Oooohhh, a Riza thing! Riza centric, anyways. I love my fav pairings, obviously, but you have to feel a bit bad for the ones left out. It touches on how she liked Roy, thought about Jean, and considered Ed, the main men in her life. Just a little thingy, really Enjoy and review if you wish too. (I'd really like that)
Disclaimer: Do not own FMA nor do I make any money writing this. Bleh.
Warning: A bit of yaoi, single Riza :(
Single
Long hair swung as the door burst open and she hid a smile behind her bland, day to day work face. Gold hair, the same length as hers but darker, wilder, less tamed by a good brushing, and her fingers itched to slide through, disentangle the soft strands. And she knew they were soft, he'd let her hug him when he reappeared, brother at his side, brilliant smile in place.
The heavy door bounced hard enough to slam closed behind him and she heard the faint yelp when it hit him in the ass. Jean snickered then cringed when icy blue eyes focused on him; papers started moving across the desk again and order was restored before it had a chance to escape. Cain slipped in and settled beside the smoker, a pale hand patting spiky hair in sympathy and sliding his stack of folders across the smooth wood with a smile.
They grinned happily at each other, getting a snort from Breda, who scooted his chair over to give Fuery some room; a small sigh was restrained and Riza looked back to her own papers. There was nothing as disappointing as being a career woman at 35 with no options in sight. Sure she could try bars but most men there were fairly disgusting and liked to paw, not really conducive to getting married; she wasn't that desperate yet. And she really didn't see herself putting up with groping and slimy perverts who thought they were being original with their offers.
Her two top picks from her daily life, Jean and Roy, were both taken, pretty firmly too. Cain had shown surprising backbone and forbid his blond from even looking; he'd also been willing to back it up the one, and only, time he'd caught Havoc flirting with a secretary. Nothing electronic had worked for the blond officer for a week, including the cars, and he'd walked quite a ways those days, not to mention all the over time he had to put in to finish up his work.
And Roy; she made herself slightly ill over Roy some days. She had the distinct feeling that if she had claimed him before a little blond had wandered into his life, he'd have made the effort to be faithful, and that she'd have him as her own. Too late, Ed had claimed him firmly and without room for maneuvering; for someone as fast and free with the rules, his tactics were shockingly effective.
Then there was Ed. Sweet and adorable when he first arrived, he'd grown into a gorgeous man, despite the fiery temper. Unpredictable, vibrant, fun loving with that edge of maturity that had always set him apart from other young people; exactly the type of man she wanted in her life. The polar opposite of calm, collected Roy, who would have been exactly what she needed.
A light sigh and she looked up to see the other staff watching her, curious and a bit cautious. "You know what? Go home. Right now, everybody out."
"Ah, Lieutenant, are you sure? We're ok, really, we can just finish up and" Jean jabbed an elbow in the smaller man's side, which got him a slap on the head, which started a tussle over who was in the wrong.
"Enough!" The two froze, Breda's laughter and encouragement fading on his lips. "We've done enough today, go home. The Colonel won't get anything done now anyways." Amused glances to the door and the race for the door began, shoving and scrambling to be gone, just in case she changed her mind.
Cain shot one last look behind him, concern tightening the thin lips before he was dragged away, hauled out for supper and whatever gory horror was playing. The jealousy actually hurt, not over Jean so much as just having someone else to go with, someone to take you out and fuss, someone to call your name when you walked in the house.
The main door was barely closed when a blond head popped out of the inner office. "Where are they going?"
"Home. That's enough of today." A faint smile struggled across her lips and the young man grinned at her, completely unaware that she flinched internally.
She could have taken him, he'd been infatuated with her in the early years, though she wasn't certain if he was looking for an adult female to care for him or her strength. He'd stated often he admired her proficiency with a gun and followed her a bit, let her dote on him on occasion.
By the time he'd been old enough to consider, he'd already started to watch Roy from the corner of his eye, flirting cautiously, testing his boundaries, unsure but ready to try. Roy had been following him for years by then, his moral compass a bit more skewed than hers, and a slow, cautious courtship had started, one she hadn't had the heart to interfere with.
The puppy like Colonel, the way he always got with any conquest that lasted more than a few days, had followed eagerly, leading gently, thrilled to please and get the attention he craved. It hurt that he'd been that way with her at one time, and she'd failed to claim him, too focused on work, and when she admitted it to herself, a bit afraid. He was too intense sometimes, too hardened by his time at war and years of clawing his way upwards.
Too much and too little; that seemed a theme in her life. Too cool, too calm, too patient, too afraid, too little time. A faint questioning sound and she looked up from her musings to see Ed watching her, blinking big eyes, long hair tilted over his shoulder.
"Nothing Edward. Why don't you go home? It's a nice day, you shouldn't be stuck inside with us." A last quizzical look and he waved to her, skipping back into the office, the lock clicking behind him. Guess he wanted to be stuck in the office; well they wouldn't be out anytime soon, may as well head home herself.
The firing range was deserted and she almost turned around and left; sometimes being the only one to show got a bit lonesome. 'Just a few rounds.' Soothing, how the shells clicked smoothly through, that tiny click and ping before the actual shot. One, two, three, and she was halfway through her fourth set before the tension from that morning faded completely. Ten minutes of clean up and stretching before she started home, wandering along the park edges, taking her time to think.
The last date she'd had was, she didn't even remember, someone Cain had recommended. And he was a nice man, mature, gentle, smart. But it just wasn't, there, no flash or click, the way she saw others around her; that smooth slide through life, flowing together. Was that so much to ask, really?
Apparently, as she was still single. Though she couldn't say she hadn't had chances. Armstrong had even cautiously asked her out; somehow, spending her life testing the bedroom techniques passed down through 'insert number here' generations just didn't appeal. 'I must be picky.' Though why a decent man with interests similar to hers was so damn hard to find was beyond her.
Her lock clicked under the key as she shook her head; thudding steps raced towards her, skidding in an attempt to stop before bowling into her legs. Blue eyes rolled and a slender hand ruffled pert ears; still a puppy, after all these years. He finally got organized and sat, thin tail wagging eagerly.
Brow arched, one paw up; head tilt, balancing on his hind legs; a sharp nod and he dropped instantly to the floor, head on his paws, big eyes staring up, proud of himself when she smiled and reached for his leash. The most reliable man in her life, faithful, loving and never, ever afraid of her. "Good boy, Hayate. Come."
He vibrated out the door and bounced along at the edge of tugging on his lead. Yeah, men were over-rated; Black Hayate would keep the boredom at bay and loneliness at heel. "Good boy."