"I know they are flowers." Riza's gaze scanned the garden. Bright colors and smells filled her senses as she and Havoc strolled through the physical therapy's garden. It was the first day that the doctor finally allowed Jean out of the confines of the wheelchair to stroll through the gardens with the weather this warm. She watched as he leaned heavily on his cane with his right arm, his left hand gripping her forearm probably a little less that he should be. He was in his sleeveless, light breathable hospital shirt and pants and slippers that looked like something out of Xing. Despite it the beads of sweat on his brow and his white knuckles on his cane, he had a bright smile on his face, his head tilted back, basking in the sun.
She ignored the fuzzy feeling in her chest.
"Those to your left are chrysanthemum." He said as brightly as the sun, "They are a pretty sturdy little plant that will take over your garden if you don't watch them." She looked up at him surprised. "They grow back every year, bigger and bigger. You need to cut them back in the fall. But people love them for all the different colors they come in." his eyes scanned for a moment. "Those," he leaned a bit more on her and lifted his cane a bit, gesturing to his far left towards a turn in the path, "they are peonies. 'Cora Louise' if I remember right." They were a white with a little bit of reddish purple near the center. "You plant them in the late spring.
"Those are 'Lady Orchid'…Pineapple sage …Alstroemeria...Oh! And we can't forget those!" he gave her a cheeky grin as he pointed to a bunch of blue flowers at her feet. "Forget-me-nots." He whispered playfully in her ear.
"How-?" she stammered slightly.
He laughed, "My grandfather ran the General Store when I was a kid." He paused for a moment, readjusting his grip on his cane. He winced slightly but continued on. "Always stressed to me the importance of knowing about your basic flowers."
She looked around flabbergasted. "Basic?!"
He smiled, "'Most people walk into a store to buy flowers and know nothing of botany. It's our job to help people from making terrible landscaping choices.'" He quoted. "He also said it would impress pretty girls."
Riza rolled her eyes but smiled, "It is impressive." She gripped his forearm tighter, watching his bright blue eyes roam the garden. She cleared her throat, loosening her grip on his arm. "I think I could tell you what a sunflower looks like. And a rose."
His pursed his lips, eyes dancing with amusement, "We had blue roses."
She froze, jerking him slightly, causing him to almost topple over. His grip on her tightened painfully as he straightened himself. "What the fuck-!?"

"Blue roses don't exist." She stated darkly. It was impossible!
He gaped at her, "What?"
"Roses are red…and yellow…" she stated. "Maybe yellow…and pink! But not-not blue." He stared at her before laughing.
"They aren't common. They are the symbol of love and prosperity." He looked at her for a moment before shrugging, "You have to make them."
"Make them?" she asked in disbelief.
He released her arm. "Yeah, but it's a secret."
She narrowed her eyes before walking past him. "Hey! Wait!" she turned the corner and walking a fifteen feet to a small patch of white roses. She stared with distaste at them.
"You can't make these blue." She murmured. "Impossible."
"I bet Mustang would make you some if you asked. Wouldn't be hard with Alchemy." She jumped at the sound of Jean's voice in her ear. Her face reddened as she straightened up, turning to face him. His face looked almost as red as hers felt.
She tried to ignored how close they were. How she felt she was on fire from his gaze. His hands ran slowly over her arm, stopping at the red mark from when he gripped her.
"Sorry…" he whispered a little too…something for Riza's taste. It made her heart hammer in her chest. Made her fingers want to trail up his forearm.
"It's nothing." She gripped his arm, sending tingles down her hand. He was looking at her, no, at her lips as he cleared his throat a little, licking his lips. "You can't make blue roses." She tried changing the subject, but her own voice was a little too low for that.
He laughed huskily. "Oh yeah?" he was so close. Too close.
"Yeah." She felt his arm move to her hip, holding it firmly (for balance!), leaning in slightly.
"Well, I guess I'll have to show you, eh?" she knew what was going to happen. She could almost feel it. She squeezed his arm, not encouraging, but to let him know she was-
"There you two are!" Havoc paused, eyes wide before chuckling to himself, pulling back.
"Breda!" he lifted his right arm away from her hip, making her feel cold. "I'm teaching the Lieutenant Colonel about flowers!"
Breda, Fuery and Rebecca turned the corner. Fuery was looking around in amazement. "It's so beautiful."
"You alright buddy?" Breda quickened his pace. "You look beat. Maybe you shouldn't have pushed yourself today. This path is like, a mile long." Breda put his arm around Havoc, who sagged against his friend's bigger build, sighing slightly.
Riza huffed. Rebecca laughed, "He would have crushed you Riza.
"We were doing just fine!"
"Yeah, we were doing great." Riza felt her face heat up.
Rebecca noticed.
So did Jean.
III
A week later she was walking into her office, frowning at the group of soldiers cluttered around her desk. The women were looking at her with jealousy and the men warily. Roy was in the forefront, brows furrowed, hunched over her desk. "Sir what are you?"
"I've never seen anything quite like this." Roy picked up the offending object.
Riza gasped.
It was a single Blue Rose.