first.
And while she felt excitement rush through her body, she sobered up quickly when her eyes fell upon the other person reflected in the mirror: A young, skinny blonde that plugged halfheartedly on the tulle of her dress.
Rebecca's shoulders slumped and her brows furrowed in sympathy as she saw the lifeless eyes of her best friend.
Riza had received her orders of transfer to Ishval on the very day Rebecca had been severely wounded in target training and sent to hospital. It was the only reason she had been spared her friend's fate, having to kill hundreds, if not thousands of Ishvalans. She had been on smaller missions, too, but she hadn't killed anyone up until now. She wanted to talk to Riza about it, she wanted to get her fear to pull the trigger against a human being off of her chest, but she couldn't. Not when said blonde's normally caramel eyes looked more like mud these days, when her always slender figure now had turned very skinny (and she didn't seem to gain any weight even though she had been back for two months already) and when her quietness became unsettling instead of its usual soothing effect on Rebecca.
But it couldn't go on like this.
Rebecca knew Riza hurt inside and she could never blame her for it. She would never understand the pain her friend felt and she honestly hoped she never would have to. Still, it pained Rebecca to see Riza miserable like that and she had to stop it. Even if it might make Riza hate her guts for it, she wanted the young woman to live again.
And the first step was to make her go to the military graduation ball.
"Riza?" Rebecca asked her cautiously and the blonde looked up sadly.
"You look gorgeous," the brown haired cadet smiled at Riza and grabbed her hands. "Come on, stand up and show me your dress!"
A little begrudgingly, Riza rose from the bed she was sitting on, her head turned to the floor while Rebecca pulled her closer to the mirror. She let go of her hands now and walked around Riza once.
"That dress is perfect for you! It's just a shame you're wearing that cardigan over it. Are you sure you don't want me to put some camouflage on your tattoo? The wide cut out back looks incredible on you!"
Rebecca put her hands onto Riza's shoulders softly and jumped as Riza pulled away forcibly.
"I'm so sorry, Riza, I-"
"It's fine," Riza answered through clenched teeth, her shoulders slightly hunched and her face contorted in pain, "it'll be fine in a couple of seconds. You just took me by surprise, it's more that than actual pain."
Rebecca's heart dropped. She had forgotten the wound that has been inflicted on her right after the end of the war, by a sole Ishvalan survivor. Or rather that had been the story Riza had told Rebecca; the girl had seen Riza's tattoo only by accident. She never learned the true meaning of it and she would never learn the truth behind it's destruction.
"I'm sorry," Rebecca repeated with an honest face, but she turned to a small bag of hers quickly to distract Riza from telling her that she didn't need to apologize.
"So, we've got dressed and we've got our hair done," she nodded at herself as she turned her head right and left to inspect the complicated bun on her head, "all that's to be done is the make up!"
Rebecca pulled some utensils out of her bag and started applying the products onto her face, but her eyes swayed back after a couple of seconds when she didn't hear a motion from Riza. And really, Riza stood there, tugging on one sleeve of her cardigan, eyes cast down and legs crossed in shame. The girl that looked so tough in their training garbs looked so small and delicate right now.
The brown haired cadet dropped the powder onto a side table and turned back to Riza.
"What is it? You should put on some make up, too."
Riza looked at her friend from under her lashes, a flash of caramel glowing through the steady mud colored orbs.
"Rebecca, I-"
"Oh I know that your face is flawless and you're beautiful already. But it will enhance your features! A little mascara, a small amount of eyeshadow in the color of your dress, a cute lip gloss of your lip color and you'll be turning heads all around."
Riza rolled her eyes and Rebecca's heart jumped in response – Riza hadn't rolled her eyes in ages, she got used to wave everything off. It made her hopeful that she was heading in the right direction.
"You know I don't want that, Rebecca."
"Okay, I'll admit I don't want it either, I want to find myself a cute boyfriend," she responded, wiggling her eyebrow suggestively and a smile spread on her face as she saw the corners of Riza's lips turn up slightly, "but maybe that Major Mustang guy will be there, too. You said he's been promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, it's not unusual for higher ranking officers to attend these events."
Riza's smile faded again and Rebecca wanted to hit herself. Wrong topic and wrong person, apparently. She needed to make a step back.
"Well, I'm going to need a wing-woman and I want my wing-woman to wear a touch of make up so I don't look over the top!" Rebecca turned back to her mirror and picked up the powder, patting it into her skin with a puff, "so get started on it, Missy!"
She heard the slim girl sigh behind her.
"Rebecca, honestly I-"
"No, Riza, no 'honestly' now!"
Rebecca whirled around and she was unable to hide the worry for her friend anymore.
"This can't go on anymore! You are my best friend and it pains me to see you like that ever since you returned. You lost so much weight during the war," Riza flinched at that word, but Rebecca willed herself to go on without stopping, "you didn't gain any pound back all this time! The light in your eyes is gone and I never see you around for more than our lessons."
Rebecca's eyes softened now and she looked as equally sad as Riza stared at her.
"I'm scared about you, Riza. I want you to live again, to smile and live your life, I can't take it to see you fade like that. So please, please," she grasped Riza's hands again, tightly this time, "please cooperate. Going to this party, dressing up, wearing make up – it's all about having fun. Feeling better. Enjoying yourself. I won't force you, I can't force you, but I beg you, please, consider it. I have only your best interests on my mind."
"Rebecca, I don't own any make up."
The girls stared into each other's eyes and it felt like an eternity to Rebecca. She felt the heat slowly rise in her cheeks and embarrassment wash over her. She gently let go of Riza's hands, ashamed of her outbreak, concerned about how Riza might have taken it. As always, she chose her trademark way-out: distraction.
"Oh, well, sure, use mine, help yourself," Rebecca replied and started to apply powder for the third time already, finally finishing it and moving onto her lipsticks. She was so distracted with getting her shame under control that she nearly didn't hear the soft, rather unusual tone Riza used now.
"Rebecca? There's something else."
She turned around to the blonde, cheeks still slightly tinted (though she could always say she used blush already) and cocked her head to the side, urging her friend to answer.
"I don't know how to use it."
Silence embraced the two friends, Riza staring unwaveringly to the ground and Rebecca eyeing her dumbfoundedly.
"What?"
"I never learned how to use it," Riza elaborated now and looked up at her comrade, "my mother died young, I spent my childhood with only one male friend and I never dared to waste the little money we had on luxury like that. And I never felt the need to."
Surprisingly for Rebecca, a small smile graced Riza's lips now – there must be something happy in those memories after all, but before she could ask, Riza continued.
"So, even if you supply me with stuff, I'm pretty helpless."
She fell silent again, casting her eyes downward immediately. Gosh, Rebecca knew she had to do something about it. Riza didn't cast her eyes down. She was tough!
"Come here," Rebecca answered gently and waited until her friend stepped forward hesitantly until they stood next to each other in front of the mirror.
"Look at what I'm doing. Then, you'll try to copy it, okay? It's alright if you don't succeed right away, take your time, and I can still help you out if you really can't do it. Deal?"
Riza looked up in astonishment and the slight tingle in her otherwise muddy eyes made Rebecca hope again.
"Deal," Riza answered with a nod, looking intently at Rebecca's mirror image. "And Becca?"
Rebecca smiled; Riza finally used her nickname again.
"Yes?"
"Thank you. Really. For everything."
Rebecca smiled widely. Maybe they were really getting onto the right track again.