III.

There it was. The Corner Café located on the corner of Main St. and West Ave. The café was a military hotspot during the working week, its location making it a short walk from headquarters and easily worked into their short 45 minute lunch break. Though, despite its closeness to both her work and her home, Riza had never actually seen the Corner Café before with her own eyes. Sure, the office had eaten from there many times before, but they had always sent Fuery out to pick to the orders while the rest of them finished their work – Or lack there of in the Colonels case.

It was cute, she had to admit, and it definitely had its charm. The red awning over the cornered doorway was welcoming with white lettering spelling out the name across the front. She noticed the door even had a little bell attached to it as she entered, letting the waitresses know of her arrival. There was a bar that stretched from the front of the store to the back wall on her right with six round, red-cushioned stools in front of it. All the stools where taken. On the left near the wall of windows were four small, two-person booths, each full with couples celebrating the most romantic day of the year together over some lunch. That, of course, left the three small round tables in the center, each also with only two stools a piece. 'What is this? A conspiracy against single people?' She knew it wasn't, but nevertheless, she got the impression she was supposed to have a date with her, a significant other, someone to hold hands with and smile and share the way with much like everyone else here was doing. 'Silly,' Riza thought, 'They must not work very hard –If at all- because people who do work hard to make something of their lives have no time for such folly…' But as she sat herself down at the one empty table in the back facing the door so that she could easily see everyone who entered behind her, waiting patiently for her mystery date to arrive, a part of Riza deep down inside admitted that it didn't in actuality believe a word of it.

No one in the café looked familiar to Riza, not to mention everyone else was already in the arms of their own dates. She was surrounded… And she just realized that the whole café was filled with the smell of flowers and chocolate. Everywhere she looked, Riza saw kissing and hugging and hand holding. No one was alone, except for Riza, who was now making herself very involved in reading the menu so as to spare herself from anymore mushy stuff. Then the chime on the door sounded and her breath caught in her throat. Her mind was racing. 'Who could it be? Havok, maybe? Or Fuery? Mustang…' Finally, she lifted her eyes from the menu to gaze upon the single person who had just entered the café and who was now smiling and walking directly to Riza's table. Riza stared openly as her date sat in the stool opposite her, returning her stare. She was dumbfounded. This definitely wasn't who she was expecting.

"Schezka?"

"Hello, Miss Riza!" Schezka replied happily. Riza's mind still hadn't registered everything yet…

"Schezka!" Schezka giggled.

"I guess you weren't expecting me to show up." Riza didn't know what to say in return, and it took all her willpower to prevent her mouth from dropping open right then and there. 'No, I would say not! Mustang would have been less of a surprise. Hughes, even! And he's happily married!' Riza had honestly never even given the girl a thought; she was just Hughes' secretary, not exactly part of Riza's everyday life. She had no idea the girl was… Interested in her!

"Schezka," Riza began as she reached out and took the brown haired girl's hands in her own, "I'm sorry, but… I'm not…" Schezka pulled her hands away.

"I'm afraid you have the wrong idea, Miss Riza," the girl interrupted. Riza suddenly felt a second wind and recomposed herself.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not here to go on a date with you. I mean, I do like you, Miss Riza, but as a friend. I respect you very much, but honestly, my heart is reserved for someone a bit more… masculine!" Riza looked visibly relieved. Schezka had just saved her from probably the most embarrassing and scarring conversation she would ever have had in her entire lifetime. But now that shock had worn off, Riza was filled with pressing questions.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm supposed to make sure you actually showed up," was the answer. 'This was a gag! I knew it all along!' Riza thought, slightly disappointed, 'the guys in the office planted that stupid note in my pocket to get me all worked up, then sent poor innocent Schezka out here to see if I fell for it or not!' Riza was actually very angry now, both at the office and herself. Riza stood up briskly. "Wait, there's a message too!" Schezka added cheerfully, obviously not sensing anything wrong yet.

"I don't want to here it, I already know what it is," she gathered herself and walked past the girl at her table, muttering something under her breath about her gun and pulling pranks. Schezka stood as well. This wasn't going very well at all!

"Miss Riza, wait!" the girl called after the blonde, but Riza never halted in her march to the door. "Miss Riza! The message! It was-"

"I don't care, Schezka, Go home!" Riza told the girl angrily. Schezka was persistent, though, and ran to catch up to Riza at the door as she swung it open and stepped outside.

"It was that-"

"-That was I was going to be a little late." Riza walked right into the figure that loomed in front of her in her way. Her ruby eyes slowly trailed up the man's body before her. Shiny black shoes, neatly starched and pressed black suit pants, tucked into them was a white button down shirt with the top button undone and the collar hanging loose, a gentle smirk and dark piercing eyes, topped with a head full of black hair. Riza stared up at the face of Roy Mustang, her commanding officer. He smiled down at her before he decided to continue, since it was very obvious that she was in such a state of shock that she wouldn't be saying anything any time soon. "I hope you will forgive me for my lateness. I received a phone call this morning from my dear sweet mother demanding that I stop by and see her, and it didn't matter how much I told her that I had somewhere to be, she kept talking and talking and talking. I'm sure you understand how frustrating parents can be, So I snuck to the phone while I was 'in the bathroom' and called the only person that was free, Schezka, and asked her to meet you here and make sure you didn't think you were stood up."

"Well, that's not exactly what I ended up thinking, but I get the point," Riza stated, thinking back on her suspicions of Schezkas' feelings for her and of a horrible prank being pulled on her, as Roy laughed. Then he looked past Riza to Schezka who still stood in the café doorway behind them.

"Thank you, Schezka, I owe you one," he said to her and Schezka smiled brightly.

"No problem at all, Sir. I'll be going now, don't want to intrude any longer!" and with a quick goodbye to both of the officers, the girl was off down the street. Riza watched her run away for a moment, then turned back to her "date." Roy only smirked again and offered her his hand. Riza looked at it suspiciously, however Roy insisted.

"Shall we?" he pressed her, and finally Riza accepted his hand, placing her own in his offered one. Roy lifted it to his lips and planted an innocent kiss on the back of her hand. Riza watched wide eyed as he did so, and then pulled her closer, interlocking his left arm in her right. The two began walked together down the street, arm in arm.