AN: Phew. Finally got around to writing this out. Sorry it took so long. And, as of this chapter, the story will be aligned to the left. I have gone back and done the same to all the previous chapters as well. Most people said left, and I'm sick of asking already… But thank you to everyone who paid attention and told me what they wanted. And thanks also for the alerts and favourites, and extra special thanks to those who reviewed. You all know who you are! :3 I appreciate your words greatly. Anyway, I thought I'd better get this chapter written and posted, as I've been caught up in Dark Dawn fever (It's almost here, WHOO! \o/) and sorely neglected it of late, so here it is!

"Hello there, Roy," he was greeted familiarly by several people as he stepped off the train, having just arrived at the station. Roy smiled at them and offered his own greeting, before leaving the platform and starting down the road at a lazy pace, thrusting his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. He had, after all, arrived early today, so there was no need to rush. The air outside had a distinct chill to it but he was dressed comfortably to combat it, and much to his relief, it wasn't raining or snowing. As long as he wasn't going to get wet, he could set his own speed to the Hawkeyes' house.

All around him people were busy with the tasks that made up their everyday lives. On one side of the road, a group of men herded a flock of sheep to new pasture. One of the creatures made a dash in the wrong direction and was halted by a yapping dog, which, at the behest of its master, sent it back in the direction it had come. On the other side of the road, he glimpsed a woman emerge from her home to pick up wood from the pile sitting next to her door before returning inside. A few moments after, smoke began to billow more thickly from her chimney.

A group of children ran past him, laughing and shoving each other as they moved down the road. He paused to watch them for a moment, frowning, before continuing on. He didn't need to think hard to identify why it bothered him. It wasn't the children themselves; they were just behaving like children did. Like they should. Completely the opposite of how Riza behaved. He never saw her act like these children; he barely saw her leave the house. If she did, it was usually for school or errands, not fun. He had never seen her leave the house for the purpose of spending time with friends and enjoying herself. Did she ever have fun? …Did she even know what fun was?

He let out an exasperated sigh. It was hard to find time between his lessons with Master Hawkeye to try to get Riza to open up to him a little, but somehow, he felt as though he was managing. His studies took priority over everything; he was planning to build his future on Alchemy after all, so he didn't get much time to speak with her, and he wondered if he was really making any progress at all. He wasn't sure what she thought of him. Did she consider him her friend yet? An acquaintance, at least? Did she find his constant attempts to engage her annoying? Or was her opinion of him completely neutral? To say that she confused him was an understatement.

And it frustrated him beyond belief.

As he mused, he glimpsed a sudden flash of gold from the corner of his eye, and looked over at the other side of the street. There she was, as though his thoughts had summoned her. Her back was facing him so she had yet to notice his presence.

"Riza!" he called out.

She started at his shout, and turned around to face him abruptly. "…Mr Mustang?"

He picked up his pace until he came to stop beside her. "What are you doing down the street?"

"I was… going to get some groceries," she replied.

"I'll go with you then."

She shook her head, and said in a serious voice, "Father will be waiting for you, Mr Mustang. You should go home to see him."

"No, no, it will be fine. The train was early anyway. And you'll just be going straight home, after this, won't you?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then it's okay," he cut her off before she could continue to protest. "I'll still be arriving at the house at the time I usually do."

"Yes, but-"

"So, let's go." He gave her a gentle shove in the right direction.

"Mr Mustang, I really think that you should-"

"I think that I should get something to eat! I'm starving!"

It was a lie. He wasn't really hungry – he had eaten already on the train – but he knew if he didn't come up with some sort of excuse, she would continue to protest. She gave him a sceptical look, but sighed, and fell into step beside him quietly. He peeked at her from the corner of his eyes as they walked. Her gaze was glued to the ground in front of her, and she didn't look up at the people who passed them by unless they greeted her specifically, in which case she would smile and return the greeting in a polite, mechanical tone. There was no real interest or sincerity behind the words. He was greeted by the same situation when they walked into the general store.

The woman behind the counter smiled, and said, "Hello, Riza. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Riza responded automatically. "And yourself, ma'am?"

Roy browsed as Riza told the woman what she wanted, idly examining tins of canned food and fresh fruit and vegetables, waiting for her to finish. When he heard the sound of coins jingling, he ambled over to the counter lazily.

"And here's your change." The woman passed the coins to Riza.

"Thank you," Riza said.

The woman smiled down at her for a moment, before looking over at Roy. "You're that Mustang boy, aren't you?"

"That's right," Roy replied. "Roy Mustang, ma'am."

"I've heard quite a bit about you," she said with a smile.

"Whatever you've heard, I'm sure it's been exaggerated," he said with a laugh, and turned to Riza. "Are you ready to go?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"

"Weren't you going to buy something?" she questioned in a suspicious voice.

"Oh, yeah, right…" He glanced around quickly, and his eyes fell upon the fresh fruit. He grabbed an apple and sat it on the counter, before turning back to Riza and asking, "Do you want something?" She shook her head. "You sure? I can get you something if you do."

