Our Story, a fullmetal alchemist fanfic

Resting her head on her hand, Sheska glanced over the entries into Room 3's log book. All that was ever in there were two minute trips to either put away or find copies of files or books. Sheska didn't quite understand why a log book was needed, but she knew that, if ever a day came where she didn't check and sign off on it, someone would ask to inspect it.

She flipped to the back of the book and picked up the book's pen, twirling it in her hands. The pages were blank, and almost certainly would stay that way. Barely alert and thinking, Sheska's pen his the paper and she began to write.

Once upon a highly average princess lived in the top of a tower in a faraway land.

She did not have long hair or the stunning looks of other princesses. Her hair was short and mousey brown, and her looks were nothing special. She wore glasses to assist her rather terrible eyesight – and yet she still longed for a prince to come and save her from her wretched room. The room was easily escapable, and yet she had no drive to do so – and there, she hoped, her prince would come in and bring her spirit back.

"Sheska?"

The voice jolted Sheska and she shut the book and dropped the pen.

"Yes?" she turned around to see Rebecca standing at the door, a smirk on her face.

"Guilty conscience, Sheska?" she asked. Sheska shook her head.

"You just jolted me out of my thoughts. You know I get jumpy when that happens." she rubbed at the sides of her nose and sighed.

"Well, it's time to go home. Jean and I will give you a lift." Rebecca said. Sheska stood up and shook her head.

"Don't be silly. I can –"

"Sheska, shush. We're taking you home. And then you'll offer to let us stay for dinner because for a guy whose family runs a general store, the food Jean has in his house is awful." Rebecca raised her eyebrows, and Sheska smiled, standing and picking up her satchel bag.

"Would you like to come over for dinner, Rebecca?" Sheska asked. Rebecca slung her arm around Sheska.

"Why, that spontaneous offer sounds lovely." Rebecca grinned.

"Hey, Sheska, where's the log book?"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" the woman stood from her desk and took the book to Breda, and he took the pen and book with a grin.

"Thanks. I wouldn't bother you but Mustang loses his head if we don't sign it." he signed his name and handed the book back to her.

"It's really no worry, sir." she shook her head, and Breda nodded as he left the room. Seeing as it was towards the end of the day, Sheska opened the book and ran through all the names and signatures. A few officers from around Central, including every member of Mustang's team, had been in and out of the room that day, which was no surprise.

It was then that Sheska remembered her little story at the back of the book. She shrugged and flipped through, and when she found the page, she was shocked.

Once upon a highly average princess lived in the top of a tower in a faraway land.

And a prince would come to bring her spirit back, for the princess was not average as she made herself seem. She did not have some of the qualities of other princesses, but she did not need them, for her beauty existed in other ways. She was astoundingly beautiful, despite the fact that she did not think herself so. Her truest beauty existed in her brains and wit that far surpassed any other princess in the land. Little did she know, her prince was coming to find her.

Sheska's eyes widened. She found her hand shaking uncontrollably, and she glanced around. She tried to recognise the handwriting – until she realised that the military academy made most handwriting around Central virtually identical. The only difference was between left and right handed people – and this was right handed handwriting.

She picked up the pen and wrote underneath the continuation of her story.

The princess still maintained that she was nothing special, and day by day, her hopes of meeting and finding a prince dwindled. She longed for her prince to find some way to give her a sign – something to identify himself in any way shape or form.

"Sheska, I have something to ask you about the log book."

The brunette stiffened at Rebecca's voice, and Sheska turned around and stood up slowly.

"Y-Yes?" she asked, clasping her hands in front of her.

"It's back here…" Rebecca flicked through the pages and Sheska held her breath, hoping that Rebecca wasn't talking about the story at the end of the book.

"Ah, here." Rebecca pointed to a page, and Sheska glanced over.

"Falman never signed out – how long do you think he was in there?" Rebecca asked. Sheska gave an almost inaudible sigh of relief and shrugged.

"Probably five minutes. He got a couple of clarifying documents." Sheska replied, and. Rebecca nodded.

"Thanks. Could you just fill it in when you get a chance?" Rebecca asked, and Sheska nodded and took the book from the raven-haired woman. When Rebecca finally left, Sheska breathed a large sigh of relief and flicked through the book, and upon noticing there was more writing than last time, she sat down at her desk and read the new instalment.

