Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.
A/N: Welcome back for Chapter 4 for Of Her Past! And yes, I have finally updated! xD
The line break isn't working, so the pluses will mark where my Author notes are xD Which they are only at the beggining and end, like they have always been!
The next upadate shouldn't be so far off after this, since I have had most of Chapter 5 written for a few weeks. I've just been editing, and such. And of course school is giong to start in two weeks, followed by my job (which I only work on Saturdays).
Anyway, thank you all for your support! You're what make this story come alive!
Please read and review!
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Riza sat for some time alone, like she did every morning. There was always one to two hours where no one arrived in their office. Except Saturdays were different. Her time alone in the office was only maybe 30 minutes before either Second Lieutenant Havoc came in with the rest of the guys, or Roy came in. Their voices normally carried up to the office from the stairs and hallway. Continuing to sign paperwork and move on to new files, Riza looked up at the window, opposite her and stared out. Central spread out into the distance, the buildings fading away.
Taking a glance at the report before her, she signed it and placed it in the pile to get filed away. She continued like this for several minutes, her stack getting smaller. Sighing to herself at the quiet, she took a sip of her tea. It was a bit tart, with a hint of sweetener. Riza had been told that having a drink without too much sugar or creamer in it made it a lot healthier. Taking another drink, she returned to reading the reports. Her eyes passed over one written by Edward Elric. The Colonel will have to read this one, she thought, setting it aside. Skimming through several others, Riza then sat back. The silence was starting to get to her.
Normally, she was completely content with how quiet it was in the office. But today was different. Having been home for the past two day cleaning, she just got the strange need to want to be around other people. Feeling utterly restless, she got up and poured herself more tea from the lounge. Sitting once again, she started making notes on the reports that made them seem rather phony. Whether it was some error in the data, or different facts in a paragraph that contradicted each other; she'd figure out if the report was valid or not. Invalid reports would be given to the commanding officer, who would then report the issue to his superior. The chain would go so far up that even the Fuhrer got an occasional file. Most the time though, they could be solved and the perpetrator would then we demoted and court marshaled. Reports though invalid but found valid were passed on as if nothing happened. It was a rather simple process.
Voices carried up to the office from the hallway. She could picture exactly who it was that was coming towards the office. A smile graced her features as an image of one chain smoking subordinate popped into her head. That illustration was followed by three others. Laughter ensued from the four men as one of them must have told a joke. Shaking her head, the smile still on her face, Riza returned to reading the rest of the reports. The four men entered the room, each greeting their superior.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Hawkeye," Kain Fury greeted with a salute. He ventured to his desk and started on his own work. Fury was the youngest in their party, and very good with the recent technology updates, he was extremely valuable. Sergeant Fury could easily repair any sort of device, particularly ones having to do with radios. Next to greet her was the most muscular of their team.
"Morning Lieutenant Hawkeye," Heymans Breda said, nodding as he flopped into his chair. Hey may not be as tall as Armstrong, but Riza was sure the second lieutenant was his shorter equivalent. A smirk appeared on her face as she noticed Black Hayate remaining asleep under her desk. That was a good thing since Breda was so afraid of the small pet.
"Morning, Hawk's eyes," Vato Falman addressed her with her field name. He had heard stories of the First Lieutenant's amazing stories about saving several of their co-workers. War stories about her markswoman abilities never ceased to astound him. Few women—or any woman for that matter—were as skilled as she with any gun.
"Morning, darlin'," Jean Havoc greeted, unlit cigarette in his lips. He was one of the only people that could address Riza as "Darlin'", especially at work. "You been here long?" he inquired informally. Havoc didn't see much of a reason to address her in such a manner like the rest of the subordinates in the building. Looking up from her report at Jean, Riza then turned her gaze back to the paperwork.
"Only since early this morning," she answered her long time friend. They had first met when she started attending school not long after moving to Central. His grandfather being a close friend to hers, they instantly tried to get them together as much as possible.
"Ah well, you'll probably be able to leave soon enough," Havoc muttered, sitting in his desk opposite hers.
"No, I won't. I still have to file these, and wait for the Colonel to come in to start his work… Along with signing off on our vacation days," she mentioned, saying it like it meant nothing. The guys all looked up at her, eyes widened.
"You'll seriously do that today! Wah! Please try and get me with vacation on a holiday!" Jean said quickly.
"What? You? What for?" Breda piped up.
"I'll probably have a girl then," Havoc said, nodding his head.
