Disclaimer: I do not own FMA, alright? I just own my plot ideas
A/N: Wow! Another chapter in just two days! Crazy!
Well, I really wanted to write this chapter, and since I had it on my mind, I just went ahead.
Please enjoy reading, and leave a review! I love answering your reviews, and getting all your feedback!
They continued towards Roy's stopping at a small store to pick up more food and of course beer. The other guys walked ahead of Riza and Jean, laughing at their own perverted jokes while the two chatted. Jean and Riza had always gotten along really well together, the whole office knew it. Breda glanced back at them, elbowing Fury and Falman.
"Five bucks says the two of them dated once," he whispered, a grin appearing on his face. Fury blinked.
"No, last time I bet against you, I lost my money for the whole month!" Fury stated.
"You lost your money to me. Both you and Breda," Falman smirked. "I wouldn't mind being able to take my girlfriend out to a nice restaurant again."
"No, I am not betting!" Fury shook his head, crossing his arms.
"Aww, come on Fury. If you're right, then you'll get money," Breda said, elbowing him.
"No. I'm already going to lose money to you guys at poker. Why lose my money before we actually play?"
"Oh, he has a point there. I'm not betting either. I want to be able to at least eat," Falman said.
"Man, you guys are no fun. It's just a little wager," Breda mumbled.
Riza shook her head, hearing the men ahead of them betting on something. She continued walking with Havoc's arm around her. Sure it might look a bit suspicious, but they were really good friends; nothing more. Havoc had his normal cigarette between his lips, talking around it like he always did. His ability to talk with it in his mouth astounded her; it rarely fell, no matter what he said. That cigarette, or at least one of them, was always dangling from his mouth. Smirking at him, she reached up and pulled it from his lips.
"Hey! That's mine!" He protested.
"Jean, this is such a bad habit. You should quit. Then your clothes wouldn't reek, and maybe one of my friends would go out with you," Riza said, dropping the little addiction stick to the ground and crushing it with her foot as they walked. Havoc blinked at her, surprised that she would do such a cruel thing. Reaching into his pocket, Jean pulled out his pack and popped another cigarette between his lips. Rolling her eyes, Riza shook her head. "If you kill yourself with one of those, I will not go to your funeral."
"Of course you will darlin'. You're too good of a friend to not attend," Jean grinned, continuing with his habit.
"Sadly, I will go despite the fact that I'm watching you kill yourself with those," Riza said, looking towards the sky.
"See, I knew it! You would come," Havoc beamed in victory.
"Hey! Lovebirds! You coming in the apartment or not?!" Breda yelled to the two still out on the sidewalk. Glancing at each other, Riza and Jean both laughed, heading up the steps after the others.
"Lovebirds my ass. We're childhood friends," Havoc retorted. "It's more like Riza and Roy," he muttered only to Riza. Hearing him, she brought her elbow back right into his gut.
"You like remaining male right?" She hissed, shooting a glare at him.
"Yes ma'am! Male through and through! Why if I wasn't male, I'd be a eunuch," he joked.
"Then shut up," she said, continuing up the stairs to Roy's apartment. The group gathered outside his door, chatting loudly.
"Open the door, Roy! Come on, we got all the stuff for poker night!" Breda called loudly, banging on the door twice.
"Hold on! I'll be right there!" Came a voice from within. After several minutes the door opened and there stood Roy. "Come on in guys. Let's get this game started." Opening the door wider, Roy headed in further, followed by his 'guests'. Everyone entered, Jean closing the door with his foot as his hands were full with food Riza had passed to him. "Set the food on the counter, and beer in the fridge," Roy instructed, reaching into one of the boxes and pulling out a bottle. He made his way over to the table, taking his usual seat and watched the others set up.
Riza slid off her jacket, revealing her normal brown short-sleeve turtle neck. Hanging her jacket off her chair, along with her bag, Riza slid into her seat. The guys finished setting up; grabbing the beers and some chips for everyone they all took their seats.
"Alright gentlemen, and lady," Jean said, glancing at Riza before continuing. "The game is called five-card draw. Any bets upfront before we start?" Everyone mostly just sat there, eating chips or drinking their beers. "Well, then let's get this game started," he said, starting to deal out the cards.
For the most part, they chatted, discussing work, and other topics. The room was filled with smoke as Havoc and the other guys smoked some of the cigarettes. Riza declined, finding the smell and taste atrocious. Laughing at her, the guys continued with their perverted banter; having changed the subject to girlfriends, and recent hookers.
"Why pay to get laid? Oh wait, it's probably because none of you could with just yourselves. You have to pay for pleasure," Riza said, taking a swig of her beer. She smirked, looking down at her cards and placing in her bet.
"Like hell we could! Why, Roy here has probably sacked a truckload of women, right?" Breda said, elbowing the Colonel. He glanced at Breda, shooting a small glare before returning his attention to the cards.
"Yeah whatever. Just means he can't win a woman with just his charm. He had to go to the hookers. Poor Pony Boy," Riza grinned.
"I'll have you know, Hawkeye I can probably get a man before you get one," Roy slurred.
"Oh? Is the Colonel suddenly swinging both ways?" She smirked, seeing his confusion.
"No! I'm just saying, have you ever been with a man Riza? Like actually been with one?" Roy inquired, taking a rather large sip of his beer. She fell silent, staring at him.
"I fold," she said, dropping her cards on the table. Grabbing her jacket, she slipped it on.
"What? Come on Hawk, he was joking," Breda said, watching her with the others.
"It's been a lovely evening gentlemen, but it's late, and I want to get some sleep. We still have work tomorrow," she said, grabbing her bag and heading for the door. Black Hayate got up sleepily, and trotted after her. The door closed with a click, and the two walked down the hall.