"No, thank you," she replied. "I don't want anything."

"All right." He paid the shopkeeper, who smiled and thanked him for his purchase, and Riza took her bag from the counter. "Give me that, I'll carry it," he said immediately.

"I can carry it myself, thank you." She clutched the paper bag against her chest in an almost defensive manner.

He frowned, and tried again. "It looks heavy."

"I'm stronger than I look."

"I have no doubt that you are. However," and he gestured for her to hand him the package, "it's improper for a gentleman such as myself to allow a lady to carry a load like that when I'm not carrying anything at all."

"And how are you supposed to carry the bag and eat at the same time?" she inquired.

"I'll eat it later."

"I thought you were starving?" she replied in an accusing tone.

He grimaced. "Well… I can manage both at the same time, surely!"

She gave him a sceptical look. "I don't want to risk you dropping my bag, Mr Mustang."

He was certain that she was doing this just to be difficult. Most girls would be happy for him to carry their groceries; no… they would be offended if he didn't offer to begin with! Every single girl. But not Riza Hawkeye. He looked down at her, taking in the stubborn set to her face. Over something as silly as a shopping bag of all things! …That he was being just as adamant about carrying as she was, admittedly. But he wasn't planning on backing down, and clearly she wasn't either.

"Very well then," he said carefully. "How about a compromise? You carry it until I'm done eating this." He held up the apple. "But when I'm done, you have to give it to me and I'll carry it the rest of the way."

"That's pointless," she replied bluntly. "By the time you finish that, we'll nearly be back at the house, and I might as well have carried it the whole way anyway!"

"I'll eat it quickly then."

"You'll get a stomach-ache if you wolf it down like that!"

"Excuse me," the shopkeeper spoke up. Roy blinked in surprise. He had forgotten that the woman was there. Riza seemed to have forgotten as well. She jumped slightly and a guilty expression flittered across her face. "You're making a racket in my shop."

They muttered their apologies in unison.

"Now, really!" The woman stood there with her hands on her hips. "You'll scare all my customers away at this rate! Go on home. And really, Riza… What's the point in having a cute boy help you with the shopping if you're not going to make him carry everything for you?"

"I didn't ask him to come with me…" he heard her mutter to herself.

The shopkeeper heard also. "Well that's even more reason to be grateful! How many men are you going to find that will willingly do thoughtful things? Really, girl, take it while you can get it!"

Roy pretended not to hear as the woman basically told Riza she should be taking advantage of his kindness rather than brushing him off, instead taking a sudden interest in the roof and shifting awkwardly in place.

Riza nodded at the shopkeeper with a serious expression on her face, but he had a hard time believing that she would actually take the woman's advice to heart.

"You two run along now."

They left the store, walking in silence broken only by the crunch of gravel under their feet and of Roy devouring the apple he had bought. It was crisp and juicy, with a sweet taste. Much fresher than he was used to back home. He finished it quickly and threw the core to the side of the road, before looking over at Riza expectantly.

She examined him critically for a moment, before saying, "Your hands are sticky."

He sighed and looked around, not really expecting to find anything that would help him, but, fortunately for him, a nearby water trough was there to solve his problems. He anticipated that Riza would keep walking, but she stopped to wait for him as he washed his hands in the trough. A cow drinking from the water paused and sniffed his hands, before attempting to curl its long tongue around his fingers. He pulled his hands out quickly. Behind him, Riza made a sound that could've been a laugh disguised by a cough. He returned to her on the road and showed her his clean hands, feeling very much like a young child being scolded by a fussy parent.

"Now they're wet." He sighed, and wiped his hands on his trousers. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Now your trousers are wet."

"But my hands aren't. My pants will dry quickly enough. Are you going to give me the bag, or not?"

She looked at him gravely, then down at the bag, and at him again. Then, with a sigh, she held it out to him, and he took it quickly before she changed her mind. It was just as heavy as he had expected. He was surprised she had carried it this far. But then, she probably carried heavy bags like this all the time. He couldn't imagine Master Hawkeye ever leaving the house for shopping.

"See. That wasn't so hard now, was it?" he said with a grin.

Riza narrowed her eyes at him again, and turned around abruptly, leaving him standing there by himself.

"Hey, wait up!" He hurried down the road after her.

XxX

The words on the page in front of him blurred, and Roy paused, setting the book down for a moment to rub his eyes tiredly. They ached. When he had been busy for too long, exhaustion would set in, and he would need to take a break, whether he had finished what he was doing or not. As enthusiastic as he was about his studies, there were limits to how much could be accomplished in one night, even when one had had a diligent work ethic. But he did not feel he could not stop right now; he was right in the middle of his current task for Master Hawkeye. Perhaps when he was done, he could set his things aside and turn his attention to Riza…

He glanced over at the couch across from him, where Riza sat, reading a book of her own. She wasn't making any effort to speak with him, but she was there. She didn't usually hang around like this – especially not when he was busy studying – so it had to mean that she was at least somewhat comfortable around him, didn't it? After earlier, he had expected that she would avoid him completely for a while… Perhaps he was looking into it too deeply. Maybe she just didn't feel like spending all day in her bedroom, or she thought the couch was comfortable. He stared at her, frustrated, as though by doing so he could discern her reason for being there.