"Ha! I doubt that! You can't keep a girl for more than a week!" Falman added.
"Hey! I'll let you know Gracie and I were together for almost a month!" Havoc shouted, looking at all the rest of the men in the room.
"Was that before, or after she found you hanging off the neck of some whore?" Riza mentioned coolly. Jean's mouth dropped wide open, his cigarette falling to his desk. "Close your mouth Havoc, it's rude to stare," she added, not looking up. Shutting his mouth, Havoc looked at his superior.
"I'll have you know she wasn't a whore! She was a bar maid and was helping me home because I was drunk!" Havoc tried to explain.
"Keep saying that, Havoc. But you know as well as the rest of us you were completely drunk," Riza said calmly, closing the last file. "And that the bar maid was a whore." She stood and gathered the files, heading for the filing cabinets in the corner of the room. Havoc stared at her, mouth open in astonishment. He didn't want to admit she was right.
Her mind wandered, wondering when the Colonel would come in to work. Probably a half hour before we can go home. Go figure, Riza thought, sighing. She started to put away the files that didn't need Mustang's read through and third signature. Although, Riza had already taken care of the second signature. The first was hers, which said that a subordinate had read the file, corrected any inaccuracies, and then passed it on to a commanding officer. The second signature was written by her, but it was Roy's name. Place the last of the stack into the cabinets, she headed to her desk and just sat down when the door burst open.
A dark haired man stood in the doorway, strangely dripping wet. His subordinates all stared at him, wondering how in the world he could get wet on a sunny Saturday. Throwing off his coat and hanging it on the coat rack, the man stomped to his desk and sat down. Everyone hesitated, wondering what to say.
"What happened, Colonel?" Havoc inquired, talking around his cigarette. Roy looked up, shooting his friend a look of what appeared to be death.
"A woman was watering her flowers on her sill and dropped the bucket on me," Roy answered, glaring at Havoc and then to his desk.
"I'm sure it was an old girlfriend," Breda whispered, laughing quietly. Hearing the comment, Roy glared at his subordinate.
"At least I can keep a girlfriend," Roy retorted, crossing his arms. Breda blinked as the other subordinates snickered.
"You steal our girlfriends from us you womanizer! I bet the only girl you haven't gotten is Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Breda spat back. He then covered his mouth, realizing what just came from his mouth. "I-I mean… PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME!" The man put his hands up in submission. Hawkeye looked over at Breda, her face blank but her eyes saying something different. Taking her files she walked up to Roy's desk.
"Sir, there's a dry uniform in the closet. You can't get your paperwork wet," Hawkeye pointed out. "Colonel, these are the reports that are—"
"Ah, thank you Lieutenant," Roy said, getting up from his desk and moving to the closet. Opening the door he found the uniform in there, just as Hawkeye had said. Inspecting it, he nodded and took it.
"Excuse me, sir, but this is important," Riza piped up, watching Roy.
"Yes, yes, in a minute, Lieutenant. I want to go change first and then you can talk to me about that paperwork," Roy said, distracted with his uniform. Walking out of the room he headed for the bathroom. Shaking her head after her superior Hawkeye returned to her desk with the files she tried to explain to the Colonel. After several minutes of sitting patiently, Riza stood up.
"He's been gone too long," she stated, moving towards the door. Leaving the office, she could hear the other subordinates starting to whisper.
"Oh, he's going to get it now. I bet she's going to shoot off his bal—" Breda said, looking around at the other guys.
"Shooting off a man's assets is a big no, no. Although, it would not surprise me if she did so," Havoc mentioned, sitting back in his seat.
"Second Lieutenant, you've known Lieutenant Hawkeye for some time. Would she really do something like that?" Fury inquired, somewhat hesitant. Havoc took a drag on his cigarette, before removing it.
"It would not surprise me. I mean, her aim is fabulous. I wouldn't be surprised if she could take them off without him noticing. But, I never want to guess or doubt her. Might get my head blown off," Jean enlightened, replacing the cigarette in his lips. The other men nodded solemnly, not wanting to take any chances with their assets either.
Riza stormed down the hall; a woman on a mission. Reaching the men's bathroom, she paused briefly before entering. It was like any other bathroom, and surprisingly enough, clean. Most male bathrooms she had heard of reeked of smells that could not be eradicated; no matter how hard the janitorial staff worked. Roy stood at the sink, buttoning up his white over shirt.
