Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Plan
She trudged another step, knee deep in the white snow. Heat radiated from the tin canteen that was haphazardly stuffed with coals, despite it being the only way to keep warm it did burn skin through her worn out gloves. The wind whipped, stinging the scrapes and cuts on her face and it wailed so loudly in her ears, she thought she might go deaf. Riza pursed her lips and pulled the blanket more to cover her face, trying to hide herself from the blizzard and smearing the blood that stained her nose and lips. Her temple was bleeding again and her other injuries were flaring from the friction of her torn uniform. ‘What a mess this was’. She thought, ‘Maybe this is where I will die...No’. She couldn't accept that. Riza Hawkeye would not die here. She had always accepted a reality, knowing she could die in a uniform. But this was not about being a soldier, this was about survival. Riza Hawkeye would not die like this. The next step sunk her foot farther down into the white snow, the shifting weight sent a sharp pain from the bullet wound in her thigh, blood seeping through her patchwork of a bandage. The spasm forced her legs to collapse, bringing her face first into the snow with a grunt. Her body shook with shock and ache, then numbness. Riza’s body revolted against her, and refused to move further. ‘This is it...I am going to die.’ Tears brimmed at her eyes as she looked ahead and saw nothing but a wasteland, but she would not die. Riza Hawkeye would not die.
Approximately 2 months before: Central Command Center
It was a busy day at Central Command and Mustang's team was hard at work, quietly consumed by a mountain of paperwork. Mustang sat at his desk and thumbed through a file of documents, Havoc and Breda tag teamed a stack of books related to their current investigation, Furey sat in the corner with four different radios attempting to connect them to one unit, Falman diligently copied information from one report to another, and Hawkeye was absorbed in organizing each file and all of their documents. It was quiet except for the flickering of paper and an occasional sigh from one of the troop. As she switched to working through an extensive pile of mail that had just come in from the head office, Riza paused at a large Manila envelope addressed to the newly appointed General Mustang. She flicked it open and pulled out a paper, there was no hesitation because as Mustang's personal assistant there was nothing that he saw that she didn't. As soon as she read the first line her stomach dropped.
“General Mustang,
Your transfer to the newly constructed Fort Windsor has been requested. Your departure will be assumed at the end of next week, your team will remain in Central to assume their regular duties. That is a final order. Below, you will find further instructions for departure...”
Hawkeye's breath hitched, fortunately unnoticed by the men in the room, she quickly composed her face as worry flooded her brain. She, nor any of the men would be able to follow him. ‘Of course they would ask Mustang oversee the newly established Fort in the North.’ she thought to herself.
The new Fort was set on the other side of a winter wasteland near The Northern Wall of Briggs, it was approximately an hour away, separated by a row of smaller mountains. They had been sending letters of transfer requests to soldiers at random mostly, bringing them up to the North.
Hawkeye pondered for a long time, if she showed the General the letter, he'd go. His motive was always to impress Grumman and the others if he wanted to become Fuhrer in the future. And if she kept it hidden, Mustang would be reprimanded for failing to comply with a direct and final order. The North had been seeing some tension with Drachma approaching and surely the new Fort would be a target of attack. Hawkeye knew that Mustang should not go. She couldn’t protect him up there and they had come so far with the rehabilitation with Ishval. If he left now, they would fail to finish by their set deadline. 'What can I do? What can I do? Think Riza, Think.'
"Lieutenant? Heyo, Lieutenant?" Havoc blinked with an expression caught between slightly confused and slightly amused. Hawkeye looked up, snapping out of her daze.
"Yes?"
"You okay? I called your name four times?" Havoc chuckled, and she realized that the confusion had caused all the men, including Mustang, to look at her.
Hawkeye shook her head, "Yes, I apologize I was just...thinking of a new way to organize these documents is all. What did you need?"
Havoc grinned, his cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth, "Just needed that extra pencil next to ya?"