As though she could sense his scrutiny, Riza looked up from her book, and met his eyes. Crap. He should probably say something now, to make it seem less odd, shouldn't he? He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't think of anything to say. She stared at him silently for a few more seconds as he sat there with his mouth hanging open, before looking back down at her novel, flipping to the next page casually.

Great. That wasn't weird at all… He thought to himself dryly.

He looked down at his own book, and picked it up again, flipping it to the last page he had read. The task Master Hawkeye had set him was to study the composition of the various stones sitting on the table in front of him, and then use that knowledge to transmute them into different shapes. Master Hawkeye had barely let him actually use Alchemy at all since he began studying under him, preferring instead that he learn more of the theory behind it; perhaps if he was successful enough at this attempt, Master would set him more tasks that involved using Alchemy, rather than reading about it.

He picked up his chalk and began writing out the formula on the slate he was using, glancing at his book for reference when he needed to. There were a lot of things to remember when it came to Alchemy, so it certainly helped to have a something to refer to when he required help. He wondered if he would ever be able to remember all this stuff on his own… Master Hawkeye never seemed to have any troubles. Of course, he had many more years of experience than Roy did. Perhaps when he was older, and had more experience, he too would be a skilled Alchemist.

Finished drawing out the circle, Roy sat a chunk of granite in the centre. He glanced over his formula once more to make sure it was correct, before placing his hands on the circle and activating it. He shaped it into the design he had in mind, creating a four-legged form with a long tail. He held up his creation and admired it, checking for any cracks or faults. There were none. He sat it on the table with a satisfied nod. Riza looked up from her book curiously.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

She squinted at the object on the table. "…Is it… a cat?"

"It's a dog," he pouted.

He nearly missed the sceptical expression on her face before it disappeared. "I'm sorry, yes, of course it is."

Despite his hurt he decided not to push the issue, instead placing his creation to one side and picking up a different rock as she returned her attention to her novel. He checked his books carefully, identifying the stone and making alterations in his formula where necessary. He transmuted many different creatures from the stones his master had given him, working diligently as Riza flipped through her book across from him, apparently completely absorbed in it. But every so often, he would see her glance over at him from the corner of her eyes, when she thought he was too busy to notice.

When he was reduced to his final stone, he paused for a moment, turning it over in his fingers thoughtfully as he wondered what to make of it. He looked up at the sound of Riza snapping her book shut.

"Was it good?" he asked her.

"Huh?"

"The book."

"Oh. It was interesting," she replied, sitting the book on the couch beside her.

"What was it about?"

"Aren't you supposed to be busy?" she asked somewhat peevishly.

He held up the remaining rock between two fingers. "Almost done." An idea jumped into his head, and he sat the stone in the circle. A few seconds later, and he sat back with a smug grin. Riza leaned over the table to look.

"It's a bird?"

"A hawk," he amended. "Hawk… Hawkeye… Get it?"

She quirked an eyebrow at him, clearly not impressed by his sudden stroke of genius. "A hawk."

"Right. A hawk." He picked up the stone bird and bobbed it up and down in the air, imitating flight.

Her eyes followed the 'flying' bird. "I suppose it does look like one."

"Suppose? I think you need a closer look!" He held the stone bird under her nose and made a harsh cawing sound. She looked at him as if he had grown a second head, but the side of her mouth twitched with a smile. It lasted maybe a second before her expression became serious once more.

"Now that you're done, Mr Mustang, perhaps you should show your work to father," Riza said standing up and retrieving her completed book. "I'm sure he will want to see it." She left the room, and he could hear the echo of her footsteps as she walked up the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm going to do that!" he called after her.

He sat the stone hawk down next to his other creations with a satisfied grin. On top of completing his work, he had also managed to make Riza smile. It had only lasted a second - and perhaps had partly been from exasperation - but it was definitely a smile nonetheless. Now that he thought back on it, this was the first time he had ever seen her smile naturally, without forcing the expression. It warmed him to think that he had done something to bring that out. Perhaps next time, he could do something to make or smile for longer, or even laugh!

With that thought in mind, he sat his work on top of his slate and carried it up to Master Hawkeye, mind already formulating plans, all the while with a smile plastered across his own face.

Once again, I apologise for how long this took. But please, won't you review? :3 It makes me happy, and a happy writer is an efficient writer! Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chapter out a bit sooner than this one, and hopefully, it will also be better than this chapter… So, review! Tell me it was good! Tell me it was terrible! Tell me how I can improve! Any sort of feedback is appreciated!