Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist obviously doesn't belong to me. This story is clearly an AU but I hope it'll be enjoyable. This is also my first fic. This will not follow the dates in the actual manga so the dates I listed are made up. Someone had asked so I wanted to mention it. Yeah... :D Please point out any mistakes. I'm still working on that one. Thank you! :D
March 12, 2009 Amestris Central HQ: The President's office.
With all that is going on, Riza isn't able to visit her injured friend. More importantly, she has things she needed to do, like dealing with Kimblee. "Sorry Jean."
Riza had informed the heartless man the day before her decision. "I knew you would pick that. Pity. I wouldn't mind a woman like you to be by side." He wore a posh white suit. He handed her a retractable stick and sunglasses. "Pretend to be blind. I will inform the President that one of those red eyed lowlifes had somehow managed to damage your pretty eyes. And don't worry; only I will know about your false facade. "
His excuse puzzled her. She thought he would've given a worse execution than that. "A blind sniper is not needed anymore and as bonus, an honorable discharge. How" He was letting her off the hook to smoothly. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not doing this to be nice but now you owe me. You owe us." He had the same perverse smile on his lips. "Just keep up the act here and once you're gone, you're home free."
"Why Lieutenant Colonel? Why give me such a lenient–" He interrupted. "I told you, you owe me."
Now she walks in the corridor of the President's office. She gropes her stick around, hitting a couple of soldiers by their feet. "I'm sorry." She has to keep up this charade until she is off military territory. A woman extends her help and Riza begrudgingly accepts.
Half way there, they coincidentally meet up with the President. "President Bradley. The lieutenant here is on her way to see you." President King Bradley is wearing an amiable smile. "Ah I see. Kimblee mentioned your arrival. I was just in time." He offers his hand but she doesn't accept it. "Oh my apologies." He outstretches his hand and now their arms are now linked together. This man's close proximity made her jittery. Basically, she dislikes every second she is with this man. She bites her tongue to keep herself from voicing out her thoughts.
Their talk is boring and formal. The President asks where will she stay. The lieutenant answers with a friend. A couple more of meaningless questions later, he escorts her out of the building. "A shame a skill such as yours cannot be used anymore." To the President, the soldiers are expendable tools. "Thank you President." She feigns her untactful entrance to the waiting taxi. "I will be seeing you again, Lieutenant."
April 1st, 2011 Southeast City: Catalina Bakery
"Girl, can you answer the phone." Rebecca Catalina, a long time friend of Riza yells out from the bathroom. Riza is living with her friend and helping her out with her bakery. She expected some military official to check up on her but they never came. Her location isn't close to the military base but at times, she does feels weary of her "debt" to the wicked Kimblee.
She hastily answers the phone. "Catalina bakery, what can I get you?" It is a male voice. "Hey Riza, just the woman I wanted to talk to." She sighs. She doesn't need this aggravation right now.
"Unless you're ordering something Mustang, then do so otherwise I'm hanging up."
"No don't hang up. You didn't even let me finish. I am going to order." She taps her foot impatiently. She hears the bakery door's bell ring to alert the presence of a customer.
"Hurry up Mustang."
"Can I order–" Roy Mustang pauses, trying to find the right words. "…a date with you?" Dial tone.
She let out another exasperating sigh. His advances towards her are annoying and she made sure to reject him respectfully every time. She returns her attention to the person that walked in the bakery.
"I'm sorry for keeping you; can I take your order?" The man dons a brown business suit and there is an unlit pipe in his mouth. He is wearing a matching hat so she couldn't see his face clearly.
"Are you Miss Riza Hawkeye?" He says politely. "Why do you ask?" She assumes this man is from Kimblee but a soldier wouldn't call her "Miss" would they? "I am here in regarding Trisha Elric and her sons." Fear crawls inside of her. "Yes, I am Riza Hawkeye. Did something happen to Trisha?" She never kept in contact with her affectionate friend. She should have. Trisha is one of a kind.
"Your presence at the funeral is needed." He hands her a manila envelope. "This is her will. Read it carefully." He isn't sympathetic and raises his head to look at her closely. The man removes his glasses. Red Eyes. This man is an Ishvalian. "I hope you attend."
A ring tone is playing from a cell phone in his pocket but he doesn't pick up. He orders two jelly donuts and a black coffee. He pays for his food and soundlessly walks out of the shop.
She stares at the envelope in her hands. Rebecca taps her shoulder. "What's that Riz?" She looks at the envelope her friend is holding. "A will. My friend had died." Rebecca gasps. She clamps her tanned hands over her mouth. "Why the hell are you so calm?" She shakes her friend's shoulder.
"I'm not. I'm going to read this in my room." Rebecca closes the shop early and walks up with her friend. "Rebecca, there is no need for you to close shop early. I'll be fine." Her friend pushes her into the room. "Of course there is."
The two women sit on Riza's mattress bed. She pushes the stray of blonde hair away from her eyes. "Well come on! Open it up!" Riza opens the envelope.
It was a small document containing what had happened to Trisha and Riza's role in this. There is another handwritten letter with it. It is in Trisha's handwriting. She reads it out loud.
