Author's note: I do not own FMA or its characters. Spoilers for Hawkeye and Mustang's past. This is AU.

Space Between

Roy sighed and rubbed his eyes. He really was not suited for the military life. All of the paperwork was beginning to run together. The saying might be an army runs on its stomach, but the truth was it ran on paperwork. Since his completion of his alchemic studies, Roy had been assigned to the military. He supposed it was a rather tradition position for younger sons and lesser nobles.

Truthfully, Roy liked it here at Eastern Headquarters. His commanding officer, General Grumman, was an interesting man, and Roy found himself learning much more from him than expected. Their daily chess matches proved to be challenging on a number of levels. Roy probably had learned more about tactics and strategy from them than anything else. Their only drawback was Grumman's tendency to go on and on about his granddaughter. The man kept trying to marry her off to Roy. She sounded like a very nice woman, but Roy couldn't see himself settling down anytime soon. Besides, there was a blond with an interest in shooting that popped into his head when he thought about settling down.

He had made some good friends here as well. Maes Hughes was cheerful, friendly, and sharp as a knife. Technically, he was intelligence, not military but he was assigned to the Eastern Army. Maes was a minor noble and completely obsessed with his childhood sweetheart, Lady Gracia Isley. He was also the best friend that Roy had ever had. Maes understood him in a way that most of his peers at court never had.

But he missed Riza too. Roy had spent so many years with her at his side that it often felt strange not to have her there now. Maes didn't share her love of literature nor her musical skills. Roy was happy here, but he'd be happier if Riza was around as well. He worried about her sometimes. He didn't know what would become of her. She clearly wasn't interested in a life spent at court, and Roy doubted that she would be content simply to be a noble's wife. Truthfully, he didn't know what she wanted do with her life. Riza had always been silent on that particular subject. Sometimes, Roy wondered if she simply planned on staying at Hawk's Eyrie and caring for her father. The man's health had been deteriorating every since Roy first met him, but his last few years there it was clear that the Baron was very ill.

It didn't seem fair that Riza would put her life on hold because of her father, but there wasn't much that he could do about it. Not right now at least. Riza hadn't even reached her majority yet. Technically, she couldn't do much of anything without her father's permission. Well, if her mother gave her permission she could, but Roy doubted Riza would ever willingly have anything to do with her mother. The woman had simply hurt her too much. So at least for another few years, Riza was simply stuck there.

With a sigh, Roy reached for another piece of paperwork. He had to get this stack done before his chess match today.

Riza closed her eyes for a moment before returning to the task at hand. As much as she hated mending, it needed to be done, and there wasn't anyone else to do it right now. She wouldn't ask Ellaine to help with this. The woman had enough on her plate with handling the cooking and the cleaning. The staff at Hawk's Eyrie had been reduced to Ellaine and Geoff, the groundskeeper. Both of them had been here since before she was born.

She sighed. Her world was falling apart. Her father's health had never been good, but in the last few years, she had watched him steadily deteriorate. He was coughing up blood now and hardly ever left his rooms. There were other things that made her worry as well. Sometimes her father didn't seem to know who she was, and lately it seemed that his research was consuming him more than ever.

Just the other day he had asked her to help him with it later this week. Her father hadn't involved her with any alchemy or research since he found out that she had no aptitude for it. Despite the fact that she had agreed, the request unnerved Riza. If this had been before, she would have talked over with Roy. She could always count on him to listen to her without dismissing her thoughts and feelings.

Riza missed Roy. She missed having someone to talk over things with. For all that they had known her her entire life, Ellaine and Geoff still treated her as if she was the lady of the manor. Roy had always treated her as an equal even if he technically outranked her. She missed having someone to discuss music and literature with. She missed being able to tease him about getting out shot by a girl three years younger than him. And she missed his ability to bridge the gap between herself and her father.

Refocusing on her mending, Riza sighed. Her life was on hold right now. Unless her father died or recovered, she couldn't leave. She hadn't left with her mother, and she wouldn't leave while her father still needed her. Truthfully, it didn't matter too much. Riza wasn't sure what she would do with her life. She wanted more than the life of a country noble's wife, but judging from Roy's stories, the Royal Court was not where she wanted to be either. The military really was the only place she could think of that would suit. It was unusual for girls of noble birth to enlist, but not unheard of. She was a good marksman after all, and her maternal grandfather was a general.

None of that mattered right now. As long as her father needed her, Riza would stay here. Sticking her finger in her mouth, Riza set aside the mending. She needed to find a thimble before she permanently injured herself.

Theme: Needle.