The prince was not a very brave prince. Upon the princess' request, he became extremely nervous, but decided upon a plan. He hoped that his writings had brought back the flickering beginnings of her spirit, thus allowing the princess to meet him in the outside courtyard on the coming Friday. He hoped desperately that she would be there.

Sheska's eyes widened and her eyes flicked over the words in anticipation. She quickly scribbled down a response and smiled widely.

The princess would be there. The prince's tactic was working.

Sheska turned up in the courtyard that Friday.

It was empty.

She waited for an hour.

It stayed that way.

Sheska was still furious when she came into work on Monday, and the usual pleasantries that she exchanged with her colleagues went by the wayside as she stormed to the logbook and picked up the pen.

The princess turned up in the courtyard and the prince was too gutless to turn up. The prince couldn't even give her the time of day – finally coming to his senses that this princess was not worth his time or his presence. And the princess didn't care. The princess had lived without the prince for her whole life – she didn't need him now.

Sheska shut the book and shoved it away from her. She glanced at it once more and sighed, adding just one thing.

The prince is a jerk.

That'll show them, she thought, and she pushed the book away again, her breath hitching in her throat. She exhaled shakily, her head dropping to her desk as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

A knock at the door jolted Sheska, and she looked up to see Rebecca.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should be working, I…"

"Drop it, Sheska. What's wrong?" Rebecca shut the door and it was not like they were at work – it was as if they were sitting around in Sheska's apartment, and Sheska dropped her head.

"I was stood up for a date." she said, and it wasn't entirely untrue. Rebecca reached out and grasped Sheska's shoulder.

"Oh, Sheska. This happens to everyone. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it'll get better." Rebecca said, and Sheska looked up and nodded, rubbing at her eyes.

"O… Okay." Sheska managed.

Rebecca may not have known the full story, but she was all Sheska had at that point. At least Rebecca had the decency to show up.

The prince was a jerk.

There was more writing under Sheska's furious words. She nearly didn't read them, but something tweaked and her heart wouldn't let her leave the words alone.

The prince knows.

Sheska blinked. She crossed her arms and continued reading.

The prince was stupid. He was stupid, and moreover, he was scared.

The princess did not know who the prince was - and the prince was deathly afraid that the princess would be immensely disappointed at his identity.

So he ran. He ran, and it was incredibly selfish and stupid of the prince. He looked back on his fleeing and realised that, even if he and the princess were not meant to be, the princess was a kind woman. A forgiving woman. A wonderful woman who may even find it in her heart to forgive a stupid prince and give him one final chance to meet her. He hoped some of her spirit still flickered – for he always wanted to meet the princess. It was never that he didn't want to, and he saw that – but his princess needed to give him the chance that very night, in the courtyard, straight after she had finished her day of slavery.

He would have gotten on his knees to beg if he could do so using the written word.

Sheska's eyes flicked over the words again and she found herself conflicted. Rebecca had been trying to comfort her all day, and yet this mystery man's words had alleviated her anger.

Sheska considered not going – she thought that going would prove she was a pushover at the man's whims. However, the man seemed so genuine and vulnerable that she had to relent. If it was a cruel trick, then this would be it – but Sheska's heart made her give it one more go.

Sheska's coat was pulled around her and she gave a small shiver as she waited under the eaves of the courtyard. She had only just finished work – she always stayed around later unless Jean and Rebecca didn't want an impromptu dinner at her place - but the waiting was killing her. As the dark thoughts swirled in her head, a nervous voice called out.

"Please lower your expectations."

Sheska's head bolted up. The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't tell exactly who it was. Too many thoughts were swirling in her head for her to pinpoint it.

"How do I know you're the one who's been writing? How do I know you haven't just been sent out here as some cruel joke?" Sheska called back, realising that the voice was coming from around the corner.

"Because I'm the one who risked you catching me for two weeks to write in the back of the book about how you're more than the mousey girl you think you are." the voice called back, and Sheska wrung her hands and took a couple of steps towards the corner.

A hand wrapped around the corner of the building and Sheska bit her lip, and the person took a sharp, audible breath in before rounding the corner fully, bespectacled eyes locked on the ground.

Kain Fuery's eyes darted nervously up to Sheska's before dropping again.

"H-Hi." he shivered, and Sheska anticipated that it wasn't just from the cold.

"Kain, I…" Sheska wrung her hands and Kain shook his head.

"I did tell you to lower your expectations, didn't I?" he asked, and Sheska shook her head.

"Don't be silly." she remarked.

"I… I have to apologise for Friday. I got so worked up and I thought I was going to be sick and I nearly passed out and I-"

For the first time in her life, Sheska was impulsive. Perhaps she had embodied the princess Kain had written her as, and she swooped forward and kissed him. Kain's eyes widened and he didn't quite know what to do, his hands near-flailing at his sides before Sheska pulled away.

"Y-You kissed- I just – the stuff I wrote –I'm not – it's not – wow."

Kain blinked, and Sheska managed a small smile as the blush finally appeared on her face.

"Nobody's said things about me like the things you wrote in the book. I've never felt like I was anything other than ordinary." Sheska murmured.

"But you're extraordinary, Sheska. How can you not think that you're not?" Kain asked. Sheska swallowed hard and glanced at the ground.

"I'm really not." she mumbled.

"You really are! How many other people do you know with photographic memories?" Kain asked.

"… Nobody." she mumbled.

"Exactly." Kain replied. Sheska crossed her arms.

"That isn't fair." she said, and Kain sighed.

"Sheska, where are y-" the black-haired woman came sweeping around the corner and literally ran into the two, and they all clambered for a moment before Rebecca realised the situation.

"Well." she crossed her arms and glanced at Kain, and he took a sharp intake of breath and held it.

"So you're the wayward little prince who had Sheska in tears the other day." she remarked, and both Kain and Sheska's eyes widened.

"I made her cry?"

"You knew about the book?"

"One at a time, please." Rebecca sighed, and she looked over at Kain.

"She was so upset you didn't turn up!" she prodded, and Kain sighed.

"I know. I'm sorry." he murmured, and Rebecca clicked her tongue.

"And of course I knew, Sheska. I wouldn't be surprised if half of Central knows about your little literary escapade." Rebecca said, and Sheska's cheeks rapidly turned scarlet.

"Bec, you around he-"

Jean Havoc ran into the three of them as Rebecca had run into Kain and Sheska, and once again they all clambered for a moment before righting themselves.

"We shouldn't be at this corner." Kain said.

"I knew there was a reason Mustang wanted you on our team." Havoc replied, and Kain crossed his arms.

"What're you doing here anyway?" he asked, an Rebecca glanced up.

"He's Sheska's prince." she remarked.

"Rebecca!" Sheska hissed.

"Oh, so you're the ass who keeps raising the bar on me. Quit it." Havoc swung and punched Kain in the arm, and he grabbed at the sore spot.

"Because chivalry was your game before, right?" Kain asked, and Havoc nodded.

"You know it." he smirked, and Kain sighed.

"Well, anyways," Havoc remarked, "you're in trouble." Kain blinked and cocked an eyebrow, and Havoc shook his head.

"Y'see," he said, slinging his arm around Kain's shoulder, "you made Sheska upset. Which made Bec angry. Which means that I have to be outraged."

"Does it?" he asked, and Havoc sighed.

"Which is would be if it weren't for the fact that you're you and I know that women aren't your strong point." Havoc said, and Kain frowned.

"Thanks." he muttered, and Havoc sighed.

"So, if you promise never to stand Sheska up again, I promise never to hit you unless I'm making fun of you." Havoc grinned at his younger friend, and Kain sighed.

"Which is always." he remarked, and Havoc grinned.

"Now you've got it!" he exclaimed, and Sheska glanced at Rebecca.

"What's happening?" she asked, quietly.

"Jean's proud of Kain. But if you tell him I said that, he'd probably hit him." Rebecca said, and Sheska nodded.

"Okay, Jean, come on. We'll wait for Sheska out front." she basically demanded, and even Havoc knew what that meant, and he nodded and followed his raven-haired girlfriend. Sheska sighed and dropped her shoulders.

"That was…" she began, and Kain glanced up.

"A little, yes." he said, a tiny smile emerging on his face.

"Well… do you… want to come over with us?" Sheska asked, quietly murmuring at the floor.

"I… I don't want to be a bother." he said, and Sheska sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Come on." she said, and she began to walk off. Kain's eyes darted up and he strode quickly after her, and she hid the tiny smile on her face.

In reality, they weren't a prince and princess. But they both knew that wasn't the point – and that it profoundly did not matter anymore.