Between Friends and Lovers
By Kurama-sweethart (Moe Shmoe)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Mystery, Romance
Warnings: Alternate Mangaverse, spoilers for the manga and anime, language and yuri.
Pairings: Mentions of one-sided Royai, Consensual Riza Hawkeye x Maria Ross.
The line between friends and lovers was indeed a fine one, crossed easily if one was not wary of its location. For some, it dwelled in the dark reaches of physical desire, the jump from spiritual attachment to sexual need. For others, it lay psychologically, when one stopped associating another as a friend and started, even to themselves, referring to them as more. Sometimes it was thoughtlessly stepped over, without either party quite aware of the transition. Others, however, would carefully inch over it, calculating every move they made until the line was well behind them.
She took notice the exact day of the occurrence, mindfully and dutifully logging every word and glance exchanged into the dark recesses of her mind. She could call upon the day well, in fact, as if it had just happened moments before.
Lieutenant Hawkeye had a stack of papers in hand, careful as she rounded corners to the Colonel's office. She knew he was still in the break room, sipping down his fifth mug of coffee, but she took in the documents and sat them gingerly on his desk, anyway. It was about that time that the Colonel had made his appearance, shuffling through the door and shooting his lieutenant a sly smile. She had cocked her head in confusion, then, as if wondering when along the line she had crossed it and fallen in love with Roy Mustang.
"Lieutenant?" Maria had intervened then, entering his office and clutching official documents from the Fuhrer to her chest. She mechanically handed them to her, waiting for whatever look was in character for Riza Hawkeye to make when she read the heading of the papers.
She froze, a strange combination of surprise and fury written on her face. "A Reassignment Order?" She asked in a voice too stable for the situation. "To the west?"
"I'm afraid so." Maria answered. "You are to be dispatched in exactly seven days, Lieutenant." The formality made her sick.
At this point Mustang's attention had been piqued, and he approached the two, frowning. "Let me see it." He ordered, and Maria dared not refuse. His dark eyes scanned the paper quickly, and he appeared to age a good decade, his brow furrowed in deep creases. "I'll speak with the Fuhrer, Lieutenant." The Colonel folded the paper and pocketed it. "See if I can pull some strings. That is," he paused to look at her square in the eye, then, as if pleading to her. "If you wish to stay stationed in my jurisdiction."
"Of course, sir." Hawkeye answered, saluting. Maria did the same, and he idly returned it as he stormed out of the office, heading towards the Personal Affairs Bureau.
"Why did they send you to deliver it? Why not Fuery or one of the other Sergeants?" Hawkeye asked darkly, a bit more hostile than she intended, once the Colonel was out of earshot.
Maria smiled softly, pulling the same letter from her own pocket. "Because I've been reassigned, too."
The seven fated days before the departure of Hawkeye and Ross passed quickly in a blur of formalities and paperwork. There were several documents required to be signed by people of high importance in order to let the reassignment flow smoothly, and while Maria was grateful that the Colonel had handled it all flawlessly; she felt the leaded weight of stress upon her shoulders for every moment that week. There was a tension, too, between she and Hawkeye, as if both were afraid to mention their move for fear that voicing it would cause it to be all the more true.
Regretfully, the Colonel had not been able to pull those strategically placed strings and allow both Hawkeye and Ross to remain stationed in Central. He reported, in a cold, indifferent voice, that the West was suffering from increasing hostility. Apparently, a few underground political groups were stirring up trouble along the Creatan borders. Since the west was a more rural, detached area, it requested high-ranking snipers from Central to aide in its metaphorical crowd control. Both Ross and Hawkeye fit their bill perfectly.
"Lieutenant Ross and I will be stationed within the Jurisdiction of a General Robert B. Stevenson. Apparently, he is a war hero from the Drachmian Border Conflicts, quite respected and known in the West." Hawkeye reported a day before their train left, handing the last bit of paperwork required to finalize their reassignment to the Colonel for his signature. He glared at it as if it were a plague.
"I want you to report to me if either of you see or hear anything suspicious." Mustang repeated for what seemed to Maria like the hundredth time. He'd been especially paranoid about his sect since Hughes' death, and the sudden reassignment of two favored subordinates didn't help the situation. "And I mean anything suspicious. Fires, Break Ins-"
"I understand, sir." Hawkeye responded lightly. "We'll be sure to let you know."
Mustang didn't seem convinced but didn't press the issue, nodding and returning the signed reassignment documents back to their respective owners. "Good. You both know how to reach me."
He saluted a dismissal, and both returned it mechanically. As Hawkeye and Ross left to begin packing for their early train departure the following morning, Roy Mustang stood in his office, staring stiffly out his window at the waning sunlight. He smelt something suspiciously like conspiracy.
"Would you like me to help you pack, Lieutenant?" Ross offered in a voice that forced a pleasantness that she wasn't feeling. The two women were heading to the bus stop now, refusing Lieutenant Havoc's offer to drive them both home in the military car.
Hawkeye smiled just as simulated as Ross'. "No thank you, Maria." She replied, digging through her purse for her bus pass. After work hours, formalities were forgotten. "I think I'd just like to go to bed early tonight, get some sleep. You and I have a long few days ahead of us."
"I understand." The brunette said just as the bus pulled up and Riza stepped in. "Goodnight."
The day of their departure was cold and gray, in which the earthy feel of morning lasted well past the ring of noon. Riza and Maria boarded their train with only their most personal possessions- the Colonel promising to have everything shipped to West City express by the day of their arrival. Black Hayate lay splayed over his owner's lap, nervous and panting from all the travel.
Maria could sympathize.
She stared out the window at the watercolor landscape rushing by, straining her eyes to focus on just one building or mountainous peak. They had been on the train for hours that numbered in the double digits (Maria having lost count quite some time before) and yet they still were just now beginning to see less and less of the familiar urban scene of Central and more and more of rolling hills and vast plateaus that went on until the heavy wall of horizon.
"The conductor says that we will be arriving in West City sometime tomorrow morning." Riza said casually, sitting down by the curled form of Hayate. It was quite a sight, Maria had to agree, to see Riza Hawkeye dressed in anything but a military uniform. But there she was, adorned in a form-fitting blouse and skirt, playing the role flawlessly of a civilian, yet with the same official air of her government status. "He also said that our car should receive a food cart at any moment." She said darkly with a hint of amusement.
"Great, I'm starved." Maria replied sleepily. She never knew traveling could be so tiresome. She leaned over and stroked Hayate awake. Dogs were technically not allowed in the passenger cars, but such was another of the many wonders of Roy Mustang's authority.
Riza laughed again, leaning back against the seat. "Don't get your hopes up. I'm sure it's nothing but peanuts and graham crackers."
Despite their informal conversation and conditions, Hawkeye still had the proper grace that was so expected back in Central. Her voice was still laced with respect and authority, as if they were still in the room with the General. "Ugh. I remember now why I hate traveling." Maria responded bitterly, leaning back as well. "What a nightmare."
She didn't know it, but Hawkeye couldn't have agreed more.
TBC. Part 1 of many,my first serious yuri fic.
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