Passe/ Retiré: Withdrawn. A position in which the thigh is raised to the second position en l'air with the knee bent so that the pointed toe rests in front of, behind or to the side of the supporting knee.


Knock

knock

knock

"Ready for our rounds, sir?" Riza asked through the door of the vice Principal's office, pressing her ear against the door to listen for any signs of movement. A moment passes and there's no answer.

She tries again

knock

knock

knock

"Sir?" She calls out, hoping he's asleep or somewhere else within the main office. She'd really rather not deal with a corpse so early in the morning. "We have our rounds today, hope you're ready to go."

She waits a beat before turning the knob. The light is off and there's no one inside.

How odd. It's 7:15 and there's no sign of Roy having come into his office today. She turns to leave, softly closing the door behind her.

She spots his secretary, Rebecca, chatting idly with the economics teacher, Jean Havoc. She starts to walk briskly towards her desk before she catches a closer glimpse at their body language. She hesitates for a moment, thinking she'd rather not interrupt the obvious flirtatious banter they've got going on. However, the moment passes and she remembers the larger problem she's got at hand. Deciding that any information on Roy is more important than some office flirtation, she strolls over to Rebecca's desk, her heels warning the lovebirds of her approaching presence.

"Good Morning Rebecca. Havoc." At the sound of her voice, they instantly separate, creating a ten foot range of distance in two seconds flat. Impressive, she thinks to herself as she walks by them, a sly, knowing smile gracing her features.

She finds a certain joy in teasing those two and watching the way they constantly tiptoe around each other's feelings. Their flirtation yet hesitation towards romantic relationships remind her a lot of the dynamic Roy and her had back in their Drachma Dans Theater days.

~ flashback ~

Winter, Five Years Ago

Dance studio complex somewhere in Drachma

The steady beat of the music was reverberating though her body, melting in with the counts as they went over the same section for the third time. They had the steps, the transitions, the textures and the style down pat. In fact, it was technically perfect, to no one's surprise. But it was too formal, too stiff.

The partnering, although seamless and fluid, was missing… something. A spark, or a connection that would take their dancing from fantastic to absolutely transcendent.

Roy and Riza had been partners for a little over three years, and yet this was the first time they had ever run into this problem. Their duets over the years have all been masterpieces, not only choreographically, but evocative due to the emotions the two are able to portray through their movements and their artistry.

Roy sets her down after their final lift, paying extra attention to her landing. He lets her go as he takes a deep breath, resting his hands at his hips.

"Did that feel any better?" He asked, lifting his right hand from his hip to push it through his dark, unruly hair. He's looking at her with wide eyes, completely open and… honest. She knows this piece has been frustrating him, but it seems to have burrowed deeper than she had originally assumed.

In the depths of his never-ending obsidian pools she could see the reflection of determination and ambition, yet there was something marring the edges. Frustration, the fear of failure and barely-contained anger lit them from within more brightly than ever. Gosh, she could get lost in those eyes, so dark and full of promise…

"Riza?"

She snapped out of her daze, shaking her head to try and clear the fog in her mind.

Oh gosh, she was staring again.

Oh no, he noticed.

She quickly ducks her head down, hoping to hide the blush that was quickly warming her cheeks.

Crap.

Oh crapcrapcrap. Ok, ok, breathe Riza, you can cover this up. You got this. Don't let him see the fear in your eyes.

She takes a deep breath and collects her wits before speaking up:

"Ah, yeah so sorry about that, I was just going over a transition in my head! What was it you asked?" She chuckles awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck, hoping he doesn't catch on to her slip up.

He gives her an odd look, but doesn't press it. "I had asked if that felt any better for you." He sighs and rubs at his temples. "There's just something about it that feels off somehow, and I just can't figure it out."

He looks off to the side, deep in though while crossing his arms across his chest and biting at his bottom lip, working it between his teeth.

She steals a quick glance before looking away and trying to focus on anything but Roy's face.

