Forever faithful, forever alone.
Riza Hawkeye had now spent a great majority of her life dedicating herself to a man that would one day change the world, change it for the better. Take a corrupt military, and change it, have it working for the people, rather than against them. She knew that one day she would see the fruits of her labor that it won't have all been in vain. She had decided long ago to protect him, at all costs. Later, when he needed her as a friend, she gladly reached a new level.
He had always trusted her with his life; he knew that she would not fail, that she would unflinchingly pull that trigger, if it meant keeping him alive. Now, he trusted her with himself, who he was and he relied on her, as he had relied on his best friend, before his murder. Riza was Maes' replacement in many ways; Roy depended on his new best friend, to help him get justice for the death of his old best friend.
Riza had always accepted the fact that Roy was a womanizer. She had even accepted that he would never see her, never truly see her the way she was. To Roy, she was the solider that kept him safe when he hadn't the means to do so himself, that would risk anything to help him get the justice he sought. It was her job, her duty, and she was very good at her job. She was even the woman that forced to do his deskwork, to help him home after he had spent hours in the bar drinking alone, where he had used to drink with Maes, and could no longer walk straight, let alone drive himself home.
Roy had never asked her why she had joined the military. He had never asked her why she became a solider, rather than a librarian or a secretary, or why she had even learned how to shoot a gun in the first place. It was strange for a woman to join the military and stranger still for them to be a solider that had gone to the frontlines of war, to kill on command. Riza was the only woman with such a position. It was an accomplishment that generated a wide range of reactions. Amazement from some, awe from others, women often wondered if she had any sense at all, and many men, especially those beneath her in rank, wondered who she had been sleeping with to have made it so far.
It was for him, all for him and because of him. Roy and Riza had been children when they met; Roy and Maes had been best friends that did everything together, while Riza would occasionally follow around. They had taught her how to play like a boy, to run and fall, and laugh when that happened. Roy's father had been a general in the military, and Roy's aspiration had already been to join the army, and take it over. Even at such a young age, he had such dreams, to make things better, though he didn't yet know how; he knew it was what he wanted to do. Riza had been worried, knowing herself that people died in the military, her older brother had enlisted when he was seventeen, and was killed by an alchemist that was trying to get to the Furher for an assassination attempt.
It was then that she decided she would protect him, though she never actually said it. She took her brother's old be bee gun and taught herself to be the best. After Roy joined the military, she soon enlisted and made sure that she followed him, come Hell or high water, she would be there to keep him safe. It didn't matter how much her parents protested, or how many scathing remarks she may receive for being her career field, it would all be worth it so long as he was safe.
Roy had lost sight of his goals for so long, but after Edward and Alphonse's disappearance, he regained his focus, and was climbing way back up in rank. Roy had been set back a great deal after killing Furher Bradley, he was fortunate just to have lived after such a thing, but he was watched diligently now for any slipups, and had to be far more careful now than ever before. Despite all odds, Riza knew he would make it up to the top, and he would make things better as he had always dreamed of.
Riza was tired, tired of hurting every time she saw him steal away yet another date from Havoc, of knowing that he was with all those other women, and would never give her a second look. She was his college, his friend, and never anything more than that. She wanted more, had always wanted more, and had, for the longest time, hoped that one day, he would see her. See that she had been waiting for him, never wavering in her hope, or devotion. Riza never dated, had never tied herself up with another man, not wanting to drive him away, for the constant hope she had that he would return her love.
She had been waiting since she was nine years old, when he had been her crush. Her love for him had grown over the years; she had gone from daydreaming about kissing him, to dreaming of what he would do to her in her bed. Riza was now forty-two years old, she had been waiting for Roy for the last thirty-three years, and she realized now, that she needed to give up.
Realizing that her feelings for him would never be returned didn't mean that anything would change. Her love had not vanished, or even diminished, she had simply decided to accept the fact that she would never be his. She would stay in the army, she would continue to be his friend, she would always be there for him, and she would still die for him, though she was sure he didn't know her devotion to him ran so deep.
She sometimes wondered if she could somehow move on, go out on a date, and maybe even marry, but she doubted it. No man could even come close to him, she could never feel about someone else the way she felt about him. Riza realized that this meant she would never have anyone, no one to grow old with, or have a family with.
She would always be faithful to him, whether it mattered to him or not, whether he even knew it or not. It was her faithfulness to him that would mean she would forever be alone.