"If there is any man in here that does NOT want to be shot, may he leave now if he is not Colonel Roy Mustang," Hawkeye announced, her voice echoing a bit in the bathroom. There was silence for several moments, in which a young private quickly exited. Roy glanced at Riza and then back to the mirror.
"You can't come in here! This is the men's restroom!" Roy shouted, looking at her.
"I'm sorry sir, but you seemed to be taking longer than needed to change ones uniform," Riza declared, her voice at a normal level. "It is rude to raise your voice when the person you are addressing is only a few feet from you," she added with a sigh. His mouth opened to say more, Roy sighed and finished buttoning up his shirt.
"What is it that you needed to come to me while I'm in dispose?" Roy asked, starting to tuck in his shirt.
"You have important paperwork, sir. Most importantly, a report from Edward Elric," Riza mentioned, turning on her heel and leaving the room. Mustang blinked, watching his Lieutenant leave before pulling on his jacket and heading after her.
"What's this report about?" Mustang inquired, catching up with her.
"A report from his last venture, I'm sure. He mentioned something along the lines of research, but no more than that. It is not my place to be reading his reports," Hawkeye murmured.
"But you read everyone else's reports that come into my office. Why is this one any different?" inquired the Colonel. He didn't see much of a difference between what Lieutenant Hawkeye read and didn't read. They all came through her and then to him, didn't they?
"Although Edward may dislike you, he at least knows what to write in those reports to make you interested," the First Lieutenant stated. Roy stopped, watching his subordinate head towards their office. Blinking several times, he then hurried to catch up with her.
"So these are important?" Mustang said, wanting confirmation.
"That is what I said, sir," Riza continued, opening the door to the office. The other men were slacking off, but that was something she expected in their office. They all got their work done, just at different speeds. Returning to her desk, she grabbed the files for the Colonel. Mustang sat at his desk, glad to finally be out of that wet uniform. "Edward sent these in. Their about his last bit of research," she stated, setting them on his desk. Nodding slightly, Mustang started flipping through the file, somewhat interested in what the 'shrimp' had to say. Setting them aside, he reached for the phone.
"Excuse me, sir. What are you doing?" Lieutenant Hawkeye inquired.
"I'm making a phone call," Roy said, looking at her as if it was obvious.
"I see that. But there is no reason to be using the phone. Even if it is to call one of those whores you and Havoc always go see," Riza answered, retreating to her desk.
"They are not whores! I don't pay them! I'm calling my girlfriend," Roy muttered.
"Which girlfriend sir? I thought they ALL dumped you?" came Riza's retort. Glaring at her, Roy put down the phone and started reading through the FullMetal's reports. He grumbled quietly, not at all interested in what Edward had to say.
"The longer you take to finish those, the less time you'll get on any date tonight," Riza brought up, reading threw a few things on her desk. For the most part, she was just reading the mail the military sent out. The mail she received from friends and family came to her apartment. Putting the letters away, she stood, taking her tea mug with her.
"Where are you going?" Roy questioned, finding it unfair that she was leaving. Riza turned at the door and looked at her commanding officer.
"I can leave if I want to, sir. I've finished my work," she answered, leaving the room with her cup. Roy glared at his desk, muttering incoherently. Grabbing his coffee cup, he took a drink before spitting out the liquid. His subordinates looked over at him, wondering what was wrong.
"Something wrong, sir?" Fury inquired, looking at Roy.
"This coffee is cold!" He said, wiping his mouth. The four men exchanged glances, blinking. Falman cleared his throat hesitantly to answer him.
"Colonel, sir. That's your coffee from yesterday," he mentioned, keeping his voice as calm as possible so as not to laugh at Mustang. Roy's eye twitched in annoyance. Pushing open the window behind him, he dumped the cold coffee out the opening. Standing suddenly, he left the room in a huff.
Mustang stormed down the hallway, heading for the small kitchen in the lounge. He hoped there was fresh coffee; he needed his caffeine fix for the day.
Upon entering the lounge, he noticed Riza at the counter, making her tea as usual. Shuffling over, Roy put his cup in the sink and let some water run through it, cleaning away some of the rings of coffee. Walking over to the coffee maker, he pulled out the pot and poured some in his now half clean cup.
"You should really wash out your cup, sir. It has coffee stains all over it," Riza pointed out, pouring in just a bit of sugar and some milk. Roy turned, facing his lieutenant and drank from the mug, just to spite her. Shaking her head Riza sighed. "If you get sick from it having germs on it, don't come whining to me," she said, taking her cup and heading for the door. "You wouldn't want to get sick and not be able to go on any dates," she added, smirking as she left.
