As Colonel Roy Mustang spent another restless evening with another brunette beauty that should have intrigued him, his mind kept wandering away from the date in front of him. Not that she wasn't attractive. Quite the contrary, she was a lovely young lady, the type any man would be honored to be seen in public with, and yet for some reason, he felt nothing but this sort of empty longing that he couldn't place.
Much later, after saying goodbye and giving her the usual thrilling goodnight kiss, he retreated back to the Officers' Quarters with that vacant feeling still creeping through his stomach. For years he had been dating these women, these beautifully irresistible women, but none of them seemed to fulfill the qualifications that he found would be suitable for a potential wife. Sure, they were fun for a night or two out on the town, but other than that, their usefulness ran out fairly quickly.
He had almost resigned himself to thinking that one of these women would be the best that he could find out there. After all, their type was the only kind he seemed to be running into lately. (And by lately he meant for the past several years.) But then again, he put most of the emphasis on the word "almost". He wasn't quite ready to accept that there wasn't a woman out there with a little bit of brains and more finesse to her than her figure.
When he finally reached the Officers' Quarters and passed by the female barracks, he noticed a familiar lieutenant standing outside with her dog. He smiled, realizing that it was very rare to see First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye out of her uniform, much less in pajamas, an overcoat, and bare feet. He waved at her and said, "Late night, Hawkeye?"
"Blame it on the dog, sir," she replied, trying to smile as she kept the jacket wrapped tightly around her. She then smiled politely and added, "How did your date go? I suspect she fell head over heels for you and vice versa, just like always."
He shook his head. "No," he said simply. "It just…wasn't right somehow. Isn't it odd how it never seems to be right? It doesn't matter who I am with or how beautiful or interesting she is, I can never bring myself to invite a woman on more than one date. Maybe the fault lies with me in this whole thing. I keep thinking that it's because they aren't right for me, but what if my standards are just too high?"
Hawkeye laughed and said, "Sir, I don't think it's possible for anyone's standards to be too high. Just keep looking for her, the one perfect woman you keep dreaming of. She's out there somewhere waiting for you too, and if you have to go through a whole lot of incompatibility to get to her, so be it. She'll find you sooner or later."
Mustang smiled, his confidence boosted. She had always had a real way of making him feel better about any situation. Sometimes she stated the terribly blunt and hurtful truth, but then again, that was sometimes what it took for her to get through to his thick head. He nodded and said, "Thanks, Hawkeye. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."
She nodded back and replied, "Goodnight, Colonel."
I had all but given up
On finding the one that I could fall into
On the day before you
I was ready to settle for
Less than love and not much more
There was no such thing as a dream come true
Oh, but that was on the day before you
The next morning, Mustang was the first to arrive at work, as usual. He sat down at his desk, positioned at the head of the room and waited patiently as each of his subordinates lagged their way into the office. The only one of them who seemed to be ever-attentive and ready for action was, of course, Hawkeye. Her spirits never seemed to dampen, and her military demeanor went full-scale from dawn till dusk. Watching her work diligently with all that discipline made Mustang wonder if she even let her guard down for Black Hayate at home.
Oddly enough, as the day wore on, he found himself watching her more and more. He would glance up from his work every so often to see her still meticulously concentrating on whatever it was the Fuehrer had her working on today. Mustang certainly didn't know. He found it best to keep his nose out of the paperwork, as everyone well knew. Paperwork just wasn't his thing, so he just left it up to his faithful followers, who in turn generally left it to Hawkeye.
Still, even when she worked with almost a military scowl on her face, she looked oddly charismatic. Mustang had always known that Hawkeye was a very attractive woman. There had never been any doubt about that. But for some reason, it recently seemed to be becoming more and more evident. Something about the way she held her head high with pride and dignity made her seem so attractive that he almost couldn't take his eyes off of her for a moment there.
Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
And find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
The day before you
Later that week, Mustang was sitting at home, enjoying a nice home cooked meal of instant ramen and finding it rather displeasing. What he had been doing to cheer himself up more and more as of late was thinking about Hawkeye, or Riza as he had come to think of her now. Of course, he didn't dare call her by her first name when they were at work. That was potentially life-threatening.
As he sat at his desk staring at the unsatisfactory bowl of ramen, he closed his eyes and suddenly pictured her face, that beautifully enchanting, long golden hair, and even more captivating still, those deep amber eyes, usually so full of concentration and discipline. In his mind, however, those eyes instead sparkled with a happiness that he saw in her only rarely. Riza really should smile more often. It would make the world an infinitely better place to grace it with that lovely smile.
He opened his eyes and thought about the day she had been assigned to him. It was the day he had gone back to work after returning from the war, so really it was about three months after he had actually gotten back to Central. He had finally returned, ready to go back to work and execute his plan to raise higher and higher in the ranks, and was succeeding thus far by already being promoted to a Lieutenant Colonel, thereby gaining a staff of his own.
The Fuehrer had introduced her rather proudly as he said, "Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang, I would like for you to meet one of our finest new officers. This is First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, and she's become quite the efficient soldier. She's not a State Alchemist, but her abilities with a gun more than make up for that. She'll be working as your right hand, and she'll get you up to speed on everything that's been going on here in Central since you've been gone."
