Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, or the story "She was not beautiful". Arakawa owns FMA, and even though the author of the story is unknown, I should give them credit anyway. XD
She Was Not Beautiful
((A/N: This is kinda like a song-fic, but not really… think of it as a story within a story… for lack of better terminology. ))
She was not beautiful. Nothing about her was extraordinary. Nothing about her made her stand out in a crowd. She grew up in a family of six and being the eldest, she learned responsibility at an early age.
Riza Hawkeye was always a simplistic person… with the short, blonde hair she had for decades, and her auburn eyes. She wasn't a beautiful person… just plain… She kept to herself most of the time… she didn't have many friends. She spent most of her time at home… with her father.
She was afraid of her father… the original Flame Alchemist. She knew he loved her, but that didn't cover the burning smell that filled the dilapidated house constantly, or the ink that had been tattooed into her back. Her father only worked on his research, and her mother died of cancer when she was seven, leaving her to take care of the household and her aging father.
As she grew stronger and brighter, she instilled a sort of light and cheer to whomever she met. She was not beautiful, but she made others feel better about themselves. She meets a rebel boy who thinks he is all man, befriending him, she teaches him. She teaches him how to read and a little boost, the 'man' needed to go to college, they become fast friends and she fell fast in love with her rugged handsome student.
Roy Mustang was many things… a womanizer, a Colonel in the military, a State-alchemist, a close friend to few, but a hero to many… and she always stood by his side… ever the sentinel standing in the shadows… but a long decade ago… she was sixteen and he was eighteen, he came into her father's laboratory, practically begging for an apprenticeship.
Riza had watched the handsome young man with a smile… he had promise, as most of her father's students had coming in… but Flame Alchemy wasn't for everyone…. But Roy Mustang proved to be different… better, with dreams that reached the sky.
On the day of her father's funeral, as they stared upon the cold granite of her father's tombstone, he told her…. He promised her: "If I could become one of this country's foundation stones, and be able to protect everyone with these hands... I think I'll be happy..."
She had given him the secrets that were tattooed on her back, hoping that he would succeed.
She joined the military years later, devoting her life to his dream…. Making sure that it happened… it was all she had left…
Riza Hawkeye, now a First Lieutenant, had fallen in love with her father's student from all those years ago.
The 'man' then finds himself in love with a girl. A girl who was so beautiful. Her hair was a hallow of light around her. Her eyes the bluest blue of the ocean. 'Like an angel' he tells his tutor 'like a beautiful angel.' The girl swallows a lump at her throat. She was not beautiful, she did not posses the heart of the one he loved, but she did not care. As long as he was happy, she would be happy, or so she tried to. She helped write the most beautiful letters to his angel. All the time visioning it was she herself receiving those very letters. And so the girl helped him choose the right clothes, say the right words, and buy the right gifts for his angel.
"Lieutenant, I need you to order something for me as soon as you can."
Riza looked up,
"Is it urgent business, sir?" she asked.
Roy leaned back in his chair, trying to conceal a smile.
"Not urgent… it's for Amelia." He said, obviously lost in a day-dream about his newest, Havoc-stolen girlfriend.
Riza bit her lip, trying to conceal her emotions.
"What is it that you needed me to order, sir?" she asked, "More flowers? More chocolate? Another miniskirt?"
Roy shook his head, chuckling.
"No… nothing like that, Lieutenant… I need you to order a ring…diamond… You're female… perhaps you could pick one out for her… something that would make her eyes dazzle more than they already do." He said.
Riza's eyes burned,
"You're going to propose to her, sir?" she inquired, though she was deathly afraid of the answer.
Roy's face darkened with pink color as he blushed.
"Yes, Lieutenant… she's the one I want to marry… I love her more than life itself." He answered.
Riza nodded, not wanting to hear any more.
"I'll get right on it, sir…" she said, trying to put out the fire of her grief by burying her mind in paperwork.
His angel brought him much joy and much pain to the girl who cried behind her smiles. But that never stopped her from giving more than she will ever receive. Then one day, the angel he loved left him for another man. A richer more successful man. The boy was stunned. He was so hurt, he did not speak for days. The girl went to him. He cried on her shoulder and she cried with him.
He sat at his desk, his face buried in his hands.
"Sir, is everything all right?" Riza asked, approaching his desk worriedly.
"She left me…" he muttered, "For a businessman…She said that my dreams were ridiculous and that I should concentrate on more important things…"
Riza felt her stomach sink as she gazed upon her heartbroken superior and friend.
"I'm… so sorry, sir…" she said truthfully.
Roy wiped his eyes,
"I am too, Lieutenant… I really thought she loved me back…" He answered regretfully.
She watched him as he stood up, and pulled her into an unexpected embrace.
Her eyes widened, but she didn't fight it…. She only hugged him back, whispering words of comfort to him… she knew he needed it.
He had lost so much… and being played by a woman was the last thing he needed. Not even a flirt like him deserved this.
He was hurt and she was too. Time went by and so wounds heal. The boy realizes something about his friend/tutor. Something he never realized before. How her laughter sounded heavenly and how her smiles brightened up the darkest days, or how simply beautiful she looked to him!
But the resilient Colonel bounced back as she took care of him. She was always the one who helped him heal…
"Sir, how are you feeling today?" she asked, her eyes filled with worry as always. It had become a daily ritual since Amelia had left him.