Hawkeye nodded and flipped the pencil across the room directly into Havoc's open hand. Mustang cleared his throat, "Lieutenant Hawkeye, are you sure you're alright?"
‘Damn, Mustang never misses a thing.’ She thought, then faking a smile, "Of course, Sir. Perhaps I just need a bit of air?"
"Excused, Lieutenant. I’d say It's time for a break anyways." He flashed her that award winning smile of his.
The men all got up one by one, stretching and walking out, leaving Hawkeye alone with her superior. While the men created a distraction, she shoved the letter in the locked drawer on her desk before standing and striding towards the door.
"Lieutenant?" Mustang stood, she was surprised to see a smile still on his face. "Are you going for a walk?"
Hawkeye nodded, "Yes, Sir."
"Care for some company?"
The two walked through the halls, Mustang taking long strides, and Hawkeye always a single pace behind him.
"Lieutenant?" Mustang looked behind his shoulder a bit.
"Sir?"
They reached the courtyard, which was nearly vacant this brisk morning. They continued to walk but slowed to a relaxing pace, allowing them to now step side by side. "Anything on your mind?"
"No, Sir."
"That's a lie." The corners of Mustang's mouth pulled downward slightly.
Hawkeye kept a steady gaze. "I never lie, Sir."
He sent a look towards her, eyebrow upturned at her statement. His hand raised to his chest in feigned shock, “You? Lie? Never!”
Riza shook her head, fighting to keep a smile from forming, having to turn from him once it broke free. He chuckled to himself. ‘It’s nice to see him loosen up.’ Riza thought. The last year had been rough after the Promised Day. Once he had regained his eyesight and restored Havoc’s spine to a working condition, Mustang and the team had set out on a mission to rebuild Ishval. While it had been mostly successful, there was still much to be done. The Colonel had been promoted to General now, but the nightmares continued. For both of them. Having to spend weeks in Ishval, off and on, to ensure its structure had resulted in swelling their guilt. For it did not matter what they were doing to resolve, that blood would stain them for eternity. However, they refused to complain and trudged onward. Riza sighed, ‘It’s why he can’t go North now, how could they tear him from his goals?’ The sound of her superior’s voice broke her derailed train of thought.
"Well, I would hope if there was something bothering you..." Mustang stopped walking abruptly. "...you would tell me, yes?"
"Of course."
They continued to walk and converse about common things, making their way back to the office after a while. Quietly, everyone began to resume their work, leaving Hawkeye to her thoughts. She pondered every way she could try and convince him not to go, or how to present to Grumman that Mustang was most needed here with his men. But she was intelligent and knew every way led to a dead end. As she thought, Riza began organizing her desk and accidentally dropped a paper from a random pile. It was an old request for leave that had never been completed. That's when the idea popped into her brain. She knew it wouldn't be easy, it could very well destroy everything she had worked for, but it had to be done. She knew what she had to do.
1 week later...
Hawkeye pulled her hood closer around her face so that she could remain more aloof as she sat in the back of the cargo truck. It was cold outside but the inside was stuffy as it was crammed with many soldiers. It was less of a transportation vehicle and more of a moving truck, no seats, no windows. They had pulled away from Central command about ten minutes ago and were started towards the train station to finish their journey up North. She just hoped her plan would work as much as it had already.
Riza mused a bit on how well her plan had worked so far, after all, it had not been easy for her to break the rules and especially when it came to lying to her Superior. First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye would take General Roy Mustang’s place at Fort Windsor with his permission, however he would not know any of it. The easy part of the plan had been forging his signature on all documents, and even typing a ‘letter of recommendation’ with his signature on it and turning it in to the Transfer Department in the Head Office.
Flashback...
“First Lieutenant?” An Officer called from the desk, stationed behind a cubicle wall. Riza rose from her seat in the nearly empty waiting area. The appointment had been purposefully chosen at a time of day in which the Head Office was slow, as to avoid more eyes and ears on the situation, the less that knew, the less someone would start asking questions. Her feet brought her around the cubicle wall to a desk, a single chair positioned in front of it.