Riza my goodness, pull yourself together! We're supposed to be coming up with ways to fix this problem, not checking out our partner.

She looks back over at Roy who has now begun to pace around the room in an effort to inspire his thought process. His arms are no longer crossed, but rather alternating between swinging loosely by his side in time with his stride or gripping at his own hips.

The furrow between his brows grows deeper as the seconds pass and his irritation grows. He's really beating himself up over this, she thinks as she wraps her arms around her body and lets herself relax into her right hip.

There's got to be something we can do, something that will help us break this funk.

And that's when she realizes what their problem is.

"That's it." She says softly. "I've got it.I know what we have to do, how to fix this." She states a bit more loudly, the sound of her voice amplified by the empty studio. Her sudden outburst visibly spooks Roy, who almost ran into the wall in complete shock.

"Wha-" Roy begins, but she doesn't wait for him to finish his question before grabbing his wrist and pulling him out of the studio in a run.

"Riza, what are you doing? Where are we going?" He asks, panic coloring the edges of his voice.

She laughs, a wonderful, melodious sound that bounces off the walls and smooth linoleum floors of the hallway.

He smiles softly as he runs beside her, suddenly not caring where they go. He relaxes into her hold, and slips his wrist out of her grip, briefly squeezing her hand before lacing their fingers together.

It takes everything she has in her to keep her pace even and her breathing steady.

I wonder if he knows what he does to me, she thinks as she squeezes his hand back and continues to lead them through doors and down staircases.

She doesn't say anything nor answer his question because before they know it, they've made it outside onto the patio.

"Riza…" Roy begins, concern clear in his tone "Why are we outside? In the dead of winter?" He lets go of her hand and looks at the frozen patio and the snow-powdered landscape around them before coming back and looking at her skeptically.

"I know it seems a little irrational-" She looked over at him with an apologetic look on her face, wringing her hands together in an effort to replace the warmth of his hand. "But bear with me here." She looks around at the winter scene that surrounds them and takes a small breath. "I thought that maybe we could use a change of scenery, and a break from the mirror. We know that we have the choreography down, perfectly I daresay. We've worked extremely hard on those lifts, on our transitions and on every technical aspect we could possibly drill."

She takes a breath before going on, the chill of the Drachman winter slowly seeping into her bones. "But we have to get out of the mirror. And not just that, but out of the studio space and out of our heads. We're not connecting because we've focused too much on the steps and not the feeling behind the steps. Was it not you who said 'I don't dance for the accolades, I dance for the inner feelings'?" She looks at him, her golden orbs meeting the inky depths of his black eyes in a nonverbal challenge.

"We've done it before and I know we can do it now. So let's get out of our headspace and just dance goddamnit! Come on!" She grasps his hand and pulls him flush against her chest, into the beginning pose.

The warmth of his chest against hers is warm and familiar. She can feel him looking at her, so she looks up to meet his fiery gaze.

There's something different about the way that he's looking at me, she thinks to herself. She doesn't have time to ponder because before she knows it, they've begun to move.

There's only one word that come to mind: magic.

Pure, unadulterated magic.

The air between them seems to crackle as their bodies cut through the frigid air and space, forming shapes and hitting their movements with a sharp precision that would put any sniper to shame.

His hands leave a trail of flames in their wake as they move from her back to her arms to her shoulders and all over her body. Her heart picks up the pace as the warmth of his fingertips sear through the thin material of her leotard. He pulls her back against his front as he crosses his arms over hers and cradles her into his chest before swinging her entire body up and over his back in a seamless arch. Her body lands on his back perpendicularly, creating a graceful arch and extension of her arms and legs. He rocks their bodies from side to side, smooth and steady before transitioning her body into a quick pose before the next lift. She gently drops onto her left knee on the floor next to him, her right leg extended out on a diagonal. She reaches out to him and he meets her in the middle, pulling her up and into his chest, her legs wrapping themselves around his waist and her arms winding around his neck. He holds tight onto her left thigh as his right arm makes his way across her back, latching at her waist. She nuzzles her head into the side of his neck, feeling his pulse thundering under the surface of her cheek as he spins them around a couple times. He stops and tightens his grip on her body as she lets go of her arms around his neck and arches back, the tips of her fingers ghosting the cold surface of the patio floor. He dips her down and around before bringing her upper half back up and shifting her body on to one hip. She gently slides off his side and onto the floor, latching on to his lower calf and sliding her body through the space between his legs. She pulls herself up into a sitting position, legs extended in front of her body and her back turned towards the audience.