Roy smiled,
"I'm fine, Lieutenant… thank you." He responded.
"I'm glad to hear it, sir." She said, smiling at him and turning around to go to her desk to work.
Roy watched her with eyes that took in every detail of her… from her blonde hair that was pulled by a pink clip behind her head, to her perfect uniform…
She was always constant, and he liked that about her… she was beautiful…
Beautiful. This plain, simple girl was beautiful to him. And he began to fall. Fall so in love with this beautiful girl. On one day, he picked up all his courage to see her. He walked to her house, nervous, and fidgeting, Running his thoughts over and over his head.
"How on earth is she going to take this…?" he though to himself as he ran his fingers through his black hair, "I can't believe I fell in LOVE with her… Why didn't I see it sooner?!"
His stomach fluttered as he walked up to her apartment after work. He didn't have the courage to ask her at the office…
The last thing he needed was to have her auburn eyes AND her silver pistols glaring at him angrily.
He'd keep it simple, and plain… perhaps even casual… after all… what was one date?
He was going to tell her how beautiful she was to him. He was going to tell her how wonderfully in love he was with her. He knocked. No one was home.
Epic Fail…
It was the only thing that ran through his head as he thought about it.
She had gone home early a week before that, complaining of a very bad headache, and the next thing he knew, she had taken that week off.
It had been lonely around the office without her around, and everyone knew it. Work production had decreased…especially at the desk of the Colonel.
He had to see her.
He hesitated before knocking on the door… and once he did, he shifted from one foot to the other, trying to burn off his anxiety.
She wasn't home…
The Lieutenant was probably walking that dog of hers… or at the shooting range… but all that mattered was that she wasn't home.
He sighed, not knowing whether to be relieved or disappointed.
"I'll see her at work tomorrow… that's it… I'll ask her there… that's all." He said, "There's always tomorrow…"
The next day, he found out that the beautiful girl he fell in love with had a brain tumor that put her into a coma. The doctors were grim and the family decided to let her go.
"Hey, chief… there's a letter for you… the guy who delivered it said it was pretty important…" Havoc said, smoking away in the corner.
Roy nodded, noticing that Hawkeye was late… but he only shrugged off the idea, though it lingered in mind.
He opened the letter, and his eyes widened.
"Colonel Roy Mustang,
We regret to inform you that your subordinate, First Lieutenant Elizabeth Marie Hawkeye has passed away in our hospital today. She had a brain tumor and there was nothing we could do. Under the request of her remaining family, they would like you to come to the hospital to say good-bye.
Our deepest sympathies and condolences,
Central City Hospital"
Everyone watched as Roy's eyes filled with tears.
"I-is everything okay?" Havoc asked.
"She's dying, Havoc…" Roy growled as he rushed out the door, not even bothering to close it behind him.
He was blind as he ran towards the hospital, forgetting about his car, his work… everything…
He just had to see her… she couldn't die… it was impossible.
Lieutenant Hawkeye was immortal… with her guns and that pup of hers she couldn't be stopped… no… this couldn't be happening.
His thoughts completely turned around as he took his first step into the hospital.
He saw General Grumman waiting for him… his usual light-hearted eyes filled with tears.
"G-general… I-I…" Roy said, fighting for the words, but the General just held up his hand, silencing the younger man.
"No need for words, Colonel… just go see my granddaughter." He said, leading him towards her room.
One final time he got to see her. He held her hand. He stroked her hair and he cried for this beautiful girl. He cried, but it was too late. The beautiful girl was buried and the heavens broke out a beautiful spring shower, a cry for their loss. She was the most beautiful girl in the world and she had taught the rebel boy-man to love and what it is to be loved.
He instantly collapsed at the side of her bed. Her face, usually full of color and life was completely drained and as pale as the sheets that cocooned her. Her auburn eyes hidden behind pale eyelids… and her breathing was shallow… nearly non-existent, like her heartbeat.
This wasn't the Riza Hawkeye that he knew….he didn't want to believe it.
He had to think of what to say to the stranger laying in front of him... the stranger that he loved.
"Riza… Why didn't you tell me about this?" He asked, deeply knowing that she couldn't hear him, "I would've been there for you… to help you through this, and maybe find a cure…"
He swallowed audibly as tears poured down his face.
"There were so many things I never got to tell you…especially after I lost Maes… I wanted to thank you… for everything… your loyalty, your courage, your diligence, your stability… and I never got to tell you how beautiful you are… how much I…I LOVE you…"
She was the most beautiful girl in the world.
He never filled in the spot for his body-guard and personal aide… or got married for that matter, but he forced his way to the top for her and Maes… his two best friends and biggest supporters.
Looking back, he realized his mistake.
Roy Mustang was many things…
He was a fool who had learned his lesson too late… a soldier who had lost many close to him… but a leader who kept moving forward… using the past as a driving force.
"I don't know what I would've done without you two…" He said, standing in the cemetery, "I should've realized what I had while I still had it…"
Look around. Aren't there a lot of plain faces? Take a good look. A real good look or you might just miss out that beautiful person.
((A/N: I hope you enjoyed it... I just wrote it today, but it was a story that I just wanted to get out there... Please read and review. THanks. ^^))