Riza Hawkeye loved reading. That was something that was completely undeniable. When she was younger she could be found reading. Now she could be found reading wherever she had spare time. It was the type of books she favored, those were the mystery. She always seemed to read from a variety of genres. Each one different than the last. It was as if she didn't have a favorite. There were very few who knew the identity of her most treasured book.
That book was An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten.
Riza loved its downright ability to tell the truth. The way it bluntly said 'there is rarely a happy ending and death is inescapable' and Riza loved that. She loved the way nothing was over portrayed. Everything seemed real. Anna seemed real. Her story seemed real. Everything seemed to be so real and she loved that. Books tended to lie to her. Give an overwhelming sense that everything that worked out. Riza new first hand that life wasn't like that. She knew it and Peter Van Houten made it exactly how it was.
The truth was brutal, but it's better than a steadfast stream of lies.
The people who could tell this was her favorite book were the people closest to her and paid attention to the small details, like how she would reread this particular book more than any other (although while she normally doesn't reread books) or how she might quote it when she deemed necessary.
She began reading it when Roy Mustang was a student of her father. It took her awhile to finish it as she was a young girl and AIA was a 651 page book. But he could see her reading it every day, progressing farther each time.
Maybe that's why he was the first to notice her love for the book.
He actually felt quite silly when he saw her reading it for the first time. He had mainly only read alchemy books (much to the pleasure of her father). Other than that, he read action stories. Stories where there was barely a second where no character was getting punched or punching another, stories where the ratio of sentences to toughs dead was about 1:1.
His favorite book was the 'The Price of Dawn'
Maybe that's why he was eager to read the book Riza loved so much. Because it was so different from his normal preference. He was shocked when he read An Imperial Affliction it was so deep and true and honest. Brutally honest.
Maybe that's why he decided he could trust her and later, love her.
She was honest.
Just like that book.
A/N: Gahhh! Sorry for the gap in time. Anyways, I need help. I want to rename the collection. So PM or review some suggestions. It would really help.
Note of thanks: Thank you to riza-hawkeye on tumblr. She beta-ed this for me and basically helped me fix my commas (as I appear to have a gaping hole in that area). Also Callie, THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE ROYAI PLAYLIST TO HELP ME WRITE THIS! So I guess it's kinda dedicated to them both.