He saluted and said, "Thank you, sir." Really, he was in no mood to meet new people, especially not some crybaby woman who had just attained a high rank. In his experience, military women had never really been the hard-shelled type. They were more suited for desk jobs, in his opinion. That was why he found it exceptionally difficult to believe that this woman was as proficient as the Fuehrer had indicated.
Mustang sat down at his desk in his new office, and she stood beside him silently for several minutes. After a very long, very awkward pause, she saluted and said, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"
He nodded and said, "Go ahead, Lieutenant. Have a seat, if you'd like."
She sat down in the chair in front of his desk, still sitting up completely straight. "Sir, I know you've had a hard time of late. I've heard the horror stories of the things that happened in Ishbal, and I know everything that the State Alchemists were forced to attempt with the Philosopher's Stone, so please don't think me insensitive to your plight.
"Rather to the contrary, sir, I believe that you are a very talented man who deserves ample recognition, and I'm here to help you achieve that. Fuehrer Bradley informed me of how you've been feeling rather despondent since returning, and I would also like to let you know that if there is anything you need to talk about or get off of your chest, I would like for us to be friends as well. That is why you may also feel free to speak candidly around me as well, sir.
"Oh, and one more thing, if I may take your skeptical look to mean that I am not the soldier the Fuehrer suggested I am, I would be more than willing to show you my exceptional talents, Lieutenant Colonel Mustang."
He had been floored to say the very least. This woman he didn't even know was saying that no matter what, she was there for him, if only just because she had been assigned to work under him. And she had been as good as her word ever since. She had stood beside him in every decision, given him her advice, and (on occasion) had been his shoulder to cry on, metaphorically speaking, of course
In your eyes I see forever
And it makes me wish that my life never knew
The day before you
Oh, but heaven knows those years without you
Were shaping my heart for the day that I found you
And if you're the reason for all that I've been through
Then I'm thankful for the day before you
The days continued to pass until they had turned into weeks and the weeks had turned into months. Over these past several months, it had become more and more apparent to Mustang that his feelings for Hawkeye went far past platonic. She was becoming a very important factor in his life, and that didn't exclude her beautiful features and her very intelligent demeanor, not to mention the fact that she was, in fact, a very good soldier.
As he thought more on the subject, Mustang could remember the days before Hawkeye had come into his life, those terrible, horror-filled days in which he could only remember the flames and blood that had engulfed all the people he had slaughtered while in Ishbal. She had been one to allay those feelings, one of many yes, but still one of the more prominent in his mind.
In fact, now that he thought about it, his life was better in general just because Hawkeye was one of his friends…perhaps something more? After all, he'd been thinking not long ago that he needed a woman different from all these shallow females he had taken to dating in the past several years. They weren't for him. But Riza…she was perfect in almost every way. Of course, there were several problems with this fantasy he had built up in his mind of her.
First of all, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to even suggest such a relationship to a subordinate officer. Second of all, who was to even say that she would say yes if he did? And if she didn't, would their impeccable relationship be forever marred? Ah! He felt like such a teenager with these emotions and conflicts! He was a grown man for gods' sakes! He shouldn't have to deal with that kind of stress!
"Sir!" Hawkeye said louder to wake him from the apparent trance he had slipped into. He looked up with a start to see her standing at the door about to turn out the light. "Sir, it's time to go home. Would you like some company on your walk back to the barracks, or do you have another date tonight?"
He smiled and walked toward the door as he said, "No, no date tonight. In fact, I have the feeling that those dates are over."
"Meaning what, sir?" she asked seriously. "Don't tell me you've given up on women. That would be a serious injustice to our kind."
He had to laugh at that last statement. Even though she was serious most of the time, she knew how to be funny when the occasion called for it. "That's not quite what I mean, Riza. Tell me, have you ever considered seeing a dashing, tall, dark, and handsome colonel whose life would infinitely be made better if you said yes?"
She raised an eyebrow at the question, certainly not expecting that as a response. She wondered how to reply for a moment, and finally nodded as she said, "Yes, sir. I think that would be a rather exhilarating experience, in fact. Tell me, where might I find such a man?"
He faked a laugh and said, "Ha ha, you're very funny, Riza." He then got serious and stopped her where she was, suddenly very serious. "This time, I'm not joking. My life has been made so much better ever since you've become a part of it. Over the years, you have been like my closest confidante and friend. I've had to date woman after shallow woman, and none of them ever compared to you.
"You were there for me and supported me in everything when no one else would. It's almost like the moment you entered my world, things were instantly enhanced. Suddenly, life was worth living again, and I found myself itching to get to work to see you. If you were right, if I did have to go through all those women and all those horrible times just to get to you, then they were all worth it. I just thank the gods every day that I'll never have to live another day without you…provided that you approve."
Now her eyes were wide for real. She had absolutely no idea what to say. It took several moments for her to process everything he'd just said, and as it sunk in, her expression of shock grew softer and finally ended with a look of compassionate understanding. She took a deep breath and smiled as she said, half-jokingly and half-serious, "Since when has my approval meant anything to you, sir?"
He smiled and took her into his arms tightly, holding his mouth close to her ear and whispering, "Not another day, Riza. Not one more day will I have to live without you."
The day before you
Was the last day that I ever lived alone
And I'm never going back
I'm never going back
Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
And find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
The day before you