Roy blinked, before spitting out the liquid he had sitting in his mouth. Dumping out the cup, he washed it with hot water and soap before pouring more coffee in it. Muttering about how right Riza was, Roy walked back towards the office.
x x x x x x
Riza stretched, feeling stiff from the long day. It may have been a half work day, but that didn't mean she went home when the rest of the soldiers did. No, the First Lieutenant stayed and continued to keep Colonel Mustang from leaving his work undone. Currently he was asleep behind his desk, when he claimed to be fixing the heater. Of course Riza knew the heater was working fine, she let him goof off, as she had taken his work to finish. She had plenty of his paperwork to finish, keeping much of it hidden in the larger drawers of her desk. Seeing that rain had started to fall, she stood and grabbed her jacket. The work she had left was packed into a box for her to take home and bring back tomorrow on their day off.
Leaving the office building briefly, Riza checked out a military vehicle to take herself, the work, and the Colonel home. Returning to the office, she walked over to Roy's desk, and dropped something on it, causing him to shoot up quickly.
"I'm working!" He said, pulling out his chair as if to work.
"The day is over and it is raining. Are you ready to go home, Colonel?" Riza asked flatly. She wasn't pleased that he had just spent the better part of four hours asleep while she slaved over his paperwork. Roy blinked, looking out the rain streaked window.
"Ah, I see," he muttered, walking over to the coat rack. Taking his jacket, Roy slid it on and noticed two boxes on his subordinate's desk. "Are you leaving me Lieutenant?" He blinked, thinking she might have gotten a transfer.
"No sir, I'm not," came her reply, as she picked up one of the boxes. Seeing her trying to grab the other one, he walked over and picked it up.
"Here, I'll help," he suggested, heading out the door with her following. "How far is your apartment from the Head Quarters?"
"We're taking a car sir. You can't do anything in the rain, so it's best you stay dry," she stated, staring straight ahead. Mustang nodded slightly, not taking too much of an offense from her words. They stepped into the rain, and down the steps where the car sat. Placing the files in the back seat (along with Black Hayate), Riza and Roy climbed in the car. Leaving the parade grounds, Riza headed for the Colonel's apartment, which she had taken him to many times.
"Lieutenant, why are you bringing home files?" Roy questioned, having noticed earlier that under the light cardboard top was paperwork. Her grip tightening on the steering wheel, Riza continued staring straight ahead as she drove.
"I was asked by another superior to finish them for him. I have time during our day off to do things for Monday," she lied. His mind wandered, recognizing several names of that paperwork as things given to him earlier this week. He figured he had finished them off, but if his subordinate was taking them home, there must be something he didn't do right.
"Why don't I help you? That is an awful lot of work for one person," he proposed, watching Riza's reaction. He saw her shift as if uncomfortable, before she at last settled once more.
"No sir, I'll be quite alright. You just have a relaxing weekend with the guys," she said, pulling up to his building. Roy blinked at her for several minutes, surprised she denied him so easily. "It's rude to stare sir." Feeling flustered at her comment, Roy stepped from the vehicle. Before closing the door, he smiled at Riza.
"It's hard to not stare at something so beautiful," he said, closing the door and entering his apartment building. Riza stared blankly at the windshield, completely caught off guard by the comment. As if having her feathers ruffled, Riza drove off, heading for her own apartment. She didn't see the smirk on Roy's face as he watched her drive off. Having seen her surprised look, he grinned to himself as he continued up the steps to his apartment.
Riza drove home, her mind racing. She didn't understand why he had to say such a thing as that. There was no reason. It was completely uncalled for… she thought. What if someone heard his comment? Then either of us could be tried for fraternization! He would never accomplish what he wanted! Clenching the steering wheel tightly, Riza pulled to a stop and shut off the car. She was sitting outside her own home, completely unsure what to do. Listening to the rain hit the windshield for several minutes, she finally made her way in the house with her dog, and both file boxes.
Changing into more comfortable clothing, Riza climbed into bed and slid under the blankets. She stopped, staring at Colonel Mustang's picture at her bedside. Her eyes wandered his features in the photo, even after she turned off the light and started to drift off to sleep.
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A/N 2: Thanks again for reading! I shall try updating at least once a month, or every... two months? I'll hopefully get more of the story in and you'll find out more of her past... Although, it is jus what I think (and some of it is from the manga) .
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I sure enjoyed writing it!
Later days!
:Flava Sava: