A/N: wow, it seems like forever since I've uploaded...-sweatdrops- I guess I just wanted to get this chapter right, ne?

hints of hints of spoilers from the manga in this chapter, but nothing too serious.

I hope you all like this, CHAPTER TWENTY!!! woo!

Nostalgia

Riza Hawkeye didn't like storms. They scared her—the wild and unpredictability. A member of the military, she was accustomed to people listening to her orders, or at the least her gunfire. The weather, however, was a different story. She could yell until she was hoarse and the atmosphere still wouldn't pay her any heed. She could shoot until EHQ ran out of ammunition and the rain wouldn't stop. She had never liked that, not even as a child.

Hawkeye still remembered some of the spring storms she'd been caught in as a child, running errands for her father. The East has its own version of a 'Monsoon Season', sudden and severe thunderstorms that came out of nowhere and vanished into the same area. How many times she'd been stranded in a tree avoiding a deluge, she couldn't say.

Hm…she still remembered that one time. She was seven or eight-years-old and her father, a famed local alchemist, needed her to run more ingredients for yet another one of his strange experiments.

The day was bright, perfectly gorgeous and the sun reflected off her honey-colored hair. The child smiled up at the cloudless day, a day perfect for running, she thought to herself. Running without a care in world, just for the sake of it all. She carefully put the 'grocery list' into her money pouch and, without a moment to lose, flew down the dirt road.

She made it to town, blissful and out of breath from her sprint; there were times where she almost regretted living so far from the outskirts—this wasn't one of them.

In a somewhat more civilized manner, she approached the small shop that may/may not have the ingredients her father needed.

She really didn't spend that much time in the store, just enough for the pudgy little man behind the counter to hand her the necessary materials and to caution her about the weather. Fearless girl that she was, granddaughter of a military officer, she raised her chin at his cautions. Why should she be afraid of a little rain?

As she left the town, the wind began to pick up. At first, it was somewhat pleasant, the cool breeze tearing away some of the muggy air, ruffling her hair and clothes. For a while, she enjoyed walking down the lane, content to observe the grass getting steadily more bent as the breeze picked up.

Eight-year old Riza bravely kept up her pace, feeling only a small amount of fear. However, she felt her first real swing of anxiety as the sun was gradually overtaken by a giant thundercloud. No, 'giant' didn't cut it; massive was a much better word. Night fell early.

Her feet moved on their own, a natural reaction from the adrenaline in her bloodstream. Her pace quickened, following the standard of her pulse.

Then lightning illuminated the darkness in a way mankind had been trying to imitate for years. Riza felt herself scream in sudden alarm, drowned out by the thunder; she felt her feet begin to speed beneath her, even as the downpour began. But she experienced it all in third person. It was almost as chaotic within her young mind.

'What kind of granddaughter of an officer gets scared by a little rain?' Her antagonistic logic was hard to adhere to in light of the sudden torrent. Her honesty rebuked the logic, 'The same kind of granddaughter who hides under the covers every time it storms at home!'

The dirt path turned to mud, and a new fear entered the girl's mind. 'What if I get lost?'

Spurred on by her fear and the adrenaline rush, Riza began to sprint down the road, slowed by her heavy bag of materials.

With some relief, and some apprehension, she neared the old oak tree. The ancient oak had been there for who-knew-how-long, and had grown to an enormous girth, towering over the dirt thoroughfare and the travelers on it for generations. Riza brightened at the sight of the familiar mark; it meant she was near home, it meant some shelter, for a few moments, at least. She pushed onward, much to her leg muscles' dismay.

She made it under the tree, panting, hand on her knees. The wind was still harsh, but at least the boughs blocked most of the downpour. Most.

She let herself sit for a while, catching her breath. The storm showed absolutely no sign of relenting. She managed to calm herself, a little, under its protection. Then she mustered up whatever was left of her courage, picked up her bag, took a deep breath, and prepared to plunge headfirst into the storm once more, fully intent on running until she was home again.

To her credit, she was fully serious about venturing back into the rain. She was but one step away from the downpour when a voice called out, strangely distant (and growing ever louder). "SSSTTTOOOPPP!!!"

She put on the brakes, and might have been able to salvage her reaction, except the loud noise of a person landing no less than a foot from where she'd been sitting mere seconds before pushed her over the edge.

She tripped, into the rain and the mud.

Dazed, she sat up quickly, still in the rain and not one hundred percent sure how she got there. Her amber eyes were somewhat unfocused as she forced herself to view her new companion.

He was a boy, she was shocked to find, of roughly her age and height. His dark hair was disheveled, leaves and twigs were tangled in the dark mess. Moreover, he was positively drenched, and his feet were bare. An orphan, she thought herself, or someone of equal standard.

"Are you crazy?!! You were about to go into that downpour?!!" He was practically yelling at her now, and she slowly began to get over the stress his sudden appearance had brought on her. She felt her pulse calm as her mind jumped to the next problem.

Completely ignoring him, she began to gather the raw materials that were scattered in the mud. Riza was now completely soaked, from her boots to her blouse; her hair was dripping into her eyes.

He sighed and cautiously began to assist her in the struggle to find her purchases. Several minutes passed like this, before they finally found everything and hurried back to the shelter of the tree.

"You were here too, weren't you?" She finally responded, to his general shock.

"That…that was different."

"What were you doing up there?" Riza looked up at the great tree, wondering to herself just how high this boy had been seated before he'd jumped off to 'save' her.

"I was observing." His voice held much pride. "I bought a book a few weeks ago; it took me ages to save up enough for it. It explained abrupt weather changes, and I wanted to see if the text was right. So I was here, waiting for the storm to roll in."

