Berthold Hawkeye was dead. He had gasped his dying words in his sickbed only two days earlier and now his body lay tucked inside a wooden casket and buried in the earth where it would rot away and one day become life again in the grass and the trees and the flowers.
Private Roy Mustang had been with the late mister Hawkeye at the time of his death. It had been many years since he'd been back to the Hawkeye estate and he returned just in time to see his former alchemy master pass on, but not soon enough to extract the secrets of Hawkeye's powerful flame alchemy.
The Hawkeye estate in question was in roughly the same shape as its master: deteriorating beyond repair. It had been a beautiful, sprawling estate in Roy's youth when he had trained there as an apprentice to Berthold Hawkeye, but in the years since his departure Berthold's poor health and the absence of his daughter Riza left the mansion and surrounding land to disrepair.
Riza's name had been the last her father spoke before his life slipped away, but she had not been around to hear it. She had long been estranged from her father and had only returned to the estate following news of his death via a phone call from Roy. Neither Riza nor Roy had seen nor spoken to one another in several years, but there was something about death that had a tendency to bring people together.
Now Riza and Roy stood next to each other at the site of Berthold Hawkeye's grave in the family graveyard, staring down at the simple, unadorned headstone. "Berthold Hawkeye, 1860-1905" was all it read. Roy and Riza were the only ones who had even turned up to the funeral preceding the burial, save for the mortician who had arranged the body. Berthold Hawkeye had always been a bit of a recluse and his sickness had not aided that.
Riza's eyes weren't clouded by tears as she stared at her father's grave, that was the first thing Roy noticed as his gaze shifted from the headstone to her face. She had done some growing up in the intervening years since he had last seen her. She was no longer the skinny blonde tomboy he had spent many years sparring with as a young teen. She had curves now, and a beauty he had never seen in her before, though she still wore her hair cropped short as she always had.
She too had noticed a change in him. He was no longer an awkward, gangly teenager. He had grown into his body and his looks as well, though she had always found him attractive enough. He was a military man now and despite the severity of such a position, she thought it suited him.
"Riza," Roy finally spoke, his voice deeper than she remembered. "I know that you and your father never really got along, but…"
"You don't have to beat around the bush," Riza interrupted him, finally looking away from her father's grave. "You want to know about the flame alchemy, don't you?"
Roy looked taken aback. It was true he was going to ask her about it eventually, but he wasn't go to leap right from standing in front of her father's grave to asking her for the secrets to a very powerful kind of alchemy.
"Don't worry," Riza smiled weakly. "I know that's why you came back to the estate."
"Your father said you knew his secrets, but asked me first to make sure you're safe. I…"
Riza laughed. "I find it funny that he would care. But it's true. I do know his secrets. And I may share them with you, given the incentive."
"What incentive would that be?" Roy asked, the picture of a stern and serious military man.
Riza looked away from him, back to her father's grave. "Father hated the military. I'm sure he told you that. State alchemists…"
"He did express his displeasure that I had joined," Roy nodded.
"Why did you join, Roy? What do you want to do with your power if you become a state alchemist? Is there a purpose, or is it just for the recognition? I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude. I really do want to know."
Roy stared at his feet for a moment before responding. "I want to move up in the ranks, not for recognition, but to gain the power necessary to help strengthen the government and in turn keep the people of Amestris safe. If I can make Amestris a safe and peaceful place to live…then I'll know that the ones I love and care about will never have to fear the uncertainty or peril of war. I know it sounds foolish and naïve," he felt his face grow warm; he had never revealed his intentions to anyone out loud before. "That's what I want to do through my position as a state alchemist. I want to make Amestris a land of peace and prosperity."
"It doesn't sound foolish to me," Riza said softly "I think it's an admirable goal. I hope one day you can see it to fruition."
"Thank you," Roy replied curtly.
The two of them stood for a while longer in silence staring at the grave. Riza was the first to move away.
"I'm going to sell the estate. The land will fetch some money, I think," she said as she walked along the path from the graveyard leading down the hillside to the mansion. "The mansion will probably have to be destroyed though."
Roy followed unsurely. "It probably will," he agreed.
"Are you heading back for Central City tonight?" she asked.
"I have a train ticket to leave tomorrow morning," he said.
"You should stay here tonight. Don't waste the money on a hotel. I won't take no for an answer!" She stopped him before he could protest. "There's no reason when we have comfortable, unused beds in the mansion. I know it looks rundown, but it'll be fine."
