Disclaimer: I do not own FMA: Brotherhood.
14 years ago
Roy looks down at the piece of paper in his hand, checking to see if he is at the right place. He sees that he is. He opens the gate and walks towards the house and knocks on the front door. As he waits for someone to answer, he shifts his feet in excitement.
He's going to learn alchemy. He didn't care how his aunt knew about Berthold Hawkeye. All he could think about is that he's finally going to do what he dreamed of since he was a boy.
He straightens up when the door opens, revealing a young girl. She looks at him expectedly, "May I help you?"
After clearing his throat, he answers, "I'm Roy Mustang. I'm here to learn from Berthold Hawkeye."
"Yes, we've been expecting you, Mr. Mustang."
She steps aside to let him enter the house. After closing the door behind him, she tells him, "Follow me. I'll take you to your room."
As the girl leads him up the stairs, Roy takes her appearance in. She has her hair short with bangs swept to the side. She appears to be younger than him. He asks, "Are you Master Hawkeye's daughter?"
She replies, "Yes, I'm Riza Hawkeye."
When they arrive at his room, Roy sets his suitcase on the bed. Turning to her, he grins and holds his hand out, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Riza looks down at it with a surprised look. Roy begins to feel uncertain, worried that he may have offended her. However, she slowly takes his hand and shakes it. He tries not to show his relief, keeping his smile.
This is how Roy Mustang first met Riza Hawkeye.
They don't see each other much after that. Right after that first meeting, Riza sent him to meet her father, who immediately started his lessons.
Each day starts with Roy waking up to breakfast ready for him in the kitchen with Riza off to school. He spends the morning with Master Hawkeye for lessons. In the afternoon, he works on his assignments while his teacher immerses himself in research. Roy gets glimpses of Riza through the window of his bedroom. He would see her return from school and leave the house shortly with a rifle. In the evening, she comes back with game slung over her shoulder. Sometimes she brings back birds. On other days, she has squirrels and rabbits. She would then cook the meat and bring dinner to Roy and her father. When she comes back to take away his empty plate, she only gives a nod when Roy thanks her. It is the only interaction he has with her all day.
Roy wonders to himself if he did anything wrong to cause her to act this way and if she ever has time for herself. It seems that all her time is dedicated to doing all the chores. Even the weekends are spent cleaning the house and doing laundry. Does she even have time to do her homework?
It has been a month since he arrived and he only says one word per day to her. He should change that. He can't have her doing all the work in the house. He wants to get to know Riza Hawkeye.
One morning, he gets up earlier than usual. He goes down to the kitchen to make breakfast. Or at least he tries to. He quickly finds himself opening the kitchen window in a panic, trying to air out the smoke. How did he burn something as simple as eggs?
He hears someone enter the kitchen behind him. Turning his head, Roy sees Riza standing at the doorway, looking bewildered. He smiles sheepishly, "I tried to make breakfast."
Wordlessly, she walks towards him. He steps aside to give her space. She takes the scorched pan and puts it aside.
"Did you not like the food?" she asks quietly.
Widening his eyes, he shakes his head quickly. He didn't mean to offend her. "Oh no! No! I just wanted to start helping out. I was trying make breakfast for all of us." He cringes when he glances at the pan, "I'm sorry for causing a mess."
She turns to him and tilts her head slightly to the side, giving him a puzzled look. Roy blinks, thinking to himself that she looks cute like this. Immediately, he mentally slaps himself. He shouldn't be having that thought at a time like this!
Riza nods, "It's alright, Mr. Mustang. You can have a seat while I make breakfast."
He sits down at the table, surprised at how easily she had brushed his blunder off. He watches as she cooks the eggs and makes the toast. She sets down their plates before going upstairs to give Master his meal. He waits until she comes back so that they can eat together.
They dine in silence with Roy stealing glances at Riza, who seems to be trying to avoid looking at him. He wonders if she is not used to interacting with people other than her own father, who isn't exactly the most social person out there. After finishing their food, Roy takes their plates. Riza looks at him in confusion.
"I can wash the dishes," he says.
"Oh no, you don't have to do that, Mr. Mustang. I can—"
"Let me help," Roy insists. She closes her mouth and stares at him in wonder. She then nods and goes upstairs to get her father's plate. After a few minutes, she comes back and hands him the dish. He gets the chore done quickly and goes to wash the pan. Riza stops him before he can take it, "It's alright. I can clean it after I come back from school."
He gives her a confused look. She raises a brow and trails her eyes to the pan, "Do you know how to clean a scorched pan?"
Roy opens his mouth to answer. He freezes when he realizes, "No, I don't." He flushes in embarrassment. Unexpectedly, he sees amusement flash in her eyes. The corner of her mouth twitches as if she is trying to hold back a smile.
He finds himself attempting to suppress his own, a little proud of himself for getting such a reaction. He thinks that this is a good start with Riza.
After that morning, Roy starts a new routine. He wakes up to eat breakfast with Riza. After they finish, he would wash the dishes while she gets ready for school. When she comes back from hunting, they repeat. She cooks and he cleans.
On the weekends, he helps her with chores in the house, allowing for her to have more free time. Every time he does so, Riza tries to tell him that he doesn't have to lend a hand. Roy would always reassure her that it's fine since Master Hawkeye is too absorbed in his research to even notice. It helps that Roy always finishes his assignments quickly.
