Living on Borrowed Time
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Author's note: the flash back is supposed to be at the end of "Flame vs. Fullmetal"
Chapter 13 – Playing With Fire
Alphonse Elric watched his brother and the Colonel talk halfway down the hill. He felt bad for the Colonel; he knew what it was like to lose someone close. Al knew that the Colonel would be taking this hard…after all, this was the second friend he'd lost this year. Sadly, Al looked back at Lieutenant Hawkeye's new dug grave and read her headstone.
Riza Hawkeye
Beloved Granddaughter
Respected Soldier
Loyal Friend
1889-1914
Alphonse smiled inside, the headstone was rather fitting. Hawkeye hadn't said much, but she seemed to embody all of those things. Staring at the grave marker, he couldn't help but think back to the one really deep conversation he'd had with her.
"I guess now they're forced to work together." Hawkeye stated as she watched Ed and the Colonel cleaning up the debris from the mock duel they'd had. Al stared out past his brother, out to the setting sun. The sky's deep blue had faded into a fantastic orange as the sun had set…despite the crazy day, the sunset was calming. Al turned to the Lieutenant to mention the everyday miracle, but he noticed she wasn't paying him any attention. Her eyes were locked onto Mustang's body, watching as he took off his dress shirt and threw it onto a nearby pile of debris. Alphonse studied Hawkeye's face as her eyes drank in every last drop of the scene before them. Slowly, she closed her eyes and lowered her head. It reminded him of a kid he saw once in a store. The kid didn't have quite enough money to buy what he wanted, so he dropped his head and wandered out of the building.
"Does he know?" he asked.
The Lieutenant's head perked up and she opened her eyes as if she'd awoken from a dream. "What did you say?"
"I asked if he knew." Al repeated, motioning his head slightly toward Mustang to indicate the "he" he was referring to.
Hawkeye averted her eyes, "Does he know what?"
"That you care about him."
Hawkeye gulped slightly, "Am I so obvious?" she asked.
Al shook his head, "Not really, you just remind me a bit of my mom…when she talked about my dad coming home."
Hawkeye turned her gaze back to the Colonel. "He doesn't know, and I don't plan on telling him."
"Why not? If you care about someone, you should tell them…they might not always be there." He added, remembering his mother.
"If I told him, it wouldn't change our relationship. He would still be my commanding officer, and I'd still just be his subordinate."
"But what if he felt the same way—"
"He doesn't, Alphonse." She said, interrupting him.
"How do you know he doesn't feel that way if you haven't told him?" Al persisted.
"It would just make things awkward. Especially if he didn't feel the same way." She replied.
"I think you're just making excuses." Al bluntly stated.
"Al, he goes out with hundreds of women, he barely notices I'm a female."
"I think you're just afraid of getting your heart broken."
Hawkeye turned and looked him straight in the eye, "Maybe I am afraid. Is that so wrong? I can think of a hundred different reasons why I shouldn't say anything."
"But—" Al started.
"Alphonse, didn't your mother ever teach you what happens when you play with fire?"