"If you insist," Roy nodded.
"Before we go back to the mansion, why don't we get something to eat in town?" she suggested. "I doubt father left much in the house and I'm beginning to realize I haven't eaten all day."
Roy would not admit that his stomach had been rumbling loudly all afternoon, but he agreed that some food would be a good idea, so he followed Riza along the path into the nearby town where she had grown up. Everyone knew her there and it was clear they were all fond of her. It took a long time to get to the restaurant because people kept stopping her to catch up. Roy silently wondered how long she had been gone.
The food was typical bland countryside fare in Roy's strong opinion, but Riza seemed to be fond of it, possibly because she was friendly with the owner's of the establishment. He watched her eat until she realized he was watching and then he quickly looked away, but he couldn't help his eyes from straying back to her. She was so much prettier than he could have imagined her back when they were younger. The thought of how she might look beneath her dowdy clothes…
It wasn't as though Roy Mustang had a hard time getting girls into bed with him. It wasn't a lack of sex that was driving this sudden desire. And it wasn't just base lust either, like it tended to be with most girls. This was Riza Hawkeye. They had known each other for a long time and he had never felt this way about her before. He doubted very much that she was remotely interested in him. She was not the kind of girl to swoon over handsome men at the drop of a hat.
But he was so busy thinking about it that he didn't notice how Riza watched him as well. She was thinking how up until that point she'd only been with one man, mostly because she had made herself a strict rule of never sleeping with someone she didn't trust. She had a high bar for who she would even let touch her, let alone who was allowed in bed with her. She had never considered Roy Mustang before that day, but she had to admit that he met her requirements.
They didn't say much to one another as they ate. Roy paid the tab despite Riza's protest as well as a swift kick to his leg and the chiding admonishment, "You're always trying to impress people, just like when we were kids. Always showing off with your alchemy and now with your money!"
"It was only a five hundred cent tab…" Roy muttered.
With the bill paid and their stomach no longer rumbling, they made their way up to the dilapidated mansion in the countryside. The sun was beginning to set then and when they reached the estate, they could see the entire countryside bathed in orange and pink light. It was a kind of beauty not frequently seen in the urban confines of Center City and it brought a twinge of emotion to Roy's heart. They both took it in for a long time before they entered the mansion.
Inside, Riza lit some oil lamps, the electricity having been cut off several months earlier from lack of payments on her dying father's part.
"Follow me," she said to Roy, taking his hand softly.
She led him through the familiar halls of the mansion, halls they had both scampered through as children, along to where her room had once been. He had never been allowed inside as her father's apprentice, her maid had made sure of that.
It hadn't been her room in some time though and as she lit the oil lamp on the far wall, he saw that it was little more than a guest room now. Her belongings were gone and sun-faded borders remained in their place on the walls. A lumpy bed was pushed against the wall, but it hadn't been slept on in some time.
"I really thought it was wonderful what you said back at my father's grave," Riza said, her back to him as she looked out the window onto the weed-infested yard. "I think it's very admirable to have such a pure and selfless goal. That's not so common in the military, you know."
"I'm glad you think so," Roy found himself smiling.
"I want to show you something, in return for you sharing your goals with me," she remained with her back to him
"What is it?"
He let out a gasp of surprise when she pushed the frumpy blouse from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, revealing her bare back to him. Except it wasn't bare. Sprawled across her back in the permanent ink of a tattoo was a large transmutation array. This was Berthold Hawkeye's secret to flame alchemy.
"Riza!" he exclaimed. "Is this…?"
She turned her cheek against her shoulder and looked at him. "My father was a paranoid man. He didn't want this power slipping into the wrong hands so he branded me with it, forced me to protect it for him. But now I'm giving it to you under one condition."
Roy stepped forward, hardly aware of himself. "What?"
"You must use this power for good. Use it to help the people of Amestris, like you said you want to. It's a dangerous alchemy, but I trust you, Roy. Can you promise me this?"
He had crossed the room and was behind her now. He placed his fingers gently against the skin on her back and a shiver ran up her spine.
"I promise."
She turned to face him now, her chest bare and exposed, though he barely registered as much. He couldn't take his eyes away from hers.
"Before you go," she said, bringing her hand against his cheek. "Spend one night here with me. We'll part ways in the morning. We might never see each other again, but we'll share tonight and my father's alchemy. We'll always share that."
He answered by placing his hands on her back and pressing his lips gently against hers. After that they needed no more words, only each other.