Only children could be so fast to relate as Riza was to this strange boy; he obviously wanted to tell someone about his quest, judging by his eager tone.

"Well, I need to get these supplies back to my father. He's a famous alchemist." She couldn't keep herself from bragging too.

"You still shouldn't go out in the rain alone."

"So? You honestly can't expect me to—ahh!!"

"What?!"

Her voice was a whisper. "Thunder."

He laughed, much to her annoyance. She felt her cheeks grow warm, the characteristic blush, no doubt. If there was one thing Riza Hawkeye hated, it was being laughed at.

"Well, if that's all you're going to do, stand there and laugh, then I'm going home; rain or no rain!" Riza's voice held an amazing amount of dignity (or was it indignity?) for a mud-soaked, frightened eight-year-old.

"Hey, hey, hey; don't be like that! I'll take you home, okay? That way we'll be even?"

"What difference does that make to me?" she sniffed.

"I…" he began dramatically, hiding one of his hands behind his back, "have an umbrella!"

She caught onto his enthusiasm and smiled too. Then she caught a problem with the scheme. "My father says not to go anywhere with strangers…" She hesitated before adding, "He can be very strict sometimes."

"Well then, Madame," He emphasized the formality and bowed, taking her cold, wet hand in his and faking kissing it, before looking up at her with piercing obsidian eyes. "Roy Mustang, at your service."

She giggled, pleased with his flattery. "Riza Hawkeye," came her response, as she mimed a curtsey with as much pride as she thought possible with mud covering her from almost head to toe.

Roy smiled at her, pleased that she was playing along. As he opened his rag-tag umbrella, he looked her in the eyes. "Switch with you?" She laughed again, happily trading her heavy bag for his umbrella.

The wind had slowed a little in the time they had been talking, but the rain was just as relentless as ever. The way to Riza's abode was…wet; but it passed surprisingly quickly in Roy's company, Riza observed with fascination. What was more, she noted with shock, when she was with him, she wasn't as afraid of the storm. He just seemed to have some unnatural confidence about him that made her trust him.

She reached the house and her father threw open the door, anxiety clear on his face. "Elizabeth! There you are!" Riza was instantly repentant that she had spent any more time than was necessary on the way back, contrite that she had made her father wait for her any longer than he had to. He just had that sort of forceful personality.

Then his eyes, amber like hers, happened upon her traveling companion. Curiosity and disapproval flashed across his face before it assumed his classic somber expression. "And you are…?"

Roy picked up on his question, and his tone, in no time. "Roy Mustang, I happened upon your daughter in her journey and thought it wasn't prudent for her to be in the rain without any shelter." He hesitated, afraid to cross some invisible line between the nobles and his…less-fortunate class.

"Spit it out. You have a question, you should ask it." Riza was familiar with his tone; his work tone. The voice he used when he was making observations on a project.

"Sulfur? Iodine? Manganese? Those aren't common kitchen necessities in the East, all due respect, sir."

To his daughter's shock (and Roy's, for that matter), the alchemist smiled widely at the pauper. "Come in." After that, Riza's sharp hearing could barely catch her father questioning the boy in his knowledge of science, of alchemy. The rest is history.

Another clap of thunder startled Riza out of her reverie. Common or not, she doubted she would ever get used to the sudden storms of East City. Tonight was worse than usual, with the forefront of a major system rolling into the district. She was only half-way home, and it looked as if the storm might beat her to her apartment. Hayate shied at her heel.

"Come on, boy." He obediently followed, just as the rain started following. Riza kept her head up, walking with pride as she neared the outskirts of the shopping district. From here on out, her only company would be the rain, Hayate, and the occasional warehouse. Having an apartment on the outskirts wasn't always convenient, but it was certainly more private.

She flinched involuntarily as another resounding clap tore through the evening.

A voice came from her right, in the shadow of a warehouse long abandoned. "I thought you got over your fear of thunder."

She smiled, then smirked through the rain as the perfect response came to her mind. "At least I'm not useless in the rain…" She kept the innocence in her voice.

The shadowed figure stepped out from the gloom of the storehouse, revealing a chuckling Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang. "Out in the rain, without an umbrella? Are you insane?"

His words struck a chord in Riza; nostalgia gleamed in her amber eyes as she realized he'd inadvertently quoted his nine-year-old self. She played along, enjoying a joke she doubted he understood. "'You're here too, aren't you?'"

Maybe he remembered as well; his response was certainly staggeringly close to the mark. "'I was observing.'"

Riza was shocked by his answer, and decided to play it for all it was worth. "I think you've learned enough about the weather by now, don't you, sir?"

Then a smirk overcame Roy, and Riza was half-afraid of what his reaction foreboded. "I think you and I both know I wasn't observing the clouds that day…just like now." He didn't take his eyes off Riza as he said it.

Riza allowed herself to be confused by his statements. "Then…sir, what were you obser—?"

"Something much more intriguing." Then Roy did the unexpected. He picked up Riza's free hand and kissed it, his obsidian eyes gleaming with untold emotions. He straightened, wished her a good evening, turned on heel and left Riza stunned. When she finally found her voice, he was far down the road. Another flash of lightning reminded her that she still needed to get to her apartment. "Come on, Hayate."

That night, Riza found a sure truth: she would never get used to the sudden storms of East City; or be able to predict the actions of its lead officer, Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist.

A/N: sooo...did you like it!?

nee!! I'm so happy! TWENTY CHAPTERS!!!! yay!!

Please review!

btw, next chapter will cover what Roy and Riza dream about...