A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken so long for me to update this. First, I got majorly stuck, and then I got completely distracted. But now my summer's wide open, so I'm hoping to get a bunch of chapters up. ^^

I do not own FMA.

Driven

She was hesitant, standing there, staring at the object in front of her. Riza's fingers twisted nervously around themselves as she fidgeted, uncertainty clear in her brown eyes. "Roy, I . . . I don't know. This can't possibly be a good idea. If somebody ever found out —"

"Nobody is going to know. We're on a back road, no one around to see at all." he assured her, smiling encouragingly. "Look, if it's because you're not old enough —"

"No, it's not that. Well . . . actually, it's partially that, partially the fact that I'm not licensed." Riza shrugged. "You don't drive a car without a license, Roy. The police around here really crack down on that, if they catch you. There were these three boys from my school who went for a joyride and —"

His hand clamped itself over her mouth, the reassuring smile gone. "Riza, you're worrying over nothing. Over-thinking. You'll do fine, as long as you trust me. Okay?" She hesitated another second, then nodded. "All right. Get in."

Settled behind the steering wheel, Riza listened as the teenage boy in the passenger seat explained the pedals and gearshift. And then it was time. Feet pressed to the clutch and brake, she turned the key, listening as the engine rumbled to life. Roy grinned. "All right; put it into first, let off the brake, and ease off the clutch."

Drawing her lower lip between her teeth in concentration, Riza moved the gearshift left, then forward; the tone of the motor changed. First her right, then her left foot drew slowly back, in time with Roy's murmured 'easy . . .' and the car began to inch forward. So far, so good. Almost instinctively, her right foot moved to press down on the gas pedal; the vehicle picked up speed, along with her heart.

"Okay, here's where it gets tricky," Roy was saying. "Once you get used to it, you'll be able to tell when you need to switch gears, but for now I'll help you out." His eyes were on the gauges in front of her. "Okay . . . next gear."

Riza pulled the gearshift back . . . not fast enough. The engine stalled, the car slowed, and came to a halt. Pulling her hands off the wheel, the girl in the driver's seat leaned back, looking wary. ". . . What did I do?"

Roy smiled, shaking his head. "It's all right; it's not going to blow up or anything. You just switched gears a little too late. It's just something you have to get the hang of, that's all. Here: let's make this a little easier." Turning, he squirmed into the car's back seat.

"Wait, what are you —" An arm reached past her right shoulder, Roy's hand settling over hers on the gearshift. Riza tensed.

"There. Now I can see the dash, meaning it's easier to help you." That trickster's grin was evident in his voice. "Relax, I'm not going to try anything." He pushed the lever back into the neutral position. "Come on: give it another go."

He lifted his hand, and she moved hers to turn the key, feet pressed against the brake and clutch. The engine turned over, rumbling quietly under the hood. Riza returned her hand to the gearshift, and Roy's covered it again, his fingers fitting easily between hers.

"Okay, here we go. Easy does it . . . ."

They shifted into first gear, and Riza eased her foot off the clutch. The car started forward again, and she stepped gently on the gas. Roy's free hand settled on her shoulder as he murmured, "Listen for it: when you hear the engine noise peak, shift gears. Ready . . . second gear."

With his hand on hers, she slid the lever back: this time the engine noise dropped but stayed constant. She broke into a smile, risking a glance back over her shoulder. "Keep going?"

"Keep going. Here it comes again — hey, eyes on the road."

"Are you crazy?!" He hollered, wide-eyed in the passenger seat. "You're going to kill us both, driving like this!"

Teeth gritted, Riza glanced in the rearview mirror at the car pacing them from behind. "It's either me or our friends back there, Colonel, which would you prefer?"

"At least with you, I know the only guns present aren't aiming for me," he muttered, one hand still in a white-knuckled grip on the door handle. He looked up, away from the streets rushing past . . . and paused. "You know . . . we could return fire if we wanted to . . . ."

She glanced his way, then up at the rectangular glass pane in the roof. "I'm beginning to think you're crazier than I am." Putting her eyes back to the road, she shook her head. "At any rate, it's too dangerous. All you would be is a target; a mostly stationary target, I might add."

"Do you have a better idea?" When she didn't answer except to visibly re-clench her jaw, Roy reached up, and opened the sunroof. "Just try to drive steady while I'm up here, okay? Last I checked, I didn't fly particularly well."

It was just as effective to kneel on the seat, facing backward, with his arms, shoulders, and head outside; less of a target, and he was still able to see past the hair whipping around his head. Roy grinned, bringing one hand up, already mentally running through the distance and speed equations needed to make this work . . . .

Riza tapped his hip. "Roy, change of plan," she said, voice tight. He looked back over his shoulder, catching sight of the bright yellow sign that warned of an upcoming dead end.

". . . Dammit . . . ."

Ducking back inside the car, he swiped his windblown hair out of his eyes. "Quick question: have you ever done a smuggler's turn before?"

"Considering I don't know what that is . . . I'm going to say no. How fast can I learn?"

"Not fast enough. We're going to have to share. Lift up." Momentarily surrendering the steering to luck, Riza lifted herself out of the seat just far enough for Roy to slip underneath before dropping back into his lap. His foot nudged hers out of the way on the gas pedal.

"Cozy," she remarked dryly. "You could have just said switch."

He smirked humourlessly, watching the approaching dead end over Riza's shoulder, judging the distance. "I thought we'd try this as a team. I'll handle the gearshift and the pedals; on my mark, twitch the wheel to the right, then steer hard left. Got it?"

"Twitch right, hard left."

"Ready . . . go."

The car bobbed slightly to the right just as Roy slammed on the brakes and jerked the gearshift over from fourth gear to second. He felt the wheels lock as Riza turned hard left, inertia trying to drag him to one side as the car went into a controlled skid, turning as it entered the opposite lane. It slowed, came to a stop, the headlights of the pursuing car almost painfully bright in the front window.

Roy put the car in first gear and hit the gas, starting them forward the way they'd come, rapidly switching gears as they picked up speed. "Take the next left; I want to lose these guys for good."

"Then would you mind letting me take over again?" Riza said, her voice calm.

"Right; sorry." Her foot brushed against his, just as her hand settled into place on the gearshift. With nothing to distract him from the fact that she was sitting in his lap, Roy suddenly became very acutely aware of the pressure of her body against his, that hypnotizing backside of hers nestled against his thighs —

"Don't apologize; that was incredible." Making the turn, she set the car straight before tossing him a small smile back at him, drawing him out of his thoughts. "I have to say, I'm impressed."

His free hand moved from his side to her hip as he leaned forward to rest his chin on her shoulder. "If that's what it takes to impress you, I should have done it years ago."

"Roy, I can't drive sitting like this. Go back to your own seat."

"Fiiiiine . . . ." She lifted herself off of him just long enough for him to scoot to the right, before settling back against the leather. Roy settled his arm across the back of the seat, behind her shoulders, the two of them riding on in silence. Riza turned corners at random, often back-tracking and circling to make sure their pursuers had been lost.

"I have to wonder," she said quietly, brown eyes constantly surveilling their surroundings, "where you learned to drive like that. I can't imagine the Madame having much time to teach you."

"Actually, Havoc taught me the smuggler's turn, among a few other things." Roy smirked. "You think that was incredible, you should see some of the other things he can make a car do. It's downright unbelievable."

"Would he willing to have another student?"

"No way; you're not learning from him. He's practically a maniac behind the wheel." The smirk grew into a full grin. "I got you started on the whole driving thing. I might as well see it through."