"Smooth move Roy. Make her angry. She's definitely going to castrate you tomorrow if you slack off," Breda muttered, taking a sip of beer. Havoc watched the door, knowing there was something more. He stood, taking his own jacket and heading for the door.
"I'm gonna make sure she makes it home alright," he said, leaving before anyone could protest.
The other three turned, glaring at Roy. He had ruined their game once again; his partially drunken self always said the wrong things.
"Nice going, Mustang. Scare her off, and you don't even go after her," Falman muttered, crossing his arms. Fury shook his head, glancing at the door before setting his cards on the table.
"She is right, we do have work tomorrow. I'm going to head home too," Fury said, standing. The group slowly dispersed, leaving Roy to clean up the mess. A knock at his door stopped his clean-up. Shuffling to the door, he pulled it open, seeing Havoc.
"Come to yell at me too, Jean?" Roy said, letting him in.
"No, I came to check on you. After saying such a thing, I'm surprised she didn't come back and kill you," Havoc said, starting to help Roy clean the mess.
"I didn't think she'd take it so literally," he muttered, looking into the garbage bag through his drunken stupor.
"Well, think before you speak next time. You remember the girl we both grew up with? She died sometime after joining the academy. Now whether it was the war that killed that personality, or the discipline, she's still not the same girl," Jean said, looking at Roy.
"None of us are the same, Jean. After what happened back then, everyone changed." Roy continued staring into the garbage bag. Shaking his head, Havoc continued cleaning, soon joined once more by Roy.
X x x With Riza x x x
Riza shook her head, surprised Roy would say such a thing. Why would he ever—?! Does he not think? Her mind reeled, trying to forget her memories and his words.
"That jerk! God, why must he be so rude! Thoughtless, insensitive, little—" She fumed, falling silent as she pushed open the gate to her yard. The whole walk to her house seemed a lot shorter when she was angry. Entering her house, Riza went into the kitchen and made tea, trying to calm herself. Her hands were shaking as her memories continued to flood her thoughts.
"I won't go back to that night. I've put it all behind me. Every. Last. Thought," she said, slamming a tea mug down on the counter. She winced, hear it break. "Great," she muttered, throwing the pieces in the garbage. Pulling out another mug, Riza quickly made up her tea, holding the full cup before her. It trembled, the shaking from her hands seeming to get worse. The door's locked. I locked it myself. Trying to reassure herself wasn't easy.
Turning to head to bed, Riza stiffened, hearing a noise outside her kitchen window. Raccoon. It's just that damn raccoon. Or, it could be someone... Of course what ones mind thought and what the reality was were two different things.
"No, it's the raccoon. If it's not, I'm prepared," she whispered, returning to the task at hand. Black Hayate watched his master curiously, his head slightly tilted to the side. He was wondering what she was doing, acting all jumpy. Normally she wasn't this way.
Walking past the front window, Riza froze, thinking she saw something move. It's nothing. Shaking her head, she continued towards the hall, hoping to at least make it to bed where she knew she'd be safe. The tick of Black Hayate's claws echoed her own footfalls, making her more aware of just how quiet it was in the house. A loud thud startled her, making Riza actually jump. Her hand immediately went for her gun, drawing it quickly. Setting the tea cup on a small nook in the hall, she moved towards the front room, listening.
Peering around the corner, Riza continued to stay alert, watching for anything to move inside or outside. Black Hayate stood next to her, his hair rose slightly, having heard the sound also. Glancing down at him, she gestured for them to move to the kitchen. The two carefully made their way through the living room, and into the kitchen. She stared at the window, walking towards it cautiously. Hayate growled, low and deep in his throat.
Taking one last step so that she was adjacent to the window, Riza peered out, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Another thud made her jump back, her socked feet slipping on the wood floor. Moving her arm behind her to catch herself, she soon felt a sharp pain shoot up her hand and wrist.
"Ah!" She shouted, falling to the floor bringing the hot kettle with her. The water poured out quickly, a steaming hot puddle soon covering the floor, and soaking into her pants. Riza winced, clutching her hand. Looking at her palm she saw exactly what that pain was from. The stove, still hot from boiling the kettle, had burned her. Black Hayate padded over to her, whimpering.
"Shhhh… it's alright boy. I just burned my hand on the stove, because I'm scared of nothing," Riza muttered, pushing herself up. Turning on the faucet, Riza carefully placed her hand under it and started to cool the water slowly, trying to chill the burn. Stopping the water, Riza wrapped her hand in a towel and made her way to the bathroom, putting her gun back in its holster. Pulling out the various bandages, Riza quickly cleaned her hand, treated the wound, and bandaged it.
"Time for bed. I'm tired," she muttered, walking to her room and changing into her pajamas. Curling up under the blankets, Riza cuddled next to Black Hayate, wanting his warmth. Maybe his body heat would help her sleep; it would help her chase away the memories. After having such a rough night already, she knew she'd be paranoid all night; letting her get little hours of sleep.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! You'll learn more about why she was so offended by Roy's comment and what she means by 'that' night. It shall all make sense once I write the next chapter! Its been like... 6 months in the making. The one chapter I'm dreading of writing cause I don't think I can write it.
Also, you might have noticed the rating changed. I did such because from here on, the chapters might get more graphic, what with all sorts of battles coming up, and an interesting view on why Riza is a different women than who she was as a kid.
Please review! It would greatly help me to hear your feedback!
Thank you for reading! And please stay tuned for the next installment of "Of Her Past".
Later days!
:Flava Sava:
