Please read my author note today. I know it's long, but I have an important message to all my loyal readers.
This story goes out to evilteddybear who is the only one who has made a suggestion for a story. I've been asking for like months. Since evilteddybear is the only one who made a suggestion, there is no need for debate, I'll debate over their suggestions and I'll pick one. so there it is, hope you liked it evilteddybear.
-Get A Life Girl-
"So, how's operation forget the loser going?"
"First, her's not a loser. And second, it's going fine. As soon as vacation is over, I'll be transferred to Northern City. I called HQ last night."
"And how does it feel?"
"At first it felt great, but then I began to remember a promise I made. I promised to..."
"Promises get you no where except more heart ache. Just forget him."
Riza sighed and laid back down on the bed staring up at the ceiling. Her brother was right. She needed to move on, start to live her life like a twenty-three year old female should. Even if the military is holding her back, there are some things she can still do. Riza rolled over and leaned on her arm, facing the pale purple wall. Images of her early military career pushed into her head. She closed her eyes and pushed them back out.
'I need to move on.'
She thought to herself as the lights in the room were shut off.
"Good night sis."
"Night."
Riza closed her eyes. Thinking back to the day all this started, two months ago...
FLASHBACK
First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye brushed back her long golden wavy hair and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her expression did not fit the stereotypical twenty-three year old female who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Instead, it looked like a thirty-nine year old peasant. She dropped the brush into the porcelain sink and touched her face. She pulled gently at her left eye. It's been years since she last got a healthy nights sleep and her face was starting to show it. Her once bright amber eyes were dulling by the day and she swore she saw a line under her right eye. Quickly, she opened the mirror over the sink and reached to pull out her small make-up kit. As she pulled it out, a gold necklace fell into the sink.
She blinked and picked it up, examining it. It was half of a gold Chinese coin hanging on a gold chain. She smiled at the old necklace which has seen better days. But for what it went throughout, it looked good. She fumbled with the clasp and finally got it around her neck. She closed the mirror and stared at her reflection once more. She looked different this time. A smile was gently plastered onto her face and her eyes seamed brighter. She ran her hand over the coin and her smile widened.
A beeping from the other room erupted into the house and broke her trance. Her smile faded and her eyes dulled. Another heavy sigh escaped her lips as she removed the necklace and placed it back behind the mirror. A thin coat of foundation later and Riza was hustling around her closet, pulling on her everyday military uniform. Starting with the brown turtle neck undershirt and ending with her silver hair clip.
"Black Hayate, let's go boy."
She called for her black and white puppy and left the ranch style house. With less spring in her step today, she made her way off West Lane Drive and down Main Road. At the front gate of her cozy little gated community home, Riza flashed her community ID card and was allowed to exit. It was a long walk to Eastern headquarters from her home in Central City, so she took the morning train. Like every day before this one, Riza flashed her military IDS card at the ticket counter and was allowed to board the train free of charge. Like every morning before, she took the seat in the back of train car three and sat reading her romance novel while her puppy played with the little girl in the seat across the aisle.
The little girl's name was Rebecca. She had bright blue eyes and long strawberry blonde hair. She rode the train every Monday with her father to Southern City to be dropped off with her mother. Then on Fridays, Rebecca rode with her mother back to Northern City to be dropped off with her father. This pattern was repeated every week, you could set your watch by it. In Eastern City, Riza would re clip Hayate's leash and leave the train, Rebecca waving to the puppy from the train window.
The streets in Eastern are not as busy as Central. Most people who lived here, didn't work here. The biggest business in Eastern is the military headquarters. And this HQ wasn't as big as one would think. But to her, it was big, and sometimes a big problem. For as soon as she unlocked those front doors, her day would consist of the everyday typical routines. She knew this from experience. So as soon as she pulled the key from her pocket and heard the click of the door, a heavy sigh escaped her lips. Lights were flicked on as she made her famous walk from the front doors to the fourth floor officer of Colonel Roy Mustang.
Inside the open office, she saw an all to familiar sight. Her superior was passed out on the couch, an empty bottle of scotch in his dead hand. His uniform was partly discarded on the top of his desk and his wasted body was half naked hanging off the edge of the sofa.
"Colonel wake up, it's Monday morning., you've been here all weekend?...Again...?"
The sleeping Roy slowly awoke and looked up as he saw his lieutenant moving quickly about the office cleaning up his mess. Among said mess was a few old issues of a guy's fantasy magazine, filled with pictures and articles of scantly clothed woman, mostly pictures. Books were straightened and placed back on the bookshelves, human transmutation arrays are smudged as she attempts to erase them with her boot. A single picture of Roy and his lost best friend Brigadier General Maes Hughes is picked up and once again hung on the wall, next to a framed state alchemist certificate.
"Sir, please stop torturing yourself like this."
Riza complains as she fetched a bucket of cold water and a mop. She would wait for the janitors to come in, in an hour but this is a forbidden taboo. As she spills the water over the red drawing and begins to mop it off the floor, she glances over her shoulder at Roy who is slowly re dressing himself.
"Morning Lieutenant."
"Morning sir."
Riza finished washing the floor and replaced the mop and bucket back in the janitor's closet down the hall. Thirty minutes later, Roy was asleep in his chair behind his desk and Riza was preparing the coffee in the office break room. The smell of maple filled the building as officers slowly began entering for work. Before long, three pots of coffee were gone and the Colonel was finally working...for now.
By lunch, Riza had scolded Roy ten times for not working, thrown three cups of water at Havoc who kept trying to smoke in the office, and interrupted seven phone calls that the Colonel kept making to arrange dated for the up coming week. By the end of the day, Roy has attempted three time to get a date with the new secretary in the lobby and tried to burn his paperwork five times. As the day ended, the officers who all crawled in the building in the morning, all crawled back out and headed home. Along with them, was Riza, who once again locked up the office and took the midnight train home to Central.
She sat in the back of car two and read her romance novel while her puppy slept at her feet. Once in Central, she made her say, very alert, back to the gated community where she flashed her ID and was let in, puppy dragging along at her heels. Once inside the gate, she walked behind the guard station and entered the small post office. She walked down the many rows of mail boxes and finally, put her key in her's and pulled out her mail.
She then walked down the dimly lit streets until she came to her light brown house at the corner of West Lane Drive. Once inside her safe little home, she unleashed her puppy and he ran straight into the living room where he passed out in his next to the cold fireplace.
"Junk, junk, junk, bill, junk, junk, fashion, junk..."
Riza tossed her junk mail away as she leaned on her kitchen counter. Using the moon as her light, she flipped through a junk fashion catalog as she continued to throw junk away. Three bills and a letter from her mother later, and Riza was able to cook herself some dinner. As the macaroni cooked, she continued to flip through the magazine. Using a black marker, she circled a few things she thought her mother and brothers would like for Christmas. Then, using a red marker, she circled one outfit she liked.
After preparing her food, she removed her uniform and dressed into her pajamas. Extra large lounge pants and extra large tee shirt hung loosely from her body as she jumped up onto her counter and began to eat her macaroni and cheese. She pushed the catalog aside and picked up the letter. It was sealed on the back with wax and a fancy letter C. Riza smiled and shook her head. Her father died when she was three and her mother since re married a man named Coonan. Out of her four brothers, Riza was the only one to keep the last name of Hawkeye.
She placed her dish down and peeled open the letter. The handwriting was very neat and was written on personalized stationary with her mother's initials monogrammed in the top.
""Dear Heaven Elizabeth,
It's been years since I last saw you. When was it? Last Christmas, or was it the Christmas before? anyway, I'm writing for two reasons. Number one, I'm having a party this Christmas here at home. I'm inviting all your brothers and even your grandfather. We would all appreciate it if you showed this year. I know the military keeps you busy, but we are your family. Please find time in your busy schedule to show. It's December 24-January 1. You know the drill, RSVP as soon as you get this and leave a message if I'm not home. The second thing is, your grandfather informs me you have a new pet in your life. Its about time you got over the death of Dakota. After all, she died ten years ago. For the party, bring the puppy along with you. You know how we all love TRAINED animals. Lots of love until Christmas.
Sincerely,
Your Mother, Samantha Coonan
PS
If you happen to have a boyfriend (hint) bring him along.""
Riza sighed, but couldn't help but laugh. Her mother reminded her so much of Hughes and how he constantly pestered Roy to get a wife. But, she knew she couldn't blame her. Riza is the youngest of the family and by now probably the only single one. She looked at her clock on the wall and made herself a mental note to call her mother tomorrow morning. And with that, she finished eating and was off to bed, preparing herself for tomorrow's tasks.
A/N - Well? how did you like chapter one? I think this will be about five or six chapter long. The opening should give you some hints as to what will happen. Well, look for more coming soon.
FYI, I'm starting a contest. To all my loyal readers (I know who you are), I am giving you a chance control my 101th story. You chose the important aspects of the story. For more information, see my profile. The dead line is December 12, 2005. So, in the words of Winnie the Pooh "Think, think, think..." and suggest. .
Please review. No FLAMES (Thats Roy's job only). Please look in my profile ooOAnimeChildOoo for all my other stories. And again, thanks for reading.
"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever"
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