She feels the absence of his warmth and electric touch the moment they separate. She holds her pose as he finishes his last two counts of individual movement and slides over to her. He fits around her like a puzzle piece, and she embraces his warmth and his soft, lingering touch. The tension between them increases tenfold, adding textures and layers they've never had before. He spins her body around to face him, and Riza pauses before stretching her arms up and over, arching her back slightly. His hands rest right over her ribs as he lifts her slightly up and back, extending the line of her arms and legs. They hold the final pose for a few counts before Riza collapses onto his lap, throwing her arms around him and nuzzling her face into his neck as he lays back, her body atop his own.

The steam rising off their warm bodies and the clouds coming from their mouths as they struggle to catch their breath rise into the frozen air. Riza's warm breath ghosts over the soft skin of his neck and he shivers lightly. She freezes and lifts her head slowly from the warm solace of his pulse to meet his gaze.

If she was cold, the fiery intensity of his gaze thawed her in an instant. They look deep into each other's eyes, hazel and black holding contact for as long as they can before the moment is over.

Oh my gods.

I'm lying on top of Roy Mustang and making intimate eye contact with him for more than five seconds.

I'm lying on top of Roy Mustang. On top of…Roy Mustang…Roy.

Her eyes suddenly widen as she breaks eye contact and hides her face back in the space between his neck and shoulder. She can feel her face burning as she lies there, held in by Roy's strong arms. He chuckles softly, amused at her sudden bashfulness. Of all people, Riza Hawkeye is the last person he ever expected to see in this kind of embarrassed, nervous state.

She looks back up at him, eyes big and cautious, cheeks slightly pink. "Well, I think we broke the curse of the piece." She says, smiling lightly.

"As if there was ever any doubt." He smirks at her before bringing his hand off her waist to ruffle her hair.

She laughs at this and rolls her body off of him and onto the floor next to him. She starts to get up to leave before he grabs her hand. "Wait-" His fingers link with her own and and stop her from leaving. "Stay here for a while, just a little longer. I haven't been outside in ages, and it's a beautiful day." He looks over at her eyes sincere and pleading.

She contemplates for a second before succumbing to his puppy dog eyes. "Alright, alright, fine. But if we get sick, it's your fault." She lays back down and turns her face towards him.

"Hm if I remember correctly, it was your idea to dance outside in the first place." He counters, turning his face to look at hers.

They look at each other with straight faces for less that five seconds before bursting into laughter. They keep looking at each other and laughing, unable to keep a straight face for longer than a second before breaking.

"Thank you, Riza." Roy says in a more somber tone. Riza looks over at him, meeting a pair of honest dark eyes. She smiles softly, feeling as the heat begins to creep up over her neck and onto her face.

"It was no problem, Roy. I knew we had it in us all along, we just needed a good jostling." She turns to look at the winter sky, as a sigh escapes from her lips.

He studies her for a bit longer before looking up at the sky as well, cataloging as many angles and images of this moment as he can.


AN: Hey cool cats! I've decided to dive a little deeper into Roy and Riza's history, so I thought I'd do a fun little flashback to their partner days. I had lots of fun writing this, and I hope you like it! I was able to reference some lifts and things from my past and I'm very excited to share this with y'all! As always, please let me know what you think by dropping me some comments below, and fave/follow if you're vibing with it! Thanks so so much readers, and enjoy some Royai! :)

lots o' luv,

ABF