Dear Riza,
I'm sorry for leaving you this but I don't think I could trust anyone but you my most two important treasures in the world. I know you're in the military so I don't know how cramp your time is but I want you to take care of my two boys for me. Do you remember when I had asked you about being the godparent of my children? Please, take care of them. Love them as I would. My sons are safer with you.
Thank you and I'm sorry I wasn't able to say goodbye in person. Thank you.
Love,
Trisha Elric
By "Thank you" is a stained tear drop. She mutters under her breath. "You're quite welcome."
Rebecca is sobbing her eyes out. She sniffs and hugs her friend. "I'm sorry for you loss." Riza's face is absent of any emotion. She reads the other document and it states that the funeral will be in Resembool, a small town over by the south. The funeral will be four days from now.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Riza assures her friend that that isn't needed. "I insist." Then the phone rings. Rebecca picks it up. "Hello. Oh hey Roy! Are you done with your shift? Oh you're off? Good because Riz needs you for emotional support." Riza tries to snatch the cursed phone away from her friend. "Hurry Roy! She's hysterical and needs your manly arms!"
Rebecca giggles. A light bulb pops up from her head. "Ask him to come with you. I see how emotional distressed you are so use this as an advantage to cling to him. You lost a dear friend so you'll need someone to cling on anyway. You could also use this to deepen the relationship you have with him. That's two birds with one stone. It's perfect." Riza resisted rolling her eyes. "I don't need to deepen anything that is empty to begin with." Ever since Rebecca had introduced them a year and half ago, her rambunctious friend took it upon herself to play cupid. She needs to work on her aim though because it keeps missing one of the intended targets. "Becca, this is a funeral, not a dating game."
Rebecca releases her ebony hair from its ponytail. "All you have to do is wave your hair like this and do a cute pout and he's a sure thing. Girl, you're hot so use that to your advantage." Riza pushes her friend off of her bed. "Riza, I hope you don't think I'm being insensitive. Your facial expression is a bit unnerving and I just want you to smile." The blonde haired woman gives her a forced smile. "A real smile, I mean."
The doorbell rings and Roy's voice alerts the two women that he is downstairs. "Let's go down. Remember cry and cling." Rebecca repeats this to her a couple of times on their way downstairs. She cajoles her friend to repeat after her. Normally this would be annoying but Riza knows this is her friend's way of comforting her, no matter how strange it might be. "I got it Rebecca. Cry and cling."
Roy gawks at the two women. "What happened? Did something happen? Riza are you okay?" His shirt is buttoned up incorrectly and he is still wearing his blue checkered pajama bottoms. He is panting heavily. Rebecca elbows her blonde friend. "Cling and cry." She whispers in her ear. He is waiting for one of them to speak up.
Riza steps up. "Sorry for calling you up, Mustang. You must have been worried. You can go home now." Rebecca slaps her forehead and disapprovingly shakes her head. Riza can feel her friend's eyes burning in the back of her head.
"I'm fine. I just received a letter of my friend's death. I'm fine though, so please don't worry." His onyx eyes focuses on her face for any signs of crying. He lays an understanding pat on her shoulder. Then out of the sudden, he pulls her into a hug. She doesn't pull away, hoping this will appease her friend. He is facing Rebecca and she gives him a thumbs up. He blushes at her actions unexpectedly.
Riza starts to pull away but he hugs her tighter. He doesn't want her to witness his reddened face. He takes this advantage to bury his face into her hair. She smells nice, he thought to himself.
She begins to feel heat swelling up into her cheeks. Her head is sitting comfortable on his broad shoulder. She isn't used to this cozy feeling he is inducing in her so she better stop this before she starts getting ideas. She sighs softly, caressing his ears with her breath. She notices it's red. She can just picture her friend's approval smirk. "Easy there you two, I'm still here you know and I'm not exactly one for threesomes."
"Mustang, can you let me go?" He detaches his body from hers in an abrupt manner and rubs the back of his head in embarrassment. His blush had died down.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Before Riza can answer, her meddlesome friend speaks up for her. "Yes there is actually. You see Riza has to go to Resembool for the funeral. Can you go with her? I want to go but I have to manage my bakery. I don't want her to go by herself. Do you think you can get some days off?" His head perks up. "No problem. Anything for Riza."
Rebecca squeals in excitement but quickly freezes her actions. It isn't the most appropriate reaction to someone agreeing to go to a funeral. "When are we leaving?" Riza replies tomorrow. "All right. I'll call up my boss." Roy too seems happily excited for a guy who was just invited to a funeral.
"He's cute isn't he?"
"If you like him then why don't you take him?" The women watch Roy as he flips his phone out. His position is by the window, and he isn't within the earshot range of their conversation. "Because A, I don't like him B, because I reserved him for you and C, because I know you like him. Your stubborn self is just too slow to accept it. Resistance is futile." Their conversation is going nowhere so Riza decided to end it.
"My boss gave an okay. Thank god for Fury." He smiles at Riza. She doesn't return it. He pays her apathetic reaction to his heart melting smile no attention and insists to make the women and some drinks to die for. It's time he uses his bartender skills for someone who really needs it.
"Awesome! Let's get drunk!"