Author's Note: This was written for Livejournal's FMA Fic Contest community, Prompt 103- Quip. I actually went for the action definition of it while others go for the remark definition of it.
Flares and Shots
quip
- a clever or witty remark or comment.
- an odd or fantastic action or thing.
Miles away from her, flames billowed. Screams pierced the smoky air, sending chills down her spine. He was capable of that much power. She was the one that had given him the secrets to his alchemy, his destruction. It made her feel uneasy.
(The day she trusted her back to him, he left after copying her late father's research on scrap paper.)
She saw Roy talking to another man that he knew well. Riza looked through the scope from her rifle to have a better look at him. His eyes were as distraught as hers.
Her heart raced when she noticed rubble moving. Immediately an Ishvalan sprung up to attack the alchemist, knife ready; Riza made her move. One squeeze of the trigger and—bang!—the man dropped dead on the ground. Roy looked up at her with shock and pity.
(Soon she pleaded for him to burn her back, no more flame alchemists to be born. He agreed, not running away this time.)
Not long after the war was over, they met again. He asked her to be his assistant and to watch his back; she agreed. After saluting, Riza was about to leave his office but then—
"Cadet Hawkeye!"
She stopped and turned to see him smiling.
"Thanks for saving me back in Ishval."
A gasp escaped from her lips—not in a million years had she expected gratitude from him. She smiled back and replied, "No problem."
Little did Riza know, her quip would be protecting his back.