Little by little, Roy gets Riza to open up. He learns that hunting is her favorite part of the day, a chance to hone her skills while feeling free in the forest. She hunts to save money so that they can get by on her father's meager fund.
He eventually finds out the reason behind her behavior during the first month. It turns out that he is not the only student her father has taught. All the others before him never bothered to get to know her, too focused on trying to please Master in hopes of getting their hands on his research. Unfortunately for them, they do not last long enough, unable to keep up with Master's teachings.
As the months go by, Roy and Riza become closer as friends. Eventually, he starts walking her from school. He would wait for her to leave class, causing gossip among her classmates who believe Roy to be her boyfriend. The first time this happened, Roy waggled his eyebrows at Riza. She merely rolled her eyes before pushing him into a bush.
Later on, it occurs to Roy that he never seen any interaction between Riza and her father throughout the time he has stayed at the Hawkeye residence. Neither father nor daughter make mention of each other. It isn't until a year since he arrived that he sees a hint of the nature of their relationship. One day, he and Riza return from her school. As they are walking through the doorway, Roy has Riza chuckling at a joke when they see Master Hawkeye waiting for them in the kitchen.
They freeze as Master raises his head and looks at Roy. He grunts out, "Where were you, boy?"
Not used to seeing his teacher outside of his study, Roy slowly answers, "Um, I was picking Riza up from school…"
Narrowing his eyes, Master Hawkeye looks away and addresses Riza, "Have you been distracting my student from his studies?"
Roy raises his eyebrows slightly, thinking how odd that Master seems to be actively looking away from Riza. He glances at her, whose face is strangely blank.
"I'm sorry if I have offended you, Father," she murmurs.
Roy is quick to defend to her, "She hasn't, sir. I always finish the assignments you've given me and I'm never behind on my studies."
Master is silent at first, as if he had forgotten that certain detail. Then, he mutters, "That's true."
He gets from his chair and goes to the stairs to return to his study. After he wordlessly leaves the room, Roy wonders why his teacher chose to come out today. He looks at Riza and is surprised to see a mixture of sadness and resignation in her eyes. Obviously, this isn't the first time Master has treated his daughter this way.
"Riza…"
"I have to go hunt for dinner," she says in a tight voice. She quickly drops her bag onto an armchair and goes to pick her rifle up from the kitchen. When she passes by him, Roy stops her when he gently takes hold of her arm, "Riza, you know you can tell me anything."
When she does not give an immediate answer, he sighs and lets go of her arm.
"It's been like this since my mother passed away."
He looks at her and patiently waits for her to continue. She has a faraway look as she explains, "Father didn't take it well. It doesn't help that I look like her so much, so he can't bear to look at me. He copes by locking himself in his study to work on his research."
Roy gives her a sympathetic look. "He shouldn't treat you this way," he says quietly.
She merely gives a shrug before walking to the kitchen. She picks the rifle and slings it around her shoulder. She opens the door to the outdoors. Without giving a glance back, she says, "I'll be back."
She closes the door, leaving Roy alone in the room.
They don't talk about her father again until three years after Roy's arrival. After those three years, Roy can think to himself with confidence that Riza is his dearest friend. This is why he finds himself struggling to find a way to break the news to her, afraid of upsetting her. He tells her one late night in her room, where she is sitting on her bed while he is on the floor leaning against it.
"What's wrong, Roy?" she asks.
He looks at her in surprise, "Huh?"
She raises a brow, "Your fidgeting is shaking the bed."
"Oh."
Sensing his troubled state, she puts down the book she was reading. She gets off her bed and sits beside him. She places her hand on his, "Is something bothering you?"
Roy hesitates, unsure of how to start. He decides to cut to the chase, "I enlisted in the military."
He tries not to shift in nervousness. Even though he had talked about joining occasionally, both are aware of Master's views of the military. She never talked about she felt about it.
"Is this what you truly want?" she eventually asks in a gentle voice.
"Yes," he answers confidently. He is more than sure about his decision. He'll do all it takes to protect this country.
Despite the unreadable expression in her eyes, she gives a small smile, "Then I'll support you."
Despite his relief, he can't help but worry for her. "What about you? Will you be okay with your father?"
"I'll be fine. I've lived with him my whole life. I can handle it."
That didn't bring him any comfort at all. "You shouldn't have to put up with him."
"He's the only family I have left," she says with a sad smile.
"You don't owe him anything, Riza. Especially with the way he treats you."
When she only gives a shrug, Roy feels as if his heartstrings are being tugged. He presses, "He's not going to be here forever, Riza. There has to be something you want to do free from him."
She looks contemplative, "…I want to get a dog."
Roy blinks in surprise. He sometimes forgets just how innocent she is. She continues, "Father doesn't allow pets. He said they're too noisy and would distract him from his research. Sometimes, I think about having a dog. Specifically, a black one named Black Hayate."
Roy stares at her blankly. After a moment, he says, "You have no naming sense."
He chuckles when she tilts her head in confusion. She eventually joins in with her own. After their laughter dies down, Roy tells her, "I'll come back. I promise."
His resolve to keep his word becomes stronger when she gives him a small smile.
AN: I'm so sorry for the (very) delayed update. Since the last update, I started the process of getting ready to apply to med school, which included getting a job in healthcare. I've just finished submitting my applications, so I suddenly have some free time while I wait for interview invites. Updates still won't be as regular as they used to be due to work and interview prep.
Just wanted to let you all know that this story is not dead.
Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!