100 Prompt
Couples Challenge
Yeah, this is really old, but I love it. I decided to put it up, anyway.
Thanks to Sapphires Frost for editing!
Enjoy!
1. Love
It was a well known fact among people around her that Riza Hawkeye didn't have time for nonsense such as romance.
2. Truth be Told
The first time she met him-at a function her father had been invited to-she told him exactly what she thought of his charming smiles and wandering eyes... and where to shove them.
3. Wait, What?
She had known her father took on an apprentice, but it wasn't until he showed up at her doorstep with two full suitcases that she realised who it was.
4. Want
"This room is perfect for me," he exclaimed as he poked his head into her room, ignoring the guest room door she was holding open.
5. Name
"Elizabeth, Eli, Eliza, Lisa, Lizzie, Rizzie-no-Riza," he finally decided, grinning, and somehow, it stuck.
6. Date
He never seemed to be without a girl, and, turning it into a personal game of sorts, she counted each name he forgot.
7. Age
Two years later, by the time he was eighteen, she had counted eighty-four.
8. Jealousy
She resented having to share her father with this insufferable man; there already wasn't much of her father left for her.
9. Anger
She gave both him and her father the cold shoulder for weeks after she was forced to receive her painful tattoos.
10. Mine
She found solace in her shooting range, until he barged his way in.
11. Our
Eventually, after muttering abuse such as, "Are you even looking at what you're hitting?" "You missed," and "Are youblind?" she grew used to his presence.
12. Heartbeat
Her father died of a heart attack the doctors later said was stress-induced.
13. Breathe
Her shock was palpable, her eyes wide and her breath short until he carefully took her shoulders and steered her from the room.
14. Speed
She shut herself off and breezed through the funeral as fast as she could.
15. Slow
He had never felt time drag as it had when he watched her eyes glaze and stare straight ahead the entire service.
16. Touch
She felt his gentle hands on her back trace her tattoos, and demanded he erase them with a voice sharp enough to hide the waver in it.
17. Agony
It was only after he burnt the burden from her back-heard her try and fail to hold back her screams-that she began to trust him.
18. Flowers
She thought she'd end up hating flowers after the long parade of sympathy bouquets in her face, until he brought her a single, white lily.
19. Heaven
She quietly stared at the flower for hours after, and knew-somewhere deep inside herself-that she had fallen hard for that cheeky smile.
20. Hell
It was enough for her, she resigned herself, to be counted as "one of the guys," as long as she could protect him while cast in the shadows of other women.
21. He
On his nineteenth birthday, he left to join the military.
22. She
The next day, so did she.
23. He said, she said
"Will you stand by me?" he asked her, officer to subordinate, and she said, "Always," woman to man.
24. Hope
She threw herself into training, and she realised about two months in that she hadn't thought of her father in days.
25. Awkward
It was hard to explain to their superiors why she was shooting at him, but it was a hard habit to break, and she never,ever missed.
26. You and Me
They may have been kept in separate areas of the academy, but they always made certain to find time to speak.
27. Missing You
On the first anniversary of her father's death, she temporarily fell into a quiet, hidden depression that she never let him see.
28. Betrayal
Every new woman, even the supposedly off-limits cadets, was a stab to her heart, but she pressed on, bouyed by the fact that he didn't-couldn't-know how she felt.
29. Hurt
He always felt cold when she pushed him away and shut him out of her true thoughts and feelings.
30. Exasperated
He could tell when she was keeping things from him; after all, he had become incredibly familiar with it during these long years.
31. Glory
The instructors and generals spoke of victory in battle as a beautiful, breathtaking goddess, but she knew there was no glory in war.
32. Irony
Once, just once, she wished he'd turn his attention to her the way he did with other women-or even his new "best friend," Hughes-but she locked that part of her deep inside herself and focused on her training.
33. Game
"It was only friendly competition," he defended his new friend when he turned up for dinner one day with a black eye and a bloody nose; only to leave dinner with bullet holes in his coat and a wide grin.
34. Got you
"What are you hiding from me in that cute little blonde head of yours?" he asked her, and watched amusedly as she first turned pink, and less amusedly when she began to open fire.
35. Together
They graduated on the same day from the academy, with honours.
36. Team-up
They were successful in the military separately-the ambitious flame alchemist and the tough-as-nails sharpshooter-buttogether, they were feared.
37. Defend
He never knew just how many times she'd protected him from a distance, and she did everything she could to keep it that way.
38. Tonight
"Stay with me," she asked quietly, her hands shaking as she averted her eyes from his steady gaze, "because I don't want to be alone tonight."
39. Over the Moon
She quickly, happily became his confidant-even over Maes Hughes-and he became both her purpose and her anchor in the horrors of war.
40. Daylight
The dawn was the hardest part of the war, as they were faced with another day of bathing their hands in blood.
41. Candlelight
She watched him fall asleep at his makeshift desk after studying maps for too long, his face cast in shadow from the lone candle.
42. We Belong
They exchanged dull-eyed, haunted looks, and knew that there was no place in world for them now... but here.
43. Take My Hand
He never figured out how she instinctively knew he needed someone to pull him out of his depression, or how she managed to stay sane enough to do it.
44. Forever
It took the end of a war for her to be certain that she would help him realise his dream, and she would be there every step of the way as his shadow.
45. Home
They both stood at the gate to her manor, bags in hand, and uncertain how to proceed.
46. Hot
The first thing she did was have an hour long, hot shower; determined to stay under the cleansing water until her hands shrivelled up and the blood washed away.
47. Cold
The first thing he did was have a tall, cold drink; determined to ingest enough alcohol to blur his vision and erase his memories.
48. Ill
The first weeks were the worst, and they both ended up hunched over toilets and choking back screams, reliving horrific moments they left behind just days ago.
49. Not the First
Oh, she knew she took a backseat in his mind to the much more alluring, fickle mistress of Amestris herself.
50. Know Better
She understood he couldn't afford distractions, and she reminded herself of that for years.
51. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!
"All of you," she raged coldly at the terrified potentials she was evaluating, "are woefully unprepared and under-qualified for protecting the future Furher."
52. Tough
A scant four officers-Misters Breda, Falman, Havoc, and Fuery-were skilled enough to pass her inspection.
53. Change
They decided-now that he was a lieutenant and she officially his subordinate-that continuing to live together was improper.
54. Let go
She quickly sold the house and moved them into two separate apartments with money to spare, trying not to think about how the walls would be painted, the shooting range turned into a garden, her father's study made a cheerful living room, and that she'd be alone.
55. Sensual
There was something about the way he smiled softly at her when they were alone that set her stomach fluttering.
56. Everyday
Their lives became a routine, and she followed it to the letter, knowing every day, every hour, every minute, pushed him further toward his goal.
57. Yes
After years had passed, she would eventually forget the first time he agreed to cancel a date and finish the stack of paperwork she demanded he complete.
58. No
She would forever remember the look in his eyes when he received the call that Maes had been murdered.
59. Come here
The first time she had ever hugged him of her own volition it was to calm him down from a quiet, dark rage, and to save her highly flammable furniture.
60. Never Give Up
His depression was nothing new to her, especially after the war, and like before, she shouldered his burdens as well as her own and kept going.
61. For You
In hindsight, it was funny how him bringing her flowers-white lilies-one evening, with no explanation and no further comment on the matter, was the only thing in years that could make her lose sleep.
62. Hold
He became more watchful and stood closer to her side during their everyday routines, as if he were worried he'd lose her, too, the second he took his eyes away.
63. Honor
"There was no honor in his death, Lieutenant," he growled, "he was slaughtered in cold blood, like an animal."
64. With Child
After Maes' death, Gracia did the best she could, but Riza often found herself babysitting Elysia in Roy's office when the widow needed a break.
65. Don't Talk About It
Roy nearly fried every well-wisher that came to him in the days after the murder of his best friend and comrade.
66. Run
He stormed out of his office, the air around him tense enough to choke on, his eyes blazing and his fingers poised to snap.
67. Walk
She followed him at a much more sedate pace; he wasn't hard to track, with the trail of destruction he left in his wake.
68. Storm
She caught him in the rain, desperately snapping his sodden fingers, attempting to burn something-anything-almost to the point of hysteria.
69. Umbrella
She held her umbrella over him and remained his silent support while he grieved, as she always had been.
70. Open
"I miss his incessant bragging," he admitted quietly to her, as he faced the office window.
71. Sleep
Despite Roy's descent into depression, despite the creeping realisation that there was something very wrong at Central, despite the brewing of a storm on the horizon, Riza slept well at night; she preferred to let tomorrow worry about itself.
72. Insomnia
She watched the purple rings under his eyes only grow darker as time went on and he was still unable to find any peace.
73. Sing to Me
His eyebrows rose at her request, but he complied without protest, and they sank into memories of nights under canvas tents, a time when they pretended his voice drowned out the sounds of distant screams and gunfire.
74. Rhythm
There was a subtle dissonance in their daily schedule, now that Maes was gone, and it set their teeth uncomfortably on-edge.
75. Crash
In all her years, she had never been as off balance and lost as the day she was forcibly separated from him to be the Furher's new secretary.
76. Never Alone
"I'm always watching," the homunculus threatened, his black shadows creeping up around her legs.
77. Silence
"Scream, and I'll kill you," false-Selim hissed in a thousand voices, "and then I'll kill him."
78. Panic Attack
The second she realised the homunculus had control of her-she was trapped; she couldn't protect him if she couldn'tmove-was the most frightening moment of her life.
79. Alone
Later, she sobbed in the dark, pulling Black Hayate up to her chest and wishing-in a tiny, forgotten corner of her mind-that he could do the saving this time.
80. Completely
As soldiers she had once called comrades turned on them, her acceptance of what it truly meant to be Roy Mustang's shadow only solidified.
81. Scream
"Are you or are you not the one who killed Maes Hughes?" Roy demanded, his voice worn raw.
82. Break Down
"I'll take care of him myself!" he shouted, his voice wild, but Riza huffed, "Like hell."
83. Stand
She was so close to killing the creature outright-even hanging by the neck as she was; she wouldn't have minded dying in return-when he appeared, a whole new level of fury surrounding him.
84. Strength
It took everything she had to hold her gun to his temple and demand he keep from killing that worm.
85. Fear
"You're better! You're better than that!" she shouted her voice shaking, an image of her father flashing in front of her eyes, the man driven mad by the siren song of flame alchemy.
86. Cry
She flinched at his bellow of rage, but her resolution never faltered: if he were dead at her own hand, what was left for her to live for?
87. Please
"Please forgive me," he said quietly as he turned around and lowered her gun with warm, steady hands and watery, apologetic eyes, but she heard, "I love you."
88. All I Have
"I'll kill you!" he screamed at the gold-toothed doctor, his muscles straining against the only thing keeping him apart from his bleeding lieutenant.
89. Next to You
She was shocked to see him blind after being forced into the portal, but it was quickly overshadowed by an intense wave of nauseous, stomach-churning relief.
90. Laced Fingers
When he was ready to fight, she held his hand and quietly pointed him in the right direction, as she always did.
91. Again
"You missed," she chided, echoing their many firing range sessions a lifetime ago, and he responded with an exasperated, "This time I really am blind, Lieutenant."
92. Moment
There was only a fading wail as the One Who Would Call Himself God was no more, and all she could think was, "What now?"
93. You Save Me
"You've always been there for me, Lieutenant," he said softly, brushing a lock of bloody hair from her face, "It's time I was there for you."
94. Fine
When it was finally over, they silently revelled in the simplicity of just being alive.
95. Lost
Even though he was without vision, he never stopped trying to learn about his country; even going so far as to have his friends read long, boring histories and agriculture books to him.
96. Depend
It took this for him to realise just how much he relied on his lieutenant; she continued her routines as if everything were normal, and despite his blindness, his work went without a hitch.
97. Smile
Her quiet, understated smile of relief was the first thing he saw, as soon as he opened his newly-healed eyes.
98. Beauty
In that moment, she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, as she always had been, and he carefully pulled her forward to kiss her properly.
99. Say You Will
"I said I would stand by you," she stated, subordinate to officer.
100. Marry Me
"Always?" he implored, man to woman, and she answered, "Yes."