“Good morning, Lieutenant. I see you wanted to start the day bright and early.” Officer Henry Faye smiled, “Please have a seat.”
Hawkeye took a deep breath and smiled back, sitting with perfect posture. “I enjoy working early, Sir.”
“Me too.” Faye folded his hands on his desk, “What may I do for you today, Lieutenant?”
Hawkeye pulled a file from her bag, “I have a request for transfer and a letter of recommendation to do so from my Superior Officer.” She handed him the file calmly, although her insides began twisting into knots. One wrong move and the whole plan could blow up in her face.
Faye began to read over the file, flicking through the papers and occasionally murmuring the words out loud. He scratched his head. “So, you want to transfer to Fort Windsor in his place? It is an interesting choice…though not entirely uncommon I suppose?” Riza nodded in response, he continued, “What desire do you have to go North?”
“Well, Sir, I do enjoy challenges and it would be a new change of pace. I wish to lend my skills and to test them as well, if I may learn new experiences they might assist me better in the future.” Hawkeye had prepared for that question.
“It is also interesting…” Faye pondered, looking between the file’s contents and Hawkeye, “That the General sends a letter and is not here with you personally.”
Riza took a sharp intake of breath, “General Mustang, as I’m sure you know, is quite consumed with the plans for Ishval. In fact, he is gearing up for another week in the desert soon, which is why he sends his best regards in the form of a letter. He is apologetic, wishing he could have met with you to discuss in person.” At Faye’s acceptance of her lie, she smiled and felt a twinge of relief.
“I see.” He matched the signature on the forged letter to a personal copy, checking it for authenticity and after a moment was pleased by his results. “Well, I know that General Mustang holds you in the highest standing, it will be strange to not see you at his flank at all times.”
“So, my transfer is accepted?” Riza tried her best not to sound surprised.
“Yes, Lieutenant.” Officer Faye stamped a seal of approval on her file, “I wish you the best in the North and we will eagerly await your return.”
“Thank you, Sir.” She shook his hand and smiled, “And I wish you the best on your paternity leave, congratulations.”
The Officer chuckled in surprise, “Oh so you heard?”
“Word gets around, Sir.”
“Ah yes, well, don’t believe everything you hear about me!” The two shared a laugh, Hawkeye saluted and exited swiftly. Officer Faye returned to his paperwork, looking towards the calendar with a hopeful smile. “Just one more day of work…”
End Flashback...
Riza leaned her head against the metal of the truck, attempting to still her head against the jostling of the road. Forging everything had been the easy part, but lying to Mustang directly had been the most difficult. After securing her transfer, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye handed General Roy Mustang a request for a one month leave of absence. The excuse goes for a sick, distant relative back east who needed her care, a family obligation that the General had not heard about before. Once Mustang had signed the request for leave, she had taped the paper underneath her desk so it would be hard to stumble upon. This way, the military would have her filed under Transferred, and the General would just think she was on Leave of Absence. Riza Hawkeye would arrive at Fort Windsor and immediately request transfer to Briggs, it would be too suspicious if she transferred right back to Central. Once she got to Briggs, Riza would ask General Armstrong for a favor, to help her get sent from Briggs to Central by the end of the month. She would return officially and Mustang would welcome her back from her “leave” and everything would return to normal. The plan was risky of course, should anyone find out the wrong information, or if General Armstrong refused to help her, well, Riza would cross that bridge when she came to it. Going against the rules was also very uncharacteristic of her, she knew that but there was no way she would let Mustang go to the frontlines of a new fort, not when he was so close to his goal.
Riza closed her eyes, wondering how much longer it would be until they reached the train station. It wasn’t that far from Central Command so they should have been arriving soon. An anxious feeling wormed itself into the pit of her stomach, and First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye hoped she would be able to just sleep it off.
To be continued…